*BPOV*
I knocked on the open door to the spare room Carlisle had taken to using as an office/medical supply room ever since he started treating a growing roster of native patients. They'd all heard about the miraculous recovery of the sick infant with whooping cough whose life he saved when he mysteriously showed up at the desperate mother's door with antibiotics.
His back was to me at first; he'd been busily putting away a new shipment of medical supplies. "Hi-i Carlisle," I stammered. My father-in-law spun around to face me as soon as he heard me knock.
"The prodigal daughter returns!" he teased with a wry smile. "Welcome back," he added in his usual warm tone. "Would you mind giving me a hand with this while you tell me all about your trip?" he gestured to the box of assorted supplies.
All too eager to have something to do so that I wasn't just standing there awkwardly in the doorway like a child about to be scolded, I flitted to his side and jumped to the task.
It was simple enough. I approached the waist-high apothecary cabinet that stood against the wall. My job was to restock his doctor's bag with an assortment of cotton balls, gauze pads, sutures, and the like from the new shipment, and then put away the surplus supplies into the little drawers of the apothecary cupboard.
"Edward gave me the broad strokes, but I'd like to hear it from your side. Why don't you start from the beginning?" Carlisle suggested.
As I launched into the story, telling Carlisle about the unnerving voicemail I'd received from Charlie, it didn't take me long to realize the purpose behind Carlisle putting me to work.
What would have taken him less than a minute to do himself was a great deal harder for me. By having me tell the story while gently pulling open the drawers, taking care not to warp the brushed gold knobs, Carlisle was subtly giving me an opportunity to practice controlling my strength while maintaining a conversation at the same time. It took a surprising amount of focus.
Every now and then, he'd stop me to confirm or clarify something I'd said. "So your father called you and claimed to know what you are. So you left for Italy on your own without telling anybody because…" he prompted, not judgmentally, just wanting to understand my point of view.
"Because Edward never got around to following up with the Volturi about my immortality. And I knew the Charlie issue wasn't something I'd be able to keep from Alice or Edward for very long. Everything he knows, Aro would also know. It made me worry for Charlie's safety.
"All I knew was that the only sure way to keep Charlie off of Aro's radar was to go to Volterra alone because mine are the only thoughts Aro can't hear. And I assumed there was no way Edward would go along with that.
"So without making any decisions that would tip off Alice, I ran far enough away just to give me enough time to make a plan..."
With a pointed finger resting on his chin, Carlisle pensively nodded as he processed my response.
Keeping my eyes on my task while putting away tongue depressors and disinfecting wipes, I went on to quickly explain how Edward convinced me to let him escort me the rest of the way.
I also detailed how I eventually made him see things my way by proposing that Aro might use Charlie's life as leverage to force one of us into the Volturi's service.
This elicited more thoughtful nodding from Carlisle.
The only time Carlisle's face deviated from the calm, even expression he wore was when I got to the part where Edward demanded I get in and out of the castle in an hour or less.
My eyes flashed to him when I heard his short, barely audible intake of breath. His golden eyes widened with incredulity for the briefest of moments, and then his face smoothed back over, and he nodded some more.
Then I got to the part of the story where the church bells were ringing ominously and I was racing out of the castle to prevent Edward from intervening. And how I too-hastily dropped my shield to get a message out to Edward before I was clear of Jane's torturous glare.
Carlisle's eyes tightened with dismay and his jaw clenched audibly. "Between you, me, and the cotton balls," he nodded toward the downy puffs in my hands, "Jane should've been destroyed with the rest of the immortal children," he emphasized the word in the iciest tone I'd ever heard him use. "How unfortunate that twelve hundred years ago, age thirteen was considered grown."
I nodded wordlessly. How unfortunate indeed.
But he didn't stay cross for long. Carlisle's face soon erupted into a wide smile when I shared with him how I'd successfully used my gift to shield Edward from both Aro and Jane's gifts.
"Very impressive, Bella! That must've been a sight to behold. I wish I could've seen that" he added a bit wistfully.
With a self-effacing smile, I joked that I'd ask Edward to paint a picture of the ancient vampires' dumbfounded expressions to hang on the wall next to the much older painting depicting Carlisle's days in Volterra. That earned a hearty chuckle from my flaxen-haired father figure.
I capped off the story by telling him about our trip to Forks, the new terms of the agreement made with the Quileutes, and my shockingly successful visit with Charlie and Sue.
"Sounds like you've had an eventful few days!" he summarized. He still wore a warm smile, but I could tell by the decided tone of his voice that it was judgment time.
Finished with my busy work, I now had nothing to do with my hands, so they dropped uselessly to my sides. My shoulders slumped a bit, bracing for the scolding that was coming my way. I was suddenly fascinated by the veins on the marble-tiled floor.
