I'll be home for Christmas

Chapter 43

Chapter 43 - I'll be home for Christmas

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.

Esme was eager to see the Forks house. It had been her favorite place to live, out of all the houses she had renovated. The massive metal shutters had kept it free from storm damage or the visit of the occasional vandal. They had left a large amount of the items inside, knowing they would be safe. Most of Edward's belongings were in situ simply because he had left the country so soon after the wedding was canceled.

The Cullens had moved house so many times that they had it down to a familiar routine.

Emmett complained about how out of date all the electronics were after five years.

It wasn't until Edward saw the enormous frame on the stairs; completely filled with a veritable rainbow of High School graduation hats, that he thought to ask, "Do you all still attend school?"

Rose shook her head. "We can all pass for older. Most of us actually are older than school age."

"And the electronic tracking means our faces are already in too many yearbooks," Emmett added.

Edward wasn't sure why they bothered to lie to him. Perhaps they had got out of the habit of supplying information to him through their thoughts. Those thoughts told him that the whole rigmarole of attending school had largely been for his benefit. An attempt to expose him to more people, get him out of the house and socializing. If you called them sticking together in their own little group socializing. Nobody had ever sat at the Cullen table, except for Bella Swan.

If he hadn't gone to school, he would have remained at home, playing the piano and memorizing Shakespeare. He often envied Carlisle his vocation. Being a doctor to him was more than a career, it was his life purpose and Edward had never had such a calling.

"It worked," he said. "I met her."

Rose's thoughts were full of what had happened to the little stone cottage, built as a wedding gift for them. It didn't have the protective shutters of the main house and she worried that forest animals might have found a way in.

"I will go and see," Edward suggested to her unspoken question.

"I'll come with you," she said brightly.

"No… don't." He sounded more severe than he meant to be.

Emmett placed a hand on Rose's arm and she let Edward go alone.

"This is so hard," she whispered to her partner after Edward had left.

"I know."

Alice was very distracted and nobody noticed for quite some time, that Edward hadn't come back from the cottage.

"Oh, NO!" Alice said, when an insistent vision got through. "Blackness."

Jasper knew what had happened the instant she said it. "He's gone for the treaty line."

Carlisle phoned Billy immediately.

Josh got the call from Billy. He was working on the spirit stick with Old Quil and they were alone. The old man gave him a significant look. Bella was shield training with Jake and some of his pack.

"Give me a ten minute start before you call Jake?" he begged Billy.

"You're sure?" When silence was the answer, Billy added, "Just don't break the treaty."