Everyone was gathered on the front porch Friday evening, even Rosalie and Emmett, though they stood with Edward, Bella, and Esme between them. All eyes were trained on the front drive as Jasper slipped the last small bag into the trunk and shut it gently before taking his wife's hand and walking towards their family members grouped near the steps.

"I suppose this is it," he said softly, looking over each pair of eyes and then down to his small wife. She was silent, a gentle smile forced onto her face.

Esme gave a choked little cry and pressed her knuckles to her mouth to stifle any more. Her other hand was quickly grasped by Rosalie who gave it a reassuring squeeze. Emmett, the one without shyness, too many manners, or a strict Victorian sensibility, was the first to move, striding down the steps to shake his brother's hand and tug his sister in for a hug that lifted her feet high off the ground. Alice gave a little laugh as he put her down, her smile genuine now.

Bella stepped down next, kissing their cheeks and trying to smile, while Edward followed, shaking Jasper's hand and bending down to kiss his sister's forehead.

"Keep an eye out for us, won't you?" he whispered into her ear. She nodded silently and hugged him tight, turning to Rosalie next. The blonde was looking thoroughly upset, as if she blamed herself for this turn of events – something Edward knew she did, and something he blamed her for too but wouldn't phrase aloud.

Carlisle, his face still tersely set, came down, clapping a hand on Jasper's shoulder, no words shared but the ones in their eyes.

"You'll visit, won't you?" Esme asked softly, her voice close to cracking.

"Of course," Jasper replied as he put his arms around her. Esme stayed there for a moment, hugging tight to her son as Carlisle embraced their daughter. Carlisle took a step back, letting Esme and Alice have their final moment, silently clinging to each other, the daughter that had brought so much joy into their lives and the mother she had always wanted. He held his wife upright after she kissed the girl one last time, bringing her back to the steps to watch as Jasper and Alice made their way to the car, getting in with one last look and finally driving off.

With Carlisle's help, Esme was carried upstairs and placed in the armchair near her favorite window on the landing. Carlisle sat in the ottoman, her feet resting on his lap, and he began to rub them gently just as a small light melody began wafting through the air towards them.

"Edward," she said softly, leaning her head back on the chair and closing her eyes to better appreciate the tune.

"He's a good man," Carlisle murmured.

She nodded. "A good man." Her voice caught just slightly, both of them noticing but not commenting. They sat there for a long time, each with their own thoughts that were oftentimes shared but never verbalized, staying until the twilight sky darkened and the moon rose high overhead.

"I should go see how everyone is," Esme said, swinging her feet down to the ground.

"Are you sure? You don't have to."

She smiled softly, sadly. "I'm their mother. I want to."

Carlisle nodded, keeping inside the idea that perhaps mourning for a little while longer was what she needed. When Edward had left all those years ago, Esme had been near non-functioning for at least a week. And the circumstances that had brought her to him…well, suffice it to say, losing a child was a subject he always worried about in his wife's case. And so he followed her down the stairs, the music still playing after them, and walked with Esme into the living room where Emmett was lying on the couch – and was hurriedly sitting up to hide the fact that his feet had been on the arm. But Esme just gave him that same sad little smile before moving down the hall, past the table where Rosalie was placing a fresh vase of flowers, though she did stop long enough to touch the girl's shoulder, continuing on towards the doors that lead outside. Still Carlisle followed, stepping out onto the patio and then the grass that followed.

Esme stopped there, her bare toes wriggling among the blades and her shoulders heaving up and down with the great breaths of air she was taking in. Carlisle stepped closer, being as silent as he could. Not silent enough. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes meeting his.

Neither of them said anything, but she extended her hand towards him with a more than slightly beseeching look. He reached out, his fingers curling around hers and pulling her into him.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "Again…thank you."

"I did nothing but hold your hand, my love."

"Yes. Thank you."


Alice had only seen the penthouse in pictures, and they really didn't do it justice. Their new home was in one of the high-rises in downtown Saskatoon on the very highest level, some thirty four floors up. The ceilings were high and vaulted, the lighting impeccable, the balconies gorgeous, and she was sure she'd have the most amazing time designing it all. It still wasn't home.

She put the purse she was carrying on the marble kitchen countertop, pulling out her keyring and cell phone. She fingered the shiny new key the realtor had given her as she dialed, leaning against the countertop that was just a mite too tall for her.

"Hello?"

Alice smiled at the sound of that voice, one she missed despite just hearing it some seven hours ago. "Hi, Em. It's Alice."

"Oh, hey!" He could hear the happiness in her big brother's tone, and it filled her to no end. "How's it going?"

"Good," she lied. "We just got everything moved into the apartment."

"Does it look nice?"

"It's…bare."

She glanced out towards the living room where the only objects within were the boxes they had sent along earlier that week. Her shoulders slumped just slightly, and a cool pair of hands came to massage her, strengthen her. She leaned back against Jasper's chest as Emmett laughed.

"Oh, Esme wants to know if you want her to ship out your bed and couch?" Emmett asked, making her long for home. But it wasn't the home she remembered, so what was the use?

"No, that's fine," Alice replied. "We're going to go shopping on Sunday. It'll be cloudy then."

"What about here? I was hoping to get up a touch football game with Edward."

"No, it'll be nice. Stay in the backyard and you'll be fine."

"Tell him I said hello," Jasper interjected, bending down to kiss her neck before moving into the living room and beginning to unpack.

"Jasper says hello," she repeated obediently.

"Tell the man he left all his X-Box games here and I am not returning them."

She smiled. "I will. I'll talk to you soon, Emmett. Tell everyone we love them."

