Chapter Ten
Situation
Grace Cullen-Swan

"Sister," Carlisle began immediately as I sat beside him on the leather sofa "I must admit, for the first time in a very long time I don't know what to say." He shook his head, his identical to mine golden eyes looking overwhelmingly devastated. "Besides I'm sorry, of course."

It felt both natural and so very wrong to be sitting next to him like this again. There had been so many nights in our existences spent just like this. Sitting alone in a room to talk, read, or just enjoy one another's presence was a normality to us. But, he ruined that by leaving me alone and terrified, and I can't be fast to forgive him like I want. I have more than just the Cullen Coven to think about here. I have a husband, a recovering daughter, and a rare granddaughter to protect now as well.

I suddenly felt all too put in the middle of two precarious situations.

For the better part of eighty-eight years I had only the Cullen Coven to lead and parent. I had given all of my love and devotion to them and put their needs above my own. Carlisle had urged me to seek out my mate countless times, as he feared I would miss him if I stayed so close to home all of the time, but I hadn't left. I had stayed loyal and devoted to my family. I suppose that's what was hurting me the most about his decision to leave. If I had stayed so resolved in my loyalty, all while hurting my chances of finding my soulmate, then why couldn't he put his foot down and stand firm in defense for me when I needed it?

After finally finding my soulmate and gaining a daughter in the process, I had to prioritize them as well as my family. It seemed absurd for the family I had supported religiously for so many decades to ask me to chose between them and my new chance at love. How was that fair? For my twin brother whom I had adored every second of our lives together, my best friend and sister-in-law, my two beloved sons, and my nieces and nephew that I had doted on since the moment they entered our family; for all of them to ask me to pick between them and the love that I had prayed and waited for for centuries seemed beyond unfair.

I thought of Charlie's tear stained face as he mourned the pain his daughter was forced to go through because of Edward and the Cullens. I thought of Bella's terrifying psychosis, the shrill screams as nightmares disturbed what little escape she had in her sleep and the horrific changes her body had gone through. I thought of my sweet Elizabeth Grace's angelic presence and how utterly scared I had been every moment of Bella's pregnancy not knowing what to expect from such a creature.

A strong urge to protect these images washed over me then, and so I knew I couldn't force my forgiveness on the Cullens. It would have to come naturally in its own way, somehow, and that meant that Charlie and Bella had to find their own paths to forgiveness too. If they didn't, then there was no way that I could.

"Grace?" Carlisle caught my attention, pulling me out of my quick musings. "Are you alright?"

"No." I answered him honestly. "Honestly, no. I'm hurt so badly that I can't even process the level of hurt I feel deep into my soul." I sighed heavily. "I would love to forgive you and collapse into your arms and cry out every moment of loss and terror I have experienced over these past few months...but I can't do that to my husband and our girls." I shook my head.

"So what do we do then?" He asked me. "What can I possibly do to prove to you that I'm back on your side now and forever again?" He begged me.

"You'll have to show me." I shrugged. "Charlie's angry and hurt as well, Bella's been devastated in more ways than one, and Elizabeth needs stability right now more than anything. You'll have to prove to all of them that you're here for good before I can even consider letting you back in my life."

"Alright." He nodded. "I can respect that."

"Good." I nodded in return. "Then I have my first request from you."

"Anything." He swore to me, a new hope in his eyes.

"I would very much like a good hug from my brother." I smiled weakly at him.

He complied easily as he wrapped me up into his arms tightly. Everything about us is identical, besides our genders of course, and so our scents of almonds and honey mingled and overwhelmed my senses as he held me in his arms. I suddenly felt like I could breathe again, as if I had been holding my breath for the months we had been apart, and I relaxed knowing my brother was back where he belonged...right beside me.

"Thank you." He smiled softly as me as I pulled away from him. "I've been wanting to do that so badly."

"Let's get downstairs." I nodded. "I'm anxious to get back to Elizabeth. Plus, Charlie's bound to wake up soon and I can't have him panicking that I've left him again." I sighed, glancing at my watch.

Carlisle followed me downstairs, and we both were surprised at the scene waiting for us.

