a/n I feel that after four books of Bella, she's been voiced enough. Plus, she was family during Twilight, so no news there. Sorry this took so long—4th of July was nuts, and involved arranging of music and waving my arms while sweating enough to fill a couple of water bottles.
Couple of answers to your questions:
*Rosalie had to be the "oldest" of the Cullen kids in the last chapter, to me. The actual oldest (physically) of the kids are Emmett and Jasper, but they all three play off the same age. And Rosalie's the kind of girl, to me, who would have to be the oldest twin, being the superior girl she is.
*Charlie's lights are all on. You just need to read what we have of Midnight Sun (because, let's be honest, it's gonna be a long time before we see anything else, so I read it). For those of you who haven't read it, let me just tell you, Bella's silence came from somewhere, and she did say she's got too much Charlie in her…
*Back a couple of chapters, someone asked what the hell Tanya was doing there in the first place. I asked myself the same question while I wrote, and came up with no good answer, other than she's stalking. She's a very sexy creeper.
Enjoy. I don't own Twilight, the Rolling Stones, Prince, or the Everly Brothers. I do own my musicianship skills, a puppy dog, my car, Sylvester, and a few clothes, but that's about it.
Dream—Forks, Washington, December, 2007
The holidays were shaping up nicely, unlike the last year. Jacob and Emmett were camped, with some degree of permanence, on the sofa, playing "World of Warcraft." Alice and Rosalie were looking for new shoes online. Jasper had his arms folded and stood behind Alice, frowning, and thinking about how much she was spending. Carlisle was reading, Renesmee perched in his lap with her own thick volume.
Esme and Bella had decided to put up the Christmas tree. Edward had decided to watch, knowing that his wife's back would probably be to him quite frequently, giving him a prime view of her butt.
Alice had popped in one of those "Now" Christmas CDs, which Bella had promptly changed to the Rolling Stones. Now, she was dancing along to the music, carefree and graceful.
"Mommy?" Renesmee's little voice piped up from the couch.
Bella stopped dancing, and turned. "What is it, baby?"
"You sing pretty." Renesmee smiled, and went back to her book.
She didn't need to blush. Edward knew she was embarrassed. He grinned at her and she smiled back before turning around again to continue decorating the tree. An odd sense of déjà vu washed over him while he watched her.
The music changed again, to some eighties mix Alice had made. Bella didn't stop dancing. Alice had finished her shopping and started packing for their next move.
Everything was so wonderfully normal.
After another twenty minutes or so, Edward heard Renesmee's thoughts change. She was getting tired of her book, and a little sleepy, but she wasn't even admitting it to herself. Edward caught her eye and held out his arms. She climbed down from Carlisle's lap and moved to his arms. He bundled her up there and held her to his chest. She snuggled up, thinking how nice Daddy smelt. He tickled her sides a little, and she gave a little squeak before burrowing deeper into his arms. Edward laughed and kissed the top of her little head.
So beautiful.
It was Alice. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs holding a box and watching as Bella danced. Edward winked at his sister.
I'm so glad you're finally happy. Alice smiled as she sat down on the arm of the sofa, leaving her box at her feet. You deserve to be this happy. They both watched as Bella tossed her head back to sing along with the chorus, still swaying, her long hair swishing gently with the movement of her hips.
Again, that sense of déjà vu. Alice felt it this time, too, but she brushed it off and picked up her box again.
"So." Alice and her box marched to stand in front of Emmett, who scowled at her. Even sitting, he was still eye to eye with her.
"Yes?" Emmett tried to lean to see around her. "You know, Alice, you're a lot better door than window."
She dropped the box, folded her arms, and popped her foot. Not a good stance. Bella stopped decorating and cocked her head off to the side to watch.
Alice smiled. It was the "cute, yet deadly sister" smile that actually scared Emmett more than a lot of other things. It held much more power. "Emmy bear, do you know what's in this box?"
Shit, she found them!
"Oh, God," Edward muttered, seeing what Emmett had hidden. "Those things should have been thrown out in the eighties."
"What is it?" Jacob reached down to open the box and slowly pulled out the ugliest pair of stonewash jeans ever created.
Bella burst out laughing. "Those are horrible!" She darted over to snatch them from Jacob and held the up. "Oh, my God! I thought stonewash jeans were an Alice no-no."
"Ew," was Jacob's only response, and he went back to playing their game.
Edward watched as Bella folded the jeans back up and put them in the box. She straightened up, and stared at Alice. "You okay?"
