Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Author's Note: I would like to thank Melanieintn for always pointing our my spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. i don't know what I would do without her, and you guys would wonder what the hell you were reading if you saw some of the things that get past me!

Chapter 54 Ingrained

Carlisle looked at me and said, "Well, son, this is going to be interesting."

Sue POV

What had I gotten myself into? I was staying at a vampire's home. Not just any vampire, but one that had gotten the daughter of my soon to be husband, pregnant with it's spawn. I must be out of my mind. Perhaps we really did loose out sensibility when we got older . . .

Him being with her, much less intimate with her, wasn't even supposed to be possible but pregnant? How was it even possible for him to get her pregnant, he wasn't even alive!

I followed Bella up the stairs with Charlie and Edward and she showed me to my room. I was grateful that at least she had not presumed that I would share a room with Charlie. Not that I would have minded, but it would have mortified Charlie.

The room was beautiful, beige and cream with just a bit of pale green. I was grateful that it was on the very end of the hall and Charlie's room was just across from where I would be staying. Somehow it made me feel a bit safer that our doors were across from each other and we were on our own end of the hallway.

"This room is really pretty, Bella. Did you decorate it yourself?", I asked.

"Actually, Sue, Edward did this room, I decorated Dad's though", she said as she gestured for me to follow her.

"Wow, this one is just beautiful. Imagine that, blue just like you like, too, Charlie", Sue exclaimed.

"Yep, guess that's so. She did a real nice job on it, the whole house, really. Wait till you see their room", Charlie said gesturing to Edward and Bella, "Their bathroom is as large as my living room!"

"Well, our room is at the other end of the house and there is the room Jacob is in just here", Bella said as she flipped on the light in the third bedroom upstairs." It was kind of a woodsy color, greens with a hint of brown. Really pretty as well.

"Rose designed a beautiful nursery for us that this room will be turned into when Jacob leaves", Bella told me.

"Where is Jake?", Sue asked.

"He left just after we got back from riding the bikes this morning. He said he would be back in a few days, but he didn't say exactly when", Bella told me.

Damn it. She knew that Sam and I wanted to talk to Jake. What was going on here, was that boy going to this extreme to avoid talking to any of the tribal elders? Hum. I would have to ask her and Edward about this when Charlie wasn't around.

"And this is our room", Bella said as she escorted me into a beautiful room with vaulted ceilings, a fireplace and a gorgeous canopied bed draped in gossamer curtains, tied at the corners. The posts looked like a type of wrought iron with trailing vines and rosebuds on it. It was absolutely beautiful, something that belonged in a storybook full of princesses and fair maidens. Above the fireplace was a painting of the two of them sitting outside on a bench looking more in love than any two people I had ever seen portrayed. Ever.

She showed me to the bathroom that Zcharlie had been kidding about . . . only he wasn't kidding., It really was the size of his living room, complete with a sunken tub that you could teach small children to swim in.

"Edward had this house built and he decorated it as a surprise for me for my birthday, Sue. Doesn't it just look like something out of a fairytale?", she said, hugging onto him, "Edward makes me feel like a fairy princess in a bedtime story."

"I love you", I heard him say as he bent down and softly kissed her lips.

"Alright, alright. Enough of that! I'm already about to be a grandpa!", Charlie boomed. Edward laughed, Bella blushed and I appeared to be somewhat amused by Charlie's outburst. In reality, I was incensed. Fairytale, indeed . . . she was confusing a fairytale with a happily ever after ending with a horror story that would have a terribly grizzly, evil end. How could it not? I was beginning to regret having let Charlie talk me into this trip. I was out of place here . . . anything human was out of place here.

"Dinner is almost ready, Sue. Are you hungry?", Bella asked me.

"I'm always hungry when you cook, Bella. You are so good at it", I answered as we headed back down the stairs.

Carlisle was waiting at the foot of the stairs and made his excuses about needing to get home to dinner before Esme had his hide. Huh. Bloodsucker has food waiting for her husband? What does she do, tie a deer to a tree in the back yard and call it a picnic?

Edward leaned over towards me and whispered so that only I could hear, "No, but there are plenty of deer in the woods at the rear of this house as well as theirs." Damn. I forgot. Mind reader. Well, he looked amused, not mad, so I guess that was alright, I'll just have to try and control my thoughts around him that's all.

"I'll just go and put that car of yours away in the garage, Edward. Thanks for letting me use it. It was a great ride, smooth as glass", Charlie said as he excused himself and left out the front door.

