Alice was fuming. The boost to Alice's mood that followed three weeks shopping in New York had been undermined by the seven hour flight to Seattle. The smells and sounds of so many humans in the confined space of a commercial airliner was a special kind of torture for the small vampire. Any residual happiness was completely ruined when the airline had lost a piece of her luggage. Alice stood at the Lost Baggage counter at Seattle Airport filling out forms, hoping that it would turn up eventually. Two pairs of her favorite shoes were on the line. She sighed, knowing she was likely out of luck. Some baggage handler from JFK was probably giving her Manolo Blahniks to his girlfriend back in New York right now. At least she had arranged to have all her shopping shipped by container directly to her home in Forks, and with some luck most of it would already have arrived and be waiting for her.

She turned to leave, bumping into a teenage girl standing in line behind her.

"Sorry" the young girl apologized.

Alice was about to snap, completely out of character for the usually effervescent vampire, when she saw the fragile young girl in front of her. Her anger vanished. "No, it's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." Alice studied the girl's face. She was beautiful, with long brunette hair that framed a pale heart-shaped face. She was thin to the point of being underweight, and pale, almost as pale as Alice. Perhaps most noticeable of all to Alice were her eyes. Sad brown doe eyes, with dark bruises underneath accentuating her aura of fragility. Something about the look in her eyes made Alice's chest ache. Her beauty was somehow enhanced by the awful baggy department store clothing the girl was wearing. It was simply dreadful to the the point of absurdity, and it made Alice want to drag her aside out of pity and completely make her over.

The girl smiled softly and moved past her, and the moment was broken. Alice shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, turned and walked back into the airport, heading towards the long term car park. It was snowing heavily outside and the airport was already beginning to close down runways due to poor weather. Alice was grateful to have her own vehicle as she noticed the cancellation signs going up throughout the airport.

Fifteen minutes later her Porsche was delivered by valet parking and she had driven to the car park exit, ready to begin the two hour journey home. She was still thinking about the beautiful girl from Lost Baggage when she looked across the road and saw her, shivering in an empty bus shelter, looking like a lost child. Something about her made Alice pull her car out of the car park and into the bus bay, winding down her window.

"Are you ok?"

The girl looked up, surprised, recognition flitting across her face. Alice could see she had been crying. "You."

"Yeah, look, you seem upset."

"My bus has been cancelled. It's ok, I'll just have to find a motel."

Alice frowned. She didn't like the thought of the young girl alone in a strange city. "Where are you headed?"

"F..Forks."

Alice smiled. "Are you visiting someone there?"

"My dad, he's the chief of police."

"Charlie Swan?"

"You .. you know him?"

"I live there. My Dad works at the local hospital. He knows Charlie quite well. Get in, I'll give you a lift home."

The girl hesitated. It seemed too good to be true. What were the chances of someone from Forks pulling up like that and offering her a ride?

"Come on. Do I look like a serial killer?" Alice tried not to wince at her own dark humor. Really, if she was being honest that's exactly what she was, or at least had been decades ago when the monster inside her was still in control. "Charlie knows me. Give him a call."

"I tried. He's not answering."

"Look. It's freezing. You can't stay here. The airport is closing due to the storm. People are stuck here so it's probably already too late for you to find a room. We live in the same town. I told you your Dad's name. How would I know that unless I know him? Trust me."

The young girl chewed her bottom lip, then seemed to make up her mind, smiling shyly. "Sorry, you're right. Thanks. Stranger danger you know? But I think I could take you in a fight if I had to." She grinned and pointed to her bag. Alice popped the trunk at the front of her Porsche, letting the girl throw her bag in before she climbed into the passenger seat.

"I'm Alice. Alice Cullen."

"Bella Swan. This is really kind of you."

"No worries. I'm always happy to rescue a damsel in distress. It's a bit of a drive to Forks so it will be nice to have some company. You should keep trying your Dad on your cell. I'm sure he'll pick up eventually."

It was only when the girl was in the close confinement of the sports car that Alice first noticed the girl's scent. She was confused by it. Alice hadn't reacted so strongly to anyone's scent, vampire or human, for as long as she could remember. Perhaps never. Delicious warm traces of vanilla and honey and something unique to the girl was making Alice's throat burn and causing a strange ache deep in her core, but there was something else tainting the intoxicating scent, chemical and mildly unpleasant, reminding Alice of a hospital.

Alice tried to make conversation to take her mind off the burn.

