Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.
Chapter Sixteen
Breaking Dawn 24-28
Surprise
Alices says look how she is dressed, it's been killing me all day:
"Dressed?" Emmett asked, "Why would she need a key to dress?"
"She's still in that horrible, ruined outfit," Alice groaned at the same time.
Everyone laughed at Alice's reaction and the face that went with it.
Alice suggests that they playful it, and Edward says just tell me who wins and Alice says I do, excellent:
"Well, with an attitude like that, of course I'm going to win," Alice smiled.
Edward says I might be more fun if Jacob is awake for the big reveal, so someone's there that has the right enthusiasm:
"It seems that you might actually like the pup," Emmett chuckled. "And you're totally right about the reveal."
Edward sighed; Emmett was right, it did appear that he liked the dog.
Alice says Renesmee will be the most spoiled half-vampire in existence:
"Let's just hope she doesn't become a brat then," Emmett chuckled.
"I think she'll have enough Bella in her to stop that," Edward smiled.
Mentions that Rosalie and Bella new comradeship was still there, and Bella hadn't been sure that would have been the case:
"It looks like even Bella wasn't sure about you, Babe," Emmett chuckled.
"I'm just going to have to change that fact, now, aren't I?" Rosalie stated.
"Er … should I be afraid?" Edward asked in mock trepidation.
Rosalie glared at him as Emmett started to laugh.
Bella realizes that a lot of things about her, like hating surprises and gifts, had not changed:
Edward sighed at that.
"I'm guessing that's something you were hoping would have changed," Jasper laughed.
"Maybe," Edward admitted with a smile, "but she's just going to have to get used to me giving her things."
Alice says don't attack me, and then sprang at Bella:
"I don't know if that's wise," Jasper worried.
"I told her not to attack," Alice shrugged, and though he was still worried, he didn't say any more.
Mentions Bella felt the urge to throw Alice off, but she controlled it:
"If she didn't have that weird control …." Jasper muttered.
"But I knew she did," Alice said. "And I'm sure I saw this work out perfectly fine."
Descriptions of the cottage ending with the quaint arched wooden door:
Esme smiled. She had been thinking about this while they had been reading and she remembered the old cottage that she always passed. All it needed was a little work … work that, it appears, they had done.
Edward says Esme thought we might want our own place, but she didn't want us too far away:
"It definitely seems like you needed one after that hunting trip," Emmett laughed as he waggled his eyebrows.
Bella says no knocking my house:
"Yeah … she does like it," Alice cheered and Esme beamed.
Bella says I can't wait to tell Esme:
"Why wasn't she there?" Emmett asked. "I thought you would like to have seen this."
"I would," Esme said, "but I think it's better to give them some privacy."
"Alice is there," Emmett pointed out.
"Well, Alice doesn't know how to give anyone privacy … especially if a surprise is involved," Jasper chuckled.
Alice says Edward knows his way around, call me if you can't match your clothes right:
"She's not going to call you," Emmett chuckled.
"And I don't think she's going to dress the way you want either," Edward added.
"That just means I'm going to have to work with her," Alice said. "I got the rest of you to dress properly, didn't I?"
"I think Bella might be a little more stubborn than the rest of us," Emmett pointed out.
"I'm not going to let anything stop me," Alice shrugged. "I enjoy a challenge."
Edward says alone time is their other gift, Alice was trying to be subtle:
"And that's really what confused her," Emmett said. "Shorty … being subtle!"
"I can be subtle," Alice pouted.
"Compared to Em … yeah, you can," Edward teased.
Alice and Emmett both made a face at him.
Mentions that was all it took for everything to disappear, it was just Edward:
"Nice," Emmett laughed.
"I do like that," Edward smiled broadly.
"I'm not sure I do," Jasper said. "I can't understand this overly happy Edward."
Edward wouldn't let that bother him right now.
Mentions that this had been the longest day of Bella's life:
"And it will never end," Emmett smiled.
Mentions Bella laughed when she realized this day would never end:
Emmett smiled.
"It's odd how often Em says something that Bella does," Alice said. "I mean, she's rather intelligent and Emmett is …."
"Hey," Emmett pouted and glared at her at the same time.
"I know what you mean," Edward chuckled.
Bella thinks that Edward always thought he belonged in horror stories, but Bella thought he belonged in a fairy tale:
"Very true," Esme said as she, Alice, and Rosalie beamed at him.
"I wouldn't really call it a fairy tale," Edward muttered.
"No, this is better than a fairy tale," Alice said. "This will happen."
"I don't think this can happen … not in this way," Edward said.
"Not in this way, but in some way, I'm sure this will happen," Alice said. "You'll figure out how to make this all work."
"I'll try," Edward smiled at the idea.
Edward call Renesmee Nessie and then says sorry love, I hear it in their thoughts all the time:
"So, you're blaming us now?" Emmett glared mockingly at his brother.
