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Carlisle and Ryan sat for a while in comfortable companionship before Carlisle decided it was time to progress further.

"Would you like to meet the rest of the family now?" he asked. "I know they're all terribly keen to make your acquaintance."

Ryan's shoulders hunched over and he chewed on the skin around a fingernail.

"I'll be with you the whole time and we can always go somewhere quieter if you feel a little overwhelmed."

,,,

Perched high in a fir tree overlooking the property, Emmett leaned forward, eagerly awaiting the boy's decision. Rosalie laid a restraining hand on his arm.

"Emmett don't jump out of the tree the minute he says 'yes'," she pleaded, "You'll terrify the poor thing and then we'll be back to square one."

"Give me some credit, Babe!" he retorted indignantly, trying to hide the fact that she was spot on with her prediction. He was just itching to meet the boy face to face.

Emmett was rather pleased at the prospect of no longer being the baby of the family. True, in human years Edward was younger, but both Edward and Jasper were older in vampire terms and just because Emmett liked to fool around a little they tended to regard him as somewhat junior. He didn't really mind, life was too short to bear grudges. Ha! Not exactly an appropriate saying anymore, but Hell, even eternity was too short to waste. He actually enjoyed this strange existence his angel had brought him into; the speed, the incredible strength, the intense passion. Emmett adored it all and charged into every new experience with utter enthusiasm. Having a human in the family could be awesome!

Rosalie watched the boy and thought how small he looked huddled on the veranda next to Carlisle. He certainly seemed fascinated by the reflective properties of their skin. She remembered the first time she had seen herself in the sunlight after becoming a vampire. She too had been mesmerised by the dancing display of rainbow colours that surged and span with each tiny movement of her fingers. That she had emerged like a beautiful butterfly from the dreadful darkness of her demise had been comfort indeed to the frightened girl.

Carlisle had hinted that the boy had perhaps suffered at the hands of another and she had clearly seen the tell-tale bruising about the boy's throat as she'd watched him sleep last night. Feelings of anger bubbled inside her at the thought that this child might also have been the victim of outrageous cruelty.

,,,

Ryan had agreed to meet the others and so Carlisle gently coaxed him back into the house. He thought that they should perhaps begin with Edward since in human terms they were closest in age.

Edward heard Carlisle's thoughts the moment they were formed.

I'm sure you've heard everything that's been said so far, Edward. The boy seems to be taking everything remarkably well but I still want him to get a sense of normalcy from us. Don't do anything rash like taking him for a run up a tree, will you.

Edward rolled his eyes at his father. He was always such a worry wart. He looked around his room and suddenly wondered what to do. There was no bed to lounge on and he didn't have any games consoles up here. He looked at his music collection and sniggered. How do you do, I'm Edward. Would you care to debate the relative merits of Debussy compared to Dvorak? Yes, that would go down well! Footsteps were fast approaching and in a rare moment of panic he flung himself onto the couch and began drawing a tree on a notepad. Oh Lord, this fifteen year old is going to think I'm a complete imbecile he cringed. Too late now; there was a soft knock at the door.

"Edward, are you there? I'd like you to meet our guest."

"Come in," replied Edward, and the door slowly opened.

Carlisle's eyes flickered over the room before Ryan was ushered in. It wasn't often Carlisle came in here and Edward was suddenly concerned at what Carlisle imagined he might find. He would have to question him about that later.

"Edward, this is Ryan who's going to be staying with us." He placed his hands on Ryan's shoulders and gently manoeuvred the child to face Edward. The boy was clearly nervous and his eyes seemed overly interested in studying the hardwood flooring.

"Hello," said Edward, using his most alluring voice. "It's nice to meet you properly. You'd only just woken up when I saw you this morning." He smiled, careful not to reveal too many teeth.

Ryan looked up cautiously and gave a muttered 'hi' in response before dropping his gaze once more.

Edward glared at Carlisle but it was too late. "I'm just going to pop to my office to make a quick call to work," he said to Ryan. "You stay here with Edward for a couple of minutes and then I'll be right back, okay?"

He didn't wait for Ryan to voice a protest and with a reassuring squeeze of the shoulders, Carlisle left the room, softly closing the door behind them.

I'm sorry to put upon you Edward, but you know I trust you implicitly and wouldn't do this if I had any doubts. I don't want Ryan to become too dependant on Esme or myself; he needs to know that everyone in this family is safe to be around. I promise I will return in a couple of minutes; just see if you can get him to interact with you at all.

Ryan was frozen exactly where Carlisle had left him, still studying the floor. Edward sighed.

"Do you want to see some of my things?" he asked tentatively. He held out a beautifully decorated rain stick he had purchased when visiting Peru one time. Ryan took the object and studied it.

"Do you know what it is?"

Ryan turned it over in his hands and immediately heard the pattering of beans as they slowly slid from one end to the other. A small smile formed on his lips as he tilted the stick again.

"It's called a rain stick," continued Edward. "It's supposed to sound like rain falling. I bet you can't guess what it's made from." He moved to sit back on the couch and gestured for Ryan to join him.

Ryan softly fingered the polished ridges and tiny holes on the instrument. "Is it from a tree?" he asked.

Edward beamed. "Everyone thinks that but it's actually from a dried cactus."

Ryan looked up in surprise before scrutinising the rain stick again.

"How did you make it?" he asked.

"I didn't make it myself," admitted Edward, "But what happens is they take a piece of cactus and…Do you know what a cactus is?" Ryan nodded and Edward continued. "Well they take a piece of cactus and let it dry out. Then they push the spines inside and fill it with tiny pebbles or beans. The ends are then sealed and there you have it."

Ryan tilted it slowly back and forth. "It sounds nice," he said, before holding it closer to his ear and shaking it. He looked at Edward.

