December 25th, 2007 was our last Christmas in Forks with everyone. While there would be many Christmases to come, this one would be special.
I was woken up by four kids aggressively jumping on my bed with the help of my husband. He laughed as Seth slammed onto me, making me wake up.
"I'm up! I'm up!" I yelled, getting them all to stop. It seemed Christmas's in Forks had to be started with me being aggressively woken up. "Go to the living room, and I will be there in one moment."
All four kids ran out of the room, leaving Jasper laughing at me.
"You are insane," I told him, getting out of bed.
"It was all their idea," he answered. "They were tired of waiting for you to get up."
"I'm sure they were." I quickly brushed my hair and grabbed some shoes before meeting the kids in the living room. They all had a bag of presents they bought for others to bring to the big house. "Everyone ready?" I asked.
"We've been ready," Seth complained. "You're the slowpoke."
"Yes, everything is my fault. Now, let's go before Emmet runs over here and tells us to hurry up."
The six of us went outside to see that the sun had not yet risen. It was dark and cold, but none of us were bothered by it. We quickly headed to the big house and joined everyone in the living room. Tanya and Charlie were already there, so we all were ready to start.
Presents were started immediately. The kids had a bunch, and we had gotten them some new stuff for the new house as presents. The rest of us had a few, but we had reigned ourselves in from buying a million gifts for each other.
As the kids sat and played with some of their new toys, I helped Esme and Rosalie make lunch. The three of us worked together to make sandwiches for me, the kids, and Charlie to eat.
"How are they feeling about the move?" Esme asked me as we worked.
"They're ready for it," I told her. "They seem excited about a new and bigger house for the six of us."
"And how are you and Jasper feeling about it?" Rosalie questioned.
I shrugged, not really knowing how I felt about it. "Jasper's used to moving around a lot more than I am, but I think it'll be a good thing for all of us."
"It'll be good," Alice told me. "I see happy memories ahead."
After lunch, the pack showed up later in the day as we decided to have a big party that afternoon. Christmas part 2 was soon in motion as the kids got a few more presents from everyone. I also gave out a few more gifts, wanting to give everyone something to have when we left next week.
Sam opened his gift from me before looking up at me in confusion. "What is this exactly?" he asked me.
"It's a map from the Rez to our new home with every way you can get there," I told him. "You can drive in two days, run in one, or fly in half a day."
"It leads straight to your new house?" He questioned, not fully believing me.
"It leads straight to our front door," Jasper told him, a smile on his face. "And you guys are welcome to come any time. We have extra rooms for whenever you guys come to visit."
"Can't wait," Sam replied.
Our day went smoothly, and everyone enjoyed our last big party together. It was then, of course, when an unknown knock interrupted our day.
"Emma," Edward said, suddenly getting my attention while saying as little as he could. I knew immediately he wanted me to unblock his power so he could see who was at the door. I did as he wished, as we both turned our attention to the new person.
"I'll get it," I said confidently, recognizing the vampire on the other side of the door. I got up before anyone could argue and prepared myself for whatever was about to happen. As I opened the door, however, I was met with a pleasant surprise.
"Hello!" Aro said, a smile on his face. He was dressed in normal clothes, not his usual attire, and had a bag slung over his shoulder holding something.
I had never seen Aro look excited about something, and I was confused about what was happening, but I smiled back at him. "Hello to you too," I told him. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why are you here?"
I felt a presence behind me and recognized it to be Carlisle. "Is everything okay, Aro?" Carlisle asked.
"Oh yes," Aro replied, looking from me to Carlisle. "I just wanted to come check in with my favorite family and see how you've been."
"You're not here to cause problems?" Carlisle asked, not understanding what was happening.
"Not at all."
I focused Edward's power on Aro's mind, reading his thoughts, and they seemed genuine. I looked up at Carlisle and shrugged my shoulders at him, letting him know I didn't care if he came in or not.
"Well then," Carlisle continued. "Why don't you come inside."
We both let Aro into the house and led him to the living room, where everyone else looked at him in confusion.
"What a pleasant surprise, Aro," Edward said, looking straight at him.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Emmet asked, standing up just in case Aro did something. Noah did the same, showing that both the boys would attack if needed.
"I told you I would visit," Aro replied. "Besides, I have presents for Christmas." He pulled multiple wrapped presents out of his bag, excited to show them off.
"And why did you bring these presents?" Jasper asked, not believing Aro was suddenly being nice for no reason.
Aro looked around at our group, realizing none of us were sure he was at the house for good reasons. "Okay," he said dejectedly. "Look, I realize the last time we interacted. We came off a little aggressive. I came here today in hopes to makes peace. I realize that your coven and pack probably have as much power as my guard, and I want us to coexist together without problems." He stopped to look right at me. "Besides, your family fascinates me."
Charlotte stood up and made her way up to Aro, looking like a girl on a mission. "You promise you're here to be good?" she asked, simplifying our argument in a way only she could.
Aro looked down at her, a smile once again on his face. "I promise I'm here to be good," he told her.
