Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

For most of their time home, Kevin spent the vast majority of it spending time with Embry and, consequently, Jae. Jae still frequently came and went from the General Store while Embry worked. He was excited that he was nearing as tall as Hailey. However, Hailey made it clear that he had specifically said he needed to be 'taller'. Regardless, Embry was rather sure Jae would be taking over by the end of next year or spring of 1923 at latest. He would start looking for alternate employment when Jae met his height quota. One day, Hailey told Embry to take a day to himself so he and Kevin could spend time together like when they were kids. So they used that day to go into the woods near the ponds where they would play. They were all frozen over and hard to find, but they did find it. While out there, they did happen upon Roxanne while she was hunting, but she didn't pay them much mind. Eventually they ended up at the bluff where they would cliff dive.

"You'll be home this summer right?"

"I will," Kevin nodded.

"Good. We'll cliff dive when the weather's better. I warn you: I've gotten pretty good since last we dived."

Kevin laughed, "I'm sure you did. I don't know when I'll be able to go back to Germany. I just hope it'll be soon."

"I know," Embry said. "Have you gotten another letter from her?"

"I got one before we left," Kevin said. "She finished Pride and Prejudice and loved it."

"Of course she did."

"She loved the little wooden orchid mom made her, she was happy she got a letter from mom and all that. I sent her a marble music box that played Canon in D. Or part of it anyway."

"Marble? You mean that stone that Esme's countertops are made out of?"

"Just that," Kevin nodded. "Except it was white. They had one made of Ivory, but I asked what it is and they said it was elephant husks, so I opted out."

"Elephant husks? As in their horns?"

"Yeah," Kevin nodded. "I assumed Natalie and your sisters wouldn't be too keen on such an item either if I told them what it is."

"Probably not," Embry said. "I'm sure it helped that the marble was less expensive."

"While that had nothing to do with my choice in gift, it was much less expensive," Kevin smiled. "I spent extra and got the box engraved with an orchid and a little message. 'To Amber with Love' in German."

"Aw, how romantic," Embry teased.

"It's not romantic, it's just a nice gesture," Kevin said. "It's not time for any of that."

"I know," Embry chuckled. "Still. You must know when she's older, that little message will take on a much less platonic meaning."

"Only when she's older and if she wants for that," Kevin said.

"Ah huh," Embry continued to tease. "And you just chose Canon in D because it's a pretty song."

"First of all, it is a pretty song, and secondly that's the song they have available. There was only one other and it played Ride of the Valkyries. Why in the hell would I want to send her a music box that plays that?"

"What's wrong with Ride of the Valkyries? I like that song."

"It's not relaxing," Kevin said. "I wanted to send her something relaxing. So sue me."

"Fine Mr. Big Shot Lawyer. Maybe I will." The two of them kept laughing and Embry shook his head. "I really do wish you could visit more often. I'm always sad when I'm all by my lonesome."

"We talk at night," Kevin said.

"Maybe, but it's always with your brother and our dads. I like it when it's just us honestly."

"Me too," Kevin smiled a little.

"So," Embry said and looked at Kevin with a smile, "You'll have to endure Frau Bitch and her husband again come April will you?"

"Please don't remind me," Kevin sighed. "I'll be there for Alfonse, but I imagine I'll likely be standing in a corner not talking to anyone."

"Based on the reputation you've evidently earned, I'm sure you'll be the bell of the ball," Embry teased. "Perhaps Alice can find you a sparkly dress to wear and a pretty tiara."

"Oh, shut up," Kevin said with a laugh. "Seeing as Kyle has decided he doesn't want to go, maybe you could be my dad for the evening? Come to Connecticut to visit me for a change and come with me to the wedding."

"I'm flattered for the offer, Kevin. You know my lifelong dream is to be your date. Alas, I'm otherwise detained. A little thing called a job, you see." Kevin punched Embry's shoulder as they laughed.

"I suppose I'm going alone, then," Kevin said.

"Do what you'd been doing and flatter every woman in the room until they're fighting to the death for you."

"Contrary to what I'm sure you think, I don't enjoy that much attention. I merely meant to make the stay in the Hamptons as pleasant as is feasible. If that means flattering Lady Heidelberg and her guest then fine."

"You weren't 'flattering' them Kevin, you were 'flirting'."

"Unfortunately, that tends to be one in the same."

"All I'm saying is you might want to tone it down," Embry smiled. "Did Alfonse mind that you were being so kind to his bride-to-be?"

"I think he was relieved actually," Kevin said. "I don't think he spoke with her for any extended period while Kyle and I were there. I suggested they be cordial with one another so the marriage can be tolerable, but he doesn't seem too willing to do so."

"I guess it's hard to be when you're being forced into something," Embry said. "But he did say she'll be staying with his parents most of the time, right? So he won't have to be around her too much."

"That's his plan," Kevin said. "Though I'm sure Lady Heidelberg will expect grandchildren eventually. That does require a little being around one another."

"Yeah, that's true," Embry chuckled. "I'm sure they could always borrow the new baby."

"Very funny," Kevin laughed. "Even if this new one was an accident, your mom would never lend anyone her baby."

"I don't see why not," Embry laughed. "She's got eleven as it is. I'm 18 years older than this kid. Can you believe that?"

"You're about 18 years older than Zephyr, so it's not that weird."

"I'm 17 years older than Zephyr," Embry correct.

"Close enough," Kevin sighed. "Everyone's right, though. Your parents have too many children."

"That's exactly why I'm saying that if they want a baby, we've got a perfectly good one on the way."

"Frankly, Embry, unless that new baby is born with an ivory spoon in its mouth, I doubt they'll be terribly interested."

"I suppose my sibling just isn't good enough for them. Is that it?" Embry joked.

"Yes," Kevin said bluntly with a laugh. "I'm sorry, Embry, but that's exactly what I'm saying." The two of them started laughing and looked out onto the ocean.

"Aside from getting married in April, how is Alfonse?"

"He's fine I suppose," Kevin said. "He is as he always is: focused on work and rarely thinking of much else."

"You spend so much time with him these days that I've started to feel a little jealous," Embry chuckled.

"Oh, stop it, no you're not," Kevin laughed. "Alfonse is a good friend, but you're like a brother to me."

"I know," Embry said proudly. "I'll tell you what, Kevin. If you buy me a pretty dress and some nice earrings, I'll come to the wedding with you as your date."

"I'm sure Alice will see you well accommodated, Embry," Kevin laughed. "It wouldn't kill you to put on some rouge while we're on the topic."

With a punch to Kevin's shoulder, Embry laughed hardily. "Are you trying to say I'm ugly, Kevin."

"I never said you were ugly, Embry. You're just not my type."

"Oh, fuck you," Embry laughed and Kevin laughed along with him. "I'll have you know that really hurt my feelings."

"How about I buy you a fancy bouquet of flowers and we call it an apology?"

"I expect the finest bouquet," Embry joked.

While Embry had, indeed, been joking, that Christmas along with Embry's other gift, Kevin obtained a lovely bouquet of Poinsettias and handed them to Embry with a little note that said, 'Please forgive me, Fair Lady'. Everyone got a laugh while Embry swatted Kevin with the bouquet. He complained that he would have thought Kevin would think him special enough to get him roses, but apparently not! Kevin and Kyle remained past New Years and didn't leave until school was scheduled to resume to coming Monday. When classes resumed, Kevin and Alfonse assigned their seats to be beside one another. Kevin told Alfonse about the gift he'd given Embry and earned a laugh from Alfonse that he confirmed he desperately needed, agreeing that Kevin should have been a better gentleman and given his dear friend roses. Yet he was still exhausted even after the story. After class ended and they were moving on to their next, Kevin asked how he was.

"My time at home was nothing short of work," Alfonse complained. "There wasn't a single thing about it that deserved to be called a 'vacation'."

"I take it you and the princess aren't madly in love?" Kevin asked.

Alfonse laughed sarcastically, "We love like God loves Satan perhaps. Mother did most of the talking while I walked beside them or sat beside them in varied activities throughout the day. I think I spoke to her a handful of times and each time it was a conversation too many."

"Are you at least being cordial?"

"As cordial as I can bother to be," Alfonse said. "She's not a horrid woman I suppose, but when we did talk she was far more interested in you. If you want to tell my mother that Amber ran off with another man or something, I'm sure the Princess would gladly marry you, penniless and all."

"How kind of you to offer," Kevin said just as sarcastically, "but I think I'll pass. I only have so much charming to go around."

"You could have fooled me," Alfonse chuckled. "Perhaps I shall try to muster an ounce of your flirtatiousness and charm. May do me some good towards ones I would wish to apply it."

"I say start with your future wife and move on from there," Kevin smiled. "I assume you plan to have a mistress then?"

"No," Alfonse said bluntly and Kevin shrugged.

"I'll give you credit for being loyal," Kevin said. Alfonse said nothing. "So how many people are going to be at the wedding?"

"So far 500 invitation have gone out. I'm sure there will be more," Alfonse answered. "That reminds me," he reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out an invitation that he handed to Kevin, "there's your invitation. It allows you a guest if you wish. You'll just need to RSVP before the end of January and make note that you're bringing another person."

"Don't worry, it'll just be me. Kyle isn't terribly interested in going and, all kidding aside, Embry doesn't want to go either. He's not very good at schmoozing and he'll have no desire to 'behave accordingly'."

"That's alright," Alfonse said. "I almost prefer it that way. There will be far too many people as it is. Also, I wanted to make a request of you."

"What might that be?" Kevin asked as he opened the envelope to look at the invitation.

"I was hoping you might be my Best Man."

Stunned, Kevin looked up at Alfonse and gawked. "You want me to be your Best Man?"

"You're the only men among my groomsmen that I actually like and want there," Alfonse said. "Most of my groomsmen are people I either haven't seen in years or I don't even know. I need to have 17 groomsmen because the Princess has 17 bridesmaids. I don't think she knows them all that well either."

"Well," Kevin said, still a little surprised. "I'm honored you think highly enough of me to ask. Is your mother or father alright with it?"

"My mother was the first to suggest it actually," Alfonse said. "She was telling me of all the men who would be in my party and I refused to make a single one my Best Man, so she asked if I would be satisfied with making you my Best Man."

