Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I just continue to Tweak the Twiverse.

Thanks so much for helping Once Bitten receive 3000 reviews. You guys are wonderful. :D

I have a scary/marvellous announcement to make. (repeated from my latest A Forbidden Love Chapter's Author Notes – thanks so much for the amazing support.)

This week I was contacted by an editor from a reputable, middle-sized publishing company asking me if I would be interested in submitting an original story for possible publication as a book and e-book for international marketing and distribution. To say that I was gob-smacked is a considerable understatement! They like my story ideas (a historical romance and the other an original paranormal series), and they think that I could potentially do well in the mainstream market with both. Of course, there are no guarantees that they'll publish either, but they seem very interested as they like my writing style and existing stories.

I promise to keep you all posted as to how this exciting but scary new venture goes, and I'd love to hear what you think. Sorry for the long AN.

Thanks, as always, to my lovely betas, Chloe Cougar and Squeaky Zorro.

Updated: Monday, July 9th, 2012
Words: 2680

Chapter 55

Transitions

EPOV

The Lodge, as our new home became known, lived up to all our expectations, providing everything our growing community required: space, privacy for individual couples, the ultimate in comfort and amenities, abundant hunting grounds, and, above all, a safe secure place to call home. Not that the first few days and weeks were easy, and getting there was nothing less than an ordeal.

It would take the wolves the better part of a week to run the distance. While they were as fast as vampires over the short distance, unlike ours, their bodies tired and needed rest and sustenance, unable to maintain that level of speed indefinitely. We quietly advised Sam to take his time as even after Linda's transformation was complete, she would need a few days to gain any sort of control over her reactions. The last thing we wanted to see was for her to accidentally harm her daughter.

Convincing April that it was in her mother's best interests for her to cooperate with the plan had proved futile. Our attempts to explain the risks and the reasons for the separation were met with howls of fear and fury despite our reassurances that she would be reunited with her mother as soon as possible. Taking a newly-phased wolf inside an aircraft was clearly not an option, so we were left with no alternative but to have Sam subdue the girl with an Alpha command. Though Sam assured us it was part of pack-life and that he would release his hold on her as soon as she was calm and more reasonable, it wasn't something we were overly comfortable with.

April was not yet fourteen and very afraid, the sight of her quivering and whimpering under Sam's irrefutable control leaving us all distressed. Her thoughts were in continual disarray, and both Carlisle and I worried about the long-term psychological implications of what, in any other circumstances, we would view as abuse of a minor. But we had no choice. Jacob never left her side, doing his best to comfort and reassure his young imprint, but we all knew that the sooner mother and daughter were safely reunited, the better.

The second obstacle we had to overcome was the actual move. Transporting a perpetually screaming woman, one who had to be strapped to a gurney to prevent her from injuring herself or her silent but increasingly distraught partner, Charlie, was no easy matter. The location where the seaplane awaited us was far from isolated, and the chances of our transferring Linda without alerting the human population was non-existent.

"What about the Lear?" Rose suggested, her thoughts picturing the one Demetri had landed on the field. "He and Heidi were going to fly it back to Volterra."

"Shouldn't they be long gone by now?" Emmett queried.

"He mentioned needing to refuel in Seattle," Jasper interjected. "But if the lust coming off him and Heidi was anything to go by, I think he was planning to find the nearest landing strip so that they could spend some time together now that they're freed from Aro's domination."

Emmett snorted. "If that's the case, I'd be surprised if they even got off the ground...or if there'll be anything left of the plane when they're finished."

"I doubt they'll go that far," Jasper noted wryly. "Demetri struck me as a very controlled individual, and he was definitely sincere when he promised that they would not hunt in our hemisphere. If he allowed the plane to be destroyed, he'd have to break his promise to us, and I think that is highly unlikely."

"It damn well better be," Bella growled, returning from sitting with Linda and her father and wrapping her arm around my waist.

"I hate to interrupt the guy, considering this must be like a honeymoon for them, but I think we need his help," Emmett admitted, and though uncomfortable with the idea, I couldn't disagree.

In the end, we utilized both aircraft, the Lear and our own, quickly commissioned helicopter, as it was the only aircraft we could get close enough to risk a transfer, Rose landing it expertly behind the house.

It was a very subdued group that oversaw Linda's carriage from the basement room to the helicopter, Carlisle staying close to monitor her condition.

Charlie paused just long enough to say farewell to Bella and for a brief reunion with Renee where she fortunately chose not to call him out on keeping her ignorant of their daughter's survival. She understood that he'd had no real choice but she was struggling to quell her indignation at his having known that Bella was alive while she'd continued to grieve.

