Bree POV

When Rosalie and I emerged from the tent, the guys had placed two large logs a safe distance from the fire, and they were sitting on them adjacent to each other.  Rosalie went over to Emmett, while I took the space next to Fred.  He had resisted all attempts from Emmett to get him to sing, so Emmett began to sing himself.  I didn't know the song, and I didn't get the chance to learn it, as Rosalie cut him off with a sharp “Emmett,” before he got to the end of the first verse.  “That's not appropriate,” she added, nodding in my direction.

“Oops,” he sniggered, covering his grin with one of his large hands.  “I guess I'll just have to entertain them with tales of my misspent youth.”  Emmett's misspent youth seemed to encompass most of the last eighty years.  He told us about his fun with humans over the years and how easy it was to wind Edward up.  Rosalie laughed loudest at those ones, and apart from the occasional “Emmett” to keep him what she considered appropriate, she stayed silent.  A comfortable silence descended eventually, and we all stared into the flames, content for a while.

“Care to take a midnight stroll, Rosie?” Emmett asked, laying his head on his wife’s shoulder.

“Em, it's almost two o'clock, and we can't just wander off and leave them alone,” she replied, leaning her cheek against the top of his head.

“They'll be fine, and I need to stretch my legs.” Fred gave him an odd look.  Emmett was always using meaningless human expressions.  “You don't want me all alone in the woods, do you?  Who knows what could be lurking in there.”  Emmett hunched his shoulders, pretending to look over each one in fear.  Rosalie let out a breath and rolled her eyes.  “Come on, Rose, you can hold my hand and keep me safe from the bogeyman,” he added, fluttering his eyelashes at her.  I don't think he could have looked or sounded any more ridiculous, but Rosalie fell for it somehow, and leaned forward to still his fluttering eyelashes with a kiss.

“Fine, I'll help you stretch your legs if you help me stretch mine,” she purred, and I don't know how the blood I'd drained from the bobcat stayed down.  Fred looked like he was using his nauseating gift on himself.

The instant the reply left her lips, Emmett grabbed Rosalie, threw her over one shoulder, and disappeared into the trees.  “You’re supposed to be holding my hand,” Rosalie gently protested.

I turned to Fred, put a finger in my mouth, and made a gagging sound.

“I thought they'd never leave,” he whispered.  “I want to try something.”

“What?” I whispered back.

Fred quickly doused the fire and took my hand to lead me in the opposite direction.  I glanced at our hands and commented, “You're not scared of the bogeyman as well, are you?”

“Petrified,” he shot back.  “But he may not be a problem if this works.”

I was intrigued.  He made us swap places so that I was walking in front of him, and he appeared to be deliberately leaving his scent.  I guessed it was because there would be less drama if they could find us easily when they got back to camp.  I was sure they must have heard us leaving; if they were going to stop us, they would be behind us by now. 

“You probably don't need to be so obvious.  I'm sure we'll be back at camp before they've finished their walk.”  I used my fingers to make air quotes for the last word.

“If we hurry back, I won't know if it worked,” he replied while urging me forward.

“If what worked?”

“I've been talking to Carlisle about how I learned to expand my gift; he was quite impressed.”  From the tone of his voice, Fred seemed proud to have impressed Carlisle.  “He said it might have more potential.  I'm not a year old yet, so there is a chance it may be stronger than I originally thought.”

“In what way?”  I thought the way he could make people feel ill if they even thought about looking at him was cool; it made him sort of invisible.

“I'm trying to see if I can project the feeling through my scent.  See if I can make following my scent have the same effect.”

“So you can't be seen or followed?”

“Well, I don't know if it will work, or how long the effects will last, but I may have some idea if they try to find us.”

I began to move faster; I was keen to put more distance between us and the camp so we could talk.  Five minutes later, I figured it was far enough.  We stopped, but neither of us sat down.  I faced Fred and got straight to the point.  “So, what's the deal with Rosalie?  What are you not telling me?”

