Fic: The Edge (Alice/Bella, Twilight 35/36)

[fembuck]

Title: The Edge

Author: Janine

Fandom: Twilight

Pairing: Alice/Bella

Rating:  PG

Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Stephanie Meyer.  I’m just borrowing them.

Summary:  Charlie arrives at the Cullen house for holiday celebrations.

Previous chapters here

 

 

---

 

Two Days Later

 

Bella closed the car door gently and moved around the front of the Porsche to join Charlie where he was waiting for her.  He was supposed to have arrived in Seattle the day before, but he’d been held up on police business and was forced to delay his departure.  The weather was starting to get really bad, and the smart thing to do would have been to wait out the storm, but Bella knew that Charlie wouldn’t wait it out if it meant not seeing her on Christmas Eve, so she drove up to Forks to drive him to Seattle.  There wasn’t enough snow on the planet to make her lose control of the car, and while Charlie grumbled a little bit about not being a baby just because he was human, Bella knew that he appreciated the thought.    

 

Bella wrapped her arm around Charlie’s waist, allowing him to drape his arm over her shoulders and pull her against him.  He wasn’t showing any outward signs of nervousness, poker and police work had given him a strong game face, but Bella knew that he was nervous.  She and Alice still visited him all of the time, but the rest of the family was almost exclusively based in Seattle, so he hadn’t spent any significant amount of time around the other Cullen’s since they had ‘come out’ as vampires to him.

 

“It’ll be alright,” Bella said softly, squeezing her father gently as they made their way to the front door.  “They don’t bite … anymore,” she added, gazing up at him with a little smirk on her face.

 

“Oh, ha ha,” Charlie murmured glaring down at her.  Bella continued to smile at him however, and he was only able to keep up the surly expression up for a few more seconds before he dissolved into a grin. 

 

Seeing him give in, Bella smiled even wider and then pushed up on her toes and pressed her cool lips against his cheek.

 

“I’m still not used to that,” Charlie sighed shaking his head a little as he accepted her frosty kiss. 

 

He missed Bella’s old warmth at times like that.  They had never really been touchy-feely with each other, he wasn’t built that way and Bella wasn’t either (unless Alice Cullen was involved), but every once in a while she used to touch his shoulder as she walked by his chair on the way to the kitchen, or she’d given him a little hug just because, and it had always been so nice to feel her warmth.

 

“I know,” Bella sighed softly as they entered the house.

 

It had been nearly a year since he had learned that she was a vampire, but he was still adjusting to the news.  He had taken the news about her relationship with Alice so well, that Bella had half convinced herself that her father would barely blink an eye if he ever learned that she was a vampire.  So, when Alice and the others had shown up on her front door that night months ago, she had actually been pleased and relieved.  It had been taking a toll of her lying to him and she was happy that the truth would finally be revealed.

 

However, Charlie had blinked an eye when he discovered the truth.  He had blinked a lot.

 

The weeks after Charlie had learned the truth had been rough on them both.  Charlie had tried, that first night he had asked her more about what it meant to be a vampire, what was different about her, what Hollywood had gotten right and what it had gotten wrong.  And after she explained things to him, and emphasized the point that she and the rest of the Cullen’s only fed on animal blood, he had seemed a little more at ease. 

 

But despite that slight decrease in tension, things between them had been strained.  Charlie had been awkward around her, uncertain what to say and do now that his child had been transformed into something that he couldn’t fully understand – no matter how much Bella tried to explain things to him. 

 

In those first few weeks, Bella had caught him watching her with a half awed and half terrified expression on his face.  She was newborn, and she couldn’t go for as long without hunting as the rest of the Cullen’s could, which meant that she had had to hunt frequently during those weeks she had stayed with him after the revelation.  She had tried to go at night when he was asleep, but there were times when she hadn’t been able to wait.  There were times that she’d had to leave immediately to avoid disaster, and she knew that at those times – when she looked at Charlie unblinkingly with her inky black eyes, a constant rumbling emerging from her chest as she stared at him hungrily – she scared him.  He would say that it was fine, that he understood, but he looked at her like she was a rabid beast frothing at the mouth, and she knew that he was terrified.

