A/N: Wow, that was a lot of reviews. LOL. Thank you so much and don't forget to do the same for this chapter. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: SM owns it all.
POVs: Alice, Bella, Edward
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Alice's POV
Oh, God. I knew the dirt and the mud was coming but this was too much! Look at that precious outfit…It's gone now! Ugh, boys. Must they corrupt angel Bella?
"Yes!" Edward shouted from the yard, and I realized that he wasn't shouting because he won but he was answering my unspoken question. I stuck my tongue out at him which I knew he could see all the way out there.
Then I had a vision-the agent would be here in thirty two minutes and forty three seconds. I had to get Bella all cleaned up. She had mud in her hair, for God's sakes!
"Stop!" I screeched.
They all froze in place and I marched over. "Come on, Alice, it's just dirt," Emmett said. Only Bella looked guilty for dirtying her clothes.
I bent to pick her up and cradled her against my chest. "It's not that," I glared at them, though I would love to give them a piece of my mind about this…Maybe I should get Bella jerseys for whenever the boys decide Bella should play with them. "The agent will be here in half an hour. I wanted to make sure Bella looks presentable."
I turned to leave then changed my mind. I stopped to face them again. "You guys should probably clean up, too," I looked at them up and down disapprovingly. All I got in return were three sheepish grins.
Rolling my eyes, I shifted Bella in my arms and marched back into the house. Having heard my explanation to the boys, Esme and Rosalie were straightening everything in sight, while Carlisle hovered over Esme awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
I climbed the stairs and went inside Bella's bathroom. I set her down on her feet and looked at her disapprovingly for a moment. As if knowing she was in trouble, her lips formed a pout and her eyes grew wide and pleading. I groaned. No wonder Edward gave in so easily. Who could resist this little angel?
I knelt down to eye level and said, "Now, Bella. You know what we said about someone important coming." She nodded her head, eyes lighting up now that she knew she wasn't in trouble. "We have to get you all cleaned up, okay? We want you to look nice and all."
I filled up the tub with water and those strawberry scented bath salts she was so fond of. When the bath was ready, I helped Bella out of her clothes-or the rags that resembled clothes a few hours before-and into the tub. She wanted to play with her bath toys again, but we had limited time, so I worked to clean every nook and cranny. I made sure all the dirt was out of her hair, behind her ears, on her nose…On her chin? My God. She was going to have to spend more time with us girls instead of the boys.
Finally, I wrapped a towel around her, draining the tub, and carried her out the bathroom door. I had twenty minutes left to pick Bella's outfit, dress her in it and do her hair. I sifted through her new clothes and found a pink dress. I slipped it over her head, making sure that all of her hair was bundled up in a towel so it wouldn't touch her dress.
Then I begun drying her hair, and putting sparkly clips in it-she seemed to like that.
"Alice, they'll be here in five minutes!" Edward called from downstairs.
"You don't need to tell me that!" I yelled back, annoyed.
I took Bella by the hand and led her out of the room-it was time to meet the agent.
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Edward's POV
The five minutes spent waiting for the representative the adoption agency was pure agony. Even though my vision had predicted that Bella would be staying with us, there was still anxiety. Anything could happen that would change the outcome.
Poor Jasper was desperately trying to calm everyone down. Bella became impatient after two minutes of waiting around and crawled across the couch to tug on my sleeve. "Can I have choco milk?" she whispered, probably not even realizing we could all hear her. We hadn't actually told her to what extent our abilities go. She didn't even know we had any special abilities.
I shook my head. "Not now, Bella. We're waiting for someone, remember?" She pouted her trembling lips at me, and I rolled my eyes, sighing. "Really, Bella, what am I going to do with you?"
"Gimme choco milk!" she demanded, pounding her small fist on my arm.
I reached around to grab her around her tiny waist and lifted her into the air. Bella squealed and wriggled around. I placed her on my lap, and smiled. "Please be good, Bella," I whispered, leaning down to kiss her hair. "Just for a few minutes, okay? Once the lady gets here, I promise I'll get you the milk."
Bella sighed, but nodded her head anyway. She leaned her head on my chest, and grabbed my shirt in her fist, crumpling it. Alice begun to protest-she'd picked out everyone's outfits for today, and didn't want them rumpled. I gave her a death glare and shook my head.
Alice folded her arms across her chest and pouted.
It didn't work for her as well as it did for Bella.
Figures he'd give in to Bella, she thought. I was about to ask her what it meant since she'd started reading Othello word for word in her head. But something stopped me-a car.
