Chapter Six

"It's just for one night and I'll be fine," Angela assured Jasper as she shook her head.

"Angela, it's not that we doubt your ability to care for yourself," Esme said as she stepped away from the stove. "We're just worried about you experiencing another migraine like you had two days ago, not to mention the stalker."

Angela shook her head, waves of confusion and disbelief pouring off of her, the emotions capturing Jasper's full attention. Edward, Rosalie and Alice had left shortly after Carlisle had told her the truth about them, the three needing to hunt. Jasper had been able to catch a mountain lion on his way back with Alice, his wife insisting that he would need the blood in order to help Angela as her vision showed her he would. He watched Angela bite her lip, frowning down at the quarter glass of orange juice that sat in front of her on the table.

"I just don't get it," she said after a long moment. "Why would anyone stalk me? It doesn't make any sense."

"I don't think it's supposed to make sense, Half Pint," Emmett said as he walked into the kitchen and set a new bottle of prescription medicine before her. "Carlisle asked me to bring these to you; he thinks they might help better than your current stuff. One of the night crew guys called in and Carlisle volunteered to take the shift," he told Esme as he sat down across the table from Angela. "He said he won't be off until around eight in the morning." Turning his attention back to Angela, he caught her curious frown. "What?"

"Doesn't he need to sleep?" she asked and was surprised by the soft chuckles that sounded from the three vampires in the room with her.

"Advantages of being one of our kind," Jasper said and winked at her. "We don't sleep."

"Not ever?" Angela asked and looked to Esme.

"Nope," Esme affirmed with a bright smile. "Endless energy, but we can and do, on occasion, lie down and close our eyes. It's more of a meditative state and can help us calm our thoughts to focus on just one thing. But no, we don't sleep."

Angela blinked at the revelation, her mind spinning with the possibilities. Never needing to sleep could have untold advantages. Stopping her current train of thought before she could be distracted from the matter at hand, she thought back to why she needed to go home. Mainly, she needed to get her computer, check the mail, and gather all of her other research material for the paper that she was writing with Jasper's help. She also needed one night alone just to process everything as her three day weekend with the Cullen family had turned into a ten day vacation of sorts. She also wanted to give Jasper a much needed break from her pain. She knew that he wanted to help her, but hated that he had to take on her pain to do so. She could barely stand it, but she didn't have any choice. She didn't understand how he could do so voluntarily.

"You're still going to go home, aren't you?" Emmett asked her, able to see the resolve in her face. When she nodded he motioned to her phone. "Let me see that thing, huh?" he asked and accepted the device from her.

Opening her contacts folder, he added his information in and then tossed the device to Jasper who did the same. The phone was then handed to Esme who input both her information with the home land line as well as a separate entry for Carlisle with both his personal cell number as well as the phone from his office at the hospital. Walking to the table, Esme handed the phone back to Angela and smiled.

"Now you have our information in there. I'm sure that once the others return from hunting they will input their information as well," Esme told her.

"It's just one night," Angela said with an amused shake of her head at their comforting show of protection.

"Perhaps so, but should anything happen, or if more notes turn up, I want you to call one of us immediately," she instructed the girl.

"Misses…um, Esme," Angela corrected herself and saw the woman smile with amusement as she nodded. "Should I… I have a box with the other notes and stuff. Should I bring that back with me?"

"Most definitely," Esme told her and hugged Angela when the girl stood. "Since Carlisle drove you over here, Emmett will take you home. When you come back over here tomorrow, we'll call Chief Swan over. He'll help us figure out how best to handle this stalker of yours. I must caution you though, he doesn't know about us, only Bella does."

"Oh? Oh, I wouldn't," Angela assured quickly with a shake of her head. "It's not my story to tell."

"Sweetie," Esme laughed. "I didn't say that because I thought you would say anything about us, I just wanted you to know is all."

