Roman didn't have the best family growing up.

Her mother, Marnie, was there, sure, but she was only there in the bare minimum sense of the word. She provided a roof over her head, cooked meals when she was too young or too short to reach the stove on her own, but it wasn't often much more beyond that. They were little more than roommates in the later years.

It was only at the end that they had tried to salvage their relationship -- a relationship that couldn't be saved no matter their attempts.

Her father, Julius Elders, was nothing more than a silhouette of a man that she had looked up to without thought, without question because he was her father and she had loved him, had wanted his approval more than anything, and even when it had become something that she knew was nothing more than a wish, a dream, there had always been a little twinge of hoping that something would change, that it would be different.

No, her father was a terrible man that had tried to kill her once, and that was all that she needed to remember about such a man. Nothing more, nothing less.

And to her, at one time, that was what she had thought a family was. That was it for her, a mother and father that didn't care and a daughter that was awaiting the day that she could run away with the dream of her own family that she would love in all the ways her parents hadn't loved her.

Meeting Edward and Bella, her dreams had taken a slightly more realistic, hopeful turn, that she knew was absolutely destined.

Then her idea changed once more. She was reunited with the Clearwaters. They returned to her life like being hit by a storm, filling her with a sense of family and warmth that she had yearned after for years.

The pack came after -- friends that treated her as if she was one of them and that was family to her if nothing else.

Throughout it all, Edward and Bella were her one and always, the centre of her world, and Roman would do anything for them -- her love for them knowing no bounds.

And through them, she got the Cullen's, a family that was a true family. In-laws.

Roman didn't have the best family growing up, but she had the best family now, her own little family that she cared for beyond anything else, that she loved more than anything in the world.

And she couldn't be happier, would never be happier.

They surrounded her as the celebration died down, sticking close together as those that had lingered began to leave.

And in the end, the other covens had taken a turn to say their farewells.

The Amazon's had been the first. Kachiri had taken the time to speak with Bella and meet Renesmee -- the little girl refusing to leave Roman's arms had been ecstatic at the chance to meet someone else, someone that had helped her mamma, brother, aunt and uncle.

In turn, Zafrina had been happy to speak with Romulus now that she was more comfortable around his kind.

But they were antsy, eager for their return to their beloved rainforest just as she had been eager to be home in Forks while away.

The Irish coven was next.

And then the Denali cousins.

In the end, it was only Nahuel and Huilen that stayed. Carlisle was deep in fascinated conversation with Huilen; Nahuel sat close beside her, listening while Edward told the rest of us the story of the conflict as only he knew it.

"Alice gave Aro the excuse he needed to get out of the fight. If he hadn't been so terrified of Bella, he probably would have gone ahead with their original plan."

"Terrified?" Bella said skeptically. "Of me?"

He smiled at her, a look filled with such awe and exasperation that was so utterly tender that she nearly looked away. "When will you ever see yourself clearly?" he said softly. Then he spoke louder, to the others as well. "The Volturi haven't fought a fair fight about twenty-five hundred years. And they've never, never fought one where they were at a disadvantage. Especially since they gained Jane and Alec, they've only been involved with unopposed slaughterings.

"You should have seen how we looked tho them! Usually, Alec simply cuts off their senses before the verdict is even over, stop them in their place while they go through the show of a trial, but they were the ones at the disadvantage this time and they were utterly horrified! They were outnumbered and outclassed in terms of gifts, and with Bella cutting off their ability to use their strongest offence weapons, and with Zafrina's ability Aro knew that they would be the ones blinded. I'm certain that if a fight was to commence then our numbers would be severely depleted, but Aro knew that theirs would be, too! That there was even a possibility that they would lose! They've never faced such a possibility before. They didn't deal with it well today."

"Hard to feel confident when you're surrounded by horse-sized wolves," Emmett crows, poking Jacob's arms.

Jacob flashed him a grin.

"It was the wolves that stopped them in the first place," Bella says.

"Sure was," Jacob agrees,

She smiles, turning to Seth that had continued to hover at her side since the moment he finally changed back. "That true?"

His eyes crinkle with laughter. "You should have seen it, Ro. Bunch of cowards."

"Wish I could have seen it," she comments softly, reaching a hand to grab his.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, a still, stiff feeling in the air, that only served to remind them that some of them had runoff.

