We'll Be A Family
C24: Explaining the Truth
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.
A/N: So we're nearly at the end of this one, only one chapter remains, which will be coming online next wednesday, instead of Monday. This is mostly because that coincides with the day that I finished my first ever fic, now six years ago. Once those are online, I will be taking a bit of a break from writing since I've been writing almost every day for the past six years, and I really need a bit of a break to find some new inspiration again. So for now I hope you enjoy this one and I will see you for the next one.
Bella's POV, Five years later
By the time the girls were ten years old and started the road to adolescence, they had become almost inseparable from their mates, and both Rosalie and I knew that it was time to tell them the truth of what we were, and with that what their relationship to Jane and Heidi was, although that was something we would let Heidi and Jane do.
The only thing we had an issue with was time, since Rosalie, Alice and Victoria had gotten the idea to start up a clothing store close by, and it had been an instant hit with the locals. I usually didn't care since I had realized my dream of becoming an author, and my Family of Four series also had been a great hit, with every one of the three parts that were out having been high on the best sellers list, so that left our time a bit scattered since the girls were at school all day and our evenings were usually dedicated to the girls and helping them with their homework, if it was needed, because if there is one thing we had noticed pretty quickly was that they were very intelligent.
Right now it was Arbor day weekend and since the store was closed, we figured it was the best time to tell them the truth, if we could pry them from their grandmother's side for the day.
I was also finishing up the last bit of writing for the day, because the deadline for part four was fast approaching, and Esme and Sulpicia had taken the girls out back to the pool.
The girls loved to swim and never missed a chance to take a dip if the weather allowed it, and because of this Jane and Heidi were always found at the pool whenever their mates would get it in their heads it was a good time for a swim.
There was a soft knock on the door of my office and I smiled when I smelt my daughters being there. "Who is it?"
"It's us Mom, can we come in?" Julia asked softly.
I smiled and saved my work before turning around. "Of course sweeties. Is everything okay?"
They entered with a smile, Rosalie not being far behind them. "Hey baby. Do you have a moment?"
"Of course Rose, I'll always make time for you guys, you know that." I said with a smile.
They smiled and took a seat. "Tell Mommy what you heard sweeties." Rosalie said softly.
The girls smiled and nodded. "We heard Grammy talking to Auntie Di about implementing some new laws, and when we asked what that meant they said we should talk to you about some things."
Rosalie and I both smiled at that. "We have been meaning to talk to you about this for a while now, but we never really found the right time. The truth is, my sweets, that Mommy and I are vampires, but the stories you love so much aren't at all true. We don't sleep in coffins, nor are we allergic to garlic or hurt by sunlight. We also do not age after the day we were turned into a vampire and we will retain our youth forever. We know this is a bit of a shock, but we wanted to wait with telling you until you were old enough to understand. It goes without saying of course that no one else can know about this, so no telling any of your friends. You see, Grammy and Granma along with auntie Di and auntie Dora are our Queens, making sure humans do not know about us, it is one of our most important rules." Rosalie explained as clearly as she could.
The twins were both quiet for a bit before they nodded. "Wow, does that mean we're vampires too?" Julia asked softly.
We smiled and lifted them into our laps. "No sweetie, not yet. Vampires aren't born, they are changed by another. Remember a couple of years ago when Mommy was really sick for three days?" They nodded at us before I continued. "That's when Momma changed me into a vampire. It takes three days to change into a vampire." I said sweetly.
"Do you even drink blood?" Olivia asked in her usual matter of fact way.
"We do. We can live on the blood of animals, which will turn our eyes golden, but we choose to feed from bad humans, but having said that, we can eat normal food too. It just does little for us." Rosalie said with a soft smile.
They smiled and hugged us. "At least that explains why no one seems to age in this house, but what do you mean that we aren't vampires yet?" Julia asked softly.
We shared a look and smiled at them. "That is because of the rules your Grammy made, sweetie. If a human finds out about us, they either need to be turned or be killed, but it is also forbidden to change a child. We're sorry that we've taken the choice from you, but unfortunately that is how the cards were dealt." I said softly.
"We don't mind Mommy. It gives us more time to spend with Aunt Jane and Aunt Heidi." Olivia said with a bright smile.
We both laughed lightly at that and pressed a kiss to their cheeks. "I think that will make them very happy, and there is more to know, but if you want to know exactly how happy that makes them, you should go ask them, they'll tell you now that you know the truth."
They nodded and gave us both a kiss on the cheek. "We'll do that later. Grammy wanted to go swimming with us."
"Have fun my sweets, but do remind her to apply sunscreen to your backs, we wouldn't want you to burn again." Rosalie said in her best Mommy voice.
They nodded and hugged us before bounding from the room. "I think that went rather well, although I think we'll be bombarded with questions in the coming days." I said with a soft smile.
