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

Author's Note: Kind of a short chapter, but we needed to check in with the folks back home. Bella, Edward and the baby needed some time alone in Bolzano. They needed a chapter all to themselves!

Chapter 117 Surprises

Well, let's hope for all of our sakes that the child does care for his father,

though he is a vampire. The legends are just that, legends,

but you know there is usually some truth to the ones that vampires pass down,

one way or another.

Carlisle POV

"It's just so hard to accept, Carlisle," Carmen remarked, her voice a whisper.

"I know. Believe me, everyone in the family thought the same thing at first," I agreed.

"Well it only makes sense, conservation wise. We would only just bury them to keep them from being found, this way they look eaten . . . because they were," Esme added.

"Caius would have a heart attack, regardless," Eleazar insisted, chuckling to himself, "Who would have ever thought that not only are you friendly with a werewolf, but you take them to dinner!"

"Technically he's a shape shifter, Eleazar, not a werewolf," I corrected.

"I don't think Caius's cold dead heart would care that there is a difference," Eleazar remarked, unable to hide his laughter as he slowly shook his head in disbelief.

We had all come out with Jacob after he wanted to know if we were up for a hunt. For some reason he had wanted to eat in wolf form tonight and I had no reason to object. Esme was right, it only made sense to use the meat rather than just bury the carcass and let it rot after we drained it.

Eleazar and Carmen sat with Esme and I on an outcropping of rock overlooking the meadow where Jacob was still feeding. If I had been told me a few years ago that I would be friends with a wolf - that my son would in fact consider him his best friend and that I would have a human daughter in law who my son would father a child with . . . well, you would have been a resident in one of the wings of the hospital I ran, and it wouldn't have been the surgical wing.

"Seriously, Carlisle," my friend confided, "how long do you expect all this to stay a secret from Aro?"

"I have no idea. Aro was always a good friend to me, even allowing me to leave and follow a more vegetarian diet, Eleazar," I mused.

My friend looked at me as though he wanted to say something,, but wasn't sure if he should. thankfully, he decided to share his thoughts with me, though his face was drawn and worried.

"He expected you to fail, Carlisle, and he loves nothing more than to be proven right and have you beg to come back into the fold," he theorized, "Believe me. He never, ever thought you would succeed, much less create so large a . . . family."

I would have to give that some thought. I knew that Aro could be quite cruel at times, seeming to enjoy actually ending vampires that had broken the law. Certainly he was very full of himself and way more intent on meeting his own need for power than he was for protecting the vampire community as a whole, but that was over two hundred years ago. Though vampires did not usually change in any way, it seemed reasonable to hope that he had discovered that his cruelty did not gain him what he wanted . . . he was no more powerful now than he had been then. In fact, the Volturi had never been more feared or respected than when they had dealt with the Southern wars and the immortal children. There had been no opportunities, no great problems that needed taking care of or needed them to handle in the last hundred years or so, after the armies that Jasper had taken part in were destroyed.

Masen's gift, if it was indeed as powerful as I suspected, would be too much for Aro to resist. To have someone at his side that could change the very thoughts in the mind of his adversaries, well, the possibilities were limitless . . . as was the potential gain in power.

"Well, young man, are you quite through?" I heard Esme asking Jacob.

He had phased and was approaching us rubbing his belly with a smile on his face.

"The tank is full," he laughed, plopping down on one of the many rock outcroppings just as comfortably as if it has been the living room sofa.

"Was that one or two deer you finished off?" Carmen asked, inquisitively, "Because I can't for the life of me understand where you put all that meat once you phase. Your stomach just isn't that large!"

"How does Emmett drink three grizzlies in one day?" Jacob asked, "Isn't that what he does?"

"Yes. Yes, he does, Jacob. I've seen Alice drink a full grown Moose before. I just have no idea where we put all the liquid we consume, and it seems to be the same for you.. It's not like we can dissect one of us to see!" I laughed, "though as quickly as you heal, I could probably only just get in there and have a peak before you started healing the wound."

