Chapter 8: Epoch
e·poch [EP-uhk] - a memorable date.
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Jessica Stanley was fuming.
Ever since the Cullens had moved to the tiny town of Forks from the great unknown (actually, it is known, and it's called Alaska. But, shh, let Jessica have her moment), she had it in her mind that even though she and Edward may seem like opposites; they were meant for each other. By that point, she knew that she would have to make him see that they belonged together, completely.
Then that little, man-stealing girl had come to Forks and gone and mated with him; she had mated with Edward Cullen, who Jessica rightly thought she deserved.
I'll show her to steal my man away from me; Edward, you'll know who your true mate is very soon, don't worry, baby.
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After school, the day the mysterious mating between Cullen and Swan – lion and lamb – had taken place, you could find Mike Newton pondering over his newest fantasy girl, who was none other than the lamb herself.
He, like every other student at Forks High, had witnessed the bizarre mating, and he – like every single guy at Forks High – could easily admit how attracted he was to Isabella – Bella – Swan. She was gorgeous: long, curly hair; soft, rosy cheeks; tight, voluptuous curves in all of the right places. Plus, she had the added bonus of being small and light on her feet, like a dancer.
How I wished she'd dance for me; maybe give me a little private show.
But, unlike our Jessica Stanley, he had clearly noticed the protective stance Cullen had over her the entire day; plus, he also had the dignity to never even attempt to mess with a mated couple.
In all, though he wouldn't mind seeing how little Bella was in bed, he was genuinely happy for the couple, if not a little jealous. He couldn't wait to find his true soul mate, to meet the one he was destined to be with for all of eternity...
With a smile, Mike Newton finished stocking the shelves with the newest hiking boots in the family store. Maybe he could take a drive to Seattle, or even Port Angeles might do, and try to find 'the one'.
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"Well, I don't really have many memories that stick out about my childhood, but I would have to say that the day Renee brought Phil home would be my favourite." Bella explained, gaining enthusiasm.
The questions had continued throughout the day, and Edward was relieved that she had completely relaxed herself to the point where she seemed as though she had known his parents and siblings forever. She wasn't quite as relaxed as when it was only her and Edward, but he supposed that was part of the benefits of the mating bond they shared. Another benefit he found himself loving.
"Renee has always been a happy-go-lucky type of person; I get some of that from her, but not much. She is a very easy person to distract, which comes in handy when you want to keep something a surprise. Anyways, she went to go get some groceries one day – so she could make another perfectly awful attempt at cooking – and when she came back, she seemed... different. Of course, I didn't get to say anything before she told me she wanted me to meet someone. She dragged him in, then; and I knew right away that he was her mate. The way their eyes shined when they looked at each other... well, I suppose I could compare it to the stuff I read in fairytales. To me, that was what mating was like when I was younger – like your very own fairytale come true." She smiled, blushing a little bit. "The point is, after that, Renee and Phil were barely ever separated. I hardly ever see one without the other. Phil immediately moved into our house, as it was bigger than his apartment, and he's always treated me like his own. He completely understood why my mother would have me, but they're both looking forward to having their own child come next birthing season." She finished, leaning into Edward's embrace a little more; she had leant forward a bit while explaining it.
"You sound like such an adorable and charming little girl, Bella." Esme stated; there was no room for disagreement in her voice, so Bella didn't dare. Though, she did comment on her statement.
"Actually, I did get a lot of compliments when I was younger, much to my embarrassment. I've never much liked attention; but, there were moments when I must have seemed like such a normal kid." She blushed, something the Cullens had realized was a natural part of Bella, before continuing. "When Renee told me the sort of stuff I got up to when I was younger, I didn't believe it; until she showed me the pictures and videos that were proof of my misdemeanours." She giggled a bit, warming everyone's heart. She was so innocent and childlike, yet mature somehow. "When I was around... five or six, I'd take a guess, I simply adored going to the park. Once there, I would head straight for the monkey bars. I actually used to fantasize about inventing this special pill that would turn me from a lamb into a monkey, so I would have an excuse for staying on the monkey bars all day. Of course, I've changed my mind about that. I would constantly be going to the hospital for broken bones and sprains, even a concussion or two, all because I simply refused to avoid the monkey bars at all costs." She bit her lip, laughing again. "Renee finally put her foot down when I broke one of my legs; she was tired of seeing me hurt because of... 'a toy at the park', I believe were her exact words. By then, Phil had joined us, and was just as worried – if not more – than Renee at how much I injured myself on those things. As I grew up, and – in turn – lost even more of my low equilibrium, I decided it was best to stay away from all of the demonic playground equipment. Monkey bars are now one of my worst enemies, and I have many of those, trust me. Top of the list is stairs." She concluded.
Emmett laughed, though not too much; Edward had been slightly tense throughout her little story, though he had calmed down some when she said that she avoided anything that would hurt her now. He never wanted to see her hurt.
Esme and Carlisle were enjoying this; even when they were younger, their children had always been sort of goody-two shows; even Emmett had never ventured far, only playing pranks on his siblings. They were interested in hearing about their newest child's childhood, of course, but were also slightly fascinated; imagine what it would have been like to actually have such a sweet little girl as a daughter! But, they were ecstatic that they had been able to raise Emmett, Alice, and Edward, and they wouldn't change that for anything.
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"Ren, I'm sure she's fine; Bella's a smart girl. She can take care of herself, plus she now had that boy to take care of her. You know a mate would never stand to see the other hurt." Phil Dwyer reasoned with his mate, who was fussing over the well-being of their – well, her – daughter.