Charlie, in full uniform, hands on his belt while standing over Edward menacingly as he threatened him with just about anything he could think of in an attempt to stress the rules for dating his daughter. A speeding ticket every time the Volvo entered town, being sent to Juvenile Detention, getting his diploma withheld, and more were on the line if he so much as thought about overstepping a line. Anything Charlie could possibly do to wreck Edwards social pretense to the town he was more than ready to commit to.

"Have I missed anything, Honey?" Charlie turned to me. "Or do you think I've covered it all?"

"I think that sums it all up." I nodded, smiling at the thrill I got from his protective side.

"Great." He nodded. "So now I can move on and ask you what the hell you were thinking by bringing her over here without telling me?!" He gestured to Elizabeth, who was very content to be snuggled into Esme's side.

"Bella snuck out and called me." I confessed immediately as I ratted her out.

"Grace!"  Bella cried out in surprise.

"She asked me to bring Elizabeth, and she made the point that the town was going to tell them at some point anyway. It's better they know the truth than the lies we've had to tell as a cover story." I explained.

"You did what?!" Charlie turned on Bella. "First you up and disappear to Italy, dragging your poor mother into danger with you, and then the second you get back you decide it's a good idea to sneak out to the vampires who left you house? Have you lost your mind?"

"Dad, I-" Bella tried to speak up in defense.

"No. I don't want to hear it." He shook his head. "You're grounded." He stated firmly.

"Wha-"

"For the rest of your life." He added easily.

"Oh come on-"

"For the rest of your life." He affirmed. "Now, go upstairs and lie down in Grace's room, you're exhausted and I'm not going to let you ruin Grace's hard work of keeping you alive." He ordered her, the fatherly sweetness about him that I love shinning through as his eyes softened towards her while she went up the stairs.

"I swear sometimes that girl is too much like me for her own good." He shook his head as he came over to wrap an arm around me.

Elizabeth let out a delightful laugh and Charlie quickly took her from Esme so he could talk to her.

"Am I right, Deputy? Has Bella lost her mind?" He asked her and she dissolved into mush as he loved on her.

"Guess you're right." I laughed at them. "So, I have something to apologize for." I frowned at Charlie.

"What?" He questioned me, a look of worry in his eyes.

"Apparently Elizabeth really is as smart as you've been claiming she is." I giggled. "She's brilliant according to Edwards mind reading ability. She's been able to understand us this entire time."

"I knew it!" He smiled widely at me. "These eyes have always been way too alert to not understand what's going on. She doubted you didn't she?" Charlie asked Elizabeth, who nodded excitedly, and he couldn't help but observe the action with a little surprise.

"She's also gifted." Edward reminded me and Elizabeth grabbed at Charlie's slight beard to show him.

"Oh my god." Charlie marveled at his granddaughter as he swayed on his feet. "What was all of that? It was too fast for me." He shook his head

"Her memories." Edward responded. "She showed me the moment Mom handed her to me because I've missed everything. She didn't show you all because you've been there."

"Makes sense." Charlie nodded, refusing to look at Edward. "Well, since we're here, we may as well talk through everything that's happened so our stories stay straight." He sighed, and I pulled him over to sit with me on the couch.

I noticed Rosalie's gorgeous eyes watching Elizabeth with a forlorn look and my heart suddenly hurt very badly for her.

"Rose, would you like to hold her for awhile?" I asked her, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"If that's alright." She nodded, a wary glance thrown in Charlie's direction.

"Of course." He nodded, passing Elizabeth to me so I could hand her off to Rosalie.

I swear I had never seen Rosalie look so soft in my seventy three years of being her aunt. The moment Elizabeth was settled into her arms she seemed truly at peace for the first time since she awoke. She was just as mesmerized with her as Charlie and I had been from the beginning.

"She's perfect." Rosalie smiled brightly, already feeling confident enough to dote and pet Elizabeth fondly. "I can't believe she's real." She shook her head.

"Neither can we half of the time." Charlie chuckled. "As much as she had us terrified, and the situation wasn't the best of circumstances, it seems almost funny how thrilled we are that she's here."

"So then what do you do with her during school?" Esme asked me as I joined Charlie back on the couch.

"Oh." I took a deep breath, sharing a nervous look with Charlie. "Well, that's kind of where things get complicated."

"As in?" Jasper asked.