 

Even the way that she moved would make him uneasy at times, especially in those first months.  She never moved in a way that was superhuman around him.  She knew that it would agitate him greatly to see her zip and zoom around.  But even without displays of her superhuman abilities Charlie was sometimes unnerved.  The fact that she was coordinated, and graceful and able to perform complex tasks precisely was enough to disconcert him because it was so removed from how she had been before. 

 

The more time they spent around each other however, the more he came to see that she was still her, she was still Bella.  She looked a little different, she moved differently, and her dietary habits had changed, but inside, where it mattered, where it really counted she was still his little girl.

 

Every once in a while, there would be something that reminded him of how she had changed – an icy kiss, a quickly chopped carrot, a muddy footprint on the kitchen floor in the morning – but within a couple of months of him finding out what she now was, things between them had settled down.

 

It hadn’t quite been the same between Charlie and Alice however.  If things were strained between her and Charlie, they were downright arctic between Charlie and Alice. 

 

Charlie had told Alice that he was grateful she had saved Bella’s life the night the truth about her had been revealed.  And Bella didn’t doubt that a part of him was thankful to her.  But another part of him, a significant part of him blamed Alice for changing her so dramatically.  A part of him resented Alice for making him afraid of his own child.

 

He never tried to ban Alice from the house.  He knew better than to do that.  If he forced Alice to stay away he knew that he meant to he wouldn’t get to see her, so he never tried to keep Alice from the house.  But, he had been formal and distant with Alice when she was around, and while things between them had improved a little, they were still not on the friendly terms they had been before the truth had been revealed.

 

“Oh no,” Bella said as they moved further through the house.  She had been leading Charlie towards the living room where she thought the rest of the family would be, but she could detect scents coming from the kitchen and realized that while she had gone to meet her father, the others had decided to try and cook.

 

“What?” Charlie asked with some apprehension.  ‘Oh no’ being uttered in a house fill of vampires was in no way something that he wanted to hear.

 

“It’s nothing bad,” Bella said smiling at him reassuringly.  “I just hope you’re hungry.  They’re cooking, and if you don’t want to eat Rose is likely to break some china,” Bella continued leading Charlie down another hallway.

 

“Cooking?  Food?” Charlie asked sounding confused, his eyebrows knitting together in the most adorable way.

 

Bella giggled.  “Yes, food,” she responded, “Pasta ai Quatto Formaggi, from the smell of it.  I don’t know why but Emmett is convinced we’re Italian.”

 

“It’s probably because your name’s Bella,” Charlie mused thoughtfully.  Bella paused, mulling over her father’s statement for a second and then smiled.

 

“You’re right, that’s probably it,” Bella said a second later, beaming up at Charlie.

 

It didn’t make that much sense, but it sounded a lot like Emmett logic, which usually didn’t resemble actual logic at all.  After all, she might have gone by Bella, but her last name was Swan, which wasn’t Italian in the least. 

 

Despite the sometimes befuddling way Emmett’s mind worked however, Bella was pleased that Charlie had figured it out.  She was certain now that Charlie and Emmett would get along great, and she was sure that if she managed to steer the conversation to sports at some time during the evening that she and Rose would have to drag Emmett and Charlie away from each other at the end of the night.

 

“I like Pasta ai Quatto Formaggi,” Charlie commented a few seconds later.  They were close to the kitchen now and Bella knew that he was starting to pick up the scent of the food.

 

“That’s why they’re making it,” Bella said shaking her head a little.  Alice had probably informed the others of it.

 

“Alice?” Charlie asked realizing that if Bella didn’t arrange it that Alice was the only other one who knew him well enough to.

 

“Yeah,” Bella said smiling fondly.  “She does like surprises.”

 

Bella stopped, drawing Charlie to a halt with her outside of the kitchen.

 

“And speaking of surprises,” Bella began, realizing that she couldn’t put it off any longer.

