Hi everyone, this is my first story to be published. I hope you´ll leave me a note/ review as I am constantly trying to improve my writing! There will be about 10 chapters in the end. Let me know what you think, please!

Bella

I was quite excited to welcome a guest to our unusual home. Ever since me and Edward had moved into our own little place, I had never had company. Ok, expect my dad Charlie and the wolves. Don´t get me wrong, I love my family and the extended coven as well but I kinda miss socializing with others. I was looking forward to spending time with Tessa. I had met her about half a year ago when I visited my uncle with Nessie. Charlie´s only brother Jonathan lives about 30 miles outside of Dallas, therefore we had to pick the wintertime to travel there. Jonathan´s eyesight is very much limited due to an accident he had years ago. So staying at his house was safe, he would not have noticed our skin sparkling in the sun. And he was a loner which suited us as well. No visitors, no need to hide.

Tessa had called my uncle´s place the night we arrived to ask permission to cross his country with her horse. Jonathan did not mind and as a thank-you, Tessa stopped by the next night and brought us all some home-made cake. Surprisingly enough, I liked her right off the bat. She was a couple of years older than my "human" age, maybe in her mid-twenties. Her long black hair was tucked back in a high ponytail and there was a thin layer of dust all over her tanned skin from riding on the grid roads. Her face was covered in freckles and her eyes were of a deep blue. Her expression was thoroughly friendly and I liked her smile. I first noticed that she was different when we sat down at the front porch for a cup of coffee and the horse, although it was not tied up anywhere did not leave her side. Nessie was instantly crazy about the white animal and Tessa allowed her to pet him. With a hint of pride, she explained that the horse was called Samson and that he liked kids a lot. My by human measures 11-year-old daughter shyly placed her had on the horse´s nose and went very quiet all of a sudden. When I addressed her after a couple of seconds, Nessie turned around and looked at us with eyes wide open: "Mom, he talks."

Tessa went a shade paler but did not seem too surprised after all. She turned her head to face me, checked if Jonathan was out of hearing distance and offered me her hand with a smile on her face. "Ok, let´s start again: Tessa – witch-on-training and owner of a magic horse, nice to meet you. Over there we have Samson – unicorn." I was stunned. "Bella and Renesme – vampires", I introduced us hesitantly and quickly added: "Vegetarians!" "Very cool", Tessa answered without hesitation "Three kinds of mystical creatures in one place makes us a conference!"

I couldn´t help but join into her laughter and so did Nessie when Samson tickled her cheek with his soft nose. We talked the whole night through.

Tessa – very much like myself – did not often get the chance to talk openly with another person. I learned that she was a guide and remembered that Jacob had once mentioned the witch council know as the spiritual, political and diplomatic institution in the mystical world. Tessa herself was assigned to mentor young members of our special society on a volunteer basis. She explained that is was very important to her not to force herself upon anyone and for a minute, I wondered if it had not been nice for me to have had her around when I was changed. She was herself quite excited to hear about our family and the wolf-pack. My invitation for her to come visit us in Forks was spontaneous, I needed the rest to meet her. She was such a friendly, warm-hearted woman and she knew herself around the mystical society very well. Edward also saw the benefit for all parties concerned when I talked to him on the phone the next morning. Tessa could somewhat coach the young wolves, bring some new spirit to the Cullen house, Nessie had found a second oversized pet and I was on the way of making a real friend. Good times!

Tessa

Bella´s invitation to her home was a pleasant surprise. I had not travelled much during the last years but I felt it was time to move on and trusted that my scholars would do great. Working with a herd of flying deer had been fun and I even managed to befriend them with a bunch of dwarves but they weren´t very talkative. The shape-shifters Bella talked about instantly caught my interest. Surely I could give them a few tips. And learn about the vegetarian vampire lifestyle. I recalled having heard about a few covens that did not feed on humans and I liked what Bella told me about her family. Her father-in-law was even a doctor, kind of ironic so I found at first but I guess we all had our ways to deal with some past mistakes. And let´s face it: No one is perfect.

