Thanks for the reviews. Here comes the chapter that explains everything with Maria. Hope you enjoy!
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'That is a very good question,' Emmett snarled but Rosalie nudged him hard in the ribs to silence him.
'Look bro, it just happened,' Brandon sighed.
'What?' Lucas growled. 'Your lips just fell on my girlfriend's lips.'
'His what?' Jackson gasped and all the adults looked shocked, none of them knowing about the secret relationship between Lucas and Angel.
'Lucas, I didn't mean for it to happen,' Angel said nervously.
'Well, that's good to know,' Lucas snapped. 'I would hate to think you intentionally kissed my best friend in front of me.'
'Look bro, calm down,' Brandon said.
'Why would I calm down?' Lucas asked. 'You take off with some weird chick and when things don't work out you think you can walk back in here and steal my girl?'
'Lucas, it isn't like that!' Angel groaned.
'It sure looks that way to me,' Lucas snapped and glared at Brandon. "Why don't you go back to your cougar and leave Angel alone.'
'Brandon isn't going anywhere!' Sierra growled, stepping up beside them. 'Just because you tried to split them apart it doesn't mean you own Angel.'
'I never tried to split them apart,' Lucas said, turning his anger on Sierra.
'Really?' Sierra smirked. 'You and I have known for years there is something between Angel and Brandon. Yet, knowing this, you move in on his girl? Ever since we arrived from Denali all I have seen is you checking out Angel and trying to drive a wedge between Brandon and Angel. What kind of friend does that make you?'
'Sierra, leave it alone,' Brandon said softly, taking a step away from them all. He noticed that Angel's face fell as he stepped away but the conflict and emotions were becoming too intense for him.
'No, I won't,' Sierra snapped, her glare still on Lucas.
'Angel picked me,' Lucas growled. 'I never forced her into anything. Your stupid brother took off with some floozy and she picked me!'
'My stupid brother?' Sierra echoed. 'You take that back!' She lunged for Lucas as she let out a growl and finally the adults were shaken into action. Jasper jumped forward and grabbed his daughter, locking his arms around her and pulling her back from Lucas as Carlisle stepped between the two teenagers.
'That is enough,' Carlisle said firmly.
'It's more than enough,' Jasper added.
'It is,' Brandon murmured and turned and fled from the house.
'Brandon, wait!' Alice called after him but he ignored her and broke into a run away from the house. 'Brandon!'
'He isn't going far Mom,' Oliver said quickly, seeing where his brother was going.
'If he has any brains he should go straight back to Denali,' Sierra snapped and pulled out of Jasper's grip and turned and raced out of the house after her brother.
'Angel, what have you done?' Rosalie said as she stepped up beside her daughter.
'I didn't mean for any of this to happen,' Angel stammered, her eyes filling with tears.
'I hardly think that any of this is Angel's fault,' Emmett said, joining his wife and child.
'Emmett, she isn't innocent in all this,' Rosalie sighed.
'I know, okay?' Angel snapped, her tears spilling from her lashes. 'I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Everything is just so confusing.'
'I bet it is,' Rosalie yelled. 'You have been playing with people's emotions, that often does get confusing, especially in this family.'
'Rose, back off,' Jackson warned and stepped up and put his arm around Angel's shoulders. 'Everyone is handling this whole situation badly.'
'She is my daughter, not yours,' Rosalie snarled.
'I am quite aware of that,' Jackson snapped back. 'Which is why it completely baffles me why she is standing here crying and you are yelling at her instead of consoling her.' Rosalie just looked at him with wide eyes but he tore his gaze from his sister and looked down at his niece in his arms. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him and placed his finger under her chin. He lifted her head so her eyes met his and he almost crumbled at the tears and sadness in her eyes.
'Angel, ignore everyone else and answer me honestly,' he said gently. 'Who is it that you love?'
'She is too young to love anyone!' Emmett growled.
'I didn't ask you Emmett,' Jackson roared and looked back down at Angel, his voice changing back to the softness of a few moments before. 'Answer me Angel. Who?'
'Brandon,' Angel whimpered.
'That's all I needed to hear,' Jackson nodded and pulled her to his side as he glared around the room. 'There is no need for anyone to follow. There has been more than enough meddling already.' Without waiting for any responses he grabbed Angel's hand and pulled her out of the house and into the forest.
