Author's Notes: A chapter for you! I think the dry spell may be over, my head is full of ideas and I find myself compelled to get to the computer! I even have a sequel in mind, that is, if you really like the characters of Bella and Edward's kids!
Please accept my apologies for not keeping a schedule and not updating. Not sure what the reason was, just could NOT bring myself to commit to a path for the characters . . . till now! Tell me if I get too wordy, I just sat down and this is where my mind took me!
Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.
Chapter 131 Families
BPOV
Spending time with my sisters as well as my new mother in law was amazing and I loved each one of them, enjoyed my time with them . . . but there was something now that just, well, called to me . . . bound me to Edward.
I needed him . . . wanted him in a way I had not experienced before.
I was lost in my thoughts, absent mindedly pulling back the sheer curtains in our bedroom, anxious for the sight of him returning from the forest. Esme was taking a turn supervising Masens lessons across the hall in the playroom and I had just a quiet moment to myself.
It wasn't that I wanted sex, though my desire for him was still there in spite of the fact that I had him repeatedly, staying awake till almost daybreak this morning. It was as though I wasn't complete without him, uncomfortable even existing in the world at large unless he was with me, not necessarily touching me . . . though there was always that . . . but communicating with me, responding to me . . . just being with me.
I simply had to be with him. Maybe I was beginning to understand the natural instinct among vampires, once they were mated, to be absolutely inseparable . . . sometimes for years on end.
I was starting to long to join his world, to be completely with him in every way possible. His control was amazing, holding himself back each and every time he was near me . . . touched me . . . but I longed for more. I was only just beginning to realize just how powerful he was - they all were. The story of Emmett tunneling under the Alps just for fun had somehow concreted the image of their strength for me. Even my son, though only a few months old was already much stronger than I was . . . and far more indestructible.
"Would you like some lunch, dear?" Esme asked, standing in the doorway to my room with Masen beside her, "I hear Jacob downstairs preparing something."
"Sure. Just let me grab a sweater and I'll be right down," I answered, knowing that the temperature in the rest of the mansion was cooler than here in our rooms, drafty in fact.
It was actually part of the charm of the place, castle like in some ways and the stone walls holding little or no warmth in spite of their frequent tapestry coverings. One of the improvements that Esme had made to Edward's wing of the house had been to install an updated boiler system to insure that the humans were comfortable - guest rooms being on the lower floor of the same wing. Given that it was England and winter, I was thankful she had thought of it. The rest of the family, of course, were oblivious to the temperature of the room and only had the heating system on and functioning to keep up appearances with the caretakers. It would be odd for the Cullens to have them open the house and not either turn on the heat or the air conditioning, depending on the season.
"Morning dad," I said as I came into the dining room.
Jake had already busied himself making lunch for both of them and had a sandwich plate ready for me as well as choice bites of last nights left over steak for Masen.
"That kid ever eat anything but meat, Bells?" dad asked, eyeing Masen as he climbed into his high chair and started forking bites of his lunch.
"We keep trying, dad." I sighed, "but he takes after his father. If it didn't come from an animal in some way, he has no interest in it."
Masen smiled cherub like at my dad, tucking his curls behind his ear and continuing to devour his plate of food.
"Just his nature, Charlie," Jake shrugged, "It isn't like he needs to eat it anyway, after all."
"Jake!" I exclaimed gesturing toward my son, "He needs to eat human food as well."
I hadn't meant to be so harsh, but I wanted Masen to continue to have human food and as many varieties as we could get him to eat. No one was sure yet whether he needed the food or whether he was fine on a diet of blood, like his father. As long as he had blood in his veins and a heartbeat I was determined to treat him as somewhat human . . . including what he ate. I glanced at my dad, an almost unreadable expression on his face. I wasn't sure if it was worry, disgust, or if he was just anxious.
"Don't worry, Grandpa," Masen chimed in, looking straight at my father, "I'm fine." Laughing, he added, " . . . and no, I'm not going to drink human blood. Daddy says we don't and so does grandpa Carlisle, grama Esme, aunt Rosalie and Alice and uncle Emmett and Jasper . . . well, uncle Jasper isn't totally sure, but he tells me not to anyway."
