I just want to say thank you for sticking with this story. Abby is being difficult. She wants to wonder off the story, I think it's a defense mechanism. I have to keep telling her to stay the course. Enjoy!

Chapter 53

The funeral was held at ten the next morning. I don't remember all of it. I do remember that I didn't want to sit with the family, but Will and Jeremiah made me. We were all waiting in a side room waiting to be escorted into the nave of the church. I can hear the piano playing. When someone comes to tell us that they're ready, we form a line. Jeremiah and I are the last in line. He grabs my hand and squeezes it.

I was balling my eyes out when Will gave the eulogy. Afterwards, a line of cars follows us to the cemetery for the burial. I practically jump out of my skin when the 21-gun salute starts. Jasper has to hold my hand to calm me down. I never thought I would have suffered ptsd much, but the guns firing brought me back to France.

After Josie was laid to rest, the family wanted to have a celebration of life at his favorite restaurant. We have a small room reserved for us and Tanya and Alice, along with Jamie are sitting together at the end of the table. I'm moving the food around my plate, not feeling in the mood to eat. Jamie, on the other hand, is shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he can.

"Why are you eating so fast?" I asked.

"I'm seeing my great grandpa in a lil bit." He replied.

"Oh. How's he doing?"

"Okay. He wants me to come and visit for a bit."

"Alright." I said.

"We're having someone come with you, Jamie." Alice said and the look she's giving him tells him that it's not up for discussion.

"You know, you do look a little like Aunt Eliza when you do that." He replied around a mouth full of food.

We all look down the table and see my aunt talking animatedly to Irina and Elizabeth about an incident Will was in when he was a kid. They all start laughing and Will scowls at her for telling the story.

Fifteen minutes later and 2 plates of food, Jamie lets out a belch that has everyone looking at him.

"What? It was good." He said shrugging.

"Manners, young man." Aunt Eliza reprimanded.

"Excuse me." He replied.

Alice's phone beeps, letting her know she received a text message. Without looking at it, she tells Jamie that Edward and Bella are waiting for him.

"Great." Was all he said before standing.

Aunt Eliza stands too and walks down the length of the table and hugs Jamie.

"Please tell your grandfather, I said hello." She said.

"I will." Jamie replied.

An hour later and everyone is done eating. We're watching Little Jeremiah, Will's son, play with his beret. He's only 10 years old and just as hard-headed as his father. Will and his wife separated last year and decided to have joint custody. I'm not sure what all happened for the marriage to fall apart and he never said anything. Aunt Eliza seems to have taken with Irina. I'm sure it's because of her beauty. She's a distant second to Tanya.

As everyone is winding down their dinner, Alice freezes. It happens so fast that no one sees it. She opens her eyes and looks at me. Oh man! What now?

"We need to go to Jamie's grandfather's right now." She whispered.

As soon as she says that, my phone beeps. I pull it out of my bag and see who it is.

Yo Chief, you need to get here quick!

Anything wrong?

No, but I just heard something that you and the crystal ball need to hear.

Ok. We'll be there shortly.

"Crystal ball." Alice huffs.

Tanya and I grin at her.

We rise from our seats and everyone looks our way.

"Jamie wants me to go see him." I stated.

"Is there something wrong with his grandfather?" Will asked.

"No, but he wants me to see him." I replied.

He stands and grabs his dress jacket. Irina follows suit.

"What are you doing?" I asked

"I'm going with you." He stated, like it was the obvious thing.

"Um. Why?"

"Because I made a promise."

Everyone in the room stares at us.

"What promise?" Jeremiah asked.

"I made a promise to look after Abby." Will replied.

"What about him?" I asked pointing at his son.

"Mom will look after him for me for a little while."

Aunt Eliza walks over to us and asks what's going on.

"Nothing." I said.

"I'm going with Snot to see Jamie's grandfather." Will replied laying down the lapels of his jacket.

I scowl at him and hear everyone chuckling.

"Ok. Please be careful and Abby." She said, "I need to talk to you when you get home."

I look at her and nod.

We're walking out of the restaurant and look at Alice. She's staring off into space. When she's done with the vision, her brows knit together.

"That can't be." She whispers.

"What?" I asked alarm.

"I'll tell you later but now we need to get to Jamie's great grandfather's place."

