Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ Bette Noir ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11

Her constant growling was driving him nuts. Her almost hateful thoughts for the Cullen's had him on the defensive and she was his sister! Seth shook his massive head, the fur on the rough of his neck standing high in his anger and before he could think about what he was doing, he was bearing down on Leah. Her intolerance had reached his breaking point and he snapped at her, growling low as he stood to his full height, his paws at a wide stance allowing him to either run or pounce easily while also being intimidating. At least he would have intimidated her, had she not been his sister.

Leah charged Seth, her younger brother though larger than her was not faster and her speed made up for her smaller size. They grappled and snarled, mud coating their fur and faces as their massive jaws snapped at each other. The back door of the Cullen manor opened, Jacob and Carlisle charging outside after having witnessed the fight from within the kitchen.

“Stop this!” Jacob commanded on a growl as he launched from the patio to the ground, phasing in midair.

His bark was deep, sharp and commanding, the sound reverberating with the force of a thunderclap. Seth refused to relinquish his hold on Leah's neck until she stopped snapping her jaws at him and Jacob stepped in front of the siblings, his massive size made larger by his disapproval over their fighting. Locking eyes with Leah, he growled low, his meaning clear and she fell still on the ground, whimpering low as she submitted to the commands of her alpha. As soon as she stilled, Seth released her and moved aside, standing still and silent as he looked at Jacob.

“What the hell is your problem?!” Jacob fairly snarled at Leah after phasing back to his human for, she and Seth following suit.

“My problem?!” Leah repeated as she stalked angrily near the tree line. “They're vampires, Jacob! We're supposed to kill them not play house with them!”

Carlisle stood silently on the patio as he watched and listened to their interaction. He had feared that this might happen. Jacob had come to learn to respect his family while Seth had accepted them without question or comment. It still baffled him that the younger wolf had taken to them so easily as if there was no difference at all between them. Leah's attitude though, while frustrating, was not unexpected.

“Jake,” Seth cut in before he could say anything. “You're an easy target. She's upset with me more.”

Jacob looked at Seth for a moment before nodding and folding his arms over his chest. He had been asleep for almost a full day after promising the Cullen's the protection of his pack and had not been completely aware of the build up between the siblings. When he had woken and followed Carlisle into the kitchen, intending to speak with him while he ate to his fill, he was upset by the sight of Leah and Seth fighting in wolf form.

“Come on, Leah,” Seth said, the expression on his face strangely both impassive and defensive. “Let's have it.”

She turned on him, her anger clear in every movement and sound that she made. He could tell that she was on the verge of reverting to her wolf form, her temper at its limit. Seth's gift though, his own special talent was his steel edged control and even temper. It took a lot to ignite his anger, but when enraged he was able to keep tight rein on his temper. He chose when to phase, he couldn't be bullied or egged into it, which was something that not only set he and sister apart but also drove a wedge between them. He was the youngest of the wolves by far, but his control exceeded even Sam's and Jacob's.

“God, Seth, they're vampires! Do I need to spell it out for you?” she raged as she continued to pace.

“Your intolerance makes you blind, Leah,” Seth told her, his voice calm, his expression sad. “Ever since Sam imprinted on Emily you've been angry and close minded. I don't give a rat's ass that they're vampires. At the end of the day they're people, just like you and I. And just like everyone - humans, wolves, vampires, there are the good ones and the bad ones. The Cullen's, Leah, they're the good guys. No matter what legend tells you, no matter what Sam says, no matter what you're damn nose tells you. They're the good guys. We were all human once, so were they, granted,” he looked back at Carlisle and shrugged, “it was like forever ago for them, but still, they had parents, they were born and then they became creatures of legend, just like we did.”

He turned away from his sister, her pacing becoming almost dizzying to watch. He covered half the distance between where they stood and the patio where Carlisle stood before turning back to face his sister.

