Everyone was gathered in the large clearing behind the Cullen's place. Edward went to pick Bella up for their family baseball game, showing her just how the Cullens let loose and have fun on thundering days in the small town of Forks. Dean and Sam were right behind them in the Impala with a separate invitation from Lizzie.
"Hey, Bells."
"Lizzie, hey."
The two girls hugged before Esme came and put an arm around Bella's shoulder, a motherly smile on her face.
"Lizzie!" Sam grinned and hugged the girl, she smiled and hugged him back.
She thought every time when Sam hugged her or he got excited to see Lizzie, that maybe, just maybe what Dean said about her and Sarah Winchester was true. If only for the familial bond she felt when the two boys were around, younger and older and complete opposites of each other.
"Hey there, Sammy." Lizzie then turned to Dean once Sam released her and Esme quickly stole the boy the same way she had Bella.
"Hey, Dean."
"Lizzie," Dean smiled as she gave him a quick hug.
"I'm glad you're here. We need an umpire."
"She thinks we cheat!" Emmett exclaimed, grinning.
"I know you cheat."
"Yeah, Em. You're the biggest cheater," Lizzie laughed, walking away from Dean and leaving him, Bella, and Sam in Esme's capable hands.
"Wow, sis. Whose side are you on?"
"Not yours that's for sure," she quipped. "I'm going to be swapping with Alice for pitcher today. So, good luck!"
"Hey, Ma!" Emmett called after Esme. "Can she do that?"
"Yes, she can."
Lizzie brightened at Esme's words and stuck her tongue out at Emmett, who rolled his eyes daringly back at her. The Cullen siblings were actually smack-talking each other much to Bella and the Winchester's surprise.
Thunder cracked the sky. Alice and Lizzie shared a look before the two smirked, playing rock, paper, scissors for the first pitcher's spot. Lizzie won.
"It's time!"
Rosalie was up to bat first as Lizzie threw the ball and watched as her sister hit it to the sound of the thunderclap. "Okay, now I see why you need the thunder," she heard Bella say to Esme as Rosalie ran for it. Edward took off to the woods to retrieve the ball.
"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed.
"That's gotta be a home run, right?" Dean asked.
"Eddie's very fast," Lizzie commented as the ball shot past her face and into Esme's awaiting hands. Rosalie slid onto the plate but not before Esme touched down on it. Bella called Rose out.
"Out! Whoo!" Emmett cheered before he saw his mate's face. Rose stood up, glaring at Bella as she did. "Babe, come on. It's just a game."
"Nice kitty," Carlisle said as he passed Rosalie. He went up to bat and Lizzie grinned, drawing her arm back and throwing the ball.
"Whoa, go Dad!" she shouted watching Carlisle run for it as both Emmett and Edward jumped for the ball. Their bodies collided mid-air and the two fell back to the ground on top of each other.
"What are you doing?" Edward laughed, almost flipping his brother off.
Emmett shoved him back. "Fuck off!"
"Ready Jasp?" Lizzie asked as Jasper picked up the bat and flipped it into position with his fingers.
"Ready."
She threw the ball and he ran for it as Emmett climbed up the side of a tree, catching it and throwing it back to Esme.
"My monkey man," she heard Rose say.
The game went on for a bit, restarting with Rosalie again as Alice replaced Lizzie as the pitcher. She went to stand by Bella, who smiled at her. Dean complimented her skills and Sam grinned as his eyes slid back onto the game. Rosalie and Carlisle's team were ahead in points when Alice yelled out, "Stop!"
Edward read her mind, his head whipping around to the edge of the woods where a cloud of mist settled. It didn't take much for Lizzie and the rest to deduce what was going on. All the Cullens ran back to base as Esme kept Bella behind her protectively.
Without thinking, Lizzie grabbed hold of Sam and vamp sped to Emmett's Jeep. She settled him in the backseat lying face down and covered him with her jacket. Sam didn't even know what hit him, all he knew was he was no longer on the field or even outside.
"Don't move. Stay down," Lizzie whispered, then disappeared back to the others. Dean noticed his little brother gone within a second and immediately started to panic, his heart rate speeding up incredibly.
