I DON'T OWN ANYTHING TWILIGHT RELATED.
Hey people…………..how you been? Anyway here is the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. This chapter is all about bonding…you'll see what I mean when you read it. Also, I am introducing another character in this chapter………. You'll see why in the next chapter.
Anyway moving along. THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS….……I thought we would have crossed 100 but we fell three short so lets make up for it with this one. Oh I want to try something here, and I want to see if it would work……….. I already have a working draft for the next chapter……… if we reach 120 reviews in this chapter, I will include three things in the next chapter 1) a taste of Rosalie's Power; 2) Varsha and Sangeetta's story; 3) A little conversation between a certain little pixie and a sexy solider. So if I get 23 reviews for this chapter that is what you will get in the next………….OKAY.
So…… onwards with the story…………… ENJOY AND LOVE YOU
MAKING PLANS
Chapter Nine
Bella's POV.
It has been two weeks now since Rosalie attempted to take my life and I must say things are finally looking up. I have finally come to terms with everything but that does not mean that I am not hurting. Actually, it hurts like hell but I am not alone. On my bad days, I always have at least two family members with me mainly due to the fact that Emmett refuses to leave my side. I knew he felt guilty for what happened but he did nothing wrong. I mean we both got played like idiots.
So today, on one of my good days, we are having a family meeting. Why, you may ask? Well believe it or not, I actually got into Dartmouth WITHOUT any help from the Cullens and now we are gathering to make all the necessary plans. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! I hated to leave Forks behind but I would hate to leave the Cullens more.
"Bella," Sangeetta called through the door, "it's time for the meeting sweetie."
"Coming," I called even though I knew she could have heard me if even if I whispered.
For the last two weeks, I became very close with Sangeetta and Varsha. They were truly an odd pair to observe. One minute they're fighting, next minute they are not speaking to each other and five seconds later, they were cheerfully teaming up on their favorite target, Emmett. It didn't take much for them to become unofficial members of the Cullen family because they were just so nice that they just balanced out the family even more. I mean when Alice, Sangeetta and Varsha combine forces, well lets just say all hell breaks loose. I remembered, about five days ago, they went shopping and was able to max out six credit cards each. Even though Carlisle tried to be furious, he failed miserably when they pouted. I tell you, that man is a sucker for his baby girls and we, the evil little daughters that we are, are proud to say that we use that to our full advantage.
As I stepped out the door, I slammed into a wall. Well not a wall, but close enough.
"JASPER WHITLOCK, WITH ALL YOUR VAMPIRE ABILITIES, COULD YOU NOT HAVE PREVENTED ME FROM CRASHING INTO YOU AND PREVENTED ME FROM CRACKINGA FEW RIBS?!?!!?"
Chuckling, he held me by my shoulders to steady me so I did not fall on my behind.
"Well little sis, I could have done that but why blame me when you are a naturally unobservant little human. If you were paying attention then you would not have crashed into me, then you would not have yelled at me and then you would not have deafened the entire state of Forks." He said with his all knowing smirk.
"Ha! Ha! Major Whitlock! But since you think that I am an unobservant little human then I don't think I could walk down these stairs. See, I might slip and fall and then I'll break the ribs that you cracked."
"So, tell me then, my fair lady Swan. How do we solve this problem?" He asked with in his Texan drawl. I could not resist laughing.
"Why, Major Whitlock, you must carry me. That way it would be impossible for me to fall down the stairs." I relied in a horrible faux English accent.
Without hesitation, Jasper bent down and helped me onto his back. This was one of the best things that came out of the whole Edward/ Rosalie affair. Jasper and I were now thick as thieves which often led to us getting in trouble but no one really gave a damn. Well except Esme.
"So my big brother, what are we doing today after the meeting, That is?"
"Well actually, Jacob and I have some plans that involve you, naturally, but you have to wait a bit."
"Why??????????" I whined.
"Because I said so." He said simply in such a neutral tone that I was instantly pissed. I knew he felt the change in my emotions because he began chuckling.
"Jasper, my severely senile oldest brother, did you forget that I hate surprises?" I asked.
"No, my dearest darling sister. I have not forgotten that but as your severely senile oldest brother, it is my duty to spoil you and surprise you at every inconceivable moment."
"Isn't that why you have a wife? Aren't you supposed to spoil her?" I said pointing in the direction of Alice as we came into the living room.
"I already spoil her. Why do you think I paid off six credit cards this morning?" He said as I smiled at Esme and Carlisle.
"I don't know. I thought you were just whipped. How foolish of me to think that……………….." I stopped mid- sentence as I saw the look on Jasper's face reflected in the glass window. It was a look I knew all too well. It was the look Emmett had on his face when he was about to "have fun with the human."
Quickly I scrambled of his back and cautiously began to walk backwards towards Carlisle and Esme since they were the only two people who would offer me some protection.
