Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or plotlines of the Twilight Saga and the following is a form of fiction based on the brilliance of Stephenie Meyer's work.
Author: ToryD
Beta: Splendorous Night Unfurled
Title: A Forbidden Forever
Chapter Fourteen
Esme instantly felt the tension surround her as she entered the family room where all of her family had gathered except for Rosalie. "What's wrong?" she asked as her eyes sought some form of reassurance from her husband.
Carlisle rose from his chair and crossed the room to kiss Esme's cheek softly. "Come in sweetheart, we need to fill you in about," he paused as he looked over towards Emmett who was staring out the window with a look of disillusionment on his face.
"I need…,"Emmett paused as he fought to find some escape from the anger his family was feeling for his Rosalie. "I'm going for a drive." He said abruptly as he raced towards the back door, unable to bear another word spoken against the woman he loved, no matter how much she may have deserved it.
Edward watched with a slight twinge of guilt, knowing that Emmett was truly in love with Rosalie and wishing he could somehow spare his pain.
Alice crossed the room to join Jasper who sat on one of two matching soft pale blue sofas within the room. "He's going to be okay, he just can't bear to hear us talk about Rosalie any more today," she offered as she laid her head against Jasper's hard neck, trying to pull from his infallible strength.
Esme looked from each of her family's faces trying to decipher what could have happened to have brought about such an uncommonly solemn atmosphere to their home. "Carlisle?" she asked him with a slight frown developing between her perfectly arched brows.
"Rosie was the one to leak the information to the press about Edward's involvement with Jacob's pardon. She did it with the expressed intention of hurting Bella," Carlisle concluded with a resigned sigh as if saying the words out loud had solidified his extreme disappointment in his oldest daughter.
Edward almost flinched at the instant pain he felt radiating through his mother as she took in Carlisle's words. "No," she whispered as she looked around the room at her children while shaking her head from side to side as if to negate the information she was being served. "She couldn't have been that spiteful."
Carlisle put his arm around Esme and pulled her close to his side. "I'm afraid that she did honey," Carlisle said sadly.
"Where is she? I want to talk to her," Esme demanded her tone taking on a slightly angry quality.
"She's not answering her cell but Alice saw her last in New York," Jasper supplied quietly.
"Edward, what do you want to do?" Esme asked as she pulled away from Carlisle's supportive embrace to walk over to her son.
"I don't think I can forgive her this time Esme," he answered with a sense of sad betrayal that could not be challenged. "I don't expect any of you to follow my lead, only that you accept and honor my decision," he added with a slight firmness that defied contradiction.
"Edward," Esme began as he took his hand in hers and lead him over to the unoccupied sofa to pull him down next to her. "Would you please allow me to speak on Rosalie's behalf for just a few minutes?" she asked with a pleading look on her gentle face.
Knowing what Esme was going to say, Edward began to shake his head slightly only to be halted by Esme's staying hand to his cheek. "Please Edward, allow me this one favor?"
Unable to refuse his soft hearted mother anything, Edward relaxed his tense frame and opened his mind for her council. "All right," he agreed with a soft smile that was reserved for her alone.
"I guess I should begin when Carlisle brought Rosalie to our family. Carlisle and I were both concerned about you in those days, you seemed so sad sometimes, like you were forever searching for something so vital and that it was continuing to elude you so cruelly. You may not have been aware of it, but to us there always seemed to be a sadness about you. I think that you can maybe understand now that you found Bella," Esme said with a gentle smile gracing her lips. "I think what you were looking for has been the one perfect person who fills your heart. I have been lucky enough to find Carlisle and Alice has found Jasper," she smiled warmly as she shared a quick look with her husband and other two children. "We were hoping that Rosalie would be the one to fill the void in your heart," Esme said as she turned her attention back to Edward to observe him carefully. "But as time has shown, that was not to be the case. At least from your side Edward," Esme said with a sadness reflected in her golden eyes.
"Esme, I'd really rather not hear about Rosalie's feelings," Edward began halfheartedly as he didn't want to discuss Rosalie's feelings that he had tried to hide from for the past seventy years.
"Normally I would agree with you Edward but I think under the circumstances that we do need to discuss the situation," Carlisle advised from his position by the fireplace.
Drawing in an unnecessary breath, Edward nodded once to allow the uncomfortable conversation to continue.
"So you were aware that Rosalie has feelings for you?" Esme asked as she watched her son closely for his answer.
"Yes, I've been aware of them from the beginning," he sighed heavily in response. "I have tried to let her know that I didn't want that kind of a relationship with her in the kindest way possible. I also tried to allow her some privacy with her thoughts about me," he said as he looked towards the ceiling, needing to focus away from the remembered pain he felt in his sister's longing thoughts from so long ago. "I guess I have been blocking her thoughts so successfully for years that I didn't pick up as much as I should have about her hatred of Bella."
