It was late May and we were leaving tonight. Jacob and Ness were on the Reservation saying their goodbyes to Billy. Edward, Bella, Seth, and I were driving ourselves over to Charlie and Sue's to say our own goodbyes.

As we were entering the fair-sized house that Bella grew up in, Jake sent a text to Seth. I knew who it was because of Seth's ringtone for Jake: Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Edward smiled. Damn, mind scanner, brother…

"What's going on, Seth?" Bella asked as we climbed the steps to the front door. She shared my thoughts on Edward's failure to inform us what he glossed from Seth's mind.

Seth clicked his phone to vibrate. His mom absolutely hated when someone's phone went off when family was together. "I guess Jake was able to convince Billy to get on a plane for the first time in his life and come to Maine for Christmas."

I wondered if we should invite Sue and Charlie too. Would Leah come too? I laughed internally at that thought.

Sometime shortly after the Volturi left us that fateful day in the meadow, Leah had gone on to the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in financial planning. Even Sue was surprised with Leah's choice of field, but it seemed to suit her well in the end. She worked in Port Angeles and because she kept bankers' hours she remained involved with the Tribe and her wolf duties. Jacob was rather vocal in questioning why Leah continued to participate. Sam Uley may have stopped phasing years ago, but that didn't mean he wasn't involved in training the newer wolves, and his proximity was a constant reminder of what Leah had lost. She still hadn't imprinted and that fact constantly bombarded her.

Silently, I came to know that Leah feared growing old alone and continued to phase to maintain her youth. She would play off her loneliness by acting fiercely independent, but I knew otherwise. I knew mostly because I put off that facade for a long time myself.

And I was successful until I met Emmett. That man made me turn into a dramatic, co-dependent fool. Ugh.

Every now and again, I contemplated telling Leah that I knew just so that she would know that she really wasn't alone. But in the end I didn't. She was still uneasy about us vampires even if her Tribe and her pack were not. Perhaps one day.

Entering the house, I heard Sue Clearwater yell that they were in the kitchen. Our party meandered through the living room and into the kitchen where we found Sue drying her hands with a dishtowel. Charlie was at the kitchen table perusing through the newspaper. I took a quick look around the kitchen. Nothing had changed in a decade.

"Here… You dry!" Sue said as threw the towel at Charlie.

That certainly was a change. Sue ran the house now.

Charlie shook his head, but didn't complain. He got up and jumped into drying the dishes that Sue had just washed. Sue kept Charlie on his toes, and I think he liked it like that.

"How are you, kiddo?" Charlie asked as he gave Bella his signature awkward-Dad hug, one armed, which subtle taps on the back.

"Good, Dad," Bella said as she bit her lip. So much had changed in Bella (and Charlie's) life, but they were in classic form when they interacted.

Tiny Sue pulled Seth into a tight hug while Charlie asked about how our packing was going.

"It's all done, Dad," Bella informed. "Ness was packed first. She is probably the most excited to go—being able to be a teenager and go to high school and all."

"That wonderful little soul stopped by with Jake for lunch today," Sue said. "Charlie was crying like a baby when he had to say goodbye to his granddaughter."

I snickered, as Seth did too.

Charlie gave us a death glare. I'm sure Edward heard Charlie think, I have a gun. I know how to use it.

I looked to Seth and said, mentally of course, Yes, Charlie, we know you have a gun.

"And you," Sue grabbed my ice-cold body and gave it a tight squeeze. I returned the hug.

I laughed. "I'm going to miss you too, Momma C…"

Sue pulled us all into the living room to chat. She served coffee and muffins, but only Seth and Charlie consumed anything. I levitated my muffin to Seth's plate when Charlie wasn't looking.

Technically, Charlie Swan still didn't know that we were vampires. He knew that Seth and Jake were wolves though, so Charlie deduced enough to know that the Cullens were not human at least. The law said that humans couldn't know that vampires existed, not that they couldn't know that anything but humans existed. His daughter's transformation was obvious enough, but Charlie had balanced himself extremely well on the knowing/not-knowing seesaw. Charlie knew for his own safety and the safety of those closest to him that he need not know quite everything.

Time flew by in a flash and I looked at my watch and saw that nearly two hours had passed. I announced our need to get going.