We all-with the exception of Bella-heard the engine of the car pulling up in the driveway. All of us stood up. I handed Bella over to Rosalie, because Bella was squirming for her. Rose smiled, and cradled Bella gently against her.
The doorbell rang and Carlisle walked over to open it. He smiled widely, and I heard a woman stuttering. "Uh…I…hi."
I smirked, and Emmett snorted. Esme glared at us to keep quiet but Emmett was still chortling to himself so Rose reached over to smack him on the head. He quiet down immediately.
"Hello," Carlisle said warmly. "Please, come in."
He stepped aside to let in a woman in a hideous purple suit and an even more hideous hat. I could hear the distaste in Alice's head, and fought to keep a straight face. It really wouldn't help our case if I started laughing at her.
Good God. It has feathers on it. FEATHERS. Is she blind or just challenged?
I could hear the others attempting to distract themselves from laughing, as well. It was especially hard for Jasper, who felt everyone's glee.
Then, out of nowhere, came my angel's sweet voice. "You have a funny hat."
Emmett had to excuse himself to the backyard. Jasper was gasping as if he was in pain. Rosalie hid her face behind Bella's back though I could see her shoulders shaking, and Alice clapped a hand to her mouth. Esme and Carlisle were the only ones with a semblance of control.
"Children," Esme chided.
Emmett came back into the room, a big grin on his face.
Carlisle shook his head. "I'm sorry. My children can be a little…"
Juvenile? The lady guessed in her mind. Though look at them-all beautiful…I wonder…
I narrowed my eyes at her. One minute into our meeting and I was already wishing she'd leave.
"Anyway," Carlisle continued, oblivious to what the woman was really thinking. He stuck a hand out to shake hers. "I'm Carlisle Cullen," he smiled.
The woman smiled back in what I supposed was intended to be coy manner. "Darla Nunen."
Carlisle shook her hand briefly and let it go. He walked over to Esme and wrapped his arm around her waist, smiling at her fondly. "This is my wife, Esme," he introduced.
Darla's eyes widened. He's taken? Oh, damn.
"My children, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper."
That's a lot of children…I wondered if this would be a good idea, to have Isabella Swan continue living with them.
"And of course, we have our angel, Bella here," Carlisle continued, smiling fondly at Bella. Bella giggled at being mentioned, and waved shyly at Darla.
Well, she is adorable…You can't blame the Cullens for wanting to keep her. "Well, I'd have to spend the day here, observing Bella interact with the family," she said briskly. "I'd have to ask questions every now and then, too. If you don't mind," she added as an after-thought.
Carlisle shook his head, but it was Esme who answered. "Oh, of course not. You're more than welcomed," she smiled sweetly.
No wonder he married her-she's practically an angel.
I hid my smile as Carlisle motioned for us to continue with our day. Bella squirmed again to get down and Rosalie allowed it. She ran over to me and tugged at my pant leg-the highest she could reach. "Edward," she pouted. "You promised."
I laughed, and took her hand, walking with her slowly towards the kitchen. I was aware of Darla following us-I suppose she had to keep an eye on Bella at all times. I got Bella to wait for me by the kitchen isle while I poured chocolate milk into her mug. She had gotten addicted to it, really.
Darla stepped right in front of Bella. Bella, being human, hadn't heard her, and was startled. To Darla's surprise, she screamed and ran to hide behind me.
"Uh…" Darla stuttered, alarmed.
I leveled her with a glare. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't scare Bella," I told her as politely as I could. "She had just gone through a very traumatic experience, as I'm sure you know."
Darla regained her composure and nodded her head, straightening up. "Of course. It was silly of me. I just haven't been properly introduced to Isabella."
"Bella," came the muffled response behind me.
I placed the mug on the kitchen isle and turned around to look at Bella. I squatted down to her level and looked her in the eyes. "Are you alright?" I asked.
Bella nodded her head, peeking at Darla under her lashes. "Is she mad at me?" she asked in a whisper.
I shook my head. Darla was surprised, but not mad. Of course, I could understand where Bella was coming from. Darla had a square jaw that always looked set, her eyes were cold, and she never smiled. She looked like a strict teacher more than anything.
"No, Bella, of course not. Who could get angry at you?" I teased, hoping to lighten the mood.
It worked-Bella started laughing. I picked her up in my arms and handed her the mug of chocolate milk, which she sipped at happily.
Darla narrowed her eyes at Bella and I, probably wondering about our relationship. I'd better start asking her simple questions. "Do you like it here, Is-Bella?" she asked.
Bella nodded her head, smiling. "I played football," she announced proudly.
That was completely random. "Oh, really? Who did you play with?"
