Disclaimer: I am just... oh, whatever. Also, Roman numerals are hard.

"Guilty."

The conviction rang in Kate and Irina Denali's ears. What had just happened? They'd been found… guilty? Of organized crime, of illegal overstay, of what-the-fuck-ever? What the fuck? They'd hired the best lawyers, they'd put forth their best innocent faces, had even contacted the Russian embassy and somehow… guilty? They'd had the cat in the bag! Screaming in fury, Irina had to be literally dragged off before she hurt one of the jurors. Eyes narrowed, Kate scanned the public that had listened in to the verdict. She zeroed in on a familiar face that approached calmly.

"Mama," Kate hissed, watching as the old face came into view. "Zachem?"

Face like stone, Sasha Denali could have passed for being her daughter's age; she smiled very little, and to make up for the wrinkles from when she did she got Botox injections.

"Katrina, face it. This operation was beyond you and your sisters. Your father and I… we're disappointed. We gave you many chances and you wasted them all away."

Kate was outraged. She made a move to slap her mother, but was stopped by the guards from leaning over further.

"Us? You gave Tanya and Irina many chances, and left me to clean up after their fuck ups every time. You fucking liar," Kate spat, adding a strong word of hatred at the end. Eyes pinched, Sasha sighed.

"You will get no support from the Denali family anymore. Once your time here is done, should you survive it, you will be deported back to Russia. I had hoped… Well, no matter. Your cousins will replace you."

Before she had a chance to say something back, her mother left, not looking back even once.

She was pushed by the security guard to start moving, but a voice stopped them.

"Wait."

Freezing, Kate turned to look towards the benches again. She smirked.

"Well well, if it isn't FBI agent Rosalie Hale. Here to watch me fall?" Kate's smile broadened, giving her a very eery look. Rose hid her shiver. "Or is it that you need something from me?"

"Ex agent, as a matter of fact. I left that life behind years ago," Rose said. "But I do have something I could use from you."

Kate's smile didn't falter.

"And why would I give anything to you?"

"Because I am going to make sure Royce King is behind bars for pretty fucking close to forever, and I know you can help me stretch that a little longer." Again, Kate asked why that would matter to her. "Aren't you interested to know how he got released early? He didn't tell you, did he?"

Kate tensed, her smile slipping. No, she didn't know. King had never said.

"He gave you up, Kate. You were his ticket out of jail, and he used it."

Kate didn't need to ask if she was being jerked around with. The woman's eyes were serious.

"That motherfucker."

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Flynn, happy birthday to you!" The whole party of people sang their hearts out for the little boy, who excitedly tried blowing all three candles on his birthday cake. He got one, and Bella and Edward blew out the other two. The crowd cheered.

It was already the first week of March, which meant that Flynn was turning three years old already. The party was Rapunzel themed, which meant that Flynn had demanded his friends be dressed up as princes and princesses; far from wanting to be Flynn Rider, Flynn Swan wanted to be the king of the party. He even chose his best friend, a little boy called Riley Biers, as the loyal dragon. Much to the parents' chagrin, Flynn had said to a girl called Zafrina that she could be Pascal… the chameleon. Even worse, the girl had complied. She was incredibly cute with her brown braids and colorful jumpsuit, and when Bella had looked to Zafrina's mother to apologize, the woman had blown her off.

"I tried convincing her not to, but she was hooked on the idea of being Pascal. I think she'd cry if I tried putting her in a princess's dress."

The evening went off practically without a hitch, except for the fact that Edward invited Angela and Ben over. Angela had given birth in early February, so she brought with her their newborn baby girl, Sophia. She was adorable, truth be told, with Ben's eyes and Angela's cheeks. The moment they'd stepped into view, however, had been a tense moment. Flynn had caught sight of them first, and recognizing Angela, had furiously run up to his mother.

"Daddy's friend is here," Flynn had pouted, and confused as to who he meant, Bella had bent down to pick up her son and placed him on her hip.

"Who do you mean, baby?" Bella had whispered in his ear, and in response the birthday boy had pointed at the Cheney family. Her heart had fallen down to his stomach, nervousness and surprise coursing through her veins. Edward had told her he'd invited them, but that he didn't think they'd show up. He'd been wrong.

Calling on her confident self, remembering who she'd always been, Bella had walked calmly across the garden towards the couple.

"Angela, Ben, hi," Bella had given them a bright smile. "Thank you for coming."

Flynn had turned his head away with a huff.

"Bella, hi," Angela had smiled nervously, not being nearly as good as Bella at concealing her emotions. "How are you?"

"Good, thank you. And you? How's motherhood treating you?" Bella had asked politely, and eyes lighting up at the invitation to converse, Angela had been about to answer when Ben interceded.

