Alice Chapter 1
As long as she could remember, Alice had been alone. She'd seen only the white walls of her room, heard only the muffled voices of the doctors in the next room. The doctors discussed her as if she wasn't there. "We don't know where she came from." "Have you tracked down her parents?" "No. As far as we can tell, she's alone." "Where was she found?" "By the road ten miles out of town."
Alice pulled a pristine white pillow over her head, attempting to block out their voices. The cotton was soft and clean, and smelled it too. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. It relaxed her somehow. Slowly, her eyelids began to droop. Perhaps when she awoke, everything would be normal again, and she would be home. What was home though? Where was it? She could hardly remember. A gentle sigh escaped her lips, and as quickly as though a switch had been flipped, she was sound asleep.
"Carlisle?" The sandy-haired man in question looked up from the thick volume sitting open on the desk in front of him. "Come in." He smiled pleasantly at his wife, who hovered by the door.
"I wanted to ask you something." Esme sat down in the chair facing him, on the opposite side of the desk. Carlisle nodded, his eyes fixed on her. "Go on." It was an encouragement, not a demand.
"There's this little girl at the hospital-" She began. Esme had been volunteering at the children's hospital in seattle. She loved the children there, nearly as much as her own children. It broke her heart to see them go, but they all inevitably did. Either home to their parents, or they left the world forever. Each case was special to her, the was the inevitable curse of compassion.
"How old is she?" Carlisle asked, rapt. He loved to listen to Esme talk about the children she looked after, but something in her face made him think that there was something much more serious going on.
"She's five. She came in yesterday after being abandoned on the side of the road." Carlisle's eyebrows shot up in surprise and concern. Abandon a five year old at the side of the road? He'd never be able to understand why anyone would do such a thing.
Esme gazed at him imploringly, "She's so sweet and alone, Carlisle. Please can we let her stay here? Just for a little while? Who knows how long she'd have to stay in that dreadful hospital for, without any family to care for her."
He didn't say a word for a very long while. After a moment, he removed his glasses that had been perched neatly on the tip of his nose, and with the other hand, rubbed his eyes tiredly. Finally, he looked up to study her face. She was watching him carefully and looking all the world like butter wouldn't melt. (A/N This is an old English saying meaning that she looked sweet and innocent.)
"What's her name?" He finally asked. "Alice." Esme replied. Carlisle was silent for a little while longer before sighing softly. "I know how much the children at the hospital mean to you, and I realize that this is a very particular case. So… So I suppose it couldn't do any harm."
Esme leant across the desk to steal a kiss. "I really think we could help this child." She smiled.
As Esme descended the stairs, she called softly for the rest of the family. She knew they were all within hearing distance, she could hear moving about the house. No doubt they had all overhead the conversation she had just had with Carlisle. Within moments they had all gathering in the living room, each pair of eyes fixed on their adoptive mother.
"I hope you're all alright with this arrangement. If you're not, you have the chance now to leave the house for a little while. We will not be hurt by your departure, and we would understand entirely. This is completely new to us all. We wouldn't want anyone to have to deal with this if you don't think you can, or don't want to." There was silence.
"I think it's a great idea." Edward spoke up finally. He glanced around at his family, whose eyes were all now trained on him. After a few more seconds, Bella spoke up as well. "I think it's a good idea as well. It might be nice to give the child a place to stay. "
One by one, each family member voiced their opinion. Each agreed to stay. All but one.
Jasper crossed his arms, a frown on his lips. "Forgive me, but do you all think this is really a good idea? This is a human child we're talking about." He looked around at his family, and it was clear that they were not on his side. "I know that there may be some obstacles, but I really believe that this will be a good experience for us all." Esme implored. He just shook his head. "This will be nothing but trouble for us." With that, he walked out the door, leaving everyone else standing in the living room, looking after him.
One Jasper had disappeared from view into the forest, Bella turned to face Esme again as the rest of the family began to disperse.
"Can I come with you to collect her?" She asked her.
"Of course you can, dear." Esme smiled warmly.
The night came and went so quickly, that Esme hardly noticed the moon passing overhead. It wasn't until the sun began to rise in the East that she looked up and registered the daylight. She had been sitting out on the porch all night, reading by the light of the lantern. There were books of all sizes, but each was on the same subject. The titles perched on her lap read: 'An Introduction to Childcare', ''Development Matters, 0-6' and 'Caring for your Child'. A large number of other books lay on ground in a pile at her feet.
Jasper still hadn't returned, and it worried her greatly. She hated the thought that she had upset him, but at the same time, knew that there was nothing to be done about it.
An anxious excitement was already bubbling in her stomach. It would only take a week or so for the paperwork to go through, and then she would bring Alice home. She picked up the next book, and flipped to the first page.