Before we begin, we want to make sure you all know this is a sequel to our original holiday fic, The House on Sycamore Lane. Definitely read that before you join us on this magical ride!
That being said, woohoo! We're so happy to go on this journey with you all and these characters again! They never left our minds and our hearts, and felt it was time to explore their new worlds with them.
We hope The Lights on Sycamore Lane fills you with as much joy as it did two years ago.
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November 23, 2023
Forks, Washington
Every season, there is always that first shock of winter that reminds him of his childhood. Even now, as he leans against the cold rails of the Tacoma, he reaches his hands up to his mouth, blowing warm air against his skin as he remembers taking this ride with his family as a kid. Taking the ferry isn't mandatory today, as there are ways to travel around it to get to his destination, but much like his own father, the experience of feeling the cold wind blowing through his hair is one he wants to share with his own child.
The water is calm this afternoon, the ferry rocking only slightly as they make their way to Forks, Washington. It's the time of year when he can see his breath as he exhales into the quiet surrounding him, and he welcomes it. The sky is gray and the temperature drops with each passing minute, but he's happy.
There was a brief period of time in his life when he didn't think it would happen to him again. Happiness of any kind.
But now, he holds onto that happiness, quite literally, as he turns to the stroller next to him, reaching inside. A moment later, he wraps his arms around his daughter as she points and laughs at the open water around them. The sound of her laughing feels like heaven itself, and he presses his cheek against the round, child-like fullness of hers, grateful for every second he has with her.
A soft tug on his elbow reminds him she isn't the only girl to breathe meaning into his life.
"You think she's warm enough?"
"I think she's just right," He responds, pulling back to look at his daughter to ask her what she thinks. "What do you think, Noelle?"
She answers him with another squeal of laughter as a blast of wind strikes them all.
"Here, Em," his wife says, handing him a small winter hat from the diaper bag. Emmett Cullen nods, mastering the task of placing it snugly on her head one-handed. He's had a little over a year of practice by now, and he prides himself on how far he has come since those early newborn days. He listens to his wife, Rosalie, take a deep breath. "Good. Now Mommy can relax a little."
Emmett smiles, raising an arm so he can easily pull her into his side. "Everything is fine."
Rosalie smiles back at him, standing up on tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips. She feels him smile into their kiss, and she closes her eyes in gratitude. "I know."
…
Meanwhile, in a different section of the Tacoma, months of stress and exhaustion begin to thaw from their bodies like the chill outside. Drinks in hand, they sink into their seats and look at each other with exasperated smiles on their faces. Away from the blustering winds, Edward Masen and his fiance, Bella Swan, take generous sips of their beers as they sit at a booth at a table overlooking the water. Emmett and Rose had decided to keep the baby in the fresh air, and fearing it would be crowded, Edward and Bella had decided to head to the bar to get a jump start on the festivities. Work had been grueling the last couple of months, and a few days away from it all is exactly what they need to refocus.
The first sip goes down easily, as if he can actually feel all of his problems disappear. He exhales a relaxing sigh loudly into their booth and looks around the restaurant and bar in curiosity. "Where is everyone?"
"It's noon," Bella laughs, loosening the scarf around her neck. "The crowds will be here later, I guess."
"More for us," Edward replies, reaching for his glass again. He holds it up in the air between them. "Cheers."
Jokingly, she rolls her eyes but indulges him anyway. "What are we toasting?"
"My laptop and work phone being left at home," he says before offering her another. "You having a few days off your feet."
"And the venue being beyond accommodating," Bella adds in, leaving it at that. She doesn't want to dwell on anything that can ruin their moods right now.
"I can definitely toast to that." Edward picks up his glass again, and this time, she responds with a clink of her glass against his. "Cheers."
They sit in comfortable silence as they let the relaxation kick in. In a few minutes, they'll join Emmett and Rosalie outside, neither of them wanting to miss Noelle's reaction to her first ferry ride. But for now, the calmness surrounding them in their booth is a balm to their souls. They aren't the only ones in the bar, but if this change of pace continues for the rest of the weekend, they won't complain at all.
