Chapter Info

Title: Family Reunion

Number: 2/?

Warnings: Angst

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Comments are love!

Goldielover: Thank you for reading and commenting! He's definitely my favorite, too. My obsession knows no bounds. :D Thanks again, hope you enjoy this chapter!

-Alice-

Bella never told anyone the name of the friend in Seattle that she was inviting to the wedding, but if she had then it would've explained Alice's vision much better than the confusion and horror that swept through her when she first saw it, and again when she showed Edward.

What can this mean? Can it be her? she thought desperately to him after they sat for a little while to try and figure it out. But no rational explanation came to them other than there was something mixed up in the vision—which never happened—or it was a huge coincidence that this unknown human looked like her, their mother.

"She's dead," Edward said, his firm voice full of pained resolve. "She's been gone for fifty years, Alice, you know that."

"I know," she whispered. "That doesn't mean we can't hope." She shrugged. "The anniversary is coming up. Maybe I mixed up my memories with a vision." She desperately wanted that to be true.

"That's never happened before." Alice could only shrug again. "But if it's not... If this girl looks like her..." He shook his head. "We have to keep Carlisle away. This day can help him forget her for a few hours. The last thing we need is for some human who looks like his dead wife to mess that up."

Alice didn't like it, but she agreed. Together they decided that the best explanation was that she got them mixed up, that her memories collided with her visions, and this girl meant nothing, just another faceless anonymous human. Though why she was having visions about a random girl Bella decided to invite, she didn't know, she simply saw a flash of the reception and that was it. It was confusing, but she forced it aside as the day of the wedding arrived and there was more to focus on than the random girl who would mean nothing to them.

Alice had nearly successfully pushed the vision aside until she was headed down the aisle and she got another one. It was basically the same as before, but it was clear that it had nothing to do with her memories. The human girl looked like her and there was no logical explanation as to why or how that could happen. Things like that just didn't happen; people, much less vampires, didn't just come back from the dead. And vampires didn't come back from the dead as humans, that was for sure. So Alice was convinced that it was just a coincidence...until she saw the look on Edward's face as she got closer.

She's here! she thought with a quick nod to her, the move so fast none of the humans would've seen it even if they had been paying attention to her. He gave her an answering nod, and they forced themselves to focus on the wedding because that was way more important than trying to figure out what the significance of the strange, unknown human was.

As Alice saw, everything went off without a hitch, and the reception started right after the ceremony ended.

We have to keep Carlisle away from that human, Alice thought to Edward who nodded to her. Carlisle was on one side of the dance floor with the rest of their family and the human was on the other so that was a good start, all they had to do was spend the rest of the night keeping it that way. It wouldn't be too hard; just keep Carlisle dancing and away from the food table where she was standing by talking quietly with Billy Black, and the night should be relatively easy.

The bride and groom were announced and the party began. Alice never took her eyes off both Carlisle and the unknown human, making sure they never saw each other. As usual, Carlisle was rather quiet, but he had been that way for the past fifty years. Subdued and gentle, the type of man who only spoke when spoken to. He hadn't always been like that, but that horrible night in 1955 changed him. For nearly thirty years, he didn't speak or move a muscle, forcing the others to figure out how to work their story. When they came home one day in 1984, he wasn't in his usual spot and they panicked thinking he took his own life like most vampires who lost their mates did, but he had simply woken from whatever catatonic coma he has been under and went to hunt. He was there, but he was never the same, and hadn't smiled once.

While he was still the leader they all knew and loved, he wasn't the man he once was ever since their mother's death. And so they would do everything they could to protect him from the pain. Seeing a human that looked like his dead mate would likely induce the state again, and they refused to allow that to happen.

The siblings huddled together, making it look casual so as not to cause alarm with the other guests or Carlisle, but they needed to be close enough that they didn't have to yell over the music. It was there that Edward and Alice explained the situation to the others and all of them had the same expressions on their face that Alice and Edward once had.

"That's impossible," Rosalie hissed.

