The Stars and the Sun

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and Midnight Sun all belong to Stephenie Meyer. Ginsie, the really awesome Ford Escape, and way too much fabric belong to me. See the difference?

Summary: What is someone from our universe entered the Twilight universe? What would she think? Do? Feel? And what if our universe was the fictional one?

Author's Note: So sorry! I know, this is late. Lifetime of servitude up for grabs. ;-) Forgive me? And I do hope everyone liked the last chapter. I know FF was having issues…again. A couple of you managed to email me but I did notice the lower than normal reviews. :-( Not that I don't love every single review I did get, but I'm just hoping that the lower number is because of FF and not because someone didn't like it.


Shooting Stars

Chapter 24

Practice ended early when we got back to the hotel. I would have been much happier to continue practicing for a good hour or more but Gabriel insisted that I eat. My stomach was such a traitor. It just had to growl right as Gabriel's hands were starting to play with my shirt.

Rather than stay in and order room service –which really was sort of a tradition-, Gabriel decided to take me out. He wasn't sure where, but "somewhere that is nice" which I think was his way of saying "fancy". I pulled out my favorite black dress from my suitcase. It flowed down to the floor in the back but only came to just above my ankles in the front. It had gold swirls and blood red roses printed on the chiffon overlayer. The bodice to the dress was a sleeveless cowl neck. The entire ensemble came with a matching chiffon wrap. I suddenly understood why Alice insisted that Rosalie let me borrow her shoes. They went perfectly.

I figured I didn't need a purse or a phone. Gabriel wasn't exactly going to leave me at the dinner table. I had no idea what he'd do at the dinner table other than watch me eat but I knew he wouldn't leave.

When I came out, my hair done up on top of my head, Gabriel was already looking up something on the laptop. He looked divine. Even with his shirt –which he sadly did have to put back on after practice- he looked like a masterpiece that belonged in a museum. I looked like some middle school art project that belonged on the fridge.

I looked down as he looked up, feeling inadequate, and didn't really move until Gabriel placed his finger beneath my chin. I could see his two golden eyes look into mine, smiling. "You look…stunning," Gabriel breathed out, placing a quick kiss on my cheek. I looked up at him and pouted at bit.

"I'm not stunning, Gabriel. I look more akin to Tammy Fae Baker with all this make up on to hide that stupid bruise than I do 'stunning'," I informed him. The bruise took a lot of foundation and I could feel it caked on to my face. I blended everything well enough but still, I prayed the restaurant had low lighting and a hidden booth.

Gabriel's eyes tightened for a second, almost like he was angry, before he could respond. "Perhaps you are right," he started. Finally! He was starting to understand that I was just a normal human. Although, his words did sting a little. Who didn't want to be thought of as beautiful no matter what they said? "Stunning is not the right word. But the only word in Italian that would work is bellissima and even that does not convey how perfect you are to me," he stated, gently cupping my neck.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. So much for him seeing the light. We headed to the restaurant, which I found out was Ruth's Chris over across the street at Harrah's. The casino was almost quiet, only a few older people hanging out in the main section –playing the slots. It really looked more like the coolest nursing home ever than it did a casino by the time we made it to the restaurant.

Getting a table was easy. There were only a couple other customers in the place. I had to keep reminding myself that it's only been nine months since Katerina. Most of the lower wards were probably still cut off. There were people living in the FEMA trailers and homes –lives- were gone.

My mind slipped into thinking about the more recent events in Washington. More lives were gone. The terrorists came right to our doorstep –literally- and took out guards, a Senator, representatives, and staffers. Part of me was furious at myself for not stopping it but what could I have done? Hindsight is always twenty twenty and even Alice couldn't predict this until it was too late. I tried to wrap my brain around it, figure out a logical reason for why I was feeling it was my fault but the only conclusion I could come to was because the attack didn't happen in my universe.

Dinner, despite my depressing mood, was lovely. I got a steak with perfectly fried mushrooms and it was so terribly yummy. I was going to be a vampire soon so the idea of calories and fat content were starting to mean very little. I wanted my last human meals to be good ones.

Gabriel, of course, didn't get anything. He was more than happy to order whatever I wanted though. I'm not sure what kind of wine he got me but it was a good sweet blush and I loved it. By the end of dinner, Gabriel looked bewildered and I couldn't figure out why.

"What?" I asked as he walked me out of the restaurant. We had decided to stay and shop a bit while also maybe playing a few rounds of blackjack.

