A/N:

After this chapter, there is only 1 more and then the epilogue, so I just wanted to tell you now how much I have appreciated your support and your love for this story, and of course, my interpretation of Emmett :-D

I will, naturally, give you a much sappier AN at the end of the epilogue, but I'm starting to feel the end now, so I just wanted to let you know!

Title: Origins: Destiny in the Mountains

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader:BitterHarpy

Genre: Family/Supernatural

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Emmett Brian McCarty never had much in life, but growing up poor didn't stop him from enjoying life and all its pleasures.

However, always seeking thrills most often means it will end badly, and one day, while hunting for game in the mountains, Emmett meets his destiny. Canon. ExR

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 24

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7th 1995

"Good day, boys," the clerk in the jewelry store welcomed Jasper and I warmly. "Are you perhaps looking for Valentine's Day gifts for your girlfriends?"

I grinned at him. "You got that right, and we're here to spend a lot of money, so show us the best you got."

The clerk gave me a strange look as he appraised us up and down and the clothes we were wearing. Once he was satisfied our clothes appeared expensive enough for me to be telling the truth, he gestured for us to come closer. "What's your price range, gentlemen?"

Holding in my laughter wasn't easy when the clerk went from calling us "boys" to "gentlemen" in a matter of seconds. Money really could get you pretty much anything, and since Alice joined our family, our assets had grown to proportions too large for our family to spend.

That meant on celebrated capitalistic days such as Valentine's Day, we men really enjoyed spoiling our women with ridiculously expensive shit—the kind of stuff normal people wouldn't dare to ever take out of the box or their personal safe.

We gave a whole hell of a lot to charity too, so we didn't feel bad about spending the money either.

Jasper gave the clerk an intense look. "What's the most expensive piece in the store?"

The clerk swallowed hard, and his mouth twitched. I didn't even need Edward's talent to know what the man was thinking in that moment. He clearly wasn't certain whether to believe we were pranking him or not, and since we'd specifically chosen a jewelry store where we knew the employees worked on commission, he was a little scared to get his hopes up.

Another thing we did whenever we went out to buy something, and we knew it would be really pricey, we researched places and then chose the employee who really deserved the heavy commission. Like the clerk. We knew he had a wife with a kidney disorder, and she desperately needed a transplant surgery, but their insurance didn't cover it, so they were unable to even get her on a waiting list.

"We have a necklace for forty thousand," he replied, and the fact that his voice didn't shake showed how professional he was. I liked that. He didn't appear to be a greedy man.

"I'd like to see it," Jasper said calmly, and I agreed with him.

Once again, the clerk looked us over, and then with a small nod, he gestured for us to follow him over to a glass case displaying a couple of jewelry sets with pearl details. He didn't take them out of the case, which I didn't blame him for. He couldn't know for sure yet that we weren't out to steal.

"Twenty-carat diamonds and white South Sea pearls—very rare on the market. The drop necklace goes for $44,400."

Jasper leaned forward as if he needed to take a closer look, and then hummed in contemplation. We already knew we would buy it, but we didn't want to seem insincere by acting too eager. "Mom would really like it," he said for the clerk's benefit.

"Are you kidding? She'd love it. We should buy it and tell Dad to give it to her next week. She'd be over the moon," I said, playing along.

"How about the two next to it. I like the one with the single pearl."

"Yes, that's a platinum chain with a single golden South Sea pearl. The asking price is $40,200."

"And the diamond necklace?"

"Eighteen carats. Pavement setting and pear-shaped pendant. $40,300."

Jasper and I exchanged a look, smiled, and then turned back to the clerk.

"We'll take all three."

{=DITM=}

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16th 1998

"Emmett, if I had news about your human family, you'd like to know, right?" Alice tentatively asked from the doorway to Rosalie's and my new room. We'd just moved back to Alaska to spend some time with our friends in Denali as well as introduce them to Alice and Jasper.

I was unpacking a few boxes when Alice came to find me, and I was completely taken by surprise by her question.

"My human family?" My heart clenched when I thought of them because I realized I'd barely lent them a thought in the sixty-odd years that had passed. I was certain they'd gotten through their perils after I left them that bag of money, and I'd told myself it was better for me not to look back.

