Teddy and Family

Chapter 32

A/N: Long time no update and for that I'm sorry! I did go back to Teddy's Day Out and this one and revised all of the chapters. There are some chapters, mostly minor for the most part. The size of Grey House. Kate being Anna's COO. Ros formally was at JWET before GEH. Clarified a little more of GEH came to be. How Ana first met Edward. Things like that.

My heart goes out to anyone who has had to endure all of these epic storms! We're enduring a heatwave here in the Midwest and it feels like July rather than nearly the end of September! I'd say welcome the Fall Equinox but right now it seems like Summer doesn't want to end.

Love all of your favs/follows/and reviews! They make me smile!

Now on a sourer note as I have managed to attract a few unwanted cowardly trolls…here is my message to you regarding all of my stories.

To all Guest Troll cowardly creatures who don't have the courage to log in or create an account...nothing you post effects me or my will to continue with a story. In fact it makes me wish to write even more that MY STORIES threaten you so much! I've been writing on this site for seventeen years and have learned that what you, say, feel, or even think means nothing to me. Rule of thumb for any writer when it comes to creatures like you...is to simply hit delete each and every time because you and your words, issues, thoughts, feelings, and opinions don't matter and never will!

Any and all mistakes area all mine! Enjoy!

Cin XOXO

Disclaimer: When it comes to EL or Meyer's characters I own nothing. I'm just having fun with the characters, but the OC ones and story ideas are all mine. (I love to play with her characters but with my AU spin on them from my other story. Sorry folks I don't do Cannon ever. Like, Love it, Hate it…you have been warned ^^).

Chris

To say that heads are rolling across the globe would be the understatement of the century! The Feds were hacked and even the best reformed black hats couldn't trace it. None of them are even close to Barney, Carrie, TJ, and Chloe my IT team. The Dream team shut them down and handed their cyber asses straight to the authorities.

All of the media outlets are being fined up their asses for posting child porn on their articles and programs as my baby and our sisters were minors when those photos and videos were taken and where they were taken was adults only. I'm suing their sorry asses. Not only that but they were part of an ongoing investigation. Yep, they're up shit creek and going down shit falls fast!

I sent out a press release stating that whereas no one is denying that certain immediate family members were on the list did not mean that any of them took part in the darker side of the Scene. In most cases it was decades ago and irrelevant to their present lives. That and what stays in the privacy of ones bedroom is none of anyone's business. We will be seeking legal action against every news organization, blog, or social media outlet who went with running the story.

I laughed when one blog crowed that the GEH and GP's stock had taken a direct hit. We don't have stock holders. Our board consists of family only. I think their main problem is that Ana and I are nowhere to be found and that was the prize that they were seeking. I used my deceased Grandfather's initials and mixed it up with each letter so that not even the best handwriting expert can lead it back to me.

I've spent hours on my laptop. Focusing on GEH and GP to keep my mind off the fact that my wife was undergoing emergency surgery on her ankle. Mom's plane is ready and waiting. We are not staying here at ground zero. I've arranged for a private medivac to take us as soon as she's out of recovery. Eamon, Claire, Hannah, Sam, and Jose have all been cleared enough to fly and Stephen did that an hour ago with several private nurses to see to their needs as they arise. Logan and Luke remain stationed guarding us here at the hospital.

"Bella? What are you doing?" I see that she's furiously typing on her laptop.

"Barney sent me a digital copy so that I could watch the rest of it and fulfill Ana's promise." She looks up from the screen at me. "I'm just finishing up the article that Eamon wished Ana to do on the premiere."

"She'll be worried about that, so thank you..."

"No thanks needed. Family takes care of family. Jamie and DJ were given a crap script to work with and it's all over the place. Like many movie book adaptions it's awkwardly chopped up. Key scenes were missing. The ending left a lot to be desired. I guess for the book lovers it would leave them wanting more…"

"Which they'll more likely than not receive when the DVD is released a few months from now. Leaving them wanting more is all part a never-ending game." Edward was on his laptop helping with PR damage control while I had focused on GEH and GP.