"The boys," Bella replied. "The girls didn't wanna play because of the dirt…Alice wasn't very happy when I got dirt on my clothes. But it's okay cuz she only got mad at the boys."
Alright…On to the next question. "And you like hanging out with…" She glanced at me, already forgetting my name.
"Edward," I supplied correctly.
Bella nodded again enthusiastically. "He's my best friend," she informed a shocked Darla.
She cleared her throat and begun again, "And who do you like best? Edward?"
Bella scrunched her nose in concentration, then she said, "Mommy said it's not nice to diffewentate people because we're all not the same."
Darla raised an eyebrow and I chuckled.
"She's incredibly mature for her age," I explained.
Darla cracked the smallest smile at this. "Evidently."
Suddenly, Alice bounced into the kitchen, a wide grin on her face. "Let's go watch a movie, Bella," she said.
Bella smiled at me. "Can we?" she asked, batting her lashes at me.
I nodded my head, "If you wish."
We headed back to the living room where, thank Heavens, everyone was sitting. Jasper sensed my relief and chuckled quietly. I shot him a glare.
I sat down on the couch and made to settle Bella next to me, but Darla went to sit on her other side. Bella was still shy when it came to Darla-I wasn't sure if it was specifically her or if she was shy around strangers in general. She seemed to get along fine with everyone when we first met her, though.
So I settled her on my lap.
"What would you like to watch, Bella?" Esme asked, smiling.
Bella thought for a moment then leaned in to whisper directly into my ear, cupping a hand around her mouth so that no one could see it. Of course, other than Darla, everyone else could hear. "Could we watch Peter Pan? You said we could, when we went out that other day…" she reminded me.
Yes, I had yet to fulfill that promise.
Alice couldn't just pop in Peter Pan in the DVD without supposedly hearing Bella's answer, so I cleared my throat and said, "She wants to watch Peter Pan."
While Alice was retrieving the DVD from our massive collection, Darla turned to me and asked, "Is she always this close to you?"
I heard the disapproval in her voice, and wondered. Why on earth would she disapprove of Bella's attachment to me? I was the first person she saw when she woke up. After such a traumatic experience, it was only natural for her to latch on to me.
Our relationship went beyond that, though. I really did enjoy spending time with Bella, and it seemed she enjoyed being around me, too. She really was my best friend. Was that so odd?
I tuned in to Darla's thoughts. I've never seen anything like it. Normally, orphans aren't so outright about their new families. They're shy. But Bella seems to get along fine with them. That blonde girl was holding her just now and Bella seemed to like her. And now this Edward, and Alice…I'll have to make more observations. The way Bella acts around the Cullens-it's like she's known them her whole life instead of a few days.
I smirked to myself. Leave it to ice queen over there to turn this into something horrible. I nodded my head and answered her spoken question. "Yes. It's only been a few days, but our family feels like she's a part of it."
Darla nodded her head slowly, as if she was processing a very hard piece of information.
The movie started playing just when Darla started to ask another question. Bella shot her a disapproving look and said, "Shh. The movie's playing."
I stifled a snort and focused on the screen, trying hard not to read Darla's mind or sneak a peek at how she reacted to Bella's chiding.
Because it was one of her favorite stories, Bella got very excited throughout the movie. She actually screamed out the name 'Peter Pan' when he first showed up on the screen. And when Tinkerbell made an appearance, Bella turned to Alice and said, "That's you, Alice! You're Tink!"
We all burst out laughing at this, even Alice. Apparently, she had seen this coming and wasn't all too surprised by it. She found it adorable, nonetheless.
By the time the movie ended, Bella was worn out. She had woken up earlier today thanks to Emmett, and she had played football and even watched a movie. She was ready to take a nap.
I shifted her in my arms, while Alice turned off the TV so as not to wake Bella up. "I'm going to go put her in bed," I announce, just for Darla's sake.
Darla nodded her head.
Alice, Rose and Esme all came forward before I could stand up, and kissed Bella on the forehead. Bella shifted slightly but didn't wake up. In fact, she started snoring. I smiled, and stood up, heading for the stairs. When we reached her room, I gently laid her on the bed after peeling off the comforter. Once she was safely and comfortably tucked in, I kissed her lightly on the forehead and turned to go.
"Edward…"
I turned to face her, frowning. Had she woken up already? I'd really like it if she could nap for a few hours. It had been a tiring morning for her-Emmett deliberately came at her during our football game because she screamed bloody murder every time.
But she was still asleep. I smiled knowingly. Ah. She had started sleep talking again. And once more, her dreams were of me. I liked having a six year old human best friend.
"Kitty!"
