Author's Note: I do not own Twilight. Twilight and all of the characters are the creation of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

-oOo-

Chapter 9

Esme's POV

I was sitting on the couch between Rosalie and Alice. They were trying to comfort me, but it wasn't really working. Nothing could shake me out of this. The only way I would go back to normal is if Alex came back, or if Jasper came into the room and changed all of our moods. I actually wish he would.

Alice looked at her watch, then set her hands on my shoulder. Edward then walked into the room, sat down in a chair, and turned on baseball.
"I hear baseball!" Emmett bellowed, running into the room. He dashed and flopped down in the recliner.

"No jumping in that chair," I said. "It is a good one."
"Sorry," he said quickly, not taking his eyes off of the Mariners game.
"Hey Esme," Alice said. "It's supposed to be cloudy today, so I was wondering if you would like to go to Seattle to do some shopping?"
"You know what Alice?" I said. "I think I would like that. Maybe I just need to get out for a little bit."
"Fantastic!" Alice shouted. "We will go out later! Besides, you need some new summer outfits!" She clapped and stood up, squealing. She glanced over at Edward and smiled.
"Carlisle is home," Edward said, standing up.
"I'll get the door," Alice said. She danced over to the door and opened it. She seemed to be in an especially good mood. Probably because she was going shopping. Anything related to clothes and shopping made Alice giddy.

"Hi Carlisle," she said, smiling.
"Hi Alice," he replied. He walked in but left the door open.
"Why are you leaving the front door open?" I asked.
"It is nice out," he said. I wished I could read minds like Edward so I could see what he was really thinking.
I heard Edward chuckle from across the room.
I decided to get my mind off of things by dusting the dining room table. Since we really didn't use it, dust accumulated. It was somewhat saddening that I spent most of my time dusting my home...
I suddenly felt hands on my shoulders. "Boo!"
I didn't hear anyone approaching me from behind, so it startled me. Probably because I was lost in my own thoughts...
I turned around and standing before me was... Alex.

I was in shock. Alex? I must be hallucinating.
"Hi Esme." She giggled. "Oops, I mean, mom."
My mouth fell open in surprise. Mom? I looked up at Carlisle. He smiled and nodded his head. We had... adopted her?
We adopted her. She was my daughter now. She was back here with me and
she never had to leave.
I was exploding with happiness. I reached down, engulfed her in a hug, and smoothed her hair.
"I am so glad you are back!" I practically shouted.
"This is why I was so happy!" Alice said, giggling.
"You knew?" I asked. "For how long?"
"When I..." she hesitated. She almost slipped that she saw it in his plans. But Alex was in the room and that would NOT fly. "He told me. That woman is really nasty, huh Carlisle?"
"Repulsive," he spat. "When I heard how she spoke to her, that really made my decision."
"Miss Grimweld?" Alex asked.
He nodded, walked over and put his hands on Alex's shoulders. "And I would never let my daughter be treated like that."
Alex turned around and gave him a huge hug. He gave her a kiss on the forehead.
It nearly made my heart burst to see my husband, my love, show so much compassion for Alex. My husband Carlisle and my daughter Alex. It had a sweet ring to it.
"Alright, Alex," Alice said, interrupting my thoughts. "We are going to have to work quickly to put all of your clothes away in your closet before we go shopping later!"
"We are going shopping?" she asked.
"Of course," Alice exclaimed.
"But you already bought me-"
Alice interrupted her. "Oh please stop worrying about that!" she said.
"Ok, let's get the suitcases out of the car," Alex said.
"Not before I give my sister a hug!" Rosalie yelled and swiped Alex up into a hug.
"Rosalie!" Alex said, laughing. "Put me down!"
Rosalie, still holding Alex, ran out the front door while Alice danced behind her.
"Be careful!" I yelled to them.
Then I turned to Carlisle and planted a kiss upon his lips.
"Thank you," I said, gazing into his eyes.
"You are most welcome," he replied. "When I saw how that woman treated her, I could not let her stay there. I knew it would make you happy, so I went for it."
"But what about the secret?" I whisper-asked.
"Let's not worry about that now," he said.
Alex, Alice, and Rosalie walked back into the house with the four suitcases.
"Alright," Alice began. "There needs to be an organized system in the closet..."
I felt bad for Alex, having to deal with Alice's clothing organizational system.
I wasn't going to make her suffer by herself.
"Wait for me!" I yelled, and bounded up the stairs.

-oOo-

Yay, happy day! All is well... for now.