Chapter 26

**-…-**

Carlisle hung up the phone. "Emmett's on his way. So, any of you care to tell the rest of us what just happened?"

"Fred, if you don't mind me speaking for you…" Edward started.

"I guess not… just don't make me sound like a pansy," he answered sheepishly.

"OK. Despite what all of you think, Fred isn't afraid of me, although I guess I did exacerbate the problem with my… exuberant methods for keeping Bella safe. It seems we may have been a little overzealous in our attempts to inform Fred about the Volturi and their abilities. Subsequently, he's become more and more worried about what they could do to him, and what he would do if he couldn't use his gift on them, and that is making him impotent."

"Oh, thanks Edward. Great word choice there. That doesn't make me sound like a pansy at all," Fred grumbled.

Jasper ignored Fred's comment. "But in the past, fear made his power stronger. Why is it doing the opposite now?"

"Again, Fred, if I may…" Edward gestured to him.

"Sure! Why not? Some of my dignity may still be intact, and we wouldn't want that, so please, by all means, carry on," Fred snarked.

"See? Obviously Fred isn't afraid of Edward or he wouldn't talk to him like that!" I exclaimed. I was feeling rather defensive of my fiancé at the moment.

"Thank you, Bella," he turned and softly kissed my hand. Turning back to his family, he explained, "Fred has been feeling this way for a while, and the closer we get to the trip, the more pronounced his fear is becoming. The difference between this fear and the kind that usually helps him is that the latter is instant. He just reacts, and his gift works in proportion to the strength of his reaction. The fear that's preventing him from using his gift right now is based on the unknown. It's been building for quite some time and came to fruition today."

Esme looked confused. "Why didn't anyone know this?" Her question was asked to the group, but it was clear her focus was on the three gifted among us.

"I've felt his fear all along, but it seemed to make his gift work better, so I figured it was a good thing," Jasper answered. "But now that it's out in the open, I can feel his doubt, too."

"I haven't been around Fred very often since he's been out training with you so much," Edward shrugged.

The one person not offering anything was Alice. All eyes were on her, waiting for her explanation.

"I can't talk about it right now," she whispered.

"Alice, what did you see?" Carlisle prodded.

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was a little louder this time.

"But maybe it will help us understand what's going on," Carlisle insisted.

"Everyone just leave her be," Jasper stepped in, probably not intending to seem threatening, but he was. Even Carlisle took a half step back.

"We'll talk about it later. After Emmett…" Alice paused. "We'll talk about it later."

Alice probably knew Emmett would arrive in mere seconds. Even I could hear him when he got close enough to come thundering into the open space of the field.

"So, Carlisle, you rang?" he teased. "You said you 'needed' me out here? Emphasis on the word 'need.'"

"Now don't get all cocky, Em," Rosalie warned.

"Actually, that's exactly what we need him to do," Edward corrected her.

Edward and Jasper filled Emmett in on the problem, being more careful this time to choose words that wouldn't make Fred feel even worse.

Emmett turned to Carlisle. "See? I told you I needed to be out here, but nooooooo… You were all 'Emmett can't control himself. He has to stay home. Fred can't concentrate when he's around,'" Emmett taunted in a high pitched voice. "So admit it – now aren't you sorry you banned me?"

Carlisle looked at the ground, smiled a little, closed his eyes and slowly shook his head back and forth in amusement. I could see the debate playing out in his mind: Knock Emmett down a peg, or let him have his moment of glory, even if he was milking it for more than it was worth. "Yes, I suppose I am sorry," Carlisle began. "You, my son, have a gift that nobody else in this family has, and that's swagger. You're not afraid of anything or anyone, even when you probably should be, and that's exactly what Fred needs right now."

If it were possible, Emmett got just a little more puffed up and impressed with himself. "Come on, Fred. I'm gonna show you how it's done."

None of us had any idea what that meant, and I'm pretty sure Emmett didn't either, but he was prepared to take on the challenge.

"OK, first lesson. Your gift is baaaad, man! Them Vultures? They got nothin' on you! There ain't a one of 'em that can touch you. You understand me, boy? I'm tellin' you how it is now."

I wasn't sure when Emmett started impersonating TV evangelists, but he was doing a rather decent impression of one – a southern one, no less.