XXX
By the time Sierra caught up to Brandon he was sitting by the stream where he had met Maria, skimming stones along the water's surface. As soon as she approached she could feel his frustration and confusion and she let out a sigh as she walked over and sat down beside him.
'That got a little intense didn't it?' she murmured.
'You said it,' Brandon nodded as he skimmed another rock.
'Why did you take off?' Sierra asked.
'What, just now or before?' Brandon said.
'Both,' Sierra said.
'Just now, I don't want to fight with Lucas, he is my best friend,' Brandon answered. 'Before, I just couldn't stand seeing Lucas and Angel together anymore. Maria gave me a way out and I took it. I really stuffed it up See. You know she came to me before they got together and asked me if I could think of any reason why she shouldn't say yes to Lucas. I wanted to tell her I loved her but I didn't say it.'
'Oh bro, you should of,' Sierra sighed.
'Yeah, I know that now,' Brandon nodded.
'It might not be too late,' Sierra said. 'Tell her how you feel. I think she feels the same way.'
'But if we get together now we hurt Lucas,' Brandon said. 'And, of course, now the whole family knows everything and everyone is going to interfere and make everything complicated.'
'It is no one else's business,' Sierra snapped lightly.
'Somehow I don't think Uncle Emmett or Carlisle are going to see it that way,' Brandon smiled wryly.
'Tell them to get stuffed,' Sierra said and Brandon couldn't help but laugh at her. They both suddenly sensed people approaching and turned quickly and Brandon groaned when Jackson and Angel stepped out through the trees.
'Oh good,' Sierra grinned and jumped to her feet. 'Talk to her bro.' She leaned down and kissed Brandon's head and then skipped over to where Angel and Jackson were standing.
'Is he okay?' Angel whispered as she glanced at Brandon.
'He will be once you two talk,' Sierra smiled.
'Go talk to him,' Jackson urged her. Angel bit her lip and nodded her head and walked slowly towards Brandon.
'How about we give them some privacy?' Jackson suggested as he gently grabbed Sierra's arm. 'And I think you and I need to talk.' Sierra wanted to protest but he didn't give her a chance as he guided her firmly away from the others and deeper into the forest.
Once they were alone Brandon glanced over at Angel and he could feel the nervousness and confusion flowing from her.
'That was pretty bad back there wasn't it?' he smiled softly.
'Yeah, pretty bad,' Angel agreed. 'I was just so relieved you were okay I forgot everyone else.'
'Me too,' Brandon admitted. 'So what are we going to do?'
'I don't want to hurt Lucas,' Angel sighed.
'Me either,' Brandon nodded. 'But I can't keep pretending I don't care about you. I love you Angel, I always have, since we were little. It is never going to change.'
'I love you too,' Angel admitted. 'We kind of made a mess of it all didn't we?'
'Yeah we did,' Brandon nodded.
'I want to be with you,' Angel whispered. 'But I am so scared.'
'What are you scared of?' Brandon asked, his arm moving around her shoulders and drawing her closer to him.
'I'm scared we will hurt Lucas,' Angel said. 'And I am scared what our family's reactions will be. Especially my parents. My Dad is not going to make it easy for us.'
'It looks like we have your uncle on our side,' Brandon pointed out.
'Yeah, we do,' Angel nodded. 'He told me on the way out here that you can't fight true love and if you find it you should cherish it.'
'He is pretty smart for an old guy,' Brandon teased.
'Yeah he is,' Angel laughed and then let out a sigh. 'So what are we going to do about all this?'
'How about we just take things slow?' Brandon suggested. 'Spend some time together and be discrete around Lucas and our family for now. We have eternity to be together.'
'That sounds good,' Angel agreed. 'I can handle that. And when we are alone?'
'I will be doing a lot of this,' Brandon smiled and leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. They broke apart and he looked lovingly down at her.
'And I can definitely handle that,' Angel grinned and Brandon laughed at her before crushing his lips back to hers.
XXX
Jackson led Sierra far away from where Brandon and Angel were talking and eventually her stopped in a small clearing and turned to face her.
'Now they are taken care of it is time to talk about us,' he said firmly.
'Us? There is no us,' Sierra whispered.
'Oh yes there is,' Jackson said. 'You are being silly about the other Sierra. Yes I cared for her but I didn't know her long enough to say I was in love with her. She has nothing to do with how I feel about you.'
