Chapter 3

I was trying to figure out what I wanted to happen as everyone spoke. I knew that we couldn't let the situation get any further in than it already had but I didn't want to leave the life that I had. I feared for Renesmee. She wasn't a fighter, nor did I expect her to be. She couldn't stand to see what we would see and I wouldn't want her to see her family in that situation either. My head went back and forth. Back and forth, not being able to make a decision. I looked over to Jasper as he contemplated a decision also.

He had been a fighter, earlier in his life, so he was used to the confrontations. He looked at Carlisle who all but sighed.

"This is not my decision only. It is a family affair and I can't guide this entire family without any input from you all."

Jasper took in a deep breath and started to speak. "As much as I am against fighting now, I think that our best choice is to stop them. I know that it would mean bad things for this family but I believe that we need to stop them before they expose our secret to the world."

Alice was next in line, flattering her eyes in a fast motion. Her visions had not been clear because we had not made up our minds yet. It was too hard for her to predict what was going to happen.

"I hate this," she said after a moment. I concurred with her. "I don't want to be a part of this. The Volturi are supposed to keep us all together and now they are tearing us apart. I'm afraid to lose any of you. I vote against going into a fight against them."

This surprised me. Jasper and Alice never disagreed and this was the first time that I had ever seen it. I thought carefully as we continued down the line. Rosalie was next. She looked towards Emmett and we all knew his decision. Rosalie, on the other hand, could go either way.

"With the right amount of prep time, I think that we need to protect our family and our identities and fight for what is ours. I think that the Volturi needs to be overthrown."

The hostility in her voice was unexpected. This was not shaping up the way that I thought it would.

Esme looked cautiously at Rosalie and the rest of her family. We all knew what she was going to say, there was to be no fighting.

"I think," she said louder than usual. "That we need to plan our time correctly. We need to spend the next few months looking into every possible place. We need to contact everybody that we know, vampires, werewolves, anybody that may have an idea. Anybody that is willing to fight the Volturi. I don't want to fight but I think that it is necessary in these circumstances. We need to build an army, bigger than any before, with more tactical training, more abilities, anything that will make us better than the Volturi. Just because they have gone mad doesn't mean that they won't go back together once their lives are in jeopardy. We need to plan, plan so well that it doesn't look like we have a plan. We need to use all of our resources. We need to focus on life as usual during the day but once night falls we do all of our research. I have been doing it all day. You kids are going to school as planned. I want to do this at night so Renesmee hears nothing of it. We are going to protect that girl until we have no fight left in us. She does not need to hear this it will only frighten her. We are all going to need to be our best."

I looked at Esme confused. I thought of all people that she would want peace, to protect her children. Maybe this was the best way to do it. Maybe Esme wanted to protect her children by protecting the secret. It had to be the only way. Esme had such strong maternal instincts it was amazing. I wish that I had those as well but she knew in her heart, so to speak, what was right for her family. Now I was confused. I didn't know what to do.

Emmett looked at everyone and laughed. "I do want to fight but I want it to be prepared. Esme took everything right out of my mouth and I think that is the decision for all us and for our secret."

Emmett was right. He agreed with Esme, which was probably the best decision. The time that I was dreading was coming up. I had to speak. I was afraid to do so because I was the newest member in the family and I didn't want to influence anyone else's behavior. I looked at Edward and couldn't read his face. He was thinking deeply or perhaps trying to block out everyone else's. Everyone was now staring at me. I tried not to panic, coming up the pros and cons in my head. I thought about what everyone had said. I took a breath and spoke.

"I agree with Esme."

That's all I said. It was hard for me to consider each point of view. I tried to think of it in a way a mother would. She cared to keep my daughter out of it as much as I had. Then I was waiting and waiting because Edward was next.

He was the one that I was waiting to hear from. I had not seen him all day so there was no way of being able to tell what he thought. He stared at me with an intense gaze in his eyes. He was being pulled. He wanted to know what I wanted before he made an abrupt decision. He looked around to everybody in the room.

"You guys really need to stop thinking for a moment so that I can think myself."

The room was already quiet but now it seemed deadly. I knew that I could still think and it gave me more time to do so. I wasn't going to follow Edward on his decision. I needed to come up with my own solution. I thought that he would have been all out for the fighting, to keep his family and his secret safe.

"I don't want to fight. I think that we need to keep to ourselves and see what happens. It is none of our business to be involved with them. They are not our responsibility. I respect what Aro has built but now he needs to deal with his own decision."

He looked at me and I was shocked. I could not believe what he said. He looked towards the floor and I knew. He had read Renesmee's thoughts in her sleep. I wish I would have known what he had seen and heard.

There was no way for us not to fight; the votes had all been heard except for Carlisle's. He should have counted as two votes but that still would have resulted in a tie. He spoke up finally.

"I don't want to fight, I think our lives are great the way that they are. But if the Volturi continue on their mad spree, we are going to have no other choice. That's go forward with planning an attack. We can at least prepare for the worst. If they continue to be out of line, then we will step in. As Esme said we will plan at night for the fight. We will contact everyone we know, get everyone that we possibly can. However, I think that it would be best to postpone school."

