A/N. As a little surprise, I decided to ask my mutuals on my tumblr blog if they would choose some, to them, random numbers. To me, the numbers correlated to one of the three remaining books in the saga not in Edward's point of view (New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn), and then another number as the chapter there in. It seemed more fun to be randomly assigned a chapter to try and rewrite, rather than choosing it myself, and I've had so much fun doing this in the past. So, here it is. We begin with chapter 25 of Breaking Dawn, Favor.
All dialogue within speach marks belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and is taken directly from Breaking Dawn. Everything else is my own.
My fingers ran lazily up and down Bella's side, from her ribs to her hip, as I looked outside the window. The brightness and angle of the light told me it must be nearing seven in the morning, and from what I could hear of the thoughts in the main house, the day was truly beginning, now there was something more concrete to mark the change from one to the next. I switched between minds until I found what I wanted: our daughter, stretching as she roused from sleep, cradled in the arms of her grandmother.
"Renesmee," I breathed. It was the first time I had missed her waking up.
Bella sighed and then stiffened in my arms. My fingers continued their path as I guessed her worry. I hated to miss anything with her as well, despite how much I… appreciated how we had spent our evening.
"It's all right, love," I murmured. "Get dressed, and we'll be back to the house in two seconds."
She jumped up then, and it took all my decades of self-control not to laugh. The way her head whipped between me and the direction of our daughter, back and forth, again and again, undoubtedly unsure of which she could bear to be without at that current moment. I didn't laugh, but my smile did widen somewhat. She had taken to this life so easily, I was almost able to forget she was still a newborn, with warring priorities.
"It's all about balance, love," I told her, sitting up. "You're so good at all of this, I don't imagine it will take long to put everything in perspective."
"And we have all night, right?" she demanded, and despite the change to her voice, I heard the same stubborn tone she had used with me so many times before. My smile widened at the familiarity, and also the promise of her words.
"Do you think I could bear to let you get dressed now if that weren't the case?" I teased, standing and once more taking her hand, unable to let myself be parted from her for more than a few seconds.
She seemed to be lost in her thoughts for a moment — before stress once more overtook her and she raced away from me to the ornate closet. I followed with some trepidation. I had warned Alice when the floorpans had been finalised, all those weeks ago, that her extravagant 'gift' would likely not be appreciated. Esme had tried to argue that the room threw off the proportions of the house, but somehow we had both been worn down. I adored my sister, but she was an absolute terror when she wanted to be. I had some suspicions that Jasper had been influencing us as well, but I had no proof, other than a sly grin I had caught on his face a few hours later.
Bella came to a complete standstill when she had the doors open, her frozen form framed in the light of chandelier Alice had also insisted on. The room looked nothing like the rest of the cottage, appearing more like it came from a completely different century. Esme had still managed to make it work though, I had to admit, matching the colour schemes of the wallpaper and flooring to make it feel a little less alien.
"Which ones are mine?" Bella hissed and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
Stepping further into the room, I appraised it once more. Alice had told me on no uncertain terms that this was not designed for me, and the split of the space only confirmed that.
"To the best of my knowledge, everything but this rack here"—I touched the familiar clothes that had been moved from my closet at the main house down here, all hanging on a bar that took up just about one half-wall of the entire space—"is yours."
I was lucky. Alice had not insisted on purchasing yet another new wardrobe for me, far more excited about the possibility of finally getting to buy what she deemed an improved look for her new sister.
Bella's body language gave away that the effort was not welcomed.
"All of this?" she asked, her head turning to take in the remaining walls, covered in rails and drawers.
I shrugged.
"Alice."
We both spoke at the same time. To me, it was merely an explanation, something to be expected when one lived with Alice. Bella, however, said her name more like a curse word.
I had gotten used to my sister's antics in the last few decades, and had grown to accept her need to control the fashion choices of the entire family. I had little interest in it myself, and truthfully, it had made my life easier. I didn't think Bella would have such an easy time accepting the 'help'.
I heard her mutter 'fine' under her breath, and reach out to the nearest bag. From the scent that floated out of the opened zipper, it would not do, and the growl from Bella proved me right. I glanced at whatever it was over her shoulder, and rolled my eyes. In what world would my wife ever willingly wear a baby pink silk dress?
If we just checked through each garment bag, we would be here much longer than either of us wanted to.
"Let me help," I said, before sniffing the air. It wasn't something I had to do often — many times I just picked whatever my hands landed on first to wear, letting Alice scold me in her thoughts if I went too awry in my choices. But I knew what kinds of clothes Bella preferred, and they had a familiar smell to them.
Following my nose, I found myself at the built in dresser at the back of the room. A quick check told me that the top drawer was likely underwear, the next down was some form of heavy cotton, but the third…
I grinned as I pulled out a pair of blue jeans, triumph settling in my chest as I felt her suddenly at my side. It took a great deal of strength not to turn, look at her, and decide our return to the main house could wait.
"How did you do that?" she asked as I handed over the jeans.
"Denim has its own scent just like anything else," I explained, watching her nod minutely, her face resolute. "Now… stretch cotton?"
I walked along the other rails, finding polyester blends, more cotton, silk — honestly, what was Alice thinking — before I found my prize once again. Pulling out a long-sleeved white t-shirt, I handed it over, watching with some amusement as Bella smelled both items deeply after thanking me. Her eyes closed, and for a moment I remembered her first hunt. It would seem tackling her clothing would be given the same level of concentration.
I was back at my own rack before she looked up again, pulling out simple items to match hers. I had thought it would be easier to control myself once we were both dressed again, but even in the relatively plain outfit, Bella still stole my breath away. Before either of us could get distracted once more, I took her hand and started to lead her towards our intended destination.
When she pulled her hand from mine, once we were over the garden wall, I saw the competitive look in her eyes, and raced ahead. It was short, but the run was as exhilarating as always. Running had always been my simplest pleasure in this new life of mine, the speed and ease of it, the wind whipping through my hair. But glancing over my shoulder and seeing a similar joy on Bella's face made it all the sweeter.
I had let her win the last time we raced, figuring it was only fair given it was her first time. On this occasion, I showed no such mercy, racing ahead of her with ease. Even if her newborn strength, she couldn't match me.
They're coming, I heard Esme think with a relieved sigh as we drew closer. Renesmee had been demanding in our absence it would seem, and one of Esme's silver sets had been given up as a martyr to the cause of keeping her granddaughter entertained while she waited for us.
