Disclaimer: I don't own the original characters.

Thanks to my guest Beta, AgoodWITCH, and my lovely Twilighted Jr. Validation Beta, Sassenach Wench for all the hard work.

Well I hope you guys enjoy this one. It was a bit harder to write than the last one for some reason. Anyway, all of the fun kid pranks in this chapter either I personally engaged in or observed someone engage in or know someone personally who did them. It was kind of fun to relive some of those. I'll give a breakdown at the end. If you live outside the US I apologize in advance because there will probably be a ton of cultural references here that you may or may not be familiar with. If you have questions then PM me and I'll try to explain. Hope you enjoy and please review!

47. A Missing Piece of the Bella & Emmett Puzzle

BPOV

It was still mid afternoon when we finally all emerged from our respective hotel rooms with dry jeans and sweatshirts ready to go back out into the cold to show everyone around. As we left the parking lot and drove through the main part of town, it felt so surreal to note all of the changes and yet all the things that had stayed the same. Emmett drove this time, abruptly turning off every once in a while to show everyone a place that he wanted to share.

We drove down several streets that held the houses of his old friends where he got plastered and did something stupid like tried to jump off the roof of the porch and twisted his ankle, or pulled the siding off the front of the garage when he tried to slam dunk a basketball on a home made hoop. My personal favorite, though, was the railroad viaduct that he and his friends tried to tag and totally got busted by our Dad. The half completed Railsplitter axe in honor of the football team still adorned the gray concrete, although it was now so faded that you could barely make out what it was supposed to be.

Yes we lived in Lincoln, Illinois, and thanks to this fact, our school 'mascot' was the Railsplitters, which was somehow in honor of President Lincoln. At least it was better than Clinton, they were the freaking Maroons. Who the hell makes their school color the actual mascot? Although I had even heard of worse than that in other parts of the state. It made me wonder if living in the armpit of the US caused all of us living in Illinois to lose all our creativity.

After weaving our way through town, we finally took route ten east for about five miles before we turned off onto the narrow blacktopped road that led to our childhood home. My heart clenched in my chest. In all the times we had come down to see our parents grave, we never drove out here to see the house, nor had we driven past the place where they crashed. The last time I had driven down this road was the day that the boys helped Emmett and I load everything into the Uhaul we could manage to bring with us for our move to Chicago into the apartment that he had rented for us.

As we drove along, I couldn't help but chuckle at the comments coming from Alice and Rosalie.

It's just so flat and open. I swear I'm becoming agoraphobic here," Alice squeaked from behind me. I got the distinct impression she had never really left the city at all.

"This place is a bit of a contradiction, after harvest through the winter and until the new crops grow in the spring, you can see for miles and miles, but once you hit early July the corn is so tall that you can't see hardly anything. It's like you're driving in a maze of six foot tall green walls all around you. You really have to be careful because the deer jump out of nowhere."

"Speaking of deer, look out there," Rosalie yelled and Emmett stopped in the middle of the deserted road so everyone could look where Rosalie was pointing. Out in the middle of the shorn stalks of corn, a family of deer slowly meandered through the stalks along a stretch of creek that bisected the farmland. The cityslickers all stared in wonder. Emmett turned around to smile at me with a twinkle in his eyes before winking.

We sat for about five minutes until something spooked the deer, who all turned, flashing their bright white tails at us as they disappeared into the clump of trees that stood on the far side of the field as a wind break.

"They're lucky deer hunting season ended last month or else I'm sure Mr. Mackey would have nabbed them the second they stepped into the woods. That is, if he still has his deer stand out there."

At the mention of people hunting the deer they just saw, everyone snapped their heads toward Emmett in horror. He just laughed and put the car back into gear. "You guys have never lived in the country so you wouldn't understand; it's as much a population control thing as anything. They eat the crops and they have a bad habit of jumping out in front of cars causing major damage and sometimes killing people. The higher the population, the worse it is. If the hunters do like any good hunter should, keep the meat and sell the hide to someone who would make good use out of it, I don't see any harm."

Rose and Alice shook their heads and looked sick, but the guys all nodded along in agreement. I just chuckled. I had grown up my whole life listening to my Dad debate the morality of hunting with my Mom. Emmett had obviously taken my Dad's finer points to heart.