They finish their drinks soon after, settling their bill before heading outside. As always, her hand finds his as they walk towards the front of the ferry where Emmett had told them they would be, and he squeezes it in his own.
For a former self-proclaimed Grinch, Edward can't help but think how his heart feels like Christmas every day because of Bella. All of the roadblocks over this last year will be forgotten as soon as he can call her his wife.
The smile on her face as she looks up at him makes him think she's thinking the same thing.
The moment is short lived, however, the moment Bella sees her niece reveling in this new experience. Family is more than blood, and they all have spent the last year realizing just how true that is.
"Noelle, what do you see?" Bella gushes, reaching her arms out towards the little girl. In true Noelle fashion, she melts into Bella's arms and points down towards the water.
"Ish!"
"You see fish?" Bella breathes. "Show me!"
With Noelle sufficiently entertained by both her mother and her aunt, Emmett and Edward step to the side, leaning their elbows against the cold rail.
"Anything good at the bar?" Emmett asks, craning his head around Edward to see if he can see the bar from their spot outside.
"Not too bad," Edward shrugs. "Perfect for now."
"One may not be too bad right about now," Emmett replies. "Maybe I'll grab a hot chocolate for the girls."
"I think I may need my heavier jacket," Bella says, wrapping her arms around herself once Noelle is safely back with Rosalie. Edward nods, figuring this would happen.
"I'll grab it."
"I'll go with you," Bella adds.
Emmett raises a hand to stop them. "No fucking in my car," he warns them. Bella and Edward laugh. "I know vans are your thing, but it's a family car these days. Especially on this trip."
"Fuck off," Edward jokes, turning to walk away.
Emmett's raised voice is the last thing they hear before her hand finds his again as they walk towards the car.
"Did you not hear me say no fucking of any kind? We won't make it to Thanksgiving in one piece if you do!"
…
The next night, the windows are aglow at the corner house on Sycamore Lane. Though Christmas is still a month away, the air outside is cold, and the yellow warmth spilling out onto the frost-tipped grass tells tales of laughter and merriment.
It's Thanksgiving, the first one to be hosted in the house with the red door. Inside, a cacophony of people who have found family amongst each other fills the house until it feels near bursting with the joy within.
Outside, the sky is dark, the clouds thick and heavy, but inside is light and smells of savory spices and fresh bread.
It wasn't easy to get everyone together this year. Differing schedules, new roles to adjust to, and the constant chaos that surrounds the end of the calendar year have all weighed on the eleven lives dining inside. For some, life has never been sweeter, for others, the hardships have been hitting more and more.
All are facing life's unpredictable highs and lows.
Sitting in a chair, her four-month-old daughter in her arms, Alice Cullen isn't quite sure how it all came together. Being a mother has been hard, much harder than she thought, and there was no way she could have pulled off Thanksgiving without the dedicated hard work of her mother-in-law.
Alice's night is colored by her embarrassment and self-dissapointment that she wasn't able to pull together the holiday on her own. It is her first time hosting Thanksgiving, and she'd called Esme the day before sobbing, admitting defeat.
Esme had graciously stepped in in the eleventh hour, and by the time everyone had arrived, everything was moving forward without a hitch, like Alice had never had a meltdown over any of it.
She can't fight off the shame now.
Across the table, her husband is joking with his brother, his laughter bright despite the fact that he too, has been struggling.
She hasn't heard him laugh like this in months, and the tears that burn her eyes are hot and painful.
She looks away, her eys landing on the round face of their daughter.
The pregnancy had been like a dream, at least according to all the women around her. Everything had gone right, and even the delivery had been relatively quick. Alice had been gifted a near perfect experience.
Eveyln Mary Cullen—affectionatly called Evie by her many loved ones—had been born healthy and loved, July 10th. She'd been, by all appearances, the perfect baby, until glowing and exhausted new parents Alice and Jasper brought her home to Sycamore.