"Masen!" Esme chided, "of course we know you would never!"
"But grama, grandpa Charlie was wondering and I just wanted to answer him do he would stop worrying," Masen pouted, obviously unhappy about being scolded.
"Don't sweat it little guy, we all know you're cool with not hurting humans. Grandparents just always worry," Jake explained. "Especially human ones," he added, and I did not miss the look he exchanged with Charlie.
"Mom called," I shared as I brought my plate over to the table to sit down, trying for a change of subject, "Phil is doing well, but it seems he is a difficult patient," I laughed.
"Most men are, dear, even vampire men are no exception. Remember how difficult Edward was while his arm was healing?" she reminded us, causing even Carlisle to look up from his paper and nod in agreement.
"You were difficult, at best, after your wreck, sweetheart," Edward chimed in, appearing out of nowhere to stand beside me, the rest of his siblings walking in at human speed behind him.
"We'll, I guess so," I agreed, "it is hard to deal with not being able to do all the things you normally do."
"Well, just think little sister, if you're carrying twins you won't be able to tie your own shoes or get up out of a chair alone way earlier than last time!" he laughed.
"Tie her shoes? Edward didn't even let her walk by herself if he could help it, did he darlin'?" Jasper asked, directing the question to me but obviously waiting for his brothers response.
"He might not have let her walk by herself, but he damned sure let her fuc..."
"Emmett!" all the women in the room said in unison, Rosalie smacked him hard across the shoulder to punctuate the point, "Bella's father is sitting right here you big oaf!"
Though I was sure I was crimson, the blood pouring to the surface with my embarrassment, my dad was seemingly becoming accustomed to the Cullens . . . well to Emmett.
"It's alright ladies," he said, looking up from his food, fork in hand. He seemed to reach for his coffee in slow motion as I waited for his response - only to find the need to hide my face in Edward's chest when he finally did speak.
"I have had sex before, remember? And, if you think about it, don't you think it should worry me more if they could keep their hands off each other? After all, they've been married less than a year," Charlie explained.
"Stop, all of you! How did all of this come up when I just wanted my son to have some lunch?" I asked, but my dad continued as though I hadn't spoken.
"Don't get me wrong, Bells. I'm not thrilled that you're pregnant again . . . given the, well, the circumstances. It isn't like Edwards human, or isn't still human . . . and you're only 19 after all. You already have one child between you," he said, ducking his head as though to select his words thoughtfully. "I'm just worried."
"Dad, I..."
"No Bella, let him finish," Edward added, his hands still gently rubbing my back to comfort me. His face was stern, but something in his eyes told me that whatever my dad was going to say wasn't making him angry . . . and I was grateful for that.
"Do we have to have this discussion in front of our son?" I asked, looking up to meet Edward's eyes.
"Sweetheart, he would read it in everyone's mind but yours the minute he saw us, whether we talked away from his ability to hear or not. He can handle it, I promise," my husband comforted me, hugging me to him. I glanced over my shoulder and slowly turned in Edward's arms to face my dad who was still seated at the breakfast table, both hands holding onto his coffee cup as though to help him cope.
"Bells, I love you. Always have, always will," he said dismissively, as though I should know that already - which I did. "That boy there, Edward," he said, grimacing like he used to when he mentioned Edward's name, "that boy loves you like I have never seen - and you him for that matter. I don't doubt that the two of you will survive all of this, emotionally that is, it's just that . . . well, last time you had a baby Edward talked about being ready to change you if it went badly. It's that change that I'm worried about. I talked to some of the guys in the tribe back home and well, rumor is that you have to be . . . um . . ."
"I have to bite her, Charlie. Yes, that's true," Edward stated flatly, his body rigid and completely still.
"Well son, some of the Quileutes, they say you guys kill the person as often as you manage to change them . . . they say it's a dangerous business and frankly, it scares the hell out of me," he added, looking directly at Edward.
"It scares the hell out of me, too," Edward admitted, his faced etched in worry.
