After that awful experience at the Ski Party with Ashley, I called Betsy into my office as soon as I arrived to work that morning. When she stepped in I closed the door. I told her everything that had occurred, including the run-in with Ashley at the supermarket when Esme and I were shopping.

Betsy’s eyes grew wider and wider as I spoke; I was sure they were going to pop out of her head. I knew that Betsy believed me and we decided that, in order to not start any weird rumors or have a scandal on our hands, she would rotate Charlotte with Ashley and have me work closely with the former, as opposed to the latter. She, herself, was going to keep an eye out on Ashley. When I asked her where Ashley was that morning, Betsy said she came in on time humming to herself and had gotten straight to work. Last she saw, Ashley was headed to the ER. I knew I wouldn’t be working there today so I thought I was in the clear. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a snafu at home and I still ended up in the ER.

          Here’s what happened: While Jacob, Seth and Leah were running patrol, Nessie decided to sneak into the garage and take one of the old motorcycles that Jacob was working on restoring. She decided that it would be a good idea to take the thing out for a run. Mind you, she has never been on one before. So to make a long story short, she got on it, turned it on, drove it out of the garage, quickly lost control, and was sent flying into the air, landing badly on her left leg and breaking it. The wolves heard her scream from about a mile away and raced back home. They all phased back and Jacob flew to her side, followed by the other two. Leah quickly ran for a car. When it arrived, Jacob loaded her into it with Seth in the passenger seat.

          While Leah was driving to the hospital, Seth called Edward and Bella, who in turn called Rose, Emmett, and Esme. All of them converged in the emergency room. As I was walking through one of the wings, I heard my name being paged over the loudspeaker to come to the ER immediately. I didn’t hesitate and jogged toward the elevator wondering what it could be. When the double doors opened and I entered the ER it didn’t take me long to figure out where I had to go, as most of my family were in Area 5 surrounding Nessie on the bed. She was crying as Bella held her.

“What happened?” I asked, surprised.

“She broke her leg when she fell off a motorcycle,” Jacob explained as Nessie continued to sob on Bella’s shoulder.

“What the hell was she doing on a motorcycle?”

I looked around as everyone looked at Nessie, who gulped down another sob before she finally spoke. “I . . . I . . . th—thought I . . . c-could just ride it around the back-k-y-yard. I-I didn’t realize it was going to go so fast. I didn’t press anything. Then all of a sudden it just started going fast on its own and I lost control and fell.” Her eyes didn’t meet mine. I could tell she was embarrassed.

“And where were you guys during this whole episode?” I asked the wolves.

“Patrolling. We heard her scream from a mile away and raced back,” Seth answered. Jacob shuttered at the memory.

“Well, let me have a look. Can you guys give me some room please?”

They all moved aside except Bella, who was still holding Nessie’s hand. I started by making sure she was breathing properly and that the fall didn’t give her a head injury. When all of that was done, I moved down to the obvious location of the break. As I touched it, Nessie let out a cry of pain. Just then I heard someone clear their throat behind me. When I turned to look it was Charlotte, who was smiling and holding a medium sized purple teddy bear that lit up and moved its arms and legs.

“Hi ya’ll! Nessie, I brought you this bear so that you could hold it while your uncle checks you over. That way you won’t feel the pain that much.” She handed the bear to Nessie, who took it gladly with wide eyes.

“Thank you. Can I k-k-keep him?” Nessie asked.

“Of course you can, honey!” Charlotte said with a smile and a wink. I gave her a grateful nod and she moved to the side waiting for my direction. She could tell this would be a handful.

“All right, Ness . . . I’m going to send you to x-ray to see how bad it is, though I imagine it’s a clean break—which means we won’t have to operate. But I want to make sure this is correct. Charlotte will you please call up to radiology and tell them we have a patient with a fractured lower leg that we need an x-ray stat.”

“Right away Dr. Cullen,” she said and hurried down the hall to the phone. I turned to my family.

“Nessie, what were you thinking?” Edward asked firmly. “You could have really hurt yourself! You’re not entirely immortal.” That last part was whispered.

“I . . . guess I wasn’t. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’m sorry Daddy, Mommy, everyone,” she whispered through her tears.

“Oh, leave her alone, Edward! A broken leg is punishment enough,” Esme pointed out to Edward, who ran his hand through his hair in exasperation.

          We stood there talking amongst ourselves or soothing Nessie. By that time, I had given her some morphine in order to ease the pain and she was feeling a bit woozy, but still clutched that teddy bear Charlotte gave her.

I was standing next to Rose and Emmett when I felt the latter stiffen in response to Esme doing the same. I then noticed everyone looking in a certain direction and followed their gazes. There stood Ashley, her coy semi cocky smile suddenly turning unsure and even a little fearful as she took in Emmett who, if looks could kill, she wouldn’t be dead but in a lot of pain. She actually took a step back. She hadn’t met him yet; she had only met Esme, Nessie, and Jacob. Here stood quite a brigade of people who didn’t look friendly toward her at all. Little did she know, this wasn’t even everyone.

          That’s when I noticed her hair. I hadn’t realized that it was different. It was still curly but it was no longer blond. It was now a light brown color and it parted differently. I wonder why she had colored her hair. Who knew what went on in that head of hers; that’s when I remembered Edward, who was looking at her absolutely puzzled.

Before anyone could say anything, Charlotte appeared and said, “They’re ready for her in x-ray Dr. Cullen. I’ll take her up if you wish.”