I saw the mess through six pairs of eyes, all focused on this one amazing being in our midst. I could guess what had been going on by the mangled remains of forks and spoons around her — I made a mental note to make it up to Esme with a new set in the near future.
Coming to a stop with a skid and a small kick up of dirt, I stayed slightly out of view of the window, letting Bella be the first one Renesmee saw. The reaction was worth waiting another second to lay eyes on my daughter. Her delight was immediate, one pudgy hand pointed directly at her mother, while the other flung the cutlery in her hand hard enough to put a dent in the floor. I felt Carlisle's mental wince — Esme's mind was more full of grandmotherly tolerance.
Even so, they all laughed at the display while Bella bounded through the door. It was hard not to join in.
While Bella scooped up our daughter, I headed towards the kitchen. Nessie's mind was full mainly of her mother — but there was also a demand for breakfast. Rosalie had been thinking the same thing, and I nodded to her to remain where she was.
It was normal now, the act of grabbing one of the cups we had put aside for the task, and emptying a blood bag into it. Carlisle still felt guilty for the need of them, but none of us knew if she would even be able to survive from animals as we did. Jasper was glad of the distraction the baby offered, but I noticed he had surreptitiously disappeared again, as had been his habit at all of her meal times.
As I heated the blood, I wondered how we might convince her to try more normal food. Carlisle had attempted formula, but just the once. The reaction that had gotten had put it off the menu for good. To be fair, it had smelt fairly foul, even by human standards. It had been so long since any of us had actually eaten, perhaps Bella or one of the wolves would have better ideas on what might tempt her. Beyond the junk food she had decided she did like, that was.
I listened as Rosalie brought Bella up to speed on what we had missed. I smiled along with her as she fully played through her memories, knowing it was for my sake. What did wipe the smile off my face was Emmett's less than gentlemanly reaction to Bella's heartfelt thanks. If he kept this up, he wouldn't just have me to answer to. He had never been in the house with a newborn, having been the last himself, and he may just learn some important lessons.
The thought brought the smile back.
"Where are the wolves today?" I heard Bella ask as I pulled the now warmed cup from the microwave.
I saw Rosalie's answer before she gave it. Jacob, obviously bothered by something, jaw tight, rushing from the room. She hadn't paid much attention to the why of the matter, more focused on watching Renesmee sleep in Esme's arms, and I knew she ultimately did not care. The only reason she really gave it any thought was because Renesmee would care if she awoke without Jacob there. She had been placated with promises of her mother coming soon instead.
"Jacob took off this morning pretty early," she told Bella. "Seth followed him out."
"What was he so upset about?" I asked, finally re-entering the room.
I took a second to bask in the sight of my wife holding our child. It was as if Bella's arms had been formed specifically to hold Renesmee, so easily did she fit in them. I was very glad for my eternal memory for once, knowing I could never forget this happiness. Bella lifted her eyes to me, her smile radiant, before her gaze drifted to my hands.
A small sense of sadness settled over me as I watched her stop breathing and pass Nessie to Rosalie. Of course handling human blood would be far too much for her, even with her evident control.
Do you want to…? Rosalie asked, her eyes flicking to my face. We normally shared the duty between us, Rose, Esme, Carlisle and I, and by all rights it was my turn. But my answer was given by passing her the cup. I wouldn't make Bella watch as I did something with our child that she could not.
"I don't know—or care," Rosalie continued, tipping the cup towards Renesmee's lips. "He was watching Nessie sleep, his mouth hanging open like the moron he is"—I heard Esme's reproving thought at my sister's words and my mouth half turned up—"and then he just jumped to his feet without any kind of trigger—that I noticed, anyway—and stormed out. I was glad to be rid of him. The more time he spends here, the less chance there is that we'll ever get the smell out."
"Rose," Esme scolded, her voice gentle but a tone each of us had heard at some point. Despite the tenuous truce between Jacob and Rosalie, neither would ever like the other. I was just glad to not be the target of my sister's barbs for once.
Rosalie didn't look in Esme's direction, but her thoughts were a little less sharp after the rebuke.
I glanced at Carlisle, wondering if he had any better idea as to what had caused Jacob to take off. He gave me a small shrug of his shoulders — he'd been in his office, making further notes on Renesmee's growth. By the time he'd been back downstairs, the wolves had already left.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Rosalie said with a toss of her hair, pulling my attention back to her. "We won't be here that much longer."
"I still say we should go straight to New Hampshire and get things set up," Emmett said, his mind filling me in on the conversation we had missed. A disagreement on whether to stay and let Bella get settled in a familiar environment, or keep her away from anyone she may have known before. A run in would not end well — for us, or the hapless human who crossed her path.
"Bella's already registered at Dartmouth," Emmett continued, and I shot him a warning glare at the turn in his thoughts. He ignored me. "Doesn't look like it will take her all that long to be able to handle school." He paused, wanting to give his punchline a more dramatic effect. "I'm sure you'll ace your classes… apparently there's nothing interesting for you to do at night besides study."
I was ready to berate him for his idiotic idea of jokes, not helped by Rose's laughter, when I was distracted. A by now familiar mind had once more broached the edge of my ability, and what I saw there had a fierce growl ripping from my chest.
Chill, dude, I didn't mean anything by it, Emmett thought, his brows raised in surprise, hands lifted in a show of innocence. I shook my head imperceptibly at him, too furious to allow myself to speak.
Alice had been idly playing through various visions of the day — she was adjusting to seeing around Nessie now, since she still couldn't see her directly — when suddenly all of our tenuous plans winked out of existence. As soon as they did, she was on her feet, frustration clear upon her features.
"What is he doing?" she demanded, knowing immediately whose fault her lost vision was. "What is that dog doing that has just erased my schedule for the entire day? I can't see anything!"
She turned onto Bella's outfit then, and I let the words flow past me, knowing Alice had not seen the danger that was currently on its way to our home. I locked onto Jacob's mind, his internal voice becoming clearer as he got closer to the house. He was thinking all about his little stunt, a gloating tone to his thoughts. He knew nothing of what he had just unleashed, had no comprehension what he had just done. When I was through with him, his injuries from the newborn battle would be a pleasant memory.
My hands balled into fists, and I knew I had to prepare the others. It was strange not to have Alice to assist me in this, but Carlisle and Esme's rising panic at my expression forced me to finally speak.