"It's better than taking the blame myself," Edward shrugged, chuckling.
Bella thinks drat Jacob for making everything perfect this way:
"Yeah … how dare he make things perfect," Emmett said.
"It makes it harder for her to be angry at him," Edward said coolly.
Edward says the closet is through those doors, warn you it's bigger than this room:
"Alice," Esme said fondly, shaking her head. "I don't think that goes with the rest of the decorum."
"So?" Alice shrugged. "It's necessary."
O
Favor
Mentions it took one word, Renesmee:
"Sorry Eddy, you're not most important anymore," Emmett chuckled.
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure that goes for you, too," Edward shot back.
Emmett took one look at his wife and muttered, "Yeah, you're probably right."
Edward says do you think I could bear it to let you get dressed if that wasn't the case:
"Even with that, Eddy, you shouldn't be able to bear it at all," Emmett chuckled.
"You might feel differently about that if you had a kid," Edward smiled.
Emmett looked thoughtful. "I might."
Mentions the thought of Renesmee speeding life had Bella stressed out:
"She's going to be worrying about this for the rest of the book, isn't she?" Jasper sighed.
"It looks like it," Edward said. "Hopefully we'll get a good answer to this at some point."
"I think I might have problems with this part of the book," Rosalie said. "Hearing her worry about this as much as I know she is going to …."
Bella wonders how Alice had persuaded Esme to ignore classic proportion and allow this monstrosity:
"Me too," Esme mumbled.
"You know you can't refuse her anything when she gives you that face," Jasper chuckled.
"No, Jazz, that's you," Edward laughed.
"Well, it seems that she did come up with a design that allows this 'monstrosity'," Esme said using Bella's word to tease her daughter. "Seeing as you don't really even notice it until you are in the closet itself."
Bella wonders if Edward would have noticed Renesmee's little quirk if he had been the only one with her:
"I didn't even think of that," Carlisle chuckled.
"Neither did I, but she's probably right," Edward laughed along with the rest of his family. "I never would have noticed this at all."
Mentions that they didn't want to bother you, and Emmett's silent laughter:
Edward sighed at that. It was bad enough that he had to hear it now, he had to listen to Emmett in the book teasing him too … and he was sure it was only going to get worse when he really got to meet Bella.
Emmett asks what were you doing last night, discussing the national debt:
Emmett was laughing at that. "Seriously, it is a bit disappointing that you didn't cause any damage at all."
"Not everyone is as destructive as you," Edward rolled his eyes.
Bella reminds herself of the negative consequences when she let her temper get away from, but Emmett wasn't as breakable as Seth:
"Hmm … I wonder how far I could push her," Emmett mused.
"She's still a newborn, you know," Jasper said. "There's only so much she can take."
"And her temper is definitely an issue," Emmett smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this."
"I hope she breaks you," Edward muttered.
Rosalie says frowning Jacob took off this morning pretty early:
"Er … why were you frowning? I would have thought you would be happy that the pup left," Emmett questioned.
"I don't know," Rosalie shrugged. "I must have thought it was odd."
After Emmett's teasing Bella chanted to herself do not lose your temper:
Emmett laughed even harder.
"Emmett, leave her alone," Esme frowned.
"Sorry, Mom, I have no control over my book-self," Emmett chuckled.
"He barely has control over his real self," Jasper added, chuckling too.
Alice says what is that dog doing that erased my schedule for the entire day:
"Argh," Rosalie groaned.
"You should wait to know what has happened to get so upset," Carlisle said.
"I don't have to wait," Rosalie said. "Whatever he did, I know it's not going to be good."
Edward says Jacob talked to Charlie; he thinks Charlie is coming her today:
"What?" everyone said together.
"He can't!" Jasper said. "Bella is not ready for that!"
"This is way too soon," Edward agreed. "But you saw her with the hunters … she might …."
"Might being the operative word," Jasper said.
"She can do it," Carlisle said confidently. "She will not hurt her father."
"Oh, dear," Esme fretted. "She's going to be in agony."
"Stupid, freaking mutt!" Rosalie hissed. "What the hell is he thinking?"
"Jasper, read," Alice said. "Carlisle is right … it's going to work out and we need to know what really happens."
Mentions that Alice said a word that sounded very odd in her voice:
"Shortie, how dare you," Emmett said, trying to break some of the tension. "And in front of the baby too."
At the mention of that, Esme did give her a stern look and Alice was caught between amusement and exasperation - though most of her feelings were more focused on worrying.
Bella says put Charlie on a hit list that even the Cullens couldn't' save him from:
"Great … there something else to worry about," Edward grumbled.
Bella needs to keep Renesmee in her arms until she was sure that her decision to kill Jacob was based on judgment rather than fury:
Everyone laughed at that.
"Ah, forget rational," Emmett advised.
Bella wonders how much Renesmee understands:
"That is a good question," Carlisle said. "I would think she has a rather good understanding of what is happening … or at least she senses the tension in the room and knows that something is wrong."
