I don't own Twilight, its SM's, and merely my favorite mental vacation destination.
I smiled and kissed her head, pulling her closer to me on the bench seat in the back of the SUV, luxuriating in her scent, her warmth. Her heartbeat: my personal symphony. "We're headed back to the Airport." I told her.
"Yes, Esme and Carlisle are securing Bella a seat on the plane, and on the connecting flight in Chicago to Connecticut. We'll be in Cornwall before you know it Bella!" Alice clapped.
"Faster than the trip I had planned, that's for sure. Wait, what are we going to do about my truck?"
Jasper looked at Alice, who looked at me. "That's part of what we need to discuss when we get to Cornwall, Love. For now, your truck will be fine to stay where it is." I said with the back of my fingers on her cheek. "Everyone is thrilled to reunite with you, they've been anticipating it for days."
"Are they all at the airport?" she asked, smiling. At my confirmation she wondered, "Why did they all come if we're all going to go east again? Surely not just to see me?"
"Another example." Alice thought, and then said from the front seat, "You might as well tell her now, we have an hour. If not, she'll just fidget the whole way to Connecticut."
"We had to take care of something, as a family, in Forks after you left. Victoria was planning your demise. She would have succeeded had we not intervened."
"You were in Forks?" She pulled away slightly in disbelief. "To kill Victoria?"
"Yes, temporarily. Which is why we allowed you to leave when you did. Had you stayed, it would have resulted in tragedy. Alice has been keeping an eye on you since your, ah, swim, that's how Victoria knew she could get to you." At the mention of her step off the cliff Bella cringed, her face turning red, embarrassed. "She planned to lure you," I said gently, "knowing that we were separated, and use your sadness against you." I stroked her face and attempted to soothe her, coaxing her to look at me again. "When she saw you had left, she planned to follow you, and would have caught up to you hours ago. I destroyed her just outside of Forks."
"So when you saw I was in trouble you came." She said, looking at her hands.
"Truthfully, I was wavering in my decision for weeks, whether or not to return. I didn't want to bring the danger back into your life, especially if you had moved on. But when I learned that the danger had come straight to you, and that you were as unwell as I during our separation, I couldn't stay away any longer."
She met my eyes for a moment before twining our fingers together and squeezing. Our silent promise, we would never part again.
"Rosalie and Emmet will be securing you a piece of luggage and a bit of clothing so that it looks like this was planned. Even though this was an emergency landing, no one will question it. We'll be in flight to travel to the northeast in 3 hours, which gives us plenty of time to get to the airport and check in."
As Alice went on about the details I tucked Bella into my side. Her breathing began to even out and she dozed off. As I understand it she hadn't been sleeping well at all, and after driving 26 hours on very little sleep, rest could only help. Jasper turned on the heater to keep her comfortable.
Experiencing their emotion toward each other was touching, but it didn't surprise me. He's thought of her as family for a while, but it struck him forcefully after her birthday. That he nearly attacked his sister caused him to become distraught that night. I believe the unconditional familial love she mirrored back to him, unsolicited and in her own interpretation, is possibly the only way he could have forgiven himself. At the moment, he was quite content.
We arrived at the airport and I coaxed her awake as we were approaching the main gate. "Bella Love, we've arrived at the airport. Are you ready?"
She nodded and stretched her arms out in front of her. Smiling with one eye on me, "Let's go."
"We'll return the rental, you two go ahead. Esme is practically bouncing in her seat!"
At Alice's mention of Esme Bella's eyes danced in anticipation. We hurried along the concourse and went through security easily. As soon as we were in eyeshot of the gate Esme jogged over at human speed, embracing Bella. Carlisle was close behind her.
"I know I shouldn't have worried, but I did. How we've missed you, Bella."
"I missed you too, all of you." She replied as she embraced Esme.
"We're very happy to have our Bella back," Carlisle stated simply, as he traded places with his wife. He hugged her, kissing her forehead, and then stepped back.
Emmet raced over and swung Bella off her feet as he hugged her next and laughed, "Now the fun starts! It's great to see you, little sis!"
Bella laughed with him, "Glad you still find my misadventures entertaining."
Rosalie followed her husband at a more sedate pace, "Hello Bella. I thought maybe you'd like to change. I bought you some clothes."
It wasn't a smile, it wasn't a reunion, but at seeing Bella, Rosalie had a thought of completion. Everything in place. I looked to Emmet who grinned, Tell ya later, bro.
"Thank you, Rosalie, I would like to change, actually. I got sort of dirty after I jumped out of the truck."
"I bet you did!" Emmet's booming laughter drew the attention of more than a few other passengers.
Bella put a hand to her forehead, "Here we go," she said, which made him laugh again. "I'll be right back." She whispered to me, reaching on her toes to kiss me before heading to the ladies room.
"How did everything go, son?"
"Bella's truck is totalled, the meteorite only hit the back corner, causing it to flip over. It could have been much worse. I caught her and ran before she hit the ground. I don't think she realized that her truck flipped due to impact."
"We were very lucky. Have you two attempted to resolve your er, issues?" Carlisle asked, hopefully.
"We haven't had that discussion yet. We thought we'd wait until after we reached Cornwall, when we could all be together." I said as he nodded, thoughtful.
Alice and Jasper returned bringing Bella a sandwich from a deli kiosk. "Rosalie, you bought her Vans?" She asked a few seconds before Bella stepped out in her clean clothes, and preferred footwear.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. Emmet was laughing under his breath and refused to look at me.
After boarding the plane and taking off, Bella's heartbeat picked up slightly. "Is there anything wrong, Love?"
"No, not really, I was just curious about something."