"Everyone?" Emmett's voice was slightly whiny, and she even missed that.

"Yes. Everyone. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

She closed the phone, her fist moving a little too fast. She put the mangled heap of wiring and plastic on the counter before going to join Jasper in the living room. He was halfway behind the TV, plugging the final cords in before sliding back out and reaching for the remote.

"Ready to see if it works?" he asked, trying his best to sound genial.

Alice sat crossed-legged on the floor next to him and nodded. Jasper raised the remote and pressed the power button, turning the 40" screen on to a news program currently warning viewers about the fourth animal to escape from a northern Saskatchewan testing facility in the past year. She frowned, but was secretly glad for the distraction. "Shouldn't they be a little more responsible?"

Jasper shrugged and put an arm around her shoulders. "I suppose. But bears are big animals. They probably get themselves out. And I'm not one to argue when there's fresh meat wandering around." He grinned then to make her laugh, and she did.

"You're going to have to go hunting in a few days. Maybe outside the city near the highway," she suggested, keeping the subject well away from family or home.

He nodded. "Sounds delicious."

She tilted her head up to kiss his cheek, sighing gently against the skin there. He turned his head and his lips met hers, caressing and soft and strong and pulling back to whisper "Thank you."


They all missed them, separately and differently and equally too.

Rosalie stood and stared for a while at the empty spot next to her car, her eyes focused on the dark patch on the garage floor and thinking she'd have to tighten the Porsche's – but no, she couldn't.

Emmett lay on his back in the front yard, tossing the football higher and higher into the air, bored nearly to tears that he was the only one there to catch it, or that there wasn't a little sister to toss until she screamed bloody murder.

Carlisle, after a great deal of time spent locked in his study with the shards of his father's cross, left the house, only to spend an even greater deal of time at the town library, poring over books he had already read three times before.

Esme went about business is usual. There is laundry to be done and whatnots to be dusted and furniture to finish refinishing and doors to be answered and – no, she hadn't seen any escaped bears within the last two months, she answered with a wry smile, thinking of the two she and Alice had found and…

Edward, in the meantime, gave up the dulcimer and had returned to the piano, hammering out tunes and strictly avoiding composing, fearful that the feelings in the house and the thoughts of the others will come out in minor chords and dissonance in nine-eight time. He finished his playing well before nightfall, also fearful that that might cause him to turn to Moonlight Sonata or Der Hölle Racht. That night, he had ended with something happier but slower, Nocturne in E-flat Minor, and closed his piano, going down the hall to his room to find Bella coping in her own way.

There was a large flat box lying open on the bed, its contents presumably around Bella's body. The black, floor-length, strapless gown hugged her curves, at least until her knees, where the fabric flared out like a mermaid's tail, sweeping over the plush carpet. The low neckline skimmed the tops of her breasts, opening just enough to please the eye. Her shoulders were bare, her hair tied in a low bun that touched her neck just so that he had to use all his restraint to keep from moving it up so he could kiss her right there at her nape.

Her eyes met his in the mirror, and all thoughts of seduction went away when she smiled sadly. "Alice's Christmas present, remember?" she said, nearly choking on the words. He walked to her, wrapping his arms around her and letting her bury her face in his neck. His lips did press against her then, but only the top of her head. He realized now how much she missed the others, enough to put on couture she had received as a Christmas gift and promptly hidden in the closet, never to be worn until this moment after the giver had gone away.

"You look lovely," he whispered softly to her.

She pulled back a distraught face and looked up at him. "It's just the dress. A…she picked it out."

The inability to say their sister's name stung and Edward pressed his forehead to his wife's, closing his eyes so that he might have just a moment's peace. It was at times like these he was glad he couldn't hear inside the head he so often wanted to.

Bella pulled away suddenly, her hands gripping the bodice of the dress, trying in vain to push it down. "I can't wear it anymore," she said, her voice tinged with desperation. "I'll ruin it, it's not for me, I can't…"

He watched for a second as she struggled, her arms straining to reach to the back of the dress, before he moved, going to unzip it for her, leaving her in her undergarments. Only when the dress was on the floor in a heap of smooth black fabric did Bella stop struggling and begin emitting choked little sobs with no tears coming from them. Edward scooped her up, placing her on the bed and pulling the blankets up to cover her skin.

"No," Bella said, her voice suddenly clear as she pushed the blankets down. "No, I'm not sick. I'm not crazy. Don't put me to bed."

He bit the inside of his cheek and looked away at the food of the bed, fairly sure he knew where this bout of hysteria followed by a refusal to be coddled was coming from.

"Just…just make me forget."

Something in her voice made him look back towards her to find that the passion he thought he had imagined was indeed there. Certainly it was passion founded in a desire for distraction, but it was passion nonetheless and he was there to meet it. Edward moved to hover over her body, ghosting his lips over hers so that they barely met.

Bella took charge, letting him know just what she needed as she pulled him down to her, crushing their mouths together in a needy, wanting kiss. Edward growled against her lips, feeling himself starting to quickly stiffen, his cock pointed towards her even in his jeans.

But she knew what to do, and she did it quickly. His pants were pushed down, not off, and her panties were merely pulled aside before he was in her, thrusting and groaning, Bella's hands gripping his sides and his shoulders and his hips before she slithered out from underneath him, never breaking contact as she pushed him down onto the bed, rising on top of him, watching him while she moved up and down. Edward's hands did the wandering then, settling on her full breasts, massaging her while she coaxed herself to orgasm, collapsing on his chest while he finished, then spooning against his side in the aftermath.