“Thank you, Charlotte, I’ll come too. This is a good chunk of my family, by the way,” I told her with a small smile.

“A good chunk? You mean there’s more of you? And I thought we had large families in Texas!” she said, surprised. Everyone laughed. I knew that Ashley was listening. Didn’t care though, I wanted her to know how large we were.

“Yeah, there’s two more in Sweden on a second honeymoon, plus our neighbors/significant others who are like an extended family of sorts—but they are doing different things today,” Rose explained.

The others introduced themselves.

“Wow!” Charlotte said again, impressed.

We then proceeded to wheel Nessie down the hall toward the elevators without giving Ashley another look. Well, I didn’t look, but Emmett did. He later muttered that she looked angry and a bit afraid. I guess she wasn’t happy that she wasn’t acknowledged.

“Oh well, tough shit,” said Jacob.

Charlotte was filled in on the events by Betsy so she knew what was going on but was the absolute professional.

“What’s up with her hair? I thought she loved being a blonde?” Charlotte wondered while we were all sandwiched in the elevator on the way up.

I shrugged. “Never a dull moment around here, that’s for sure.”

Everyone either nodded or grumbled consent.

We reached the proper floor at that point. Charlotte and I wheeled Nessie toward the radiology lab where the x-ray was waiting and a smiling radiologist got her all prepped for it. The family and I waited outside; it didn’t take very long. When the x-rays were developed and I took a look, turned out that I was right. It was a clean break and she would need to be in a cast for about a month or so; less than most humans as she does heal faster but not fast enough. We then wheeled her back out and  down to the ER where she was put into a different location so that Charlotte and I could put the cast on her. She was already falling asleep and I wanted the family to take her home soon.

          It didn’t take long to put her in the cast. After it was on and dry, everyone signed their names and put cute little messages on it. Charlotte drew a little stick figure with a cowboy hat and boots with a smile and holding a teddy bear. Nessie wanted to save room for the others, including her best friend. Michelle had heard by then and wanted to come to the hospital, but we assured her that she could just come visit Ness at our house when she got back.

Just as we were finishing up, a code red sounded in the area a few feet away. I saw Ashley scramble for the crash cart and start working on the patient. Charlotte ran off to help. By the time I arrived, they had managed to get the patient breathing again. I congratulated them both. For some bizarre reason, though, Ashley was pissed instead of feeling happy. She all but pushed Charlotte out of the way as she walked past.

“What is your problem?” Charlotte demanded.

“You are!” Ashley said and walked away in a huff.

“What the hell was that about?” Charlotte asked. No one could answer her. But I had had enough. I followed Ashley into the hallway and called her name. She turned around, her face still flushed.

“What is going on with you, Ashley?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she barked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I want you to listen to me, and listen real well: that kind of behavior in my ER is unacceptable! If I see you talking to any other staff member in such a manner, I will personally have a talk with Dr. Connolly. Do I make myself clear?” I said through clenched teeth.  

Her face was still contorted in anger but then gradually it was as if someone pulled the plug on her expression, it started to shift until her eyes were wide and she was as white as a sheet.

“Oh my God . . . I’m . . . I’m very sorry, Dr. Cullen. You are right. Charlotte was only trying to help. I think I was so in the zone with trying to save the patient that I just over reacted. I’ll apologize to Charlotte when I see her later. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” I warned, then turned around and walked away leaving her staring after me in the hallway with those same wide eyes and open mouth.

          Shortly after the confrontation I forgot all about Ashley as I discharged Nessie and sent her home, along with the others. I gave my reassurances that I would be fine. I finished my rounds and as I was going into the locker room to change into street clothes, I saw Ashley talking to Charlotte. I heard her apologize and Charlotte nod once or twice, offering a small smile.

I managed to get changed and leave without incident. When I got home everyone was in Bella and Edward’s cottage as Nessie went straight to bed after the hospital. When they saw me, they all stepped outside to talk so we wouldn’t wake her. I’d given her some knock out drugs so she would sleep through the night without pain.

When we were all out of earshot, Edward started talking as he knew what my question would be. “I know you’re wondering why I was so puzzled when I was reading Ashley’s mind. The reason being was that, unlike a regular a human being, her mind was so busy that you couldn’t pick up on one single thought. It’s like multi-tasking for the brain. I have never witnessed anything like that. I don’t think she even realizes she does it. The only thing I was able to discern was that she was afraid of Emmett. But that one I think was obvious to everyone.” Emmett grinned and Edward continued. “I think she got pissed at Charlotte because she wanted to save that man herself doing it her way, and she thought Charlotte was going to get in the way. Not really sure what that thought process was about. Human beings are still quite mind-boggling to me.”  

“She seemed sincere in her apology to me and to Charlotte. But it seems like her behavior is getting weirder and weirder as the days go on. I have no clue what she will do next,” I said.

“Well, I told you she was a drama queen. Maybe that’s part of it,” Rosalie thoughtfully.

“You could be right. Some people just like that extra attention. I guess we have no choice but to wait and see,” I sighed.

At that point we all hugged and said goodnight. It was after 10pm, and though night and day bleeds into one for us, it seems all this extra drama at the hospital has been draining me mentally. Who knows, maybe after Alice and Jasper return, as well as Rogue and Alexander, Esme and I may take a little vacation of our own.