"Well, in that case, consider me your Best Man," Kevin smiled kindly. "What exactly will that entail?"

"Sitting beside me when myself and my groomsmen smoke cigars and drink brandy the night before," Alfonse said. "And don't worry about a suit. My mother is taking the task of ensuring myself and the groomsmen are properly dressed for the occasion."

Kevin chuckled and returned to examining the invitation, "Good to know."

Once they were in their next classroom, Kevin continued to examine the invitation. As he assumed would be the case, the ceremony and reception were being held at the family home in the Hamptons. The garden, Alfonse later explained, would be fully dolled up with wedding apparel and flowers as far as the eye could see. There was a fountain in that garden apparently and that would be functioning full time by the time the wedding is due to occur. The archway under which Alfonse and Ana would marry would face out into the ocean and all the guests would be seated in a large half circle, or at least an approximation of it. Kevin filled out the invitation a moment before class and, before returning home that day, dropped the invitation off at the post office. He said hello to Mrs. Croft and Lillian before going inside, Mr. Croft still yet to be seen. Time passed on rather quickly up to Spring. Kevin received a letter from Amber in February that lifted his spirits. In this letter, received another photo of Amber. This picture was one of her and another girl he vaguely recognized from Amber's Synagogue and the young woman was dressed for her Bat Mitzvah while Amber was only very well dressed. She wore his dog tags he noticed as well as the star he'd given her and he smiled. According to the picture, she'd already grown a little more since he'd last seen her. Amber toward over the girl she stood beside, easily clearing the young woman's head and Amber's hair was curled to frame her face. Her smile was bright even in the black and white photo. He made a note to buy a frame and rested the picture near his other framed pictures he'd received from Amber.

He read Amber's letter and chuckled when she gave him her sincerest apologies that he'd been forced into such retched company and would be forced to do so yet again come spring. She expressed how she wished she could go with to make the event less tiring and less a chore, but of course that could not be. She spoke of her friend's Bat Mitzvah and about candles and soaps she'd made. She told about her mother doing more and more with her candles and how they were gaining popularity. There was even a paper in town that was planning to advertise them so Amber said. She expressed her sincerest gratitude for the music box Kevin gave her and how much she adored it. She teased that she may be surrounded in orchids one day and she'd not voice a word of complaint. Kevin chuckled. She also expressed love for the song the box played and made a request that, next he came to Germany to visit, she wanted to hear him play the song on the piano. Eventually Kevin finished reading Amber's letter and began writing his own, giving her updates on school, family and the wedding, letting her know he'd been selected to be Alfonse's best made. He promised he would send Amber a picture as soon as he had one to give. He sent the letter the following morning.

April finally came, all the while Alfonse's mood seemed to sour the closer and closer it came to the event. He'd not seen Ana since she left in January and he'd been quite liking not seeing her. Kyle stayed behind and wished Kevin as good a time as was possible and Kevin got in Alfonse's car to go to the Hamptons. Hours later, they finally arrived. The home was just as breathtaking and overwhelming as Kevin remembered, only now it was surrounded in garlands and blooming flowers, butterflies and other decorations. The fountain in the center of the driveway was on and shooting water high into the air. As before, Andrew ran out to greet them.

"Good afternoon, young Baronet," Andrew said and bowed. "And good afternoon to you, good Sergeant," Andrew bowed his head to Kevin. "It is a pleasure to welcome you both back."

"Thank you, Andrew," Alfonse said. "Please, take our bags to our room."

"Right away, young Baronet," Andrew said and proceeded with his task while Kevin and Alfonse walked inside.

"Is Ana and her family already here?" Kevin asked.

"As far as I'm aware," Alfonse said. "I'll not see her until tomorrow at the wedding, though. If I remember correctly, mother is hosting a little tea party for Ana and her wedding party in the Drawing room while we'll all be in the Parlor room."

"Too many rooms in this house," Kevin sighed. "Would it be rude of me to refuse to smoke a cigar? That last one I had was atrocious."

"My father takes pride in those silly things. Just don't inhale."

"If you say so," Kevin answered. When they entered, Lady Heidelberg was already on her way down the stairs and a day dress embracing Alfonse and cooing to him in German before turning to Kevin.

"Sergeant," she smiled eagerly. "Don't think you'll get away with not saying hello to me."

"Milady, you hurt me to think I would dare not say hello to you."

Lady Heidelberg giggled, "Oh, dear Sergeant, you're just as wonderful as I remember. I was so delighted to find out Alfonse asked you to be his Best Man. It was my idea as a matter of fact."

"So I heard, Milady," Kevin said as he took Lady Heidelberg's hand and kissed it politely. "I fear were it not for you, I'd not have even been invited to the wedding."

"Oh nonsense, good Sergeant, I'd not have tolerated it," Lady Heidelberg smiled. "You will be meeting the groomsmen tonight. They're mostly cousins as I recall."

Kevin tried not to laugh, "A fine collection to have by one's side. I look forward to meeting them. I only hope they are as kind and welcoming as you, Milady."

"I'll ensure you're treated very well, good Sergeant," Lady Heidelberg smiled. "Tell me, how was your trip? You must be exhausted, poor dear. Andrew is taking care of your things I expect."

"He's moving our things to our rooms, mother," Alfonse said.

"Good. You both may want to rest before tonight. I fear your groomsman have had a slight advantage in that they've been here two days now. Why, I've ne'er had so many people living under my roof all at once! The chefs and maids have been quite busy."

"I admit, my fatigue demands we rest," Kevin smiled. "Will I be staying in the same room as before?"

"I admit I'm not positive. Possibly not." Lady Heidelberg noticed Andrew walking in with the luggage and other servants came to assist him. "Andrew!"

"Yes, Milady," Andrew said, immediately stopping what he was doing and bowing his head.

"What room will you be placing Sergeant Black in?"

"The room at the end of the hall to the left, Milady. Shall I show the Sergeant to his room?"

"Yes, right away," Lady Heidelberg said and then smiled at Kevin. "You and Alfonse get all the rest you need. Someone will come and let you know to get dressed when you're due in the Parlor room."

"You're most gracious, Milady," Kevin smiled, bowed his head, and followed Andrew up the stairs and down the hall to the room he was assigned.

"Oh, how I do adore that man," Lady Heidelberg said to Alfonse when they were alone. "Darling, don't you dare ever stop being friends with him or I shall never forgive you."

"I see no reason we would stop being friends, mother," Alfonse said.

"Oh! Perhaps you two could start a business together! Why, you'll both be equipped with a law degree at the same time. Perhaps you could start a practice together. Help him become of higher status like such a man should be. Granted, it will be 'new' money, but such an offense can easily be overlooked. Especially for that lovely young lady of his. What was her name?"

"Amber," Alfonse said after a moment of trying to remember the name.

"Yes, Amber. A French woman correct?"

"French by blood, yes," Alfonse said.

"Ah, yes, I remember. She was born in France but lives in Germany. How fairs she as far as you know? Surely he's told you of her. I simply must know more about the young woman lucky enough to win the Sergeant's undying love."

"She's alright as far as I'm aware," Alfonse said.

"Well, what else?! Surely he's described her to you or he's shown you pictures."

"I've seen one picture," Alfonse said. "She's lovely."

"Oh, you're of no help," Lady Heidelberg sighed. "Anyway, the moment he's made a proper fortune, he can send for her to come here and marry her. Such a man should not be without a wife. He's far too good for such a thing."

"Indeed," Alfonse sighed. "Mother, I need some rest myself before tonight, so I'll show myself to my room."

"Alright, rest well. Get plenty of rest, dear. You're marrying a princess tomorrow," Lady Heidelberg said eagerly.

"How I struggle to contain my excitement," Alfonse said sarcastically.

"Don't dare be that way, Alfonse. I tolerate you looking like your father. I'll not tolerate you behaving like him."

"I'm sorry mother," Alfonse said flatly.

"You are forgiven. Now go get some rest."

Once able, Alfonse went up the stairs to his room and immediately went to bed and would not be moved until Diane came in to rouse him and send servants to help him get dressed for the evening. Kevin, although he'd brought his own clothes, was dressed in a tuxedo of the Lady's choosing upon which he wore his Medal of Honor, again, upon the Lady's request. Or insistence more appropriately. All the men, Alfonse's father included, met in the Parlor room for drinks and cigars. Kevin had hoped he might play the piano, but there was already a pianist taking over the task, leaving Kevin to sit among the men and talk about business and politics. Upon notice of his medal, the war immediately came up. Kevin told his story of how he'd earned the medal and his title, but said nothing else on the topic of the war. Frankly, he found himself rather irritated with the groomsmen and how they spoke so flippantly about the matter. Most of the men in the room were related to the Arch Duke in one way or another, but they all spoke about his death so callously. One even said defense of Austria came with great reluctance on the part of Germany. Were it not for a treaty and, of course, the Kaiser and Arch Duke being close friends, a war would not have broken out at all. Or so one of the men in the group argued.

Kevin wasn't terribly concerned about what caused the war so much as the lasting effect. Kevin meant it when he said he'd not change a thing simply because he'd found Amber. However, even finding her couldn't overshadow the things he'd seen and done. Among these men he'd never dare admit it, but he still had nightmares about it sometimes. So did Embry and Seth. He remembered when they'd initially returned from the war and Seth had originally been having night terrors. Charlene had asked Kevin and Embry to talk to him and help ease his mind. All the three of them could really do was reassure one another that it was over. Seth was much better now, especially once Uileila had come around. Even for a toddler, she was very well behaved. Kevin would answer questions as they came along, but he kept his answers brief. He heard more arguing among the gentlemen about the 'cowardice' of the German soldiers that had abandoned their post and how it was no wonder France and England were able to win, especially when America had 'poked their nose into it' as one man had worded it. Kevin continued to, begrudgingly, remain silent.

"Sergeant, we've barely heard a word from you on the matter," one of the groomsmen spoke up. Based on his tone, Kevin instantly knew the man was trying to size him up. "Surely you have an opinion."

"I have several," Kevin said.

"Then please do share them," the groomsman continued.

"I believe I will never hear the same way again, I believe I'll never forget the smell and sting of mustard gas, and I believe the Treaty of Versailles was horseshit," Kevin finally said, keeping his voiced opinions to the non-confrontational ones.

