Oh my gosh! I abandoned my baby! Well, me and my beta *cough*Lucas*cough*. Busy schedules, life, stupid people. Sorry. Well, I love this, and it will not be abandoned. Thanks for sticking with me. Review, and I don't own.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving day. It was frosty out, the fireplace was lit in the Cullen manor, and everyone was there. Since most everyone's family lived out of town or had passed away, and since Thanksgiving had a tendency to be under-appreciated, we made our own way of celebrating; we'd all have a great big dinner, then Friday we'd take a bunch of food to the homeless shelter a town or so over. Of course the shopping was my favorite, but I'll admit it was fuzzy-feeling-inducing to bring food into the shelter and see all the smiles.

"Alice, honey, can you bring me the spice rack?" Jamie asked, fretting over the turkey that was about the size of myself. He and Mother were doing the cooking, Charlie was watching a game, Daddy was at the hospital (bringing some good food to the long-term patients), and Vicky was out with Mother (who had forgotten some things to cook with) getting groceries. Renee was hovering somewhere, but not really doing much.

I brought him the entire thing, not questioning him, then escaped before someone asked me to do anything else. I wasn't in a cooking mood. I was more focused on getting Emmett to myself. I went to my room to see Bella and Rose laying on my bed, bored. I dropped into my desk chair and was about to ask where the guys were when Renee came in singing to herself, a distant expression on her face.

"If you girls need anything, yell at Charlie, I'll be out for a bit."

"Okay," Bella said. "Bye Mom."

"By Renee," I said, grinning knowingly. I figured she'd be helping with the shopping. She was the adult who always managed to sneak sweets when shopping.

"See you later!" she said distantly, almost impatiently, leaving us alone again.

"She's been doing that a lot lately," Bella said quietly.

"What?" I asked, highly confused.

"Leaving on a whim, staying out late, not being all there," she said softly, looking sad. "I'm scared…"

"Of what?" I asked, surprised. Renee had always been fairly scatter-brained, but never secretive, that I could remember.

"Nothing…" Bella sighed. "It's nothing. It's stupid. Where's Edward?"

She and Rose went to search for my brother and Jasper, then Emmett wandered into my room. "What's with Bella?"

I shrugged. "What's with anyone around here?"

He laughed and sat on my bed. "So, any big plans for today? A hot date, perhaps? Or maybe a boyfriend to hang out with?"

I grinned and got up, walking closer to him. "Hmmm… I pick C." I sat on his lap and put my arms around his neck. "But I won't tell him if you won't."

Emmett's response was to fuse his lips to mine. After successfully killing an immeasurable amount of time kissing, Rosalie skipped in. She acted as if us making out in front of her was normal.

"Bella and Edward are boring me," she whined, sitting at my desk and rolling my chair around. "Jasper's just sitting there listening to them debate which of Beethoven's pieces is more recognizable. I thought you two would be more interesting."

We ignored her and she kept rambling. Finally she added, "Oh, and Mama said supper's gonna be ready in twenty minutes."

I pulled away from Emmett to glance back at her. "How long ago, Rosie dear?"

She looked at her phone for the time. "About…fifteen minutes ago?"

I slid off of Emmett's lap and smiled sweetly at her, then yelled, "Couldn't you start with that one!"

She grinned sheepishly. "You looked preoccupied."

Emmett started laughing, until I grabbed his arm and dragged him to my mirror to show him where my bright pink lipstick had made a mess of his mouth and the skin surrounding it. "Rose!"

Emmett found some tissues on my bedside table and worked at cleaning his face while I went to my bathroom and retouched my lipstick. While I was at it, I fixed the spikes in my hair, which had gone lopsided, then went back into my room and got Rose and Emmett. Rose went to get my brother while Emmett and I went downstairs, hand in hand. We took our seats at the 'kids' table' and waited for everyone else. After the blessing and the procession to fix our plates, we all sat down and proceeded to stuff ourselves. Renee had gotten in about two minutes before time to eat, which obviously unsettled Bella. We all stayed at our respective homes that night, and the next day, we met up again. The guys watched football in the afternoon while the girls went shopping. All in all, Friday was a fun day for everyone. Saturday was cool and relaxed.

But Sunday night, I got an odd hour call. Two in the morning to be exact.

"Alice?" Bella said softly.

"Bella? Is everything okay?" I asked, sitting up in bed a little.

She hesitated. "Mom and Dad are fighting."

I swallowed hard. Charlie and Renee Swan hadn't fought in years, as far as I knew. When we were younger they would, but they stopped after talking to Mom, Daddy, Jamie, and Vicky. "Are you sure?"

She took a shaky breath. "I forgot how scary it was."

"Are you okay?" I asked gently. "Do I need to tell my parents?"

"No, no, it's fine. They're just talking, but it's kind of sharp and tense. It's weird."

"Okay, well I'm here if you need me," I assured her.

"Thanks, just… Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't mention this to Emmett, I don't think he's awake." Always the martyr, Bella wanted to protect her 'little' brother.

"Okay. Goodnight."

"'Night."