Jacob says Charlie will be here soon, just a heads-up, I assume Alice is getting you sunglasses or something:
"In other words, you think that Renesmee knows more than him already," Rosalie said sweetly and bitterly at the same time.
Carlisle chuckled but didn't reply.
Jacob says he was woken to talks about them all moving cross-country, and the biggest issue was Charlie, so problem solved:
"So, he's going to ruin Charlie's life and hurt Bella terribly just because he wants to keep us close?" Edward muttered through gritted teeth.
"Edward, do you honestly think that he realizes what this would do to Bella?" Carlisle asked reasonably. "I doubt he wants to hurt her."
Edward sighed, "I would just like to be mad at him at the moment."
"Sorry," Carlisle said, slightly amused. "Just trying to keep you honest."
Jacob says wasn't the whole let him make the wrong assumptions thing your plan:
"Yeah, and didn't you think that it was a horrible plan?" Emmett reminded Jacob cheerfully.
"I suppose if she does handle herself today … that could work," Jasper said uncomfortably.
"But she's still going to go through agony being so close to him," Edward frowned. "She's only a day old … this really should have waited."
Jasper shook his head at the reminder that Bella was only a day old. "She's going to be able to do it, isn't she …?"
"I would think so," Alice smiled. She was more confident about this now.
"I really should stop making expectations about her," Jasper muttered.
"I know," Edward managed a smile. "She's truly unpredictable in every way, isn't she?"
Bella says you could have given him a heart attack, and Jacob says Charlie's fine, he's tough:
Carlisle was frowning because Bella was right. Something like that could have happened, and he didn't like how carelessly Jacob took that information.
Jacob says you said I only had thirty seconds, okay, okay:
Emmett started laughing.
"He's gutsy … I'll give him that," Jasper chuckled. "But he has about as much sense as Emmett has."
"Hey," Emmett pouted.
Jacob says that Bella would look more like Esme than Renee and Bella stared in horror, this was headed in dangerous direction:
"But it's not so bad yet," Carlisle allowed. "As long as Charlie doesn't try to figure us out like Bella did, I think this might work."
"Then let's hope she gets her curiosity from her mother," Alice said.
Jacob says if it's not absolutely essential for Charlie to know keep it to yourself:
"Hm … so this might be able to work to our advantage," Edward sighed. "And I suppose that wasn't the worst way to tell him."
"Yeah, he doesn't know anything about vampires, so the Volturi can't get mad at him," Emmett said.
"Still … I think it would be wiser if he didn't just phase in front of Charlie," Carlisle frowned; he wasn't going to let that go. "But it looks like things are going to work out for the best."
Jacob says that Renesmee was Bella's orphaned ward, and I didn't think you mind me lying, that's all part of the game:
"That's right, we're going to have to come up with something that would explain Renesmee's sudden appearance," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "The only trouble is, with her continual growth, she is changing so quickly it would be difficult to maintain a believable story."
"Then we're going to have to just keep her out of sight most of the time," Edward said, trying not to sound too grave, but that thought was hard for him.
Bella thinks Charlie was smiling at the idea of being a grandpa, Charlie would meet Renesmee:
"I wonder how long it takes Renesmee to wrap him around her finger, too," Emmett chuckled.
"Seconds, I'm sure," Edward smiled.
Jacob asks, still friends and Bella tries to resist, but she smiles backs:
"Argh," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "She is way too forgiving."
"So, she doesn't hold grudges … that's not really a bad thing," Edward said.
"I would think you would want her to stay angry with the mutt," Rosalie hissed.
"She wouldn't be Bella if she did that," Edward sighed. "I'd rather her be Bella than to hold a grudge."
Bella worries if Edward as strong enough to stop her if she made a wrong move:
"Er … no, he's not. It would probably take two of us," Jasper said, and then added when he saw Edward and Alice's concerned looks, "but I'm sure her control would be strong enough at least to let Edward stop her."
Alice says before you left on the honeymoon, I prepared for several possible futures:
"Though I don't think I was quite prepared for this one," Alice chuckled.
Jasper says let your eyes wander humans don't stare at one thing for too long:
"That's a little advanced, don't you think, Jazz?" Alice asked. "And didn't I say 'Esme, help her out'?"
"Sorry," Jasper shrugged.
Alice says, I said Esme, you'll overwhelm her:
"Don't worry … she's a vamp now. She can handle this and more," Edward said proudly.
"Wow, Eddy, it almost sounds like you're happy there," Emmett said. "I must have heard you wrong."
"Shut up," Edward groaned.
"But after how insisted you were not to turn her," Jasper added, smirking. "It can't be possible that you would actually like her this way."
Edward didn't say anything this time, and his brother just continued to laugh until Alice gave Jasper a look and he started reading again.