Sue sighed.

"I know," Seth said as he clasped his mother's hand in his own burgeoning one. "I don't want to leave either, but you know why I have too."

Sue nodded. "I know, Love."

Hugs and well wishes were expressed on the lawn of the Swan residence. Bella and her father, and Seth and his mother embraced for a long time. I felt the briefest pang of loss for my mother—the human one that is. Then, I thought about what the loss of Esme would do to me, and in a sick sort of way, the loss I felt for my human mother was lessened. Losing my Mom—my vampire one—would destroy me.

While the Clearwater/Swan family was finishing up, Edward and I walked over to Edward's Volvo. Slowly, Seth and Bella climbed into their seats, and I was about to wave when I saw that Sue and Charlie were walking around to my side of the car.

I unrolled the window, but realized that etiquette required that I get out. I met Sue and Charlie's collective gaze with a knowing smile.

"Take care of him," Sue implored.

I nodded. "With my life."

Beneath the humans' hearing range Seth whispered, "Mom…" I thoroughly enjoyed Seth's embarrassment.

Sue gave me a smile, her own knowing smile. She knew that although Seth wasn't my biological brother, mate, or imprint, I would protect him as my best friend and as a brother. And he would do the same for me. The cliché goes that "blood is thicker than water," but "actions speak louder than words" too, which can lead to a thicker bond entirely.

After one a quick hug from Sue and a handshake from Charlie, I hopped into the Mercedes and we were off to our house one last time.

The sun had fully fallen behind the horizon by the time everyone had returned to the house. We were all in the living room together waiting for someone to make the first move. I looked around the room and smiled.

Ness sighed. "I don't want to go. This is all I've ever known. There are so many memories here—the good and the bad. I'm worried that when we leave here, nothing will ever be the same." Ness had a lot of mixed emotions. I shared them too. So much had happened here that the thought of moving on seemed daunting.

"You're right Ness. They won't be the same. They'll be better," Jacob said hugging Ness from behind. It was a tender moment, which left Esme beaming. Even Edward seemed less edgy at Jacob and Ness's proximity.

Bella shuffled so that we could all meet her gaze. In Bella's eloquent voice, she said, "We'll be back here one day. This is home. But home is also where your family is. So as long as we're together, we'll be home."

So true.

"Yeah, when can we return? I mean—permanently," Seth asked quietly.

Edward made the decision and spoke. "Because we have made such an impression on this area, we will have to stay away for longer than we might otherwise would. I would suggest at least one hundred years. That would give us a good cushion between generations."

"I agree," Jasper said.

I tried to gauge Seth's reaction, but he had hidden his face from me before I could get a good read. He seemed to be really interested in a pine tree that grew just outside the window.

A long silence overtook the room and it wasn't until my loud, obnoxious mate opened his mouth did it end.

"Well, we have a plane to catch!" Emmett announced clapping his hands together. Both Bella and I shot daggers at Emmett from our eyes. If he gives away the plane secret, I will literally rip his head off!

"What?" he asked. "Are we going to stand around here all night or are we going to get on with our lives? There is plenty to see and do! We got to get to the airport or we'll miss our flight! It'll leave without us."

Nice save, ass. I looked to Bella and we silently agreed that big surprise was still secret.

The Cullens began to shuffle about the house to take one last look for forgotten articles. Everyone knew that there was nothing forgotten, but nostalgia was running rampant in the house. So many memories…

...

A long caravan of vehicles made their way down the winding driveway to the highway. We already had half of the vehicles picked up by a semi-trailer and put into to storage until the new house was finished. All that was remaining was my Mustang, Esme's Escalade, Rosalie's BMW, Jacob's Rabbit, and Seth's bike. We would all drive the vehicles to a commercial transportation company in Seattle. The company would transport our cars across the country to Maine for us. Carlisle flashed his AMEX Centurion Card at them and they offered to expedite the service.

As the darkened house fell out of my rearview mirror, I glanced over the caravan. I was thoroughly impressed with Rosalie's penchant for auto mechanics. Everything was beautifully maintained. My Mustang, for example, had rolled over two hundred thousand miles years ago and it still purred like the day I got it. Maybe it was time for a new vehicle? I pondered.

