A/N: sorry it has taken me so long to update but here is a new chapter and it is the longest so far. i do not have a beta so i apologise for any mistakes in spelling and or grammer. please dont flame me. and also if anyone would like to beta for me i would greatly appriciate it.
thanks again,
Anna
Anna sat in stunned silence as she looked at Esme. "I don't know what to say." She said and she didn't. Even though her feelings were telling her that she could trust these people she still had just barely met them and they had just barely met her and her children. Anna would protect her children with everything that she had and while these people were 'monsters' like the other three had been, (like I am now) she silently added, they were also different. She could feel their kindness and actual want to help her and her children, could feel the maternal and paternal air that Esme and Carlisle gave off, just like her own. Could feel love and familial devotion that they all had for one another. It was not easy to gain Anna's trust as she had been hurt many times in the past but she also prided herself for having good instincts and at the moment everything within her was telling her that she could trust these people.
Anna looked from Esme to Carlisle then back again. "I appreciate that but I have nothing to pay you with. I have a little bit in savings but I do not know how to get it now that…well I don't know how to get it and I know that it would not be enough and I could not stay here without giving you something in return, I just could not do it." She said, turning to Carlisle as she finished her statement. "I could never even begin to repay you for all that you have already done for us."
Anna turned to look at her sleeping children when all of a sudden there was laughter from the corner of the room. Turning her head sharply Anna could see that it was Emmett that was laughing and she frowned not understanding why he was doing such a thing. Putting her head down Anna felt guilty and upset as if what they had asked her was nothing more than a joke, a joke on her and as she began thinking that these where not the people she thought they were Anna heard several growls coming from the others in the room.
Jasper was the first to realize, though he knew what his 'bone headed' brother was getting at while laughing; he knew what Anna was feeling as he did so. He could feel her guilt, sadness and a little anger coming from her that told him that she thought that they had just played a joke on her with the offer that was sincere and heartfelt from all of them.
While the rest of the family, growls heard from them all and the resounding smack that was from Rosalie over the back of Emmett's head it was Jasper who was in front of Anna in an instant.
"It is not what you think Anna. Please, what my family has said to you is the truth." Turning to Emmett Jasper gave a glare before turning back to Anna. "What Emmett meant, though tactless he may be, was that you owe us nothing. Indeed we have more than enough to help you and your children." He said in all seriousness. Though as he laid a comforting hand on Anna's knee he took a deep breath, trying to get his own emotions under control for he usually was very calm and controlled himself, but as he took a deep breath, the scent of the children, who were right next to him filled his nose. Not once had he been so close to the children as he was now and every muscle in his body stiffened up immediately.
Anna looked at Jasper and then at the rest of the family that was before her as she took in his words. Looking at Emmett last and seeing a sheepish look but a firm nod indicating that what he really meant was exactly what Jasper had said she finally looked back to Jasper who was still kneeling in front of her. Placing her hand on his she was about to speak when she noticed that he had taken a deep breath and then watched as his whole body stiffened and his eyes went entirely black.
Then, without looking though she could feel it, the rest of the family stiffened as well. Anna new, without knowing how she knew, she grabbed both of Jasper's arms and closed her eyes.
Alice had the vision but it was just a moment before it happened. Seeing everyone tense as they watched Jasper take in a deep breath they knew that they would not be in time to stop what they all knew was about to happen. Even though they were only a few feet away, with how fast vampires moved they would not be able to grab Jasper in time before he would be on the children.
It had all happened so fast, one moment Alice had gotten her vision and the whole family knew what was going to happen and the next they all watched in awe as Anna grabbed a hold of Jasper with both of her arms and closed her eyes. Within just a second all of Jasper's body lost its tension and began to relax.
Closing her eyes, Anna knew that she had to do something. For some reason she just knew what Jasper was going to do, he was going to attack her children. Just before she closed her eyes she had seen him look over immediately to them while they slept on the bed next to her. She did not know how she knew this or know what exactly was going on, nor did she know that she knew that this was not the 'real' Jasper. She knew that he did not want to do what was going through his mind at that very moment. So when she had grabbed him with the only thought in her mind that she did not want him to smell her children, that she did not want him to be able to smell human blood.
Anna found that as soon as she thought this that Jasper seemed to calm down and she could feel his muscles under her hands begin to relax. Slowly opening her eyes she looked at Jaspers face and could see the color come back to his eyes, watched as they turned from black to the golden brown that they had been just moments before.