"I hope everything works out for you, for both of you," she offered, her eyes filled with distress at witnessing Linda's suffering and the realization that Bella had gone through the same thing.

"Thanks," Charlie responded gruffly. "I'm glad your okay. Sorry we have to leave straight away."

"It's okay." Renee nodded, her eyes moving to Bella. "I know she's all right, and we'll see each other again soon, won't we?" She sounded uncertain.

"Of course, Mom," Bella assured her, carefully touching her shoulder. "And we'll talk every day."

After giving both his ex-wife and daughter a hug, one tentative and one extremely cautious, Charlie went to join Linda, Emmett, Rose, and Carlisle in the helicopter. They lifted almost immediately and made the short flight to where Demetri and Heidi awaited them with the jet without mishap.

My worry that Demetri might not answer our call had fortunately been unfounded. He'd picked up on the second ring and immediately agreed to be of service, relieved to be able to do anything to get into the good books of the coven that had taken out a force he'd believed indestructible.

At the other end, the procedure was reversed, with Demetri landing the jet at a small, deserted airstrip near a lake where the seaplane awaited them for the final leg of the journey. He and Heidi repeated the flight several times to assist us in the transfer of those belongings we wished to take with us. Along the way, they asked numerous questions about a lifestyle they found bizarre but intriguing due to our belief that it allowed for us to develop much stronger bonds of love and friendship than was considered usual for vampires...even those who'd found their mates. Having been denied the fullness of his relationship with his mate for so long, he was determined to make up for lost time and found himself looking upon our family, with our intense bonds and strong couplings, with both curiosity and an unexpected longing to experience the same thing.

Bella and I stayed at the house until the final transfer, wanting to make the most of the time we could spend with Renee. After a prolonged and tearful goodbye, Esme escorted Bella's mother home to Jacksonville. She wouldn't be able to visit us again for at least a year, the risk of her being around a newly phased wolf and a soon-to-be newborn vampire too great to take. But we promised we'd stay in touch and meet with her when we could.

We'd made it clear that the choice was hers, and two weeks after discovering Bella was alive, she told Phil about her adventures. He handled it surprisingly well once he got over his understandable concerns regarding his wife's sanity. Skype was a big help, the images he'd seen of Bella alive, moving at vampire speed, and employing vampire strength going a long way toward convincing him Renee was telling the truth...that and seeing Jacob turn into a giant wolf and then revert to his human form.

Fortunately, Alice saw no problems with Phil and Renee knowing the truth as neither of them had any intention of telling another living soul; Renee to protect her daughter, and Phil in support of Renee and Bella...and because he didn't think anyone in their right mind would believe him.

We were only able to visit with them a couple of times during the year at a safe location far from newborns, new wolves, or inconveniently prying eyes. But Bella and her mother kept in regular contact using Skype, emails, and texts, so they didn't feel the distance too keenly.

Linda's transformation went remarkably smoothly considering her interesting genetics, though we were all curious to see what, if any, effects her ancestry would make on her unique vampire form. Charlie, unable to part from his new love's side while she was suffering so greatly, decided to wait until the last possible moment to begin his own transformation. When the time came, he gently kissed Linda's by now smooth and paler than usual cheek, embraced Bella in a careful hug, shook my hand, and then made his way to the distant cabin where we'd decided to perform his change, his back straight and his resolve unwavering.

Once the venom was running through his veins, he would be safe from Linda's newborn thirst, but he wanted to be as far away from her as possible so as not to distress her if he was unable to refrain from crying out in pain as he hoped. His consideration touched us all, and none of us let on that the relatively small distance would make no difference to vampire hearing.

Bella's suggestion for using a syringe was one we discussed, debated, and ultimately welcomed, though, in the end, it was decided that Carlisle should be the one to administer it. Bella didn't have the skill—or the stomach for it, she reluctantly admitted—and once the venom hit his veins, Charlie would be in no state to administer the multiple shots required to make sure the change occurred as quickly as possible. Sam and the other wolves had yet to arrive, a blessing as far as we were all concerned, so with minimum fuss, Charlie Swan said goodbye to his old life and stoically accepted the torture that would herald his new one.

The next few days were challenging to say the least. Linda was a far more typical newborn than Bella, almost uncontrollable with grief and rage at being separated from her daughter and mate. It took our combined efforts to stop her from running back to Forks in search of April, and it was only when we took her to be with the silent but suffering Charlie that she finally calmed enough for us to explain what was happening and assure her that she would be reunited with her daughter shortly.

Other than that initial, all-hands-on-deck moment of madness when we'd needed her strength to subdue Linda, Bella never left Charlie's side. I stayed with her as much as possible, only leaving to help guard Linda on her twice-daily hunts, the actions of a more typical newborn making us all the more aware of how unique my wife truly was.