"I don't think Rosalie hates Bella," Esme said with conviction. "It's just that Bella happens to be the woman who you have chosen to give your heart to. As long as you were not with anyone I think Rosalie could handle her love for you. But when you met Bella, something inside her just snapped; all the years of pain came rushing forward for her and she reacted without really thinking of the consequences."
Edward frowned at his mother, not really wanting to let go of his anger for what his sister had done to Bella.
Seeing that Edward was still struggling with his anger, Esme placed a coaxing hand upon his shoulder. "Honey, could you at least allow me to talk with her before you make some hard and fast decision that will affect us all?"
"I don't think…" Edward began only to be cut off by Esme's pleading look. "All right," he said almost roughly. "I just want you to make it clear to her that I will not tolerate any mistreatment of Bella. You can also tell her that I will be watching her closely," he concluded with a menacing look in his darkening eyes.
"Thank you," Esme said gratefully as she pulled him into her arms for a hug. "I'll make it very clear to her."
"Now we need to talk about Emmett," Jasper advised almost unwillingly.
Carlisle heaved a heavy sigh at the thought of Emmett's coming pain. "I think that Esme should first talk with Rosalie and then we should decide how to proceed with Emmett. Hopefully Rosalie will fall in line and nothing more will need to be said," he said with a hopefulness that didn't quite reach his wise eyes.
Edward glanced quickly towards Alice, his eyes seeking an audience to confirm the dire thoughts running through her head. Catching her gaze he nodded his head once to surreptitiously agree to her silent request to hide her latest vision from their family for the time being.
Alice hid her face in Jasper's chest after receiving her silent acknowledgement from Edward, unwilling to allow her family to see the effects the newly forming vision was having on her, a new and pain filled vision of the future for her sweet loving brother Emmett, a future that didn't include her sister.
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Next Day
"Wait!" Alice shouted from the living room as Edward entered his home with Bella at his side.
"What are you up to Alice?" Edward questioned dryly as he quickly read her thoughts and tried to hide his cringe at her plans to 'deck the halls' so to speak.
"Bella's with you right?" she asked as she rushed to the foyer with the inherent grace of a prima ballerina.
Bella smiled at the excitement radiating off of Edward's petite sister who unknowingly had several strands of silver tinsel attached to her black cashmere sweater. "Hi Alice," she greeted as she stood next to Edward.
"Good," Alice said more to herself than to Edward or Bella. "Is it ready?" Alice called into the other room where Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle all were struggling to straighten the twenty foot Christmas tree that Alice had insisted upon.
"Not quite yet," Esme called back as she watched a large branch break off into Emmett's beefy hand causing an avalanche of falling glass ornaments that shattered instantly upon Edward's pine floor.
"Don't move!" Alice insisted as she held up her hands to Edward and Bella as she backed away towards the living room.
"What do you think she is up to?" Bella whispered to Edward who just shook his head at his sister's antics.
"It's still not straight!" they both heard Alice moan loudly. "Were not going to be ready for at least another hour!"
"It's not that easy Alice," Jasper huffed back in a muffled tone that had Edward hiding a smile as he could read that Jasper was experiencing a very rare feeling of frustration with his wife.
"Need some help?" Edward couldn't help calling into the room in an attempt to annoy his sister.
"Edward!" Alice admonished from the other room. "This is supposed to be a surprise for Bella and you're going to ruin it!"
Bella smiled at the thought of Alice going to so much trouble for her behalf. "Don't tease her Edward," she requested as she reached for his cold hand, something she was becoming more and more comfortable with over the last few days.
"All right," he agreed as he looked down into her beautiful face. "How much more time do you need?" he questioned over loudly in his continued ruse to act as a human would.
"Give us about two more hours and then you can bring Bella back," Alice advised as she made a reappearance in the foyer. "Bella, is Jacob joining us for Christmas dinner?"
"No, Mike has stolen him away with him to Detroit. He has a game on Christmas day if you can believe that craziness," Bella complained slightly as she so wanted to spend part of Christmas with her two foster brothers.
"Oh darn," Alice complained as she mentally readjusted her seating chart in Edward's dining room. "Well, maybe they can come over for our New Year's party."
"So, where do you want to go?" Edward asked as he loosely pulled Bella into his arms.
Knowing that she still had several gifts to wrap, Bella suggested her apartment, "I really need to go home for a while."
Frowning in disappointment, Edward sighed resignedly. "All right," he agreed as he leaned down to kiss her lips softly. "I guess if you promise to spend the entire day with me tomorrow I can let you go for an hour or two."