'But she is my aunt, my namesake,' Sierra whispered.
'She may be your namesake but you are nothing like her,' Jackson said softly. 'What I see of you, what I feel for you has nothing to do with her. I really love you See, and I don't know how else to show you that. I want to be with you, for eternity. I was under the impression you felt the same way but maybe this whole thing with Sierra is just a way for you to walk away?'
'No!" Sierra gasped. 'I don't want to walk away.'
'I thought not,' Jackson grinned and stepped closer to her. She tilted her head up to him in a silent invitation and it was all Jackson needed to crush his lips to hers. When they broke apart she was slightly breathless and she reached up and circled her arms around his neck to steady herself.
'What about our families?' she asked. 'My father is going to make things very difficult.'
'How about we keep things quiet for now?' Jackson suggested. 'Let's explore what we have together for a while first. Then, when we are ready we will present a united front and they can all just deal with it.'
'My Dad is not going to just deal with it,' Sierra laughed.
'I'll take care of him,' Jackson promised, not looking forward to the day Jasper found out her was dating his little girl. "For now, let's just enjoy being us.'
'Sounds good,' Sierra murmured and leaned up to press her lips on his, already missing the taste and feel of him.
XXX
Carlisle and Esme had disappeared upstairs with Lucas and Edward, Bella, Renesmee, Oliver and Stella had all discretely slipped away. Jasper watched as Emmett paced the floor of the living room angrily as Rosalie tried fruitlessly to calm him down when he suddenly realized Alice had slipped into a vision.
'What did you see sweetheart?' he asked as he put his arm around her shoulders and her eyes cleared.
'Brandon and Sierra are both okay,' Alice smiled. 'They are with Jackson and Angel and the four of them are coming back to the house now.'
'Good,' Emmett growled. 'It's time for Brandon and I to have a little talk.'
'Emmett!' Rosalie scolded. Alice rolled her eyes and as Rosalie continued to scold Emmett Alice looked at Jasper.
'I need to have a word to the kids before they come inside,' she whispered. 'I'll be back.' She jumped gracefully to her feet and slipped out of the house and she met the other at the edge of the clearing.
'How bad is it in there?' Brandon asked nervously when he saw his mother.
'Not great but not awful,' Alice admitted vaguely. 'I have seen it will all be okay. I have also seen you and Angel are together now. That is wonderful news.' She broke her gaze from her son and looked at Angel.
'Welcome to our family sweetheart,' Alice smiled and stepped forward and hugged her.
'Thanks Aunt Alice,' Angel replied.
'You two should go inside and face the music,' Alice said as she stepped back. 'You need to speak with your parents.'
'Now?' Angel whispered nervously.
'Yes, now,' Alice nodded. 'Your Mom is keeping your Dad in check and Brandon will go inside with you. Uncle Jazz is in there too. He won't let things get out of control. It will all be okay.'
'All right,' Angel said bravely but she reached for Brandon. Alice let a small smile slip onto her lips as Brandon took Angel's hand and squeezed it gently before leading her into the house to face the music. Once they had disappeared into the house Alice turned her gaze to Sierra and Jackson.
'You two will be aware that I don't miss much,' Alice said carefully. 'So, I have seen what is between the two of you and what you have decided to do about it.'
'You have?' Sierra gulped.
'You can't change our minds,' Jackson said firmly. 'We love each other.'
'Yes I have seen that also,' Alice smiled. 'And I would never try to change your mind. I am happy my daughter has someone to love her and to be honest, I am glad it is you. I know you are a decent, honest man and I know you will take care of her and treat her right. That is all I want for her.'
'Thank you Mom,' Sierra grinned.
'We do, however, have a problem,' Alice added.
'What is it?' Jackson frowned.
'I have seen that if you tell the family straight away things will not be so good,' Alice told them. 'Jasper will overreact, which I am sure will not surprise either of you. But what does surprise me is that Oliver will do the same. I would suggest you keep things extremely secret for now.'
'We had thought of that,' Jackson nodded.
'I know,' Alice grinned knowingly. 'And if you leave it for a while Jasper will get used to his children having love interests thanks to Brandon and Angel and he will take it a little better.'
'Thanks Mom,' Sierra smiled.
