Chapter 10 (Bree)

"Why couldn't he call himself?" Rosalie snapped into the phone's receiver.

"Rose, please. I'm sure he'll give you a grand apology when you get here. Just come home."

The line went dead on the other end, indicating that Alice had hung up.

"We can go home?" Emmett said. A dimple etched itself into his skin as a smile split his face. I believed Emmett when he told me that he didn't mind going on the run for a while. I knew he and Rosalie had lived away from the family from time to time. But I also knew they usually parted on good terms, and Emmett missed his family.

"If you both want to," Rosalie answered and Emmett's face fell.

"Does that mean you don't?"

Rosalie just shrugged.

"Alright, I think I'm going to take a walk…"

"No, stay," Emmett said.

Rosalie shot him a look, but she didn't say anything.

"Why don't you want to go home?" Emmett asked her.

She let loose a sigh. "You know Edward's going to be insufferable. I don't feel like spending the next few months walking on eggshells in my own house."

"And he'll still be insufferable whenever we do go home, Rose. You know he will, and you know we won't stay away forever. We might as well just go get it over with now."

"If my presence is going to cause problems, I can—"

"You're not going anywhere, Bree." Emmett's voice held a note of finality I'd never heard before.

"So what I say doesn't matter?" Rosalie's voice was starting to rise, and I realized I was standing in between a marital vampire feud.

"Of course it matters. But don't you miss Esme?"

Rosalie's face softened ever so slightly.

"I'm mad at Edward too, babe. We'll talk to him about it. But are we going to let that keep us from the family?"

Emmett's face was softening too. I could see that he knew he was winning the argument.

"Fine. But if he says a single word…"

"I won't stand between you," Emmett finished, putting his hands up.

Rosalie turned to me. "That is, if you want to go home."

"Yeah, I think I would, if that's okay."

The run home was a long one, by vampire standards. The closer we got, the slower Rosalie ran, dragging out the inevitable. Emmett caught my eye and rolled his own, but he followed her pace without saying a word. About five miles from the house, she stopped short. She turned to look at me, a caring and tender expression on her face.

"There's a chance this will be a tense atmosphere, at least at first. Emmett and I won't let anything happen to you, alright?"

"I know," I answered. Rosalie set her jaw, letting a mask of indifference fall over her face. We took off again, this time not stopping until Carlisle came into view on the front porch.

He immediately shook Emmett's hand and pulled me into a gentle and quick hug. Rosalie breezed right past him.

Emmett's face told Carlisle all he needed to know. "She's a little…"

"Yeah, I thought she might be. They've always worked it out before."

Emmett and I followed Carlisle into the house. Alice stood closest to the door, grinning like a Cheshire cat because she knew she was going to get her way. Jasper stood beside her, looking patently uncomfortable as he stated at Rosalie and Edward in silent confrontation.

Their eyes were locked, both of them just barely on the edge of beginning to crouch. My eyes were trained behind Edward, though, at the vampire just behind him. As a human, she'd been timid, clearly not quite confident in anything she did. But as a vampire, she radiated a fierceness, a strength, and a completeness that was unmatched throughout the room. She stood behind Edward, but it was clearly just to appease him. Every inch of her radiated certainty in her ability to take care of herself.

"Hi, Bree," she said to me, smirking slightly. "I'm Bella."

"H…hi," I stammered, suddenly intimidated.

Her bright red eyes bore into mine. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I won't hurt you." She grinned before jerking her head at Edward. "And he won't either." She placed her hand tenderly on Edward's arm, pulling him out of his tense stare-down with Rosalie.

"I'm really sorry," I said, apologizing to them both. Edward's lip began to curl, but Bella only shook her head.

"I'm not. Anyway, we're going to let you settle back in." She started to tug Edward toward the front door.

"We'll be back later," he said pointedly to Esme. Bella threw Esme an apologetic glance before following him out the door.

The rest of the family, except for Alice, pointed their gazes directly at the ground. "That went well," she announced cheerfully. Everyone but Rosalie looked at her as like she'd lost her mind. "Trust me, it could've been much worse."

Rose, Emmett, and I each took a turn showering off the days of forest and beach living before coming back downstairs. Carlisle told me that Edward would just have to work through his anger, but eventually, he'd come around. Rosalie made herself scarce; I guessed she was trying not to risk confrontation. Emmett fell right back into step, laughing good-naturedly with his family.

