I stood at the window, staring out at the empty driveway. I couldn't help worrying. Maybe it was because I'd lost my true family only to get it back again. I was scared to lose it again.
Quiet footsteps coming down from the third floor made me turn around, but Esme only smiled gently at me and came to stand beside me, wrapping an arm around me and rubbing my shoulder.
"Isabella..." she said softly, "Carlisle will be fine. I promise. He's just talking to Charlie."
I nodded, but it came as more of a jerk.
"Where's Renesmee?" I asked.
"Sleeping," Esme said, and smiled fondly.
"And the others?"
"Rosalie and Jasper are forging our documents, Emmett's out hunting..." Alice's voice was quiet as she came up behind me, "And I'm right here."
She joined me on my other side and rested her hand on Esme's.
"Dad's okay," she told us both, "He's heading home now, but things didn't exactly go as planned."
"What happened?" my mother asked quickly.
Alice closed her eyes and stilled for a moment, and then she shook her head.
"He's decided to tell you himself. I shouldn't say."
I could accept that.
Two minutes later, Carlisle's black Mercedes pulled into the driveway and he was up the stairs to the second floor in moments. I launched myself at him and he caught me easily, holding me tightly.
"I told you there was nothing to worry about, Bella." he reminded calmly. I stepped back and he placed a warm hand on my cheek. It was hard for me to believe that hand had once felt cold to me.
We heard Renesmee start crying upstairs and Esme disappeared to get her, returning momentarily with the tiny baby.
"Is it normal for them to sleep so little?" she asked Carlisle, and he laughed.
"Sometimes. Some babies just like being held more."
I reached for her and Esme passed her over. The smell of her blood didn't bother me, and her warm little body felt right in my arms. I sank onto the sofa and touched her nose gently with my pointer finger. Her eyes lit up in amusement and a smile appeared on her face. I did it again and she giggled.
Carlisle looked on with a loving smile on his face.
"What happened at Charlie's, Carlisle?" Esme asked, and I looked up to see him turn toward Alice as she slipped from the room.
"Charlie didn't quite believe Bella was dead," he said quietly, and I looked at him quickly.
"What did you say?" I asked him.
He sighed.
"I explained to him about the danger of him knowing the family secret, and assured him that your heart was not beating."
I stood once more and held the baby's head to my shoulder with one hand, placing the other on Carlisle's arm.
"I'm sorry, Carlisle."
He looked shocked.
"You have nothing to apologize for! You didn't do anything!"
He embraced me, being careful of the baby.
"What else did you tell him?" I asked into his shoulder.
"I told him to marry Sue Clearwater," Carlisle said slyly. I pulled back.
"Are you serious?"
"Naturally," Carlisle replied.
I laughed.
"How did that come up?"
Carlisle pushed my hair behind my ear.
"I told him to marry her and raise Seth and Leah, and to let them be his children... that you were dead to him... I'm sorry, Bella. It was..."
"The truth..." I finished for him, and none of us spoke. Rosalie and Emmett stepped into the room holding hands, and Alice and Jasper were behind them.
The four of them approached us and Esme joined the group. Their arms tangled around us, linking us all together, and I felt safe. Esme broke it first, looking around.
"We're not done yet," she said softly, "We're not quite together, yet..."
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It was the dead of night when we loaded the last of the boxes into the trunk of the Mercedes and Esme's Guardian. Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice had taken the bus part of the way and run the rest, so their cars were still in Denali.
The four of them got into the Guardian and I strapped Renesmee into her car seat, tucking the blanket around her. Esme got into the passenger seat and Carlisle started the car as I settle back in my own seat and allowed Renesmee to capture my finger in her weak death grip.
We passed the school, and the police station, and Edward's meadow. The hunting and fishing store I had worked at, and finally my old house. There were lights in the window, and I swore I saw Charlie watching out the window, but when I looked next, it wasn't there.
"Can we stop by La-Push before we go?" I asked quickly.
Carlisle glanced at me in the rear-view mirror.
"They'll know we changed you."
"It's also the last time I'll ever see them." I murmured.
Carlisle finally gave a small nod and pulled onto the dirt road.
"Where to, Miss Bella?"
"Sam's house." I requested.
He pulled up to the driveway and I got out. Carlisle joined me, undoubtedly to protect me, but even if I didn't need it, the action touched me. We stood waiting for a moment, and then the door opened and Sam came out, flanked by Jacob, Seth, and Embry.
