a/n Shockingly, Alice's proved to be the hardest to write so far, as I got a few ideas, started on them, then scratched them. I finally decided that, for it to really work, we need to go out of chronological order. So…
A big thanks to Wikipedia and the History Channel (I highly recommend watching "America-Story of Us" miniseries) for reminding me what was going on in 1935.
Just Enough—Oklahoma, April 1935
Black Sunday, Alice thought, as she stood in the middle of the street. She smiled. Appropriate, she thought, since so many days had been labeled black already. Black Tuesday. Black Thursday. Now, Black Sunday. It was just a matter of time, she thought, until this all blew over.
She laughed at the choice of words with which her mind had come up.
In any case, the "Black" days of what would be known as the Great Depression would get brighter soon. She scanned forward for anymore of these days, and was confused when she saw herself, some time in the future, talking with Rosalie about Black Friday shopping. Strange.
Looking around, Alice frowned. Jasper wasn't here, either. In fact, she hadn't seen him anywhere near the south in sometime. He must have finally moved on, like she knew he would. Another wild goose chase that would eventually lead to her family.
She turned to head back up the street, putting a scarf over her face so the roaring dust wouldn't get in her mouth or hair. She walked forward with no difficulty, amazingly, still able to see through the wall of dust in the almost completely dimmed light. She wondered idly if Jasper was out in the storm, and caught a flash of sometime in the very near future…
The fire roared in the fireplace, and Carlisle was watching his two children play a card game. Rosalie sighed heavily, and looked outside. Her haughty face was bored.
"Isn't there anything more exciting to do that play cards?" she asked—whined, really.
"Now, Rosalie," Esme said placating, "if you go out there, what happens if someone sees you?"
Rosalie pouted and plopped back slightly in her chair, throwing the cards to the table. "It's no fun playing with him anyway," she said, haughtily glaring at her brother across the table. "He cheats."
Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rosalie," he said sarcastically, "but I will stop cheating one day. It's the same day you stop being a—"
"Edward!" Esme's voice was cutting, and her eyes were sharp as she glared at the pair of them.
Edward's head snapped to the door, suddenly, and he looked out the window. "Wow," he whispered. "Carlisle, look!"
Soon, the entire family was gathered around the window, and it was quiet for a moment before Rosalie suddenly said, "Oh, hell, we forgot to put the car away!"
She dashed out the door, hefting the front of the car up and pulling it into the garage, which she quickly bolted shut before jetting back inside. The rest of the family were darting here and there about the house, stuffing rags in little gaps in the windows, under the door, anywhere the dust would get in.
There was about ten seconds between the time they finished and the time the dust hit their house.
Alice had known this storm would be huge, had seen New York City as well as the country house outside of Rochester. She scanned forward a bit, and saw quickly that the Cullens would not be in New York more than another month. They were moving again. Mountains?
Finally, Alice thought to herself with a smile, Emmett! She was almost as excited for her new brother as Rosalie would be.
Odd, she thought, that she'd never met them, and they knew nothing of her, but that she already thought of them as her family. She wouldn't meet them for over ten more years—she knew that. She still had quite a few until she found Jasper. Still, they were going to be her family. She saw glimpses of the happiness they would find there—Jasper's wrestling matches with their brothers, shopping with her sister, things that would happen irregardless of what else happened.
There were fuzzier things, things Alice could barely see and that gave her a headache to try to look at—places they would go, schools they would attend, and a fuzzy, faceless woman with brown hair. She had no clue what that last one was about, and it hurt to try to figure it out, so she'd long since stopped trying.
The dust swirled around her as, with a sigh, Alice continued her trek alone, thankful for being out in the day, even if the day was clouded by dust.
15 Years Later
Edward stood in the middle of what used to be his room, watching Alice dart around, putting things away. She smiled happily at him.
"Sorry about your room," she said cheerily. He could tell from her thoughts that it wasn't vindictive, she was just really happy.
Brother, she thought happily, smiling at him. I have brothers! And a sister!
Edward shook his head. She'd been here two hours, and already looked at them as family. It made him curious, and he observed the little pixie girl as she bounced from here to there. It had been a while before he'd accepted Carlisle as family, and he was about to open his mouth to say as much when she interrupted him, beaming.
"I've had a long time to get used to you all, even though I haven't been here," she said, smiling. Her mind flashed back through her memories, back to the beginning. What he saw surprised him.
"Nothing?" he blurted.
Seeing her delicate brow crinkle and a little frown on her lips was unsettling. It just looked wrong. She shook her head. "The first thing I remember was seeing Jasper's face. Then you all." She hung her head and released a heavy sigh. Her thoughts were a little sad.
She wasn't sad for long. Edward heard Jasper's thoughts from the study, where he was talking quietly with Carlisle, and a split second later, felt a rush of happiness rush over him and Alice.
Alice's frown disappeared and she laughed, a tinkling sound like bells that made Edward smile, too. "Usually, he's the sad one and I have to cheer him up," she said happily, resuming her mad unpacking spree. "It gets switched every so often."
Edward shook his head. "It's a very unusual talent, to be sure."
Alice laughed again. "Mine, too," she said. "We're perfect for each other."
Suddenly, Alice's mind flashed to a brief, fuzzy image he didn't understand. She didn't quite seem to, either.
"What was that last one?" he asked.
Alice shook her head. "I don't know. I see her from time to time, but I don't know who she is, where she's from, or when I'll ever meet her. I can never even see her face—it gives me a headache to try." She scrunched up her nose, and the expression was so funny, Edward couldn't help himself.
If he were able, he'd have tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't ever remember laughing so hard. He clutched his sides unnecessarily, rolling on the floor in hysterics. He heard the thoughts before he heard the footsteps, and knew from the thoughts and scent that Esme had darted upstairs. Edward managed to open his eyes long enough to point at Alice's face, which was now scrunched up even further in confusion.
Edward? Her thoughts were a bit concerned. Are you alright, dear? Goodness, I've never seen him act like this!
"Her face," he managed, "is so… funny!"
Alice's peals of laughter joined his as Esme's face went from surprised to confused, but soon, she was laughing, too. After a few minutes, he could hear the conversation in Carlisle's office start to break apart as both men struggled to keep in their snorts of laughter. Jasper's influence swept over the whole house, and before long, he could hear Emmett's booming laughter, and Rosalie's giggles.
The laughter of the family, which now consisted of seven vampires, shook the house well into the night.
a/n Yikes! Warm fuzzies galore! Review—I do love them so.