Alice wasn't really seeing the future. She was seeing something else, revisiting something she'd already seen. Her mind flashed through visions she'd brushed away, before something in her mind clicked.
Alice, standing in the middle of a dust storm, a vision of a brown haired woman flashing by…
Alice, sitting in the living room of his Chicago house, listening to the Rolling Stones, another vision of a woman, dancing, long brown hair running down her back…
Edward stared at Alice, his mouth actually hanging open a little. Bella frowned. "What's wrong?"
Alice, in a room full of high school children, seeing Emmett hiding his hideous stonewash jeans…
It had never been clear, always fuzzy and indistinct, but it had always been there. The visions Alice had never been able to make heads or tails of, the ones that had popped up every few years, were of this.
Why was this moment significant?
There were so many other things she could have seen, but never had. Bella was still frowning, and it distracted him. He wanted her smiling, not frowning. He was finally, finally happy, and he wanted to dump that happiness on her.
"Nothing, love," Edward said, finally answering her question. She cocked an eyebrow. He tugged on her hand and pulled her closer to him, and he pulled her in for a kiss. "I'll tell you later."
She pouted. "Fine."
Renesmee chose that moment to yawn widely, and Edward turned his attention to his sleeping daughter. She was deeply asleep already, and the last thing she needed was noise. Carefully, he got to his feet and headed upstairs, Bella following him.
Put her in your old room. Edward almost jumped when he heard Bella's thoughts. She winked at him and he grinned back at her.
Renesmee rolled around a little once she was down, making little noises that made Edward's stone heart melt.
It still threw him. He was someone's husband and lover, and he was a father. He had a beautiful wife and child who made him so happy he felt like he would burst.
He watched as Bella ran a hand over their daughter's curls before dropping a kiss on her little cheek and backing away for the door.
Back downstairs, a little chaos had started up. Carlisle was stalking his wife, growling playfully. Jacob was hiding under a pillow, and Emmett was watching them, a little shocked.
It was a side of Carlisle and Esme the kids didn't always get to see. Edward knew it best, since they had always been like this, and it had been easier to notice with only three of them. Still, it gave Bella a shock, and her mind opened.
What. The. Hell. Really, did he just growl at her?
Edward grinned. "Can't forget, love, they're both in their twenties."
Esme squealed then, trying to hide between Emmett and the sofa.
"Oh, hell no," Emmett said, bolting from the sofa and leaving Esme exposed.
"Please, no!" Esme squealed, trying desperately to sound like a fiend was stalking her. "Anything but that!"
Carlisle pounced. The couch slid back about a foot and Carlisle dangled mistletoe over his wife's head before peppering her with kisses. She giggled hysterically before snatching it back.
"They get a little silly around mistletoe," Edward explained. "It gets worse every year."
"Which reminds me," Carlisle said, grinning as his wife hung mistletoe from a doorframe.
It was their first Christmas with Esme. "I've never gotten to kiss anyone under the mistletoe. Someday, Edward, don't be surprised to find me stalking you with the stuff when you go crazy for some girl."
The old Edward had scoffed.
The new Edward yanked his beautiful wife under the doorframe and into his arms for a kiss. Bella giggled against his lips, and he couldn't help grinning a little.
His family's thoughts ranged at the moment. It was a mix of Jesus, dude, get a room! and Oh, they're so happy. It's so nice to see him happy.
He was happy, and damn it if he didn't have some serious payback for Emmett.
His lips finally left hers, and their family returned to normal, for the most part. Bella stayed in his arms, though, and he swayed back and forth with her to the music.
Maybe that was why today was significant. For the first time, it was a stress free holiday where Edward was not the one sitting in the corner, brooding, annoyed by the public displays of affection going on around him. He was dancing with the most beautiful woman in the world while his baby girl slept peacefully upstairs.
He kissed her again while he spun her, pulling away to sing quietly in her ear, and his smile grew as she sang with him.
I need you so that I could die
I love you so and that is why
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Dream, dream, dream, dream
Dream, dream, dream, dream
a/n Not sure if it's really over, or if we'll have future shots, or… Ooooo! I forgot Jacob! Fuckerdoodle…
I'm brainstorming a companion piece to this. More info soon. Put me on author alerts, and I'll try to post here when it's ready to kick off.
Reviews? Seriously, they turn me on, baby. And I do read them. All of them. Every one. Including the smiley face someone left me… : )
