Chapter Forty

Jasper

When Bella came downstairs she was smiling and held her arms out for Jamie but having finished his bottle he demanded to be put down and we watched fascinated as he crawled round the kitchen following Rose's bare feet and nibbling her toes when he caught up with her. I looked inquiringly at her and she nodded, she'd done it. Just as well because Carlisle came in then and although he watched Jamie for a few minutes I knew what he was about to ask.

"Jasper I'd like to see Esme now please."

"I'm sorry Carlisle but Jasper doesn't know where she is. Peter and Charlotte have taken her on a little road trip. I'm sure she'll enjoy it."

He glared at Bella then turned to me,

"You promised me I could see Esme. You have no right to keep me from her"

"And he's not Carlisle. He had nothing to do with Esmes impromptu holiday, that was down to me I'm afraid."

"It's true Carlisle. I had nothing to do with it"

"You're in it together. Well, lets see what the Volturi have to say about this"

"Be my guest"

Bella offered him the phone which slowed him somewhat.

Bella

I had used my time on the phone wisely, after talking to Peter I rang Caius and after thanking him for his help I told him about the little problem we still had.

"So you see Caius if we let Esme go she's likely to start trouble with Alice or Aro and I wondered if there was any way..."

"I see, you not only hack into my Personal Files but you then expect me to help you. You are indeed my niece"

"And nephew don't forget that."

"Oh I don't. In fact I'm quite proud of my lineage. I'll see what I can do Bella but you might think about taking a road trip yourselves with the latest addition to the family because Aro will hear eventually. I can only slow the news down. I'll make sure Felix is there to intercept Carlisle's call for now. We are in luck because Aro is away himself in Egypt visiting with an old friend so we have a little more leeway than we would otherwise have."

Carlisle snatched the phone from Jazz then looked down. Jamie had given up his pursuit of Roses feet and was pulling himself up very unsteadily using Carlisle's pant leg. I stiffened but he smiled and gave me back the phone picking Jamie up instead and looking at him curiously.

"Well young man you are coming on in leaps and bounds. What a handsome lad you are Jamie"

Jamie giggled and touched Carlisle's face with one hand, straining to reach Jazz with the other.

Carlisle

Suddenly I couldn't remember why I had been so anxious to ring Volterra, it would be nice to stay here a while with Jamie and see his rapid development. I could perhaps write a paper on it, of course I couldn't publish but it would be a very interesting addition to my collection. Rose picked up the photographs she had taken over the last few weeks and handed them to me. As Jamie grabbed for them she shook her head,

"No Jamie, they are special. You mustn't damage them"

He looked at her very solemnly then his hand dropped back to my shoulder. I looked at them, he had grown indeed and handed the phone to Bella,

"If you don't mind I think maybe I'll stay a little longer and see how our young man develops, he's growing so fast."

Bella

I was shocked by Carlisle's sudden change of heart and saw Jazz look at him and Jamie with a puzzled expression which then cleared. He had obviously seen or understood something that I missed. Rose and Carlisle sat at the table with the photographs, some paper, and a tape measure, Jamie watching the proceedings from Carlisle's lap and we left them to their discussion, going out of the house and up the hill away from other ears.

"What happened? One minute Carlisle is out for blood, next he's sitting down all cosy playing the doting Grandfather. I wonder what he'd say if he knew who Jamie's real relative was?"

"I think we just saw Jamie's gift in action darlin'. He's not only a magnifying channeller but he can influence thoughts, rather like I can influence emotions. He knew somehow that we were unhappy with the decision Carlisle had made so he influenced him to change his mind and he wanted to touch me, I think he would have fed Carlisle calm from me if he'd have managed to touch me"

"Wow, now I can see why Alice thought Aro would be interested, but she didn't know exactly what he could do, how come?"

"I have no idea, perhaps Jamie's influence worked before he was even born, look how everyone apart from Esme has helped us in some way."

"I wonder why she wasn't affected by his influence. Any ideas?"

"I think Esme has a kink in her psyche. Perhaps a result of losing her own baby, who knows."

Jasper

Bella told me what Caius had said to her, so he knew we'd hacked his computer but he wasn't worried by it. I still couldn't quite get to grips with the fact we were related, not just to each other but him too.

"So you think we should take his advice and take a holiday?"

"I think it might be as well to be unavailable if Aro comes a knocking."

"So where would my lady like to go?"

"Your lady would like to go to bed but I think we should maybe take a trip to somewhere further South, closer to aid if we need it."

"South? OK. Just us?"

"No I wouldn't do that to Rose, she dotes on Jamie and he loves her and Em. I think we should all go. See if we can find a rambling old house that's big enough for all of us, Pete and Charlotte too if they want. Carlisle can study Jamie on the way. How does that sound to you?"

"Personally I preferred the first suggestion but I'm sure we can fit some alone time in, Auntie Rose and Uncle Em would be only to happy to take charge of Jamie for us. That's if it meets with your approval."

"It most certainly does. I love you Jazz."

Rose

When I heard that Bella and Jazz were moving on I thought it was the end of us all living together, the end of spending time with Jamie until her final words. They wanted us to go with them, I would get my time with Jamie, a small part of what I'd always craved, to be a mother, and it was beautiful to see Emmett with the little one too. He seemed a natural with children, for all his size he didn't seem to intimidate Jamie who spent a lot of time playing horsey sitting on Emmett's back and squealing in delight when Emmett reared up, one hand on Jamie's back to ensure he didn't slip. The best times for us were when Bella and Jazz went off to hunt or for a bit of adult time. Then Jamie was ours for the whole day and we made an adventure of it, taking him into the woods to watch the animals and climb trees on Ems back, or to the river fishing and paddling in the water splashing Emmett who was always up for any foolery.