I hate it when she does that!

Fifteen minutes later, we pull into a parking lot for the senior living center Jamie's great grandfather lives.

"Know what is about to happen?" I ask Alice.

"Yes, I may lift the probation of your time travel just this one time." She replied.

I raise my brows.

"You'll see."

All five of us walk into the lobby and I look around. We're all wearing black besides Will, who is still in his dress uniform.

"Um. I think we should have changed before coming."

"I think you're right." Tanya agreed.

Will shrugs and makes his way down a hallway. We follow.

We see Edward and Bella standing outside Mr. Owen's room with looks of disbelief on them. His lips are moving so fast that, if I wasn't looking at him, I thought he was reciting something only he knew.

"Really." Tanya and Irina look surprised.

"Um. Care to share." I said.

"You'll find out in a minute." Alice replied taking my hand and walking into the room.

Mr. Owen's room is small with only a medical bed, nightstand, two chairs and a television sitting on a tv stand. The bathroom is next to the door leading out into the hallway and two wardrobes. He has a small bookcase under the window with well worn books.

"Hello, Grandpa." I state as I walk up to him.

He reaches for my hands and squeezes them.

"Hello Miss Abigail. I'm so happy you can come see me." He replied.

His eyes twinkle.

I look at Jamie and I can see that something is bothering him. His jaw is twitching and he's bouncing on the balls of his feet. I look at Alice and see that she is relaying something to Edward. He nods and walks down the hallway.

"I have some friends that would like to meet you."

I introduce him to Tanya, Alice and Irina. Will has been here before and loves to hear him tell stories of his time in World War II. They would go off on a tangent about military strategy and I always tune out.

"So, how have you been?" I asked.

"I'm hanging in there. I was just telling my great grandson about a story my mother told me." He replied.

"Oh really? What's it about?" I asked taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"After I enlisted into the Army, and was about to be deployed to Europe, my mother wanted to tell me the story of how I when I was born."

Of all the things, I was going to hear, this wasn't one of them.

"I asked her to tell me when I returned but she insisted to tell me before I left."

Everyone in the room is quiet as he tells the story.

"I was born in September of 1921 in the small town of Ashland, Wisconsin."

My jaw comes unhinged. This can't be true if it's what I think it is. He has my full attention now.

"My mother and another lady were pregnant at the same time and both were due around the same time too. The day of the delivery, the lady who was also pregnant went into labor first. She had a baby boy. My mother went into labor shortly after and also had a boy. I wasn't too interested in the story until mother told me that one of the baby's died. I felt bad because it had to be the other lady's baby and I was about to ask her what happened to this lady and her baby.

She cut me off and told me that the midwife had mixed the babies because she couldn't tell whose baby was whose. Both babies had the same color hair. I always thought that I was different from them. Now, I knew why. The baby that died was mother's and this other lady's baby survived. But before anyone could say anything the lady was so distraught that she killed herself. My mother, who was also upset and heartbroken about losing her baby agreed to raise me as her own. She wasn't going to tell me this and, I think, it was because I was going off to fight that she wanted me to know what happened at my birth. Maybe, because she thought I wasn't going to come back home."
No one said anything or moved. We were all lost in our own thoughts. If this is true, then the man in front of me is Esme's son. I take a deep breath and exhale.

"Did she tell who this other woman's name?" I asked.

"She did but I forgot it long ago. I think it was Esther or something along those lines." He replied.

"Could it be an Esme?" I asked.

"That sounds about right." He said nodding.

"Did you try to find anything out about her, grandpa?" Jamie asked.

"I did after mother died. I couldn't find anything. She never told me her last name and I looked in the records Ashland had and couldn't find anyone with that name or similar to it."

I doubt she would give her real name with trying to hide from her husband.

"You believed her then?" I asked.

"I had no reason not to. She was adamant about the babies being switched. I look nothing like my parents."

If I looked hard enough, I can see a little of Esme in him. If his hair were its normal hair color and not snow white, I'm sure it would be the same as Esme's. My heart starts racing about what this could mean and if we should tell Esme or not. Tanya squeezes my hand to let me know she's aware of my emotions. I take another deep breath. What are we going to do?

An hour later, we say our goodbyes and promise to see him again soon. Once we're in the car and driving away, I can't hold it in no more.

