Nuclear Winter

Becca:

I was just getting to school, after Edward dropped me off to find parking in the student lot. I was just getting into the building when I saw a new girl with long dark hair, Bree, I believe. Adam, the PD from Seattle, was dropping her off. I could hear them talking now.

Adam was giving her a quick hug, "You sure you want to do this?"

Bree kissed him on the cheek, "I'm sure, ok? You don't need to worry. I got this covered."

He looked a little worried, "Well, if you have any trouble, just ask Bella for help if you need. I know she's around somewhere."

She giggled, "You're worrying too much, now. I'll look for her, if that'll make you feel better. I'm pretty sure I'll be ok, though."

I walked up to them, "Hey, Adam, right?"

He nodded.

"I'm Becca Cullen. I'll show her around, and I'm good friends with Bella, too, so we'll definitely meet up with her today."

He gave us an OK sign, and looked to Bree, "Have an awesome day, then."

She smiled as he left, and turned to me, "Hey, thank you for helping me reassure him. He worries about me a lot."

I muttered, "I think he's into you as much as you're into him."

She heard me, and gave me a bit of a look, "Um, we're not close like that. I mean, there's still Damien. He might get mad if he knew I was into someone else."

I took her shoulder, "Wait. Damien Summers? Tall guy, long black hair? Don't tell me you're crushing on him, are you?"

She looked away, embarrassed, "Well he might notice me one day. I know how well he gets along with his sisters and all that."

I shook my head, and watched as her shy smile faded, "Those aren't his sisters he's living with. One of those girls is his fiancée, and the other is his daughter."

Her jaw seemed to literally drop, as she asked me, "How do you know that?"

"I know them. They drop by the Cullen mansion a lot. He's like their adopted child, while being Sheriff Swan's son in law of sorts. They're not married yet, but they will be."

She looked down for a moment, and thought aloud, "He seemed so nice, that I really thought he might be interested. He even asked his little sister to get me dessert."

I laughed lightly, "Yeah, no. That's his daughter, with Bella Swan."

"How, though? That would have to mean that she had her daughter at like 13 or something."

I looked around to make sure no one was listening, "It's a magic thing. I'm sure I could have the Cullens explain it to you, or Bella, herself."

She was uneasy, "That's ok. I'll just ask Bella, myself, some other time."

I squeezed her shoulder, firmly, "I think it's best for you to know what's up with everyone. This isn't something you want to be kept in the dark about, believe me. I totally know what I'm talking about."

She shrugged, "Ok. Just lead the way I guess."

I was able to show Bree around the school and get her to know the whole place, so she wouldn't get lost. It was actually kind of fun playing the big sister. The only thing was that I noticed Edward was watching from afar, and shaking his head at me from time to time. While Bree was in one of her classes, I took him aside, deciding that we needed to really talk about the terms of our relationship.

"Becca, why are you telling her so much?"

"It's what you should've done for me, Edward."

"I tried to keep you out of it for your own safety."

"Oh, really? Look how great that turned out for everyone, including my parents."

"Well, Becca, you've given me no choice. I am forbidding you from going into battle with the Volturi."

"Excuse me?" I actually did shove him, and he was thrown against the lockers. I was still upset, though. "Did you just say I was forbidden? Did you just give me an order?"

He was hunched over as he came back to face me, saying, "I'm telling you for your own safety."

I shook my head, "No. You don't get to tell me anything, Edward. You see, I'm not just some little girl that has to follow your every command. This isn't 1920, or whenever you're from. This is the new age. If Bella wants me to fight, I'm going to do just that."

He did get angry then, "Bella's blinded by her lover into believing she can stand against the Volturi."

"She did, a few weeks back when I was sitting around and listening to you play piano, while the rest of your sibs were trying to figure out how to take action."

"Damien is the weak link in that chain. He's gone ahead and made so many fans, including Bella, in all his talk about free will, but he's no better because he was a soldier before he met us. In fact, he was made to kill. That was his program. How does everyone know this isn't his way of getting rid of us all so he won't have anyone to stand against him when he tries to take over the planet?"

"First of all, Edward, you're talking out of your ass. Secondly, he has a daughter, and a wife, whom he loves. He has a lot to lose if we don't win in this battle. Why would he work against that?"

"Becca, he's working against our chances of success by not letting me take part in the decision making, don't you get that?"

