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Chapter 44 – Down and Dirty

BELLA

I woke to Jake jumping on me and Edward groaning. I heard the parrots squawking and Ollie screeching. It sounded like the whole house was up. It was time to go out and see how the island faired the storm.

I was surprised to find Jake was wearing a disposable diaper. I heard Sam bark, which caused Edward to jump a little. "I'm up, I'm up," he complained and made his way out of the room, scratching himself as he looked around at the chaos that was our life.

I snickered a little as he stumbled out, only to be accosted by Ollie, who seemed to be pointing at something as he screeched. Edward just started laughing and shook his head. "Go tell mom about it," he said to Ollie, who hopped down from his shoulder and climbed up my sitting form. He screeched right in my face, while pointing frantically out the door.

"Okay, okay, let's go see what all the fuss is about." I could see several things had been thrown at the birds, but that didn't seem to deter their efforts. At least someone was getting lucky.

I walked toward the bathroom and peeked in on Emmett and Captain Whitlock to see how they'd slept. I did my best not to laugh at the pair that was lovingly snuggling into each other. I wished I'd had a camera. Edward came up behind me and smiled. He shook his head and snuck in next to his brother, leaning down by his ear, "Oh, Emmy Bear, you're so big and strong, show me how strong you are. Make it rough, baby," he said in a high-pitched voice, trying not to laugh.

Emmett groaned and snuggled deeper into Captain Whitlock, holding him tighter. I couldn't help it, I started giggling. Edward tried shushing me, but when he started up with the voice again and Emmett actually rubbed against the Captain, I couldn't help it. Of course, between my giggling and Emmett's sleep humping, poor Captain Whitlock woke up, wide-eyed and alarmed, and smacked Emmett on the head, rousing him from his sleep, because let's face it, he was already roused in other ways. The captain shoved him away, and when Emmett saw us standing there, he growled and took off after Edward, who was running away, laughing his head off.

Once Captain Whitlock realized what was going on, he just shook his head chuckling. "Boys will be boys." He stood up and stretched. "Is Ms. Alice up yet?"

"I haven't seen her, but Jake was sporting a fresh diaper, so I think she's around here somewhere."

We could here laughing and crashing as Edward continued to escape Emmett.

"I feel sorry for their mother. She must've had her hands full with that pair," he commented, and I smiled as I watched Edward jump over a boulder with ease and run toward the front entrance. It was nice to see him so happy and carefree.

"Do you remember where the restroom is?" I asked. "I'll light it up for you. It can be tricky, and Ollie here has a tendency of blocking the lights out, so if you get stuck in the dark, just give me a holler and I'll light you up again."

"Well, Ma'am, that's mighty kind of you," he said and started toward the bathroom.

I headed toward the goats and opened the gate, letting them out. Sam was quick to herd them out of the cave, not wanting a repeat of last time they were free inside. I didn't blame him. I thought it was amusing to find Edward up a tree just outside the entrance, laughing at his brother, who was throwing stuff at him. Ollie, of course, joined him and started throwing stuff back at Emmett, and we both knew it wasn't rocks.

Once Emmett realized what he was getting hit with, his reaction was hilarious, causing Edward to laugh so hard, he fell out of the tree. Ollie frantically climbed down to check on Edward, and I scolded him for worrying the baby monkey. "Get the goats to the field, and take Emmett to clean up. Ollie needs a good hand washing as well," I said shooing them off.

I laughed as Emmett started trying to wipe monkey shit on Edward, but Edward kept dodging, laughing, and teasing him. They were definitely brothers.

ALICE

I made my way out to the ship once I changed Jake's diaper, and he waddled straight into Bella and Edward's room. I need to double check everything to make sure things were happening as they had in my visions.

I looked at the ship sitting there. There was one tree that had fallen across it like in my vision. It didn't affect the integrity of the hull and kept the ship ashore as I had seen. The men would be able to move it easily. Edward's newly muscled form would be just enough to get it to slide down the sand. The bilge pump would be working overtime if Bella and I didn't get the water out. I remembered seeing some large pots, and once I introduced them into my vision, the trouble cleared up and would be on our way. We just had to stay behind the storm. We would be taking port in Louisiana. The hurricane would have already hit there, closing their ports, making it easy for us to slip in unnoticed. I had already arranged for a van to be waiting for us on the second story of a cement parking garage. It would be a little bit of a walk, but we'd be able to make it with ease. The old woman was grateful for the large sum of money I had given her that she could use to get out of town and start a new life. She was the grandmother of one of the pirates Edward had treated. Thankfully, she believed me when I warned her of the coming storm. Not everyone thought of me as a freak. Some people like her saw me as gifted. She was able to get her neighborhood to listen and they had evacuated the area. She wouldn't know it until later, but she saved 953 lives that would have been killed when the hurricane took a sudden turn and hit land. I knew Edward would appreciate the sentiment once I told him. Weather usually was my safest prediction. It didn't change on indecisive whims like humans.

Once I was far enough from the cave, I was able to sit down and run through how to handle things with Mr. Black, Jacob's grandfather. I hadn't found a way for them to keep him yet, but I was working on it. The man was in a wheelchair, and caring for Jacob would be very difficult. I hoped Bella's ties to him would work in our favor. I had to find a way to fix it, before we returned. Finding a solid path with such a volatile situation was difficult. Everything could change on an emotional whim. The only way to truly get a handle on the situation would be to have a solid plan and script that Edward and Bella would not deter from. I knew for Jacob's sake, they'd do as I asked.

ROSE

For the past week, Judge Caius had been feeding evidence to Margaret, Mason and Talbot. They would have socialized in the court house anyways, so it didn't raise suspicion.