“There's good and evil everywhere. There are humans who are evil, who take advantage of power and those that are weaker than they are for no more reason than that they can. Need an example? Hitler, Manson, Custer and the other soldiers who drove our peoples off their lands generations ago. Vampires can be good and evil too. The bitch who created the newborn army, she was evil, the newborns were evil by association - they didn't know any different. But Carlisle and his family, they're the good ones, Leah. They're the exception to the rule. And don't you dare try to tell me that there was never one of our kind, a wolf, who never took advantage of the power they had over others. I won't believe it. Power corrupts, pick up any history book you want, you'll find examples of it. Those who are able to hold power while controlling it and not letting it corrupt them, those are few and far between and those are the ones you side with.”

Seth shook his head, the most recent historical biography he'd been reading coming to mind. He didn't know if she would understand his meaning, but by that point, he no longer cared. Leah was about to draw a line and he only hoped that she would truly think about it before she did.

“Dr. Cullen,” Seth said, motioning back toward the vampire watching them. “He's the Abraham Lincoln of his kind. He's trying to fight for a better tomorrow and everyone's telling him it can't be done. Open your damn eyes, Leah. Get over what happened with Sam and fucking open your heart again.” Turning around he jogged up the stairs and onto the patio intending to go inside to find something to eat. “Sorry for the language and the fighting, Dr. C,” he apologized, Carlisle always having been more than courteous around them. “She wasn't always like this. There was a time before Sam when she used to be a lot like Bella.”

“Seth,” Carlisle looked at the teen with wonder. “Is that truly how you see me?” he asked unable to reconcile the comparison.

“Well, yeah,” he answered with a shrug. “You're logical, fair and compassionate, you try to see both sides of an argument, you look more for a peaceful solution than you do a forceful one and if at all possible, you'd rather be able to turn your enemies into allies. Although from all the reading I've done, I'd have to say that Esme's more like Princess Diana or Jackie Kennedy then like Mary Todd Lincoln.”

A soft chime of laughter from the door drew their attention and Seth looked back to see the woman in question standing just outside the open door. She walked toward them, Seth's compliment to them both surprising and pleasing her. Thanking Seth for his kind words, she told him that food was set out on the table and asked if he thought Leah would be joining them inside this time, her continued attempts at giving the girl sandwiches proving unsuccessful.

“I don't know, Mama Cullen,” he said, his nickname for her making her smile. “I wish I could say yes, but…ever since Sam, Leah's acted as though it's her against the world. It's as if she can't accept that others are happy and can't let herself be happy. You all don't deserve her attitude and I'm sorry you have to deal with it, especially at a time like this.”

“You're very kind, Seth,” Esme told him with a smile, “Thank you.”

“You're thanking me?” he asked with a smile and a chuckle. “You feed us, give us a place to sleep and take care of us. I should be the one thanking you.”

“Go,” Esme laughed at him. “Get something to eat,” she commanded and pushed the grinning teen toward the door.

Looking back toward the tree line, she found Jacob and Carlisle talking, Leah having disappeared while she was talking to Seth. She wished that the girl would come around, that she could help heal whatever hurt Sam had left behind, but Leah refused to take anything from her. She slept outside in her wolf form, chased and killed rabbits for food and was always kept at least a five-foot distance from any of the Cullen family. She didn't like to admit how much Leah's rejection hurt. She understood that they were natural enemies, and that Leah's continued vigil was only due to Jacob's orders, even still, she wished to break down the barriers and forge some kind of relationship with the girl. Perhaps in time, Esme thought as she turned away and walked back into the house.

:::::

“Jasper!” Little Bella squirmed from Emmett's arms and ran toward the southern vampire.

Spinning around when his name was called by the child, Jasper laughed and caught her under the arms, swinging her up into the air. He tossed her up into the air above his head, catching her easily around the waist as she giggled merrily and kicked her short legs. Rosalie came downstairs, stepping onto the floor as Jasper caught the child after tossing her up again. As soon as her eyes lit on Rosalie, the child wrapped her arms around Jasper's neck and peeked out around him at the new person in the room.

