A/N: *sigh* This is it...the last chapter. I'm sort of sad it's ending, but they have to go home at some point, right? Now - to address the question that seems to be asked most - am I going to write another sequel to this? The answer: I don't know. I have limited time right now, so it won't be anytime real soon if I do. I have an idea for it, but finding the time to translate that onto paper is something else entirely - as many of you know. Anyway, if you have me on author alert then you'll get notice if I ever do start it. I can't thank all of you enough for reading this story (as well as my other ones). Thank you, thank you, thank you! And thank you for all of your awesome reviews - I really do read all of them, they're so much fun. OH - and another thing, I'm not entirely ruling out adding some OUTTAKES to this story, so if there's something you'd like to read about that I didn't cover, request it in a review and I'll see if I can find the time to write it out. Ok, enough from me - here's the last chapter!
(Previously):
Edward invited Seth back to Jasper's cabin to play video games with them, and he happily agreed. Edward looked truly happy to see Seth – they'd formed quite the camaraderie after the confrontation with Victoria. He seemed like a good kid.
Seth was quite impressed with the improvised living conditions, and marveled at all the same things I had before he settled in for a racing match with Edward, Emmett and Jasper. After I showered yet again to remove the sticky residue left by the ketchup, I changed into a pair of pajama's Alice had for me – she'd ordered them just in case, of course, and Alice curled up next to me on the couch, happily turning through the pages of a design magazine seemingly content that we'd had enough excitement for the night. She was making a separate pile to give to Rosalie in the morning. My eyes began fighting me and before I knew it I'd drifted back off to sleep.
Chapter 23:
The morning came quickly, but not quickly enough for me to regret staying here; sometimes sleep deprivation was just worth it, and this place was pure bliss compared to our cabins. If all I had to do was sacrifice a few hours of sleep as a side-effect to being surrounded by overly enthusiastic vampires all night, well – it was a sacrifice worth making. That, and Mike's expression when he saw Emmett last night with the chainsaw…yes, that alone made me fall asleep with a smile on my face. It wasn't like me to feel such aggravation toward someone, but in this case I thought it was fairly justified. I'd been about as patient as a person could be concerning Mike, and enough was enough. Anyway, since the kids would be picked up early this morning, I would be home soon and I could take as many naps as I wanted…at least in between all the arguing that would likely be going on between Emmett and Rosalie. Surely he had it coming to him after his ridiculous behavior here, and she hadn't had the chance to corner him yet.
Once back in my cabin I followed the usual pretenses of crawling under my covers and stretching as I switched the ringing alarm off. My bleary eyed campers rose slowly, and I caught myself feeling sentimental which really surprised me. My gaze came to rest on Sophie, who was sitting up in bed grinning at me, her soft curls gently framing her face. I smiled back and thought about how much she'd changed since she'd been here. She went from a skittish girl afraid to leave her counselor's side to a somewhat more relaxed girl who had made quite a few good friends. They'd all exchanged phone numbers and information, so I was hoping they'd remain friends for some time.
"Morning Sophie," I whispered, still grinning. She was so happy and eager to greet me that she jumped out of bed too quickly; her left foot was still wrapped up in the sheets and she flipped over the side of her bunk, stuck in an awkward position – thankfully she was on the lower bunk or it could have been much worse. I carefully untangled her and helped her to her feet while smiling warmly at her. Once stable, she gently hugged me before skipping over to her dresser to get her clothes out, and I moved on to help everyone else get their things together.
The mood of the entire camp was a bit sullen as we gathered around the flagpole one last time. Today Batman blinked down at us from the top of the flagpole before the morning ceremony began, and I had to wonder when Emmett had found the time to put the boxers up there - it must have been after the horror movie reenactment, when I'd fallen back asleep.
When Mike and his group appeared at the top of the hill, Edward, Alice and Jasper were all sneaking glances at him out of the corner of their eyes, but Mike wasn't looking anywhere aside from the ground. When he thought nobody was looking he snuck a glance towards the top of the flagpole, grimaced, and focused back on the dirt at his feet. No doubt after the events of last night, the sight of his underwear greeting him from above yet again was just another slap in the face for him.
For the second time that week Emmett's group was absent for the flag ceremony and Rosalie impatiently insisted we proceed; her irritation with her husband was barely concealed as it was, and none of us wanted to push her any further. I remembered overhearing Alice remind him that he could pick up his 'special order' from the shop this morning, so that must be where they were.
Somewhere around ten minutes into breakfast Emmett and his group arrived. As they entered the hall I blinked several times, adjusting to their appearances. Each of the boys Mohawks were now completely concealed under vibrantly colored Mullet wigs – tiny heads of blue, hot pink, bright orange, and neon green made their way to the food line as the rest of the room stared in surprise. The other campers seemed to think they were either cool or funny, and just smiled at their friends or asked where they'd gotten the things. Carlisle sucked in his breath as he fought for the appropriate words, and I swear I heard Esme gasp in surprise from behind the lunch counter.