Everyone, including Jacob was laughing as I shook my head. In the over three hundred years I had been around vampires and in this life, mythical creatures had never ceased to amaze me.

"Just glad you haven't tried, doc," Jacob managed to say between laughs.

Jacob headed back to Bella and Edward's house and the rest of us headed back to our house at an almost human pace. We were in no particular hurry.

"I do hope Tanya hasn't caused a great deal of trouble between Edward and his bride, Carlisle. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for him to be around her, what with being able to read her thoughts and all," Carmen sighed.

"Yes, dear, our Tanya's thoughts must indeed be difficult to tolerate. I'm sure it isn't a matter of him having to read her mind, she's probably shouting at him mentally whenever he's around her," Eleazar added.

"Well, apparently she has a vivid imagination, complete with images," I explained.

"I wouldn't worry about her causing trouble between Edward and Bella, though, Carmen. There is a lot more to that little human girl than any of us ever imagined. Once Edward found her again and convinced her that he did love her, they've formed a bond that I rarely even see in our kind. She's fierce about him and . . . well, you can imagine how overprotective and attached Edward is to her," my wife explained.

"I just can't get over the fact that he can make love to her at all and not hurt her. In all the years I was with Aro looking for vampires with gifts we never, ever, came across anyone with a gift that would even come close to letting them be close to a human that was their singer. Rescuing her from a bloody wreck . . . delivering their child . . . it's just unheard of," Eleazar repeated, shaking his head and marveling over the entire idea of such a thing.

"Well, don't let his restraint fool you. If Tanya's actions even remotely start to upset Bella, the others will be hard pressed to stop Edward from dismembering her," Esme warned. "I'm not trying to worry you, but you need to let her know just how devoted he is to her. Bella isn't a toy to Edward like the human's that Tanya plays with are to her. He will defend her, regardless of who it's against."

"Fascinating. "You're serious," Eleazar queried.

"She is. From what they told me this morning, everyone was attempting to dissuade Tanya from being anywhere around the newlyweds or the baby. Her safety more than anything else," I explained.

"Well, Edward is family, Carlisle, and our Tanya should know better. For heaven's sake, he is married to her and they have a child! I don't think that Tanya is in love with your Edward, I just think she can't stand the fact that there is a male on the planet that she can't seduce," Carmen mused.

We all laughed, Esme and I nodding and agreeing that she was probably right.

Carmen and Eleazar were leaving, taking advantage of Tanya, Kate and Irina's absence to visit some old friends and have a bit of a vacation. They loved the girls, but, like Esme and myself, they loved their time alone as well. We stood at the door and waved as they pulled away, darkness adding to their cover as they drove to the airport. They always took care to fly at night. Airplanes had a nasty way of getting up above the cloud cover and sunshine streamed in the windows during the daylight. Since they didn't have the advantage of Alice's predicting situations for them, they just made safety a habit that they stuck to all the time.

I wrapped my arms around my wife.s waist, bending to kiss her neck and along her shoulder as we stood in the night air. It was quite cold in February here in the mountains of North Carolina, though it didn't effect us, I did like the smell of the dense air and its cool temperature.

"I'm happy for them getting to travel a little, Carlisle. They stay home with the girls and their antics far to much. It isn't as though Eleazar has a job with the humans or anything to tie them down," Esme remarked as she turned in my arms to face me, pressing her lips to mine.

We kissed for several minutes, standing there in the doorway. There was nothing and no one to distract us . . . or hear us, for a change.

"Let's go upstairs," I suggested and took her hand to lead her up the stairs. "I have a surprise for you," I whispered, immediately realizing that she had taken that sexually.

"Um, I love your surprises," she moaned against my lips.

It wasn't that I minded . . . I quite enjoyed that my wife's thoughts fell to the gutter so quickly, but on this particular occasion, I had something else to tell her. I, of course, responded by kissing her soundly first. Repeatedly. Though our lovemaking never suffered when our family was home, it certainly increased when they weren't. It was not out of the ordinary for us to be locked in an embrace for more than one day at a time.