“Jasper, who's the pretty lady?” she asked, curling against him tightly in her shyness.

“That's my sister, Rosalie, sweetling,” he introduced after turning around.

“Hey, Rose,” Alice greeted as she stepped inside the house and Little Bella's eyes widened.

“Rose?” she questioned, the blonde turning her attention on the child. “You're the mean dragon?”

Jasper burst out laughing as he held the girl in his arms, “I'd forgotten about that,” he chuckled.

“The mean dragon?” Rosalie questioned as she stepped up to the wide-eyed girl in her brother's arms. “Who said I was a mean dragon?”

Emmett walked inside to set down the boxes he'd been carrying and looked sheepishly at his wife. Admitting to his role in bestowing the title upon her, he tried to appease her by saying that it was a bedtime story meant to entertain the child. Shaking her head as she stepped up to Emmett, Rosalie looked at him with a formidable glower before punching him lightly in the shoulder and pulling him close for a kiss.

“Uncle Emmett!” Little Bella called out to him, extending the syllables of his name. “You forgot my little brother,” she told him and he laughed.

“I didn't forget him, Princess,” Emmett laughed and stepped forward to tickle her sides while she sat on Jasper's hip. “He's sleeping. Figured it'd be easier to bring in the stuff and let him sleep a little bit longer.”

Bella squealed with laughter, kicking her legs while Emmett tickled her sides, the noise bringing the others to investigate the high-pitched noise. Her laughter died down as soon as she saw the others in the room and she once again hid her face against Jasper's neck. Chuckling and rubbing her back, Jasper turned around to see who she was looking at and smiled.

“Aw, Little Bella, you know these two,” he said stepping up to Carlisle and Esme. “This is Papa Carlisle,” he said and held her small arm out to his adoptive father to shake. “And this,” he said turning to Esme, “is Gramma Esme.”

“You talked to me on the phone,” she said shyly, her cheeks shaded pink with her blush.

“That's right, Little One,” Carlisle said as he looked upon the child held on Jasper's hip.

She was tiny and beautiful, her delicate fine features, high cheekbones and rose colored heart-shaped mouth giving her the appearance of a China Doll or perhaps a fairy. Her skin was as naturally pale as their own, her midnight hair falling around her face in natural waves and ringlet curls. She bit her lip as she looked at Carlisle, frowning as she studied him.

“You're not old enough to be a Papa and Gramma,” she said and he chuckled at her youthful innocence.

“I'm plenty old enough, my dear,” he said with a smile. “Are you hungry? Esme just made a batch of cookies.”

“Cookies?” her ice blue eyes widened with delight, her face shining as she leaned toward him.

“Chocolate chip, I believe,” Carlisle said as he plucked her from Jasper's arms and carried her into the kitchen.

“Wonderful,” Alice said with a shake of her head. “He's giving her sugar. She'll be bouncing off the walls all night.”

“Uh, how did you guys get kids?” Jacob asked as he watched Emmett walk in with a baby carrier.

“Long story,” the dark haired vampire told him and looked at Rose. “You said there's a nursery? Little guy's not going to wake up for a while and needs to be changed.”

“I'll take him,” Rose said as she stared down at the newborn child. “What's his name?”

“Uh,” Emmett scratched the back of his neck. “We've just been calling him Little Brother. We couldn't find any baby books and his dad hasn't been out of surgery for longer than a few hours, so we haven't really named him yet.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jacob waved his arms to stop the conversation. “How did you all get two kids?”

Alice followed Rosalie up to the nursery with the box of baby clothes as Emmett explained all that happened in Seattle. He told Jacob and Seth of how he had met Little Bella and how her mother had died giving birth to her brother. He explained her father's injuries and that the man had been in three different surgeries already.