"Where--- Where, I need to---"
"He's in Emmett's Jeep. He's safe." Dean couldn't stop the relieved breath that left his mouth as everyone huddled together, Esme pulling Dean to be beside Bella.
"They were leaving, then they heard us," Alice explained as three figures emerged in the distance, but quickly they were picking up speed.
Edward grabbed Bella's arm. "Let's go."
"It's too late."
"Bells, get your hair down. Dean, get your collar up."
"Like that'll help, I can smell them from across the field," Rosalie retorted, being full of sass instead of help.
"I believe this belongs to you." The vampire with dreadlocks threw the baseball back at Carlisle.
"Thank you."
"I'm Laurent. This is Victoria and James."
"I'm Carlisle, this is my family." He introduced politely. Emmett and Jasper's eyes narrowed as Laurent glanced them over. Rosalie kept her disdain clear and Alice and Lizzie kept their gaze trained in case the worst happened. Edward was farther back with Bella clinging to his arm and Esme stood in front of them, obscuring the view of her and Dean from the nomad vampires.
"Hello."
"I'm afraid your hunting activities have created something of a mess for us," Carlisle stated, still trying to be polite.
"Our apologies," Laurent said. "We didn't realize the territory had been claimed."
"Yes, well we maintain a permanent residence nearby."
"Really, well we won't be a problem anymore. We were just passing through."
Lizzie glanced to the side, seeing Edward try and get a reading on the blonde one, James.
"The humans were tracking us," Victoria spoke. "But we led them East. You should be safe."
Carlisle nodded. "Excellent."
"So, could you use three more players? Oh, come on," Laurent said. "Just one game."
"Sure, why not? A few of us were leaving, you could take their place. We'll bat first." Carlisle threw the ball back and Victoria caught it.
"I'm the one with the wicked curveball."
"Oh, well. I think we can handle that," Jasper said confidently getting the vampires excited.
Everyone stepped away to get into position, everyone except James, Edward, Bella, and Dean. Lizzie watched the interaction the way the blonde's head tilted in curiosity and the way her brother's stature tensed. She went to grab the three when James turned around to follow Victoria and Laurent.
"Come on, we have to go."
Edward and Lizzie moved to carefully guide Bella and Dean out of the clearing and into Emmett's Jeep when a gust of wind swept through and parted Bella's hair from her neck. It also drifted through the part between Dean's neck and his leather jacket's collar. Their scents flew through the air and mixed as James caught it.
"You brought snacks."
He stalked back towards Bella and Dean causing all the Cullens to race into protective stances in front of them. Carlisle stood out keeping the rest back as Esme kept Bella and Dean behind her. Growls and hisses filled the air. Dean stiffened and Bella started shaking from fear.
"Humans?"
"The girl and boy are with us I think it best if you leave," Carlisle advised.
"I can see the game is over. We'll go now," Laurent said calmly, trying to keep the peace between the two covens. "James."
"Get them out of here, go."
Edward and Lizzie raced Bella and Dean into Emmett's Jeep. He struggled with Bella's seatbelt as Lizzie helped Sam with his and Dean slid into the backseat with his little brother.
"What's going on?" Sam asked, but he was ignored as the tension built.
"You're not coming with?" Edward asked his sister when he saw she wasn't getting in the car. Lizzie shook her head.
"Get them out of here. I'll be right behind you, I promise. Go, now!"
✦✦✦
Bella was driving her truck as the tears fell from her eyes. She and Dean had just left Charlie and Sam safe at home with the tracker watching the cousins' every move. Edward caught up to the moving truck, he opened the driver's side door and slid in next to Bella taking the wheel for her. Dean had the window seat as she scooted into the middle.
They jumped when a bang hit the back of the truck. "It's okay, it's just Emmett. Lizzie and Alice are in the car behind us."
After another few minutes, they arrived back at the Cullen house. Edward went in first with Bella by his side as Lizzie trailed behind them with Dean. Carlisle came down the upstairs stairwell with Laurent in tow.