"To be sure!" another groomsman raised his glass. "To put responsibility of reimbursement entirely on Germany's shoulders is simply asking too much."

"Perhaps they deserve it," the groomsman that had coerced Kevin into the conversation argued. "After all, they overthrew their Kaiser, abandoned their posts, refused to fight, and now they're paying for their cowardice."

"Those men fought just as bravely as myself and my comrades," Kevin finally said in defense of the Germans he fought. "They were stuck in filthy trenches up to their ankles in mud, just like me, they were far from home, just like me, and they feared for their lives every day, just like me."

"Perhaps had they not 'feared for their lives' as you're saying they did, they might have fought a better fight," the groomsman said.

"And what, exactly, were you doing during that war? What was your title? Duke?" Kevin asked sarcastically and the groomsman appeared angered. "Alfonse was in America getting a higher education. What were you up to during the war?"

"He was in prep-school," Alfonse answered for the Duke.

"How quaint," Kevin said sarcastically and gulped down his illegal brandy.

"I was just a boy during the war," the Duke attempted to defend.

"I was 13," Kevin said harshly.

The Baronet, tired of the topic, immediately spoke up and changed the topic to his business ventures. The Duke remained disdainful of Kevin the remainder of the evening, avoiding any direct conversation with him at all costs. That suited Kevin just fine. The men eventually retired for the night. Kevin went to his own room but was surprised when he heard a knock at the door. He was more so surprised when he opened the door to Alfonse.

"What are you doing up still?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you on putting the Duke in his place."

"Well," Kevin shrugged, "he needed a brief lesson in respect the for the men whose legs his country stands on."

"Indeed he did," Alfonse chuckled and stepped inside. "Just be fair warned, he may try to slight you in any way he can while you're in the same building as him."

"He's welcome to try I suppose," Kevin sighed heavily. "If these are really the people you grew up with, no wonder you don't have any friends."

"Exactly so," Alfonse answered. "Permit me to say I much prefer your company over my equals."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kevin said. Alfonse walked over to the window and opened the curtain slightly to look onto the lights of the garden.

"You will be obtaining your Law degree the year after this one will you not?"

"Same time as you," Kevin nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Alfonse said and looked at Kevin again, letting the curtain close. "My mother put a thought in my head I've been mulling over since we arrived."

"What thought is that?" Kevin asked.

"She suggested that, perhaps, you and I should start a Law Practice together," Alfonse said.

"You mean start a business here in Connecticut?"

"Exactly that," Alfonse said. "I've sincerely got more money to my name than I know what to do with most of the time. It would be a great prospect to apply it to something worthwhile."

"That's certainly quite an offer," Kevin said. "Are you sure I'm the one to start it with, though? As soon as Kyle has completed his education, we plan to return to Washington so we're near our family." The look Alfonse gave him was a strange mix of sadness and an inability to understand what he'd just heard, but eventually he breathed and seemed to understand.

"Your family," Alfonse said. "I admit I'd not even considered them when making my little offer."

"I appreciate your offer, though. Under different circumstances, I would gladly start a business with you."

"Well then," Alfonse straightened up and walked a little closer to Kevin, "perhaps I can differ those circumstances for you."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, now that I'm thinking about it, starting our own Law Practice right out of University may be ill-advised. Neither of us have enough real world experience for it to work. Even with the internships come our fourth year, it will pale in comparison to the years of experience we'll have come the time we are employed."

"I'm inclined to agree," Kevin said. "So are you suggesting that we work together and, once Kyle has earned his degree, we both go to Washington and start a business together?"

"Exactly!" Alfonse grinned. In truth, it may have been the most excited Kevin had seen the man in all the time he'd known him. "By then, you will have been able to save up enough money to contribute a cut to the business: ensure you're entitled to it should, God forbid, anything go wrong."

"God forbid indeed," Kevin smiled. Then he reached out his hand. "I say, Baronet, you've got yourself a deal."

Alfonse accepted Kevin's hand, "Indeed we do, Sergeant." The two of them smiled before Kevin had pulled his hand away. "How shall we break the news to your bride?"

"We shan't," Alfonse said. "I imagine she'll much rather stay in New York and that suits me just fine. Save for a child we'll begrudgingly have, our businesses will be none of the other's. I will earn money and keep her living happy as is possible and she'll raise our child to be a spoiled brat. The natural order of things."

"Well, that's a cynical way to look at it," Kevin said.

"When you live as I do, Kevin, cynicism is the only truth you have." The two looked at each other a moment, Kevin being a little stunned. Alfonse, on the other hand, looked a little sad. "I admit I envy you, Kevin."

"How so?"

"Here I am; I grew up in the largest homes, among the highest society, am wealthier than most, had the best educations and privileges. You? You grew up in a town that would fit in our Parisian summer home with little money to your name. Yet you're happier than anyone I know. I spent my whole life thinking the likes of you were beneath me, yet here you are: the only friend I truly have. Yet you have a family that loves you and each other and more friends than I could dream of."

After pondering a moment, Kevin eventually smiled. "Stick with me, Alfonse, and I'll see you as befriended as I am."

Alfonse chuckled, "One can only hope." He continued to look at Kevin with an admiring stare, but suddenly stopped smiling and looked down while he cleared his throat. "Anyway, Kevin. As you stated, it is late and I need to get to bed. I'm getting married tomorrow after all."

"Indeed," Kevin smiled back. "Good luck tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll see you in the morning, Kevin," Alfonse said and walked out of the room to return to his own.

The next morning, as he was promised would be the case, Diane knocked on Kevin's bedroom door and poked in her head. However, since the 'incident', if one could even reasonably call it that, she had made a point to ask Kevin if he was decent before entering a room. She always blushed profusely every time. Kevin assured he was stay under the covers and Diane finally walked in and opened the curtains.

"Good morning, Sergeant. Shall I draw a bath for you?"

"That would be lovely, Diane, thank you," Kevin answered groggily. "When do I need to be dressed and downstairs by?"

"Not for another few hours, Sergeant," Diane answered kindly. "The ceremony isn't until noon today."

"What time is it now?"

"It's nine Sergeant."

"Oh," Kevin yawned. "Alright, I'm going to get a little more sleep. Just pat me awake when the water's ready."

"Absolutely, Sergeant," Diane bowed her head and went to the bathroom in the room to draw a bath. She left the room only a moment to wake the other gentlemen before returning to Kevin's room to stop the water in the tub. She placed some scented oil in the water and placed soap ready on the lip of the tub before returning to Kevin's bedside and patting his blanket covered shoulder. "Your bath is ready, Sergeant."

Kevin grumbled, "Thank you, Diane. I'll be up in a moment."

"Shall I lay out the tuxedo for you, Sergeant."

"Yes, please," Kevin said.

Diane bowed her head and retrieved the tuxedo from the closet and placed it on the bed on the other side of where Kevin was sleeping. Diane came over one more time, realizing Kevin was dozing off again, and patted his should letting him know his suit was out. Kevin thanked her and Diane finally left the room and Kevin got out of bed to bathe. He spent most of that bath relaxing, enjoying the smell of mint, immediately remembering the smell as what Amber had placed in a tub for him when he was recovering from a hangover. It brightened his mood quite a bit. Eventually, with remise, he finally left the tub and dried off completely before getting dressed in his tuxedo he'd been provided. It was different from the one he'd worn last night, but it appeared Diane had still made sure to place Kevin's medal on the suit. He stepped out of his room and saw Alfonse was already out and about with his father and other groomsman. Once Alfonse noticed him, he excused himself from the conversation and came up the stairs.

"Ah, there you are," Alfonse said. "You almost look as handsome as me," he joked and Kevin chuckled.

"Not quite, though," Kevin smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like business as usual," Alfonse answered.

"It's a better answer than I thought I'd get," Kevin smiled.

"Come down. We're all getting a little breakfast in the drawing room before we go outside."

Kevin followed Alfonse downstairs and joined the group. The Duke was as grumpy as he'd been previously and Alfonse mentioned to Kevin in a brief whisper that, should he refuse to marry, that was the cousin that would inherit his fortune in his place. To that, Kevin said, "Marrying Princess Kastorov is the best decision you've made." Alfonse chuckled and they all proceeded to the Drawing room for food. A few hours passed before they finally went outside to the archway. It overlooked the ocean and the sounds of seagulls filled the air while they waited. Guests were already seated and the collection left Kevin wide eyed. There were easily 700 people in attendance.

"How many of these people do you actually know?" Kevin whispered the question in Alfonse's ear.

"None of them," Alfonse answered. "I know a few of them by title or distant relation at best."

"How cozy," Kevin sighed.

Eventually, all the guests were finally seated and they waited but a moment longer before an orchestra began to play Wagner's wedding march. Kevin had never heard the song in a less pleasant context. Soon, Princess Ana was in view. Objectively, she was radiant. She wore all white and her gown was covered in intricate lace with not a bit of skin, save for her arms, being uncovered by it. The sleeves of her dress were slit and hung down at her side in what was, evidently, the style ladies of Russian aristocracy preferred. Before her were her 17 bridesmaids who'd taken then places before Ana had started marching down the aisle with her father leading her. She held a bouquet of fresh spring flowers and she seemed to be wearing a large crown on her head encrusted with diamonds enough so to nearly blind Kevin as they shined in the sunlight. Her face was covered by her vail and when her father finally had her before the altar, he lifted her vail, gave her a kiss on each cheek and handed her to Alfonse. He accepted her hand and she took the final steps until she was right before him.

The priest began with announcing the couple and the reason for their attendance that day. He read several passages from the Bible and frequently elaborated on those passages explaining what their roles in the marriage were to be. This alone took well into an hour. Eventually, it was finally reached that the couple were to say their vows. It was easily the most sterile, flaccid and unpleasant moment of the whole ceremony. Kevin had seen weddings in his tribe and remembered how happy each couple was to marry one another. He'd seen brides cry with joy, he'd seen grooms equate their brides to every precious element that one could think of. It was as though Kevin wasn't even at a wedding. He felt as though he was sitting in on a business meeting. A very boring, unwanted, and forced business meeting.