"Thank you for coming, Sue", Edward said as he stood behind Bella, his arms around her and one hand covering her belly. "While Charlie is out of earshot, we should tell you that Jacob had been having a fever for days and not feeling well, and he phased today."

"Where is he? Is anyone hurt?", I asked as I felt my body tremble out of fear for Jacob.

"He was talking to me and he got angry, phasing into a wolf in the front yard and then running off into the forest. Carlisle and Edward went after him", Bella said, looking concerned and . . . remorseful?

"Oh no! You didn't hurt him did you? He would have had no idea what was going on and I'm sure he didn't mean to cause a problem if anyone was hurt, it was accidental . . . ", I said, I'm sure looking whiter than a ghost. I was terrified that an altercation had erupted and they had killed him. "Where is he, is he . . .". Edward cut me off, placing a hand on my shoulder that I knew he meant to be a comforting gesture, but I flinched in spite of myself.

"Sue. Jacob is fine. He is unharmed. I know this is difficult for you to believe, but he is my best friend. Carlisle and I took off after him when he ran into the woods and we found him about two miles out. We talked to him till he calmed down, then called Sam and spoke with him to see if there was something he could tell Jacob that would help him to phase back", Edward said, "He had something to eat and he is sleeping just past the treeline in the backyard."

"I know this is hard to accept, Sue, but Jacob is a friend to all of us. We like him very much", Carlisle reaffirmed to her, "He just never truly believed the legends till last week."

"He found out on Christmas Eve that Edward was a vampire and he has been dealing with it ever since", Bella added.

"We noticed his temperature increasing and he was not feeling well, so I checked him over and took a blood sample. The gene was there for the transformation, so I knew it was just a matter of time. We met his grandfather, Ephraim, years ago and it stood to reason that since it was in his bloodline, that he would also be able to phase. We just had to explain that to him . . . and that took some effort", Carlisle told her.

"Bella, do you think that perhaps you could distract your Dad after dinner long enough for Edward and I to go have a chat with Jacob?", I asked.

"Sure, we were hoping you could help him", Bella replied.

Charlie came back in and Carlisle excused himself as the rest of us headed into the living room. "Charlie, Sue, I'm just going to help Bella finish getting dinner ready. Please, show Sue round and make yourselves at home", Edward said as he and Bella walked past the counter and into the kitchen.

"Well, there isn't that much to see down here, really. Just the big room, of course, the living room that feeds into the dining and kitchen area. The only other real separate room is the office over here", he said as he opened the French doors, "Guess you might call it a library. You know how Bella likes books and all and that Edward, well, he spoils her. First editions of most of her favorites", Charlie gestured to the rows of books on the wall of bookcases. "Seems the kid is some kind of financial wizard and already has earned more money than they can ever spend. And, I guess I was wrong, Sue. That boy is nuts over Bella, there is nothing he wouldn't do for her and no one he would not stand up to. Fact. Very few people have ever stood up to me, but that boy did when he thought I hurt her. Truth is, Sue . . . I have never seen her so happy. Ever", Charlie said as he hugged me to him.

"Speaking of happy . . . I'm glad you're here", he said as his arms tightened and he leaned in to kiss me, "Did you and the kids have a good Christmas?"

"We had a great Christmas, lots of gifts and food and cheer. Everyone was really trying what with Billy and Harry gone", I told him.

"Well, I'll help you lasso Jake and see if we can't get him back home, that'll be one less thing to worry about", Charlie added, kissing me again.

"Dinner", Bella called out. We walked out to find Edward just placing the last of the full glasses of tea on the table and pulling out Bella's chair for her to sit down. At least it was just the four of us, though I wished Jake was here. I was happy that I didn't have to sit at a table with six other vampires and try not to be frightened to death, but I guessed that was going to happen at some point before I left. I wasn't as frightened of Carlisle, at least. I knew he worked in the hospital and helped humans all the time. There was no indication that he had ever hurt any of them.

We all sat and ate . . . everyone ate. Amazing what that boy would do for her. I had seen him eat food before, human food that is, but it never ceased to amaze me that he could do it and in fact would do it . . . for her.

"Dad, I hope you don't mind, but Edward and I kind of called off the fishing in the morning." Charlie's head popped up at the mention of not going fishing, listening for Bella to continue, "We thought you could go Thursday and Friday instead and that maybe we could sleep in a little and show Sue around town tomorrow. Hope that's alright", Bella told her Dad.

"Sure. Does Carlisle know?", Charlie asked.