Emmett sat down proudly at our table. "Told you I would come up with something," he grinned. "I told them they were a tribute to the camp owner and marked us as the coolest group – you know, 'brotherhood' and all that," he said as he pounded his chest with his fist twice and made some sign with his hand. "They're not allowed to take them off until they're home – in respect of our last day at camp, of course," he added, his smile widening. I couldn't help but notice he was still avoiding Rosalie – he hadn't even looked at her yet. If he had, he probably would have been surprised to see that she wasn't glaring at him – actually, I couldn't even tell if she'd noticed the florescent hairstyles at all; she was oddly quiet, restlessly pushing the food on her tray around with her fork.
Apparently unable to think of anything to say at all, Carlisle just exhaled and shook his head while he ran his hands over his face. I had to wonder if he was re-thinking his theory on how his vampire children should volunteer to give back to society yet.
As we neared the end of breakfast, Sue arrived to wish everyone farewell before the parents arrived. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Emmett's kids – they bore a striking resemblance to her own hairstyle minus the coloring. When told they'd gotten the wigs at the camp store and that they were in honor of her, Sue beamed and complimented the boys on them; she took it as an incredible compliment and even mentioned something about getting more for next year.
In her closing speech she thanked all the campers, counselors and volunteers. She expressed her high hopes for the next season, and encouraged both campers and volunteers to return. I thought she'd be lucky to have even half of the kids return after they got home and their parents found the surplus of designer clothing in their bags – it was supposed to be a luxury-free camp, not to mention the parents who would be happy to remove the gaudy wigs from their kids' heads, only to discover they'd had their real hair shaved into a Mohawk…
Just as they'd been dropped off at the beginning of the week, the kids were picked up as their parents' cars pulled up one by one. Edward's goodbyes were fairly easy – he was able to pick up on any thoughts or concerns of his campers and address them quickly – such as if they were worrying about staying in contact with their new friends, he would instantly assure them they'd all be friends for a long time to come without the kid even speaking a word aloud.
Mike's kids departed fairly quickly too – they didn't seem all that attached to their counselor, and Mike's mind seemed to be somewhere else anyway. I couldn't help but notice that quite a few times when a car door slammed he'd jump and look around nervously, only to glare in the Cullen's direction moments later.
Alice was again circling her group, straightening all their little outfits and smoothing the clothing into perfect place. I could tell she was trying to be methodical about it but that she was having a hard time letting go – she'd had ten little girls to dress any way she'd wanted all week, and obviously she didn't want to lose them. As each of them prepared to leave, Alice broke down and pulled each one up into an embrace, hugging them fiercely as their little legs swung unsteadily in the air. No wonder she'd worn long sleeves in the middle of summer – she must have seen this coming.
Emmett was back to high-fiving each of his campers as they climbed into their parent's cars. I noticed one of the parents reach over to try and remove the wig from their child's head, and Emmett ran to the window waving his hands wildly. The boy's hands flew up to his head and held onto the wig tightly while shaking his head at his mother in protest, who luckily gave up easily and drove off. Emmett's last camper to leave was Simon, who he was whispering to off in the corner, probably making sure he had Sammy and Fred safely tucked away in his bag.
As I glanced away from the two of them, my gaze came to rest upon Rosalie. I'd been avoiding watching her – it was just too sad. She was heartbroken, and what was worse was that her campers looked just as distraught. She was down to five girls now, and as I watched them being practically dragged off by their parents, I was grateful I hadn't noticed the first five leave. Hers was the only group that the parents had to actually get out of their cars to collect their children – with Rosalie glaring resentfully at them as they did. Her behavior only became increasingly strange as more and more campers were picked up; she kept watching warily as each car approached, then seemed to go back and forth between looking anxious and upset again. For someone who didn't want to see her campers leave, she certainly seemed to be glancing at her watch an awful lot.
All of my campers aside from Sophie had been picked up already, and I'd said goodbye to each of them fairly easily – we'd gotten along well since all of our personalities were similar, but we just weren't as attached as Rosalie and her kids had been. When I recognized the blue station wagon Sophie had been dropped off in at the beginning of the week, I began to question my own conclusion as my heart began to drop. The little hand I held in my own gripped tighter, as if she understood me and agreed – we didn't really want to say goodbye.
