Breakdown Chapter 20-Rejection (Arc 4), a twilight fanfic

Guh. Okay, I had to take a day off. RL is a thing, ya'll. It exists. Sorry guys. Anyway! Here's plot!

Poor Shanarra.

No smut, but references to sex throughout.

I'm sorry, Carlisle (my favorite) is actually kind of a judgey asshole in this chapter. He comes around, eventually.

Rockabye is so cool. Rapidly becoming a favorite. You know, I almost deleted her?! I'm so glad I didn't.

ALSO, this is the start of ARC 4! THE LAST ARC!

REVIEW, please! Pretty please?

Links:

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Wrong

Bella was having a fantastic dream for once. Edward and she were in the sacred space of the panic room, making love. It was amazing, awe-inspiring, wonderous. Perfect in every way.

She woke suddenly, an imbalance pushing against her mind: to find herself clutched, naked against something cold. She freaked out for just a second, pushing herself away from whoever had a hold on her.

"Bella?"

Oh! It wasn't a dream. She was in the panic room with Edward, naked in his lap. Shock and happiness painted her face when she leaned back to take in his visage. Her hand flew to the bite mark on her neck, pressing down on the closed wound to remind herself this was reality.

"Edward!?"

Joy rose in her, unstoppable, beyond anything she had ever known. She kissed him before he could speak, exulting in the feel of his mouth against hers. She was sore, aching in all the right ways, and she could still taste her own blood and hints of him in her mouth. This was unreal. She never thought – she had dreamed, hoped—but never thought, could never have imagined.

He allowed her to push him back, straddle him on the mossy stone floor. They were still gloriously uncovered. Bella didn't know what to do. She wanted to weep, to cry-out, to dance uncontrollably. She wanted to do it again, to never leave this holy place where her Edward had made love to her.

Her ecstasy was interrupted by a knocking at the edge of her perception: someone was removing the heavy magic that shielded the passageway to the cave.

She pulled back from the kiss, and Edward laughed as he took in her wide eyes and slightly panicked face. "Shit! Someone's coming!"

She leapt across the crack in the ground, throwing Edward his pants as she searched for her dress. She swore loudly when she saw the scrap of cloth that had been her panties.

"Can't you just materialize us new outfits?"

"No. Not in here, I can't cast to the outside world from in here, otherwise it would be sort of pointless. Where's your shirt?"

Edward's face grew slightly panicked. "You can't get us new clothes? Bella, I don't have a shirt. I ripped it."

She swore again as she heard the enchantments release, sensing the presence of not only Kaedra and Marcos, but the Cullens and Josephat as well. At least Rockabye wasn't with them.

Her head spun for a moment, her joy almost too much. Rockabye. She was here, in Camp. So close: Bella could see her, could speak to her. How could she possibly deserve such wondrousness?

The thin halter that had held up the front of her gown was hopelessly frayed, and Bella spared a half-thought for the wound on her neck, an obviously-vampiric bite. She didn't have time to heal it. She didn't want to. She wouldn't.

"Bella, your neck!" Edward was wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth hurriedly, looking ridiculous with the panic in his eyes as he licked his fingers with a brief flash of hedonistic pleasure on his face.

"There's no time. WHY would Kaedra bring your family down here?"

Edward blanched, pulling on his pants. The zipper was busted and they were missing the button. "My family? Bella, they cannot see you like this. Hell, they can't see me like this. What are we gonna do?"

"The only thing we can do." Bella was hurriedly forcing the threads of her dress together with magic and tying them around her neck to maintain at least a small semblance of modesty. "Stay calm, cool, collected. And escape as soon as we can. Oh, this is not gonna be pretty. I don't regret it Edward, not one second of it. But wow, this is gonna be really embarrassing."

"Embarrassing? Bella, you don't understand-"

There were footsteps in the passageway now, Edward could hear them. He too, leapt the crack in the floor, gathering Bella away from the entrance to the cave and placing himself in front of her as she scrambled to adjust her half-destroyed clothing. A glowing blue light raced into the cave, swirling around them, and Bella spoke a strange word to it. It flared gold and returned to the opening into the cave.

The group of friends and family stepped cautiously into the cave after the light had vanished, and Bella teleported him behind her, raising her hands in front of her to show she was unarmed. "I'm okay, really. I'm great. 110% not consumed or bound. Hi guys. Um—can you give me a moment?"