"Alright, listen. I'm only going to say this once. Jess told me about a few things, and when I heard about what happened, it made me feel a little uneasy."

He rolled his eyes, "Unbelievable. You'd listen to that blabbermouth?"

"She told me that you went to Voltera when Bella chose Damien over you, and you told them about her."

He raised his hand to strike me, growling, "Becca, stop. Don't say anymore."

"If you try to slap me, Edward, I will cancel your abilities to kick your ass all over the school. Now, what happened, Edward? Was that true?"

"I filed a grievance with them, since they are the current world authority of our kind."

"Why would you do that knowing they wanted you to be one of them in the first place, Edward?"

"I don't know! I was desperate! OK?"

"The point is, you told them about Bella, didn't you? She wasn't involved in any of this until you mentioned her. You put her in their line of sight, and after that she could not remain unseen to them, could she?"

"Damien was the one that brought her!"

"Bella was taken there at Alice's insistence, wasn't she?"

"If Damien hadn't been there, everything would've been just fine."

"How do you know they wouldn't have just killed Bella, then and there, and had you and Alice repurposed?"

"That would not have happened!"

"Well, if the enemy wasn't willing to do that, they were either super arrogant, or just plain stupid."

"What's your point, Becca?"

"My point is this: Jess told me that Damien was able to get you all pulled out of there."

"That's not true. Alice told Aro that Bella would be one of us, and Damien was just a nothing. He was dying at that point, anyway."

"So, you and Alice were trying to take Bella, and leave him behind, weren't you?"

"God, are you on his side, too?"

"No, Edward. I love you, but I'm trying to think logically. From what it seems like, you and Alice were trying save yourselves, and would sell someone down the river to do it."

"That's not true, Becca. You're thinking like Bella, now."

"I'm thinking that if anything, she has reason not to allow you in her ranks, let alone make any decisions for the high brass."

"I belong in the high brass. I should be leading with Bella."

"Were you going to leave Damien behind, if it were possible to take Bella with you back to Forks?"

"Becca…"

"Were you going to leave behind the very fellow that convinced Bella to come get your sorry ass, and save you from the Volturi?"

"This is all ancient history. Why bring it up now?"

"I'm trying to tell you why you're not in the high brass, Edward. Because no one wants a douche bag in charge that's willing to leave behind the people that helped them."

"Great! So, you're a Damien fan, now. That's awesome."

"No, I'm trying to tell you why Bella doesn't trust you. If I were in her position, I wouldn't trust you either. I'm not, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and believe that you'd be the better person and pull Damien out with you when you and Alice escaped with Bella."

"Bella doesn't trust me because I don't get along with Damien. That's all there is to it."

"You mean, she doesn't trust you because you were trying to break them up, and just being a major pain. Look, baby, I'm on your side. I'm not going to back out of this fight, though, because those bastards killed my parents. They'll probably try to kill the whole bunch of us, too, if we're not ready. So, that's that. No more arguments on that."

"Becca-"

"Oh, and another thing: You don't get to tell me what to do, where to go, who to talk to, what to say, or how to be. Do you get me?"

"I'm just trying to get you to be your best possible self."

"That's very stifling, and complete stupidity. If you are trying to control me, then you can spend forever alone. If you do this whole control bit while we're together, you can sleep outside with the wolves, got it?"

He looked resigned now, like he wished we never had this talk, "Yes, ma'am"

"One more thing, Edward. You don't pull the parts out of my car to keep me from going anywhere. Do it, and you're a bachelor again. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, look! It's time for me to meet Bree after her class. Did you get all that we talked about?"

"Yes, I did. Becca."

"What did you learn?"

"Not to be a douche bag."

"Great. So, you did learn something. Don't forget it, either." I told him over my shoulder as I walked away. He sighed, and followed me as I walked down the hall to Bree's last class.

"Anything else, while we still have a moment to ourselves?"

I thought about it, and told him, "I think you should start college for premed and work at the FMC as an intern. That would be way more productive than doing high school over and over."

"It's our cover, Becca."

"Well, find another cover, because that huge set of framed grad caps is so lame."

"It's supposed to be a joke."

"Then, it's a lame joke, Edward. I wasn't laughing when I first saw it. Actually, it creeped me out when I thought about it."

I went to join Bree. She waved happily as we met up again, and we went to lunch to join the rest of the Cullen clan, as well as Bella's group. I never felt so glad to belong.