Gabriel shook his head at me and then eyed me curiously again. I stopped and stared right back at him. "It is only, I believed humans were to become inebriated with that much wine," he said, looking at me again. I blushed. Gabriel had seen me drink before but I guess it always only one or two glasses. Tonight, I think I had five or six goblets. Maybe it was seven? I wasn't really counting.

Looking back up at him, I raised an eyebrow. "You want me to be drunk? Is that your plan?" I stated, trying hard to sound angry. I guess I was a better actress than I thought because Gabriel's face fell.

"No, of course not," he stated defensively. "I just did not believe a human may drink so much without some side effect," he told me. "The only one I see with you is a bit more color upon your cheek, as if you were flushed."

I shrugged and grabbed his hand again. "It just makes me hyper. I don't get drunk," I told him. It was true. Of course, that's what you get from coming from a family of alcoholics. Hereditarily, my liver was an unstoppable force. I tried testing it and I had 16 or 17 glasses of wine at a wedding once. I can still remember that night and I was the only one that probably can.

As we were walking to the tables, only two were open given the very low numbers at the casino, I saw someone out of the corner of my eye that looked familiar. Turning my head, I looked at her. She had dark hair and was with a guy that looked very vaguely familiar as well but it was the girl –or rather woman as she looked to be about my age- that struck me as familiar. She was dressed up, a bit plump, but very pretty. She looked at me, smiled politely, and then followed the man she was with into another room. All I knew was I had to find out who she was. It was bugging the heck out of me.

"Gabriel?" I called to him. My fiancé looked down at me briefly before studying the near empty room. "Hmm?" he answered.

I bit my lip slightly and looked towards the entrance to the other room where that woman had gone. "Can we go in there?" I asked him, gesturing towards where I had seen her.

Gabriel looked to the room and then to me. "Why would you want to go in there, tesorina? Are you still hungry?" he asked, concerned. I shook my head.

"I saw someone go in there and I…," I started. And I what? I have an insatiable curiosity to know who that woman is? She looked so terribly familiar. When she smiled, I could only think of swimsuits and watermelons for some reason. Of course, I rarely had watermelon back home and maybe it was just being down here where my aunts and uncles would bring us one every day for myself and my cousins to eat. Cousin. That's who she was! My cousin! I knew her! That was Michelle!

Technically, we weren't related by blood. Her mother's second marriage was to my uncle. But still, whenever we came down, I had to see Michelle. She was one of my friends growing up.

"I think she's my cousin," I said, almost not believing it myself.

Gabriel looked at me, to the door, and then to me again. "Is it wise to see her, cara mia?" he asked. Wise? Probably not. But I had to. I had to know if her mom married my uncle. If that part of my family still existed. I ignored the implications of that for now, but I had to know.

"I've got to, Gabriel," I whispered back, hoping he'd understand. He did. Quietly, he started to lead me to the room where Michelle had disappeared into. It was the food court, sort of, for the casino. Michelle was in line and I wasn't exactly sure how to approach her. "Hi, we've never met here but I'm your cousin Elizabeth in another universe" wasn't exactly the icebreaker I wanted to work with.

Working on what I wanted to say, exactly, without causing a scene, I slowly strode up to her, Gabriel at my side. "Umm, hi," I said meekly. Michelle smiled at me but her face was twisted slightly in confusion. "Are ya Michelle French?" I asked point blank. Of course, she wouldn't go by French now. I don't even remember if she did or not but still, it might work.

"Umm, yes. Ah mean, Ah don't go by that now, but my sisters still go by French," she said, confused. So many emotions played through me in that second I wasn't sure what to do. Her sisters. Her half sisters. My cousins by blood. If they existed, then my uncle existed. If he existed –here- then my Father must exist. I'm not entirely sure what I thought of that.

"Ah doubt you remember muh," I started. Of course she wouldn't remember me. I don't exist! "But we went to middle school together," I told her. Shock spread through her face. "I just wanted to say hello," I muttered before starting to turn away.

"What was your name again?" Michelle asked, curiously. I smiled a bit at her.

"Elizabeth Bruin. Well, it's going to be Elizabeth Caldola in a couple of weeks," I told her, smiling up at Gabriel. He could see in my eyes that something was wrong. I knew it.

"Oh, congratulations!" Michelle told me happily.

"Thank you," I told her. It felt odd having a member of my family from the other universe who I actually knew congratulate me. Yes, Edward has teased me and offered his congratulations but this felt different and I couldn't explain it.

