A/N: Continuing on.
Disc.: Manipulating...
Masen was the first to walk, only to have Sarabella follow shortly after. They were six or so months old by the calendar, though the calendar meant little to any of them. It was a cool spring day and Nessie and the others had decided to head out to the field where they played baseball to soak up the sun as a storm threatened on the horizon. Seth had only taken his eyes off of the babies for a moment, their fat little Buddha bodies facing each other. They had not spoken since that first day that they sounded like a bunch of old people chatting. It was unnerving to the parents and family members that tried to coax words from them.
"You were such an agreeable child," Rosalie said as she cast a glance at the blanket. She paused. "Where are the babies?"
"What?" the others all said as their gazes suddenly snapped to alert and they looked where the now six month old babies should have been sitting. The blanket was bare, the bottles abandoned, and the toys forgotten.
"I just put them down!" Seth said as he and the others started to look for them.
"How in the world do our kids not have a scent?" Jacob grumbled as he phased back and forth between werewolf and human. "Its frustrating."
"Would you prefer I tie a lamb chop around their necks so you can smell them?" Nessie teased as she fought the panic that welled up inside her. The group split up, calling and searching for the kids. Bella groaned as she called her father.
"Bells, honey, what's wrong?" Charlie asked.
"Sarabella and Masen are gone," Bella said calmly. Charlie had just been told that they were Nessie's kids and he had asked no questions. Billy was thrilled at the idea of having grandchildren, though he wondered if either of them would be like Jacob and turn into werewolves or not when they hit puberty.
"Are you sure they didn't just have a growth spurt and join the masses of teenagers there on the Cullen's land?" Charlie joked quietly.
"Dad, seriously," Bella groaned.
"Alright, I'm on my way, kid," he said as he hung up the phone. Seth was almost as panicked as Jacob and Nessie.
"Maybe one of us should meet Charlie back at the house," Carlisle suggested.
"I'll go," Emmett offered.
"Sure, you just don't want to get stuck on diaper duty if you find them," teased Rosalie.
"Look, I don't know what is in soy, but there is just something not right about what comes out of those diapers," Emmett said laughing.
"Focus," Edward growled. "These are my grandkids."
"You're kinda young to be a grandpa," Alice murmured as she flittered away to look for them. "And so you know, it totally sucks that we can't use our 'super powers' on them."
"Maybe you really should tie something around them, a bell or something," Bella joked momentarily before she headed off in a direction to look for them.
Emmett headed up the front steps of the house. The door was slightly ajar and he hesitated, listening. He could hear a solitary heart beat, loud. He edged in to see the two tykes snoozing on the couch, their bodies curled together. Laughing silently, he flipped open his cell and dialed the family. They returned to the house in under five minutes just as Masen woke. He looked at them sleepily and then poked Sarabella in the shoulder.
"Told you," he muttered under his breath.
"How did you guys get here?" Nessie asked. Sarabella looked at her mother with her deep, soulful eyes.
"Walked," Sarabella said simply.
"Next time you guys are tired and want to come home to sleep, you need to let us know, ok? We were worried," Nessie told them as she hugged them to her body. Masen wiggled free and walked way, much to the amazement of the others.
"Sara?" he asked, hesitating. The two exchanged a look before Sarabella slid from her mother's arms and toddled away.
"Damn, you'd think that we'd stop getting surprised about thing like that," Jacob mumbled as the boy shot a furtive look back at the others. He took a seat a little bit off from the group and Sarabella sat across from him, staring.
"Odd little critters, aren't they?" Charlie asked as he entered.
"You have no idea," Jacob said. Sarabella and Masen's heads whipped towards Charlie. Masen got into a low crouch, his few little teeth bared. He growled.
"Um… maybe… we should get Charlie out of here quickly," Alice said as she shoved Charlie out the front door at an inhumane speed.
"What was that about?" Charlie asked as Jacob, Bella, and Edward joined him on the porch.
"I have no idea," Edward said with surprise.
"For a second there, I thought that he was going to… I don't know… attack me," Charlie said shaking his head. He glanced through the window where Emmett was restraining the little boy. "Er, I think I'll go."
"I'll call you, Dad," Bella promised.
"Be careful, Bella," Charlie warned and Bella laughed.
Once Charlie was gone, Bella, Jacob, and Edward headed back inside. Nessie was sitting on the couch, looking at her children warily. Seth by her side. Emmett was still wrestling with Masen, though it looked like Masen might have had the upper hand.
"Masen!" Jacob barked at his son. Masen paused and looked at him for a second.
"Yes?" he asked as he slowly released Emmett.
"What was that about, you acting like you were going to attack Charlie?" Jacob demanded. Masen glanced at Sarabella. She glanced at Seth for a moment then back at Masen. They seemed to be speaking with their eyes, the subtle movements only visible to the adults because of their super perceptive abilities.
"Nothing," Masen said.
"That didn't look like nothing," Nessie said warily. Masen looked at Sarabella again.
"Masen," she whispered. "Wait."
Masen slipped from Emmett and walked over to Sarabella, close enough to touch her hand briefly, as if they were in the middle of patty cake, palms facing each other. Masen closed his eyes for a second.
"Alright," he said in a disgruntled voice. He crossed his arms. Sarabella nudged him. He shot her a look. "He smelled good."
"Smelled good?" a few murmured. Masen glanced at Sarabella again. She rolled her eyes and stood. She looked from face to face without really hesitating long. She walked over to Uncle Jasper, he glanced at Alice nervously.
"It's ok," Sarabella said. "You aren't going to hurt me."
"Of course not," Alice said. Sarabella looked at her smirking.
"But you don't really know because you can't see him now, can you?" Sarabella laughed at the thought and placed her tiny hands on either side of his face, staring deep into his eyes for a moment. The others watched her warily, not just because she looked like a little person but because of the complexity of her speech for someone so small.
"What is she doing?" Jasper asked uncertainly.
"Wait for it," Masen grumbled.
An onslaught of images and thoughts assaulted Jasper's mind. He gasped and looked at Masen.
"You wanted to feed on Charlie!" Jasper said. Everyone looked at Masen with shock but Masen looked nonplussed.
"I told you. He smelled good," Masen said shrugging.