After some strategic conversations, the Cullens settled on moving to Maine after Bella's funeral. I didn't mind much where we went, but I did get Carlisle's permission to leave a message for Fred in case he came looking. Just before sunrise, Edward and Bella returned. Bella strode in and sat down next to Alice, but Edward hesitated in the doorway.

"Rosalie. Could I have a word?"

Her answering glare reminded me of golden daggers. Emmett tensed, starting to stand.

"I only want to talk," Edward said.

Rosalie's gaze didn't soften at all, but she did nod her head and follow him out the door.

Emmett turned to Alice. "Tell me if they start to fight."

"They're fine. They really are just talking."

It was over an hour before they returned, causing Jasper to relax noticeably. Rosalie's face was softer, Edward's gait less animalistic, and wide grins spread across the face of all of the Cullens as they re-entered the house.

Maybe it was just the sight of the two Cullens with the most animosity existing in agreement, if even for a moment, or maybe Jasper had something to do with it, but an overwhelming sense of peace fell over me as I sat in the living room, surrounded by my new family, with nothing ahead of us except the prospect of forever.

For now, this is where the story ends. I'd like to tie up a few loose ends, though.

First is the matter of Bree's room. I like to imagine that she finally settled on a dark academia, library-style design. She and Bella spend hours in there talking about all their favorite books (and Rosalie eventually joins them when she realizes that she actually kind of likes immortal Bella).

Next is the matter of the Volturi. There's absolutely no way Aro will stand for Carlisle having a coven of nine. I imagine that, at some point, he turns over the memory of Jane's visit with the Cullens in Eclipse in his mind and recognizes a particular wet-dog scent. After telling Caius of Carlisle's association with werewolves, of all things, of course the Volturi decide to attack. All the vampires of Breaking Dawn still come to the aid of the Cullens.

Fred also comes to their aid as well, surprising Carlise with eyes that are no longer red. Under the golden glare of a vampress named Tonya, our dear Fred no longer feels the need to use his powers of revulsion as much.

Then there is the matter of Jacob and Ashley. I like to imagine that Jake and Bella continue their friendship, even though she's now a bloodsucker, and Jake finds that Bree is also fairly tolerable. He keeps Bree updated on Ashely's wellbeing, but, at Bree's request, they choose to let Ashely believe Bree is gone. With the ever-present threat of the Volturi, no one is willing to risk putting Ashley's life in danger.

Finally, there is the scene that is about to follow. It is genuinely one of my favorite scenes I've ever written, and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Prologue (Bella)

Green surrounded me and I had a short flashback to a blurry memory of the last time I came back to Forks. If I'd thought the greenery was overwhelming then, there were no words for it now. Clouds hid the sun and rain drizzled down, just as it had almost every day in the four decades since I left.

On my way into town, I passed the high school. I once made Edward promise me that we'd break into it eventually, once all the people who might recognize us in this town were dead and gone and we could move back without fear of being known. I wanted to visit the biology classroom, our meadow, the clearing where we'd fought Victoria, and even the sidewalk outside of the school gymnasium, where I'd felt Edward's hand on my face for the first time. We would spend time reliving the best of my human life, recreating the memories that were too fuzzy for me to now remember accurately but that I wanted to keep forever.

But tonight, I couldn't do that. Edward wasn't with me, and even if he were, there was no time for a stroll up memory lane. He wouldn't approve of what I was doing now. He would forgive it quickly, and probably even indulge it, but not approve of it. The consequences were too widespread and unknown, he would say. So, I chose not to tell him. In the forty years of our marriage, we'd started to appreciate a bit of time apart. Never for long, just long enough for him to run without slowing himself so I could keep up or for me to make quick forays into bookstores, adding to my endless collection. Still, I was able to take some time to myself without rousing his suspicion. I'd have to pick up a book or two on my way home to make it believable.

In less than five minutes, I was turning into the driveway. The wet ground still squelched under my rock-hard feet as I stepped out of my car and quietly shut the door. The key was still under the eave. The door unlocked easily, allowing me entrance into a house just as familiar as the one I now called home. The kitchen cabinets were still yellow, the three chairs around the dining room table still mismatched. Pictures of me from every year of school were still just above the fireplace.

