Chapter Thirty Nine

Jasper

Well, telling Megan about my proposal to her mom seemed something of an anticlimax after all the revelations of the afternoon. Megan was the most powerfully gifted vampire, well strictly speaking hybrid, I had even heard of.

She could use the gifts of anyone she was tied to emotionally or so it appeared. I wasn't too sure how I felt about her closeness with Darius but that was something I would need to work out later.

For now, my main concern was the Volturi discovering what she could do. Would Aro consider her gift so valuable that he would deem it necessary for the Volturi to have a hand in controlling it? Maybe it would be worth discussing the matter with Carlisle who knew Aro better than any of us.

Darius seemed happy that Megan hadn't alerted the Volturi to her little trip into their secure cyberspace which was a relief. What did he think of her announcement? He was closer to her than most people I had seen him interact with over the years. It wasn't anything to be alarmed about, there was nothing suspicious in it. He was genuinely fond of our daughter and I got the feeling he would be quick to place himself between any danger and Megan if Bella and I weren't around to do so. Knowing she had yet another guardian angel was reassuring.

"Daddy."

I looked down at Megan, my reverie was interrupted by the sound of her voice.

"What did you want to tell me? Am I in trouble? I didn't mean to do anything bad."

I swung her up and kissed her soft warm cheek.

"No, you just threw us a curveball but we'll work through it. Actually, I had something to ask you."

"OK."

"Your mommy and I had a long talk on our way back from seeing nana and poppa and I asked her if she would marry me."

Megan beamed although she didn't appear shocked, "I bet she said yes. I told you she liked you, just like me."

"She did but we thought we'd better ask you too."

"I think it's a great idea. I get mommy and daddy and a house of our own. We can be a proper family. Yea! Oh, can I be a bridesmaid when you get married and wear a long dress and carry a basket of flowers? I saw one on TV and I liked the long pink princess dress."

"We'll see. Mommy doesn't want a big wedding though."

Megan nodded, "I know. I guess she had one like that when she married my father. I think a small wedding will be cool. With just our friends. Can we have it when we move into our new house? Can we daddy?"

I grinned, "Slow down, let's take it one step at a time. You should meet the rest of your family first."

Her eyes opened wider, "I've got more? Wow! How many? Are there any more children? Oh, wait a minute, no I guess not because they'll all be special. Why doesn't anyone use the word vampire, daddy? Is it because of me? I don't mind. You can't help what you are. I looked it up on the computer and vampires get made by other vampires. I'm special because I'm only half-vampire but who made you into a vampire? Was it Poppa Carlisle?"

"No, but I promise I'll tell you about it one day."

She eyed me curiously but understood it wasn't something I was willing to go into right now.

"My father made mommy, I know that, and you made Uncle Peter and Aunt Charlotte but who made the rest of my family?"

"Poppa Carlisle made them, all except Auntie Alice."

I smiled inwardly at the thought of Alice's horror hearing herself called Auntie. Her expression would be a picture!

"Why? Was he lonely?"

"Yes in a way but he only turned people who were already sick or dying."

"So he saved them? Tell me."

I told her an edited version of Esme's fall, Rosalie's 'accident', and Alice's sad past plus the truth about Emmett's fight with a bear but left out her own father's sickness. Edward was dead so why drag him up again.

"Will I meet my aunties and uncles soon too?"

"I'm sure once they know you survived they'll be only too eager to meet you. So, it's OK if mommy and I get married?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "Did you get mommy a ring like the one Aunt Charlotte wears?"

"Not yet. We still have to choose one."

She frowned, "You should have something to give mommy for now. Let me think.."

She wriggled free of my embrace and ran off into the trees, coming back a moment later with some long grasses.

"We can plait one for mommy, like the bead necklaces you showed me how to make on leather plaited thongs. See."

She sat down on the snow, ignoring the fact that her jeans were slowly soaking up the melted snow and making her clothes all soggy.

Within minutes we had a ring made out of tough grass stems and beautifully plaited by Megan's nimble little fingers.

She handed it to me with a smile, "Now you can really be engaged. Come on let's get back and give it to mommy."

As she got up she noticed her wet clothes for the first time and pulled the wet denim away from her rear end.

"Yuck, my panties are sticking to my bottom and it's nasty and cold. Come on, I'll race you back."

I gave her a head start and then followed allowing her to beat me by a nose.

Bella was relieved when Megan stood by as I slipped the 'ring' we had made onto her finger and then the little one ran to tell the others the good news.

Bella watched her go frowning at the state of her jeans.

"I take it she was happy?"

"Yes. She wants to be a bridesmaid come flower girl but I told her we were going for something small. She understood. In fact, she understands so much it's scary at times."

"I know and what about this connection with Darius? I spoke to him, or at least he was eager to put my mind at rest. I never imagined there was anything untoward anyhow but he felt better once he'd spoken to me. Do you really think she can do it? Hide Darius from everyone so Caius thinks he's dead? It scares me to think that I have this gift and I didn't even know it. I'm still not sure if she's right or if she is that I can control it in the way she can."

