CHAPTER FOUR.

RESOLUTIONS

Edward was waiting for me right outside the sliding glass doors at the front of the hospital. He was sitting on a bench, watching the roiling clouds, gently tapping a single finger on the metal arm with the exact repetition of a metronome.

"What are you doing here, brother?" I stalked past him and headed toward the parking lot. I got halfway across the emergency lane when I realized our two other siblings were likely still at school. "Where's the Volkswagen?"

"I didn't bring it," he said and caught up with me easily. I switched directions to head toward the road instead. There was easy access to the woods only a few blocks down. We could run to the house from there.

"How angry are they?" I asked. Edward didn't immediately answer and offered no other observations. His silence assured me that I was in for quite the battle once we arrived at the house. Where he stood on the matter wasn't clear so I let him keep his own counsel.

We crossed the street and walked just a little too swiftly toward the next intersection. Once we were through it, we turned right and proceeded down the block. A row of low, windowless storage buildings at the end gave us enough cover to flit into the woods unseen. Edward remained silent for the first part of the run, pacing me easily.

"Jasper is on the warpath," He finally broke the silence when we were about halfway home. "You're going to need a very good explanation for what happened."

There were plenty of good explanations, of course. For instance, say I hadn't interfered and the van had successfully crushed the girl – the thought made me sick, but I pushed through for argument's sake. If the van had hit her, she would have been a bloody, mangled mess on the pavement. I could imagine her fluids soaking into the pavement, the scent of her blood filling the air….

I wouldn't have been able to resist for even a second. A single drop of that girl's blood would have given our entire family up for what we are in a truly gruesome way. Imagine if there was enough blood flowing for Jasper to get involved? He had the least self-control of all of us.

It was a good argument that I wouldn't use. The point of it was moot because I didn't think of it until later, and Edward was already well aware of the fact. Honesty was always better, anyway. I hated lying, nearly as much as I hated hurting Esme. Unfortunately, no matter what I did Esme would be hurt in this situation. I wondered briefly who she'd side with and simply hoped she wouldn't have to side with anyone.

Edward had been listening in to my thoughts this whole time, naturally. Normally he was good about being discreet. He wouldn't comment unless the thoughts were intended for him. Since it wasn't something he could help, we did our best to normalize it. In turn he did his best to keep our business to himself.

These thoughts of who would side with whom were enough to elicit a response, though.

"I'm not sure how the table will fall," he said. "But Jasper is concerned for Alice's safety. He's resolved to do what he must."

Resolved? What is he resolved about… It hit me at once. I slid to a halt. "WHAT?"

"Hey!" Edward shouted back. Rage consumed me as I pieced together the resolution Edward had implied. I had to find Jasper before he could get to the girl. He'd stayed at school, hopefully he had sense to stay there until classes were over before he began the hunt, otherwise people could piece together his absence with her disappearance.

I took off back towards Forks, intent on reaching the girl's house and watching to make sure no one else could approach. If I got there first, I could head him off before he got close. Lucky I had been able to get her address from Carlisle's files.

"Hold on!" Edward caught up with me and gripped my arm tightly. "You need to calm down! We don't know anything definitively, because we haven't had our family meeting yet, right? We can discuss this at the table."

I slowed to a stop and tried to calm myself down, but the rage kept boiling up.

"Brother," Edward said reassuringly. "Breathe."

Instead I turned to a large imbedded rock next to me, ripped it from the ground and threw it hard at a small copse of trees several yards away. Two of the standing trees cracked on impact and fell over sideways.

"Jasper won't do anything until we all talk. You know this. He's too smart to make any rash decisions."

I took a deep breath and punched a tree behind Edward's left shoulder. It fell over with a cacophonous crash, but I felt calmer.

"What's gotten into you?" Edward asked in disbelief, looking around at the wreckage.

You should know, I thought pointedly.

He lifted his hands in a motion of uncertainty. "That doesn't mean I understand it."

I took a moment to consider his confusion. He would likely back Jasper if our family meeting wasn't able to diffuse the situation.

If the necessity arose, I could hold my own against one or the other of them in a fight, even with Edward's cheat, but not both at once. Jasper had spent so many years fighting in the southern wars that he was one of the most skilled combatants I knew. He was so skilled, in fact, that he could often out maneuver my strength. Edward was harder because he could see an opponent's every move before they made it. To beat Edward in a fight one had to be quick and unpredictable.

God, and now I was strategizing about how to beat my own family if it came to a fight. Was I really already there? Was I willing to fight my brothers over a human I barely knew?