"Oh, ok," she said after a moment and turned to Jasper. "Don't," she said softly when she felt him try to take away her pain as a new migraine built. "You need this break just as much as I do. I hate that I'm hurting you so much."

"You're not," he told her and sighed as he enfolded her in his arms. "I can always choose to block the pain from myself," he told her and she snorted in disbelief. "I want to help you," he said and rubbed her back. "No one should ever have to be in that much pain."

"Thank you," she mumbled into his shoulder as she hugged him back, humbled by the entire family's depth of care and willingness to help her.

"We won't disappear on you," he promised her, his whispered voice was thick with the emotion he could feel from her making his southern drawl more pronounced.

A moment later, Esme and Jasper watched as she walked with Emmett out of the kitchen and heard the front door open and close as they left the house. Turning his attention on his adoptive mother, Jasper could feel her worry for the girl, her concern that Angela was in danger. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that Angela would be alright, but he kept quiet. He felt the same concern. Part of him wanted to go over to her house, to watch over her and make certain that she would be alright, but he understood her need for space from his family even if it was only for a few hours. Even as she told them that she needed to go home and argued that she would be safe enough, Jasper could feel her reluctance and he didn't need his brother's talent to know that she was worried they would disappear on her.

"Jasper."

Turning his attention on Esme when she spoke his name, he waited for her to speak her thoughts. Soft lines of worry bent her lips into a frown, her topaz eyes darkened to a soft hazel. Clearing the table of the dishes and noticing that Angela had forgotten her prescription, Esme tucked the bottle into her pocket with the intention of returning it to the girl when she went to see Carlisle for his dinner break at the hospital. Remaining quiet as she gathered her thoughts while stacking the dishes in the dishwasher and turning it on, Esme turned around and leaned against the lip of the sink behind her.

"How is Angela doing?"

"Do you mean her migraines, or her emotions?" he asked after a moment as he considered her question.

"All of it," Esme said, taking in a deep breath, the smells of yeast and sugar reminding her of the bread dough rising in the oven.

Crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the floor, Jasper frowned, his brow furrowing as he pursed his lips and thought over the past ten days. Things that he had felt before in the English Lit class he shared with Angela and in the lunch room when his family shared the table with Bella and Angela were beginning to make more sense. Though in truth, Jasper found himself a touch more confused by background emotions that were ever present in the girl. Gathering his thoughts as he took in a deep unneeded breath, he raised his head and looked at Esme.

"She's constantly in pain, and I don't just mean that she has a migraine once a day or something like that. From the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep, she is in pain. Mostly it feels like it's just a deep throbbing that she tries her level best to ignore, but a great deal of the time it's also the intense burning pain of her migraines." He began pacing, his face tense in thoughtful concentration. "She's also in emotional pain. I share a class with her and the past few months Alice and I have been joining the lunch table at school that Bella shares with Angela and her other human friends."

Jasper stopped pacing. Resting his hands on the island counter he studied the dark marble as he tried to think of how best to put his next thoughts into words that someone else would understand. Emotions weren't always so easily described, it was something that he knew all too well which was why at times, when members of his family were battling it out over one thing or another or as with Angela after Carlisle had spoken to her in regards to their family, he would simply open up the emotional lines. Looking up at Esme, he parted his lips and hoped that she would understand his next words.

"There was always this…undercurrent of emotion that I had thought was coming from the students around us. It wasn't until Carlisle brought Angela home and we spent all this time with her that I finally understood it was coming from her. She's lonely. Terribly lonely," he said looking into Esme's eyes. "But it also feels as though she's," he stopped and shook his head, his brow furrowing. "It feels like she's used to it. The emotion is always there and though there are times that it's worse than others, it feels as though the loneliness is a shroud of sorts. She also has moments of intense insecurity as though she's trying to measure up to some kind of expectation that she doesn't think she'll ever meet."

