As soon as we got in the large back lawn a seemingly identical man came running out and it was only when he tackled Emmett to the ground with a laugh did you see the difference of Emmett being larger. In truth the last time that I had seen him was when he was blood covered and dying, but truthfully he was almost identical. Leaner, with narrower shoulders, though wider than Edward's, and a couple inches shorter.

"This is amazing," Noah let out a laugh as the rest of the family came out onto the lawn and I walked over to them.

"Is that the new dress you just ordered in from New York?" Rosalie noted.

"Edward brought it down for me to change into. I didn't think of changing before going out hunting," I shrugged and she pursed her lips.

"They're both taking this extremely well," Esme noted with a wide smile.

"How was Emmett with hunting?" Carlisle asked.

"Messy, loud, reckless," I named off earning a look from the newborn himself.

"I wasn't that messy," He defended.

"Look at your shirt," I noted and he looked down to the bright red blood over his shirt and also on his chest from the going through the holes.

"Oh," He said in almost wonder.

"Come on, meet everyone, I know you already know Carlisle and Genevieve." Noah pulled him over. "This is Esme, Rose, and Edward. He's awesome," He pointed enthusiastically to my brother which Rosalie, or I guess Rose, harrumphed to. "He can read minds, and plus he's an alright guy," He joked and put an arm around Edward who surprisingly gave a little chuckle. Then again it was probably a relief to have more guys than just Carlisle around.

"Hey," He greeted.

"Welcome to the family," Esme smiled to him.

"Thank you, Ma'am," He grinned and then looked to me. "I'm very happy to be a part of it."

oOo

Both Emmett and Noah fit in perfectly with the family. Just as I had thought, Edward perked up right away and got mostly out of that sullen teenager act and started joking around with the guys. Esme was more than happy to have two more children to look after but I think she was having a little difficulty adjusting to the rough and tumble lifestyle that accompanied it, same as Carlisle. Then there was Rosalie who actually had a smile most of the time which was a very new thing and cheered up both Esme and Carlisle, along with benefitting Edward who no longer got the brunt of her attitude for snickering at her thoughts. The rough house twins brought a new element of joy into the home that had been very quiet and it was something that all of us had needed but didn't know until now, and that was only two weeks in.

"Come in," I called to the knock on my door and finished pulling my hair up for a day, putting on my signature pearl necklace, Cullen crest and the dragonfly pin that I wore most of the time.

"Woah," Was the respond I got as Emmett walked into my room.

"What?" I moved out of my large closet smoothing out my light green, long sleeved dress that had a white belt around the waist, to see him looking around at the room. It wasn't my largest room I had ever had; it being in the two story cabin restricted the space. But it had a large shelf which I had stuffed with books and records along with knickknacks. In the corner was my record player, and then I had a couch on the wall by the door that looked out the large window into the back yard. He had turned to look at the other side wall where I had hung the multiple paintings, including one of every family member.

"You did these?" he questioned as he looked over the painting of Esme and Carlisle on their wedding.

"Yes," I smiled. "Have you never been in here?"

"Nope," He smirked and then turned around, walking over to the book case. "Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington," he named off my records. "You like Jazz…"

"Correct," I grinned. "Don't you?" I raised an eyebrow to him.

"Jazz is fine," He nodded. Plucking one out of the stand, he flipped the record around in his hand and then placed it on the player.

"I got rhythm?" I raised an eyebrow to him at the song choice as he nodded.

"Well do you?" He asked, holding out a hand.

"I can't dance," I shook my head to which he chuckled slightly and walked towards me.

"You can dance, you just don't want to," He reached forward and took my hand as Ella Fitzgerald sang in the background. Biting my lip, I took a deep breath and placed my free hand on his shoulder as he laced his around to my middle back. He gave a wide smile and started rocking back and forth just as the music picked. Letting out a small laugh I spun out as he held up his hand and then back in. "See, you can dance," he smirked as I moved back into place.

"Maybe you're just a good dancer and are making me look good?" I challenged.

"Hmmm, well I guess you should only ever dance with me from now on then," He fired right back. For the past week it had been like this. Him pursuing, and me taking a step away. He was unnerving for me on so many levels because I wasn't used to this type of flirting. Where he was upfront and blunt with his pursuits I was used to getting flowers and receiving callers which were then chaperoned by my mother. Most of the time I took them as jokes, like the outstanding challenge to give a kiss if he got me before reaching the meadow that we had done two times since, because I knew that pursuing a woman had changed in the last seventeen years. That might be the reason that Noah and Rose were hitting it off so fast from the moment he gave her bouquets of wildflowers: which in itself was a switch for her. I mean who would have ever thought that Rosalie Hale would have wildflowers in a vase as opposed to top of the line roses.

"So are you going to paint Noah and me?" He smiled, changing the subject which was something he always did when I felt a little uncomfortable. He never let it linger, like he sensed that I was starting to edge off and take that step back so he would pull me back in with something else.

"I've already started on Noah's," I nodded to the covered canvas.

His jaw dropped and let out a faux offended scoff, "why him first?"

"Because he asked me that question first," I giggled.

"When?"

"About four days ago when he came in to look at my room," I answered and at that his smile drooped a little.

"Kids," I turned to Esme's voice and saw her standing at the door with a small smile and my guess is that all of them had been listening to the conversation. "We're all going to go out hunting. Do you two want to come."

"Sure," Emmett grinned.

"Yeah, just let me change," I nodded and pulled apart from Emmett, though felt my insides swirl as his hand slipped off my back. "I'll meet you downstairs." Both nodded and moved out the door as I headed back into my closet to change into a pair of trousers.