"Deal," Bella answered with a soft elated smile at the prospect of spending Christmas day with Edward.
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"Is Rosalie going to be coming tomorrow?" Jasper asked Esme softly, knowing that his mother had spoken in depth with his sister late last night.
"I don't know honey," Esme answered sadly as she placed a fragile hand blown glass ornament on the tree. "She's hurting and I think a little embarrassed by the whole ordeal. And then there's Emmett as well; she doesn't want him to know about her feelings for Edward."
"I guess I can't fault her for trying to spare him that," Jasper responded before he leaped gracefully into the air to place a hand beaded ornament upon one to the top branches on the tree.
"How has Emmett been handling the situation?" Jasper asked as he landed sinuously next to Esme.
"Carlisle spoke with him last night. He seems to be a little confused by Rosalie's dislike of Bella. I guess he just wants Rosalie to come home so he can talk with her himself. I do worry what this will do to their relationship if she chooses to reveal the truth," Esme imparted apprehensively.
"I hope that it won't come to that," Jasper responded as he retrieved two more ornaments from the large pile that Alice had purchased. "I think it would be best for all if Rosalie could just forget Edward and concentrate on her husband."
"I agree with you sweetheart," Esme said as she took one of the delicate ornaments from his outstretched hand. "But unfortunately sometimes we just can't choose who we love."
"What are you two whispering about over here?" Carlisle asked as he kissed Esme's cheek tenderly.
"I was just trying to pump Jasper for information on my Christmas gift," Esme responded as she smiled impishly towards her husband, not wanting to worry him with the true nature of the conversation.
"And has Jasper supplied you with any useful information?" he asked as he winked towards his newest son, knowing that Jasper would never willingly spoil Esme's surprise.
"No, he has been very stubborn," Esme responded with a contrived frown on her beautiful face.
"Well you only have twenty more hours to wait," Carlisle said as he smiled smugly towards her disappointed face.
Alice stood back and surveyed the last hour's work with satisfaction. "I think it's just about perfect," she announced to the four other vampires in the room.
Esme shared a loving smile with her husband as she stood within his light embrace while they stared at the exquisitely decorated Christmas tree. "You've out done yourself Alice," her mother complemented sincerely.
Alice beamed as she approached Jasper's side. "I really have haven't I?" she commented as she basked in the glow of the twinkling white lights on the tree.
Emmett's face broke out into his signature mischievous smile as he carefully plucked out a small light causing a section of lights to go out. "Uh Alice, I don't think the lights on the upper left side are working," he advised as he watched with wicked enjoyment as she raced towards the left side of the tree with a look of alarm.
"Who was in charge of the lights for this side?" she asked as she speared her family members with an accusatory glare.
Jasper quickly knew that he was soon to be in the dog house as Alice had specifically designated the lighting duties to him. "Let me see if I can find the problem," he said quickly as he averted his gaze from her piercing stare.
"It's probably just one bad bulb in that strand Jasper," Carlisle advised as he looked sharply at the tree to see if he could spot the one tiny bulb with a broken connection.
Jasper turned his attention to his brother whose emotions could only be described as jovial at the moment. "Emmett?" he asked drily as he held out his hand expectantly, correctly reading his brother's guilt as if he were in on the joke as well.
Emmett frowned slightly as he stared at his brother's outstretched hand for a moment before he deposited the missing bulb in Jasper's white palm. "All right," he sighed as he turned to smile sheepishly at his sister. "Just having a little fun," he said with a goofy smile that had Esme and Carlisle fighting to hold back their laughter.
Alice stared her six foot three inch brother down with the intensity of a lion. "Well I hope it was worth it," she said with a smug edge to her tone. "Because you have now been assigned the duty of putting all of the bicycles together all by your lonesome," she said with a satisfied tone that caused Emmett to swallow hard at the thought of putting all of the bikes together single handedly for Esme's favorite children's charity.
"Ah Alice, there has to be a least seventy-five bikes to put together this year," Emmett complained whiningly.
"There are ninety-three actually," Alice corrected as she looked mockingly down at her perfectly manicured nails. "And you had better get started, they need to be at the center by seven, and that only gives you five more hours," she said with a self-satisfied smile.
Emmett frowned as he regarded his sister, knowing that he had lost to her yet again. "All right," he mumbled as he made his way towards the door. "But don't think that this is over little sister," he threatened with a feigned sinister look that had the rest of his family dissolving in laughter.
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Christmas Morning
"I guess the Governor was relieved to read this morning's paper," Esme commented as she watched Edward with a slight frown as he stared unblinkingly towards his silent sister Rosalie.