"But more than that," he said after a moment, "is the confusion, the sense of betrayal and the cautious hope. I can't tell you what she's thinking, that's Edward's territory, but I can guess." His eyebrow quirked as he stopped to take a breath, pausing for a moment as he gathered his thought. "The way she feels when she looks at you and Carlisle…the kindness, the gentleness and parental love you both show her…it confuses her. She's not certain how to respond to it and I can sense her fear that it won't last. It makes me think that she's never felt it before and that pisses me off. She wants to let herself bask in the affection you and Carlisle show her but she's so afraid…"

"What about the betrayal you mentioned?" Esme asked as the timer on the stove beeped and she took the bread dough out of the oven. "Can you tell where that is coming from?"

Sprinkling flour on the dark marble countertop, Esme poured the dough out of the bowl and punched it down gently. Folding it in half and turning it a quarter turn, she folded it again, repeating the process until she had made four folds. Gently shaping the dough into a rectangle, she lifted the dough and moved it to rest in a greased seventeen by twelve inch cake pan and used a pastry knife to cut deep vertical and horizontal lines throughout the dough spacing them evenly until there were twenty even buns. Covering the pan with a piece of cheesecloth, she set the timer for thirty minutes and turned back to Jasper who was once again staring at the countertop.

"I don't know, exactly," he said slowly as Esme cleaned the flour and dough residue from the marble surface. "It's not us, I can tell you that. It feels…removed."

"Removed?" she asked watching as he struggled for a way to make the emotions make sense to someone else.

Nodding distractedly and looking up, his eyes seeing nothing, his thoughts were turned inward. His talent was equal parts gift and curse, but the thing that made it the most difficult was when it came to explaining it. He had once told Alice that explaining emotion was like trying to describe the sunrise to a blind person, everyone views it a little bit differently and because you can't touch it, hold it or measure it, it's that much more enigmatic.

"The sense of betrayal she feels is directed at something else someone else. It stems from the same place that her loneliness and confusion does, but without talking to her, without asking her directly…" Jasper shook his head. "I can't speak for her on this. I can't tell you the source. Only she can."

:::::

"I'll be fine you know," Angela told Emmett, her voice reasonable.

"Stay," his disembodied voice commanded her from the next room.

"Woof woof," Angela shot back, unable to be anything but amused as she watched him move around the downstairs.

She rolled her eyes, smiling as she shook her head. Standing with her back against the front door, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, Angela bit her lip. When Emmett had asked her if she needed her overnight bag or anything other than her purse and she had told him no, he had walked outside of the house with her and told her he was going to show her the fun side of life. She hadn't understood what he'd meant, but he had knelt down in the driveway and waited until she climbed onto his back. Catching her behind the knees and holding her on his back, he had told her to put her purse between her stomach and his back and hold onto his shoulders tightly. As soon as she complied with his request, he had chuckled almost dangerously and shot off deep into the forest running faster than she could comprehend.

After a few minutes she had adjusted to the surprise of the speed and had started laughing. She could never remember having such fun. He had run through the forests and trees all the way to her backyard and she had laughed the entire way. He made a slow circuit around the property of her house, refusing to let her down until he was certain that no one was lingering around the grounds. As soon as they had walked inside, he had set her down and insisted that she stay right where she was standing. He then proceeded to move from room to room like an FBI agent in a cop show inspecting the home for intruders or traps. She laughed softly as Rosalie's words came back to her.

"There's one thing you have to understand about Emmett," Rosalie told Angela with an almost annoyed sounding sigh. "He has a very severe case of BBS."

"BBS?" the girl asked with a confused shake of her head.

"Big Brother Syndrome."

Angela looked down at her hands and shook her head. Big brothers protected younger sisters from school bullies, broken hearts, normal things. Vampire though he was, could Emmett or any of his family really protect her from a stalker. This person who was following her, sending her notes and texting her, they knew where she was, they knew what she looked like and even her class schedule. But not a single one of them knew who her stalker was. They didn't know what he looked like, what his name was or if he was even a he. The fear returned, the unsettled feeling of being watched and unsafe flooded through her making her feel as though ice was forming in her veins.