"Are ya havin' the reception here?" Michelle asked cheerfully as her husband paid for their meal. I shook my head. There wasn't going to be a reception if I had my way. It was rather pointless if only Bella and I could eat and we weren't even sure if we could kidnap Bella and bring her.

"Oh, no. We were just stayin' across the street to check out the church. Ah don't live in the area anymore," I told her.

"Oh," she said stated, her face falling a bit. "Well, congratulations all the same," she told me. I thanked her again before quickly leaving the buffet.

I didn't want to think. I couldn't think. My cousins were real. My uncle was real. Which meant my father had to be real. A part of me wanted to find him, hug him, and make damn sure he was at the wedding. The other part of me, the one that was the teenage girl who would spend nights awake wondering if suicide was an option or not, wanted to throttle him. Of course, I didn't exist because Mom didn't exist –damn, that hurt to think about- so who was my Dad? Did he have a different family? A different life? Did he never marry? I wanted to find out the answers but, at the same time, I didn't.

Just barely could I hear Gabriel's voice whispering in my ear. "Let us go back, tesorina," he told me as he held me tightly. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that I was clutching Gabriel's hand that tight or that I was wrapped up in his other arm, my head on his shoulder. The tears hadn't started yet.

I shook my head, backing up, and had one little sniffle. "No, I…I'll just think more there, Gabriel. I need to not think right now. I need to be around people," I told him. It was really more pleading with him.

Gabriel looked at me, looked at the exit, and also looked down the hall. "There are more people this way, cara mia," he told me gently, leading me down the hall. I tried to focus on what might be down here, on the colors of the carpet, on what other people were wearing; anything that would prevent me from thinking about the French family and knowing they were still alive.

The place Gabriel found was a nightclub called the Masquerade Nightlife. Unlike the rest of the casino, it was pretty decently crowded. It wasn't packed by any means but there were people. I suddenly felt over dressed but I really didn't care. I needed to not think and this would work.

Looking up at my fiancé, I squeezed his hand. "Can we dance, please?" I begged of him. Focusing on the music, on the dancing would help me to forget, to not think.

"I do not believe that is dancing," Gabriel quipped while watching everyone out on the dance floor.

Gently, I tugged his hand. "Well, it's no galliard but it is dancing," I told him, hoping he'd join me. Otherwise, I was not going out there myself. Instead, we'd go back to the penthouse and I'd cry my eyes out. I didn't feel like doing that quite yet.

Sighing, Gabriel followed me out to the dance floor. I wasn't sure whether to feel proud or jealous when the women on the dance floor saw Gabriel. He was easily the most gorgeous guy in the room. There really wasn't a contest.

The heavy base and rhythms of the modern music pouring out of the speakers around us made keeping a beat easy, if you actually took dance lessons, like ever. The dance I knew that was the easiest to adapt to the pop rock blaring out was the Raq. It was simple, 16th century Turkish dancing…and better known as belly dancing.

I made sure to keep in mind to do figure 8's with my hips and not swing my arms out too far. Like so many of the other girls, I had my back to Gabriel, placing his hands about my waist as I swung in time with the music. It was easy to close my eyes and remember dancing around the fires at camp during a re-enactment rather than being here in New Orleans.

The songs changed and I managed to keep up with the beat, dipping and moving in time. It wasn't until I heard Gabriel growl that I actually bothered to pay attention to where I was. I could see some guy right next to Gabriel, only about a foot and a half away from me, trying to glare my vampire down. Yeah, there's a lost battle before it even started. Gabriel will win easily.

"Look, man, what the **** is your problem?" the idiot asked. My brain switched immediately and my eyes narrowed. No one curses at my vampire and definitely not in front of me. Only people with extremely low IQ's curse because they feel the need to make themselves look more powerful to those that are more talented and brighter among them. So they use words that are taboo –curse words- to show how powerful they were. If they could use a taboo word, it gave them a false sense of power. It's the reason most people –no matter IQ level- curse when they stub their toe; it was to give you power over a powerless situation.

Gabriel growled again and was about to say something when I put my hand on his chest. Immediately, Gabriel's hand covered mine. The idiot male that dared to speak to my Gabriel like that looked at me and smiled. I glared right back at him as Gabriel brought my hand to his lips to kiss it.

"You will leave now," I told him.

"Hey, baby, free ****ing country. I don't have to go the **** anywhere, chick," he told me. Gabriel started to go towards him, growling again. Gabe, beloved, can you be any less of a vampire in public? Please?

