Chapter Thirty-Seven: Tempting Fate
"Monday, Monday, so good to me.
Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be.
Oh Monday mornin', Monday mornin' couldn't guarantee
That Monday evenin' you would still be here with me."
– The Mamas & The Papas
Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - Alice
Bella and Rose were waiting for Angela to wake up. I was sitting in my room trying not to think of my vision. It had to be today. Hanging in my closest was the red trench coat I had bought on a whim to see if I could change the circumstances of the day. Yet, I wasn't even sure Angela wanted to speak to me. I had been so horrible to her that day, and for what? Guilt? We were all feeling guilty about dragging her into our lives. What made me special? My fucked up visions?
All morning I had been hearing that song, it kept playing in the background of my mind on repeat. The only good thing about my vampire brain was that it was a perfect replica of the song, nearly as good as listening to it out loud.
Monday, Monday, can't trust that day
No, I wouldn't let her suffer for hours as we raced back home. I had to get Carlisle to examine her first. Something was wrong with Angela, I knew it. But would that force the vision to change? I wasn't sure anymore.
Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
"Morning Angela." Bella said brightly and unexpectedly. I hadn't heard Angela move, why hadn't I heard her move?
"Morning Bella, are you making me coffee?" Angela sounded groggy.
"Already made, along with blueberry pancakes with butter pecan syrup." As she said it, I could smell the warmed syrup all the way up in my room.
"Yay, we no longer have to be quiet for the human." Rose said from her shared room with Bella and turned on her radio.
"Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace. I dream at night, I can only see your face. I look around but it's you I can't replace. I feel so cold and I long for your embrace. I keep crying, 'Baby, baby, please!'"
"Fuck. Sorry Angela." Rose shouted downstairs, lowering the volume so that Angela could no longer hear it.
"No problem, I like that one." She said shuffling into the kitchen. I shut my eyes tightly, wishing I could force the day to turn out differently. I tried to coax my vision to surface but it wouldn't come. Frustrated but knowing I had no other option, I got up, took a deep breath and started downstairs.
"Zut alors! She has emerged!" Bella said brightly with a horrible French accent. Angela managed a giggle as she ate.
"Thank you Lumiere." I said with a smirk.
"She jokes, Rose, I think Alice made a joke!" Bella said as I entered the kitchen and felt my heart sink. Everyone was dressed like they were in my vision.
"This I have to see." Rose said coming into the kitchen also dressed exactly like she had in my vision.
"We can't go today." I said and everyone just rolled their eyes at me. "No, I mean it. Angela, we need to have Carlisle examine you."
"Okay, if you think we should." Angela agreed, meeting my eyes. I gave her as bright a smile as I could, despite the fact that when I met her eyes, I flashed to an image of her hooked up to a ventilator.
"Fuck, he's still out with Charlie on one of their long talks." I said with a frown.
"He'll examine her when we get back." Rose suggested. I shook my head, I had to make them understand.
"What's wrong Alice?" Bella asked, coming around the island and placing her hands on my shoulders.
"My vision, I saw today happen. It wasn't good." I tried to explain, shaking my head.
"Are you sure it was today? I mean we're probably going to go out like this again." Rose said in an attempt to help.
"No, but everyone is wearing the right clothes, and I keep hearing this song that was playing on the radio in my vision." I frowned, not sure how to explain it in just the right way.
"Every Breath you Take?" Angela guessed, but I shook my head again.
"Monday, Monday." I frowned.
"Oh, interesting." She frowned. "Why is that a bad song?"
"The context, you have to be… come on. I'm vision girl." I grumbled, crossing my arms and pouting with a touch of exaggeration.
"Alright, we go and if that song shows up on the radio we'll turn around." Rose said with a satisfied smile. They all looked at me, and I shrugged. It seemed like a good way to go, but then a smile crossed my face as I got an idea to change things up.
"All right, but on one condition." I let my mischievous smile widen as I looked at Bella, she immediately started to look a little afraid.
"Bella, come with me." I let my grin widen towards my sister, and her expression turned outright fearful. I dragged her upstairs and dressed her in the disguise I had planned in my vision, but with one significant change… the red coat.
"I look like Carmen Sandiego." She was staring at herself in the mirror with a deep frown.
"I'm not making you wear the hat." I said pointing towards the box sitting on the floor in my room.
"I guess I already have a Halloween costume." She muttered out loud.
"I think you look good." I said as seriously as I could, admittedly she did look a bit outlandish.