"Okay, what are we going to do?" I asked trying to calm myself down.

"We're going back to see if it's true." Was Alice's reply.

"Do you believe it?" I ask rubbing my hands on my dress.

"Yes. He looked genuine." She replied.

I'm in the backseat with Tanya next to me. Jamie is in the front with Alice and his jaw is still twitching and he keeps running his hands through his hair.

"Jamie, are you okay?" Alice asks looking over at him.

"I think so." Was all he said.

We arrive at a street with old houses that were converted to apartments. It was originally used for the college students to house but some have allowed nonstudents to move in.

"Where are we?" Jamie asked looking around.

"Abby's apartment, I got for her." Alice replied.

So, this is where it is.

"Edward and Bella retrieved some clothes for all of us to change into." She said as she parked in the driveway. Will pulls in behind her.

Inside, I see a couple stacks of clothes on the breakfast bar. I kick my shoes off as soon as I step through the door. I do not like to wear heels. Alice practically pushes me into my little bedroom to change. I see that Edward and Bella have already changed out of their funeral clothes and waiting for us.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Will snaps. He hates to be left out of the loop.

"Um. They can." I replied pointing at Edward and close my door to change.

Tanya is already in there and changing into a pair of jeans and shirt.

She helps me unzip my dress and pulls out a pair of jeans and shirt for me to change into.

"No Shit!" I hear Will say.

I shake my head at his language.

Once I'm done dressing, Tanya opens the door and directs me to the little sofa to put my socks and shoes on. I don't see Jamie and assume he's in the bathroom changing.

Will already has a pair of jeans on and is taking off the dress shirt before he pulls a tee shirt over his head. Irina and Alice go into my bedroom and change. It takes all of thirty seconds before they are out here, fully dressed. That makes Will flinch a little at their speed. I want to know how he is taking all this in. Looks like it's better than I have been.

"He's a little freaked out." Tanya whispers.

I nod.

"So, let me get this straight. The lady that is cooking the food for us is Grandpa Owen's mother?" Will asked.

"Yes. She thought it was her baby that died, and she didn't have anything left to live for and jumped off a cliff. It didn't kill her, and Carlisle was there. He changed her into a vampire. She doesn't talk about it. She never told us when the baby was born." Edward answered.

That could be tricky. To find that exact day the baby was born. I hope I can do it and not get us stuck somewhere else.

"You'll be okay Abby. We all trust your ability." Edward said.

I only nod.

"So, that means Jamie is your great-great nephew." Will said pointing at Jamie as he walks out of the bathroom.

Everyone stops and looks at him.

"I guess so." Replied Alice.

"Which means, You two," Jamie points at me and Will, "are my cousins."

"Fourth cousins." I corrected as I lace up my last shoe.

"This is so weird." Will muttered.

"I agree." Jamie said.

I didn't think that I can be anymore surprised by what's happening to me, but I guess I'm wrong. Who would have thought I would have moved in with a cousin?

"How are you related?" Irina asks.

"Catherine is our second great Grandmother. Her and Esme are sisters." I answered.

I found this out a few months ago. I was sitting in the kitchen researching and Esme and Carmen were talking about their families. Esme told me her maiden name and I about fell off the stool. She came around the island and asked what was wrong. I told her that I had an ancestor with the last name Platt. I showed her the tree and she froze when she saw the names.

"That's my sister and parent's names"

After this revelation, she hugged and kissed my forehead, ecstatic that we're related. That was right before graduation and the man at the ceremony telling me he could give me a better life.

"Anyone else we're related to?" Will asked.

"Um. You remember Great grandma Cindy?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

"That's her sister." I said pointing at Alice.

He stares at her and trying to picture a universe where this could be true.

"You know, it's weird looking at a great aunt and see that I look older than her." He says to me.

"You have no idea." I mutter.

"Anyone else?"
"Uh. Edward is our first cousin, three times removed." I said pointing at him.

Will looks at him and he nods.

"How?" Will asks confused.

"Your second great grandmother and my father are siblings." Edward answered.

"And, Aunt Rosa is Rosalie's niece, which makes her our Aunt." I said because I knew he was going go ask.

"Really?" Will asked

"Yes. And the rest of the Cullen's are related somehow, someway that I'm still working on."