"I was able to get a couple of weeks off from the hospital," I finally managed to release her lips long enough to say.

"So, we don't have to hurry . . ."

God, I loved this woman.

"Well, I suppose I could return the airline tickets, if you want. The caretaker probably hasn't sent in the cleaning crew quite yet to air the place out. The castle can get a bit stuffy after decades closed up," I replied, taking my phone from my pocket and appearing to look for the number to call to cancel my plans.

"Carlisle!"

"Perhaps I should let him open up, regardless, since our children will be there visiting," I said quietly, as though to myself.

"They're all meeting us there? London? Oh, Carlisle, I love London,"{ my wife all but squealed.

"Yes, but the idea of two weeks alone . . . here . . . with no need to stop . . ."

"Carlisle! We can get a head start on that right now, and I can still have you ready to come up for air by the time we leave for London," she said with a devilish twinkle in her eyes.

god I loved that woman.

~oooOooo~

Jacob POV

Daddy C was always good for a laugh. I had come to really enjoy and look forward to the time I spent with him as well as Esme. They treated me like just another of their kids and since my parents were gone, they filled a void that I had not realized I had.

I loved staying at Bella's house. I had gotten somewhat used to the sickeningly sweet stench that the vampires now had to my nose. It was like living upstairs from a bakery or pastry shop where they were always using that butter cream sweet smelling frosting, and I just kind of looked at it that way. Like a sickeningly sweet cake or candy smell. Bella didn't smell like that yet, of course. Though Masen had a heartbeat, he smelled more like his father than his mom, but the human smell tempered the vampire odor, and I could deal with it for the few hours that I was ever allowed near him at a time, anyway. Bella kept that baby on quite a tight leash. Who could blame her after all she went through to have him . . .

I walked into the house and grabbed my phone. I needed to call my girl before it got too late in the day. She had an early class this semester and she was always asleep before midnight. I just wanted to confirm plans for Valentine's Day. I had reservations for us at her favorite restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina, and flowers ordered at a local florist there, to be delivered before I arrived to take her out. I was going all out. She had dropped the boyfriend from the band, whatever his name had been, and it was just me she was seeing now . . . and I wanted to keep it that way.

She had no idea about the imprinting, but she seemed into me regardless. I would do whatever it took to convince her that I was exactly right for her. We had planned for her to spend the weekend up here in Highlands with me, but the renovations on the house I bought were going kind of slow without Emmett and Edward here to rush folks along, and I wasn't sure how I felt about bringing her to Bella's house for the weekend, though I was pretty sure that neither Edward or Bella would have minded.

I spent as much time as I could down at Clemson with her, in her dorm. Her room mate had left school, and it was just her in the room, so it wasn't like we were inconveniencing anyone else. It was, however, kind of awkward for her to be alone with me all night - even if I slept on the other bed. She was coming around though, learning to trust me. We had fallen asleep together a few times and she had survived unscathed, and I was in no hurry. I just wanted her to trust me and be comfortable around me, and I couldn't push too hard. It was one of those things that needed to happen naturally for her, with time and familiarity. She would soon figure out that I was in love with her.

Old Quilaterra, now that was someone that needed to learn not to push too hard. Sue had been great about me living away from the reservation a large part of the time. I tried to explain about Black Swan Racing, and how I had to run the circuit to go to all the races all over the country, but he was less than understanding. I listened to him as well as the concerns of the other council members and the pack. I vowed to stay in touch with my wolf side, and my heritage. Quilaterra thought that the Chief should be on the reservation. Period. Like I should be a statue or something, always there. He pointed out that I had Billy's old house, so there was somewhere for me to be, and I could still be a mechanic on the rez.

Sue knew better. Sue knew about Bree.

As the alpha, I could still keep certain thoughts from the rest of the pack, if I wanted to. It was an alpha thing.