Her chipper voice fell flat in the suddenly tense space as the group took in her appearance and Edward's shirtless form. Marcos looked like he was about to start guffawing, Kaedra looked considering, and Josephat looked blank; but Edward only had eyes for his family. Their minds were blank with shock and confusion, their thoughts muffled.

Carlisle moved before Edward could push Bella behind him again, leaping the crack and grabbing Bella's jaw hard, wrenching her neck to the side to examine the bite and dried blood on her neck.

"Ow!"

Edward moved on pure instinct, flashing to Bella and throwing his father away from her, almost into the abyss. "Do not. Mine. Don't you touch her."

Carlisle was already rising, his face predatory, his movement fluid. "What have you done?"

His father's voice was heartbroken, ravaged, a deadly rage-filled hiss. "Father, please. Just let me explain."

Kaedra, Marcos and Bella looked bewildered now; and Josephat's shock was beginning to fade into anger as well, though his eyes were on his Queen. Realization and horror painted his family's faces as Carlisle shot towards his son, punching him hard in the gut and throwing Edward away from his prey, where Emmett and Jasper flashed to restrain him. Edward did not fight them, though he met his father's eyes pleadingly. "It's not what you think. I mean, it is, but it's not-"

"You bit her." Rosalie snarled, planting her feet and shaking slightly. "How could you? Why?"

"Slow down. Bella hasn't turned, she's not a vampire. She's not dead. What happened, Edward?" Alice's voice was desperate, confused, as she laid her hand on Jasper's shoulder.

"You are not my son. My son would not do this. Not to my daughter: his love. Not to Bella. You will never be near her again. How could you do this?" Carlisle's voice was angry and despairing, rising loudly through the shocked quiet.

Edward stilled, motionless in his brothers' restraining grip. His eyes narrowed, and he felt his own face turn vampiric. "I have done nothing wrong. She is mine. My love, my prey. You will not keep me from her. I will not allow it. I will not submit."

I was born with the wrong sign
In the wrong house
With the wrong ascendancy
I took the wrong road
That led to the wrong tendencies
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time
For the wrong reason and the wrong rhyme
On the wrong day of the wrong week
I used the wrong method with the wrong technique

"It is wrong, Edward. A century you've been my son, you know this. I will not allow you to harm her. I don't know how this came to be, how it is she has survived. But I will not allow this. Get him out of here."

Jasper and Emmett began to pull him towards the entrance and Edward saw horrified understanding and true panic cross Bella's face. Now, he resisted.

Wrong

"Woah, woah, woah. Carlisle, what the hell? You're not taking him anywhere." Bella snapped her fingers, and Jasper and Emmett froze. Edward pulled free of their grasp, rushing across the maw of the abyss to Bella's side. "Everybody calm down. Somebody want to explain to me what's going on here?

Wrong

Josephat broke the quiet that rose in the wake of Bella's question. Carlisle was holding his breath, so he didn't have to inhale the scent of his son's treachery. "Isabella, what happened here? Why did he bite you?"

"Um, well. Uh..." she faltered, unsure of how to communicate the sequence of events that led to Edward's momentary loss of control to her healer. "He had my permission?" The words came out like a question, timid and beseeching.

"You were high as a kite when we brought you two down here, in no shape to consent to anything."

"No, no. I mean, I got better. Edward helped. He had my full consent, I promise."

"Addiction has a powerful sway on you. You pushed him, didn't you?" Josephat's face was disappointed, angry. "It's sickness, Isabella. Let me help."

There's something wrong with me chemically
Something wrong with me inherently
The wrong mix in the wrong genes
I reached the wrong ends by the wrong means

"Josephat, I would hold your tongue before you piss me off. There was nothing sick or wrong about what happened here. You have no comprehension of what you are speaking of."

"Then explain." Kaedra's voice was regal and commanding. "Preferably before the vamp-doc rips off your lover's head."

"We had sex. Edward, um, lost it a little bit. I wanted him to. I didn't push him. I mean, I did, but it was not like you're..." Bella's face paled, her sentence trailing off at the memory of Edward pushing his back into the wall, his longing gaze into the abyss. Her lover put a comforting hand on her shoulder, ignoring Jasper and Emmett's hiss.

"Well, he doesn't seem upset about it. And neither does she. What's with the hissy fit from the vampires?" Marcos' voice was amused, but guarded, as he took in Carlisle's shaking form, Esme's horrified posture.

