Chapter 2: The Vision
Janiriki made a suggestion in jest that I'm adding here. Thanks, J.
Mimi asked me if vampires didn't know about Photoshop. Well, when Renesmee was born, they did, indeed, do a lot of Photoshopping. But you can't very well Photoshop a driver's license, a doctor's ID, or a yearbook picture. Difficult to get access to those photos.
Eternally Cullen, Camilla10 and bananacupcake09, this chap's for you, as well as Anthony. Thanks for the praise:)
Anthony is loving his pressie, btw, and has currently read one chapter ahead of where we are right now. He's suggested a funny moment or three, as well.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is merely coincidental.
Music for this chapter can be found at youtubedotcom/jmollytwilight2, on the playlist 'Twi-Files: The Truth', beginning at #2:
'From a Distance', by Bette Midler
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The Olympic Rainforest, 30 miles outside Forks, Washington State:
"He's coming for us," the fairy-like girl intoned solemnly.
"When, Alice?" the bronze-haired boy growled forcefully.
"Easy, Edward," the blond Goth warned, eyes narrowing.
"Sorry, Jasper."
"Soon," Alice said, unperturbed. "Within the next few weeks."
"Well, we've been expecting it for a long time," the white-blond patriarch shrugged. "He's had time to regroup. Collect new coven members. But it won't be any worse than Victoria."
"Don't be too sure, Carlisle," the large, muscular young man growled.
"Of course, Emmett. You're right."
"So what's to be done?" Edward asked, frowning pensively as he stared at his interlaced hands on the tabletop.
"We'll have to move," Carlisle responded quietly. "It's not like it's premature anyway. We've been here a long time. We've been pushing it, staying this long. I've only kept us here because of Charlie."
There was a small sob, and the beautiful blonde started to cry. She leaned on Emmett's shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head consolingly. "It's okay, Rosie. I know you hate moving, but we'll find somewhere nice. And we can always spend more time in the Amazon with the colony."
"Yeah, I'd like that," she sniffed.
"That okay with you, Dom Cullen?" Emmett teased.
Edward gave his brother a disgusted look. "Shut up, you sappy date. This is serious. People are dying."
"Sorry, Tough Guy," he said, chagrined.
"We've been sloppy," Edward announced. "It's time to tidy up. Hack some computers, and get rid of old photos."
"Can't get rid of yearbooks," The mother said, eyes downcast.
"Can't get rid of that magazine spread you subjected me to, either," Edward complained. "Rosalie? Alice? I know it was in fun, and I know you all love those photos, but I still don't get what you loons were thinking, displaying me and Bella to the public like that."
The girls looked sad. "It's been five years," Rosalie answered. "I thought you forgave me."
Edward looked at the table, then nodded curtly. "I'm sorry, Rose. It's just that those photos, being popular, put everyone I love at risk. It makes me anxious."
Alice attempted to explain, for the thousandth time. "Your engagement photos were just so romantic, Edward. And the one of you asleep on the beach? You can't deny they're beautiful. Well, we wanted to show you off a little, I guess. And all our kind saw it, and loved them. Who was to know the humans wouldn't be able to forget about them? Usually their attention spans are so short."
Edward scoffed. "Not about things that appeal to them. Look at the photo of that sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square."
"It hardly compares," Rosalie began to argue.
"Thank God," Edward huffed.
"Children, enough! Stone the crows!" Carlisle ran a hand through his hair, reminiscent of Edward.
"Sorry, Dad," they chorused.
"No use crying over spilt milk. Don't hold a grudge, Edward," Carlisle said softly. "Your sisters couldn't have known we'd be attacked this way, and people would start looking into our past. We've always stayed under the radar before. Even during the fight with the Volturi."
"We've gotten complacent," Edward said, biting his lip anxiously.
"Yes. We need to houseclean," Carlisle conceded. "Jazz? Can you get rid of some old DMVs and hospital records, maybe change some dates in government files? Add an obscure file about Ren's birth parents?"
"Yeah, I can try," Jasper said, lips thinning.
"Should we call Aro?" the mother wondered.
"Not yet, Esme," Carlisle responded. "Let's see if we can solve this on our own before it gets any more out of hand.
"We could just kill him,"Jasper suggested, looking dangerous. A few people at the table looked supportive. The majority looked taken aback.
"That's not who we are," Carlisle stated quietly. "We can easily disappear. There's no need to harm an innocent man."
"That man is known for his tenacity," Emmett countered. "What if he exposes us? Even Aro won't turn a blind eye to that. What if the Volturi get involved? A lot of people could die. What's one human compared to all the people who will die if the Volturi come? Everyone in Forks, La Push, Rio and the colony in the Amazon will be wiped out, including us."