Rosalie nodded and smiled as she slid herself into my lap. "I know, but it will be questions we're more than qualified to answer, love, and I think that Esme and Sulpicia will explain some things as well."
"I just hope Heidi will keep their age in mind when they tell them about the mating bond, but I must admit it's a load off my mind to know that they at least know what we are." I said softly.
Rosalie nodded and rested her head against my shoulder. "So am I, it has been so difficult not flitting through the house at all hours just in case they saw. At least we can now act somewhat normally again. The last ten years have truly flown by."
I only smiled and kissed her softly. "That they have, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us."
Rosalie's POV
The talk with Julia and Olivia honestly went better than we thought, and that evening after they had their dinner, I watched as they shyly asked Jane and Heidi about why they made them happy.
It was quite amusing to see the two usually so composed vampires sputter a little before leading the two girls to one of the offices so they cold talk in private.
"I take it our granddaughters know what we are?" Sulpicia asked with a smile.
I nodded and smiled at her. "Yes they do, and honestly they took it better than I ever thought they would. They were mostly very excited to be able to spend a lot of time with their mates."
Esme smiled at that. "I think those are the early signs of the mating bond presenting itself. It's not a common occurrence, but there have been a few cases where a vampire found their mate when the mate was a young child, so thankfully we're not flying completely blind here. Didyme is going to send us the correspondence so we can double check."
I nodded and smiled at that. "I figured as much. Didyme reminds me a lot of Bella. Just as studious and interested in literature, not to mention they have the same heart."
Sulpicia smiled at that. "That she has, even without her remarkable gift. Where is your mate anyway? I would've thought she would be here for dinner."
"Darling, Bella has a deadline to maintain and only a few weeks left to finish her latest novel, a series you have all but become addicted to, I might add." Esme said with a smile.
Sulpicia smiled at her. "Of course I am. It is a riveting story and it is written by our daughter, of course it is my favorite."
"Thank you mother. It does me good to hear that you love my books so much." Bella said as she walked into the living room and proceeded to sit down in my lap.
"Of course sweetie. Am I right in assuming by your presence that your latest novel is done?" Sulpicia asked with a smile.
Bella nodded and kissed my cheek softly. "It is. The talk we had with the girls gave me a boost of inspiration and I managed to finish the last couple of chapters tonight. I'll send it to my editor tomorrow, give him a nice surprise."
"So for the foreseeable future you're free for our family again?" I asked with a smile.
She nodded at that. "I am, as long as you are too. You've been putting so many hours into the store that I barely get to see you anymore."
I sighed softly at that. "I know, but I think it's going to calm down soon enough. The last couple of weeks have been crazy because there has been a run on Alice's designs, and we've hired some staff to help us out. There's no need for me to be there every day anymore."
Bella smiled at that. "That's good, because I missed you here. You're my muse baby."
"I know love, and I am more than willing to give you another shot of inspiration if you need it." I said with a smirk.
She grinned at that. "Tonight then. Because we both know the girls want to see us before they go to bed."
"Oh that was implied, Bella. We also want to make sure they'll keep to their bedtime, otherwise they'll be fussy in the car tomorrow." I said softly.
"Where are you going, we didn't know you had plans to go somewhere." Esme asked with a soft smile.
I smiled at her. "We were going to tell you after they had gone to bed, but we figured it would be a good idea to take the girls out tomorrow. We've both been so busy lately that we've barely had time to spend with our daughters. We're going to go to Sacramento and see if there is anything to do for Arbor day. It'll be good for all of us to spend some time with each other."
The two women smiled at that. "We understand sweetie, we were merely a bit surprised." Sulpicia said kindly.
Bella smiled at her. "I know, and usually we would give you guys a bit more of a warning, but honestly it slipped my mind. I'm just glad that the fourth book is finally done."
Sulpicia smiled at that. "That sounds like it's going to be the last in the series."
"It is mother. I've always intended to make this a four part series, to tie it in with the name. I've got a few other ideas though, but I've got to do some research for that first, because I really want to write a fantasy novel and I've never really done something like that before." Bella said with a soft smile.
"I'm sure with the right motivation you'll be amazing at it, my love. After all, you've frequently said that I've made your fantasies come true over the last decade." I said softly as I pressed a kiss to her neck.
Bella moaned softly and kissed me. "I don't think my publisher would appreciate a fantasy smut novel, babe. And while you are most definitely the star of my fantasies, I would rather keep those for the bedroom."
"Do you two need some privacy?" Esme asked with a soft smile.
"Sorry Mom, we'll keep it in our pants for now. You know how we get." Bella said with a bashful smile.
Esme and Sulpicia smiled at her. "We know sweetie, we just never really get used to how sweet you two are sometimes."