It hadn't been discussed yet, but Roman knew when it was that things would hit hard. She knew that it was hard to think that they likely had thought such terrible things of them at the beginning, that they had likely though that she had stolen Romulus and made for safety before Zafrina and Senna came to them bringing news of their whereabouts, but she didn't want to get into it.

Their accusations would be horrible, their beliefs terrible to face -- more so when she knew thought just as much about herself.

At her side, Edward squeezed her other hand in reassurance and Roman pulled a face when she fought to hide those thoughts from him. She doubted that it worked based on the tired gleam in his eyes.

"Of course, their attack was thwarted the moment Roman stepped foot into the clearing. Their confidence shattered completely," Edward continues in a sharp tone. "It was like nothing that they had ever seen. A young vampire being pressed under Jane's power suddenly standing to face them as if it was nothing. It shattered their every belief."

"It wasn't that big of a deal," she mutters shyly, rolling her eyes at the weak attempt to make her feel better about herself.

"It was the biggest thing that they've ever faced, Roman," Alice scold lightly. "No one has ever been able to do that before. You just stood as if it was a mild itch."

"It was nothing but it definitely wasn't a mild itch."

"Which is why they were so baffled to see you stand once more. Jane was—" the sound of his teeth clashing together jarring through the silence as everyone listened to him speak— "using her full power on you at that moment. She had extended the target to you as she forced against Bella's shield.

"Once Aro I read your thoughts and saw what you were truly capable of, how strong you were in places that Demetri did not compare. He knew that you could track a person that at you had not even seen simply based on a want and that where he could not lose a target once he has their scent, you could evade as if you simply didn't exist," Edward says facing her with quiet awe.

"And he knew that you would never let them hurt your children. Roman would have taken Renesmee and Romulus far away before they were harmed in the slightest," Alice continues. "I wanted Aro to see that primal instinct of prey and predator within you that would cause him such fear."

"Bella ensures that he would not succeed. That they would lose," Edward finishes, "Roman would ensure that they would be picked off one by one."

"They wouldn't even see her coming," Alice chime, giggling softly at her own joke.

Roman rolls her eyes, worrying her lip to hold back a smile. They were rather great at making her feel as though she had actually done much, as if she had done something important that wasn't finding Nahuel because she had done nothing but be polite and courteous to the Volturi while they were here, kind to them in an attempt to keep them from angering at her further while she stood so close and unprotected.

"That's because a Roman's a baddie," Seth coos, playful tone making it difficult to hold back her laughter.

"I didn't do anything," she insists.

"You didn't need to. He saw what you could do after only hours of waking. You quite be a terribly frightening thing when you wish, my love," Edward tells her, sweeping down to press a kiss to her brow.

"I didn't even know what I was doing," she complains.

"You didn't need to. You saw the way he spoke to you at the end," Bella reminds her, a sour twist to her mouth. "It was like he was torn between kidnapping you and wanting to make you happy. I bet you could sneak into the Volturi if you wanted."

She opens her mouth to retort, protests on the tip of her tongue before she takes a moment I actually consider. It would be rather easy to get into Volterra undetected, but the building itself would be difficult. Too many people.

The maps from that very brief trip come to mind unbidden and she takes in all the places she would be able to hide if she was truly there undetected. It would be a matter of letting them come to her. Pick off the first few that venture out to collect meals than those that they send to search. The kings without their guard were nothing, after all.

But these were dangerous thoughts and she shakes them away.

Instead, she simply says, "No."

Emmett's laugh was loud, boisterous. Contagious as she finds herself giggling along to the sound.

This was family. This was her life, her forever.

"If he ever tries again we can just sic Bella and Roman on him," Jasper teases, dropping an arm around Alice's shoulder as he joins them. "She'll be able to find any of them anywhere now."

"How come, mamma?" Renesmee asks, big brown Bella eyes turning to blink up at her.

"Because I paid attention at the end, baby. I made sure that I knew who each and everyone one of them was so that I can protect you always."

Her giggles are such a wonderful sound.

The day continued on like that, with Edward regaling them all the details of the confrontation that they had not been privy to, the things that they hadn't know as he continuously insists that it was Bella shields that made them turn back, that prevented them from attacking and Roman ability to go through with her threats that kept them from trying nonetheless.

He took turns with Alice as she decided to share their adventures, using it as a chance to halt Bella in her anger immediately as she explained the delicacy of her plan, how important it all was that it goes according to her exact detail and even then how hard it was to plan it all out around her blind spots — not to mention that she was searching for a blind spot.