As we drove toward the house, I felt my chest growing tighter with each foot. The distraction with the deer had been nice for the moment, but it couldn't take away the apprehension I was feeling as we neared the spot that forever changed our lives.

Edward and I were in the middle seats. I felt him reach over and run his hand down my arm before grasping my fingers in his. Jasper put his hand on my shoulder from behind me at the same time. They had both been here and helped move us the day that we left the only home we had ever known. They had both taken turns awkwardly holding me as I cried when we passed the spot and continued on our way.

I gasped for air as we crossed the intersection and saw a small white cross adorned with red roses sticking in the ground at the place where our dad's car had landed. Obviously someone who lived locally had taken the time to show their respect as well. Edward unbuckled his belt and knelt beside me on the floor of the van to wrap me in his arms. He ran his hand comfortingly through my hair.

"Are you okay, baby? Breathe, Bella, breathe for me, baby."

I looked into his eyes and focused on the green depths that were so full of love for me. I slowly regained control of my lungs and heart as I slowed the panic seeping through my muscles. Seconds later, we pulled into the driveway that led to the white two story farm house that we had spent the first decade and a half of my life in. Emmett threw open the sliding door on my side, leaning in to hug me, along with Edward.

"It's okay, Bella, it's okay...calm down, Bells."

I nodded and swallowed hard before I heard the door of the house open. Two little kids followed by a young looking woman with a baby on her hip came running down the driveway toward the car. I wiped at my eyes and looked again in shock when I realized that I knew the woman.

"Makenna? Oh my God, is that really you?" I called out hoarsely as I stepped out of the car. I walked toward her as she shifted the baby to her other hip, reacing her arm out to hug me.

"Yeah, Bella, it's me. Emmett called me last week when he found out I bought your old place with my husband. He asked if you all could stop in for old times sake. It's so good to see you, Silver Bells," she squealed at me.

I laughed. "You too MickeyD!"

She shook her head. "That doesn't work any more. My last name isn't Donovan, now it's Taylor."

"Taylor? Who did you marry?"

She smiled widely at me with a twinkle in her eye as she wiggled her eyebrows, "Chuck."

My mouth dropped open and my eyes grew wide. "You married Chuck Taylor as in high school quarterback, basketball forward, baseball pitcher, all around jock from two grades ahead of us, Chuck Taylor?"

She threw back her head and laughed. "Not to mention, very sweet and caring husband, and father, turned Fireman, Chuck Taylor."

In my excitement to see my friend, I had totally forgotten everyone who came with me. I shook my head and apologized before I began introducing the group.

"You know Emmett, of course," she smiled up at him.

"Of course, how could I forget Emmett of the Minute Swan!" He chuckled at the old nickname and shook his head at a confused looking Rosalie.

"And this beautiful woman looking at him in confusion is his wife, and soon to be mother of his first born, Rosalie."

Rose reached out to shake Makenna's hand with a smile before beaming down at the little girl perched on her hip, reaching out to take her hand as well.

I motioned toward Alice and Jasper next, introducing them as they all exchanged handshakes. Then I grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him to my side, wrapping my arms around him, and staring up with a smile.

"And this is my fiancé, Edward. Edward, this was my very best friend from Lincoln, Makenna."

"Oh yeah, I remember you. You helped us pack everything up when we moved them. It's nice to see you again," Edward cheered as he reached out to shake Makenna's hand. She stared up at him with a glazed expression.

"Wait a minute," she finally said shifting her eyes to me, "you mean you're marrying the hottie that you had the crush on all those years ago?"

Edward chuckled and everyone else laughed loudly as I nodded my head with a smile so wide my cheeks were aching.

"Wow! Well good for you, sister! Looks like we both ended up lucking out!"

I nodded, "Speaking of, where is the illustrious Mr. Taylor?"

She sighed, "On a 48 hour shift at the firehouse. They have to stay there while on call, so we won't see him until tomorrow night. It's a shame really. Hey, why don't you all come inside, it's freezing out here! I'll make us some hot chocolate and coffee and we can warm up while we catch up."

"Sounds good."

She turned back toward the house, leading the way as she called out to the two small boys running in the back yard chasing one another squealing.