"Where are you?" Emmett asked, breaking me out of my inner monologue. He was insistent that he and I go together, alone, in my Mustang. Mostly it was so Emmett could tell me more facts about the new jet, which was being fueled up and prepped for takeoff as we drove. I would've preferred Emmett's reasoning to be more about us, but the sound of Emmett's voice never got old to me. He continued to banter on about the specs and capabilities. I would give him nods or verbal "uh-huhs" to keep him going.

I just focused on the evening drive and kicked my Mustang into sixth gear. The speed was exhilarating. The speed didn't last because sooner than later we arrived at the vehicle transportation company.

There was a long, black hummer limo sitting in the parking lot.

"Logan Cullen, our chariot awaits!" Emmett declared with his signature toothy grin with dimples out in full force. We got out of the Mustang and Emmett pulled what little luggage we had from the trunk and gave it to the chauffeur.

"THAT is gaudy. What happened to a low profile?" Bella asked seriously.

"Come one Bells, we're going to the airport. Nobody will think twice. Alice?" Emmett defended.

"I wouldn't know. I can't actually see what our arrival would do," Alice said frustratingly. She may have been around the wolves and Ness for years, but she still struggled seeing them in her visions. She said that it was easier to see what was going on around the fuzzy spots that Ness or the others create.

"It will be fine," Edward declared, pulling Bella to his side.

"Whoa, Eddy's lightening up. Is this a new thing? Emmy like," said Emmett.

"Emmy?" I asked incredulously. "Not going to happen.

Edward shrugged his shoulders and pulled Bella in for a quick kiss. "I kind of like 'Emmy.'"

"What?" Bella, Emmett, and I said in unison. Maybe Eddy was lightening up. Did hell freeze over? I mean, I could literally check.

Carlisle and Esme walked into the office to drop off our keys and sign paperwork. The rest of us climbed into the limo. Seth and Jacob's stomachs were gurgling all across town to the airport. I practically forced (with my ability that is) the chauffeur to pull into a McDonald's parking lot. I was that annoyed. Each wolf consumed four Big Macs value meals. We drove with the windows down. The smell was that awful, but… the absence of gurgling was sublime.

In between bites, Jacob asked if we were going to be late with all the stops and delays.

Alice saved the day this time. "No Jake, I knew we would have all these stops so I made sure to plan that we left with plenty of time."

Internally, I rolled my eyes. The big surprise would be sprung soon enough. The excitement was building. I looked to Jasper, who was positively giddy. Damn, emotional sponge.

The chauffeur got off the freeway and into the departure drop off lane. When he didn't stop at the terminal, Seth mentioned to the driver that we needed to get off here.

"No, sir!" he said in a thick eastern European accent. "I've been givin' directions to the private departures hangers!"

"Private departures?" Seth asked.

Jake eyed Ness who eyed her parents.

Beneath the ears of the chauffer, Eddy cautioned to ask after we were dropped off.

Seth nodded nonchalantly, like he was some sort of spy receiving secret intel.

I muffled a laugh.

The limo stopped at hangar eighteen. We all piled out of the limo while our human chauffeur weakly pulled our luggage out of the trunk. He was going to carry it all into the hanger, but Emmett, who was getting impatient, offered to do it and gave the chauffeur a hundred dollar tip. The chauffer dropped the suitcases into Emmett's waiting hands and took off.

Emmett put the luggage down and looked at us all wide-eyed. It was Christmas for Emmett. "Can I show them? Can I show them?"

Bella shook her head and looked to the rest of us who knew. "I don't see why not."

Emmett pushed the entire family to the front of the hanger and when he had everyone positioned just right, Ness, Seth, and Jake in front, Emmett flitted to the hanger controls and hit the door button. The doors creaked open slowly. It added to the dramatic effect and I knew Emmett was in his element. There was nothing better than getting a new toy and showing it off to everyone at the same time.

Slowly, our brand new Dassault Falcon 7Z came into view. The hangar lights bounced off the sleek aircraft. It was even gaudier than the limo. It was a sleek white with twin turbojet engines in the tail section. There was a singular gold line that traversed either side of the fuselage until it disappeared near the engines.

"Beautiful," Emmett moaned.