He seemed a little hesitant before he answered, “I'm not keeping anything from you as such.”  Not that I considered that an answer.

“What is it then?  Is it the reason you don't like her very much?”

He hesitated. “Yes and no.”   

“Are you actually going to tell me anything, or do I have to ask twenty questions before I get the answer I'm after?”  I was snapping, but I didn't care; I wanted a proper answer.

“Remember I said Rosalie feels responsible for you?”  I nodded and waved my hand in a circular motion, indicating that he should carry on.  “What I should have said, was that she wants to be responsible for you.”  He let out a breath as he said it, as though that one sentence had revealed everything.

“I'm still not getting it,” I groaned.  “Maybe I'm being stupid or something, but you need to give me more than that.”

“You're not being stupid,” he said, shaking his head.  “I don't want to put ideas into your head that may not be real.  It’s just what I've picked up from watching her.  I think she sees you as some sort of substitute daughter.”

Well, I definitely wasn't expecting that.  She did spend a lot of time fussing over me, but I thought she was just trying to make me feel welcome, and that she was naturally friendly.  Thinking about it now, that wasn't strictly true, because she wasn't all that friendly with Fred.  Was she acting like a mother?  I could hardly remember mine when I was human; I certainly couldn't recall her now.  Why would she want to be my mom anyway?  I was practically an adult.

“You think she wants to be like my mom or something?” I prompted Fred for clarification.  “Is that why you don't get along?”  It didn't seem like a very good reason.  Was I missing something else?

“It's not as simple as that.”  He paused, as if searching for the right words.  “Even if what I'm assuming is true, I'm not sure if she wants to be like your mother, or if she just wants someone to mother.  If I were sure it was about you, I'd be less worried.”

I ran through all of the time I'd spent with her in the past weeks.  I still couldn't see any of her behaviour as particularly maternal, but was that because I had nothing to compare it to?  What about Emmett?  Fred spent a lot of time with him; had he said something?

“Does that mean Emmett wants to be my dad?  Has he said anything to you?” I asked. Unfortunately, I could still remember having a dad.  Even though Emmett and my dad weren’t remotely alike, the idea of a new dad didn't appeal to me.   

“No, it's more what he doesn't say that's firmed up my assumptions.”  I was just about to growl at him, but he explained, “He'll talk about Rosalie day and night given the chance, but if I mention you and her in the same sentence, he clams up.”

I needed to be more observant, like Fred and Emmett.  This mothering thing might explain why Fred didn't like Rosalie, but why didn't Rosalie like Fred?  What else was I missing?  Should I just ask her straight out?  Emmett and Fred got on fine.  Did Emmett know why his wife didn't like him?

I couldn't dwell on the Rosalie issue; it would all be irrelevant soon.  We had plans to make while we were still alone.  It was time to broach the subject I'd been dreading.  Taking a deep breath I asked, “What were your plans when you left the clearing that day?”

He was not quick enough to hide his reaction to my change of topic.  I obviously hadn't taken the revelation about Rosalie the way he was expecting.  “Nothing definite,” he eventually responded.  “I thought I'd find somewhere to stay, work out how to stay unnoticed, and travel eventually.  I’d like to explore the country a bit.  I figured I could stick to less populated areas 'til I could control myself better around humans.  Once Riley’s lies had been exposed, I realized there's a whole world out there, and I had an eternity to see it.”

“Is that still what you want?”

“Yes.”  He was very sure in his answer.  “What about you?” 

“I didn't have any plans.  Until you suggested I come with you, I just wanted to find Diego and leave.”  An overwhelming sense of sadness and loss washed over me as I thought about Diego, and the misplaced trust he had put in Riley.  Fred took one of my hands and gave it a gentle squeeze.  The reality was I didn't have anything in mind to do; I'd just wanted to get away from Riley.

“What’s with all these questions?  Are you ready to move on?” he asked hopefully, a little too hopefully.