I’m glad Nessie wasn’t badly hurt. Teenagers aren’t always the smartest—and that also goes for hybrids! For now, I’m just going to go and relax after this long day with my beautiful wife.

Have a good night!

          Boy do I have a lot to tell you. As the day of the ski party arrived, we were all getting ready to either go or do other things, when I got a call from Alice in Sweden. She said she had another vision and to be careful on slopes. We figured it would be an avalanche, so we decided to stay clear of the real complicated slopes and tell the others the same. Then, just before 5pm, we—Esme, Jacob, Nessie, and I—loaded all of our ski equipment into our flatbed truck and took off toward the little inn that would be hosting our party. We all looked really stylish; I will avoid using the word spiffy or I’ll get another eye roll from Jacob. I have no clue what’s so “uncool” about that word. Teenagers!

          Anyways, when we arrived at the slopes, some people were already there, while others were coming directly from their shifts at the hospital. As soon as I got there, Bill Connolly took me aside and told me that we lost patients in the hospital. Both went into cardiac arrest within 2 hours of each other. Bill thought that was strange because neither of these people came in with heart troubles. I thought this was strange as well, so I asked if Bill wanted to have autopsies performed on them both. He said that that would be improbable as both were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they had some strict rules about that kind of stuff. Of course we had to follow with their wishes and those of their families. That put a bit of a damper on the party. But as more people started to arrive, we decided that we weren’t going to mope around but rather enjoy this time with our coworkers and families.

          I’d already met Bill’s wife Donna previously, and as both of their children were either in college or already grown with a family of their own, it was just the two of them at the party. Charlotte brought her new boyfriend. Melanie brought her husband, the two nurses from NYC brought their husbands and Shandy brought her two adorable 9-year-old twin girls. Betsy was feeling better but wasn’t up to skiing so she just came with her husband to watch the rest of us do our thing. Ashley drove up in her own car. I didn’t think she had a car. But within the next half hour or 45 minutes everyone was assembled.

          We decided to make all of the introductions before heading to the slopes, I did mention that there were possibilities of avalanches and told everyone to steer clear of the complicated slopes. I had a lot of heads nodding in agreement. Once all of the introductions were made, we got our gear and headed toward the slopes. Nessie, Esme and I were on skis, while Jacob had a snowboard that he’d mastered since we moved here. The first time down the slope it was just my family and I. Then Bill and his wife joined us for the second round.

          Later on we had a male vs. female race. The women beat us into oblivion. Esme, being an avid skier, out-skied everyone. She made it to the bottom in record time, followed closely behind by Nessie and Ashley tying for second place. Jacob all but rolled down the hill after his first tumble; his eventual landing sent Nessie into a state of giggles to the point where she fell off her own skis. We were all kind of laughing at him at that point. He looked like a cross between Gumby and a giant bouncy ball. Nessie whispered in his ear, which Esme and I—with our keen vampiric hearing—overheard. She told him she pictured him in his wolf form on that snowboard doing the same thing and it made her laugh even harder. Esme and I smiled at that one. Jacob started grumbling but looking at Nessie, he couldn’t stay angry too long and started laughing along with her. Finally he pulled her up with him and gave her a giant kiss.

          We all headed back up to the top and it was time for people to decide whether they wanted to eat or continue skiing. Esme and I opted to keep skiing and let the humans enjoy the food. She and I had a very romantic run on the bunny slope, much to the hoots and cheers of Nessie and Jacob, not to mention Bill and Betsy. That was the best. At one time we thought someone was following us but when we checked, it seemed to be just a rabbit trying to get away before becoming squashed. I still had a very uneasy feeling about what Bill told me previously. But there wasn’t much we could do.

          After we returned back to the top, we started mingling with other people and at that point Ashley approached me after she was in what seemed like a deep conversation with Nessie.

“Hey Dr. Cullen. You and your wife are amazing skiers. Your niece says she thinks you should try out for the Olympics and from what I’ve seen, I don’t disagree. I was wondering if you could give me some pointers. I feel like I need a “Skiing for Dummies” book.” She shot me an appreciative smile.

“Aw . . . come on Ashley, don’t sell yourself short. Everyone has to start somewhere. A good chunk of my family avoids skiing like the plague. You should talk to my daughter-in-law Bella. If you put her on skis, she’ll fall over before she even moves an inch,” I told her with a laugh.

“Well in that case, that makes me feel a lot better. I can at least waddle a bit and slide downward.”

“I’d say you do much more than that. I mean you came in second place with Nessie in the race. But I would definitely be up for giving you pointers. When do you want to go?” I asked.

“Um . . . well, what about now?” She looked around and then back at me.

“What about the food? You must be starving.”

“Oh no! I’m stuffed beyond capacity, plus I had some food at the hospital before coming here,”she explained.

“Wait, you were in the hospital before this? I didn’t think you had a shift today,” I asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, I decided to pull a few extra shifts just so I had some more money in the bank. This cross-country move has stretched me a bit too thin; why with all the stuff, renting the apartment and leasing the car. Doesn’t hurt, you know?”

“That is true, my dear. Were you in the hospital when the two patients passed? Bill informed me about that.”

“Oh, that. Yes I was, but I was already in the locker room changing to come here and when I heard the alarm go off, I didn’t get to the one in time and other one happened before I started my shift. It’s sad. But you can’t save them all.” That last sentence came out kind of flat for a caring nurse.