"He talked to Charlie," I snarled, unable to fully unlock my jaw, my voice hissing through my teeth. "He thinks Charlie is following after him. Coming here. Today."
Alice was the only one to voice an expletive out loud, but similar thoughts erupted around the room. She darted out of the back door, her mind filled with finding Jasper. If we had need to control a newborn, he would be useful.
Rosalie was comforting Nessie, but there was little fear in her mind, even with my fury. She was more… curious as to what had caused this reaction in me. She had never had any reason to see any of us as dangerous, and while the noise of my growl had surprised her—too loud in the quiet space of our living room—she did not fear me. That brought me some peace at least. The very idea of frightening her made me want to tear myself to pieces.
"He told Charlie?" Bella gasped, panic evident in her voice, instantly grasping onto what my words meant. I noticed her movements becoming jerky, and stepped closer to her. "But—doesn't he understand? How could he do that? No!"
I longed to hold her in my arms, but I knew anything that could be taken as restraint when she was so upset might set her off.
"Jacob's on his way in now," I hissed instead, snapping my head towards the door.
He walked in as if he hadn't just destroyed Charlie's life. He dripped onto the floor, tracking in the rain he had travelled through, and my lips pulled back from my teeth when he shook off like a wet dog, trying to illicit a laugh. Seth and Leah were not far behind him, but still outside the house. Neither seemed to be aware of what their idiot leader had done, neither having been phased when he did it.
"Hey, guys," he said, grinning at us, only to be met by complete silence.
"Rose." Bella held out her arms, and I panicked for a second, before I realised what she wanted. If she was holding Renesmee, she couldn't maim Jacob. My fists tightened again. I would have no such distraction.
"Charlie'll be here soon," Jacob continued, either determined to ignore the tension in the room or too wound up to notice it. "Just a heads-up. I assume Alice is getting you sunglasses or something?"
I couldn't hold myself back any longer, but Bella got there first.
"You assume way too much," she hissed, her entire body taunt with the need to attack him. "What have you done?"
Uh-oh, Jacob thought, and his smile wavered just a little, but his adrenaline high still seemed to be affecting his ability to think clearly. I wanted to rip his head off.
"Blondie and Emmett woke me up this morning going on and on about all moving cross-country." The conversation Emmett had filled me in on flowed through my mind and I paired it with Rosalie's memory of Jacob's sudden departure, the whole picture suddenly making sense. "Like I could let you leave. Charlie was the biggest issue, right? Well, problem solved."
"Do you even realise what you've done?" Bella snarled, and I placed a single hand on her shoulder. She didn't seem to notice. "The danger you've put him in?"
I had known this would be Bella's issue. Her love for her father had been obvious from the start, and him being in danger would be her highest priority. However, my own was different. I knew I could not look into her eyes for the rest of eternity if she killed Charlie. I wasn't sure if she could live with herself. And now it was a possibility she would have to face on her second day of immortality.
Jacob snorted, and I stiffened again.
"I didn't put him in danger," he drawled, a step away from rolling his eyes. "Except from you. But you've got some kind of supernatural self-control, right? Not as good as mind reading, if you ask me. Much less exciting."
I finally saw red. I flew out from behind Bella, instantly in Jacob's face. Despite our difference in height, he took a step back, shock and a little fear in his eyes. He had seen me angry before, he had seen me at my lowest, but he had never seen such fury twist my features. This was what he had always expected a vampire to look like, and a tiny part of me was glad to finally give him a taste.
"That's just a theory, mongrel," I snarled, putting as much venom into the words as possible. "You think we should test it out on Charlie? Did you consider the physical pain you're putting Bella through, even if she can resist? Or the emotional pain is she doesn't? I suppose what happens to Bella no longer concerns you!"
I spat the last word, my hands clenching in and out of fists. I wanted to tear him limb from limb. I wanted to break every bone in his body, wait for them to heal, and then break them again. I wanted to—
I saw the image Renesmee played for Bella. I saw the fear now — not of me, but for him. Anxiety filled her mind, between her knowledge that something bad had happened, that I was upset, and that Jacob was in danger.
I took a breath, my anger still red hot, but no longer threatening to fully boil over. It probably helped that Jacob's mind was finally catching up with my words.
"Bella will be in pain?" he asked, his mouth turning down. He had never really paid much attention to our thirst, nor cared to learn about it, even with Bella's decision. He had figured it worked something like human hunger, us feeding when and as we liked. This was about to be a crash course for him.
"Like you've shoved a white-hot branding iron down her throat!" I roared, my anger having flared again at his ignorance. I thought back to every eruption of flame in my own throat, to every echo of it in the minds around me. I thought back to the first day I had sat in that Biology classroom, planning the murder of every human in the room, all for the sake of my thirst. I had been controlling it for seventy-four years at that point, and I still almost didn't manage it. Bella had had less than twenty-four hours.
"I didn't know that," he whispered, suddenly looking much younger. I caught his eyes flicking to Bella now.
"Then perhaps you should have asked first," I growled, leaning in again, bringing his attention back to my face.
"You should have stopped me," he argued, his mind filled with images of us packing up and moving away, the grief that would follow such a departure. His own warring need to stay by the tribe, but also follow Renesmee.
I growled again, baring my teeth. "You should have been stopped—"
"This isn't about me," Bella said, stopping our argument. I turned my head to look back at her. There was the telltale line between her brows, and I could see her panic in the lines of her face, the shape of her eyes. I saw echoes of the same expression on our daughter's face, her mother's in miniature. "This is about Charlie, Jacob. How could you put him in danger this way? Do you realise it's death or vampire life for him now, too?"
I heard the wobble to her voice, the tears that could never fall again. I longed to be once more at her side, but I knew if I unlocked my muscles now, I was just as likely to punch Jacob. And we did not have the time to deal with a broken jaw at the moment.
"Relax, Bella,"—punching him was truly looking better and better—"I didn't tell him anything you weren't planning to tell him."
He was thinking suddenly of automotive parts, and my eyes narrowed. I had no idea he had picked up on a way of keeping me out, but I still caught flashes. He wasn't as adept as my family at the practice.
"But he's coming here!" The anguish in Bella's voice ripped through me.
"Yeah, that's the idea. Wasn't the whole 'let him make the wrong assumptions' thing your plan? I think I provided a very nice red herring, if I do say so myself."
