Chapter Forty Nine

Jasper

Megan was very quiet after Darius left. Bella and I had known he was here and that he wanted to speak to Megan and gave him our blessing. After all, she would probably never see him again. Once he had finished his business with Caius he might well disappear. He would either die once his reason for continued existence was gone or fade into the background. He'd already spoken to us and said that he didn't feel in the light of his forthcoming plans that it would be right to keep in contact with Megan. She was an innocent child and violence had no place in her world. Bella and I both tried to change his mind but nothing we said would change his mind.

It wasn't going to be easy for Megan and we would need to be patient with her while she came to terms with losing him.

In the meantime, I had fixed Darius' painting to the wall in the spot she had indicated, opposite her bed.

I'd never seen Sara obviously, but I could see the love Darius still felt for her in the care with which he had painted her portrait. Rather more unsettling was the similarity I could see between Sara and Megan. Had the two really looked so alike? Or had Darius used Megan's features when he couldn't quite visualize Sara's? Or was that why the two were so close? Was it that Darius felt a closeness with the little girl because she reminded him so vividly of his dead wife?

Bella noticed it too, although it didn't seem to worry her quite so much.

"Jasper, we both know that whether Sara and Megan looked alike or not, Darius never had an impure thought towards Megan. He couldn't have hidden something like that from us and he's far too honorable."

"True. I guess I'm just a little overprotective where our daughter is concerned."

She smiled and kissed me, "And I love you even more for that. She has always had her very own guardian angel."

I sighed, enjoying the feel of her lips on mine and relaxing again. She was right, Darius would never do anything to harm a child, especially one he cared about as much as Megan. Their genuine affection for each other was only too clear.

Megan came in after checking out the yard and went straight up to her room while Bella prepared some lunch for her. She'd brought the fixings for a picnic but insisted on putting it together here at our new house.

"I just want today to be our first as a real family, use our kitchen to prepare a meal for our little girl."

I left her to it and went upstairs to check on Megan. She was sitting on the bed staring up at the painting and cuddling Celeste close to her chest and talking quietly.

"Don't worry, Celeste. Darius will come back. He has to. We miss him already."

She turned as she heard me and smiled, but I could see she was sad.

"Hi there, Megs. So, what do you think? Should we move in soon?"

She nodded, "Are you and mommy going to get married first or get married here?"

"What do you think we should do?"

She brightened a little and climbed onto my lap as I sat down beside her although she would soon be too big. I was shocked to realize just how much she had grown in the past few weeks. My baby girl was growing up fast, too fast.

"I think it would be nice if you and mommy got married here in the orchard. I could decorate the trees with lights, balloons, and ribbons to make it look pretty."

"That sounds lovely darlin'. The house only needs a few things to finish it ready to move in. I mean you have a bed, but mommy and I don't."

She studied me and then grinned, "You and mommy don't sleep, daddy. You're vampires."

There was no answer to that so I didn't even try.

"Come on, mommy is making a picnic for you and as it's sunny we can eat out in the orchard. You can tell mommy about your ideas for the wedding."

She suddenly threw her arms around my neck and smothered me in kisses.

"I love you daddy and I'm so happy you and mommy got together."

"So am I darlin', so am I."

She seemed reluctant to let go so I carried her downstairs and only then put her down to run outside and join Bella who had laid a blanket on the grass under the trees and laid out a picnic for Megan and a flask of blood for us.

We were reluctant to leave Megan for too long right now. With Darius gone and her so nervous about meeting the rest of the family, it didn't seem right and personally I found hunting alone very unsatisfying. Bella and I had just clicked and I preferred to wait until things settled down and we could hunt together once more. Cold blood wasn't particularly appetizing but it sufficed and we were able to hunt quickly for animals near the ranch and drain them, storing the blood in the refrigerator until needed.

Of course, Peter thought we were crazy which was another reason for wanting to move into our own place soon. Besides, Bella and I had yet to take the final step to cement our relationship and that was driving us both crazy. We could have snatched a few precious hours but something made us wait. I wanted things to be perfect, to carry my beautiful bride over the threshold and up to our room, to our bed, and then make love to her. It may sound corny but it just felt right to me and although Bella hadn't said as much she also seemed content to wait.

Megan told Bella all about her plans for the wedding and like me, Bella was touched that Megan wanted to be so closely involved.

"Of course, you have to meet the rest of the family first. Are you ready for that yet sweetheart?"

Megan nodded, although she looked a little apprehensive. I was sure once she had been introduced to Rose, Alice, Emmett, and Garrett she would be fine. They would be as entranced by her as everyone else who had met Megan and she would understand that no one felt any ill will towards her. It was just the thought of taking that first step.

"How about you write a note to Rose and Emmett and ask them to come to visit us as soon as we move in?"

It was a great idea of Bella's. Megan would be the one issuing the invitation which gave her a measure of control and after thinking about it she nodded.

"OK. When?"

Bella glanced over at me questioningly.

"The place will be finished any day. We can move in next week and then invite the others a week later. Do you think you'll have all your stuff unpacked and sorted by then?"

Megan nodded and I wrapped my arms around her, "Hey, Megs don't worry. Remember what I promised you?"

She nodded, "Well, let's go see if we can find somewhere to build your secret hideaway."