A gentle hand at my chin nudged my face back up to look at him. The touch was so familiar, yet different because the eyes who sought mine were not the same liquid gold ones I was used to hiding from.
Carlisle's sweet breath washed over my face, his sigh sounded almost amused. "Bella, dear, what am I going to do with you?" he chuckled in a gentle voice.
"I can completely understand the panic you must've felt when your father found you out," Carlisle sympathized, the pale gold of his eyes radiating compassion. "And why you felt you couldn't tell us about it." I noticed with a half-smile how Carlisle had graciously said the word 'us' when he really meant Edward.
"I also understand that you've spent most of your life having no one to depend on but yourself. It shaped you into the brave, independent, responsible person you are today. But it's also an incredibly difficult mindset to unlearn, especially for our kind who are so unchanging.
"Bella, your life might've once felt like it was you against the world," he shook his head regretfully. "But that couldn't be further from the truth now," Carlisle's eyes burned into mine with the sincerity of his words.
I tried to avert my eyes burning with unshed tears, unwilling to let him see how close to home his words had hit, but the gentle hand under my chin wouldn't budge.
"And I need you to understand that. To really internalize it. We are a family. We are in this together. We take care of each other. We solve our problems together. And most importantly: We. Don't. Go. Rogue.
"Edward just about lost his mind with worry when you took off. We were all worried. Esme was beside herself, and Alice!" When he exclaimed Alice's name, his eyes widened in such a way that made me think that perhaps worry had not been the pixie's predominant emotion.
My face burned with shame, a blush that would never come. I nodded with shame and remorse.
"I'm sorry, Carlisle. It'll never happen again," I promised.
"I know it won't," he said in a sure voice, and then sighed. "And now that the reprimands are out of the way," he smiled ruefully, "can I just say how proud of you I am?" The serious set of his mouth curled into a brilliant smile.
"The control you exhibited both in Volterra and with your father is truly commendable. You make the Cullen name proud," Carlisle beamed down at me, the hand under my chin dropping down to squeeze the top of my arm
Unable to resist joining in whenever he heard anybody complimenting me, Edward appeared at the doorway, belatedly announcing his presence by knocking on the doorframe with two of his knuckles.
"She was incredible!" Edward gushed with an ear-to-ear grin. "I wish you could have seen it, Carlisle! Aro was completely beguiled by her."
Then Edward's gleaming golden eyes shifted back to me, his expression melting into one that was awed and worshipful, matching the tone of voice he used for the words that came next.
"He's never encountered anyone like you in all his three thousand years...Not that I'm surprised," he tacked on with a crooked smile.
Carlisle softly cleared his throat, interrupting the moment Edward and I were having. "Ah, Edward! Just the person I wanted to lecture next," he said with a wry smile. "Bella, would you excuse us for a moment?" Carlisle asked politely.
There was no way that I (or anyone else) wouldn't hear the conversation from anywhere else in the sprawling mansion, but I understood his intention.
We'd all do our best to turn a deaf ear because nobody wanted to be chastised in front of an audience, supernatural hearing notwithstanding, and Carlisle was compassionate enough to understand that.
*EPOV*
"Alright, Carlisle," I said as soon as Bella had left to go make amends with Alice. "Let me have it. I know I screwed up," I humbled myself with a bow of my head. Carlisle sighed wearily, sounding very much the exasperated parent of teenagers.
He took a step closer to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Son, I know you have a hard time...thinking rationally when it comes to Bella's safety..."
Is it fair of me to say that when none of us know what it feels like to have our mate's life threatened over and over again as he has? Carlisle wondered, compassionately trying to find a way to explain away my poor judgment.
"Now I can understand the errors Bella made, especially considering her age and limited experience in this life. But you are not a child, nor a stranger to the ways in which we do things, Edward," he said in a sharper voice.
"You of all people know how careful we have to be, and you stormed the Volturi's castle like a one-man SWAT team!" Carlisle chided with an incredulous look on his face.
"I know I don't have to tell you that you put yourself at risk. You put your family at risk, but worst of all, your unthinking recklessness put your wife at risk." Carlisle said with disapproval strong in his voice.
Ashamed, I didn't think I could hang my head any lower. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. I have no excuses except to say that, as you already pointed out, I lose the ability to think straight when it seems that Bella is in danger."
Then, in a softer voice, I added, "I had hoped that would change when she did, but some habits are hard to break."
Carlisle's eyes softened then. "I'm sure there's nothing I can say that will make you feel worse than you already do about Jane hurting Bella... That must've been truly awful for you both," he sympathized, imagining how he'd feel if Esme were in a similar predicament and shaking his head free of the thought.
I winced, remembering with crystal clarity the sound of Bella's tortured scream. My fault. It was such a bitter pill. The undeniable truth of it burned like acid all the way down.