Mom and Dad were most definitely dead by now, but I wasn't so sure about my siblings. Gavin and Ian would be really old, and Bea would be closer to eighty, and so whatever news Alice had, I doubted it would be good.

"Depends on the news, I guess," I said cautiously. "Is it something I would want to know, or something I could live without knowing?"

She gave me half a shrug. "Naturally, you could live without knowing it, but I thought it would be fun for you."

Her words helped me relax because something that would be fun for me obviously meant good news. "Okay, so who is it about?"

She pulled out a newspaper from behind her back and handed it to me, already folded at the right place. The image depicted an old woman with white hair neatly styled, and she was holding a small little baby. Next to her, a woman was crouching with one hand on the elder woman's shoulder, and the other touching the baby's cheek.

The image's caption was what made me laugh with both elation and a hint of annoyance. "Beatrice L. Jones, former Mayor of Gatlinburg City, with daughter, Emmy, and granddaughter, Fiona."

"Well, I'll be damned. Mayor, huh?" I met Alice's eyes, and she smiled widely at me.

"Yeah, and the first female one in Gatlinburg, at that!"

"Really? And she's a grandmother now, too."

"Your grandniece," Alice pointed out. "They gave her a beautiful name, don't you think? Doesn't it mean 'Fair' in Gaelic?"

I snorted. "I have no idea. I never learned the language, but Mama's name was Fiona, so they most likely named the baby after her."

"That's nice."

"It really is." I nodded. "It feels good knowing the money I left made a real difference."

"It did more than just make a difference," Alice said, and her expression was so serious it caused me to question it. "It saved their lives."

"How do you know?"

"I saw it." She gave me a somewhat sheepish smile when I frowned in question. "I told you I saw all of you before Jasper and I joined the family."

"Yeah, but I didn't know you looked that closely."

"I didn't," she promised. "But it was a big decision on your part, and while you contemplated it, I saw both outcomes. If you hadn't left that money, it would have started a chain of events that would have caused your family to first have their house taken away. They'd have to live in shelters and on the streets. Eventually … well ..." she trailed off, and I appreciated it. I didn't want to know the gory details despite the fact the vision quite clearly hadn't been realized.

She quickly changed the subject. "I also have it on good authority that Beatrice named her daughter after you."

"Shut up, you little imp, or you'll make me cry," I said with an exaggerated grimace, and Alice giggled as she wound her arms around my waist. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome."

"I can't believe the little slick went and married my kid sister," I mumbled to myself as I once again stared at Bea's married last name, and Alice gave me a weird look.

"Who?"

I guffawed at her expression and explained what I meant. "My old friend Jonathan Jones, but we always called him Jack. He was this somewhat stuck-up and solemn type I went to school with at first and later worked with. I had no idea he fancied my sister."

"And you're sure it's him?"

"Well, no, but it wouldn't surprise me, and I can't really see anyone else in the city wanting to marry Bea, so it must be him."

Alice took a step back from me and crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed. "I don't think I've ever been this confused in my life. Are you saying your sister was ugly or something? Why wouldn't anyone but this 'Jack' want to marry her?"

I realized I needed to further explain what I meant, but I didn't blame Alice. She didn't remember her human life, so she had no idea whether her family or even the town she used to live in had the same prejudices against Irish people like Gatlinburg used to have. "Bea was one of the most beautiful girls in Gatlinburg, but she's half-Irish, and my family was quite outcast because of that. Jack was one of the very few who didn't care. That's why I'm almost certain it's him."

"Does that make you mad?"

"Not really," I said with complete honesty and a smile. "I just can't see it in my head. Jack and Bea as a couple, I mean."

I looked at the image caption one last time and felt the pride in me swell into obnoxious proportions. The fact that my sister, who had to be pulled from school for a few years, had succeeded and become a mayor of our hometown made me happier than I'd thought was possible.

{=DITM=}

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17th 1998

"Eleazar, my man! How's it hangin'?" I shook his hand. "I like what you've done with the crib."

He laughed. "I see you're embracing the lingo of the decade."

"Gotta keep up with the times, dude."

"We're constantly tellin' him to tone it down," Jasper commented as he came up behind me and offered his hand to Eleazar. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jasper." Alice bounded up to us and ducked under Jasper's arm. "And this little elf is my better half, Alice."

