10 minutes later……….

I came back down from putting Jasmine to bed, she had woken and protested a bit but as soon as I laid her down she was out again. Everyone had gathered round the table including the previously absent Rosalie. I had caught bits and pieces of Alice's vision before she could block me and I had a feeling that Jasmine would soon be the center of my world. I couldn't decipher the feelings that idea brought me. Carlisle now sat at the head of the table in the chair Jasmine had just vacated. Esme was on his right and my place to his left was waiting for me. Alice and Jasper sat on our mothers side of the table while Rosalie and Emmett were on mine. Our places reflecting our rank or rather how long we'd been with Carlisle, as he was the founder of our family.

"Now we have a few things to consider and from what Alice's visions have shown me a new member to the family. She's been here 3 weeks already and made some progress in recovering from the abuse she suffered at the hands of a human foster family. She's a mind reader like Edward but she can shield her mind when she wishes. She also seems to be able to make people do things without them really realizing it. And yes I have noticed her attachment to Edward." He looked pointedly at Rosalie as he said that last since she was scowling. Her scowl darkened farther when Alice smiled about the fact that Jasmine was attached to me.

"Esme and I having been thinking about adopting her. She needs to be part of a family. Alice has already seen her change, so we know it's coming only the timing is uncertain." Carlisle finished looking at each of us in turn. Rosalie held his look the longest as she was still scowling angrily. Her thoughts were about as angry as her expression and since I knew part of that anger was directed at me I stayed clear of her mind. Jasper was worried, his control no where near ours as he is the newest to our lifestyle. I knew then her scent had to be as tempting to him as it is me, for entirely different reasons. Emmett was thrilled to be getting a new little sister. As was Alice since she and Rose only got along some of the time. Ever the mother, Esme was thrilled. She'd been using us a substitutes for so long that a new addition especially one that needed parenting had her positively beside herself. Carlisle would put it to a vote even though he would still decide the final outcome. The vote was to try to be fair. One glance around told me that only Rosalie would vote no and that Jasper was going vote yes despite his better judgment because he knew how happy this was making Alice and Esme. "Lets vote, Edward?"

"Yes."

"Esme?"

"Yes."

"Rosalie?"

"No."

"Emmett?"

"Hell yes!"

"Alice?"

"Yes."

"Jasper?"

"Of course."

"Well then it's decided. Edward you can let her know when she wakes up and Alice should probably take her shopping she'll need more clothes. Is Jenks making the papers, Jasper?"

"Yes, they should be done in a week or so." Carlisle nodded before addressing the rest of us,

"We are done." with that everyone scattered. I headed upstairs with Esme to check on Jasmine. Knowing that if she was awake she could have been keeping tabs on the discussion through my thoughts. She was still soundly sleeping.

"I'll go hunting now, Esme but I need to talk to Alice and Carlisle first." I said to my mother as she sat on the bed beside Jasmine. A nod was my only reply. I walked out the door and as expected Alice was at my side the second I closed the door.

"He's in his study." Alice said before I could ask her if she knew where our father was. Sure enough his thoughts were coming from the study proving Alice correct. He was worried about Jasmine and wondered why she would go out of her way to avoid him. I had tried to no avail to get her to tell me. She had quickly refused and changed the subject. With her mind closed to me I had no hope of knowing why she was so terrified of Carlisle. While he in the meantime racked his brain for solutions to a problem he didn't know anything about. He had heard us coming and opened the door before I could raise my hand to knock.

"Alice, Edward what can I do for you?"

"I think I may have an idea why Jasmine avoids you." Alice said once the door was closed again even though everyone in the house would hear exactly what was said. Even though Jasmine didn't have our hearing she would hear the ensuing conversation in my thoughts, or at least she would if she were awake. Carlisle sat back at his desk while Alice perched on the edge, her feet propped on the edge of his chair. I sat on the chair in front of the desk, I wouldn't need to see their faces since I could see their expressions in their thoughts. "I had a vision this morning and though it was hazy I could make out your face or what I at first had thought to be you until the talking started, you never speak like that no matter how angry you may be. I think her abuser must have looked like you enough so that she doesn't see you she sees him." Alice paused.

"Something's going to happen soon, something that will show why it is she fears you, because logically she knows you would never hurt her." I interjected while Alice was zoned out in a vision. Carlisle opened his mouth to speak but Alice cut him off.