"Hollywood and the Entertainment Industry's greed knows no bounds…Ah! Fucking hell!" I read the latest email from Dante and feel like throwing my laptop against the wall. I grab the remote and switch on the TV to MSNBC. Dante is giving a press conference and standing beside him are Ray, Dad, Marcus, Ella, Elliot, and Jason. "We already sent out a blanket statement that should have been enough!"

"I told him to hold off, but I believe the fear of you or Ana never speaking to them again and running off with the kids has them racing to nip this in the bud." Edward's pinching the bridge of his nose like I do when I want to tear something in half.

"Owning it isn't going to make Ana change her mind. If anything this will make things even worse." Bella rolls her eyes, glancing up at the screen. "She saw the pictures and the videos before Logan could even stop her. The damage is done. When everything came out about Black Lotus should have been the time to confide their secret in case this kind of story broke. The baddies are desperate to shine the light on someone other than themselves, not even caring of the repercussions of their actions. Granted the Club Veronica was not one of the darker branches of Black Lotus and not under Federal investigation, where Safe, Sane, and Consensual is only practiced, well that and it's committed couples only helps too, but the blinders are off and they can't do anything about it now."

"Ana's always looked at our parents and the elders of our family through rose colored glasses. Her mind refuses to accept them as sexual beings who in this case needed another outlet to relieve the stress in their lives…" I mirror Edward pinching the bridge of my nose when my Mom starts speaking and lecturing them all on fact vs fiction about the Scene.

It's a chosen lifestyle. An outlet. A place to free ones mind from the high octane stress that came with their chosen careers. To achieve balance and control.

She's interrupted by a Nooz reporter demanding to know if all of them were coming out to shield Ana and me from having to expose our own secret kink and that's the reason why Ana ran from the theater. That the photos and video proved that Ana had been involved in the Scene even as a teenager.

Mom shuts her down with her death glare and in her ice queen tone informs her that the reason for this press conference to begin with was to appease Ana as she wasn't speaking to any of them and that I myself was far from happy with them all. Ana bolted from the theater because the last thing that she wanted to see was anything Scene related on the big screen after finding out that close family members had been outed, by no choice of their own, by desperate individuals who had nothing to lose.

The Nooz reporter snarks back that the video and pictures are all the evidence that the public needs to see…

Mom cuts her off again and goes on to say adding that video and photos of Ana and her sisters near kidnapping by white slavers as teenagers was posted as well and it's no wonder that she ran blindly down those stairs and broke her ankle. Those photos and video, otherwise known as child pornography, happened to be logged in evidence involving a federal case and should never have been posted anywhere. Ana Steele, Kate Kavanagh, and Mia Grey were all targets of a white slavery ring which she herself took down along with her team and right hand Logan Taylor. Sam Prescott, and Logan Taylor were undercover agents and Elliot Grey was assisting them to infiltrate the clubs. If and she stresses the word IF the three of them hadn't been at the club that day then she shuddered to think what would have befallen her daughter, Ana, and Kate. Make no mistake those media and news outlets that posted anything today regarding this matter are being sued by not only those who were outed, but also for interfering with an ongoing International and Federal investigation. She goes on to tell Miss Price to brace herself, that they all should brace themselves for the consequences for all of their actions. That these nice Federal agents would love to have a nice long chat with them.

To say that all of the press goes radio silent after that is an understatement and with that said Dante steps up and ends the press conference and the MSNBC anchor is staring back at the camera pale as a ghost with a deer in headlights look. Speechless. They break for commercial.

My phone vibrates and I look down and see that our parents have decided to use John Flynn as a means of negotiating a treaty. "John, there is no amount of therapy that's gonna fix this. Ana's whole world has been shattered and it's gonna take space and time for me to piece it back together again." I growl as soon as my thumb hits speaker.