Slowly letting out the breath that she had been holding, though not realizing that she had done so in the first place, Anna let go of Jaspers arms and brought her hands back to her lap. "Are you feeling better now?" She asked looking a bit wearily at the vampire sitting in front of her.
"Yes" Jasper answered though he had a confused look on his face.
Jasper did not know what happened. First he was trying to calm the woman in front of him down and to reassure her and the next he had taken a deep breath to calm himself down and he had smelled the most delicious scent that was right next to him. He had smelled the children before but he had not been this close to them and in just an instant he could feel the monster in him telling him to just take it, that it would be so wonderful and all for him.
The next thing he knew was he felt pressure on his arms and before he could throw it off and lunge at the children he felt a tingling in his nose and then the smell was gone. Just like that, he did not smell the human blood so close to him and he did not crave what he did smell.
Taking in another deep breath Jasper found that he could still smell Anna's children, their unique scent, but not their blood. He heard Anna ask him if he was alright and he had said yes to her but he was still confused. He did not know what had just happened.
Looking up to Anna once more he asked the one question that he knew was on the minds of his entire family. "What just happened? What did you do?" He was not mad or upset; he was just very confused and curious.
"I don't know." Anna said looking a bit confused herself. "One minute I watched you take a deep breath and stiffen up, watched your eyes change color and for some reason I knew why and what you were about to do. I could not let you or anyone hurt my children though I sensed that you did not really want to hurt them so I grabbed you and I just thought….."
As Anna tried to explain what had just happened she stopped. She did not know how to put into words what had happened, she did not understand it herself but what other explanation could there be then she had a thought of Jasper not smelling human blood and all of a sudden he relaxed as if he did not smell the blood of her children anymore.
Anna looked up when she heard the voice of Carlisle. "It is alright Anna; just explain what you can, what you were thinking at the time." He said as if he seemed to sense what she was thinking and the dilemma she seemed to be having.
Closing her eyes for a moment she thought about how to put it into words before she opened her eyes once more and began to tell everyone that was in the room what she thought happened. "I don't really know" she said "One moment I was realizing what was happening and the next I had grabbed Jasper and thought , well I am not really sure, just that I wished that he could not smell human blood. That the blood of my children would not affect him, and then he seemed to calm down." As she finished speaking she looked back down to her lap and twisted her hands around a bit.
Slowly looking back up she looked at everyone there before finally coming back to Carlisle. He seemed to be thinking of what she had just told them when Jasper, who was still in front of her, slowly stood up and looked to Carlisle. "One minute I could smell the blood of the children and the beast in me wanted it, craved it even, and the next I could smell nothing. I can smell the unique scent of the children but I cannot smell their blood, it is as if it is not there at all. I cannot explain it Carlisle."
After hearing what Anna had been thinking at the time and then what Jasper had experienced Carlisle thought he had a pretty good idea of what had happened though he was still not sure exactly how it came to be. Turning to his family and then to Anna and Jasper he said, "I think I know what has happened. Anna, I believe that somehow you stopped Jasper from being able to smell human blood. I do not know if it is all blood or just human and to what extent it is, whether it is just the children's blood or every human's blood but I do believe that it was you who did it. We will have to experiment a little to see the extent of the 'block' for a better word for it that you have placed upon Jasper of course. I would also like, with your permission to have a very good friend of mine come here to meet you Anna, as I have told you, there are some vampires who have special gifts and it is obvious that you are one of these vampires. The question is what exactly your gift is. Eleazar, my friend has a gift as well; his gift is to be able to sense the gift of others, what it is and what it can do exactly. Would it be alright with you if I called him and see if he can come here?"
Carlisle knew that Anna was still trying to adjust with everything that had just happened to her and her children. That while she was still weary she was slowly coming to trust his family and he was not sure about what bringing in another vampire would do or how she would react. Perhaps he should suggest that they wait for a bit so that she and her children could get settled in before he had Eleazar come down. Seeing a sort of panicked look on Anna's face Carlisle realized that he had made a correct assessment.