“Yes it is quite sad, but we do try to save as many as possible,” I reminded her. “Well let’s not stand around here anymore talking about this morbid stuff. You wanted me to give you some pointers. What exactly are you having trouble with?”

“Well, pushing off without falling is a big one, and then taking corners—not even sharp ones. I always seem to lean the wrong way and fall or just miss the corner altogether.”

“Alright then, let’s go and I’ll show you.”

          With a wink at Esme and a nod toward the others, we slowly skied over to the beginner’s slope where I started very slowly showing her the proper way to ski. When she pushed off, she used her knees and her weight. After about two or three tries, she seemed to be getting the hang of it. Then we started skiing side-by-side slowly as I explained how to take a turn without over compensating and ending up on your butt or missing the corner and maybe hitting someone, or a tree—which wouldn’t be pleasant either way. The first few times she fell but got up and dusted herself off then started concentrating again.

Then a very bizarre thing happened. She and I were skiing next to each other and I was on her right side and we were to turn left, she must have not calculated properly but the next thing I knew she started falling and, as I grabbed to catch her, I ended up on top of her in a tangle of limbs. We were facing each other. I started to jump up, but not too fast in order to avoid revealing my speed, but the look on her face stopped me. It wasn’t one of panic, pain, or surprise even. Her eyes were half lidded and she looked at me with what I could only describe as a woman who was in a romantic predicament with a man and was waiting for the man to make the first move. My eyes widened, and then I really did jump up and pulled her up with me. I chose to ignore it and started to dust the snow off myself as she stood there looking at me, staring.

“Ashley, I think that’s enough for today,” I told her.  “I think you got the gist of things. It’s time for us to head back to the others.”

“Of course, Dr. Cullen. As you wish.” She all but purred. I looked up at her and the look in her eyes told me that she had gotten what she came for . . . whatever that was. I guess she really didn’t get the hint that I’m a one woman man after all. I’ll just have to keep a watchful eye on her.

          I skied back up and joined the others. I didn’t even bother waiting for her. Esme saw my face as did Nessie, Jacob, and Betsy. And it didn’t escape Bill’s attention, either. He raised an eyebrow in my direction and I shook my head at him. My family quickly surrounded me and Nessie touched me to project her thoughts of confusion into my head. I told them I would explain everything at home. They said they were willing to leave if I was, but I had to stay to support Charlotte in her endeavor with this party.

We hung out for another 2 hours just shooting the breeze, but this time I didn’t leave Esme’s side and we sat down on a log as Esme stroked my arm and had lain her head down on my shoulder when someone started a bonfire.

          Ashley continued to stare at me but I refused to meet her gaze. I was pretty angry at her devious ploys. I was even willing to bet at this point that she knew how to ski pretty well and this was her way of getting me alone. This little nurse thought she could take me on? HA! She had no idea who—or what for that matter—lived out in those woods. Hell none of them knew they were sharing their bonfire with two vampires, a werewolf, and a hybrid half vampire/half human girl. They had no idea of the clan of vampires living outside of town, not to mention the other clan of supernatural Gods.

          I was going to keep a close eye on this woman. If she didn’t get the point, I would have to have a serious conversation with Bill.

Once my family and I got home from all of our respective outings, which of course included the Watchers, we had a discussion about what happened and we all agreed that we were going to be extra cautious. As soon as I was done talking, Amy reached for her cell phone and dialed a number. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who she was calling. After she was done talking, we waited to hear what was said.

“I spoke at length with Rogue about this situation and she said to keep a watchful eye on this woman. She sounds like she doesn’t take no for an answer. She also said that she and Alexander will be home as soon as they can. They have their hands full with the Watchers and some nomad vampires in Montana,” she said, rolling her eyes at that last part.

“I agree with Rogue, keep your distance as much as possible from her, Carlisle. I know you being the consummate professional won’t let it affect your work but when it comes to everything else, avoid her. Maybe she’ll get the point that way. If not then we’ll have to move to a plan B, whatever that is. Whatever happens, you know we all have your back.” Emmett voiced that one, surprising everyone.

“Thank you everyone. I just don’t understand what she could possibly gain from all this—other than attention. You think that’s what it is? She wants attention because she’s an orphan?” I’d already told them about her life story, as well as all of the others.

“Who knows? She is from L.A! She’s probably just a drama queen who loves to be the center of attention of hot men,” Rosalie grumbled then laughed. “Kind of sounds like me in my human days. But I would never even look at a married man. That’s just wrong.”

Just then the house phone rang and Bella went to field it. The rest of us continued to talk amongst ourselves.

When Bella got back she told us, “That was Alice. She was worried and wanted to make sure you were OK Carlisle. She was also asking if they should shorten their trip and come home. I said no, nothing has happened that we can’t take care of. She said because she’s never seen this Ashley in person she can’t pinpoint what her next move will be or if there will even be one. Which makes her a bit worried, but I did remind her that Ashley is human so there’s only so much she can do against an armada of immortals,” she finished with a laugh. We couldn’t disagree with her there.

          With an exhausted sigh, I said I was going to retire to my room. Esme followed me and we all hugged and kissed on the way upstairs as the others started to disperse. But not before Nessie gave me the biggest hug and kiss and said, “Gosh Grandpa, we can’t catch a break, can we? Not even the humans will leave us alone. But don’t worry, we all love you and I will personally kick that chick’s butt if she hurts you! She didn’t look that tough, I’m sure I can take her.”

