Chapter 37 Cullens vs. Denalis Part II
"Please, come inside and get comfortable," Carlisle invited everyone with a sweeping motion, holding open the front door. Everyone quietly filed in, each thinking of what they wanted to say and questions they wanted to ask.
After everyone had taken their seats, mates doubling up together to make enough room on the living room furniture, everybody stared at Carlisle, waiting for him to call the meeting to order. Carlisle smiled at everyone and cleared his throat out of habit, even though he already had their attention.
"Welcome dear friends and family, both old and new," he began formally.
Jacob snorted rolling his eyes, resenting Carlisle's formal manner of speaking. Billy reached over and smacked him on the arm. Jacob rubbed his arm and immediately protested, "What?"
Billy narrowed his stare and quietly explained, "This is like a Council meeting, introducing new members into the tribe. You are disrespecting our host, one of the elders."
Jacob's eyes widened in understanding. Having it explained in terms of his own culture, he realized the significance of the coming together of two covens and the ritualistic aspects that needed to be observed for the sake of harmony and mutual respect. Carlisle wasn't just trying to show off or be condescending. "Sorry, Carlisle. Please continue," he mumbled, ducking his head in embarrassment, knowing he'd just revealed his own immaturity through his prior actions.
"Thank you," Carlisle accepted with a brief nod of acknowledgement. He gave Billy a smile of understanding and appreciation, demonstrating he harbored no hard feelings over the minor show of disrespect. "Each of us have gained new members into our families recently, which is cause for celebration. I know each of us have questions for the others, so I'd like to now open the floor for the discussion to begin. Eleazar, would you like to begin our open session?"
Eleazar gave him a small smile and a brief nod. "We would like to know why you did not inform us of the addition of Bella to your family."
Carlisle nodded grimly. "I understand. I think perhaps it would be best for Jasper to give you the background of the events leading up to her change first. Jasper?"
Jasper smiled sadly. "Yes, of course." He proceeded to give a condensed version of events, beginning with Bella's arrival in Forks and ending with the confrontation with the wolves right after he changed her.
The Denalis were intrigued with Bella's story and easy acceptance of the Cullens. They were just as horrified by Edward's and Alice's betrayals as the Cullens had been. Billy was amazed to learn just how intricately involved Bella had been with the vampire family, how she had survived a vampire attack and bite, and how Edward had removed the venom from her veins to keep her human longer. Jacob was disappointed, realizing he really never had a chance with Bella, that she clearly intended to be with the Cullens all along. He recognized now that her flirting before had been her way of getting him to reveal the Cullens' secret, rather than a sincere liking for him as boyfriend material. Charlie was shocked speechless to realize just how much had been going on underneath his nose that he had never even noticed or suspected. He felt pretty foolish now at how much he had missed, especially since his own daughter had apparently been exceptionally perceptive from the start, even though nobody else in town had the slightest clue either.
Eleazar was the first to find his voice as they sat there, processing the events leading up to Bella's change. "What was done about Edward and Alice?" he inquired.
"Yeah, that's what I want to know too!" Charlie growled, leaning forward, his eyes fixed on Carlisle.
Carlisle frowned. "As much as it pained Esme and me to do so, we disowned them for the time being. They were stripped of the Cullen name and benefits and sent to Aro to learn self-discipline and respect for others."
Eleazar flinched and stared at Carlisle in alarm. "You sent them to Aro?" he asked, incredulously. When Carlisle nodded, Eleazar frowned. "Do you have any idea of what Aro is capable? Do you realize he is clinically insane and has no sense of morals, no ethical conscience? That he will do anything and everything in his power to maintain his position and eliminate any threat to him or his master plan?"
Carlisle's eyes widened in alarm to hear a man he both trusted and respected speak so negatively about Aro. He trusted Jasper, Peter and Char, but he believed they'd fallen for propaganda perpetrated by the Volturi's enemies. Eleazar, though, had lived with Aro for centuries and knew him much better than Carlisle himself did.
"I told you something was wrong with them," Peter muttered under his breath, which was still loud enough for everyone to hear him, though they all chose to ignore his comment at the moment.
"What is the nature of your concern?" Carlisle swiftly interrogated Eleazar.
