Disclaimer: Still not mine. Stephenie Meyer owns everything belonging to the Twilight Universe.

Esme

I couldn't paint, not now.

I'd started repainting the walls of the newly floored and lighted dining room the day before, and had been half finished when I'd left to go hunt with Rose and Emmett that night. It wouldn't take long to finish now, but I found that I couldn't concentrate on the task anymore. We'd heard Jasper calling for Rose and rushed home, afraid that he was in some kind of trouble, to find him in the doorway grinning as if he'd just played a joke on the three of us.

"Jasper," I'd admonished, "what on earth?"

"I just talked to Alice." He'd told us everything she'd told him, and then proceeded to recruit Rosalie's help in an effort to get a hold of Edward.

"Come on, Rose," he'd pushed. "I know you miss him too. He can't make up some stupid reason to stay away if Bella's already a vampire."

Rose's old jealousies made her hesitate at first, but Jasper was right. Like all of us, she missed Edward and was willing to forget her pride for an afternoon if she could get him home again, even if that meant helping Bella Swan out in the process. The three of them had then retired to the living room and I'd gone back to my work in the dining room.

I'd been there for two-and-a-half hours now, and very little had changed. There was just too much to think about for me to focus on the job in front of me. I put the lid back onto the open can of cream-colored paint and wiped my hands on an old rag with a sigh. This would have to wait until tomorrow.

I put my tools away and went upstairs to wash and change, my mind racing. Alice had called from Minnesota around two-o-clock. Even with Bella in the car it was unlikely that the remainder of the trip would take more than six or seven hours, meaning that they would be home by evening. I couldn't help smiling to myself as I walked down the stairs half-an-hour later. Jasper's good mood was infectious. He probably didn't even realize that he wasn't completely in control of his talent.

The smile died on my lips, however, as I looked up and saw the wall next to the front door. I rushed down the rest of the stairs to get a closer look at the offending wall and knew immediately what had happened.

"Jasper Whitlock Hale!"

I waited patiently, my hands on my hips, until the shaggy, blonde head of my foster son appeared around the corner of the doorway to the living room, wearing a very guilty expression.

"Yes?"

I pointed to the several deep cracks in the wall by the front door. "Would you care to explain what happened to my door?"

Jasper gave me an apologetic half-smile. "Sorry, Mom. I'll fix it tomorrow for you."

"I'd appreciate that," I agreed, half-exasperated, half-amused. "Please be more careful with the house the next time you get excited."

Jasper nodded, grinned, and then disappeared into the living room where Emmett and Rose were talking around the telephone.

I took one last, hopeless look at the damage my son had caused to the house I was currently in the middle of renovating, then followed him into the living room.

The truth was that I couldn't be angry, not when everyone else in the house was in such a good mood. I hadn't seen my children so animated since we'd lived in Forks; Jasper hadn't called me "Mom" in months. The news that Bella was coming to live with us had revitalized all of us, even Rosalie. I'd already come to see Bella as another daughter in the short time that I'd known her, and I'd loved her all the more for what she was to my oldest—and youngest—son. Leaving her had been hard.

Edward's leaving me had been harder.

I knew my son wasn't okay. I didn't have to see it in his face or hear it in his voice to know that he was miserable. He'd found true love, realized just what it was that he'd been missing his whole life, and then chosen to let it all go. This wasn't just any kind of heartbreak, it went much deeper than that. Edward had done what he had judged to be best, and had willingly suffered both day and night since, convinced that Bella would be both happier and safer without any of us—without him. What Edward didn't yet understand was that he was still a novice when it came to relationships, especially the kind that he'd shared with Bella. He didn't understand that she could possibly feel as strongly for him as he did for her, that she could be suffering just as much as he was. I truly think that if he'd understood that, he never would have chosen to leave.

As much as it hurt to watch him suffer, there was nothing I could say to convince him that he could be wrong. He was certainly old enough to make his own decisions, even if they resulted in his living an incomplete life for the rest of eternity. I'd spent the past five months busying myself with the renovations of this seventeenth century house, working hard in an effort to escape the ever constant reminders of Edward's absence and the consequential depression in the rest of the family.

The chances of Bella's becoming a vampire without our help were miniscule, so the call from Forks had shocked us. It had also opened a large number of doors that I had feared were forever locked. The prospect of having Bella here in Ithaca, living as a member of the family, filled me with hope yet again. If she was here, eventually Edward would be as well. I had no doubt that that was true.

It didn't matter how long it took. All I wanted was for my children to be happy.

Emmett's good-natured laughter brought me out of my thoughts, and I focused on the three in front of me, struck again by how much happier they were already. Rosalie had the living room phone to her ear; she had been dialing and redialing Edward's number most of the time since we'd been home, and she would keep doing it until he answered, as long as she had someone to keep her company.

"Honestly, you'd think he didn't want to hear from us," she groused as she hung up and dialed yet again. "I'm almost offended."