"I've done it four times, Charlie, first with Edward, then Esme, then Rosalie and Emmett. Four tries and four successes. Does that help?" Carlisle offered, giving up any attempt to continue reading his paper and neatly folding it and placing it on the table in front of him.
"It helps . . . if you're going to be the one doing it. That's not the case though, is it?" he asked, his head cocking to one side as he continued to stare at Edward.
"No, Charlie, it isn't. Bella wants me to be the one," Edward told him quietly.
"And how many times have you done this before?" dad asked.
"None."
"None?" dad repeated, his face shocked.
"Never," Edward stated flatly.
"I'm sure Edward is completely capable, Charlie. It's all about control and Edward has more control than I ever hope to have. He can do it just fine, I'm sure of it," Carlisle tried to comfort him.
Charlie continued, becoming animated, "Never? And you want the first time you try this . . . this . . . this whatever it is you call it . . ."
"Turning her," Edward interrupted, "We call it turning, when we bite a human and it results in their becoming what we are," he explained.
"You bite her. Like . . . Count Dracula and all that in the movies?" dad asked, his face becoming grim as he softly spoke, ". . . like we saw that boy Riley bite that girl in Atlanta?"
"Yes."
The room was dead quiet. Edward's family had ceased even breathing after he answered, waiting to see what would be said next.
"It's just the same, Charlie, except that not all her blood is removed and venom is injected into her to start the change. You saw Riley feed. He bit and drank from the girl, draining her. That won't happen, though that's the danger that the Quilettes speak of," his face bore no expression, unlike the horror stricken look on my dad's face, but he continued. "Once we start to feed, it can be difficult to stop. To change someone into what we are, some of the blood must be removed, but enough has to be left so that the heart can circulate the venom throughout the body . . . and enough venom has to be injected."
"Venom. You're poisonous then?" Charlie asked, looking absolutely white with shock.
"Yes," Edward answered . . . and the room was as still as a tomb. Masen had stopped eating and was looking from his father to his grandfather, depending on which one of them was speaking. He was staring at each one in tern.
"Our venom paralyses our victim so that we can feed more easily, though it is unnecessary to use it. We can inject it at will, once some of the blood is removed, and the victim will become unconscious and wake a few days later as one of us."
"So, that . . . that's what you want, Bells?" dad asked.
"I want to be with Edward and my children, dad. Forever," I told him. "Having me join his world is the only way that can happen."
"Venom," Charlie repeated, "Like, I don't know, like snake venom do you mean? Poisonous?"
"Yes, Charlie, something like that," Carlisle agreed.
"But poisonous kills you doesn't it? Like rattlesnake poison?" dad tried to clarify.
There was a long pause before Edward answered, but the answer came.
"Yes. It causes the heart to eventually stop beating, killing the victim," Edward explained coldly, no emotion whatsoever in his voice.
My dad's face turned even whiter and for a minute I was afraid he was going to pass out. Then the color began to rise in his cheeks . . .
"And you want this, Bells, you want him to try this, to do that to you?" dad asked flatly.
"Dad, yes. I want Edward and I want to be with Masen. I don't want to grow old and look sixty and my husband still look like a seventeen year old and my son always remaining a young man as well . . . well, if that's even what's going to happen to Masen," I explained. We had no good idea just how much of forever our son would share with us.
"Daddy is going to kill my mommy?" Masen asked, becoming frantic.
I was beside my son almost as fast as Edward was, this had gotten out of hand. Tears were running down his cheeks as he struggled to cope and understand what was being said around him. What should NEVER have been said around my son!
"No, sweetheart. Daddy would never hurt me, he just needs to make me more like you and him so that I'm not so breakable, that's all. I promise, baby," I soothed, stroking his curls.
"Son, you know how I feel about your mom. You're in my thoughts everyday. I would never do anything to separate her from us. Ever," Edward explained, staring straight into the bright green eyes of his son.
"Enough," I demanded, turning to face everyone else in the room, "This discussion is over. I would appreciate it if each of you would assure our son that his father would never hurt me. You all know it to be true and he needs to see that in all of your minds. I won't have him worried or scared that his father would ever hurt his mom."