Alice has talent the chance to sing Roman's praises as well, explaining the best that she could how she interpreted her tracking ability and the way it worked in her favour at this point — and how this was only the beginning, an untrained skill that she attempted and forced without any idea how to control when it came and went.

She didn't know any better, but she supposed it worked int the same way that it always had because even as a human she had been able to find what she was Ted, or rather, what she needed, and never anything more. She supposed now it was just a stronger version of that, of something that popped up on maps and pointed her in the direction of what needed to be found. The rest was as much a mystery to her as it was them.

Still, trackers were always interesting enough that she had no doubt there would be many questions asked, or at least that was what Alice had hinted at.

But throughout the day, nearly all the attention had been focused on Bella as they continued to express their awe at her gift — and for once, Roman felt like she was the only one that wasn't in wonder. She had always known her wife to be wonderful and that power meant nothing to her in the end.

She wasn't like Edward that still marvelled over the mind that he couldn't read.

Their reactions though, that was enough to thrill her to see. For once, everyone could see Bella how she saw her. They saw her for what she was, for how amazing she had always been.

There was no doubt Edward was of the same mind with her on this.

Eventually, it was time they leave, Bella speaking quietly about getting the kids to bed.

"It'll be good for her to get a full nights sleep," her wife says, shifting their son in her arms so his head was nestled into her shoulder. "I'm n  out sure how much she got last night with the snoring in her ear."

"It was the best night she's ever had," Jacob argues playfully, dropping a kiss to Renesmee's head. She shares a smile with him as he stretches. "I could use a bed, too, though. I bet Billy will get a kick out of having me under his roof again."

"Romulus could use a bed too.  He's been sleeping in my back or in my arms the entire time," she admits with a wince, avoiding Bella's sharp glance. "Tell Sue I miss her if you see her, yeah? I know Seth will tell her I'm home, but I doubt he'll remember in his excitement."

Jacob smiles. "I'll let her know. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Bella agrees as they follow him out, Edward trailing with a last few words.

Roman takes her wife's hand, nudging her side as they walk slowly back to the house. "I missed you."

"I missed you," her reply was quick, easy. "It was torture having you so far away."

"I know. I didn't want to go at first. I fought against Alice at first, but she told me it was the only way we all live."

"What would you have done if it didn't work?"

The implication sends a shot of excruciating pain through her, worse than the pure torment that Jane has inflicted upon her. "Then I would have torn the world apart to reach those Volturi bastards. I mean it when I say nothing will ever touch my family. I hope what Edward says is true, that they fear my wrath enough to stay away."

Bella frowns. "I wouldn't want you to turn into Victoria or me."

"I wouldn't, babe. I would be much worse."

Edward's approach is swift as he catches up to their slow meandering pace. "It won't come to that. We're all safe now."

Humming, she tosses her head back as she looks up at the trees, taking in the familiar branches that she had missed so dearly. The smells were so much different, the air was colder, thinner. There was the crispness of snow in the air and the perpetual scent of wet earth around her.

The longing for home was not to be explained when she had spent her childhood growing up in these woods, of making this forest her home, her safe place.

"I wish you could have seen the Amazon. You would have loved it," she voices. "It's nothing like Here, but it's very pretty."

"Maybe one day we can return," Bella offers.

"That would be nice. There are a lot of places that I would like to see."

Edward rubs a hand from her shoulder down the length of her arm. "We have all the time in the world to travel."

"All the time in the world to see the world," she jokes softly.

Absentmindedly, she draws her lip between her teeth, biting down as hard as she dared just to see if it would bring that sting of pain that it used to, that quick reminder that this wasn't a dream, that she wasn't walking through life as nothing because she was stuck in her head.

She wondered if she could leave a scar with her own venom if she tried hard enough, if she could replicate it so that it looked the same as it had before so that she could carry that with her everywhere.

Firm fingers were quick to pull it free when a soft crack was heard like marble breaking. Her wife's eyes were stern, brows pulled low in concern as she brushed a thumb over her lip.

"You're not supposed to do that anymore," Bella reprimands.

Roman laughs, a soft sound full of adoration and affection. "I have forever and forever and forever to grow out of it."

"That sounds exactly right to me," Edward muttered.

And that was exactly what we had. Forever and forever and forever.

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well, this is the last chapter guys. There's only an epilogue left, but this is the last chapter about my dear Roman. what a crazy, wonderful journey it's been, thank you all for staying along for the ride. 

unedited 

2020-04-29