And with that, Aro joined our Christmas. He handed out presents to a few random people. Edward got an old book, and Carlisle got an old watch that seemed to mean something to him. Jasper and I were handed a present together, which ended up being a piece of paper with a terrible drawing on it.
I held it up in confusion, looking at Aro. "What is this?" I asked him.
"That is a work in progress present," he told me. "I want to get you a painting of your entire family like the one I know Carlisle has hanging of us up in his office. But I need a photo of your entire family to do it."
"Mom, look!" Charlotte's voice caused me to look over at him instead of answering Aro.
"Oh my gosh, what is that?" I asked, not understanding what Charlotte was showing me. It looked like a toy, but I didn't understand it.
Then Seth opened a present in excitement, only for him to pull out an ornate knife.
"Aro! Why did you buy my kid a knife?" I yelled, half upset, half confused.
"So he can protect himself in our crazy world," Aro told me, obviously thinking it was a good idea.
I let it go because I knew he was making an effort, but I would deal with the knife later. The last present was, surprisingly, handed to Sam. He opened it to find an old book about different legends and myths.
"I also have news for Tanya," Aro said, gaining everyone's attention. "I ran into Irina and wanted to pass along a message that she is okay but will stay away from everyone. She doesn't want to cause any more problems than she already has."
That piece of information caused some relaxation in all of us, letting us know we didn't have to worry about her anymore.
Nathan had one last question to ask Aro before his departure. "Did you deal with the pack?"
I had switched to Jasper's powers at some point subconsciously, and I could feel how anxious he was about this. He had been terrified that our old pack would show up at any moment and make him leave with them like they tried to do with me.
Aro seemed to understand his dilemma and kept his answer vague but to the point. "They won't be bothering you anymore."
Leah wrapped her arm around Nathan in comfort as Aro gathered his things to leave.
I stood up to talk to Aro. "Thank you for the visit, Aro. It was a pleasant surprise."
"Yes," Aro replied. "It was nice to see you all under happier circumstances, and I hope to visit like this again."
Carlisle showed him out to the front door while the rest of us sat in silence, realizing just how weird it was that Aro came to visit. After Carlisle came back and we were sure Aro was far enough away to not hear us, we spoke once again.
"Well, that was weird," Sam said, looking over at Carlisle.
"He has literally never done anything like that before," Carlisle added.
"I guess it's good to know he's kind of scared of us," Noah said.
Jasper wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close as everyone settled down once again. We finished the night with dinner and Christmas movies in the living room. As Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was on, Charlotte spoke up.
"This movie makes no sense," Charlotte said aloud, looking up at me.
"We know," Edward said, looking down at her with a smile on his face. He was lying with Bree on the couch, and the two of them looked perfect together. "But your mother loves it, so we watch it every year."
"But I don't understand what is happening," she complained.
"I am getting major deja vu," I mumbled.
"That's because this movie makes no sense, and everyone but you thinks that," Edward said, looking over at me with a smirk.
"You're just jealous that this movie is so good that you don't understand it," Nathan countered.
"Ha!" I yelled excitedly. "Someone gets it!"
"Don't get too excited, Puppy," Jasper said quietly, pulling me closer to him. "I'm pretty sure he's the only one."
As the movie finally came to an end, everyone slowly made their way home. The six of us left last before making our way to our house.
We all pilled our stuff in the living room before the kids made their way to their rooms. Jasper and I first made our way to Seth and Charlotte's room. As we walked in, the two were getting into their beds.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad," Charlotte said, watching the two of us walk in.
We both went to their beds to say goodnight and ensure they were okay. "Did you have a good Christmas?" I asked them.
"It was fun and interesting," Seth answered.
"Aro's funny," Charlotte told me,
"That he is," Jasper said, laughing at her.
We tucked Charlotte in and kissed her on the head before doing the same to Seth.
"Goodnight, you guys," I said as I turned their light off.
"Night, Mom and Dad," both Seth and Charlotte said.
Jasper and I made our way out of their room and into Leah and Nathan's room. We walked in to see the two already in their separate beds, talking to each other.
"Knock knock," I said, walking into the room while announcing our presence.
Both of the teenagers stopped talking and turned their attention to us as we made our way to them.
"Did you have a good Christmas?" Jasper asked as we walked deeper into their room.
"Is it always that chaotic?" Nathan asked us in reply.
"It usually is," I told him, a smile on my face.
"Hey, Mom?"
I looked up on instinct, but my mind went wild as I realized it was Leah who called me that. I felt myself tear up slightly as I answered her with a weak, "Yeah?"
"Thank you for everything."
I walked straight up to her and wrapped her in my arms in the biggest hug I could give her, but she didn't stop there.
"Hey, Dad?"
"Yes?" Jasper replied.
"Thank you too."
"Hey, Mom?" Nathan asked, getting my attention.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for taking me in."
I let go of Leah before making my way to Nathan and hugging him.
Jasper and I made our way out of their room, turning the light off as we went. We walked into our room and changed before lying down.
"Well, that was a crazy Christmas," Jasper told me, pulling me closer to him.
"It was perfect."