As quickly as I could, I put myself between the idiot and my fiancé. I did not want a repeat of what happened at Sandy Point beach! "If a low life piece of trash like you will not grow a pair of legs to take your filth out and hopefully become the next Darwin Award, then I'm sure my fiancé would be glad to help you with that problem," I told him as calmly as I could over the music.

The idiot took a full minute to process that. I could see the smoke coming out of his ears as his brain worked overtime to figure out what I just said. Gently, I pushed Gabriel towards the exit. My fiancé's eyes never left the idiot but I turned my back to him, hoping he'd actually go away. Why wasn't I ever that lucky?

I wasn't sure what happened but I heard the guy scream. I turned around to see him cradle his hand and Gabriel looking a bit smug. "Shake your hand like you hurt it," I whispered quickly knowing he could hear me over the loud music. He looked at me curiously but did as I said right as the bouncer came on to the floor.

"What's going on here?" the guy –who would be impressive if you didn't know Emmett or Felix- asked.

Pointing his unhurt hand at Gabriel, the idiot screeched. "This ****ing bastard ****ing broke my ****ing hand!" he screamed.

"Well, thanks for sharing what you do with your hand in your spare time," I muttered. Gabriel looked at me shocked for a second. I forgot –for a moment- he'd be able to hear that. I bit my lip from saying anything more.

The bouncer looked to Gabriel for an explanation. We had moved to the carpeted area, out of the dance floor. I stayed glued to my vampire's side, trying not to look at anyone out of fear I might start laughing a bit. Okay, maybe a lot. Really, when are males-he didn't deserve to be considered anything more than that since he wasn't a man based on his behavior- going to learn not to go up against a gentleman who also happens to be a vampire?

"He was rude to…my fiancé and I believed he was going to hurt her when he reached out," Gabriel stated calmly, an arm wrapped around my shoulders, holding me to him. "So, I stopped him. I will not stand for anyone to touch my fiancé without her permission," he stated. The bouncer sighed and looked to the idiot.

"That ****ing busted my hand! I need a ****ing ambulance! I want that bastard ****ing arrested and I'll ****ing sue him to the depths of Hell," the idiot continued on his tirade. The bouncer scratched his head. I'm just impressed that the idiot knew more than one curse word. Well, I guess Hell isn't really a curse word –it was a place- but still.

"Look, I believe you," he told Gabriel. "But I'm going to have to throw all of you out for tonight. I'm sorry," the bouncer stated. Gabriel nodded.

"Of course, our apologies," he told the bouncer before escorting me out. The idiot was giving him a much harder time. I head something about letting him walk from the scene of an assault inbetween the curse words. He got louder –as was predictable given he was trying to conquer the situation both with words and now volume- demanding that names be taken.

By the time we got outside and I could breathe the fresh air, my thoughts were already turning from the idiot in the nightclub to meeting Michelle. Michelle was here. Here sisters were here. This meant that more and more of my family existed. Why didn't the Italian branch live here too? What component was missing that made them not be up there in Dunkirk, NY? And did I want to track down my Dad? "Hi, I'm your daughter and we can take a DNA test to prove it!" wouldn't go over well, I bet. No matter how much I wanted him to be there at the wedding.

I didn't want him to walk me down the aisle or for him to be anything other than a familiar face on my side of the aisle. Well, technically everyone was on my side of the aisle but to have something of my former life there even if it wasn't real… I didn't realize how much I needed that until tonight. At least I had Ginsie. She was so going to be in the wedding, I don't care what anyone says. That will be my Bridezilla point.

We made it to the room before I started crying. Hugging Gabriel tight, I let the tears start to fall. It was here. Most of my life was right here. As I thought about that statement, I realized how true it was. Yes, a lot of my former life clearly still existed but here, in my arms, was my current life. And it was a life I would never want to give up.

I had spent too many tears on my former life, my former universe, my former family. I didn't want to spend any more even though my body betrayed me. I had a life –a really crazy one but a good one- here. I had a family that loved me and a fiancé that would do anything for me…and I'd do anything for him. This was my universe now and I wanted it.

Despite not wanting to cry over the things I had lost –the idea of never seeing Mom again or my brothers really killed me- I did anyway. Gabriel didn't leave me and helped me change into my PJ's. I cried myself to sleep, hugging Gabriel the entire time. He never uttered more than a "sei al sicuro, amore" to me; You are safe, in Italian.


Author's Note: So Gabriel didn't kill him! Yea!!! Elizabeth does have family still in the Gulf Coast. Hmm…. And tomorrow they fly home. Which should be fun. Both B&E and E&G have a layover in Houston.