"She's going to have a nightmare tonight, Edward," she paused to glare at my before I could interrupt,

"When she starts screaming let Carlisle handle it." She glared at me again and spoke before I could,

"Whatever her issue is she'll never get over it if we keep letting her stay away from Carlisle. This needs to happen if she's to have any kind of relationship with him." She finished still looking at me as though daring me to argue with her. I wanted to but I knew she was right. Carlisle would never have any relationship with his new daughter if this issue wasn't addressed immediately.

"So what do I do?" Carlisle asked with a frown.

Alice thought for a minute,

"Just comfort her, when she wakes up get her to talk about it."

"But what if she won't?" Worry still evident in his voice. I spoke before Alice could,

"She will but be prepared to fight about it because she will be difficult at first. I think it would be best if everyone left so that way she'd have no choice but to talk to you. Because I know I'll want to get involved if I stay here and its essential that no one interfere."

"Ok I just hope this works."

"She's awake Edward you might want to tell her that we are leaving."

"Why tell her now, I was going to just before we left." I stated puzzled about why I would need to tell her hours in advance. Alice just looked at me like I was stupid as it dawned on me.

"She's going to be unhappy about being left by herself with just Carlisle isn't she?"

"Of course she is!" Carlisle and Alice exclaimed at the same time. I sighed then knowing arguing was pointless.

"Alright, have her meet me outside by the river."

And with that I ran through the house and out the back door stopping to wait on a rock by the water. I could hear her asking Esme, whom she'd found in the kitchen, where I was.

"Out by the river, he needs to talk to you." I could see her face in Esme's mind. Dread. She looked unhappy, and I knew it was because that had been her foster brother told her before he raped her. The lure to get her in the room with him. I heard her walking through the grass headed to my perch. I turned to watch her pick her way around some rocks as she got closer.

"What's wrong, Edward?" she was slightly breathless when she finally reached me.

"Nothing's wrong." I assured her still debating how to tell her.

"Then why did you need to talk to me." She was getting nervous, and I could tell what she was remembering even though her mind was as was custom closed to me.

"We are going hunting tonight." She looked puzzled,

"I don't see the problem with that, I'll be by myself so what?"

"Not totally." I stalled still not wanting to tell her that she'd be alone with Carlisle.

"What do you mean not totally?" she was confused and I could see on her face as she tried to figure out who was staying behind with her.

"Carlisle." I said hoping his name would be explanation enough, it wasn't.

"What about him, Edward?" her anxiety spiking a bit as it sank in.

"He's going to stay here with you." I said and as expected she exploded,

"What!" but before I could speak she continued.

"No no you can't please Edward don't leave me alone with him." I could see the tears pooling in her eyes as she sank to the ground, eyes unseeing, repeating over and over,

"No, no, no. Stay away. Don't touch me, get off of me." So this was way Alice had wanted me to tell her now, because in her panic the shield had disappeared from her mind and all I could see was a tall blonde man with light brown eyes advancing toward her with a lustful expression on his face. I could see now why. Because she didn't see Carlisle whenever he was near, she only saw her abuser. A dark skinned copy of my father. Just like Alice had seen. Reaching down I took her hands and pulled her to her feet. I sat back on the rock and brought her to sit on my lap. She buried her face in my shoulder and began to sob.

"Please I cant be alone with him please don't leave me." she begged.

"It will be okay we won't be gone long." I tried to reassure her but she was having none of it.

"No you don't understand," she sobbed.

"I..I can't handle it." stammering slightly as she tried to get her breathing back under control. Hooking a finger under her chin I brought her face up to look at me, her ocean blue eyes were unfocused and terror filled.

"Carlisle would never hurt you." I told her quietly. Her eyes snapped to focus at the sound of his name.

"I can't be alone with him I know you saw that memory when my shield vanished. Logically I know your right, your father wouldn't hurt me but I don't see him whenever he's around. I only see James, my foster father, coming at me with that horrible look in his eyes. Just before he'd rape me. Hardly a day went by that he didn't. At least once a day he and his sleazy son would take turns with me and when I would cry or scream then they would beat me. After awhile I learned not to react at all so that way they would just leave me once they were done." drawing a deep breath she looked at me waiting for my reaction. The whole time she'd been speaking I could see the images crystal clear in her mind, she hadn't put the shield back. I couldn't right away tell how it made me feel just for that brief moment that she'd let me in. I was shocked to realize that it meant she really trusted me, unlike most humans she had no fear of me. She knew what I was yet here she sat on my lap no less having just shared probably the most painful memories I'd ever seen. I knew then that I loved her all the feelings that I'd been feeling just unwilling to name because part of me expected her to realize the danger I was to her, as long as her heart beat and the sweetest smelling blood I'd ever come across flowed in her veins. The sensible part of me expected her to run from me while the monster side hoped she would too, but for a completely different reason. With a start I realized she was still waiting for me to say something and that she was aware of what I'd been thinking.

