Author's Note: Hello, This is my first submission I've ever written and I'm excited to share it with you. My intentions are to make this fiction a multi chapter story chronicling the child's life. Please let me know what you think. This fiction takes place two years after Bella is born somewhere in the olympic national forest. All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Rosalie Hale was crouched low, hunting for her next meal. The Olympic national forest was deafeningly quiet; the birds that had been chirping loudly, halted their songs when they realized her presence. Every animal in the vicinity was frozen in fear knowing a deadly predator was lurking nearby. A breeze danced lightly across Rosalie's face dragging with it the scent of wild deer a hundred feet away. Normally, Rosalie preferred mountain lion but it had been weeks since she last hunted, deer would have to do for now.
Her amber eyes blackened with intense hunger and a dangerous snarl ripped through her chest and escaped her throat before she jumped and ran toward her prey. She took down each deer in succession, gracefully attaching her mouth at the victim's neck and feeding off its life source. Once all five deer were completely drained Rosalie sat on the forest floor and wiped at her mouth, cleaning the blood dribbling down her chin.
She could feel the fresh blood coursing through her, warming her ice cold body up a few degrees, penetrating her muscles and lending her power and strength from her unwilling victims. The hunt was thrilling and the power rushing through Rosalie almost made her dizzy.
Rosalie sighed disgustedly. It was vampire nature that made her a monster. The hunt for prey was an exhilarating experience, one she tried to experience as a little as possible. She hated that she needed blood to survive, she didn't care about the eternal youth or otherworldly beauty that the vampirism curse brought along with it. She simply wanted to be human, to have children and grow old with Emmett and finally, to die and leave the earth when her time was done.
But that life was not a possibility for Rosalie. Once a human had been turned their body became frozen, forever stuck at the age of change. Never growing older, never able to bear children, never able to change or adapt. If that wasn't enough, the vampire's were 'gifted' with physical weapons like incredible speed, brute strength, heightened senses and (almost) impenetrable marble skin. They also had immense physical beauty that made vampires the perfect predators and humans were their prey.
However, Rosalie and her family refused to hunt humans. They were vegetarians and only hunted and drank from wild animals. The Cullen's valued human life and thought that it should be preserved at all costs. There weren't many other covens around like the Cullen's but Rosalie knew a few existed.
Rosalie was sitting on the forest floor lost in thought when the wind shifted from the south and carried the sound of an infants faint crying. Had all these thoughts about babies made her crazy? Could her ears be deceiving her? She jumped to her feet, stealthy and strong, focusing in on the sound inching closer to the south. She could detect a faint heartbeat and shallow breathing. There was definitely someone out there.
Rosalie ran toward the shallow breathing, panicked. She had to help them, whoever it was. Rosalie followed her senses and it took her moments to find what she was looking for. Huddled in a thin cotton shirt at the base of a tree was an hours old newborn, still sticky and covered in vernix.
"What are you doing out her all alone baby?" she whispered frantically. She briefly wondered if she was some how dreaming, until she remembered that vampires didn't sleep therefore they couldn't dream. She mentally shook herself to focus. This was really happening and this baby needed help. She wasn't sure how long the infant had been abandoned, or who would do such a thing. But she knew the forest was a dangerous place for humans. The cool was already seeping through the trees and the child probably wouldn't make it through the night if it was left here and that definitely wasn't happening on Rosalie's watch.
Hastily, Rosalie unzipped her hoody and carefully swaddled the whining infant up into her arms. She crooned the child a sweet tune, one that her mother often sang to her when she was a child and dashed towards the cottage that the Emmett and Rosalie were occupying for the weekend.
She called to Emmett when she was certain she was close enough for him to hear her. Emmett came running to meet her and had a look of shock on his face when he saw her clutching a tiny infant.
"Emmett, I just found it abandoned in the woods. We need to call Carlisle or take it to the hospital, something." Rosalie cried. Rosalie was normally very poised and in control of her emotions but Rosalie was worried for the small child. What is it was sick? That thought made her feel sick. Rosalie rushed inside the cottage to grab a warm blanket and some supplies while Emmett started his jeep.
