Here's another chapter of Birthday Surprise. Alice's vision near the end of the chapter is taken from P. A. Lassiter's Midnight Sun, Part II. She's written the entire saga and a lot of other stuff, all from Edward's perspective. I urge you to check it out at her blog, Twilight: The Missing Pieces. With that said, enjoy the chapter.
School had just ended and Edward, Alice, and Bella made their way to the Volvo and Chevy. Alice was still unnerved by her blindness. Edward had about all he could stand from the little pixie. He really wished Jasper were there with them, so that Alice could calm down. Esme had assured him that her odd visitor was not a threat, as far as she was concerned anyway. Edward was worried about bringing Bella to the house, not that she had listened to his misgivings.
"Are you sure you want to go with us, Bella?" Edward asked for the second time that day.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Of course, I am, Edward," she said, "If I went home now, I'd just sit there worrying about you all facing whatever this is that's rendering Alice blind."
Edward snorted.
"How many times do I have to say it, Love? We can take care of ourselves," he said.
"That may be true, Edward, but I'd still feel better if I was with you," Bella said.
Edward sighed.
"All right, Love. I'll have to call Charlie though," he said.
He pulled out his phone and did just that.
"Hello?" Charlie's voice answered.
"Hello, Chief Swan. It's Edward," Edward replied.
"Edward Cullen? What can I do for you?" Charlie asked.
"Is it okay if Bella comes over to my house? Alice has been planning a surprise party there for her," Edward explained, knowing that Charlie couldn't deny Alice anything.
Charlie sighed.
"All right, Edward. Make sure she's home safe," he said.
"I will, sir, don't worry," Edward said, "Goodbye."
"Bye," Charlie said before hanging up.
Edward did the same and put the phone away.
"Let's just hope Esme's right about our mysterious visitor not being a threat. I don't want a repeat of James," Edward said, spitting the name out.
Bella and Alice involuntarily shuddered at the name. Alice took the Volvo and Edward took the truck with Bella in the passenger seat. Without another word, they drove out of the parking lot and onto the road. They took longer than usual, of course, because Bella's truck could only go so fast.
"What's that noise?" Edward heard a voice ask as they reached the house.
"Why, that's Bella's truck, Nessie," another voice, one that Edward recognized as Esme's, answered, "Have you never seen it before?"
Before Edward could ponder who this 'Nessie' was, he heard Rosalie shout, "Yes! The old monster finally dies!"
This didn't help matters much, as it made Edward more confused.
So that was Momma's famous truck, he heard someone think.
Edward groaned and rubbed his temple. The number of mysteries was growing by the second and he wasn't getting anytime to think.
"Is something wrong, Edward?" Bella asked him.
Edward shook his head.
"Come on, Bella. Hopefully, we'll get some answers inside," he said.
He got out of the truck, Alice waiting anxiously by the front door. Edward wasted no time and got Bella, not wanting to further agitate the pixie. After the two joined Alice at the door, Edward proceeded to go first with Bella behind him and Alice behind her. They immediately saw the family gathered around the couch. It didn't take them long to spot the newcomer, though Alice and Bella were surprised to see that it was a little girl.
"Hey, Edward," Emmett said, breaking the silence, "We were just talking about you not that long ago."
"Emmett, hush," Esme scolded.
She cleared her throat, not that she really needed to.
"Edward, Bella, Alice. This is Renesmee Carlie," she said.
Alice was over almost immediately.
"Wait. Is she..?" she asked Esme.
"No, Alice. She's not an immortal child. Goodness, how many times am I going to have to say that today?" Esme asked.
"An immortal child?" Bella asked.
"A child that's been turned into a vampire, Love," Edward explained.
"I take it they're a big deal." Bella said.
"Very much so, Bella," Carlisle said, "As you know, we stop aging when we are turned. Any sort of development stops as well, so imagine a child that remains such in mind and body. This is why immortal children are a problem, because, frozen in that stage of development, they have no capacity for self-control or remaining inconspicuous. This also makes them uncontrollable, so the Volturi pretty much forbids them."
The girl, Renesmee, shuddered at the word 'Volturi'.
"'Volturi'?" Bella asked.
"Aro, Marcus, and Caius, Love," Edward said, "They and the members of their guard enforce the laws of our kind. One of these laws is that one must never create immortal children. The punishment is destruction of the child, its creator, and anyone else connected to it."
Everyone then heard Renesmee whimpering with her hands to her ears. Esme knelt in front of her.
"What's wrong, Nessie?" she asked, trying to soothe the little girl.
"The Volturi. They scare me, Grandma," the girl said.
"We'll make sure they never hurt you, sweetie," Esme said.