"I," Alfonse said following the priest's instructions, "Baronet Alfonse Wilhelm Alexander Heidelberg IV do promise to be your husband. I promise to stand by you in sickness and in health 'til death do us part." Kevin wasn't sure if anyone else noticed, but he felt the sarcasm dripping from Alfonse's mouth and it actually made him uncomfortable.

"I," the princess went on, repeating after the priest in her thick Russian accent, "Princess Ana Katarina Ludenberg Kastorov do promise to be your wife. I promise to stand by you in sickness and in health 'til death do us part." Her voice seemed to be wrought with the same bitterness as she spoke.

"Then, with the power vested in me by the grace of God and the state of New York, I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The crowd cheered for the couple and the two kissed. It wasn't even a kiss on the lips, rather a peck on the cheek as if they were simply friends. Alfonse and Ana walked down the aisle together side by side but by no means hand in hand. Kevin and the other members of the wedding party followed and were eventually joined by the other guests while the servants seemed to scurry outside to hurriedly set up the garden for the reception. Not mere minutes after everyone was inside, Alfonse and Ana came over to him.

"Oh, Sergeant," Ana said with a smile and took Kevin's hand and kissed both his cheeks without warning. "I've been longing to say hello to you since I'd heard you'd arrived."

"As have I, Ana," Kevin smiled politely. "Well, you've certainly done what I'd said you would Ana."

"Have I? What is it that I've done?"

"You've knocked the wind out of every man that's laid eyes on you," Kevin smiled. "Why, when I saw you, for just a moment, I wished I could force Alfonse aside and marry you myself."

Ana blushed and giggled, "Oh, stop it, stop it. Do you really think I look so beautiful, Sergeant?"

"The most beautiful in the room without question," Kevin answered, then looked at Alfonse. "Don't you think so, Alfonse?"

"Yes," Alfonse managed to answer, taking Kevin's assistance. "The most beautiful woman to ever walk down the aisle."

"I see you have been rubbing off on him," Ana said sweetly and finally looked, even if only slightly, pleased with Alfonse. "I pray this continues."

"Just by being yourself, your highness, he will have no reason in the world not to compliment you every day," Kevin smiled.

"Oh, Sergeant, please say you'll dance with me once this evening," she giggled. "I've always wanted to have a dance with a handsome young soldier."

"Your highness, you honor me," Kevin bowed his head. "I shall count the minutes until I'm called for."

"Oh, no worries, good Sergeant. You'll not be waiting long," Ana smiled. "Come, Milord. Let's start our dance. I think daddy will expect a dance with me as well before I'll be free to dance with the Sergeant."

"As you wish, Ana," Alfonse said blandly and walked away with her. The crowd cleared and the band began playing while the two danced a waltz together in the ballroom. Eventually, the waltz was over and the Prince Kastorov came forward to dance with his daughter. During which, Alfonse walked over to Kevin.

"She's in a better mood now that she's spoken to you," Alfonse said.

"Hey," Kevin shrugged. "If she's happy, you're happy, right?"

"I suppose so," Alfonse said. "Perhaps she will entreat you to be her lover one day."

"Excuse me?" Kevin asked, a little surprised. Alfonse looked at Kevin, realized he'd offended him and cleared his throat.

"Never mind," Alfonse said. "I meant no disrespect."

"I know," Kevin sighed. "I would just rather your wife not try anything with me. I'm polite out of respect. It certainly doesn't mean I'm romantically interested in her."

"My apologies for the insinuation," Alfonse said. They continued to watch Ana and her father dance. She was smiling brightly and, if Kevin were honest, when the woman smiled, she really was quite beautiful.

"She certainly loves her father at least," Kevin said.

"She has her father wrapped around her finger," Alfonse said.

"Sounds like my little sister," Kevin chuckled. "If nothing else, perhaps you'll get a daughter out of this that will love you unconditionally. That should be a nice thought."

"No, I don't want a daughter. I need a son. If I have a son, then I'll have an heir and I can be done with it."

"Another Alfonse…whatever your full name is?"

"Another Baronet Alfonse Wilhelm Alexander Heidelberg, yes," Alfonse said. "He'd be the fifth."

"I didn't even realize your father's name was Alfonse too. I've only ever called him Baronet."

"That's all the more he prefers to be called most of the time."

"So how long will you be staying up here?"

"Just until tomorrow. We have classes come Monday as you recall."

"Get the honeymoon good and over with then?" Kevin asked.

"As soon as humanly possible. I had Andrew enquire with one of her handmaidens. According to her, a child's as sure as spring. With any luck I'll suffer her one night and then it'll be the last."

"Well," Kevin said awkwardly and eventually shrugged. "Congratulations on the baby I guess."

"Here's praying there will be congratulations in order."

After the song, the Princess bowed to her father and ran back to Kevin and Alfonse, demanding her dance with Kevin. Kevin politely agreed and followed her to the floor. A number of other guests began dancing as well now that the first dance and father daughter dance had finally been completed.

"So how does it feel to be newly married, Ana?" Kevin asked.

"As well as one could expect," Ana smiled back. "How fairs you lady in Germany?"

"She's well," Kevin smiled. "She has sent me a new picture and we spoke of the last we'd been able to see one another over the summer."

"Do tell me more about the young lady," Ana asked curiously. "I'm sure she must be an exceptional beauty."

"She may be the only woman in the world more beautiful than yourself, your highness," Kevin flattered and Ana giggled.

"Oh, how kind of you. So how old is she? Is she your age?"

"Yes," Kevin lied. "She has blonde hair and eyes that would shame the ocean with how blue they are."

"Oh, my goodness," Ana smiled. "I have a cousin with black hair and blue eyes. How I always envied her for them. They're so piercing."

"Not near so much as yours," Kevin said.

"So when shall you have her brought to America? You must miss her dreadfully."

"Every moment she's away, I feel like something's missing," Kevin answered, though she had no way to know how honest an answer that was. "I plan to bring her here the soonest I can afford it and the soonest her father will permit me to marry her."

"Her father would need to be a fool to reject your proposal," Ana smiled. "Why, were I not obligated to marry Alfonse, I'd attempt to steal you for myself."

"You flatter me," Kevin smiled.

"I return in kind," she answered sweetly. "What was your lady's name again?"

"Amber," Kevin said. "Amber Dymek."

"Dymek? That's not a French name is it?"

"Her mother was French. She was adopted by a German family. Her parents were killed in the war when she was young and a kind German couple adopted her."

"Is Amber the young woman I hear tale that you saved during the battle of Chateau Thierry?" Ana asked flirtatiously.

"As a matter of fact, she is."

"Oh, how romantic," Ana smiled. "Why, it's better than a romance novel. Were it that I were so lucky as to fall so madly in love." Kevin, hoping to help Alfonse if only a little, smiled kindly.

"Perhaps you and Alfonse might fall in love."

Ana huffed, "Don't be ridiculous. We married one another for money. Not everyone can be like Auntie Vickie and Uncle Albert."

"You mean Queen Victoria and Prince Albert?" Kevin asked.

"The very same," Ana sighed. "I never got to meet her myself. We all call her Aunt, though. We're all related to her."

"Well, if the Queen and Prince could be in love, I see no reason why you and Alfonse can't be. If nothing else, perhaps you two could remain cordial. Don't be so cruel to one another as your parents or Alfonse's parents."

Ana actually shuttered a moment, "Perhaps you're right. I suppose I could learn to tolerate the man."

"Not tolerate," Kevin said, "Pleasantly coexist. You never know. Perhaps you two could come to admire one another."

"You are a good friend to him to try so hard to make our marriage something worth being happy about." The song ended and the two bowed to one another. "Thank you for the dance, Sergeant."

"I should be the one thanking you, your highness," Kevin said.

Finally, it was announced the garden was ready for dinner and all the guests found their seats with the wedding party sitting where the altar still was at a wide table that laid them all in a line. Just to ensure he warned Alfonse, Kevin pulled him aside as they walked to the table and told Alfonse what he'd spoken about with Ana. Alfonse seemed slightly annoyed but ultimately thanked Kevin for the effort. Once they were seated, Ana and Alfonse seemed to make an honest effort to speak to one another civilly and Kevin felt just a little proud of himself. The night wore on of eating and even drinking with some music and dancing thrown in. Eventually, Ana and Alfonse were instructed to leave the party and allow the guests to enjoy themselves while they turned in for the night. Most guests left shortly thereafter and Kevin went to his room as soon as he was able and went right to sleep. The next afternoon, Alfonse was driving them back to Connecticut. There was a silence in the car, so Kevin just watched the scenery as they drove by. Alfonse was the one that eventually broke the silence.

"Aren't you going to ask how last night went?"

"I assumed you didn't want me to," Kevin said.

Alfonse smiled, "That's very thoughtful of you. All the same, she was pleasant enough."

"Even sex with a prostitute was pleasant enough, so I can't imagine sex with your wife isn't more so."

"It wasn't the sex I was referring to, but I suppose that's true. The sex was brief to say the least. I just hope it's all that was needed."

"I guess if her handmaiden is trustworthy or accurate, it should be."

"Pray it is," Alfonse said. Hours later, Alfonse dropped Kevin off at his house and promised to see him Monday before leaving. Kevin walked in with all his luggage and was greeted by Kyle and, to Kevin's surprise, Sgt. Stanley.

"There he is," Kyle said. "How was the wedding?"

"What wedding?" Kevin asked sarcastically. "What I saw was a business meeting with garlands and flowers thrown on it."

Sgt. Stanley laughed, "Were the flowers and garlands pretty at least?"

"Pretty enough," Kevin said.

"I was actually admiring those paintings of yours," Sgt. Stanley said. "Who's the artist?"

"Amber Dymek," Kevin said. "She's the young girl I saved, remember?"

"Not personally, but I've heard the stories of her," Sgt. Stanley said. "There's plenty of coffee left over if you're thirsty."

"Coffee sounds like a Godsend right now," Kevin said and proceeded to help himself to a cup. "I feel so bloated and gross. All I had the whole time I was there was meat, pastries and cheese."

"Sounds quite fancy. I'm jealous," Sgt. Stanley chuckled.

"If you had my stomach ache right now, Henry, you wouldn't be," Kevin said and Sgt. Stanley laughed.

"So how long will Alfonse be gone?" Kyle asked.

"He's back already," Kevin said.