"You usually are, ask away."
"I wasn't sure if you wanted to discuss it." She said, rubbing her thumb across the back of my hand, her eyes worried.
"I'll tell you anything, you know that." I returned, caressing her face from cheekbone to jaw.
"Were we there at the same time? In Forks?"
"No, I missed you by 13 hours." I looked away. Not wanting to meet her eyes. "It took me longer to get there."
"You weren't with your family."
"Um, no. I was in Brazil."
"Brazil?
"Yes." I took a deep breath, "I left my family shortly after I left you. I attempted to find Victoria on my own, but she led me astray, and I lost her. I was so distraught that I stayed, not wanting to be a burden to my family." They were all listening now, wanting to hear my explanation for staying away. "I knew it would only worry them. I wasn't well when we were apart. I sat in an abandoned room most days. I could almost see you sitting by my window, the sun in your hair and on your face... I'd become so accustomed to your warmth, I could almost imagine your arms around me in the warm Brazilian air. I was too miserable even to hunt. And the longer I abstained, the easier it was to see you with me." I finished quietly, slightly ashamed.
"I thought it was just me." She muttered almost to herself, looking amazed. "I heard you speaking to me," she whispered, "more than once. I heard your voice right before I stepped off of the cliff."
Carlisle was thinking of our confessions as confirmation of his theories about our relationship. Alice saw it as confirmation of her own. Everyone else was stunned, not at what we experienced, but that we had mirrored reactions to our separation.
"I should have known you'd encounter a similar occurrence. It sounds like we have a lot more to talk about once we reach Connecticut." I said, resting the side of my head on the seat and staring into her eyes. I sighed and held her hand on my cheek, needing to feel her warmth after such a long drought.
The flight from Des Moines to Chicago was short and uneventful. We switched planes in Chicago and soon were in the air to Connecticut. Once we were settled, Bella fell asleep. The flight again, was quick and soon I was rousing her to walk to the rental counter. She fell asleep on my chest in the backseat while Carlisle drove us to the house, or lodge would be a better description. It was a resort that had gone under some years before we purchased it. Esme thought could serve us in the future.
She slowly rehabbed, renovated, and redecorated from a small 70s style resort, to a spacious chalet with plenty of large leaded-glass windows overlooking the green hills, fireplaces set in natural stonework surrounded by plush seating, dark wood floors covered in thick carpets, and butcherblock counters placed atop artfully cream-waxed cupboards. Outside were porches and patios begging to be lounged upon. Everywhere one looked were elements of nature being pulled inside, or the indoors being brought out.
We arrived at 7pm. There were several large packages on the porch when we finished traversing the long, gated drive. Esme would inform the caretaker that we were in residence and their services were no longer needed. We would reside here for several years. Alice and Emmet began to tackle the deliveries while Jasper brought in our bags. He would park the cars afterward. Rosalie and Carlisle opened windows and removed dust sheets. We had done this dance before. Esme, instead of beginning at the opposite end of the house with me, went to the kitchen to find it stocked, and began to make Bella dinner. I carried her to my room, down the short hall to the left of the stairs. Esme chose this room for me, away from the rest of my family, when we stayed here for the first time on a weekend holiday in the 90s. This place doesn't have a third floor, and she thought I would be more comfortable on my own. Only one other guest room was on this hall.
The room was equipped with a sofa, a desk, a small fireplace and to the right of that, an ensuite bath. The wall surrounding the fireplace was covered in bookshelves, and amidst the windows to the right of the bathroom was a set of French doors overlooking a lawn and a small lake below. The closet was opposite the bath, on the other end of the room.
I noted that the dust sheets had already been removed by Carlisle. I sat on the sofa with her in my arms, still asleep, and did my best to tuck the throw around her to keep her warm. There she stayed for an hour until Esme pulled a chicken and rice casserole out of the oven. "Time to awaken, my love, we're home now." Her soft snores halted, and I knew she was coming around.
"No, no I don't want to leave you," she whimpered in her sleep.
"It's alright love, I'll never allow it. Open your eyes and come back to me." I soothed.
She nestled her head under my chin and took a few deep breaths before I felt her lashes flutter open on my neck. "Edward," she breathed, "it wasn't a nightmare."
"What wasn't?" I asked, concerned.
"My dream, it started like the others. This time you stayed."
"Did I leave you often?" My heart aching at the thought.
"Yes," she quietly admitted, "even when I begged. I had that dream a lot."
My poor Bella, no wonder she hasn't been sleeping. "What can I do to banish your fears?"
"This helps," she said, snuggling closer.
"I'll stay with you every night if you wish, much like before."
"I wish." She said quietly.
"Alice is already planning to set up a proper bed for you while you have dinner. Are you hungry?"
"Yes, but I need to have a human minute." She stated, still in my arms but stretching against the sofa like a cat. It was slightly erotic, and I nearly forgot to answer.
"Of course." I helped her to her feet, "Right through there." I watched her hips sway unconsciously as she walked across the room and took a deep cleansing breath after she shut the door. Our behavior by the river was brought to the forefront of my mind by that tiny action. Having her in my arms in such a passionate embrace was marvelous. I wouldn't mind repeating it.
This is a transitional chapter, I suppose you could say. The band is back together, and this is the prelude to the main event! As you can see, I've written the Cullens as a family who care for each other. Particularly Carlisle. All of this was alluded to in the books but in my opinion, not properly depicted.
Music is NIN again, We're in This Together. If you read ANY lyrics to any song I've posted, let this be the one. It's a raw 'you and me against the world' masterpiece. I feel it depicts what these two would go through for each other to find one another.