“I think we need to.  The wedding is in a few weeks, and they need to finish the cottage.”

“Just say the word, and we can go.”  His voice had taken on an air of excitement at the prospect of leaving.

“You don't have to take me with you, if you don’t want to.”  I braced myself, ready for him to seize the opportunity to be free of me, but I was met with a puzzled look.

“Why wouldn’t I want to?”  His brow furrowed as he asked.

“Well, you only came with me 'cause Alice had you worried about my safety with the wolves.  I played along with it 'cause I was being selfish.  You looked out for me, made me feel safer, and I wasn't sure I could trust them.  But I’m not your responsibility; you should be free to make your own choices and go anywhere you want.”  I felt deflated as I finished speaking.  He could take off now if he wanted.  He’d be okay; Emmett and Rosalie wouldn’t follow him.  We were in another state, so the Cullens weren't responsible for us here. 

“I am free.  I chose to come with you, and I choose to stay with you.”  He placed his hands on my shoulders and leaned back to look at me.  “You're so young, Bree; I was happy to look out for you.” 

“But I'm not going to get any older, and you can’t look out for me forever,” I protested.  He couldn’t think like that or he’d never be free.

“You're my friend, Bree, and I'm happy to take care of you in any way I can,” he insisted.

“I'll hold you back.  I can't stand humans for very long, so you won’t be able to travel with me.” 

“That will change in time.  I was going to head back to Vancouver first anyway,” he shrugged.  I wasn't convinced he had really thought this through.    

“You might think that now, but do you honestly think you'll be happy dragging a moody teenager around with you?” I pressed on, trying to get him to see what he was getting himself into. 

“Well, I hoped I wouldn’t have to drag you,” he laughed.  “Besides, you won’t be a teenager forever.”

“Eh, vampire here,” I stated the obvious, moving my hand up and down in front of me.  “I'm stuck like this.”

“Physically you won’t change, but your mind will mature.  Your perspective will change.  You'll gain more control and see things differently in a year from now.”

“I'm worried I'll become too dependent on you,” I confessed.  “What will I do when you get fed up with me?”

“I have no idea.”  At least he acknowledged it was a possibility.  “What do you think I'll do when you get fed up with me?” he countered.

“That won’t happen,” I protested. 

“You don't know that.  I'm not the best company for a young girl, and I know you don’t share my interests.  Like I said, your mind will mature, and you'll feel more sure of yourself.  One day you could decide you don't need protecting, and you want a livelier companion.”

“I don't see that happening.”  

“Is Alice rubbing off on you?” he quipped.

“No,” I replied, giving him a gentle shove.  “I like your company.  I like you the way you are.  I don't mind that you're quiet and need time alone.  You're right; I've no interest in science, but that’s mostly because I don't understand it.  Maybe when this brain matures it will magically all make sense, but I can't see how any change in my brain will change how I feel.  It won’t stop me liking you, it won’t stop me trusting you, and it won’t stop me worrying about you.”  I don't think I'd spoken to anyone as openly as that before, but it didn't feel strange or uncomfortable.

“Worrying about me - why would you worry about me?”  His brow furrowed again.

“I don’t know; I just do.”  I didn't know where the feeling came from, but it had been there since he left me the day of the fight, and was growing stronger all the time. 

“I can take care of myself pretty well,” he stated with an air of confidence.  “Even if another vampire were to get past my ability, I still have Riley's fight training to fall back on.”

“It's not that; it’s hard to explain.  I just need to know you're okay, and then I feel okay.”

He looked shocked, pleasantly shocked I think, and then he smiled.  He didn't smile very often, but when he did, it was like seeing a different person.  Like I was seeing a Fred no one else saw.

“What do you want, Bree?”  The smile was replaced by an intense stare.  “You have to have some say in what we do.”