Eleazar frowned in contemplation. "It all depends on whether or not Edward and Alice joined him willingly. If they did, everything would probably be fine. However, my experience with those two make me think they would have resisted. They've always been so full of themselves, thinking themselves superior to everyone else because of their gifts, clueless to how much they were both being blocked by those in the know. I doubt either would have willingly submitted to Aro, taking a submissive position in his Guard. They would have considered themselves superior to the Volturi, if only due to their diet, much less their gifts. Being used to always getting their own way and running the Cullen coven from behind the scenes, sorry, Carlisle, but it's true, would have made them too spoiled to consider whatever Aro was offering in exchange for their true obedience and inability to shape the future to their own satisfaction. As such, they would have become prisoners and forced into submission, as Aro would never have let them go for fear of their abilities being used against him."
"Prisoners?" Esme gasped in alarm. She turned to Peter with imploring eyes.
Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, Esme. I can't get a sense of those two at all, except for a feeling of impending doom. I do get the distinct impression several of the guard will be coming after us shortly. I have a feeling our interaction with them will dramatically determine the course of the rest of our future or lack thereof."
"You know, you still haven't really explained why you didn't tell us about Bella," Tanya pouted.
Not wanting to hear any polite dancing around the subject, Charlie pushed out his gift, filling everyone with his particular brand of truth serum, wanting honest answers about his baby girl.
Rose was the first to cave. "Because we wanted to keep her to ourselves, duh! I sure as hell wasn't going to tell you and have you trying to hone in and grab a piece of the action. It was hard enough to have to share her with Esme, much less Char. I wasn't going to have three more desperate women begging to spend time with her, stealing my only chance at motherhood. Good grief, she's already an early teenager, and it's only been a little over a month. I feel like I barely had any time as it is! Even if I hadn't had to share parental duties with six other people, it still would've barely been a drop in the bucket! I sure as hell wasn't going to invite five more people over to play to cut even more into my limited hours with her!" she exclaimed emphatically, then clapped her hand over her mouth in horror. "What on earth? I never meant to say any of that!"
The Denalis looked at her sympathetically, knowing she was under the influence of Charlie's gift and knowing her long-standing intense desire to be a mother.
"I was also concerned about how you would react to our banishment of Edward and Alice," Esme confessed. "I know Tanya has harbored a certain interest in Edward for a long time and wasn't sure how she might respond to our choice. I wasn't sure if you would be able to understand why we chose to support Bella over the two of them."
Billy gave Tanya a questioning look, and Tanya appeared abashed, as if she'd be blushing if she could. "Honestly, I just saw him as a challenge and enjoyed teasing him. He's still a virgin at over a century old and would make the funniest expressions when I would make suggestive comments. I couldn't resist. Other than that, I only ever cared about him as part of the Cullen family, our 'cousins', our friends and allies."
Billy smiled and nodded understandingly. Tanya still hadn't admitted to the depth of her experience and was hoping he'd never ask. She knew he wouldn't be happy. She'd never really considered how her future mate would view her incredibly promiscuous behavior. Knowing who her mate was now, she wished she'd made better choices in the past. She knew he'd be disgusted by her former practice of seducing men and then drinking from them as she climaxed, but would also be disturbed and disappointed to know just how many men had shared her bed and still walked away alive afterward. She knew he wouldn't expect her to be celibate for a thousand years waiting for him, but she could have at least practiced serial monogamy, instead of the equivalent of thousands upon thousands of one night stands. It was a good thing vampire mates were forever, or she'd greatly fear him leaving once he discovered the truth.
Jasper now added his two cents worth. "Changing a person with a head injury is mostly taboo for our kind. While Aro would have seen her change through Edward's and Alice's memories, they left shortly afterward. I didn't want to run the risk of someone issuing formal charges against us, accusing us of creating the equivalent of an immortal child. After all, she did prove when her mental age was younger that she did not have the ethical discernment between right and wrong to make appropriate decisions. She truly a danger to our secret, as she could have easily exposed us unintentionally, if she weren't so carefully monitored. There was no way I was going to be forced to destroy her, so the fewer vampires who knew of her, the better chance we had of giving her the time she needed to grow and mature."
"I don't understand why she's so childlike," Charlie gruffly complained. "You speak about it as if it's a given for her to be that way, but Billy and I didn't experience any kind of mental regression through our change. Please explain what happened to make her that way."