“Friends of ours, Carmen and Eleazer, are staying at the hospital waiting for any news,” Carlisle said, finishing the melancholy tale.

“You said earlier that the doctors had talked about possible amputation. How would he take care of two kids if that happened, especially a baby?” Jacob asked before shaking his head and taking a step back. “Oh, hell no!”

“Jake!” Seth put his hand in the center of his friend's chest and stared into his eyes. “Stop it, stop acting like Leah and listen. Just listen to me for a moment ok.”

“Listen? To you? About this?” Jacob asked looking at Seth as though he'd lost his mind.

“Jake, just listen to me, ok? I know you won't listen to them about this.” Jacob looked as though he was going to argue, but after a long tense moment, he blew out a heavy breath and nodded. “Ok, think about this, logically - sort of - for a moment,” Seth began calmly, his mind having taken only half a second to understand the Cullen's reasoning that he was now trying to explain to Jacob. He still didn't understand how he had become the voice of reason, but he didn't question it either. “If the kids' father survives the surgery, as a human, but with his legs amputated or with replacement joints implanted, he's going to need at least a year of physical therapy. It's going to be hella hard for him to adjust to being a single father with a lasting disability. More than likely, he would never be able to run with his kids or play with them like a normal father and he would also have to deal with his wife's death while being strong for his daughter. He's going to go through depression, resentment, probably even anger. He's going to feel guilty that she died and that he wasn't there for her when she needed him. We have no idea what his personality is like, those things could make him despondent or even dangerous.”

Seth paused, looking hard at Jacob to make certain that his friend and alpha was still listening and understanding what he was saying. Had he looked away from Jacob, he would have seen Carlisle and Esme's stunned expressions, his almost instant understanding of their intentions baffling them. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper stood off to the side, listening in silence their expressions of surprise mirroring their adoptive parents. Not a single one of them had ever thought that Seth of all people would prove to be the mediator, the voice of reason that spoke for them. Even Edward looked surprised as he stood holding Bella tucked against his side, though she looked at Seth with a knowing smile.

“But if he's changed, if he's made into a vampire, then just like Jasper said when he trained us with the newborns; it'll take him a year to adjust to his new life. He'll be stronger; he'll have a full support system to help him with his vegetarian diet, the care of the children, and with his possible pull to the scent of the children's blood. He'll also be better able to protect them, play with them, be a father who can't be hurt or get sick. He won't get tired or frustrated because he needs sleep. He'll be everything that they need and more. You know what it was like growing up with a father in a wheelchair and a mother you never met. Mom told me once that Billy wasn't always so ok with being paralyzed, that he drank when you were younger until dad and Charlie talked to him.”

“Shut up, Seth!” Jacob snarled and turned around.

He didn't want to remember the years before he turned seven. He didn't want to remember the pain of his father's impatience, the sting of his harsh and biting words. He heard Edward's intake of breath and his eyes snapped to the telepathic vampire seeing his wide golden eyes. Damnit! Jacob's breathing grew harsher as painful memories of being slapped around for spilling milk and being too clumsy assailed him. The abuse had stopped just before his seventh birthday, but by then he had already had his arm broken once when Billy had grabbed him too hard and spun around in his wheelchair without thinking about the limited space of the hallway. The abuse had stopped and he had been able to bury the memories deep, able to almost forget them, until Seth had brought them back to life a few moments ago.

“No! No!” he shouted at Edward, pointing his finger at him before spinning and running out the back door.

“What just happened?” Rosalie asked, confused by the wolf's reaction and sudden departure.

“Jacob was abused when he was a lot younger. He thought he hid it from me,” Bella said as she leaned against Edward. “I let him believe I didn't know, but I told Charlie. I saw the bruises on his arms from being held too tight, the way he would flinch at doors being slammed or Charlie raising his voice. Charlie was never mad, he would just forget where in the house we were,” Bella looked down at her hand as she picked at the cast. “Mom moved us before I knew whether or not the abuse had stopped.”