It was the wrong plan
In the wrong hands
With the wrong theory for the wrong man
The wrong lies, on the wrong vibes
The wrong questions with the wrong replies

Wrong

"They're vegetarian, Marcos. Remember? Talk about taboo. Damn, Isa, score for the kinky business. I knew you had it in you." Kaedra was grinning mischievously, but Josephat shook his head.

"You must let me help you, my Queen. This is not acceptable."

"Oh, wow." Bella's temper was rising now, anger at her family's judgement. "Okay, would you like me to submit a formal request? We could make a form for it, a requisition sheet. I could write a letter: Dear Jo, is it okay with you if I make love with my boyfriend tonight? I wasn't exactly thinking of you at the time, healer."

Wrong

I was marching to the wrong drum
With the wrong scum
Pissing out the wrong energy
Using all the wrong lines
And the wrong signs
With the wrong intensity
I was on the wrong page of the wrong book
With the wrong rendition of the wrong hook
Made the wrong move, every wrong night
With the wrong tune played till it sounded right yeah

"It would have hurt. Love doesn't hurt, Bella." Emmett broke in. Rosalie however, looked more considering now. Jasper was evaluating, in full-soldier mode, Major Whitlock once more.

Wrong
Wrong
Too long
Wrong

"It's not any of our business." Alice was calm now, removing her hand from Jasper and turning to Carlisle with pain on her face as she approached where Bella and Edward stood. "If Bella is okay with it, if Edward is okay with it, we don't get an opinion."

The battle lines were drawn now. Bella, Edward, Kaedra, Marcos, and Alice were on one side of the crack in the earth. After a moment of indecision, and with a soft look at Emmett, Rosalie crossed to stand with them.

On the other side of the aching maw stood Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Jasper. Josephat shook his head sadly as he crossed to join them.

Bella felt her heart turn to stone in her chest, a lump forming in her throat.

Wrong.

Sorry

This was a special brand of torture. Bella couldn't help but think it, two days later as she watched the sunlight fade from the cavern walls from the open balcony of the council chamber. She and Edward had been sleeping in her office, avoiding their family at all costs. She had tried to talk to Carlisle yesterday, but her father-figure had merely gazed past her with a blank face: as though he couldn't bear to look at her.

She was so very angry at her vampires; she almost couldn't hold it together. She hadn't had to put this much effort into control in a long time, since before she met them in Forks. She meditated for a full hour each day, but it wasn't helping. Nothing was helping.

Well, except Edward and her friends. Marcos had pulled Bella aside imperiously, breaking her from her conversation with Carlisle and shooing her into his office with Edward. "Okay, so this sucks right now. I'm sorry your family has their panties in a twist about this, Isa. I'm sorry for you too Edward. Look, it's not their business any more than it is mine, but there is just one thing I really need to say. In all this confusion, I'm not sure anyone's actually said it." He had looked at Edward, measuring.

"What you two get up to in the bedroom is your business, but in Havana, consent is King. Train hard, Edward. If you ever do ANYTHING without Isa's full consent, I want it to be entertaining when I kill you. And as for you, sneaky girl. I know exactly how far you can push people. You love him, and that's amazing. Remember that when you want something he's not sure he wants to give. Otherwise, enjoy yourselves and DO NOT tell me anything about it. I'm happy for you both."

"Now. Josephat is throwing some existential hissy fit, so Kaedra and I will take over monitoring you: mentally as well as physically. Is there anything you want to tell me before I search your hiding spots?"

Bella had fidgeted, looking at Edward stiffen out of the corner of her eye. Then she had sighed, and led Marcos to her office, where she opened the secret cubby in the wall behind her desk. The shock on her lover's face when she reached in and pulled out the two vials of Glow and her needle kit had made her wince. Her voice was quiet. "There's two more in the attic, but that should be the last of it. I wouldn't...They were just contingencies."

"It's okay. I'm glad you told me about them. Kaedra is searching the attic now. Any particular reason you're letting the vampires stay in your house while you hide out down here?"

"They're still my family, Marcos. Even when they're being nosy, overbearing assholes."

And that had been that. Marcos and Kaedra were pushing her hard in the dojo, testing her to her limits every day with taunts and beating her into the dirt when they could manage it. They knew this was hard for her, that she was close to the edge. They needed the confidence that she could handle it.

Edward stepped softly into the council chamber, gathering her in his arms. "Hi."

Her lover was fighting his own devastation, she knew. They hadn't made love since their family had rejected them. A century of family, and those on Carlisle's side of the line wouldn't even look at him.