"All clear," Emmett announced, breaking her from her thoughts as he came jogging down the stairs. "You ok?" he asked as he approached her, seeing the unsettled expression on her face.

"I just don't get it," Angela said as she stepped away from the door and moved into the kitchen, Emmett following behind her. "Why would someone be stalking me?" she asked, jumping up to sit on the counter by the microwave. "I don't have any spurned lovers or disappointed exes. Ben was my first boyfriend and even he decided Jessica was more interesting. Why?" she asked him as she struggled against the irrational fear and sting of tears. "Chief Swan said that stalkers are normally spurned lovers."

"Not always," he cut in, leaning his elbow on the counter next to her and looking up at her. "Remember what else he said? Sometimes they're just crazy people who have imagined a relationship with someone. And by the way, Ben's a fool."

Angela shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to deny the stinging of tears behind her eyes. All of this seemed so unreal, so crazy and unbelievable. Why would someone be stalking her? How had they found out the things about her that they'd written in the letters? Clenching her left hand into a fist to keep it from shaking, she suddenly felt sick. That letter she'd found in her text book on Friday…whoever it was had seen her in her bra and panties. Was this her fault? Had she done something to entice this person? She felt unclean.

"Ang?" Emmett called out to her, hearing her heart beating wildly in her chest, smelling the fear that had begun to color her scent and seeing the slight trembling that human eyes wouldn't. "Hey," he tapped the back of his hand against her thigh to get her attention. "Come back to me," he said and looked into her frightened eyes when she blinked at him.

Wrapping his large hands around her tiny waist and lifting her off the counter to stand her on her feet in front of him, Emmett enfolded her in his arms and held her to his chest. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he rocked her gently and stroked her hair. What was she suddenly so scared of? What was she thinking about? Her hands fisted in the cloth at the back of his shirt and he tightened his arms around her, trying to let her know in any way he could that she was safe. She was his little sister and he'd be damned if he let anyone hurt her.

"Are you sure you want to stay here alone? We can just grab your stuff and go. You could leave a note for your parents if you need to."

His last comment made her laugh and cry at the same time. He didn't know, no one did and how could she tell them? How could she tell them that she wasn't good enough for her parents to want to stick around? In the past four, almost five years, she had seen her parents a collective total of three months. Just enough time for them to come home, change out the clothes in their suitcases and bags, deliver artifacts to their church or gather the donations kept from the parishioners and leave again. Each time they came home they barely spoke to her and if she made even one outward show of pain from her migraines her father would berate her for being weak and her mother would yell at her to stop faking headaches for attention. It hurt so much to be here, she hadn't realized how much of her pain the Cullens, especially Carlisle and Esme, had taken away.

Emmett didn't know what do or how to comfort the crying girl in his arms. He didn't understand her tears, didn't know where they were stemming from and so he just held her. He could feel her tears soak through his shirt and dropped his head to press his lips against her hair. He already knew her scent, but still he breathed in deeply, memorizing it. Flowers and honey, innocence and sunlight; she smelled like spring.

"We'll keep you safe, Angela," he promised her, his breath ruffling her hair. "We won't let anyone hurt you."

Bringing her hand up to her face to wipe away her drying tears, she took in a shaking breath. She didn't try to move from the circle of his arms, choosing instead to curl closer against his chest. He made her feel safe, protected.

"I know, big brother," she said, trying to lighten the heavy mood.

"Damn straight I'm your big brother," he said with a smile and pulled back, holding the tops of her arms and looking into her eyes. "You sure you want to stay here tonight?" he asked again.

Angela nodded and smiled. "I need to get things together here and kind of take everything in, you know?" she said. "Plus, Jasper really needs a break. I can barely handle the pain of my migraines, but I don't have a choice about that, he does. I feel like I'm torturing him, Emmett."

Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he shook his head. "You're not torturing him. You let Jasper worry about Jasper, ok? He's tough, and he knows what he can and can't handle."

Dropping his hands from her arms, he straightened and looked over her head out the window. His instincts were telling him to stay, to guard her tonight, but she had asked for this time alone and he didn't want her to feel like his family wouldn't respect her need for privacy. He would make one last circuit of the house before he left her and call her before she bedded down for the night. That would have to do.

"You'll call me," he told her, the comment equal parts request and command. "Even if it's just a shadow you're jumping at or, I don't know, a spider. Just call if something scares you, ok? I'd rather come over here and find out it's nothing than to have you not call and get hurt."

Angela nodded, staring into his golden eyes and promised she would call. He pulled her in for another tight hug before releasing her and ruffling her hair to make her laugh. Leaving her standing in the kitchen, he made one more walk through of her house before saying goodbye and walking out the front door. Walking around her house outside and waving back at her when she tapped on the kitchen window, he made two circuits of her house. Nothing seemed out of place or suspicious, but something was still telling him not to go far. He knew if he stayed around the neighborhood he would look like a prowler, but there was a tall stand of hundred year old pines about a mile and a half back. He should be close enough to hear her if she screamed. Close enough to get to her in seconds if she called and even though he would be out of sight of her house, it would have to do.

:::::

Puffing her cheeks out and releasing a long breath, Angela pulled her hair back and twisted it up, securing it with a large butterfly clip to the back of her head. Walking through the house and gathering up the library books, computer print outs and note pads that were scattered across the coffee table in the living room, she carried them to her room to sort through later. Taking off her sneakers and leaving them in her room, she jogged back down stairs and began the tedious process of cleaning and scrubbing the already immaculate kitchen and living room. She vacuumed the rug, the couch, the arm chair and even went so far as to clean the vacuum itself with dust rags before finally putting all the cleaning supplies away.

Turning off the accent lamps downstairs and returning to her room, Angela sat down on her bed and shook her head. Before she knew it, tears were coursing down her cheeks and she was sobbing into her pillow. Her parents expected perfection from her; four point zero GPA or better, extracurricular activities which Angela had mollified by working on the high school paper, they even expected her to stay in shape and not exceed the weight that she was at. They expected and demanded all these things from her and berated her for 'faking migraines', but never wanted to see or spend any time with her.

Carlisle and Esme… They talked with her. Wanted to help her with her pain and comfort her. Esme read The Secret Garden to her, letting her voice help soothe her to sleep when the migraine medicine took too long to kick in. Carlisle kept her active in his quest to find answers regarding her migraines and constant pain, he let her sit with him in his office while he worked and answered her questions when her curiosity demanded answers. They both believed her when she said she was in pain. They took her into their family when they had no cause or reason to, trusted her with their secrets – secrets that could put them in danger. They wanted her to be happy, to have fun and enjoy life. They loved her. They actually really loved her.

It hurt so much. She couldn't stop her tears, couldn't rationalize the differences between her birth parents and the Cullens. She couldn't make the pain go away. The ringing of her phone drew her attention and she sat up. That was the Mission Impossible theme song. Wiping away her tears with fisted hands and frowning in confusion she dug her phone out of her purse and gave a soggy laugh when she saw the words 'Big Brother Emmett' displayed on the LCD screen.

"Emmett," she spoke his name in greeting, unable to hide the sounds of her tears.

"Hey, what's wrong, half pint?" he asked and she laughed.

"It's nothing, just stupid girly stuff," she said sniffling and laid back on her pillows, lying on top of her covers rather than underneath them.

"Stupid girly stuff aside, I could come get you, if you want," he told her and chuckled when she laughed.

"No, I'm ok," Angela assured him and curled on her side, tucking the phone between her cheek and the pillow. "Tell me a story," she said and winced at how childish her request sounded.