"Whatever, let's go." She said, shaking her head.
We headed down to the kitchen and Rose almost died laughing when she saw Bella. Angela covered her mouth and almost choked on a bit of pancake as she stifled a loud giggle. Their laughter lifted my heart up a bit, and everyone looked a touch lighter as we cleaned up and headed out. Rosalie drove, as usual, her love of cars and driving always meant more to the rest of the family than a desire to be in control. Twenty minutes into the trip Rose reached for the radio but stopped herself and glanced at each of us.
"Do it." I said, hoping I was wrong. She pressed the dial, switching on the power, and immediately music began to play.
"Oh Monday mornin' you gave me no warnin' of what was to be. Oh Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me…"
"Oh god." Rose said turning off the radio, she blinked once and checked her mirrors. Then spun us around and sped back towards the house.
"The lyrics were a bit on the nose." Angela said with a half-hearted smile.
"This was supposed to be a bright day." Rose said with a frightened look and a frown.
"I'll be alright, I promise." Angela said with a nod, even though her body language said she was afraid of this unknown illness I had seen.
"I really don't think I need all this now." Bella said fidgeting with the scarf I had left as part of her ensemble.
"That coat, I don't get it Alice, were you trying to make her look like Carmen Sandiego?" Angela asked with a small smile.
"I was trying to change the vision, originally it was just the hat and scarf, I added the red trench and nixed the hat." I explained, but it was eerie how close the conversation was playing out.
"That makes a strange sort of sense." Bella said, crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry." I hadn't wanted to ruin the day, but I couldn't risk Angela's health.
"No need to apologize, I'll call J. Jenks and reschedule, we can always go another day." Rose said with a slightly forced smile.
"I still don't see why I need a new identity, it's not as if we're moving until next year anyway." Bella pouted, shaking her head.
"Practicality, if you ever get pulled over it will be better if you aren't driving while dead. Plus I know we said vows and a ceremony if we ever got married, but maybe a marriage license would be nice if it is ever legalized." Rose's playfulness and gentle smirk aimed at her girlfriend was identical to before, although the words were slightly different. They were clearly further along in their relationship than in the vision, but it was clear I hadn't changed much of anything.
"Right." Bella gave her a pleasant smile, and took her hand briefly to kiss once.
"Stop. Stop talking! I can't handle this." I practically screamed. They all looked at me in confusion. "Everyone keeps saying things from the vision. Nothing is really changing."
"Then maybe there is nothing you can do to change events. You know that happens from time to time." Rose tried to sooth my panic, and in a way it worked. I looked over at Angela and held out a hand.
"I'm sorry. I haven't been myself lately." I wanted to cry, and her eyes clouded up with tears right away.
"Alice you don't have anything to apologize for, we're all going through a lot right now." Her smile and easy acceptance felt like a relief, and I closed my eyes to hold back the surge of emotions.
"What actually happens in this vision?" Bella finally asked, and I took a deep breath as I realized things were finally starting to depart from the course of events. Suddenly the song in my head evaporated like a ghost.
"Almost home." Rose said as we turned off onto our driveway. Carlisle, Charlie and Esme came into view as we pulled up.
"Thank god." I said getting out of the car first and moving around to help Angela out.
"Carlisle, she needs to be examined... for everything." I said without preamble, as Bella and Rosalie joined us.
"Of course, what's wrong?" He asked and reached out for Angela's hand, she looked back at me with an expression that said I had more information than she did.
"All I know is she threw up and complained of severe stomach cramps." I explained as well as I could, I was hardly a doctor.
"Cramps, that's why you canceled our trip?" Rose said with a frown.
"She threw up violently and was screaming from the pain of those cramps. Something is wrong with her; I mean look at her she must've lost five pounds this week." I motioned towards Angela who looked thin and frail and drawn. It felt like more than just grief that was weighing on her.
"I haven't been eating very well." Angela admitted.
"Let's get you into my office and we can talk. The rest of you go away so she can have some privacy." He made a shooing motion, and we all looked at each other not really sure what to do. Charlie took the opportunity to come over to me.
"Can we talk now?" He asked almost as a demand.
"Yes." My voice was meek, and a little terrified. We turned and started to talk down the driveway. For a while we didn't speak, until I couldn't take it anymore and stopped and looked at him.
"I am so sor…" He held up a hand.
