A/n: I was watching Lion King yesterday when the title came to me for this chapter xD lol It's crunch time my peeps! T_T I did say it would be done this year. Can't believe the end is around the corner. Expect another chapter SOON! ;)
Chapter 64 – Be Prepared
*Violet's POV*
Bella and I had discussed a plan. Privately. All under the pretense of "errands." I let her know about my own plan for my children. While Alice had gotten new passports for my children, they technically did not have identities as far as this country was aware. I'd had them at the Ulley residence and never registered them thereafter. Same with Renesmee. As far as this country's human politics were concerned, none of our children existed. And we intended to keep it that way.
I'd gone with Bella and Renesmee, Jacob and Edward staying back while we went to drop off the little hybrid off at her grandfather's house. Jacob, sensing my melancholy like he had a knack for doing, had given me a long kiss before we parted. He made me promise I'd go straight to him when I returned, which I agreed to. We had plans and I hadn't expected to be gone for long anyways. It felt strange, keeping this from my brother, making sure to keep my thoughts away from him at Bella's behest.
I'd allowed Bella to go in and meet Alice and Jasper's contact, knowing she could take care of herself now. Thankfully, the weather was very overcast. It looked like it might even start drizzling. Even from my position outside the restaurant, I could hone in on Bella's conversation. I'd heard her shuffling with something, and then felt her sadness. Before I could try to distinguish why she felt that way, I felt that tension again. Another vision. Tickets, not additional passports, just tickets and a deed. I felt my heart drop for my sister-in-law and her family. It didn't take long for Bella to come out after that, we silently made our way back to the car where she sat behind the wheel for a few minutes.
"Bella?" I whispered her name, trying to get something out of her. Since she became a vampire, unless I negated her power, I couldn't read her thoughts. "Bells?" I tried again. She looked up at me, her bottom lip trembling, but no tears were produced. "Oh, Bella!" I said her name sadly, throwing my arms around her as best as I could from the passenger side. I held onto her, feeling her pain and sadness.
"She didn't see us with her. We won't be going with you guys." I tried to hush her sobs.
"Maybe it's because it's all temporary. I-I've yet to see anything, Bella! It's not all set in stone. We must be optimistic!"
"Promise me!" She gripped hold of my arms. "Promise that no matter what happens, you and Jacob will look after my daughter like she's your own! Promise me that Renesmee will have a future, do you hear me?" I looked into the desperate eyes of my sister-in-law and realized her fear. It was the same as my own. I feared for my children's future. I would stop at nothing to ensure they had one. And now I would promise to do the same for my niece.
"I promise." I whispered to her. I saw as she studied my face. When she saw I was sincere, she merely nodded and released me quickly, trudging towards the car with newfound purpose.
Bella drove towards her father's house next. The car ride silent, the music off. Both of us were too busy, lost in thought, to focus on anything. I feared what Bella would be thinking about, but I mostly feared for these children we brought into this world. This war. Despite the melancholy she had previously felt, Bella only felt fierce determination and an adamant resolve. We quickly got to Charlie's house, but before she stepped out of the car to fetch her, she turned to me.
"I'm.... I'm going to prepare something. For Renesmee," she told me. "Can you make sure you give it to her should anything happen?" I opened my mouth to object, but she beat me to it. "Just in case." I nodded to her. "I'll have all her things ready." I nodded again. "Will you tell Jacob?" I looked away. "I understand if you feel like you have to tell him. It's just that, I don't know if it's something he could keep from Edward." I turned to look at her.
"I'll catch him up, if it comes to it Bella. You have to know, we would do, and are doing, all that we can for your daughter as much as we would for our own children." She leaned forward, bringing me into a hug.
"I know." She forced out with all the pent-up emotion she could. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She questioned. With all that was going on, we'd nearly forgotten the holidays. It was Christmas. I nodded to her.
"Yes, bright and early. There's a dinner tonight with the wolves, but Jacob and I will be at Charlie's tomorrow. Don't worry." I reassured her.
"Will you bring them?" I smiled sadly, and she sighed. "I understand. Get home safe." I nodded, pulling away before transporting myself back to Billy's to get ready. My mate and children were the only ones still present, and waiting for me to head to Quil's.
It was hard. Being around my unknowing mate, his pack, and our children. Everyone had been in a cheery mood. There wasn't a Christmas tree, or typical decorations adorning the abode. However, there were twinkly lights, and a lovely smell filled the room. They didn't celebrate in the traditional way, but they always had a dinner and get together, or so Jacob had informed me. All the wolves had even dressed up. A change from seeing them in their usual tattered shorts and shirtless torsos. Save for Leah of course. The girls had all adorned pretty dresses or colorful sweaters. It was lovely.