"Yeah?" he said sounding infinitely pleased at her request. "Ok. Well, since you know about us now, I can offer you up two kinds of stories and you get to choose which one you want."

"Ok," Angela said and smiled, pulling the soft throw blanket at the foot of the bed up over her.

"First kind is true stories: me human, my family before I was changed, how I met Rosalie and Carlisle and all that."

"The second kind?" she asked, growing sleepy as his voice soothed her.

"Complete fiction," he said dismissively. "Princesses, castles, dragons, fairytales, rainbows and puppies."

Angela laughed and closed her eyes. "Door number one please, Mister Cullen."

Emmett laughed and she heard a rustling sound that reminded her of the forest. Pressing the back of her hand against her mouth as she yawned, she blinked slowly. Refusing to move far enough to turn off the lamp on her bedside table, Angela burrowed beneath the light chocolate blanket and closed her eyes.

"I was born in nineteen fifteen. My name was Emmett Liam McCarty and my family was pretty large, Scotch-Irish."

"Nineteen fifteen," she said and he could hear her yawn. "You're old. It's formaldehyde, isn't it?" she joked, her voice thick with sleep. "That's why you look so young."

"Nah…" his laugh made her giggle. "Whiskey," he joked and listened to her laugh. "I grew up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee…"

Emmett talked for nearly fifteen minutes, telling her about his mother, his sisters and brothers. She tried to stay awake, wanting to hear every detail of his life, but all too soon sleep claimed her. The last thing she heard before slipping into a deep sleep was his voice speaking a soft "sweet dreams" to her and then nothing. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep when she felt herself drifting somewhere between consciousness and the waking world. Two things occurred to her slowly: one, someone was in her bed with her touching her, and two, that person was sitting on top of her, holding her down while they kissed her.

Brown eyes snapped open. Opening her mouth to cry out as his hand slid beneath her shirt, she was silenced when his tongue entered her mouth. She pushed at him, punched his shoulders and chest until he fell back and then kicked him off the bed. She didn't look at his face, didn't want to know who was in the room with her. She didn't think as she grabbed her phone up from her pillow and ran blindly from the room. Screaming out at the sound of his footsteps chasing close behind her, Angela ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, hiding inside the walk in pantry and sitting behind a tall stack of boxed canned goods and emergency rations. Rocking back and forth, she pressed the track pad on her phone, the screen unbelievably bright in the darkness of the tightly closed pantry.

Rocking back and forth as she opened her call log and highlighted Emmett's name, listening to trilling dial tone as the call rang through. Jumping at the sound of heavy steps moving through the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, the phone fell to her lap and she covered her mouth to keep from screaming out. Her breaths were coming too fast, what little she could see in the darkness began blurring with tears. She thought she heard Emmett's voice, hoped she did and began chanting softly as she wrapped her arms around her knees, the phone caught between her legs and chest.

"Emmett help," she chanted over and over again, her whispered voice whimpering as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Angela!"

She heard the intruder scream her name and she buried her face in the tops of her knees as she sobbed in terror, scooting back into the darkened corner as far as she could and trying to make herself as small as possible. He was in her house! Her stalker was in her house! She heard Emmett's voice, heard his promise that he was coming that he would save her. She cried harder when she heard the front door break open and rocked back and forth, covering her head with her arms. Moments later the pantry door flew open and she screamed, throwing herself back against the wall behind her and hitting her head as she tried to move away from the hands reaching for her.

"Angela," the voice was soft and soothing, a voice she recognized as police sirens sounded in the background. "Sweetheart, it's Carlisle, come here. You're safe now, I promise. The police are on their way and Emmett's holding the man who broke in."

"C-Car-Carlisle," she stammered his name as he moved the stack of heavy boxes in front of her out of the way.

"Yes, Sweetheart, it's me. You're safe now."

