Who: Esme and Alice Cullen When: After the Body Swap Where: Cullen Household What: Mother checking in with her daughter Rating/Warning: Low/None Status: Complete
Esme was worried about Alice, ever since the swap incident she seemed to have taken to being quieter than usual and she was working ever such a lot on the website projects she had. It was worrying her that she had maybe taken on too much.
And she couldn’t deny that Jasper moving out may have affected her too, Esme already missed him and knew he and Alice had become close. Knocking on her bedroom door Esme entered her daughter’s room, “Alice, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
Alice was laying on her bed with her headphones in her ears, flipping through a fashion magazine. She wasn’t happy about Jasper moving out, and really didn’t want to think about it. Funny thing was that Alice and Jasper weren’t close. They’d never been, not until he came home from the war and she’d started Dreaming. Now she couldn’t get enough of him, and it made her feel guilty. Naughty. But she couldn’t deny the feelings running around within her.
It wasn’t the sound of her mother’s voice that caught her attention, it was the movement. Since the music was so loud in her ears. She pulled the earbuds out and looked up. “Hmm?”
“I said are you okay sweetheart?” Esme repeated moving closer and sitting down on the bed, “You haven’t said much since the switchback”
“Oh.” Alice sat up a bit and set the magazine aside. She clicked the button on her ipod and shrugged her shoulders a little. “Yeah, well... It’s weird.” She didn’t really want to go into all the details as to why it was weird. It just was.
Esme nodded, it had been strange enough coming to terms with the fact that it actually was her daughter inside the body of a strange man so she knew it must have been a lot weirder for Alice herself, “You know you can talk to me, don’t you? About anything”
Alice sat up the rest of the way and hugged her knees. She wasn’t sure how to explain the weird feelings she was having, wasn’t sure if she could, even if she wanted to. Would Esme understand? Would she try to get Alice in therapy? Alice swore, after her time in the hospital, that she would never go back to see a head doctor again.
“...it’s weird without Jazz around.” She said, finally. Was her mother having these strange dreams, too?
Esme placed a hand on her daughters knee, she’d never in a million years make Alice see a therapist not unless it was something she wanted.
“You and Jasper have gotten closer since he came back haven’t you?” she said softly with a smile.
“I think so. He was just... this teenage stranger who lived in the same house with us, y’know?” Alice said, then shrugged one shoulder. “And then he disappeared for a long time. And now he’s back, and he’s Jasper.”
Esme nodded, "It was hard for him to adjust" harder than the rest of her children. Though it seemed like the army had done him the world of good. "You can still spend time with him, in fact I think he'd welcome that"
Alice nodded a little. She wasn’t sure about that. It was a shame that Esme hadn’t had the Dreams that she’d had. No one seemed to know what she was talking about. Sparkling Vampires? Really? But maybe sometime soon she’d have someone to talk to about this whole thing.
“Yeah, I will. I’ll text him. Set something up.” She said, though it almost sounded like she didn’t want to. Truth was, the more time she spent with him, the more she loved him. And that was a very dangerous thought. She didn’t mind loving Jasper. He was her brother. But being in love with him??
Esme had dreamed but she hadn't told her children. So far she had woken up crying after dreams of an unwanted marriage and an abusive husband. She had never been so grateful that Carlisle wasnt working those nights.
"You should. And maybe spend time with Nessie?" she suggested, "She does love her Auntie Alice and she has a way of making you forget all your problems"
“Yeah, I should. I’ve got some new clothes for her, anyway.” The girl had almost as much clothes as Alice had. Thanks to Alice, of course. She’d have to stop buying infant clothes for the little girl if she was going to try to afford her own place.
“Of course you have” Esme smiled indulgently, “She’s the best dressed little girl I know” It had been hard enough with Jasper moving out, it would break Esme’s heart if she knew Alice was thinking of moving too. Though she wouldn’t let her daughter know of course, if Alice said she was moving out she’d support her even if it did make her sad. She knew children did leave home but it would seem so quiet without any of them.
“I can’t help myself! These clothes are amazing! I think she could wear a new outfit every day of the year and never wear the same thing twice.” Alice said, giving a grin and shrugging her shoulders. “...I just... haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a bit.”
“With you around I think she probably could” Esme agreed before looking at Alice in concern, “Are you working too hard?” she asked softly placing a hand over Alice’s, “Or are you dreaming?”
Alice’s head perked up a bit to bring her eyes to Esme’s face. The grin was gone now, and she scanned her mother’s face for any sign of understanding or recognition. “Dreaming?”
“The dreams people seem to have around here, the ones they talk about on the net” Esme nodded, “Are you having those kind of dreams?”
Alice’s mouth opened, then closed again. She shifted her weight on the bed, trying to figure out what to say, how to form the words. “I think so?”
Esme nodded, “Are they horrible love?” she asked squeezing Alice’s hand, hoping her daughters dreams were nothing like her own.
“Well... no.” Alice said, shaking her head a bit. “I mean, maybe a little.” She just wished that she had Jasper here. Her Jasper. That would make this whole thing a lot easier to swallow. “...confusing a bit, I think. Why?”
Esme shook her head, “I just wondered. I mean there’s talk all the time about bad dreams” she replied, “I’d hate for you to be having horrible dreams and not talking to somebody about them. Even if it’s not me”
“Nah, nothing… bad.” Alice said. How much should she say? How much could she say? “...I’ve been having some really crazy, really, really realistic dreams, though.”
Esme nodded, "I know what you mean" she admitted, "The realistic part anyway"
Alice’s heart started thundering in her chest. “...have you had those realistic dreams? What do you dream about?”
"They aren't good Alice, they are of a time before any of you children and even before your father. I'm married to a different man and he isn't very nice" which was possibly the biggest understatement ever.
Alice frowned a little. “...I’m in your Dreams, then? And… Edward? Emmett? Rosalie?” She wanted to hear more about that. She wasn’t sure what Esme meant about it being before… about the man being not nice. The frown spread. “...I’m sorry.”
Esme shook her head, "No dear, I'm afraid not. I'm on my own. I'm dreaming about things when I was younger. I'm married to a man named Charles in them. A man I knew many years ago actually, your father saved me from dating him" she smiled at the memory, "Anyway lets focus on your dreams"
“No no, we don’t need to focus on my dreams,” Alice said, shaking her head. She was concerned that her mother, that Esme, was going to freak out when Alice explained herself.
"Alice it's okay" Esme said in concern, "If you're having worrying dreams please don't bottle them up" she took Alice's hand in hers once more.
Alice shook her head. “It’s just… a lot to think about.” She gave her mother’s hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. Really. It’s a bit confusing, but it’s happy. Honest.”
“Well if you’re sure” Esme wasn’t convinced but she wasn’t going to push her daughter too much. “I worry anyway, it’s a mothers job” she smiled before pulling Alice into a gentle hug and kissing the top of her head.
Alice wrapped her arms around her mother. She gave a little sigh, but was smiling when she pulled back. “Thanks, Mom.” Unlike a lot of other teenagers, Alice could appreciate everything that her mother did for her. And she wasn’t about to fight a show of affection.