Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this really confusing plotline. xx

Emmett's POV

He had barely gotten his balance when I punched him in the nose.

"What the fuck!" Jasper yelled, holding his nose in place so it wouldn't heal crooked.

"You're sitting here, wallowing in self-pity, while Bella's going through the worst possible pain! We're all trying to help you here, but in one of the most cliché lines that have ever passed my lips, we can't help you unless you let us!" He looked at me, and then deflated.

"O… okay. You have to know I'm not all that good at accepting help…" Yeah, okay, understatement of the century.

"No shit. Really?" I gasped like a little girl, my hand coming up to cover my mouth, hoping for a laugh, and receiving one. Well… it was more like a sharp nose exhale, but I'll take what I can get. He actually seems a bit more like himself, standing with a board-straight back and defiant features, despite his hand still holding his nose.

"Yes, laugh it up, because your pride doesn't get in the way at the worst of times." He grumbled, his good nature returning a bit. I grinned.

"That aside, Peter and Charlotte are on their way. We need to get the blood cleaned up." Jasper growled and I winced. What? He's a scary, powerful dude.

"Where is he?" He growled. Well, I just told you, on his way… oh.

"You know very well where he is. You also know I won't let you get to him. Besides, Peter would kill me if I let you lose without him here." I said, not even giving him the chance to head for the door behind me and dragging him into the kitchen with me for bleach and other stuff we need to take care of the couch. Jasper huffed, yanking his arm out of my grasp and not trying to make a bolt for the door, which surprised me. I knew Jasper could have me laid flat on my ass in a split second if he felt the need, even without using his gift. He must have known we would never hear the end of it from Peter if he didn't get to watch. We scrubbed the couch in a morbid silence, until Jasper broke it.

"Volturi, huh?"

"So you heard that then?" I asked, making him roll his eyes.

"Emmett, ya'll weren't even ten feet 'way." He said, making me grin at his apparent accent, making mine come out as well.

"Well, you didn't seem very responsive when Rose 'n I came in." He raised eyebrow.

"I didn't know you had an accent." He hummed, turning back to scrub the couch.

"I'm from Tennessee. What did you expect?" I saw him roll his eyes but he didn't respond, so I continued.

"Esme's gonna have to buy a new couch." He said, and then a thought occurred.

"But won't we have to leave? With a Newborn, we can't stay here."

"We'll also have to fake her death. Most likely a car accident." He seemed to think for a second. "You guys can't leave; we just got here a few months ago. If people realize that Bella was here before she died and you just up an' left… they'd get damn suspicious, no matter how well we managed to fake her death."

"Jasper's right." A new voice entered the conversation, making out heads turn toward the door. "Us three will have to take her to Louisiana with us for three months. You'll be able to use your gift on her til we get to the house."

"Peter." Jasper stands and holds out his hand, which Peter takes and pulls him into a hug. This was so out of character for both of them; even Charlotte looked surprised at the affection. When they stepped back, the three of them seemed to have a silent conversation, the result of which was Charlotte rolling her eyes, Peter smirking, and Jasper vanishing from thin air. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. Peter, Charlotte and I were outside in seconds, watching as Jasper started to violently put Edward together, some of his pieces starting to heal crooked in Jazz's rush to get him put together.

"Nice to see you again, Peter." I mumbled out of the corner of my mouth, watching as he bounced on his toes like a child.

"You too, Emmett. Thanks again for the help." It was Charlotte who responded to me, rolling her eyes at her husband and elbowing him. "Peter," she hissed. "Behave!" I couldn't hold back a chuckle at Peter's thoroughly admonished face.

"Carlisle! Carlisle stop him!" The rough high pitched voice broke through my mirth. The three of us turned our heads to Carlisle like eager children. He scowled. I couldn't help but reflect on the change that Carlisle seems to have gone through in the last two or three hours. He would have done anything to save his precious little Edward when we left for school this morning and now he stands, sits, here bluntly refusing to. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

"Did you hear a word of what was said? Besides, if the Volturi hears word of you trying to keep two mates apart… your fate will be much worse." He shook his head. "Not to mention the fact that Aro could use it as a justifiable reason to kill us all."

"But…" Then his tongue was gone, flung far into the forest.