He spent a lot of time with Alice and Rosalie in the library. Bella was proud of her sisters. Rosalie had shrugged when Bella asked her why she changed her mind, echoing Marcos' and Alice's feelings that it was none of her business as long as they were both happy. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's gross. But it's not like it's the end of the world. I can even sort of see the appeal, in a weird way. You've fought too hard for the right to make your own choices to have me judge you for them. Love takes all kinds."

And that was the Truth if Bella had ever heard it. She had fought every day of her life for the right to choose who she loved, and sometimes she had lost. This time, she had won, but the victory was bittersweet when it cost her some of her precious people.

Esme shook with horror every time Bella so much as glanced at her, and Emmett looked like he wanted to bundle her in bubble wrap and take her somewhere far, far away. Jasper had been an unpleasant surprise as well: her brother told her it was nothing more than an expression of her suicidal tendencies and that he could not allow her to harm herself like this, regardless of her emotions. He evaluated Edward as a threat to her well-being and stood between her and her lover every time he was in the same room as them.

Now, alone in the council chamber, Bella allowed her head to fall back, allowed herself to sag into her lover's strength for just a moment. God, the Master was loud. She was getting a headache.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"I'm not. I'm not sorry Edward, and neither are you. Don't you even think it, Edward. They are the ones who are wrong here. We'll get through it. Some wounds are only healed by time. Just because it's hard right now, doesn't mean it will be forever. Come on—it's time for dinner."

When Bella and Edward entered the dining hall and headed towards their new table, one slightly separated from the rest in the back corner, Bella noticed the room was quieter than it should have been. When she looked for the reason for the change, she found it.

Josephat and Rockabye had been locked away in the healer's residence for the last two days, reconnecting to one another. Bella had tried to be patient, to remember that Jo was the child's father and she had to share, but it had been one more thing that drove her up the wall. When she laid eyes on the pair, sitting at the high table with their dinners, she couldn't help but feel relieved. Was it time?

She abandoned her plate next to Edward and approached cautiously. "Jo. Can I say hi?" Josephat stiffened, but Rockabye looked excited, squirming in her seat until Jo shot her a look and she quieted down. "Stay here, child. Stay out of trouble, please. No visions. Isabella, I would speak with you a moment."

His face was guarded, hard like the soldier he used to be. It confused her, and she followed him into the kitchen area. Rockabye was still in view, but a modicum of privacy was provided in the heated space that held the massive stove.

"Isabella..." Jo's face was truly stony now, looking at her like she was an enemy. She felt her stomach drop. "I can never thank you enough for what you have done to save my daughter. I will never be able to repay you. But you are sick right now, infectious, and she has suffered enough for your cause."

"I will not allow her to associate with you until you change your behavior. You must stay away from her until you are better, and then we can re-evaluate your place in her life. I do not do this to be cruel. Rockabye watches the future, knows more than a child has any right to know about the conflict that took her mother's life. She remembers it. Thank you for her life, my queen. But I must see to her healing. Do not approach her, or there will be severe consequences. I will leave Camp, if I must."

Bella felt shock and fear and hatred spring up in her, a desperation she had not felt since she escaped her captivity. "You-you think I would hurt her? Jo, I would never.."

"Not intentionally. But my daughter has fixated on you. She Watches you constantly. Separation is best for now. The situation is volatile, and with the choices you are making, she would be affected. I will not allow you to harm her anymore."

"Any more—Jo. Josephat, please. Don't do this. I know you think there is something wrong here, but there really isn't. Please. Just let me speak to her. You can watch us, supervise. I would never take her from you. Please, don't keep her away from me, I've waited so long.." Bella was desperate, begging. This couldn't be happening. Jo wouldn't do this, he had never blamed her for his chosen's death, had never even hinted that she would cause Rockabye pain before.

"There is no legal standing for you to remove her from my care. You could not take her from me if you tried, even with all the power and support in the world. I am her father, Isabella. You will stay away, or you will force my hand."

"No. Please. Jo. I can't bear this, I won't. Just let me see her. Just once, please. I'll never ask for anything again, I swear on my life." The Master's voice was getting louder now, and Bella tamped down, hard, on the panic rising in her. She couldn't help it when her eyes flashed.

"Even now, you are ill. The Master has corrupted you. How could I not see it before? No. You are my queen, but you have no place in my child's life right now. That is all there is to say on the matter."