The car parts tirade continued.
"Say it straight, Jacob. I don't have the patience for this."
Several minds in the room wondered how she had had the patience she'd held onto so far. The vast majority of newborns would already have lost any sensation of control they had with such big emotions, never mind one so young. Emmett had uprooted several trees in his first hours, just coming to grips with his new senses.
"I didn't tell him anything about you, Bella. Not really. I told him about me." The block slipped then and I saw exactly what Jacob had done. Of all the idiotic, thoughtless… "Well, show is probably a better verb."
"He phased in front of Charlie," I translated for the rest of the room, my voice flat once more in my fury.
"You what?" Bella whispered.
I saw the scene play out in Jacob's mind as he relayed just what he had done now the secret was out. "He's brave. Brave as you are. Didn't pass out or throw up or anything. I gotta say, I was impressed. You should've seen his face when I started taking my clothes off, though. Priceless."
His laugh brought back the desire to break his bones.
"You absolute moron! You have have given him a heart attack!"
"Charlie's fine. He's tough. If you'd give this just a minute, you'll see I did you a favour here."
My hands were tightly balled into fists again. Renesmee noticed, and her disapproval came in waves across the room. Wonderful. My beloved daughter didn't want her daddy to dismember the wolf that was destroying our lives.
"You have half of that, Jacob." My gaze snapped to my wife again. Her expression did little to calm my own. "You have thirty seconds to tell me every single word before I give Renesmee to Rosalie and rip your miserable head off. Seth won't be able to stop me this time."
At the mention of his name, Seth jumped slightly. The tension in the room was getting to both him and Leah, and they still stood on the fringes.
You won't let her do that, right? he asked, his eyes flicking between me, Bella and Jacob. I didn't answer. Seth's anxiety increased.
Knew we should have gotten out of here. Leah was looking between each face in the room, but kept coming back to Bella, dark hatred in her eyes. It took everything in me not to march her out the door for it.
"Jeez, Bells. You didn't used to be so melodramatic. Is that a vampire thing?"
Bella's eyes narrowed, and her lip curled back over her teeth. "Twenty-six seconds."
While Jacob made himself comfortable, I returned to Bella's side. Renesmee glanced up at me, once more showing me what she wanted: everyone to be calm. For the atmosphere to go back to how it had been before Jacob had returned. I wished I could give it to her.
I caught Leah's glare and returned it. Throwing caution to the wind, I placed a hand on Bella's shoulder, needing the contact.
"So I knocked on Charlie's door this morning and asked him to come for a walk with me. He was confused, but when I told him it was about you and that you were back in town, he followed me out to the woods. I told him you weren't sick anymore, and that things were a little weird, but good. He was about to take off to see you, but I told him I had to show him something first. And then I phased."
I watched the whole scene play out in his mind. Charlie's confusion, to his determination, to his fear. Jacob was right in his assessment that he had taken the revelation a lot better than many people would, but it didn't bring much comfort. Even knowing about the wolves put us in a precarious position. All he had to do was think along the right lines, put together two ideas from fiction, and land upon the right word for what we really were. And should that idea stick, I would know. And if I knew, one day, so would Aro when we undoubtedly met the Volturi again. I ground my teeth together.
"I want every word, you monster," Bella hissed.
Jacob held up his hands. "Well, you said I only had thirty seconds—okay, okay." I saw Bella's fierce expression through Jacob's eyes, and my snarl turned into something more like a grim smile. "Lemme see… I phased back and got dressed, and then after he started breathing again"—Bella froze under my hand, and I squeezed her shoulder slightly—"I said something like, 'Charlie, you don't live in the world you thought you lived in. The good news is, nothing has changed—except that now you know. Life'll go on the same way it always has. You can go right back to pretending you don't believe any of this.'
"It took him a minute to get his head together, and then he wanted to know what was really going on with you, with the whole rare-disease thing. I told him that you had been sick, but you were fine now—it was just that you'd had to change a little bit in the process of getting better. He wanted to know what I mean by 'change' and I told him that you looked a lot more like Esme now than you looked like Renée."
I couldn't stop the hiss that erupted from my mouth. He had already long crossed a line, but now it was like he had no clue just what kind of danger he was putting all of us in. The danger he was putting Charlie in.
"After a few minutes, he asked, real quietly, if you turned into an animal, too. And I said, 'She wishes she was that cool!'"
He had the gall to laugh.
Rosalie made a noise of disgust, and I grit my teeth. Carlisle and Esme were statues on the couch, his arm around her, his other hand clasped in both of hers. Their minds were in identical places: Charlie, dead at Bella's feet, and the devastation that would follow. Carlisle was running through locations we could escape to—he had already floated the idea of New Hampshire at the hospital during Bella's pregnancy, which meant if we had to disappear, that was the first place people would look. Esme, meanwhile, was caught up in the memories of her own accidents, the agony that still filled her heart whenever she thought of them.
Emmett was pacing along the back wall, the only one of us to respond to stress, not with stillness, but with movement. Low growls kept rumbling from his chest and his eyes flicked constantly between the people in the room and the forest beyond the glass.
Alice still had not returned with Jasper. I wondered briefly if she was staying away in an attempt to see around the wolves. The distance seemed to help sometimes, and it made sense. I stretched out my gift, but couldn't hear a trace of either of them. They must have gone further out.
I was pulled back into the room when Jacob spoke again.
"I started to tell him more about werewolves, but I didn't even get the whole word out—Charlie cut me off and said he'd 'rather not know the specifics.' Then he asked if you'd known what you were getting yourself into when you married Edward"—The twist of jealousy that used to colour my name in his voice was gone now, and my lips thinned—"and I said, 'Sure, she's known all about this for years, since she first came to Forks.' He didn't like that very much. I let him rant till he got it out of his system."
He gave me a detailed rundown of said rant. There was a lot of anger directed at me, which was to be expected. Suddenly, a lot of what had happened these past few years made more sense to him, and he placed the blame—as he often did—in the right place.
"After he got calmed down, he just wanted two things." Bella stopped breathing under my hand, waiting. "He wanted to see you, and I said it would be better if he gave me a head start to explain."
Her shoulders lifted as she took in a deep breath, undoubtedly steeling herself for the latter request. "What was the other thing he wanted?"