"Chris, none of this was your parents fault…" Flynn starts to counter in his annoyingly jolly English accent, as if the shit has not hit the fan and he's just having a pleasant conversation.

"Lets call Bullshit on that…they have had weeks to come clean about all of this! They knew that the bad guys were playing dirty when they sent her that video! But no! They couldn't let her see that they are just as flawed as any person on the planet! That they had their own unique vises to deal with the stress in their lives!"

"All parents wish to shelter their children from their sex lives and it matters not if their children are grown or not…"

"Again, I've gotta call bullshit! Ana's the CEO of a publishing empire and is well read on the SCENE, as it's hot in publications these days! Hell, when those videos and photos were emailed to her that's when our parents should have stepped up and bit the bullet and spilled all! It would have been difficult no question, but she would have been prepared for the clusterfuck that happened this evening! She's fucking broken, Flynn! Shattered! Mentally and physically! This is not an easy fix! We're taking the kids and sailing off on the Overindulgence to an undisclosed location for the foreseeable future and only Adam, Angel, and Hope are invited along to join us!"

"Christian, the two of you have…"

"GEH and GP can be easily ran from the ship…We'll have Charlie Tango…Ros, Houston, and Austin can more than man the helm while we're away…"

"Ana will need medical…"

"If I may interrupt for a moment. Dr. Miranda Frost can easily make a house call or ship call in this case to check on Ana's recovery." Edward cuts Flynn off.

"She'll also need mental wellness therapy…"

"Dr. Donavan Frost will be more than willing to act as her mental wellness physician and if I'm not mistaken he already has Teddy and Hope on his patient roster. Adding Ana won't be an issue at all. Donavan excels at treating cases such as what's occurring with Ana." Again Flynn is shot down.

"Chris…"

"You know that Ana will shut down if you try and shrink her and Rhian will have your balls if you even try. She isn't your patient. She saw video and photos of her parents, my parents, our aunts and uncles, our siblings getting their kink on, and her mind can't register what has been etched FOREVER in her MIND! We can't forget anything EVER! This is not an easy FIX! It's bad enough that she's got those videos and photos that were emailed to her etched in her mind! This has devastated her beyond REASON! This is what she WANTS! She begged me to take her and our kids AWAY! She doesn't wish to go back home to Grey Meadows where our family are camped out waiting for our RETURN! She wants to runaway and that's what we're going to DO!" I end the call.

OooO

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but is this a bad time…" Miranda cautiously peaks her head in the room.

"Miranda?" Edward arches a brow in surprise. "I had no idea that you were in New York as well."

"Um, Momma and Da called for assistance with the epidemic and I could hardly say no to my parents." She rolls her eyes at him and then breezes into the room. "Ana is in recovery. The surgery went splendidly. Paul is a brilliant surgeon. Her ankle was the only main casualty, her coccyx and buttocks are severely bruised but not fractured. Ana bruises easily and that's clear from the contusions all over her body caused by her valiant effort to defend and protect those two girls from those nasty heathens…"

"Contusions?" I snarl darkly, narrowing my eyes, and my temper flares back to nuclear.

"Yes, it's a very fortunate happenstance that Bella and Ana were shadowed by one of TMZ's bottom feeders, and various avid fandom because otherwise the ER doctor was in the process of filing a report for possible spousal abuse. She had a female officer take photographic evidence of the bruising…Paul had to show the doctor and officer the videos of yours and Ana's endless bad day. Starting with the escalator incident, then Central park, and the premiere. Dispelling any doubt that Ana had been the victim of abuse."

"I would never hurt my baby. The very idea of it is abhorrent to me. If I've ever marked her it's during one of our sparing sessions, but never in anger or to cause pain." I'm pulling at my hair in frustration and fury that those bastards hurt my baby! "Those bastards are never seeing the light of day again." I snarl under my breath.

"No one is stating otherwise. The photographic evidence is being logged in to aid in making those monsters pay for their actions." Mir reassures me in a calm soothing tone then settles her eyes on Bella. "The female officer also wishes for Bella to be examined as well, so that any contusions can be recorded like they've done with Ana and the girls that the two of you rescued."