She smiled and relaxed against me as we waited for our daughters to come back from their talk with Jane and Heidi, and we weren't even surprised to see the two women carry them out of the room, both of them sound asleep. "We'll put them to bed, and then we'll talk about what happened, if that's okay with you two."
We nodded and smiled at her as Jane and Heidi carried the two slumbering girls to their rooms.
Bella's POV
The following morning Julia and Olivia crawled into bed with us, way too early for them to be awake, but we understood why. They were excited for today, and we couldn't fault them for that. "Good morning sweeties. You're up early."
"Sorry Mommy. We're just so excited for today, and now that we know you don't sleep, we at least know that we can come and cuddle with you on the weekends.
We shared a look with each other and smiled at them. "Be sure to knock and wait for us to say it's okay to come in first. Mommies have needs too." I said with a smile.
They blushed at that. "Please Mom, we don't need visual images of you two."
"Given the fact that you two spend at least two hours talking to Jane and Heidi last night, and we are pretty sure what they talked to you about, we know that you two know what mates are, and since Mommy and I are mated, there are certain needs that come with that, not all of them sexual." Rosalie said with a smile.
That only darkened their blushes. "They explained a little of what mates are, but we don't really understand it all. They were not as clear with information like you were."
We smiled at them. "We'll be happy to clarify some things my sweets. What is it that was unclear?" Rosalie asked with a smile as they crawled in our laps, as usual not at all bothered by the fact that we slept nude, they were used to that by now.
"Aunt Jane said that when a vampire finds their mate it is impossible to stay away from them for an extended period of time, and that a vampire knows their mate from the moment they see them, but they always seem happy when we come home from school, never sad." Olivia said softly.
I smiled at her. "Well sweetie, there is a good explanation for that. Auntie Jane and Auntie Heidi were the first ones along with Auntie Alice and Auntie Victoria to see you when you were born, and they knew instantly that they were your mates, but they promised us both to always be respectful of boundaries and never push anything you weren't ready for, but they were always close by in your early years and it was hard to dissuade them not to put you in bed for a nap, or bring you to us when you still needed to be fed in the middle of the night. You two wouldn't have noticed them fussing over you when you were younger, and I think even now that you know the truth you won't notice much change, because they still want to be respectful. We suspect that once you two go through puberty you will start to feel the pull of the bond. Mommy had the same with Momma when she was still human. I knew Momma and I were meant to be together from the moment we saw each other, but the timing wasn't right, but once it was, we spent every waking moment together."
"Well that and a little bit of help from Alice, love. Let's be honest here." Rosalie said with a soft smile.
I smiled and kissed her cheek. "I was getting to that baby, but yes Auntie Alice had a bit of a hand in Momma and I getting together. I don't know if your aunties have mentioned this, but there are vampires with special gifts, quite a few in our family actually. Aunt Alice can see the future based on decisions, Uncle Jasper can feel people's emotions, and sometimes alter them, Gramma can see everyone's thoughts with only a touch, well everyone's except you two that is, but we'll get to that in a bit, and Grammy has a gift that lets her grow back body parts if they are burned, because fire is about the only thing that can kill a vampire. Aunt Jane can inflict pain by looking at someone, and your Uncle Alec can take away someone's senses. Mommy also has a gift that I can see what is in someone's soul, so it is something like a lie detector, which is why I am always to tell when you're not telling the truth. Auntie Victoria, Auntie Heidi and Uncle Emmett have gifts as well, but they are not as active. Uncle Emmett has his strength, Aunt Heidi has her beauty and Auntie Victoria has a gift that allows her to always assess the safest way in any situation. We know that you two also have a gift because of Uncle Eleazar. He has a gift that allows him to see gifts in vampires and humans, and unbeknownst to us at the time, also in unborn children. He saw that Julia has a physical Shield, and Olivia has a mental Shield, which is the reason Gramma can't see your thoughts. It basically means you have a cocoon around your minds that will in time allow you to protect others, but that training will start when you two are changed, and not a day sooner."
"Wow that's a lot to take in. Do you think everyone would be okay if we asked them questions about their gifts?" Julia asked softly.
"I think they will welcome it sweetie. Everyone wants you two to make an informed decision about everything. They will gladly tell you about their gifts, but we must ask you to not yet ask about how everyone was changed, none of us have happy stories about that, except for Mommy, and we already told you about that." Rosalie said with a loving smile.
They smiled and cuddled into us. "We won't. Grammy said the same, and she sounded very serious about it, so we figured it is best to wait until we are a bit older."
We both smiled and pressed a kiss to their cheeks. "When the time is right, I will be the first to tell you how I was changed, and with that how Mommy and I are so similar in so many ways." Rosalie said softly.
They smiled and nodded as we sent them down for breakfast so we could get dressed, since we didn't want to overload their minds with information.