"You'll like this," Jacob said with a grin. "His main request is that he be told as little as possible about all of this. If it's not absolutely essential for him to know something, then keep it to yourself. Need to know, only."
She melted slightly under my palm, and I rubbed my thumb in a comforting circle. I wasn't even sure if she had noticed me there.
"I can handle that part," she breathed, relief lacing her voice.
"Other than that, he'd just like to pretend things are normal." Jacob's expression was so smug, I wanted to wipe it from his face. I noticed he was very specifically not meeting my gaze.
"What did you tell him about Renesmee?" Bella asked, and my eyes snapped back to our daughter, still cradled in her arms. Nessie was looking between the three of us, anxiety still on her mind, but she had picked up on at least some of the tension having left her mother.
"Oh yeah. So I told him that you and Edward had inherited a new little mouth to feed." He finally looked at me and I saw my less than impressed expression reflected in his eyes. He looked away again. "She's your orphaned ward—like Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson." His reference reminded me of the day I had requested Bella's theories in the cafeteria. Did everyone in this century think exclusively in comic book references? "I didn't think you'd mind me lying. That's all part of the game, right?"
He looked to me once more, and I stared him down. My other hand came up to echo the first on Bella's other shoulder, but I made no other movement. He swallowed before continuing.
"Charlie was way past being shocked at this point, but he did ask if you were adopting her." I heard Charlie's slightly awed voice in Jacob's mind as he relayed the same words. "'Like a daughter? Like I'm sort of a grandfather?' were his exact words. I told him yes. 'Congrats, Gramps,' and all of that. He even smiled a little."
I had to say it was a reaction I wouldn't have expected. From the way he had taken the wedding announcement, I would have been expecting him to be marching in here brandishing a gun in my general direction. Instead, if Jacob was to be trusted, he was… happy?
"But she's changing so fast," Bella whispered, and I heard the fear we all shared.
"I told him she was more special than all of us put together," Jacob said, the swagger gone now. His tone was reverent. He approached, but I did nothing to stop him or warn him off, despite how much I wanted to. Nessie wanted him close as well. "I told him, 'Trust me, you don't want to know about this. But if you can ignore all the strange parts, you're going to be amazed. She's the most wonderful person in the whole world.' And then I told him that if he could deal with that, you would all stick around for a while and he would have a chance to get to know her. But if it was too much for him, you would leave. He said as long as no one forced too much information on him, he'd deal."
"I'm not going to say thank you," Bella said after a half-second of silence. "You're still putting Charlie at a huge risk."
Should have asked about that first. "I am sorry about it hurting you. I didn't know it was like that. Bella, things are different with us now, but you'll always be my best friend, and I'll always love you. But I'll love you the right way now. There's finally a balance. We both have people we can't live without." He smiled at her, and I knew he had won at least part of this battle. "Still friends?"
I didn't see Bella's reaction directly, but I did see her reach out and take his hand.
"If I don't kill Charlie tonight," she said, the pain still clear in her voice, "I'll consider forgiving you for this."
"When you don't kill Charlie tonight, you'll owe me huge."
He held out his other hand, and I couldn't quite believe his audacity. "May I?"
Bella pulled Renesmee closer again. "I'm actually holding her so that my hands aren't free to kill you, Jacob. Maybe later."
Alice's mind rocketed back into my range then, her plan set, following various branches of the future as decisions yet unmade had then twisting and turning. I was reminded, instantly, of the knot she had shown to me before our first trip to the meadow. The most difficult moment to get through. This meeting would be Bella's knot. Every road was tangled at one point within the next few hours, and we all knew what that point was.
Jasper was quick on her heels, following her back into the room as Alice started barking out her orders. The tension in the room lifted slightly as his gift made itself known, and I felt some of the stiffness leave my shoulders.
I warred within myself. I knew perfectly well how quickly the frenzy could come upon even a mature vampire. Hadn't we been stood in this very room when a single drop of human blood had sent two of us careening off the edge? I glanced at my brother out of the corner of my eye, watched his sense of confusion and frustration as he continued to watch Bella's every reaction. We all knew the dangers of a newborn, Jasper more so than most.
But Bella had already shown herself to be no regular newborn. She should have been totally unable to turn away from those hikers, even if she hadn't already let herself sink into the frenzy of the hunt. And yet… she had. As Jasper's calm continued to affect me, I thought about what this would mean if all went well.
Charlie was one of the most important people in Bella's life. I knew she had been missing him these past few weeks, and the idea of never seeing him again had deeply upset her. Her mother and father had been one of my strongest arguments against her immortality. I knew having even the possibility of Charlie remaining in her life would bring her happiness. And despite what I had said, even knowing that her being able to control her thirst to get though this was extremely unlikely… I had faith in her.
"Bella, you'd better give him the baby, too," Alice was saying, drawing my attention back into the present. "You'll need your arms free anyway."
Bella handed the baby to Jacob with some reluctance, I noted, and I purposefully tuned out his delighted thoughts. Concern swelled too, though, as he looked at Bella before backing off to a far corner with Seth. A short conversation played out with Leah before she stormed out of the house, but I paid it no mind.
My total attention was on Bella. I ran my fingers down her face, stroking from temple to jaw, before cupping her cheek and running my thumb over her cheekbone.
"You can do this," I whispered. "I know you can. I'll help you; we all will."
Her eyes met mine, and I wished I could take away the panic there. I would have implored Jasper, but he was specifically not smoothing out her worry—he wanted it there, letting it give her something to focus on rather than her thirst. The worry and fear and panic were what would keep the thirst at bay, after all.
"If I didn't believe you could handle it, we'd disappear today. This very minute." A sudden disappearance was not a new phenomenon for us. "But you can. And you'll be happier if you can have Charlie in your life."
I continued my comforting gestures as her breathing slowed a little.
"These will irritate your eyes," Alice said from behind me, holding our the contacts box. When on Earth had she had time to get those? "They won't hurt, but they'll cloud your vision. It's annoying." My nose wrinkled as I remembered the few times I had been forced to wear a pair of the horrid things. "They also won't match your old colour, but it's still better than bright red, right?"
My hand started to reach out automatically to catch the box as Alice tossed it, but Bella caught it before I could. Her new sense of co-ordination would take some getting used to.
"When did you—"
"Before you left on the honeymoon," Alice answered, knowing the question before it even left Bella's lips. It annoyed me when she did that—I could still hear the end of the Bella's words from the vision Alice had interrupted. "I was prepared for several possible futures."
