So some of you may have noticed that we've been counting down to chapter 50 (if you didn't, no worries). Weeeeellllll, it turns out that this chapter was about 3500 words and it was supposed to be in three parts and the other two parts are about as long and so your dear, loving author has decided to split the chapter into 3 chapters which means you get 2 extra chapters! To quote Maui -You're Welcome!
I also just want to point out that, as per usual, I have grossly over researched for this chapter to provide you with the best and as such, I need to make it clear that even though canon lore says that Emmett was killed by a black bear (the only bear in Tennessee), I find that highly unlikely and damn near impossible. I would have changed it but I was trying to stay true to canon. So, if you haven't researched bears (and why would you? You clearly have a life unlike the adhd riddled loser writing this), black bears are super timid and basically run from everything. Even the mommas don't get all protective of the babies. In fact, when confronted with a threat, they'll leave the kids behind. Which is a step above quokka mothers, who throw their young AT the predator to make an escape.
The song for this chapter is See You Again by Rousseau. Remember that you can play along with the story on Amazon Music using the special web address below!
HEY READERS! Want to be able to play all the songs from this story in order while you read? Well now you can! Just visit: https colon slash slash .com slash user-playlists slash 83eaf70f5fd2488da12e8f0787411603sune?ref=dm_sh_670a-24ac-70cc-3d48-5036e (Remember to replace the words with the punctuation and no spaces!)
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Disclaimer: I'm only doing this for a friend. I don't get anything from it but her undying appreciation. I certainly don't get to have fun with Emmett and the boys in my head.
Chapter Forty: See You Again
Day One
EmPOV
"I'll try and be there before she wakes up to help you guys," Rose promised me. Standing on the tarmac at a small airfield outside Port Angeles, she was wrapped in my arms while the pilots prepared the small, private jet next to us. Edward and Jasper were already on with Bella. The flight crew thought that we were doctors taking her to a specialist in New Hampshire thanks to the handy documents Jasper got his special lawyer friend to draw up. She was strapped carefully to a stretcher, still and unconscious. The fact that this was the complete opposite of what every change I'd ever witnessed or heard about had me on edge. Leaving Rose behind in Forks wasn't helping.
What if someone comes after her?
What if the wolves changed their minds about the treaty?
What if Edward lied about the whole thing to get Carlisle to bite Bella before she died?
"I didn't lie about a damn thing," Edward said irritably from his seat and I sigh.
"I hate leaving you," I murmured in her ear, pressing my lips to the juncture of her jaw. She let out a breathy chuckle.
"I promise I'll be fine, Em. Nothing is going to happen. But the less of us the town sees, the more suspicious they'll get. Plus… I want to help with Charlie and Bella's funeral. It doesn't change anything that happened, but it's something I can do for her to… make up for leaving her behind." I slid my hands under her jaw gently, raising her face to mine so she had to look at me.
"This wasn't your fault, Rosie." She closed her eyes and I felt my heart crack as her face fell.
"If I hadn't left. Or taken you with me. Or forced her to come with us," she started to say and I pressed my thumb over her mouth, silencing her.
"Bella made a choice, buttercup. She promised to wait until someone got home. She understood there was danger. She made a choice. Everything that happened stems from her choice, not yours. Don't beat yourself up over that." She looked up at me, the molten gold of her eyes brimming with pain.
"When she wakes up, she's going to be devastated," she whispered.
"She wanted this," I reminded her.
"Yes but she also thought she'd have more time with Charlie and that she'd be old enough to be with Carlisle publicly."
"Are you saying Carlisle shouldn't have bitten her," I asked, confused.
"No. He made the right choice. Edward was right about respecting her choices. But Carlisle was also right to worry about what she's going to feel when she wakes up. And I'm worried that she's going to resent me. What if she wakes up and when she finds out that Charlie's dead, she blames me?" I pulled her into my chest.
"Whatever Bella feels or doesn't feel, that doesn't make you responsible for the violent actions of a psychopathic serial killer, buttercup. Even if she's mad or does blame you, you didn't do anything wrong." I pressed a kiss to her temple and she sighed.
"I'm still going to do what I can to give Charlie the kind of send off that she would. Whatever I can do to help, I will." I squeezed her and breathed her scent in deeply.