Turning to face me, I saw the evil glimmer in Jasper's eyes intensify as he read my emotions.
"Afraid, are we?" Don't worry. Esme and Carlisle can't protect you forever." He teased
"Wanna bet?" I said even though I had very little confidence.
Just as I was about to take the last step into the safety of Carlisle's arms, Jasper pounced. Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was being pinned down on the couch with my legs on Jasper's lap and Alice straddling me.
"Wait, are you tag teaming on me?" I asked in mock outrage.
"Yup!!!" Alice chirped.
"So Bella, what were you saying? It was something about being whipped." Jasper asked with a look of thought and concentration on his face.
Suddenly I gasped.
"Bella what is it? Is everything alright? Jasper asked, concern lacing his voice. Before I could respond, Alice's tinkling laugh filled the room before getting off me.
"You two need to work this out," was all she said before she retreated to where Sangeetta and Varsha were gushing over some fashion magazine. Typical.
"Bella?" Jasper asked, his eyebrows raised but no longer concerned.
"EMMETT!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.
"What is it Bells?" Emmett responded looking up from the game that had captured his attention as well as Jacob's and Seth's.
"Did you know that Jasper could think?" I said in a voice that would have made you believe that I had just witnessed the most impossible thing EVER.
After that, the entire family burst into laughter, at Jasper's expense, off course.
"Bella," Jasper said while playfully sobbing, "you hurt my feelings. Don't you love me anymore?"
With the deepest sincerity, I crawled into Jasper's lap and cuddled into his chest. Instantly, his arms came around and wrapped me tightly in them.
"Of course, Jasper. I love you more than Alice loves her Jimmy Choos." I said placing a kiss on his cheek.
"What about me? Don't you love me too Bells?" Emmett asked with a purely child like expression. Looking at that child like glow made me cringe internally knowing the amount of pain Emmett had gone through but it was not the time for sympathy and moping. It was time to take a stab at Emmett.
"Well, Emmett," I said hesitating a bit, "I love as much as I love surprises."
"That's not very much." He said going into full pout mode.
"I know. That is the point." I said meeting his gaze.
"That hurt Bells. Technically, that is hitting below the belt."
"Well then it shouldn't hurt you because you got nothing below the belt."
I did not have to be a vampire or shape shifter to hear the resulting sniggers from the family. Quickly, Carlisle interceded before things got worst.
"Alright, you all. Settle down." Carlisle said fighting to keep a straight face. "The reason we are having this meeting is to make some plans. Now as you have already been told by your mother and me you are not required to go to school again. At least for a while. So now I ask for everyone's attention." He said while reaching over and pulling the game console from the television.
"HEY!!!!!!!!!!" the look of shock and pain on the faces of Jacob, Seth and Emmett was priceless.
"Now boys, meeting." Esme said in the familiar motherly tone that no one would dare question.
Instantly they were up. Jacob and Seth went over to Sangeetta and Varsha while Alice took my seat on Jasper's lap and threw my unceremoniously to sit next to Emmett. Esme and Carlisle chose to stand in front of us while Emmett decided to sprawl out on the couch, successfully squashing me with his feet.
"Emmett, could you please remove Pepilapu one and two from my lap?" I asked pointing to his feet that now resided on my lap.
"No. Not until you say sorry to little Emmett," he said while sulking like a little child.
Out of the corner of me eye, I saw Alice mouth "little Emmett" to Varsha and Sangeetta. Sangeetta clamped her hand over her mouth to hide her laughter while Varsha buried her face into Seth's shoulder. The boys however were not so subtle and were howling in laughter. Esme delicately placed one hand on Carlisle's shoulder before turning her back to hide her laughter while Carlisle opted for looking at the ground.
"What is everyone laughing at?" Emmett asked seriously.
"Nothing Em, but seriously………. 'Little Emmett'?" I asked with raised eyebrows and a not so straight face.
"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" he asked. Something told me he was actually curious to our behavior.
"Nothing. I would have gone with miniscule Emmett, but hey………. whatever rocks your boat, right?" I knew I was being mean but I could not resist it. Emmett was just such a big teddy bear that you could not help but love him.
By this time, tears were rolling down the faces of Jacob and Seth. Varsha had a death grip on Seth's shirt as she rocked with laughter. Sangeetta was clutching her side. Alice and Jasper were slumped on the floor shaking with their laughter. Esme's laughter became fully known and Carlisle was quietly chuckling looking out the window.
"WHAT…………….MINISCULE EMMETT?!?!?!?!" He roared in outrage, "How about I prove it?"
Instantly Alice's laughter ended and a second later she was sitting on Emmett's chest pinning his hands above his head.