“It stopped,” Edward told her gently, kissing her temple. “When he was seven.”

“Two years?” Bella looked heartbroken at the revelation. “He had to suffer for two more years?”

“Billy got help, Bella,” Edward said. “You made sure of that when you told Charlie.”

“Yeah, but Billy did it again didn't he?” Bella asked, looking up at Edward as she fought back the tears glistening in her eyes. “He's been different, more protective of himself lately. He doesn't joke anymore.”

Edward kissed her temple and looked at his father. Did he tell Bella that Billy had thrown Jake out or did he wait and let Bella talk to Jacob on her own? He looked down into her brown eyes, the sadness within begging him for an answer. Dropping his head down he kissed her lips and pulled her tighter into his embrace, rubbing her back as he told her what had happened. Her horrified and pained expression pulled at his heart and once again she did what he least expected.

“Jasper,” Bella called out to him desperately. “Please, help Jacob,” she asked.

The southern vampire smiled at her as he stepped up and cupped her cheek in his palm. “I'll do my best,” he promised and kissed her brow.

He disappeared out the door with Esme following behind him. Little Bella appeared a moment later with Alice following behind her, the look on the pixie haired vampire's face comical in her frustration. The child's face was smeared with chocolate and she giggled as she ran away from Alice who was trying to be careful to use human actions around her. They had not broached the subject of what they were with the child and she wasn't sure when they would.

“Who left her alone with the cookies?” Alice asked as she threw the damp washcloth in her hand to Emmett who was closest to the giggling girl.

“I guess I did,” Carlisle said after a moment, his brows quirking. “How many did she eat?”

“All of them.”

:::::

“Call Carlisle,” Eleazer told Carmen as the doctor walked back through the surgical ward doors. “Tell him he needs to make the paperwork look good. They're pushing to amputate because of the staff infection. We can't change a man with no legs it would be pointless. He wouldn't be able to hunt.”

Carmen was already dialing Carlisle's cell before her husband had finished his thought and explained the situation quickly as soon as he answered. She spoke with him for a few moments longer before dialing Tanya's cell and informing her of the situation. She nodded at Eleazer, her husband hearing the phone conversations perfectly and he pursed his lips. As long as they were able to get him moved out of the hospital before some overzealous surgeon decided to take his legs, they would be able to give him a new life, a better life.

:::::

“They're stalling,” the surgical intern told the seasoned doctor at his side. “This man could lose more than just his legs if we wait any longer!”

“Doctor Benson!” the older man's voice was terse, commanding the intern's attention. “They're moving him to private care. In the past few months there have been new treatments, granted they're still considered experimental, but they're proving effective to not only treat but also reverse the effects of staff infection. If this man's legs can be saved, then we will stand aside and let him be taken into private care where those treatments are being administered. We heal, Benson, we do not cut just because we can.”

“Experimental treatments? We can do something now!” he shouted from inside the older man's office.

“You will do nothing!” the man issued the command.

He knew Doctor Carlisle Cullen, he had also known him fifty years ago in Baltimore and Carlisle hadn't changed one bit. He had his suspicions about what the man was, but he wasn't going to say anything. Carlisle was a good man, a decent man and he remembered how kind and compassionate he had been. If he could offer this man, something that modern medicine couldn't, if he could heal him, than he wouldn't stand in his way.

:::::

It didn't take long for Esme and Jasper to find Jacob. He was standing in the form they knew best, tears running down his russet cheeks as he repeatedly slammed his fists into the rough bark of a wide old oak tree. They could smell his blood, knew that he had beaten his fists until the skin over his knuckles was broken and bleeding. He had never dealt with the memories of his abuse, choosing instead to bury the memories until he had convinced himself that it had only been a nightmare. Jasper focused his talent on Jacob as they neared him, calming the storming mix of rage, hurt and betrayal just enough to stop him from punching the tree.