La had felt so tiny and fragile in my arms. My terror when she'd hit her head against my chin was an excellent example of how easily she could die from the slightest thing. That juxtaposition against my family of supernaturally strong predators was simply unfair.

I would absolutely fight for her. Even against my own family.

Edward's expression darkened as I came to this conclusion. It pained me to lose him, but I couldn't leave this girl undefended when I was the one that had put her in danger to begin with.

"You're a mess, Emmett," Edward spat. "We better get back."

As we ran back towards the Cullen home I continued to break down the possibilities. Edward and Jasper were clearly on one side of the table, and as I had already considered- I couldn't win a fight against the two of them together.

Would I be alone in this? Probably not.

Carlisle wouldn't fight anyone but he would undoubtedly be against Jasper's violent ideas. His caution and logic may be enough to keep this rift from turning ugly, but we'd have to see how resolved Jasper really was.

Esme would want to argue for whichever outcome would keep her family together. Her first priority would not consider the fallout, but whether her children would be safe. This infighting would be hard for her, so she would side with eliminating the problem simply because it would keep me close and our family whole. Where Carlisle was the great moral leader, Esme was the heart and soul. Carlisle's values gave us convictions we could follow willingly. Esme gave us the reason to stay- by teaching us to love.

Even under all this plotting and vengeful anger, I knew that I loved them. Even Jasper who had incited all this fury. His actions were done out of love as well, because when it came to Alice's safety he took zero chances.

This brought me to the last member of our coven. Alice was difficult. Her love and dedication went as deep as Esme's, but it presented differently since her foresight granted her the ability to know how each decision would affect us. Her choice would probably depend largely on which side had the best outcome for the family in the long run.

All of this fell through my mind as we approached the house from the east. I could hear a set of steps running parallel to us on the left that sounded light enough to belong to Alice. Jasper didn't seem to be with her, which was a blessing. I didn't think I would have been able to control my anger in sight of him just yet.

"Jasper is already at the table with Esme," Edward confirmed for me. "Carlisle is on his way."

When we were about ten miles out I slowed my run to a more sedate pace to let Alice catch up. Edward bolted onward. As he disappeared into the trees ahead Alice slipped through a space between two trees and took up the place he'd vacated.

"Wait," she said and came to a stop. I followed suit and watched her warily. She was rubbing her face again, like she had a headache. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, but vampires didn't get pains the way humans did.

"What's up, munchkin?"

"The images are shifting so quickly it's getting harder to keep track of what may actually happen," she looked up at me seriously. "We can't fight. That can't happen, Emmett. I won't let it."

"Edward said Jasper was pretty sure of his course," I insisted.

"He is, but we may be able to convince him otherwise." Her little fingers returned to the pressure points in her eye sockets.

"How?"

"Carlisle has some ideas," she said, and started walking toward the house. "I'm trying to keep track of them as he reasons them out, but Jasper's plans- and yours- keep changing so I'm having trouble finding the right path."

"Carlisle already knows what's going on?"

"Of course he does," she sighed and pulled a leaf off a fern tree nearby. She shredded it into confetti and tossed the pieces into the air in front of her. "Jasper called him, but he already had some concerns about it. He knows us all too well."

"Will he make it home in time?"

"Yes, he's pulling into the garage in about a minute and a half."

"We'd better get this over with, then."

"Emmett," she tugged my arm. "There are other options. We don't have to fight, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, but I didn't believe her.

"Just promise to give this mediation a chance?"

She was sent out to stall me. That's why she waited until Edward took off to join me on the run. It was probably for the best, but I wasn't happy about being manipulated.

"Yeah, kid. I promise."

There was no reason to dally. Alice and I walked through the bright open living room directly into the dining room without hesitation. This room was only called a "dining room" for practicality's sake. We didn't actually eat- or rather drink anything in here. Still, it contained a large oval shaped mahogany table with matching chairs, and a dry bar along one wall. It was important that we had all the logical props in place, even if the likelihood of a human ever seeing them was minimal.

Since it wasn't used for dining, Carlisle liked to use it for conferences and family meetings instead. We probably would have done better with a round table today, but I'd work with what was available.

Carlisle was seated in his usual place at the head of the table. Esme was seated to his right. They held hands on the table top; a united front. Esme watched me enter and choose the seat next to her. As I sat she gripped my shoulder reassuringly, but her lips were pressed together in concern.

Carlisle's face gave no indication of his thoughts. He was too practiced at dissembling to give anything away, but I was sure he had multiple plans in place for every possibility.

