Short and sweet, I don't own Twilight. Oh, and I love my readers :)
Chapter 4: Losing Consciousness
Alice called Jasper, and Esme called Carlisle to let them know that Renesmee and Jacob were safe, and that they could come home. Bella called Emmett, knowing Rosalie would be with him. She was. "Bella," Emmet's voice boomed over the phone. "You're on speaker. Any news on our Princess?"
"She's here, Em," Bella said. "She and Jake are both here, and they're fine."
"Thank God," she heard Rosalie sigh.
"Thanks for calling, Bells," Emmett said, not even trying to hide the relief in his voice. "We're on our way home."
"Wait, Emmett," Bella said before he could hang up. "Is Edward with you?"
"No, we all split up."
"Ok, just thought I'd make sure before I called him," she sighed. "Thanks."
"Sure thing, Bells," he said, and Bella could tell they were already on their way home by the sound of air rushing past the receiver of the phone. "See you soon."
Bella hung up and quickly dialed Edward's number as Jasper entered the house. It rang once, twice, three times and still he did not pick up. She impatiently tapped her foot, causing Jasper to look anxiously at her. She sent him an apologetic smile and stopped. The phone rang a fourth time and went to Edward's voice mail. Bella groaned softly and dialed his number again. It rang and rang. "Come on Edward," she muttered under her breath. "Pick up your phone!"
Suddenly Alice was before her, holding Edward's ringing phone in her outstretched hand. "Oh you've got to be kidding," Bella groaned again. "Seriously Edward? Of all the days to forget your stupid phone?"
Bella sat down heavily upon the couch and tossed the phone against the far wall. Alice sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Jasper felt her worry and sat down at her feet, trying to help. "He was so worried about her," Bella sighed, shaking her head. "And I have no way of letting him know that our daughter is home and safe. He's not going to stop until he finds her. He'll never give up looking."
"What's going on?" Esme asked as she and Carlisle entered the room where three of their children sat weighed down heavy with worry.
"Edward left his phone here," Alice explained, "and he's probably too far out to hear us telling him Renesmee's safe."
"Bella's worried he'll do something dangerous," Jasper said, his brow creased in a tight line under the stress in the room. Bella looked at him. That was what she was worried about, but she hadn't said anything about that had she? Well, she had kind of hinted. She was really concerned that Edward wouldn't come home, or that he would not hunt while he was on his endless search for their daughter and become so weak from thirst that he'd do something he'd regret, or die from starvation. What if he ran into Olivia? Could her husband handle that monster alone?
"Bella," Carlisle said, her voice breaking him from her trance. She looked up from the spot on the floor she had been staring at, and saw them all looking at her. Jasper's gaze was focused intently on her. Bella felt her tension ease as if a weight had literally been lifted off of her shoulders. She smiled a little.
"Sorry," she said.
"That's perfectly alright," Carlisle said with an understanding smile. "I was asking if you would like Jasper and I to go back out and look for Edward?"
Bella shook her head. "No, you two just got back. I couldn't ask you to do that. He'll be fine," she said, clasping her hands together and looking at all of them. "He's got to come home sometime, or at least pass close enough by that he'll hear one of us thinking about Renesmee being here, right?"
"Of course," Esme reassured her daughter, kissing her head. "And we will all think only of Renesmee for the rest of the day. He'll be sure to hear us."
"It'll practically be like we're yelling at him," Emmett chuckled as he and Rosalie entered the room. "Edward will be fine. He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."
Bella smiled. She sure hoped her brother was right.
**~J/N~**
Night was upon him. And it was raining. It had been for a while. He knew he should head back, but he couldn't. Not yet. Not without his daughter. She might still be out here somewhere, alone and afraid. Alice's vision of Renesmee huddled against a tree and sobbing was permanently engrained in his mind. He had started looking for her right then, and now, nearly eleven hours later, he still hadn't stopped looking. How could he when his baby might be out here somewhere?
Edward sighed and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. He wished he was better at tracking. It felt as though he'd looked throughout the entire state of Washington, which, with his speed, wasn't that big of an accomplishment. He had also ran the Canadian border, the east coast, through the midwest and back up the west coast, and still he'd found nothing. What if... what if Olivia had gotten to her first? What if she'd taken her to Italy? Edward groaned and leaned against a near by tree. The thought of his baby girl facing the wrath of the Volturi made him dizzy and weak. Was it possible for vampires to lose consciousness?
He thought about running to the east coast again and swimming to Voltera to reclaim his daughter. But then he realized how foolish that would be. The last time he'd gone to Italy alone, his sole purpose had been to die. He knew he'd probably have to put up a fight for Renesmee, the Volturi had always kept an interested eye on her, and he wouldn't be able to face them alone. And this time, he wanted to get out of Italy alive, or at least, get Renesmee out alive. He was pretty sure he'd gotten more than his share of that's-a-shame-you-would-be-so-useful answers out of Aro. This time, he might not be so lucky. He'd need the help of his family. Whether that included the mutt who left his daughter alone in the woods in the first place, was an issue that he couldn't let himself think about right now. Finding his daughter was the only thing that mattered. He reached into his pants pocket to retrieve his phone so he could call his family and tell them his plan, only to find... nothing. His pockets were completely empty. "Oh you've got to be kidding," he groaned. "Of all the days to forget my phone!"
**~J/N~**
Bella stood looking out the front window of the Cullen mansion, in the same spot she'd been for hours, thinking the same thing she'd been thinking for hours. Her shield was down, and she repeated the message in her head, over and over, just in case her husband was near by. "Edward, she's here. Renesmee's safe. You can come home now, my love. Please come home to us. To me. Please, Edward! Please."
Once again, the worry she felt was lifted from her shoulders. She turned around and saw Jasper standing a few feet behind her. Normally, she didn't like it when he manipulated her emotions, but today, she was happy he did. He opened his arms to her and she stepped willingly into his brotherly embrace. Jasper was so glad Bella was finally one of them. She was such a wonderful person, which was something he'd never realized before because he couldn't get past the urge to kill her. That had put a damper on their relationship previously. And though Bella had never really feared him, she had always felt like she was hurting him by being near him when she was human. She liked the fact that she wasn't causing him pain anymore. But there was one person causing her pain. Olivia Volturi. Bella hated watching her daughter experience the same grief she had with Victoria. "Everything will be alright eventually, Bella," Jasper said in a peaceful tone. "Someday we won't have to fight for those we love most anymore."
"I wish I could believe you," Bella sighed. The world Jasper was describing was a dream world. Something to be wished for, but never realized.
Jasper chuckled lightly. "I wish I could too."