Edward tells Renesmee you shouldn't tell Charlie things the way you tell us, and then she touches his face:
"Talk about shocking," Carlisle chuckled. "I'm sure that seeing that gift would have unnerved him almost as much as seeing Jacob phase."
"I doubt it would have been that bad," Edward said.
"Suddenly seeing pictures flash in front of your eyes and having no idea where they come from," Carlisle said. "I'm sure that came as a shock to all of us."
Edward says to Jacob, moral support, as far as Charlie knows, you the most repulsive monster of us all:
"That is true," Emmett said. "I bet Charlie is happy Bella didn't choose the pup now."
"Well, he knows that she did choose someone that has made her different, so I don't know if he would be so pleased with me either," Edward pointed out.
Jasper says well done, Bella:
"She is rather impressive," Jasper said. "I wonder if going through childbirth the way she did help her with her control … or just the fact that she has to be more controlled to take care of Renesmee …."
"That is an interesting theory," Carlisle said. "Honestly, I think Bella's situation is so unique that we could never really know why she has this control."
"Yeah, for all we know, it was the fact that she didn't scream that gave her control," Emmett said and everyone looked at him confused. "What?"
"How do you work that one out?" Rosalie asked, looking oddly at him.
"Er … Well, Carlisle didn't scream much, and he has the most control out of any of us," Emmett shrugged. "And now Bella hasn't screamed at all and look at her."
"Is it bad that I think that there might be something to that?" Edward asked Carlisle.
Carlisle chuckled at that. "No, but like I said, I don't think that we could know the real cause of her control."
Mentions that Carlisle's stressed expression changed to a welcome one, like changing the channel:
"You do that so effortlessly," Jasper sighed. It always took him a great amount of effort to do the same.
"I have years of practice," Carlisle said kindly.
Bella thinks ugh, my voice was so wrong:
"Oh, that's right," Jasper said. "I suppose there are some things about being a newborn that even her control can't change."
"Well, she had to talk. Charlie would have noticed if she didn't say anything," Alice frowned.
Bella thinks plus, I'd used up some of my air supply:
"Hm … she doesn't seem to know how to manage her breathing correctly yet," Jasper pointed out.
"She's a day old," Edward said, annoyed.
"Sorry," Jasper sighed.
Mentions that was it for my oxygen:
"And she's getting better at that too," Jasper said. "She's a fast learner."
Edward smiled smugly at his brother this time.
Charlie asks you're going to make me a grandpa so young, Edward tells him Carlisle would be one too, they look at Carlisle, that looks like Zeus's younger, better-looking brother:
"Should I be jealous that she thinks you're so good looking?" Edward mumbled.
"No, she thinks you're better," Esme smiled. "Besides, she's only thinking the truth."
Charlie says I guess that makes me feel better:
"Of course, it does," Emmett chuckled. "Even if Carlisle is actually old enough to be a great, great, great …."
Jasper decided to keep reading at this point though Emmet kept saying great for some time.
Mentions that Bella could see the movement of the blood in Charlie's neck under his skin, feel the warm vibration of it:
Everyone shivered sympathetically at that thought, knowing how hard it would be on Bella right now.
Mentions so can Renesmee:
And they shivered again, though this time they didn't know how bad it was for the half-vampire.
Mentions Renesmee reaching for Charlie and then she shows Bella her thoughts, acknowledged thirst but overrode it in the same thought:
Everyone was chuckling now.
"I can see more than a little of her mother in her," Edward smiled proudly.
"Yes, she's pretty funny," Emmett agreed.
Emmett says woo, go Gators:
Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"What? It was time to go back to normal human things," Emmett shrugged.
Emmett says bout time somebody scored around here:
Edward groaned, and Emmett laughed.
"Emmett … now's not the time for that," Esme chastised. "If she gets angry …."
"She's fine," Emmett waved her off and Esme continued to glare at him.
O
Shiny
Charlie says I don't know how much we should tell Renee:
"Nothing," Edward said.
Esme frowned. "But she would want to know."
"I know, but I don't think her mom could handle this," Edward frowned, too. "I'm sure Bella can call her at some point, but it wouldn't be wise for them to meet again … or for Renee to meet Renesmee … at least not any time soon."
"I know you have a point," Esme sighed, sympathetically. "I just wish things could be different."
Mentions that Charlie didn't move until Seth had reminded him of the time:
"I wonder if Charlie put it together that the cub is a wolf too," Emmett mused.
"I'm sure he has," Carlisle said. "I mean, it should be obvious that since he was here, that Seth would be in on the secret at least."
Mentions Bella hugging Charlie:
"Remarkable," Jasper shook his head. "I'm not sure I could do that even now."
"Of course, you can," Alice said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm just not sure Chief Swan would appreciate getting a hug from you," Emmett laughed.
Charlie asks do I ever get to hold her:
"He hasn't held her yet?" Esme asked as if that was a crime.
"I suppose we didn't want to tempt the little nudger too much," Emmett said.