I watched as Bella put in the contacts, and my heart constricted a little to see her once more with brown eyes. The colour was off, as Alice had predicted, nowhere near as deep and expansive as that which she had passed to our daughter. But still, I had thought of those eyes for so long now, that to see even a poor imitation of them…
"I see what you mean," Bella grumbled. She looked to me. "How do I look?"
I couldn't help the smile. "Gorgeous. Of course—"
"Yes, yes, she always looks gorgeous," Alice said impatiently, interrupting me. I glared down at her, but she ignored me. "It's better than red, but that's the highest commendation I can give. Muddy brown. Your brown was much prettier. Keep in mind that those won't last forever—the venom in your eyes will dissolve them in a few hours. So if Charlie stays longer than that, you'll have to excuse yourself to replace them. Which is a good idea anyway, because humans need bathroom breaks." Visions lay out before her, each as possible as the rest, all meeting in yet another knot of the future. She shook her head to clear it. "Esme, give her a few pointers of acting human while I stock the powder room with contacts."
Esme stood from the couch, releasing Carlisle's hands. "How long do I have?"
Alice concentrated, drawing back to the more immediate future. "Charlie will be here in five minutes. Keep it simple."
Esme was quickly on Bella's other side, taking her hand, a kind smile on her face, while Alice flew up the stairs to gather her supplies.
"The main thing is not to sit too still or move too fast," my mother began.
"Sit down if he does," Emmett called, remembering his own lessons in human behaviour. "Humans don't like to just stand there."
"Let your eyes wander every thirty seconds or so," Jasper added, joining in on the game. "Humans don't stare at one thing for too long."
"Cross your legs for about five minutes, then switch to crossing your ankles for the next five," Rosalie advised.
I kept my eyes on Bella, waiting for it all to be too much information. But she just nodded at each of them in turn.
"And blink three times a minute," Emmett continued, before I heard him turn the TV on. Sports, a nice choice for Charlie. Some of our least hostile conversations had happened while watching sports.
"Move your hands, too," Jasper interjected. "Brush your hair back or pretend to scratch something."
Alice swept back into the room with an internal groan. "I said Esme. You'll overwhelm her."
"No, I think I got it all," Bella argued, her face contorted with a fierce concentration. "Sit, look around, blink, fidget."
Esme beamed and wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulders, giving her a brief hug. "Right."
"You'll be holding your breath as much as possible," Jasper said with a frown. His mental pictures did not help my mood, and I stared at him in pointed disapproval until he knocked it off a second later. "But you need to move your shoulders a little to make it look like you're breathing."
I felt her shoulders lift with a breath that she did not release. Tugging her closer, I bent down to whisper in her ear.
"You can do this," I promised, refusing to let myself think about an alternative.
"Two minutes," Alice announced, her vision once more focused in the room. "Maybe you should start already on the couch. You've been sick, after all. That way he won't have to see you move right at first."
I let my sister pull Bella from my grip, but I followed close behind them. I watched Bella's jerky movements with a slight wince, my head lifting to watch Emmett and Rosalie exchange a glance. Once she was seated, it would hopefully be easier. And if I could remain close by, perhaps I could move around enough for the both of us…
"Jacob, I need Renesmee," Bella announced, holding out her hands. Jacob didn't move, and I took a step towards him, ready to remove our child from his arms if necessary.
"Bella, that doesn't help me see," Alice whined, shaking her head.
The panic in Bella's voice was palpable, even without Jasper's gift. "But I need her. She keeps me calm."
Alice huffed. "Fine. Hold her as still as you can and I'll try to see around her."
Jacob finally relinquished his hold on the baby and took up his spot in the corner again.
Sitting beside them both, I wrapped my arm around my little family. No one expected a hurdle like this to come so quickly, and none of us had prepared for it. I leant down, capturing my daughter's gaze with my own.
"Renesmee," I said, my voice more serious than she had ever heard it when addressing her. "Someone special is coming to see you and your mother. But he's not like us, or even like Jacob." She had no frame of reference for a human, besides Bella. But that had been too brief for her to have a very good idea of what to expect. "We have to be very careful with him. You shouldn't tell him things the way you tell us."
She reached out a hand and touched my face. It was a habit I wondered if she would lose when she fully grasped that I was the only one she didn't need to touch to impart her thoughts to. I hoped not.
Her mind, and so mine too, was filled with the only image she had of her mother while still human. Fragile. Breakable.
"Exactly," I replied, giving her a soft smile. "And he's going to make you thirsty. But you mustn't bite him. He won't heal like Jacob."
"Can she understand you?" Bella whispered, wonder in her voice.
"She understands," I confirmed, watching as her mind played over my words. "You'll be careful, won't you, Renesmee? You'll help us?"
She pursed her lips for a moment, and I almost laughed at the incoming question. Her palm pressed to my cheek and she showed me herself biting Jacob, and then bursting into cackles of laughter at his over the top responses. I saw an imagined version of myself chiding her, with a questioning aura to the picture.
"No, I don't care if you bite Jacob," I replied, grinning at her. "That's fine."
Jacob laughed, and I stiffened, the smile falling from my face as I looked over at him. I still could not believe what he had done to put my family — because Charlie was firmly included in that word — in danger like this. When we got through this, it would take me some time to forgive him. If I ever could.
I caught the wisps of Charlie's quiet mind. He was getting closer now.
"Maybe you should leave, Jacob," I said pointedly.
"I told Charlie I'd be here," he replied, nonchalant in the face of my disapproval. "He needs moral support."
"Moral support," I echoed with a scoff. "As far as Charlie knows, you're the most repulsive monster of us all."
"Repulsive?" Takes one to know one, he shot at me in his mind.
The sound of tires on the driveway caught the attention of all in the room, everyone subtly turning towards it. Bella's breathing increased, but quickly returned to normal.
"Well done, Bella," Jasper whispered, and I shot him an appreciative smile. He returned it with a wary grin.
I squeezed Bella's shoulders in encouragement.
"You're sure?" she asked, hesitantly looking into my eyes. I knew what she was asking for.
"Positive," I vowed. "You can do anything."
I couldn't resist leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. It was still a strangely exciting thing, that my lips now yielded to hers, just as much as hers did to mine. I leant in further.
The mental equivalent of a cough came from behind us.
