Alice and Rosalie were waiting for their parents in the living room when they finally arrived home. Esme engulfed both of them in a hug.

"Everything is going according to plan, Esme," squealed Alice. Esme merely grinned in delight.

"What brought you girls out here?" queried Carlisle, "is everything alright at home?"

"Everything is fine, Carlisle," said Rosalie, "we were just concerned for our baby sister, and wanted to be here for her."

"And because you need to tell her about us Carlisle," interjected Alice, "She already suspects but she needs confirmation. It's the third option she needs to be aware of. We don't want her to think that we are forcing her to become one of us, but it is important for her to understand everything."

Carlisle nodded in assent. "We'll tell her tomorrow then."

"I feel sorry for her – she was so surprised that we want her to join our family," said Rose sadly.

"How do you feel about her becoming one of us, Rose?" asked Esme gently.

"She is sick, Esme. I will not hold it against her should she choose to become immortal. She deserves to be a part of a family."

"She won't have children, Esme," stated Alice quietly.

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't. The doctor is right, she isn't going to see this Christmas."

"When?"

"I can't be sure, but it looks like September or October, or thereabouts. She will choose not to go the transplant route; at least that is her current decision. I can tell you that she was brought out here; I can see you both with her when it happens," Alice paused, uncertain whether she ought to continue.

"Just tell me, Alice," Esme demanded. Carlisle reached for her hand.

"The rest of us are outside the room. Jacob has Nessie back here because Amelia wouldn't want to upset her. She would have preferred to die at home, but doesn't want to put you through the trauma of encountering her empty bedroom that she died in everyday for eternity. Her kidneys have given up, and at her request, Carlisle signs off the paperwork to withdraw all treatment. She's in and out of consciousness for two or three days, before you tell her that she can let go. She is going to suffer immensely, it will be a relief when she finally goes," concluded Alice, unshed tears brimming in her golden eyes.

Carlisle did his best to calm the three women standing before him. Esme dry sobbed in his arms, fearful of losing her new daughter, Rose and Alice hugged each other tightly, both suddenly aware of just how unwell their baby sister was.


The next morning saw the four Cullens standing outside the ICU. Sam saw them and greeted them, before ducking into the ICU to check on Mia before she left. A few minutes later, she walked out, smiling at their enthusiasm.

"Mia had a good night, no disturbances. They will move her back to her old room this afternoon. She is awake and looking forward to seeing you all. I take it you girls must be Alice and Rosalie? She was chatting away nineteen to the dozen about her new family, and how her new sisters had come to see her. I've never seen her so animated before. She has just had physio so is a bit chesty but otherwise she is on the road to recovery." A terrible, hacking cough emphasised her words. It was too soft for Sam to hear, or so they thought, but the Cullens heard it loud and clear.

"When can we see her?" queried Esme, who looked ready to run in to the ICU at the nearest available opportunity. Laughing quietly, Sam punched in her code and opened up the doors to the ICU.

"In you go."

Esme half ran inside, Alice hot on her heals.

"Thank you, Samantha," said Carlisle, smiling tenderly at his daughter's dedicated nurse. Rosalie echoed his sentiments.

"Anytime, Dr Cullen. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and hunt."

"Hunt?" queried Carlisle. Rosalie's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"You have a pretty large coven, Dr Cullen. I didn't believe it at first. I heard about the Volturi showdown, that was your coven right?"

"Uh huh. You're an animal drinker as well then?"

"Yes I am. My gift is to disguise myself as a human, which is why you did not pick it up. We can chat about this another time - your youngest daughter wants to see you right now."

With a nod, Carlisle and Rosalie walked into the ICU to where Amelia was. Esme was trying to coax her into eating some breakfast with little success. Alice glanced at Carlisle and grinned at him – she had heard the exchange between Sam and her father and knew that it was coming. Rosalie snickered, Alice had told her on the way to Rochester. Esme frowned, she had been so busy chatting to Amelia that she had missed the exchange. Amelia chased Carlisle away – he had missed out on the day's activities at the conference yesterday because of her, and she was not having him miss another day. Esme, Alice and Rose left soon after – the ICU was stricter than a general ward and exceptions had been made for Amelia because she had never had visitors before, but she needed some rest. They left with the promise of visiting later.

"Can you believe that Sam is one of us?" Rosalie began the conversation to clue Esme in as to what had happened. Esme glanced at her in confusion as she drove them home.

"She's a vampire, Es," stated Alice.