By ten minutes later we were spread out across the forest running to the north. We all spread out in a line that covered at least a mile and a half with Carlisle on one end then Me, Emmett, Edward, Noah, Rosalie and Esme, in the order. It was both strategic in the way of putting the two newborns in the middle, but also on either side of Edward in case they did catch something that they weren't supposed to and Edward could tell us and react. But I never expected that to happen, even when it did.

It started with a strong wind out of the west, and the smell of human blood moved through the air. "No!" I heard Edward shout, but I knew that if it was hard for me to kick out of the hunting mode after picking that up then it was going to be impossible for both Emmett and Noah with a single shout. Quickly, I veered to the right with Carlisle as Edward moved towards Emmett, with Rose and Esme going after Noah. This had happened once before with Esme, but she was easy to pull back with Carlisle just pulling her away. This, though, was going to be a little more difficult with not only two newborns, but with one extremely strong one.

With Edward and I being fastest of the family we reached Emmett first but Edward leapt. Immediately the predator whipped around and hit him hard in the chest, causing Edward to go flying back into the trees, almost knocking it down too. Rushing forward I tried to go around and get him from the side, but it appeared that in the meadow challenges he had picked up a few of my moves and as I leapt off the tree stump he wound around. "Emmett!" I shouted and evaded the grab, kicking his legs out from under him. I needed to throw him off the trail, so I did something that could be very dangerous this close, but I turned on the illusion. Instantly I had a flashback of Edward attacking when we first woke up as Emmett snarled at me then leapt and slamming me to the ground. "Stop!" I shouted, compelling him to do so. Flipping him over, I pinned a knee to his chest and trapped both his fists to the ground. "Tell me your name."

"Emmett McCarty," He answered in a dull voice.

"And who am I?" I looked in his eyes, taking the illusion off, bringing him back.

"Gen," He answered as his eyes went wide.

"Go get Noah," I spoke to Edward and Carlisle who were standing off to the side.

"Are you sure?" Carlisle asked and I slowly let up off Emmett's wrists, but he just stayed in the position.

"Yeah," I nodded and they both veered off to help Rosalie and Esme.

"I-I didn't mean…" Emmett started to stutter out.

"It's alright," I comforted and moved to sit on the ground beside him. "It's a natural thing."

"To attack Edward…" He gave a visible swallow and shook his head, "or you. That's not natural."

"But it is Emmett," I reached out and put a hand on his forearm. "We're predators, territorial, and competitive. It doesn't make sense for us to bond like a family." He looked over at me while still lying on the ground. "But by forming a conscience and value for human life we're able to hold onto that feeling that we had while humans. Though, we have fight for it, and that becomes harder when we're hunting. We allow the animal to come out, however as you get older you'll learn to rein it back in with your tolerance."

"Tolerance," He nodded as if drilling it into himself. "How did Carlisle do this alone?" He muttered in disbelief.

"I'm not sure," I laughed slightly. "But he's told me that when you become a vampire everything that you are increases. For instance, Esme; she was a caring and loving person when she was human and now she's even more so. I'm guessing that he must have been a very compassionate and self-controlled person when he was human." I paused as he rolled onto his side looked at me. "It also makes since for Edward, because he was always very good at reading people. He could always just look at me and know what I was thinking."

"What does that say about your power?" He teased and I let out a small giggle.

"Well, while Edward got my mother's gift of reading people I received my father's talent of convincing people of anything. I could negotiate the price of a dress down thirty dollars before they even knew what hit them," I smirked as he let out a laugh.

"What about the illusion?" he wondered and I bit my lip slightly.

"I've wondered about that too, but I'm guessing it's because I didn't want to die. I wished and prayed for it through the pain, until my heart stopped beating."

"So everything that you are is frozen and increased?" He asked in curiosity and I answered with a nod.

"Why?" I laughed slightly as he rolled onto his back again, thinking.

"So if you were to love someone?" He trailed off and I furrowed my brows and looked down to the ground as thoughts raced through my mind. I mean what if he had a love in his human life. He could just be flirtatious with me because he knows he can't go around her.

"Then that feeling would last forever; it's the same with a vampire; when we bond with our mates its forever with any diet that you might have. It's the only thing that can overcome that competitive need for blood and allow you to form that bond."

"Have you loved someone before?" He asked in his normal blunt nature that made me pull back slightly and if I could have blush I would have.

"Umm…" I paused under his stare. "No, I haven't."

"But surely you had dates," he raised an eyebrow.

"I had callers yes, and two proposals," I replied while looking to the ground. "But even with my fathers and mothers insistence I wasn't ready to marry, and didn't love them."

"Callers…and proposals," He said as if a little dumbfounded.

"Yes, Emmett," I nodded, seeing it as a way to show him that my version of dating is a bit different from his. "Men would leave a calling card and I would receive them in the parlor of my home with my mother sitting right there. That's my version of dating, and once when I was sixteen one of the sons of my father's business associates asked to marry me. That time my father declined, saying I was too young. But then the second was another associate's son that had been calling on me for a long time and he was leaving for the war. But, I was going through training to be a nurse and declined."

"Oh," He muttered and sat up so he was facing me. "So what would these callers do when they came over?"

"Well," I gave a small amused smile. "They would bring flowers, maybe something from their mother for mine, like a cake or tin of cookies. Then we would talk about the latest gossip, or if it was the beginning of the season and we were both just back from school we would talk of studies. My mother made me put on a show a lot of times to show my schooling by playing the piano, or painting."

"Hum," he nodded and then stood up and held out a hand to me.

"What?" I laughed slightly.

"Nothing, just thinking," he smiled and I narrowed my eyes at him for a few moments but took his hand and with a slight pull, yanked me into the air and on my feet. "Let's catch up to the others," He nodded and then just took off leaving me wondering.