"Accurate," I said in a low, gravelly voice.
Then the stern line of Carlisle's mouth turned up into a reluctant, curious smile. "Now tell me... what did it feel like when Bella shielded you from Jane?" His keenly interested eyes widened, alight with wonder.
While Carlisle seemed to possess an endless capacity for patience and compassion with all beings, human or otherwise, his patience had limits.
Jane's cruel, sadistic nature was the very antithesis of everything Carlisle stood for. Very unlike Jane, he was inherently good and only ever wanted to help people.
I grinned widely, remembering with intense pride how I felt when my Bella had thwarted Jane.
"It was incredible. Difficult to describe. It was sort of like…" I tried to think of the best analogy, "what I imagine a static shock would feel like compared to the electric chair. Uncomfortable but bearable."
"Amazing!" Carlisle breathed.
"She really is," I beamed proudly.
*BPOV*
"Go easy on her, Ally. After all, Bella has always been quick to forgive us, hasn't she?" Jasper murmured into Alice's short, spiky hair as he kissed her on the head. Alice only growled in response and continued aggressively thumbing through the pages of her fashion magazine from where she sat cross-legged on her couch.
"Glad to have you back, Bella," he tipped his head in polite acknowledgment as he glanced up from Alice and saw me loitering in the doorway. I thanked him and returned his welcoming smile. Guiltily chewing on my lip, I wondered what was the best way to smooth things over with my favorite sister.
"I'll leave you ladies to it," Jasper drawled as he crossed the room to leave, eradicating the hollow pangs of guilt as he walked past.
"Hi Alice," I greeted with nervous hesitation, forcing my feet to enter the room. Even without Jasper's gift, I could feel the waves of agitation radiating from where she sat curled up on the couch. Her only response was to turn the pages of her magazine even faster. Thwap. Thwap. Thwap.
Okay then. It would be a monologue.
"Look, Alice, you have every right to be-"
But the little ball of agitation exploded before I could even get the words out, her tirade coming a mile a minute.
"Ok, so I get the part about dodging me to keep Captain Overreaction from getting in your way when you ran off on your own. But what about after that? Once you and Tweedle Dum decided to pair up and tag team the Volturi?
"You had all that time to go banging around the ocean, but not a single moment to check in with me?!" Alice shrieked.
I recoiled, feeling like a total jerk.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It was really stupid of me. I guess I just thought that if you saw something dire happening, we would've heard from you. So when we didn't, it was like...no news is good news." The explanation sounded more like a question than a statement and I cringed as soon as the words were out of my mouth at how horrible they sounded out loud.
Alice glared at me. "Do I look like Lassie, to you, Bella?" she seethed. "Arf arf! Bella's in trouble!" she mocked in a high, sardonic voice.
Horrified at myself, I shook my head in denial. "No! No, Alice, I'm so sorry. I-" I took a deep breath, and then folded myself next to her on the couch. I attempted to wrap an arm around her but she remained stiff and cold.
"I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. And I promise I'll never try to duck you again," I solemnly swore. I could feel her tense shoulders start to loosen under the embrace of my arm.
"I guess it's alright, then," she sighed with a residual growl. "But you know what burns most of all?" Alice glared up at me through her long, dark lashes. I looked at her questioningly with anxious expectation.
"That you went all the way to the holy land of Versace, Armani, and Ferragamo and didn't think to bring me back anything," she said dejectedly, her lower lip jutting out and trembling in the most pitiable way.
"Aww, Alice, I'm sorry. We were trying to avoid humans as much as possible, so shopping wasn't exactly on the itinerary. But I'll make it up to you!
"When we do make it back over the pond for Fashion Week, I'll go to all the fashion shows with you, and you can try and get American Express to decline my black card," I chuckled.
Alice grinned widely at me and finally returned my hug. "I accept."
"So that's how you get me to go to the fashion shows," I laughed, remembering how she'd recently mentioned seeing us in Paris for Fashion Week.
It had seemed like an out-of-character thing for me to be doing considering all of the other museums and historical places of interest that would be more interesting to me in a place like Paris. Though, I hadn't questioned it because I knew better than to bet against Alice.
"Isn't it so satisfying when the pieces come together like that?" she mused. "I can usually see the who, what, when, and where, but never the why...
"I had hoped that spending a few years as a Cullen would give you a better fashion sense than the doorbusters at Old Navy," she rolled her eyes. "But I'll settle for a guilty conscience," she said with a tinkling giggle.
"Rose stopped going to the shows with me years ago because she was always getting approached by modeling agents, which, of course, she didn't mind. But the runway models just absolutely despised her," Alice smirked.
"I'll bet," I snorted. No mere mortal could even begin to compete with Rosalie's beauty. She was as flawless as she was timeless.