'Anytime baby,' Alice replied and hugged her daughter, knowing her baby was all grown up now.
After Sierra slipped out of Alice's embrace she walked inside and Alice turned to follow her when she felt a hand placed on her arm.
'Do you have a moment?' Jackson asked as she turned back to look up at him.
'Of course,' Alice nodded. 'Is it about my daughter?'
'No, actually,' Jackson replied. 'It's about Sierra, the other Sierra. Well Maria really.'
'Oh, yes I see,' Alice said.
'How did Maria survive when she was supposedly killed by Sierra?' Jackson asked. 'Sierra died to kill her so you would all be free of her.'
'Yes she did,' Alice sighed. 'And until Maria had taken Brandon and we were well on our way to get him back I didn't see how it was possible.'
'But you have seen it now?' Jackson asked.
'I have,' Alice replied. 'After we all left the clearing Sierra pushed Maria into the fire, like we thought. But Maria managed to crawl out. She threw her bracelet back into the flames so we would think she had died before she crawled away. She was badly injured but she got away and survived and healed.'
'How did we not know this?' Jackson frowned. 'Why didn't Jasper feel it? Why didn't I see it when I touched the bracelet? Why didn't you see it at all?'
'I think the answer is different for each of us,' Alice sighed. 'Jasper was so overcome with emotion seeing Sierra sacrifice herself for us that he didn't feel anything from Maria, he couldn't feel any more than his own feelings in that moment. For me, the feelings coming from Jasper and the feeling coming from our unborn baby clouded my visions. And as for you, you never touched Maria's bracelet. Only Sierra's. We never thought to check Maria was dead. I think our mistake was we were all so glad she was gone we just didn't think to check.'
'So, Sierra died for nothing,' Jackson whispered.
'It wasn't for nothing Jackson,' Alice replied gently. 'She died for her family and she died believing she was protecting her family. And I think, to be honest, deep down she died to be with Javier.'
'Yeah, I guess so,' Jackson nodded and turned and walked into the house without another word to Alice.
XXX
As soon as Brandon and Angel walked into the house Emmett turned and glared at them and started to move towards them.
'Em, no!' Rosalie said firmly and grabbed his arm. 'Listen to Angel first.'
'I don't need to listen, this is not happening,' Emmett growled.
'Emmett!' Rosalie growled. 'Sit down and shut up now!'
Emmett just glared at her and crossed his arms but he didn't continue to try to get to Angel.
'I am assuming from the emotions coming from you two that you have sorted out your differences?' Jasper asked.
'We have,' Brandon nodded and put his arm around Angel's shoulders. He could feel her trembling in fear of her own father but he concentrated on his father.
'We want to be together Dad,' Brandon told him. 'We love each other. We aren't saying we are getting married or anything next week but we are together and nothing will change that.'
'Good for you both,' Jasper smiled.
'Oh, I will be changing it,' Emmett snapped.
'No, you won't,' Rosalie said forcefully and winked at her daughter before turning to Emmett. 'You will go over there and give your daughter, who might I remind you that you love very much, a hug. Then you will welcome Brandon to our family and then you will march your backside upstairs and not utter another single word about their relationship unless you are asked for comment.'
'Oh, will I?' Emmett snapped.
'You will,' Rosalie nodded. 'Otherwise you will devastate Angel, the girl you dote on, and you will anger me. And you really don't want to anger me do you Emmett?'
'Rose, you know I don't,' Emmett sighed. 'But she is our baby.'
'And she is all grown up,' Rosalie said softly. 'Be happy she has chosen someone like Brandon. I couldn't want more for my daughter than to be with a man like him. He is Jasper and Alice's son, surely that counts for something Em. We know he was raised right and we know he will be good and kind to our baby.'
'I guess,' Emmett murmured and Rosalie looked at him pointedly until he let out a sigh, nodded his head and walked over to the young couple.
'Give me some time baby,' he whispered as he pulled Angel into his arms. He kissed her lightly on the top of her head and squeezed her gently before letting her go.
'I will Daddy,' Angel smiled up at him. 'Thank you.' Emmett just nodded his head and turned to look at Brandon.
'You're lucky I like you kid,' Emmett said as he stuck his hand out. 'Treat her right and you won't have any problems with me.'
'I will,' Brandon promised and reached forward to shake Emmett's hand.