A/N: Aww, my face has healed!! Yay!! So, Supernatural has started up again, that was a killer season premier, dontcha think?? Ugh. I love that show and those Winchester Boys…they're sooo sexy. Anyway. Claire is just too impatient not to try and get answers. You know how she is.

I sat and thought the other day how it seems strange

That we could walk through life so blind

And how a lot of people never change.

I'm not trying to say I have the answer

All I know for sure is that we weren't put here

To serve ourselves, that's so selfish

To think that we're put on this earth just for pleasure

I know that there's much more than that.

But I won't tell you what it is; it's up to you

To decide for yourself what is wrong and what is right

And know that we all make mistakes, there's always time

To turn your life around and change

All the wrong decisions that you've made.

AtarisAnswer


Days turned to weeks and I was getting anxious. It had been two weeks after the incident with the one who had tracked me and I was on edge more and more each day. Questions were ready to pour out my ears and I wanted so badly just to punch something over and over again. There was nothing someone like me could punch and not break though. Tough luck for me, huh?

I was sitting in English with Caleb as I always did, bored out of my mind by how horrible things were right now.

"I'm asking Carlisle tonight. I can't take it anymore. He has to know something," I said to Caleb as I pretended to take notes but was actually only doodling on my notebook. Once again, a pair of angel wings. On the other side of the paper, I had curiously drawn a pentacle. Caleb stared at it, his expression more confused than anything.

"Where have you seen that symbol before?" he asked me, his index finger stabbing at the lined notebook paper. I shrugged. I didn't remember ever seeing anything that would have brought it to mind recently, but it seemed like it was engraved in my memory somehow, like some far off dream I should remember but I didn't. Caleb seemed to let it go for the rest of class. Lunch, as it seemed for everyone, was too short. It was the last time I would see Caleb until the end of the day. I sighed and left for my afternoon classes, looking as bored as usual. When the day finally drew to a close, he and I got into his little car that he loved way too much and he drove…the speed limit…to the Cullen abode.

"Is Carlisle home?" I called as I walked in.

"Office," I heard Alice say from upstairs. I nodded and tossed my backpack onto the ground and Caleb did the same though he more set his down than threw it carelessly like I did. I held his hand as we walked up to Carlisle's study. I knocked on the door, rather warily.

"Come in," came my grandfather's even voice from the other side. I turned the knob and walked inside.

"Claire. I thought it was you. What's wrong?" he asked, smiling like he always tended to do at me. I was his only grandchild and therefore his topmost concern sometimes.

"I was…wondering why I'm so different from the rest of the family," I said warily. Caleb was about to let go of my hand so he could leave Carlisle and I to talk about this alone, but I grasped it even tighter, not wanting my pillar of protection to leave me.

"Different? Haven't we already discussed this? Claire when you were changed there was a parasite living on each of your red blood cells. That's what gave you your extra power," he said simply.

"No, I mean the other stuff. Why are my eyes blue and why do…why do I still have a heartbeat? Carlisle, what's wrong with me? Why do I smell different and why can I blush and stuff? Why am I different from everyone else? Why am I closer to being human?"

"I have waited for you to ask these questions for years. Go ahead and sit down, Claire," he said, indicating two chairs situated beside the bookcases across from his desk. Caleb and I did as we were told and waited.

"Those same creatures living in your blood are also alive. They are the reason you can run faster than most of us, your blood gets to parts of your body faster and you are almost like a newborn. When you were changed, the venom was fought by the parasites like it was a disease. If you die, so do your little friends. They fought the venom until the venom gave up and they worked together to purge your body of all weaknesses. Your skin is hard as marble to protect your insides, which still operate should you need them. They had to keep the heart beating to supply oxygen to your blood for those parasites. You don't know it but you do have to breathe every once in a while. You don't need to breathe anywhere near as much as a human. I think you could probably go about three days without air and still be fine. Also…I have a belief that your reproductive organs would still work should the opportunity arise for the creation of more of the parasites. Though you will not show sings that you have a working system, you, if I am correct, will be able to get pregnant and have a child, I think."

Everything he had just said had confirmed my worst suspicions about so many things that I felt like my head would explode. I blinked about five times in a row and then bit my bottom lip.

"So…I am stronger and faster because I'm like a newborn…I am living off my own blood but…it gets put back into me?" I asked in slight confusion.

"I think. When we took a sample of your blood right before you were changed, I ran some tests on it. It wasn't everyday we found someone as unique as you. I put samples of your blood into different situations. One of the ones which made me research you far more than I had ever intended was the case in which I put a sample of vampire venom into the blood. At first your blood…glowed and the venom, which is normally colorless, became black and then faded back to it's normal color along with your blood. When I analyzed the blood, it had venom, the strange parasites, and your blood still in there. I was amazed, to say the least. Never had I come upon something like this before and I felt like you didn't need to know. Claire, you're the missing link in our kind. Your parasite has made you stay human but be immortal. Should you eat human food, you will digest it like a person. Should you swallow poison, the parasites would kill the toxins in it. You're an astounding girl, Claire, more than I would have ever expected to find in the world. My only question for you is where you think you might have picked up your parasites."

I blinked again. They had run tests on my blood? They had treated me like a guinea pig indirectly? Why wasn't I angry? I could have children and a family. Rosalie obviously didn't know about that…or maybe she was just happy that she would be a great aunt looking as amazing as she would. But…that was another reason the Volturi were after me. I realized it then. They wanted my power and they wanted me as a test subject.

"I told you…I don't remember anything. For all I know I could have been born with them," I said, shrugging indifferently.

