Chapter 23: The Same
~Quil~
Summer meant Claire could spend more time with us on the reservation, but it also made running patrols a little less awesome than it was. She was staying with Emily and Sam, which wasn't any big deal because it was easy enough for me to finish patrol, catch a few winks, and go see her when I got up. After my few winks, which happened to be right around breakfast, I made my way over to Sam's place. From inside I could hear Emily making breakfast for the whole pack, and my stomach was already grumbling for the food I could already smell. The TV was also playing which meant Claire was awake.
The great part about Emily and Sam's was we didn't really need to knock, unless it was quiet so I let myself in.
"Good-morning Quil," Emily greeted.
"Hey," I answered as I walked over to the table. I looked at her, and when she smiled and nodded I grabbed a plate, piling it up with food before going in to their small den where Claire was watching her show. She still didn't know about our tribe changing in to wolves, well about the legends, that part she did know but not that they were real. When I sat next to Claire, she snuggled closer to me. "What's this show called?"
"Phineas and Ferb," she answered, stealing one of my pieces of bacon. So for a little bit, we watched that, at least until my plate was empty and Emily told us we should go outside. When we got down to the beach, Claire wanted to go to the tidal pools. After she was on my shoulders, we headed that way.
"Quil, why does everyone want me to stop talking to Lily?"
Her mom, Sam, and Emily were all working on trying to get Claire to give up her imaginary friend, and I knew it sometimes hurt her feelings when they asked her not to pretend like that.
"Well, maybe they want you to try making friends with other people," I suggested. I wasn't about to say the word 'real', because to Claire bear, Lily was real, and who was I to argue that she wasn't.
"Lily wouldn't like it if I stopped talking to her," Claire whispered. By then we were at the tidal pools, and the topic of Lily got dropped as we explored the area. We were having a pretty good time when the wind shifted. The second it did, I smelled it. The scent was strong, but it wasn't exactly the same smell associated with a vampire, nor was it anything like the Cullens two kids. At any rate, I gathered Claire in my arms trying hard not to freak out and phase in front of her. Already the scent had vanished just like it had in the past.
"Why are we leaving Quil," Claire asked as I ran us through the woods.
"Well, it kind of looks like rain," I lied, knowing I'd have to come up with something better.
"But I like it there, please go back," Claire begged. There was no way I could, and by the time I got her back to Sam and Emily, she was mad at me and ran into the room she used when she visited. "Where's Sam," I said as I began to shake.
Emily knew what was going on and led me outside. "He's with Jacob," she whispered, not wanting to alert Claire to anything bad.
I nodded, taking in a deep breath. "I smelled it again," I told her.
Emily understood and once I was in the woods I phased. Seth, Paul, and Jared were all on patrol and were already reading my thoughts. The second they realized what I smelled they raced to the tidal pools while I high tailed it to Jacob's. When I got close enough, I phased back, pulling on a pair of shorts as I ran to the house.
They were inside talking with Billy and Chief Swan. When they saw me, everyone but the chief knew something was up.
"Charlie it was good to see you, but we need to go," Jacob said. We left Billy for the explanations, and when we were in the woods we all phased. While they heard my thoughts, we were also connected with the group at the tidal pools, and like before there wasn't anything around, no traces of any scent other than what lingered from when Claire and me were there.
Sam was focusing on my conversation with Claire along with my thoughts that went with them. It was the first time we had smelled the scent with any one who wasn't a shape shifter and we were all making that connection. Jacob, we need to run patrols. Go get Leah and the others and start close to home and spread out, Sam thought. Quil we need to go see Claire.
Wait, are we thinking she's been right all this time? The thoughts of the other members of our pack quieted as Sam's thoughts were on the answer I didn't want to hear.
After that I was leading the way back to the house.
~Edward~
Coming to the island was the right move for Bella, myself and our children. We were always more relaxed when we were there, and it was easier to focus on any problems we might have been having back at home. Now our attention was on our children, and spending time in the warm light of the sun as we played with them on the white sandy beach.