Bella:

I was sitting with Jess and Angela when Becca came in with Edward, and Bree Tanner, Adam's ward. They both came over and sat at our table, Mike introducing to himself to the new girl, and making him look like a total jackass, as usual.

"Hiya, hot stuff. I'm Mike. That's Bella, Jess, Angela, and you've met Becca, already."

She giggled, "Bree Tanner. Hi, everyone."

I gestured to Mike's open seat between Jessica and me, "Come on over. Be glad to have you."

Mike let his head drop when I had Bree take his seat. He went quickly to go find another one.

Bree turned to ask me, "Are you with Deputy Summers?"

I put one arm around her, "I knew you were crushing on him. It's cool. I'm not mad or anything, but we're pretty close."

She looked around, and asked, "How close is close?"

I smiled at that, "He's my fiancé for the moment. We're not quite married yet, but we will be."

She let her head down, "I see."

I lifted her chin, "I'm sure you'll find someone cool. He's not like the only game in town, you know?"

She smiled weakly, "I guess you're right. Any suggestions?"

Mike popped up between us, "Well, there's always me…or if you're in the market for weirdo, there's Cullen, there."

She covered her mouth, whispering, "Does he mean Edward Cullen? He's kind of creepy, if you ask me."

Becca turned in our direction, "I heard that, Bree. Besides, Edward is taken by none other than moi."

Jessica laughed, "You won't have to fight anyone off with a stick for him, you know?"

Becca playful scowled at her, "At least I have a boyfriend, Jess."

Jess rolled her eyes, "A creepy one that watches you in your sleep, still. No, that's more of a stalker, I'd say."

Bree turned to me, asking, "Are they always like this?"

I shrugged, "They're actually really good friends, and they used to like the same guy at one point. Jess was with Mike, but he told her the whole bit about just wanting to be friends."

Mike was gathering up some fruit in a bowl to bring back to Bree. She made a sour face, "No big loss there, if you ask me. He's such a dork."

I did laugh this time, "Is there anyone you do like?"

She blushed, "Well, there is one other guy."

I tried to puzzle it, and looked up to think, "Let me guess. He's the guy that's watching you, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, him. He took me in, and gave me a meal, and a roof over my head."

I had to give her a hesitant look, "Hmm."

She tossed her head to the side, "What? Something wrong?"

I leaned forward to take her hand, "Well, there's a difference between gratitude, and love. If you feel something for him, make sure it's because you really feel something deep and personal. Don't just do it because you feel you should. I mean, it's great that he helped you, but I just want you to make sure that it's not just a phase, you know?"

She shook her head, "I know that I do love Adam, but he's been so stubborn about seeing it that after a while I gave up. I don't know how to make it clear to him, other than giving myself to him, completely."

I squeezed her hand, "When it's right in your heart, you'll feel it. Then go with that feeling. If you're having doubts, you'll just have to wait. I'm just saying that you don't want to rush in or anything."

"How'd you know Damien was the one?"

I smiled, "All he had to do was tell me about himself. When he did, I knew he was the one."

She hugged me, "Thank you for that, Bella. I really needed to hear that."

I wrapped one arm around her as she did, telling her, "It's no problem. Just keep me posted on what you decide, k?"

"Why's that?"

I giggled, "Because now you've got me super-curious."

She smirked, "Curiosity killed the cat, you know?"

I grinned, "Not this cat. It just helped this one to get her claws."

Victoria:

When Leah entered the war room, she looked over at me as I looked over the topography maps for the local area. Jasper was with me too, as well as his wife, Alice. I personally was not too much a fan of Alice, but if Jasper trusted her, I couldn't quite argue with that. He was after all, one of the drill-sergeants and aside from myself, and Damien, one of the better tacticians in the group. Bella was checking in every few hours now to see what the strategy was, so I did want to make sure we were ready.

Leah asked, "Mind if I sit in?"

I waved her over, "I need your input, actually since you seem to know these woods pretty well."

She smirked at that, "I have some idea. What'd you have in mind?"

Jasper spoke up, "I just got news from my contact that the Volturi want to attack in deep winter, to reduce visibility, as well as make the conditions almost impossible for us to fight them."

Alice looked at him, "That's not what my vision says."

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, Alice. We're not basing our tactics on your visions, anymore."

She put her hand on her hip, "Then, where the hell are you getting your info from?"

