WRONG DECISIONS

Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.

The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.

Before J had a chance to say a single word, Carlisle said, "What in the hell are you demanding for their safe return other than the money?"

CHAPTER 12: STARTING TO FACE YOUR CONSEQUENCES

After hanging up from his father's call, Edward had gotten a hold of Bella and they left after he had told his PA to cancel his appointments for the rest of the day. Their objective was to meet with the whole family; everyone needed to know what he had just learnt from Bella. It was possible that everyone was going to be needed to be involved to be able to retrieve Anthony and Annabella to return them back home safely.

He was trying to keep tight control of his anger; anger directed at Bella for keeping the fact that he was a father from him and the family, anger directed at himself for not continuing to try to find her and stay in touch with the love of his life after the divorce and anger in general that he wasn't sure how to go about saving his children after the information that Bella had just told him.

Edward was also a bit nervous about how the family was going to receive the news of Bella keeping the twins hidden from all of them. She never hinted with a single word about there being any children born to them. How could she have been so cruel as to keep that away from him and the family?

All this time, all of the last few years he had been working extremely hard to get the businesses moved into more legitimate avenues so he could be free to pursue winning Bella back. And now to find out that she had completely wiped him out of her life and the lives of their children was hard to swallow.

Lastly, he was nervous about how Carlisle was going to handle this news and how he was going to treat Bella after he did learn about his grandchildren. Next, what would be his mother's reaction to the news and what she might have to say to Bella? All of this before the rest of his family had a go at her because of how she had kept them from being involved in the children's lives.

Edward felt his stomach souring with just the thoughts of what was ahead of him and Bella.

On the drive to his parents' home Edward would look over at Bella out of the corner of his eye and observed just how nervous Bella was. And, as he had admitted to himself, he was nervous also about what was going to happen once everyone found out about what Bella had to say. But nothing was helping with the anger he was feeling towards Bella because of her silence for all of these years.

Once Edward and Bella arrived at the Cullen family home, Bella stayed still in the car as Edward got out and she watched as he marched around to open her door. After getting the door open, he reached in to pull Bella out as she was suddenly reluctant to face everyone else. They both walked up to the door just as it was opened by Esme. She saw the couple but before she could react in any manner, Edward held his hand up to forestall his mother.

"Mom, we need to talk with Dad before we have a meeting with everyone. Dad should have called them, and they will be arriving, I'm sure, very shortly. However, he is waiting for our arrival." Edward told him mother.

Esme simply nodded and stepped to one side so Edward and Bella could pass. However, she couldn't resist saying, "It's good to see you, Bella. Welcome back."

It didn't take long for the couple to reach Carlisle's office at the back of the house and Edward gave one quick rap on the door. Immediately Carlisle could be heard calling permission for entrance into his office.

Edward opened the door while still gently maintaining his hold on Bella's arm. As the door opened and the couple stepped across the threshold, Carlisle looked up and the shock of what he was seeing showed on his face.

"Bella?" he asked as if he couldn't believe his eyes and rose to step around his desk, moving to meet his ex-daughter-in-law as they came into his office. And Edward wasn't able to keep the comment, "that was my reaction when she showed up at my office earlier," that popped into his head to his father.

Carlisle motioned for the couple to take a seat as he moved back around to take his seat behind his desk. Both father and son began speaking at the same time, "Dad-" "Edward-" and then stopped at the same time.

Carlisle held his hand up to stop Edward from speaking and then he said, "The reason I called you to come over is because I had a rather strange phone call this morning. But, now seeing Bella's here, I'm wondering just how much stranger this day is going to be."

"Believe me, Dad, when I say that you have no idea just yet." Edward comments as he looks over at Bella. Then he adds, "Bella has an interesting story to tell you which will be followed by a request." With that said, he looks over at Bella as he waits impatiently for her to begin speaking.

It didn't take long for Bella to begin telling Carlisle what she had told Edward and to explain what has happened to the children.

"You didn't think that Esme and I, along with the rest of the family, would be interested in having a place in these children's lives? By what right did you have to even keep that information away from Edward let alone the rest of the family?

"I'm disappointed in you, Bella, and doing my best to try to control my anger about this whole mess. You had no right to withhold this information, as I've already stated. By what insane belief did you have to deny any of us, especially Edward, the knowledge of these babies, both before and after they were born?

"Any time, ANY DAMN TIME, over the last near five years you could have let us know about them, but no; no you kept it all hush-hush and refused us our family rights, as well as denied the children their rights of knowing any of us.

"Now you come asking for help because for some reason someone has decided to abduct them and demand money. Money that you say you have and which I have no doubt, but you're worried about if they're going to be returned or not. And, I must add my voice to that belief as well. I'm greatly concerned after what you've told me about their safety.