She beamed, cramming the rest of her ham salad sandwich in her mouth and jumped up taking my hand. I had seen a suitable tree at the bottom of the orchard with sturdy branches that would hold and hide a treehouse to make her feel safe. This uncertainty was troubling and it saddened me. Megan had never been scared of people before, but she deserved to understand why her mommy hadn't been able to stay with her even if it underlined that some people had feared her birth.

I would call Rosalie and explain the situation so she and Emmett would be prepared for a rather cautious reception. I didn't think it would take long for them to show Megan that they meant her no harm. Rosalie was a gentle soul who loved children and grieved that she would never have any of her own and it was almost impossible to dislike Emmett imposing though his physique made him appear, especially to a little girl.

Bella

It was wonderful how quickly we had become a family unit although I sometimes wondered how different things would have been if Edward had embraced Megan as Jasper had done. Somehow, I couldn't see him changing diapers or mixing formula. I couldn't imagine him crawling around the lawn on his hands and knees picking flowers to make a daisy chain or knocking up a treehouse for Megan. Edward had been too self-absorbed.

While I could forgive the others for their attitudes, I knew fear had colored their judgement, I could never forgive Edward for his actions.

This time I was certain I had a man who could be relied on to love and protect both Megan and myself. A man that I loved with all my heart but one who never pretended to be anything other than who he is. I stopped myself then, I didn't want to think about Edward ever again, it would only spoil my mood and taint my life and then, well then Edward would have a victory and I would do anything to deny him that satisfaction.

From now on, I would think only of Jasper, Megan, and myself and begin to plan my wedding with my little girl, the love of my life, well one of two. If only Jasper and I could have been blessed with a child of our own, but that was impossible and in his eyes, Megan was his daughter, the only one he would ever need.

When we got back to the ranch and informed Charlotte and Peter that we planned to move in a week their responses were just as I had expected. Charlotte was pleased for us but sad for herself. I knew she had loved having Megan living with her, it had given her a small opportunity to be a mother figure. She knew, however, that she and Peter would always be welcome at any time and I knew we would be seeing plenty of them. Besides, Megan would be coming back and forth to ride her pony until we got a stable built for her.

While we packed and waited for Jasper and Peter to finish the last touches at the house Charlotte, Megan, and I started planning for the wedding. Megan wanted in on everything so we left the decorations for the ceremony in the orchard to her.

I called Esme and approached her about walking me down the aisle with Megan. I knew she had been pushed to the background by Alice the last time around and I was determined that would not happen again. She was thrilled and told me that Emmett and Rose had received their invitation to visit us and were already on their way to Boston to see her and Carlisle first.

"Poor Rosalie was beside herself. She really thought you would refuse to allow them the chance to meet Megan."

"I hope you told her that I prefer to forget what happened in the past and start anew."

"I did and she's looking forward to seeing Jasper again. It was quite a wrench when he left. They had been so close. Do you intend writing to Alice and Garrett too? I know Alice is excited to meet Megan but they're on vacation right now, in the Arctic I believe. Poor Garrett sounds like he'd appreciate a rest from travelling. I think Alice was something of a culture shock for the poor boy."

"Maybe later. It's all a little overwhelming for Megan."

What I didn't say was that the very thought of Jasper's ex-wife in the same room with us had my hackles up. I hoped I would feel more secure once we were actually married although I trusted him completely and his love for me. As a woman, I guess there would always be that spark of jealousy, that she knew him in every way a wife can and did it before me.

I also worried that I wouldn't stack up against her. She was so beautiful and vivacious, like a catwalk model on speed while I was...Well, I was just plain old Bella Swan, the mousy girl next door. When I looked in the mirror I was pleased with the transformation becoming a vampire had on my body and face but once away from my reflection I couldn't help thinking of myself as that same old high school girl who could fall over her own feet.

The day we moved in Megan was so excited that she actually acted like the little girl she really was. It was scary because she was growing so fast. When I had first seen her she had looked about five or six yet now she could pass for an eight year old. Intellectually she had gone on in leaps and bounds too. She couldn't go to a normal school, she was far too special for that, so we took it in turns to teach her.

Peter was great with riding and looking after the animals plus some craft work. She had proudly presented me with a picture she had burned into the wood. It was of our house with her pony hitched up out front and it had pride of place over the hearth.

Jasper taught her geography and history which were passions of his while I helped her get over her reading problems. It turned out that she was mildly dyslexic and it took her some time to overcome this but she persevered.

Charlotte had her helping to sew my wedding gown and taught her how to weave rush baskets and of course, she was a whizz with the computer thanks to Darius although her time online was monitored closely by one of us at all times. I didn't need any more surprises like the time she broke into the Volturi mainframe. I know she went online every day to see if she'd heard anything from Darius and I could see how disappointed she was when there was nothing.

"When do you think Darius will be back, mommy? It's been ages and he hasn't even sent me a text message."

We had tried to explain that Darius wasn't coming back but somehow she just refused to accept that.

"Yes, he will. He has to. I sent him an email inviting him to the wedding. He has to be there."

The only thing that took her mind off her missing friend was the imminent arrival of Rosalie and Emmett. Megan wasn't as nervous as she had been at the thought of meeting Carlisle and Esme for the first time but we could tell it was playing on her mind. She'd even moved some books and Celeste to her treehouse in readiness for a quick escape if necessary. I really hoped she wouldn't feel the need to hide away but only time would tell.