Jasper swept his eyes at all of us, announcing, "From Chelsea of the Volturi. I am currently using her as my eyes and ears, and she doesn't know she's doing it."
Alice protested, "Jaz, don't you see what's happening? This whole army thing is tearing us apart."

He shook his head, "Alice, I love you, but that doesn't figure into this. I'm doing this for us. I want us to survive. If we don't have something reliable, we might just end up preparing too soon, or too late. For the sake of Bella's movement, we have to time this precisely."

Alice seethed at all of us, "Since when did all of you become Bella Swan's bitches? I swear to god, you're all blinded by her because she's got that guy of hers telling you all what to do, but using her voice to do it. She's being controlled, like the rest of you. That guy will be the death of us, I swear."

She stomped out, and I looked over at Jasper, "Ok, so maybe it's not the influence of the Volturi that made her like that. She's just being a total bitch."

He waved his hand dismissively, "She's still upset about the whole destiny thing she had seen. We can't afford to think about it, right now. There's too much riding on this at the moment. Leah, do you think you can get your wolves to wait at these points outside of the town to make sure we box in the Volturi?"
Leah looked over at me, "So, it's the Valley of Death tactic? I thought that would only work for small parties."

I nodded, "They'll have to come in through a bottle neck at this juncture by the woods, otherwise, they'll just fall into the river. We use the land at our disposal if they want to use the elements against us. We leave nothing to chance, either. Carlisle says he might know an elemental caster to force them into the bottle neck we want them to traverse, and then we'll have them."

Leah agreed, "They'd want to send their pawns in first, too. That would be the brunt of their forces. If we do a full fledged bombing run, we'd be able to reduce the party quickly."

I added, "Assuming they take the route we want them to. I have a feeling they might be arrogant enough to cross this massive field here, and they're hoping the winter will cover their tracks."

Leah looked worried, "Won't they see anyone coming a mile away if we send anyone over there?"

I shook my head, "Not if your wolves are waiting in the woods for them. Also, there is another hybrid that will be able to cloak your scent."

Jasper chose to point out, "They might just try to track us back to the base, you know?"

I swept my gaze across the two of them, "Bella said that she contacted two of Carlisle's friends, Zenna and Zephrina. They're going to split up. One is to put up an illusionary coat to make it seem like the base is abandoned, and the other will make the battle outfitted town look like it's occupied."

Jasper smiled at that, "Then they'll just pass over us. Excellent."

Leah nodded, "My wolves will be ready to box them in once they get to town. I guess after that, we'll just give the battle cry, and end it once and for all."

I placed my hand out, and each of them placed their own hands on mine, as I said a sort of prayer, "May all of us come away from this without having to bury anyone."

They both bowed their heads, and we looked at each other solemnly, making a promise to try to do our best to keep everyone on our side alive.

Renesmee:

Alec and I managed to finally get some time alone, even if my mom did make sure that someone was always around. We managed to find an empty house in Forks, which we had found. It was about a mile from grandpa's house, and had been somewhat set up for living. We went in through the top window, which had been broken in. He punched in the rest of the glass, and we climbed in. We had a flashlight, even though he insisted we didn't need it. We went to the ground floor level, and found a table set up for dinner. Only there was no food, just fresh silverware, empty plates, and a somewhat new candelabra holding fresh mint scented candles at the center of the table.

Alec looked at these things with puzzled amusement, "I can't even imagine what that must be like, anymore."

I turned to him, squeezing his hand, "What would that be?"

He gave me an embarrassed shrug, telling me, "Eating, I suppose. I can't remember what it was like."

I took him into an embrace, "I want you to bite me."

He drew back in horror, "I can't do that. Do you know what you're asking?"

I pulled him back to me, "I want you to be with me. You need to be enhanced, and biting me is the only way to get that."

He reached up to touch my face, "Your father would kill me once he found out, you know?"

I kissed him deeply, and pulled back, "I won't let anyone hurt you again. So, bite me."

When he did, I felt him drink my blood, and when he was done, he said, "What did I just see?"

I kissed him again, and it tasted coppery, but even as I wiped my mouth, I kept my eyes on him, "You saw my life up to now, including how I felt when I met you for the first time."

Confused, he said, "The first time you touched me, I saw your father's memories flood into me."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "It's a defensive screen. My dad uses it as a screen to keep people from looking into his mind."

"Isn't that painful for him, though?"