"What?!"

"Uh huh. Her gift is the ability to disguise herself as human. She's an animal drinker as well."

"Wow." Esme was rendered speechless.


Later that morning, Esme, Alice and Rosalie drove to one of the bigger shopping malls in Rochester. Alice wanted to get some things for Amelia. She zoomed into a toy shop, and emerged a few minutes later with a giant Winnie the Pooh plush toy.

"I want to get her some clothes," she whined.

"Rather do a clothes shop with her present, Alice," chided Esme softly.

"She'll love this hoodie," replied Alice, dragging them into a clothing store.

"I rate we get her some books," said Rosalie about two hours later.

"Excellent idea!" exclaimed Alice, charging off to the nearest bookstore and grabbing some books, "she hasn't got these ones, and will love them."

Esme spied some jigsaw puzzles and walked over to them. Selecting one, she walked back to where Alice was standing.

"You'd better get Nessie something, Esme. There's a curio shop over there, you know how she loves keyrings and other little odds and ends," she directed.


Soon enough, they were done and heading back to the car with their purchases. Amelia now owned a backpack, a new suitcase, two new hoodies and a Winnie the Pooh plush toy, along with some new books and a new puzzle. Nessie had a few presents as well, and the trio had also bought some clothes for themselves. They stopped off at home and deposited some of their items, before driving back to the hospital. It was shortly after lunch when they arrived. They went up to Amelia's usual room – Carlisle had texted Esme telling her that Amelia had been transferred out of ICU.

When they arrived, Amelia was napping in her room, breathing a little easier than before. She had fallen asleep while writing something down. Esme went to tuck her in properly and moved her notepad away. Amelia stirred, her eyes snapping open and locking with Esme's.

"Hey sweetheart," Esme cooed. Amelia blinked and stretched.

"Hey Esme," Amelia responded, yawning widely.

"You're awake!" cheered Alice and Rosalie. Amelia grinned and swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly slid out of bed until she could stand up. Gripping the edge of the bed, she took a hesitant step forward. Esme grabbed her hand and helped her remain upright.

"Can I get you something?" queried Alice.

"I would like some tea, so while I am making it, would anyone else like something to drink?" asked Amelia.

"We'll take care of it," promised Alice and Rosalie as they left the room armed with Amelia's chipped cup and empty glass of water.

"Are you ok?" questioned Esme.

"Yes thank you," she smiled, "but I just want to stretch my legs a bit and visit the loo." She did just that, then Esme and her took a short walk to the end of the ward and back. Alice and Rosalie were back with a cup of tea, a glass of water and a rusk. Expressing her thanks, Amelia climbed onto her bed and sat cross-legged, dunking her rusk in tea and munching it thoughtfully. Esme sat in the chair in the corner, Alice had taken up residence on the rocking chair, and Rosalie was sitting on Amelia's bed, feet dangling over the side.

"We got you a few things," said Rose, handing Amelia a few bags.

"More stuff? Ah you guys really shouldn't have, but thank you!" Amelia eagerly opened up the bags. The plush toy was a big hit, as were the hoodies and books.

"I love puzzles!" she exclaimed when she saw the puzzle, "perhaps we can do it tomorrow?"

"I'd love that," said Alice and Rosalie simultaneously. Esme had one last gift up her sleeve – a new dressing gown to replace Amelia's threadbare little one. It was soft and maroon in colour. Esme had also taken the liberty of washing it for her so that it didn't smell funny like new clothing sometimes does.

"It's so soft! How lovely! Thank you ever so much, Esme!"

Just then it was time for afternoon physiotherapy. The trio remained with Amelia so that they could learn how to do it themselves so that she could still have her physio when she came to live with them. It was taxing on Amelia but it was a part of her daily life and she was used to it by now. 45 minutes later, Esme bundled a sweating and shaking teenager into the bathtub.

"You have dried blood in your hair from yesterday morning so I'm going to wash it out for you, ok?" Amelia nodded tiredly, her breathing agonising. Her chest still ached from the events of the previous day and drawing in breath was painful and hard work, especially after physio. Esme washed her hair at vampire speed, then wrapped her hair up in a towel and left her to soak for a little while.

Amelia must have dozed off, because the next thing she was aware of was being pulled from the cool water and dried off quickly, before being bundled into thick pyjamas. Rosalie ran a comb through Amelia's hair and Alice dried it off for her. Esme picked her up and tucked her into bed, and she slept for another couple of hours.