Alice frowned sadly. "I thought so, too, but the vision never changed. And Rose... She's here." Alice gestured over her shoulder to point out the human. A low hiss from the others told them that they easily picked her out.

"I don't understand..." Emmett said, frowning, hands tightening into fists at his sides.

"Neither do we," Alice said. "But Edward's listening for her thoughts. Maybe we'll figure something out that way."

.x.x.x.x.

-Abigail-

After the ceremony, Seth had went right for the food making Billy shake his head and Abigail scoff, while her stomach grew more and more knotted and she had no clue why. It was like she had more of a reason to be nervous now that she was free to interact with the rest of the wedding guests than she had been watching the ceremony. There was no way she could eat even though she hadn't eaten since they were at La Push earlier so she knew she probably should. She shook her head as Beth offered her a plate, leaning against the table with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm good," she said which caused her friend to frown.

"Are you okay, Abi?" Beth wondered as she took a sip of champagne. Neither of them were much of a drinker, but they had decided to enjoy themselves, though Abi knew she wouldn't be able to keep it down. Her stomach churned again at the thought and she forced herself to think about something else.

"I'm fine," she said easily. She hated feeling weak.

Beth sighed, but thankfully didn't say anything else as she helped herself to some of the food laid out on the banquet style table. Abigail smiled at her and turned her attention to Seth who had already grabbed three plate's worth and was headed to sit by Billy and Sue. The kid pouted when Billy grabbed a plate with a smirk and Abigail giggled and tugged Beth over to sit at the table they had.

"Not gonna eat?" Seth asked through his mouthful of pasta and Abigail narrowed her eyes at him.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" The others, even Sue, laughed at him and he merely blushed and smiled, swallowing down his food.

"Sorry," he mumbled once he was through before shoving another mouthful passed his lips and teeth. Abigail couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

It was a nice setting and Abigail felt herself get more tense, but less nervous as the sky turned dark even beyond what the cloud coverage had already done. Nighttime was always her time, the time she felt the most calm and at peace. As usual, there was no way to see the stars beyond the clouds, but the brunette still smiled and glanced up at the night sky. The fairy-lights and candles flickering around made it light enough to see clearly, but didn't make it incredibly annoying like those huge stadium lights you usually see at outdoor events. The couple Mariners games that Beth had dragged her to when she was still with her ex always annoyed her; nighttime was for darkness, not harsh florescent lighting.

Speeches had been made and food and dancing were back on, so she took the opportunity to drag Seth and Billy out. Even though Billy clearly couldn't dance like the rest of them, she still took his hands to turn him around which she was thrilled to see made him smile. Beth had joined them and they danced in a group, laughing over shouted childhood stories and the ease this night brought everyone. Eventually Abigail managed to choke down a small plate of pasta and some champagne, which only made her head buzz a little due to lack of experience.

"Abigail!" The loud shout drifted over the voices and music, prickling the hair on the back of her neck, even as she knew the voice like she knew Billy's. The voice was that of Charlie Swan, someone she hadn't been able to say hello to as of yet because of the craziness. But the small-town chief of police was clearly happy and enjoying himself; she could tell that. A large grin took over her face as she wheeled in the direction the voice came from, spotting the familiar mop of dark hair and mustache over most of the crowd.

"Charlie!" she called back, waving to Billy and the others that she would be back before quickly making her way across the dance floor. The sound of her heels was hidden by the happy sounds of the wedding goers and the music that blared out through the large speakers. When she saw him grin back, she couldn't help but laugh as she met him halfway and quickly stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. Between Billy and the others at La Push, and now Charlie, she felt the familiar pang of sadness that her own parents were gone and unable to enjoy this splendid night, but was thankful she had so many amazing people to share it with that kept the spirits of Gwen and Hank Goodwin alive. It meant more to her than she could ever really express.

She squealed happily as he picked her up just like he always has, her feet dangling off the dance floor. She had been the same height since about fifth grade—a whopping five foot even—so whenever she hugged Charlie, Billy, Harry, Waylon, or her dad, they had always picked her up. She was happy to see now was no different even though she was twenty-two.