Bella's eyes pop wide. "Crap…" She bites down on her lip, locking eyes with Edward.

"Well, this day has been nothing but an endless clusterfuck!" I shoot the three of them an exasperated glare. "Tell me. Does this bad luck curse have a time limit or does it just have to run its course?"

"Honestly, you really don't wish for me to answer that question, so we'll just refrain from even mentioning it anymore. Trust me, its better that way." Edward shuts his laptop down, gets up, and walks over to where I'm pacing trying to remain sane. "Let's take a walk."

"Yes, why don't the two of you go take a nice stroll?" Mir's all smiles and Southern charm. "Ana won't be brought from recovery for at least an hour or so yet, so perhaps a quick bite to eat would be good for you too."

"Fine. I'll go for a walk while you do whatever the crap you call it on Bella so that the officer can report that those bastards roughed her up as well while our girls kicked their worthless, elitist, asses." Sarcasm oozes from me as I stalk towards the door of Ana's hospital suite. "After you do damage control. I want Ana cleared for immediate transport, as soon as she's cleared from recovery. We're not staying here in Noro ground zero. I've got a private medivac on standby and Mom's jet waiting for our arrival at a private airport."

"Paul's already taking care of that issue as we speak." Mir refrains from commenting on my snark.

"Good. The sooner we're airborne and headed home the better I'll feel." I stalk out the door past Edward.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I take it out and see Teddy and Hope's happy faces grinning at me, and immediately answer it. "What's up, Buddy? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Uncle Adam and Aunt Angel got us up and we're on the ship? The babies aren't happy at all, again! They woke them up!" He puts the phone right next to his howling siblings and I have to whip the phone away from my ear. "Our ears hurt! I heard them talking about Mommy too! What happened to Mommy! Are you still coming home? Are we going on a trip? Why aren't the rest of the family going and just us? We didn't tell anyone bye! I don't understand, Daddy!" Teddy's chattering at lightning speed at the top of his voice over his howling siblings.

"Mommy had a little fall, but Uncle Paul fixed her up as good as new. She's gonna need lots of rest and quiet time to heal, so we're going on a long trip on the ship. It's just us and Adam, Angel, and Hope. The others will smother her with TLC and that's not what she needs right now, so that's why they aren't coming along…" I ignore the glares shot in my direction as I try and soothe my son. It's not as loud as it was a few moments ago as the babies are being soothed by the sound of my voice.

"Oh, okay…" Teddy's still using his confused voice. "I was thinkin that it was because the Grands, Aunts, and Uncles did something naughty and that Mommy was angry at them…"

Well, hell, how am I gonna talk my way around this one. I pinch the bridge of my nose, take a deep calming breath, and answer calmly. "Teddy, that's nothing that you need to worry about, alright?"

"Okay, so Mommy changed her mind and likes her present now and wants to go on a long, long, trip, cuz she needs to heal and get better. Not because everyone was yelling and you're mad at them…"

"Buddy, all you need to know is that we're going to go on an adventure. Okay, little man." I cut off his chattering again.

"We're gonna go to our island!"

"We're going to an island for a while, but not quite as far as ours." I chuckle. He loves our tropical oasis.

"Um…I gotta go…I kinda borrowed Aunt Angel's phone and I'm um…pose ta be in my bunk sleeping…not that I can sleep with the babies screaming right next to my room, but then they heard your voice… I'm standing right next to Alex and he's stopped so the girls stopped too…" Teddy whispers.

"Theodore Raymond Grey, you know better than to borrow another person's property without permission…" Adam's growl echoes over the phone, it's firm but soft enough not to disturb Alex and the girls. "Just who may I ask are you talking to?"

"That would be me, Adam." I growl softly. "You spooked him, so he borrowed Angel's phone to call me. Well, that and the babies were upset again…"

"Teddy?" I hear Angel call softly, not even the least bit upset that he borrowed her phone. "Big brother duty is over. Time for bed."

