"Well," she paused for a second, not expecting me to ask that, "I was just looking over these blueprints for a greenhouse I've been wanting to build." I followed her lead to the end of the kitchen island where she had all her papers spread out.

"A green house? You don't like this brown one?" I asked. "I do."

She looked at me confused for a half a second and then started laughing quietly. "A 'greenhouse' is a building for plants and gardens." She explained.

"Oh." I felt stupid.

Dr. Cullen had walked up just then and joined us. "So, how are your parents doing, Lanie?" He asked, seeming genuinely concerned, almost as if he knew them himself.

"Edward told us a little about what happened." Mrs. Cullen added, with concern in her eyes equal to her husband's.

What DID happen? My parents and I were both in the hospital with my brother, Ryan, during one of his treatments, when a tornado started heading our way. I stayed with Ryan, who had fallen asleep, but my parents, being the type of people they are, had gone to go see what they could do to help with moving any patients around or whatever. When the tornado finally hit the hospital, part of the building collapsed with with my mom and dad underneath it. The accident put them both in such critical condition, they've been put in a medically-induced coma every since.

"Um, well, they're . . . " I trailed off searching for the right word to answer her question. In all honesty, they were not doing very well at all. In fact, their chances of survival were almost nonexistant.

Mrs. Cullen seemed to already know what I didn't want to say. "We were SO sorry when we heard about what happened." she said with grave sympathy. "We wish there was something we could do for them."

"Yeah." I said sadly. And then, lifting my head up and putting on a braver face, I added, "But I was really grateful when Uncle Charlie said I could come stay with him and Bella. I sure am glad she decided to come here when she did because I don't think Uncle Charlie could have taken care of me on his own." I finished with a smile.

'He's your father's cousin, isn't he?" Dr. Cullen asked, as if he already knew the answer.

"Yes, sir." I confirmed. "My dad used to spend a lot of his time up here in Forks with Uncle Charlie when they were kids. My family is originally from here, ya know." I told informed them.

They nodded, as if in agreement, still looking at me with that same familiar, affectionate smile they did earlier. Have I met them before? I was getting confused.

"So, have you ever lived in Forks before?" I inquired.

"Why, yes, actually. A long time ago, back in the 1930's" Dr. Cullen told me.

"Oh! I think my family was still living here around that time!" I said.

"They were." Dr. Cullen confirmed with a nod.

"How do you know that?" I wondered.

Dr. and Mrs. Cullen exchanged glances for a moment and then, after she gave him a slight shrug, Dr. Cullen quickly looked down and back up to me, almost guiltily, and said, "Well, Lanie, we have a little confession to make. We know all about that, because your great-great-grandfather helped us form the treaty we have with the Quileutes."

I just stood there for a moment, looking at them with my head tilted to the side and blinking in confusion.

"John Kent was a very kind and peaceful man." Mrs. Cullen began telling me. "We became very good friends with him and his family almost instantly after moving here. But, he was also very good friends with Ephriam Black, who told him all about who and what we are. John gave us the benefit of the doubt when no one else would and told Ephriam he ought to give us a chance as well. Carlisle once asked him why he did so, and John told us, 'I prefer to believe in people'.

Well, he hated that there was any emnity between us and the Quiluetes, but there was no way, after all they have been through with vampires, they were just going to just sit by and let it go. . . let us live in peace. Finally, after much persuasion from John, Ephriam and the rest of the tribe leaders agreed to the treaty we now have between them and us."

"Wow." Was all I could think of to say. We sure didn't sit around and talk about this over the Kent Family Thanksgiving dinners. I knew who Ephriam Black was. He was Jacob's great-grandfather. I can't believe he knew who/what the Cullens were! I wonder if Jacob and Uncle Billy know now? Is that why he always acts so uncomfortable whenever Bella or I bring up Edward or any of the other Cullens?

"One of the last times I spoke to John Kent, I asked him if there was something I could do for him in gratitude for all he had done for me and my family." Dr. Cullen continued. "He looked deeply into my eyes for a moment and said, 'Well, Dr. Cullen, the way I understand it, you'll be around for awhile' I simply nodded to him and he asked me, 'Do me a favor, will you, and look after my family for me even long after I've gone?' 'I will' I told him 'Just as you have looked after mine.' "

I sat there on their barstool for a long moment letting myself soak all that in. My great-great-grandfather knew that vampires and werewolves existed and he never passed that on! Dr. Cullen has been keeping an eye out for the Kent family for the past five generations!

"So you DO know who I am!" I exclaimed with conclusion.

They laughed out loud together at my accusation. "Yes. We know quite a bit about you." Dr. Cullen confirmed. "We are, actually, very good friends of your parents."

"You're what!" I asked in disbelief. "I don't think I remember you." I added, sifting through my memories. Although, they did seem very familiar.

