Mucho thanks belong to CarlislaCooper for Feral Blood.  Without this story, I would have never been exposed to Carlisle/Bella match.  I love them almost as much as I love my Hatter/Alice couples.  Thank you for taking the time to listen to my ideas, I will try to stick to my plan, but my characters like to go somewhere else a lot.  A LOT. And for those that missed her story, I am sorry.  It was one of the best stories I have read and I will buy and read it when it is published.

Song I listened to for this chapter: All We Are by One Republic

The Cullens have decided to graduate college this time when they move.  This may or may not have been under the influence of Alice Cullen.  Ok, in reality, it is entirely due to her demands.

You see, the Cullens have stayed in Alaska longer than usual due to Alice.  They would have moved earlier and had the ‘kids’ start in high school so that they could stay longer.  But Alice had a vision, and then proceeded to tell them that they needed to wait  a little longer.

Edward had at first wanted to leave right away, but Alice came to him and asked that he follow her lead in this.  If he did so, the thing he has wanted for the last 109 years will be his.  Edward was shocked that she was aware of it, but he quickly agreed.  Ending the loneliness will be a huge relief, to say the least.

Jasper has no problem waiting.  He is still working on his control; he has the least control of his blood lust of any of the Cullen family.  And from Alice’s subtle hints, he will need to perfect that control.  He will not fail his Alice again, not like he has  time and time again in the past.  Neither Alice nor anyone else in the family has blamed him, but he has the feeling this is more important than anything else in the past. Plus, he never goes against anything his mate wants, within reason.

Emmett, well Emmett just goes with the flow; he is the most easy going.  And with how Alice is acting, he thinks this will be major.  Nobody takes him seriously, not even himself, but Emmett can do deep thoughts.  It’s just most of the time it is too much damn work.

When Alice goes to Carlisle, he just raises an eyebrow at the youngest in his family.  She smiles and pats him on the cheek after he agrees, telling him he will not regret it.  Carlisle has learned not to bet against the pixie.  Ever.

Rosalie is the problem.  She is tired of Alaska.  Tired of the snow and no people.  She wants to go somewhere, anywhere.  Alice tries everything to get her to agree, finally she tells her that there is a reason and, by NOT going along with Alice, she will be hurting at least one member of the family.  Rosalie may act tough, but she loves every member of the family deeply.  She stares at Alice intently, then agrees.

Alice dances through the house, happy.  Soon their family will be whole.   She promises to tell everyone when it is time to move and gets to work getting everything ready.

Carlisle is staring at a book in his study, reminiscing on those discussions.  That was five years ago.   He is getting a little anxious to leave.  In fact, he has been feeling a slight pull towards the south for the last 22 years, a feeling that has only gotten stronger as each year has pased.

Before he can think anything more on it, Alice calmly walks into Carlisle’s study and sits down.

He looks up from his book and asks her, “Alice, good afternoon.  May I help you?”  He puts down the book, waiting for her to talk.  Their discussions are always interesting.

Alice smiles at him and tells him simply, “It’s time, Carlisle.” She folds her hands in her lap, waiting for his reaction, and hopes she can win this time.  Just one time.

Carlisle lifts an eyebrow, knowing that she is pushing, and calmly waits her out.  The blonde leans back in his leather chair, wearing his khaki slacks with a white and blue small checkered shirt, and a white scarf. His golden eyes are twinkling with mischief as he watches her squirm.  He recalls exactly what she is talking about, but if they are moving, Alice needs to remember that humans don’t have perfect recall.

Alice sighs, knowing what Carlisle is up to. She has her hair styled in a spiky mess, while she is wearing a bright red tunic sweater over heather gray leggings and red ballet slippers paired with it. She can’t wait until this is over, but until then, “The move.  It’s time to move, Carlisle.  We are going to move to Seattle.  You should be able to get a position there in your field, I would highly suggest the emergency room, but you can also be a professor.   I have already started the paperwork on the house.  You should be receiving the call from the realtor later today.” She shouldn’t even try, Jasper has tried before to explain why Carlisle will never let her win THAT particular contest.

Carlisle cages his fingers in front of him, enjoying the ball of energy in front of him.  Alice is a delight to him, and between her and the rest of the family, keeps up his spirits.

Then Alice tells him something shocking, “Carlisle, you will be our brother this time around.  You need to be close to your age this time.  There is a very good reason, but I know you will have some issues with your age and getting respect.  Jasper is working with Jenks to get that straightened out.   Our parents will be nebulous people who have passed away, I think.”

Carlisle frowns as he tries to think of all the complications this may cause and then finally asks, “Is all this necessary Alice?  You know the fewer questions we raise the better it is.”

