Chapter Thirty Three

Bella

Peter and Char came in after the Quileutes left,

"That went well Charlie"

My dad looked at him,

"How come you didn't try biting me?"

"Hey, how would I explain it to Bella and Grace? Sorry but I chowed down on your dad and grandpa? Besides I go for the bad guys as much as possible."

"Did you see Grace when she was born?"

"No he didn't Charlie but I did, I was there."

"So it's all true?"

"Yes, why would we lie to you? Bella wants you in Grace's life so you have to know the truth. You'll get used to us blood suckers if you stick with us a while and it sounds like you're coming to Boston to see Carlisle."

"Sure seems that way, are we driving or flying?"

"No bat wings so I guess we drive, besides it gives you time to heal and more time with Bella and Grace"

I looked at Peter

"Oh fuck, sorry Bella, not forgetting The Major too."

Char hit him in the ribs and looked pointedly at Grace.

"Oops, Sorry, I try."

"You're very trying Peter."

Char and I agreed on that.

"Ha Ha."

"Where's Jasper?"

"He went to make sure the pups went back to the Res, just in case. He'll be back in a little while."

Charlie

They stayed with me a couple of days and I found Grace enchanting, she was a thoughtful child but full of love for everyone around her. She seemed to know I was weak and never tried to encourage me to play but would come and sit with me for a story or colouring and would sit holding my hand as she told me stories about her horse Shadow, he seemed to get into plenty of scrapes for a stuffed toy. It reminded me of when Bella was little and I used to see her at holidays, telling her stories and trying to fix every moment in my mind to keep me going until I saw her next. Grace was very close to her mother, often running up to get a hug or a kiss whenever Bella came into the room and they had bath time as special when the two of them would lock themselves in and we could hear giggles and splashing, fun time! She was also very loving towards Jasper but in a different way.

He would often be found sitting quietly on the porch with her on his lap stroking his hair and singing nursery rhymes or listening as he sang her songs from when he was little. As a family they fit together so well, always finding each other for games or just talk about the home they would buy when it was all over. I saw Char look longingly sometimes and when I asked her she explained that female vampires couldn't have children because their bodies were frozen in time. I didn't quite understand how vampire men managed but decided not to ask, there were some things I really didn't want to know, like how this Rosalie got the means to make Bella pregnant!

When we finally left Peter arrived in a huge truck, throwing the luggage in the back which left plenty of room for all of us. Grace sat between Bella and I while Jasper sat up front with Peter and Char, swapping driving every few hours, not because they got tired but just for a change of task. It was a long journey and we stopped every afternoon in a new town, taking Grace for a walk to see the sights before she, Bella, and I went out to dinner. Peter and Char disappeared to hunt and sometimes Jasper would go off too, but often he came with us to sit and talk as we ate. He was quite strict with Grace about table manners, hers were impeccable, and I almost expected him to start on me but he had eyes only for Grace and Bella. Watching him looking at my daughter I could tell how much he loved her, it shone in his golden eyes and on his face when she looked at him and smiled. I thought they made a perfect couple and she was a great mum too so Renee hadn't rubbed off too much on her. Renee? How the hell would we explain Grace to her? I didn't think the vampire hybrid route would be the best way to go and I pushed it to the back of my mind for now. By the time we got to Boston I never thought about the fact I was surrounded by vampires who could kill me in a heartbeat.

Bella

It was decided not to take Charlie or Grace with us when we met Carlisle. They would stay at the hotel with Charlotte for security while Peter, Jasper, and myself spoke to Carlisle about Rosalie. When I rang him he was shocked to hear my voice but agreed to meet me readily enough which made me more confident he wasn't involved. I asked him not to say anything to Rosalie and I would explain when we met. That concerned him but he agreed to meet us at the clinic when it closed for the day. Rose had already left, it seemed she and Emmett were going away for a few days. Peter knew the clinic so he drove, it was an imposing building even though modern and I wondered of Esme had designed it.

He waited in the car as Jasper and I went in through the doors. I saw Jasper shudder and realized he was remembering his stay here so I grabbed his hand,

"Don't worry sweetheart I'm with you."

He looked at me and I saw the tension in his face lessen,

"Thank you Bella."