"And that's just one of a million reasons why I love you, buttercup." She chuckled softly and pulled back before pressing her lips to mine, burying her fingers in my hair as her tongue invaded my mouth, wrestling with mine.
"I'll see you in a few days," she whispered against my lips and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to haul her against me and carry her off to the nearest hangar.
"We really need to go, Emmett," Edward urged from his seat inside. I rolled my eyes.
"Stay safe for me, baby," I murmured to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and she smiled.
"You too, honey bear." I grinned at her before heading up the stairs and into the jet. I sat across from Jasper and watched out the window as she walked over to her M3 and climbed into the driver's seat. She waved at me before speeding away from the airfield back towards Forks.
"You two are disgusting," Edward teased from his seat across the aisle. Bella's stretcher was secured behind him and I watched as her chest moved shallowly and rhythmically, like she was just sleeping.
Creepy.
"You and Esme are just as bad," I retorted with a grin. He shrugged in admission and then leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"Flight crew prepare for take off," the captain's voice said over the speaker and I pulled my seatbelt on and settled in for the flight, listening as the flight attendant buckled her own seatbelt in the rear of the plane where the kitchen was.
"Let's discuss the plan while we can't be overheard or interrupted," Jasper suggested from his seat. "We'll land in New Hampshire in a few hours. I've already arranged for our jet to be ready to go. Edward can fly us to Maine, that way we'll avoid awkward explanations and questions about Bella with another flight crew."
"Did you have staff prepare the house," Edward asked.
"Someone should have been there two hours ago to open everything up and air the place out," he assured us.
"I haven't been there since the sixties," I mused. We had a proclivity to find places in the world that were less occupied. Piscataquis County, Maine was the least occupied county in the state. It was also where I built a cabin in the remote woods for my buttercup and I to escape to. There wasn't a town but the family had bought a large amount of land and named it McCarty after me. It was typically only used when someone wanted privacy and truth be told, most of us had our own private land in various places that meant something special to us. But we liked being around people, if only to break up the tedium of endless days. Carlisle suggesting that we go there meant he didn't want us around humans and he wanted to limit the chances of coming across one.
That was completely understandable considering when Bella woke up, she'd crave nothing but human blood.
I watched the odd rise and fall of her chest again.
If she woke up.
"Has anyone ever not made it through the change," I asked quietly. Edward and Jasper went still.
"Never, as far as I know," Edward said cautiously. "Obviously not everyone survives the newborn phase or past that but I've never heard of someone being bitten and not coming through the other side."
"What if she's too… damaged," I muttered.
"Esme's heart was barely beating and she came through," Jasper pointed out and I nodded.
"Bella will be fine," Edward assured me. Jasper shot him a look. "Well, as fine as she can be considering all that's happened in the past few days," he amended. "There will be some emotional upset, yes, but she wanted this."
"Are you assuring us or yourself," I asked with an arched brow. He frowned.
"I know it's easier for everyone to imagine that I pushed the issue until Carlisle caved but I was merely advocating for Bella. She made a choice and I wasn't about to let him second guess himself into killing her."
"I've just never seen anyone so… still. It's not natural," I said with a shudder. Jasper nodded in agreement.
"Maybe it's all the anesthesia and the morphine. It's not like most people being bitten are in a hospital," he argued. We sat in silence for a few moments, just watching her and I lost myself to my memories.
Golden sunlight filtered through the trees, falling in dappled patches along the old trail I was quietly trekking. The air was warm and muggy, filled with the lazy sounds of summer. Bees droned while birds sang. I'd prefer to be out with my boys but I was the only thing that stood between my family and starvation most days. We had planned to go to the mill pond to swim today. But after the debacle at the police station last week, I felt guilty enough to postpone to do my parents a favor.
To be fair, we hadn't meant to slow down the train enough to cause any issues. That had been Walter's fault. But we'd all been hauled into the station. It probably didn't help that we were three sheets to the wind at the time.
I think I might have peed on one of the police car's tires.
So here I was on a beautiful day, searching for game to keep my parents and ten siblings fed instead of getting into some shenanigans with my friends.