Upstairs, I could hear a thumping, uneven heartbeat. It was weak, sometimes a little too fast and then at others a little too slow. The body encasing the heart didn't have much time left. I hoped he would at least survive the evenign. Sue was out for her weekly run down to LaPush to visit Leah, but she would be distraught if anything happened to him before she returned. For that reason alone, I almost didn't come to see him. He'd already made his peace with my absence, and even now, a part of me wondered if I should've just let him go with that peace. But a larger part believed that this, if it didn't stop his heart prematurely, would be so much better.

I took the stairs one at a time, lingering, and making sure to hit the squeaky one at the bottom. Upstairs, I heard sheets rustling and a sharp intake of breath, and I knew that hitting the step had achieved my goal; he was awake.

At the top of the stairs, I took a deep breath. Of course, I could smell the blood that ran in his veins, but after forty years of gaining some control, I knew I wouldn't slip up now. Still, a final test and precaution never hurt. His blood appealed to me no more than any other human's, and that was an indulgence I'd never given into again after that very first day.

There was more rustling now as he sat up and sipped the water on his bedside table. I could smell from the hall that it was fresh. Sue probably placed it there on her way out. I felt a surge of happiness at the knowledge that she was taking care of him, and I hoped he'd found the happiness in her he'd been seeking when he ran away to marry my mom.

With one last deep breath, more as an unforgotten habit than anything else, I entered the room. What was left of his hair was still curly, though the brown had all faded into a dark grey. The wrinkles in his face were etched deeper than they'd been when I'd last seen him, though I'd never been this close to him in my new life, so maybe they'd always been that prominent and my human eyes had just not been able to see them. His eyes were full of life, deep brown, and wide with a mixture of surprise and fear as they met mine.

"Hi, Dad."

I stood still in the doorway as I let what he was seeing sink in. He blinked rapidly a few times, almost like he thought that generating enough tears would wash his delusions away.

"Bells?" he asked. His voice was shaky and gravelly; he sounded every ounce of eighty years old. "Heaven, then. Wow."

I laughed at that, so reminiscent of Edward's own words in an alleyway in Volterra all those years ago. I'd never understand why these men were so insistent that I was an angel.

"Nope, still Forks," I said.

"That's impossible." He was staring at me like he was seeing a ghost. To be fair, that was probably as close as he would get to guessing the truth of it. Though, with Seth and Leah for step-children, I imagined my dad knew more about my world than I'd ever intended him to.

"It's me," I told him as I edged a bit further into the room.

"You're alive?" The gravel in his voice now mixed with childlike wonder.

"For all intents and purposes."

"You haven't aged. This can't be real."

I walked the rest of the way into the room and sat beside him on the bed. His shock was so deep that I doubted he'd notice how cold I was. I placed my hand on his chest, allowing him to feel the solid, real weight of it.

"It's real. I'll tell you all about it, if you'd like."

He looked at my hand, still not believing what he was seeing. "Yes," he answered. I'd been contemplating this conversation for years now, and I knew what I wanted to say. I'd always wondered if I'd get the chance to see him again like this, or if I'd be too late. Thanks to Jake, I was in time, though only barely. There was no danger from the Volturi, now. Charlie wouldn't live long enough for them to hurt him, and the only person he might tell about our conversation was Sue, who already knew all the secrets I could share.

"I think it's best if I start at the beginning," I said. He nodded and reached for my hand when I paused. I let him take it. "I think you've always known that Edward wasn't normal."

"You've got that right."

I shot him an indulgent smile. "Edward was—is—a vampire."

"That's not possible," he repeated.

"Neither is me sitting here still looking nineteen, but here we are."

As the reality of that statement set in, Charlie's face got a little paler and lines of confusion mixed with his wrinkles. I let him wrestle with it for a minute. When the lines of confusion eased, he spoke again.

"And are you…a…a…"

"A vampire?" He answered with a nod. "Yes, I am."

Incredibly, he started to scoot to the edge of the bed like he intended to get up. "Did he make you do this? Because I'll kill him, Bella. I swear I will."

I grinned again. "Calm down, Charlie. Edward didn't make me do anything. Actually, he was completely against it. I chose this. And I've been happy, Dad. So, so happy."

He was quiet again for a while. "You said that was just the beginning. There's more."