Renesmee was our little water log. If given the choice she would spend her whole day in the blue waters of the ocean, and had no fear of water getting on her face, or even going under. She could swim pretty much on her own, and liked swimming out from me, and then coming back, holding on to my hands until she was rested enough to go out again.
As she took one of her breaks, I glanced over at Bella who had been spending her time with Anthony. Our son did not like the sand on his feet, and wasn't fond of the water. "Da, da," he kept saying looking out at us.
"Are you ready to let Momma have a turn?" I asked as Renesmee floated on her back with me supporting her.
"I like being with you, Daddy," she answered.
I tilted forward and kissed her left cheek. "I love being with you, but I think Anthony wants to have some time with me. Why don't we build a sand castle?"
My daughter smiled, and her thoughts were on something Emmett had suggested before we left. I'd hoped she would have forgotten, but she hadn't.
"Your uncle has to do this when they visit," I told her, helping her on to her tummy to let her swim back to shore.
Several minutes later the only part of my body visible above the white sand was my head. Renesmee and Anthony were delighted by this, but I could feel the sand in ever crevice of my body, and it was hard not to be frustrated at my brother's ideas.
"Mommy, we need to make him have fins," Renesmee said.
Bella glanced at me trying very hard not to laugh, "Baby, I think daddy has done his duty," she said before she did laugh. Without giving her any warning I pulled out of the sand and had her in my arms an instant later. Renesmee was laughing, dancing around as I looked into Bella's eyes, now golden like mine due to a recent hunt.
"I think you need a turn," I said, but in voice low enough so my daughter wouldn't hear. I was willing to let my wife have a say without our daughter begging her to be buried.
"Daddy, I want be buried like you were," Renesmee called out.
Once Bella was back on her feet we complied with our daughters wishes, occasionally trying to get Anthony to join us.
As the sun was beginning to set, both of my children were in bed for the evening. Renesmee had fallen asleep at the table, and Anthony had a hard time staying awake while Bella gave him a bath. With time to ourselves, I had put on some soft music, opening the door to let in the moonlight as Bella and I moved around the room. This time she was brave enough to try the steps on her own two feet.
"This isn't so bad," Bella murmured, resting her cheek against my shoulder.
"You are doing very well," I complemented, pulling her in a little closer. My wife sighed, nuzzling my shoulder and then my neck as I pulled my hand from her right one, sliding it down her back to join my other, pulling her even closer as my body began to respond in a primal way to the love that was always just beneath the surface.
~Charlie~
Being a bachelor for as long as I had didn't make it easy on Sue. It was hard for me to try and commit to anything other than just the close friendship we had formed, and more difficult because she had been the wife of a very good friend. I knew she was lonely, and that she missed Harry greatly. Now she was in my kitchen cooking dinner for the two of us while I tried to figure out just where my feelings were.
A moment later she came in and joined me. "How are things on the reservation," I asked, knowing that was a safe topic.
Sue had been smiling, but that left the moment I brought up her home, and I found myself concerned. "What's happening?"
"I really shouldn't say anything, Charlie," she began, but I got out of my recliner and sat next to her. "Is it one of your kids?"
"No, no, they are both doing okay. There is a young girl, actually the niece of Sam and Emily Uley. For a while now she's been talking to this friend that only she can see. They have been trying to get her to realize that she needs to spend time with real friends, since she's getting older now, and she's not been very receptive. The other day, I think you were with Billy when it happened, but Quil had her at the tidal pools, and they encountered something that makes it look like Claire has really been talking to someone."
"So, her imaginary friend is real?"
"They think so, but now Claire won't talk about it at all."
"How can she have a friend that is real, and not have one of Sam's pack pick up on it?"
"That's just it Charlie. That day Quil picked up on a scent, one that's been alluding them for a few months. Anytime they smell it, the scent just disappears and there isn't a way to trace it.
"What does that mean?"
