Unbelievable

Chapter Three: What-ifs

I let out a soft, anxious sigh. It was almost time for school, and my nerves were going haywire with near-equal amounts of excitement and dread. Isabella would be there and – while I was eager to see her once more, eager to confirm that I wasn't imagining her – I was less than enthusiastic to introduce her into my world, into the world of vampires.

The supernatural world was a dangerous place, and I couldn't help worrying for the safety of my only child. While she was human, there was always the threat that I could lose her, that she could be hurt, and it was enough to drive me crazy. I'd felt what it was like to lose her forever, and I never wanted to experience that again. It just wasn't an option because not even Emmett could heal my broken heart if she vanished from my life once more. The pain would be unbearable…

Emmett interrupted my thoughts when he entered our bedroom, a wide smile forming on his face when he took in what I was currently wearing. "Hey, babe, is that what you're wearing today? 'Cause I vote hell yeah!" he said cockily, his eyes skimming over my body, which was clad only in a pair of low-rise designer jeans and a lacy black bra. His golden orbs lingered on my breasts, and I held back a pleased smirk. In spite of my past, I was admittedly vain enough to revel in the attention my mate paid to my body.

I rolled my eyes at him, pulling on my black polo shirt and dark brown leather jacket. "No, Emmett, I'm afraid not. You'll just have to keep the image of my half-naked body all to yourself," I said, a fake-apologetic tone in my voice, and his delighted laughter rang through the air.

"Good, I like it better that way, anyway. I'd have to kill anyone who dared to look at you that way," he chuckled teasingly as he crossed the room and placed a lingering kiss on my lips. I rested my head on his muscular chest once we pulled apart, and he hummed happily before becoming a bit more serious. "So, how are you feeling about everything?" he asked me, clearly referring to us letting my daughter in on the secret, and I smiled a bit.

"I'm a little on edge," I said candidly, "but this is what I want. There's just no way that I could keep this from her, and I really don't want to. I want to have all the time in the world to get to know her. I want to have a relationship with her and get to know my daughter after missing out on the first seventeen years of her life," I said firmly, my smile growing larger as I spoke.

For the past seventeen years, I'd held no hope whatsoever of getting the chance to do any of those things. I'd mourned and wished and tormented myself with thoughts of what-ifs, but I'd never hoped. Now, I hoped for the sun, the moon, and the stars - it felt like flying or falling from so high in the sky that it's almost as if your feet will never touch the ground again. It was an intoxicating sensation, and I loved it.

My mate's arms held me tighter, and I relished in the feeling of his embrace. We fit so perfectly together, as if we truly were just two halves of one whole. It was bliss-inducing to just be held by him, and I could almost – almost – believe that I'd be perfectly happy to remain there forever, never moving and never wanting for anything or anyone else…

I pulled back with a soft smile and tugged on his hand. We walked together down the stairs and into the living room, where I saw our parents lounging on one of the couches together, Esme held comfortably against Carlisle's side. Alice and Jasper had left already so that they could help out in the library before school, since Alice had taken a particular liking to the librarian, a nice middle-aged woman who was fascinated with the 1920's – which happened to be Alice's favorite decade.

At that moment, Carlisle glanced up and his eyes lit upon seeing the two of us. "Emmett, before you go to school, would you mind helping me finish clearing those dead trees from beside the river?" he asked with a gentle smile, though his smile grew into a wide grin when my bear-like husband let out a loud, childish whoop of excitement.

"You don't mind if I go, do you, Rose?" he asked with an eager, lopsided grin, his joy growing when I shook my head. "Thanks a lot, babe! Come on, old man!" Em cried, rushing out the door and leaving Carlisle to run after him with his laughter ringing through the air. Despite the fact that he was a grown man in his own right, Emmett had no problem letting loose and having some fun - not to mention the fact that he was always game for a chance to use his impressive strength.

I smirked wryly, catching the amused smile on Esme's face when she turned to me, gesturing with her hand for me to join her. When I took the seat that Carlisle had previously occupied, she wrapped a loving arm around my shoulders and drew me into a warm hug. I relaxed into her embrace, soaking up the motherly affection.

For the longest time, I rejected much of Esme's tender care for me because it was so foreign. My biological mother had been a heartless shrew, who was more concerned with her status and wealth than raising me. She paid just enough attention to me to ensure that I would be a positive representation of the family, not that it did her much good in the end. Naturally, after I got pregnant, she considered it a waste of time to grace me with her presence - that was an added bonus for me.