Edward traced a pattern on the beautiful, highly-lacquered, wood-grained table top. "We don't even know if he's a real threat, Em. I've read some of his cases. Usually, he collects some facts, assembles them rapidly and throws out guesses. Usually, there does end up being something squiffy going on, but the solution to the case usually doesn't turn out to be his first hypothesis.
"So he's made some good guesses. So what? We've had to defend ourselves against the curious thousands of times. It doesn't mean he's going to expose us. We have warning, we can leave," Edward reasoned. "Frankly, I'm more worried about the harm our enemies are doing. We need to stop them from killing these innocents."
There were more murmurs of assent around the table.
"Mulder and Scully have to live. And don't forget who his real father is. We don't want FEMA looking for us, too," the spiky-haired, tiny Alice said, quashing all arguments perfunctorily.
"So ... you're leaving?" the Quileute youth asked, looking brokenhearted.
"You can come with us if you want, Jacob," Edward shrugged softly.
"Yeah. Yeah, I want to come with you," Jacob said.
"Okay," Edward affirmed.
"But ... what about Angela's wedding? I abandoned her once, and she was devastated. We promised we'd do her wedding, and it's only a month away," the mahogany-haired beauty protested. "I can't let her down. We can't just leave."
"You'll go if Carlisle tells you to," Rosalie snapped. Then she dropped her eyes, sorry for her outburst. "It's part of being a Cullen, Bella," she said more softly.
Bella looked from Rosalie to Carlisle, her eyes desperate.
"Okay, calm down. We don't have to go, just yet. I See us getting in our cars, with the house empty, the day after Angela's wedding. We'll still be here for her. No need to get upset, sisters," Alice said soothingly.
"You're sure everyone will remain safe if we don't leave immediately?" Carlisle checked.
"Yes. The man, Mulder, is a good person. He won't hurt us. He's curious about unexplained mysteries, that's all," Alice shrugged.
"Well, that's okay, isn't it?" the caramel-haired Esme wondered, holding hands with the patriarch. "We've interacted with people who were curious before."
"Yes. We can deal with this calmly. Have you Seen anything else, Alice?" Carlisle wondered.
"This man is extremely curious about Edward," Alice announced.
Emmett snorted. "Jasper, I know you're reaaally curious about Edward."
Jasper squawked. "I thought it was you who was reaaally curious about him, Emmy Bear."
"Fuck off," Edward mouthed, his eyes flashing black as he flipped his brothers the bird. Speaking at normal volume, he said, "Not in front of the kinder, please."
Alice's eyes rolled. "He will want to get to know you, Hon'. He's going to be fascinated by your bond with Bella. See, he's coming to a crossroads with his partner. Either they'll keep their relationship professional or they'll get married someday."
"Great," Edward said, pinching between his eyes with his fingers and thumb. "Now I'm Dear Abby to a human. Are they meant to marry, Alice?"
"Good odds that they will. They're meant to be together at any rate," she shrugged. "Everything I See about him is hazy, but someday there's going to be a huge war. A global war, I think. And Mulder is going to save us all somehow. That bit is a hundred percent clear. He needs his mate's support. They'll always be together, whether they marry or not.
"I'll check them out," Edward said softly. "See whether we should distract them with some romance long enough to accomplish our tasks."
Alice's eyes flickered around the assembled people. "There's something else. He deals, as you know, with the Paranormal. There really are aliens. They're not... friendly. The war will involve them, and secret sectors of the government."
There was a collective groan around the large, oval table.
"Aren't there enough mythical creatures running around Forks, Alice?" Bella exclaimed.
"Hey. Not my idea," Alice grimaced, throwing out her hands.
"So how do we get out of the soup?" Jasper asked softly, the music of the South sweetening his words.
"We play it cool," Carlisle ordered. "Keep the secret."
There was a murmur of assent. The family continued to sit, each member lost in his or her own thoughts. There was a small rustle, and a child's hand emerged from underneath the table.
The bronze-haired little girl crawled out from under it, her pink tutu and peony-covered hairband contrasting sharply with her hair. She stood hesitantly beside her father.
"Daddy?"
"Ren," he acknowledged.
"Nessie!" she corrected impatiently. "Do we really have to move?"
"Yes, love. I'm sorry. We can never stay in one place too long. The good news is, Jacob can come with us, and living in new places can be lots of fun. You'll find all sorts of new things to do," her father promised, brushing back her hair from her forehead.
"But we won't have Grandpa, or Uncle Seth, or Auntie Leah, or Grandma Sue. Or Auntie Ang and Uncle Ben. And we won't have the wolves," she said, bottom lip quivering.
"You know we can run back here in a number of hours," Edward crooned. "We'll see them as often as you want, Baby."