Jasper was seated at the other end of the table, arms crossed, face a calm veneer. Edward sat beside him looking frustrated and ill at ease. Alice followed me in, but didn't sit down. She leaned against the wall, eyes closed, rubbing her temples. Jasper watched her, but didn't ask her to sit.

My gaze flicked back and forth between the faces of my family members, not sure where to start.

Carlisle spoke up to give us direction. "Why don't we get all the facts out, first? Emmett, what happened in the parking lot?"

I described the accident in detail, leaving nothing out. Hearing myself say it made it sound even more reckless than it felt.

"I'm sorry," I finished. "I wasn't thinking and I put you all at risk. It was thoughtless and dangerous. I'll do whatever I can smooth everything out."

"Smooth it out?" Jasper retorted. "I think we're beyond smoothing. We need to fix this."

"Not like that," I said harshly. "I'm willing to leave if it will make things better." But not before I know that girl is safe, I added to myself.

"No," Esme said immediately. "No, Emmett."

I reached up to squeeze the hand that was still resting on my shoulder. "It's only a couple years."

"Leaving wouldn't help, anyway," Edward interjected. "You can't go anywhere, now. That would be the opposite of helpful. We have to make sure you're normalized before you disappear, otherwise it would be obvious we're trying to hide something."

"He's right, Emmett." Carlisle scratched his chin in thought. "The girl is more likely to ask questions if you disappear."

And if she tried to talk, Jasper would make sure it was impossible for her to.

"She won't," I said quickly. I needed to make this point very clear. "She won't say anything."

"We don't know that for sure," Carlisle disagreed.

"Edward, come on, man," I plead. "You're the one that noticed she didn't say anything after I took off on her last week."

"Yes, but that was a much smaller offense," he said. "You've already admitted that she saw everything this time. She knows that we're different now rather than suspects."

"Alice," I tried a different tack, hoping her foresight would be able to back me up.

"I can't see what will happen if we ignore this," she looked pointedly at Jasper.

"We can't risk the chance of the girl talking," Jasper said calmly. "Even if we all leave, it's not safe for us to leave these types of stories behind us. If Italy catches wind of it they'll be all too happy to investigate, and if they do- there is no where on earth we can hide."

He looked directly at me now. "And then she would be dead anyway."

A snarl threatened to leap out of my throat but I forced it down. "We've left stories behind us before."

"Rumors and suspicions are not eyewitnesses," Edward rebutted with false tranquility.

"It wouldn't be a big production," Jasper continued. "The girl hit her head, maybe her injury was more serious than it looked. I will make it look natural, leave no evidence behind me."

"Yes," the snarl finally escaped me. "We are all very aware of how skilled you are at murder, Jasper."

He turned cold eyes on me, but remained silent.

"Emmett," Carlisle said calmly before I could come up with another outburst. "Calm yourself. I understand your concerns, Jasper, but I do not believe our friends in Italy would make the trek out here for one human. We are talking about ending the life of an innocent girl. This is not the same situation you faced in the south."

"It's not personal," Jasper said. "It's to protect all of us. Like I said, if Italy does decide one human is enough to investigate, this whole region will burn. Thousands of innocents could die."

There was a brief silence as Carlisle deliberated. We all watched as his eyes moved back and forth as though he was reading a book, going over all the facts, weighing the details. Eventually he nodded. Jasper's eyes lit up. I jumped back from the table in a cold fury before I noticed Edward. He was shaking his head minutely. I should have known better.

"I know you mean well, Jasper, but…" he gazed around the table at his collected family. "I would like very much for this to be a family worth protecting. The occasional accident or lapse in control is a regrettable part of what we are, but to plan the murder of a blameless bystander in cold blood is another thing altogether.

"I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks her suspicions or not, is nothing to the greater risk. If we find reasons to make exceptions in order to protect ourselves, we negate the reason we chose this lifestyle. We risk losing the essence of who we are."

It was well stated. I would have cheered if the mood allowed, but I sufficed with a grin and sat back into my seat beside Esme.

"We would be expected to clean up our mistakes if we lived near any others of our kind," Jasper argued reasonably.

"We don't live near any others of our kind," Carlisle reminded him. "Every life is precious."

Edward sighed. "So what next? Do we move on as soon as timing allows?"

"We just got settled," Esme lamented. "I love this house."

"We don't have to decide now," Carlisle assured her. "Emmett seems very sure of the Davis girl's silence. If she remains so we can stay."