I turned to my dad and let him have it, "This discussion should never have happened, not in front of Masen. I appreciate that you want to make sure I'm okay and I know you're scared, but my husband will take care of me just like he always has and I trust him completely. No more discussion of this today, does everyone understand?"
I insisted somewhat ferociously, well, as fierce and ferocious as a human could get in a room full of mythical creatures. Jake was grinning wildly, as was Alice. I didn't know if it was that they were proud of me or if Alice had seen something, but the discussion was over regardless.
I picked up my son and hugged him to me and Edward apparently picked us both up into his arms because I suddenly felt wind in my hair and saw that we were outside.
~oooOooo~
Jacob POV
"What the hell was that?" I asked aloud, eying Charlie with disbelief.
"What?" he answered as though he were the wounded party.
I tossed the dishes from the table into the sink somewhat harder than necessary and roughly grabbed his empty plate from in front of him.
"You knew damned well she planned to join him, she told you just after Masen was born . . ."
He cut me off, abruptly standing and shoving his chair aside.
"She told me, but I had no idea what that meant."
"You could have asked any of us, Charlie," Carlisle added calmly, obviously trying to defuse whatever was happening. "I'd be happy to answer any concerns you have now . . . let's go into the study," he offered quietly, rising and gesturing towards the door to the rest of the house.
"Oh hell no, Carlisle," I demanded, "I want to know just why the hell Charlie chose to ask other members of my tribe instead of asking me."
"You?" Charlie scoffed. "You're his best friend, dammit," he said as he gestured towards the door Edward had left through.
"I'm her best friend, too, Charlie! I have been her best friend through all of this, "I said gesturing around me to all of the Cullens, the room, the house . . . the situation . . ."
"You think I would sugar coat it? Lie to you? You think the idea of him sinking his teeth into her neck and drinking her blood doesn't scare the hell out of me?"
Charlie stood dumbfounded. Apparently I was getting pretty adamant and I knew the veins in my neck stood out and my face was red. Hell, my entire body was strained and starting to vibrate.
"Jacob, I . . ." Carlisle reached toward me, trying to sooth me. I knew what he thought, what they all thought but I was NOT about to change into wolf here and now. No danger of that!
"It's okay, Carlisle. I'm not going to phase. Charlie here just needs to understand that he isn't the only one worried about Izzy."
I turned back toward Charlie, giving him my full attention, "She wants him, Charlie. You saw how she was without him . . . how she was in the hospital after the wreck. I tried to be there for her, tried my hardest, but it's HIM she wants. She'll die without him, Charlie. I know you're worried, we all are, but she won't survive without him . . . or him without her for that matter. You see it, you'd be blind not to."
He looked at his shoes for a full minute, "I see it. I know it's true."
"Talk to Carlisle, Charlie. No one here is going to lie to you or soft sell anything. We all love her, Chief," I said, reaching a hand toward him.
"That's right, I know that's right, son. It's just that Paul . . ."
"Paul?" I asked, incredulous, "You asked Paul?"
Charlie looked at me, determined to defend his actions.
"Yes, Paul."
"Charlie, Paul HATES the Cullens, just like he hates all vampires. He makes no distinction," i explained.
"I know that, son, that's why I asked him. He would give it to me straight and as unflattering as possible . . . and he did," he added, eyebrows going up and a scowl on his face. I started to rail him but he wasn't finished yet, "I asked Sam as well."
"Sam?" Carlisle questioned, "I'm not sure he feels any less hatred for us than Paul does."
Charlie stared at Carlisle, "You'd be wrong about that, doc. Sam said that Edward was a good man, and that I shouldn't get so worked up. Told me to think about it, that boy had gone to every available path to find Bella, had saved her life himself inspite of all the blood at the motorcycle wreck . . . had stayed with her regardless. He told me how Edward had to be kept from running into that burning house when he thought she was inside . . . and he told me about how it was with Edward, I mean how he sat motionless in that meadow in Forks for weeks when I told him she had left town with Jake."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sam? Sam backing up Edward?
"No, son, Sam told me the same thing you and Carlisle are saying. He said that boy would never do anything to risk losing her," he looked back and forth between us, "It's just that, well, I'm her father dammit, and I'm supposed to protect her!"