"Er, Edward, you might not want to distract her like that right now," Jasper said, folding his arms over his chest. "She needs to be able to focus."
I leaned away, a sheepish smile on my face. "Oops."
Bella's laugh rang through my ears, and it took a great of concentration not to just lean in and start kissing her again.
Gross, dude, Emmett said, chuckling softly under his breath. Out of Bella's — and more importantly, Esme's — sight, I flipped him off.
"Later," Bella said, her eyes darkening a little behind the contacts.
"Focus, Bella," Jasper warned.
"Right," she said, staring off into the middle distance for a moment. I didn't have to wonder long where her mind had gone.
"Bella."
"Sorry, Jasper."
Emmett laughed from his position on the other couch, filing that little moment away for later.
The car was now just outside. Bella crossed her legs, and I rubbed her upper arm in comfort. Renesmee turned her face against her mother's chest, her hand grasping at Bella's shirt. I reached over and rested my other hand on her small knee, wanting a physical connection with both of them.
We all listened as Charlie prepared himself for whatever was coming. I got a sense of deep fear and anxiety, as well as anger. It reminded me immediately of the first time I had ever properly paid any attention to his thoughts, the day of the van accident in the high school parking lot. This was those emotions but increased tenfold.
The knock on the door came, and I exchanged a brief glance with Carlisle.
We'll protect them both, he promised. I gave an imperceptible nod.
His face melted instantly from stress to a friendly, if slightly embarrassed expression. He had been playing this game the longest of all of us, after all.
Rosalie had taken a seat beside Emmett, curling her legs up on the sofa cushion. Jasper stood at the back wall, pretending to watch the game. Alice had disappeared from view for the time being, trying her best to see around the obstacles in her other vision, and Esme stood by the stairs, waiting for Carlisle to return. Seth remained in his spot against the wall with Jacob.
"Hello, Charlie," my father said, opening the door. Most breathing in the room stopped for a second.
"Carlisle." Charlie's voice was gruff, and his thoughts annoyed. He didn't like that Carlisle had been in on the lies of the last month. "Where's Bella?"
"Right here, Dad."
Shock instantly ran through Charlie at the change to Bella's voice. He froze in place, his eyes jumping from face to face until he finally found hers, nestled next to me on the couch.
A storm of emotions ran through him all at once. This was the first time any of our human loved ones had ever seen us after the transformation. I tried to picture my mother in Charlie's place, seeing the thousand little changes the venom had made to my face. Freckles, scars, birth marks, all wiped away. The child she had known, replaced with unnatural perfection.
"Is that you, Bella?" he whispered.
"Yep," Bella said with a wince, and I tightened my hold, worried it was too much already. "Hi, Dad."
I forced myself to relax a little, glad, for once, of the distraction Jacob offered at that moment.
"Hey, Charlie," he called from his spot next to Seth, still tucked in the corner. "How're things?"
Charlie glared at him, remembering the moment he had seen Jacob phase, shuddered and then turned his attention back to Bella.
Thankfully slow in his movements, Charlie made his way over. I breathed in deeply, tasting the air as his scent grew closer. My throat tickled in response, a low burn, but I knew that was not what Bella would be feeling. Instead, I remembered the first days of my new life, the flames that had burned my throat. I had been too wild to really reason with beyond hunts and short conversations. Bella was doing extraordinarily well just to be within a mile of Charlie, never mind the same room.
"Bella?" Charlie asked again, disbelieving that the daughter he had waved off for her honeymoon was now the same person sat by my side.
"It's really me." Bella's voice sounded lower, and Jasper turned his body slightly in our direction. I rubbed my thumb in circles against her skin.
Charlie's teeth ground, his jaw tight.
"I'm sorry, Dad," she murmured.
"Are you okay?" he demanded, his hands shoved deeply in his pockets to keep her from seeing the shake in his fingers.
"Really and truly great. Healthy as a horse."
"Jake told me this was… necessary. That you were dying." It was obvious he didn't believe the story Jacob had supplied. I was glad he didn't have to live with the memories of what Bella had looked like mere days ago.
At my side, I felt Bella lean closer into me and take her first breath.
She instantly froze, her muscles tight. Jasper's concentration was completely on us, but even his gift was not enough to make a vampire forget about their own thirst. He had done some incredible things, but that was far beyond him. The best we could do for Bella would be to hold her back, if we even could. But I didn't think we would need to. One by one, her muscles relaxed again.
I squeezed her shoulders, wishing I could take on her thirst as my own. Wishing I could at least feel the echo of it, the way I could with every other vampire in the room. I hated that she was alone in battling this.
"Jacob was telling you the truth," she said at last. Charlie wouldn't be able to hear the tremor of pain in her voice, but I could.
"That makes one of you," he snapped.
Renesmee had been quiet, hidden under the curtain of Bella's hair, but now her grandfather's scent reached her as well. She gave a curious sniff, raising her head a little.
"Oh," Charlie breathed. "This is her. The orphan Jacob said you're adopting."
The lie came easily. "My niece."
We were entirely too similar to claim to be anything but being family. Her hair was an exact match for my own, my features echoed in hers. The biggest hurdle, of course, was that our daughter also had one very prominent feature from her mother: her eyes.
"I thought you'd lost your family," Charlie accused, now suspicious of every detail we had ever given him of our lives.
"I lost my parents," I continued, easily spinning a tale we could work with. We all had practice of coming up with something believable on the fly, should any questions get too pointed, or a crack in our original story reveal itself. "My older brother was adopted, like me. I never saw him after that. But the courts located me when he and his wife died in a car accident, leaving their only child without any other family."
We could definitely put together some papers making the lie look like the truth. Some death certificates, birth certificates, adoption papers… it was all relatively simple. Alice was already formulating the plan, having seen the story I decided to tell. I would leave her to it.
Renesmee saved us from further questions on her origins by peeking out from under Bella's hair, only taking a shy glance at our special visitor. But she was quickly hidden away again, pressing her face against Bella's shoulder once more. It had been enough to grab Charlie's attention, however.
"She's…" He swallowed, looking for the words. "She's, well, she's a beauty."
"Yes," I found myself agreeing instantly, my eyes remaining on my daughter.
"Kind of a big responsibility, though. You two are just getting started."
"What else could we do?" I asked, still not looking back up at him. Renesmee met my eyes, and I brushed my fingers over her cheek, letting them rest on her lips, just briefly. A reminder of what I had told her. I finally looked up at Charlie. "Would you have refused her?"