I shook my head, "It's just a screen, nothing more. Those memories don't matter to him anymore. That's why it's so easy to just use them as protection from anyone trying to find out about him. It's useful against telepaths, or someone like Aro. What really matters to my dad are my mom, and I."

"What should we do now?"

I giggled, "Let's try out your senses first. I ordered a pizza. Chicago style."

He still looked puzzled, "Aren't I supposed to be in pain from my nerves catching up with everything?"

I held his face, telling him, "I willed it so it doesn't hurt that much, but we better sit down before it kicks in."

We found a couch nearby, so I could lay him down. When he did, his face started to darken, and then I could tell he was feeling his organs kick in, as well as his nerves. I took his hand, in both of mine, and held it tightly while he screamed in silence. After a moment, his lungs kicked in, too, and I could hear him scream. I put my head to his chest as he calmed down. His body also grew to match my age. He opened his eyes after he went through his rebirth pains, taking my hand to his lips and kissing it.

"So, how do you feel?"

"We need to get me what you call toothpaste, and a toothbrush. After the pizza, I will have to really wash my mouth out."

I smiled, "What'd you have in mind?"

He reached down, and gently reached for my rear, "I was thinking of testing my other senses."

I pulled his hand back up, "Slow down, tiger. We'll get to that soon, but not today, ok?"

He sighed, "Fine."

I giggled again, making him smile.

Then he burst into a grin, "Can't say I didn't try, right?"

"Well, hey, I do like persistence, to a point…"

He looked hopeful, "Is that an invite?"

I scowled, "Easy there, tiger."

He chuckled, his voice resigned, "Ok, ok. Got it."

Bree:

Adam had been working late these days, anyway. So, I decided to make dinner, a Mediterranean beef stew I'd read about in some magazine at the market. When he got home, I was setting up the table, and he chuckled as he came over to sit down. I set up the table like restaurant style, too, even setting up 3 drinking goblets on the corner of our place settings.

"This is awesome. What's the occasion?"

I smiled, and told him, "I'd say the occasion is us. I want us to start living as a couple."

He cleared his throat, "Bree, I'm like 6 years older than you. So, I'm not sure how it would look, you know?"

I met his eyes, my voice firm, "I don't care how it looks. I love you. All this time, I thought I was crushing on Damien, but I realized I should be looking beside me all this time. I should've noticed how alone you are."

He stood up, "I'm not worried about that. I just want you to live your life, and make sure you get the best I couldn't give to my brother."

I went to him, wrapping my arms around him, "I know what you want for me, but you have to realize that I'm not your brother, and I can't be your sister because I see you as more than that."

He allowed himself to wrap one arm around me, "I knew that from day one, Bree, really. I tried to tell myself that as long as we can live like that, I'd be happy with just that from day to day. Sending you to school, grabbing magazines for you at the store, listening to you tell me about your new boyfriends, or something like that."

I hugged him tighter, "I want you to be my boyfriend. I always have. I crushed on Damien because I knew you were trying to just think of me as a sister. I realized, though, I can't fight it anymore. I don't want to."

He pulled back from me for a moment, looking into my eyes, "Bree…if we do this, I might end up breaking your heart. I don't have long, you know?"

My heart sank, "What?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but I don't have a long time. That's why I wanted you to find someone, so I know you'd be happy when-"

I cried into his chest, "Then, take me now. I want to be with the guy I love before having to let him go."

He kissed me then, deep but I could feel how sad he was, as he whispered, "You won't have to let me go anytime soon. I'll be right here when you get home."

I pulled back, to look into his eyes, "Until the final battle, that is. Right?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"Becca filled me in on everything, and told me what the deal is with you. So, I know what's going on."

He looked down, "I meant to tell you what was going on with me."

I pulled back to cross my arms, "When? Were you going to tell me just before you 'went to work' one day? Or better yet, leave me a letter?"

"I wouldn't have done that."

"The only thing I want right now is you, Adam. One night with you, before I have to let you go."

"What are you going to do then?"

"I want to go to Victoria, so she can turn me."

He took my shoulders, "Bree, you can't do that."

I reached up to hold one of his hands, "I can. If you're going into this fight, I want to stand by you when this fight happens."

He took me into his arms, "Ok, Bree. Ok, I'll allow it, and then, once I'm gone, I want you to live a normal, apple pie life with the Cullens, ok?"