"Much, much more. I always knew, almost from the first time I met Edward, what he was. I knew what I was getting into." I decided he didn't need to hear the specifics of Bree's slip-up that had lead me here.

A crease appeared between his brow when I mentioned leaving. "I wouldn't have said anything Bells. You could've told me."

"No, Dad, I couldn't. I was pretty dangerous in the first few years. I couldn't really, you know, be around people. We went to protect you. You had Sue, and I know you've been happy with her and Seth and Leah. I wanted you to be happy."

"Letting me believe you'd died in a car accident was supposed to make me happy?"

"Happier than the alternative," I answered. "Happier than spending the rest of your life trying to find me and wondering. I wanted you to be allowed to grieve, and mourn, and move on."

The crease deepened. "I never stopped thinking about you, Bells. I never stopped loving you."

"Oh Dad, I know. Do you think I forgot you? I call Jacob at least once a month to make sure you're okay."

"So, Jake's how you knew it was time to come home."

"Yeah," I said, feeling a sadness creep in at the thought of why I was here. "He called and told me it was probably time."

"You know, that kid sure doesn't look like he's almost sixty. Is he a vampire too?"

I laughed at that one. "No, you'll have to ask Jacob about that."

His face got serious again. "Are you really happy?"

"Happier than I ever could have dreamed I'd be."

"Well tell me about it. Tell me what you've been doing for forty years."

I told him of all the places Edward and I had visited together, sometimes with the rest of the Cullens, sometimes on our own. I told him about med school and the research I did now. He commented on how proud he was that I was putting my biology interest to good use. We joked about how Carlisle kept trying to get me in the patient rooms with him, but I preferred the medical research, and I'd helped develop so many vaccines and medicines with my heightened senses. And I told him about what it was like to be a vampire too. The speed, the strength, the heightened hearing and sight and smell. Every day I woke up and I loved this life I lived. Every night I laid down with Edward, and I loved it a bit more.

He told me about Leah and Seth, somehow they'd managed to keep their phasing secret from Charlie, though how they did it I'd probably never know. Seth had gone to college in California but dropped out to become a surf instructor. He apparently owned his own surf shop and was great at it. Knowing he was doing well made me smile. Leah was still angsty, but after she met Gwen, things got better for her. Charlie talked about how protective Leah was over Gwen, how from the very start it was like they'd known each other their whole lives, and I knew Leah had imprinted. I hoped it made her more content with life.

"How's Jake? I haven't seen him since Billy died," Charlie said.

"He's still Jake. We stay in touch. I just think this place was too much for him after he lost Billy. He and Ashely went to visit Rachel for a while, but Hawaii was too much of a culture shock." Charlie grinned at that. "He's on a mountain climbing trip with Rebecca and Paul right now." Jake had managed to stop phasing somewhere around thirty, and with the accelerated growth that set in when he first started phasing, he and Ashley now looked similar in age.

We continued to talk for almost two hours about any and everything. Charlie asked about most of the places we'd traveled to, though he took a particular interest in the story about the time Alice, Bree, and I had decided to go fishing at nighttime on the Nile just to prove that we could do better than the boys. Even without Rosalie's help, we still caught twelve more fish than Emmett, Edward, and Jasper combined.

He told me about marrying Sue about five years after my funeral. It had been a small wedding down at La Push Beach. Billy, who eventually conceded that Charlie was the better match for Sue, got a license from the internet and officiated. They fried fish, drank some beers, and celebrated love. I felt a twinge of longing at the knowledge that I'd missed it, but it quickly gave way to joy at knowing he'd been happy and loved in my absence.

A few times while we talked, I heard his heard skip beats, and I started to really worry that I was going to lose him before I left the house. His mind still seemed sharp, but his breathing was labored, and his skin was taking on a sickly waxiness that hadn't been there when I entered.

I also heard Sue turn the key in the latch and make her way up the stairs. I could've bolted, but I really didn't see much point. Even if she hadn't known for sure what I was, she most definitely had her suspicions.

She rounded the corner and walked into the room before jumping back in surprise.

"Bella!"

"Hey, Sue. Sorry if I scared you."

"Not at all. I'm a bit surprised, but not scared." She paused for a moment, teetering awkwardly in the doorway, and I knew that she didn't approve of my extended absence or, more specifically, the reasons that necessitated it. "I'm glad you're here. Actually, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Charlie was beginning to doze off, and I doubted he'd miss me, so I followed her into the hall.