"Um…sorry…Uncle Adam…" I can just picture the face my son's giving him and grin.

Adam has no defense when it comes to Teddy's puppy dog I'm so sorry face.

"I just wanted to talk to Daddy, cuz I heard you talking about Mommy being broken and mad at my grandads and grandmas. I was worried. The babies were crying and needed to hear his voice or Mommy's. You were busy getting the kittens and pups out of my pool and Aunt Angel was busy too…I didn't think I would be in trouble for wantin to talk to my Mommy and Daddy…"

Oh, he's so good it's terrifying. Like mother so like son and que the waterworks. Teddy can make himself cry in seconds, just like Ana and when that happens you crumble.

"Buddy, we're never too busy when you're worried or scared and I would have called up your dad for you, but hacking Angel's phone is a big no-no." Adam is stronger than I give him credit for, then again he's now a parent, so it gives him a little bit more immunity to Teddy's I'm sorry act. When we both know that he's not sorry, not in the least.

"Bedtime, little man." I growl softly. "You'll see Mommy and me sometime tomorrow. When we land with Charlie Tango."

"Fine…" He huffs, again so like his mother at that age. "But I didn't hack Aunt Angel's phone…I don't know how to do that kinda stuff, because I'm too little and TJ and Chloe said they'd be in big, big, big trouble if they ever teach me. I just guessed what it was…"

"Love you, buddy."

Edward is bracing himself face first against the wall and silently laughing his ass off.

I'm trying like mad not to and have to bite the inside of me cheek. "Give the phone back to Adam and go crawl back into your bunk."

"Love you, Daddy. Night-night…" Teddy's exhausted, the poor little guy has had a long confusing day.

"Up you go, little monster." Angel must be carrying him back to bed.

"Give me a sec, Chris." Adam whispers, as he leaves the babies nursery.

"Ana's in recovery. I'm doing a walkabout, because they want more evidence in the case against those college prats that attacked those girls at the park. Bella's getting photos taken by the officer. They already did that with Ana and were on the verge of arresting me for spousal abuse until Paul used his phone to show Ana and Bella's crazy day…"

"Well, that's just another clusterfudge that we didn't need nor want. Their heroics are front page news in all the major news outlets. The media is going bonkers and has been all day. Those girls are recovering at that hospital and yet he or she had no clue…then again with that NORO outbreak there in the city catching up with the news would be the last thing on their minds." Adam growls softly, as he makes his way outside onto the deck. "Just how much is baby sis banged up for them to sound the alarm?"

"Her coccyx and behind are severely bruised but not broken or cracked, thank god. Miranda said she's got bruising all over her body. I want those fudging bastards to never see the light of day again…"

"Focus on, Annie. We'll handle making those bastards and their families wish they were never born. The Senators tried to get the charges dropped, but the attack was broadcast LIVE and the CCTV cameras show the four of them stalking the girls and all four were carrying felony narcotics on their persons. Those two girls were twin sisters here on a class trip and are only fifteen and they come from a very powerful family. Not as powerful as ours, but close enough to destroy anyone who dared harm their little girls. The final nail on their coffins is that the two that rescued the girls were Ana and Bella. Sam's Uncle isn't about to play political ball over this. The DA is going for blood and they are being put into open population at Rikers. No special treatment. I seriously doubt that they'll last a week, but then that's just my take…"

"Try not even a day." Edward growls from right beside me and I have to force myself not to jump.

Him and his fucking stealth!

"No one touches my treasure…ever…"

Shit! He's not even trying to rein it in and everything in me is screaming run!

"Uh…yes…well…alright then…" Holy shit! Adam's spooked too! "Mac's signaling me…"

"Wasn't the crew still all on board?" I growl.