Charlie grunted and says she's sturdy:
Carlisle raised an excited eyebrow at that but continued reading.
Charlie says prettiest baby I ever saw, including you kid, sorry but it's true:
"And he's stuck," Emmett said, "completely under her control now."
Bella says Carlie with a C, like Carlisle and Charlie put together:
Carlisle read this line, smiling proudly, and Esme reached out and took his free hand.
"Maybe that should have been her first name and there would be no Nessie issue to deal with," Emmett chuckled.
"I like Renesmee," Edward argued.
Edward says it's a little dense to antagonize the strongest vampire in the house:
This time it was Edward and Jasper chuckling.
"Yeah right," Emmett rolled his eyes.
Bella says, Emmett, how do you feel about a little bet:
"This is going to be interesting," Jasper smirked. "Hey, how about we double our bet?"
"What do you mean?" Emmett asked.
"How about whatever terms are set in this book you have to follow too?" Jasper said.
"But … what if they don't apply to our reality?" Emmett asked.
"Is that fear I hear in your voice … afraid you're going to lose?" Jasper taunted.
"Of course, not … you're on," Emmett agreed immediately.
Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband's predictable answer to the bait Jasper used.
Bella thinks nervous again as I watched the thick muscles of Emmett's arm:
"Ha!" Emmett smiled smugly.
"She's a nervous person that likes to worry over nothing," Edward shrugged confidently. "It's not going to help you at all to win the match."
"We'll see how smug you are in a minute," Emmett laughed.
"I think you've got that backwards," Jasper smirked.
Bella says, I win, and you can't say one word about my sex life to anyone, no allusions, no innuendos, no nothing:
"Oh crap … I don't like this bet at all," Emmett said, his smile wavering.
"I probably should have waited to see what the bet was before I made him agree to this," Jasper frowned.
"This just keeps getting better and better," Edward said happily.
"Well, it did say her sex life … I suppose you can still tease Edward about his until she's involved," Jasper muttered.
"Don't worry about it, Jazz … I have this covered," Emmett said confidently again.
"She is already involved in my …." Edward started, ignoring Emmett completely.
"Technically she's not. You're not going out yet," Jasper said. "That's the best I can do."
"I'm going to win," Emmett repeated. "How can I not tease her about this …."
Bella says just keep your mouth shut, and then she smashed Emmett's hand into the boulder:
"Dammit," Emmett hissed.
"Too bad, bro," Edward chuckled.
"I'm just going to have to give you a harder time about this until you're going out with Bella," Emmett stated loudly, not controlling his anger very well.
Mentions that Bella can hear Jacob's and Edward's muffled laughter:
It wasn't so muffled in this room, nor was Rosalie's and Alice's laughter.
Mentions of Bella digging her finger into the stone and it's consistency reminded her of hard cheese and she says, cool:
Everyone was chuckling again, except for Emmett, who was having trouble keeping his surly mood.
Mentions Bella grinned and the whirled in a sudden circle and karate-chopped the rock with the side of her hand:
The laughter grew with that, and this time Emmett couldn't help but join in.
Mentions she punched and kicked the rest of the boulder, having too much fun and snickering the whole time:
"She must have looked ridiculous," Emmett said, laughing.
"I think adorable is a better word to describe this," Edward chuckled.
Jacob says Bella's supposed to be a grown-up, married and a mom and all, should there be more dignity:
"But it's much better this way," Edward smiled. "My unpredictable Bella."
Bella asks what does she want, and Edward says less dignity:
"Yeah Nessie, that's the right attitude!" Emmett cheered.
Describes what Renesmee looked like in the sun ending with nothing that would keep her inside on a sunny day:
"Hm … so it seems like she can live anywhere she wants to and not live under our restrictions," Carlisle mused.
"Don't say that," Edward snapped.
"Er … what?" Carlisle said.
"Sorry," Edward said. "It's just, it sounded like you were talking about her being off on her own or something … I don't want to think about that yet."
"Yeah, that thought must be almost as bad as already having a suitor for her when she's less than a week old," Emmett chuckled and Edward groaned.
Bella thinks after eighteen years of mediocrity I was used to being average:
"Oh, Bella, you were never average," Edward disagreed.
Bella thinks I did my best with what I had, never quite fitting into my world:
"But she fits in quite nicely in ours," Alice said, smiling.
"Yes … she really does, doesn't she?" Edward smiled.
O
Travel Plans
Bella thinks I took mythology a lot more serious since I became a vampire:
"Really? I didn't," Emmett said. "I still don't think those Greek gods are real …."
"She means myths that deal with vampires," Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"Oh, right … but still, I didn't pay much attention to those either," Emmett shrugged.
Mentions that Quil and Embry joined Jacob's pack:
"Ah, the pup's wing men joined his pack," Emmett smiled.
"Great, more wolves to hang around with us," Rosalie grumbled.