"Yes Sir, he said he would go ahead and work the day at the hospital so that he could be off the other days. We won't see him till late tomorrow night, after the 7pm shift, and Rose and Esme are busy doing Mason's room at the other house, although I'm willing to bet they will be finished by the middle of the day", Edward answered. "Alice and Jasper I'm sure will be up for some hiking and sightseeing, Rose will probably force Emmett to help with moving the furniture", he laughed.

"Mason?", I asked.

"The baby. We named our son Mason Charles Cullen", Bella replied," Carlisle already confirmed that it's a boy. Esme wanted a place for the baby to sleep over at her house, so we are putting in a nursery there as well as here."

We finished dinner and Bella asked Charlie to help her with the dishes, giving Edward and I a chance to see if we could catch a minute with Jake. We went out the front door and around the side of the house to the trees in the far end of the backyard. The house was pretty much nestled in the edge of the forest, so it wasn't a far walk at all.

Edward called to Jake softly as I saw a huge russet colored wolf appear in front of us. Edward just stood there, a vampire next to a werewolf. He had his hands in his pockets no less and actually bumped shoulders with Jacob, asking him, "Everything alright, dog?"

Jake's growl must have been an answer as Edward laughed. "Jacob hates my translating his thoughts because I tend to clean them up a bit, but I am going to try to just tell you what he wants said exactly as he says it. I am not responsible for his use of language, I just want you to know that, Sue, and I apologize in advance for Jacob", Edward winced, apparently at something Jake thought.

F*** you bloodsucker and no I'm not alright. I still have paws and fur.

Edward looked somewhat sheepish, but continued to translate.

Sue, did you know this was going to happen to me, too?

"Well Jake, Sam and I thought it would. You are a direct descendant of Ephraim Black and as chief, his bloodline had the gene to phase into wolf form", I told him, feeling rather silly that I was actually answering words that had come from Edward's mouth, not Jake's.

How the hell do I phase back into a human?

"I don't know what to tell you, Jacob. Leah and Seth phased, but I never discussed it with them and I have never experienced it. It kind of skipped my generation, since there were no cold ones around to cause it", Sue told him.

"Wait, Sue. Are you saying that if we were not in Forks, members of the tribe would not be phasing?"

"That's right. No vampires, no phasing to werewolf."

Hey, I hate to break up this little love fest, bloodsucker, but she is here to help me. I'm the one with the furry tail and paws!

"Right, right. Let me think about it overnight and see if I can come up with any ideas. I understand Sam is calling tomorrow to try and help", I halfway asked.

"You got what you need out here, Jacob", Edward asked. I had to ask what Jake said in response.

Edward looked away from me at the ground as he answered, a crooked smile on his face. He said,

"I have the damned dog bed that the other leech brought me, bloodsucker", then he laughed and said. "I'm fine. Tell Bells it's okay. I'm the most frightening thing out here, not to worry. I kind of like calling you bloodsucker, though, I might just have to keep using it even when I'm human again."

I watched as Edward bumped Jacob again with his shoulder in a friendly gesture and I would have sworn Jake laughed with him. We turned and went inside just as Charlie and Bella emerged from the house onto the back patio.

"I made us a cup of coffee, Sue. These young ones are going on to bed, well, Bella said she is going to bed and that means he will follow", Charlie laughed gesturing to Edward.

"Yes Sir. She owns me, I admit it, and that's okay with me", Edward said as he went to stand beside her. A smile crossed her face as he hugged her to him and kissed her cheek.

"Well, if you need anything, Sue, just let me know. There are fresh towels and such in your bathroom and feel free to come down and help yourself to anything in the kitchen. First one up makes coffee", Bella told me.

"That will mean you or me", Charlie teased, gesturing to Bella and Edward, "These two rarely leave their room without being prodded out".

"Dad! That is so not true", Bella laughed as she turned red, "Well, maybe it's a little true."

Bella put her hands over her face as she turned red and ducked her face it Edward's chest. He enveloped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, in any case, we are off to bed. Goodnight", Edward said as they turned and walked into the house, leaving Charlie and I on the patio.

We sat at the table, peacefully sipping coffee and chatting. It seemed strange, in a way. I was surrounded by mythical creatures, we both were, and Charlie was completely oblivious. There was a house full of vampires at the top of the hill, a vampire in bed with if not making love with a human one floor above me, and there was a werewolf sleeping on a dog bed just behind the trees that were in my sight. Huh. Wonder just how many more things were going on around me that I had no idea about?

~oooOooo~

Alice POV

"Any sign of her?", Jasper asked

"Nothing yet. I see this going several different ways, only one of them with us catching her. We have to hope she climbs up from the base of the tree, if she comes tree to tree, it doesn't turn out so well."

