Summary: When Carlisle finds a little girl outside the hospital, he decides to take her home. How will a five-year-old cope in a house of vampires? Pre-Twilight.
Author's Note: To start off, I am not a huge fan of the Twilight series, but I have read the books and enjoyed them. The movies, in my opinion, do not do the series justice. Sorry, that's just my opinion. Anyway, I've had this idea floating around my head for a while and it wouldn't leave me alone. So I decided to go with it and see where it lead. Now, I have written one fanfic before, posted it on here, then thought it was crap and took it down. I regret those actions, but regret deleting it from my files even more. Message of the day: DO NOT DELETE YOUR STORIES, PEOPLE! Yeah…so…I will try my best not to have any mistakes in this story, but hey, we're all human. If you wanna be my Beta, PM me. I'm hoping this story will go all the way through Breaking Dawn, Lord willing. Other than that, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I. Am. Not. Stephanie. Meyer. Any recognizable characters belong to her. By the way, sorry if Carlisle seems a little creeper-ish. I was just trying to portray him as friendly, but it may be overdone.
oOo
It was raining. Mallory hated the rain. It was cold and wet. She shivered as a raindrop found its way into her too small coat and slid down her neck. She huddled against the brick wall of the alley. Maybe it was a bad idea to run away from home. No, she contradicted herself firmly. Anything was better than staying there, including the rain. Ever since her mother died three years ago from acute myeloid leukemia, her father had turned to drinking his sorrow away. That, and blaming Mallory for the world's problems.
"You know what your name means?" he had asked her once. "It means unlucky. And you are. Before you came along, I was happy. I had everything I could ever dream of having. Then you came along and ruined everything."
The five-year-old girl had teared up at that. But she wouldn't cry. Crying never solved anything. Every time she cried, her father just sneered at her, calling her stupid, worthless, and most of all, unlucky.
Mallory shook her head to clear it of the memory. She ran away earlier that morning, taking with her only her most important possessions: her teddy bear she'd had since birth and a framed picture of her mother. Mallory didn't remember her mother very well, as she was only three when she had died. But her mother looked a lot like her with the same honey blonde hair and blue-gray eyes. The little girl hadn't gotten far, though, until she realized how hopeless her efforts were. She didn't have any food or extra clothing. She didn't even know her way around town. She was utterly and hopelessly lost.
Sniffling, she exited the alley. In front of her was a large gray building. Hoping for a meal and maybe some place to dry off, she trudged across the street, only to nearly collide with handsome young man.
"Hello there. Are you lost?" he asked.
Mallory looked up at him. He had had blonde hair and strange golden eyes. Deciding she could trust him, she answered, "A little bit."
"Why don't you come inside and I can call your parents?" he offered.
"No!" Mallory immediately replied. He looked confused. "I…I mean…that's okay. I think I know my way home now."
"Are you sure?"
Mallory nodded.
"Because if you're not, I can drive you home or you can come to my house and dry off."
Mallory looked up. "Really?"
"Sure," the man replied. "My family would be delighted to have you over."
"Okay," Mallory agreed.
"Excellent," the man smiled. "I am Dr. Carlisle Cullen, but you may call me Carlisle."
"I think I'll stick with Dr. Cullen," Mallory said. "I'm Mallory Jackson."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mallory," Dr. Cullen said.
oOo
"We have company!" Alice declared as she traipsed down the stairs.
"Who?" Esme asked from the couch.
"A little girl Carlisle found outside the hospital," the physic answered.
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Is he crazy?"
"Of course he is," Rosalie scoffed, following Alice. "He's Carlisle."
"Be nice," Alice reprimanded. "They're here!"
Carlisle entered the house, followed by a little girl. "Hello, everyone."
Greetings were returned. Alice skipped over to the girl. "Hi!"
Mallory looked at her warily. "Um…hi."
"Everyone, this is Mallory. Mallory, this is my wife, Esme, and our children, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and Edward," Carlisle introduced everyone.
Rosalie, not to be outdone by Alice, went over to Mallory. "Let's get you dried off."
Esme got up too. "Are you hungry, dear?"
"Yes, ma'am," Mallory replied.
"What can I make for you?"
"Anything is fine," she said.
"Are you sure?" Esme asked.
Mallory nodded before she was taken upstairs by Rosalie and Alice.
Esme frowned. "She's very polite, but quiet."
Carlisle glanced over at Edward. "What was she thinking?"
"A lot of things," Edward replied. "Mostly how nice we were, offering to feed her and take care of her. Unlike her father. Apparently, he's been a drunk ever since her mother died."
"Poor thing," Esme breathed and went to the kitchen to make the girl something to eat.
"How is she feeling?" Carlisle questioned Jasper.
"A bit overwhelmed, but grateful," he answered.
"How long will she be here?" Emmett asked, eager to have another little sister.
Carlisle shrugged. "As long as she wants to stay, I suppose. It seems she is in need of a good home and I can't turn that down."
"It'll be dangerous," Jasper warned.
"I know," Carlisle sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see."
Mallory came down the stairs then, with Rosalie and Alice behind her. Rosalie had washed her up and Alice had let her borrow some clothes of hers. Everything was way too small, so the pixie-like vampire had quickly hemmed everything for the little girl.
"I made you some chicken noodle soup, Mallory," Esme announced, setting a steaming bowl on the table.
"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen. It looks good," Mallory replied.
"You're very welcome, dear," Esme smiled.
Mallory quickly downed her soup and was feeling very sleepy, due to the hot meal and Jasper calming the environment. This time Carlisle took her upstairs to a spare room they had. Mallory fell asleep quickly, feeling a small sense of happiness she hadn't felt since her mother's death.