"Your are my life now and I promise you nothing and no one will ever hurt you like that again." and as I said it I knew with every fiber of my being that it was the absolute truth.

"Thank you." she whispered placing a soft kiss on my cheek, she spoke again,

"I love you." I didn't have to say anything because I knew she'd seen it in my mind. She nodded at that thought.

"You know not being the only mind reader anymore is…" I paused several words floated in my brain but I just couldn't seem to make them come out of my mouth. "Weird, interesting, annoying. Any of those fit?" she asked smiling.

"Yea but you have an unfair advantage you can hide your thoughts from me but I can't hide mine from you." I sounded like a whiny child but it was true.

"Yes but now that you have seen what it was I have been hiding I don't have a reason to shield anymore."

"Oh so does this mean you won't hide your mind from me anymore?" I could not help how happy all this made me and I understood another reason why Alice had wanted me to tell her now which reminded me of our current problem. But I'd get back to that. I wanted to savor a bit longer this joyful feeling that I had finally found my mate and along with her everything I hadn't realized I was missing. She however beat me to it,

"Must you leave me alone with Carlisle?" dread evident in her tone.

"Unfortunately yes. Alice had a vision that showed it's the best way to help you overcome your fear of him. It's the only way we saw to help you learn to see him not James whenever he's near you. He and Esme are adopting you, it was decided while you were sleeping." I had almost forgotten to tell her that in the wake of trying to help her see the need to realize that James and Carlisle were two different people and that James would never see her again. Her next idea surprised me,

"How about if I go talk to him now?" I didn't know what say. 'yes yes let her' Alice's mental voice screamed at me. She laughed,

"well somebody thinks it's a good idea. Alice right?" I didn't know who she was asking that of but Alice appeared a split second later. Her appearance answering Jasmine's question.

"Yes by all means it is a step in the right direction." I could tell by the grin on my or now our sister's face that she had heard every word of our conversation as had everyone else in the house but I had known they would try though they might not to. We were not far enough away from the house to be out of hearing range.

"Alright he and Esme are in the living room. I would go now before your nerves fail." Alice said as Jasmine slid from my lap and gathered her courage. She pecked my cheek once more,

"Ok wish me luck, here goes nothing." And with that she headed toward the house.

"Let's go for a walk. Now." Alice said as she grabbed my arm and hauled me off into the woods. I would get an earful no doubt and that this didn't change our plan to leave her alone with Carlisle tonight. No this had all been part of Alice's vision to help her with her fear.

Jasmine's POV….

Walking into the house I heard the television on in the living room. Taking a deep breath I summoned my courage and walked to the door pausing to let me vision adjust to the dark and sure enough Alice had been right, Carlisle sat on the couch intently watching what looked like a cooking show, Esme laid on the couch her head in his lap. Esme sat up when she noticed me in the doorway.

"Would you like to watch t.v with us sweetheart?" She asked making room on the couch beside her. I smiled, touched that I would finally get the mother I'd never had. Part of me wondered if I really deserved to actually have a family but I pushed it away to focus on the task at hand.

"Actually I need to talk to Carlisle." His attention turned from the show he'd been watching at the sound of his name. Enlightenment dawned on Esme's face and I wondered briefly if Alice had warned them. "I'll go start dinner for you." she said as she rose from the couch, giving me a hug as she passed me in the doorway.

"Thank you." I whispered not trusting my voice. She just smiled at me as she turned and walked to the kitchen. I looked back into the living room and met Carlisle's curious gaze.

"God this is hard," I whispered knowing he'd hear me. I prayed for courage and knew that if I didn't do this now I never would. I stepped into the room and he made to get up but I stopped him with a raised hand.

"I can do this but please don't move. I don't think I could fight the urge to run if you got any closer." as I said this I realized this was probably the most I had ever spoken to him. With the exception being earlier, the family meeting Edward had called it. I'd had one hell of a panic issue but these things needed to be handled.