"You need to walk into Volterra like you OWN the place cause you do, my man. That place is yours, man. YOURS! You gotta claim it! When you're done there, they gonna call it Fredville! Can I get a witness?"

He looked at us expectantly and we looked at him rather curiously. Certainly he didn't expect us to actually verbalize an agreement to his silliness. Or maybe he did. It was Emmett, after all.

Fred looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the show. I didn't know if it was helping with his confidence, but it was most definitely lifting his spirits.

"OK, Fred. I'm gonna charge at you and you're gonna drop me in the dirt like a sacka-potatoes – a very suave, handsome, manly sacka-potatoes, that is…" Emmett grinned. "Ready?"

Fred nodded and Emmett ran at him slowly enough that I could see what was happening. I wasn't sure why… maybe to give Fred a little more time to prepare? Whatever it was, it worked because Emmett was, indeed, dropped like a sack of potatoes.

"See? That's all you needed… a pep talk." Emmett was quite proud of being able to 'fix' Fred so easily.

"Well, yeah, but that was simple. We're just playing here. What about when it's the real thing? What if I can't do it? I just feel like I'm going to let everyone down. I've really tried to be good at this, but…" Fred trailed off.

Carlisle spoke up. "Fred, I'm sorry. I don't think I've gone about this the right way. It seems I've been putting way too much pressure on you. I thought you were doing so well, so I just kept pushing, but I never asked how you were feeling about it. I didn't know you were having so many doubts. And until just now, I didn't realize you felt the weight of protecting the family on your shoulders! That is not your worry. We've held our own with the Volturi for many decades, and we'll continue to do so."

"But if something happened to all of you, after everything you've done for me…"

"I think what you're saying," Esme offered as she put her arm around Fred's shoulders, "is that you feel like part of this family now. I know I would do whatever I could, even gladly give my life, to save everyone here, and that includes you."

She looked to Carlisle for approval and he nodded. "We were going to wait until after Italy to do this, but Fred, we want to offer you a place in our family. Even if you don't stay with us, you can be Fred Cullen if you would like to take our name, and you will always be welcome with us as our son."

"Would I have to be a vegetarian?" Fred questioned.

"Yes, I'm afraid that is one very important aspect of being part of this family," Carlisle answered. "But I thought you had made your decision about that already."

"I did… it's just that humans still smell so delicious, I'm not sure I can do it," he sighed.

"We'll help you, just like we've always helped each other through the hard times," Esme comforted him.

"Could I call you 'mom' and 'dad'?" he asked, sounding very much like a lost little boy.

"Of course!" Esme chuckled and pulled him closer.

"Ummm…. OK, I think I'd like that…" he mumbled as he looked at the rest of us. "But how do all of you feel about having another brother?"

"Well, I was looking forward to having an even number of males and females in the house when Bella becomes one of us, but I guess I can forgo that. Maybe you'll find a mate and then we'll be even again," Alice chirped happily.

"Then I guess you have my answer, too," Jasper smirked at his beaming wife.

"All I have to say is 'hot damn!'" Emmett hollered. Rosalie looked less thrilled, but she gave Fred a handshake and a little smile, which was much more than I got when we announced I was joining the family. But this wasn't the time for sour grapes. Jasper gave me a wink, seeming to know exactly how I was feeling, and somehow that made it a little better.

"I'm not quite a Cullen yet, so I can't officially speak as a member of the family, but I'm sure you know where I stand." I wanted give Fred a hug, but something told me it would not go over well with Edward. That something was most likely the fact that Edward attempted to annihilate Fred anytime we were within 50 feet of each other.

Edward was silent. He was debating with himself. Part of me wished he would do as Jasper had done with Alice and welcome Fred as I did. But another part of me wanted him to make his own decision apart from mine. So, I waited.

Finally, he spoke. "You and I have had our issues, but I admire your dedication to this family and anyone who is willing to fight for the Cullens can be my brother."

We all cheered as Edward and Fred shook hands before Fred pulled Edward into an embrace that he didn't look entirely comfortable accepting. I joined them, figuring the two of them could accommodate another in the mix. Pretty soon, everyone was involved, laughing and joking while Edward protected me from getting squashed in a vampire group hug.