Carlisle nodded and began, "When she shot herself in the head, she caused massive brain damage. Not only was much of the tissue functionally destroyed, but some of it had been removed from her skull entirely. Just as the venom was able to repair the damage to Billy's spine, it was able to repair her brain. However, it had to reconstruct it and create some new brain cells from scratch. The widespread location of this reconstruction meant that a large portion of the original data stored in the cell memory banks was completely lost. The healed cells were restored to their original condition, not the condition they were in at the time of her demise. Likewise, the new cells contained no stored data. Think of it like a hard drive having been wiped clean. All the basic programs that allowed the body to function had to be reloaded, like drinking, walking, talking, coordinated movement, breathing, and language development. She awoke to this life with the mental equivalency of a newborn baby. However, with her new vampire brain and perfect recall, she was able to learn much more quickly than a human ever could."
"We had to teach her how to walk and talk, brush her hair, feed her, bathe her, clothe her," Rose reminisced. "She had no idea how to do any of it, but she was the perfect student. She was so eager to learn and picked up on new things so quickly."
Charlie began to understand now why she referred to Carlisle and Esme as Mommy and Daddy and why they'd stepped into that role. As a baby, she would have needed parents, and he couldn't have been that for her, not as a human. Now that he was a vampire, he could step up into his role as her father. He felt his resentment toward Carlisle fade away, instead appreciating that Carlisle had been there for her when she needed him. He smiled as he realized he'd get a second chance to be a part of her early teen years that he'd missed when she was human and living with Renee. He was very grateful to the Cullens for rescuing her and changing her, despite the risk to themselves and the trouble caused by Edward and Alice. If it wasn't for them, especially Jasper, she'd be six feet underground, instead of happily running through the woods with Billy's spirit wolf.
"Thank you," Charlie professed sincerely. "For loving her, saving her, protecting her, teaching her, and caring for her. I couldn't have asked for a better family for her, and I hope you'll be equally welcoming of me and my place in her new life."
Esme positively beamed at him, confident in her place as Bella's only mother, while Carlisle gave him a cautious smile and nod, uncertain of Charlie's expectations with regards to Bella. Rose watched him warily, not responding at all, unwilling to commit herself until certain he wouldn't try to interfere in her relationship with Bella. Emmett simply grinned goodnaturedly and replied, "Sure thing. Welcome to the family, Pops!"
Charlie grimaced a bit at the new nickname, but smiled back at Emmett's warm acceptance.
Jasper found himself ambivalent, not a surprising state for an empath. Of all the Cullens, he was the most threatened by Charlie's return to Bella's life, even more so than Carlisle. After all, Carlisle had shared his fatherly status with Peter before, and even if he were usurped by Charlie as Bella's father, he was still Jasper's 'father'. Since Bella was Jasper's mate, Carlisle would still have a significant place in Bella's life, as her 'father-in-law' at the very least. Jasper wasn't certain having Charlie back was a good thing. Bella didn't really remember him, hadn't been missing him. He was concerned that Charlie might try to come between the two of them, might try to limit his time with her or restrict their activities with one another. He would probably even try to delay their mating, something the Major would never tolerate. Charlie was too new to this life to understand the dangers of interfering with another vampire's mate.
"How are you so controlled?" Jasper suddenly demanded. "You're a newborn. You shouldn't be able to sit here calmly discussing these things."
Charlie looked over at him in surprise, amidst the murmurs of agreement from the other Cullens.
"We wondered the same and thought maybe it was because they both knew what was happening before hand and asked for it," Eleazar answered.
Jasper frowned, considering the possibility before rejecting it. "That can only be part of the answer. It would certainly reduce the confusion significantly and allow them to begin processing the excess stimuli while still changing, but they should still be struggling with their thirst and emotional lability, as well as adapting to their vastly increased strength and speed."
Charlie frowned. "So basically, you're surprised we aren't having major mood swings, aren't consumed by our thirst, and aren't randomly destroying things by accident?"
"Precisely," Jasper replied succinctly.
Charlie nodded and appeared thoughtful. He pursed his lips and then postulated, "I'm guessing in my case, it may have to do with my police training. You may notice me frequently slipping into what Bella would fondly refer to as my 'cop mode'. I was trained to dissociate my behavior from my emotions, so that I wouldn't react in anger to a criminal's provoking, getting his case dismissed or worse, or break down at the scene of a bad accident. I needed to behave professionally, no matter what was going on around me or inside of me, able to react calmly and rationally to any emergency or in any situation where innocent lives may depend on my ability to make split second decisions and not lose my cool. No matter how tired, hungry, scared, angry, or hurt I might be, I was still required to perform my job to my utmost capability. Thus, I learned how to push my emotions and physical needs into the background of my mind, enabling me to function regardless of my physical or emotional status. As far as the speed and strength, my job also taught me to be very careful of my strength and speed. I was always aware of where objects were around me, so I didn't bump into something with my hand on the trigger, or knock over some little old lady's antique tea set while taking her statement. I was constantly reminded of my body's boundaries and limitations, so if I had to chase a criminal through the backyards of the suburbs, I wouldn't get caught stuck halfway over a fence, fail to land a critical jump, or injure myself trying to mimic some kid half my age."