A tiny tear ran down Sophie's cheek, and I wiped it away quickly. "No crying, Sophie. We had lots of fun, right? Well that's nothing to cry about, is it? Anytime you start to feel sad about missing this place, just think of all the silly things we did and all the friends you made – you'll probably see them again if you get to come back next year," I said as cheerfully as I could manage. I wouldn't be back, but perhaps she would get another counselor who would connect with her like I did.
She smiled up at me, and then hugged my leg tightly. "Thank you Bella. You're the best camp leader ever. And I hope you and Mr. Edward are happy forever and ever, just like in the fairytales," she whispered before turning and running to her mother's car. Just as quickly as her hand disappeared from mine, Edward's cool grip replaced it, and I leaned gratefully into his side as I waved at the departing car, fighting to keep my own tears at bay.
With all the campers gone, Sue was closing up the mess hall, saying something about a cleaning crew coming by later that afternoon. Each of the Cullen couples stood together at the front of the camp, all oddly quiet. Rosalie was pacing now, obviously anxious to get home now that the kids were gone, and Emmett was timidly trying to reach out to comfort her, but she would just growl when he approached, completely brushing him off.
Carlisle and Esme thanked Sue again for allowing us to take part in her camp and then turned to the rest of us. Smiling, he tossed each of his children their cell phones, and then said they would see us at home and made their way to the Mercedes.
After loading our bags into the trunk, Edward was holding the car door open for me when Alice and Jasper hopped into the backseat. "Aren't you guys riding with Emmett and Rosalie? You came here in their car," I asked, confused. I wasn't exactly in the mood for the blaring music that usually accompanied Alice's presence in a vehicle.
Alice shook her head. "No, I don't think that's a good idea," she said, glancing over at the Jeep in the parking lot next to us. Rosalie was hurrying Emmett, impatiently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as he fussed around with their bags. I wondered why she was driving…maybe she was just taking his driving privileges away as punishment like she had at the end of our last trip or something; that seemed oddly mild for her.
The second Emmett was halfway in the passenger seat and before he'd even managed to pull his door shut, Rosalie spun the tires and tore out of the parking lot, sending gravel flying everywhere. Edward growled, and once again I patted his arm reassuringly. He sighed and backed out of the lot, following behind the Jeep.
"Well, as much as I'm going to miss those little girls, I'm so glad to be going back home – I'm tired of all this outdoors business," Alice chirped from the backseat.
"Outdoors business? Alice, you've practically been living in a luxurious suite the entire week," I muttered.
"Hardly, Bella – granted it was enough to make us…comfortable, but I can't wait to get back to my closet and all its contents. I know, the first thing we'll do is re-organize all of it by color, then we'll go shopping for you and pick up similar items and organize a section of Edward's closet for you the same way. We'll be able to coordinate just like my campers – how fun is that!?" Alice exclaimed excitedly. Oh crap – I should've seen that coming. I needed to change the subject and fast.
"You know, if all Rosalie is going to do is not let Emmett drive, he's only likely to do something like this again if given the opportunity," I said, still wondering at the lack of response from Rosalie. Last time she'd gone ballistic.
Edward chuckled quietly. "Oh don't worry, she's going to put him in his place after we've gotten home, it's just that, well…Rosalie's been a bit distracted, love."
"What do you mean? What could be more important to her than keeping Emmett in line?" I asked.
"You'll find out in a few seconds," Edward replied cryptically. I glanced at him and as Alice giggled from behind me, he pointed at the Jeep in front of us. "Keep watching," he instructed. I moved closer in my seat, squinting. I felt like I have having déjà-vu from our last camping trip.
As I watched, a blanket in the back of the Jeep began to move. A second later a tiny blonde head popped up – it was one of Rosalie's campers, the child from the foster home. Emmett's hands began waving wildly in the air, motioning back and forth between Rosalie and the child.
"What – on - earth? Is that Emma in the Jeep? What – what about her foster parents?" I asked in shock, stumbling over my own words.
"Rosalie has decided she'd be a much better mother for her and taken it upon herself to be judge and jury of the situation," Edward explained. "Emmett is trying to convince her to turn around and take the child back to camp," he added smoothly, as we continued to watch Emmett's animated conversation with his wife. He was shaking his head and becoming more animated by the second. Now he was waving his cell phone in the air threateningly.
"She smuggled a child out of camp?!" I asked in awe.
The Jeep abruptly swerved to the side of the road as Rosalie slammed on the brakes. Edward slowed behind her, and I waited while I expected to see Rosalie turn the Jeep back in the direction of camp. Instead, the passenger side of the Jeep suddenly exploded and Emmett went hurtling into the air, clutching the door just as he had the last time we were on our way home from camping. Rosalie turned and said something to the girl, then sped off down the road. Amazing – this time, it was Rosalie who was the one hiding things.