"No. You do not need to apologize. I recognize that you were only trying to help me, to give me a lifeline which I desperately needed. Honestly, I was maybe a couple of weeks away from where Renee is right now, except I wouldn't have failed the attempt. You gave me my life back, and while I know I'm having trouble adjusting, I deeply appreciate what you did for me. I understand that this is the hardest part, and my utter lack of control has to do with being a newborn… vampire and having this bizarre shield thing combined with whatever Rose did for me. Either way, I want to thank you for caring. For defending me when no one else was there. No one has ever fought for me before, and it means a lot." His smile was genuine, and I could tell he was letting through his emotions from behind his shield as a glance towards the house revealed the thirst he was constantly fighting. A split second later the emotion disappeared from his face, and the warmth in his eyes vanished.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you, and you're welcome, and I'm sorry you're struggling." I hoped he could understand even though this emotionless mask he was forced to wear.
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked, and his blank expression gave me pause, but I nodded anyway.
"Of course." I replied, trying not to sound like I was hesitant to hear what he wanted to know.
"Why did you come to my house that night? I mean, I get the desire to tell me the truth, but wasn't that a reaction from seeing my grief? What actually drew you there?" He still had that robotic expression, but I could see a bit of something in his eyes, he was being extremely careful but not completely detached.
"Helping you, yes I kind of made up my mind when I saw you in such pain. But honestly, I missed you, and that house. We don't change very easily, but when we do it is usually permanent. You had become a part of my life, and I think I needed some closure. Maybe to make sure you were able to move on from Bella's 'death'. Plus, I needed to think, and that tree is very peaceful. You should try it sometime." I found myself babbling, but I saw him drop his defenses slightly and his face melted into a warm smile.
"I would love nothing more." He looked wistfully towards the direction of Forks, before whipping his head towards the house and taking one step before his face changed again. He stepped back and looked towards me as if he hadn't taken an aggressive move towards Angela. I took a few seconds to look into his face, wondering what war was raging behind his eyes.
"There are a lot of wonders that come with our existence. We have practically unlimited time to expand our knowledge. Also Carlisle and I have made some particularly good choices in investments, and as a result we have a ridiculous amount of funds and resources to do anything we would like as a family. That extends to you and Bella whether you decide to stay with us or not." I sounded like a saleswoman, although the pitch was a little off in my opinion.
"I have never thought about the logistics involved with this life before. It is an interesting thought experiment." He said coldly, almost analytically. I opened my mouth a few times to respond, I hated how hard it was for him.
"You know, in a very real way we don't actually need anything. We don't sleep, we don't get cold, we don't eat, we don't need to breathe or bathe. Our house, electricity, cable, internet. They are luxuries. We sustain them because it makes it easier to maintain companionship. Distractions are important when you have nearly endless time on your hands." He nodded in response, and then looked thoughtful for a moment.
"That explains nomads. So, answer me this? How did the nomad you were chasing disappear at an airport? Wouldn't she have needed identification and a passport?" He brought up a good point, one I hadn't even thought of.
"Yes, I imagine. She would've needed a credit card too… hmmm." I furrowed my brow in thought, although I had no clue what to do with that kind of information.
"I'm used to working with others who are trained to look for these things, I apologize if I assumed you would fill in the blanks. The first trick of police work is to follow the money. I could call the station, tell them I needed to get away and that I'm taking a sabbatical, but could ask for a favor to look into her identity." He still sounded robotic, but I couldn't deny the usefulness of his offer, I had to respond with the counterpoint though.
"That's a good idea. But, do you want to return to your job?" The question seemed to catch him off guard, and he looked down and his face softened again, shaking his head.
"Yes and no. My life was pretty crappy to be honest, the love of my life walked out with my daughter. Then my daughter comes back and a few months later she's crushed by a van. Now this unexpected and wild new life." He looked up at me, and then as he focused on me, I could see that his body almost immediately began trembling with the strain of resisting the pull of Angela's blood. I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. He flinched at first, but then lowered his head and a look of gratefulness washed over his face.
"I don't think Renee was the love of your life, you deserve so much more than her." I said trying to lift him up a bit, emotional stability being the key to resisting the pull of blood.
"I don't… I guess so. I mean I loved her; she was one of a kind." He gave me a half smile, but there was a deep disappointment in his expression. His marriage was a major source of his internal pain and baggage.
"Charlie, we will help you with that shield control. I can see how strong you are, but if you need to bring your shield back up to control your thirst I more than understand, but can I ask you a question first?" I felt a need for an answer, enough to risk his control for a moment.