**-…-**

After the frivolity died down, Rosalie asked an important question… one that was also on my mind. "So, this is great and everything, but how is joining the family going to help Fred? He already feels responsibility overload. Isn't this going to make it worse?"

OK, so I wouldn't have worded it in that way, but it was my same general question.

"I'm glad you asked that," Carlisle addressed Rosalie before turning to Fred. "You mentioned that you would like to call me 'dad,' and nothing would make me happier than calling you 'son.' As a son, Fred, you are on the same level as your brothers and sisters here. You are no more or no less responsible for everyone's well-being than Edward or Rose or Jasper. We all work together as a team, but Esme and I are the head of this family. I've been a vampire for almost 350 years, and in that time I've tried to become a man worthy of trust and respect. I believe I have that from my family and I'm very grateful for it."

He looked around to see us all nodding, and with a smile, he continued. "Fred, I hope that you will also trust me, knowing that I'll do my best, and I'll always put the family's needs ahead of my own. I can also promise you that I will not be perfect," he chuckled. "I am far from perfect, but I do try to learn from my mistakes and not make them again."

"That's easy," Fred responded. "I already trust you. I wouldn't be going to Italy if I didn't."

"I appreciate that," Carlisle said as he rested his hand on Fred's shoulder, "so I'm going to give you a new role as a member of my family. You are not solely responsible for everyone's safety. You are only responsible for what you can do, OK? It's the same as everyone else. If that means you can help thwart the attack of an enemy with your gift, that's great. And if you can't, that's fine, too. We'll figure it out together because that's what we do. Agreed?"

Fred looked around at all of us before sporting a huge, toothy grin. "Agreed." He and Carlisle shook hands and the hugging started again.

Alice sighed with relief. Of course, we all wanted to know why.

"I think it's safe to tell you now. Earlier, before Emmett got here, I saw Fred having some, shall we say, performance anxiety in front of the Volturi."

"No, we shall not say that! Geez, you guys pick all the worst phrases. Are you just TRYING to emasculate me here?" Fred complained loudly.

"OK, fine," Alice agreed. "Far be it from me to make you sound like a pansy!" Her giggle pealed through the empty space of the open field.

Fred simply rolled his eyes.

"Before I tell you the rest, you have to understand that everything is OK now, so don't freak out, OK?" Alice seemed nervous as she waited for Fred's response. He nodded in agreement.

"Well, when you realized you couldn't use your gift on Edward, you lost your confidence and I saw you not being able to show your gifts to the Volturi. Aro was not happy about that turn of events, and things went downhill from there. If I'd told you at the time, the knowledge would have essentially cemented your future, and probably most of ours as well. But now that you're officially a Cullen, I don't see anything bad happening right now."

"And being a Cullen made the difference?" Fred asked, puzzled.

"Well, indirectly, yes," she answered. "Now that you know we're not all relying on you to 'perform'" she made little quote marks in the air, "or save the day, you're going to relax and just do what you can."

"Oh, I am, am I?" he smiled at Alice. "And do you see this already, or are you just telling me this so I'll settle down, and then it will happen because you told me so?

"Ah, the age-old question about Alice's ability…" Carlisle interrupted. "We've spent MANY hours discussing that very thing. The answer we've come up with is, it doesn't really matter because she's right either way."

"Exactly!" Alice exclaimed as she jumped up and down clapping her hands.

Soon, everyone was back to practicing, but Carlisle had wisely shifted the focus of the training away from Fred and toward building a strong team. Since I was essentially the mascot for this team, there wasn't much I could do, so I went to base camp to see what Esme had packed in the huge cooler.

Surprisingly, it was only enough food for about three people. She usually packed for an army, so this was quite an improvement. Instead of quantity, however, I noticed she'd gone for variety this time. I had a few breads to choose from, a small meat and cheese tray, an assortment of sliced veggies, and perhaps every condiment that had ever been created, plus many I wouldn't know what to do with if I knew what they were supposed to be for. Mojito jelly? Oil infused with hibiscus flowers? Gongura leaves?

