"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine." ~Thomas Jefferson


Chapter 129- Arrangements

"No one starts counting on the actual day of birth," Bella said. "Your first birthday is at the year mark, Alice."

"We're not celebrating your vampire birthday. It's September thirteenth, Bella. Happy nineteenth birthday!"

I smiled at her and Bella frowned.

"No. No way! No, this doesn't count. I stopped aging three days ago. I am eighteen forever."

"Whatever," I said. "This will be the last birthday I get before I leave in February so we're celebrating anyway, so suck it up."

There's no point in arguing with Alice, Bella thought. But even still…why'd she get me a present if we don't even like each other?

"You're right about one thing," I told her, leaning against Jasper. "There is no point in arguing with me…but as for the other thing, I never said that I don't like you, Bella."

"You've shown it though."

"Let's not fight," I said. "If you feel that way about me, that's your choice. So think about it this way. Your present…it can help Jasper and me build a relationship with our son before we move him in with us in February."

Bella nodded.

Making it not about me makes it easier for me to accept it from you, she added to me.

I nodded.

"Does that mean that you are ready to open your present?" I asked.

"Presents," Edward corrected, pulling a key of his own out of his pocket. He handed it to Bella, who accepted it a little bit more willingly than she did the key from me.

It's my after-car, isn't it?

I nodded.

"Yes. And because you already know what Edward's getting you, my gift comes first."

"Mine is closer," Edward said with a frown.

"Maybe," I said, "but she needs to change clothes. Look at that dress! I'm going to send it back to Fleur with the money and Fleur can recycle the pieces."

"What if I pay you for it now instead of later? Then can I do mine first?"

"How about you pay me now instead of later anyways, because you owe me, and I'll play you for who goes first."

"Pay you?" Bella frowned.

"For that dress that you ruined. Fleur spent a lot of money on that dress, and I will not let her money go to waste. So Edward is paying for it. Now, Edward, rock, paper, scissors?"

"How about you just tell me who wins?"

"Works for me," I said. I focused on the future and beamed. "I do. Excellent."

"It's probably better that I wait for morning, anyway." Edward said, nodding to Jacob and Seth, who were passed out on the couch. "I think it might be more fun if Jacob was awake for the big reveal, don't you agree? So that someone there is able to express the right level of enthusiasm?"

Bella grinned.

"Bella, give Renesmee to Rosalie."

"Where does she usually sleep?"

"In Rosalie's arms. Or Jacob's. Or Esme's. You get the picture. She has never been set down in her entire life. She's going to be the most spoiled half-vampire in existence."

"She is also the most unspoiled half-vampire in existence," Rosalie said. "The beauty of being one of a kind."

"Possibly," I said.

Bella turned to me.

"You still believe Severus's story?"

"Yes," I said. "Now, follow me."

"Is it outside?" Bella asked as we headed for the door that I had just come through.

"Sort of," I said.

"Enjoy your gift," Rosalie said.

"It's from all of them," I said. "Esme especially."

"No," Esme said. "Alice did all the work. Everything about it was Alice's idea."

"Aren't you coming, too?" Bella asked.

"We'll give you a chance to appreciate it alone," Rosalie said. "You can tell us about it… later."

Emmett snickered, and I gave him a dark look.

"Come on, Bella," I said, "before the surprise is ruined."

"Ali, should I—" Jasper started, but cut off when I shook my head.

"No," I smiled. "I'll be back shortly. And when I get back, I think we'll write a letter to Andy."

Bella followed me out into the night, smiling as we stopped at the river.

"There's the enthusiasm I'm looking for," I said before I flung myself over. "C'mon, Bella. I haven't got all night, you know."

I focused on my own scent to get me back to the cottage. I stayed quiet, and I could hear Edward and Bella running closely behind me. When I found a stick that I had driven into the ground on the way back, I stopped, and turned back to get behind Bella.

"Don't attack me," I sat as I hopped on her back. "Jasper won't forgive you for that."

"What are you doing?" Bella demanded.

"Making sure you can't see."

"I could take care of that without the theatrics," Edward offered.

"You might let her cheat. Take her hand and lead her forward."

"Alice, I—"

"Don't bother, Bella. We're doing this my way."

"Just a few seconds more, Bella. Then she'll go annoy someone else."

"You might be a little more appreciative," I snapped. "This is as much for you as it is for her."

You can at least pretend to appreciate one thing I do for you, Edward Cullen.

Edward sighed.

"You're right," he said. "Thank you, Alice."

"Stop there. Turn her just a little to the right. Yes, like that. Okay. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

I dropped off of Bella's back, uncovering her eyes and stepping back a few inches.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Alice came up with the idea," Edward murmured to Bella. "She thought that we might like a place of our own for a while. With us here, she can bring Teddy around more. She remembered this place from when we bought the property, and Esme loves any excuse to renovate. This little place has been crumbling away out here for at least a hundred years."
"You're going to bring Teddy around?" Bella asked me.

"Yes. So Jasper and I can build a relationship with him. Do you like it? It was implied that you guys wouldn't be here long, and it's good enough for you guys to live in for a few months, but I'm sure we could fix it up. Emmett tried talking Esme into talking me into adding a few stories, columns, the whole nine yards. Esme and I figured you might like it more like this—"
Bella put a hand over my mouth.