Sue sighed in frustration, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. I pulled her into my arms feeling guilty for demanding her for all the answers. "Do they think it's a vampire?" I asked, still trying to get my mind around this new world that I was now a part of.
"The scent isn't like what they smell with a vampire, nor is it like the scent that is around when Bella and Edward bring their babies." At that very second something clicked in my mind and I felt my body stiffen.
Sue pulled away from me gazing into my eyes, waiting more patiently for an answer than I had with her. "A few months ago, Bella told me that they encountered something strange. Her brother-in-law picked up on something, but when they searched the house and all around they couldn't find anything."
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
I tried to figure it out, and as I thought about my daughter and her family I recalled that Renesmee had an imaginary friend as well, but couldn't for the life of me remember what it was called. "That wouldn't work," I said shaking my head.
"What wouldn't?"
"Renesmee has been talking to an imaginary friend too. Bella and Edward haven't ever picked up on anything negative and it wouldn't add up," I said.
Sue was a very intelligent woman and turned my head to face her. "You think Claire's friend and your granddaughter's are the same don't you?"
"Yeah, but how can it be in two places at once."
"Maybe not at once. If it is something like a vampire, well, they can travel at an extremely fast pace. This thing, what ever it is might be going between the two of them. Charlie, do you mind coming back with me to the reservation?"
~Emily~
It was difficult to figure out why Claire didn't want to talk to us about her friend, and it worried Sara and the rest of us. When she came out from tucking her daughter in I had tea waiting for both of us.
"I think she's going to sleep better with Quil's dream-catcher to keep her safe," Sara whispered sitting down beside me. I handed her the floral cup and we both sat silently for a little bit.
"How could this be real?" Sara asked. She wasn't from our tribe, but she knew the legends were true, and it pained her that Claire was the target of something none of us could explain.
"I wish it wasn't, but Sam and the others will keep her safe." We talked a while longer before Sara headed back to sleep with Claire. I took our things to the kitchen ready to clean up when she came out, panicked.
"She's gone Emily."
I grabbed my phone and dialed Billy's house first. The phone rang off the hook so I dialed at the Ateara's, getting Old Quil. "I'm sorry to call so late, but Claire is missing. We just found her gone."
"Don't worry Emily, we will get a hold of Sam and the others." When I got off the phone, Sara was already getting ready to go out.
"We need to stay here."
"She's my only child," Sara said, wiping her tears away.
I ran after her outside just as Sam caught her. "We've got the pack looking for her Sara, please stay here," he begged.
"I need to do something," Sara sobbed as Sam held her, glancing at me in anguish.
A scream off in the distance caught our attention. Sam let go of Sara and I led her back to the house while my husband, already in his wolf form, ran off to see what was happening.
"It was Claire," Sara gasped as I led her to the sofa.
"They will get her back for you," I promised, praying that they would get her in time from what ever had taken her.
Minutes passed and there wasn't word from anyone. If it was Claire who screamed, they hadn't found her yet. I refused to let my mind dwell on anything bad happening to my niece. She was a strong little girl, and she would be back with us safe and whole. Minutes turned into an hour and Sara had fallen asleep with her head resting on my lap. I had my own eye shut when I heard someone approaching. Sara came awake when Jacob arrived.
"We found her," he said, and the look on his face was grave.
"Where is she?" Sara gasped, shaking as she stood up.
"She's at Billy's, come on I'll take you both," he said.
We got into his Rabbit since it was a long walk to make at night, and Sara held on to me as we made our way there. She wasn't asking anything and I knew she was trying to prepare for what we would see.
~Bella~
With the rain pouring outside, we were forced to find things to do in the house. The TV was on, and Renesmee was content to watch a cartoon spoken all in Portuguese. Anthony and I weren't sitting too far away, and we were looking at a picture book of animals while he drank form his sippy cup.
"Where is the monkey?" I asked.
My baby took one hand away from his cup and put it right on the picture of the monkey. "Very good. Do you know what the monkey says?"