I had to chuckle at that and give her a hug back. My granddaughter really was a treasure to me. Edward smiled at that last thought of mine. I then looked around the room and then back at this little angel in my arms and said, “I hope it doesn’t turn into such a problem where violence needs to become involved. Besides if she does do something out there, because she’s human, we’ll let the human authorities deal with her. I think she should hopefully mellow out after tonight. In any case I will be incredibly cautious with her from now on. I will speak with Betsy in confidence about the problem and try to have her on different rotations than me. We’ll see. Let’s not worry until there’s something truly to worry about. All right?”

Nessie thought about my question for a moment or two. “Well she was very interested in our family history. I kind of felt like I was being interrogated but she did it with a smile. I do remember thinking that it just sounded way too creepy. I guess now we know why.”

I nodded at her. It was making some sort of sense. There seemed to be a lot of pieces to this wackadoodle puzzle (that’s Nessie’s word by the way) and we need to figure out what they all are before we try to handle the situation in any shape or form. For now I think our game plan was normal and we or I rather was going to implement it starting tomorrow.

I took Esme by the hand and we walked upstairs as I heard the others disperse amongst their own rooms, cottages, and homes. It was late and I was ready for my lavender bubble bath. Esme must have read my mind because when we got to our suite of rooms, she headed straight into the bathroom and I heard the water running a short time later. I smiled. This is one of about a million and then some reasons why I utterly and completely love my wife and wouldn’t change her for anyone or anything ever.

I walked into the bathroom, stripped and climbed into the warm tub where I was joined by my very beautiful and sexy wife. We lay there and I felt all of my tension ebb and flow out of me. I closed my eyes and let my mind and body enjoy the sensation of right now. What happened was the past and now I’m looking toward the future.

My only future, my eternity, the only way I could ever survive this forever of ours is with Esme. Period. End of story.

Have a good night everyone!

          So you heard about Alice’s Civil War inspired renewal ceremony. I love Alice dearly, but I’m really tired of all of these weddings! Just a lot of work. Maybe I’m just being grumpy because of the week I’ve had at work, but I just wanted some peace and quiet. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve hired the new staff and at first everything seemed to be going well. But then—and I can’t really put my finger on it—things have been a bit off kilter.

          We have a ski party coming up at the hospital, organized by Charlotte, our honor student from TX. She really does love to ski! She’s such a sweetheart. She has started dating a resident from the Gastroenterology Department and they make a very cute couple.

Melanie from Vancouver has just told us recently that she is expecting, so we had a bit of a luncheon for her. Unfortunately the food we ordered must have not agreed with her because she started feeling a bit sick afterwards; thankfully Ashley was there to give her something for her stomach and she felt better soon after. You never know when you order from these restaurants if things will be fresh. I, of course, made an excuse that I already ate followed by a joke about watching my figure, so no one really pushed me to eat anything.

          This ski party is for everyone working at the hospital, especially doctors and nurses. We are all encouraged to bring our family members and so I’m bringing Esme, Jacob, and Nessie. Keith, Leah, Bella, Edward, Amy, Peter, Corin, and Seth will be going on a “hiking date” that same day. That’s a nice way of saying hiking and hunting. Emmett and Rose were just going to hang out at the house; they didn’t feel like going. Alice and Jasper would still be in Sweden at this point as they’ve extended their trip. Rogue and Alexander, though both avid skiers, have to travel to Montana to check on some Watchers there, and Michelle and her parents don’t ski so they are sitting this one out.

It’ll give the new staff members a chance to meet our family members and vice versa. Charlotte’s putting it together with the help of Ashley and Betsy. There will be food and racing and just good-natured fun. I’m very much looking forward to it. Besides, Jacob could eat for 3 people!

          We had a very strange run in with one of the nurses, Ashley, when I accompanied Esme to the grocery store to load up on food for our family. We were both in the vegetable section as Esme was looking for the ripest of tomatoes when I had a feeling that someone was watching me. I looked in that general direction and saw Ashley standing there with her little cart full of groceries. I couldn’t quite place the look on her face, but when our eyes met she smiled and walked right over.

“Hi Dr. Cullen! How are you?”she asked with enthusiasm.

“Oh—hello Ashley. I’m fine thanks, and yourself?” I said politely.

“Oh well . . . you know . . . shopping,” she giggled, then looked over at Esme, who was watching us with interest; she looked her up and down with a very measuring eye. Esme noticed but continued smiling. “This must be your wife,” she said.

“Yes, it is. Esme darling, please meet one of our new nurses. This is Ashley from Los Angeles,” I said as Esme walked over smiling and extended her hand which Ashley shook. Something was off about Esme’s face when they shook hands, but I didn’t have an opportunity to ask.

“Welcome Ashley. It’s a pleasure meeting you,” Esme said softly.

“It’s nice to meet you too. Dr. Cullen has told me so much about you,” Ashley told her, no longer smiling. I had no idea what passed between them but I was dying to find out.

“Well ladies, I’d love for you to get to know each other more but Esme and I really have to get home. We have a family to feed; besides there will be plenty of time at the ski party,” I said smoothly.

“Oh . . . you’re coming.” It wasn’t a question but more of a statement. Realizing that we were looking at her with startled expressions, Ashley shook her head and continued. “That’s wonderful! It’ll be great to spend more time with you and your family.” She flashed a bright smile.