"Emmett," Alice said slowly as if to emphasis each word, "Little Emmett will NOT be making ANY type of appearance today. DO. I. MAKE. MYSELF. CLEAR? If you fail to comply, I WILL HAVE Jasper pump you with so much euphoria you will think you are a fairy. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Looking like a child that just caught stealing a cookie before dinner, Emmett sighed and nodded.
"Alright, can we get back to the meeting then?" Carlisle said taking back control of the situation.
After a few minutes, everyone returned to their original positions and regained their composures. Emmett's feet were still on my lap so I decided to take matters into my hands. Sighing slightly, I got up and sat on Emmett's chest. After all, it was big enough.
"Bella, I can't breathe here." Emmett said dramatically.
"Well then, you should thank your lucky stars that you don't need to breathe."
Sensing that it was going to turn into another squabble, Carlisle quickly diverted our conversation.
"Alright, as you all know, it is time for us to move on. Varsha and Sangeetta have expressed their desire to accompany us. To their request, we have no objection. You both should know that in the short time that we have known you, you have both become daughters to both Esme and me as well as siblings to our children but I must ask you what will happen to Jacob and Seth since I consider them to be my sons as we."
I looked on as both Seth and Jacob turned their attention to Varsha and Sangeetta. I did not need to be an empath to fell the love and adoration pouring out of Jacob and Seth as they locked eyes with their imprintees. As if responding to an unspoken request, Jacob's arms wrapped around Sangeetta and pulled her to his side, allowing her to bury her head into his shoulder. Seth gently pulled Varsha onto his lap and wrapped both his arms around her and placed a gentle yet loving kiss on her forehead.
Looking at this little display of affection, my buried pains came back with vengeance. I saw Jasper cringe at the sudden onslaught of my feeling of rejection, and abandonment. Looking in my direction, Jasper locked his eyes on Emmett. Instantly, I felt Emmett's arms encircle me and pull me towards his chest.
Even though Emmett and I were always at each other's throats, out of everyone in the family, he understood me the best. I allowed myself to become lost in his cold yet undeniable warm embrace. One look in my eyes told him all he needed to know; I was in pain and I needed my big brother.
"It's okay Bells. I've got you." Those were the only words I need to hear. God I seriously couldn't help but love Emmett.
Jacob cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Well, Seth and I wish to accompany you all. The main reason we chose this is because of Bella. You see, Bella means a lot to the pack. There are many of them that consider her to be a sister of sorts. It is not that we doubt your ability to protect her, trust me, we will never do that, but it will just give us some peace of mind knowing that we are there if she should ever need protecting again. Secondly, as you said, it is physically impossible for us to say away from our imprintees and with the current situation in La Push with Sam , I speak both as Chief and Alpha of the La Push pack when I say I will not allow our imprintees anywhere near Sam."
"Alright Jacob. That is understandable but I must ask about what you plan to do with the pack. After all, you are now the alpha." Carlisle said with a look of deep concern on his face.
"I already spoke to the pack about that. Since Leah is my second in command, I will leave her in charge. If there is any danger, they will be able to contact me and Seth and I would return. In addition to that, I have instructed the pack to extend their patrol area since we will all be leaving. That way Forks will be protected."
"Alright, so now that we have discussed that part, it seems we have to redo some rooms, Esme," Carlisle said with a smile on his face. I knew he was thrilled to have new members in the family.
"Already done, dear. Alice said that she saw our future disappear and then she started getting some random clips so we already knew we were having some new family members. Jacob said he would room with Sangeetta and Seth is rooming with Varsha." Esme gushed. She was literally bouncing on the heels of her feet. Nothing thrilled Esme more than watching a love story blossom and bloom in front of her.
"Thrilled much Esme?" Carlisle said with a chuckle earning him a scowl from Esme.
"Moving on; Bella, we all know you are going to Dartmouth now, something both your mother and I am very proud about but what we don't know is the field you have chosen to study."
"Well dad, I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Initially I was planning to do some studies in the fields of literature and the arts but since I won't become a vampire for a while, I think I am going to change."
"So dear, it means that you also got into another field other than literature studies, right?" He waited until I nodded before he continued, "So what is the other field?" His gaze fixed on me still curled up on Emmett's chest.
"I got into medicine and that's what I'm going to do. I am going to become a doctor, branch of into diagnostics and hopefully help save the world one stitch at a time."
The smiles that broke out across the faces of Carlisle and Esme were blindingly stunning. You could actually feel the waves of pride rolling of them.
"Are you sure dear?" Esme asked as if she was seeking confirmation.
"Yes mom, I'm sure and dad when it's time for me to get an attending/mentor, you had better get me or else I'll hate you for all eternity."
"Certainly princess, I would not have it any other way," Carlisle said wearing the smile of a proud father.
"Hey, what about us?" Alice interjected while pouting while Emmett playfully mumbled about me being an attention hugger.
"My apologizes, Alice. So tell me, my little pixie, what are you going to do?"