"Yes, Steve really came through," Edward responded, his keen eyes still pinned on Rosalie's tense form.
"The article will certainly make it easier on Jacob as well," Jasper mused as he deftly threw three tennis balls towards the trees that surrounded Edward's home to allow the three golden retrievers to run up an appetite for Alice's Christmas dinner.
Alice came bounding out of the house with a DVD in her pale hands. "The turkey is in the oven, so we should be on schedule to eat at two," she advised as she handed Carlisle the blank DVD.
"What's this honey?" he asked with a confused grin.
"It's an instructional video on how to carve a turkey," she replied as she went to sit beside her husband on the Adirondack bench in front of Edward's outdoor fire.
"Don't even try it," Jasper advised as he shot her an annoyed look after experiencing her inquisitive feelings wash over him.
"But, just a little hint?" she asked with a beseeching look in her softened topaz eyes.
Edward turned his attention to a smug Jasper as he tried to decipher the same information that Alice has been striving for over the last week. Laughing lightly, he nodded approvingly to his brother, "Very clever Jasper," he complemented softly which earned him an irate glance from Alice.
"Thanks Edward," Jasper responded with a self-satisfied smile of his own. "I wish I had thought of this decades ago."
"URRRR!" Alice growled as she rose from her seat to stalk quickly into the house.
"What was that all about?" Emmett asked as he played lightly with Rosalie's long blond hair.
"Jasper has found the perfect way to keep Alice's gifts a secret," Edward supplied with a chuckle at his sister's expense.
"How did you do it?" Esme asked with light amusement adorning her beautiful face.
"I hired secret shoppers and instructed them not to tell me what they purchased so Alice would be completely in the dark," he supplied with a huge grin on his pale face.
Carlisle laughed lightly at the thought of the all knowing Alice having to wait to find out what she would receive just like the rest of them, save Edward of course.
"What time are you going to pick up Bella," Esme asked Edward while keeping her watchful gaze upon her oldest daughter.
Edward instantly felt Rosalie's flash of pain at the mention of Bella's name and felt that maybe it was too soon to bring them together. "I'm supposed to pick her up in an hour," he said absently as his mind continued to probe into Rosalie's tortured thoughts carefully for any sign of threats towards Bella.
"We'd better get home and change then, I hate to have to wish Bella a Merry Christmas in my hunting gear," Esme said as rose from Carlisle's lap gracefully.
"Don't forget to wear the sweater I got for you," Alice yelled from the kitchen window.
"What's she talking about?" Emmett asked as he sprang lithely to his feet to stand at Rosalie's side.
"I think she has purchased us all matching Christmas sweaters," Edward groaned out loud as he saw a vision from Alice's mind of the hideous green sweater embellished with a large reindeer face complete with a red blinking nose that she intended for his wear.
"Oh no," Emmett said firmly as he could just imagine what kind of sweater his sister had picked out for him.
"Oh yes you will Emmett!" Alice called back out the window. "This is what humans do on Christmas and we are going to all make this a very special HUMAN Christmas for Bella, got it?" she shot at her brother with a forcefulness that belied her petite frame.
Emmett grumbled under his breath as he agreed, knowing that he would comply willingly as long as it was for Bella's benefit.
Esme smiled somewhat fearfully as she wondered what else her youngest daughter had planned for Bella's human Christmas. "Ready?" she asked Carlisle as she held out her hand.
Carlisle read her apprehensive look and smiled at her knowingly as he too wondered what Alice had in store for the human Christmas. I'm not sure if I'm ready or not but I guess we should go and change none the less. Besides, I have to learn how to carve a turkey," he added with a wiry grin.
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A/N Thanks for the amazing reviews! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know how you like or dislike (all reviews are welcome) my little story. Okay, so Rosalie didn't get it too bad in this chapter, but who says she done with her plans to breakup Edward and Bella? Not me that's for sure, she's got so much more up her sleeves. Next chapter is Christmas ala Alice style (I tried to get this chapter written in time for Christmas but life got in the way so I hope everyone is still in a little bit of the Christmas spirit). We will also have Edward's very special gift for Bella, I wonder if any of you can guess what it is? I have given a hint in an earlier chapter…shoot me your guess in a review (yes, it is another shameless attempt at bringing my review per chapter average number up) and I'll give you a cameo in an upcoming chapter if you guess correctly, that will be kind of fun, just think you could be waitress or someone who works at Cullen Telecommunication, or maybe even a fellow vampire? I have the next chapter about half way finished so I will need your guesses by Tuesday at the latest. A special thank you to my amazing Beta SNU who has just been working so hard over the Holidays and still found some time to edit this chapter.