~Watching her is so much easier now that I'm 'dead'~ he thought smugly. Killing the decoy hadn't been up to him. His new Master had it taken care of. All he'd had to do was dress the corpse in some of his clothing and plant his wallet in the back pocket of the jeans, and the explosion had taken care of the rest. He spared no thought for his family, for their grief. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but the rewards promised for fulfilling his end of the bargain – strength, speed, eternal youth, immortality, all within his grasp. And all he had to do was knock up the girl he was told to (too easy, really, but he'd performed with a will and, truth be told, extreme enjoyment), and bring her and the child to the Great Marquis. Once he'd done that, he'd be given everything he could ask for. The whys and wherefores didn't matter to him at all. He could care less why his Master wanted Jess. He was given a job and promised payment, and that's all that mattered.
Watching through her window, he saw her emerging from her bathroom and walking to her bed, towel-clad and fresh from the shower. She seemed lost in thought as she let her towel fall to the floor, turning to inspect herself in front of the full-length mirror on her door. He saw her take in the differences to her form, the slight enlarging of her breasts, the changes to her once virginal body. He watched as she ran her hands across her stomach, letting them rest gently on the barely-noticeable bump that marked his...contribution...to her form. He idly wondered which time had done the trick, but decided it didn't matter. The end result was the same. He saw her lips moving as she glanced down and realized she was speaking to the child. ~Such foolishness,~ he mused. He heard the phone ring faintly, watched her leave her position in front of the reflective glass and walk across the room to answer it. Seeing her from the back as she spoke to whoever was on the other line, he itched to come up behind her and claim her, to shove her down on the floor and fuck her into weeping, pleading submission, but his Master had forbidden him to do anything which might hurt the child. Distracted by his own dark fantasies he missed it when she hung up the phone but he noticed her walking with purpose towards her closet. He knew his observation time was at an end. He could feel the need in his mind, the call of his Master, and he hastened to obey.
Maybe once he was immortal and the child was born for whatever purpose it served, his Master would let him have her to play with. He wondered how long it would take her to shatter.
Standing before her mirror she shifted minutely this and that way, cataloging the differences she could see in herself already. A light increase in the size of her breasts, and she was all for that, but they were so much more sensitive now. Not in a painful way, but just...sensitive. Even her shirt shifting as she moved was enough to make her nipples peak these days. She could see the beginnings of a bump, visible while she was unclothed yet still able to be hidden with clothing. Absently she ran her hands over it, caressing her own skin but focusing on what was beneath it.
"We're gonna be okay, you and me. I don't know how, but somehow I will make everything okay for us." She had the odd sensation of being watched, but she chalked it up to hormones and paranoia – the last few months had been very stressful, after all. Determined to ignore the sensation until it went away, she returned to contemplating herself in the mirror. Just then her phone rang, making her jump about a foot in the air and successfully bringing her out of her reverie. Picking it up, she was incredibly surprised to hear Alice's voice on the other end.
"Hey, Jess!" the cheerful tone rang out. "Whatcha doin'? Are you busy this evening?" Jess was thrown off by the complete abruptness of her caller's attitude.
"I, um, hi Alice, just got out of the shower, no, not that I know of, I mean...what?" She heard the other one laugh happily.
"Sorry, that was a little brusque. We were planning on having a cookout tonight, and were wondering if you were free and wanted to show up. We'd love to have you and Angie both – I'm gonna call her next, actually." The blonde sat down on her bed, still slightly shocked, but very curious.
"Um, yeah, I'd love to come. Mom and Dad are both going to be out late and I -" she paused, then figured, what the hell. " -I really don't want to be alone. Not right now. I was going to call Ang myself and see if she wanted to watch movies or something, but I'm sure she'd love to come along to your place as well."