Carlisle put a hand on Charlie's shoulder, "Come on Charlie, let's go for a walk and talk, one dad to another."
Carlisle and Charlie left, Carlisles arm around the Chief, and I felt myself take a breath finally.
"Damn, dude, I didn't know you had it in you to stand up to Charlie like that!" Emmett high fived me. Even Rosalie smiled and nodded her head in my direction. Alice, well Alice was bounding up and down and clapping her hands together. I must have looked at her like she was nuts because she stopped and cocked her head toward me.
"Jacob, really! Someone needed to set him straight, and more importantly Masen needed to be able to see this in our minds. That whole thing really scared the little guy and his attitude toward his family, toward vampires, needs to be kept as a positive thing," Alice told me, somewhat ominously.
"What the hell? Why wouldn't Masen be positive towards his own family? What the hell are you talking about, anyway?" I asked, sensing there was more to this.
Everyone in the room looked antsy. Vampires don't shuffle around or fidget, and they were doing both.
"Alright, somebody spill. What the hell aren't you telling me?" I all but demanded.
"Dhampyres" Esme said quietly, "That's what you're getting at, isn't it Alice?"
"Yes," Alice looked surprised.
"Carmen and Elezar came to visit us in Highlands last week, and Elesar was telling Carlisle and I something about them," Esme explained.
"Just wait a damned minute."
(Esme interrupted with her normal "language" remark)
I rolled my eyes, "Just what the hell is a Dhampyre?"
"It's the name our kind give to something we all considered, well, mythical. The offspring of a human and a vampire. Most of us regard their existence as only a fairytale, not something that is real . . . or even possible," Esme spoke quietly.
"Huh," I scoffed, "well tell THAT to Masen cause he sure as hell seems real!"
"ANYWAY," she continued, "Dhampyres supposedly have all of our abilities, and none of our weaknesses . . . making them something sought after by those who want power. They are supposed to be extremely adept at detecting and killing vampires and unusually intolerant of them." She looked embarrassed, "At least that was what Elesar told us."
"That's what most of our kind think," Alice added, "So you can see where it's important to keep Masen's attitude toward vampires very positive. We have no way of knowing if the stories are legends or rumors or fairytales, but if they're true and he has a natural tendency to dislike us, then we need to do whatever we can to change that."
"You're getting all worked up over something that just isn't even possible," Emmett bellowed, "Little dude loves all of us, especially his uncle Emmett."
"For now," Jasper added, his brow furrowed.
"What have you heard?" I asked.
"Rumors - just rumors," he replied. "I didn't have the same . . . upbringing that the rest of the Cullens had, Jake. I was . . . involved, shall we say, in some of the vampire wars and territorial fights in the South, after the Confederate War. There were rumors, fears . . . something that was stronger even than the vampires that surrounded and fought against us . . ."
"Well, enough of this rubbish," Esme insisted as she rose to stand and gather the remaining items off the table. "I'll not tolerate this kind of discussion of my grandson. He loves all of us and I for one intend to make sure that continues. Jake made lunch, so I'll clean up. Rose, I did Masen's school lessons this morning with him, you have everything ready for his lesson tomorrow?" she asked.
"Sure. I just need to print a couple of things off the internet," she said hesitantly, but took the opportunity to get the hell out of the room "I'll just go do that!"
Alice was still standing still with her arms crossed, and the smile the little pixie continued to wear was just fucking annoying.
"What?" I blurted, turning to her.
"Don't you see?" she smirked.
"See what? See that everyone is now worried and upset not only about Bella, but Masen?"
"No, dog," she smiled. "Don't you see that this family, you and Charlie included, are stronger than ever?"
I thought about that. We had just shouted and glared at each other, humans, vampires and werewolf alike, and there was no blood . . . not even property damage. huh. Everyone had spoken their peace and there was no bloodshed.
"Bella stood up to her dad, and everyone else. Haven't you noticed the confidence she has gained, and the trust she shows for all of us? And Masen needed to see and to know just how strong this family is!"
Well, damn. I guess the little pixie was right.
~oooOooo~