Once Upon a Holiday

Summary: Hermione went on holiday to find American relatives. Enter a distant cousin long thought dead. AU (really? do I have to state that each time? I mean, it is so obviously AU. For pity's sake, Hermione is in Forks and related to Alice? Totally not canon!), EWE

There was a pairing I had in mind, but the more I wrote the more they proved me wrong and changed things on me. Well, there still is a pairing, just not the one I intended. Characters in stories (especially mine) can be so demanding.

I started to place the genre as family, because these two are cousins not 'married'. But people get all bent out of shape about the family genre sometimes and I just didn't feel like dealing it. Just so you know. There is no slash here so breathe easy if you're not into that sort of thing and I apologize for failing you if you are.

Oh and no, I'm not breaking up the main Twilight couples just so Hermione can bed one of them. That's not happening in this story… it could be fun to really mess with them some other time, just not in this story.

Genre: Adventure, Drama

Characters: Hermione, Alice

The Holiday

"It's not forever, Ron."

"How long then?" The wizard asked. He wasn't ready to let the subject drop. Something didn't add up and Ron was determined to get to the bottom of it. The redhead leaned his lanky body awkwardly against the doorframe with his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets. Ron watched as one of his best friends flittered about her bedroom. Normally he'd sit on her bed to talk to her, but there wasn't space at the moment.

"A month, maybe two," Hermione was neatly folding her clothes before setting them on her bed in neatly coded piles: there were long sleeved light colored blouses, long sleeved dark colored blouses, short sleeved light colored blouses and short sleeved dark colored blouses. Then there were trousers sorted into light colors and dark colors and a separate one for denim and so on.

"You don't know how long you'll be gone?"

"Not really, no."

The brunette didn't slow down in her quest to fold her clothes until Ron asked, "You are coming back though, right?"

Hermione paused - a half folded blue cotton short sleeved t-shirt dangling in her hands - and sighed heavily, "Of course."

"That didn't sound very reassuring, Hermione. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hermione responded a bit too quickly to be convincing, not to mention her voice rose at the end of the word making it sound more like a question than an answer.

"Come on," Ron prompted, "You can tell me. I listen nearly as well as Harry." When the witch snorted in amusement, the redhead crossed his arms and smirked, "Fine; I promise I'll listen this time. What's going on?"

There was no answer for a few minutes. Ron didn't prompt her again as he watched a plethora of emotions dance across her features before her face drew upon its usual neutral look, also known as her healer face. It was the look that Hermione adapted when she had to say something unpleasant and needed to remain detached, professional.

"He's getting married." Hermione began folding the t-shirt again and gently placed it on its corresponding pile. She had said that bit of information in an offhanded fashion as if that bit of news meant absolutely nothing to her… which truthfully it didn't mean anything, yet at the same time it meant everything.

"He?" Ron frowned while thinking of all their mutual friends and drawing a blank. It wasn't until the witch shot him an exasperated look that the answer clicked into place and the wizard stiffened, "Benedict?" At Hermione's grimace, Ron threw his hands up in defeat, "Honestly, Hermione, I thought you were over that bloke."

"I am."

"Really?" Ron didn't sound convinced in the least. Why should he? His best friend was going on a long vacation to who knew where all because that Benedict bloke was getting married to some unknown chit.

"Truly," Hermione retorted and sat - or more accurately, she flopped - onto her bed, scattering the neat piles of clothing she had been so painstakingly folded just moments before.

"Then I'm at a loss," Ron took her sitting down as an open invitation to do the same. He sat beside her after shoving a few stacks of clothing out his way. "If you're over him, then why are you leaving because of him?"

"I'm not leaving because of Benedict." Ron scoffed momentarily only to be distracted by a thin bit of silky black material. He held it up to view it more closely only to have Hermione smack his arm and tug it out of his hand with an exasperated look. The witch hid the bit of lingerie behind her before elaborating, "Well not really." When Ron smirked in triumph for having her prove him right, she rolled her eyes before explaining, "You dolt, when I found out about Benedict's engagement, I was genuinely happy for him. He'd been dating Louise for some time, after all. It was good to hear that they're happily settling down.

"Then I realized that I'm the last one." Hermione sighed dejectedly and rescued the silk scarf that Ron had been twisting around his fingers. "Everyone is getting on with their lives. You're married with a child on the way. Ginny and Harry are married with their second child on the way. Neville and Luna are-"

"Got it, we're all wedded with tots… and now it's Benedict's turn."