"Good heavens, why?" Sgt. Stanley asked. "Wouldn't he rather spend some time with his new wife? The honeymoon is the best part I don't mind telling you boys." Sgt. Stanley seemed momentarily contented in his thoughts. "I remember when my wife and I got married. She was the most beautiful woman in the room. And that night? Boys, there is no place on this earth, in heaven or in hell that feels better than a woman."

"I'm sure when they contribute, it's great," Kevin said, repeated something Embry might say.

"Sex with a prostitute hardly counts, Kevin," Sgt. Stanley said. "It has to be with the woman you've chosen to marry. That? There's nothing better than that."

"I believe you," Kevin said. "Speaking of Joanna, how is she?"

"She's doing just fine, thank you," Sgt. Stanley said. "She told me to send you both her fair wishes."

"Tell her we said thank you," Kevin said and took a sip of coffee.

That Monday, life returned to normal for just about everyone. As was agreed upon, Ana remained in the Hamptons with the Baronet and Lady Heidelberg and not a month later, Alfonse received a letter advising him that Ana was pregnant. Kevin offered his congratulations, but Alfonse insisted he not be congratulated until he had a son. Shortly thereafter, Kevin also got word that Caevia had given birth to hers and Embry's last child whom they named Grae. Embry Jr. insisted the reason the baby was named such was because his parents didn't have the vaguest idea what to name the baby, so Embry to one look outside, returned inside and an hour later they announced their son was Grae Call. Embry Sr. and Caevia insisted with all their might that wasn't the least bit true, but the joke caught on all the same. Trying to rectify the joke, she claimed that Grae was an accidental blue sky. Caevia accepted this metaphor and would, from then on, refer to Grae as a blue cloud. Kevin did inform Embry (everyone really) about Alfonse and Ana's upcoming baby to which Embry Jr. said, "I know they're expecting, but the offer for Grae still stands. He's brand new, a perfectly good baby. Just tell them he's adorable. He really is." Seeing as Embry Sr. was near his son when he said the vulgar suggestion, Embry scolded his son but also went over to him and bit him. Embry. Jr. laughed all the same.

The remainder of the year continued. Bernadette had ended up pregnant near the time Caevia had found out about her pregnancy and they'd all heard, when she came to visit Forks to relay the good news, that she and the Captain had given birth to a beautiful little boy they had named Daniel. Aidetzi, of course, was eager to meet the little boy and bounced and cooed him the way she had done with her own siblings and little brother Grae. Unfortunately, Bernadette and the Captain hadn't been able to stay long before having to return home. Come summer, the Cullens visited as they always did and Kyle and Kevin returned home as well to visit. It was during that year that a rather strange thing happened. Jae, having suffered from a terrible fever for days, finally became a wolf in the wake of the Cullen visit. Nathan also became a wolf. A pure, pitch black wolf, following a similar bout of ill-feeling. What was strange was that Natalie had also changed. She was the first woman of their tribe to become a wolf. Her hair changed to pure white and her coat was long like a prized show dog, or so that's what the family compared it to. Embry Jr. teased Natalie that she would not be allowed on patrol because she was far too pretty. She'd not scare a single vampire. The oddities continued when another wolf joined the pack. A rather unexpected addition to say the least that was not even among the Quileute tribe.

Their cousin, Travis, changed rather suddenly, or so they heard, and was told by his mother that it was imperative that he change at night so his uncle would learn of the change. He was promptly ordered to come to the Quileute tribe to talk. The following morning after they had all found out, Travis walked into the tribe appearing nervous and looking around at everyone. The last he'd seen any of them was at the funeral and the only ones he remembered well were Natalie and Nathan. When he entered the clearing, he heard a wolf's bark and was approached by a wolf that was growling. He stopped where he was but the wolf stopped upon Nathan's call. The wolf went back to Nathan, but he also approached Travis and smiled kindly.

"Hey, Travis," Nathan said. Travis stared at him strangely until Nathan remembered. "Right," he went on in Quileute. "I forgot you don't speak English. I was just welcoming you. How are you feeling since you changed yesterday?"

"Better," Travis said. "I don't feel feverish anymore."

"That's good," Nathan smiled. And then, finally, Jacob approached.

"Travis," Jacob said. "How long has it been since I'd seen you last? You've already grown so much."

"Mom was saying she thinks the wolf is to blame," Travis said nervously.

"Are any of your brothers effected?"

"Just me," Travis answered. He continued to look really nervous. "When I was a wolf with all of you…I could hear everything."

"Yes, that is part of our change. We can hear one another." Travis stared at the ground suddenly, refusing to make eye contact with Jacob. After a moment of silence, Jacob told Nathan to go back to his siblings so he and Travis could talk. Once they were alone he said, "Come with me to my home. Renesmee isn't in the house so we'll have some privacy to talk."

Travis nodded and followed Jacob to the house and into the living room with the piano, the fireplace and their family pictures and trinkets. He was a little surprised when he'd seen all those things. Jacob hadn't been thinking about them when Travis had changed, so this was the first time he'd seen these things. He saw rows and rows of pictures ranging from when his cousins were babies although those pictures were limited to pictures of Kevin kneeling beside a very strange looking dog to Kyle and Kevin both kneeling beside a strange looking dog. In the second picture, they were both wearing heavy looking sweaters with a giant Y on it. He saw a family picture with Jacob standing tallest behind everyone, a much younger Kevin and Kyle standing in front of him and Renesmee sitting beside the group with the twins in her arms as tiny babies. He saw another family picture with them included, however William, Sara and Sokajili were in the picture and it was on the beach. There were books and little statues and more pictures on the bookshelves, but what really grabbed his attention was the carved candle with a rose and the rose carved soap displayed right by its side in a velvet lined box.

"Just make yourself comfortable," Jacob interrupted Travis's perusing as he sat in one of the armchairs beside the fireplace. Travis finally stepped forward and sat on the end of the couch nearest Jacob. "So are you feeling better since yesterday?"

"Yes," Travis nodded nervously.

"Alright, good," Jacob said. "Do you have anything you wanted to ask me?" For a moment Travis was silent. He knew exactly what he wanted to ask, yet he wasn't comfortable asking. This had all essentially been forced on him suddenly and he was now in a spot where people he barely knew now knew more about him than anyone.

"Are you doing to tell my family?" he finally asked. Initially, Jacob assumed Travis was asking if he was going to tell his family about what decision they were going to come to, but then he realized that wasn't at all what he meant. Rather, he was asking about a deep personal secret that he'd not wanted to be known by anyone, and yet was now known by all the pack.

"You must admit you're very young, Travis," Jacob said. "How are you so sure of this…preference?"

"How did you know you preferred women?" Travis asked with, admittedly, a pointed tone.

"I just knew," Jacob answered, and then took a deep breath. "Point taken. So you're asking if I intend to tell your mother and father?" Travis nodded. "It's not my business to tell them. Although, I assume your reason for being so ill at ease about this is because you've no intention of marrying?"

"I have plenty of brothers that can make up for the deficit on my part," Travis said. He was trying to be confident, but he was beginning to crumble quick. Keeping this a secret and simply claiming he never met someone worth marrying or being with was one thing. Telling the truth, one so taboo, was another entirely. "I don't want them disappointed in me."

"They'll not be," Jacob smiled reassuringly. "You see, one thing that comes with being a wolf is imprinting. It's when you find your mate to put it as simply as possible. However, I don't mind telling you that it's excessively unlikely to happen. There've been only a handful of wolves it's happened to out of the hundreds of men that have joined the pack over the centuries. Taha Aki is one of them. All of his sons changed to wolves, but only one every imprinted: Suerro. And that's a long story in and of itself. Besides my father, there have been, perhaps, two others before him that have imprinted. In all honesty, with myself, Embry and my son Kevin imprinting, this is the most any members of the pack imprinted at one time. And, were it not for the fact that unusual circumstances in all three of our cases led to meeting our mate, we'd still not have imprinted."

"What's your point, Uncle Jacob?" Travis asked, a little aggravated and assuming Jacob was trying to imply that, even if he did not prefer women, that he'd imprint on one and everything would work out just fine. It was making him rather upset and, frankly, discredited and belittled.

"My point, Travis," Jacob continued calmly, "is that if you really don't want to tell them, then you can simply say that you're waiting for your imprint. There have been wolves that refused to marry unless they found their imprint. In some cases, part of it is due to the theory that it guarantees the healthiest offspring but then, in truth, there's simply no way to prove that's true. The other case is the romanticized notion of imprinting. There were several packs, more so than any other type, in which none of the wolves imprinted. Some, or so it's said, had it in their minds that imprinted love was the only love worth having and they decided it would be that or nothing at all. That was, as a matter of fact, my uncle's stance. You recall he was never married nor had any children. Well, when he was younger, both he and my father were wolves. My father imprinted on my mother by pure chance shortly after his first change and my uncle was extremely jealous. He wasn't so badly for it that he decided he would imprint or have nothing at all. Needless to say, he never found his imprint, so he remained unmarried."

No longer offended and realizing now what Jacob was saying, Travis calmed and sat up straighter. "So just tell my parents that I've seen what imprinted love is like and I'll not have anything but that?"

"Exactly," Jacob smiled. "Aside from the pack, obviously, no one will need be the wiser."

Finally, Travis relaxed more and smiled a little. "Thank you, Uncle Jacob."

"Was there anything else you needed to ask me?"

"No more than ask what the plan is. Mom had told me that I needed to let you know I had changed and that you would know what to do."

"Yeah," Jacob nodded. "As far as the pack, if you choose to remain a wolf, then you would be expected to meet us every night for patrol. Our pack has grown uncharacteristically large in comparison to previous packs, so we all take turns sleeping. You're welcome to go home whenever you want, but I would prefer you live with us."

"Where would I stay?" Travis asked.

"You can stay here. You can share a room with Nathan. With Kevin and Kyle home, they're using their beds, but when they're back east, you can use one of their beds."

"East?"

"My sons are living on the other side of the country attending something called a University. Kevin is studying law and Kyle is studying medicine."

"Oh," Travis said, feeling a little silly. "I guess that wasn't being thought of last night."

"Probably not," Jacob chuckled. "Your mother wouldn't be angry with you."

"That's not the point," Travis said. "They would still see me differently and I don't want them to. I don't want anyone to."