 

“No sentence that starts that way ever leads to anything good,” Charlie sighed wondering what Bella could possibly have to reveal to him now.  After finding out she was a vampire he didn’t think they would ever need to have a ‘special sit-down’ again, but apparently his girl was full of surprises.

 

“Edward’s here,” Bella said scrunching up her nose a little.

 

Charlie sighed.

 

“And I thought it was gonna be bad news,” her murmured his voice a study in sarcasm as his head dropped down despondently, which made Bella grin.

 

“Be nice,” Bella whispered squeezing his arm.  “He’s not my boyfriend anymore, which means you don’t have an obligation to mistrust and dislike him anymore.  You might actually get along with each other if you go into it with an open mind.”

 

Charlie snorted unkindly and rolled his eyes.

 

“Right,” Bella sighed.  “On that note, are you ready?”

 

Charlie took a deep breath and nodded.

 

“Alright, here we go,” Bella said stepping forward again, leading Charlie down the short hallway that led to the kitchen.

 

---

 

Later That Night

 

Charlie bit down on his bottom lip in an attempt to control the urge to laugh. 

 

After dinner, which was quite good considering none of the cooks dared taste what they were preparing, they had all retired into the living room to engage in a surprisingly wholesome game of charades.

 

At first Charlie had thought it was a joke.  With Carlisle in his sweater vest, and Esme in her Santa hat, he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the idea that this family of vampires was going to sit in front of the fire and play charades all night.  However, as they started calling teams, and began to plunk themselves around the ornate fire place, Charlie realized that they really were going to play charades, and had his mind blown for the umpteenth time that night.

 

Presently, Emmett was on his knees, awkwardly moving across the floor, bumping into things as he seemingly stared off into the distance, and Charlie was finding it very hard not to laugh.  He hadn’t been around Alice much when she had her visions, but he had seen a few of them, and he realized that Emmett was impersonating his sister.

 

Alice waved her hand around in front of her a few times, seemingly playing along with the joke, and then she launched herself at Emmett, wrapping her arms and legs around him, drawing him down onto the floor.

 

Emmett laughed at this latest development, and Charlie had to admit that the sight of such a tiny girl tackling someone Emmett’s size was visually quite amusing, however after a few seconds Emmett’s smile faded and Charlie realized that he couldn’t escape from Alice’s hold. 

 

She might have been small, but she had a good grip on him, and he couldn’t free his arms in order to pry her off of him.

 

“Come on,” Emmett complained finally, wiggling his torso to no avail.

 

“Say it,” Alice demanded, dropping her head down to brush the tips of her hair across Emmett’s face, making him sputter and tremble as he was tickled.

 

“No,” Emmett declared defiantly, deciding to lay back and think of Tennessee rather than give into Alice’s demands.

 

“You’re gonna say it,” Alice taunted, smirking.  “I know you are.”

 

Emmett paused for a moment, his face turning thoughtful as he mulled over Alice’s words.

 

“You’re a dirty liar,” Emmett declared finally, lying back flat on the ground, absolutely determined to stay that way until Alice got off of him.

 

Charlie turned his head to the side to see if anyone was going to do anything about what was going on, but as he looked at the rest of the family, he saw them turning their heads away from Emmett and Alice, their focus returning to the little slips of paper in front of them that held the next set of scenarios they would have to act out in the next round. 

 

“You wanna play this time, Dad?” Bella called out, looking over at Charlie who was shifting his attention between Alice and Emmett and the others.

 

Charlie shook his head distractedly, caught somewhere between amusement and disgust as Alice sucked her cheeks in, gathering moisture, threatening to spit on Emmett if he didn’t say … whatever it was she wanted him to say.

 

“I think she’s gonna spit on him,” Charlie said finally, turning back around to look at Bella.

 

Rose giggled at that, Bella smirked and Edward rolled his eyes.  Carlisle simply turned to look at Esme, and Esme sighed softly before turning her eyes over to Emmett and Alice again.

 

“Alice that’s disgusting,” Esme said tiredly.

 

“He was making fun of me,” Alice complained, no longer preparing to spit on Emmett, but not getting off of him either.

