"Mission accomplished," Bella said into the phone.
"Good, so you have her there?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes."
"Are you flying over?"
"No, we're driving. I mean, we can't get her through customs and security when she's like this. No, we're taking the scenic route."
"I thought all you had was a van."
"Uh, no. Apparently neither Jasper nor Alice like vans, so they turned on the charm and got a faster car instead."
"Oh."
"Anyway, we should be there soon."
"About how soon?"
"At the speed Jasper's driving, we should be there in two days."
--------------
Edward paced nervously through the living room, two pairs of eyes watching him as he did so.
"Edward, you're going to wear a hole through the floor if you keep on doing this," Esme said.
Edward said nothing, but continued walking.
Esme and Rosalie watched him a few minutes longer.
"All right, enough!" Rosalie said, "you're making me dizzy," and she left the room.
Esme looked after her and sighed.
Edward still said nothing.
After a few more minutes, Edward's head snapped up.
"Is it them?" Esme asked him.
Edward's face filled with joy, and he ran out to meet the car.
Bella leapt out as soon as she saw him. He caught her and spun around, kissing her strongly.
"Hi," she said.
Edward didn't say anything, but kissed her again, more fervently than before.
The sound of a throat being cleared interrupted their kiss, then laughter.
"Just look at you two!" Emmett roared, "you should…"
Edward turned to look at Emmett and growled slightly. "Remember your promise," he said.
Bella interrupted their glaring contest, "Edward, will you let me down now?"
Edward laughed and dropped his arms, Bella landed gracefully on her feet.
"Now, shall we get down to business?" she asked.
Jasper and Alice had by this time greeted the rest of the Cullens.
"Where's Renesmee?" Bella asked.
"At this hour in the night, she's sleeping, of course," Edward answered, smiling down at his wife.
"How's the girl?" Esme asked worriedly.
Jasper leaned into the back seat and took Sadie into his arms. She was fast asleep. Taking care not to jostle her, he slowly lifted her out of the car.
Carlisle immediately sprang into action, listening to her pulse, opening one of her eyes and shining a light in it, checking her pupil dilation.
"She seems fine," he said. "How much of the solution did you give her?"
"Just enough to knock her out a while. We let her wake up about every five hours to eat something and use the restroom," Alice answered.
"We should get her inside; maybe put an IV in her. She might be dehydrated."
"She looks so pale, are you sure she's ok?" Esme asked.
"She'll be fine as soon as she gets some fluid and sugar in her," Carlisle said soothingly.
"Do we have a spare bed?" Bella asked.
"We do, and I think you know which one I mean," Edward said meaningfully. Bella glanced down at her engagement ring and the corners of her lips twitched slightly.
--------------
A short while later, Sadie was lying on a huge golden bed in Edward's old room. She was fast asleep, and an IV was attached to her arm.
All the vampires were standing outside the bedroom, looking in at the sleeping figure.
"So we have no idea what powers she has," Bella said.
"No, we don't," Carlisle explained, "I called Eleazar, but he had no idea what sort of power she could have. He's coming over as soon as he can to see her for himself."
"What are we going to do with her until then?" Esme asked.
"I don't know, I really don't," Carlisle shook his head sadly and walked downstairs.
Bella looked after him, then followed.
She followed him into the dining room, and there he stopped.
"What is it, Bella?" he asked.
"I just, I thought," she began hesitantly.
"Yes?"
"I thought you wouldn't agree with all this, with kidnapping an innocent girl."
"I don't."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, Bella," he said, and turned around, "I have a few vital priorities in my life, one of which is to protect my family. Maybe I don't agree with kidnapping, but is that really worse than putting a horrific weapon into the hands of those who want us dead? Is it the right thing to take this girl out of the Volturi's hands to save my family?" he paused. "I'm not saying kidnapping isn't wrong, I'm just saying that was the best option at the time. With that girl, the Volturi could easily exterminate not only us, but every other vampire clan that poses the slightest risk. And, there's also the danger that when Sadie is converted, she becomes intoxicated with the amount of power she has and does a very good job of not only killing vampires, but destroying innocent humans as well. So, Bella, in this difficult case, I have done what I believe is not only best for my family, but ultimately what might be best for everyone." And with that, Carlisle left.
Bella slowly walked back upstairs, and saw the rest of the family, all who were watching her curiously.
"What?" she asked annoyed, and they turned back to watching Sadie.
Suddenly, Alice gasped, and her eyes turned glassy. Everyone turned to her, knowing she had just had a vision. After a short while, she blinked and turned back to them.
"We have some shopping to do," she declared.
The faces of the vampires staring at her ranged from surprised to confused.
"Well, apparently we made a mistake," Alice said, "Sadie wears glasses, so unless we want her to be running into walls for the next few days, we have to buy her some. And we should buy her some clothes while we're at it."
"Do you know what type of glasses we should get her?" Esme asked.
"Yeah, she uses negative five." Alice motioned Esme over, and they both left.
"We still don't know what we're going to do with her," Edward said softly, "It's not like we can keep her here, not for long, anyway."
"Why?" Emmett asked, "It's not like we can't keep her from the Volturi."
"But what about her parents?" Rosalie asked softly.
"Maybe we can just keep her here long enough," Jasper answered, "then we can take her back."
"Do you really think the Volturi will just give up?" Edward asked him, "This girl could help them tip the power balance back in their favor. Do you think they'll just let what might be the greatest weapon ever go?"
Jasper had nothing to say. He looked quietly at Edward for a moment, then left, along with Emmett and Rosalie.
Bella turned to Edward, "We have to figure out what we're going to tell her."
"What?"
"What we're going to tell her. Will we tell her about the Volturi and everything? Or will we talk to her at all?"
"How long do we have until she wakes up?"
"About three hours."
"Good, that should give enough time for Esme to come back."
"Why Esme?"
"She's the most motherly of us, maybe she can keep Sadie from getting too frightened. And I'd rather Carlisle talk to her too."
"Yes, I guess that the best we can do, for now," Bella felt that if she could still cry, she would.
"What's wrong, Bella?" Edward said worriedly, hearing the sadness in her voice.
"Well, I just don't feel right. We took that girl right out of her family's house; she's going to miss them terribly. And I can't even imagine how worried her parents must be. And, and…"
Edward held Bella closely as she began to sob.
"Don't worry, Bella," he said comfortingly, "we'll figure something out, I promise."