“Oh, Jacob,” Esme spoke his name with sorrow and concern as she stepped up beside him at took his hands gently in hers. “Sweetheart, you've pretty much torn the skin completely off your knuckles. We need to get you back to Carlisle so that he can treat this.”

“I thought I'd finally made myself forget,” he said shaking his head as he pulled his hands from hers to scrub his fingers through his short hair. “And then Seth…Damnit!”

“No,” Esme caught his wrists, her iron grip unbreakable when he moved to punch the tree again. “That's not the way to deal with it.”

“If you need to fight out your emotions,” Jasper said slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I'm certain that Emmett would be happy to spar with you. But boxing against a tree is not so good when you can still bleed.”

“What bloodsucker?” Jacob turned around, directing his anger at Jasper. “You want some of this?”

“God no,” he pulled back unable to hide his momentary disgust. “You smell…unappetizing.”

Jacob ground his teeth together, as he tried to fight away the lingering tears. He wanted to scream and rage. Covering his eyes with one hand, he took in a deep breath and felt himself calm almost immediately. It confused him that his anger was able to abate so easily until he remembered what Jasper's talent was.

“It's mostly you,” the southern vampire said when faced with Jacob's pointed stare. “Granted I am helping, but only slightly.”

Esme stepped around in front of Jacob, facing him as she looked into his eyes. His size made him seem older than he was and she often forgot that he was only sixteen. Cupping her hands around his face, she stared into his dark eyes and chaffed her thumbs over his tear stained cheeks.

“You have us, Jacob,” she promised him. “You have us.”

Uttering a terse laugh, he shook his head. “Doesn't that fly in the face of everything rational?” he asked referring to their natural enemy status.

Esme laughed gently. “Don't we both, being what we are, fly in the face of everything rational? Aren't we supposed to just be myths and legends?”

Jacob laughed and nodded as he scrubbed his hand tiredly over his face. Esme moved to stand at his side, her hand rubbing his back in a soothing manner. Wrapping her arm around his waist and letting him lean against her, she stepped forward, directing him silently to walk as Jasper led the way slowly back to the house.

“Yeah, yeah we are.”

“Let's go home, Jacob.”

:::::

“You realize, of course,” Alice said as she looked at Carlisle, “that this is entirely your fault for leaving her alone in the kitchen.”

They both stood watching as the tiny child ran around the living room. Her inability to be still had been amusing…three hours ago. Now though, as they watched her run around trying to burn off the sugar induced energy rush, it was nearing ten o'clock at night. She needed to get to bed, but sleep seemed to be a long way off. Not even Jasper had been able to calm the hyperactive child.

“I have treated plenty of children over my years as a doctor,” Carlisle said with a shake of his head. “Yet I have never been around one after they ingested copious amounts of sugar.”

“Oh no,” Alice shook her head tightly and pressed her lips together. “This isn't copious amounts, granted she ate the entire plate of cookies,” she said as she watched Jasper catch the tiny girl before she could bump into the coffee table. “No, she had a similar reaction to a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. The smallest amount of sugar makes her bounce around like some kind of cartoon character.”

Carlisle's eyes widened as he nodded his understanding. Some children were more sensitive than others were to sugars and apparently, Bellaniece was one of them. Nearing the glass wall, the child turned and sprinted toward Carlisle as fast as she could. When she was five feet away from him, she bent her legs and launched herself into the air toward him. Without thought, his arms shot out at full vampire speed to catch her in the air before she could fall. He stood still for a moment holding the child aloft in the air as she giggled madly.

“No more sugar,” he declared as he studied her and pulled her close, sitting her on his hip. “No more sugar,” he repeated and looked down into her angelic, if somewhat wild, face. “Why don't we go read a story, hmm?” he asked her.

Little Bella's eyes widened and she bounced excitedly on his hip. “The brave knight, Jasper and the mean dragon, Rose?” she asked as she clapped her hands.