Kitty? Oh, no. Her dreams of having a kitten…Maybe I really should talk to Esme and Rosalie about this. It would keep her company once we move out of Forks. I'd have to go to school during the day, together with Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle would have to go to work. The only one around to play with her was Esme, and even she wouldn't be able to drop everything to play with Bella all the time.
A kitten sounded like perfect company for her, if that was what she wanted. I'd have to talk with Esme for sure about this.
I went out of the door, keeping it ajar a fraction of an inch so it wasn't immersed in darkness, and made my way down the stairs.
"Is she sleeping?" Esme asked, knowing fully well that Bella was.
I nodded my hand, taking my place on the couch yet again.
Darla took a deep breath. It's time to interrogate the adoptive family then.
I rolled my eyes. She made it sound as if we were bad people, and she wanted to break us down so she could find the truth. Well, I couldn't exactly blame her. Some adoptive parents could be not what they seemed to be. But the idea of us hurting Bella was simply ridiculous.
"I just wanted to make sure that you can handle this, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," Darla began. "You already have five children-Bella is a child. She's going to need a lot of attention…"
Esme nodded her head and wrapped her hand around Carlisle's. "Yes, we're well aware of that. But see, my children are all grown up. Rose, Emmett and Jasper here are going to be juniors in high school. Edward and Alice are sophomores. Bella would have my undivided attention because I stay at home," she explained.
Darla nodded her head. "I can see that she has a very strong bond with your son, Edward," she nodded in my direction.
HA! Wait 'til she's older, lady-uh, I mean, burning up, burning up for you baby…
I shot Emmett a look, but I couldn't comment on his thoughts because of Darla. Wait until Bella was older? What did that mean? I would assume it meant that our friendship would steadily grow stronger throughout the years, but why would Emmett start singing that vile song out of nowhere? It just added to my suspicion that they were hiding something from me.
I sighed. After a century, they still had to hide things from me. Didn't they know that in the end, I'd just end up knowing it all? I was a mind reader, after all. Their attempts would be for nothing.
"How is she like with the rest of you? I haven't had a proper chance yet…I know she enjoys your company, but I would prefer to know how each of you perceive your relationship with Bella is," Darla said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
This is where my degree in psychology comes in, Darla was thinking.
"Well, I love her like a sister," Alice spoke up. "I'd love to take her shopping," she added as an after-thought.
I rolled my eyes. Somehow, I don't think Bella would be too excited about that.
Jasper shrugged. "We read together."
Darla's eyebrows drew together. "Read together?" she repeated slowly.
Jasper smirked at the memory of Bella reading. "Yeah. She's…Bella's just starting to learn how to read, so she's not very good. She came into the library, saw me reading and started to read to me. I've been helping her with that," he explained.
Darla nodded her head and shifted her gaze to Emmett. My God, he's huge. "And you?" she asked politely.
Emmett clapped his hands together and smiled. "She's adorable, the tyke. I tease her a lot, but she knows I'm joking. We played football this morning."
"Yes, she mentioned that," Darla murmured, almost to herself.
Rosalie smiled, though in her mind, she wasn't all that fond of Darla. "I love her. I think-I think my reactions to her are more maternal, like Esme. I really do think Bella would have a great time living with us. She's already a part of the family in our minds," she said through gritted teeth. She wanted more than anything to have Bella stay with us. I guessed, in her mind, she'd pitted Darla as an enemy, or a challenge.
Esme and Carlisle exchanged a look, smiling at each other, before turning back to face Darla. Their hands were still interlocked. "Well, we're the parents, so we feel very blessed to have Bella around. These past few days have been very interesting, to say the least. Bella's been…A miracle to us, I suppose."
Darla stared at her, uncomprehending. "I can't have children," Esme said sadly. "We adopted all of ours."
I knew that. They sent me the file yesterday. Carlisle and Esme Cullen, adopted five children. Rosalie and Jasper Hale-twins. Edward and Alice, siblings. And Emmett. Well…their record has been amazing so far. Judging by their affections for Bella, and her reaction to them, I'd say this is the perfect family for her. I'll just stay for a few more hours, see her when she wakes up, talk to her a little, see her interact with the others…
I smiled slightly at the others to show them that we were going to be alright. Alice was right, once again. Bella was staying.
I have never been so happy in my life.
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Bella's POV
I started awake when I heard a knock. I blinked and looked around my room. Where had the noise come from? Why was I in my room? The last I remembered, Peter was saying goodbye to Wendy…I really wished she would have stayed in Neverland. It's what I would have done. Stay with your best friend and never grow up. What could be better than that?