Eleazar smiled. "A pleasure. Quite a power couple the two of you are. A pathokinetic warrior and a clairvoyant. Very impressive. I wouldn't want to face the two of you in a fight."

Jasper grinned widely. "No, I doubt you would. But I hear I'm not the only one with a sensational resume. A former Volturi guard, no less."

I removed myself as the conversation between my brother and friend steered into a direction I was less interested in and wandered over to where Kate and Rosie were talking.

The two had become very close our first time in Alaska, closer than my wife was with any of the other sisters, and the irony of it, considering how they acted the first time they met, wasn't lost on me. But they were also talking about things I didn't care for, so I ended up sitting next to Edward in the sitting area where he was alone.

As I sank deep into the couch, I noticed how Tanya constantly, and not very subtly, looked at my brother, and I hit him on the arm to get his attention.

"Ow, what'd you do that for?"

"Are you going to talk to her or not?" I thought as I saw it unnecessary and cruel to talk about Tanya when she could hear us.

Edward glanced in Tanya's direction, and then hit me right back. "Will you stop?"

"What?"

"It's none of your business, so could you back off?" He was obviously irritated with me.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Not in that way and you know it. I've already told you that."

"What's the problem? She likes you, you don't think she's horrible, and you're both old-ass vampires. Why don't you give it a shot?"

"You know why." He huffed and turned his back to me.

"I'm not talking about mating with her for the rest of eternity. What's the issue with letting off some steam with her? God knows you need it."

He glared at me. "I don't get it. Why do you care?"

"Because then maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time."

As he stood up and walked off, his words let me know I'd hurt him more than I thought. "Go to hell, Emmett." He disappeared out the front door, and everyone in the house turned to look at me and waited for an explanation for his sudden departure.

Without saying a word, I started after him to apologize, and Jasper tagged along. Maybe it would be good to have a proper talk between brothers, and maybe, between the three of us, we could come up with a solution that made it possible for us to talk about stuff like this without it turning into a fight.

I knew Esme would appreciate that, and Carlisle, too.

We found Edward pacing in the forest, far enough away from the house to keep anyone from hearing what was said, and after taking a deep breath, we walked over to him.

As I was the one who caused it, I was the one who started talking. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean any disrespect."

He grimaced. "Funny because that's exactly what it felt like." He lightly punched a tree, but what was deemed lightly to us still left a mark on the bark. "Don't you guys understand that my loneliness is already blatantly obvious to me without you always pointing it out? And that 'letting off steam', as you put it, isn't an option because, according to my personal values, it's wrong?"

Jasper gave me a questioning glare since he hadn't heard the entire conversation between me and Edward. His expression told me he thought I'd acted like a dickhead.

"Dude, I'm sorry," I said again. "I just don't see what the big deal is. Why hold so tight onto values that matter squat in this decade? We're vampires. The normal rules don't exactly apply to us. No one can expect an immortal man to remain a virgin until he meets the one. And who even knows how long that could take? A year? A decade? Another century?"

"It's not about the sex," Edward growled and bared his teeth, but Jasper calmed him down again. "I couldn't care less about that," he continued, much less hostile. "To me, being intimate with a woman is a special experience you should only share with the one you love. Is it wrong of me to feel that way?"

Before I could answer, Jasper stepped in.

"No, Edward, of course it's not wrong. Emmett's just being a little thickheaded at the moment, and I'm sure he'll even admit that himself"—I nodded—"but at the same time, he's only trying to help. In his own way. I can feel his intentions, remember?"

Edward met my look, and I gave him another apologetic smile and a half-shrug.

"I'm just looking out for my brother," I said, and finally, he cracked his own smile and shook his head.

"I appreciate that, but in the future … please, don't."

The three of us shared a good laugh before we started back toward the house.

A/N:

Thoughts?

We got to see Emmett in a few different situations there!

Talk about making that sales clerk's day, right? And how do you feel about what happened to Bea? I paired her with Emmett's former friend Jack because in my head, Jack was always a little bit interested in Bea, but he was also scared of being punched in the face by Emmett.

I can promise you, Gavin and Ian made him prove himself worthy though ;-)

And then we got the Denali clan again! Emmett really do mean well, but I'm sure anyone with an overbearing sibling can sympathize with Edward here :-P

Anyway, next week, I'm gonna give you both the last chapter and the epilogue, so …

Until next week,

Stay Awesome!