Chapter 13

Obviously I'm not Stephenie Meyer. All things in the Twilight Universe still belong to her and I'm stuck here, smacking my head, wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?" Ha, ha, but in all seriousness no infringement is intended on my part.

Hey everyone. We're a little over halfway through this story. I hope everything is starting to make sense. The way I wrote this story, the Before and After, what a nightmare to write. I don't recommend it. Keeping everything straight was incredibly difficult. I've been posting a chapter a day just to get it out to you all. I really don't write this fast normally. I'm my own worst critic and I write and rewrite my chapters until I like them. I'm currently working on chapter 21 it's most likely the last story chapter before the epilogue. Well anyway, Happy Reading.

Before September 8, 2010

A thick fog covered the forest floor, rising waist high. The sound of screaming and large paws thudded on bare earth. Rustling leaves, whimpering, snarling, the snapping of sharp teeth, all consuming sounds of terror. The smell of human blood was thick in the air mixed with the smell of death. Sunlight filtering through the canopy above casting light on a path leading to the edge of the forest. An anguish cry broke through all other sound. "No!" Edward! Tearing, ripping, one final cry of pain, then a loud thud. Resounding silence followed.

Panicked I rushed forward, tripping and stumbling over the forest's rough terrain hidden from me by the fog. My tribal home of La Push lay beyond the lush curtain of trees. The macabre that lay before me brought me to my knees. Arms, legs, any number of body parts lay scattered, while body fluids permeating the ground.

I was too late. There in the center of it all lay the pale headless body of a man clutching a lifeless child in his arms. The child looked strangely familiar with thick bronze hair and green eyes glazed over in death.

A malevolent laugh caused my blood to run cold.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

I pushed myself to my feet, stumbling backwards. I looked to my left to find Aro, leader of the Volturi, now standing only yards away from me. In his hand was the dismembered head of my beloved, my Edward.

I awoke with a start.

"Bella?"

Edward was suddenly there, watching over me.

"You're alive!" Tears flooded my eyes.

"In a manner of speaking," he agreed, his brows were furrowed in worry.
"It was only a dream. Only a dream. Only a dream…" I kept repeating till Edward grabbed my face.

His eyes searched mine. "Please tell me about your dream," he pleaded.

I lunged at him, hugging his head tight to my chest.

"I dreamed I loved you." My voice was shaking as I nuzzled my face into his mass of messy bronze locks.

"Oh, well, that's encouraging…"

"No. It was horrible!"

Edward pulled out of my arms staring at me confused.

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't horrible that I loved you! It was horrible because I was too late!" His eyes widened at the hysteria in my tone of voice.

I sat up hugging my knees into my chest. I rocked myself repeatedly as the memories of the nightmare washed over me.

"Talk to me. Let it all out. I promise you'll feel better if you do."

"I don't know if I can." Seeing it once was bad enough. I just wanted to forget about it.

"Bella, we'll be married in less than a week. We're getting on a plane for home tomorrow evening to make final arrangements for our wedding. This is it, love. There is no more time. You don't have to fear me. I think you're finally starting to realize that, but there's other fears. I just wish you would trust me with them. How am I going to take you as my wife when there's a chance you may fear me… fear us?"

Tears slid down my cheeks as I came face to face with what my biggest fear was. At the same time, I realized that Edward was right. For all intents and purposes, we were a couple now. Communication is paramount to any kind of relationship. It was the glue to hold a couple together in good marriage.

"I've had nightmares most of my life. Most of them stem from feelings of humiliation and rejection. There's a clique of kids in our tribe that think they're better than everybody else. They pick on me and my little brother as well as several other kids they deemed unworthy. They call us half-breeds. Of course, my sister, Leah and Jacob are the head instigators. I use to have nightmares about the awful things they use to do to Seth and I."

Edward shifted closer to me on the bed, pulling me into his arms.

"Go on, Sweet Girl."

I sucked in a shaky breath trying to relax against his chest.

"I've always felt like the odd man out… well, odd woman out, but a least I had my baby brother to keep me sane. He's such a bright and joyful soul. I miss him more than anyone."

"When I first came to live with you I dreamed of what torments awaited him without me there to buffer some of the worst of it. I dreamt his bright and joyful spirit got sucked right out of his heart."