"I didn't know Chief Swan had a daughter."

"I grew up living with my Mom. We moved around a lot. Spent the last couple of years in Phoenix."

"Ahh. My family move around a lot too. I've got three brother and two sisters. I'm the youngest but we're all still in school. We're all adopted."

"Your parents must be pretty amazing to adopt so many kids. Have you been in Forks for long?"

"Just a year. We were in Alaska before that."

"Wow, that must have been cold." Bella giggled. The sweet sound of her laugh seemed to make Alice's dead heart give a phantom thump. "Sorry. That's such an obvious thing to say."

Alice grinned at her. "You're right. It was cold. I like that though."

"Me too."

Alice raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Coming from Phoenix?"

"I never fitted in there. It wasn't just the heat I didn't like."

Alice wanted to ask what she meant by that, but didn't want to push the girl too quickly. She had a feeling they were going to be friends, and for that to happen she needed Bella to feel comfortable with her. "You sound like you're not going back. Are you moving to Forks?"

Bella was quiet for a moment and Alice wondered what she'd said wrong.

"Maybe. My Mom died." Bella was staring out the window and Alice couldn't see her face.

"Shit. Oh. Look, I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Not your fault, so don't worry. It was a car accident. I .. uh .. I'd been in hospital for a while. She was driving home late from visiting me and was hit head-on by a drunk driver. I didn't even get to go to her funeral."

Alice felt awful and wasn't sure what to say to the young girl. That was just tragic. And why was Bella in the hospital? She wished Esme was here. Esme always knew what to say to make people feel better.

"Are you going to live with your Dad?"

"I .. uh .. maybe. Not for long." A grimace crossed Bella's face when she said that. Alice had a feeling that there was something dark and sad lurking behind those words. If her mom was dead and she didn't intend living with Charlie for long, what other options did she have?

"Does Charlie know you are coming?"

"No."

"What? How ... umm … does he know about your Mom?"

"We haven't spoken in ten years. Mom took me when they broke up and we kind of lost contact when we moved around so much. They were too different and were fighting a lot at the end. He doesn't know about the accident. I .. I don't even know if he wants to know me." Bella was clearly trying hard not to cry, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand. Alice reached her hand over to squeeze the young girl's hand, startling herself when a frisson of warm electricity shoot up her arm. She felt a strange surge of disappointment when she pulled her hand away.

"I'm sure he does. Charlie's a good guy."

Bella turned to look at her, a look of uncertainty on her sad face. "I hope so."

"Me too. If you stay we will be going to the same school."

Just then something beeped in Bella's bag and she reached down, pressing something to make the beeping stop before grabbing a bottle of water. Alice could hear rattling, and when she glanced over she realized Bella was counting out pills from an assortment of different bottles.

"Are you ok? That's a LOT of medication."

"I'm alright."

Alice managed to read a couple of labels on the bottles and stifled a gasp. She recognized some of the names. She had taken pre-med courses at college a few times, and had picked up a lot from living with Carlisle for almost 80 years. There were at least two different bottles of chemotherapeutic agents. Bosulif was a newer inhibitor she'd read about recently, usually prescribed when patients were intolerant to other drugs or other treatments had proven ineffective, and it had a range of serious side effects. Bella was taking cancer medication, most probably for leukemia.

"Are .. are you sure you're ok?"

"Nothing I can't handle, but .. um .. do you mind if I take a nap, I'm kind of tired."

"Of course, go ahead." Alice knew that tiredness and fatigue were typical side effects of the drugs Bella was taking. The poor kid was clearly ill and exhausted. And the fact she'd just lost her mom and was traveling alone to a father she hadn't seen in years broke Alice's heart. She realized that underlying Bella's fragile shell there was a strength and bravery that far exceeded her young years. She was an old soul in a young body.

Driving with the sleeping girl was oddly satisfying. Alice barely knew her, and yet felt deeply protective of her. She thought about her own close-knit family, all of them being mated couples except herself and Edward. She and Jasper had been together for decades, a coupling based on friendship and convenience, but it had ended when Jasper had met his true mate in Danielle. Alice had been happy for him, and she had grown to love her new sister. But it had been lonely for the little vampire for the last fifteen years. When it all got a little too much she'd go off on her own, like on this last shopping trip. Everyone pretended to tease her about her shopping obsession, but they all knew without saying that those trips were really just a diversion from her own underlying unhappiness.