"Bella, can we come in?" I heard Esme's voice.
I smiled, sitting up in bed. I missed Esme. I hadn't played with her today. "'kay," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes sleepily.
Esme pushed open the door and the entire Cullen family poured in. I saw Darla at the door, watching us.
Rosalie climbed in next to me on the bed, and sat next to me. She wrapped an arm around my waist and I leaned into her, smiling. I reached up to tug on her blonde locks. It never ceased to amaze me how pretty Rose looked.
"Did you get enough sleep, angel?" Emmett asked.
I nodded my head, then thought. "Can I have chicken fingers?" I asked Esme sweetly. "I'm a little hungry."
Chicken fingers were one of the things Rosalie said I could eat-she was obsessed with wanting me to eat healthy. I really hoped she wouldn't force me to eat vegetables, though. I hated lettuce. And tomatoes. And broccoli…
"Alright, I'll make it for you in a little while," Esme replied gently. "But first, can you talk to Darla for a bit? She's been waiting for you to wake up."
I looked towards the door, where Darla was waiting. I gestured for her to come in. "Do you wanna see my room?" I asked her. I really loved my room. Esme and Alice had decorated it. It was blue the whole way. It was one of my favorite colors, and I knew Edward liked it.
Darla stepped in hesitantly and smiled at me. "Do you like it?" I asked. "Esme and Alice made it."
Darla nodded her head as she looked around. "It's a very nice room, Bella," she said, sounding almost surprised.
Well, it wasn't just 'nice', it was great. I climbed out of bed, and ran over to Darla. I grabbed her hand and tugged her to the bookshelves Esme had built for me. "Look! Esme made it, and Jasper got me the books!" I showed it to her. I grabbed the Cat in the Hat and shoved it in her hands. "I was trying to read that but Jasper laughed because I messeded it all up, so I stopped. But I read another book, so it's okay," I assured her before she got upset.
Darla smiled at me. "That's nice, too, Bella."
I frowned. Why was everything 'nice' to her? And why was she smiling when she didn't mean it? I didn't like it when people do that-they weren't being very honest. Esme told me you had to be honest. She told me.
"Bella," Carlisle called. I turned to look at him. "Darla wanted to talk to you, remember?" I nodded my head, blushing. "Come sit here," he pointed at the small armchair Alice had gotten for me. It was in the middle of the room, where all my toys were. I padded over to the rug and sat in the arm chair. I imagined Emmett sitting in this chair, meant for me, and crushing it under his weight. I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.
Darla came to sit on the floor in front of me and smiled again. "So, Bella, I talked to your family. They love you very much," she said.
My eyes lit up, and I was pretty sure my cheeks were red. "My-my family?" I asked. Darla nodded. "I get to stay?" I shrieked, jumping up to hug Esme around the legs. They all laughed at this, and Esme bent to swing me up in her arms. She planted kisses all over my face which tickled because her lips were so cold.
I wrapped my arms around her neck in a chokehold nonetheless, and smiled at Edward behind Esme's shoulder.
"Bella?" Darla asked from behind me. I turned a little to look at her and flashed her a wide smile. "Are you happy that you get to stay?"
I nodded my head emphatically. "Yes. It's Neverland," I giggled. I knew Darla wouldn't understand because she didn't know.
But the others did, and they broke out into laughter.
I was happy that I get to stay with them. They were my family now. I get to play with Jasper, Emmett and Edward, I get to play with Rose and Alice. I get to read bedtime stories with Esme, and I get to follow Carlisle around the house.
And best of all, I get to be with my best friend, Edward.
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Okay, bear in mind that I have no idea how an adoption is supposed to happen, let alone in this case-I highly doubt it's very common for a family to bring a child back from a hospital and all before the adoption. But it's a story, so go with me on this.
And now that we have this whole adoption thing out of the way-phew!-it's time for our little six year old Bella to become a seven year old. Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, the next chapter will be Bella's birthday. I can't wait to see the presents Bella will get. I think the Cullens will overdo it and it would become something very akin to Christmas, don't you think??
LOL. So thank you for reading, and the reviews were amazing. A little update on the polls:
32 of you voted for the Cullens to go to Denali straight away then London when Bella's 13, 36 of you voted they go to London first then Denali. 18 of you wanted Edward to find out when she's 7-9, and 27 wanted him to find out at 13-15. 2 suggested that he finds out about the first vision when she's 7-9 and the second vision when she's 13-15.
Agree or disagree? Vote if you want. There's still time. Bella and the Cullens will be leaving for their next destination in chapter 10, right after her birthday, so one two chapters left.
Review and tell me what you think.