"Then no one will know," Jacob reassured. "No one except the pack will know. I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you," Travis said.

Upon that agreement, Travis returned home and explained to his tribe that the Quileutes wanted him to reside with them, but he would return frequently to see them. Seeing as Travis would be coming and going frequently, Rachael wasn't too concerned with that so long as Travis was safe. As a first order of business in welcoming Travis into the pack and to the tribe, Embry Jr. and Kevin invited him to go cliff diving with them. It turned into a pack activity where they were joined by Jae, Nathan, Natalie, Embry Sr., Jacob and Kyle. He was really nervous at first since he barely knew anyone, but Natalie made sure he felt welcomed and by the end of the trip, she and Travis were best friends.

Since Travis would be staying with them, Renesmee began working with Travis to help him learn English and to also learn to read and write. Since he did speak Quileute, they had a common language to launch off from, although Hou was still the language he knew best. One thing Renesmee noticed right away was that Hou and Quileute had a lot of words that were similar and the grammar was the same, but if a word was different and Travis couldn't remember it, he would just use a Hou word. It caused confusion initially, but they overcame the barrier rather quickly. All the kids helped him along to learn as well. When the end of summer came, Kevin and Kyle returned to Connecticut for school. Alfonse had been required by his mother to spend the summer in the Hamptons to be with his pregnant wife. Alfonse was pleased to report to Kevin that he and Ana had managed to remain rather cordial but it was strange and awkward all the same. The only enjoyment he got at all out of his stay was feeling the baby kick.

"So have you two talked about a name?" Kevin asked while they waited for their class to start.

"If we have a son, he'll be named after me. If we have a girl, she wants to name the baby Anastasia Katarina. Of course, mother's not one to be left out. She insisted if we have a girl that her name needs to be in there if my mother-in-law's name is to be there. So we all agreed her name would be Anastasia Katarina Helen Kastorov Heidelberg. If it's a boy, Alfonse Wilhelm Alexander Heidelberg V. Ana hates that name, so she's hoping we have a girl."

"You want a boy though?"

"I'd prefer it," Alfonse said. "It will make things easier."

"The baby is due in December, right?"

"That's what the doctor says," Alfonse nodded.

"How's she feeling?"

"Better than the beginning," Alfonse said. "Apparently, she was sick at first but she started feeling better before I arrived. She and mother have been inseparable since the pregnancy and her parents will be returning from Paris for Christmas and so they can be there for the birth. I'm told her mother is elated about the baby and are insisting Ana spend next summer with them in Paris."

"Will you be going?"

"No," Alfonse sighed. "I love Paris, but I fear I'd not enjoy myself if I had to spend the summer with my in-laws. Mother might go, though. In fact, I'm rather positive she will. She hasn't been to Paris since she and father came to America and I'm sure she misses the summer home."

"If they're going, you can always stay at your home instead of your in-laws."

"Perhaps," Alfonse said. "I'll decide later."

For the remainder of the year, Alfonse, upon his mother's further insistence, would spend his weekends in the Hamptons and return Sunday for school so he could visit Ana. Ana's condition continued to be neutral, mildly irritable at worst, so when Alfonse was there, there really wasn't much for him to do except touch her belly if she said the baby was kicking. Kevin and Amber continued their letters back and forth and when it was nearing December, Kevin went out for his shopping and found a cute pair of winter gloves that he sent to Amber with another long letter before he and Kyle returned home once again. By then, Travis's English had improved, but he still preferred to at least speak Quileute. They would let him do that, but would inevitably force him to practice English so he got used to it. He never cared for it.

It was Travis's first Christmas that he'd ever experienced. Natalie made him a necklace as a gift while the Cullens provided him with more clothes than he thought he could possibly need. The children that changed also went through a drastic growth spurt just as Kevin, Embry and Kyle had when they'd gone through the change. The boys was not so much of a surprise. It was Natalie that surprised them. She grew very tall, much taller than any of them thought she would. Renesmee and Sara weren't very tall and neither was Bella, but Natalie over the course of that year had grown to 5' 9" according to Carlisle and towered over everyone except the rest of the pack. The others reached heights of 6' +, particularly Jae. Which meant he was finally taller than Hailey. Jae left Hailey alone about it for the remainder of the year, but come January after Kevin and Kyle left to return for University, Jae appeared at the shop with Embry bright and early.

"Guten Morgen, Onkel Hailey," Jae smiled.

"Guten Morgen," Hailey replied. "What brings you in so early?"

"Don't play coy with me," Jae teased. "You said when I'm taller than you, I can work for you. Well, I'm much taller than you now."

"Yes, I noticed," Hailey mumbled. "That was a rather drastic change to say the least."

"I awoke to my wolf," Jae said.

"Is that so?" Hailey asked. "Well, in that case, that's cheating. I say we wait until you're at least 15."

"Oh, no, I don't think so," Jae smiled. "You never specified how I was required to become taller than you, only that I had to be taller. Now that I am, I say I've earned my employment. Embry already said he's willing to start looking for work elsewhere."

"Just give me a reference and I'll get out of your hair," Embry said. "I was planning to go up to the city and start looking today."

"I didn't give you authorization for that," Hailey said to Embry.

"Come on, Hailey, don't be like this," Jae said. "We had an agreement, remember?"

Hailey sighed, "Fine. Get to work." Then Hailey looked at Embry. "Alright, Embry. You're fired."

"Happy to hear it, sir," Embry laughed and left. Jae kept smiling.

"I said get to work, boy," Hailey said.

"Yes, sir," Jae said.

"You get your pay every two weeks and you'll get the same as Embry."

"Yes sir," Jae nodded and essentially took over without any needed training.

Neither Embry or Jae returned home until night. Embry found a new job at a factory up in the city and they essentially hired him on the spot, told him who his superiors were and told him to ask him if he had any questions and put him to work. It wasn't even until the end of the day that he was told it was a pencil factory. He was making less than he'd made when he worked for Hailey, though. When Kevin and Kyle returned back, Kevin didn't see Alfonse again until classes resumed. Alfonse seemed to be in a rather pleasant mood when Kevin finally saw him.

"So did Ana have the baby?"

"Yes, she did," Alfonse said. "Anastasia," Alfonse continued.

"So it was a girl? You seem happy about it at least."

"I'm happier than I thought I'd be," Alfonse said. "When the doctor came out and told me, I was really disappointed, but when I finally met her, she smiled at me and wanted me to hold her and I couldn't help but love her. She looks just like me."

"Congratulations, Alfonse," Kevin smiled. "So when do I get to meet her?"

"Once Ana moves here," Alfonse answered; an answer that surprised Kevin quite a bit.

"Ana's coming to live here?"

"Yes, so I can be with Anastasia. She hasn't seen the house yet. I know she'll hate it, but I'm more concerned with being close to my daughter. She can deal with it."

"Well, I can't wait to meet her," Kevin said and patted Alfonse on the back.

It took a few weeks, but Ana and Anastasia did eventually get moved down to Connecticut and take up house where Alfonse was staying. As he predicted, Ana despised the house calling the three room house a 'shoe box'. She perked up, however, when Alfonse told her that Kevin would be joining them for Sunday morning brunch so he could meet Anastasia. Kevin offered to bring Kyle, but he opted to spend the day with Mrs. Croft and help her with a few things. He also hoped that, perhaps, he could finally meet the illusive Mr. Croft. Kevin arrived at Alfonse's house at 10:30 Sunday morning and was greeted at the door by Diane.

"Ah, Sergeant, please come in. Might I take your coat?"

"Thank you," Kevin said and removed his coat to hand to Diane. "It's a surprise to see you here."

"I've been assigned by Lady Heidelberg to move in with the young Baronet and the Princess to help take care of the baby and keep the house in order."

"Well, welcome to Connecticut, Miss Diane," Kevin smiled.

"Thank you, Sergeant," Diane smiled. "The Baronet and Princess are waiting for you in the dining room. Breakfast and coffee is on the table for you as well."

"Thank you, Diane," Kevin smiled once more and went to the dining room of the home. When he was noticed upon entering the room, Alfonse smiled and stood from his chair. Ana was on the other side of the table with the baby resting beside her in a bassinette.

"Morning, Kevin," Alfonse said and walked over to Kevin to shake his hand.

"Morning, Alfonse. I assume the little girl in the crib is Anastasia?"

"Yes, that would be her," Alfonse smiled and led Kevin around the table to meet the baby.

"Good morning, Sergeant," Ana smiled. "I hope Alfonse has bragged to you about our daughter."

"He rarely speaks of anything else these days," Kevin smiled at Ana. "Your daughter looks a lot like Alfonse, but I've no doubt she will have inherited your grace and charm."

Ana giggled, "I do hope so. It would serve her to inherit at least a little of me. She has my hair, though."

"Indeed she does," Kevin nodded and looked at the baby. She really did look like Alfonse, but her hair was black like Ana's and when she opened her eyes, they were a sweet light brown. Her smile was Ana's, Kevin noticed. "Don't be so modest, Ana. She has your smile."

"Oh, do you really think so?" Ana smiled.

"Indeed, your highness," Kevin said. "With such a beautiful face and smile, I've no doubt she will break many hearts as she grows into a young woman."

"I think you're right, Sergeant," Ana giggled.

Kevin got the chance to hold Anastasia before finally sitting down to eat with them. Anastasia was a squirmy baby and often would make a loud noise to get attention and wouldn't stop until Ana picked her up. Kevin stayed with them for most of the day and didn't return until much later. Kyle had returned home by the time Kevin got back and he asked if he met Mr. Croft. He had not and the two got a good laugh. At home, the Cullens came back from Alaska early in preparation for going east for Kevin's impending graduation ceremony. They knew Kevin was planning to stay in Connecticut until Kyle completed his schooling and they were also aware that Alfonse and Kevin had started discussing the possibility of starting a business together afterwards. Of course, they were also all aware that the fact that business would be in Washington was not to be discussed with Princess Ana assuming they met her.