"I suppose that now they know Jacob isn't going to leave or stand against the pack, it was only natural for those boys to join his pack," Carlisle said.
Mentions that Sue and Leah were part of their lives, two more I had not anticipated:
"Really? I thought the girlie-wolf hated us," Emmett said.
"She's part of the pup's pack. I guess she must be in the tapestry," Jasper shrugged.
Bella says if I haven't killed Charlie or Sue yet, it's probably not going to happen, Jasper would stop hovering:
"I don't think that's why I'm hovering," Jasper frowned.
"Of course, it's not," Alice said. "I think it has something to do with that tapestry she keeps talking about."
Mentions Jacob had burst into applause, because that was clearly the response Renesmee wanted:
"Yes, it's important for her development to encourage her when she does something like that," Carlisle said. "Even if it's worrisome that she's doing it so early."
Mentions Alice and Rosalie usually began the day with a fashion show:
"Yeah," Alice said excitedly. "At least I'm going to get someone to play with."
Edward glared at her, but she didn't let that bother her.
Mentions Alice and Rosalie trying to create a baby album that appeared to span years rather than weeks:
"That's a good idea," Rosalie said. "We definitely need a record of every stage she is in."
Bella thinks I'd been reading Tennyson to her one night:
"Tennyson?" Emmett said, making a face. "Strange reading material for a baby. That should bore her to death."
Rosalie was frowning at this too. She liked the idea of reading stories to the baby.
Mentions that Renesmee didn't like repetition in her bedtime stories and had no patience for picture books:
"Oh, so she's a snob like her dad," Emmett chuckled.
"There's nothing wrong with knowing what you like and not putting up was cheap substitutes," Edward shrugged, smiling.
Mentions even if the rate decrease held steady, she'd still be an adult in no more than four years:
"Four years?" Edward sighed. He wanted more time with his little girl … he could hear this thought mirrored in everyone else's mind.
Mentions just fifteen years of life:
"No … this can't be true," Edward hissed.
"Someone that precious … she has to live longer than that," Rosalie agreed, feeling it would break her heart if that was all the time Renesmee got.
"Maybe she'll stop growing," Alice said, trying to sound convincing, but everyone could hear the fear in her voice.
"She is part immortal, after all," Jasper added, trying to instill some hope into everyone and trying not to let all of their worries crush him.
"True," Carlisle said thoughtfully.
"But she's growing … vampires don't grow," Edward pointed out. He didn't want to hang his hopes up on something that wasn't true … but he admitted that it was already too late for that. He wanted Jasper and Alice to be right.
Mentions that there was one sure way to stop aging, and that wasn't something Jacob was likely to be excited about:
"That is true," Rosalie said. "We could make her a full vampire."
"I wonder what that would do to her," Carlisle said. "Seeing as she is already nearly as strong as us … It's an almost scary thought."
"But it would be better than her dying," Rosalie protested and Edward nodded his head.
Mentions that all the werewolf lore insisted that vampire venom was a death sentence rather than course to immortality:
"Oh," several people said.
"She has a point there, doesn't she?" Rosalie said sadly. "It would be too much of a risk to do this."
"Yes," Edward agreed. "I don't think it would be good to use this option if we can avoid it."
Mentions I wanted to stay near Forks until after the holidays, for Charlie's sake:
"Yes, that does make sense," Esme agreed. "Oh dear, think of little Nessie's first Christmas."
"She's going to love it," Rosalie smiled along with Esme, and didn't even mind when she used the nickname; it was growing on her.
Mentions that there was another journey that had to come first, also a solo trip:
Edward narrowed his eyes. "She thinks I'm going to let her go to the Volturi alone."
"Apparently," Emmett smirked.
"Well, she's wrong!" Edward snapped. "I'm not letting her go near those cretins without me there! What is she thinking?"
"She's probably worried about what Aro would do if he read your mind and found out about Nessie," Jasper said realistically.
Edward hissed at that, not liking it at all, but he understood that his brother had a point.
Bella thinks my plan was the only one that made rational sense:
"So there," Emmett said, trying to imitate Bella's voice and sticking his tongue out at Edward.
Continues with the Volturi ending with Caius was planning to send a hunting party to see if I was still him human:
Edward shivered at that.
"She really is right, you know," Jasper said. "Sh …."
"I know," Edward hissed, not really wanting to discuss this anymore.
Aro's messages I so look forward to seeing the new Mrs. Cullen in person:
"Man, that guy is creepy," Emmett said. "Why were you friends with him, Carlisle?"
"We have some things … a lot really, in common," Carlisle said. "For instance, we both love finding something that is new and exciting and figuring out the meaning behind it. He is a highly curious man, and I enjoyed the many discussions we had about … well, just about everything you can think of."
"Right," Emmett said.
Bella says they won't hurt me, they have no reason to, I'm a vampire:
"That doesn't mean that I could trust that they won't hurt you," Edward hissed.