"Jake, Shane, time to go back inside!"

"Awe Mom, do we have to?" The both called in unison and it was then I realized that they were twins. I hadn't been paying close enough attention to notice before. Makenna nodded, then groaned and turned to sprint toward the front door.

"Holy crap, Mickey, you have twins? Geez, I am so far out of the loop. I lost track of everybody once I started college!"

She chuckled, "Yep, they turn four August 12th, and this little one here will be one in a month."

I shook my head in amazement. I couldn't even begin to imagine having two three year olds and a one year old right now. I was doing good to keep up with my 27 year old!

She offered for us to settle in the living room. I looked around in a kind of sad awe at the room. It was so familiar, yet seemed so strange to have someone else's furniture in the room. The walls were a new more vibrant color that I actually really liked. I noticed the pictures hanging along the staircase and got up to go look at the freeze frame shots of Makenna and Chuck's wedding and the family pictures throughout the years. They looked so content in their life. It made me happy to know that this house was once again full of kids and a happy family.

I was still wandering, looking at the pictures on the walls, when Makenna came back in with only the baby. She sat her in the pack n play in the corner of the room, where the tiny girl sat happily, playing with the toys inside the small colorful piece of baby gear, which I assumed was probably pretty invaluable. Suddenly I knew what I was buying Emmett and Rose as a baby gift.

"So, how long have you guys owned the old homestead?" Emmett asked from his place on the loveseat next to Rose.

"It went back on the market right after we got married, so we've been here a little over four years now. It seemed like fate that it went up for sale just as we needed it and I just wanted it so much. We had so many happy memories here and I just wanted my kids to grow up playing out here just like we did."

I nodded as memories of running around in the back fields with Makenna from the time we met in kindergarten on until we were gangly teenagers trying to tag along with Emmett and his friends when they returned from college. She and I had spent countless happy days here together playing and plotting our next prank on my parents or my brother. It would be a great place to raise a family and I felt the slightest bit jealous that she was going to get to do that in the place that had meant so much to me, but at the same time I was also happy that someone was here who knew how great this place really was.

"Matter of fact," she continued on after a brief pause, "We kept the playhouse just as it was when we were kids for the boys. Wanna come see?"

Emmett and I were up immediately as I squealed a little. I had almost forgotten about the room we had claimed in the basement that we had always called our playhouse. We walked down the narrow wooden staircase to the corner of the basement where the tiny elevated door led to the section under the new addition that had been encased in concrete for extra storage. It also had a tiny window that opened to the outside if we wanted.

There were a brand new set of stairs that went up to the small door that opened into our room. We discovered the space when Makenna and I were seven. Emmett was already too big to squeeze through the door and be able to maneuver in the small space, so we claimed it as our own. We put up curtains and Dad made us a small table and chairs which were all still waiting in the space that had now been invaded with hot wheels and toy monster trucks, but it was still so neat to see the space being used by kids again.

The boys all checked it out briefly with quiet interest, but Alice and Rosalie got all excited talking about how cool it would be to have something like that for the baby when she gets old enough. We stood around, sharing a few stories about how we used to hide from Emmett in the room until one day when he got tired of trying to get to us. He finally tossed a stink bomb through the door and slammed it closed to force us out. The guys got a particular kick out of that one.

It had taken over a week to get the stink not only out of the playhouse, but since one of the main heat ducts piped through that space, the whole house reeked of it as well. Nothing we did could get rid of it completely. Emmett got stuck on dish duty for a solid month after that stunt.

After a while, we returned to the living room and sat around reminiscing. The city kids were especially interested in the concept of cow tipping. They had all thought it was simply some kind of myth that you could push a sleeping cow and it would fall down to the ground on its side. If it's a single person, then it isn't possible, but if you get the entire offensive line of the Lincoln High School football team into a field full of bovines, you can most definitely tip not one but multiple cows... and they even had photos to prove it!

The one that really shocked them was the stories Makenna and I shared of our early driving days. Makenna had gotten her license during our Sophomore year. I didn't get mine until September of our Junior year, just enough time for me to get four good months of wreaking havoc on the streets of Lincoln before I moved. Even Emmett hadn't heard all the stories we shared that day.