"I know how you feel, but the most important thing is to decide when and what to tell Aro. We should talk to Carlisle in the light of what we've discovered because the sooner we tell him of her existence the better it will go down. We should also explain why Edward had to die."

Bella sighed and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I think you're right. I'm just scared. I know what Carlisle said but I can't help worrying. Aro scared me to death the last time I met him."

I smiled, "But you held your own and you were only human then."

"The trouble is that I don't feel any braver but I do have you at my side and that makes all the difference. I think we should call Carlisle right away."

In the event, we had to wait until later as Charlotte came running through to congratulate us followed by Peter and later, Darius. When Charlotte began talking about arrangements and dates I cried off until we could involve Esme. She'd been pushed aside by Alice last time and I was determined that this time around she would be made to feel like the mother of the bride/groom and I would get what I wanted, come hell or high water.

We finally managed to slip away while Megan had her dinner, blood today I noted, and called Carlisle, explaining what had happened but keeping to ourselves just what Megan could actually do. He assumed Darius had helped her and was very critical of our friend. We could have explained further but I didn't want to say too much over the phone. I would clear his name later when we sorted this out.

He agreed that our feeling was correct.

"You're right. The sooner you speak to Aro the better. If you leave it too long he'll suspect you are hiding something. Just don't forget that he can read your minds. Well, not yours Bella, but Jasper's and Megan's. I'm surprised I haven't heard from him yet. He must know Edward is dead."

That settled it, we would contact the Volturi today. Get it over with and then hopefully we can sort out everything else.

However, like all good plans, things did not go quite the way we expected or anticipated when we called because although we were able to speak directly to Aro and I began to explain things he stopped me almost before I could say more than a few words.

"Isabella, It is so good to hear from you although I understand it is under somewhat sombre circumstances. Such a shame, when a woman loses her husband after such a short time."

I noticed he didn't say loses a mate, so he knew. Of course, he did. Aro Volturi knew everything, well almost everything.

"Did you hear what happened two years ago, Aro?"

"Yes. A tragic incident although I understand that Edward was not as devastated as you were. Most puzzling, a child is a miracle, especially under such circumstances. A tragic story although one I hear that has a miraculous ending?"

So he did know.

"Yes. I only discovered my daughter had survived a little while ago and I have Jasper to thank for that."

"It would seem that the Major has hidden talents, most curious. I would be interested to hear about his experiences, but of course, my most pressing concern is the child, your daughter. As a hybrid, she is one of a kind. Tell me, is she more human or vampire? I would very much like to meet her if that meets with your approval."

We had expected this, but it still gave me a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Of course, but she's still settling down after recent events and I don't think she's ready to travel too far yet."

"Of course, quite understandable."

I heaved a sigh of belief, too soon, as then he continued.

"As a matter of fact, I may be able to help with that. It transpires that I am travelling to Boston at the moment overseeing some business. Perhaps we could arrange a meeting. Nowhere too far from your current habitation."

Well, there was no getting out of it, we had been outmanoeuvred.

"Oh, well in that case certainly. Did you have a place and time in mind?"

"No, I'll leave that up to you. Familiar surroundings would be better for young Megan so you decide and let me know. I'll be there for a few days and can quite easily rearrange any appointments that I have. To put your mind at rest allow me to promise you that I will not be accompanied by anyone your daughter might find intimidating."

We thanked him and promised to be in touch soon. Not only did Aro know about Edward and my daughter, he even knew her name!

I was shaking with nerves, terrified that the Volturi would swoop in and try to snatch my daughter and however much Jasper tried to reassure me I couldn't get the idea out of my mind. The thought of dragging this out was more than I could bear. It had to be over soon and Carlisle's offer to accompany us only served to calm me a little.

When we told Megan later that evening as she was getting ready for bed she didn't seem too concerned. Maybe she didn't understand just how dangerous this meeting might be or how intimidating Aro Volturi was.

I was pleased, I didn't want to make her anxious and it seemed she wasn't picking up on my nerves or she was dismissing them.

However, Peter and Charlotte only fuelled my anxiety but then again, I had expected this reaction. Peter thought we were crazy, that we should take Megan and run but that was impractical and crazy, you couldn't run and hide from the Volturi.

Darius was strangely quiet on the subject although I discovered he had made arrangements with Jasper to accompany us, then stay far enough away not to be an issue but close enough to be available should he be needed. Maybe he was hoping that Caius might magically appear. I guess he lived in hope. Something must have kept him going for the endless centuries he had existed without his mate Sara and revenge was a good a lifeline as anything.

Jasper and I decided on a meeting two days hence giving Aro time to arrive while on the other hand not giving me enough to have a mental breakdown. While I read a bedtime story to Megan Jasper called the Volturi leader back with the time and place of the meeting. To kill two birds with one stone we arranged with Carlisle and Esme to meet Aro at their house in Boston. Carlisle would be on hand to give us moral support and he and Esme could finally meet their granddaughter. I just hoped everything would work out and we would soon be moving into our new home and making arrangements for our wedding.