"He knows it's you calling, Rose," Jasper teased. "Who else could sit for hours doing nothing but dialing a phone?"

"You asked for my help," Rose warned, the receiver pressed against her ear. "And as long as I'm doing this for you, you're going to be here too."

"Where was he again?" Emmett asked. "Somewhere in South America?"

Jasper and Rosalie nodded. "It'd be faster to track him than to sit here waiting for him to feel like answering his phone," Rose grumbled.

"We could probably manage that," Jasper agreed thoughtfully. "We could get Irina and Tanya to come help, they're fair hands at tracking."

"Not to mention that Tanya's well-practiced at sniffing Edward out," Emmett added, laughing. Jasper and Rosalie dissolved into laughter as well, recalling that memorable vacation we'd had a few years back.

"Alright," I admonished, smiling in spite of myself. "That's enough of that."

"Edward's not even here," Emmett protested through his laughter. "It's not as if we could possibly embarrass him when he's not in the country!"

"And no one will be going anywhere, not for a while," I continued. "Edward hasn't been home in over a month. He's probably planning on checking back in within the next few weeks anyway. If, and only if, he hasn't answered his phone or come back by the end of March, then we'll consider sending someone to look for him."

"I don't believe this!" Rosalie interrupted, throwing the receiver down in disgust. "How often have we tried to call him since he ran off? Maybe four times? You'd think that when we call him repeatedly after so few attempts in so long that he'd be able to figure out that we might have something important to tell him. Why would we even bother trying so hard if we didn't have something important to tell him? It's only logical, right? But no, not to Edward. What does he do instead? Turn off his freaking phone."

"Rosalie," I cautioned softly.

"Rose, you did not just use the word 'freaking'," Emmett teased, laughing again.

"I'm irritated," she said in defense.

"No, you've spent too much time in high schools," he corrected, throwing his arm around her to show he was only kidding.

"He turned off his phone?" Jasper asked, cutting off whatever reply Rosalie was forming.

"Either that or it died," Rose grumbled. "It went straight to the answering machine this time."

"Try one more time," Emmett encouraged, and Rose obliged.

She shook her head and hung up. "It's definitely off."

"There's not much that we can do, then," I sighed. "We'll try again tomorrow."

"It'd be just like him to leave it off on purpose to avoid talking to us," Rose muttered. "If he misses out on Bella's being here, serves him right."

"Rose," I warned again, but I didn't have any heart to put into reprimanding her. Her feistiness had been one of the things we'd been missing out on since Edward's departure, and it was surprisingly good to hear her complaining again.

"Leave a message, at least," Jasper suggested. "If he really just doesn't want to talk, then maybe he'd be more likely to listen to a recording." Rose nodded and reached for the phone, but Emmett stopped her.

"Let me do it," he suggested gently. Rose huffed and folded her arms, but allowed Emmett to pick up the phone—a much more graceful surrender than she would have allowed had Jasper or even I suggested it.

We waited in silence for the answering machine to activate.

"Edward," Emmett said into the phone, "It's Emmett. We need you to call home as soon as possible. It's important. Take care."

"Nothing about Bella?" Rosalie asked in mild surprise as Emmett hung up.

"If I said anything about Bella he'd hang up, no matter what I was saying," Emmett sighed. "Besides, if he's curious he's more likely to call back."

I looked up at the clock on the wall, then stood abruptly. "I guess I'd better go get the guest bedroom ready," I announced.

"It's not like she's actually going to need it," Jasper pointed out.

"She'll want her own space all the same," I insisted, heading for the door. "Bella hates intruding on people and I won't have her feeling uncomfortable in my home. You three behave." I smiled at the three of them and then left the room, headed for the stairway.

I couldn't help smiling when the continuation of the conversation reached my ears halfway up the stairs.

"Leave it to Esme to take in the lost sheep."

"Esme is Esme, Jasper," came Emmett's reply. "Taking care of people is what she does."

Bella

We crossed the border into New York state just before eight-o-clock, less than twenty-four hours after we'd started out. As I watched the large sign announcing the border grow closer, I made a mental note to get on MapQuest as soon as I could, just to find out how long the drive should have taken.

Any worries about the speed limit were erased when, shortly after, Carlisle announced that we only had about a half hour until we arrived at the house. Hearing this made my stomach twist in a sudden surge of anxiety that I hadn't been expecting.

"That's all?" I asked quietly, trying to sound unconcerned and failing miserably.

"Is something wrong?" Carlisle asked.

"Oh, no…" I hedged, unsure of how to explain. "Just a little…apprehensive."

"Bella," Alice's voice was exasperated. "Look at how fast you reacquainted with Carlisle and myself. The rest of the family is just as excited to see you as we were. This isn't going to be a problem."

"Everyone?" I challenged, and Alice knew full well that I was referring to Rosalie's blatant dislike.

Alice sighed. "Rose was jealous of your being human, among other things. She's going to get over it. Trust me."