After making a reasonably sized turkey sandwich with only easily recognizable ingredients, I found several small containers of side salads. I had to snicker to myself when I realized how much work Esme had put into making my lunch after she'd insisted it was 'no big deal' and that she'd just 'thrown a few things together at the last minute.'

I took a bite or two of each one and they were all delicious. I wondered how someone who couldn't taste the food could make things that tasted so good, but I guess it was a matter of finding and following good recipes. I giggled out loud when I realized I would never have to worry about impressing the in-laws with my cooking skills.

"What's so funny, my love?" Edward asked as he suddenly appeared and then sauntered a few steps to the blanket, sitting down next to me.

"Nothing… I was just thinking about serving a flock of live turkeys for Thanksgiving," the image causing me to snicker again.

"Trust me, you won't be interested in anything bird-related when you're…" he reached to stroke my hair as his voice trailed off.

"When I'm Mrs. Cullen?" I finished for him.

He smiled brightly. "Yes, when you're Mrs. Edward Cullen." I could tell he liked the sound of that very much.

"Would that make you Mr. Isabella Swan Cullen?" I teased.

"You know, if it meant I could be your husband and you would be my wife, I'd change my name to anything you like."

"How about 'Rover?'" Fred called out to us.

"Or 'Fuzzy Widdo Bunny!'" Emmett suggested.

"Or '100 Year Old Virgin?'" Fred added. He and Emmett were almost doubled over with laughter.

"You idiots mind your own business," Edward yelled back with a grin on his face. We rolled our eyes at each other.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that," I mumbled.

"You won't. You'll learn to deal with it to a certain extent, but don't expect to get used to it," he chuckled.

"Well, at least pretty soon they won't be able to call you a virgin anymore," I purred.

Emmett and Fred started whooping and hollering, which is exactly what I'd intended. I winked at Edward, but he already knew what I was doing and leaned in to kiss me. It started as a sweet little kiss, but rapidly grew from there. Thoughts of Fred and Emmett disappeared, that is until the two of them suddenly appeared next to the blanket.

"Oh, kiss me, Bella! I love you so much," Fred impersonated Edward.

"I love you, too, Fuzzy Widdo Bunny," panted a high-pitched, breathless Emmett.

Edward told me, "I'll be right back," before he tore out after Fred and Emmett who were already on the run. I stood to get a better view. They all moved so fast, I couldn't see the details, but I knew when Fred went invisible because Edward would run right past him. Emmett wasn't so lucky – he got mowed over a few times. He tried to tackle Edward, or get Fred to join him in an attack, but Edward could read their minds and dodge before they got to him.

Fred and Emmett huddled, but how they thought they could make a plan without Edward knowing was beyond me. They started side-by-side in a football stance and took off running directly at Edward. Fred obviously went invisible because Edward was no longer tracking him. Only I could see that he was running a wide pattern away from Edward. Emmett also swung wide at the last second and the two of them came barreling toward each other. When it seemed inevitable that they would make an Edward-sandwich, he jumped out of the way and the two of them ran smack into each other. The crash of granite against granite seemed to echo for miles. The whole family stopped what they were doing, all of us wincing before the hilarity of the situation hit.

It may have been the single funniest thing I had ever witnessed in my life. Even Emmett and Fred, sitting in the dirt and shaking the cobwebs out of their foggy noggins, couldn't help but laugh.

Edward made his way back over to me. I put up my hand to high-five him, but he took my hand in his and used it to pull me into his arms. "You're a sneaky one, Mr. Cullen," I said coyly. "And those Neanderthals thought they could best you…"

"I'll admit, they almost did. Emmett isn't usually that good at hiding his thoughts, but he was reciting baseball stats. It was Fred that gave it away. I couldn't see him, but I heard him thinking how funny it was going to be when they smashed me. I gauged Emmett's trajectory and got out of the way a fraction of a second before impact."

"And here I thought you were waiting on purpose for dramatic effect. I'm disappointed," I playfully pouted.

"That was definitely more comedy than drama!" he laughed, nibbling on my protruding lower lip.

"I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

"Most things don't hurt me, but that? THAT would have hurt!" he guffawed as he gestured to the still-slightly-dazed Fred and Emmett. Carlisle was standing between them, his shoulders shaking with laughter as he attempted to assess whatever injuries they might have.

