AN: Happy late Thanksgiving, everyone! Sorry I disappeared for a while, but I wrote a normal sized chapter (for once) to make up for it!


The Cullens had been quite enjoying their stay in Hawaii. It had been three months since they had arrived, and the sun seemed to be doing some good for Delilah, who no longer looked like a child on the verge of death.

She was still very pale because her skin just didn't seem to want to tan (and even if it did want to, Rosalie, who rubbed gallons of sunscreen on the girl per day, had likely ensured that she would stay white for the rest of her life), but she was much more healthy and happy.

Her stomach no longer brought back up everything she ate, which came as a relief to Carlisle, who had grown extremely concerned that Delilah wasn't getting nearly enough nutrition.

His theory had been that this was the reason she didn't seem to grow much, but he had been proven wrong when she started to look healthier and still wouldn't grow. He guessed that there was no other explanation for her lack of development than to assume she had been premature as an infant.

Other than that, Delilah seemed to love Hawaii. She liked going shopping with Rosalie, Esme, and Alice, and she was bought a soft new scarf or sundress every time they went - Delilah liked things that were soft. She trailed after Rosalie in every store, running her hand along all the scarves and skirts and smiling when she found an extra soft one.

On the odd days when Emmett and Jasper could separate her from Rosalie's overprotective clutches, Delilah went fishing with them in the private little cove that had come with the beach house property when Rose and Emmett had first bought it in 1990.

Sometimes, she just stayed home with Carlisle while he did hospital paperwork, playing with her stuffed dog, which remained her all time favorite toy.

Even though they no longer lived in Alaska, Carlisle still worked for the hospital, doing all paperwork and research. Oftentimes when he was finished with his work, she sat on his lap in his big cushy red chair and he read to her. Carlisle loved reading to Delilah, because he knew she enjoyed it and he loved making her happy.

But she especially adored the little park Alice had taken her to the first week they'd been there. Delilah had made friends with the six children she'd met that day, and it didn't take long until she was playing with them every little girl loved having friends, and the children seemed well adjusted for how young they were. They never once said anything mean or insensitive to her about her tiny size or her pale coloring - in fact, it was like they hadn't even noticed that she was different from them.

When Delilah came to the park every day to play, they were almost always there waiting for her. And being friends with them, Delilah came to know a lot about them.

Kara was the oldest at eight, and she was by far Delilah's favorite; the two had become fast friends. Then there was Alana, who was seven and had silky black hair that hung down to her knees and often got in the way. Kyler, who was eight months younger than Alana, was extremely hyper all the time. He was a little rough, but polite and well mannered over all.

Azure was four, and she had slightly less tan colored skin than the rest of her siblings and very dark, lovely blue eyes. Ambra, who was three, was a sweet child, and seemed to idolize Delilah. She'd taken to trailing behind the older girl, much like Delilah followed Jasper around.

The younger boy of the siblings, Kai, was almost five, and he didn't seem to like Delilah very much; whenever his brother and sisters played with her, he sat off by himself and played in the sand. Alice, who was often the one who took Delilah to the park to play with them, chalked it up to the age; the boy probably could do without another girl to play with.

For the first few weeks that Delilah knew them, the children almost always came to the park by themselves, so Alice assumed that they lived not far from there, but on one especially bright day, a day when Alice had covered her skin extra carefully, the children's mother accompanied them to the park.

Mel, as the woman became known to Alice, was a short, slightly rounded young woman with a face lined with sincerity and warmth. She had dark, jungle green eyes and black hair that was very straight and very long, and her coffee skin seemed to shine golden in the sunlight.

Though she was very beautiful, she dressed humbly in a faded turquoise sundress and worn brown sandals. On her wrist she always wore a clumsily braided red bracelet that Alice guessed one of her children had made for her. Alice knew right away that Mel was someone trustworthy; she talked kindly to Delilah, even though the little girl was extremely shy at first.

Alice and Mel hit it off right away, and they spent a good two hours chatting to each other while the children played on the swings, little Kai sitting by himself and glancing up sulkily at his brother and sisters every once in a while.

After that first day, Mel came to the park many times with her children, and Alice and she became good friends; Delilah even visited their house a few times. But always, Kai sat off by himself and didn't play with the others.

"You know," Mel confided to Alice once, "sometimes I worry about him. He's not as social as the rest of them - always by himself."

It became known to Alice that almost all of Mel's children had been infants who she'd adopted - she was infertile, but had always wanted many children.

And Alice found that she understood completely.


One fine evening, after an afternoon of play at her friends' house, Alice decided it was time for her to take Delilah home to Rosalie, who was bound to have started pulling her hair out with worry, as she was prone to do when it came to Delilah.

"Come on, Sweetie," she called out to the little girl, saying goodbye to Mel. But Delilah did not seem to want to go home yet. She dragged her feet all the way to the car. Alice frowned, wondering what was wrong; usually she was a perfectly mannered little girl. Alice reasoned that she probably just didn't want to leave her friends.

"Want to go see Jasper?" she asked as a last resort when Delilah wouldn't get into the car. The girl hesitated for a moment before she reluctantly climbed in and got in her booster seat.

Alice was starting the car and getting ready to pull out into the road when she saw it.

She felt Delilah's eyes boring into the back of her head as she whipped out her cell phone and dialed Carlisle's number.

"What do they want?" she asked when he answered on the first ring.

"Edward says they are in alliance with the Volturi. They think we have an immortal child living with us."

Alice turned her head around to look at Delilah, whose face was eerily emotionless. "But she's not-"

"It doesn't matter; she's not a normal human, you and I both know that," Edward's voice came through the phone.

"They cannot meet her. They want to converse with all of us. Is there someplace where Delilah will be safe while they're here?"

Alice was unbuckling Delilah, who was still staring at her, her bright eyes wide. "Yes," she answered, hanging up and picking Delilah up.

She shut the door hurriedly and winced as it made a crunching noise. She held Delilah a little looser.

She found Mel in exactly the same spot in her backyard, her children still playing. The young woman spotted Alice and Delilah.

"Alice? What's wrong?"

"I was wondering if you could watch Delilah for a couple of hours, actually. I have an emergency I need to deal with and I can't take her with me." There, as close to the truth as she could get.

"Of course dear, no problem," Mel said. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes," Alice answered, lying through her teeth, which were exposed in a fake smile. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Mel reassured.

"Thank you so much," Alice gushed, grabbing the woman's hands.

She was careful not to hold on too long, lest Mel feel the coldness.


AN: So there it is! This isn't my best chapter, but things will get a little more exciting after this!

On a side note, I saw Breaking Dawn Part 1 last Sunday, and it was AWESOME! I absolutely loved it! You should go see it if you haven't yet! It was a little graphic though, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to take anyone younger than 12. But I was so happy with it, it was so action packed! :) Leave me a review and tell me if you've seen it yet!