 

“In Emmett’s defense, you did put your name into the pot … despite my protests, I might add,” Esme responded.  “It was perhaps a little insensitive of him on walk on his knees like that, but …”

 

“It’s not my fault I’m short okay,” Alice declared peevishly.

 

Charlie wasn’t sure who she was talking too exactly.

 

“I was tryin’ to be accurate,” Emmett said, defending his acting choice.

 

“You were trying to be a jerk.  And you succeeded!” Alice declared, causing Bella and Rose to descend into a fit of giggles.

 

“Sometimes the truth hurts, Pipsqueak,” Emmett said shrugging as best he could in Alice’s hold.

 

Alice was quite for a second, but then she declared, “I’m gonna bite your nose off!” which sent Bella and Rose off into another fit of giggles.

 

Esme stared at them for a moment longer, and then turned to look at Carlisle and shrugged.  “They’ll get bored eventually,” she sighed.

 

“Dad,” Bella called, drawing Charlie’s attention away from the bickering siblings.

 

Charlie ripped his gaze away from Alice and Emmett, shaking his head slightly and moved over to where Bella was sitting, lowering himself onto the ground beside her in a bit of a daze.

 

He was beginning to wonder if it was possible for him to be around the Cullen’s in a large group without him feeling like he had stumbled into some bizzaro world where up was down, and coats wore you.

 

“Aren’t they hundreds of years old?” Charlie asked, befuddled.

 

“Two hundred going on twelve,” Bella responded grinning over at her father.  Combined Alice and Emmett’s ages did add up to that, not that one would have been able to guess that at the moment.  “Scary, isn’t it?”

 

“Oh, sucks to your assmar,” Alice called out in Bella’s direction, though there was a smile on her face, when she turned to look at Bella.

 

“Aw, love you too,” Bella called out, pressing her fingers to her lips to blow Alice a kiss.

 

---

 

“Charlie.”

 

Charlie turned to the side at the sound of his name, surprised to find Alice standing in front of him.  She had Emmett and eventually gotten bored of their little game, as Esme had surmised, and after punching each other in the arm a couple of times, they had rejoined the others game.

 

Not much of an actor himself, Charlie had politely declined their efforts to include him, insisting that he would have far more fun watching, which was what he had been doing when Alice’s voice distracted him.

 

“Hey … kiddo,” Charlie said, making a conscious effort to keep his voice light.

 

“Kiddo,” Alice breathed out in a surprised and delighted tone.  “Hey,” she added a moment later, trying not to sound too excited as she looked down at Charlie, a small, tentative smile on her lips.  “Are you okay?  Do you need anything to eat?  Drink?” she asked, bouncing on her feet a little, restless and energetic as usual.  “I used to be able to tell, but since Bella was made va … it’s harder for me to remember now.”

 

“I’m fine, Alice,” Charlie said, watching her carefully.  He had caught her slip, but he wasn’t going to comment on it.

 

“Okay,” Alice responded, her feet now firmly planted on the ground, the nervous, and Charlie was now sure, hopeful energy that had been coursing through her tempered by his response to her.  “Well, if you need anything …” she continued, trailing off as she jerked her thumb behind her and began to twirl around to join the others.

 

“Actually,” Charlie said, catching her before she could move away, her foot caught mid-air.  “Would you … I mean, why don’t you,” he sighed.  “Sit for a minute,” he continued gesturing to the open space beside him on the couch.

 

Alice watched him thoughtfully for a moment, and then smiled softly before gracefully lowering herself on the couch.

 

Charlie looked at her for a moment, and then sighed, lifting his hand up to her head, ruffling his short hair as he tried to gather his thoughts.

 

“I’m no good at this stuff,” Charlie began uncomfortably, his hand drifting down to his mustache to stroke it thoughtfully.

 

Things had been strained between him and Alice for a long time, and while he didn’t particularly like that things were that way, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from being mad at her.  Things had changed too dramatically and much too fast for him to handle.  As much as he was trying to be a modern man he had his limits, and finding out that his daughter had been made vampire had pushed them to the brink.