I shook my head, smiling sweetly, "I want to make a normal apple pie life with our baby."

He did a double take, "Wait, you didn't tell me you were-"

I reached up to touch his face, "I'm not. I want you to give me a baby, right now, before you have to go. Once you do, I can let you go, as long as I know I have something, or someone to remind me of you. So, please, leave me a part of you, so we can be together somehow."

He leaned over to kiss me, "Bree, once we do this, I'm going to take you to the Cullens."

I shook my head, "Take me to Bella's house. I trust her a little more than I trust them."

"Aren't you fussy? You're not even pregnant yet, and already you're complaining."

I nudged him, "Shaddup. Anyway, I know what I'm talking about." As I said this, I lead him to his seat, so we could have dinner, and made love afterward.

I pulled him to bed as he took off my clothes, which wasn't hard because I was wearing a small sundress, and no underwear. He pulled it off over my head easily enough, and then I pulled him onto me, opening my legs for him to enter. He gave me an unsure look, but I nodded, and he entered me easily enough. He placed his hands on either side of my head as he moved his hips into me, over and over. I wrapped my legs around him, kissing him as I held on to him, releasing and then tightening my legs around him. I only had one arm around his neck while my other arm rested on the bed to support me while I felt him pound into me, deeply. He pushed into me one more time, and then we both climaxed.

It was wonderful, and when I checked, it took on the first try. He held me after I told him, and even cried as I snuggled against him.

He mused, "What should we name the baby?"

I thought about it, "Not sure yet, what if it's a boy?"

He kissed the top of my head, "Would you be cool with naming the boy Shane?"

I looked up at him, "Why that name?"

He seemed really sad, "It was my younger brother's name."

I reached up to his face, "It's beautiful, and if it's a girl, Shayna."

He held me tightly, "Thank you, babe. Thank you."

"No, baby. Thank you for everything."

"Well, let's not say goodbye yet. I'll get us some baby books tomorrow, and all that. You gotta finish the year in high school first."

I shrugged, "I'll ask Bella about the whole thing once I'm a hybrid."

He seemed to tense up, "I don't know about that."

I stroked his cheek, "It's going to be fine. She knows, since she had Ren."

He chuckled, "Oh, so you found out about Ren, huh?"

I sat up so I could kiss him, "And then some. I think we could learn a lot from Bella and Damien."

He kissed me back, deeply and passionately, "I think there's a lot we could learn from each other right now."

I giggled as he started caressing me again, "Did I get you going again?"

He started kissing my neck, "You know you did, Bree."

He was about to enter me again, and I held his chest before he started again, looking up at him, and pleadingly, I asked, "Would you go slower this time?"

He gave me a loving smile, "Anything you want is yours, babe. Anything. Just name it."

I had my eyes on him as he was leaning over me, "All I want is you."

The second time around was much better, as he had me get on the bed on all fours while I looked into the mirror placed in front of the bed. I watched him as he knelt behind me, and slowly entered me, grabbing my waist as he pulled me to him, over and over. It got so hard that I leaned back against him, watching him kiss my neck and caress my small breasts, squeezing and pinching my nipples as he drove himself into me, faster and harder. As he held my waist, I felt him tense up, and I knew what was coming because I was almost there, myself. We both moaned loud, and climaxed. Then, we fell back to the bed, as he reached for the comforter to cover us. He slept with me leaning against him and after a moment, I dozed off too, as I lay with my husband.

Bella:

From what Alice told me, she had a vision of the Volturi coming to Forks soon, but Jasper told me that his contact said they did not want to come unprepared. Another thing that Alice mentioned was the fact that if we were preparing for war, the Volturi would already be sending out for people to fight for them.

I finally had to ask, "What alternative do you have in mind?"

She held my shoulders, "I think we should gather witnesses, not soldiers. At least then, we can say that we want to prove to them we are not a threat."

"Alice, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Of course, they think we're hostile. They even tried to attack us and take our army. What do you call that?"

"We go with Alec's plan, and have our soldiers pull far back. In fact, we should meet in the snowfield outside of town. We can negotiate there, don't you think?"

I shook my head, "We already decided on a course of action, Alice. There's nothing more to say. Now, please, just let this be so we don't have to constantly argue over this. Our minds are made up."

"Yours and Damien's, you mean?"

"My mind and everyone else's, Alice. That means the whole group."