"Shh!" she hissed at me as she moved her hand. "You're giving me a house for my birthday?"

"Us," Edward corrected. "And it's no more than a cottage. I think the word house implies more legroom...although Alice did some charmwork."

"No knocking my house," she whispered.

"You like it."

Bella shook her head.

"Love it?"

Bella nodded.

"I can't wait to tell Esme!"

"Why didn't she come?"

My smile disappeared as I tried to figure out how to answer without being vulgar.

"Oh, you know… they all remember how you are about presents. They didn't want to put you under too much pressure to like it."

"But of course I love it. How could I not?"

"They'll like that." I said, "anyways, your closet is stocked. Use it wisely. And… I guess that's everything."

"Aren't you going to come inside?"

I stepped back from them.

"Edward knows his way around. I'll stop by…later. Call me if you can't match your clothes right. I've got to talk to Andy about bringing Teddy soon. See you."

I hurried away from the two, hoping to be back home before the noise started. It wasn't something I wanted to witness, and I was hoping Edward wouldn't make a complete decision when it came down to it.

"That was quick," Emmett remarked as I stepped in the back door.

"I had a feeling that things would head into a setting that was not fit for company sooner rather than later."

Jasper chuckled.

"What time is it back home?"

"What time is it now?"

"Nine-thirty," Jasper said, looking at his watch.

"Well Andy is definitely awake now…she gets up early...why don't we change and go see her instead of writing."

"Alice, turning up unannounced is rude," Esme frowned.

"She's my cousin," I said, "and our son's grandmother. I don't think she'd have an issue with us coming."

Esme looked at Carlisle in a disapproving way, but nobody said anything further. Instead I headed upstairs with Jasper following behind me.

"Don't mind them, Darlin'," Jasper said once we were in the safety of the silencing charm around the room. "Andy once said that we'd be welcome there anytime, and now this concerns Teddy."

I nodded.

"How long do you think we'll be able to keep him at a time?"

"I don't know," Jasper said. "We'll talk to Andy and see what she thinks is okay."

I nodded.

"Deal."

Jasper and I dressed quickly, and we didn't say anything to the others before we left. I grabbed my wand and my bag, and then we were gone.

Andromeda was sitting outside on the porch drinking a cup of tea when we arrived.

"Alice!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you!"

"I would have owled, but I've got exciting news!"

"Oh really?"

I sat down in the rocking chair next to her.

"Things are safe at the Cullens again. Teddy is welcome to come anytime now."

"Is Bella—"

"Dead? No. But I've set her and Edward up in a cottage nearby. The two of them and their offspring will be there."

"So is Teddy moving in with you?"

"I don't think that is wise to do just yet," I said. "But Jasper and I would like to take him from time to time like Harry and Ginny do."

"Of course, of course. When would you like to do that?"

I sucked in a deep breath.

"Can we take him when he gets back from Harry and Ginny's?"

"Sure," Andromeda said. "If that's what you'd like to do."

"Andy, are you sure that you're okay with all of this?" Jasper asked. "We don't want to overstep—"

"You're not overstepping, Jasper. You're his father. Alice is his mother. You are free to take him when you please."

"You've raised him for almost nine years," I said. "I can't imagine it's easy letting him go to—"

"Don't you dare call yourself a stranger, Alice. You're my cousin. We're family. It's not like I'm giving Teddy away to a complete stranger, and it's not like I'm never going to see him again. I'll take him the same way that you are doing now."

"So you're okay with this?"

"I am. It's good for Teddy to have parents. I get the opportunity to just be his grandmother."

She smiled.

"How long can we keep him?" Jasper asked.

"How about a week, just like Harry and Ginny."

"So we'll get him from them, and then bring him back next Sunday?"

"Sounds good. But you might have to drop back by here so he can get some more clothes."

"Maybe we should get him some clothes for when he's with us," I told Jasper.

"Maybe," Jasper agreed. "But for now, why don't we just bring him back here on Sunday to get more clothes."

I nodded.

"Sounds good."

"So then would it be easier to just get him from here?"

"Maybe," I mused. "Okay, so have Harry and Ginny bring him here and then Jasper and I will come and get him from here."
"Are you telling him?"

I looked at Jasper.

"Are we telling him?"

Jasper thought about it for a moment.

"Who doesn't love a good surprise?"

"Me," Andromeda and I said together.

"I think it's a family thing," I said. "Surprises usually meant you joined the Death Eaters, or were marrying one for that matter."

Andromeda nodded in agreement.

"You mean to tell me that Fred and George never gave you good surprises?" Jasper said, skeptically. "Or that I haven't?"

"Oh you definitely have," I said, "Fred and George on the other hand…they were never able to surprise me. With the exception of my presents." I motioned to the ring on my hand that George had given me before I left. "Other than that, the only surprise that George has been able to pull off was you guys bringing Freddie to graduation."

"Well Teddy loves surprises," Andromeda offered.
"Okay, so we can keep it a surprise then," Jasper said. "He's lucky. He won't have to sit through Alice and George's expansion testing."