“I don't know.  It's easy for you; you had plans.  I was just living day to day, not knowing when I would get to hunt again.  I had no plans.”  I really was pathetic; I'd never really considered my future.  My human life was crap.  I'd get up, go to school, come home and try to stay out of my dad's way if he was drunk.  “The only plan I ever made was to run away.  Look how well that turned out.”

“You're forgetting about your wonderful plan to get away before we had to hunt animals,” he reminded me.  Fair point.

“See, yet another reason why I shouldn't make plans.”

“You still owe me for that bear,” he teased.

“I think the deal was, I’d owe you for a belly full of moose,” I retorted.  “How was the bear anyway?”

“Hairy on the tongue and a bit sour.”  His face scrunched up as he recalled the taste.  “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I still can’t see why they would do that all the time.”

He brought our conversation back on track by asking, “Do you really want to leave?  I'm sure they'd let you stay.  Rosalie would certainly be pleased if you stayed.  Once this wedding is over, Bella won’t be an issue.  You could live in the main house and shower every day, three or four times a day if you wanted.”  The last comment earned him another shove.  I knew they all commented on my frequent showers.  Carlisle thought it could be some form of OCD, but apart from the hunger, being dirty was what I hated most about being on the streets.

I would miss the Cullens; they were odd, but not in a bad way.  I pretty much got along with all of them.  Even Jasper was becoming bearable.  They had not destroyed me, they had helped me find Fred, they’d welcomed me into their home, and bought me designer jeans.  I loved designer jeans.  But could I be happy there without Fred?  Despite the seriousness of my thoughts, I suddenly burst out laughing.

“What?”

“I was just wondering if I loved you more that designer jeans,” I giggled.

Fred barked out a sharp laugh.  “Well I can honestly say I love you more than the biochemistry journal.”  We both stood there laughing at our ridiculous thoughts.

We'd both just told each other that we loved each other, but it wasn't awkward or anything.  We knew we weren't mated.  Carlisle had explained about vampire mates, and we knew that wasn’t us.  We were more like brother and sister, I guess.  I never had any siblings so I didn't know if this was how it should feel.  Fred would know; he had siblings.

“Do you feel the same way about me as you did your brothers and sisters?” I asked.

“Not really,” he answered matter of factly.

“Oh.”  I must have got it wrong.  If we weren't mates and we weren't siblings, then what were we?

“Sorry, that probably sounded bad,” he rushed to explain.  “What I meant is that I didn't know them very well.  We didn't see each other that much.  I feel closer to you than I ever did to them.”  His words were comforting, but I still wasn't sure how to define our relationship.  We were friends, but it felt like more than that, to me at least.  Could we just become brother and sister?  It's wasn’t like we could adopt each other or anything.  The Cullens all called themselves brothers and sisters, but as they all seemed to be married to their siblings, I couldn't see that working for us.

As if he were reading my thoughts he said, “We don't need to define our relationship.  Putting a label on it won't make any difference to the way we feel.”

“Okay,” I agreed, before asking, “Do you think we should tell Rosalie and Emmett we're leaving or wait 'til we get back and tell them all at the same time?”    

“Best wait 'til we get back.  Let's head back to camp and see if they have been looking for us,” he suggested, and the sense of excitement was evident in his voice.  I'd momentarily forgotten about his experiment. 

Emmett was about half a mile from camp when we heard him.  “Where the hell have you been?” he bellowed as we broke through the trees.

“Nowhere, just walking and talking,” Fred shrugged.

“Well you could have let us know; Rose has been tearing her hair out.” 

“Why didn't you just come and look for us?” Fred suggested casually. 

“Thought about it, but your scent was kinda hard to follow.  Did you take to the trees or something?”

It worked.  It actually worked.  Fred must be stoked.  His expression gave nothing away, but I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face.

“Ha, I knew it,” Emmett shouted, misreading my expression.  “Let's get back to camp.  Rose wants to have a word with Bree.”

Emmett turned and stomped off, missing the look Fred and I exchanged.