"Bella, we need to apologize to you for how we left things. I… Angela and I… we messed up. I hope one day you can forgive us." Ben had apologized sincerely, and though Bella had appreciated the thought, it was a bit too late. Friends weren't the same as lovers when it came to mistakes; some were easier to forgive in your partner, and others impossible to forget in friendships.

"Thank you. I accept your apology," Bella had smiled, though a bit sadly. "But I cannot say our friendship will be the same. I'm so thankful to both of you for remaining by Edward's side, but… Well, some things can only be fixed with a lot of time, right?" The two had sighed sadly and nodded. "Edward's by the grill. I hope you enjoy the party."

Flynn had asked Bella if the woman was truly daddy's friend, and Bella had told him she was. Then, as only perceptive kids could, Flynn had asked if the woman was mommy's friend. Not wanting to lie, Bella had shrugged. "She used to be."

As the evening had dragged on, Alice and Jasper had all but skipped into the party, stopping in the kitchen instead of going to the backyard. They hadn't been able to arrive earlier because of a previous engagement, but the moment Flynn had spotted his Aunt Alice he'd hurried over, knowing she'd have a gift for him.

It was a pajama that seemed more like a king's outfit than sleepwear. Flynn was so excited that Bella now knew what gift her son would all but engrave into his skin.

"You seem to be in a good mood. Something happen?" Bella asked Alice, who seemed to be buzzing with way too much excitement.

"Oh Bella, there's so much to share. I don't want to usurp Flynn's day, but…" Alice bit down on her lip, beside herself with joy, until she finally just dug her elbow into Jasper's stomach. "Jazz, bring my brothers and my parents here. I really need to say this."

Groaning in pain, the dutiful husband made his rounds and sent his wife's way her family members one by one. When they were all gathered by the kitchen island, Alice had almost needed a translator to be understood by her family members.

"Oh my God I'm just so excited but I'm gonna go ahead and say it! Oh God! Oh, this is such a happy day!" Jasper reminded his wife to breathe and get it out. Finally, Alice gave a smile that threatened to crack her face in half. "Jasper and I are adopting! And Irina and Kate Denali are going to jail!"

The two pieces of news gave the Cullen clan a whiplash. They didn't know if they should congratulate the Whitlocks or rejoice at the news first. Esme saved them by bringing the issue forward.

"Oh Alice, honey, I don't know what to react to first. You're adopting? Since when?"

Jasper sneaked an arm around Alice's waist, choosing to answer instead of her.

"We've been looking into a couple of kids since a few months ago. They're a couple of brothers, Zach and Ian; they're six and three. Their parents died in a car accident about a year ago and have no family members left. Ali and I… we fell in love with the both of them. The papers are almost done." Jasper admitted, and in answer to this everyone (especially Emmett) got a little teary-eyed.

"I'm so happy for you," Bella sniffled, reaching forward to hug Alice tightly. "You're gonna be the best mom ever," Bella whispered in her friend's ear. Alice sniffled, too, and almost crushed her with her own tight hug.

"You two will be amazing parents," Carlisle said fondly, reaching over to hug Jasper and his daughter. "I'm glad you found the children your heart needed."

Rose and Emmett also gave their congratulations, and Edward had a deep frown while staring at the two. Laughing, Bella flicked his forehead.

"Edward, it's ok to cry," she said, knowing that was his 'trying to save face' frown. Little by little, Edward's lips started wobbling, until he was crushing his baby sister in a hug. He remembered how devastated she'd been after the surgery; despite the relief everyone had felt that the younger Cullen had made it out alive, at the time all Alice had been able to think of was how sorry she was to Jasper that he'd never had children related to him by blood, at least not with her. He'd heard his sister cry night after night, having been back home for summer vacation. It had broken his heart then, but to see her so happy now made the relief staggering.

"I love you," Edward whispered in his sister's ear, kissing her cheek. "Your happiness will always be my happiness."

Alice was openly wailing. It wasn't often that her big brother declared his love for his family, so she had to treasure his words now.

"I l-love y-you too!" Alice wailed, arms locked tightly around Edward. With a warm heart, the family watched the interaction silently. The one who broke the moment was Rose, who couldn't hold in the curiosity any longer.

"Alice, what did you mean by Irina and Kate are going to jail?"

Sniffling, Alice pulled away from her brother to address her soon-to-be sister-in-law. She looked her dead in the eye.

"I mean that I saw them getting thrown in jail because Royce King conspired with the Denali family to lock away the two."

Hi! So, if you'll notice I'm flashing forward a bit in time. Some details are superfluous, I think. As always, thank you so much for your continued support! I've also got a new story, If You Should Let Ghosts Die. Check it out! Hopefully, you'll like that one too. :))

Leah.