Forks Awaits

Summary: A short interaction between Alice and Carlisle after Alice has her first vision of Bella.

Challenge from nadia the demented one:

Just two Cullens, sitting by the fireplace, talking about something emotional and deep and meaningful. Cannot be romance relationships - eg. Carlisle/Esme not allowed, nor is Alice/Jasper.

Esme/Emmett is accepted, etc.

Bella is not allowed to be a character.

To make it more difficult, the starting line must be this:

"What do you think would have happened if...?"

A reference to string must be made. Doesn't matter how, string must be a part someow - incorporate it in somewhere.

Word Limit - preferably finished within 2,000 words.

"What do you think would have happened if I'd never found him?" Alice stared into the fire with smiles in her eyes, as if the thought was too absurd to warrant serious thought.

Carlisle smiled too, "I don't know." It wasn't often that he had the pleasure of giving that answer. "You'd be different people."

"I don't think I could take it," she turned to him, now serious. They were both lounging indolently by the palatial fireplace of their most recent home in Alaska. Everything had been packed up and was ready to be transported to their new home in Forks, Washington. "I couldn't exist without him. He holds the other end of my string. If he wasn't there, I'd fall."

Carlisle furrowed his brow, "Well, I don't know. Hypothetically, you wouldn't know any better. You wouldn't know how much better your life could be with him in it."

She shook her head, "I'd be sad."

He nodded slowly, "Maybe." He looked over at her, thoughtfully, "Why'd you ask?"

At this, she showed a tiny shadow of a smile and shrugged, "I saw something."

"About Jasper?" he was suddenly concerned. "Is he alright?"

She shook her head and held a hand out to stop him, "He's fine. It wasn't about him. It was about Edward."

He seemed almost amused by that, "Edward?"

Alice nodded, biting her lip, "And I'm not sure if I should tell him."

Carlisle sat up, "Is it something bad?"

She waited a moment before responding, "I'm not really sure." A little chuckle escaped from Carlisle's lips, and Alice smiled, before explaining, "I think it might be a good thing, but I don't think Edward will see it as good."

He smiled, understanding, "What is it?"

At this, she slammed her lips together and shook her head, "Nope. I'm not saying a word. If this is a good thing, it's too good to ruin it."

"Ah," he stared into the fire and narrowed his eyes, "But it had you curious about people living without their soul mates?"

She bit her lip and wrinkled her nose, "Caught that, did you?"

He shrugged, "Just a bit."

"Don't say anything to him," she leaned towards him.

He put a hand to his heart, "On my honor."

She nodded and looked back to the fire. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, in a whisper that was even difficult for Carlisle to hear, Alice sighed, "She looks sweet."

Carlisle was dying to know more--what exactly was Edward doing with this girl? was she a vampire? was she a vegetarian? was she human? He sighed deeply, hoping she was not the latter, as that would cause a tremendous amount of danger for the whole family.

"Don't be worried," Alice said, her voice smiling, "Everything'll be okay."

He shook his head in sheer astonishment at the youngest member of his family. To live in two worlds constantly, the present and the future, might drive a weaker person insane. But Alice, graceful and strong, attacked the challenge with extraordinary aplomb. Carlisle smiled, "How'll you keep it from Edward?"

She shrugged, back in the moment, smiling, "I'll get some Beatles song in my head. He'll stay out."

They both laughed together, then Carlisle stood, "Well, I look foreword to meeting her. Any clue as to how soon that might be?"

She shook her head and stood as well, "Not for a while. It's still pretty foggy."

He nodded, "Well, we should probably get going. Forks awaits."

Alice smiled, more than anyone, feeling the excitement of a new town. Where they saw monotony, she saw opportunity. "Forks awaits."

AN: Just so you know, I'm putting Renee and Phil's wedding at the same time that the Cullens were moving to Forks. For our purposes, let's say that the thought of moving to Forks when her mom got married crossed Bella's mind, and suddenly, her fate was intertwined with Edward's and Alice saw it. (If I'm wrong about the dates, I'm sorry. Feel free to hit me with large, heavy objects)

Thanks for reading.