"Watch out, Logan, I think Emmett found a new lover." Eddy's jest got me all riled up, but I refused to get jealous by this piece of equipment.

I sighed. "It's not all that shocking. Worst things have replaced me. Like the Playstation Four, that Legend of Zelda game…"

"That mini-motocross bike that he just had to have…" Rose added.

"That he destroyed my garden with…" Esme jumped in.

"Oh, then it was that riding lawn mower with the tiller attachment," Seth quipped.

"Until he thought it was a good idea to drive over that steel pipe after betting Jasper that the blade on the mower was strong enough," I concluded.

"Thank God my knee was strong enough," Alice added furiously. "That thing would of sliced it right off!"

"Alright!" Emmett threw up his hands in surrender. "I know, I obsess, but this isn't just for me! Really, it's for you three."

"Who?" Jake asked.

Bella cleared her throat. "Well Jake, you were worried about moving so far away and well, we all decided that with this," she pointed at the gaudy craft, "you, Seth, and even you, Ness, can travel back to La Push whenever you want. Jasper, Emmett, and Esme are all licensed pilots on this type of aircraft."

"Esme?" Seth asked. He didn't even bother to hide the shock in his voice.

"Oh yes dear," Esme giggled to herself. "I had a lot of free time on my hands when all the youngins' started to go to school. I had to do something to keep my mind occupied. I mean flying lessons, why not?"

"Why not?" Seth responded.

"Welp, shall we?" Emmett waved towards the vehicle.

"Wait!" Edward said. "We have something for our flight crew."

Alice ripped open her gigantic suitcase and handed garment bags to Emmett, Esme, and Jasper. "Go put them on!"

At vampire speed, the three returned with the best custom pilots uniforms I had ever seen.

"Oh my Soul," I swooned at the sight of Emmett in his pilot's uniform. Oh man, I loved a man in uniform. I had to swallow a huge pool of venom, which characteristically formed whenever I viewed Emmett.

Emmett smoothed his collar and straightened his tie a bit. He looked at me and asked, "Sup?"

Sup in deed!

"You look stunning, my dear." Carlisle walked to Esme's side and dipped her low. She giggled as he laid a kiss on her lips.

Seth started to cackle all of a sudden, which broke me out of my lusty reverie.

"What?" Emmett asked. "Is my fly unzipped?"

I could unzip it for you, I thought. I couldn't control my thought processes at all.

"Ew," Edward threw in my direction.

Seth fell to one knee and then looked up again. "Sorry, but…" he laughed again. "Look at your name tags!"

I had been so caught up in the sight of my mate that I didn't look at his detailed named tag. When I read it, I too started to laugh hysterically.

Emmett read the tag too.

It read: "Emmett, Chief Stewardess."

"WHAT THE HELL! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Emmett boomed.

Esme looked at her tag. "I don't see what the problem is Emmett. I am the matriarch; I should be the Captain."

"Oh, babe," I whispered. "You will be the best stewardess, ever."

"It is a perfectly honorable profession," Carlisle added.

Nobody dared laugh. Carlisle may have been serious, but we were ten seconds from an Emmett tantrum that even I couldn't stop. Emmett had been so looking forward to this plane too. He was now relegated to the stewardship, if in name only.

Bella elbowed Edward in the ribs and after she gave him the evil eye, Edward pulled a new nametag out of his pocket and gave it to Emmett. "That was for calling me Eddy." Edward pinned the new tag on Emmett's chest. "This one is for being the best damn brother I know despite being the most annoying."

The new tag read: Emmett, First Officer. Emmett thumbed it reverently. "I can deal with this, but watch out Esme, I'm in the market to steal your job."

"Oh love, you and Jasper can have the controls in our inaugural flight. It will give Carlisle more time to ogle me in the back."

"Ew," I said. "I'll be in the back too. That is disgusting."

"You wouldn't think so if it was Emmett on your lap," Jazz jested evilly. "Mr. Cullen, would you like me to warm up your hot towel?"

"What…" Seth eyes were wide.

"Jasper, I'm going to melt your head through the floor and have Em fly through a flock of birds." My threat was in good fun, but the fact I could do it didn't escape Jasper's thought process.

"Don't mess with my bird. It's a beauty," Emmett warned me.

Traitor.