"As in I may have used my gift to cover for Bella. So, I made her appear to be her normal self while I projected an illusion of a pregnancy to the town of Forks. I've been out on maternity leave for the last few months." I explained before a new thought crossed my mind. "Which now I'll have to quit." I turned to Charlie.

"What? Why?" He asked me.

"Because Harry just died. I can't ask Sue to keep Elizabeth during the day for me anymore. She has her own kids and her grief to worry about right now." I sighed. "I can't leave Elizabeth with just anyone, she still needs a fairly good amount of blood throughout the day, and so I'll have to just stay home with her."

"Why don't you let me keep her?" Esme asked excitedly.

"No." I declared soundly and a shock wave of tension hit the room before Jasper had a chance to quell the emotion. "After you all up and left my family and I, you really think I'm going to trust you enough to watch one of my girls? Who's to say you won't up and leave again, possibly take her with you, and so I can't trust any of you being out of my sight with her right now. That's not going to happen."

"But Grace, the town has already been talking so badly about us. If the Cullen's return to school and the hospital, and you leave your job at the school, what are they going to think about us?" Charlie asked me. "I haven't really put my foot down about all the gossip going on, but it's a lot to handle, anymore and I might erupt...not to mention how Bella's going to take it." Charlie worried.

"We'll have to handle it somehow." I stressed to him. "We'll say I want more time with Elizabeth, or that I'm going back to finish med school, or...something. If I have to play up happy family for Forks then I will. I'll bring you and Carlisle lunch all the time, I'll go get more involved with the PTA, I'll become super mom if I have to, but I am not going to trust Elizabeth with people who are strangers to her." I spoke soundly, the end of the issue in my mind. "So, I'm going to go in to school when it's time, baby in tow, and resign. If that's alright with you, Chief Swan."

"Perfectly fine." Charlie nodded, of course understanding my point as always. "Maybe it will actually take some of the gossip away for you to step back from school. The kids can do their own thing, I can put my foot down about gossip at the station, and Dr. Cullen can resume business as usual at the hospital." He mused. "We'll find a way to be alright in the end." He teased me.

"We always do." I nodded.

"Well, then it seems like things sound settled." Carlisle sighed deeply, the tension becoming too much for him.

He was used to he, Esme, myself, and Charlie all being a united front and best friends. He was used to late night talks and long conversations filled with ease and laughter. I wanted those moments back as well, desperately, but it would all take time. He couldn't expect me to so easily forgive him for abandoning me when I needed him the most.

"Not quite." I shook my head before turning on Edward. "I think Charlie made your rules for seeing Bella very clear. Visiting hours are seven to ten at the house, absolutely no sneaking in after dark or you'll have me to deal with, and you cross first base again and I'll make you wish I'd let you step out into that sunlight. Understand, young man?" I practically growled at Edward.

"Yes ma'am." He nodded, effectively scared.

"Good." I nodded. "Bella's hours may be seven to ten, but Elizabeth's aren't. I'll bring her over after school for awhile everyday. You should have the same parental rights everyone else gets, and this way we can all work towards gaining trust again." I explained.

"Thank you, Mom." Edward smiled widely at me and I reached out towards the chair he was sitting in to grasp his hand in mine tightly.

"Of course." I nodded. "And one last thing." I noted. "In case anyone asks you brother, I didn't trust anyone else to oversee my pregnancy so you delivered Elizabeth. I had a severe case of high blood pressure and anemia and it was a scary pregnancy there at the end, just in case anyone asks."

"Got it." He nodded. "Where did you tell everyone I was?"

"Northern California, going back to your previous work in obgyn and pediatric care." I replied. "I suppose you could say that it just wasn't a right fit for the family and you've lost interest in it now after Elizabeth's birth. You could say you were scared to lose me or something like that." I shrugged.

"I am scared to lose you." He affirmed. "So I guess that's not far from the truth at all."

"Guess not." I frowned sadly at him.

"Alright, well I've got to head to the station." Charlie patted my leg before standing us both up on our feet. "I'll go get Bella." He told me before going up the stairs.

"I'll get Elizabeth changed and let Bella get ready for school before going to quit." I told the room. "If it's alright, I think I'll come back after getting everything settled there. You and I need a good long talk." I told Esme, trying to tell her with my eyes that I had some choice words for her.

"Yes, of course." She nodded, trying to look excited, but I could hear the underlying tone of fear in her voice.