"I'm glad Jake got a hold of you," she said. "I thought it was important that you two get a chance to say goodbye."

"So, you've been the one keeping Jake updated," I said. "I figured it was Embry or Quil."

"They do too. But when your dad started going downhill last week, I knew it was time to get you here if you were willing."

I paused on that one, not sure what I should say. Of course I was willing. But I could see how, to someone who wasn't like me or as blatantly aware of the Volturi as I was, it could appear differently. Charlie's heart stuttered again.

"Sue, I have a whole laundry list of things I should say to you, but I'll start with thank you. For taking care of him all these years, first of all, and for keeping my secret so he could have some closure, too."

"It's been wonderful, honestly. I loved Harry, and I always will. But I love your father too. Being married to him has been a joy I never expected to have."

I hesitated before proceeding. Charlie's heart was barely audible now even to me.

"I don't think he's going to make it to morning, Sue. You should be with him."

I looked back at his bedroom door, intending to tell him one last goodbye before I left Sue to her final moments with him.

"We should both be with him," she answered. She jerked her head into the room and we both sat down on either side of the bed.

I took Charlie's left hand in both of mine, listening to a heartbeat that no longer resembled a rhythm.

"Bells," he whispered, sounding feebler than even just twenty minutes before.

"I'm right here, Dad."

"Glad you came back Bells. I love you so much. Keep being happy." I smelled salt and knew that he and Sue were both crying. If I could've, I would've joined them.

"You too, Sue. Love you." His breaths were shallow and labored now, his heart barely beating. I gently squeezed his hand as I laid my head down on his chest and hugged him one last time.

"I love you so much, Dad. Thank you. For loving me, for trusting me, and for forgiving me every time I put you through hell. I missed you every minute. I love you."

"Maybe in Heaven, they'll let us fish the Nile," he said before trailing off.

His heart stopped beating and it didn't start back up again. I just took in the sight of him for a few minutes, thinking over our conversation and letting the waves of grief roll over me. Charlie was dead. My dad was gone.

For the first time in my vampiric life, I wished I could do a human thing. I wanted to cry, to let the tears that Charlie deserved roll down my face as a small waterfall of all the love I had for this man. But I couldn't, and Sue deserved to grieve him without me here making her uncomfortable.

I felt the urge to walk around to her side of the bed and hug her, but I could also see that she was leaning as far from me as she could without dropping Charlie's hand.

"Sue," I said.

"It's okay, Bella. I'll be alright. You can't be here when people arrive. A lot of them will still know who you are. I'll call Leah and she'll come be with me."

"Of course," I said. I leaned down and placed on last kiss on Charlie's forehead. "Love you, Dad," I whispered, barely audible, before looking up at Sue. "I'm going to leave my phone number on the dining room table," I said. "We live just outside of Chilliwack, British Columbia right now. I can be here in just a few hours if you need anything at all."

"Thank you, Bella," she said. "I really am glad you got to say goodbye."

"Me too. Thank you, again. I can't tell you how much this meant."

She nodded her head, and I knew it was time for me to leave and give her some space. With a last kind smile, I went down the stairs, wrote my number clearly on a piece of paper on the dining room table, and snuck back out to my car. She probably never even heard the door close.

I decided to forgo stopping for books on my way back home. Even if Edward thought it was a bit reckless of me to come, I wasn't going to hide this from him. I'd need him in the coming days as grief continued to hit me. Strange, how even though I hadn't seen Charlie in forty years, the thought of him being gone made me feel like there was a hole in my life that couldn't be filled. I'd miss him, in a way different from how I'd missed him before, because now I knew there was no solution to missing him; I'd just have to get through it.

I pushed the gas a little harder, eager to be comfortably back home with Edward in the massive house Esme had remodeled for us all. In spite of the grief I felt, I also felt closure at knowing that Charlie hadn't died angry at me for the choices I'd made. And even more, I was glad his later years had been happy ones. It would still be a long time before I could return to Forks, but when I did, I'd add Charlie's house to the list of places Edward and I would break into. We'd sneak silently into the window, and I knew I'd feel at peace knowing that Charlie had parted this life talking about fishing with two people he loved.