"You are wanting the kind of help that you declared went against your principles and you turned your back on Edward and this family. That is being rather of a hypocrite wouldn't you say?

"Now let me tell you why I called to have Edward come over here even while not knowing that you were with him. I got a very strange call this morning as I mentioned earlier on a private number that only the family has. That call was demanding that I deal with an individual that had my grandchildren.

"Of course, at the time I told them, more or less in different words than what can be used in front of a lady, to go screw themselves. Only to now find out that the call was legitimate; that someone has had the nerve to take my grandchildren.

"Can you believe it? Someone had the nerve to take my grandchildren and then call me with demands. The only thing I'm going to say at this point is that war has been declared and it will only end with the recovery of those children. However, I make no guarantees as to what shape the perpetrators will be in when we do retrieve the children.

"Once that is done, you, Isabella Cullen, will make those children available to the rest of this family, especially their father. And make no mistake as to what I'm telling you. You will deal with making this happen on your own or I will make it happen through the courts."

Edward just looked at his father while all of that was said without saying one word for or against what Carlisle told Bella. Then he asked, "Dad, did you call the rest of the family to come for a meeting?" And without really waiting for an answer Edward asked Carlisle, "Have you told Mom what is happening about the phone call that you received this morning?"

"She knows, but she doesn't know what this meeting is about other than that I'm discussing this morning's call with you. Of course, Bella being here is a total surprise to both of us as I'm sure it will be to the rest of the family.

"Now, shall we end this meeting until the rest of the family has arrived and we can inform them of the situation so everyone can contribute to the return of the twins?"

With that said the trio walked out of Carlisle's office and down to the first floor where it seemed the rest of the family was already gathered in the living room with Esme. They were quietly discussing the fact of what Esme had told them of Bella's return.

Bella was the last one to enter the room but once she was noticed the room went silent before erupting into a chaos of noise. Everyone rushed over to greet her and everyone talking all at the same time telling her how much she had been missed all these years. Also, demanding answers as to if her return was permanent or just a few days. Wanting to know where she had been and where she was living now? No one was letting up enough to allow any time for Bella to be able to answer even one question.

Carlisle grew tired of listening to all of the chatter and demanded for silence, "All of you take a seat and listen; we have a problem that is going to require a bit of finesse along with possibly quite a bit of muscle with a great deal of brain power to plan what we need to do.

"I'm sure you have questions concerning what Esme has told you about the strange phone call that I had received this morning."

"Uncle Carlisle, how could someone be so stupid as to call you about any grandchildren? I mean it's a known fact that you and Aunt Esme don't have any." Emmett remarked before Carlisle had a chance to continue with his explanation.

"That's right. After Garrett had returned from Seattle and mentioned that Bella had been seen with two children you had questioned Edward about whether they could have been his.

"He denied that they could be his because he declared that Bella wasn't pregnant when they had gotten divorced." Jasper added his comments.

"I want all of you to stay quiet while I explain everything to you. It's true what Edward told us to both his and Bella's knowledge at the time. However, it seems that they had a final farewell before Bella left to return home and before disappearing completely." Carlisle took the opportunity to inform the family and once again he was interrupted before he could continue with what he was wanting to tell them.

"What?! You mean that Edward and Bella do have a child? That we do have a grandchild?" Esme was the one to respond this time.

"I think the best way to answer all of the questions that are being asked and those that are wanting to be asked is to let Bella tell you herself about what has happened over the last almost five years." Carlisle told everyone before looking at Bella and then Edward.

With a stern look from Carlisle, the questioning glare from the others and the look of hurt and disgust from Edward caused Bella to rethink for a moment her decision to come to the Cullen's. But it was her that was at risk here, it was her children, and she needed their help. So, with that reminder crossing her mind, Bella began telling everyone all that had happened for the last few years up to the time when she finds the note from the kidnappers.

After she had finished talking everyone sat in stunned silence before Esme looked at Bella and quietly asked, "You kept my grandbabies away from me all this time?" Her tone was so quiet, but the pain sounding in her voice was unmistakable and seeing the tears falling down the older woman's face was even worse.

After that Carlisle got everyone's attention and repeated that they needed to start working to get the children back. "Once we've achieved that then we can get everything else straightened out with the understanding that we will be a part of Anthony and Annabella's lives from here on out."

It was several hours later that Carlisle made a phone call to the number that had called him earlier that day.

AN: Bella has now faced the Cullen family and so far she has gotten off fairly lightly. That doesn't mean that it will stay that way as she interacts with each one on a more personal basis.

Thanks for your patience as RL has really been raising its ugly head the last several weeks. Hopefully things are slowly getting back into place.