"The last time I saw you and your family, you had just turned 10-years-old." Mrs. Cullen told me with fondness at the memory. "We can only be friends with someone for so long before they start to notice we're not aging, so we've had to stay away every since." Then she added with sadness. "The friendship I had with your mother was NOT one I was looking forward to ending."

"Wassup, kid?" I didn't hear when Emmett and Rosalie had come up behind me and I jumped at his greeting.

"Hi." I said, turning around in irritation. He just stood there with his arms folded and grinned at me.

"So, how is your brother, Clark, doing?" Rosalie inquired.

"He's doing good, I guess. He's graduating next year." I told her, then asked, "Have you known us all this time too?"

"Twelve years ago, when we heard about all the twisters that hit your town a few days before, Carisle rushed down there to see what he could do. Emmett, Esme and I went with him and that's when we found out you were due any day. Carlisle ended up delivering you with Esme's assistance." She explained. "Emmett and I looked after Clark during that time and afterwards when she was recovering from surgery. Esme stayed there in the hospital with her and took care of you"

Wow, were really were all old friends! "Oh. I guess you were there to witness my most embarrassing moment." I said with humor. They pulled their eyebrows together in confusion. "When I was born." I proceeded to explain. "I was completely naked AND I was in front of everyone." That made the six of them laugh, Jasper and Alice walking up by that time, and then, turning to Mrs. Cullen, I said, "Well, thanks for bottle-feeding me and changing my diapers! I hope you didn't mind."

Mrs. Cullen smiled and said to me, "It was my pleasure, Lanie. I didn't mind at all. In fact, that was one of the best times of my life."

"It was?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes. You see, you were the first baby I had held since my own." She said sentimentally. "With most people, it is their natural instinct to shy away from us. But not your family. The Kents have always made us feel welcome." She smiled at me and I smiled back. I think I'm really going to like this family. It's too bad I wont know them for much longer.

"So, Lanie, what were you thinking when you first found out about us?" Emmett asked me with a somewhat evil look on his face.

"Na na na na, na na na na." I sang the Twilight Zone theme music and he laughed at me.

"Honestly? I was a little disappointed." I said, pretending to sound upset. "I mean you grow up thinking and hearing all about how vampires are suppose to be these really cool, horrible monsters and everything, and then, when you actually meet a bunch of them, you find out that they're nothing but a big joke! I mean, you guys aren't even remotely scary!" They all laughed at my antics.

"Oh, really!" Emmett said with cockiness."Well, I bet I could scare you, if I tried." He added with a mischeivious grin. Jasper smirked.

"Emmett. . . . ." Mrs. Cullen said with warning in her voice, concerned about what her son might be planning.

"Go for it!" I challenged. And then with sarcasm, "Maybe you can get my bunny slippers to run for cover." They all laughed once again.

After that, I basically spent the rest of the evening hanging out with the family and getting to know them all. I played a lot of video games with Emmett, losing everyone. Jasper atttempted to teach me chess, but after much humiliation on my part from being checkmated after the first two moves, we ended up playing a game of checkers, which he basically did with his eyes closed. Afterwards, us girls ended the evening watching one of my favorite movies, an old classic, 'Meet Me in St. Louis'.

"Do you have a blanket?" I asked.

"Sure." Mrs. Cullen said and walked out of the room to get one. She returned with one that looked like it had never been used. "Are you cold, Lanie?" She asked handing it to me and then took a seat on the end of the couch.

"No, Ma'am." I said. And then scooted over next to her, spread the blanket out over both of us and laid my head on her arm. "It's just cozier this way."

I saw from the corner of my eye, her give a contented smile. She put her arm around me, brushed my hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead.

I must have fallen asleep at some point during the movie, because I suddenly found myself waking up to everyone's voices talking around me. I just laid there and listened.

"When was the diagnosis made?" Dr. Cullen was asking Bella, who I assumed arrived with Edward a short time before.

"Not long ago." Bella answered. Apparently they were talking about my illnesses.

"I can hardly believe it. She has always been so full of life." Esme said with sadness. "How did it happen, exactly."

"Well, I don't know all the details, but from what I understand, it happened the same day her parents were in that hospital accident when the tonado hit. During one of Ryan's treatments . . . " Bella started to explain.

"Oh. I remember reading about him in one of the e-mails Martha sent me. He was the boy Jonathan and Martha were just about to adopt." Mrs. Cullen added.

"Yeah. Well, during one of his routine treatments, Lanie pulled his IVs out of the machine he was hooked up to and stuck them into her own arm." Bella swallowed hard and continued. "Her doing that, made her blood switch with Ryan's. As a result, it cured him of all his brain tumors, but it, unfortunately, gave them to Lanie, along with leukemia."

There was dead silence after that, and I had to try and read Bella's mind to figure out that everyone was just standing there contemplating what she just said.