"Yes, that's only fair." He said gritting his teeth.
"Why have you never looked for someone else to spend your life with?" It was a hard question, but one I was sure could distract him from his instincts. It was a dangerous game, but I hoped if he did lose control, the instant he turned towards the house he would tamp down his own impulses.
"I always said I was married to my work, but that was an excuse. If I'm being honest with myself, I was waiting for them to come back to me. When Bella did, I felt justified." He clenched his eyes shut but opened them back up and found mine again and kept his focus on me.
"Justified, but lonely. You should look for someone for yourself, someone that suits you." I said at last before letting go of his shoulder so that he knew I was releasing him. He straightened up, and looked towards the house with shudder, his eyes growing wild. Then his face went slack and he turned back towards me and a split second later his eyes shifted back into the warmth I was starting to find impossible to look away from.
"I don't know what my type is anymore." He said with a small sad smile.
"Does that matter?" I shrugged, shaking my head slightly at the pointlessness of arbitrary attraction. "We're all beautiful, what matters is who we are."
"You're right, I guess it doesn't matter. You know Alice, you're amazing." He gave me a look, and for a second the conflict vanished from his face. Then his eyes rolled back, and his neck started to tremble again. "I'm sorry." He brought his shield back up, and his body stopped shivering from tension.
"Thank you." I knew he wouldn't appreciate it, but I had to let him know that I thought he was special too. How had I never seen how special he was? A man with that much acceptance and love in his heart was worth spending time with.
"If I did look into Victoria, do you have a last name?" He continued with his previous train of thought from before the emotional stuff, and I felt my heart sink a little. Whatever this was, whatever I felt in that moment was going to take a long time to work out while dealing with his instincts and control.
"No, but Jasper might know." I said picking up that part of the conversation. Victoria mentioned Maria, and Jasper knew where Maria was. I knew the rest of the family was pursuing Victoria and looking for Jasper, but I didn't know why they hadn't asked me to reach out, no matter our feelings Jasper would always respond to me.
"Your Jasper? Where is he?" Charlie asked, his concentration faltering and his emotions starting to peek through.
"Oh, we broke up last year. He's off in Calgary or something." I said trying to sound more flippant than I felt.
"Sorry. That must be hard." He was absolutely sincere, before he reasserted his control again.
"Don't worry about it, I'm pretty much over it now. We were only together for… god, almost sixty years." I felt a little humbled by the sheer amount of time, I hadn't thought about it in terms of decades before.
"Sixty years. I keep forgetting you are not actually as young as you look." The bluntness of his words were softened by the basic sentiment he was trying to convey. To him, I had looked like a teenager, so my age had defined me in his eyes. In his own way, he was starting to look at me, and all the family differently.
"Speak for yourself, have you even looked in a mirror yet?" I gave him a halfhearted smirk, but it was really more of a playful smile.
"No, I'm kind of afraid to." He had lowered his emotional barrier again, and the fear in his eyes was the kind that refused to accept the truth. I hadn't realized he was still in denial over all of this madness.
"Well that makes sense, no wonder you feel so disconnected. You don't even know, you're hot Charlie." I wondered if it was the right way to put it, but he was gorgeous now, just like the rest of us.
"Thanks, I think." He managed through one last tremble before his wall slammed down again. "I cannot risk another attempt; my willpower is fading."
I nodded once feeling a little disappointed.
"Alice!" Bella's shout was just loud enough for us to hear, and we both turned and I gave him one last awkward look. I felt a strange chill run through my body, as if something were clicking into place. I had only felt the sensation once before when Jasper walked into my life. Was this man that important to me? I wasn't sure but I knew I wanted to explore the possibility.
I ran back towards the house, meeting everyone else on the front porch. Carlisle appeared a few seconds later. The expression on his face was hard to read, but I could see terror behind his eyes.
"What's going on?" Rosalie asked first, somewhat unexpectedly.
"Something I thought was impossible." Carlisle wiped his hand over his face and sat down on the steps roughly.
"She's pregnant." I guessed. It was easy to put two and two together, especially considering that vision of Bella's other life. Only for the first time I wondered when I actually had that vision? I had no memory of it from before the crash. What I showed Edward in that nightmare vision, I had felt like that future was something I had always known… yet it was impossible. My visions had never stretched beyond a basic assurance that Bella would be one of us one day. There were never any actual details. I kept my frustration inside, but worried I was no longer a reliable source of information for my family.