Jacob, Renesmee and all their children would be going east for the ceremony obviously. Embry Jr. would be going and Jae had requested he be able to go as well. Since Hailey was more aware of how they planned to get out east than, perhaps, he should be, he agreed to let Jae go and he'd handle the shop himself while Jae was gone. Aidetzi agreed she would go and since Jae was going, Rae and Sharisa decided they wanted to go too. Embry Sr. and Caevia would stay behind with the rest of the kids. William and Sara told everyone to send Kevin their blessings and congratulations for his accomplishment and looked forward to seeing him soon. It was almost certain that the ceremony would be outside, but for Kevin's ceremony, the Cullens would do what they needed to so they could see the ceremony. Kevin was sure to write a letter to Amber letting her know that he would be graduating in the summer and promised to send her a picture as soon as he was able.

When it was finally time, the Cullens finalized all the preparations for the trip to Connecticut. They all decided that running would be the easiest course of action. The ones that couldn't run (Rae, Sharisa, and Aidetzi) were carried by one of the Cullens and thankfully it was possible for them to sleep during the trip. They were able to get to Connecticut within 30 hours and arrived early in the morning before the sun was out. They found a hotel and get themselves checked in and allowed those that needed it to rest for the day. By the time they had arrived, Kevin still had one more day of classes with final tests before he was officially done. The graduation ceremony would be that upcoming Saturday. Later that day after everyone had relaxed, the family went to the house Kevin and Kyle shared and had dinner with them, congratulating Kevin for graduating Yale. They also got the chance during that week to meet the Princess and the baby who they all agreed was precious.

When Saturday finally came, Kevin went to the school early with Alfonse so they could get ready and in their graduation gowns. The Cullens dressed in a manner where all their skin was covered and brought umbrellas for them to stay under so they wouldn't be in the sunlight. The would remain in the back so they wouldn't bother the rest of the guests. The graduating class was rather small: no more than about 100 students. Kevin and Alfonse were seated far away from one another, separated by alphabetical order. Each student was called by that order and they each walked across the stage to accept their diploma and shake the hands of the teachers. Quiet applause rang for each student whose name was called. When Kevin was called, he stepped forward and accepted his diploma from Dr. McCarthy, who smiled at Kevin proudly.

"Congratulations, Mr. Black. You proved me wrong about you several times since you started here. I've no doubt that you will do great things."

"Thank you, Doctor," Kevin smiled and walked along so the next student could take their diploma.

Once every student had taken their diploma and were back to their seats, they were congratulated once again for graduating and encouraged to throw their caps into the air in celebration. Kevin went to his family first and allowed them to flock around him and hug him and congratulate him. Eventually, Kevin brought his family to Alfonse and his parents, his wife and his daughter so they could all talk. Upon learning whom the group of people were, Lady Heidelberg insisted that they all come to the Hamptons for the party she was throwing the following day for her son. All manner of high society would be present naturally and there would be a lovely dinner served. Carlisle graciously accepted the invitation and promised they would see her the following day for her party.

"I have to wear a what?" Embry asked Kevin when they returned to his house.

"You'll have to wear a tuxedo," Kevin repeated. "If it makes you feel any better, we'll all be wearing one."

"It doesn't," Jacob sighed. "You just had to make that woman adore you didn't you, Kevin?" he continued sarcastically.

"Don't be this way, Jacob," Edward said. "You won't have to talk to anyone. We'll all be there and we'll be able to keep one another entertained. Alice, can I trust you to get everyone appropriate attire?"

"I'll have an outfit for everyone before the end of the day," Alice smiled and took her umbrella and left the house. Jasper went with her.

As promised, Alice returned before sundown with several dresses and tuxedos for everyone to wear. They had told Lady Heidelberg they would be there by nightfall that day, so they got everything in the cars they had burrowed and made the drive to the Hamptons. Even with the car's limited peak speed, the Cullens managed to have everyone in New York and in the Hamptons within two hours. When they arrived, as was always the case, Andrew came outside to greet them.

"Sergeant," Andrew said when he noticed Kevin. "Welcome again and congratulations on you and Alfonse graduating."

"Thank you, Andrew," Kevin smiled then drew his attention to the rest of his party. "These are my family in from Washington. Kyle you know of course, but the rest are my parents, other siblings, a few friends that I consider family and, of course, my mother's side of the family."

Andrew bowed his head while Jacob continued to gawk at the place. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. You each have rooms for the night. I will see that all your luggage is taken to your designated rooms."

"Thank you, Andrew. Alfonse is already here, correct?"

"Yes, he arrived a few hours ago. Last I saw he was still amusing his mother with the baby."

"Certainly a worthwhile distraction," Kevin joked and Andrew smiled.

"Indeed, she is cute as a button," Andrew agreed. "Please, let yourselves in and make yourselves at home. Lady Heidelberg is eager to greet you all." Kevin nodded and led everyone inside while Andrew addressed their luggage.

"Have you ever had a house this big?" Jacob asked, directing his question towards the Cullens.

"No, but then, I suppose we could if we really wanted to," Edward said. "The Lady is simply used to the finer things in life and prefers that her lifestyle she's grown accustomed to be uninterrupted."

"So she's a spoiled brat," Jacob said rather than asked and Edward chuckled a little.

"In simple terms, I suppose so," he answered. "With that attitude, Jacob, I would recommend letting Kevin do most of the talking. Lady Heidelberg is quite fond of him."

"Yes, because he enables her," Jacob said.

"Better to enable her and remain on good terms than be frank and have the woman hate him," Edward said. Rather than argue, Jacob shrugged concluding that Kevin would know best how to handle the woman.

When they walked inside, they were greeted by another servant who requested they wait a moment while he fetched the Lady of the house. A few moments later, Lady Heidelberg, the Baronet, Alfonse and Ana came out to greet the party. Lady Heidelberg went right to Kevin with open arms.

"Sergeant," Lady Heidelberg near cheered eagerly. When she reached him, she took his arms and kissed both his cheeks. Kevin reciprocated.

"Lady Heidelberg," Kevin smiled. "You look radiant as always. I swear you grow younger every day." He felt a number of people standing behind him roll their eyes, but he ignored it.

"Has no one told you it's a sin to lie?" Lady Heidelberg giggled jokingly. "Of course, it's a pleasure to see all of you again," she said to the people standing behind Kevin. Most of them smiled politely and nodded while Carlisle spoke.

"It is a pleasure, Lady Heidelberg. Thank you so much for granting us shelter in your lovely home. We all look forward to tomorrow's celebration."

"Oh, you're welcome Dr. Cullen," Lady Heidelberg smiled. "Any friend or family of the Sergeant is a friend of mine."

"You're too kind, Milady," Carlisle smiled, earning a giggle from Lady Heidelberg.

"Oh, I see where Kevin obtained his way with words. I swear, doctor, if I'd not known better, I would think Kevin were brought up in high society."

"My cousin and I have taken great care to their education," Carlisle smiled.

"Indeed you have," she agreed. "Young Kyle is quite the gifted pianist, although I'm embarrassed to say I don't know if I've heard Kevin play once."

"Well, Milady, I'm sure Kevin would gladly correct the oversight," Carlisle assured.

"Oh, Sergeant, I do hope you will," she said and led everyone to the Parlor room where they had all been seated previously.

Kevin played the piano for everyone while Lady Heidelberg spoke with his family. She asked several questions about Natalie in particular when she discovered her age. She'd already thought the young woman absurdly tall, but upon hearing Natalie was a mere 14 years of age going on 15 later in the year, she simply couldn't help herself but be the slightest bit nosey. Carlisle, as well as Jacob for that matter, preferred to speak as little of themselves as was possible and, instead, directed Lady Heidelberg's attention and conversation to herself and her life back in Austria starting from her upbringing up to how she and the Baronet had come to live in America. Thankfully for them, she droned on and on. However, Jacob, Embry Jr. and Nathan were finding it nearly impossible to stay awake at points, but Renesmee ensured they were always alert. At the very least, alert when Lady Heidelberg's gaze was in their direction. They eventually dressed up for dinner (a concept that, like many things, Jacob found needless and absurd, but he did so anyway) and met in the dining room. Natalie was seated with Jae and essentially picked at her plate. When one of the waiters had come to put down the food, she asked of its contents (beside the obvious meat) and found everything was laden with butter. Thankfully, Nathan heard that before eating anything, but that did leave him and Natalie hungry during dinner. Lady Heidelberg did not notice. Eventually, everyone retired to bed, but seeing as they were ravenous from not having dinner, Natalie and Nathan met outside their rooms to venture to the kitchen. They were joined by Jae, Rae and Sharisa.

"How are we supposed to find the kitchen?" Sharisa complained. "This stupid house is bigger than the tribal grounds!"

"By looking," Nathan said. "It's bound to be around here somewhere."

"What if one of the servants catch us?" Rae asked.

"We tell them we're hungry and maybe they're actually lead us to the kitchen," Nathan said.

"Maybe we should take as much as we can carry and take it back to our rooms," Natalie suggested. "I imagine everything they give us will have something we're allergic to."

"As long as they don't use any dairy, I'm happy," Nathan said. "You're the one that's needlessly picky."

"It's not 'needless' Nathan, I just don't like meat. I don't think that's such a crime."

"Hey," Jae stepped in, "Let's not argue right now. The last thing we want is to get caught and get in trouble."

"For what? Trying to eat?" Nathan asked flippantly. "Besides, if we're asked to leave, I'll do so with a big smile. Even if Kevin's just being nice, I can't believe he can stand to speak with that woman the way he does."

"It's just polite," Jae defended. "Sure, she's terrible, but we're still in her house."

"Yes, and we're about to steal her food," Rae said. "Kevin's charming, but I don't he can talk us out of getting caught for stealing."

"Well, it serves her right for not bothering to ask if any of her guests suffer food allergies," Nathan said. "One of which being lethal!"

"She didn't serve anything with nuts," Natalie defended begrudgingly.

"Maybe, but she would have loved to, I'm sure," Nathan said. They continued down the halls until they finally, at long last, found the kitchen which, in keeping with the house's aesthetics, was needlessly huge. Since the others were having a hard time seeing, Nathan looked around until he found a light source and turned on the lights. "There, we found it," he sighed.

"About time," Sharisa said. "Let's grab as much as we can and get out of here."

"You don't suppose the chefs live here, do you?" Natalie asked.

"They probably have to," Nathan said. They moved along the kitchen until Nathan heard movement a few rooms over coming from what, from what he was guessing, was probably the servants' quarters. "God Damn it," he cursed under his breath and turned to whisper to everyone. "Someone's up. We need to leave."