"Yeah, just not a full crew, as we don't have the whole family with us. Jason has been demanding Mac tell him where we're going…Ray's not any better…All of them are pissed that we've taken the ship, the kids, and sailed off into the night to an undisclosed destination. They honestly thought that Flynn would work to mediate between you and your parents, but they didn't know that this was already in motion. Jazz and Alice took your twins and headed back to Forks, Edward. She told me that Isle Isabella is the perfect place to hideout or heal and that the easiest time to escape would be just after nightfall…then right before they left advised that there's no shame in choosing a tactical retreat that sometimes it's necessary to take a break from ones family. All of this mind you just an hour before the clusterfuck media leak from hell…I know Alice has the gift, so I just ran with it…"

"Bloody hell! Not nice you little hairballs! Fuck me! I had better not need stitches! In your kitten cage you go! Cage my ass! It's bloomin cat nirvana!" I can hear Mac snarling. "Welch! Get off the bloomin phone! I've better things to do than kitten and pup herding! I've got a ship to Captain with a skeleton crew, because the blooming elders thought that babying Annie by sheltering her from the truth was best! Annie's never gonna forgive and forget this one! That she chose the ship is proof positive of that…Dale is fielding the calls and Jason is through the roof! They all are! Didn't ya even think to give them the heads up?"

"Jason and the rest of the family elders are all on Ana's shit list for treating her like a kid and not coming clean with her. I'm finally out of the pound and there is no way in fudging hell that I'm risking her wrath again. If my baby wants to hide while she heals by us sailing the seven seas then by damn that's exactly what we're gonna do. It's not just you Mac or your skeleton crew either, all of us adult wise minus Angel are seasoned sailors and she'll pick it up in no time at all. The ship's just under six hundred feet and as Ana loves to call her a mini-cruise ship. She's got all the comforts of home and then some. We've more money than god so that won't be an issue. Edward and Bella offered us refuge on their Island for as long as we wish. We've on call doctors at our fingertips if needed. Teddy and Hope have Angel to give them their daily lessons. Charlie Tango 2.0 can easily provide us with transport if needed. We've the motor boat for ship to shore excursions and again I have endless contacts so getting us safe, secure, transportation will be nothing. Ana and I also can run our companies from our office on the ship. The ship is a floating mansion for fudge sakes! She's as much your ship as she is mine, you and the crew get paid a small fortune to take care of the family fleet with choice benefits, and you have state rooms and not bunks to sleep in, so knock off the bitching! What the hell's crawled up your ass anyway, Mac?! You haven't been suffering from being frozen out by your other half for six weeks after enduring six months without because of her pregnancy! Your wife didn't drive you insane because she went AWOL and every PR nightmare was broadcast LIVE while she again froze me out! Your manhood was not called into question, because your soulmate is a light weight with no filter! Your parents and elders private sex lives weren't outed to the world! The love of your life isn't lying in recovery after severely breaking her ankle, because the horror of that news caused her to bolt on an already fudged up ankle! You have nothing to fudging complain about! You fudging pansy! Put some neo on your owie, slap a bandage on it, and get back to manning the ship! We'll see you in a few hours!" I end the call and shut off my phone.

I know that was harsh, but for fucks sakes I pay him nearly seven figures to look after the family fleet and he's all too aware about the pups and kittens antics, because the four of them were acclimated to the new ship weeks ago. He just hates having them roam when underway and they hate being cooped up.

"I feel your frustration, thankfully I have no issues when crewing the family fleet, as we rely on family always. Then again our unique skills allow us to do dozens of tasks ourselves without needing assistance and are well accustomed to spur of the moment excursions often in the dark of night."

Yeah, yeah, keep rubbing it in! You holier-than-thou Immortal jackass! I stalk off without saying a word. Not that I need to! The fucker reads fucking minds!

"True. Although, looking isn't needed half the time with you because you broadcast how you're feeling like a bloody beacon and have been for weeks. I know that this day has been endless hell for you, as this is not my first taste of my treasures bad luck curse. However, venting out your frustration isn't the way to counter it and only ends up making matters worse in the end. You aren't the one broken this time round."