"But then the Volturi started creeping into my dreams. Those dreams were some of the most sick and twisted. Other men that I know of that don't really care for me started creeping into the dreams along with them. It's very hard to repeat the things that were done to me in those dreams."

"You're safe with me, Bella. No other man will ever touch you. I promise that as long as I exist no one will ever hurt you."

I sighed in relief. "Somehow, deep down, I know that. I know that I'm safe with you. That's why some of my dreams are just so irritating. I get so angry with myself that these thoughts must somehow plague my conscious mind to somehow transfer over into my dreams."

"Are these dreams about me, Bella?"

"I don't want to talk about them. I don't want to see the hurt on your face."

"They're just dreams, Bella. You can't control what you dream about."

"Still… I can't… I won't tell you what those dreams are about, but I think I can tell you what they mean. I only realized after this last dream."

"You dreamed you loved me?" He asked with a small smile.

I shook my head, the dream was really nothing to smile about, and I started telling him about the dream. He held me close, nuzzling, touching me, soothing me the whole time.

"In the end, Aro was clutching your hair holding your severed head. It was then that I thought to myself that "Aro is holding the head of my beloved, my Edward."

Edward cringed, then squeezed me tight.

"So what do you think is your biggest fear in this dream?"

I smiled at him. "I'll get to that. First my other dreams, as bad as some of them were, I think they were just more or less based off my own insecurities. They were very similar to the dreams were I felt humiliated and rejected only amplified."

"Why do you think those feelings were amplified?" He looked upset by this little tidbit.

"Because, besides my baby brother, you are my very best friend. I actually care what you think of me. The thought of you rejecting me is one of my worst fears and only second to the thought of loosing you entirely."

"Then there was the child you were holding. I can't stop worrying that the Volturi will someday harm our baby. Loosing you and our baby is my biggest fear."

I turned my head up to look at him. You'd have thought I'd just professed my undying love for him to see the goofy ass smile on his face.

After October 9, 2010

"I can't believe you talked me into coming back here."

"Bella we need Carlisle to deliver the babies."

"You're a doctor, Edward. You're more than qualified."

"I've never practiced, sweetheart. Please, be reasonable."

"Be reasonable. That's what the husband always says when he can't get his way otherwise. They make the wife feel like a raging bitch that can't be reasoned with. Seriously, do you understand how stressed out I feel right now?"

Edward's got that stupid look on his face. You know the one a guy gets when they're trying hard not to laugh?

"Jeez, I hate to admit it but I do sound like a raging bitch." I can't help it. I'm giggling now.

Edward's cracking a smile. "It'll be fine, Sweet Girl. If Emmett bothers you. You know what to do."

I'm bursting with my laughter. "That's right. They don't know about my special talents."

"That's right. Just knock him on his ass as few times. He'll learn to leave you alone."

"Edward. How are you even in the same family as that guy?"

Edward's full on chuckling now. "Believe it or not, Sweet Girl, after a while he grows on you."

"So do warts," I muttered.

"I heard that!" Edward's grinning at the wart in question's outburst from inside the house. I'm suddenly feeling glad to be back here. It's that obvious how much he missed his family. I may be a raging bitch, but I can't take them away from him. I knew what I had to do.

The door is flying open. Six anxious vampires rushed out with huge smiles to greet us.

"Damn, Bellaboo. Look at you," Emmett with his strange pet names. I'm rolling my eyes. Emmett's sweeping me up off my feet before I can give him a snarky reply. Thankfully, he's holding me like a baby and not crushing my babies. He's planting a big sloppy kiss on my cheek.

I'm looking at Edward, wondering if he's sure he brought me to the right vampire family.

Edward, intuitive as always, is just shrugging.

"Put her down, you big oaf!" Rosalie admonishing as she's smacking him on the back of the head.

"She shouldn't be walking around like that. She looks like she's carrying around a couple of watermelons in there. Why she could pop at any minute."

"Yes, it was a long drive from the airport and they're currently doing the mambo on bladder so unless…"

"Here, Eddie, take your wife!" Everyone's laughing.

Edward's dropping our bags at his feet all to happy to cradle me in his arms.