"No," a voice said coming into the dining room. It was Renesmee. She was wearing her fleece pink striped pants and a tank top. Her hair was all tousled in a mess. "I don't want to wait another year. I've waited long enough to interact with people. It's my chance."

She came over to Edward and I and sat on my lap. None of us heard her coming, I don't see how. Normally we would have heard her get out of bed. It was not like any of us to be so off on our senses.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm sick of being cooped up with vampires all day, no offense. I don't get any human interaction and I think that I want to be somewhat normal. Mom, you can't make me wait any longer."

I looked around at everybody trying to figure out what they were thinking. Then I looked towards Edward to make the decision because he could figure out what everybody was thinking.

"Well honey, you don't have to worry about it. We will go on as planned."

She smiled big and she looked at me.

"Now you go back to bed missy. You had a long day."

"Well would you guys not talk to loud? You're keeping me up."

"No problem baby," I said to her kissing her hair. "We'll be quiet for the night. Now go back to sleep, we've got a hunting trip tomorrow."

She nodded her head and kissed Edward and I on the tops of our heads as she walked away. We sat looking at each other until we heard her fall asleep.

"Edward, Emmett," Esme said quietly, in a mere whisper so that only we at the table could hear her. "Did you guys do what I asked you to today?"

"Yeah," Emmett said quickly. He got up and was back in a flash with a notebook. It had a bunch of scribbles in it from what I could see. I knew that Esme had told them to look for two cars today. She knew that what she had to say would be meaningful. She knew that we would each need a car to get along faster. We would need to split up, one person for each car, which is why Esme needed her own car. She always liked to ride with Carlisle. She felt safer and closer to him when they rode together. Jasper and Alice were the same way, not wanting to be separated for even a minute. Until Edward had given Jasper a Ducati motorcycle, Jasper and Alice always rode together. I too, felt safer with Edward. He was a much better driver than I was and I still wasn't used to driving fast. So in order to get from point a to point b faster, he would drive. I moved over to sit next to Carlisle so that Edward, Emmett and Esme could go over the prospects.

"You okay," Carlisle asked quietly grabbing my hand lightly. "You seem paler than usual."

"I guess so. I'm just a little afraid. My powers have gotten rusty."

"Don't worry Bella, we'll work on that. You have nothing to worry about. Edward would never let anything happen to you or Nessie."

"Yeah I know that but that's what scares me sometimes."

I looked over to Edward, wondering what was going through his head. He had just started talking to Esme.

"Well you see, it didn't take us long to find your car. I think that it's something that you would be okay with." She nodded at him. "It's a Jaguar XF-R. It's frost blue metallic colored and goes around 225 mph at top speed. I think the color is something that you would like and under the hood is absolutely amazing." She nodded again but with a more confused look on her face. I wondered if Esme had driven in the 80 plus years that she was a vampire. I smiled towards myself knowing that both she and I were alike in that way.

"And Edward can't decide what he wants," Emmett said getting up and putting his hand on her shoulder. "But he has narrowed it down to 3, which is a miracle in itself." Emmett smiled wide at Esme making a joke of absolutely everything. Edward laid out 3 different pictures on the table.

"This one," pointing to a silver, 2 seat convertible. "Is a Porsche Carrera GT. It's top speed is 209 mph with 612 horsepower. It goes from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and has a V10 engine. This one," pointing to a typical blue corvette. " Goes 206 mph with 620 horsepower and is a 6 speed manual transmission."

"Edward, I've told you," Emmett said. "There is no way that you are going to be able to learn how to drive a stick shift. If you haven't learned already then starting with a six speed transmission probably isn't the best idea."

Edward glared up at him and grimaced. He didn't like the idea that Emmett didn't think he could do something. Edward would buy the car just to prove that he could do it.

"And the last one," Edward said looking at the last picture and holding it up for Esme. "This a G Power BMW Hurricane M5. It goes 211 mph with 730 horsepower with 21" alloy wheels." I liked this one the best. It looked like black satin, sleek and shiny, and it looked like an average everyday sedan. I thought that it was the best choice.

"Edward," I said speaking up finally. "The last one is probably the best idea. I think it is the fastest of them all and it suits you better than the other ones."

"But I really want the corvette."

"Babe, be incognito. There is no reason for you to be driving a sports car when you're trying to blend in. You don't want an ostentatious car, do you?"

Edward and I both started to laugh quietly looking at Rosalie. One memory that was still clear in my mind from when I was a human was the first day that Edward had driven me to school. It was different when Rosalie had to drive Emmett, Alice and Jasper to school in her bright red BMW M3 convertible. All the guys swooned over to the car as she talked about it. She was so proud of her knowledge of cars.

"What," Rosalie snapped at us.

"Nothing," I said quietly, trying not to wake up Renesmee again. It looked like Edward needed to ponder over his thoughts about the cars.