He laughed as we told about taking our cars out in the fancy subdivisions to find an empty cul-de-sac where we would turn the wheel as far to the left as we could and would hit the gas spinning in circles before straightening out and dashing out of the circle and back up the street. Yeah, it was potentially dangerous, but it was so much fun, like riding a rollercoaster at an amusement park or something.

His attitude changed as our stories got more and more extreme. I seriously thought he was actually going to strangle me when he discovered Mickey and I had raced two cars full of our guy friends and their girlfriends through the streets at the edge of Lincoln and out into the country. Makenna had been driving that night and I was riding shotgun. When we were out on a straight stretch in the country, the guys pulled up on either side of us and we drove three abreast for about half a mile before I shouted to Makenna to actually step on it and leave them in the dust. A second later she smashed the pedal on her red Chevy Z34 and we left the black Ford Tempo and then Silver Nissan Sentra in the dust. I leaned out the window as we raced down the country roads at nearly 100 miles per hour to yell and throw my hand in the air giving them the double bird, before Mickey swerved. I fell back into the car, bumping my head along the way, giving me a huge knot on my noggin. Looking back now, it's a wonder I didn't get a concussion...who knows...maybe I did!

I looked around, and while Emmett fumed with his hands clenched into fists on his legs, the others stared at me like I was an alien. This Bella they were hearing about was a far cry from the one they all knew and loved.

"What?" I asked shrugging at them. "Lincoln Bella was pretty young and fearless. Losing your parents in a car accident tends to put the fear of death in you, but there was a time I thought, like most teenagers, that I was invincible."

"Isabella Marie, you're lucky you didn't get yourself killed," Emmett seethed quietly from his seat next to a worried looking Rose, who was trying to calm him down.

"I know, Embear, it was stupid. I recognize that now at 23, but if you're honest it wasn't any more dangerous than your CARSURFING now was it?" I retorted back.

He groaned, running his hands over his face when I brought up how he and his friends used to climb on top of the roof of their cars and stand up to surf while one of the other guys drove at breakneck speeds down country roads. You know that thing about pastor kids being the wildest ones of the bunch? Yeah...the same goes for cop kids.

"Just because I did stuff didn't mean you had to. You should have known better!"

I snorted and everyone else chuckled too. "Sure, Em, like I wasn't going to pick up a trick or two after watching you. I totally idolized you. You really didn't think I would try out some of your pranks?"

He sighed, "Guess not."

I laughed and winked. "Just remember that, now that you're going to have a little one adoring you and watching your every move. You will be an even bigger role model for her than you were me...so you'll have to watch yourself and clean up your language. That is, unless you want your three year old running around yelling the f-bomb in the middle of the grocery store."

He groaned as the rest of us chuckled, because we could totally see that happening. It was so great catching up with Makenna. After a bit more visiting, and a trip up to my old room which was now the nursery for her baby girl, Makayla, she told us to take a walk along the property before we left.

Emmett and I rushed down that path toward the back pasture as everyone else tried to catch up. Eventually, we ended up in an all out race to get to the back, but just as always, Emmett beat me by a mile. It's not like he wasn't always at least a foot taller than me, then add in the fact that he was always in some sort of sport that kept his stamina and speed up. All those things added together, plus my innate clumsiness, meant that I never once in my life beat my brother in any kind of race.

Alice was next to catch up to us as Edward and Jasper followed along assisting Rosalie to make sure she didn't fall. Thanks to her current shift in her center of gravity, she had begun to appear even clumsier than me.

We showed them the old shooting range and the barn where we used to play, surprised to find that our old rope still hung from the rafters where we used to jump out of the hayloft and swing down to the floor below. Mom and Dad were so oblivious. When we first hung it, we claimed it was just to climb up and down on. They never had a clue that we used it to swing like Tarzan all around the room. Emmet would even use it to bounce off of the walls.

Once we finished walking around and showing our loved ones our childhood home, we forlornly climbed back into the van after I hugged Makenna goodbye, promising to keep in touch better. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses before we drove away to return to town. Emmett purposefully took the long way through the back roads to avoid going back by the spot that the accident happened, much to my relief.