"You know we appreciate the help, lad," my father had said to me in his thick, Scottish brogue before I left. I took after him in coloring and build, tall and solid, a testament to endless hard days' work. We had the same dark hair and blue eyes, though my hair was a touch lighter than his. But my curls and dimples came from my mam. She was exactly what an Irishwoman should be: fiery red hair, a freckled face and a temper that could melt stone itself. She was the no nonsense sort who loved her family fiercely. I knew that it killed her every time I raised hell. But I was still young. And I didn't want to bother with finding a wife or settling down when I already had so many people relying on me to fill their bellies and do some of the hard labor around the homestead.
I didn't resent helping. There were plenty of families in the area who had fallen on hard times and didn't have anyone to help them out. The church did what they could and the locals tried to lend a hand when they could but there were simply too many mouths to feed and still keep your own family from going hungry at night. So it was off to the woods for me. These days, every meal felt like a hard won prize.
Maybe I'd see what Betty was doing later. She was a good time.
As I moved deeper into the woods, I came across a small clearing bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. The serenity of the scene was broken only by the sound of a distant rustle. I paused, muscles tensing, eyes narrowing. The sound grew louder, coming from the thicket on the far side of the clearing. My heart pounded with a mix of fear and familiar excitement—was it a deer?
Suddenly, a massive black bear emerged from the underbrush, its dark fur blending into the shadowy background. I froze, my breath caught in my throat. There had been reports that, with more people taking to the woods looking for a way to feed themselves and their families, predator sightings had increased. I hadn't had that experience so I'd just ignored the bluster from the older men. The bear's eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, there was a tense silence. Then, without warning, the bear charged.
I barely had time to raise my rifle before the beast was upon me. I fired a shot, but it went wide, the bullet disappearing into the trees. The bear's enormous paw struck me with a force that sent me sprawling to the ground, my rifle skittering out of reach. Pain exploded through my chest as the bear's claws tore into my flesh. With a primal roar, the bear stood over me, its hot breath washing over my face. Desperately, I fumbled for my hunting knife, but the bear swiped again, claws raking like fire across my throat. The wounds weren't deep enough to nick an artery but my blood was starting to flow out of me faster. My vision was starting to blur. Blood soaked my shirt, pooling on the ground beneath me. I could feel my strength ebbing away with each passing second.
The bear backed away slightly, watching me with dark, wild eyes. Gasping for breath, I managed to pull the knife from my belt. With the last of my strength, I swung at the bear, grazing its side. The bear snarled and swiped at me again, the force of the blow knocking the knife from my hand.
I lay on the forest floor, my life slipping away as the sun dipped toward the horizon. The bear approached again. As darkness began to close in, my thoughts drifted to my family—my father's warm smile, his mother's stern but loving gaze, and my little sisters and brothers, faces twisted in hunger. My vision dimmed, and the pain began to fade, replaced by a cold numbness.
The last rays of sunlight filtered through the trees, and I heard the bear growling in agitation. Another animal's growls penetrated the thick fog of my brain and my dread increased.
Another bear? Were they fighting over me to see who would be the one to tear my corpse open and feed on me the way I'd hoped to bring something home for my family to eat?
The sounds of the growls cut off and I wondered if this was how God was going to punish me for the wildness of my youth? Ma had always warned me that my drinking and womanizing would land me in hot water with the Lord but I'd never really believed her until this moment, laying in a pool of my own blood on the forest floor, about to be eaten by a ravenous bear.
My eyes fluttered closed, and I surrendered to the darkness, hoping it would consume me before my killer could.
I came to some level of awareness and realized that I wasn't lying on the forest floor anymore. The wind whipped at my face like a tornado and I could vaguely feel two steel bands across my back and knees. My eyes fluttered open, the darkness pulling at me, promising comfort and oblivion. I looked up and all I saw was wild, golden hair, whipping back from a face of absolute perfection.
An angel.
Ma's prayers must have been heard and answered if I was being carried by an angel.
Her skin was flawless and pale. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my twenty years of life, somewhere around the same age as me. We were racing through the forest, the trees blurring past us.
Were we flying?
She looked down at me, her eyes shining like the golden cross during Sunday morning mass. Her eyes widened when they met mine and I was hit with a wave of grief that I couldn't have met this angel when we'd both been alive; couldn't have showered her with the love and devotion a creature of perfection like her deserved. My eyes fluttered closed, even though I wanted nothing more than to stare at her until time ended.