The two of them continued their discussion of the possibilities. I watched Jasper closely. He was silent, but unmoved. In his posture I could see his readiness to proceed with his plans.

The worst part was that I could understand it. The warzone he had come from had called the attention of Italy and suffered the consequences of indiscretion on more than one occasion. If he thought for a second Alice might be involved in a visit from the Italian vampire governing body, the Volturi, he would do anything necessary to avoid it.

"Jasper," I said.

He met my gaze, expressionless.

"She won't pay for my mistake," I told him quietly. "I won't allow that."

"She benefits from it, then?" He asked archly. "She should have died today, Emmett. I would only seek to set that right."

I repeated myself, emphasizing each word. "I will not allow it."

He tilted his head and his mouth dropped open as though a reply stuck at the tip of his tongue. He hadn't been expecting this, hadn't imagined that I would act to stop him.

He shook his head once, coming to a decision. "I won't let Alice live in danger, even a slight danger. You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about her, Emmett, and you haven't lived through what I've lived through. You don't understand."

"I'm not arguing that, Jasper. I'm just telling you now, I won't let you to hurt Delilah Davis."

We stared at each other, not glaring exactly, but measuring the opposition. I could see him sampling the mood around me, testing my determination.

"Jazz," Alice interrupted us.

He didn't break eye contact as he responded to his mate. "Don't bother telling me you can protect yourself, Alice. That isn't the point-"

"That's not what I was going to say," Alice trilled. "I was going to ask a favor."

Edward barked out a laugh and smacked the table. "I suppose we should have seen that coming," he snickered.

"What?" I looked back and forth between Alice and Edward. Jasper was just as bemused.

"I know you love me. Thanks. But I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill La. First of all, Emmett is serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend. At least, she's going to be."

"What." I said again.

"But… Alice…" Jasper gasped, words halting with misgiving. His hands had dropped from the protective cross over his chest, and he'd pushed back from his seat to stand halfway out of it.

My only consolation was that he was clearly as confused as I was. Before I could ask another question, probably "what," again, Alice went on.

"I'm going to love her someday, Jazz. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be."

"…I…" I began to speak, but Alice's tense expression finally broke into one of happy confidence.

"Ah," she sighed. "See? La isn't going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."

The way she said the Davis girl's name. As though they were already close confidants…

"Alice," I tried again. "What does this…" I didn't know what I really wanted to ask, so I let the end drift off.

"I told you there was a change coming... I don't know, Emmett." She clenched her jaw and looked at Jasper.

"Wait!" Edward interjected. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Edward!" She glared at him.

"There's more?" I demanded. "What is it? Is it about her? Is it about La?"

"Holy shit," Edward stated. The room went silent. Edward never cursed, he found it ungentlemanly. In fact, most of the family left that sort of thing in my department.

"What is it, son?" Carlisle asked.

"Don't," Alice mumbled.

"They should know," Edward said quietly. Alice didn't argue so Edward turned back to me. "She saw La transitioning."

"WHAT?!" I jumped to my feet again, so swiftly this time my chair flew backwards and fell to the floor with a resounding whack.

"It's solidifying," Alice whispered. "Every minute you're more decided. There are only two outcomes left for her now. She'll either become one of us, or she'll die."

Esme gasped, hands covering her mouth. Jasper was looking rapidly between us, still emanating disbelief. Carlisle watched impassively.

"So, what you're telling me is she's dead either way," I sneered.

"I'm sorry, Emmett…"

"No," I muttered, and staggered into the table. My legs felt hollow, they wouldn't hold my weight. "No," I said again, voice even weaker. "I have to leave."

"Emmett," Edward said apologetically. "We've already been over that. If you leave, the girl will likely start talking. You have to stay and help us monitor this situation."

"I don't see you leaving, Emmett," Alice was still speaking in that apologetic voice. "I don't think you can leave, anymore."

"If the other option is killing her I think I can figure it out," I spat.

"Think about it, then," she challenged. "Think about leaving."

I sank to the floor by Alice's feet. I could see what she meant. The thought of never seeing that messy mop of hair again, hearing that ridiculous snorting noise she made… it was an uncomfortable thought.

Alice and I ceased to remember the other people in the room. We were so wrapped up in our own conversation we couldn't see past each other's faces.

She crouched before me and put her hands on my shoulders. "We can't be entirely sure Jasper will continue to agree to not harm her if you leave," she whispered.

"I'm not hearing this." I knew Jasper would never do anything to hurt Alice. It wasn't possible for him to. "Why are you doing this to me?" My head fell into my hands.