I'm smiling at his enthusiasm. He's kissing me chastely, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Oh, look at them, Carlisle. They're in love."

Alice is bouncing, squealing, hugging Jasper.

Carlisle's beaming at us. "I'm so proud of you both and very happy for you. Congratulations. Welcome to the family, Bella."

I'm feeling overly emotional. Happy tears are dripping down my cheeks. "Thank you, Carlisle.

Everyone is hugging and congratulating us.

"We're sorry we were so harsh with you before. We honestly didn't think you'd be capable of caring for our brother and we didn't want to see him get hurt," Rosalie was saying sincerely.

"I understand that now. And thank you, Rosalie. I hope we can be friends now."

Carlisle's phone is buzzing in his pocket. He's pulling it out frowning at the caller ID.

"What now?" Edward is asking irritably.

Everyone else, including myself is waiting for more information.

"The Volturi," Alice is mouthing. Her eyes are turning blank. She looks like she's in a trance.

"What the fuck, Alice? Why did you do that?"

Carlisle looks frozen.

"No! Absolutely not! That wasn't the deal. He what? That backstabbing snake!" Edward's shouting.

"Edward?" My voice is shaking.

"Alice announced to the Volturi that we are having twins." Edward was glaring at her.

"They claim that you acted disrespectfully on the island towards them. Therefore, they demand that we either relinquish one of our children to them or they are going to force your sister to bare a hybrid for them."

"Leah?" I'm feeling… I don't know what the hell I'm feeling. On one hand she's treated me like the scum on the bottom of her shoe all my life and on the other hand she's still my sister.

"I'm sorry, Sweet Girl. They have already kidnapped her. If we don't comply they intend to keep her as their sex slave. She'll undoubtedly be forced to bare them multiple hybrid babies."

I'm shoving on Edward's shoulders. "Put me down, please."

Edward's carrying me over to the couch.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I never saw this coming. Since the wolves have become so interwoven with our lives my vision has been rather foggy." Alice is pleading.

"It's not your fault, Alice."

"She shouldn't have told them about the twins."

"It doesn't matter, Edward. Aro would have found another way to get back at me. Please don't get upset with Alice."

"You're right, Sweet Girl. I'm sorry sis."

"It's okay. I'm not so pleased about any of this myself."

"What are we going to do?" Emmett's growling. "There's no way in hell those bastards are taking either of our babies."

Everyone's nodding in agreement. I'm feeling overwhelmingly grateful. No baby would be more love or protected than my babies.

"It's time to talk strategy guys." Great, now I'm sounding like Sam.

"Little sis, I think you and I are going to get along just fine." Jasper's smiling at me.

"Jazz here is our strategizer," Emmett's saying proudly.

"Is that even a word?" I'm asking Edward quietly, not quiet enough for vampire ears though, because Rosalie smacks him on the back of the head. "Strategist, you moron. How many times do we have to repeat high school for some of it to sink in?"

Wow, Edward's family is kind of dysfunctional in an endearing way. I kind of love them.

"Jasper I would be grateful for any input you can give the situation, but first, I have to go back to my tribe. I want to visit my family and reconnect with the wolves."

"Like hell… You're not going anywhere without me," Edward is snarling.

"You're right, husband." I'm smiling at his protectiveness. "You're going with me."

"Bella." Carlisle is frowning. "Edward can't go with you. And in any case, your father really shouldn't be made aware of your pregnancy. He would have too many questions. Questions we couldn't answer."

"Carlisle, Edward is my husband. We are package deal."

"It's not safe for him," Esme is disagreeing.

"Edward is safe with me. The wolves will be sorry if they mess with my mate. As far as my pregnancy is concerned and my father finding out, I intend to tell my father everything. In case any of you haven't figured out, the Volturi has declared a full out war against us. They took my sister, my blood. I for one am not going to stand for it. From here on out it's either them or us that survives, but I can guarantee you this. They will rue the day they laid eyes on me."

"Here, here, little sis. I'm behind you one hundred percent," Emmett is declaring his allegiance."

"Thanks, Em. Maybe you're not such a wart after all."

Everyone's laughing.

Okay, Emmett's an ass. There's no denying it, but Bella just wants to get along for Edward's sake. Rose and Emmett get a pass for now. At least they're being reasonable now.