Disclaimer: I own nothing from the worlds of Twilight or Harry Potter

Note: This was prompted by BePeachy, who wanted me to show the scene referenced in chapter 1 of "Forcing Change" in which Alice allows Hera to try her hand at operating a motor vehicle.

Hera is six

Driving Edward Crazy

Alice smiled as she listened to Hera ramble on about how much fun she'd had at the playground. Wanting to have a day of sisterly bonding with the little phoenix, she had dressed the child in the cutest Tartine Et Chocolat fuchsia romper she had picked up a week ago at Neiman Marcus and drove her to the park. There was a great play area for children there that Hera loved to visit. They spent the afternoon sharing stories, jokes, and smiles. Reluctant to go back to having to share her baby sister with the rest of their family, Alice stopped at Baskin Robbins to treat the girl to an ice-cream.

They sat outside at one of the tables while Hera enjoyed both her mint chocolate chip waffle cone and her sister's attention. "… would've been better if I could have flown to the top of the jungle gym, but climbing was fun too… even though I think I got a blister, see?"

Alice dutifully inspected her excited little sister's hand and placed a loving kiss against the small red patch that had been rubbed raw from the harsh metal contraption she'd scaled. "Poor baby!"

Hera giggled and shrugged before pulling her hand back. "It doesn't hurt!" The smile fell from her face as she had a sudden thought. "Don't tell Edward, okay? He'll never let me climb anything ever again!"

The brunette laughed loudly, startling a passing teenaged boy. "He is a big worry-wart isn't he," Alice asked. "I don't think he'd keep you from climbing… though he might insist upon you wearing appropriate climbing gear." She started chuckling once more at the mental image of Hera on the playground wearing a helmet, gloves, goggles, and a safety harness as she climbed the jungle gym with all the other children staring at her, wide-eyed.

Knowing her brother and his overprotective tendencies, he'd have wrapped his mate in bubble wrap and lined the ground beneath the structure with soft mats as well.

Licking the green line of melted ice-cream heading toward her little hand, Hera nodded seriously. "Yes he would! If Edward had his way I'd never do anything fun. I'd be the only grown up who wasn't allowed to drive. Even when I fly he stands underneath me like he thinks I'm going to suddenly forget how!"

As Hera finished her cone, Alice wet a few napkins and wiped the sticky hands and face clean before ushering her into the car. "Well, little lady," she said as Hera buckled her seatbelt, "then you and I will just have to learn to be extra sneaky so you can have as much fun as possible before old sourpuss Edward finds out." She pulled out into traffic and made her way home. Alice began texting Jasper on the way, instructing him to take Edward hunting. The vampire didn't specify why, and her family knew better than to question her since her visions were so useful in keeping them safe.

By the time she pulled into the drive, Alice was certain that the mind reader was far enough away that she wouldn't be caught committing one of the cardinal sins of babysitting Hera. She put the car into neutral and set the emergency brake. "Okay, sweetie… trade seats with me."

Hera gasped with excitement, causing her hands to tremble as she released the latch on her seatbelt. Alice grabbed Jasper's Algebra textbook from the back seat and placed it on the driver's side seat so the child would be able to see over the dashboard. Once Hera was sitting on the book they shared a giggle over the illicit activity in which they were about to partake before the vampire went down a checklist.

"Okay… seatbelt?"

A clicking sound, followed by, "Check!"

"Mirrors?"

"Yep… they're still there."

Alice chuckled. "Good… do you know which pedal is the gas and which one is the brakes?"

Hera looked down and stretched her leg down as far as possible, but was still a few inches too short to reach either one. "Um… no, but I don't think it really matters."

Alice nodded happily. "Gotcha. Okay, Hera… put your hands at nine and three."

The confused child looked at her as if she had suddenly lapsed into speaking Klingon. "Huh?"

"You know… the clock face. Nine o'clock and three o'clock?"

Hera glanced at the digital clock display. "So… I have to wait until the clock says either nine or three to drive?" She pouted. "That's gonna be like forever from now!"

Laughing outright, Alice reached over and placed the phoenix's hands in the correct position. "No, you knucklehead! Pretend the steering wheel is a clock face. Your right hand goes where the number three would be, and your left hand goes in the number nine's spot."

"Why?"

"Because it's the safest way to hold the steering wheel."

"But why?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Because that's what driving instructors say to do."

"But w…." Hera was cut off by Alice. "Sweetie, you have a choice here. You can either just do what I say without questions and drive, or I can give you an extensive lesson on the history of vehicle safety until Edward sees us and has a conniption."

Jaw tightening in determination, Hera nodded at her sister and faced forward. "Okay… I choose driving! What do I do now?"

With a wide smile, Alice released the emergency brake. "Now you drive. All you need to do is keep the car on the driveway. You hardly need to move the wheel at all."

Squealing in joy, Hera couldn't help but exclaim, "I can't believe I'm driving!"

Alice sighed in aggravation as her super sensitive vampire hearing picked up an infuriated, "What?!" It seems Edward was either back from feeding early, or he hadn't gone far in the first place.

Not ten seconds later Edward zipped out of the forest and grabbed onto the back of the car and effortlessly lifted the rear tires from the pavement. "Out of the car, Hera!"

Hera growled. "Oh come on Edward! I was doing good!"

"Out now! Alice… turn the car off!"

Alice grumbled under her breath as she followed the insane vampire's orders. "She was going so slow that the needle wasn't moving, Edward."

Once the car was certain not to go anywhere, the telepathic vampire gently set it back down and carefully inspected his mate. Hera, who didn't appreciate having her fun ruined, just crossed her arms and pouted as he looked her over. Turning to his sister, he asked, "Have you lost your mind? She's six-years-old and you let her drive?!"

The brunette vampire casually inspected her nails. "Well do you know how tiring it is driving to Anchorage all the time, brother dear? I figured that if I got Hera trained up, Rosalie and I would have a chauffeur the next time we went on a shopping spree."

Edward growled lowly and actually dared to bare his fangs, to which Alice responded with a smirk. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed his mate and stomped off toward the house with the little girl arguing the entire way. The last thing Alice heard her say was, "I'm going to be the only fifty-year-old having to take the bus!"

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