He would easily admit, that when his mate had told him he had a 'surprise' to show him, he hadn't exactly been expecting to find out that she already had had a child by a different man, but after listening to her reasoning, and talking a bit to Charlie over the phone, he had understood; if he had been waiting to find his soul mate for as long as Charlie and Renee had been, he probably would have grabbed the opportunity up as soon as he could, as well. Plus, it was hard to not love Bella; she was too adorable and loving.
He had never wanted to replace her father, so he had always treated her with a king of brotherly-fatherly love; he was always there for her, but he would gladly step back so that her true father could take care of her as much as he could, living so far away. He had done this many times.
Now, he found himself incredibly happy that his 'little girl' had found her soul mate. Of course, he, too, had hoped it would take her a few more years, but at least she had already stopped aging. Though, it was quite unusual to stop at such a young age, but Bella had always appeared to be like child stuck in a teenager's body.
"I know she can take care of herself, Phil, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't need her mother now that she'd discovered what it feels like to have a mate; oh, God, it's almost like she has hit puberty all over again." Renee paced back in forth in the kitchen, while Phil was leaning against the counter, watching her. Finally having enough, he reached out to her a seized onto her waist, pulling her towards him. He turned them, trapping her against the counter and breathing in his mate's scent.
"Babe, she'll be fine; she can handle herself. It's time for you to let her grow up and learn how to do things on her own. Besides, she has Charlie if she needs helps, and if she wants to talk to you or me, we're only a phone call away." He said to her, rubbing her arms to help relax her muscles. "She's not exactly your little girl anymore, Renee; she's grown up, now."
He wasn't surprised when tears started to stream down her face. He only held onto her, giving her as much comfort as he could – but, he knew the only way for her to feel happy at that moment, was to see her daughter happy.
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I suppose I forgot to mention this earlier; another little fact about how things work in this world.
Children and their parents share a bond, as well. It's almost like the mating bond, but nowhere near as strong; because, of course, all children has to leave their nest eventually, to go out and see the world, find their mates, start families of their own.
The bond shared between parents and their offspring is mostly just ingrained protective needs. No matter how old the children are, the parents will always feel like they should be doing everything they could to help their child, whether they actually need help or not.
While this bond may seem annoying and overwhelming at times – for both the parent and the child –, it helps to ensure the survival of children; remember, we have crime and disease, war, here as well, just like in the normal world.
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Sometime around eight o'clock, when everybody was still in the living room, Bella fell asleep in the middle of a story that Esme was telling about Emmett as a child. It was amusing, but being that she was a rather delicate persona, she was used to sleeping more often than others. Edward didn't mind; it gave him an excuse to be alone with his mate. He had enjoyed his family bonding with her, and he had learned a lot of things about her he most likely would have never thought to ask about, but he hadn't enjoyed the fact that they had hardly had anytime to be alone all day. He knew that eventually they would have to return to the real world – Bella had yet to graduate from high school, of course – but, for now, he wanted it to be just him and his mate.
Before he carried her tiny body up the stairs so that they could go to sleep, his family informed him that they would be able to stay off school for the remainder of the week – giving them Thursday, Friday, and the weekend – but, then they would have to rejoin the land of the living. The family would be returning to work and school tomorrow, respectively, leaving the couple the house to themselves. Edward smiled at them, thanking them warmly, before disappearing upstairs.
The others remained downstairs, discussing their thoughts on the newest member.
"Well, what did you guys think of her?" Carlisle asked.
"She's adorable!" Alice squealed, excitedly. "I can't wait until we're best friends; I just know we'll get along great!" Jasper chuckled, happy to see his mate in such a good mood – however, Alice was rarely in anything but a good mood.
"I agree; she's such a sweet girl. I'm happy Edward found someone so great to live his life with." Esme spoke, putting her opinion in. Carlisle agreed, and he told them all so by the nod of his head, and the smile he sent towards his wife, agreeing with her description of the girl-child.
"I think she'll be fun to hand around with; that monkey bar thing she was talking about was funny." Emmett snickered, remembering how many times she had blushed throughout the day, and also remembering her many stories about injuries caused by her clumsiness. He had withheld from laughing, despite how much he wanted to, not wanting to anger his brother. He had enjoyed learning about his new sister. She seemed to balance Edward off nicely.
Rosalie smiled at Emmett, like Carlisle had at Esme; she was silently agreeing with his opinion of the girl. It was hard for Rosalie to except change in her life, but Bella seemed to be a beneficial change to their family. She hoped she would have the chance to become close to the girl, as well, and that they would become good friends.
After all of their opinions were shared, the couples split up and headed off their separate ways, finding ways to occupy their time before heading off to bed themselves.
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Edward had tried his hardest to ensure that his mate remained sleeping while he tucked her into bed, and had succeeded until he placed her down. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and she rubbed her eyes before opening them. He smiled sweetly down at her, before crawling next to her, gathering her in his arms. She twisted into his chest, moulding her body into his, before yawning. She smacked her lips together, sighing in content, before quieting down.
Edward traced his finger tip over her arm, causing her to shiver, before making a slight mewling sound. He chuckled, kissing her forehead, breathing in her scent. It was the quiet, peaceful moments like this that he knew he would always treasure with his mate; he couldn't believe that he had survived for so long without the feel of her in his embrace. She was like his air, or his nourishment; he needed her, or else he would cease to exist.
"Edward?" Her voice broke the silence eventually; she was tired, but she had something she needed to say.
"Yes, love?" He asked her, about ready to fall asleep himself.
"I really like your family." She stated, with a small yawn stretching out the ending, causing him to chuckle again.
He kissed the top of her head, dragging his fingers through her soft curls. "Go to sleep, love."