I turned and watched the house disappear behind us. It was bittersweet going back to the home of my youth. It was strange to see how much changed. I still found myself expecting to see Mom or Dad show up at some point while we were there. It was fun to relive some of those childhood memories that I hadn't let myself really think about in such a long time. While it was hard to see that life in our old home continued on without us, it was also good to know that people who knew its history took care of the homestead now.

It was starting to get dark as we hit the city limits. We started debating on where we wanted to eat. Poor Alice was going to have a rough time on this trip; the most upscale place I knew of to eat in Lincoln was Cracker Barrel. Finally, we decided that after the long day we should go back to the hotel, order pizza, go hit the indoor pool for a while, and just chill out. It sounded like the perfect idea to me. I was completely drained.

EPOV

To say it was an emotional day for everyone would be a massive understatement. Emmett and Bella were of course hit hardest, but it was nearly as hard for Rosalie and I to watch the people we loved suffering so much. Their pain was our pain and it was hard being helpless to stop it. All we could do was be there to comfort and support them and we both did our best.

Once we got back to the hotel, I offered to order the pizzas and take care of paying and getting them out to the pool area, telling Bella and Emmett to go down and relax in the Jacuzzi while the rest of us took care of everything else.

The second they were gone, there was a knock at the door to the room I was sharing with Bella. I opened it and walked away as I began ordering the five pizzas, breadsticks, and two liters of soda that we had all decided on. The second the conversation ended, I turned around to see Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie all sitting on our bed, dressed in swimsuits with towels wrapped around their waists or shoulders, waiting expectantly for me to sort a few details for them.

The first and biggest question was to explain the ritual. I went on to tell them the story of the first year we made the trip down and how hard it had been on all of us, but especially Bella. She had no coping mechanisms whatsoever and cried the whole way down and back. Emmett and I felt helpless. Once we got home, we talked about it and began making a plan on how to slowly get them mentally prepared for what they would deal with as they came down.

First off, Bella drove to distract her and keep her driving skills up. Then, along the way, we would slowly bring out things that reminded them of their parents, Renee's favorite music or songs that they associated with their parents.

We picked a point, which happened to be Joliet, to start adding other things to help them start thinking more about their parents. Peanut M&M's were Renee's favorite, and the reason why Bella considered them movie treats because it was their mother/daughter day tradition to go see a movie and eat them while they watched. Emmett also had the same memories for family outings. Her favorite drink had been Dr. Pepper, so they drank that with it.

At Pontiac, we always broke out the salt and vinegar chips which were Charlie's staple junk food. Neither Bella nor Emmett could ever think of a time when they didn't have a bag of those chips in their house. Their dad ate them non stop. Charlie was a coffee drinker, but since we really didn't want to stop on the way down, we would just drink another Dr. Pepper to help tone down the tang of the chips.

McLean I had already explained. They understood, after seeing it now, why it was so important. The steps along the way softened the shock, opening the doors to bringing up the old memories and talking about them in a fun setting before being faced with their grave. It was crucial to the whole process.

The last twenty minutes were always my drive while the two of them would focus on getting ready for what was to come. Rosalie asked and she had been right, it was something that Emmett had done in football. It really did seem to help them, as much as anything could at least.

The rest of this trip had been just as new to me as it had them, so I had no further insight. We gathered our things and made our way down to the pool area, which was not far from the lobby. I watched as Rose, Alice, and Jasper joined Bella and Emmett in the pool. Emmett chased Bella from one end to the other as they both laughed loudly. I loved watching them together and was so glad that we made this trip an extended one so we could find out more about them and their life before we knew them in Chicago.

I stood in the hallway that connected the lobby and the pool area, looking back and forth between echoes of laughter and splashing, and the front door where I watched for the delivery boy. I thought about all the things I had already seen and learned on this trip. I couldn't help but smile at the memory of Bella's joy in showing us around her childhood home. It was like this last little sliver of the picture of Bella slid into place as I saw how well she fit into that place and the way she and Emmett sort of fell back into that mindset of children as they raced along the path to the back pasture.

I was staring toward the entry way, lost in my own thoughts, when suddenly a loud voice spoke up beside me making me jump.

"Oh fuck, man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Emmett chirped as he ran the towel he was holding over his dripping hair, trying to dry it. "I was just coming to check on the pizza. I'm starving!"