Josephat turned, gathered Rockabye in his arms, and began to stride out of the dining hall. The hazel-eyed child waved sadly at her.

Bella was shocked into utter stillness for a moment, her eyes flashing steadily as she watched her healer carry Rockabye away from her. Then she felt the black hold in her gaze, and raised her arm to kill Josephat where he stood.

Kaedra intercepted her, slapped her hard. "Isabella Swan, calm down this instant. Come on, we're out of here." She began to drag Bella's stiff, numb form away from the dining hall and towards the ballrooms. Bella didn't have it in her to resist. She was shaking. Oh. Oh god, how could he do this?

Loyalty (Feat. Rihanna)

When Kaedra and Bella reached the ballroom, Bella immediately retched, the bitter taste of bile on her tongue that she spat onto the floor. "I'll kill him. Oh my god, why? She's hurting. He's hurting her. He must die. I won't let him keep her away from me. Edward is mine. She is mine. How can he do this? How can they do this? Don't they know it's killing me? Oh god, Kay. He's so loud. It hurts."

She began to scratch at the brand on her shoulder, felt her eyes flash. Kaedra was saying her name, over and over, petting her hair. "Isabella Swan. Isabella Swan, you need to breathe. Come on, breathe. It'll be okay, be patient. Don't let him take it from you. It'll be okay. They'll come around. Yes, Edward. Edward would be devastated to lose you like this. Don't do this to him. Shhh, it's okay. Isabella. Breathe."

Bella drew a gasping, panicked breath, a shuddering inhale that released some of the immense pressure on her mind as she clutched at her friend, pulled herself into Kaedra's arms like a panicking child seeking warmth, frantic. Her knees gave out. "Kay. Kay. Where is he? Where's Edward? This isn't real. It's just a dream, the Master's lies. Jo wouldn't do this. I have to get free; I have to escape. Who knows what's going on out there? I knew it was too good to be true. Why? Oh god, I can't tell. Is this real?"

"It's real. Isabella. It's okay, it's real. Just breathe. You must calm down, or you're gonna lose it. Breathe. Find your center."

Bella acquiesced. She drew another shuddering inhale. "Oh. Oh god, why didn't you kill him Shanarra? It's ruined. I ruined it. I wanted too much, I was too happy. He's gonna take it; He's gonna take him away. Where's Edward? I need him. He needs to be here."

Kaedra stilled for just a moment, her eyes flashing the color of her aura. "It's okay, Bella. I've called for him, he'll come. He'll be here soon. Calm down. Sit, breathe."

"He won't let me see her. Jo said he'll leave Camp if I try. He's gonna take her away. I have to kill him before he takes her from me. He can't keep her safe on his own. He said I hurt her, that I made her suffer for my cause. What does that even mean? I wouldn't hurt her, I wouldn't. I can't think."

"No, keep thinking. That sonofabitch. He calls himself a healer. Pathetic old man. I'll speak with him; I'll make him see. The disloyalty. Breathe, Isabella."

Bella forced another gasping breath, felt the black start to fade from her eyes. She pushed Him back with gold magick, remembered who she was. "It's coming back now. I just need a minute. Kay, why? What happened, why is The Master like this? You two were in love. I don't understand."

Kaedra sighed deeply. "It was different then. Things were different, he was different. I loved him, wholeheartedly. But you know what it's like to play in the dark. I thought he could handle it, but I was wrong. It consumed him. I didn't know what to do. I've spent eons looking for a way to fix it. I'm so sorry for your pain, my young friend. I'm sorry for the world I placed on your shoulders with my mistakes."

"You are a Queen, Isabella Swan. More than I ever was. I never should have established that stupid Choosing ceremony. I thought...It doesn't matter what I thought. I'm so sorry he's done this to you. I don't know how you can forgive me. I don't know that I can forgive Him this, what he's done, what he's doing to you. And I have forgiven him a great deal. I can't...I can't love him anymore. There's too much damage, too much betrayal."

Edward ran into the empty ballroom, absolute panic on his face. When he took in Bella and Kaedra clutched together on the floor, he rushed to them. He gently pulled Bella into his lap, soothed her, stroked her face. His panic faded as he took in her doe-brown eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone now. She'll be okay, Jo's just being an ass. I'll speak with him."

Kaedra turned and headed to the door, but Bella brushed her arm, held her back just a moment. "Kay. Shanarra. What was his name? When you loved him, before he was the Master, when he was still human—what was his name?"