Rosalie's POV
All through the day the girls didn't stray from our side, for once without being told to stay close. They were apparently more than content to spend time with us, and I couldn't help but smile as we walked through the streets of San Francisco. Julia had her hand firmly in mine as we walked and I had to smile even brighter every time I looked down at her. Her dress was a near carbon copy of my own, and even her hair was styled in a similar style to mine. It was really like I had a Mini-Me walking beside me, which was ironic in more ways than one.
Besides the physical characteristics she shared with me, she had also adopted a bit of my attitude, sometimes a bit standoffish with people, but always honest with everyone, something that came up in nearly every meeting we had with her teachers.
Olivia on the other hand was a near carbon copy of Bella, if you discounted her blonde hair. She was more emotional and sometimes a bit of a tomboy like Bella had been, but was also very content to enjoy her girly moments with her sister and aunts. Today she was wearing something quite similar to Bella, with her hair in a similar ponytail to her mother, which I found absolutely adorable.
"What are you thinking about babe? I can almost see the wheels in your head turning." Bella asked with a soft smile.
I smiled at her. "Nothing much Bella. I was merely thinking about how adorable it is that our daughters resemble us so much, and not just in the fashionable sense." I said softly.
She smiled at that. "Yeah, I think all our fears in the beginning have been rendered moot in the past years. They prove to be our daughters every single day." Saying the last softly, mostly so that the girls wouldn't start asking questions they weren't ready for.
"That they do, and I wouldn't have it any other way, and I know neither would you." I said with a soft smile.
Bella smiled and kissed my cheek as the girls looked at us quizzically. "Sorry sweeties, sometimes Mommy and I forget we talk too soft for you to hear."
They smiled at us. "It's okay Momma, if you wanted us to hear you would've told us." Olivia said sweetly.
"We wouldn't have minded if you heard my sweets, since we were talking about how happy we are to have you two in our lives and how proud we are of you both." Bella said with a sweet smile.
They both blushed a little at that. "Thank you Mommy." They said at the same time.
We smiled at them. "Do you want to get some lunch somewhere? We can get ice cream afterwards." I asked with a soft smile.
They smiled brightly at that. "Yes please Mommy. We're a bit hungry from all this walking."
"Then I think after lunch we'll go home and if the weather holds up, we'll go swimming okay?" Rosalie asked with a smile.
Olivia and Julia nodded and smiled at us as we found a quiet little bistro where we could eat, and not completely unsurprisingly the girls ordered pasta, because it sometimes was like they were made out of pasta, which was mostly Esme's fault for making such delicious pasta.
Lunch was very enjoyable since the girls were on their best behavior, which was not always the case, but that was something all teenagers went through. I remember myself being a very fussy eater in my early teens.
Thankfully they had a healthy fear for their grandmothers, and it usually only took one look from either Esme or Sulpicia to stop any food related tantrums.
"Sometimes it's like you two are made of pasta. Is this as good as Grammy's?" Rosalie asked with a soft smile.
"I'm pretty sure there is no better pasta than Grammy's, but this is very good too. The sauce is very yummy." Olivia said with a bright smile.
I smiled at her. "I also think you should be glad Gramma isn't here to reprimand you for talking with your mouth full. You do have to watch that sweetie, it's very unladylike."
She swallowed her mouthful and blushed. "Sorry Mommy."
"It's okay sweetie, we just want you to be aware of it." Rosalie said with a soft smile.
She smiled at us she finished the last of her pasta in a more dignified fashion, something that apparently required all of her focus, because she was as quiet as a mouse for the remainder of lunch.
Julia just smiled at her sister as she too quietly ate the last of her pasta, and when they were both done, they both seemed to be buzzing with energy. "Excited for ice cream, my sweets?" Rosalie asked softly.
They nodded at us. "We figured, that's why we went here. It apparently has the best ice cream in the state, and of course with two specialists on ice cream we wanted to test the truth of that statement." I said with a smile.
They giggled at that as our server brought the dessert chart. "You may pick three flavors each, we wouldn't want to explain a tummy ache to Grammy after all." Rosalie said sweetly.
"Yes Momma." Olivia and Julia said in unison, something that still made us both smile, even after eight years of hearing it.
"What do you think love, shall we take some as well, a lover's dessert to share perhaps?" I asked with a wink.
Rosalie smiled and nodded at me. "Of course, something with plenty of chocolate sauce and whip cream, and perhaps some strawberries to set the mood for tonight." She said with a wink.
I gave her a slight glare. "Not in front of our daughters, Mrs. Hale. What will they think of us?"
She merely smiled at me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I'm pretty sure our girls are smart enough to know by now that adults have urges love. They are very smart after all."
I just smiled at her as the waiter took our dessert orders before taking his leave, and while we waited for our desserts to arrive, we couldn't help but bask in the joy our little girls had brought us.