"I'm sorry if I'm losing it with everyone, but it's like someone up there has a serious hate on me! I'm trying not to lose my mind here! Truth be told, I'd rather bunker down at home, but that's not possible because our family doesn't understand the meaning of the word back off and leave us alone! She's choosing escape on the very thing that she detests with extreme prejudice because our parents who seem so perfect in her eyes aren't even close! The blinders are finally off and she can't handle that they are far from perfect! TJ and Chloe are sure to suffer High School hell because of this clusterfudge!" He's dragged me into the elevator and we're going up instead of down! Fuck me! The bastard's gonna throw me off the roof!

"Haven't done that in nearly a century and Van was asking for it at the time…" He chuckles softly once again reading my fucking mind! "Though, now a days when the situation calls for it, there is usually a cliff or steep drop into the ocean rather than say a steep rooftop. No, the roof is for the moment a quiet place where you can vent and pace in private without being under a microscope."

"Dante has begged and pleaded with me to steer clear of the bottom feeders so good call. As it is he's demanding Aspen for a month. He can't take it out on Ana, truth be told no one can. She just blinks those baby blues up at them with that pout, spills a tear or two, says sorry and they just forget why they're pissed. It just vanishes from their minds and I become their chosen target. I'm immune to it, as are nearly all the family, but we have our weak moments. Anyone, not in the know doesn't stand a chance against it. It works the same when she wants something, but the tone of her voice changes…its part of the Ana Effect."

"More like the Fae effect…" Edward mutters under his breath as we exit the elevator onto the roof.

Nah, I he didn't just say Fae effect? Did he? I mean, that's crazy, right? Then again here I am willingly standing near whom I know to be a cured vampire, so anything's possible.

"Compulsion comes easily to our family. Most have no shield against it as their minds are weak and easily led. Give them a valid explanation to what puzzles them even if it is complete and utter bull shit and they'll believe anything. Most turn a blind eye in denial. You yourself use compulsion against your adversaries and don't even know that you're doing it. You can read someone like an open book. See their weaknesses and go for the jugular. It's also kind of like a six sense…" He acts as if he didn't just throw out the word Fae as in Fairy folk.

"Fae?" How? WTF?

"Vampire." He flashes his lethal blinding pearly whites. "I'm a bit of each faction of Shining One. Bella and I both are with some human mixed in. Shining Ones fall in love with mortals quite a bit and the result are gifted decedents. In some cases shining one children are born with flaws and are abandoned here in this realm by their parents or parent for their own protection. Those more often or not are adopted and live normal lives oblivious of their true heritage. Perfection was paramount in the Pixie side of the coin and not so much on that of the Fae…" He goes on to explain about this epic war between brothers and how Bella's birth basically ended that as her dad is the grandson of the dark brother on one side and her mom is the granddaughter of the lighter brother on the other. That and their rift is the reason why Bella is a walking trouble magnet. Edward's mother was a Walker-James and was the many great-granddaughter of the nicer of the brothers. They're what keeps us safe from the darker of their kind. The good guys.

Ana's Great Gran Anastasia and her Grandmother Annabeth always told us stories about exactly what he's talking about. Daughters of the Fairy Queen Sisters falling in love with mortals leaving immortality behind to live on this plane. Ana inherited all of their library and has it under lock in key in glass cases in her sanctuary. She jokingly refers to it as her very own restricted section. They taught us how to read and speak fluent Gallic and Latin. None of those books are in English and some of them look older than time. I wasn't kidding when I said that for the most part my family is good with all things weird and truth be told we've seen all manner of the unexplained enough to spook even a badass like Luke Sawyer during our honeymoon. I think we were in Italy some town in Tuscany and there was some sort of creepy festival going on in honor of some Saint.

"What year was your honeymoon?" Edward is staring at me in alarm and his face has gone ashen.

"Spring and summer of 2010. We had to wait two years, because there was way too much going on to swing being away…" I answer wondering what the fuck has him so freaked out?! I mean he's a fucking vampire for fuck's sakes!