"But I was born upstairs. And we'll have to leave the cottage. I won't have my room," the child sniffled.
Rosalie got up, excusing herself, her face crumpled. After a moment, her husband excused himself and followed her.
"That's true," Bella said. "But you will have new places to love. And you'll have all your things with you, to make you feel at home."
"Can I bring my goldfish?" Renesmee whimpered. A handful of affectionate chuckles passed around the table.
"Of course you can," Edward promised, looking at his daughter earnestly. He held out his arms and the child crawled into his lap. Bella put her arms around them both, and they cuddled.
"The trees," Renesmee sniffled. "I will miss them so, Daddy. Who will I tell secrets to?" she worried.
"Hush, Kiddo. There will be lots of trees, wherever we go. But I'm hoping there will be some other kids, too. Real people to play with. Friends who talk back," Edward said kindly.
"I See Ren playing with Claire," Alice said tonelessly, her eyes black.
"See?" Edward asked, smiling crookedly. "Sam is going to let you play with Claire, now that she's bigger. Won't that be nice?"
"I'm taller than her," the child said grumpily.
"Yeah, but she's older than you," Bella reminded her daughter.
"I don't want to play with her. I don't want to go. I want to stay here and keep everything the same," Renesmee growled, throwing herself off her father's knee. "It's not fair!" she shouted in his face, and stomped away. After a few minutes, they could hear the door slam, and her bawling cries as she ran out to the forest.
Edward looked at the table, shattered. He hated it when his daughter was upset. It was his fault, for being what he was.
Bella ran her fingers through his hair, consolingly. "Want me to handle it?" she asked.
"Nah. You know how she is when she gets like this, Minx. I'll do it." Edward got up, kissed Bella chastely, squeezed his mother's hand in passing, and followed his daughter out. By the dining room door, he paused, turned, and shared a look with his wife. His eyes warmed, for a moment, then darkened. "Faith," he said, saluting her.
"Hope," she replied, saluting back. They smiled at each other. In a flash, he disappeared, as though he had never been there.
Bella turned back to the remaining members of the family. "So what happens to the house and our cottage?" she asked sadly.
"I can't bear to sell them," Esme admitted, blinking as though holding back tears.
"No. We've been too happy here. After a generation or two, we can come back," Carlisle said, kissing his wife's hand. "Perhaps we can find caretakers," he said without enthusiasm.
"Humans in our house?" Jasper barked. "In Bella's cottage?"
"No. Our kind. Perhaps the Denalis need a relocate, too. Perhaps we can swap for a while."
"I'll call Tanya and ask," Esme offered.
"Thank you, Milady," Carlisle sighed.
"And the cottage?" Jasper pressed.
"We'll have to think about it. Maybe we can just close it up," Carlisle suggested.
"Uh, if you'll excuse me, please, I think I'd better go talk to the pack," Jacob said.
"Certainly. Give our regards to Sam and Billy," Carlisle said, smiling a little.
"Sure, sure. See ya, Bells." he waved at her, and left.
"Bye, Jake." Bella looked down, her golden eyes sad. "I need to find a caretaker for the cottage. Edward won't want Tanya using our bed."
"No. Last time she desecrated your space, he was devastated," Esme agreed. "Perhaps one of your friends, Bella? Or Seth?"
"Seth is going to Columbia in September," Bella informed her family, shaking her head.
"Wow. Good for him. Ivy League. So what's he taking?" Esme asked.
"Arts Degree. Film, English, Photography and Drama. He wants to be the next Fellini."
"He's talented enough," Esme smiled.
"We need to plan for our possessions and our disappearances. A month isn't much time to sort out all our clutter, stop a monster, and get the humans off our trail," Carlisle stated, interrupting the rapidly diverging conversation.
"We'll have to sort out the closets," Alice lamented, getting up. "C'mon Jazz. Will you help me start collecting stuff for the Sally Ann?"
"Of course, darling. I'd be pleased to help you. But I suggest we give it to the Lutheran church ladies to sell on e-Bay. Giving your duds to the Sally Ann would be like seeing Oprah on the subway. But first, let me see to some of our electronic trail." Jasper put a hand to the small of Alice's back, accompanying her out of the room. As he left, he turned to salute Bella self-mockingly. "Charity," he winked.
A moment later, Bella got up with a sigh. "Better go phone Charlie," she muttered, eyes rolling, and strode out.
"Faith, hope and charity, these three. But the greatest of these is love," Carlisle sighed, leaning back in the chair and drumming his fingers on the table. "A new day, Mother," he murmured pensively.
"One day at a time, Dr Teeth," she smiled encouragingly. They looked at each other, eyes twinkling.