We hung up and I fell asleep clutching my phone, hoping that the Swans would be okay.

The week passed somewhat normally. The Swan twins were growing tired and short. Emmett's temper had grown short towards everyone except me, but he was growing quiet and talked to me less. I didn't push him, and I tried not to let it hurt my feelings that he wasn't as affectionate as he had been.

When I woke up Friday morning, Mom told me that rotation was being changed a little, that we'd be going to Jamie and Vicky's tonight, instead of the Swan house.

"Why?" I asked.

"Something came up," she said passively, so unlike herself.

At school, Bella and Emmett were pretty quiet. Bella was extremely to herself, and Emmett had a confused expression and was embodying a persona I'd seldom-to-never seen. They were both as passive as my mother had been.

At the Hale's house that evening, Jasper and Bella retreated to Jasper's room with the door cracked, Rosalie and Edward went to Rosalie's room with the door wide open (needless to say they were the least trusted of the couples), and Emmett chose to sit in the living room with Jamie, watching Food Network.

"Mom and Dad had to go to something with a friend of theirs," Emmett had told me with a slightly bitter tone the second Jamie got up to go make dinner.

"Oh, okay," I said, leaning into his arms.

Luckily, he let me, holding me close. "Yeah, it's just… I don't know."

"It's alright," I said, chancing a kiss to his neck.

He gave me a little squeeze, lowering his lips to mine for a tender moment, kissing me lovingly and making me feel a rush of relief. "I'm sorry I haven't done that in a few days. I've just been so tired. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings."

I leaned up and gave him another kiss. "It's okay. I could tell you didn't feel well."

"I've been stressed, you know?"

I didn't dare ask him what was wrong, but I assumed he had in fact been awake that morning when Bella had called me. Instead we watched Alton Brown's Good Eats, listening to Jamie mutter under his breath as he took notes about how to correctly prepare various shell fish. Dinner was silent, and after dinner wasn't much louder. We all stayed separated still, sensing that Bella and Emmett need not be together, for their fear of revealing some secret that they had chosen not to disclose to us.

After being rounded up out of the bedrooms, we all loafed around in the living room, since Jamie and Vicky had gone to sleep and we weren't allowed co-ed activities in the bedrooms after that. We watched an old movie on some oldies channel, avoiding conversation.

Jasper met my gaze once, when I was looking at Bella, who lay in his arms, nearly asleep. His eyes conveyed his feelings, which were identical to mine; he was worried about the Swans as well. Emmett fell asleep with an arm around my shoulders, his head falling lightly to the top of mine. I got up and managed to get him to lay down correctly, coaching him in his unconscious state. I sat on the end of the couch, allowing him to use my lap as a pillow, tracing valentines onto his cheeks. I sighed heavily, settling down for the night. I hoped beyond hope that the Swans wouldn't become like they were all those years ago…

When we were young, Charlie and Renee Swan weren't always a happy couple. When we were about five, they began to get into light arguments that would heat up until one of the other parents stepped in. Renee would want to get out of the 'small town routine,' Charlie would want her to be a more 'serious' mother. Sometimes Emmett or Bella would call someone to help. Many a night, the phone would ring at an odd hour, signaling another Swan Spat.

Sometimes Mom or Daddy would have to drive down there, leaving Edward and I to talk to the caller until they arrived. Sometimes I would get stomach aches right before the call came, like I was sensing my friends' pain. Bella was calmer than Emmett usually. Sometimes Emmett would hide while Bella attempted to calm her parents down. It was terrifying to remember, and the Swan twins seemed to be acting like they did when their parents were fighting. By the time we were nine, Charlie and Renee had rekindled their gentle and loving relationship. It had been about five years since they'd stopped fighting regularly.

Had they started again? The signs were there… Charlie's defensiveness, Renee's briskness and slight bitterness, Emmett's and Bella's quietness and sadness. Bella's call. I had a bad feeling, and I knew it would only get worse as time went by.

I woke up with numb legs from Emmett's head still in my lap. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Bella was still asleep, still in Jasper's arms, who was awake and seemed to realize I was as well. Rosalie was in the shower, I could tell, by the almost inaudible singing I heard, and Edward was flipping through channels. I started playing with the sleeping Emmett's hair. It was almost certain now. They, the usual early birds, were over tired, sleeping late after falling asleep early.

Edward sighed and turned off the TV. "Bella called me Thursday morning."

I gasped lightly. Edward too? "She called me Sunday night -well, Monday morning."

Jasper looked pained. "Emmett called me yesterday. He didn't think Bella was awake to hear it."

"Bella thought the same Sunday," I said. We spoke low and slow, trying not to wake the sleeping beings.

Rosalie spoke softly as she entered the room. "Do you think it's happening again?"

I nodded sadly. "It's the same as before. Did someone call you?"

"Emmett texted me that he wished you were awake," she said. "He said he'd have called you if you weren't so irritable the last time he called you in the middle of the night."

"When?" Edward asked, holding his arms out for her to sit on his lap, holding her like a lifeline.

"Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" was the harmonic response of Jasper, Edward, and I.

She sighed. "I hate this."

"Me, too," I agreed, gazing down at my Emmett, who stirred slightly. "He's waking up."

"We don't need to let on that we know anything," Edward said. "Let them open up to us, if it's serious, and if it's not as bad as it was before, we don't need to meddle. Agreed?"

We murmured our agreement as both the Swan twins stirred slightly, then woke up simultaneously. Freaky… Twin telepathy was scary even if you experienced it yourself.

"G'morning," Emmett mumbled, lifting a hand to rub his face.

"Morning," I whispered, giving him a brilliant smile, hoping to start his day with a happier mood than that of the previous.

"I feel so tired," he said, still mumbling.

I giggled a little, spying the clock on the VCR/DVD player. "Well, I don't know why, you slept until ten."

He smiled lazily. "Guess I'm still worn out from the Thanksgiving festivities."

Yeah, birthday, insert eye roll here. Like I didn't know the real reason… "Yeah, eating unholy amounts of food always tires me out for a week, too."

Across the room, Bella talked to herself, still not fully awake. Finally, she spoke to someone that resided out of her own head. "Emmy? Where are you? Did you turn my alarm clock off again? We're gonna be late…" She spoke with a high voice, thick with sleep. It was fairly amusing, seeing as she thought it to be a school day.

"Belly," Emmett said, a little louder this time. "It's Saturday."

"Oh," she said, still out of it. "I'm going to sleep some more then."

"Emmy and Belly?" Rose giggled.

I smiled a little. "Sounds like a girl and a fat eighth dwarf."

"At least it's more original than brother and sister," Bella said, surprising us with her awake-ness, then seemed to fall back to sleep.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

The rest of us, save Jasper, still acting as bean bag chair for Bella, got up to eat something. Emmett's and Edward's stomachs had made some pretty strange sounds for a few minutes. After successfully shutting up the boys innards, Emmett went back to sleep. Vicky and Jamie got Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and I into the kitchen.

"We assume you know?" Jamie asked quietly.

"Yeah," Rose answered for us.

"I say this in the most motherly way possible, for Edward and Alice too, please try to understand and respect their privacy," Vicky said, looking to us all seriously. "What they're experiencing ain't something any of you have had to deal with."

"Let them come to you," Jamie said. "Ya'll's parents took Renee and Charlie out last night, to talk to them. We're all hoping that they'll cool down faster than last time."

"We all got calls or texts from Emmett and Bella," Jazz said. "Emmett was scared again."

I felt bad, talking about them behind their backs. "Why are they fighting again?"

"We're not sure," Vicky said. "We're talking to them this evening, but it's none of your business. If Emmett and Bella tell you, that's fine, but we have no right to tell you their personal business."

I nodded in understanding.

"We need to leave it," Edward said. "We can't worry about something that might not even be that serious."

"Edward's right," Jamie said. "Just be there if those two need you," he added, with a jerk of his thumb. "Now scram, I think I hear someone waking up."

I laughed a little at his choice of analogy, then hurried to be there when Emmett woke up, as I sensed he would. He was talking a little as he woke up, arguing with a dream figure. "No, you can't be…"

I watched as his large brown eyes opened and he realized the figure he was speaking to in his dream was gone. His eyes were shiny, like he'd been crying in the dream. He blinked the wetness away and sat up. "I fell asleep again?"

I laughed. "Yeah. You really must be worn out."

"Yeah, that's it," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "That must be it."

I laughed lightly, giving him a hug. "Still tired."

He hugged me back, resting his head on my shoulder. "A little."

I pet his hair, rocking him a little. "You want to go back to sleep?"

"Are you kidding me? I've slept half the day away. I want to spend a little time with my girl," he said, pulling away slightly to look at me.

"And who would that be?" I asked jokingly.

"I don't know," he said in fake contemplation. "Green eyes, black hair, resembles a porcelain doll. You tell me."

"Oh, me!"

"Yes, Pixie Princess, it's you."

I smiled and kissed his nose. "Good, now are you awake for real?"

"I think," he said, in real contemplation. "If I fall asleep again… Get a bullhorn."

I laughed. "I think Jasper has one from track practice."

The afternoon was spent together as a unit. Kind of a small family. I grinned a little as I thought about it. We were really a small family. A group of good friends, like our parents. Bella finally ate something and woke up, after successfully getting us all into a round of laughter after fighting with a dream person and waking herself up yelling at someone.

The steady rain of Forks left us all energy-less, lazing around, watching movies on ABC Family. I swear I've memorized Practical Magic, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Mean Girls. When we went to my house, the night mimicked the previous, except that I was able to actually lie down, using the air mattress again. I bundled up tight to shield the cold-ness, since it was harder to heat the large area than the small den of the Hales'. Again, the Swans slept longer than the rest of us.

Mom checked on us a few times, kissing us all goodnight and then coming back every so often to observe as to who was asleep. I longed for Charlie and Renee, to see if they were any better. But in my heart, I knew something was to happen that would cause a great change.

A/N: Sorry, again!