"But we didn't get anything," Natalie protested.

"Don't worry about it, I'll come back later. We just need-"

"Who's there?" a man's voice came and they all jumped to see Andrew with a lamp in hand in his nightclothes. When he realized who they were, he cleared his throat and stood up straighter. "What on earth are you doing up this time of night, sirs, madams?"

"We were hungry," Natalie admitted.

"Ah, yes," Andrew sighed. "I recall you did not eat your dinner. No wonder you're hungry. Our chefs will be fixing a good breakfast tomorrow morning, so they will ensure you're well fed."

"That's just it," Natalie continued. "My brother and I didn't eat because we both suffer a lactose intolerance."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It means we can't eat anything that's dairy based: butter, cheese milk and so on," Nathan clarified. "That's my only problem, but my sister suffers a few other allergies, both real and imaginary."

Natalie hit Nathan's arm, "They're not imaginary!" she protested.

"Well, sure, two of them aren't. The rest of them are just you being picky," Nathan said.

"Alright, alright," Andrew interrupted when Nathan was beginning to get a little too loud. "So neither you or your sister can eat any dairy, is that correct?"

Nathan nodded, "Yes sir."

"Alright," Andrew took a deep breath and looked around for a pad of paper and a pencil. Once he had one, he looked at Natalie. "So no dairy. What else do I need to make the chefs aware of?"

"I'm allergic to nuts," Natalie began meekly, now feeling a little embarrassed from her brother's teasing.

"All nuts?"

"Yes," Natalie nodded. "I can eat seeds, though, if that helps. I can eat flax and sesame seeds for example."

"Alright," Andrew wrote everything down. "No nuts, seeds fine," he wrote and mumbled to himself. "Anything else?"

"I don't like meat or eggs," Natalie continued.

"No meat or eggs," Andrew mumbled again as he wrote. "Anything else?"

"That's everything," Natalie said.

"Gracious, child," Andrew mumbled a little more as he wrote out a note. "Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and root vegetables. You can eat those?"

"Yes," Natalie smiled. "I'm sorry to be such a bother but I do appreciate it."

"I'll make sure the chefs are aware," Andrew said. "As far as food right now," he said and went to a large ice box. He pulled out a big bag of pears. "Do you like pears?"

"I've never actually had pears," Natalie said. Andrew went through the kitchen until he found a large bowl and put all the bagged pears into it.

"That should tide you over for the night. I'll talk to the chefs first thing in the morning, madam."

"Thank you," Natalie smiled and bowed her head.

"You're welcome. Once you're done, just throw out the cores and put the bowl in the sink and we'll take care of it in the morning." Andrew finally left the kitchen with his notes in hand leaving everyone alone in the kitchen.

"Well, that was nice of him," Rae smiled while Nathan went to the table and grabbed a pear. He took a bite, then handed one to Natalie.

"It's a little milder than the apples, but you'll like it," he said and Natalie accepted the pear and took a bite.

"Oh, that's good cold. Maybe we should start chilling all our fruit," she suggested.

"I don't think so, Nat," Nathan said. "Nothing's better than an apple fresh off the tree."

The group sat around the counter while Nathan and Natalie finished off the pears. They got rid of the cores as Andrew had said, but they cleaned the bowl and put it back where they'd seen Andrew remove it. It was only courteous. They went back to their rooms for night and slept until a servant opened their curtains and woke them for breakfast. When they all arrived downstairs in the drawing room, Lady Heidelberg was playing with her granddaughter with the Princess sitting beside her and the Baronet in another chair reading the paper. When the group arrived, she invited them to sit where they pleased and Kevin played the piano while they waited for their breakfast and drank their coffee. Andrew eventually arrived with their breakfast, a large plate of pastries and more milk and sugar for their tea. But then he rested two bowls of oats with cinnamon and apple chunks with cinnamon on top and a large plate of freshly pitted peaches.

"Andrew, what is that?" Lady Heidelberg asked when she saw the oatmeal, a little annoyed.

"My apologies, milady, but it was brought to my attention that two of our guests suffer a range of food allergies, in particular a nut allergy that I'm told is lethal, so I've addressed them with the chefs to ensure your guests are accommodated."

"Food allergies?" Lady Heidelberg looked at Nathan and Natalie strangely.

"My apologies for my carelessness, milady," Kevin spoke up. "I plain forgot to mention it. My brother Nathan only suffers an allergy to dairy, but my sister is a little more complicated. Dairy aside, she does in fact have a lethal allergy to nuts. She can't eat shellfish either we discovered as she has much the same allergic reaction, so unfortunately shrimp and oysters are not an option. Other than that, she is just very picky to say the least." Natalie looked at Kevin meanly but said nothing.

"Oh, goodness, well shame on you for forgetting!" Lady Heidelberg said to Kevin then turned to Andrew. "Andrew, see that our guests are properly accommodated."

"Of course, Milady," Andrew said bowing his head and walking away. Nathan just rolled his eyes a little when Lady Heidelberg was no longer looking.

"Thank you, Lady Heidelberg," Natalie said. She would thank Andrew again later.

"Oh, no trouble at all, Liebling. I must say, though, it appears a terrible shame. So far, your allergies appear to force you to eat like a pauper."

"I've grown used to it," Natalie said briefly, preferring to change the subject.

So she wouldn't feel so embarrassed, Jae took some coffee (without milk) and nibbled on a few of the peaches and none of the pastries. Lady Heidelberg eventually asked if Jae suffered the same afflictions as Natalie, to which Embry answered for them, teasing 'He eats whatever suits Natalie' and those that knew them had a small laugh at their expense while the two of them blushed. The joke, unfortunately, appeared to be lost on Lady Heidelberg. Nathan gulped down his breakfast in no time while Natalie more so picked at her food eating slowly as ever. Jacob and Renesmee had both hoped that, having awoken to her wolf albeit unexpectedly, the change would have corrected her appetite. She had always been a fussy eater in all ways and sadly it left her always rather thin. Unfortunately, becoming a wolf hadn't appeared to do much besides make her taller. What little weight she had gained from the changed was, as far as Carlisle was concerned, minimal to say the least and he nagged Natalie about it constantly. All the same, Jae did his part and always encouraged Natalie to eat more and eventually got her to finish her breakfast.

By early afternoon, they were all told to return to their rooms to dress appropriately for the party as guests would be arriving soon. All the men were dressed in their tuxedos (whether they liked it or not) and Alice made sure all the ladies were dressed in what she had gotten them. The Cullens were dressed first before getting to everyone else. Edward had confirmed previously for Alice that, unfortunately, the dresses that were in fashion with the young ladies these days, that being the dresses with no sleeves and that went above the ankle, were considered by Lady Heidelberg to be 'distasteful' and 'inappropriate', so Alice made sure the dresses were longer where they would be expected to be. When they were all dressed, they met downstairs just as guests were beginning to flood in congratulating Alfonse and, of course, swarming to meet the new baby. Kevin recognized most of the guests as having been at the wedding though he wasn't positive Alfonse was really familiar with any of them. As predicted, Kevin's family remained largely among themselves while the Cullens did the bulk of the socializing.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Jae jokingly asked Natalie after they had stood near the wall since the party had started.

"Not particularly," Natalie smiled. "It's rather dull. Do you suppose we're allowed to go somewhere else?"

"Let's go outside," Jae suggested and they walked through the halls until they finally reached the open doors to the garden. There were chairs outside and tables, so they would be eating outside clearly and the view was admittedly lovely. The sun was setting and the water was lit with pinks and deep blues and purples. "That's better."

"Much better," Natalie agreed. They could still hear the band playing, but it wasn't quite so loud. Jae looked at Natalie, particularly her hair. He'd never seen it in a bun before and he had to admit he rather liked it. He still loved her hair down best, but a bun suited her face quite nicely.

"You look pretty tonight," Jae said and Natalie looked at him. "That is, I mean to say you always look pretty but tonight you look dressed up," he continued nervously.

"Thank you," Natalie blushed. "You look dressed up too." They were both quiet a moment. "The house is a bit much but the view is certainly worth seeing."

"It is," Jae nodded. "Do you suppose there are rooms in this house that they never use unless there's company?"

"Of course," Natalie laughed. "I'd be shocked if they used 15% of the rooms in this house."

"That's a generous guess," Jae joked and the two laughed a little more. "I'm sure Hailey will get a nice little laugh about this when I tell him."

"I'm sure," Natalie giggled. Jae took a moment to check his pocket watch to see the time, then closed it and put it back in his pocket.

"I admit I'm getting hungry."

"Well, of course," Natalie said. "All you've had since this morning were a few peaches and coffee. Even I ate more than you."

"Yes, I'm rather proud of you for that," Jae smiled. "What do you suppose the chefs will make you and Nathan for dinner tonight?"

"I'm sure it'll be tasty. That oatmeal was very good, although I still like the way Esme does it better."

"Well, not everyone knows how to make milk out of rice."

Natalie giggled, "I suppose that's true."

The two of them stayed outside together looking out onto the water. Rae and Sharisa had gone looking for Jae but the moment they realized he was outside with Natalie, they shared a little giggle and left them alone until later in the evening when everyone was told to sit for dinner. Toasts were proposed by some congratulating Alfonse while food was dished out. Everyone was served their food by waiters they'd not seen before with the exception of Natalie's and Nathan's food. Andrew delivered that personally which for Nathan was a plate that everyone else was having but with no butter and for Natalie an herb crusted eggplant with vegetables and potatoes, seasoned the same as the other dishes but with no butter. For good measure, he also brought her a large loaf of bread, all of which Natalie thanked Andrew copiously for. Thankfully, she was only surrounded by family so no one gave her a strange look about her food. The Cullens discreetly picked their food off their plates and onto those of the wolves so it would seem as though they'd eaten their meal.

The Cullens and rest of the family remained with the Baronet and his wife for one more day before leaving after breakfast the next. Alfonse and Kevin promised they would meet each other later in the summer once he and Kyle returned from home and talk more. Kevin and Alfonse both had a handful of professors at their disposal to give them good reviews so when Kevin returned, all that would be left would be to ensure he acquired a job with the same firm as Alfonse and the two could begin their plans for a business of their own.