"Great!" Alice crowed. "Okay, let me call her. Meanwhile, Carlisle will be there to get you in about fifteen minutes. So get some clothes on." Jess could hear the other girl's grin even as she blushed at Alice's offhand comment. "We'll see you in a little bit!" And the bubbly girl hung up, leaving Jess standing holding her phone wondering what the hell just happened. And then the import of Alice's ending statements hit her.
"Fifteen minutes! Oh shit!" With a squeak she dove for her closet and began pawing through clothing, looking for something suitable to wear to a Cullen cookout.
Jacob, slightly confused, found himself being directed by the blonde-haired vampire as he carried a pile of folding chairs out of the house and into the yard, setting them up in a huge circle. ~Helping vampires set up for a cookout. Not how I'd imagined this day going,~ he thought, though to his surprise he didn't feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, he felt a peace within that had been sorely absent as of late. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he finished placing the chairs and wandered back inside to see what else he could do. The kitchen was a bustle of activity as three immortal females darted everywhere at once, gathering dishes and food and drinks and whatever with speed that made his head spin. He had an armful of stuff thrust at him with a smile as Esme asked him if he'd mind just tossing all of that on the tables that Rosalie should have finished setting up by now. Sure enough, there were four long tables sitting out in the yard, two on either side of the biggest grill he'd ever seen. He started chuckling as he laid out the tablecloths.
"Something funny?" He spun around to see Bella walk up beside the house, and a grin broke out as he jogged over to her.
"Just laughing at the fact that a bunch of leeches have a grill big enough to cook for a dozen people," he said as he swept her up in a hug. "How've you been? Sorry I didn't come visit you in the hospital – Charlie said -" She cut him off, returning his hug as he set her back down on the ground.
"It's okay. Charlie's being a bit protective now. I don't blame him." Jacob nodded in understanding. "But I'm fine, and -" she paused, blinking. "Wait, why are YOU here?" He laughed out loud at the sudden puzzlement on her face and they began walking towards the grill area.
"I came looking for you, and then...well, one thing led to another and I never turn down a free meal and, well, here I am. Pack mule extraordinaire. Though I doubt they really needed my help." By this time they'd made it over to the tables and Bella helped him straighten out the table covers and set out plates and silverware. She chuckled as she worked.
"Who would have thought that you'd ever be standing here of your own free will?" she mused. He snorted.
"Don't let word get out. I do have a rep, you know. Can't be seen to be hanging around a bunch of bloodsucking demons."
"Oh, so we're demons? I wasn't aware of that fact." Caralla's amused tone rippled through the air as she waltzed out carrying what looked to be the biggest bowl of potato salad Jacob had ever seen. She saw his eyes widen and smiled, not saying anything but embracing Bella in a hug and kissing her forehead.
"So, Little One, happy to be out of the hospital?"
"You have no idea," Bella grumbled. Jacob found himself grinning at the look on her face. "So why the gathering, Caralla? I know all this food and stuff isn't just for the hell of it."
"Didn't Edward or Carlisle tell you anything?"
"Nope. Edward usually doesn't, but I haven't heard from Carlisle all day. Then again, I've been...busy...this morning." Jacob snorted again, deliberately, and Bella remembered his presence in the yard. Her face turned a deep red, causing both werewolf and vampire to grin. With a final pat to her shoulder, Jacob left the two females to chat and wandered back towards the house to see if there was anything else they needed him for. On the way in he passed Edward who was heading outside and nodded cordially at him, missing completely the shocked, confused look that flew over the vampire's face. It never dawned on him to wonder why he suddenly felt absolutely no animosity towards Bella's boyfriend. And even if he had wondered at it, he was too far away from Caralla to see her glance over her shoulder at them and smile.