"They won't, Edward," Carlisle said calmly. "Aro would be much too curious to find out what she could do … er … what gifts she might have, to do anything to her right now."
Bella's thoughts on Aro saying he's a collector, and he already covet Alice's and Edward's abilities, I'll give him no more reason to be jealous of Carlisle's family:
"Yeah, well, I think you already have," Jasper mumbled.
"Agreed. I think she would be on his list of things he coveted," Carlisle frowned.
Edward hissed.
"Sorry, Edward," Carlisle sighed.
Bella thinks Renesmee was beautiful, gifted, unique, he could not be allowed to see her, even through someone's thoughts:
"She's absolutely right," Carlisle said.
"There's got to be a way that we could give her some kind of backup," Edward said miserably. "She can't go there alone."
"I don't see how," Carlisle frowned. "Anyone she went with could be a potential threat to giving up Nessie."
"Anyone who knows about Nessie, at least," Emmett said.
"What did you say?" Edward snapped his head to his brother. "That's it … she could go with someone that doesn't know about Renesmee?"
"That could work … but who?" Carlisle said thoughtfully.
"I don't know," Edward said. "The Denali's maybe."
"I don't think any of them would want to go to the Volturi," Jasper said.
"That's true … you would be hard pressed to find anyone that would voluntarily go the Volturi," Carlisle said.
"Still, I'm sure we could convince someone to go with her," Edward said.
"Even if we don't tell them the reason why one of us can't just go with her," Jasper said. "I think that's kind of a sketchy idea, Edward. If Aro read their thoughts, he would know that we were trying to keep something from him."
"Hmph," Edward huffed, annoyed that his brother again had a point.
Mentions the diet of animal blood wasn't Renesmee's favorite thing:
"Well, it's not ours either," Emmett said. "It's just something that you have to live … exist with, though."
Mentions that's why Jacob was allowed to come because he made it a contest between them:
"I want to come too," Emmett pouted. "I'd show them who's best."
Bella asks are you officially dropping out of high school, if you're going to keep up with Renesmee, you're going to have to study a lot harder:
"She has an excellent point there," Emmett chuckled.
"Argh, how could Renesmee get stuck with this dunce," Rosalie groaned.
"Actually, I think that Jacob can be rather insightful when he wants to be," Carlisle said. "And I'm sure he's going to mature quickly now."
Mentions she stared back:
"She?" Edward asked, still worried. "This doesn't sound good."
Rosalie could see that Carlisle and Jasper were about to say something, but she started reading quickly, she wanted to really know who this was and not just speculate about it.
Descriptions of the vampire that Bella was seeing ending with parted evenly down the center:
"So, it is Irina," Carlisle mumbled and relaxed.
Edward, however, didn't. He still didn't like what was going on here.
Mentions Bella's hand was about to wave but Irina lip twisted the tiniest bit, making her face suddenly hostile:
"Why is she hostile?" Esme asked, her voice trembling a little.
"I don't know," Carlisle said, worried again.
Mentions Bella opened her hands in a apologetic gesture, but Irina's jaw unlocked as she growled:
Edward hissed himself, not liking the fact that she would growl at Bella.
Mentions vengeance was a common obsession for vampires, one not easy to suppress:
Edward narrowed his eyes.
"She wouldn't do that," Carlisle tried to sound convincing. "Don't worry."
O
The Future
"I have a bad feeling about this," Edward muttered with a shiver.
"Of course, you do, you're a pessimist, you always have a bad feeling," Emmett chuckled. "You have to start looking at the brighter side of things."
"That's never going to happen," Jasper chuckled.
Mentions of Alice have glimpses of Irina ending with she made no decisions beyond her directionless grieving:
Alice furrowed her eyebrows together and felt uncomfortable about this; these actions were something someone would do if they were trying to keep something from her. She looked at Edward and knew that he agreed with her, but neither one of them voiced this terrible observation. Nor could they quite keep the preface out of their minds either.
Mentions now that Jacob would come with us, he was in the plans, since it was unlikely the people who believed in vampires would talk to them:
"That certainly is a good point," Carlisle said. "We really will need him there to help us out."
"Argh," Rosalie groaned.
"I'm sure he'll make it easier for us to figure something out about Nessie," Carlisle said. "And that's what's most important."
Mentions seeing the three Amazon vampires ending with there was no way to know how long the search would take:
"Still, they would know the area and they are quite good at tracking things," Carlisle said. "Not to mention it would be nice to see them again."
Mentions of a vase slipping from Alice's fingers:
"Why did you drop the vase?" Esme asked, not concerned at all about the vase, though she was sure it was one of the ones that she particularly liked. Everyone knew that whatever had caused Alice to drop something, had to be something really terrible.
"The Volturi," Edward choked out what everyone was thinking.
"They were in the preface," Emmett said, and he almost looked excited and yet his eyes were guarded, and it was clear that even he was worried. "I suppose we're about to find out why."