Alice looked resigned, and looked around, "Why don't we talk about the engagement dinner tomorrow?"

I regarded her dryly, "Our what? We like have a daughter, who's dating now. I think an engagement dinner would be kind of pointless."

She smiled, "Hey now, you told me to take care of all the wedding details, so I'm doing just that."

I waved my hand dismissively, "Alright, fine. Make it like in a week, or 2 weeks, if it's alright."

She pouted, pursing her lips, "That sounds like it'd be too far away. I prefer to do it sooner."

I made sure my tone was firm, "I've got a lot of planning to attend to, myself. So, make it 2 weeks. We might miss it otherwise, ok?"

She crossed her arms, like I'd seen my daughter do so many times when she was upset, and she finally just burst into a smile, and hugged me.

I walked away, feeling uneasy for some reason. I'm not sure why I would feel like that, but something told me I might not like the engagement dinner too much.

Bree approached me the morning after, since Victoria had changed her. She was also carrying twins, but they would be born during the summer following my graduation as well as a few others of my friends. She wanted me to help train her. So, I took it upon myself to train her in everything that Damien had taught me. I could say that she was a fast learner. She took to the hand-to-hand combat like a fish to water, but what she loved was the sword combat. It was like what she looked forward to the most, on those training sessions after school. On one of those sessions, she wanted to talk to me about how I handled being a parent.

"Does it get hard once they're born?"

I parried a blow, and drove the sword back to her, almost throwing her off balance. She dug her foot into the ground, and made herself take a short jump back. I couldn't help but smile at that, "It can be. I can say it's definitely a unique experience, you know? Being a young parent just feels so overwhelming sometimes, but I would say Damien is probably having a lot more trouble adjusting."

She lifted the sword above her head, driving it towards me in a diagonal slash, and asked, "Why's that?"

I raised my own sword to block, "Maybe because he didn't quite grow up the way I did. He's always taken a lot on since he was really young. I really wish he didn't have to suffer so much, but I guess it's what makes him strong."

She pulled away again, and tried a vertical slash, "Did you learn a lot of that from him, you think?"

As I rested my blade on both hands above my head, I grinned at that, "He tells me I've always had it in me. I want to believe that, but at the same time, I think it's because we're together. I don't have to prove anything to him, you know? I still want to fight by his side, if it comes down to it, though."

She drew back her blade, trying to possibly bring the blade up diagonally to come across my torso. She didn't have enough leverage though, so it was easy to knock the sword out of her hands, and she was forced to pull back as the sword fell to the ground. I stood on the blade, as she cursed, "Damn it."

I gave her a heavy lidded smirk, "You're unarmed, but that was an awesome fight. Let's try again, but I want you to concentrate this time. We'll talk about the other stuff later, ok?"

She nodded as I handed the sword to her again, "Ok, let's do this again, with feeling."

When the engagement party finally came, everyone was sitting down at their assigned table. Even my parents were sitting at the same table with their own dates; Dad with Sue Clearwater, and my mom with Phil Dwyer. Everyone got up, making their speeches about how glad they were to meet me, and finally one more speaker came to the podium by the front table.

She looked around at everyone, her eyes seeming to glint with tears, "I need to tell everyone here something. I see everyone smiling, and laughing as they look at each other. There's so much happiness in this room, so I find myself unable to contain this feeling of dread within me."

Jess was looking over at me, shaking her head.

Still, Alice continued on, "I don't think a war will solve our problems, at all. In fact, Bella, your solution can only bring death. If we fight this battle, we will lose Carlisle, and my dear Jasper. We may also lose Leah and Seth, whom we've come to regard as part of our ever-growing family. So, I propose a counter-tactic to Bella's plan, and I'm going to call it the DOVE. It is the only thing I can think of to offset this terrible destiny I see in store for everyone. Furthermore, I propose that we do more than negotiate with the Volturi, as Ren has done with her lover, Alec. I say we gather witnesses to attest that we mean no harm, or war. At least this way, we can all move to a better future. I want Carlisle to take command of this faction, and I will follow you all the way."

Just like that, Alice had severely crippled the preparations I had made for our survival, in favor of a fake peace.

Continued…

Well, there it is. It took me a few hours to get through this, as well as having to deal with my classes. I do want to make sure, though, that people understand that I am not trying to move towards a similar situation in BD part 2. Alice is trying to do that, to reset the record to her plan. Anyways, feedback appreciated.