Anthony patted the monkey, remaining silent. As I turned the page, my cell started vibrating. Edward got up from the computer without me having to ask, and went to retrieve it.
"Charlie," he whispered a moment later.
I put the phone to my ear. "Hey dad."
"Bells, we've had something happen here. I don't know if it's right to bother you about this, but there's just too much that seems the same."
Hearing Charlie out of sorts put my mind in alarm mode, and I was grateful for my husband taking the baby. "What is it?"
"One of the children on the reservation was bitten by something that they think might be vampire like," my dad answered.
I got up and went in to the room Edward and I shared, shutting the door. "Either it was or wasn't," I said, not willing to say too much in the case that my baby girl would hear me.
"That's just it Bells. It didn't kill her, and the bite marks are not from a fully grown vampire."
My skin began to crawl and I sat down hard on the bed. I knew Edward was trying to get the kids to go down for an early nap and I pulled at the covers on the bed. Before I could get a word out Charlie had more he needed to say. "Have you and Edward ever had any reason to believe that Renesmee's imaginary friend isn't so imaginary?"
"No, Edward can see her thoughts, and she's never visualized anything when she's interacted with Lily." On the other end of the line I heard Charlie gasp.
"Lily is Claire's friend."
Our babies were both crying and Edward was by my side. "We'll get back to you," I said hanging up the phone. "How?" I asked and Edward knew what I was referring too.
"We all have abilities, maybe this thing, what ever it is, can cloak itself from anything sensitive like Alice and me."
At that moment I wanted to protect my family because my children were in danger. A red haze fell over the room and Edward's voice seemed far away. I shut my eyes focusing on Anthony and Renesmee and in a few moments I could sense them in a way I never had. I would not allow my babies to be hurt by this thing, or anyone else. I'd rather die myself than see that happen.
"You won't have to die," Edward breathed.
My eyes opened and it was just us again, with our babies still very upset. "How did you...?"
"I heard what you were thinking, everything you were thinking," He answered pulling his arms around me. As much as I wanted to stay there and let Edward comfort me, we had our children to take care of, and we needed to figure out what we were going to do with Charlie's news that our daughter and the child and the reservation might have the same friend.
Once we got Anthony and Renesmee down for a nap, Edward called Carlisle finding that our extended family already knew what was going on at the reservation, and that Carlisle was on his way there now with Esme at his side. "They are afraid Claire will become like one of us, but she's still very lucid and not reacting the same," Carlisle told us as I leaned into my husband's embrace.
"Do you have any theories?" Edward asked.
"Several, but my biggest worry is this being is an immortal child, though if it is, I would have not expected it to hide so well from Sam's pack or any of us. There also would have been more of a tell tail sigh, more damage."
Edward nodded, "It may have been responsible for Charlie's animal problems."
I hadn't thought of that. Now my worries were focused on my dad.
"Our flight is starting to land. I'll call you when I know more. Bella, we will make sure Charlie remains safe," Carlisle said before our conversation ended.
"An immortal child," I breathed not liking any of this. I recalled flashes from my dreams. before we found out we were going to have a baby, before Renesmee was conceived, of a phantom child, a son who was sitting on the bodies of all the people I'd cared for while the Volturi approached him.
"Renesmee has never been able to see this person, it's never been in her mind before when she's been playing," Edward reasoned, to himself more so than me.
My mind was on our daughter and the haze I'd seen right before I'd felt both of my children within me, protecting them. "What did I do. I mean, when we were in our room and I saw this haze. I felt our babies and you read my thoughts," I said blinking a few times, still feeling out of it.
"You seem to be able to protect your mind from us, and you may have been using that same ability to protect our children, and perhaps me. What ever you did, your thoughts were a part of me, just for those brief few moments," Edward answered.
When I faced him, he leaned in and brushed my lips with a gentle kiss, "That may be your ability, to protect," he continued.