Jasper pursed his lips and nodded thoughtfully. "I can definitely see how your job requirements help prepare you for the kind of focus required of a mature vampire. What about you, Billy?"
Billy had been listening to Charlie and thinking about himself. He was ready now to present his ideas. "I didn't have the kind of training Charlie did, but I did overcome two major tragedies in my life. The first was the loss of my beloved wife." Jasper felt Tanya's brief spike of jealousy, before she quickly smothered it again. Billy continued unaware of her reaction. "I had three relatively young children who still needed me to take care of them on a daily basis. I had to learn how to continue working and taking care of them, all while ignoring my own emotional pain, for fear of falling too deeply into depression to do what needed to be done. Then, a few years ago, I was in a car accident which robbed me of the use of my legs. I found myself having to basically start all over again in learning how to survive, this time overcoming both physical and emotional pain, to drag myself out of bed each day and just keep going. I too learned to push those things to the back of my mind in order to function day to day. Plus, nothing helps you become more aware of your body and your immediate surroundings than trying to maneuver a wheelchair through a tiny ass house without any help."
Billy noticed the sympathetic glances he received all around the room, but he was most interested in Jasper's response. Jasper's impassive face, the deference given him by the other vampire leaders, the scars that screamed to his instincts warning of danger, and the air authority he wore like a second skin all bespoke of Jasper's experience and power. Though the blond warrior tended to stay in the background, silently observing those around him, it would clearly be deadly to underestimate him. Jasper slowly nodded, giving his blessing to Billy's explanation for his own unusual control.
"I understand why Billy chose to be changed, since he's mated to Tanya, and he recovered use of his legs as well," Rose murmured. "I don't really understand why Charlie would choose to become a vampire though."
Charlie raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why would I have a problem with it?"
Rose furrowed her brows in confusion. "I don't know why anyone would choose to become a vampire if they had any other option. Aside from the obvious drawbacks of having to move frequently, hide your existence from the humans, avoid direct sunlight, drink blood, kill either animals or humans, struggle constantly with bloodlust, become a monster, and probably lose your soul as well, it's a long, tedious, lonely existence without a mate."
"That only focuses on the negative aspects," Charlie replied with a skeptical look. "You can't really view your existence so negatively can you?"
Rose frowned. "Well, I have Emmett, so that makes my existence worth continuing. Without him, I was ready to step into the nearest fire."
Charlie gasped in shock, but the Cullens and Denalis were already used to Rose's viewpoint on vampire life. "I can't believe you're so short-sighted! Vampires don't have to worry about illness or disease, they don't age, they're physically attractive, they don't sweat, they don't get bumps or bruises, they don't go bald or gain weight. Vampires have super strength and speed, don't get cold or hot, can walk through snow barefoot, have enhanced senses, and are at the top of the food chain. There are so many good things, the bad things are small in comparison. Besides, nearly all the things you mentioned can be solved with a little creativity."
Carlisle was intrigued now. "A little creativity? What do you mean?"
Billy and Jake groaned, having already heard all of Charlie's inventive solutions. Charlie spent the next hour eagerly explaining his thoughts about sources of blood, makeup to mimic aging, sunblock to hide the effects of the sun, creating synthetic blood, and his view of the relationship of vampires to humans as similar to that of butterflies to caterpillars and frogs to tadpoles. The Cullens and Denalis were amazed to hear his viewpoints, having never even considered most of those aspects.
This segued into Billy telling the Cullens everything that had happened from their perspective since Bella's birthday, including the events leading up to Billy's and Charlie's transformations, up until they all met in the yard earlier. Next, each of the gifted vampires explained their gifts to the others. Finally, after explaining his gift, Peter informed the Denalis of the pending difficulties with Victoria and the Volturi. With everybody on the same page at last, the tension was released and conversation flowed freely amongst all of them, until Bella bounded eagerly into the house, Chief on her heels.
xxxxxxx
AN: Coming up next . . . more action, more Bella/Jasper, a little Bella/Charlie bonding, and Charlie finds out quite suddenly that Bella is Jasper's mate . . . *evil snicker*