So I said yes. And set a date when I should arrive there. My new friend and I had talked on the phone many times in the next six weeks and sent emails back and forth. Still, I was nervous when I pulled into their yard on a hot day in June. Me in a house full of vampires. Would they all be like Bella? Or was there just a connection between me and her because we were both not born "different"?

At least I had found a job in Forks, even though it was only for the holiday season. Teaching languages at the local school sounded like an appropriate position for a new person in town. I liked teaching and people, so why not?

Their house was awesome. Actually, the first word to come to my mind was: Mansion. Huge. Light. Modern. Lots of wood and glass. Someone had done a good job gathering pennies in their stockings, that was for a fact. I walked up the stairs and wanted to knock but was beaten to it. The door flew open right before my knuckles touched the wooden frame.

Bella

Fortunately, Tessa had not changed her mind about coming. I had awaited her arrival from when I had returned from my trip to Jonathan´s. Emmett had made himself useful by building a shed for Samson and the other horse Tessa would bring right next to the garage. And I did not have to ask Alice twice for her help when it came to redecorating the large bedroom on the second floor. It used to be a storage room for everyone but had not been used anymore since Esme had left. Carlisle had instantly moved into Edward´s former bedroom and Rose and Emmett had taken the chance to expand their room. They tore out the wall between the main bedroom that used to be Emse and Carlisle´s and basically had the complete first floor to themselves.

Tessa would get to stay in a light flooded "2-room-apartment" as we called it because it was so huge. Alice and I had prepared a big comfy bed, cleaned the large windows and planted flowers into pots for the balcony. Alice had added a lot of inviting details like colourful tea-light holders, a dresser with a large mirror, wooden secretary and even her own leather couch – apparently an excuse to buy herself a new one - with two large pillows on it. Tessa´s bathroom was all shining white and Alice had supplied her with shower gel, shampoo and other girly stuff to last at least until Christmas. My sister-in-law was clearly in her element and for once, I had no intentions stopping her. Poor Jasper had to be convinced that he had nothing to fear since Tessa did have a heartbeat and her blood flew just like with any human, but it had not bothered me any. This was due to the fact that once Tessa became a witch, her genetic code had changed to make it easier for her to be accepted by as many species as possible. Jasper´s mind was at ease.

When Tessa finally arrived, the whole family had gathered in the kitchen to greet our guest. I hoped they would be nice. After hugging my friend tightly, I lead her through the hallway straight up to the kitchen. She was impressed with the house, no doubt. I was proud. Somehow, I was one of the ladies of the house, finally. "Oh my, Bella, this is a gorgeous place! Are you sure I´m not bothering anyone? I mean, I could get my own place in town if…" I know, I know it´s rude to interrupt, but I couldn´t stop myself: "Nonononono, you´re staying here. Anything else is out of question."

Tessa

Feeling Bella´s cold arms around my neck, I relaxed. She seemed excited to see me and I had probably subconsciously expected a dark and gloomy hole in the earth instead of a possible cover object of "House and Gardening". I followed Bella up a short stairway into an open kitchen that mound right into a hall-like living room. The furniture was dominated by light woods and white and silver. Very nice. When we entered the kitchen, I had to suppress a laughter.

12 piercing eyes were staring at me like I was Tina Turner or better Cleopatra. For once I was thankful for having already my fare share of vampire-experiences and therefore their supernatural attractiveness did not quite throw me into a depression.

I recognized Nessie who was sitting on the bench in front of the dining table. She jumped up, flew right into my arms and kissed me on the cheek. How adorable the little vampire girl was! Her dad got up and was the first who got introduced to me. Edward was tall and lean with examining eyes, in a way he matched the predator picture a human might have of vampires. Bella´s husband was actually really charismatic. With a firm and friendly handshake, he greeted me: "Hello Tessa! Nice to meet you finally!" and before I could reply, a short girl with dark hair and fair skin appeared behind him, squealing: "Yeah, we´ve heard so much about you! Bella was so excited about your visit and so are we all. I´m Alice by the way, and I see that we share the same taste in clothes. Are you up for a shopping trip tomorrow?" Her enthusiasm was overwhelming, I liked that.