Perching on the edge of the recliner I toyed with my hands trying to think how to start but finally deciding to just go for it.

"I know Edward's told you and I have too that my foster family, the dad and brother most often abused me. I know also that I told you that they would rape me every day. But I know I never really explained why that makes me fear you the way I do." I paused.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." He said softly, speaking for the first time.

"Oh but I do. I need to do this so I can move on. Let the wounds heal so to speak. And the only way I can do that is to explain this so that way I can start seeing you not my horrible memories." I paused again and plowed on before he could speak again.

"James, my foster father looked exactly like a dark skinned copy of you." smiling sadly I continued,

"I have a very hard time being near you because every time I do its his face I see, coming at me with that lustful look he always had before…" I had to stop to fight the tears that threatened. Before I could speak again Carlisle stood and in a flash knelt in front of me.

"Before he'd rape you." he finished my sentence. I nodded.

"Two sometimes three times a day for three years. He and his vile son would take turns. I cried and fought at first but they would just beat me and continue and that seemed to get them even more excited so I learned not to fight after awhile. They would still beat me but not at the same time." I stopped and memories overwhelmed me. I hadn't realized that I'd been wringing my hands until Carlisle caught them in his and held them still. I had the urge to pull away and run but fought it down. Repeating over and over to myself that it was just Carlisle and he wasn't going to hurt me. Taking a breath I continued.

"My foster brother raped me first, he told me he wanted to talk to me so I followed him into the living room. My foster parents were out for the evening and he'd been left to baby-sit me. At first I didn't think anything of it. Till he backed me into the corner with an evil look on his face. He kissed me and I smacked him. He just punched me and kept going." I paused again to let the memories surface knowing he'd listen as long as I needed him too. And I realized then that I had never told anyone this. But I knew this would be the first step in my recovery, to get it off my chest. I'd been holding it in so long, it would feel good to be free of these nightmares. I continued.

"Once I got my breath back, he moved down my jaw to my neck and was unbuttoning my shirt as he went. I started squirming then as his intentions had become clear. He just pressed his body harder into mine putting my back flat against the wall. I managed to knee him in the groin when he went to pull my one shirt off. He stumbled and I got away, I made it to the stairs when he caught me round the waist and threw me to the ground. I hit my head hard on the floor, and before I could react he was on top of me, I made to start hitting him but he grabbed my wrists on pinned them to the floor. Then he put both my wrists in one hand and held them above my head. His free hand pulled my head back so he had free access to my throat. I squirmed and wiggled to try to break away but he bit me so hard he drew blood. Which he then spit in my face. With that he took his hand from my hair and traced it down my side. Making sure to pause for a minute between my legs. I started screaming then. He back handed me across the face and went to work on my jeans. He had to release my hands so he could take my shoes off then my jeans and underwear. Once my feet were free I kicked at him but he caught my ankle." The tears I had been fighting with won the fight and began to pour down my face.

"He raped you then didn't he?" I could only nod as the tears flowed faster.

"I was 13 and I'd never had sex before. It hurt so bad. I cried till he was done."

Carlisle used his hold on my hands to pull me from the chair into his lap. No longer caring about being afraid of him I flung my arms around his neck content to let him hold me while I cried on his shoulder. I must have cried myself to sleep because the next thing I was aware of was being cradled on someone's lap. Whoever it or rather he was, was rubbing circles on my back. My fingers were still wrapped in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Carlisle. I'd been telling him why I was afraid of him. The awful memories I never dared share with anyone. I had cried myself to sleep in his arms. As I became more aware of my surroundings I realized Carlisle was talking to someone. His chest rising and falling with his breathing.

"You know she's awake now, right." Edward's voice like velvet even in a whisper. My heart stopped for a minute. Carlisle laughed and I could feel it on my cheek where it laid, I also become aware of his hand in my hair cradling my head against his shoulder.

"Yes I knew that and now she knows your home. I was waiting till she wanted me to know she was awake." With a sigh I moved my fingers from his hair and sat up still on his lap.

"Are you going to be okay now?" he asked. A concerned expression on his face, and for the first time since that day in the clearing I could look at him and not see James leering at me. I smiled at him.

"Yea I'll be fine now. I think I can finally start healing and it helps a lot to know I'll be able to talk to you now." I told him still happy to see clearly his face.

"Anytime you need me Jasmine, I always make the time to be there for my children and that includes you now." I nodded and in thanks kissed his cheek.