"How did you know about the house?" he asked.

Edward frowned in puzzlement as a thousand potential houses flashed through his memory. "What house?"

"I always dream about that house. Sometimes it's bad," he paused, "but the house is always the same. Sometimes in my dream I know that if I go in one of the rooms there's something bad in there."

He stopped abruptly as if catching himself revealing too much. Edward had no idea what to say. His instinct was to lie and say that Ryan had been talking in his sleep but something about the boy made Edward not want to dishonour him like that.

"Carlisle has shown you some of the things that make us different, hasn't he?"

Ryan nodded and smiled as he remembered. "I saw his hand in the sun."

"Well there are other things which set us apart from humans."

"You're not human?" Ryan's attention was all on Edward who mentally berated himself for the careless slip. Carlisle had said they were different but hadn't specifically said not human. He would need to be more careful.

"Well not in the same way as you," he said. "Anyway, it isn't just our appearance that's different. Some of us have abilities too." He paused. Ryan sat and waited patiently. Edward found it rather amusing how the tables had been turned; they were supposed to be discovering more about the child and there he was very successfully getting them to reveal all manner of secrets.

"I can read people's thoughts."

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever someone is thinking or imagining inside their head, I can also hear or see. So when you were having your dream, I saw the pictures in my mind too."

Ryan gaped. "But there are millions of people!" he exclaimed. "How can you see it all, that's too much."

Edward smiled. "I must admit, until I got used to it, it was rather distressing. I have a limited range though, a few miles at most, so I'm not really bombarded with millions of thoughts as you put it. I've also learned to block out much of what I could hear so it really doesn't bother me too much now." He watched Ryan as the boy absorbed the information and pondered how it must seem from a human perspective.

Ryan suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at Edward. "What colour am I thinking of?"

Edward chuckled. "Now you're going to doubt everything I've just told you. You see, although I could see your thoughts perfectly clearly when you were asleep, I see nothing now you're awake. Somehow you are blocking me out."

Ryan looked most disappointed.

Edward smiled at him. "Your dreams are quite vivid you know; you must have a wonderful imagination."

Ryan blushed a little at the unexpected compliment as he tilted the rain stick once more.

,,,

Emmett gazed pleadingly at Carlisle from the open window. His arms were folded comfortably over the window sill and his legs dangled twenty feet above the ground. Carlisle frowned at him.

"Please do not break that window frame son," he begged. An entire forest to play in and the boy still used the house as his personal jungle gym.

"When can I meet him properly, Carlisle?" he asked again. "I swear I'll be really, really quiet and totally non-threatening."

He attempted the puppy dog look but unfortunately only Rosalie was still susceptible to it.

"Emmett we have to take things slowly. Ryan has been through goodness knows what before he even came into contact with us. If he's going to be part of our family then he will not only need to have a deep understanding of our nature but also the wisdom and ability to keep that nature secret. We can't just expect a child to take all that on board in the space of one day. Let him get a feel for us gradually." He sighed, noting the cloud of disappointment drifting across Emmett's features. He loved Emmett deeply and always admired his unstinting cheerfulness, but this was not a situation to be rushed.

"Emmett, I promise you that soon enough Ryan will be happy to meet you and no doubt he will be thrilled to play Super Mario Pac-Man or whatever with you, but please, let me decide the timing?"

Emmett grinned. "Okay, but soon, right?" He loosened one arm from the window and prepared to drop. "Super Mario Pac-Man? Dad, that's just embarrassing!"

,,,

Ryan looked up with obvious relief as Carlisle returned to Edward's room. A sudden look of thoughtfulness swept his face as he looked between the two. Edward didn't need his gift to guess what was crossing the boy's mind.

"Yes, Carlisle knows about my ability," he confirmed.

I'll be interested to hear how that topic came up for discussion. Has he been alright with you?

The slight movement of Edward's head, imperceptible to the human eye, gave Carlisle the confirmation he sought.

"Well, Ryan, I'm sure you must be ready for some lunch now. Why don't we go and see what we can get you to eat."

As he led Ryan from the room the boy paused in the doorway. "Thank you," he murmured, though for what exactly, Edward wasn't sure.

,,,

Downstairs Esme was busy preparing lunch for Ryan and as soon as she heard them coming downstairs she carried the tray through to the dining table. Ryan sat down and looked at the fare spread before him: a boiled egg, two slices of buttered toast and a mug of hot sweetened milk. Esme scrutinised his expression and was dismayed to find there was none of the eagerness that he had shown at breakfast. Why was this so? She'd prepared everything in exactly the same way as before. She looked at Carlisle for reassurance and he gestured for her to accompany him back into the kitchen. As Ryan began to eat the food the two vampires whispered out of sight.

"Carlisle he doesn't like it? What did I do wrong? Has he changed his mind? Doesn't he want to stay here?" Her mind was whirling with questions as Carlisle gently ran his fingers through her soft caramel locks and tenderly kissed the tip of her nose.

"I don't think he was expecting the exact same meal twice in a row, my dear, that's all. There are certain foods which humans deem appropriate for different meals and from what I have seen in the hospitals, eggs and toast are more of a breakfast item."

Esme looked completely crestfallen, having failed so early in her contact with the human.

"I'm sure he's not upset," said Carlisle reassuringly. "Listen; he's eating it all steadily so it certainly must taste good. This is all very new to us and will take some adjustment on both sides. I'm sure the internet will provide you with ample information on the dietary requirements of a fifteen year old and then you can plan accordingly."

He had barely finished speaking before Esme flitted up the stairs to her office to scour the websites in order to plan her shopping list. Carlisle looked at Ryan, who was gaping after her, and sighed.

"I believe I mentioned the unprecedented speed."

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