"That's right, but it's more complicated than that. Angela insists that she has only been intimate with Mason." Carlisle sounded unsure, but we all knew he wanted to trust Angela's word.
"I can confirm that." Bella said with a small nod.
"Alright, then there is a major problem." Carlisle shook his head, this time with notable fear.
"She would be a week along; she shouldn't be having stomach cramps that severe." Esme guessed, because we all knew about the date even if we didn't have details.
"That is the primary issue, she isn't a week along. The gestational sac is growing thick, soon I won't be able to utilize any advanced tools to monitor growth progress beyond physical examination. However, my first estimate places her at a little over ten weeks." Carlisle explained with his usually detached tone of voice, and while somewhat comforting on the surface, I knew he only did that when he was trying to reign in his own emotions.
"That's nuts." Bella said echoing the sentiment of everyone gathered. I thought about that, doing some quick math in my head. The simple solution was disturbing at best.
"That means it's growing at nine days per day. If my math is right." I pondered out loud.
"That's right, she'll be at full term within a month. What is more disturbing is that her body is already showing signs of stress. She is borderline malnourished, dehydrated and a little anemic. I've given her fluids, but I'm worried." Carlisle frowned, he surveyed the group hoping for some kind of answer from us.
"She mentioned having trouble keeping food down." Esme offered, clearly hoping the detail might help.
"Give her blood." Charlie had moved close enough to hear the conversation, but still far enough to give himself some distance from Angela. His suggestion drew everyone's attention.
"Her anemia isn't dangerous enough to warrant a blood transfusion." Carlisle shook his head, his first reaction based on a clinical diagnosis.
"It makes logical sense. If her child is half vampire, wouldn't it need blood?" Charlie's analytical mind had some advantages over our emotional responses. I wasn't sure if anyone would've thought of that particular solution.
"That would explain her symptoms, it is literally drawing blood out of her system faster than she can supply it." Carlisle surmised, cocking his head in thought. "I'll need to give her daily transfusions, and we'll need to keep her fed with foods that would support the increased blood draw."
"No more pancakes than." Bella said with a frown.
"Probably not, if we get her stabilized, she should be able to keep down food. But I don't know how much this fetus will require." He frowned again, and glanced back towards the house, conflict clear on his face.
"It'll be a child, half human." I said offering one detail from my vision of the other reality where Edward had saved Bella.
"How could you know that?" Bella asked with curiosity.
I glanced at Bella, not sure if I should tell her. "In my vision when Edward was in my mind, I showed him what his future would've been if he had saved you in the crash. You would've had a daughter, named… Renesmee… god Bella what a name."
"Wow, that's. I don't even know what to say about that." She chuckled softly, shaking her head trying to absorb the admittedly shocking information about another life. Rose started to chuckle, and bumped Bella's shoulder with a playful grin. Yet I could see the longing behind her eyes, a child of Bella's would sound amazing to someone who had longed for one of her own for decades.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." I felt awful, worried I had caused her pain.
"No, it's okay. I'd rather know. It wasn't my fate, so I'm not upset." Bella looked pensive; her eyes cast downward. I cocked my head at her in concern and she just looked up and smiled. "I was just wondering what the hell was I thinking… Renesmee?"
"You were probably thinking that it was a small miracle, and it was a special child." Angela said from the doorway. Bella moved over and pulled her into a tight hug, and Angela buried her face into her shoulder and began to cry.
"I'll be here for you." Bella said, pushing her to arm's length, as Angela nodded once before moving back and hugging her again.
"So will I." Rosalie said from beside me, and I could tell she wanted to be a part of their embrace.
"I'll support you in whatever you decide sweetie." Esme stated with slightly more caution, aware that Angela hadn't expressed her choice out loud.
"First, I need to see my parents, I now have a timeframe and they wouldn't be able to handle this pregnancy." Angela said as she pulled away from Bella, and almost unconsciously began to rub her stomach where I could almost see a small bump.
"When?" I asked, wondering how long she would risk herself to spend time with her family.
"Tonight, I was planning on going home for the week, but if Carlisle is right, I'll be through my first trimester by Friday." Angela frowned and looked at all of us anxiously.
"What are you going to do?" Bella asked the question still lingering in the air, although Angela took it a different way.
"Have a good evening, tell them I love them, and then run away. What else can I do?" Her voice broke slightly, she had hours left with her human family and the weight of that was clearly affecting her. "I'm keeping the baby." She said a second afterwards, knowing that was the real question. Carlisle closed his eyes in pain, but everyone else reached out a hand to show support.