After Renesmee and Anthony woke from their nap, and once our son was occupied, Edward carried our daughter to the sofa and set her on his lap, facing both of us. "Renesmee, will you tell Momma and me about Lily?"
"Lily not here," our baby answered.
"Do you know where she is?" I asked, feeling uneasy
"She goes away sometimes. Daddy, I want go outside. It's not raining now," she said before leaning in to give Edward a hug.
~Carlisle~
When Charlie and I arrived on the reservation, there was great unease among the many residence. Sam was there to greet us at his home and shook my hand. "I want to thank you for coming such a long way."
"You have no need to thank me," I answered, and the young man nodded before leading the way into his small home. Sam's wife was there with another woman, who I could only guess was the young girl's mother. She didn't look at me or greet me, and I didn't expect her too. When we got to the room, Quil was with the little girl, stroking her hair with his long fingers while she rested.
"Quil," Sam said.
The young man stood up and left the room, and again I wasn't surprised. Sam walked over and knelt by the small, single bed. "Claire," he whispered, kissing her cheek.
The little girls heart rate picked up, beating faster than normal before she opened her eyes. She looked past Sam, straight at me. "You're a doctor?" she asked, her voice just a rasp of what it should be.
"Yes I am. Do you mind if I visit with you?"
Claire shut her eyes while Sam got up, letting me take his place. "My name is Doctor Cullen," I said timing the beat of her heart.
"You helped us one time," Claire said, opening her eyes again as I felt the skin on her wrist. She had a slight fever which was not normally associated with someone going through the change from human to vampire.
"Do you mind if I have a look at your hurt places?" I asked, remembering my granddaughter's words for the times few and far between when she had been hurt.
"Don't touch them," she whispered.
I reached out and brushed the hair away from her face, noticing that her skin wasn't as dark as the skin of other members of her tribe. Her ankles were bandaged up, and I was able to remove the dressing without her taking much notice. The bite marks were indeed that of a child, one no more than eight or maybe nine years of age. The wounds were infected, and I looked behind me glad when Sam came by my side. "How have you been treating these?"
"With topical medicines, and herbs from our medicine man," he answered.
I nodded. "I want to try her on some antibiotics. It will require me to set up an IV."
Sam nodded, and I was glad I had thought to stop by the hospital and get some medical supplies.
Quil came back and held Claire while I inserted the needle in the back of her hand. The little girl only cried out once as the young man held her close. "You were very brave," I told her, once it was all over with.
"I have to be," Claire rasped a moment before she fell into another sleep.
In the sitting room, I sat across from Emily and Sara, waiting as Sam and Quil joined them. This time they were all looking to me for answers. "I don't believe that your daughter is going to become like me," I said, sure of that.
The young mother nodded, wiping her tears away.
"She has an infection running through her body, and I'm treating her with some antibiotics. I'll need to come back this evening to see how she's faring, but I expect her to recover fully."
"Will she be the same?" Sara asked.
"I think she will be with time and care. The most important thing for all of you is to keep your guard up. I believe what attacked your daughter was an immortal child." They all seemed to know what I was talking about.
After answering their questions, I found Charlie outside where he had been waiting, and he drove me back to his house. Our old one had already been sold, and I was glad for his hospitality. "Do you really think it's a child?"
"Immortal Children were banned long ago because they could never learn control of the blood lust. This child seems to have some sort of control, and a way to hide from all of us as you've already been witness too."
When we got back to Charlie's home, he dropped me off and Esme was there to greet me. She took my medical bag and led me into the house setting the bag down before her arms were around me. I had my arms around her and was about to kiss her when we both stiffened. Someone was watching us, and then we were alone again.
~*~
AN: Alright, I wanted to get this one out there as well before my week of work starts. First as always thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you all liked seeing more of Anthony and I promise more of him in later chapters and in other stories. I got really anxious to get this chapter out there and I apologize for it being rushed. I really didn't want to prolong things and have them drag out. There is much more coming with the revelation that Lily might or might not be an immortal child, and much more past that. On to the next.
~Ella~