"More than likely you were. But we want to trace them back. I want to figure out exactly what these things are. They're too small, though, to analyze in any way where I would be able to run tests on just the parasite. I can barely see them in a microscope."

"What do they look like?" I asked, cringing. I was a little freaked out since we were talking about something that was inside of me.

"More or less like the little ghosts in Pac-Man. Though, they seem to have a very thick cell membrane and I cannot see their insides. They clasp onto the blood cells with their little grooves on the bottom. They fit into the blood cell like a key into a lock. They don't have the eyes though, and they're pure white."

"So…you have no idea where they came from?" I asked, pursing my lips. If these things were the roots of my anomalies I wanted to know where they came from. It was aggravating that I was a freak among a group of vampires. How much more hopeless can that life be? I sighed and stood.

"So…if it is possible for me to have children…will they grow up? Will they be born…vampires?" I asked, the question popping into my head like a ticking time bomb.

"I'm not exactly sure. It would be interesting to find out. You won't age. You are at the perfect age for the human body. Strong, filled with wonderful hormones, young, beautiful. That is why you will not age. If I had to guess, I would say your children would grow to be whatever their strongest point is. Basically these parasites make the human body a war machine. It makes you the strongest possible thing you can be when combined with vampire venom." Caleb was next to me, clasping my hand tightly in his. I knew he understood why I felt so out of place and so…weird. We left after thanking Carlisle and talking about the hunting trip we would need to take this weekend for both Jasper and myself. I hadn't been hunting in around a month; Jasper's normal two weeks was drawing to a close.

Caleb and I walked slowly back to my room and I stood, backed up against the bed as he walked to me and kissed me quite passionately.

"What was that for?" I asked when he pulled away. I was biting my bottom lip like some love struck teenage girl. Oh…wait. I was one.

"I didn't get one today," he said, pressing closer to me. I smiled as his lips found my neck and I backed up, now sitting on the extreme edge of the bed, in that posture somewhere between sitting and standing. He took the opportunity to be closer to me and I spread my legs, him standing between them as I leaned back on my hands and he leaned forward. I grinned and then directed his lips to mine as we kissed for a few moments until both of us were far too out of breath for our own good. I smiled at him and he jumped up on the bed next to me and slumped against my pillows comfortably.

"You think if you tried hard enough you could fall asleep?" he asked me curiously.

"I donno," I said, shrugging.

"And now you have a pretty good chance of being able to have kids. Isn't that worth something to you?" he asked hopefully.

"I never liked babies much," I said, smiling at him. He propped my pillows up and sat up against them as I crawled towards him and laid with my head against his chest, my body in between his legs. He was a very comfortable pillow. I sighed and played with a string hanging off of my sleeve.

"Claire, treat this like a blessing like Carlisle told you you should. Don't be bummed about it," he said, playing with my hair.

"How can I not be? I was a freak just by being a vampire and now I'm a freak among them too. Where in the world do I belong?"

"In my arms, with me," he said softly, grabbing my hands in a restraining grip and kissing my fingertips.

"Aww, you're sweet," Claire said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You're cynical," he said, pinching my cheek and laughing.

"You know me all too well, dear," I said, turning over so that my chin rested on his stomach. He smiled at me and leaned forward, kissing the top of my head. I groaned and rolled to my side, my eyes closing.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his hands instantly grasping my shoulders in defense of some unseen attacker.

"So thirsty," I admitted with a sigh. He shook his head and sat me up before kissing the tip of my nose. I crinkled it and smiled at him cutely.

"Then let's go get you a mid-month snack," he said with a grin.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked, pursing my lips.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Because, when you guys are in your wolfy forms you don't govern your bodies with your minds. And when my kind hunts we're the same way. We could kill each other," I said, nodding my head fervently. He sighed.

"Claire, you're better than your kind. I think you can handle it," he said, leaning down so that he was whispering in my ear. I shivered, smiling.

"I'm not that hungry," I said, trying to object. Mainly I didn't want him to get himself killed. It wasn't a concern for mankind or myself at all. I was worried about him.

"Yes you are, your eyes are violet. I like them better when they're bright and pretty blue like normal," he said, brushing my hair away from my face. I sighed, admitting defeat. He smiled and moved out from under me, holding out his hand as he slid off the bed. I took his hand and followed. Walking down the stairs, I refused to talk to him, mainly out of spite that he would do this to me, but by the time we got out the back door, I was okay again. I took off running instantly, letting go of his hand to follow my scent. I had no idea where I wanted to go, but where I ended up was perfect. The smell of wildflowers invaded my nose, their presence intoxicating. I flopped down in the cool grass of the meadow. I inhaled slowly and exhaled just at the same pace. I smile creased my lips as I heard footsteps nearby. I rolled on my stomach to stare at Caleb walking towards me. He smiled and held out his hand, pulling me to my feet. I smiled and leaped into his arms, smiling.

"Aww, how touching," came a voice from behind me. I released Caleb and pushed his body away from me as I spun on my heels to see Blake, the vampire who had tracked me at the school, the one who wanted to kidnap me or get rid of me. I bit my lip in anxiety. I had no one here to help me except for Caleb, and I didn't want him anywhere near a place where he could get hurt.


A/N: Yes, I know there was a delay. But frankly, if you wanna be mean about it, then shove it. I've had four hour rehearsals every day after school, and a ton of homework so I have had virtually no writing time. To those who have waited patiently, thank you so much. Comments would be loved since it's been so long. And,. Yes, I know this is a rather short chapter.