"I guess I don't have to worry about brain damage," I heard him say. "That ship has obviously sailed."

**-…-**

We returned to the house in the late afternoon. Esme was fussing over what to make me for dinner. I told her I could have another sandwich, but she wouldn't hear of it. To my surprise, Fred offered to join her in the kitchen. He'd never shown any interest in cooking, but maybe now that he was a Cullen, he was interesting in all things culinary. I'd have to save that particular joke for later.

Where Esme followed recipes to the letter, Fred seemed to like to experiment. He frequently called me over to taste one thing or another. They were making enough chicken enchiladas to feed a professional football team and everything I tried was really good, until I got to Fred's homemade sauce.

"Fred, take it easy on the peppers!" I yelped. "I'd like to have a few taste buds left after this dinner is over, not to mention a stomach lining!"

"Sorry, Bella. I just thought if one pepper was good, three would be even better!"

"Maybe you need to adhere to the old saying… less is more," I half-teased as my lips burned.

"I really wish you'd just follow the recipe," Esme scolded. "I enjoy having you in the kitchen with me, but you have to follow the rules or you can't help cook for Bella anymore, OK?"

"Yes… mom…" Fred said timidly as he looked at Esme through his long lashes.

She chucked her finger under his chin and then pulled him into a tight hug, which he happily reciprocated. In that moment, I realized he wasn't interested in cooking at all. He just wanted to spend time with his new mother.

**-…-**

I slept well that night with Edward, as always, at my side. I woke to the realization that it was the Fourth of July, largely due to someone setting off loud, smoky fireworks next door. I wondered if they realized the point was to shoot them after dark when the sparkly lights showed up best against the night sky, not at… 10:22 am? I didn't usually sleep so late.

"Well, my sleeping beauty finally decides to grace me with her consciousness," he murmured sweetly before trying to kiss me.

"Morning breath!" I garbled through my hand-covered mouth.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot," he chortled, thinking he was ever so funny.

I narrowed my eyes at him, but then gave him a closed-lip peck on the lips before bounding out of bed to get the bathroom part of my morning routine out of the way.

When I came back, feeling fresh and rather invigorated, I ran to the bed and pounced on him. I ended up straddling his waist and pinning his wrists to the bed above his head. I was fairly sure he wasn't protesting because he certainly didn't put up a fight. "You're mine," I growled at him playfully before laying my body fully on his and kissing him as deeply as we could, given his sharp teeth and venom and all. He was delicious.

When I came up for air, he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "I should make sure you sleep in more often!"

"That's sort of weird, you know. I almost never sleep this late."

"Well… you had a bit of a rough night, actually. I didn't expect you to be in such a good mood this morning. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this mood. I just didn't expect it."

"What happened?"

"You were flailing around a lot and talking about the Volturi, almost like you were fighting them. It would have been quite amusing if I didn't worry that you weren't sleeping very well."

"It's nice that you find my human weakness so entertaining," I scowled.

"Hey, it wasn't like that," Edward assured me. "You would have found it funny, too. I mean, seriously, Bella, think about one little human taking on a whole roomful of murderous vampires."

"May I remind you that I've done it before?"

He sighed. We both knew he was treading in dangerous water here and he'd better figure a good way out of it or he was going to drown quickly. "I'm talking about physical combat. I don't want to downplay what you did in any way, because it was amazing and you're the only human who's ever faced the Volturi like you did and lived. What you were doing in your dreams, from what I could see, was hand-to-hand combat. I'm sorry to say if that had happened, the outcome would have been much different."

"Well-played, my dear," I commended him. "Now bring that smooth tongue of yours over here."

He was all too happy to comply. I heard more fireworks, but I wasn't sure this time if they were coming from the neighbors or inside my own head.

We stayed in bed for a few hours, kissing, talking, laughing, and more kissing… Edward was getting a little braver every time we had one of these make-out sessions, and it took longer before he would bolt from the bed to the other side of the room. I'd give him time to calm himself before inviting him back to the bed for some more talking, and then more laughing and kissing and bolting. I didn't mind his need to escape anymore, since he'd explained it to me. I continued to be proud of him for trying and knew it would pay off on the night of August 13th.