I could not be protector to La Davis. It didn't make any sense for me to be.

"I love her, too," she sank from her crouch to her knees and pulled me into a hug. "Or I will. It's not the same, but I'd really like to have her around for the chance."

"Love her, too?" I stared at Alice incredulously.

"Oh, Emmett," she squeezed me tighter, hugging my head to her chest. "You are so blind. Can't you see where you're headed? Where you already are? It's more inevitable than the sun rising."

"No," I would deny it until the bitter end. "I'll leave. I can change the future. For her, I can."

"You can try," Alice said.

"I don't want this for her," I moaned. "It's not fair."

"Why not?" she asked. "You don't know what she wants, and you never will if you leave."

Edward cleared his throat. "She has a point, Emmett."

"Shut the fuck up, Edward."

"Love her? Do you mean the human?" Esme asked in a stunned voice. "The girl he saved today? He's fallen in love with her?"

"So it would seem," Carlisle said mildly.

"Alice, dear?" Esme called softly down to us. "What are you seeing exactly?"

Alice continued to hug my head as she spoke. "It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not. Either he'll kill her himself," she pushed me away just enough to meet my gaze seriously. "Which would really irritate me, Emmett, not to mention what it would do to you," she wrapped a thin arm around my neck and sank the fingers on her other hand into my hair, rubbing comfortingly at my scalp. To Esme she said, "or she'll be one of us someday."

Someone gasped again; I guessed it was Esme.

"That's not going to happen!" I shouted and pushed Alice away. "Either one!"

Alice ignored me and continued to speak over my head to Esme. "It all depends," she repeated. "It will take an amazing amount of control," she mused. "More even than Carlisle has. He may be just strong enough, but it will be close. The only thing he's not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That's a lost cause."

That last declaration sucked the wind from my sails. I didn't have any more words. No one else in the room seemed to either. We all sat absolutely still in complete silence.

After several moments in the quiet Carlisle spoke, breaking the spell. "Well, this… complicates things."

"Understatement of the year, Pops," I said, and slumped backwards until I lay prone on the floor.

"I suppose the plans remain the same, though," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "We'll stay, and watch. Obviously, no one will...hurt the girl."

I stiffened waiting for Jasper's response.

"No," Jasper said quietly. "I can agree to that. If Alice sees only two outcomes..."

"No!" I groaned, and rolled over on the floor, covering my head with my hands. I was behaving like a child, but I was feeling so lost. I had no idea what to do. I needed to get out of there. I popped up and looked around at the faces at the table. All of them were watching me.

Carlisle looked concerned, Alice- a bit smug, Edward was amused, Jasper wary… but worst of all was Esme's joy. How she could feel any amount of happiness right now was beyond me. I understood a mother always wants to see their children find happiness in love, but love with a human could only bring tragedy for our kind. There was nothing to be happy about in this situation.

In an instant I spun on my heel and fled. I started running as soon as I'd cleared the dining room doorway and banged out the front door into the meadow surrounding the house. I ran in a straight line toward Seattle, dashing over the mountains, crashing through streams, and tearing trees out by their roots as I went.

Rain poured down in sheets so thick I would have been breathing water had I been breathing at all. It drenched through my clothes, water arching off my dripping fists as they swung in time with my stride. I finally stopped when I could see the lights of Seattle on the other side of the sound.

I found a small outcropping clear of trees that offered a view of the city in the distance, but no cover from the rain. My seat on the exposed ledge left me surrounded by the falling sheets of water. I felt shut in and claustrophobic. There was no way to escape the mess I'd made of the future.

Alice had said there were two options. The first was that somehow La would become a vampire. I tried to imagine what that would look like; her graham cracker skin lustrous with the transition, eyes neon red from the human blood still coursing through her veins. She would be glorious, I was sure of it.

The problem was that there was really only one reason she could become a vampire, and that was if I turned her into one myself. If there was ever a moment where I was in the near vicinity of her naked blood, I would undoubtedly kill her. Alice's vision had to be wrong. Transition was impossible because I would never be able to resist her blood. I didn't want to take that chance, even she wanted me to.

All this aside, who was I to decide how she lived or died? I didn't want to force her into such an impossible choice either. Risk a painful death to be with a guy she just met for eternity?

There had to be another option. Some other way of ensuring her survival.

If I could be strong enough to choose a different path, we all might get out of this without unnecessary pain. Would I be able to do it?

I would have to, when the only other option meant death.