"Almost 8 am, wonder how early the bitch starts spying?", Emmett questioned, "and do you see that dude, Riley? Does he show up with her?"

"I don't see him. He is doing something else, feeding maybe. Apparently Victoria wants him to feed a lot this week so that he . . . so that he can resist Bella and leave her all to Victoria when she takes her."

"Like hell", Rose growled.

"We'll just wait. We have more patience than she has and you did well finding the tree that she has been using as a vantage point to spy on us from", Carlisle said.

"At least we're still downwind", Jasper noted, "I just don't like not having the advantage on high ground. She'll have a moment to get ahead of us if she's sharp."

"She's here", Alice whispered as we heard a slight rustling, more than just the wind in the trees.

Everything happened so fast. One minute there was a flash of red curls high in the top of the trees, and the next moment she fled, the wind having changed and she was alerted to our presence. One more second. If she had just settled into the limb instead of just being perched there, tense. She took off from tree to tree in the canopy of the forest back to where her car was probably parked. We moved like the wind through the forest floor after her, only to have to slow to human speed. A group of hikers were making their way down the trail from the road and our path took us directly by them. It was too late to stop and take to the trees, they would see us as we stopped to spring upwards and we would not be able to explain it. It was not worth exposing us in order to follow her . . . this time.

"Did you see that?", Emmett asked Carlisle, "The bitch actually laughed at us from the treetops. We should have continued full tilt, the humans would only have noticed a breeze and a flash they could never have explained."

"You know we can't risk it, Emmett. Believe me, I want to light her pyre as bad as you do, but we can't risk exposure to do it.", Rose chided.

"Let's walk on into town. There is a chance she drove there and parked. She has to be walking around the streets and shops at some point for her scent to be so strong there", Jasper suggested.

~oooOooo~

Esme POV

"Oh, you startled me", Sue said, her hand clutching her chest.

"I'm sorry, dear. I'm not sure we have ever formally met, I'm Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife", I said by way of introduction while I flipped on the coffee pot that I had just filled and moved to put the bacon in a frying pan.

"Well, nice to meet you, Esme", she said, looking kind of lost, "You didn't have to go to this trouble, really, I could have cooked breakfast for us." Poor woman, seemed scared to death of me.

"If I make you uncomfortable, I could leave and let you do the cooking, Sue. I have just been trying to help out since the kids have had all this company, what with Bella expecting and all", I explained.

"That's very nice of you, considering you don't eat any of it", Sue said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and going to sit at the kitchen table.

"No, but my new daughter does and I like doing things for her", I told her. Sue looked at me like she just did not understand. It seemed as though none of this made any sense at all to her, that we could be around humans, that we would care about Bella . . . none of it.

"You actually consider her your daughter?", Sue asked me.

I looked over my shoulder at her and replied, "Well, of course. She is Edward's wife, therefore she is my daughter. She is an absolutely amazing young woman and I am proud to have her in my family."

She scoffed. I'm not usually one to get mad or upset, but her attitude was infuriating. I turned the bacon off and went to sit at the table across from her so that we could see each other face to face on the same level, hoping that would put her at ease somewhat.

"Sue, I have feelings just exactly the same as you do, wants, desires . . . everything just the same. My diet being different than yours is not a problem because we eat the same as you do, rabbit, venison, beef . . . we just eat a different part of the animal, that's all", I tried to explain in such a way that she could relate, "You don't even know me, yet you don't like me. Do you feel that is reasonable?"

"Esme, is it?", she asked and I nodded, "Well, Esme, your kind have been enemies of my tribe for a centuries, as far back as our legends go. How, or why would you expect me to reject that and change my feelings now?"

"Because you have no grounds to feel that way, Sue", Bella said as she stepped into the kitchen. "The Cullen family are not the cold ones of your legends, they don't feed on humans. That makes them totally different. I thought you understood that."

"I'm trying to", Sue said, timidly, "I just have it so ingrained that vampires are evil, soul less devils that lurk in the night waiting to feed of of unsuspecting innocent prey, women and children even."

I just shook my head. "Sue, I had a little boy when I was a human and I would certainly never harm a child, even if my diet did include human", I said indignantly.

"Mom, she's not accusing you of that", Edward soothed her as he stood behind her at the table and rubbed her shoulders, moving to pull out a chair for Bella to sit. "Tell you what, I'll make breakfast so that you ladies can have a chance to talk", he offered.

Sue POV

They had valid points, Bella and Esme. The Cullen's had never done anything even remotely off color, to the best of my knowledge. Well, except for Edward being with Bella. It was just difficult, if not impossible to change ways and customs that were so deeply ingrained, almost tradition with my people.