"I don't want to hear it, boy." Anyone could tell that Jasper was using his gift at this point. Edward looked like, if it were possible, he would shit his pants. Peter seemed to notice too, and stopped pouting at Charlotte to grin at the spectacle going on in front of us. It was then that Esme joined us. I raised a brow at her in question about Rose.

"She wanted to stay with her, talk to her, and explain what's going on." I nodded, though I was still confused. Apparently everyone was spiraling out of character today. Then a very loud crack caught my attention. Jasper had just jumped on one of Edwards thighs, making it snap like a twig. I had to repress a girly giggle at the soundless scream he gave. He's such a wimp. I looked out of the corner of my eye at Peter, who looked constipated, then suddenly groaned.

"Major, wait." Peter said reluctantly. "We can't kill him yet." I could have sworn Charlotte pouted looking up at her husband, despite her reprimands.

"What?" It was Esme that surprised me this time, and it seemed to surprise her too. What is going on with this family? Bella's been here four hours maybe and she's already changing us, and I'm don't know if it's for the good yet.

"The Volturi will use the death of Bella's rightful sire against us. Say we didn't take proper care of her and 'confiscate' her." I didn't need Jasper's gift to feel the scorn rolling off Peter in waves. "Dammit! I was really looking forward to that! Although, that does mean we escape Bella's wrath when she finds out we killed him before she awoke." Jasper didn't seem to see a bright side to any of this, kicking Edwards other thigh and snapping it.

"Jasper!" The surprised gasp came from inside making all of us arrive in mine and Rose's bedroom in seconds. Rose was sitting there, her hand clutched very tightly in Bella's.

"Ah." Peter said, nodding knowingly.

"Ah what, you fucker?" Rose spat, trying to save the bones in her hand and pry Bella's tightening fingers away from hers. Jasper stood aside in a sort of shock.

"Bella's going to have a very interesting change. She'll be hyper aware of everything around her. Just like Jasper." Charlotte answered.

"How do you know that?" Jasper spoke finally, moving over to Bella and lightly touching her clenched hand, making her release Rosalie and grasp Jasper's instead.

"Know what?" Peter asked, surprised.

"How my change was."

"In the Newborn camps everyone treated that bit of information like a legend. My gift told me it was true, but-" Peter was cut off by a sharp shushing noise much like Jaspers nose exhale from earlier cut Peter off. Peter raised his eyebrows. "You wanna fight, tiny?"

"Peter, don't antagonize the newborn. You know how well that worked out last time." Charlotte scolded, a slight grin making its way to her face at the mention of "last time".

"I thought we agreed to never talk about that again?" Peter grumbled.

"She might have, but I never did." Jasper smirked.

"You wouldn't." Peter said, sounding doubtful.

"No, I won't. But only because there are things we need to get done." His smirk disappeared. "How are we going to fake her death?" Everyone seemed stumped.

"Easiest way would be a car crash, but there's a lot of risk to set that up. Getting her car from the school, then creating a believable crash site without anyone seeing… there aren't many places to do this between the school and the sheriff's house." I said, thinking.

"Getting the car might be less of a problem then we think. No one in this town knows Isabella very well, considering she's only been here about 36 hours, so we could send you and Charlotte in the Jeep to the school-"

"No, send Jasper." I interrupted Carlisle, who raised his eyebrow. "Then you can fake both their deaths, say Jasper wanted to follow her home to make sure she got there, because it was so dark and she was new to the area. You know that wooded area off the main road? It drops off to a really steep hill then a small river. Maybe we can figure out a way to roll both cars off it." I looked around at the faces of my family and couldn't help but be a little offended. All of them except Rose and Jas looked at me with shock and awe. Yes, I have a very smart, vampire brain just like the rest of you. It's not just video games, hunting and sex up here. Yeesh.

"That might actually work. But how would we set up the cash? They can't just suddenly drive off the road." Peter said, and I fought against the roll my eyes wanted to give, surprised by my own vindictiveness.

"They could if there were no witnesses to say otherwise. Some skid marks and broken glass on the side of the road then the cars, smashed beyond belief at the bottom of the hill would be convincing enough." I said. Jasper nodded.

"It makes sense." He said at the same time a voice from the door said.

"It will work." Alice stood stock still, arms straight at her sides and looking a bit worse for wear.