That was when Alice felt a vision come on and she quickly pulled to the side of the highway. When she came to she sat for almost ten minutes in something as close to shock as a vampire can experience, staring intently at the sleeping girl beside her. When she finally restarted the engine and pulled back out into the traffic, her mind was still whirling in response to the images she had seen, just glimpses, stretching years into the future. Then Alice's face lit up with the first genuinely joyful smile she had experienced in years. "Bella" she whispered to herself, testing how the name felt on her lips as she watched the young girl sleep.

Bella slept for the next hour and a half, right up to when Alice was pulling into the driveway where Charlie Swan lived. The house was in complete darkness. Alice gently nudged her awake.

"Bella?"

"Hmmm?"

"We're here. But I don't think your Dad is home."

Bella's sat up, rubbing bleary eyes, her face falling in disappointment. "Oh, I should have called first."

"Look, why don't you spend the night at my place? My family wont mind. In fact my Mom would love to have you. You can call Charlie in the morning, when you've had a chance to sleep and feel up to it. It seems like you could do with a chance to get ready before you see him."

Bella hesitated, uncertain what to do.

Alice knew she had to push the point. She started her car and put it into reverse. "Right, no arguments." Picking up her cell, she rang Esme. "Mom, I'll be home in ten minutes, I'm bringing a friend I met in Seattle with me. Charlie Swan's daughter. Her name is Bella. She's got nowhere to stay tonight. You'll like her Mom. She's special." Alice winked at Bella whilst listening for a minute, then saying "Can you have something ready for her for dinner? I've already eaten." Another pause then "Love you, see you soon."

Alice drove the last miles quickly and was soon pulling off the road into an almost hidden driveway, which led to a magnificent white house set amongst the forest in a small clearing.

Bella's face showed her surprise. "Wow."

Alice pulled up and opened the trunk, grabbing Bella's bag and the single piece of her own luggage that had made it safely to Seattle. "Come on, everyone is home and I bet they can't wait to meet you."

The front door opened and Alice called out "Hi Mom", before leading Bella up the steps to introduce her.

"Bella? How lovely to meet you. I'm Esme, Alice's mom, and this is my husband Carlisle. Come inside out of the cold."

Bella was immediately wrapped in the woman's arms and found herself holding back tears. No-one had hugged her like that since Renee. She hugged Esme back, embarrassed to find herself clinging awkwardly before forcing herself to let go. She was then introduced to the rest of Alice's family, who she was shocked to find were the most inhumanly beautiful group of people she'd ever met. Their names and faces became a blur to the weary girl, and it was more than a little overwhelming. Bella found herself clinging by Alice's side as she was introduced to Alice's three brothers and two sisters, and she was relieved when Alice wrapped an arm around her, pulling Bella into her side protectively.

"That's enough everyone. It has been a long day. Bella's going to grab a quick bite then I'm putting her in bed. You can meet her properly tomorrow." Alice whisked her into the kitchen where Esme had prepared soup and toast for one. Bella's appetite was usually pretty feeble, but she found herself eating the entire bowl, thanking Esme profusely and telling her it was delicious. Esme seemed charmed by the young girl, and chatted quietly to her whilst throwing Alice strange looks which Alice simply ignored with a wide grin.

"Come on upstairs. You can sleep in my room." Alice carried Bella's bag for her, leading her to a gorgeous bedroom dominated by a huge bed filled with art work. Alice pointed out the bathroom. "Shower is in there. There are towels laid out. Help yourself to anything you want. I'm not tired, but you look all in. I'll be up later, but make yourself at home. Night sweet Bella. Sleep well. You and I are going to be … the best of friends." Bella was startled when Alice kissed her gently her on the cheek, feeling cool lips linger just a moment longer than she might have expected for a simple chaste kiss. Bella couldn't help but lean into it as though seeking to prolong Alice's touch. Alice grinned delightedly at Bella's reaction, reaching up to tuck a lock of dark silky hair behind the brunette's ear before kissing her once more on the nose affectionately, then leaving her to head back downstairs to face the inquisition.

Alice knew what was coming. Surprise, concern and even anger at first about the danger of becoming involved with a human, particularly one who was as broken and unwell as Bella clearly was, let alone the daughter of the local chief of police. Those sorts of complications were a threat to their anonymity. Esme and Jasper and Danielle would be happy for her. Edward and Rose would be harder to convince. It didn't matter though. Alice would win them over. Bella was going to be a permanent fixture in their family. All thanks to a lost piece of luggage.