"Huh.' Was his reply.

"Okay, now that we're done with the family history, lets find out what we are going to do with Jamie's great grandfather." Alice said.

She is wound up and I can tell she wants to get this over with and us back.

"Who's coming?" I asked.

"Tanya and I, of course. Jamie, if he wants to come and I think Edward should come. He knows the area and where we can find Esme."

"What do you want the rest of us to do?" Will asks.

I'm surprised he's not arguing to go with me.

"He doesn't want to get sick again." Whispered Edward.

Will heard and scowls at him.

He got sick. I had no idea that happened.

Edward nods and tries not to laugh.

"Irina, can you call Rosalie and explain what is going on. She can prepare the rest of the family." Alice commands.

"What about us two?" Will asks.

"Bella, I need you to coordinate with these two and drive to the cabin. We'll meet you all there once we're done. And, Will. You need to call your mom and find out, in a subtle way, to see how much she knows about Abby and what all her mother said to her. I have a feeling and vision that she will want to know what is going on."

Wait. What?

"I'll tell you once we're back. Let's concentrate on this first." Alice answered my unasked question.

"Um. I can stay here and help with the coordination." Jamie said.

Alice glares at him.

"Okay. If you insist, I'll come…" he muttered.

Alice takes my left hand and Tanya my right. She holds her other hand for Jamie to hold. He hesitates and Edward grabs it and takes Tanya's hand.

With that, We're off into a different time.

It's getting easier to go back and I can't help but smile.

We stop and see that we are on the outskirts of a small lumber town. There are trucks of lumber being hauled off to the dock to be moved to the lower states. I look around and see that no one notices we are here and sigh with relief.

Alice and Tanya look at Edward for clarification to see if we are close to the date of Grandpa Owens birth. He looks briefly around and his brow knits together. It looks like he's trying to concentrate on something and get what he wants.

"I don't know. It is the right town and time, but I can't tell if it's the exact day. The voices are mumbled, and I can't make out what they are saying." He said.

We all nod.

"Abby what day is it?" Alice asked.

"Uh. The second of September, I think." I guessed.

"It's not that early. Carlisle sees Esme on the twenty first. He changes her that night." Edward exclaimed.

"Okay. Let me see if I can change the date." I replied.

I stand there and concentrate on what I want to do, and I see that days are speeding up. It's night, then day, then back to night. I flip through the days like I'm scrolling through a website on my laptop. It's touchscreen.

"Stop." Everyone yells.

I do. I look at everyone and they seem to be reorienting themselves. Jamie turns around and hurls. The noise is making me want to throw up. I swallow just to keep it at bay. Alice opens my bag and pulls out a water bottle and hands it to Jamie to rinse his mouth.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"Please don't do that again." He said grabbing the bottle.

"I believe this is it." Edward said looking around. "We lived further out of town and Carlisle walks to work. We were only here a few months before moving further east."

"Did you ever come into town?" I asked.

"A couple of times. My control wasn't all that good then." He replied.

I nod and thanked the Lord that we won't be running into his past self. Now, we just have to find the hospital, or wherever Esme had her baby, and see what happens.

After walking a little bit in town. Edward directs to the other end and points to a two-story building. There was no sign stating what it was, and I couldn't tell if it's where someone worked or an apartment building.

"It's were Esme and the Grandpa Owen's mother was staying. His father was out in the woods cutting trees down. He didn't make it in time for the birth." Edward explained.

We step inside and look around. It was a nondescript place. Wood all around. Next to the reception area, there was a staircase that went to the next floor.

"It's this way. I can smell Carlisle." Edward says taking the stairs, two at a time.

We follow and I see that Jamie is taking his time.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's weird knowing that I'm here about to see my great grandfather as a baby."

I nod. It does take a little getting used to.

"Wait a minute." Tanya said. "Is Carlisle still here?"

Alice closes her eyes to check.

"He left a few minutes ago and said that he would be back. There was an accident at the docks, and he was called to attend to an injured dock person. We better hurry before he sees you Edward." Alice said.

He nods. I don't know what will happen if he sees Edward here when he shouldn't be.

"Is it me or are we being ignored?" Jamie asked looking at the people on the stairs walk by us and not acknowledge anyone.

"No one won't until someone we know spots us." I replied.

"This is so weird." He muttered.