“Well only my wife, niece and her boyfriend are coming. Everyone else has other plans for that day,” I said. Esme nodded in agreement, gathering the rest of her groceries.

          We said our goodbyes to Ashley and walked to the register to pay and leave. Using the self-payment counter, we got what we wanted and left without incident. After loading everything into the back of Esme’s Mercedes SUV, we drove away, but not before glancing at the rear view mirror to see Ashley watching us. It felt weird. Maybe this is what Alice meant when she said we’ll hire a weird new nurse. She was definitely not acting normal. Who knew what her deal was? At least now I could ask Esme what the hell happened in that store.

“Honey, what happened in the grocery store, with Ashley?” I asked her cautiously.

“Oh that. Yes, when we shook hands she all but tried to rearrange my knuckles. I knew people had firm handshakes but this was a little more than that. Of course when she tried that I put in just a tad of my own strength so she would understand; I’m not the type to back off.”

“Back off from what?” I asked puzzled.

“It’s a way to show dominance. I know men have that but some women do it too. Don’t be surprised if this one has a huge crush on you and will try to get you to leave me for her. The way she looked me up and down—she was measuring what I had that she didn’t or vice-versa. Some women are just like that.” She spoke matter-of-factly.

“What? That’s absurd! I would never even look at another woman that way! Has she lost her mind?” I said aghast.

Esme smiled, a soft but confident smile. “I know sweetheart. I know. I’m just telling you what happens between women sometimes, especially when both are interested in the same man. Or human women and men I suppose. Vampires seem to find mates and settle for eternity. I’m not a shrink but that’s how it happens.”

          We sat silently in the car after that as I digested everything she said. This was not going to happen. I don’t care if the human woman looked like Marilyn Monroe and is a goddess incarnate; there is no one for me other than Esme!

And that’s where that subject ended.

I intended to sit down and have a little talk with Ashley when I got into the hospital, though I had no idea what to say really. As it turned out, I didn’t have to. As soon as I came in to work the following day, she was waiting for me. Her eyes were wide and pleading.

“Good morning Dr. Cullen. I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the store yesterday. It was inexcusable. I was incredibly rude to your wife and I’m so very sorry. I have no idea what came over me. I never act like that. Never! Please relay my sincerest apologies to your wife.” When she finished speaking, she looked at me wide-eyed.

I had to pause a second to gather my thoughts before speaking. “Thank you for coming to talk with me Ashley. I will relay your apology to Esme when I get home. I do not want an awkward working environment no matter what,” I assured her, and she quickly shook her head.

“Oh me neither. I was appalled at myself when I got home! I was tempted to call you and apologize, then I realized I didn’t have your number and didn’t want to make it seem weird.” She fidgeted with her scrubs as she spoke.

“All right Ashley. Apology accepted; I’m sure Esme will say the same. Clean slate,” I said with a smile. She sounded sincere and neither of us wanted the tension at work.

“Oh thank you. Thank you very much Dr. Cullen!” she said as a huge relieved smile broke out on her face.

After our talk we went about our rounds. She had some questions and Betsy was out with food poisoning, so she followed me on my rounds. Charlotte also joined to see how I did things. Charlotte usually seemed so much more cheerful than Ashley but today they matched each other with cheerfulness. They made even the sickest patients laugh. I felt like everything was back to normal; that Alice’s vision had come and gone and we handled it without a big incident.

After lunch, the two of them had their own charts and patients to see. We had one patient go into cardiac arrest suddenly, who didn’t seem to have issues with his heart and would have died if Ashley hadn’t been around the corner when his alarm went off. She got in there and resuscitated him. We all congratulated her. She was glowing. The patient was even smiling by the time I got there. When I asked what had happened he said he was sleeping when all of a sudden he felt a sharp pain in his chest and that’s the last thing he remembered until Ashley brought him back. She got there just in the nick of time. That’s pretty standard in a hospital, though; you never know what can happen to any patient and I was proud my team was so hands-on and didn’t freeze in an emergency. Which once again brought home that we had, indeed, hired a good crew.

A similar emergency happened in the NIC.U a few hours later and our trio of new nurses not only brought that baby from the brink of death but also had him walking around that same night!

When I got off work that night, I was looking forward to going home to my wonderful wife as well as the ski party the following evening. We had decided it would be much better to ski in the evening, as the snow was beautiful, glittery. Maybe I could even talk Rose into taking photos of us while we were skiing.  In any case it was going to be a fun night. As I drove home, I was glad things worked out.

             Unfortunately for me and everyone around me, this was just the opening salvo . . . the tip of the iceberg from hell.

So I kinda hijacked Carlisle’s diary in order to explain this better to all of you. I adore Carlisle, but he sucks at celebration details! I finally put my and Jasper’s vow renewal together! So obviously, I know you would want all of the amazing details. I have all the photos of everyone’s clothes below. It was to die for. OMG, I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Neither Jasper nor I told anyone what we wanted to do and we asked Bella to shield our thoughts when Edward and the Watchers were around. Rogue and Alexander returned home to hugs and a huge welcome. So I was super excited to include the two of them in our master plan. What we decided to do was basically combine a classic movie and the time when Jasper was turned. In other words, Gone with the Wind meets Civil War head on!

I took it upon myself to order all of the clothes for everyone. Because this was just a vow renewal and not an actual wedding, we didn’t need any justice of the peace. However, Rogue volunteered to make it extra special for us. We of course had no idea what that meant, but she said it would be awesome.