"Exactly." Hermione nodded as she smoothed the wrinkled scarf across her thigh. Her brow furrowed as she continued, "Mind you, I don't begrudge him getting on with his life and finding someone. It isn't as if we were all that serious when we dated. It's just that I had my life all planned out: education first, then a career, and lastly marriage. It was the proper way to do things-"

"You have the first two," Ron interrupted with his surprisingly astute grasp on the situation only to muck it up a moment later, "Now we just need to find you a man and marry you off. Problem solved."

"Do you even hear yourself when you speak?" Hermione gaped at him, "Just find a man and marry him. That's your solution?"

"Well it was…"

"I'm not that desperate, thank you very much." Hermione nudged her best friend so suddenly - and violently - that he ended up on the floor with a stunned look on his face. "Oh like you didn't deserve that!"

Ron was so shocked it took a moment for reality to get through; once it had he broke into peals of laughter. Hermione was soon to follow. The witch held her sides, straining to catch her breath, "You're so daft sometimes."

The wizard grinned up from the floor unrepentantly, "So you've said." Ron leaned his back against the bed and took a calming breath. "So, you're going off on holiday to… what exactly?"

"Find myself, I suppose. I never took time off, really. I went from Hogwarts to Cambridge to St. Mungo's." Hermione noted that several articles of clothing had fallen from the bed and began picking them up. She quickly snatched a bra that Ron held out to her. "I told Healer Freeman that if he didn't agree to give me a holiday, I'd gladly go on sabbatical. He wasn't overly fond of the idea of my being on sabbatical, so agreed quickly with a holiday."

"What's a sabbatical?"

"It's like a holiday… only longer."

"How long?"

"A regular holiday can be as short as an extended weekend where a sabbatical is several months to a year or more." Hermione had a distant look to her as she continued, "Under normal circumstances, a sabbatical is taken when a professional requires further training or learning in a certain field, but they have been known to be used-"

"Hermione!"

"Hmm?" The witch blinked at her friend and then blushed when she realized she had begun lecturing, "Point is, I'm taking a holiday. Maybe I'll research my family."

"Family? They're muggles, aren't they? Shouldn't they be in that innernest thing you go on about?"

"Internet," Hermione corrected, "and yes actually, they are. I managed to find a few distant relatives through various websites. We've corresponded via email a time or two. Hmm, I could go to Mississippi to meet with them instead of visiting my grandmother."

"Misspi? As in the US? You're a Yank?"

"Mississippi," Hermione rolled her eyes, "And I'm not a Yank! The majority of my family live here in the UK. My great, great grandmother's sister moved to the colonies with her husband and son. The relatives that I've spoken to live in Biloxi."

"So you're going the States to see them?"

With a nod of confirmation and a steely glint of determination in her gaze, Hermione decided, "Yes. I'm going to Mississippi."

Alice stilled and stared off into the nothingness as her mind was transported to some indistinct time in the future. As the tiny vampire came out of the vision, she smiled beautifully at her mate exclaiming, "She's coming!"

"That's great, Alice." Jasper was momentarily swept away in Alice's excitement as it washed over him. When the pixie sized brunette didn't elaborate, the former soldier quirked an amused sculpted blonde eyebrow at her before asking the ever important question, "Who is coming?"

Pausing in her celebrations, Alice beamed up at him, giggling happily, "I have no idea. I just know she's coming!" She began bouncing happily around the room with an underlying grace that would boggle the mortal mind, providing there were any around to witness her antics, before coming to an abrupt halt. Alice gasped, "and soon. We need to go."

AN: So … it's a thing, yeah? I haven't a clue why another story bunny popped up in my head for this particular Xover, but it did nonetheless. So I felt compelled to write it. I've read the Twilight books years ago. Seen the first movie once. So if I'm off on those characters, I apologize. This entire thing is so AU yet it follows a few of the main story line plots that I remembered reading about at some point or looked up to clarify on the web (so I blame the wiki if I was so off it hurt!).

This entire ficlet is either following Hermione or Alice (mostly Hermione) and sometimes both within one chapter. So if they're both there and one walks away, you're obviously following the one that stayed. Hopefully that isn't too confusing. I tried making it as obvious as possible. Besides, it isn't as if I ever go first person in this story.

Now a word about Benedict… he's just a fictional ex-lover… ex-boyfriend… guy that will not be a part of this story. I just didn't want to pair her with a HP partner. So please don't read too much into the prior relationship. On the other hand, if you must know, I was thinking of Benedict Cumberbatch when I wrote that, so naturally I had to use Louise Brealey (Molly) as his future bride as well as 'Healer' Martin Freeman (Dr. Watson). I love Sherlock on BBC.

I hope I do well enough with this story as not to be heckled vehemently by the masses. Meep!

Always,

Ajellah