"Why…" He stops pulling at his hair and pacing to hiss at me through narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. "In all that's Holy did you choose…" He's back swearing under his breath in a dozen different languages.

"Ana has this thing about going to explore the places from her favorite books…she saw this town while we were exploring Italy…Kept going on and on that it looked exactly like a town in one of her favorite books..."

"Did the town happen to have a name?" He glowered at me.

"Terra? I think…no…Volterra…they were celebrating Saint Marcus day…I was more than ready to leave. The place had some seriously bad vibes…Ana was entranced by the whole festival and was full of questions which some grandfatherly gentleman kept answering for her…"

"Fearless…" Edward snorts, rolling his eyes.

"You have no idea…"

"Oh, believe me I understand completely…so bloody alike that it's terrifying…"

"What did she nearly get us all into or don't I wanna know?"

"The town was once the home of a coven where the most evil, vile, and darkest of cold ones resided. You were fortunate that the former darker occupants were no longer in residence…"

"That whole village screamed run in my head, but Ana had her heart set on exploring it…"

"Never second guess that instinct…"

"Luke's never told us what he saw…"

"No hunting allowed in the village, so it couldn't have been that…" Edward narrows his eyes then starts chuckling under his breath. "However, a watcher of sorts wouldn't have been out of the question…"

"Watcher?" I narrow my eyes.

"Guardians…protectors…shapeshifters…take your pick…Ella wanted you protected and you were…Luke stumbled upon one of those guardians changing back to human form…Seeing a Bat turn into a man would send anyone not in the know running for the hills. Bella's Grandfather can be a bit of a trickster…or he was bored...then again he probably wanted to get his niece and nephew out of the village and knew that spooking one of your security would do that…"

"Oh, he spooked him alright…" I smirk, eyes dancing. "He raced over to Ana tossed her over his shoulder and hightailed it back to the cars…I didn't know what the hell was going on, but Luke was shouting code red in his mic…serious threat and we got the hell out of there…Ana made him pay dearly for it too…she forced him to errand boy duty for the remainder of the trip…endless months of hell…she'd send him out on an errand whenever there was crappy weather or often times in the early morning hours just to spite him…all he told Jason was that he witnessed something and wanted us as far away from it as possible…"

"My Bella can ice you out when you've wronged her, but your Ana takes that to the extreme."

"It takes a lot for her to ice a person out, as she truly has a very forgiving nature. Her punishment towards Luke centered on the fact that him carrying her out of the village was captured and then posted all over social media…we'd been enjoying being off their radar until then and she was beyond pissed that our bubble had been burst, because Luke caused a scene in the middle of a festival."

"Camera phones are the nuisance of modern society…" Edward mutters darkly.

"They do make privacy obsolete…" I am in full agreement with that even though I love my phone and all the wonderful things it can do. The fact that it gives anyone the ability to alert the bottom feeders of wherever we go or post crap on social media makes that little addition to any phone a pain in the ass.

Speaking of phones. I take mine out of my pocket, turn it on, unlock it, and see that Logan's texting me that Ana is going to be taken to her room in a few minutes. Paul's arranging for her discharge. The private medivac has already been alerted and are en route to the hospital. We'll be out of Noro ground zero in less than an hour. TJ and Chloe are preventing Jason or any other family members from tracking Adam's location, so the whole family is pissed that their attempt at a truce was a wash. I've also got texts and emails from everyone and my voice mail is blowing up too. I'm in no mood to listen to or read what will be endless howlers from them all. No amount of spin will make this better anytime soon. Their PR bombshell was far worse than the reveal of our first wedding in Vegas. I lock my phone and slip it back into my pocket.

"Ana's being taken to her room. The Private Medivac is minutes out. Paul's arranging her discharge…" I hit the down button on the elevator. "The sooner we get out of this cesspool and headed home the better I'll feel."

Hope you liked it!

Cin Xoxo