Alice looks at him, noticing the older clothing he is wearing and the age he imparts to the casual observer.  “Carlisle,  Jasper, and Edward both tell me the demands of acting older than your age is telling.  You need to have some time to step outside your normal role.  You act like you are in your 30’s even here in Alaska when there is no need.  Let loose.  There is a 23 year old man hidden in that 360 year old body.” She relaxes in the chair and watches him.  She has seen the outcome of this discussion, but Carlisle needs to come to it on his own, he has surprised her in the past so she needs to make sure.

Carlisle closes his eyes.  He has been feeling weary and is so tired of the act of being everyone’s father.  He leads the family, there is no denying that.  He is the Alpha of the coven, but, acting as the father of five teenagers that are truly not teenagers, is hard.  His instinctive way of acting among them is not what normal society will accept any way.  He sighs in relief, knowing he will enjoy being the head of the family, but not everyone’s parent.

Alice bounces in her chair, seeing his decision.  This helps her out so much… in doing everything and making her vision more defined.  She declares to Carlisle, “Shopping!”

Carlisle can’t help himself and he laughs.  “Alice, like you really need an excuse for shopping.  But, pray tell, what is the occasion this time?”

Before she answers, there is a knock on the door.  Carlisle calls for Edward to enter, recognizing his oldest companion.  Edward walks in wearing a light grey thermal with a blue and grey flannel over it and dark washed jeans.  His bronze hair is all over the place, as normal.

Carlisle chuckles over the clothing they all wear.  They all seem to look like they just stepped out of a fashion magazine.  At least that is what the nurses in his hospitals have mentioned before.  Alice dictates to them all what they wear at all times.  He does have to admit that the admiring glances have gotten worse since her introduction into the family.  He is not too sure that this is a bonus in his or Edward’s situation.

Edward glances around the room as he tells Carlisle, “She is redoing all of our wardrobes, but yours, my old friend, is getting completely trashed.”  He chuckles, sympathizing since he has had it done once.  But they all need to dress their parts, clothes help fool people on aging, too.  Carlisle is a perfect example of this.

Alice is mentally reviewing everything Carlisle owns, but she has already reached the conclusion that Edward has already seen in her possible futures she sees most of the time.  She grins at him. “And everyone is coming along!”  She grins as she hears the groans from all the men in the house.  Rosalie laughs along with her, enjoying the fact they will get to torment them all at once.

Edward gazes fondly on his sister.  He loves her dearly.  He knows there is something special about this move; she is way too excited about it.  Then he hears her, “Edward, it’s time.  It will all work out, just trust me.  You will not hurt her.  I have complete faith in you.  Just keep doing what I asked of you and it will work.  I will bring you something closer to time.”  He nods, letting her know he will keep up his part of the bargain.  It is in his best interest to do so.

Carlisle rises from his seat and asks, “Can we take this downstairs now and have a family meeting?  We need to get moving on all the details.”

Alice dances out of her seat to his side and kisses his cheek.  “Carlisle.  This move will be the best.  Trust me.”

The two men laugh at the pixie as she dances out of the room.

True to her word, Alice takes care of everything, plus some other details that no one else knew about.  She made sure their home had extra rooms, and that their classes are in a particular order.  She started them on correspondence classes while  they were in Alaska, none of them knowing why, while they waited for the time to move.

But now, with all her careful planning, she has set up everything that she can on her side.  Now, if only the other parties to all this will cooperate.  She will get the cooperation of one, but first she will need to gain the complete trust of Edward.  The other, well that is why all this work has been put in place.  It is time for them to be a complete family and put away past regrets.

Bella sighs as she moves into the house she has somehow inherited.  She has had multiple people check out the paperwork, but as much as anyone can figure out, she inherited this mansion of a house.  And, per the paperwork, she cannot sell it until she has graduated from college or reached the age of twenty-five. Along with the house, which came fully furnished, her college tuition is fully paid and she receives a stipend.

The other stipulation bugs her the most: she will need to replace her truck later this year, though to be honest she will need to as soon as she is completely moved in.  She just has to go to the Mercedes dealership and pick the model she likes.  That and the color are the only options she has to pick.  Everything else is already taken care of.

Ugh.  She hates gifts.  But Bella and her family are very aware that she might not been have able to complete college because of the money situation. Her studies, along with the demanding drive from Forks, made it impossible to work.  But, if she had tried to work and live in Seattle, she still could not have paid for schooling.  Specially with Charlie getting ready to retire.  And Renee.  Bella quickly dismisses Renee from her mind.

She has no idea who her mysterious benefactor is and nothing she has done has made it possible for her to find out who it is.  But the name on the will was a Mary Alice Cuileann, and she has no way of knowing what relation she is to this person, or even how they know of her!

Bella walks out to the old Chevy truck to get another load of boxes of her personal stuff when a yellow Porsche drives past  and pulls into the driveway of the house next to her.  Following close behind it is a red Jeep Wrangler and some moving trucks.

She shakes her head as she soon hears a ruckus being made; so much for the quiet of the neighborhood.  She vaguely remembers the lawyer commenting that a large family had bought the house next to her and would be moving in soon.