"Wait!" he said stopping Edward from attacking. "He came to warn us about James."
"Well, speak," Lizzie said as she came up beside her brother defensively. Dean didn't think the nomad vampire could be trusted, but at the moment with all his bad decisions just building, he trusted Lizzie.
"This isn't my fight," Laurent stated. "I've grown tired of his games. But he has unparalleled senses absolutely lethal. Never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. And the woman, Victoria, don't underestimate her."
He walked out of the house as everyone piled into the garage. Jasper taking the lead and going straight for the vault behind the counter.
"I've had to fight our kind before they're not easy to kill."
"But not impossible."
"We'll tear him apart and bury the pieces."
"I don't relish the thought of killing another creature, even a sadistic one like James," Carlisle said as he took something from the cupboard.
"What if he kills one of us first?" Rosalie asked, sliding onto the countertop.
"That won't happen," Lizzie said. "And I know, Dad, but there's no other way to stop a tracker. God, this would be so much easier if he was from the original bloodline."
Naturally, Dean would have questioned everything. He would start with 'what the hell is happening right now?' and end with 'what the hell is the original bloodline?' but stopped himself and bit his tongue. He was out of his element. John wasn't here to tell him what to do but Sam was safe and that's all that mattered to Dean. It was his job to protect his little brother and that's what he was doing, even if that meant the possibility of never seeing Sam again because of Dean's own curious stupidity.
"I'm gonna run Bella and Dean South. Can you lead the tracker away from here?" Edward asked, interrupting his sister.
"No, Edward," Carlisle stopped. "James knows you'll never leave Bella, he'll follow you."
"I'll go with Bella and Dean," Alice offered. "Lizzie will come with us and Jasper and I will drive them South. I'll keep her safe, Edward."
He read Alice's doubtful thoughts and scowled. "Can you keep your thought to yourself?"
"Yes."
Lizzie took Bella's arm and Dean's wrist handing them off to Alice before stopping in front of Edward and taking his hand. "Hey, I promise I'll keep Bella safe, okay? Read my thoughts." His eyes met hers and he sighed before nodding.
Dean watched the interaction and sighed as everything finally caught up to him. He didn't even realize his leather jacket was slipped off his shoulders until he felt the cold chill send goosebumps up his now bare arms.
"What the hell?"
"I need your scent," Lizzie explained. She then threw the jacket to Emmett, who easily caught it. "Emmett will take your jacket the scent will help lure James away from where you'll actually be going."
Dean wanted to fight that because it wasn't just some overgrown jacket to him. No, it was the only real thing John left him, that and the Impala.
"Just don't lose it, please. It means a lot to me."
"No worries, man," Emmett clapped Dean's back sending the hunter jolting forward slightly at the force. "It's safe with me. I promise it'll come back to you in one piece."
Lizzie smiled gratefully at her brother, who returned it with a grin. She then took Dean's hand in hers, trying to comfort her friend--possible brother.
"It'll be okay, you'll see Sam again."
"I hope so," Dean sighed as Lizzie hugged him.
"Rosalie, Esme," Edward's voice was shaking as he reached into a bag and pulled out two jackets. He tossed one to his mother and the other to his sister. "Can you put these on so the tracker will pick up Bella's scent."
"Why?" Rosalie asked. "What is she to me?"
"Rose," Carlisle sighed. "Bella is with Edward. Dean is Elizabeth's friend. They're a part of this family now and we protect our family."
Dean didn't know how he felt about being a part of a vampire coven, but he didn't see the use in dwindling over it right at that moment.
Lizzie took the jacket her dad was handing to Rosalie, she stood in front of her sister and forced Rose to look at her. "If you were Edward and Emmett was Bella, tell me you wouldn't do exactly the same thing."
Rosalie's glare slowly lifted as she glanced over at Emmett. La Tua Cante. She growled softly before grabbing the jacket and walking over to the Jeep. Carlisle passed Lizzie with a kiss to the temple and Edward nodded at his sister gratefully.
"Family, right?" she sighed, then climbed into the backseat beside Bella and Dean.