So, when Esme began to become attached to me and act upon her motherly instincts, I chafed at the attention. I'd never known a mother's love from the perspective of a child, only ever having experienced it from the perspective of a mother from my time carrying Isabella for those magnificent nine months. After all, to me it was as if she was just trying to control me, the same way that my biological mother tried so very hard to force me to fit into the mold of a perfect and proper daughter.

Eventually, though, I began to relax and accept her loving gestures, and I'd never regretted it. The more that I let her in, the more that I began accepting her as my true mother, the happier that I was, even through the grief of losing my only child. Now, I felt like I just couldn't get enough, and I felt a thrill go through me at the knowledge that I would have centuries upon centuries to feel this love.

"How are you today, darling?" she asked quietly, as her hand began sifting gently through my golden tresses, a favorite pastime of hers from years gone by. Whenever I was upset or agitated, she sifted through my hair with her fingers or brushed it to perfect softness.

I hummed contentedly. "I'm afraid." The words slipped from tongue without a thought, and I surprised myself with them, though Esme's hand never faltered in her soothing motions. That much didn't surprise me. As little as I wanted to admit, particularly in the beginning, she knew me better than I knew myself sometimes - I suppose that was just part of being a mother.

She held me closer and placed a soft kiss atop my head. "Why are you afraid, Rosalie Lillian?" she wondered, and I almost smiled. Esme was the only person I'd ever allowed to call me that. If she'd been anyone else, I'd have threatened to rip them apart.

I considered her question for a moment. Why was I afraid? Logically, I should have been afraid of rejection, but I could feel in my heart that Isabella wouldn't reject me. I could see in her eyes that she already knew something, though I had no idea what that might be. No, I was afraid because…

"I'm afraid of the past," I confessed softly. "I'm afraid of all the things that she's been through in her life, the good and the bad. I don't know if she's had a happy life or if she's been hurt or sad or angry… I wasn't there, Mom. I wasn't there for her through any of it, and it scares me," I whispered, and my body shook with a silent sob.

Now that I'd given it a bit of thought, the fear consumed me. It may not have been my choice, but I hadn't been there for her over the course of her entire life. I'd missed every birthday, every holiday, every first day of school, every lazy weekend. I wasn't there for her first time riding a bike, her first kiss, her first date. I'd missed everything.

What if she hated me? What if she couldn't forgive me for being absent for so much of her life? No matter what, it was my responsibility to be there for her, and I'd failed.

...Can I really handle it if she can't forgive me?

"Shh…" Esme cooed into my ear. "Everything is going to be alright, Rose, I promise you that. I'm no Alice, but I know that she won't be angry with you for things that you can't control. Whether her life was or wasn't the greatest in the past has no impact on the future. You're going to be with her from here on out, and that's what really counts in the end."

As her words sank in, I started to feel better about the whole situation, and I let out a deep breath. "You're right," I murmured after taking a moment to think about it. "You're right. I'm really just anxious, I guess, and I got a little carried away," I said sheepishly, a rare state of being for me.

She chuckled before leaning back and glancing at the clock. "You should probably call Emmett back to the house and get going. If you don't leave soon, you'll be late to school, even if you all but break the sound barrier getting there," she teased lightly, and I laughed once in agreement upon seeing how late it'd gotten.

"I'll see you later, Mom," I told her, placing a kiss on her cheek before I got up. I paused for a moment on my way out of the house when she called my name. "Yes?" I wondered, turning around to meet her gaze questioningly.

"Try to bring my granddaughter home to meet the rest of the family after school, would you?" she asked innocently, a bright twinkle in her golden eyes.

I laughed happily, my good humor restored once more. It was going to be a great day, and I wasn't going to let anything bring me down. My daughter was back in my life, and I was going to celebrate, not waste my time agonizing over what-ifs. "Of course," I agreed excitedly, rushing out to grab my mate and get going.

To Be Continued.

A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry about the late update. It's been a crazy few months, unfortunately filled with a series of misfortunate events – not the least of which being that my computer crashed and was sadly beyond saving. :( But now I've got a new one and am free to continue writing!

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed the third chapter! I really enjoyed writing it, and I'm excited to move on the next one - I just wanted to go ahead and get this chapter out because you've all been waiting for so long. So, let me know what you thought with a review! Another chapter down, now on to the next one!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

~A Thousand Undiscovered Stars