For a few days before hand, we banned everyone from the backyard while we got the surroundings ready for reception and the ceremony itself. And then the day before the actual event, when the Denali clan plus Garrett had arrived, we gathered everyone—family, Denali, and all the Watchers—in our living room to give them their clothes and explain how things were going to go. This is how that conversation went:

“Thanks for coming everyone,” I said grandly. I heard a few grumbles.

“Alice, will you tell us what’s going on already?” Bella asked impatiently.

“Patience is virtue. OK, OK—don’t look at me that way,” I told my family, who seemed like they were ready to hang me from the rafters.

“Any day now Alice!” Edward grumbled.

“All right . . . sheesh! So as you know Jasper and I have been planning our vow renewal. And it’s all complete now. We have a theme and everything,” I exclaimed.

“Quelle surprise,” Emmett muttered.

My, my, my family was grouchy today.

“Awww come on guys! Cut Aunt Alice some slack. This is a special time for her, even if she does love to go all out!” Nessie defended me.

I love her! The rest of the family grumbled their consent. The Watchers said nothing.  I kind of wavered in my resolve to spring this concept on them, as they were so negative today. Jasper felt my hesitation and started to radiate peace. I could have kissed him. I knew he always had my back no matter what and would hamstring anyone who would try to ruin my special day . . . erm . . . I mean our special day. Edward heard my thoughts and his face softened.

“All right shorty, continue. We won’t interrupt anymore,” Jacob said with a wink.

“OK, where was I? Oh yeah, the vow renewal theme. So I was thinking that this time I want to make it special for both Jasper and I instead of just my own theme. So I have come up with Gone with the Wind. It’s romantic and it took place during the Civil War, which is when Jasper was turned. I have already bought everyone’s outfits and I thought that the Cullen/Denali men could dress like Confederate soldiers while Jasper will actually have his officer’s uniform and have the Watcher/wolf men dress like Union soldiers, while the women all have different Scarlett O’Hara dresses. How does that sound?” I asked anxiously.

“Wow Alice. That actually sounds really cool. What kind of dress do I get?” Bella questioned. Wait. Did I hear correctly? Bella actually was excited about trying on a dress?

Edward laughed at my facial expression.

“Um . . . you get a very form flattering red dress. It has a train and some feathers at the shoulders. I think Edward will like it very much,” I told her with a wink.

Then before anyone could say anything else, I dashed upstairs and brought down over a dozen garment bags with dresses and uniforms. Each garment bag had a name on it of the person who would wear it. I handed them out to their rightful owners and watched as everyone ooo’d and ahh’d over their respective outfits. Some dresses were poufy, while others were very form-fitting.

Rogue had a very va-va-voom dress. Alexander couldn’t keep his eyes or hands off of her for that matter. Something told me that after the ceremony, Jasper and I aren’t going to be the only ones in the honeymoon phase, so to speak.

I don’t want to beat around the bush so I’ll just say it: A lot of people are going to get laid tomorrow night. I heard a lot of snickers from all of our mind readers in the room at that one.

So then I shoo’d everyone off to do their thing and asked them to be ready tomorrow at 5pm for a very vintage day. Jasper and I went back to our room satisfied that everything was ready for the next day. We decided that we were going to take another honeymoon. This time it’ll be my turn to choose where we go as our Japan trip was his decision.

After thinking very carefully, I decided that I wanted to go to Sweden to stay in their world famous Ice Hotel. We’d never done it before and it just seemed like a really cool place to spend our 2^nd honeymoon. Since I got to pick the place, he picked the room, or suite rather. A link for the ice hotel and a photo of the suite can be seen below.

The next day, Jasper ran around the backyard to make sure everything was ready. I was getting ready in my room. My dress was a purple number that had a hoop skirt and ruffles. It was off the shoulder, so it did show a bit of cleavage. When I knew I was ready, I wanted to go see what the others looked like so badly that I skipped over the whole ‘bride is seen last’ thing. After all, I wasn’t a bride.

I walked down the hall to hear where most of the women were and followed the giggling to Carlisle and Esme’s master bedroom. I knocked on the door and opened it to see my whole family . . . well the female side of them plus all the Watchers and Leah. As soon as they saw me they oo’d at my dress, especially Nessie.

“OMG Alice, you look stunning! Just like Scarlett O’Hara,” Nessie gushed after giving me a hug.

“I think we all look like her in our own way,”  I said, looking around the room with satisfaction. I did my job well, if I do say so myself.

“I’m glad you didn’t make any of us wear Mammie’s outfit,” Bella said with a giggle. Everyone laughed.

“Yeah, none of you could pull that off. So I decided to make your dresses all fit your personalities—more or less,” I said.

“I didn’t think my personality was poofy purple. But I’m glad my dress matches Nessie’s,” said Leah with a tight smile.

“All right ladies, it’s time,” Esme said, clapping her hands.

We all lined up, fluffing our dresses, making sure our hair and make-up was well-done and helped each other with a little shmutz here and there. Then, laughing and giggling, we all headed toward the back yard where the men waited.

Most importantly, my man.

He was wearing his Confederate officer uniform and hat proudly as he stood at the arch. Rogue proceeded to walk ahead of all of us and stand next to him in place of the justice of the peace. Then all the other ladies walked one by one down the aisle to the audible appreciation of the men.