I'd let everyone fuss over both my children. The two were in a particularly good mood, cooing at everyone who held them. Neither one was being fussy or trying to reach or pull for anyone, which Jacob and I were thankful for. Both of us frequently dreaded releasing them to anyone, lest we have to deal with another broken body part or torn clothing and hair.
I'd dressed Logan in a cute red sweatshirt with little khaki-colored pants, he was dressed like his daddy's little clone, matching him down to the little black shoes he wore. Aria was wearing a tiny red dress with a green sash, little white legging bottoms to keep her legs warm, and little black booties. I donned a red V-neck sweater and white pants, my hair up and out of my face, which had become the norm since having the twins. I was thankful for the camera that Pete had decided to bring, as he took frequent pictures of us and the others present. I definitely wanted copies of all the pictures he took.
"Kid, kid, kid! Get one of me with my handsome grandson and beautiful little granddaughter!" hollered Billy, trying to get Pete's attention after Kim handed over Aria and Leah passed him Logan. I was sad that Emily and Sam would be missing out on today. Sam would arrive tomorrow, after the holidays. Lots of the wolves said he just wanted to allow Emily the chance to spend time with her side of the family, but I knew the truth already. But I was thankful that they cared enough about me to be considerate of my feelings.
"So do you normally enjoy Christmas with your family? Or do vampires not do that sort of thing?" Daniel, a wolf that had joined some months ago while I was pregnant, asked.
"We do, actually! Or we used to, anyways. What we did honestly depended on the weather. I'm all for a good holiday storm." I smiled, thinking back to our games.
"A storm? You guys storm hunters or something?" I laughed at Collin's question.
"Not quite." I smiled at him. "We like to play sports. Baseball is our favorite, but we have played football as well." I grinned at them. I knew Jacob and the other wolves were more fond of American Football than Baseball.
"Oooh! Another baseball lover!" Jumped in Brady. "Alright, Vie!" he reached over to high five me, which I gave into.
"Why wait for a storm though?" I blushed.
"The sounds our bats make me hit the balls full strength, or when vampire skin hits vampire skin, well it's pretty loud."
"Oh that's right! When your coven was tearing into those newborns, it sounded like nails on chalkboard." I winced.
"Yeah, it's not the most pleasant sound for us, either. Trust me. But anyways, the storm helps as cover when we play."
"Hm, a game of football. Vamps versus wolves. That sounds cool!" We all turned to look at Donny, who stood next to Seth. "What? It'd be fun! Or at the very least, something pretty kickass!" We all chuckled at his enthusiasm.
"Okay, so Rach and I slaved all day over this food!" We heard Kim say, bringing over a whole bird on a pan with Rachelle's help.
"I could have sworn my mom did." Leah said sarcastically, most of us chuckled as Kim pouted.
"Well, we helped!"
"Yes, yes you both did. You were both a great help," thanked Sue.
"Ugh oh, Jake, Violet, someone heard the word food and heard dinner bells!" Joked Billy, trying to wrangle a fussy Logan. I got to him quickly, taking him from his grandfather's arms. Aria soon began to get fussy as well, giving out small wines. "Just a second darling, your momma's going to get to you soon." I smiled at him.
"Jake?" He was quick to take Aria from his dad's arms. I looked to the owners of the house, silently asking if there was a room I could feed them.
"You can use my room!" Seth pipped up before blushing. "I-if you like."
"No offense, little brother, but I'm pretty sure they don't want to wade through your dirty clothes," teased Leah. The boys laughed at her teasing. "You two can go up to mine, there's more pillows in case that helps feed them both." It really did! And so, I beamed at her happily, nodding to her in thanks before walking towards her room.
"I got their bag right here, too, babe." I heard Jake say from behind me, as he maneuvered around me to open the door to Leah's room.
"Thanks, Jakey." I smiled at him, still trying to soothe my grumpy son. "She quiet down a little?" I pointed my chin towards Aria in his arms.
"She calmed down once I got her." He smiled at me, digging through the bag one handed. "Got his bib." He announced before walking towards me with our daughter in one arm and the garment in the other. I chuckled. "What?" He looked at me confused.
"She's not a football, Jake." I chuckled. He looked at me, trying to process what I meant.
"What?" I pointed to Aria. "Hey! She likes it!" I chuckled some more. "She's tiny! She's football sized when I got her burritoed in her blankies though!" He grinned to me and I chuckled some more.
"You're such a dork, do you know that?" I grinned at him as he came over.
"Yeah, but I'm your dork and you love me for it." He came over to peck my lips before placing the bib over Logan. He had trouble fastening it on him one handed.