I had been back to Pa Push once since leaving after the first council meeting, and I kept in touch constantly. I wasn't sure what the fuck else they expected from me, but they were damned sure not getting my full undivided attention. I had the potential to have a winning season this year . . . and I had Bree to convince to marry me.

Having dinner with the Cullen's in wolf form was my way of staying in touch with that side of my life. After all, our ancestors had shifted into wolf form for one reason and one reason only, and that was to protect the tribe from its enemies . . . the only enemy still surviving being vampires. Not so sure the tribe would count that as keeping in touch with my wolf . . . but I did, I thought as I chuckled to myself.

I did keep in touch with Emily on almost a daily basis whether I was here or there. I needed to know that she was okay as well as what Sam was up to. I knew that he had kept his word so far, phasing only when I was there and asked him to, and tending to the grounds at the Cullen house as well as at Charlies. He seemed to be trying, and I guess that's all we could expect, after all. Emily had allowed him in the house. He wanted to take care of her, and she wanted him to prove himself . . . and he still slept downstairs on the sofa. She had not invited him back to her bed . . . and who could blame her. If I had to bet, my money was on her taking him back, eventually. They loved each other, Sam for damned sure loved her . . . hell, he had imprinted. It wasn't like he had a choice or like he could ever get over her. She just had to know that he had changed, and since he was willing to be anything she needed him to be . . . it was just a matter of time.

~oooOooo~

Emmett POV

"I mean it, bitch. One more word about my brother and your sisters will be looking for parts of you in more than one country," I said with the best angry snarl I could muster.

I was damned tired of her whining about how mean Edward had been to her, throwing her out into the lagoon . . . misunderstanding her intent and all. Right.

I had the facts on that one. Just because my cooler than could be believed nephew had changed her thoughts didn't mean shit to me. I hoped that the thoughts he took away and replaced with nicer ones were there to stay, but I was still angry as hell about her going there to hurt my nephew. Rosalie had told me what happened when Tanya first arrived - how she had suggested that Edward needed to end Masen, or she would, rather than taking care of the baby when he came to his senses and left Bella.

Like Edward would ever even dream of leaving Bella. You couldn't always get him to let her go to the bathroom alone! Ha! They were funny as hell together if you asked me, she stood up to him inch for inch and I watched him back down time and time again. In the over 70 years that I had known Edward, I had never seen him like this . . . I had never seen him really happy and I, along with the rest of the family, would do anything to make sure it stayed this way. Anything.

"Emmett!" Rose chided.

"No, Rose. Emmett is obviously delusional when it comes to my intentions, just like Edward. I have no idea where any of you got the idea that i would be a danger to the baby. Of all the ridiculous things," she said as she straightened her dress.

My Rosie was still fixing her makeup, even though she didn't need any of it, and we were all waiting on her.

"Enough, Tanya!" Kate all but demanded.

"I thought we were just going to chalk it off to Edward's over possessive nature and forget about it," Alice reminded us, "That is what we agreed on, right?"

"Yes, yes. We agreed, Alice," Tanya all but whined.

Jasper kept sending out yet another calming wave into the room, hoping we could somehow convince Tanya to just forget about being thrown in the water. Call it a mistake, whatever. She had no idea that her thoughts had been changed, and we weren't about to tell her. Kate and Irina had looked somewhat skeptical at the story we had given to explain Edward . . . too possessive, just listened to a portion of Tanya's thoughts, whatever. We just needed to move past this, and quickly.

"Excellent. Since we are all in agreement, let's get going. This new club will fill up so fast that even I wou'd be able to get us seats." Alice said, a serious expression on her face.

"Let's go then. I promised my Rosie dancing if she didn't have baby duty, so dancing it is!" I happily answered, heading for the door.

The Denali sisters grabbed their unnecessary wraps and we headed out to the gondola. We had lingered in Venice for a few more days before heading to Verona. Even then, we weren't going to Edward and Bella's house in Bolzano for awhile. They had wanted some time alone, and it seemed danger free enough to let that happen!

~oooOooo~