Carlisle must have heard our voices because he appeared at one of the doors a smile of welcome on his face,

"Bella, its been a long time. Jasper you too. Come in please."

We went into his room and sat down as he seated himself behind one of the two tables, files scattered around,

"So what did you want to speak to me about? I haven't told anyone were meeting except Esme who sends her love."

"I want to know why you were drugging me Carlisle"

"Drugging you Bella? I haven't seen you since we left Forks. What makes you think I've been drugging you"

I told him what had happened to me and put the pill bottle on the table, it sat there between us like a live grenade. He picked it up and unscrewed the top shaking the pills out on the table top then picked one up to study.

"Well it isn't a painkiller as it says on the label, or at least not one I've ever heard of. You say this was in your apartment?"

"Yes and its the same as the pills I was prescribed by Dr Cullen."

"I never prescribed any pills for you Bella and I certainly wouldn't use you as a guinea pig. My work is all carried out according to guide lines."

"I'm sorry Carlisle but I happen to know that's not the case. You are using venom as an ingredient in one of your drugs."

He looked at me sharply,

"Oh, and who told you that?"

"I can't tell you but its true isn't it? You're working on a formulae to stop vampire skin reacting to daylight."

His eyes switched to Jasper,

"Did you tell her this?"

"How could I Carlisle? I've been a prisoner here for two years, I haven't seen or heard anything."

"Prisoner? What's going on? I haven't kept anyone prisoner here or anywhere else."

"No but your daughter Rosalie did. In the rooms beneath these. In the tank you have down there."

He laughed,

"I don't think so, that was an experiment we closed down after the first month, the tank leaked anyway. Personally I don't like them, they send people mad. So two years? Even for a vampire that's far-fetched."

"Nevertheless its true, Peter found me here in that tank."

"And what exactly was Rosalie doing with you all that time?"

"Among other things getting sperm to make Bella pregnant."

He laughed even louder.

"Jasper please, it sounds like a comedy horror film, you really have lost your mind. I have to say its a good story though. Where's the product of this pregnancy?"

We wouldn't bring her here but she exists just like the tank."

He stopped laughing and I saw a gleam of interest.

"Are you telling me Rosalie successfully managed a hybrid birth keeping both mother and child alive?"

"No, I did that Carlisle. She just provided the necessities."

I put a photograph of Grace on the table in front of him.

"There's the proof"

He picked the photograph up and studied it. It was one taken outside on a sunny day and Graces skin glowed very slightly, it was close enough to see her golden eyes too.

"My god, its true. This is your daughter Jasper? What a coup, Rosalie finally did it"

"You knew she was working on this?"

"In theory yes but I had no idea she'd put her theory into practise, how exciting. I must meet this child."

"Just a minute Carlisle. That's my daughter you're talking about and if you think for just one second that I'm going to let you or any other doctor anywhere near her you can think again."

"But you must, it's a breakthrough. Think what we can learn from her, the leap forward in vampire physiology from her blood, her tissues."

"Hey, Carlisle, she's a child not a lab specimen."

He looked up from the photograph,

"Yes of course and I will be very careful about the samples I take, when can you bring her here?"

I got up and leaned over the table taking the photograph from his hand.

"You don't get to play Frankenstein with my daughter Carlisle, not now, not ever."

"Then why are you here?"

"We mistakenly thought you would be horrified at what Rose had done to both if us."

"I am, but what's done can't be undone so this way we are making the best of the situation. Esme will be thrilled to have a child in the family."

"What? No way Carlisle, over my dead and rotting body. You'll never get my daughter."

Jasper was standing too and snarling quietly ready to leap over the table and kill Carlisle.

"Keep your daughter on a leash and away from us or we will kill you Carlisle, all of you if necessary. If I see any of you I will drop a line to the Drug Administration, talk your way out of the venom in your drug then. No more venom from Jasper, it must be a real blow."

He looked startled,

"So that's where Rose was getting her venom from, I used Emmett as the strongest of us all, he was willing to help for Roses sake. I never knowingly took venom from Jasper. I'm sorry you feel the way you do. It would have been nice to see the child, still..."

We left then, walking rapidly from the clinic to the car but there was no Peter. We looked around then Jasper jumped in,

"Lets go, there's something wrong."