"Bella? What's going on? Carlisle? What are you doing here?"
Carlisle didn't reply as I stepped forward and allowed Sam to pull me into an embrace, and then he stared past me at Carlisle.
"We had a deal, Carlisle..."
"She was dying, Sam. There was nothing else I could do."
Sam seemed to nod, and then he looked behind him as Jacob came forward.
"I went to your funeral, Bella," Jacob said quietly.
"I'm sorry, Jacob."
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, seeming to breath me in.
"Are you okay?"
"Never better..." I murmured.
He kissed my cheek and stepped away.
"What's the next step?" Sam asked Carlisle as I gave Seth and Embry a hug, and then I turned toward the doorway where Leah, Emily, and Sue were standing.
"We're heading for Denali," I heard Carlisle say, "And then we're leaving for London. We have an estate there."
Leah tentatively gave me a hug, and then Emily wrapped her arms tightly around me... but when I came to Sue, I stopped. She reached out and took my hand in both of hers, and then she kissed my cheek.
"Take care of Charlie," I said softly, "Please? He's alone now..."
"Of course I will," Sue said kindly, and I gave her a hug.
I turned around to see Sam and Carlisle shake hands.
"We'll be back one day," Carlisle told him.
"The treaty will stand," Sam promised.
The door of the car slammed as Esme got out and disappeared around the back. She returned holding the baby.
"This is Renesmee," Carlisle introduced, "The newest member of our family."
"She's human!" Leah gasped.
"So was Bella," Esme reminded him.
Emily stepped forward to take the baby in her arms.
"So, you're just gonna raise her and change her to be a monster like you?" Jacob snorted.
Sam gave him a warning glance.
"Maybe," Carlisle said, "Maybe not. We've got years, and she'll have a say in it too, of course."
Emily passed the baby to Sue and, after a moment, she passed her to Carlisle.
"Take care of her." Sue told Esme.
"Of course I will."
Sue gave each of us another embrace, and Emily did the same. Jacob shook hands with Carlisle and gave me a long hug, and Sam did the same. I hadn't realized just how much I had been accepted into their clan, but I would always choose the Olympic Clan over the Quileute Clan.
We got back into the car and started out again. I could tell Carlisle was eager to get to Denali as I watched the needle on the speedometer pass 150 MPH. Esme didn't say anything.
We pulled up to a large wooden cabin around noon and got out. I carefully got Renesmee out of her seat and wrapped her in her blanket as the door opened and three girls with identical blond hair came out. Rosalie was with them, having arrived nearly an hour before with the others, and Alice came skipping out to give me a hug.
A man came out to shake Carlisle's hand and kiss Esme's cheek and a woman gave them both a hug. Emmett came out and Carlisle introduced me to Carmen and Eleazar and their three daughters: Tonya, Irena, and Kate.
I shook each of the girls' hand and then Carmen gave me a hug and Eleazar followed.
"Where's Edward?" I asked at long last.
Alice took my hand and led me toward the house, and the others followed. She took me through the entryway and into a living room where, at the far end of the room, Edward stood, staring out the window. Jasper stood at attention beside him, and he touched his brother on the shoulder before going over to give Alice a kiss.
Edward turned around, and for a moment, his face seemed stricken, but I passed Renesmee to Carmen and crossed the room in a flash to embrace him. I felt his arms tight around me again, but not cold, as they had once been; warmer now: my temperature.
Behind me, Carlisle took the baby and he and Esme joined the two of us. Rosalie was next, Emmett by her side, and Alice and Jasper were last, finishing the family of nine.
We weren't in the Olympic Region anymore, but it didn't matter: the Olympic Coven was made up of the people who belonged to it, not the place they resided. London was a good place to make a fresh start, in the exact place it had all started. Where Carlisle had an unfortunate ending, but chose to make it into a beginning that gave eight others a family, and a reason to exist.
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Well, this is the last chapter! I'll have an Epilogue after this, so stand by! Sam is actually my favourite werewolf, so I wanted to make him nice to Carlisle. He's more understanding here, and he accepts that Bella would have died if she had not been changed. I hope you've enjoyed this fanfiction! It was certainly fun to write! I can't wait to give you an update just one last time! Thank you, and I love you all!
Rebekah