Charlie's transformation was the quietest one I'd ever encountered, as he refused to make a single sound despite the torture he was undergoing. We were all in awe of him and more than a little curious to discover what his unique talent would be. Between his fortitude, partial shield, and having Bella for a daughter, no one was willing to take odds against Charlie having some sort of ability.

"Whatever it is, he's going to make one hell of a vampire," Emmett declared on the third day while we awaited Charlie's awakening. "Not a bad-looking dude, either," he added speculatively.

"Emmett," Bella hissed. "That's my dad you're talking about."

"So?" Linda's smile was decidedly self-satisfied. Already an attractive woman, vampirization had taken away the signs of aging that had begun, leaving her looking closer to her mid-twenties than her actual age of thirty-four. The same could be said for Charlie. Gone were the deeper crows' feet that had begun to form around his eyes, the slight bagginess beneath them, and the beginning of jowls and a paunch. In their place was a man who could have almost passed as Bella's older brother. He insisted on keeping the mustache despite Alice's and Rosalie's pleading that he shave it off before his change.

"I've had it since I was teenager, and I'm not about to lose it now," he declared adamantly before a surprising blush stained his cheeks. "Besides, Linda likes it," he added, ducking his head.

"End of story then," Emmett muttered, earning an elbow in his ribs from me.

We were all intensely relieved when Charlie's reaction to becoming a newborn vampire was more like his daughter's than his mate's, his calm acceptance of our explanations and instructions making life a lot easier than it might otherwise have been. If there'd been any doubt in anyone's mind that he and Linda were meant to be together, they were well and truly dispelled the first time their eyes met upon his waking. While Charlie did his best to maintain some level of decorum, especially around his daughter, he insisted that Carlisle perform a simple wedding ceremony for him and Linda even before he had his first meal as a vampire. Linda wanted to wait until April could be present, but Charlie merely told her they could have as many weddings as she wanted, but he planned to start things right between them...and waiting was simply not an option.

The next few days were interesting, having a couple of newlywed, newborn, newly-mated vampires to oversee. But we all agreed it was best to allow them as much uninterrupted time together as possible before April arrived.

"What about me?" Bella muttered in the middle of the first night when she was unable to block out the sounds of her honeymooning father and stepmother. "It's all very well to worry about upsetting April when she gets here, but I'm not exactly finding this easy either!"

Turning on the stereo in our own private luxury cabin, I distracted my wife the best way I knew how, supplying a little payback noise of our own.

Fortunately, by the time April and the others arrived, Charlie and Linda had their impulses a little more under control...with judicious support from Jasper, of course. The reunion between mother and daughter was a bittersweet affair, temperature and aroma issues making the newfound differences between them all the more apparent.

"You're alive, Mom, that's all that matters," April said when she could finally stop crying, having learned how to phase back to human during the journey that Sam had thoughtfully dragged out for as long as possible. Her words echoed both of Bella's parents' reactions when they'd discovered she was alive, but a vampire, and were what April tried to focus on whenever the circumstances threatened to overwhelm her. She'd matured dramatically during the previous ten days, both physically—now more closely resembling a young woman than a teen—and emotionally. The bond between her and Jacob was also clearly evident, raising any number of complications that her mother and new stepfather weren't quite ready to deal with.

April may have not yet turned fourteen and Jacob was only sixteen, but they were both fully physically matured...and shared a double imprint. While Jacob stated repeatedly that he had no intention of taking advantage of a minor, it didn't take one of Alice's visions to foresee some drama ahead.

But for now, life was good, settling quickly into a surprising new pattern...one none of us had predicted.

Bella was reunited with her family, the Volturi were no longer a threat and functioning surprisingly well in their new, more democratic incarnation, Linda's change and our victory over shared enemies had brought about a new level of cooperation and harmony between the wolf and vampire communities, and the future—though still fuzzy—looked promising.

Now all we had to do was learn to adjust to living with our expanded family, create new traditions, and eventually, once newborn volatility was no longer an issue, make time to celebrate...Bella's and my official wedding with both her parents in attendance high on my personal list of priorities.

~OB~

A bit of a 'transition' chapter (lol!), but some happier times ahead. I don't know about you guys, but I'm more than ready to get to the fluffy stuff. ;)

Any ideas for what Charlie's and Linda's talents should be - or if they should even have any? I'm a tad overwhelmed with everything that's been happening, and I'm coming up a blank. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Next chapter is already written and will be up in a few days. :D

Thank you, again, for all your amazing support.

xxx TLS