The Peace Keeper

The Peace Keeper (Twilight) 43

Robyn quietly waited in my arms, patient unlike most children, for her afternoon bottle. As I was preparing it, I couldn't help but acknowledge various odd noises coming from upstairs. Normally, my thoughts would have jumped to supernatural activity, but I knew for a fact I had gotten rid of that.

Popping the bottle in the baby's mouth, I headed upstairs to investigate. Upon arriving at the top of the staircase, I found the odd series of noises was emitting from one of the guest bedrooms Esme and Alice had decided they would convert into a home office (for whatever reason).

The old oak door was cracked a bit, and a thin ray of light was cast upon the floor of the outside hallway. I observed the light, seeing faint shadows pass through it. That, coupled with the whispered voices let me know there was in face people inside. Holding Robyn in one arm, I pushed the door open all the way to stumble over a very odd sight.

I found my brother, Ed, and Bec all buried under a pile of wooden bars and small plastic pieces. And when I say buried, I sure mean it. Both of the girls were seated on the floor, legs completely covered by the odd array of objects, while my brother seemed to be lying down, his entire upper half covered.

Adjacent to the trio was Esme and Alice, each holding a fanned mix of pastel-colored paint chips. The two spoke in inhumanly rushed voices, plucking the paint chips out of their own hands, and holding them against the wall they were facing, occasionally turning around to point at the opposite wall.

Directly across the room from me, Rosalie sat on Emmett's shoulders, hanging sheer, canary colored curtains over the formerly empty bay window that covered most of that wall.

All the while, I stood in the doorway, baby in hand, the two of us holding identical bewildered expressions.

"Hello, everyone." I greeted after they ignored my approach. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"No, you can't." Bec replied before anyone else could answer. Although, she seemed far too preoccupied trying to magically glue two of the wooden bars together to even notice my question.

Rosalie scoffed, "We're building a nursery for you." She answered shortly, both of us disregarding the DJ with multi-colored hair.

Stepping farther into the room, I noticed the pile of sticks my brother was under, was actually a disassembled version of a baby's crib. Alice and Esme were actually discussing pastel color schemes, while Rosalie hung curtains that directly matched the golden flecks that highlighted Robyn's eyes.

I gushed at the thought, "You guys rock!"

Victor, rising noisily from the piling of crib-pieces, proclaimed, "It's not for your sake, it's for Robyn's."

For a second, I pursed my lips in an annoyed way at my brother and his blunt statement. But, quickly, my expression was shadowed by a happier one, as I rushed to him, crouching on the floor, exclaiming, "Oh, my darling little brother is so kind and helpful in every way, assisting me in a great time of need!" And thus, I swung my free arm to forcefully pull him to me, leaving the three Dawsons in some sort of deranged family hug.

"Emma, dear," Esme called, suddenly appearing directly beside me, "Would you mind leaving Robyn here for a bit? I want the walls to match--"

That was all I had to hear before I shoved the small child into the mother vampire's waiting arms. "Don't drop her." I called over my shoulder, already leaving the room.

I returned to the kitchen, and began preparing a simple dinner for my guests and I.

~~~

You wouldn't guess that someone over six feet tall, with an astounding muscle mass would be able to sneak up on anyone, let alone a five foot tall skeleton with supernatural senses and could probably fit in a bread box (well, that's an exaggeration...Not a big one, but still).

But, my darling werewolf-friends Jacob, Quil, and Embry had managed to do so. I felt Jake's fingers lightly trace over my sensitive sides, causing me to shriek and jump a bit into the air.

"Fuck, don't do that!" I scolded the three after catching my breath.

They snickered collectively before Jake asked, "Whatcha cooking?"

"A Philadelphian delicacy: cheesesteaks." I scoffed, layering a few slices of cheese over the sizzling meat, "My specialty."

Jake leaned over my shoulder a bit, wrapping his arms around my waist as he did so, "Delicious." He declared, inhaling.

"The first couple are done if you guys want them."

There was a combined answer of, "Hell yeah," so I scooped three piles of cheese-covered meat onto the rolls, which lay open on plates.

The three boys took a seat at the kitchen table. I tossed a bag of chips in the middle of them, then served their plates. No sooner had I done so, than a high-pitched cry pierced through our comfortable quietness.

While the werewolves glanced around for a moment, attempting to identify the noise, I sighed, throwing down the spatula, and jogging upstairs. I returned to the nursery, glancing at the scene of a crowd of worried teenagers, each hurriedly hushing the bawling demon child in the middle.

I couldn't help but smile at the groups clueless frantic. Quietly, I pushed through, finding it was Esme who had been handed my crying baby. Her motherly presence calmed Robyn only slightly, as she still sobbed and hiccuped continuously.

"May I?" I asked, holding my arms out to take her. Esme seemed more than ready to hand my daughter to me.

As I embraced the baby, placing her against my front, head on my shoulder, her cries slowly subsided. "Whatcha crying about?" I quietly murmured to her, that soothing tone I could muster no where else manifesting, "Momma's here, you don't have to cry..."