"So, did you change your mind about wanting to blow this pop stand?" she gestured to our lavish surroundings. "Because you didn't mention wanting to move to Carlisle."
Alice's eyes went blank for a moment as she scanned the future. "Nope, you're decided. We're still moving but the destination is unknown," Alice cheerfully prophesied. 'Well, that mystery is easy enough to solve."
Alice slipped her phone out of her pocket and less than a second later, every phone in the house vibrated. The group text read: Family meeting, tonight at 8. Though I only heard two other phones buzz in the house.
Alice answered my quizzical expression.
"Rose and Esme went for a hunt. Jazz and Em are out racing the speedboats. I stayed behind so I could yell at you when you got home," she stuck her tongue out at me.
"I'm glad you did," I hugged her again.
Moments later, Emmett wrote back, If this is about totaling the boats, it was Jasper's fault.
To which Jasper instantly responded, "Liar liar, boat on fire."
To which Esme typed back, "It's coming out of your allowance!"
*EPOV*
Once the dust had settled from our return, Bella and I were soaking in our large tub, scrubbing off the last thousand miles' worth of dirt and grime since we'd left the motel where we'd last bathed. She was sitting between my legs, her back to my front as I glided a warm, sudsy washcloth across her waifish shoulders.
"Forgive me for overhearing your conversation with Alice, but it made me smile to hear you talk about Fashion Week with her," I murmured, squeezing some of Bella's favorite shampoo into my palm and massaging it into her hair.
She made a derisive sound in the back of her throat. "What do you people have against Old Navy?" she asked, eyes closed, purring at the sensation of my fingertips swirling around her scalp.
I laughed at her absurd assumption. "Not for the clothes, silly! But because you offered to max out your limitless credit card making it up to Alice. It was a very," I paused, searching for the right word, "Cullen-like thing to do." I grinned approvingly and bent my head slightly to the side so I could kiss the slippery hollow behind her ear.
It was deeply satisfying to know that my notoriously frugal wife was finally starting to treat our financial assets as ours instead of mine. A step in the right direction as far as I was concerned, as we navigated some of the less romantic aspects of marriage, like money.
"Well, maybe it was the bear I had for breakfast," Bella giggled, "but I feel like a Cullen... And, well maybe not specifically this house," she waved an ashen hand around in a broad circle, gesturing to our gaudy surroundings. "But being here with you all feels more like home than Charlie's house did when we visited."
By this time, everyone had already returned to the house and was in various stages of getting ready for the family meeting that would decide where we would go once we vacated the Admiralty Island property.
Emmett mentally whooped with brotherly pride at Bella's breakfast bear comment. Rosalie hadn't liked the way Bella had said 'this house' as if there was something wrong with it. Esme's hand fluttered over her heart, touched by the sentiment that our family felt like Bella's home. It was all she could have wanted for her newest daughter.
"I'm so glad to hear that because I'm home wherever you are, too," I murmured, snaking my hands around her waist and squeezing her to my chest.
Bella turned her head to the side so she could kiss me, and when my lips touched the smooth marble of hers, all of the other errant thoughts and voices floating around my head faded away.
I couldn't even tell if she was using her shield to muffle them or if that was just the effect her closeness had on me. She was the antidote to the headache I'd had for the last eighty years.
So perfectly the yin to my yang that it was beyond me how I could ever reject or deny the obvious fact that we were meant to be together.
I couldn't say whether or not I had a soul, but that was beside the point when I had an eternity of heaven on earth to look forward to.
The bathwater had long gone cold by human standards, though not to us, and the bubbles had dissipated when Bella sighed and stood up, wringing out her hair before stepping out of the oversized tub and onto the marble floor.
I reflexively worried about her slipping, an old habit from her accident-prone human days. But, of course, I was being silly. Bella now moved as gracefully as the rest of us did. My thoughts were brought to a crashing halt by the sound of crunching metal and a muttered curse.
Bella spun around to face me with the snapped off, mangled doorknob still in her hand, an angry, embarrassed scowl on her face. "Alice, we're going to be a few minutes late," she sighed defeatedly.
I stifled a chuckle. Well, almost as graceful as the rest of us.
A/N: A new update to kick off your Monday! I can't wait to write about Bella experiencing the struggle and tedium of high school as a vampire for the first time. Also, Edward experiencing it for the first time not being the odd one out. And of course, all the intrusive thoughts of Bella's hormone-driven adolescent classmates, but I gotta figure out where the hell they're going first!
I guess the Cullens will have to help me figure that out as I write the next chapter! 😆
Shall I send them somewhere totally new? Or maybe instead of high school, do I send Bella back to college to finish her degree? I'm a little stumped about what direction to go in next and would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Til next time!