We put the confederate soldiers on one side, and the union soldiers on the other—just for fun. As each woman walked down the aisle, she then turned and stood by her man in the section he was in. We had enough on both sides so it looked symmetrical. Before I came down, both sides started cracking jokes at the others expense.

Then Rogue called silence and I walked down with a very simple southern waltz being played from invisible speakers. My eyes were demurely lowered until I saw him, than he was the only one I could see even with so many people around. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me and took in what I was wearing. I walked the rest of the way and joined him at the arch with Rogue. His eyes remained wide.

He turned his mouth to my ear and whispered, “You—you look so beautiful.”

If I could have blushed I would have.

“Thank you, kind sir,” I whispered. He smiled his crooked smile.

“Anytime, ma’am,” he whispered back.

Rogue then cleared her throat.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have come together today to hear these two wonderful people renew their love for one another. There won’t be any solemn vows or rings exchanged. But each has written what the other has meant to them over these centuries and will now read for all to hear. Alice?”

Rogue gestured toward me. I cleared my throat, looked into Jasper’s eyes, and started to speak:

Jasper my love
I know you aren’t a fan
Of these gatherings
And of my constant over the top
Creations
But you love me for me
You protect me
You make me whole
Forget seeing the future
I don’t need to see it
When you’re around me
I just want to live in the moment
In your arms
Surrounding me always
I don’t care if we’re half way around the world
Or in our own backyard
As long as you’re with me
I am at peace
Thank you for making my
Eternal existence
Brighter and more powerful
Then the rays of the sun
You are my heaven on earth

As I spoke I heard people gasp, but I didn’t pay attention to any of them. I know they have never heard me be so open about my feelings for Jasper. But this was our vow renewal so open I was. Jasper, meanwhile, seemed to be glowing. If our kind could cry, I’ve no doubt that tears would have fallen from his eyes in that moment. Our hands were clasped together as we spoke to each other. That bond was never to be broken. When I had finished, Rogue turned to Jasper and without prodding, he started to speak his:

My darling Alice
Words cannot express
What your presence in my life means
There aren’t enough ways
Not enough words in the whole world
You came into my life when I was ready to give up all hope
You loved me before I even knew what love really was
You are my queen
And I worship the ground you walk on every day
I may not express my feelings in front of others
But in my heart
I feel complete
We both started with nothing
And now we have everything
Every day that I get to wake up next to you
Kiss you
Hold you
I cherish with every fiber of my being
I am very proud to be your man
Your friend
Your lover
But most importantly
Your husband
Regardless of where we live
And how many time we have to
Change our names and relationships
To me you will always be
Mrs. Alice Whitlock
I love you!

Jasper’s speech, I knew without even looking, had everyone’s mouth hanging open—well, except maybe the Watchers, who were just smiling and wiping away tears. If I could produce tears, they would have been streaming down my cheeks.

We had both just professed our innermost secrets regarding our feelings toward each other in front of the whole family, and for the first time, we didn’t care. This was as much PDA that anyone’s gotten from us, ever. And again we didn’t care.

After Jasper was done speaking, Rogue said, “Now that these two have professed their unconditional love toward one another, there’s a little ritual I like to do during these ceremonies. Will you both face each other and hold hands?”

When we did what she asked, she put her left hand on Jasper’s head and her right hand on mine. She then closed her eyes and started saying something very softly as both of us felt a sensation start to go through us, it was very warm and comforting. I also noticed that Jasper and I started to glow. Just like Charlie and Sue had when they were first chosen. I can’t put it into correct words what it felt like, but the only one I can choose is love. It felt like we were both bathed in love; that and warmth. It was like we were passing our love to each other through our bodies; it was as if I could feel Jasper and he could feel me. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Rogue is one gifted Watcher.

After that was over, the ceremony came to a close and Jasper and I kissed to cheers and clapping of our friends and family. Then we walked down the aisle with my hand through his arm, followed by the rest of our party. We had ample time before starting the reception, so Rose being the resident photographer, took a bunch of photos of all of us, both by ourselves and coupled or with family. Finally when we knew we had well over 1,000 photos in that camera, it was time to PARTY!

Because we had wolves, Watchers, and Nessie who ate, we had a buffet of southern style cooking and a Civil War cake that was cut up and given out to after dinner. We danced to waltzes and other Civil War era music as well as the theme to Gone with the Wind which was just danced by Jasper and I alone. Then we had enough of all of this vintage stuff and put in some David Guetta and Michael Jackson. Jacob and Seth even knew all the moves to “Thriller,” while Keith could do a mean Moonwalk, much to Leah’s delight, and our own. We are living in the 21^st century after all! We danced and ate all night long. We finally realized that it was 3am and that Jasper and I had our flight to catch to Sweden. We’d be gone only a week.

We ran upstairs, changed into regular clothes, and with our bags having been packed the night before, came back downstairs just as a town car pulled up. I planned everything to a T. We kissed and hugged our family and friends and thanked them for making this day so special for us, and then we were on our way.

I’m currently writing this to you from the airplane. Jasper and I are in first class. He’s reading a book and I’m writing this in a notebook so that I could staple the pages to Carlisle’s actual Diary. He gave me permission, don’t worry. I wouldn’t just take his diary and write in it, nor would I read what he wrote; that’s a total invasion of privacy, and not something I do. Besides, I have my own diary somewhere. I need to dust it out one of these days. So anywho, I’ll end here. I’m sure Carlisle will fill you in on our trip once we get back.

Have a great week everyone! Happy Summer!