"Well, I am going to start my own fashion line and I already know it's going to be a huge success," she said with so much enthusiasm that even poor Jasper was bouncing in his seat.
"What about you Jasper?" Carlisle asked turning his attention.
"Actually, since I have my PhD in historical studies and psychology, I am actually going to be working at Dartmouth as professor. That way I will be able to keep an eye on my little sis." Jasper said while winking in my direction.
Nodding his approval, Carlisle spun around to look at Jacob.
"Jake, any plans, son?"
"Well both Seth and I also got into Dartmouth and we both decided to go into structural engineering. You know a manly field." He said with a cheeky grin while flexing his muscles.
"Yup, structural engineering just screams testosterone." Varsha said through her giggles only to be silenced by a kiss from Seth.
"Huh……… you don't play fair," she said after Seth pulled away.
"I never said that I did, love." His statement earned him a playful slap and an AAAAAAAAWWWWWWW from the females gathered, including me.
"Boys, I am so proud of both of you. Maybe I should plan a celebratory dinner. What do you say?" Esme said, turning to the boys.
"Esme, could we please get through meeting first before they go at each other throats again?" Carlisle asked with an amused expression on his face before turning to Sangeetta and Varsha to continue his interrogation.
"Before you ask Carlisle, we'll just tell you. You see, Varsha and I never really came to terms with the "you can't have children" part of being a vampire. As a result of that, we substitute. So this being our tenth round of substitution, we are opening a day care center and before you ask or die of a heat attack: yes, we have done this before; yes, we are able to control ourselves and no, we will not bring them home, tell them what we are or expose them to Emmett," Sangeetta said.
"Oh girls that is so lovely." Tears began to form in Esme's eyes. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know why.
"Oh Esme, please don't cry. We both know how much you love children and we were wondering if you would be willing to help us on this venture?" Varsha soothed.
"Certainly girls," Esme said through her tears before engulfing the girls into a hug. After they settled down, Carlisle started again.
"That only leaves you, Emmett." Carlisle said before turning his attention away from the still sobbing Esme.
"Well, I was thinking about working." Something was wrong here. Emmett was speaking hesitantly. Right now he was unsure of himself. This was strange.
"As what Emmy?" Alice asked in tone that told me that she too had sensed his hesitation.
"As a doctor," he said softly.
"Are you sure, man?" Seth's shaking voice asked, "I mean it's not that I don't support you but do you think you can handle it?"
"Yeah, I can. I mean…………. I know that the other day I could have killed Bells if Esme wasn't with me but that wasn't me. I have had this idea for a long while now. Why do you think I have been visiting dad at the hospital so often? When Rosalie attacked Bella, I was dead, no pun intended. I had no hold on reality. I was living for the sake of living, nothing more but when I realized what had happened; Bella's blood had no hold on me. None. Even when I held her to my chest, even when I was covered in her blood, I did not want to hurt her. All I wanted to do was save Bella." He fixed his gaze on Carlisle before he continued. "Dad, when I saw how you worked on Bella, no hesitation, just pure determination to save her. That's what I want to do. I already have my medical degree from Harvard. All I need is some practice. You know hands on and only you could help me with that, Dad." As he finished, he bent his head down and buried his face in my hair, like a guilty man waiting for a verdict.
After hearing his words, the facial expression of each member of the family changed from one confusion and fear to one of compassion, understanding and acceptance.
"Jasper," Esme said, "I think we need to give Jenks a call and inform him that we need proper documents for a Doctor Emmett McCarty Cullen to start work the same day as his father."
Instantly Emmett became Emmett again.
"Really?????????????" he shrieked. Instead of answering, both Carlisle and Esme just nodded.
"Congratulations son. We will start you hands on training tomorrow. Any specific field?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes. I am chose pediatrics." Even though I was happy for him, Emmett and children did not seem like a good idea.
"Well since we have settled everything and have gushed about our plans, when are we leaving?" Alice asked. I could already see the wheels in her head turning about which item of clothing she would pack.
"We leave in two weeks. That should be enough time."
With that the meeting dissolved and everyone branched of in different groups to talk about the move. Everyone except Emmett and myself. I loved being in my big brother's embrace and for some odd reason I always felt safe and oddly content.
After about twenty minutes of idle chatter, everyone was brought to a screeching stop when there was a knock at the door. Instantly Emmett stiffened and stood both of us up, placing me behind him and Jasper. I knew there was only one thing that could make them react this way and that was a vampire.
Cautiously Carlisle approached the door, flanked by a trembling Jacob and Seth. After a few seconds of hesitation, Carlisle opened the door to reveal a vampire who I had already met and who knew about my mortality all too well.
"Why hello, Carlisle, my old friend. I t has been a long time. Has it not?" The vampire asked in his perfect, melodic voice.
"Marcus?"