"I'll be watching." Bella said, and glanced at Carlisle to challenge him if he tried to deny her, or to try and warn her that going to Forks was dangerous.
"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from you." Angela said appreciatively.
"Let's get you home then." Esme said with a nod, her own fear of this unknown situation carefully tucked away.
"I am home." Angela said, holding out her arms for the family and everyone moved in for a group hug. I glanced back at Charlie who was still keeping a respectfully safe distance, and flashed him a warm smile. He nodded once, and I turned to join in the hug. It was then that I realized two things at once. The lover from my future vision was standing behind me, and the reason Angela had been so cold and hostile to me was because she had lost her lover and her child.
I kept a false smile on my face as the family retreated into the house, but I couldn't join them. Not when I held such a harsh truth inside. I pressed my forehead to the front door and shut my eyes tightly, trying to conjure the answers I needed when my vision suddenly unfolded in front of me.
"Stillborn." Esme said through a heavy sob, despite the lack of tears, holding the dead infant in her arms. Her hands covered in blood, as Carlisle continued compressions on Angela. I knew it was to keep her heart going as the venom worked its way through her blood stream. The ventilator was still pumping rhythmically in the background.
"I don't understand." Carlisle said with a defeated tone of voice, as he fought to keep Angela alive long enough for the venom to take hold.
"Something we did, or didn't do?" Bella guessed. "Alice, you must've seen something."
"I wish I had, I could maybe try and look forward to the autopsy. But that seems morose, and there's nothing we can do about it now." I answered, although I knew this was a vision of the future. One devastating future that I needed to figure out how to avoid.
"My guess is the blood, the transfusions weren't enough." Rose said with a broken voice, as she held Bella tightly unwilling or unable to let go of her.
"That's impossible to know, not in her condition." Carlisle paused for one repetition to argue, but I could see on his face that he was considering the possibility. "I don't… oh my god." Carlisle's eyes went wide as he glanced at Angela's stomach and blanched. "Esme take over."
Carlisle carefully reached into Angela's womb and after a few seconds produced another stillborn child. His expression broke as realization set in, and he gritted his teeth in confusion and pain.
"I didn't hear it, their hearts must've been beating as one." He set the second child down next to its sibling and leaned hard against the table, then threw a lamp against the far wall in anger, frustration and emotional defeat. Weeks of struggle only to end in abject failure. I wanted to reach out to him, but then the reality of the fact this wasn't happening yet pulled me out of the vision. I felt unsteady as I moved into the living room where everyone had gathered. Angela was healthy and awake, and barely a week into her pregnancy. We had time to set things right.
"Alice, what's wrong?" Esme asked as she noticed me first.
"Carlisle, the blood. We underestimated what she would need." I said breathlessly, the weight of that future pressing on me heavily.
"What did you see?" Carlisle stood and moved over to me, supporting me as Esme helped me into a chair.
"Angel, I'm not sure how to tell you this…" I started feeling overwhelmed and shaky, she nodded bracing herself for anything. "You're gonna have twins." I said the words and the room stopped overwhelmed with shock and worry.
Angela stared at me with a look of understanding, I could tell she had absorbed the context of my words; She was going to have twins that would die if we didn't do something to save them. Then she turned to Bella and Rosalie and gave them both a big smile, and the mood shifted to one of happiness at the idea of children entering our lives.
Yet I could see in the tilt of her shoulders, and the set of her eyes she was determined to do everything possible to ensure her children survived. It gave me a new sense of confidence as I looked to Carlisle who was clearly preoccupied with the problem. The math involved was basically unsolvable, when the main variable was unknown and impossible to gauge.
Author's Note:
Yes, I'm doing a baby plot. This is a very different situation from Breaking Dawn, in that there isn't the question of what the twins will be. It does also set a distinct time-table for Angela remaining human. This was on purpose, because it could easily be drawn out otherwise. Alice's vision was deeply disturbing on purpose, because it finally showed one of the reasons Angela was so cold and destructive in that far future battle. The Alice/Charlie dynamic will broaden as the story unfolds, but some time will be devoted to the two of them coming together in the near future. The next several chapters are written, and are almost in a completed state. I may get them up all next week so that Book Two will be fully wrapped up.
"Every Breath You Take" is written by The Police and quoted as a direct reference to the song.
Next Chapter: Goodbye to You - Angela
Thank you for reading, please let me know how you feel about this chapter or the story in general.