"Thank you guys, thank you everybody. I need to go upstairs and think. Please, everybody, enjoy yourselves. Do whatever you want to do, just relax, calm down and try not to think about anything." She went around the table and kissed each one of her kids on the top of the head. When she got to Carlisle she smiled softly and kissed him on the lips. I think that it was the first time that I had ever seen the two kiss each other. Esme quietly flowed up the stairs. I watched until she disappeared. Alice and Jasper looked at each other in a peculiar way. It was something that I had never seen before. They politely excused themselves before leaving the room.

As everybody else excused themselves it was easier for Edward and I to also leave. We ran to the cottage and sat in the living room for a moment in silence. It was weird to be alone with him. It had been so long sense we had a house to ourselves that I could barely remember the last time. Renesmee didn't have many friends, any friends, in New Hampshire so she was home all the time, even while Edward and I were at school.

I got up from the couch and said, "Wait here a minute, okay?"

"Okay," he said confused. He didn't exactly know what I was planning. I liked to surprise him once in a while but he was much better at it than I was. I went through the closet that Alice had fully stocked for me. It was absolutely ridiculous and there was no need for it normally. But on nights like this I was glad to have it. I went through a drawer in the dresser that had all sorts of different lingerie in it. I picked through it and grabbed a silk blue teddy that went just below my butt with a matching thong underneath. I put it on and then grabbed a pair of 3-inch stiletto heels that were blue with a blue silk ribbon tying up my legs. I walked out and was surprised to find that Edward wasn't in the bedroom waiting for me.

"Baby, why don't you come on in?"

In less than a second he was standing at the door. He looked me up and down, confused at first, wondering what the hell I was thinking. I hadn't used my powers in a while, so I decided to try. I transferred all of the energy that I had into taking my shield away from me so that Edward could read my mind. I knew that he loved when I could do that for him because otherwise he was oblivious. He smiled from ear to ear as he ripped towards me and swept me up into his arms. He threw me down on the bed and grabbed my shoes off. He got on top of me and started kissing my neck and moved his way up to my mouth. It felt like it had the first time that he ever touched me. It was absolutely amazing and exhilarating. And we didn't need to worry about staying quiet like we did when Renesmee was around.

After a few hours, the sheets were torn off the bed and my teddy was in pieces throughout the room. Afterwards, we laid on the bare mattress thinking to ourselves. I was glad that Edward couldn't read my mind. I liked to think about nothing after we had sex. I loved the silence except for the trees moving in the wind outside of our cottage. I laid into Edward's chest and flung my leg over him as he grabbed me with both of his arms. I was so relaxed at that moment in his arms that I barely even thought about everything that was going on in the world. I was very nervous about what would happen with the Volturi and my family. Edward would do anything to protect Renesmee and I that it frightened me. However, with him holding me none of that mattered at this moment in time. I got lost in the moment like I originally had wanted to. Being away from all the problems, even if it was for only a few hours, it was nice anyways. I smiled to myself as Edward kissed my forehead repeatedly.

I looked up to him and our lips connected again. He started to rub my back, and then grabbed my hair as our kiss continued to be more passionate. Every time that we had sex it was like no time at passed at all. The light began to show in the cottage not too long after. I realized that we needed to get dressed and head back to the main house. It was not something that I wanted to do because I loved just being alone with my husband. Alone time was rare for us without anybody's prying ears, eyes or thoughts to disturb us.

I reluctantly got up a few minutes after the light had begun to shine through the windows. I looked around the room and picked it up quickly before going into my closet. I rummaged through everything quickly and decided on a pair of tight dark blue jeans and a black tank top matched with a pair of black and white converse sneakers. I came out and Edward was dressed and ready on the couch. I looked at him and smiled. He was the love of my life, even as a human, even before I knew what he was, I loved him with all my heart. He had been the center of my world for so long it was hard to imagine my life without him or any of the Cullens for that matter. I sighed and he came to my side in an instant. He hugged me with all of his strength and if I could cry I would, more now than ever. It seemed like everything just hit me all at once. I fell to the ground on my knees. I put my head in-between my knees and just wanted to lie there, to let everything pass by. Edward knelt down and rubbed my back softly.

"It's alright love. Everything will be just fine."

I knew that Edward was just trying to comfort me but there was a big possibility if we went into battle that not everybody would come back. It was something that terrified me to the point of becoming psychotic. I got up after a few minutes, finding the strength to pick myself up. Edward and I walked hand and hand to the Cullen house. Sometimes it was nice to walk around in the woods just the two of us. There was no need to run to get back to everybody. Last night had been a big blowout. I knew that Carlisle would be at work and Esme would be planning everything for our big move and other potential problems. Emmett and Rosalie were off hunting together and I was the most worried about Alice and Jasper. They rarely disagreed on something but at this point it was hard to see how they would be today. There was a lot of time last night for them to discuss things and see where each one was coming from. Edward and I looked at each other before the Cullen house came into view. Renesmee was waiting for us on the porch.