Bella continues to trek back and forth between the house and the truck. She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t hear the small pixie like girl walk up on her until she clears her throat.

Bella jumps and promptly falls down, her boxes landing next to her. She mumbles to herself, “Umph.  New record, it took me less than two hours to fall.”

She then looks up when she hears bell-like laughter coming from above her.  The small woman has jet black hair that is styled in messy soft spikes all over.  Her skin is whiter than Bella’s, which makes it stand out.  She is very petite and will stand shorter than Bella even with her heels on.  The woman is wearing a purple cowl neck sweater with black skin tight pants and adorable heels with a bow on the front.

The pixie tells her, “Hi! I’m Alice.  We are going to be neighbors and best friends!” She looks like she wants to bounce in place.

Bella chuckles to herself as she carefully stands up.  She analyses her body and doesn’t feel anything broken.  She turns to Alice and tells her, “’ello, Alice.  I’m Bella.  Isabella Swan.  But, please call me Bella if we are to be best friends,”  She humors the pixie.

Alice grins at her, “Just wait, I’m telling you, we will be best friends!”

She can tell that Bella is only putting up with her, but she is just so excited to meet this woman who is going to change their lives for the better, basically Bella is the one who will fix their family.  And she is gorgeous!  She has mahogany hair down to her waist, it has all these reds and chocolate colors mixed into it.  It is also slightly curly, giving it a definite body.  Alice muses that it will look better once she gets it trimmed.  The heart shaped face, with the big brown doe eyes and the porcelain skin should have men turning their heads, no matter what the age.  And her body!  Now only if she didn’t cover it in the shapeless UDUB sweatshirt. The jeans work, but not the converses she is wearing underneath.

Bella sighs and tells Alice, “It has been great to meet you, but I need to get these in the house.”  Jake hadn’t shown up again.  Bella looks at her watch and shakes her head, why does it not surprise her in the least?

Alice frowns and then she calls softly under her breath, “Emmett, we need your help.”

Emmett grins, hearing her call and he hurries over to his sister.  Bella happens to turn as he walks up and she jumps again.  “Whoa,” he grabs her arm to prevent her from falling again.

Alice laughs that tinkling sound and tells her, “This is my brother Emmett.  We have more siblings on their way, but the two of us… umm hurried to be here first.”

Bella shakes her head as she laughs to herself.   “Well, the eyes and coloring match, but not the body type!”

Emmett and Alice quickly glance at each other, shocked that she has picked up on that so quickly.  Emmett casually comments, “Not too sure how we all have those same features, my oldest brother is trying to figure out how our parents got all of us.  But, there are few actual siblings in the family.  My Rosalie and her brother Jasper Hale, then there is the munchkin and her twin brother Edward Masen.  Carlisle and I are the only two not physically related to anyone else. To make it easier on outsiders, we have all taken the surname Cullen.”

Bella didn’t miss the possessiveness over Rosalie’s name.  But she sees nothing wrong with it if they are not all related.  She just grabs a box and tells them, “Nice to meet you, but I really need to get these in before it rains.”

Emmett realizes Alice called him over to help and he grabs a couple of boxes.  He acts like they are heavy when he realizes that they say books, but he tells her, “Lead on.  I’ll help.  My parents raised me to help out a lady.”

Bella blushes and she murmurs a thank you.  There is no time to waste as they all look at the clouds above.

After 30 minutes of bringing her boxes in, Emmett asks about the truck.”Is it yours?”

Bella nods as she tries to find the coffee maker.  She’s cold and needs to make some to warm up.  She answers Emmett absently, “Yeah.  It was a gift when I moved out here when I was 17.  But, unfortunately, I am going to be replacing it soon.”

Bella soon finds the coffee maker and then turns to ask the two siblings, “Do you want any?” Shaking it slightly to let them know what she is talking about.

Alice smiles at her and glides gracefully to her side. “No, but thank you, Bella.  Emmett and I need to get back to the house to meet with the rest of the family.  Why don’t you come over later tomorrow?  Everyone but Edward and Carlisle will be here by then.” Get more of them used to her.   Edward will be the challenge.

Bella looks at her and tries to get out of it, “I should be unpacking-”

Alice interrupts her, “Nonsense!! I will come to help out on Saturday.  Come over whenever you feel like it, but no later than 11.  See you then!”

Alice skips out of the house.  Bella stands there watching after her bemusedly.

Emmett watches the woman the Cullens came for.  He doesn’t know how she will affect the family, but Alice is anxious to get her integrated .  He reaches over, hugs Bella and tells her, “Don’t worry about it Belly.  She’s always like this.”

Bella laughs at the nickname he granted her earlier and tells him, “And let me guess, you’re always like this.”

He grins down at her and releases her.  “You betcha!  Have a good night Bella.  If you need anything, we are just next door.”  He turns to walk out and waits outside until he hears the doors lock.  Time to see what information he can get from the pipsqueak.

Fairfarren~