 

It wasn’t possible for him to just accept that Bella was vampire, he couldn’t shrug that away.  He was upset, and confused, and afraid and angry and he wanted someone to blame, he needed someone to be angry with and it couldn’t be Bella, so he transferred all of the negative, ugly emotions he had been feeling onto Alice – who had taken all he had to dish out, bearing it without complaint.

 

For the past eight months every time they had seen each other Alice had been relentlessly pleasant.  Even in the face of his hostile, stony silences, she greeted him warmly, and despite his inhospitability, she refused to take the easy way out and always came with Bella when she visited, bearing his unkindness so that she could support Bella and help her as she learned how to control her new abilities and instincts.  In spite of all he had done to discourage it, Alice continued to make friendly overtures to him, and had faced his constant rejection with grace and maturity.

 

He hadn’t wanted to be, but he was somewhat impressed with how she handled herself during those dark months, and eventually she wore him down and things between them had warmed slightly.  In recent months he had begun to speak to her in full sentences instead of grunts, and although it was mostly in silence, they had spent some time together watching baseball while Bella was occupied with course work.

 

Still, despite the slight thaw in relations, he had not been overly friendly or forgiving with Alice, and watching her that night, he had come to realize how unfair that was. 

 

Bella was different, but she was still there, in the world, where he could see her and talk to her, and hug her, and that was thanks to Alice. 

 

Things were different, but different didn’t mean bad.  This was life; real life, not a movie or a horror novel, and being vampire didn’t mean that a person lost their soul.  The Cullen’s were good people, Charlie could see that.  They were respectable, upstanding members of the community.  They had game nights, and did crossword puzzles.  They loved each other, supported each other, and defended each other.  They were a family. 

 

In Forks, he had always been concentrating on what Bella had lost.  The life she would never be able to lead.  He had never really stopped to consider what Bella had gained.  Her relationship with Alice had become stronger.  He had seen that for himself, despite the strain they were under while they were around him.  She had gained trustworthy, loyal, friends who would and had put their lives on the line without any hesitation for her.  She had gained a second family, one that would be around forever, and who Charlie knew would look out for her, and protect her long after he was gone.

 

He was scared, and it had made him mean, and he couldn’t have been more ashamed of himself.

 

“It’s okay,” Alice said softly, reaching out to touch Charlie’s arm gently.  “I know it hasn’t been easy for you.”

 

The way he had been treating her had hurt her, but she did understand why he was acting that way.  Bella had changed into something he didn’t completely understand and it scared him.  And, she was the one who had done it, who had taken his baby away and changed her.  He was mad, and he needed to channel it somewhere, and Alice preferred that it be at her.

 

“It hasn’t been.  But I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you,” Charlie responded, shaking his head regretfully.  “You deserved better than that.”

 

It struck him that night, how much his behavior had affected Alice.  Before watching her with her family that night, he hadn’t realized how long it had been since he had seen her smile and mean it.  He hadn’t realized how slow, and heavy her movements had become around his house, until he had seen her flitting around the kitchen, and dancing from room to room.  He hadn’t realized how long it had been since he had seen her act silly and girlish, until he had seen her laughing, her eyes alight as Edward playfully tucked her head under her his arm and rubbed her hair with his knuckles.  He hadn’t realized how long it had been since he had seen her playful until he had seen her wrestling with Emmett, laughing, teasing, playing, happy and free.

 

“Really,” Alice said rubbing Charlie’s arm, “It’s okay.  I understand.  And, I know it doesn’t seem like it at the moment, but you’ve actually handled the situation very well.”

 

Charlie snorted indelicately.

 

“I mean it,” Alice pressed on.  “I knew that things would be rough after telling you.  I knew this … distance was coming.  But I also knew that you wouldn’t expose us.  Most people can’t handle information like this, and those that can often can’t be trusted with it.  Normally, newborns are forced to cut all ties with their families.  Bella loves you, she needs you, and it was more than worth it to suffer through a few months of the silent treatment so that you two could stay in each others lives.”

 

Charlie sighed and shook his head, before running his fingers through his hair again.