Alice´s boyfriend Jasper was one of the present individuals I recognized from the pictures. I genuinely accepted his offer to get me a cup of coffee while I got introduced to Rosalie, a sheer beautiful blonde who gave up her prickish attitude after I complimented on her great hair. Woman are so easy to figure out. But I was glad I could quickly win her over.

Nothing was more against my nature than having to deal with people who disliked me for no reason. Emmett, Rosalie´s boyfriend, was quite a hunk. Bella had told me about his encounter with a bear in which he would have been killed if it had not been for Rosalie who saved him by bringing her home and let her adoptive father turn Emmett into a vampire.

Note to myself: Never get a bear worked up and then let someone beautiful save me. Might end up immortal and cold.

Bella

How easy this was! Everyone, even Rose, accepted Tessa! Alice had scheduled a girl´s afternoon at the mall, Jasper was keen on getting some input on his yet new life, Rose and Nessie were equally anxious about the horses and Emmett checked out Tessa´s car through the windows. "Your ride could use a makeover, Tessa", he exclaimed, more a question than a statement. "You bet," she laughed lightly, making her dark hair falling out of the ponytail, "the frame is only held together by the rest of the paint and rust."

Tessa was one of a kind and after having sat together over some more coffee, I decided it was time to give her a break from all the questions she had patiently answered. I casually addressed her and shot everyone a threatening look, just to make sure: "Tessa would surely like to see her room. Would everyone be alright if we met for a cocktail or two at the pool tonight?" Nodding from all sides, way to behave, family!

Edward put his arm around my shoulder and reminded me to introduce Tessa to Carlisle as well. God, how embarrassing. I had completely forgotten about my father-in-law. Maybe because he had recently not often left his study when he was at home. No one wanted to intrude his privacy but in a way, we missed him and his comforting presence a lot. When asking his permission to invite Tessa to live with us, Carlisle, like so often before, had agreed but otherwise not reacted at all. He did not seem to care about anything but work. It consumed him and he loved to help those in need but we needed him, too.

"Right, Tessa needs to meet Dr. Daddy yet", Alice spoke up once again, "he is in his study, getting ready for his shift. Some surgery that is a bit more complicated than a broken leg. No idea really."

"I can get your stuff from the rusty piece of art out there and bring it to your room meanwhile", Emmett offered. He was appropriately beside himself when Tessa tossed him the keys, giving my brother-in-law the starting shot: "Thanks a lot. There you go, pimp my ride, X!" Rose was by his side in the blink of an eye. "Oh, we can do much better than some MTV wannabe pimp", she snorted and they were gone.

I led the way to the first floor after I had shown Tessa the living room where she took a lot of interest in our family pictures and the piano. I was glad that there was just one more of us for her to meet, dealing with the whole bunch in one afternoon was a challenge alright.

Tessa

Puh, that was a welcome! One thing was for sure: Living with the Cullens would not be boring for one minute. Three entire hours had passed like minutes and when I dragged myself up the stairs behind Bella, I realized that a short nap was in sight and I hoped to be able to remember whose room was behind what door. Bella´s house tour included all the pretty details the place had to offer and she had one or the other background info to share with me. I particularly liked the paintings in the living room. They showed all the Cullen kids in oil and some were maps of the cities they were from. Very accurate. And somehow comforting that they were still drawn to their origins. Must be hard not to be able to just go home whenever you like. Painful to see all your friends and family die. I had that all ahead of me yet. No pleasant thought, so I pushed it aside.

Bella´s melodic voice interrupted my thoughts: "Alright, I´ll quickly introduce you to Carlisle and then you can check out your room and take a break from us!" She had noticed my eyes getting smaller and when we were in front of her father-in-law´s study, I hoped to get it over with as fast as possible. My friend knocked lightly and then stepped inside a room that looked more like a public library. Not only was it huge but also filled with books from floor to roof. Impressive! Just when I thought this collection must be the heart of the house, I got struck by lightning. Not literally, but it sure felt like it.