"Hmph. Well." He didn't like that I was talking so much. "Jake says you call her Nessie?"
Bella's muscles tightened again, and I knew it wasn't her thirst this time. I hid a smile in her hair.
"No, we don't," she said sharply. Charlie's heart rate went up slightly. "Her name is Renesmee."
"How do you feel about this?" he asked Bella, all of his attention back on her. "Maybe Carlisle and Esme could—"
"She's mine," Bella hissed. "I want her."
Charlie didn't seem to notice the unnatural sound that joined Bella's words. "You gonna make me a grandpa so young?"
I smiled, steering the conversation to lighter waters. "Carlisle is a grandfather, too."
I saw Charlie glance at my eternally twenty-three-year-old father, still standing by the front door, Esme by his side. There was a pause, and then Charlie gave a snort, followed by a laugh — he couldn't exactly feel too young when put up against Carlisle.
"I guess that does sort of make me feel better," he admitted, looking back down at Renesmee. "She sure is something to look at."
He had gotten closer, and my eyes flicked between my wife and daughter. It was the latter who took interest however, finally unveiling herself from the brunette curtain, and looking up at Charlie properly for the first time. Charlie's gasp filled the room.
In his mind, I saw Renesmee's eyes. Bella's eyes. His own eyes. HIs lips moved quickly, counting numbers but unable to make anything add up correctly as the speed of his breathing increased. Confusion and not just a little fear rang around his mind, and I knew Jasper was doing what he could to calm the human in our midst.
Jacob finally got up then, walking over and patting Charlie on the back. He leaned in, murmuring lowly.
"Need to know, Charlie. It's okay. I promise."
Another storm of emotions passed through his head. It was a strange sensation, one I still hadn't adjusted to, not being able to hear his thoughts clearly. I had thought Jacob's words may calm him, but then his hands tightened into fists and he took a step towards me, his eyes angry.
"I don't want to know everything, but I am done with the lies!"
Renesmee hid herself away again, and I cupped the back of her head as Bella cradled her closer automatically.
"I'm sorry," I said to him, for what felt like the thousandth time since I had first met him. "But you need to know the public story more than you need to know the truth. If you're going to be part of this secret, the public story is the one that counts. It's to protect Bella and Renesmee as well as the rest of us. Can you go along with the lies for them?"
The sound of the television and the pair of beating hearts filled the room. Every other movement had stopped to pay attention to this most important moment. It was one thing for Bella to control her thirst, but if Charlie could not agree to the secret, we would have to leave all the same.
Bella crossed her ankles, and I almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation.
Charlie turned his gaze back to Bella, appraising. "You might've given me some warning, kid."
Relief flooded every mind in the room, including my own. From the other room, I heard a small squeal of delight as Alice's visions cleared. We were through the knot.
Some of the tension left my shoulders, and a smile tugged once more at the corners of my lips.
"Would it really have made this any easier?" Bella asked.
Charlie knelt in front of us then, wanting to get a better look at the baby. Renesmee peeked out once more, and seeing how close Charlie was, she smiled and reached a hand out. Bella caught her palm, bringing it close, guessing correctly what she had been about to try and do. Pressing her other hand against her mother's neck, Renesmee showed that she was following my instructions: her thoughts were benign.
Charlie had noticed the rows of tiny perfect teeth behind her lips. "Whoa. How old is she?"
"Um…"
"Three months," I supplied quickly, grabbing the age from Carlisle's mind as he matched her measurements at the moment to the average human child. Then, thinking better than purely giving the lie, I slowly added more. "Rather, she's the size of a three-month-old, more or less. She's younger in some ways, more mature in others."
Wanting to show off, as she often did for the rest of us, Renesmee waved at him.
Charlie just blinked in response, his mind going blank.
"Told you she was special, didn't I?" Jacob said, elbowing Charlie. He was disappointed by Charlie's cringe away from him.
"Oh, c'mon, Charlie," he protested, annoyed that it was him Charlie seemed to have the most issue with. Served him right, I thought. "I'm the same person I've always been. Just pretend this afternoon didn't happen."
Reminding Charlie of that was not the smartest move if Jacob wanted to be back in his good books.
"Just what is your part in all this, Jake?" he asked, turning away from the three of us for a moment, spinning on Jacob. "How much does Billy know? Why are you here?"
I bared my teeth just a little as Jacob stared at Renesmee, out of view of all but him.
"Well, I could tell you all about it—Billy knows absolutely everything—" Charlie's annoyance at that was palpable, "but it involves a lot of stuff about werewo—"
Charlie's sound of disgust covered the end of the word, and for good measure, he put his hands over his ears. I pictured Bella doing a similar thing and chuckled under my breath.
"Never mind," Charlie grumbled, giving up on getting any further answers from Jacob. Billy, however, would not be off the hook, especially since I gleaned they had dinner plans this evening. Would Jacob warn his father ahead of time?
"Everything's going to be great, Charlie," Jacob assured him. "Just try not to believe anything you see."
Charlie mumbled something to himself, but I wasn't sure if it was actual words or just vague sounds of distress.
At that moment, Emmett decided it was the perfect time to break the tension.
"Woo!" he boomed, practically shaking the glass of the back wall. "Go Gators!"
Somehow, despite everything that had been happening thus far, he was still paying attention to the game he had put on before Charlie walked in. Rosalie rolled her eyes at him, but it was all fondness, given she also snuggled in next to him while doing it.
Charlie and Jacob had both jumped at the sudden sound, and the rest of us froze, waiting for a response. Even Renesmee stilled.
"Florida winning?" Charlie asked hesitantly, looking over at my biggest brother. I had always gotten the impression he was a little frightened of Emmett, and really, I couldn't blame him.
"Just scored the first touchdown," Emmett confirmed, before giving Bella a look that made me want to throttle him. His next words didn't help his case. "'Bout time somebody scored around here."
Bella's tense muscles told me we were on the same page.
Charlie didn't seem to notice, his mind slightly dazed as he took in a deep breath. He was running through everything that had happened, his eyes going between Bella's face, Renesmee's and the rest of us. Seeming to come to some form of a decision, he clambered to his feet and fell into an empty chair facing the TV.
"Well," he sighed, a little shakily. "I guess we should see if they can hold on to the lead."