When I came around again, the wind had stopped. I struggled to open my eyes, listening sluggishly to the back and forth of voices nearby.
"It's admirable that you carried him so far, Rosalie, but I just… I don't know if I can do it again. We know absolutely nothing about this young man. It might be better to help him pass more comfortably."
"No." The snarl was vicious and I forced my eyes to open enough to see my golden angel scowling at a golden man standing over me. Her face was all righteous fury and I immediately wanted to take up a golden sword and defend her. "I haven't asked you for anything, Carlisle. I've lived by your rules. I have never let a drop of human blood cross my lips. I would do it myself if I could but I… I don't know if I actually have the self-control to stop before I kill him. He's already so weak. If I indulged for even a moment too long, it could drain him instead of change him. I am asking you to do this for me," she pleaded.
"Are we prepared to grow our family again so soon? You don't know anything about this young man? What if he's like Royce? We'll have given eternal life to a monster," the man said.
God. This must be God.
"He's not," she insisted.
"How do you know? You said he was attacked by a bear. You didn't speak with him. So how can you be sure he isn't some scumbag rapist," a disembodied voice asked derisively from somewhere beyond my blurry vision. My angel looked down at me, saw me watching her groggily and her face broke into the most beautiful, heartbreaking smile I'd ever seen.
"I imagine the same way you knew about Esme," she murmured. God turned to look down at me, too. He was golden like her; gold hair, gold eyes, alabaster skin. Younger than I thought he'd be. "Something about him calls to me. I can't explain it but I know that I need him." My vision started to tunnel and I distantly heard God's voice echoing toward me.
"Okay. I'll do it for you, sweetheart." Oblivion was sweeping up to meet me when it was halted abruptly by fire flooding through my veins. I felt it spreading through my entire body, melting the cold numbness that had taken root since the bear attack.
Was this God's fiery retribution for my countless sins?
Was my angel going to save me from His wrath?
Or was this Hell?
I blinked myself from the memories, the echo of fire whispering through my body.
It hadn't been an angel and God.
It had been my Rosie begging Carlisle to bite me.
She'd fought off the bear that almost killed me, carried me a hundred and thirty miles to Bristol, Virginia, where Carlisle had a small medical practice.
All because she was worried that she might kill me.
She'd known. From the first moment she saw me, she knew like I did when I saw her, that we belonged to each other. She'd suffered a violent attack and was near death before Carlisle saved her. She didn't know me from Adam, didn't know for sure if I was like the monster that wrecked her life. But she'd felt my soul calling to hers and had kept control until Carlisle could change me.
"You accepted the news of your change the easiest of any of us," Edward commented in bemusement, having experienced the memory of my change with me.
"You could have told me I was the Easter Bunny and I would have accepted it as long as Rose was there," I said, grinning. Jasper shook his head at me.
"There's the happy-go-lucky optimist we all came to love," he teased.
"Bella was spot on when said he's just a teddy bear. Which makes it ironic that he was killed by a bear," Edward added and I threw a bag of snacks at him. He caught them with a smirk. "Her insight is almost otherworldly. And she didn't even know what you did for your family after they thought you were dead."
"I don't think I've heard this story," Jasper said, sitting up in his seat. I rolled my eyes at Edward.
"Since Emmett died during the Great Depression, he was worried about his parents and siblings starving to death without him to help provide. I gave him several hundred dollars and he left the money in a bag on their front porch. He and Rose waited in the trees to make sure his family found it." Jasper looked at me with raised brows.
"I wasn't the easiest child," I said defensively. "And times were tough. I couldn't stand the thought of the littles starving without my help."
"Like I said, spot on," Edward said. Our eyes all landed to rest on Bella. Her condition was unchanged and all the more disconcerting after the fresh reliving of my own change.
"I thought what I went through was bad but this… I almost don't want her to wake up because she's going to be so devastated," Jasper murmured and I knew exactly what he meant. None of us wanted Bella to be sad and losing Charlie like this, almost on the heels of losing her mother, was going to wreck her.
"She has something the rest of us didn't though," I said.
"What's that? Morphine?" Jasper asked sarcastically.
"No. She's got all of us to see her through it," I said firmly and I could feel the words sink into my brothers and the warm acceptance of the truth of the statement settle around us for the remainder of the flight.