Kaedra pulled herself from Bella's grasp, walked towards the door with her shoulders back, her head high. Bella thought for a moment she wouldn't answer.

But then she stopped with her back still to them, looking over her shoulder and taking in Edward clutching her to him, the pain on his face at his lover's pain.

"Samael. His name was Samael."

She turned back, and left the two lovers alone. Enough indecision. She was a Queen. She could be loyal to the Master no longer. Things had changed, she had changed; and so had he. She would not let him ruin the lives of these two young lovers. She didn't love him like she did yesterday.

Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty

BONUS:

EXCERPT FROM ROCKABYE'S POV

The man with the gray hair and the strong jaw was her Father, she knew. He had spoken to her when she was still in that warm, safe, place between the other side and here. When she was still deciding. They called him Josephat. He was very happy to see her, she knew he would be. She had spent so very much time, when she was with Jason, Looking at them. Her guard had always cared for her, but he was cold, distant. A lot had happened to him. Jason loved her, but he wasn't very good at it.

Father would be good at it, even though he was still scared of her Vision. He would come around, she knew. She Saw.

The pretty brown-haired girl with the angular face was her Mother. She had sung to her in the dark, like the red-haired girl: like Addy, who died so she could go free. Like her mommy who had carried her.

She hadn't recognized Mother at first: she had never Seen Mother so angry; and she was scared, distracted by the Bad Men. But then Mother had sent her the lullaby, the song, and Rockabye had remembered her. Remembered her future.

But in now Father was angry, hurt. He was breaking her Mother, not letting Rockabye see the others that she had Seen for so long. Even Auntie Alice looked sad. They must miss her, if they had Watched for her like she had for them.

Rockabye didn't like to be in the present or the past. She liked to Watch what came next, so she could know the end when things got scary. But maybe she could help that Future be. It was shaky now, Destiny faltering under the hurt of her exceptional little family.

So, when Father carried her out of the dining hall and left Mother broken behind him, with the old queen caring for her, Rockabye opened her mouth to see if she could help.

"Father, why are you hurting Mother? I thought you loved her, even though you don't in love with her. She in loves with Uncle Edward, but you love her too. Like I do. You were in love with Mommy, before she died so I could come. Are you mad that I came?"

Father looked shocked, upset. He had been upset with her, sometimes. When she Looked too far, and Destiny bit her. He didn't want her to get hurt, he had said. But now he was hurting Mother. It didn't make sense. Would he hurt Rockabye too?

"No, of course not. I could never be mad you came, Rockabye."

"Then why?" Rockabye sometimes got confused with the past and the present. They got all jumbled in her head. Maybe this wasn't Father yet, maybe he was still soldier-Father. "Are you still soldier-Father?" she asked, confused. "Healer-Father wouldn't hurt Mother."

"Mother? Isabella is not your mother, child."

"Yes, she is. I Saw. She sings to me. She loves me like Mommy does, from the other side."

Josephat flinched. "You can see the other side, Rockabye?"

Rockabye nodded. Jason had taught her. "Guard taught me. Mother sent me to him before she got hurt. Before the Bad Men tried to steal her from herself because she saved me. That's when her inlove with Addy hurt her."

"I talk to Mommy and Addy sometimes. They say Mother loves me. They wouldn't lie. People on the other-side can't lie. You are Father: Need-love-protect. Mother is Mother. Want-love-shelter. That's how it goes. We're a family, and you heal Mother when she gets hurt. She's your daughter-sister-queen. You waited a long time for her. Don't hurt her anymore, Father. She's inlove with Uncle Edward, not with you. It's not her fault you don't have inlove anymore. Mommy says that's the Bad Man's fault. She told me to hug you. To give you a big kiss from her."

Rockabye sloppily kissed Father's cheek. "Don't be sad, Father. It gets better. I See it. I helped. Destiny is steady now. I knew I could do it."

Father had tears on his cheeks, looking at her with LoveLoveLove, thinking about the mouth of babes. "You certainly did help, little one. I will go and speak to Isabella tomorrow, and maybe we can have a meal with her. What do you think?"

Rockabye smiled. She was so excited to meet Mother in the present-time. She was glad she had helped. "Maybe I'll be a healer like you, Father! Maybe I'll grow up and heal people, help them on their Destiny-path. That would be so cool!"

"Maybe you will." Father set her down to walk on her own feet and took her hand. He smiled.

She knew she could help. When she Looked, Destiny smiled too.