"But, what if—"

"Look. Emmett thinks you're great and he's looking forward to having you around again. Jasper's just glad that he's going to get a chance to get to know you without always worrying about accidentally killing you." Oh that made me feel better.

"And Esme is overjoyed that you're coming, trust me," Carlisle added with a chuckle.

"Bella, we love you. You've got nothing to worry about."

I smiled gratefully at Alice for her kind words, but I still couldn't help feeling nervous. I'd started to fit in before they'd picked up and disappeared. Could I do it again, this time without Edward as a crutch?

The time flew by and it seemed like only minutes later when Carlisle pulled off of Highway 13 in order to skirt around the western edge of Ithaca. After that it was a mere five minutes north before he was turning into yet another driveway that was heavily obscured by foliage.

My heart would have been pounding.

This driveway wasn't nearly as windy as the one in Forks had been, probably thanks to the fact that the property was actually some kind of historical monument that had fallen into disrepair. I caught sight of the statuesque outline of the house, currently peppered with several lighted windows that looked very inviting, almost immediately. Carlisle pulled the car around a large, circular drive that came to a stop in front of what I assumed was the front entrance. The rest of the family was waiting on the large front porch, fully illuminated by the light overhead.

I felt a little like throwing up, which was an odd sensation seeing as I hadn't eaten anything in well over four days.

"Come on Bella," Alice encouraged, her musical voice both gentle and excited. "Let's go."

I took a deep breath that I didn't need and then opened my door. I used the door as a sort of crutch, pulling myself up and out of the car awkwardly, all the while watching the four vampires on the front porch, at a loss for what to say.

It turned out that I didn't need to say anything. I no sooner had the car door shut than Esme was at my side, hugging me fiercely.

"Bella," she said with emotion, "Honey, it is so good to see you."

Something in me snapped and I found myself returning her embrace with just as much fervor. "Esme," I choked out. I couldn't explain the weird emotion coursing through me. I knew that no one would ever replace Renee as my mom, but in that moment I also realized that Esme had become something of a mother-figure to me somewhere during our time at Forks, and that that relationship had managed to survive the nearly half a year we'd spent apart.

It was wonderfully comforting to be hugged by a mother again.

"Come on, Mom, you're hogging her," came a voice that I recognized as Emmett immediately. Esme had barely let go of me before I was swept up into a bone-crushing kind of hug from behind. "You're certainly more durable," Emmett teased good-naturedly. "Good to see you, Bella."

"You too, Emmett," I grinned. "Though I'd appreciate it if you'd put me down." Emmett chuckled and obliged. I hugged him properly and then turned to where Jasper was waiting, hand-in-hand with a beaming Alice.

"Hi, Jasper."

"Bella," he nodded, reaching his free hand out to me. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," I agreed, shaking his hand. "I'm glad I'm here. I mean, I'm glad you're here too, I just thought…ugh…" My voice trailed off and I felt like diving into the nearest hole in the ground. This was definitely one of those blushing moments.

"Sheesh, calm down, Bella," Alice teased, her eyes twinkling. "He's not going to bite you."

"Sorry," I apologized, a thousand times more grateful that I couldn't actually blush anymore. "I guess I'm still a bit nervous."

"I'm looking forward to starting over," Jasper admitted, smiling.

"Yeah, it's a good thing that I get a second chance at convincing you that I'm not actually a freak." Jasper laughed and I couldn't help smiling with him, unsure of whether he was trying to put me at ease or if it was just happening naturally.

In hindsight he probably was helping a bit, seeing as it was Rosalie I was greeting next and I didn't know what to expect. I also had no idea which would be worse, walking up to her and acting like nothing was wrong between us or waiting, afraid, for her to make the first move. I forced myself to look at her painfully beautiful face, meeting her challenging stare head on.

"Rosalie," I attempted, smiling slightly.

She nodded her head in my direction. "Bella," she acknowledged. That was about all I got, but I would take it over glares and sneers any day. My smile broadened considerably.

Carlisle had driven the car around the corner of the house after Alice and I had gotten out, presumably parking it in some unseen garage. He came back around the corner and joined our little party, greeting Esme with a kiss.

He tossed me something that I caught reflexively more than intentionally and turned out to be the keys to the car he'd just put away.

I was in a good enough mood that I didn't argue about the implications. After all, I could always find a way to give the keys back. Or conveniently lose them.

"Welcome home, Bella."

And as I looked up at the familiar faces around me, (almost) all smiling, I couldn't help but agree.

I was home.

A/N: More introspection, I know. First Jasper, now Esme… But I got Bella to Ithaca! There should be less thinking and more DOING from now on.

And I think I can promise some Edward next chapter. ;)

Oh! I'm also taking suggestions for nicknames that Emmett would call Bella—it just seems like they'd have that kind of relationship, and I can't remember (and can't find out) if there are any in the actual books, besides the ever present "Bells", which seems to belong exclusively to Jacob and Charlie. Any ideas?