"I got it." I smiled at him, fastening the bib and then making my way over to the small sofa chair by Leah's closet. Jacob was quick to grab some pillows to put behind my back and some on my lap as I situated Logan over them, still in the crook of my arm. "Can you grab Aria's bib too? Going to feed them both at the same time. Try to get downstairs faster."
"Hungry, too, huh?" He smiled at me knowingly, going to grab Aria's bib. He must have seen how I fastened the bib on Logan one handed, now able to do the same for Aria. "Here you are," He spoke slowly, delicately placing Aria in the crook of my other arm. He was pushing the other pillows under her head, so she was also level with my chest. "Want me to lift your shirt, or pull it off completely?"
"Just take it off, please? I didn't bring a spare if I get it dirty." I maneuvered my head when he went to tug it off, but we'd forgotten my arms. Stuck inside my shirt, the both of us laughed. The kids must have not found their parent's hiccup funny, when they started to squirm.
"Give me and your mom a second, guys. Dinner's coming." Jacob still laughed, slowly removing one hand at a time, lifting up each child bit by bit until each arm was free and finally the full sweater was off. "There we go. I can take the bra off, too." I gave him a look. "Not like that, babe." He groaned. I chuckled.
"Yes, please." Unclasping the bra, and placing it over my sweatshirt, Jacob moved over by the door. "It's locked, baby." I grinned at him for a second, focusing on the kids, trying to get Logan to latch first. He always was the most impatient and most fussy of the two. His impatience usually resulted in taking longer to latch, his sister needing no help to do so right away. Thankfully, he got it soon after her and they both settled into their routine. Logan pushing and kneading things around, and Aria snoozing as she ate, occasionally gumming a little too hard.
"I can smell the taters." Jacob moaned.
"I smell the sweet potato and chocolate cake. You know that's going to go fast." I smiled sadly.
"Nah. No way any of the girls or my dad let them start pigging out without us. Or, at least without you, now that I think about it."
"Ah, yes. Female solidarity for the win." I joked and he laughed, too. We soon went quiet when Aria let out a tiny hiccup. I adjusted her a little, and she was soon back to eating her fill.
"So, you going to tell me what you and Bella got up to today?" I didn't answer for a couple of minutes, staring at a corner of the ceiling. "Should I be worried?" he whispered quietly, knowing I would catch it.
"No, maybe." I felt my eyes well up with tears, but stopped myself from crying upon feeling Aria begin to wiggle against me. "I'm sorry." I whimpered, still trying to hold back the frustrated tears.
"This 'cause of your brother and that other mind reader?" I looked at him, surprised he deduced that. I just nodded. "Okay. When this all blows over, you can tell me. Okay?" I nodded, my lip trembling and pouty. "Aw, don't cry." He began to make his way to me, hand reaching out to cup my cheek. "I get it. We'll get through this. I trust you. I won't make the mistake to ever doubt you, ever again." I smiled at him, a tear sliding down my cheek as he went to thumb it away. I jutted out my lips in a pout some more. "A kiss?" I nodded, my throat still constricting from the raw emotion. He leaned down to kiss me swiftly, thumb still stroking my cheek as he pulled back.
"I love you."
"I love you, Violet." He brought our foreheads together. "And I love them." He used his other hand to brush our daughter's cheek and then ruffling our son's hair softly. We'll get over this, somehow. We'll make sure they're safe, your family is safe. Nessie is safe." I did all I could to prevent myself from tensing at the mention of my niece, nodding stiffly instead.
"We'll make it. I know it."
"Course we will. We still have to move into our house. Get married. Have a couple more babies." I reeled back.
"Oh, you wish." I chuckled sarcastically.
"I'm kidding." He grinned at me, kissing my forehead. "About the kid thing, anyways." I smiled at him. "For now, he whispered."
"Jacob!" he shushed me, laughing.
"They're nodding off!" He whispered, chuckling. He sat next to me now, head leaned down on top of my own as we stared at our babies.
"Get him, please." I whispered when we noticed they were both asleep. Jacob carefully picked up Logan in his arms as I stood with Aria in mine. I placed her on the bed gingerly, while I went to get redressed. Picking Aria up again, I nudged my head toward the door. "Now how about you and I get these two little monsters downstairs so we can get our own grub on?" I suggested.
"Yes, ma'am." He wrapped his free arm around my waist, as we made our way downstairs. For now, we would enjoy this happy day without family and friends. We would take things one day at a time, and today would be a beautiful memory. A first Christmas Eve for my children. A beginning. I vowed their next one would be even better. We would all be together, free of any impending threats.