 

“You’re a heck of a girl,” Charlie muttered finally, looking over at Alice fondly.

 

He couldn’t quite believe how smoothly his apology had gone, but if Alice was willing to let him off of the hook, he wasn’t going to look that gift-horse in the mouth. 

 

“Yeah,” Alice sighed contently, looking over at Charlie and holding his eyes.  “I rule.”

 

Charlie stared at her for a moment, and then laughed, reaching out to draw her against him in a half hug.  Alice smiled and laughed as well, allowing him to pull her against him before she wrapped her arms around him tightly and smooched herself against his side.

 

“That’s quite a grip you got there kid,” Charlie muttered, still surprised by the occasional displays of strength he witnessed from Alice and Bella.

 

“I know.  Now you’re never gonna get rid of me,” Alice breathed, flexing her arms around him for emphasis, though she made sure not to squeeze him to the point that it was painful.

 

“I think Bella might have something to say about that,” Charlie murmured, smiling down at the top of Alice’s head.

 

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it,” Alice declared solemnly.  “Until then, you’re stuck with me.”

 

“That might not be so bad.  There’s a double header starting in half an hour, and Emmett’s called shotgun on the big TV.  It’ll be nice to have some more company,” Charlie said struggling to keep any hint of amusement out of his voice.

 

“Double-header,” Alice repeated softly.  “That’s a sports thing, right?” she asked, her arms unconsciously loosening from around Charlie’s torso.

 

“Yep, Basketball,” Charlie replied, “Four hours straight of it.”

 

Alice pulled her arms from around Charlie completely, and stood in front of him, slim pale fingers thoughtfully stroking her chin.

 

“We’re cool now, right?” Alice asked finally, her eyes searching Charlie’s.

 

“We’re cool,” he confirmed.

 

“Awesome,” Alice said nodding, her eyes shifting from side to side as she did.  “I’m gonna go then,” she said finally.  “Cause, I’ve gotta … return some DVDs.  Late charges are the worst.”

 

Charlie smiled and nodded, patting her reassuringly on the shoulder.

 

“I understand,” he said intoned gravely.  “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

 

“Number one, Dad,” Alice exclaimed, grinning at Charlie as she slapped him on the arm lightly. 

 

Charlie was about to respond to that, but before he could Alice became distracted and turned her head to the side, focusing on something across the room.

 

 “Number one human Dad, Carlisle,” she said finally, and Charlie could see that her eyes were on her own father as she spoke.  “The human part was implied.”

 

Turning his head to the side, Charlie followed Alice’s gaze over to Carlisle who was looking at her with a hang dog expression.  From the smiles on the faces of the rest of the family, Charlie was certain that Carlisle was just playing and wasn’t really offended, and he smiled a little at the display of goofiness from the usually stoic patriarch of the Cullen family.  Charlie’s gaze moved from Carlisle back to Alice when she shifted in front of him, his eyes crinkling with delight a second later when Alice sighed and muttered, “you men are so sensitive,” before she patted Charlie’s shoulder one last time and made her way over to her father. 

 

It didn’t take long for Alice to reach Carlisle and when she did, she bent down at the waist and pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then after a brief moment of hesitation a devious smile spread across Alice’s lips and she ruffled his usually impeccably styled hair, until it was sticking out in every direction.  Once she was done giving Carlisle the out of control hair of a teen idol, Alice rested her hand on his shoulder and looked down at her father somberly.  “You’ll always be top nacho with me Papi,” she said with utmost seriousness.

 

“You were watching Univision the whole time I was gone, weren’t you?” Bella asked smirking, as Rose and Emmett exchanged looks and tried not to smile.

 

“Por supuesto que no, mi hermoso ángel del cielo!” Alice declared gesturing passionately as she stared deeply into Bella’s eyes.  Charlie’s Spanish was a bit rusty, but he was pretty sure that Alice had just said, “Of course not, my beautiful angel from heaven!” and he had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop from laughing.

 

Alice’s dramatic display made Esme giggle however, and once she lost it the rest of the family started to laugh as well.  Alice turned her head to Charlie and winked at him conspiratorally, and then she took a seat on the floor next to Bella and took his daughter’s hand into her own before focusing on the coloured slips of paper on the floor once again.