She was breathing too fast, unable to draw a steady breath, but when she saw his blond hair and kind golden eyes she launched herself into his arms. Carlisle wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to sit in his lap while she sobbed into his shoulder. She was shaking terribly, her grasp on his clothing desperate and frightened. Petting her hair, he moved carefully and stood, cradling her against his chest. Her arms wound around his neck and he could feel the heat of her tears against his skin, the scent of salt filling the air as she cried.

"Shh," he whispered to her, walking over to the table and sitting down with her in his lap. "You're safe, Sweetheart, I promise. You're safe now."

He stroked her hair and rubbed her back, doing his best to soothe the terrified girl in his arms. Rocking her gently, he spoke in low tones to Chief Swan, telling him that Angela was in no shape to talk right then but that he would bring her down to the station later. Looking up at Emmett as the deputy took the man he'd captured out to the waiting squad car, he found his son to be watching Angela with a look that was equal parts guilt and concern. As soon as the officer led the captured intruder out of the mangled front door, Emmett met his father's eyes and nodded toward the stairs. Carlisle waited for all the humans to leave before he stood and followed Emmett up to her bedroom. Angela refused to relinquish her hold on him, and so he stood with her cradled in his arms while Emmett went through her desk drawers before looking in the shoe box on her dresser.

"There must be at least a hundred notes in here," he told his adoptive father and cursed after reading through a few of them. "No wonder she thought these were from Ben. Some of the things they say…bastard talks about kissing her, the way she looks in moonlight."

"Emmett, calm yourself," Carlisle cautioned him, seeing the rage building in his son's eyes. "Remember, Angela needs you right now."

Kissing her hair and holding her close as he stood with her cradled in his arms, Carlisle was glad that it had been a slow night and he was able to leave relatively early. He had been driving through the town when he saw Emmett racing through the woods and heard him calling Angela's name. He had gotten to the girl's house seconds after Emmett had broken inside and restrained the intruder. The scent of her fear had been overwhelming and when he had followed it to the pantry and pulled the door open to see her huddled inside… Clenching his jaw against the worry and anger that flowed through him, he directed Emmett to pack her computer and the stack of what looked to be school work on her desk.

"Gather whatever you think she'll need, Emmett," Carlisle said looking down at the girl in his arms. "She's coming home with us."

"Damn right she is," his son growled too low for the human girl hear.

She was tiring quickly in his arms, her sobs having turned to hiccups and whimpers. Sitting down on her bed and pulling away just enough to look in her eyes, Carlisle studied her tear stained face. She didn't look to be in shock, but there was always the chance that she could still go into it. She was blinking slowly, seemed to be fighting to stay awake and he felt his heart constrict with the concern he felt for her. Tucking her hair behind her ears and cupping her face in his palms, he wiped away her tears with his thumbs and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She was exhausted and frightened, feeling her shiver he grasped the light blanket from her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. Rubbing his hands over her arms, from shoulder to elbow, he motioned with his head to the other side of the room.

"Look who's over there," he instructed her gently and watched her turn her face slowly.

"Em-Emmett," she spoke his name and he was by her side with her next breath, the show of his vampire nature comforting her.

"Hey, half pint," he said and smiled sadly when she laughed through her still falling tears. "I should've stayed," he said apologetically with a regretful wince.

Angela shook her head and tried to smile, the expression manifesting as a grimace. Grasping his hand through the thin brushed knit blanket wrapped around her, she tugged lightly until he sat down next to her on the bed. Both he and Carlisle were worried about her, the girl looking as though she would fall asleep at any moment.

"You couldn't have known," she told him her voice whisper quiet. "You still got here, you kept your promise," she told him referencing their conversation from earlier in her kitchen.

"I guess, I did, huh," he said softly and leaned forward to kiss her tear-fevered forehead. "You look exhausted," he observed and she nodded slowly.

"You'll tell me more about Tennessee when we get home," she requested, her eyes drooping as she leaned heavily against Carlisle and watched him nod.