"How do you know?" Snapped Charlotte, who knew how Alice was going to claim to know, but didn't believe her.

"The sheriff will be so grief-ridden at Bella's death that he won't be able to work and the rest of them at the police department are so incompetent they won't notice a thing out of place. Only problem is, when can we assure the roads will be empty?" Alice still sounded disembodied and upset but now had a hard inquisitive edge to her voice that surprised me. I realized this might have been a little hypocritical of me, complaining that they all misjudged me and my vamp brain, but Alice wasn't one for strategist talk. Not that many of us in the room were but she seemed to take to it well. I guess being married to one of the most notorious strategist in the vampire community has its perks.

"I don't think we're going to be able to. There are way too many things would have to eliminate we're just going to have to roll with the punches, I guess." I said.

"Emmett's right; there's no way to be sure that we'll never run into somebody on the street. We're just going to have to go by opportunity." Jasper said. "What time is it?"

"8:30." Esme responded.

"Not quite dark enough yet. We'll wait a few hours. In the meantime, we need to discuss the Volturi." It's a good thing this room is big, I thought. We're going to be here a while.

Carlisle's POV

"Why? Why do they want her?" Esme asked.

"According to Caius, their Seer aid she will be very powerful, in many ways." I relayed.

"My knower has been spotty at best lately, but I do know that she will be a shield. And really good at combat." Peter answered, only speaking to Jasper, it seemed. I couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of Pavlovian response to strategizing. Both Peter and Charlotte stood with their hand behind their backs with intense focus.

"Doesn't surprise me. With the venom she has in her… it would be hard to not have lots of power." Rosalie commented from her place beside Bella.

"It still seems like very little to put so much effort in, even for Aro." I commented.

"The why isn't the most important thing right now. How are we going to avoid them? Or, if we can't, how can we fight back?" Jasper said.

"You should be able to avoid them for a few weeks at the very least. Take her to… no. Nevermind. No one else should know. Just… keep her away." Alice spoke up. Her mind was obviously working a million miles per second, her eyes not looking in this room but somewhere in the future.

"Agreed." The other Semi-Seer in the room spoke. "Aro's smart, but he doesn't yet know that Caius has betrayed him. He won't suspect the leak, so he might be angry, but he wont think we are intentionally keeping her away from him."

"Can either of you see when he's coming?" I glanced between the two of them, fascinated at the way their minds worked.

"Four months." They spoke in unison, before glaring at each other.

"That'll be just enough to gather the troops. Like we discussed before, only the most trustworthy first. They'll be a good way to test the waters." Peter said.

"It'll also be enough time to teach and help Bella adjust to this life." Alice said, before snorting a little. "Just… good luck." This made Emmett laugh.

"I'm sure our little spitfire will be more like a wildfire with venom in her veins." Bella made another little huff noise.

"This hyper awareness… Why didn't you two experience it? Jasper is your sire." I asked to Peter and Charlotte.

"Jasper isn't our only sure, just the main on, so to speak." Charlotte explained, before looking to peter for him to continue.

"In the wars, Maria would have people abducted, then bring them back to the camp. Then Maria's higher up's, the Major, Captain, and 1st and 2nd Lieutenants, bite them in their designated rank spots. Major, the neck, Captian, both wrists, then the lieutenants get an ankle each. Jasper was one of the very few exceptions to this rule, his sire being the… General of the Army, so to speak." Peter nodded to himself, satisfied with his answer.

"Peter and Charlotte were my Captain and 1st Lieutenant, respectively. Our venom runs in many vampire's veins without them knowing it." Jasper said. He looked down at Bella. "She's the first since the wars. It was a much different experience." The was a brief moment of silence.

"It's been a stressful day. Let's all just take a breather for a bit. Maybe go hunting?" Esme looked at me hopefully.

"Of course, my dear. That sounds like a great idea." I said, and after that everyone scattered. Alice went out back to join Edward, Emmett and Rosalie went upstairs, Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte stayed with Bella, talking in whispered tones, and Esme and I left into the woods outback.

Jasper's POV

"Never a dull moment at the Cullen house." Charlotte said sarcastically.

"Very true. We need to talk about where we're going to take you." Peter said, patting Bella's foot. The growl that shook the room surprised even me.