“Emmett, what kind of things have you been telling this child?” Carlisle asked with a laugh.

“What? I didn't have a book, had to make something up to get the munchkin to sleep,” he said with a shrug.

“How about The Secret Garden?” Carlisle said as he walked up stairs with the child still seated on his hip. “I have it on good authority that it's a fit for all ages.”

He walked into the nursery and found Rose to be sitting in the rocking chair cradling Little Bella's brother in her arms as he cried. She looked up at Carlisle helplessly, her golden eyes sad and begging him for help. Promising that he would return shortly, he carried the child into his bedroom where Esme lay with Bella in between herself and Edward as she read Wuthering Heights.

“Esme, would you mind reading to her as well?” he asked as Edward reached out for the young child.

“Not at all,” his wife smiled as she watched Edward tuck Bellaniece in his arms, making certain that she was kept away from Bella's more serious injuries.

Nodding his thanks and telling both his human charges goodnight, he backed out of the room and returned to the nursery. The infant was still crying, seeming to be inconsolable as Rosalie rocked him slowly. Alice had told her earlier that he cried almost constantly when he was awake, her belief being that it was because he knew on an instinctual level that his mother was dead. When Rosalie informed Carlisle of that, he frowned and held his arms out to take the infant.

“I've changed him, fed him, burped him, done everything that I can think of, but nothing will settle him down,” she said as she stood beside Carlisle and watched him lay the tightly wrapped infant on the changing table.

Carlisle unwrapped the blanket from around the child and watched as his tiny legs pulled up toward his chest. An infant this young shouldn't be suffering from colic, and he gently moved his hands over the baby's abdomen as he felt for signs of gas trapped in his stomach. Shaking his head and frowning, a thought occurred to him and he asked to see the container of powdered infant formula. Looking at the contents of the instant breast milk substitute, he pursed his lips. This mixture was said to be the closest to human milk one could get without actually being human milk. It even included the same fats and enzymes as lactose.

Turning his head, he found Alice to be standing in the doorway before he had even called her name. Smiling at her, he asked that she make a run to the store to pick up a brand of formula made specifically for infants that were lactose intolerant. If the new formula solved the problem, then they had their answer and he would be far more comfortable and crying less often. Checking his diaper before swaddling the infant back in the blue cloth, he handed the baby back to Rosalie and watched as she settled back down into the rocking chair.

“Rosalie,” he spoke her name softly as he leaned back against the changing table. “Are you alright with this?” he asked in reference to the children.

“It's what I've always wanted,” she said smiling down on the boy in her arms, her expression more peaceful and happy than Carlisle could ever remember. “I wanted a family, a husband, a baby. He may not be my child, but he still needs my - our - care. I have Emmett, my eternal love,” she said and smiled as her love walked into the room. “And, although there are times when I would love to be on my own, I have a family that I love and adore. I won't grow old, or have grandchildren running around my feet, but I have this.” She looked up from the child and offered her adoptive father a sad smile. “I never let what happened with Royce go. I never moved past what he did to me, not really. I just buried it, tried to ignore it, let my anger take over. Kate went through something similar long before she was changed. She's been helping me to finally move on and accept what happened so that I can find peace.”

“Could we have done anything different for you?” Carlisle asked as he knelt down beside the rocking chair she sat in, pained by what he believed to be his negligence in her care.

“No,” Rosalie shook her head. “I was too angry to let anyone near. I blamed everyone and never stopped to look at myself and see how I was acting. I was pushing all of you away, blaming you because I couldn't have the human life that Royce took from me.”

Looking up when she saw movement near the door, Rosalie's eyes widened and she giggled. Edward rolled his eyes at her amusement; Little Bella was wrapped around his torso with both her arms and her legs. She was asleep, but even still, the child refused to let go of him. He tried to lay her down in the toddler bed three times before giving up and sitting down on the half size bed.

