Well, I wasn't planning on writing a second part for Piccola, but a review pointed out a few things that were left up in the air. So, I give you a second and final part for Piccola. I just wrote it, so I didn't have time to sit on it, and check it or change anything. So this is as raw as it comes.

Enjoy! I'll try to update Pack Souls tomorrow :)


PICCOLA. PART 2.

Bella spent the rest of the day in a sort of trance. She had gotten over Edward the moment she had signed the divorce papers. It had been hard because it felt like she was giving up too easily on their marriage. She never gave him the opportunity to change his mind about their baby. But honestly, he was so set on her getting an abortion, and he had delivered the news with such disgust that there was nothing else for her to try. Edward was not the man she once believed in. He was not the man she thought she'd married.

She didn't believe all men who suggested an abortion as one of the options for a surprise pregnancy were monsters because she wasn't one to judge. She believed in free will and the ability of people to choose. However, one thing was to suggest it, and another one was to try to force it on her, as if her voice, her opinion, didn't matter. It was not a question of 'her body her decision'; she thought that argument was bullshit. It was a matter of hearing her out, of giving her opinion in the situation real consideration.

She was heartbroken and highly disappointed. She didn't regret anything that happened because it was a lesson learned, and she had gotten her daughter out of the ordeal, but Jake had been right all along. Even if Bella didn't choose Jacob, she was better off without Edward. She had thought that Jake's animosity towards Edward was due to their supernatural differences, but in hindsight, she should have paid more attention. Even Emily had pointed it out once. However, everyone stopped fighting her on that subject when she announced her engagement. She had been thrilled at the moment. She was marrying the man of her dreams. Yes, their relationship hadn't been the easiest one; they had been through a lot (most of it caused by him), but she always wondered 'aren't we worth the fight?' That had ultimately been her mistake. To blindly trust him again.

She had managed to move on when he left after her eighteenth birthday. She had been genuinely happy and was beginning to come out of her shell when she had stupidly followed Alice to Italy.

Now she was here, turned, serving a master she didn't want to serve, but she was gladly doing it for the safety it provided her and Emma. Bella would never betray those who extended her an arm in her time of need. And she had made a promise, and she always made good on her promises.

Emma was lying on the floor in her bedroom with a coloring book and a box containing at least 120 different colors. She had never seen a child so happy as she'd been when Aro gave her the colors and the book for her first birthday. She liked to hum absentmindedly, and she chewed her lower lip in concentration. She looked a lot like Charlie when she did that, and she felt a pang remembering her dad. He had been told she had passed away in an accident in her hurry to leave Edward. Marcus had been the one to deliver the news. It was more believable when he said he'd known Bella from the last time she came looking for Edward. Charlie had been heartbroken but happy she had been with someone she trusted. He never knew she was pregnant; no need to add to his mourning.

She let out a sigh and returned her attention to her computer. She was a mystery column writer for an online blog about creative writing. She offered advice and some juicy fiction stories from time to time. The best part was that it was a paid job, so she was able to make some money in her free time. Not that she needed the money being part of the Volturi because those guys were a hundred times better and smarter than Alice when investing their money. She just liked to write and felt more like herself when she did.

A knock on her door alerted her of the presence of Demetri. As this was Piccola's room, she looked at her to give permission to Demetri to come in. Emma loved Demetri's company, so she had no trouble bouncing excitedly to her feet and opening the door for him.

Demetri smiled at the little girl, crouching to her level. "Hello there, Piccola." He waited for her to answer him verbally or through her gift. She smiled, showing she was missing her two upper front teeth. "Hey, did the tooth fairy pay you a visit yet?" He asked, gathering her up in his arms and rising again. Emma giggled, shaking her head. Demetri gasped theatrically and scowled. "Well, I'll have to call the tooth fairy and tell her a Piccola is waiting for her treat. How does that sound?" He finished, sitting on the bed next to Bella.

Emma wiggled herself free and settled in the space between Demetri and her mom. She looked up at the vampire with her huge brown innocent eyes. "Do you know the tooth fairy?" She asked in awe.

Bella bit her lip to hide her smile. She gave her a shrug when Emma looked at her for confirmation.

"I do know her. I'll call her later." Emma gave him another toothless grin that just melted his heart.

She touched Bella's cheek to communicate something to her before wiggling out of the bed and back to her coloring book. Bella barked out a laugh, feeling embarrassed, sad, and thrilled.

"Can we talk?" Demetri asked.

"Is he gone?"

He nodded. "Felix threw him out. Jane had a little fun before that, I'm afraid." Bella sighed. She didn't want to cause any more trouble. She had turned this place upside down enough as it was. Demetri took Bella's hand and guided her out of the room, telling Emma to come look for them in his room if she needed anything or when she wanted to do anything else. She nodded distractedly, not looking up from her book. He shook his head with a smile. She was like her mother; once she got her attention on something, it was hard to break it.