"Green eyes fit you very well, Major." Charlotte giggled, followed by a short squeak from Bella.

"Sorry Peter. It's still… new?" I said.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I knew it was going to happen anyways." I rolled my eyes at the dickhead in front me, before turning to his much more pleasant wife.

"So where do you want to take her?"

"What about Enid?" Peter said.

"Why Oklahoma?" I wrinkled my nose. I hated Oklahoma. With vampire senses, all the stupid fracking for oil they do down there is awful.

"Oh… Yeah nevermind. Bella would not want to be there." He winced.

"We could head to Victoria? Get out of the country?" Charlotte said.

"No, too close. What about Georgia? Garrett's got a house over there."

"I don't think there will be any problems there. I'll call him." Peter stood to leave the room.

" No, stay. I want to talk with him." He nodded. The phone barely had a chance o ring once before Garrett answered it.

"Peter." He said in greeting.

"And Charlotte, the Major, and… well, I suppose that's for a later time." Peter aid with a huge smile. He loved knowing things Garrett doesn't.

"Major." He said with a hint of surprise. "Haven't heard from you since, well since the 20's at least." I chuckled.

"I like to stay as far away from your yank ass as possible."

"Well, I wouldn't expect much class from as confederate." Bella snorted beside me, showing her obvious progress in what little time there had been. "Well, someone appreciates my humor. Was that you Char?"

"No, sugar. We have a new extraordinary addition to our group." Char said.

"Oh really? Has the Major finally found a mate?" Garrett laughed.

"It's a long story Garrett, but essentially yes. We'll fill you in when we get there."

"Well, shit must have really hit the fan if you're coming to me." He sighed. " When should I expect you?"

"Not long. Three day at the most. We'll drive straight there."

"Alright. I should have known things were too peaceful around here." He mumbled before hanging up.

"Well that's all taken care of. What else?"
"There's not much. Most of it will be taken care of over at Garrett's." Peter answered me.

"So, Major. What have you been up to?" This sparked an hours long discussion on the trustworthiness of the people around me, and we were only stopped when Emmett came in.

"It's time." He said.

"You don't have to be so ominus. You oaf." Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"But Rosie!" He whined. "I never get to do things like this. Let me have my fun." She just sighed, then ignored him.

"We decided it would be better if Charlotte went with you, just incase you do get seen." I nodded at Rose.

"Smart." Peter commented. With that, Charlotte and I left the Cullen house in Rosalie's convertible. I had to promise to buy her a new one after everything calmed down for her to let us take it. According to plan, we got Bella's truck from the high school and headed to Highway 101.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Charlotte squealed through the speaker of my phone. The highway was deserted, which was to be expected at 2a.m. on a Tuesday.

"Yeah, getting crushed by hundreds of pounds of metal is going to be a blast." I said sarcastically. "Our spot is right up here." I sped up the convertible and grimaced at the uncomfortable position I was about to be in. After hearing one last shout of glee from Charlotte, I spun the wheel as fast as I could, making the car pitch and fly off the side of the road.

"Fuck." I groaned. I was pretty sure all the bones in my body were crushed. I could still hear charlotte laughing from some ways away and shook my head in disbelief. I realized very quickly that I needed to pull myself out of the awkward position before my bones healed. With an inner countdown, I heaved myself out of the seat and dug my nails into the dirt outside the broken windshield. Soon I was out of the car, and shaking out my legs in order to let them set.

"Lieutenant?" I said.

"Yeah Major?" I heard her respond, just before she came awkwardly bounding to where I was.

"You have as much fun as you thought?" I asked while figuring out which of my bones were truly broken.

"Aside from the glass in my hair, it was the best experience I've had in awhile." She smiled, then pulled her phone out of her pocket. The screen was cracked, but it was fine otherwise.

"Hey Peter. We're done."

"Did you spread the clothes yet?" He asked her.

"No. We have to heal first, but we'll be home soon.

"Okay, love you."
"Love you too." She hung up.

"Alright." I stood. "Let's get this over with."

Hi! Oh my god, I am so happy to be updating again! I'm sorry this is a shorter chapter, but you got Peter and Charlotte! Yay! I am so indebted to you all, I hope my writing is worth the love it gets from you guys!

Love you!xx

Bailey Lynn