At the end of the hall, we hear two sets of babies crying. One sounds weaker than the other. We stop at the door and Edward stands there listening to see who's in there.

"It sounds like one person in there." He whispered.

He opens the door and looks around. There's someone in a rocking chair cuddling a baby. Mine and Jamie's mouth falls open. It's Esme rocking her baby. We all stand there staring at her. She's oblivious to us. I can't help but smile. She's cooing at him and combing his hair, what little he has, with her hand. She looks exactly the same, except her skin is a lot paler and her eyes are brown instead of gold.

"Is that him?" Jamie whispers.

"Yes!" The three vamps say.

"How can you tell?" He asked.

"The smell." Alice replied.

"Well, then we should go." I said.

I don't want to see what happens tomorrow.

"Can you fast forward, Abby?" Alice whispered.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes. We need to make sure." She answered.

"Okay."

I close my eyes and flip the day to the next day. It's late afternoon, there's not a lot of activity in the room. I see Esme in the same chair rocking the baby. This baby is not making any noise. She's sobbing, praying for the baby to make a noise.

"The other doctor that worked with Carlisle did everything he can to keep the baby breathing and alive. Nothing worked. I'm not sure if Carlisle could do anything. The pneumonia was so far advanced, the baby wouldn't have survived. There was an epidemic here around this time. It wasn't the Spanish Flu but something similar." Edward whispered.

I'm practically sobbing myself. I see tears falling from Jamie and him wiping them away.

Esme lays the baby down and walks out the door. The baby doesn't move.

"She's walking to the cliff now."

Jamie walks to the crib and looks down. The little baby is blue and cold to the touch.

"His condition worsened during the night." Alice muttered.

We hear hurried footsteps coming this way and step away from the crib and see a midwife walk in. She looks around and sees the baby.

"Oh, Dear Lord." She cried.

She hurries out and a few minutes later we hear two sets of footsteps walk in. The doctor looks the baby over and announces the time of death.

"Does she know?" He asked.

"Yes, but there's another problem Doctor." She replied.

"What is that?" He covers the baby with a blanket.

"I think Miss Angela made a mistake when the babies were born."

"And, that is?" he says standing up and looking at her.

"She told me this morning. She accidently mixed the names up."

His look tells us all we need to know.

"Are you telling me she mixed the babies up?"
"Yes!"

He closes his eyes and rubs his face.

"What are we to do?" She whispered.

"I'll take care of it. Go get Dr. Cullen immediately. I will need his assistance."

With that she leaves.

"How can this be?" He muttered to himself.

We walk out of the room, down the stairs and out into the street.

"That was gut wrenching." Jamie muttered walking away from us.

Alice walks over and hugs him. Tanya hugs me.

"You okay?" She whispered stroking my face.

I nod.

"We need to go. Carlisle is coming with the midwife." Edward stated.

"Abby." Alice looks at me.

We walk back to the spot we started from and I'm closing my eyes thinking of where I want to go.

"Remember, we need to go to the cabin." Alice tells me.

I nod.

Just as we are about to disappear, we see Carlisle stop at the building door. He looks around and spots us. I don't see what he does because we are moving fast.

We land in the front yard of the "cabin" as Alice says, and I exhale. I hear Jamie heaving.

"I think that is the first time that no one stopped to talk to me." I stated rubbing my face.

"You were great Love!" Tanya said, taking my face into her hands and kisses me.

"Edward. Are you all okay?" Carlisle said coming out the door and standing in front of his son.

Jasper is behind him and has Alice in his arms. The others are making their way out the door and standing on the porch waiting for us to tell them what happened.

"Yes. Everyone is fine, Carlisle." Edward said.

Carlisle waits for us to elaborate and I can tell he wants to know why we were in Ashland, Wisconsin.

Edward nods and unspoken question Carlisle asks. I see him grimace and turns to Jamie.

"Let's get you inside and hydrated. The others will be here shortly." He says as he's walking towards the house.

Jamie only nods and follows.

"And, Abby." He turns to me, "Your aunt will be here in the morning to talk to you."

I gulp and nod.

I have no idea what she wants to talk about and look around for Alice to tell me. She's gone, already inside. Tanya grabs my hand and leads me inside to tell our tale and hope Esme will be able to handle this news.