 

Charlie leaned back in the couch, settling himself comfortably.  A small, content smile spreading over his face as Edward and Emmett started arguing, Edward gesturing manically to an empty spot on the floor while Rose surreptitiously passed the object that Edward was looking for to Alice behind Bella’s back.  Charlie reached for his beer, and took a sip, allowing his eyes to close as the cool liquid slipped down his throat.  

 

In the Cullen’s living room, surrounded by soft music, the warmth of a fire and the sound of soft laughter, he felt better than he had in months.  He was finally beginning to believe – for the first time since finding out that Bella was a vampire – that things would really be okay.

 

 

 

To be continued …

Comments

[onlyjustwhisper.livejournal.com]

I seriously seriously loved this! Probably one of my favourite chapters so far :)
Charades!! Sibing rivalry!! References to Rosalie breaking china and Bella being apparently Italian!! Esme in a Santa hat! Charlie being OK about everything! Alice being adorable and tough and kickass!
...I'm going to stop now :)
But seriously: AWESOME <33

But I am sad that there's only one chapter to go :(

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Probably one of my favourite chapters so far :)

YAY! lol. I actually really, really loved writing this chapter. It was one of my favs to write as well, so I'm glad that you liked it.

Charades!! Sibing rivalry!! References to Rosalie breaking china and Bella being apparently Italian!! Esme in a Santa hat! Charlie being OK about everything! Alice being adorable and tough and kickass!

It was nice to take a break from angst and drama and be able to get a little silly in this chapter. I love writing scenes where the Cullen's all hang out together, and it was fun to be able to get Charlie in on the action this time.

But I am sad that there's only one chapter to go :(

I'm seriously not going to know what to do with myself soon when I no longer have "The Edge" updates to work on. I've been writing this for almost a year now! The truth is I'm getting kind of burned out though. I keep on getting ideas like "this would be cool, or this", but I feel like things are naturally coming to an end right now.

[onlyjustwhisper.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but ideas mean that you'll have more plot bunnies for us! And maybe more stories!
Which segueways quite naturally into: I'm off to read your new fic :)

(Plus, it means I can hopefully get your video done before I go to Borneo :D)

[katy1630.livejournal.com]

oh my gosh, i jst noticed ur name says '35/36'......does that mean theres only one chapter left :O sad times! i absolutely love this fic and as a matter of fact i recommended it to a friend who has jst started reading fanfic and shes loving it to :)

great update! loves it!

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

i jst noticed ur name says '35/36'......does that mean theres only one chapter left :O sad times!

Unfortunately, yes. This was the penultimate chapter, and the next one is the end. It's kind of a sad day for me as well, cause I've been writing this for almost a full year now, but I thing things are coming to a pretty organic end, so hopefully you'll enjoy it :D

Also, thanks for the rec, and I hope that your friend has fun reading.

[(Anonymous)]

Sucks to your auntie!

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

lol!

Well, played Sir/Madam. Well played ;)

[(Anonymous)]

Omg! This is like one of my favorite chapters ! Icant believe thenext chapter is the last one :(
That scene from the movie is my favorite, but other than that scene, the moviekind of sucked, so I laughed out loud when I read that :D

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. I'm really glad you enjoyed it :D

That scene from the movie is my favorite, but other than that scene, the moviekind of sucked, so I laughed out loud when I read that :D

Oh yeah, the movie sucked balls. But I loved that scene as well. That was one of the only times when I was actually really paying attention during the film, so with another guest coming over for dinner, I really couldn't resist the in-jokes.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

"You'll always be top-notch with me papi" is ultimate win!

Oh, thank god someone else liked that line. I was giggling like mad when it came to me. But sometimes things amuse me that don't amuse other people, at all.

Love the family-bonding atmosphere. Charlie is an awesome father and Alice is dreamy girldfriend material as usual. *sigh*

These are the reasons I loved writing this chapter. Cullen Family Bonding Time is always good fun. I love Charlie and Alice together cracking jokes and being cute like 'whoa'. And of course, Alice being Alice, which is to say the dreamiest ever is always a good thing.