Alice and Jasper had read all the books, they'd done all the prep they thought they could, but the stack of parenting books and helpful tips they'd read couldn't even begin to compare to the reality of a newborn.
Alice had never felt like more of a faliure, and had pinned her hopes of finding herself again on successfully hosting the holidays this year.
So far, she was off to a disastrous start.
It isn't the only disaster to happen to the group this year.
On the other side of Alice, Bella sits in her chair, her fingers anxiously twirling her engagement ring on her left ring finger.
The finger that should already have a wedding band.
The bad luck didn't start out as anything other than shitty timing. The venue falling through on their first choice, had forced them to push back their June wedding, holding out for a later date while they found a new venue. They'd found one, and had been set to get married in September, when Charlie had gotten hurt. It had been bad enough that they delayed the wedding further, and Bella had spent two weeks in Forks to help him recover.
They had nailed down a date in December, had everything booked, and were fully on course to having a beautiful winter wedding, but Bella couldn't help but hold her breath over it all.
It is by far the most stressful year she's ever faced.
Beside her, Edward reaches into her lap, his large hand covering hers to stop her anxious fingers. She does this more and more, he's noticed. He doesn't blame her, he's worried too.
All he wants is to be able to marry the love of his life, but for whatever reason, the universe has continued to deny them this.
He's trying not to take it as a sign.
Eagle-eyed, Rosalie watches her friends from across the table. She's gotten so much closer to both of them this year, and has seen first hand the struggles they've been going through planning their wedding.
She's about to speak up, to ask them how things are going, when her father-in-law gets her attention.
"We loved the picture of Noelle on the ferry," he says, grinning as Rosalie turns to look at him. "I take it she liked it?"
"Loved it," she beams as she does every time she speaks of her daughter. "She loves everything about Forks. The trek here from Seattle, a place for her to run around in the backyard. All of it."
"She's completely taken over our apartment. Who knew something so small could have so much stuff," Emmett adds.
"Time to look for a bigger place," Carlisle says, Emmett and Rose locking eyes across the table.
All around them, conversations ebb and flow, naturally highlighting how, despite their own hardships and struggles, everyone present is comfortable and content with the company of one another. This hobbled together family—the Cullens, Brandons, Swans, and soon to be Masens—are a unit, bounded together for life.
Esme gets up from the table, and everyone looks up as she fetches a pie from the kitchen. The one thing Alice has managed to scrape together.
"A years-long tradition continues!" Esme cheers, sending Alice a small wink. Alice feels hollow but tries to smile back at her mother-in-law.
She's been making the Cullen thanksgiving pie since she was a teenager. For some reason, the fact that it's the only thing she's been able to do feels insignificant, nothing worth celebrating.
But around her, Emmett lets out a booming cheer that is matched by Carlisle. Down the table, Alice's mother smiles, knowing how much the pie tradition has meant to her daughter.
It all feels like a farce, and Alice can't quite catch her breath as tears threaten to fill in her eyes.
"I've waited all year for this pie," Bella groans, trying to push her own worries out of her mind.
Beside her, Edward nods. "Me too. I can't believe I'd never had one until last year."
Alice gives her friends a thin smile.
"There are a couple more in the kitchen," she says, her voice quiet. "Emmett usually eats half of one on his own if he's left unchecked."
Around her everyone laughs, and Alice tries, she really truly tries, to find her own joy.
But it just won't come.
Across the table, her husband's gaze lands on her. She can't meet his eyeline or she know for sure she'll cry.
"Bella," Alice whispers, holding out Evie. Bella takes the baby happily, and Alice gets up, excusing herself to the kitchen. She takes a moment to collect herself, blinking hard to stop any tears from forming.
When she's ready, she picks up the other pies and carries them out to the dining room where her loved ones are waiting.
It's only the beginning of the holiday season, and Alice is determined to let the magic of Christmas do in her life what it does best—work a miracle.
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