To repeal the judgment on Edward's case, it needed to be reviewed by a secondary judge. It was easily done, since there were three on his side ready to sign off on it.

As soon as Margaret brought the papers home, I put a call in to the medical board. I knew he'd want to get back to work once he returned, and from what Emmett had told me, he was good at his job.

I was at the grocery store, when I felt Demetri step closer to me. I looked up to see a dark-haired man dressed in a suit and sunglasses walking towards us. He took off his sunglasses and gave me a creepy smile. I could tell Demetri was two seconds away from decking him.

I touched Demetri's arm, hoping to settle him down. "Can I help you?" I asked politely.

"Ms. Hale, it's nice to meet you. You're a hard person to track down."

"I don't think so, but I guess I always know where I am."

He laughed at my joke and leaned on the shelf next to him. "I just wanted to check in with you and make sure everything was on the up and up."

"Up and up?"

"Yes, we had a friend who said you had a friend you were looking out for. That's been taking care of, so you won't start any trouble."

"I'm just grocery shopping. Last I heard, that wasn't against the law. You've heard of those, haven't you? Or do they not have laws where you're from?"

He smirked, "They said you were a sassy one."

"Thank you."

"It's been brought to our attention that you're having difficulty reinstating a medical license. When one is deemed criminally insane, it isn't easy to undo."

"Yes, I'm finding that to be true."

He clapped his hand and pointed his fingers at me, "Exactly, and this is where we can help you."

"I'm not sure I want your kind of help."

He walked over to me, and Demetri was about to step between us, but I brushed him of. The creep put his arm around my shoulder. "What you need is a guy to say your man's not nuts. I can help you with that."

"Who is this man you're talking about?"

He stepped back grinning, "See, I knew I'd peak your interest. He's retired military and specializes in these sorts of things. He actually believed what your friend was saying. He and a buddy run different facilities for folks like that, if you catch my drift."

"I do, thank you."

"See, I didn't think you were as bad as they were saying. Pretty and sassy, it's a nice combination."

"You must flatter the panties off of sluts everywhere."

He chuckled and then passed me his business card. "Call me when you're ready to have your buddy deemed sane."

"I appreciate the consideration." When he strolled away, I looked down at the name on the card, and just as I suspected, it read Alec Volturi. He didn't realize I was far from placated or easy to handle, and he'd just given me the last clue I was looking for. Alice told me to ask about the man. I believe I knew now what man she wanted me looking for.

If the Volturi had done their homework, they would've known my sister had been in the same facility as Edward. I didn't believe they had, because they were under the assumption that I'd need their help to get the information. That was the furthest thing from the truth.

I went home and pulled up Alice's discharge papers. Like most companies, they listed both of their facilities. There were two addresses on the top of the cover page. I always thought it was odd that they called the facility Black Land. You would've thought they'd go with something cheery, like Happy Land, since it was full of loonies.

I dialed the number for the sister facility and asked for the owner of the hospital. When I was asked what it was about, I told them I had a patient I was trying to help.

"This is Garrett," a gruff voice came over the line.

"Garrett, this is Rosalie Hale, you can call me Rose. I heard from a dirty source that you may be able to help me get a friend of mine deemed sane."

"Is your friend crazy?"

"No, he was in the Chicago Black Land facility. He had a criminal charge against him, but I've had that cleared. The problem is, he was a doctor, and they don't let people who…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. What's your guy's name?"

"Edward Cullen, he was on the airplane that crashed in the ocean off of Florida."

"So he's dead? I don't understand."

"No, he, a woman and a baby survived, and they're on their way back."

"How do you know that?"

"Would you believe me if I told you my sister was in the same facility with him and went to get him."

"Same facility, what's her name?"

"Alice Brandon, she's my stepsister, and I checked her out so she could come live at home with me."

I heard him typing for a moment, and then he asked, "Do you believe her?"

"Sir, if you ever met me, you'd know I'm my sister's biggest supporter. Don't question what she says, just do it. She told me to ask about a man, and you're the man I believe she wanted me to ask about. Now, can you help me?"

"Yes, I don't see a problem with that. I'll request his files, go over them and stamp him clean. Give me a fax number and email address, so I can get you the documents you'll need."

"Thank you so much, Garrett."

"Rose, you know we aren't the bad guys, right?"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me."

"I need to warn you, though. You have your sister out of the facility, and now you're taking on this other guy, too, both of whom are targets. There was a reason we made these places. Me and Alistair, let's just say we'd fit right in with our patients. We didn't have the best experience with the world or the military. What I'm trying to say is they need to keep their mouths shut. We only pick up people when they start drawing attention to themselves. We say they're crazy to keep them from being snatched up by the wrong people. Me and my buddy, we didn't have anyone looking out for us. If we had your sister and your friend, it was because they were being too vocal about their talents."

"Are you…?"

"I'm not threatening you. I'm just informing you. Whatever you do, don't notify the police or warn them of any impending disasters or crimes. I know that sounds cruel, but if they get hold of your sister and they get a mind reader, too, they won't need her cooperation. I've seen it done. I've seen the torture, Ms. Hale. You don't want that, we don't, either. If you think someone is coming after them, bring them back to the hospital. Patients in our care are exempt from military interrogations. It's a fancy little clause we tricked an asshole into signing. Let's just say, we're a safe haven."

"Thank you, Garrett, I appreciate that."

"Alright, well, I best get to work on this Cullen guy. I'll talk to you later."

Garrett was much nicer than I'd thought he'd be. I was expecting some hard executive, and he was nothing like that. All the same, I planned to speak to Alice about the kind of facility they ran. His warning was a bit ominous, and I wanted to be prepared, just in case any trouble did arise.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!