Once they were safely inside the car with the heat full blast and on their way to the nearest hospital, which was Olympic Medical Center, Rosalie unwrapped the baby and used a damp cloth to gently clean of the waxy residue. Once the baby was unclothed, Rosalie was relieved to see the baby look relatively unharmed. It was a girl and she was completely unclothed. Her umbilical cord looked poorly cut and clamped but at least the idiots thought to seal it at all.
After she finished cleaning the child off, she wrapped her in a clean and warm blanket and hugged the baby to her chest closely, humming that sweet tune again. They baby had drifted asleep, comfortable in Rosalie's embrace. Emmett had called Carlisle a long the way and Carlisle advised the hospital. The rest of the coven was still in Alaska, so they couldn't be much help as of yet. Rosalie was almost in a trance, rocking the precious being carefully in her arms, a fierce protectiveness surging through her.
"Emmett, I cannot fathom why anyone would abandon their child in the forest. This isn't right." Rosalie practically cried. Emmett nodded his head in agreement, he could see that Rosalie was growing attached to the child and he was getting a little worried. He didn't want Rosalie to be hurting when they gave the child over to the proper authorities.
When they finally arrived at the hospital, Rosalie all but jumped out of the jeep and into the emergency room. She frantically told the nurse about the abandoned baby that they just found. The nurse however, just stood there incredulously, clearly captivated by Rosalie's supernatural beauty.
"Did you not hear me? This baby needs your attention, NOW!" Rosalie demanded and the poor nurse trembled under the weight of Rosalie's words. However, that seemed to wake the nurse up and she quickly took the baby and hurried her off to the NICU. Emmett explained to the nurse working triage that they had found the abandoned baby while hunting. They didn't really know any information about the child at all other then that it was recently born and obviously female.
"Is the baby going to be okay?" Rosalie asked no one in particular. Emmett hugged his wife and murmured soothing words into her ear as she leaned into him. Emmett knew what Rose was thinking, she wanted to keep the child but Emmett didn't that would be a possibility, they were vampires for christ's sake. They could not take in a human child.
Rosalie begged the nurse at triage to let her know any updates and the nurse kindly obliged. After an hour, the nurses let Rosalie visit the baby in the NICU. She was doing very well, they were able to raise her core temperature and had already taken IV formula and was responding well to that. However, the baby seemed had a little fluid in its lungs and she was also a little jaundiced and needed phototherapy.
The doctors were unable to determine her date of birth but figured she was less then 48 hours old. They assured Rosalie that everything would be fine. The baby just needed time to heal. Rosalie figured that birth is a traumatic experience under normal circumstances, throw what this little one experienced and it was no wonder she needed the extra time. They promised that the baby should only need to be kept under observation for a couple of day's tops before being able to be released.
Rosalie was finally able to sigh with relief, the baby would be okay. She washed her hands and the nurse let her to stick her hand through the vent. She rubbed a finger gently up the child's arm and whispered words of encouragement to the tiny fighter who was covered in tubes and wires. The sight broke her heart but made Rosalie all the more resolved to give this child a better life then any orphanage or foster family could ever offer her.
Emmett had joined her by then and after washing his hands he stuck his arm through the incubator hole and gave the baby a comforting touch. The baby stirred when his hands touched hers and Emmett's eyes widened in awe when she opened her fuzzy blue ones and stared directly at Emmett, wrapping her tiny fingers around his big index.
Emmett melted before Rosalie's eyes. He was putty in the small babies hands and Rosalie smiled smugly, this battle had just gotten a whole lot easier. She left Emmett alone to find a nurse and ask about the baby girl's future.
The hospital had called social services and they agreed to a meeting with the Hales the next morning. After a long discussion through the night with Emmett, they went over all the logistics of taking in a human baby. Rosalie knew they were kind of crazy to even fathom such an idea, but protecting and preserving human life was her family's main ideology. No human would be more protected, loved or safe then the little girl that was abandoned.