Suddenly, she gasped.
"Unless… You've already met them," she said.
This made everyone gasp. Even Edward and Alice gasped.
"I can guess why the Volturi would come for us. The real question is 'How did they know about Nessie?'" Carlisle noted.
"Hold on a minute, Carlisle," Bella interrupted.
"Yes, Bella?" Carlisle asked.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but who nicknames a little girl after the Loch Ness Monster? I'd hate to have parents like that," Bella said.
Nessie giggled despite herself.
If only she knew, she thought.
Edward heard this and was confused. Esme knew why Nessie giggled and decided to help Edward along.
"Look at Renesmee, Edward. Whom does she look like?" she asked.
Edward did as Esme said and he was shocked. Renesmee's hair was the same color as his own and he even recognized his own facial features. Combine those things with eyes that were the same color as his Bella's were and Edward's heart would have stopped if it hadn't already been dead. Speaking of Bella, she saw the same things and was also shocked. Both stood with mouths hanging open and wide eyes. Alice, who was as shocked as they were, recovered first and squealed, proceeding to jump up and down.
"I have a niece! I have a niece! I have a niece!" she exclaimed.
"Impossible," Edward muttered.
Though, Renesmee calling Esme 'Grandma' and Bella 'Momma' certainly made sense now. Alice stopped jumping and went over to drag Edward and Bella to Nessie. Only Bella moved. Bella soon found herself sitting next to Nessie. The little girl then scooted onto Bella's lap.
"Momma," she said as she turned and hugged Bella.
That one word made Bella's heart melt and she hugged her supposed daughter back. Carlisle was a little wary, considering that Nessie has tasted Bella's blood before and may not be able to resist its call to her. Edward, catching these thoughts, snapped out of his shocked stupor and walked over, prepped to snatch Nessie off of Bella if necessary.
"It's okay, Daddy. You told me not to bite Grandpa Charlie, so I won't bite Momma, no matter how good she smells," Nessie said, breaking the hug and turning to him.
Before Edward started to melt at hearing the word 'Daddy', he turned to Carlisle.
"How did this happen? Vampires cannot have children," he asked.
"We've been over that already, Edward," Esme chimed in, "Nessie is half-human, half-vampire. She was conceived and carried by Bella while she was still human. And before you ask, Nessie is from the future."
"The future?" Edward asked.
"Yes. Born two days ago a year from now if I remember correctly," Esme said.
"Hmm," Edward pondered.
He then sat next to Bella and Nessie.
"Nessie?" Edward asked.
"Yes, Daddy?" Nessie asked.
Edward shook his head.
"You know what? Let's get back to the issue of the Volturi's visit before I ask my questions," Edward suggested.
Nessie shivered.
"Shhhh," Bella hushed, "It's all right, Renesmee."
"I promise. We'll get through this as quickly as we can and then we won't talk about them again. Can you be brave for us, Nessie?" Edward asked.
"I'll try, Daddy," Nessie said.
"You know, Nessie," Esme said, "If you don't feel like talking, you can just show them, or speak to your father through your thoughts, or maybe even both at once."
"Show us?" Bella asked.
"Apparently, that's Nessie's gift," Carlisle explained, "She can send you her thoughts and memories through physical contact."
"Ah," was all Bella said.
"Wait. You think that would work with Bella?" Edward asked.
"I didn't think of that," Carlisle said.
"It'll work," Nessie said, "I can get through Momma's shield just fine."
"Her what?!" Edward asked in shock.
"A shield?" Carlisle asked, "Maybe that's why you can't read her thoughts, Edward."
"Maybe," Edward muttered, "Anyway, let's have it, Nessie."
Nessie sighed.
"Okay," she said before she put her hands on both of her parents' cheeks.
They both saw her out in the snow with a vampire and what seemed to be a giant wolf.
"Is that me?" Bella asked upon seeing the vampire.
"Yes," Nessie answered.
"It can't be," Edward said as he saw the wolf.
"What is it, Edward?" Carlisle asked.
"There's a wolf, like Ephraim's pack way back when," Edward explained.
"What? But how?" Carlisle asked.
"I don't know," Edward said.
They then saw Nessie jump up to catch a snowflake and show it to the vampire Bella and the wolf.
"Pretty," Bella said.
They then saw another vampire observing from a nearby cliff before taking off, Bella spotting her.
"Wait. Was that Irina?" Edward asked.
"Irina?" Esme asked, "Isn't she with Laurent?"
Edward and Bella then see Alice trying to find Irina with her visions only to see the Volturi coming for them in a month. The vision went on to show the Cullens gathering witnesses; with Alice and Jasper seemingly abandoning them.