[slavefaith.livejournal.com]

I join in the chorus of noooooooooooo realising this great fic has to end.

Tho I am glad that it is not one of those ones that go on forever and completely lose the point at the plot.

This has been a fantastic series. Great work.

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

I join in the chorus of noooooooooooo realising this great fic has to end.


A sad day is upon us all. I'm seriously like, "What am I going to do with myself now". I've been writing this for so long it's like a part of my life routine. But, I think the time has come. It's gotten a few extensions already, but I think this time it's really coming to end. Hopefully it'll be a satisfying one.

[wyccad.livejournal.com]

Emmett logic!!! That is so perfect!
I loved this! Can't believe it's almost over tho.
Um...can I pretty please have some hot girl on girl action? Huh? Please? I have to live vicariously...
<3 you!

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Emmett logic!!! That is so perfect!

The boys not a brain surgeon, but he sure is cute!

Um...can I pretty please have some hot girl on girl action? Huh? Please? I have to live vicariously...

Bella and Alice are alone for a while next chapter, so there'll be some GoGA, but not really an explicit love scene. I'm working on it now, but I don't think I'll be able to work in a full on sex session. I do have a Bella/Alice drabble laying around that for some ridiculous reason I haven't posted yet, and it is full of GoGA, so hopefully that will help.

Hmmmmm...

[lightbluenym.livejournal.com]

Could that be Damsel? :D

Re: Hmmmmm...

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes, it would be. Which will soon see the light of day! My word of honor!

[wyccad.livejournal.com]

Have I mentioned that you are a goddess??
Because you are...

[lightbluenym.livejournal.com]

This chapter was pure win. Alice speaking Spanish? So hot. Like OMGI'MONFIRE hot. I think I've asked this before (maybe?), but are we gonna find out what Bella's power is?

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Alice speaking Spanish? So hot. Like OMGI'MONFIRE hot.

lol. Alice is always muy caliente, but Alice speaking Spanish really is hot like burning!

I think I've asked this before (maybe?), but are we gonna find out what Bella's power is?

Nope. Well, same as in the book I guess. It won't be brought up at all.

As you know, I didn't finish Eclipse and I didn't even attempt Breaking Dawn, so I really have no idea about things like the Volutri plot and how Bella's power is revealed (and I really don't love the idea that like EVERYONE has powers anyway. It was supposed to be this rare thing, and then SMeyer had like everyone and their cousin have a power, and I'm like 'how much does it suck to be like the five vampires in the world that don't have a super secret power?' Sorry, Rose, Emmett, Esme, you get nothing because you're characters were written before the author decided that vampires were really X-Men).

So, I'm just going to leave well enough alone in regards to that.

[orange-creative.livejournal.com]

Hah! Love the charades. <3 Emmett's impression of Alice. I'm definitely feeling you that this story is coming to end, but it's been quite the kickass ride. This is far and beyond my favorite Alice/Bella fic. :)

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it :D Emmett's such a joker, lol. I always love writing the Cullen's interacting together. They are comedy gold.

The story is almost at it's end though, yes. One more chapter to go. And even though it's sad that it's come to an end (I almost don't know what I'll do with myself now that I don't have this story on my mind, I've been writing it for almost a year now), hopefully the last chapter will finish the story off nicely.

[lost-dreamer23.livejournal.com]

Despite the extreme joy and happiness I have had reading this, I think I'm going to be very, very sad when it ends. However, I agree with one of your replies to a comment here, things do seem to be coming to a nice close on their own. ...My dirty mind can only hope there will be one last lovemaking scene before this is done. You don't have to listen to me, though ;)

[grdnofevrythng.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to be able to say that a) I really love this. Like a thousand times over. and 2)(yes on purpose)That I have been able to avoid being sucked into this fandom by limiting myself to this one fic. The DWPers would be very upset if I left before I finished my fics. LOL This has been a fun ride and I can't wait for the next chapter. ^_^