~~~

The group couldn't help but stand in awe at the girl and child in front of them. If there was one thing that these supernatural beings had an appreciation for was the ways of humans. Even as a peacekeeper, this mother-daughter relationship was just as strong as anyone else's, if not stronger. The fact that Robyn was a fire demon, therefore not really supposed to have any motherly bond, made it all the more special.

They were amazed at how the tiny baby quieted, quickly falling asleep in her mother's arms. "There, there..." Emma whispered to the sleeping child, gently stroking the tuft of reddish-brown hair on the top of her head. Again, they watched in silence as the mother went to put the child to bed.

"How she does that, I'll never know," Victor muttered, caressing the bruise his niece had given him during her fit.

Alice curiously asked, "How strong is Robyn?" While examining the now growing bump on Victor's shoulder. "It's turning purple."

"Well, fire demons in themselves rival the strength of vampires, if that gives you any clue. Not to mention, since Robyn's some super-hero mix of peacekeeper and demon, that only adds to it..."

Emmett scoffed, "How strong can peacekeepers be? They're just humans that can see ghosts and stuff, right?"

Collectively, Victor, Ed, and Bec gave the huge boy an incredulous stare, "You've got to be kidding me." The two latter of the group chorused.

"You guys remember when Emma-Kate took the spill off the cliff, right?" The aforementioned girl's twin asked.

"Of course." Esme answered.

"Do you think it was just good luck that her head wasn't at all injured? That cliff bottom was covered in rocks, far from the safe diving waters." He shrugged his shoulders, trying to re-adjust the damaged one from the hit he took. "It's something we call out 'Peacekeeping Instinct.' Automatically, an inner-power will manifest itself to protect us if we're ever in trouble. But, it's possible to train your 'Instinct' so you can control the power to use in combat, or something like that..."

"Have you and Emma trained your power?" Rosalie was the one to ask this.

Victor shrugged again, "Emma's practiced much more than me. I prefer to let it manifest itself in a fight, then control the level of attacks I give. Emma put most of her training in her feet, so her speed surpasses mine... by a lot."

"Sounds like a video game..." Ed stated offhandedly.

"How fast can she run?" Alice's eyes lit up, "As fast as a vampire?"

Bec scoffed, "Faster. She can out run wolves, too."

"Oh, easily." The group turned to see their subject of conversation now leaning against the door frame. Behind her, Jake stood lumbering and tall.

"Really?" The wolf asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Emma nodded, "Who's the fastest in your pack?"

Jake pointed to himself.

She turned back to the group of peacekeepers and vampires, "And the fastest in your family?"

"That's Edward." Emmett grinned.

Emma-Kate coyly smiled, nonchalantly challenging, "I can beat them both in a race."
♠ ♠ ♠
;-; I'm sooooooo sorry...
This story just overcame me with writer's block, and I apologize...
But, here's the newest (filler) chapter, and the next few will be easier to write, cause they won't be transition chapters.
But, for those who are too bored to deal with them, feel free to check out my new story "The True Meaning of Fidelity." (Shameless self-endorsement, I know)

Anyway, it shouldn't be too long before I update again...

XXX
Ruby

P.S. This chapter goes out to Bree, who was the only one who asked "When's the next chapter?" during my brief hiatus. You guys got to remember: you motivate me, I'll probably forget to update without a little push every now and then....