All eyes were on Alice now and pleading with her to read and she quickly complied.
Bella thinks I had never seen a vampire drop anything by accident, ever:
"Well, it's happened twice before," Alice muttered and left it at that; but everyone knew what had come after those incidents and it hadn't been very good at all.
Mentions Emmett moved his eyes darted toward the window, anticipating an attack:
The tension doubled then.
"If it's what we fear it is, I don't think it would be an immediate attack," Jasper said in an uncomfortable voice, and he should be, he had to deal with six worried vampires along with his own worries. This had the effect he was hoping for, because the tension loosened silently, but by no means went away.
Bella thinks for once I was the first to understand, but their words triggered my own vision:
"Why wouldn't we understand?" Emmett said. "We know that the Volturi is a threat to us … one of the only things that would have Edward and Alice that worried …."
"That's true, but we are hearing this from Bella's perspective, and we are getting all of her insights," Carlisle said in a tight voice, that caused Emmett to flinch a little. It was clear that the older man was afraid and that wasn't something he normally showed. "And I'm sure she's more worried about this happening than any of us."
Mentions I wanted to snatch Renesmee up into my arms:
"Renesmee," Everyone gasped as one. Their eyes were all filled with misery and if their faces could pale, they would have.
"They're going to think she's an immortal child," Emmett was the one to voice everyone's fears; he was the only one who could say those words aloud.
"No …." Rosalie and Esme both moaned miserably, and Esme turned into Carlisle's arms to cry as only a vampire could.
Edward was frozen in his spot, like so many other times while reading these books, but this time his eyes were calculating. He was trying to think of a way they could stop this.
"We're not going to let this happen," Rosalie hissed this time, and though it was clear she was still miserable and worried, her anger and protectiveness was showing through more clearly.
"What can we do?" Jasper asked, his voice a little strained as if he was being crushed by something, which in a sense he was. "They're going to send their best after us … and a whole lot of them. Our family is big and powerful but the Volturi army is bigger and more powerful …."
"So, you're just going to give up," Emmett scoffed. "We're going to protect this family and we're most definitely going to protect Nessie with our lives."
Jasper didn't say anything, though he did appreciate his brother's words and what it did to everyone else in the room. Alice started reading again after that; desperate to know what was going to happen.
Jasper asks Alice to look for the trigger and Alice says she was looking for Irina:
"Irina!" more gasps were heard, but Edward shouted, his eyes full of pain and anger and Alice had hissed while she'd read.
"It can't be," Esme said and Carlisle squeezed her close to him, both utterly hurt that someone they considered part of their family would do this to them.
"If she saw Renesmee," Jasper said softly. "For the distance that she was at … there is only one conclusion she could come up with."
"But to go to the Volturi …." Alice hissed. "She knew it would be a death sentence for us."
"Yes, she would know that," Jasper said, his tone somber, reminding everyone of the sisters' past.
"That's still doesn't excuse this," Rosalie snapped. "She could have just come to us … she didn't have to …."
"That's enough," Edward said, his voice harsh from anger and pain. "She went to the Volturi and there is nothing we can do about it now. Talking about this isn't going to do anything."
"Edward," Esme said, as she disentangled herself from Carlisle and went over to hug her son, who looked like he really needed the comfort at the moment, even though he would never have asked for it.
"These books aren't only going to help us," Edward said and his tone was a little lighter now, but there was a certain amount of determination in it. "I can see a lot of the mistakes that I have made … or things that have happened that we can now avoid. And this is one of them. If Renesmee is going to be born in our reality, then we're going to have to make sure that Tanya's family knows about this beforehand. I don't want a misunderstanding to come between our families."
"You can just overlook this?" Rosalie said, she could always hold a grudge and one which was against her family would only make this stronger.
Edward looked at her with cold black eyes, and it was clear that if Irina came near their house now, she'd be in some serious trouble. "In time I think I will," Edward said. "I know better than any of you the pain they went through when they lost their mother …." he trailed off there, he didn't want to think of that now.
Alice says it's like their decision was already made, and just waiting for her:
"That's odd," Jasper muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes, it is," Carlisle said, uncomfortably, "but there is only one answer to the crime that we have supposedly committed."
Emmett says if they just stand besides us, just long enough to make the Volturi hesitate:
"Are you actually suggesting something that would prevent a fight?" Alice asked him.
Emmett shrugged not really knowing the answer to that.
"Either way, this is a good idea," Edward said.
Alice says I have to go, come on Jasper, there's no time to waste:
Edward looked warily at Alice at this.
It would be easier doing this without everyone asking me questions all the time, Alice thought, but there was a tone in her mental voice that was a little doubtful … or was it hopeful; either way neither of them liked it much.
Bella says All of us Jacob, we've all been sentenced to die:
"That's the end of the chapter," Alice said and Edward took the book from her immediately. It didn't matter that he couldn't stand to read at this point, because this time, everyone felt the same way.