"He might. George says that Ginny wants to help, so he'll probably come with her… maybe I should see if Seth wants to help out, and I need to double check with Emmett…"

"We'll talk to them this evening."

Jasper and I talked to Andromeda for a while longer before we headed off to the shop.
George wasn't there yet, but Jasper and I started getting things ready for the day. By the time that George made it there, everything was ready for opening.

"Where are we holding the trials this weekend?" George asked, almost as if he had read my mind.

"How many people are we testing?"

"I've got Ron, Charlie, Bill, Harry, and Ginny on my end."

"Then when I get home I'm talking to Emmett, Seth, and possibly Jacob when I get home…I can talk to Carlisle and see if we can hold them there."

"Is that safe to do with Bella there?" George asked.

"Apparently she's got super self-control as her gift," Jasper said in a sour voice.

"Jasper's not happy about it," I added to George quietly.

"It would just make me feel better if I wasn't the only one struggling with the diet."

"If it's any consolation, Jasper," George said, sitting on the stairs next to him, "it doesn't look to any of us like you are struggling. You've come here day in and day out for months and Alice and I have had no problems out of you."
"Wizardkind doesn't smell appealing to me," he said, shaking his head. "It's hard to attack somebody that isn't appetizing."

"Not all have been Wizardkind," George reminded him. "Just yesterday we had a Muggle woman walk in here and you talked to her the whole time with no problems."

"She was Muggle?" Jasper said in surprise.

"Yes," I said. "The woman with the little girl that talked to you yesterday."

"How'd she even get in?"

"Her spouse most likely."

"Maybe her scent was masked," Jasper stammered.

"Or maybe," I said, pulling his face to mine, "you're just not struggling anymore."

I pressed his forehead against mine and Jasper sucked in a deep breath.

"You really think so?"

"I do. Otherwise you would have attacked that woman."

For the rest of the morning, Jasper was very pleased with himself. He took the initiative with customers, something he'd never done before. I was glad to be able to see Jasper act a little bit more like himself around everybody else.

I watched him as I packed orders. He was definitely more carefree than I had seen him in a while, and I didn't doubt that he'd be okay when he went away to Hogwarts without me.

"He's doing amazing, Alice," George said after lunch, watching me as I watched Jasper. "I think all he needed was some encouragement."

"Have I not been doing that?" I asked.

"You have, but I gather that he thinks that you're biased. I think he just needed to hear it from somebody else."

"And you were the magic key," I said, shaking my head.

"You always doubt me, Mary," George said, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "And you'd think that you'd learn not to by now."

"Don't call me Mary," I said, lightly smacking his hand.

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow," he sang, grinning from ear to ear, "with silver bells and cockleshells, and pretty maids all in a row!"

"How do you even know that?" I exclaimed, astonished.

"Hermione taught it to me," he laughed.

"I've had to listen to that from Emmett for fifty years," I groaned. "Don't you start that too."

George grinned and shook his head.

It was close to three when everything seemed to happen all at once. Jasper was at the bookstore, on his break, but he was due back at any moment. George was behind the counter while I continued to fill the orders. Then suddenly the future and the present all went black.

"No, that's not right," I murmured, trying to keep myself calm.

"Alice, are you okay?"

"I can't see," I murmured, my voice sounding far away.

"What do you mean you can't see?"
"The future, the present…it's all black."

"You mean you can't see at all?" he asked, his voice sounding much more panicked than mine.

"I wonder then," I murmured to myself. I shifted through everyone's future. All of the Cullens had black futures, but Jasper's future and the futures of everybody here was crystal clear.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, his voice somewhere in front of me. "What is it? What do you see?"

"It's not what I see. Rather what I don't see."

"What do you mean?"

"My future has gone black. Yours and everyone else's here is still crystal clear…"

"What does that mean?" George asked, his voice higher than normal.

"I think that it means that you're needed back home," Jasper said. Suddenly there were hands touching my face. The more I focused on the present, the more my vision came back.

"I think so too…but I promised Teddy I'd be there."

"How about I go, and you join me later after you figure out what's happened?"

I nodded.

"I can do that. George, I—"
"Go," he encouraged. "Go see what's wrong."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Go."

I smiled and kissed Jasper quickly before I disappeared.

Everyone was sitting in the living room when I made it back. Everyone except Jacob.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, looking at each of their faces. "Where's Jacob?"

Aha! Jacob thought from outside. It worked!

"It worked? What worked, Jacob?"

I made the decision to call you. Tell you I needed you at home. It worked. You're back.

"You did that?" I asked, surprised.

Yes. Charlie is on the way, and I need your help.

Jacob showed me the events that unfolded before only an hour or so prior.

"He talked to Charlie," I said in surprise, looking at Edward.

"He did what?" Bella gasped.

"He thinks Charlie is following after him. Coming here. Today," Edward said, glaring at the door.


Hey guys! So I had every intention of this being a long chapter, but looking at my plans there was no way I could have made that happen the way that I planned. The next chapter will definitely be longer as I'm planning that it will take place over the course of a week and some change (Thursday to the following Sunday).

So with that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the chapters to come!

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