Our vehicle still sat idling quietly on the side of the road, all of us gazing at Emmett, who was sitting on the forest floor dazed. I turned to look at Edward in wonder.
"He wouldn't let her keep the child – he said if she didn't turn around, he'd just call someone and say there'd been a mistake, and arrange for her to be picked up at our house," Edward explained. "He didn't want her to get in trouble."
"Will she get in trouble? I mean…how is she going to explain this? How did this even happen anyway?" I asked incredulously.
Alice sighed. "Well, with foster care the arrangements for Emma to go to camp had to be made through the agency, so they were the ones that would be providing transportation rather than the foster parents. Rosalie called the Children's Services agency yesterday and left an anonymous message informing them the pick-up time for this morning had been changed to a half hour later than it actually was…so they would be late, and she could take Emma with her. Then she told Emma that they were going to play a game of hide and seek and had her hide in the Jeep after breakfast. Of course Emma loves Rose, so she doesn't care about any of it and will just say it was a game – because to her it was - and Rose has effectively covered her own tracks and can say that nobody had been there to pick the child up, and she couldn't leave her behind. As far as what she thought she would do once she got the girl home…who knows? She wasn't even sure herself, she just didn't want to give her up yet. It doesn't matter anyway – her foster parents are going to officially adopt her next week as a surprise and they're all going to be very happy," Alice surmised, obviously having searched the future.
"Wow. Is Emma scared? I mean…Rosalie just literally kicked Emmett out of the Jeep," I wondered out loud, almost to myself.
Edward shrugged. "That girl is so attached to Rosalie that not much would strike her as scary. Rosalie told her that it should be girls only in their car."
"Err…huh," I stuttered, trying to find something to say. "Well I guess she can't really get mad at him for the whole animal thing now…kidnapping is a much more serious issue," I muttered.
"Well kidnapping certainly wouldn't be the worst crime our family has ever committed, but it would be near the top of the list," Jasper said quietly from the backseat as he looked out the window.
I blinked. "Um…should we offer him a ride or something?" I asked, motioning to Emmett, who was still sitting in the same place, looking like he wasn't quite sure what had happened.
Edward shrugged, as if considering it. I rolled down my window to call out to Emmett, but just as I was about to speak a flash of fur flew through the air and landed on Emmett's head, hissing and scratching wildly.
"SPAZ!!!!! You came back!!!!!!!!!!!" Emmett yelled, trying to grasp hold of the menace attacking his head.
"Oh hell no," Alice muttered, and my window was quickly raised as Edward controlled it from the little panel on his door.
"He's on his own," Edward agreed, and pulled the car back onto the road. I glanced back out the window at Emmett, who was rolling around the forest floor laughing loudly while the feral cat continued its angry attack.
We'd only driven about half a mile when Edward's cell started ringing. He flipped it open and before he could even manage a greeting, a loud, irritated voice began flowing through the air from the tiny object.
"Would someone mind telling me why, not five minutes after Esme and I arrived home there was a car here from Children's Services looking for a missing camper? Or why a little boy named Simon who's still wearing a bright blue wig got dropped off here by his father asking if Emmett was home yet so they could start building something called 'The Shelter for Homeless and Neglected or Otherwise Unfortunate Animals'? And if nobody has any insight to either of those things, then surely someone in that car can explain to me why there is a moving truck parked in this driveway full of enough brand new items to fully furnish a small house?!" Carlisle's voice boomed through the phone.
"I'm sorry, Carlisle –" *static noises* "You're breaking up –" *static noises* "Talk to you later –" Edward mumbled before clicking the phone shut.
"Nice, Alice – you know you'll never hear the end of that when we get home," Edward said irritably. "Now I know why you were blocking part of your thoughts, anyway."
"I kind of got attached to some of that stuff…I'll donate it – eventually. I just thought maybe you and Bella could use it after you get married or something," Alice mumbled. She really did have a problem with letting things go. I wondered what it would be like to spend eternity around a pack-rat vampire sister – a lot of stuff would start to accumulate.
I thought about what we were about to face back at the Cullen's – it didn't look good. "Anyone want to go for tacos?" I asked.
The three occupants of the car who didn't eat food nodded agreeably, clearly as eager to put off the unpleasant welcoming we had coming for a bit longer. After riding in silence for a few minutes, I began giggling uncontrollably.
"'The Shelter for Homeless and Neglected or Otherwise Unfortunate Animals' – what is that all about?" I gasped in between breaths.
Edward, Alice and Jasper all erupted into uncontrollable laughter too, and as we drove off towards town, I was fairly certain Carlisle would think twice before ever asking his children to do anything charitable again – and that he would never, ever send us back to the woods.
A/N: Last chance - please review! And remember to request any outtakes you'd like to possibly see. Thanks! ~Leesa