I chuckled. "Still no delivery boy yet, Em. He should be here any minute now."

Emmett nodded, glancing back toward the pool area quickly, before leaning in closer and speaking to me in a quiet voice. "Hey, Edward, I was wanting to talk to you about something."

I turned toward him, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms. "Sure thing, man. What's up?"

He shuffled on his feet a bit, looking over his shoulder again before he turned back to me with serious eyes. "I was just wondering about your training place you're building and everything...will you be needing instructors?"

I smiled, feeling my shoulders relax. "Yes, I will, part of me was kind of hoping you and maybe some of the others might be interested."

Emmett sighed deeply, running his hands through his hair as he leaned against the wall next to me. He looked back toward the pool as he spoke. "Good, because I have to be honest, I'm not sure I would be able to keep going with SWAT much longer. With Rosie, and the baby, and everything that happened with you and Bella...I...I think I'm losing my edge, man. I'm holding on too tight. It's making my reaction time lag. Every time I have to go on a mission, even a minor one, I can't help but worry about orphaning my kid before she's ever even born. I need a safer job, but like you told me before, I don't know what I'd do. I can totally see myself becoming an instructor, though. I think it would be a perfect fit."

I nodded along in total understanding. "I agree wholeheartedly, man. I'd be honored to have you on board."

Emmett smacked me on the back with a big smile. "Thank you, man, thank you so much."

Just then the pizza delivery boy walked in. While I started dealing with paying the guy, Emmett managed to grab all of the pizzas and breadsticks, leaving me to carry in the drinks, and taking them in to the pool where he was met with yells of joy when the door opened. After I paid the kid, I picked up the two liters and carried them in with me to sit down and enjoy some relaxation with everyone.

After we ate, we all got into the pool and played around for the better part of the next three hours before finally calling it a night and shuffling up to our rooms, each of us totally exhausted. Tomorrow was going to be a bit of a surprise for Bella. I had arranged for us to rent a car just for us for the overnight. I was taking her down to Springfield for the night just to get some time alone. I had even rented us a themed suite that sounded fun, but I hoped wouldn't be tacky. It was hard to tell from the website...sometimes things weren't as nice as they seemed.

Bella and I cuddled together on the bed after a nice long shower to wash away the chlorine. Bella was asleep almost immediately. I was so glad that the day had gone as well as it had. She had certainly come a long way in the last seven years. She had grown from a beautiful, sweet, innocent girl into a stunning, brave, and amazing woman. I was so grateful that she was mine. I lay there for a long time, simply listening to her breathe and enjoying the feeling of her chest rising and falling next to me. She sighed in her sleep and curled closer, whispering gently in her sleep.

"Home"

She twisted her face, burying her nose in my neck, as she gripped my t-shirt in her fist and smiled. I smiled down at her and kissed her head before I fell asleep feeling complete. She was my home.

Confession time. I personally took part in all of the crazy car episodes in this chapter, except carsurfing. Doing cul-de-sac circles in the fancy subdivisions was practically the highlight of the night for my friends and me in high school. We didn't drink or do drugs, so instead we went for the adrenaline high! LOL! My best friend and I also did the whole racing through town and driving three abreast in the country. Man, I look back and I seriously wonder how I'm still alive! Also the whole jumping out of the hayloft while hanging onto a rope from the rafters and swinging...my cousins and I did that one too. That was SO much fun!

Cow tipping I personally observed, and while I didn't live in Lincoln, I did have a friend get busted with his friends tagging one of the railroad viaducts in the town we lived in. Carsurfing I never personally observed, but it was one of my brother-in-law's favorite teen pastimes with his friends. I never would have believed it if my hubby hadn't told me he saw it himself, because my B-I-L doesn't strike me as that type of person at all. I guess we all do crazy stuff as teens.

So now, just for fun, I'm going to take a page from several author's I've come across lately and ask you to share some of your crazy teen pranks/mischief just because I want to read some of the insane stuff other people did in high school. My friends and I were goody two shoes, so I'm sure my stories are pretty tame compared to what others have to share and I'm interested in seeing just how lame I really was! LOL! So please either review or PM me and share!