I was totally caught off guard when I first saw him. I have never – I mean NEVER – seen a man like him. This was by far the most gorgeous eye-candy I could picture. Dr. Cullen was tall, maybe 6 and a half feet, muscular, with thick blonde hair, and the most amazing topaz eyes. He half leaned, half sat on a huge wooden secretary that took up almost the whole width of the room. His aura was filled with masculinity and superiority.

Luckily, Bella did not turn around when she started speaking to the godlike creature in front of us. "Carlisle, Tessa is here, finally. I´m sorry I haven´t called you but we kinda lost track of time once we started talking." I quickly closed my mouth and swallowed hard as he walked up to us. The fit of his white button up shirt was tight enough around his chest to expose the pattern of his muscled arms, broad chest and back. He was picture perfect. MY thoughts involuntarily trailed off. How would it feel to touch his chest? Run my fingers across his very kissable lips?

The most beautiful smile spread across his flawless face when Bella turned to me and concluded with a whole lot of respect in her voice: "Tessa, meet my father-in-law, Dr. Carlisle Cullen." His smell seemed to lift me up into the air. Delicious. The mixture of musk, caramel and wild flowers was addictive. I was fighting with my brain, arguing that is was not a good idea to pass out right then and there. He took my hand, shook it slightly and spoke right to me in a low, enchanting voice without looking away from my eyes for only the shortest instant: "It´s a pleasure meeting you, Tessa. I hope you´ll like staying here with our family. If I can do anything for you, let me know!"

Some unruly voice in my head purred You can do me, right here and now. He was a doctor, so, suddenly passing out seemed to be an appropriate idea to get him to touch me.

I had to snap out of that blank state of mind instantly, and I knew it. I firmly pressed my eyes shut and replied hoping for my voice not to tremble: "Thank you, Dr. Cullen. It´s nice meeting you, too. You have a beautiful home and your book collection is fascinating." I took the chance to turn away from him, hiding my blushed cheeks, now facing the first bookshelf. Supressing the instinctive urge to press my lips to his was hard at that moment.

There was the his voice again: "Oh, you can come over and see if there is something that interests you any time. There are many in several foreign languages. You teach, right?" I found it rude not to look at him when he was talking to me, my mother had taught me better than that. So I gathered all my self-control and turned around to face him. I was hopelessly lost in his eyes but managed to mumble: "Yes, I teach. Thank you for the kind offer, I´m sure you´ll regret it one day though, I can get quite obsessed with reading." His eyes lit up, sparkling even brighter than before, if that was even possible. "I doubt I´ll regret it, Tessa, my kinds always find excuses to keep me company." I´d keep you company 24/7 with all the benefits you can imagine. My name sounded like music when it came from his perfect mouth.

I slightly shook my head in disapproval. This man was too good to be true. And he had practically offered to spend time with me. Pinch me - that´s a dream! Bella cut it: "That´s not true, Carlisle. You´re just to smart for us. We wouldn´t understand most of those books anyways. There is a lot of medical stuff. Tessa can surely use it for her studies though." A part of me wanted to punch her. "You study medicine?", Carlisle asked, true interest shining through. As he looked at me questioningly, bending his head to the side so that the muscles around his jaw tightened. Oh my God, this man was sex on legs. I was trying to think of anything asexual. Bread, leafs, male ballet dancers, crocodiles. (why crocodiles?...) Oh, I still had to answer: "In a way, yes. I attended vet school. Just finished. First aid for shapeshifters is my specialty." Yay, the first half decent answer. I improve.

"Wow", he laughed and my legs went weak, "what has a common surgeon like me to put up against such brilliant skills?" Did he just twinkle at me? He has. Twinkled. At me. Good lord. All of a sudden, the old Tessa is back. The independent woman who was not easily impressed, especially not by good looks. I stared back at him, straightened my shoulders and concluded: "Well, Dr. Cullen, I offer you a deal: You get the next person to fall off my horse if you bring me any mystical creature that needs treatment. Alright?" I was not willing to go down without a fight.