"How are you feeling?" He asked once they were alone.

"I'm sad for Emma. She was afraid of him. Her own father. She remembered his voice; she remembered the intonation of his words and how angry he sounded. He frightened her when she heard him here." If she could cry, she would be crying now. "I'm angry, livid, that he dared come here after all this time and demand to take her away. I don't care about him anymore, but he could have at least asked how I was, what happened to me to become a vampire. He could have asked about the pregnancy. There were so many things he could have asked about Emma that he didn't. And then, to say I tricked I'm into giving her up. Me! I have zero deceiving bones in my body!"

"He did it to get a reaction from you. He must have expected you to run back to him or have some similar reaction. He didn't count on Marcus having your back either. Or Caius, for that matter."

"What happened after I left?" What had Caius done?

"Caius enlisted Jane just like Aro did the first time you came here. She took great pleasure in torturing him this time." He smiled happily. "Caius berated him, called him a coward, saying he wasn't a real man because a real man doesn't abandon his wife when things don't go their way." Technically, it had been Bella who had abandoned him in the first place. But what real effort had he put in finding her? "Edward was unpleasantly surprised by how passionately the three brothers defended you and Piccola." Bella couldn't help but smile. She understood why Marcus would defend her; he had been with her minute by minute through her two-month-long pregnancy. However, it was nice to see that Caius and Aro also appreciated her, even if it was just as a member of their coven. "They love Emma very much. She's a doll, and she charms everyone." By now, their hands were joined tightly together. Bella found comfort in his presence and his touch.

"What did you do?" Demetri barked out a laugh, surprised by her question.

"I merely threatened him. I also showed him how bloody had been Emma's delivery, and how strong you were. I enjoyed showing him other things, but those are not for you to know now." He finished, winking. "I couldn't do anything to him physically because Caius forbade me. He must have known I would have killed him if I was allowed to touch him. They let him go with a very physical warning not to cross us and never to set foot on Italy as long as you're living here."

She sighed. She felt emotionally drained, and it wasn't even near to the afternoon. She rested her head against his shoulder after kissing his cheek. "Thank you for having our backs."

Demetri held her close to him, dropping a kiss on her head. "I love you, and I love Piccola very much. I will always have your back."

Emma's images from earlier slipped into her mind. The three of them were lying on her bed. Demetri had a book in his hands and was reading it to her out loud. Bella was on the other side of her, lying on her side and watching Demetri with a sweet smile. Emma's head was on her pillow, but her little legs were draped on Demetri's chest. They looked like a family, and she wanted that. That's what Emma showed her: family.

Could Bella give her that? She had been burned badly before. She was betrayed by the one she loved the most. She had been lied to, manipulated, and mentally abused. She knew Demetri was not like that. He'd shown her time and time again that she was worth everything. She couldn't deny she had feelings for him, and she adored how he and Piccola got along. He understood her on a level that only a parent could understand a child. She looked up to him as if he had hung up the moon. Emma had opened her heart completely to these people, and they've shown her kindness beyond imagination.

She could certainly work on her relationship with Demetri. She had an eternity to do so. That thought thrilled her because it was true. There was no rush; they could go slow and steady.

She sat up under his watchful stare. Gathering all her courage, she straddled his hips and kissed the living hell out of him. He moaned on her mouth, more out of surprise than sexually. Bella commanded the kiss until the surprise waned; he took control then. He sank his hands into her hair, holding her close to him. He was in heaven. Who knew all she needed was her fucking asshole of an ex to show his ugly face to gear her up into action?

"I have feelings for you. I know I'm falling in love with you. You get me, and you have this connection with Emma that's beautiful to see. I want the three of us to be a little family. But I'm scared. I have Emma now, and if I'm hurt, she's hurt, and if she's hurt, I'm hurt. I can't risk it if it's not going to be something lasting. I can't have my heart broken again. I won't survive it."

Demetri caressed her cheeks lovingly. "I won't ever hurt you or Piccola. I would die first. I'm in for the long run. I want us to be a family as well. I want you to move into my room, or I can move into yours, but I know that's too fast for you right now, and you need your space. But make no mistake, Bella. I'll marry you one day, and I'll adopt Emma too. I'll do it the human and the vampire ways if that's what it takes."

Bella smiled, moved by his words. She kissed him again, softer and sweeter this time. "I look forward to it."

Just as Emma dreamed it, they were now lying on her bed, Demetri holding a book and reading it aloud, making animal noises to make her laugh, while Bella mockingly scolded him, telling him the story was to make her sleep, not agitate her. Demetri winked at Emma, who hid her giggles behind her hands. Bella had noticed that her growth spur had slowed down. Was it possible that she enjoyed being little and wanted to enjoy it? She was enjoying it as well.

They were a little family within a big one.

For once, Bella was not looking into the future with sadness.