"Wow. Two fatal diseases." I heard Rosalie say in astonishment to no one imparticular.

"And it only takes one!" I added, sitting up from the couch and rubbing my eyes. I thought this might be a good time to start 'waking up'.

"Well, hello, Lanie." Alice called over. "Did you have a nice nap?"

I nodded and then stood up, letting the blanket fall off me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Exhaustion is just sort of a . . . side effect."

Mrs. Cullen smiled at me. "That's quite alright." And then, obviously thinking about what they were talking about earlier, added with complete sincerity, "We all think you are a very brave person."

"Oh. You mean giving up my life for my brother's?" I said as casually as I could. "Well, that's what you do when you love someone, right?" They all just stared at me intensely.

"You ready to go home?" Edward asked, suddenly. I shook my head.

"I really like being over here. It's . . . peaceful." Wherever I go, I always hear the incessant chatter of everyone's inter monologue. It gave me the worst heaches and there was no escaping it. Ryan had this too, but he never told me it was this bad.

"Well, you're more than welcome to come here whenever you like." Dr. Cullen told me.

"Really!" I asked, excited. Normally, I would hang over at the Black's house during the day while Uncle Charlie was at work and Bella was at school, but it was really far from our house and Uncle Billy was always very busy. Surely the Cullens are always very busy too. "Are you sure I wouldn't bother you or get in your way?"

"I'm over three hundred and fifty years old, Lanie." Dr. Cullen said with a smirk. "There's nothing I have to do that can't wait."

"Three hundred and fifty years? So that means you where around during. . . " I did some caculations in my head and then gasped, "Did you know any pirates!

"Lanie!" Bella said to me in shock at my supposed rudeness.

I dropped my head down in shame. "Sorry."

Dr. Cullen chuckled. "I didn't meet any personally, but they were quite rampent in those days and I heard a great deal about them." I smiled at him.

"Lanie, is there anything you want to do before you . . ." Rosalie asked me suddenly, trailing off.

I had thought alot about this before, so it wasn't hard to answer. "I just want to talk to my parents again." I told her, sadly. "To tell them how much I loved them and what awesome parents I think they are and how blessed I am just to be called their daughter. . ." I couldn't continue. I was choking up too much.

After a pause, Jasper spoke to me for the first time. "You should write them a letter and tell them all the things you want to say. We'll give it to them when they make a recovery." Of course, there was a huge chance that they would never recover at all, but there was no sound of that in his voice.

I wiped my eyes. "You will?" He nodded once and I could tell that was a promise.

"There is something else." I looked at Bella warily from the corner of my eye.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

'Well, right after I die . . ." I sighed and said quickly, "I want to be placed on a boat a drift down the river, just like a woman I once read about. The Lady of . . of . . "

"The Lady of Chalot." Edward offered with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, that's her!" I said. And then added with sadness. "But Bella wont let me because she said no one wants to fish my dead body out of the water."

"I did not say that!" Bella gasped.

"That's what you meant." I returned.

"Well. . . I . . . .uh . . ." Bella stuttered.

"But hopefully, you wont have to deal with that." I optimistically. She gave me a pained expression.

"Why not? What's going on?" Emmett asked.

"I asked to be put in a foster home." I answered. "Because I don't want Bella and Uncle Charlie to have to 'deal' with me later . . . . when I lose it."

"That's completely unnecessary." Bella told me for the hundredth time.

"I don't want anyone to remember me like that . . . withering away. That's why I didn't want Clark here." I explained. Everyone gave me a sympathetic look. And that's why I hate telling people about me, because of that look.

"I think it's time to take you home." Edward said.

"OK." I said with a disappointed sigh.

"Don't forget, Lanie. You can come over here whenever you want." Mrs. Cullen encouraged after I had hugged her and her husband good-bye.

"Yes." Jasper agreed. "It's interesting being around a human without wanting to kill them."

I smiled, gave a short laugh and said, " I will!"

After we had gotten home, Uncle Charlie said he had some good news for me.

"Guess what! They found a foster home for you to go to." he told me.

"Really?" I asked excited. "Who is it? Do I know them?"

"Probably not. But they have lived in Forks for a few years, kinda keep to themselves. A 'Frank Bennett'."

I heard something that sounded like a gasp and looked up to see Edward give a horrified expression. It was only after reading his thoughts, that I know what caused it.

Unlike me, Edward has scanned just about everyone's mind in this whole town and he knew things about people that know one else knew. Private things, secrets . . terrible secrets. He knew what Frank Bennett was, even though he'd never been caught. NO wonder he keeps to himself.

All of the sudden, I felt really sick to my stomach knowing what Edward knew. I'm not sure if I wanted to go through with this any more.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO I KNOW IF I SHOULD CONTINUE!