Looking over her head at Carlisle, he saw the gentle smile on the man's face. She had called their house 'home' without realizing it. Lifting her backpack and the box of notes, Emmett grabbed her glasses from where they were lying half tucked under her pillow and walked out of her room. Carlisle stood; Angela still cradled in his arms and followed close behind his son. Watching Emmett put her things in the backseat, he asked his son to retrieve her cell phone from the kitchen pantry as he tucked her into the front passenger seat and buckled her safety belt. She was already mostly asleep and when he smoothed the backs of his fingers over her cheeks to wipe away her tears, he watched her eyes fall closed one final time as she drifted into unconsciousness. Closing the car door quietly, he turned to look at Emmett, watching as he pulled the front door closed and stepped away from the house.

"I'll come back later to put a new door on," he said studying the way the hinges and broken latch barely held the door in place.

"I should call her parents," Carlisle said and looked back at the sleeping girl in the car. "Is their number in her phone?" he asked as Emmett handed him Angela's glasses and scrolled through her contact list.

"There's nothing labeled 'mom' or 'dad'." Frowning as he came to one entry that made little sense to him, he looked at Carlisle. "There is this number though," he said and handed his father the phone.

The entry was labeled 'Rev Joseph, Missionary Travel Services' and in the notes for the contact were the words: 'For emergency use only'. The number was out of state and from the area code; Carlisle surmised that it was either a New York or Massachusetts phone number. If this was how she got in touch with her parents, then that meant that they weren't just 'out of town' they were out of country. His grip tightened on the device and he had to be careful not to break it when the plastic creaked in his hand. Carlisle carefully exited out of her contacts application, telling his son what the entry meant and tucked the phone into his coat pocket before climbing behind the wheel and waiting for Emmett to get in the backseat.

The drive home was tense and quiet, both vampires in the car beyond angry at what had happened and the abandonment they'd discovered. The sound of the car engine shutting off roused Angela and she opened the door trying to step out before realizing that the seat belt was trapping her in place. Her clumsy hands released the safety strap and she stumbled from the car straight into Esme's arms.

"Oh, Sweetheart," the woman cooed, rubbing her back and hugging her close.

"Jasper," Carlisle looked at his adoptive son, knowing the southern vampire could feel his tense anger. "Would you please take Angela up to bed, I need to talk to Esme," he requested, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

Nodding and walking up to Esme, Jasper smiled at her before resting his hand on Angela's shoulder. He could feel her exhaustion and the throbbing pain induced by her tears. She turned half-lidded, sleep filled eyes on him and he smiled gently at her.

"Jasper," Angela whispered hoarsely and moved from Esme's arms to his.

"Hey, Little One," he said, keeping his voice low and soothing. "Let's get you up to bed, ok?" he said and lifted her into his arms.

Emmett followed behind Jasper, carrying Angela's bag. It was almost three in the morning and the upset and following rush of adrenaline had drained her of what little energy she had. Jasper laid her down gently in the middle of the guest bed in the room that Esme was planning to turn into Angela's bedroom. Kissing her forehead and tucking the blankets around her, Jasper turned away and was surprised with the speed that her hand caught his. Her voice was low, her eyes barely open when she asked him not to go, begged not to be left alone. Nodding and sitting on her right, Jasper kicked his shoes off and laid down beside her on the bed.

"You said you'd tell me 'bout Ten'see," Angela's sleep heavy voice called out, barely above a whisper, when Emmett turned to leave the room.

Giving a smiling pout before moving to sit on her left, Emmett undid the laces on his boots and took them off before lying back on the bed. Sandwiched between Jasper and Emmett, she sighed with contentment, the blond vampire not needing to influence her emotions as he felt a sensation of peace and safety fall over her. They each wrapped an arm around her, lying on their sides to face her as they curled their bodies protectively around her. Telling her to close her eyes, Emmett's voice soothed her to sleep with stories of his human childhood.