"Now why would they leave us?" Bella asked sadly.
"You'll see," Nessie said.
"Who's leaving?" Esme asked.
"Alice and Jasper," Edward said, "Nessie said we'll see why soon."
The two mentioned vampires were taken aback by this.
Edward and Bella then saw the Cullens lined up in a snow-covered clearing with their witnesses. Edward realized that this was the clearing that he and the family played baseball in and where they met James' coven. Then Edward and Bella saw a long black line approaching. They knew that this must be the Volturi. Edward was surprised, however, that everybody came, even the wives. The Volturi had even brought their own witnesses with them. They then saw more wolves coming out of the trees behind the Cullens. Edward was shocked. Not just by the number of them, but also by the fact that the wolves seemed to be their allies, not their enemies. The vision proceeded to show Irina with the Volturi, confirming Edward's fears. She had betrayed them and told the Volturi that Nessie was an immortal child that the Cullens had created. The reason why is still a mystery, though. Edward and Bella then watched the confrontation unfold, with Irina being destroyed for bearing false witness and in an attempt to rile Tanya and Kate into a fight, along with every reason the Volturi have to punish the Cullens being shot down, one such rebuke involving Alice and Jasper returning with a hybrid like Nessie in tow, his name being Nahuel. The two also watched Jane and Alec being thwarted by Bella's shield, with her having trained to project it outward. They then watched the Volturi leave, humiliated.
"The witnesses soon left and we lived happily since," Nessie said as she finished.
Edward and Bella then clutched Nessie to the surprise of everyone present.
"Thank you for sharing that with us," Edward said.
"Show them what you showed us, sweetie," Bella said.
Esme smiled at Nessie already bonding with her parents. She hoped the fact that he could create such a wonderful girl would put an end to his self-loathing. One could hope anyway. Nessie soon showed the rest what she showed Edward and Bella.
"Oh my goodness. What a terrifying experience," Esme said, grabbing Nessie.
Rosalie nodded in agreement.
"Aw man. That would've been some fight," Emmett moaned.
"Emmett!" Esme yelled.
"Sorry, Mom," Emmett said.
"Hmmm," Jasper hummed.
"What is it, Jazzy?" Alice asked.
"Nessie, tell me. Does the name Jenks ring a bell?" Jasper asked.
"Yeah. Momma got me and Jake IDs and stuff from him," Nessie answered.
"Of course, it would be Bella. Edward can't read her mind after all," Alice said.
"And neither would Aro. His ability is like mine, except that he can read every thought you've ever had. However, he needs to touch you in order to do that," Edward said.
"Wait," Bella interrupted, "Did you say Jake a few seconds ago? As in Jacob Black?"
"Um… Yeah, that would be him," Nessie said.
"You mean the boy that told you about us, Bella?" Edward asked.
"Oh. Ephraim's descendent broke the treaty? Isn't that ironic?" Carlisle chuckled.
"In his defense, he didn't believe any of it," Bella pointed out.
"Let's not worry about him for right now," Edward said, "I still have questions for Nessie."
"What is it, Daddy?" Nessie asked, "Oh, but if that makes you uncomfortable, I can call you Edward instead."
"No, Nessie, 'Daddy' is fine. I mean, it feels like you're already a part of this family," Edward said.
"Okay then, Daddy. What do you want to know about?" Nessie asked.
"It's more like who," Edward clarified, "When you showed us the Denalis, someone was missing. Tell me, have you heard of a vampire named Laurent?"
"I think someone said he was killed by the wolves. I don't know why, though," Nessie answered.
"I think I know why," Alice said.
"Why, Alice?" Carlisle asked.
"I think it's because he wanted to kill Bella," Alice said.
"What?!" Esme cried, "Why would he do that?!"
"I don't know," Alice said, "Maybe I'll have to ask him when he comes here."
"What do you mean, Alice?" Carlisle asked.
"Before Edward took Bella to the meadow, I had a vague vision of a figure approaching her there before the vision blacked out," Alice explained, "At the time, neither Edward nor I knew what it meant. But, what Nessie said got me thinking. I've never seen wolves in my visions before. It's probably because I can't. It's the same with Nessie, though, which is weird because I can see humans just fine and vampires perfectly and she's essentially both."
"Maybe that's the problem, Alice," Bella suggested, "You might not be able to see them because you've never been a wolf or a hybrid. That's just me, though."
"It's possible," Edward said, "But, if the figure is Laurent, then where am I?"
"I can answer that," said a voice from the doorway.
Everyone turned to see a startlingly familiar figure walk in the door.
Who is this mysterious person? You'll find out in the next chapter.