The smell of chicken and pork had Jess salivating as she and Angie climbed out of the decadent Mercedes. The ride to the Cullen abode had been completely nerve-wracking, not because it was uncomfortable, but because Dr – Carlisle, that is – was so damned charismatic, and with her hormones already out of whack she was hard pressed not to melt with every damn word he spoke. ~Then again, Angie wasn't doing much better and she's not dealing with pregnancy mood shifts...maybe he's just that good,~ she mused. He'd walked around to open their doors for them with a gentlemanly bow and flourish that seemed straight from another place and time. She could tell by her best friend's expression that the brunette was just as dazzled by the good doctor as she was, and that made her feel better in a perverse, misery-loves-company sort of way.
"Welcome to our humble abode," he murmured, walking with them up the porch stairs. "I believe everyone's already outside in the yard, but if you'd care for the grand tour later, I'm certain Bella would be happy to show you around."
"This is beautiful," Angela whispered. Jess simply patted her friend's arm in commiseration. It was only her second visit here, after all, and she could completely identify with the awe and shock Angie was feeling. With a graceful motion Carlisle stepped in front of them, leading the way through the house and out the back door.
"Jess, Angie!" Bella cried happily from beside the grill, motioning them over to her. Jess took two steps towards her friend and stopped dead as she caught sight of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Beside her, she felt rather than saw Angela go stock still as well. Bella sauntered up to them, a knowing smile on her face.
"So glad you could make it!" she exclaimed, giving them each a hug. "Don't worry. She has that effect on everyone." One of Bella's arms made it around Jess' shoulder, the other wrapping around Angie's, and together they walked towards the circle of chairs and the gathering of people there. Bella took it upon herself to pass out introductions.
"Most of you know each other, but not everyone, so Jess, Angie, you remember my friend Jake, right?" The boy in question tossed out a wave from where he was standing beside Emmett at the grill, apparently debating something. Jess waved back as Angie nodded. "Okay, well, then, this is Caralla. She's an...old friend of Carlisle and Esme's. Caralla, this is Angela and Jessica," Bella finished. The goddess stepped over to them, moving like nothing Jess had ever seen before.
"So happy to finally meet you two," she said, gold-red eyes alight with amusement. Bella and Alice have told me so much about you."
"Pleased to meet you," Jess mumbled, feeling even more like an ugly duckling next to this stunning woman that she'd ever felt around anyone else. But the woman's demeanor made it difficult to stay self-conscious, and before she knew it she and Angie were sitting in the giant circle of chairs, heaping plates of food in front of them, laughing about the latest exploits of various people at school and munching happily. It occurred to Jess that this was the first time she'd felt both completely safe and thoroughly welcome, wanted even, in a very long time, and she basked in the warmth. The food was good, the company was excellent, and she was enjoying herself more than she'd done at all lately. She even managed to ignore the fact that out of the entire assembly, only she, Angie, Bella, and Jake were eating anything. It wasn't until the first drops of rain hit that she realized that, though completely overcast all day, there hadn't been any rain until that very moment. In a flurry of laughter and movement they all helped pack everything up and shift it inside, Jess, Bella, and Jasper carrying the food to the kitchen while Edward, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Alice took the chairs into the garage. Angie helped Esme, Caralla, and Emmett gather the tables and all the miscellaneous little things, and soon enough the yard was clear and the entire assembly had migrated into the Cullen's enormous living room. Jess had barely sat down, stealing a spot between Angie and Jake on the couch, when the rain began to hit the windows with the force of a driving hurricane. As soon as everyone else had taken a seat, her attention was drawn to the only one left standing. Caralla lounged against the door frame, looking both nonchalant and yet somehow...intense, and Jess found herself holding her breath and waiting for the raven-haired beauty to speak. She didn't have to wait long.
"Well, now that we're all within whilst the storm rages without, it might be time for a little...storytelling."
Author's note: Yes, a filler chapter. The next two or so chapters are very full of myth, legend, religion, speculation, and dialog, so I want to make sure I have things squared away before I jump in headlong with both feet. I don't think I've tackled anything this convoluted or ambitious in the last few...forever. So bear with me while I set my ducks in a row. I promise I'm not leaving, not now. :-D