See chapter 1 for disclaimer

Chapter 7 – Vertigo

As soon as Carlisle had finally pronounced Hera fully healed from her accident, the little phoenix squealed with delight and flashed herself to the garden to celebrate her new found freedom. Alice had once made the comment that the child must be part plant because, even though her mood was mostly joyous, Hera positively blossomed on sunny days. This, along with her disposition, was what had first prompted Edward to call his mate "sunshine." Jasper watched his little sister from his bedroom window as she played in the garden while singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She happily hopped from shadow to shadow, no doubt pretending that the sunny patches were deadly.

While Hera basked in the rays of the sun, her family soaked up the peace and contentment brought out by her singing. Arms wrapped around his waist and he immediately turned into them to give his mate a loving kiss. Alice happily accepted the token of affection before her own eyes tracked the actions of their sister. The phoenix was now trying to do the hand movements Esme had taught her in accompaniment with the song, but she couldn't seem to get the hang of the part where the spider climbs up the water spout.

The vampires stared in amazement as a white-crowned sparrow

flew down from a nearby tree and landed on Hera's head! The child was equally stunned and immediately tried to dislodge the grasp of tiny feet from her hair. She received a scolding for her attempt before the bird transferred itself from her head to Hera's hand. Bringing the tiny creature closer to her face, she suddenly broke into giggles before launching into a seemingly one-way conversation with the bird.

"Are you guys watching this," Jasper asked the others in the house.

Edward immediately responded. "Yes. This is exactly what I was talking about! Animals are suddenly mesmerized by her presence."

"Remarkable," announced Carlisle.

Edward snorted. "That's nothing… watch this." He soon appeared in the garden with his mate. The bird was growing increasingly agitated as the vampire approached them. Soon the animal broke out into a furious rant and flew from Hera's hand only to dive at the newcomer in the attempt to run him off, not even pausing in his tirade until Hera told her little friend that Edward was safe. Slightly mollified, the bird perched on the phoenix's shoulder and ruffled his feathers. After Edward had returned inside the avian remained with Hera for almost five more minutes before taking flight.

Later that evening Jasper approached his sister and asked her what the bird was saying.

Hera looked at the blonde as if he'd sprouted a few extra appendages. "Birds can't talk, Jasper."

Jasper stared at her in confusion for a moment before saying, "But you were talking to it."

"I'm not a bird," she replied, confusion pouring off of her. "I can talk, but a bird just whistles!"

Sighing in defeat, he affectionately tousled her unruly hair and went to watch television with Rosalie, Alice, and Emmett. As Emmett, aka Mr. Remote Hog, passed a nature documentary, Jasper got an idea. He quickly hid his thoughts from Edward because if his brother were to find out what he was planning, he'd probably rip him apart. Alice gasped in wonderment as a vision came to her before she grinned at her husband. "Do it!"

They immediately left the house in order to get far enough away from their telepathic brother and began to plan.

Hera looked down at Jasper from the comfort of Emmett's arms. Alice stood a little further away than her husband, watching the scene. "I'm not sure about this Jasper," the phoenix stated warily.

The civil war vampire smiled reassuringly at the child. She was currently standing high up in a tree, held protectively by the large vampire. The height filled her with intense fear and made her dizzy. Hera wasn't even certain she wanted to experience flight any longer.

"It's okay darlin'. You just have to get your confidence back and you'll be flying before you know it." He pushed feelings of peace and happiness towards her to ease her trembling.

"But what if I fall?"

"You'll most likely fall until your wings learn how to support you, Hera. But that's what I'm here for. I swear to you that you'll never hit the ground when I'm here to catch you." Topaz eyes met green. "Remember the baby birds on the videos we watched? Remember how they all kept falling until they got the hang of flying?"

"Yeah, but they didn't hurt themselves when they hit the ground." She didn't mention the fact that some baby birds were eaten by predators when they dropped from their nest, knowing that no creature on earth would be willing to brave three vampires just to eat her.

"And you're not going to hit the ground, Hera." He opened his arms invitingly. "Now, which is it going to be? Give up… or pick yourself up and try again?"

Resolution swept through the little girl and she nodded. Hera wasn't certain if that was her emotion or one Jasper sent to her, but either way she was going to do this. She ignored the feeling of vertigo as Emmett stepped back, though he remained close to her. Taking a deep breath, the five-year-old locked her jaw with determination, spread her wings, and jumped.

"Where is everyone," Edward asked Rosalie as he entered the house. He was suspicious. Scratch that… he was suspicious when Jasper, Emmett, and Alice had started to hide their thoughts weeks before. Now he was certain they were up to no good.

Normally he wouldn't care, but he soon realized that whatever mischief they were involved in now included his mate. Determined to figure out what they were hiding from him, Edward had stared at Hera as she sang "The Song That Doesn't End" in her head over and over. At first he'd simply crossed his arms and patiently listened to what had to be two-hundred verses of the blasted song. He'd listened to another hundred before giving up and leaving the house to go hunting.

The child would be great at torturing people.

"No idea," she responded, never once looking up from her fashion magazine. Rosalie was equally suspicious, which meant she'd been left out of the loop as well. What were the four of them up to that required absolute secrecy from himself and Rose?

There was no special event happening in the near future. Emmett wouldn't risk an irritated Rosalie holding out on sex for no good reason. What did the two siblings have in common? They both tended to be serious –bordering on moody, but the same could be said of Jasper. They both… well… uh… wow! He and Rosalie really didn't have much in common, unless you count their penchant for overprotecting Hera. Edward jerked his head up in panic. They were doing something with his mate… something of which they knew he wouldn't approve!

He was going to kill them.

Eyes black in a mixture of rage and panic, Edward dashed outside. There had been no telltale heartbeat inside, so he knew Hera wasn't in the house. But where were they?! They hadn't taken a car, but that didn't matter because they ran faster than any of their vehicles. Thinking logically was currently beyond him and he was about to just pick a random direction and run when he heard Hera's laughter. Swinging his head in her direction, he gawked at the sight of her.

Flying… his mate was flying!

Jasper, Emmett, and Alice kept pace with the phoenix, all ready to catch her in case she lost control. The vampires wore triumphant grins, but they paled in comparison to Hera's beaming face. Her expression of utter joy could light up the world should the sun disappear. Edward opened his arms and hugged his little phoenix tightly to his chest. He was indescribably proud of her!

He was still going to kill his brothers and sister, but that could wait a while.

And this marks the end of my third story in the series. Keep watching my profile page if you're interested in seeing the next installment.

Anyway, you are all awesome for sticking with me so far as I get back into the swing of writing. Thanks once more, (can't thank you guys enough), for reading, reviewing, following, and/or favoriting me. Love you guys!