“So, you just have power over girls named `Bella' then?” Rosalie asked with a laugh, Carlisle and Emmett chuckling.

“She did the same thing to me just about every night,” Emmett told his brother. “Give her about three hours and then you should be able to lay her down.”

“As soon as she found a comfortable spot she was out like a light,” Edward told his father still amazed by how quickly the child had gone from exuberant energy to sleeping like the dead.

“They do that,” Carlisle chuckled. “Young children can fall asleep very quickly when they feel safe and loved.

“She still doesn't understand about her mother,” Edward said after a long moment of silence. “She kept thinking that her mother would be back once her father was better. She has no concept of the meaning of death. Or she's simply refusing to accept it.”

“She's still very young,” Rosalie said as the infant in her arms finally quieted and fell asleep. “No matter how many times we explain it to her, she may not understand until her mother fails to return. That's when she'll grieve, when she realizes that her mother isn't coming back. What about her father?”

“Kate and Tanya went to Seattle a few hours ago to move him back to Denali with them,” Carlisle said as Jasper stepped into the room with Alice beside him. “Eleazar will call as soon as he has made it through the transition. They will explain to him what happened to his wife and ask if they had a name picked out for their son. The children will be staying with us for the next year until he is ready to take them again.”

“And during that year?” Emmett asked. “I'm sure Little Bella's going to want to talk to her father, if not visit with him.”

“We'll see what we can arrange,” Carlisle said as Rosalie stood and moved to put the infant in the crib before Emmett stopped her.

“You've been monopolizing my boy, woman,” he told her and took the slumbering infant, cradling him in his arms as he stood next to his wife.

“It's not spoiling,” Edward said as he looked at his father with a grin. “It's love and affection. Big difference.”

Carlisle shook his head as he smiled. No, not spoiling, not yet. When the women in his family, perhaps even Emmett, bought out FAO Schwartz, then he supposed could consider the children spoiled. Jacob stepped up to the open door, watching in silence as the Cullen family within cared for the two sleeping children. How was it that he kept forgetting that they were a family in the truest sense? The sting of jealousy burned through him for only an instant before it was gone and he couldn't help but wish that he had had the Cullen's to turn to when he was as young as the girl was. Not one of the Cullen's would ever raise a hand to either of the children, their patience and love knowing no boundaries. Why couldn't he have had that?

Sam refused to see this side of the Cullen's. He didn't want to see the kindness, the compassion and caring, or the love that was shared between them. He knew that the Voultori were still a threat, but in a way, so was the pack he had left. Looking at Edward, he found the man to be watching him, no doubt reading his every thought.

I won't let Sam or those other bloodsuckers destroy this. Jacob projected his thoughts to Edward and watched as he nodded. Nodding once when Edward mouthed `thank you' to him, Jacob turned away and returned to the floor below. Seth needed to sleep tonight and he was ready to hunt. He would patrol the woods with Leah and guard the Cullen's home. Seth would be the sentry inside the house, guarding the Cullen's from within tonight.

Calling out to Seth as she stepped out the back door, he told the younger teen what he wanted him to do and stood aside as he walked into the house and closed the door. Seth understood so much more than what was on the surface, his ability for understanding all sides of a situation and his impeccable control over his temper making him a natural and highly prized second in command. Leah's temper was too volatile for him to even consider her for the position, though he doubted she would want it. Phasing into his wolf form as he leapt off the patio, Jacob made a circuit around the house, the lines of wolf telepathy telling him that Leah had already known he would chose Seth as his second long before he had.

He still couldn't tell if she would come around and change her attitude toward the Cullens. She was so angry at everything all the time. His wish that she would allow her heart to heal would go unanswered and he knew that. Perhaps the only thing Leah had left was the fight. She didn't seem ready to let herself heal. He only hoped that in time Esme would be able to break through Leah's tough exterior and bring back the happy laughing girl that he had seen through Seth's memories of their youth.