"I'm so happy to see you, kid," Charlie said and Abigail knew the emotions of the day hit him as well, probably even more than her because this was his daughter's wedding. His voice caught a little and she rubbed his back as he gently set her down. She smiled up at him softly and reached up to kiss his cheek.

"You, too, Charlie," she said honestly with a soft sigh. "I'm so happy for Bella! And so happy to be back. It's so weird being here without them, but I'm glad you and Billy are here. You haven't changed a bit." She giggled and reached up to wipe some lipgloss off his cheek. "Sorry."

He chuckled. "Don't mention it." He sighed gently. "When'd you get in? Let me look at ya." She took a step back, his hands on her shoulders, and he shook his head. "You can't grow up anymore, ya here? Bella's married, and you're living alone in Seattle as a nurse..." He clicked his tongue. "I don't like it."

She giggled again. "If I promise to stop growing up, do I get another hug?"

He scoffed. "You would get one without the promise, but thank you for it." Abigail grinned wider and reached up for another hug.

"So how're you doing? Really." Charlie raised a critical eyebrow as they broke apart and he put an arm around her shoulders, leading her back over to her group. Abigail opened her mouth to say her usual "I'm fine," but Charlie's look told her that wasn't going to work and she glanced at her feet, sighing.

"Better than I was," she finally admitted, voice quieter, stepping back to stand behind Billy's chair and together they went back to the table. She rolled her eyes as Seth went for more food, but the rest settled down with some champagne. Seth brought her back a plate and dared her to argue, so she just smiled and started picking at the admittedly delicious food. I wonder if they made it themselves or had it catered, she wondered absently as she bit off a piece of garlic bread.

"I'm surprised I didn't hear from you after the funeral," Charlie said with a frown. But Abigail hadn't really talked to anyone after that. She spoke to Beth, her patients, and her boss Caleb, but that was about it.

"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," she said softly, eating more bread as she forced herself not to get emotional. She refused to meet anyone's eyes, though. "I wasn't in the mind to talk to anyone. But you guys lost friends, too, and I'm sorry I wasn't more sensitive to that."

"Hey." Charlie put a hand on hers which paused her mindless eating. "They were your parents first and our friends second. It's okay." Abigail smiled softly and ate another bite.

"I'm better, though. I haven't been to the house until last night. I'm in their room, Beth's in my old room." She quickly introduced Beth to Charlie, feeling bad that she hadn't before. "And I haven't decided if I'm going to sell. I kind of want to because it's painful being there, but that house has been in my family since my dad was a kid."

Charlie and Billy smiled sadly, wistfully. "I remember," Billy murmured. Billy, Charlie, Harry, Waylon, and Hank had been friends since Hank moved there from Olympia at age five so to have three of the five gone... It was too much on Abigail's heavy heart and she angrily scrubbed at the tears that fell. Charlie put a silent arm around her shoulders.

She laughed humorlessly. "What am I doing? This is a wedding." She shook her head and pushed her emotions aside.

"Maybe keep it for at least a little while longer. Can't hurt, right?"

Abigail nodded. "I'm still paying for the heat so the pipes don't freeze, but yeah. I know no matter what, I'm keeping the recliner."

Charlie and Billy laughed. "You, Bella, and Jake used to bounce on that thing like a trampoline," Billy said with a sad fondness. "Can't believe Hank never got rid of it."

"Well, it's the comfiest chair you'll ever find, so I'm glad he didn't. Even if it falls apart on the move to Seattle, I'll take it." Abigail giggled and finished on her garlic bread and going for the champagne.

"Speaking of... Have you said hi to Bella yet?" Charlie wondered.

Abigail shook her head. "Nah, I haven't seen her in years, I was surprised to get an invite. I figured I'd bug her once she saw more important people."

Charlie scoffed and stood, pulling her with him and gestured to the others. "Please. Let's go, if anyone's there, I can over rule them as father of the bride."

Abigail giggled and nodded, taking another sip before standing and gesturing Charlie forward. "Okay, sure. Lead the way, chief."