Social services did background checks on Rosalie and Emmett, both of their records came back clean as a whistle. Rosalie and Emmett started the process to foster the little girl that same day. At this point fostering was the only real option social services could allow. They needed to locate the birth mother. Rosalie could accept that, for now at least.
Within days the little girl was doing great, she was able to breath on her own and her skin was no longer jaundiced. Social services allowed Rosalie and Emmett to take the little girl home since their foster papers already went through thanks to the extensive connections that Cullen family had. The only catch was that they had to stay in the area for three months at least, in case the birth family showed up and wanted custody. Rosalie thought that would happen over her dead body, but grudgingly obliged.
By this time the rest of the Cullen's had arrived in Washington and met the little girl. Each family member fell under her spell as soon as they laid eyes on her. The only weirdo was Edward, who kept bringing up the negatives of the situation. However, he too couldn't resist her charm and was quickly enraptured.
Alice wasted no time shopping for the baby and quickly stocked up on baby necessities. Esme opened and readied the house in Forks, it was the only property they owned in Washington big enough to accommodate the entire family.
When baby was discharged from the hospital the only thing left to do was to name the baby. Social services had named the baby Jane Doe but promised the name could be changed once adoption was finalized. There was no record of this particular child born at any hospitals in the area and there were no alerts in the news or media of a child missing or kidnapped. She was obviously abandoned and they came to the conclusion that it was probably the child of a teen or unwed mother.
Emmett was now cuddling the baby in his arms protectively whispering words of love to the child. He was in it for the long haul. He would do anything for Rosalie and tiny infant that quickly stole his heart. He placed her gently in her new car seat and buckled her into the car.
The child was completely alert on the ride home, her blue eyes staring wide at the scene in front of her. Emmett and Rosalie were leaned over her on either side making goo-goo gah-gah sounds. Aloud, Emmett wondered what they should call her. Edward was driving and suggested Edwina and of course Alice said some variant of the name Alice. They had been scouring baby name books for days, but nothing seemed good enough.
Emmett scoffed at them both and called them idiots. No, he decided. This child needed a name of her own. Rosalie thoughtfully stroked the soft tuft of brown hair on the child's head. "What is your name little one?" She asked the child softly. The long car ride back to forks had lulled the child to sleep, her tiny hand wrapped around Emmett's one larger finger. Rosalie looked at her husband and could tell he was totally in love with the little girl and she felt like her heart could burst. How did she deserve this much good fortune? Carlisle and Esme were delighted to be grandparents. Alice, Jasper and Edward had taken the aunt and uncle roles proudly and Emmett went along with the crazy plan as well, giving Rosalie her one true chance at motherhood.
She trusted her family to keep well fed and in control of themselves, they could give the baby a better life then any orphanage could ever dream of. They could be good for her and she crossed her fingers and sent up a silent prayer to a god she believed shunned her long ago; hoping he was listening to her prayers this one time. Please let us be a permanent role in the child's life. Please.
Rosalie and Emmett played around with names and were finally able to settle on the perfect one. Rosalie's grandmother Annabelle was Rosalie's favorite person and some of her fondest memories of her human life contained her grandmother. Emmett wanted a nod towards his human mother Eliza and Rosalie agreed that would be essential. Alice was scribbling furiously on a notepad as they drove writing out possible combinations of the name.
"Anneliese!" Alice had stopped writing and looked back at them in awe. "Her name is Anneliese." Rosalie tried the name on her tongue, it rolled off easy and beautiful and the child quirked up a half a grin in her sleep.
It was settled then.
Edward snickered and suggested that maybe the child was just passing gas, which made them all laugh in hushed tones.
"Anneliese, I like it." Emmett decided.
"It's perfect!" Rosalie agreed.
Edward pulled in the driveway of their home in forks and said "Welcome home, Anneliese Hale." And they all smiled happily, a new adventure well on its way for the Cullen/Hale family.