After Midnight

Chapter Fifteen

"Hey, kids, welcome back!"

It was after midnight by the time Frank and Joe returned to the Cullen house. Emmett was sitting on the porch with his girl, Rosalie, grinning. "Have fun?"

Frank grinned. "Yeah. Joe told me his big, juicy secret. Who knew he was pregnant with a kangaroo hybrid?"

Emmett and Rosalie stared at the brothers like they were psycho. "It's an inside joke," Joe finally said.

They went inside. "It's a lot to swallow," Frank finally admitted after they had retired to their room—they were using Edward's room, since he and Bella had their own place just a few miles away. "And it's scary…it makes me want to ask Carlisle to change me right now."

"No!" Joe said, maybe a little too harshly. "Sorry," he quickly apologized. "But you can't do that. You're not going to throw away your life because of the possibility that I might die. There's always been that possibility."

"But now there's even more weight on my shoulders," Frank said softly. "I can't rush in to save you recklessly, I can't offer myself to the bad guys to save you. Because if I die, then you'll die."

"Frank, stop flipping out. I honestly don't think I'll have many problems with the bad guys anymore. At least mortal ones. I may be a little odd for a vampire, but I've still got all the characteristics and perks that come with it. Superhuman strength, speed, and agility. You felt my skin. It's like metal. Honestly, do you want to know the only way someone could kill me?"

Frank didn't, but he didn't say so. He knew that Joe wouldn't rest until he felt he'd reassured his brother.

Joe went on. "They would literally have to rip me into pieces and burn them. That's the only way I can die now." Frank winced. "Come on, Frank. It's the same as always, except now you're the vulnerable one. And now that I'm super awesome, you won't have to come to my aid anymore. If some terrorists decide to kidnap me, what's to stop me from ripping out of the handcuffs and busting down the door when they're not looking? All I do is not peeve off the Volturi, who would love some excuse to come and rip my head off—don't freak out again, they feel like that about all the Cullens—and go about my life as normal."

"I'll die eventually."

"And so will I, just like it would have been if I were still human. If we live to be a ripe old age, that's great. We'll have lived our lives to the fullest. Frank, just a week ago, we didn't even know that vampires existed. You weren't flipping out about how someday we're both going to die. You were living in the moment.

"And you gotta think about Mom, Dad, Aunt Gertrude, Callie…do you want Carlisle to change you and then you have to stay the same age while they die of old age? And if that isn't enough to convince you, remember that I don't want to live forever without Vanessa, and there's no way I'm changing her into a monster because I'm too selfish to live without her."

Frank sighed. "You really want life to go back to normal, huh?"

"Yeah," Joe said softly. "As weird as it sounds, I don't want to live forever. Not really."

"Forever is a long time," Frank agreed, yawning.

"Get some sleep, bro," Joe ordered. "You've had a long day."

"You take the couch," Frank said. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"Don't be stupid," Joe said. "Take the couch." When Frank started to protest, Joe said, "Vampires can't sleep; didn't I tell you?"

"Really? Well, you pretty much have all the time in the world? What are you going to do while the poor mortal sleeps?"

Joe smiled. "I talked to Bella and Edward. They're pretty much willing to try reconnecting with Charlie; they won't tell him everything. He'll just have to deal with the fact that Bella is different and that it is something she's not at liberty to discuss. Charlie's a cool guy, and Alice predicted everything would be fine. So I'm calling Charlie, letting him know we wrapped up the case, and that Bella has agreed to come see him tomorrow. It looks like a storm's brewing. So I'm going to go to the clearing and play baseball with the guys."

"Why during a storm?" Frank asked.

"Because we're so strong the sound of the bat and ball hitting together sounds like thunder. You wanna come?"

"No, thanks," Frank refused. "I'm sleeping. I'm not an overly excited energizer bunny like you, you know."

"True. Well, see ya in the morning."

"Wait—one more thing. What are we telling Mom and Dad and Aunt Gertrude about this? We can't let them know that vampires exist. Then they, along with us, will be in trouble with the Volturi."

"Already taken care of. Dad's talked to Carlisle Cullen, who says that due to the atmospheric pressure of the earth under a certain amount of ozone leakage that I developed an illness that pretty much killed my blood cells and body temperature."

Frank stared. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Joe laughed. "Joking. It's called spray on tan and long-sleeved shirts and long pants. And also, since I get all pretty and glittery in the sunshine, it's called faking sick on sunny days…"

"You fake sick half the time anyway," Frank grinned. "Shouldn't be that hard."

~Emachinescat ^..^