Holding his hands up Carlisle made sure to quickly reassure Anna. "We don't have to do it right now Anna. We can wait for a time to let you and the children get settled in, that is if you would like to stay here with us. Please let me tell you that it is absolutely no inconvenience in having you here, actually we would be delighted to have you and that way you can adjust to what you are as well as the children. You can learn more about what it means to be a vampire and we would be more than happy to help you with this, we can also work on learning what you gift is ourselves until you feel comfortable with having more people around you. But let me assure you that my friend and his family are like us, they are vegetarians, meaning that they, like us, only feed on the blood of animals. They do not hunt humans at all." Carlisle said in his most reassuring voice. He could see that he made the right choice as when he finished speaking he watched as Anna slowly began to relax once more.
Anna began to relax after hearing that Carlisle was not going to bring his friend right away. She was beginning to trust the family that took her and her children in, especially Carlisle and Esme, but she knew that she could not handle others right now. Especially once that she did not know or trust around her children. Carlisle said that they were like them, that they did not hurt people and fed off of animal blood but she was not going to chance it, with her children she would put nothing to chance. It was bad enough having to 'chance' with her current situation but at the moment she had no other choice and so far everything in her was telling her that she could trust those in front of her.
"Thank you." Anna said nodding to Carlisle. Watching as Jasper stood and went over to his mate Anna smiled softly and looked back to her children. Hearing Carlisle speak she quickly turned her attention back to him.
"I think it would be betting if everyone" here Carlisle looked to his children "went down stairs." Stepping out into the hall for a moment he motioned for Emmett and Rosalie to stay behind. "Can you go hunting again for Anna? She is going to need to feed as much as possible right now and for the time being she will not be able to do it herself." Carlisle asked softly. Receiving two nods he whispered his thanks and watched as they two disappeared down the stairs. Coming back into the bedroom Carlisle retook his seat in the chair that was next to his wife, smiling softly at her he turned his attention back to Anna who was next to the bed where her children still slept on peacefully.
This time it was Esme who spoke. "Please will you consider our offer Anna? We would really like for you and your children to stay with us. We can only imagine what you must be feeling after everything that you have gone through but we would like to help. We can help you adjust to this life and to be able to help you raise your children. Please consider out offer." Esme said with almost a pleading tone in her voice. She wanted to help the woman in front of her with every fiber of her being, for some reason she already felt as if the woman in front of her was hers, her daughter that needed protecting and Esme wanted to do anything and everything in her power to make sure that this small family did not suffer anymore.
Carlisle gripped Esme's hand in his, smiling softly before addressing Anna as well. "We really do wish to help you Anna. We know how difficult this life can be and how most of our kind never asked to be what they became. We will make sure that you and your children have everything that you need and to help you adjust to this life. If you wish later on to leave then of course we would never stop you but you are more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you like and if you do leave you are always welcome to come back at any time you need or want to." Carlisle said
Anna sat and listened as first Esme spoke and then Carlisle. She could hear the sincerity in both of their voices and knew that they meant everything that they had said.
Looking back over to her children she thought for a moment. She knew that she needed help; she knew that she had to know all there was about their, her, kind as well as how to find out and use the ability that she apparently had. She also knew that she could no longer go back to her old life and did not know where to start in building a new one for her and her children.
Looking back up to Carlisle and Esme, Anna slowly nodded her head. She did not know right now how long she would stay, but she knew that she needed their help so for the time being her and her children would stay with the Cullen's and she hoped that later on things would become more clear as to what she should do with this new life that had been thrust upon her.
Meanwhile downstairs Edward, Alice and Jasper sat in the living room quietly talking about everything that had happened in the last few hours. As they talked both Edward and Jasper watched as Alice's eyes glazed over for a moment before going back normal. Jumping up and down Alice clapped her hands together quietly so as not to disturb those that were still upstairs. Jasper could feel the happiness and glee coming from his wife as Edward had a soft smile on his face.
"What did you see Alice?" Jasper asked softly.
"They are going to stay!" Alice said quietly yet excitedly. "Anna and the kids are going to stay. She has not decided for how long exactly but for now they are going to stay with us. I am so excited." She said still bouncing up and down in her seat.
Jasper smiled faintly as well before remembering what he had wanted to talk to his wife and sibling about. "That is good, but what I would like to know is what exactly Anna's power is. I mean earlier, though I am loath to admit it, smelling her children so close, I wanted it, I did not want to but I knew that I was going to give in and attack. Then all of a sudden, it was gone. Did you pick anything up Edward?" Jasper said shaking his head slightly before turning to look at his brother.
Edward had been thinking of the same thing. He could not figure Anna out. He could not read her like he could everyone else, with the exception of Bella that is, he could only catch little snippets here and there. "No, with Anna it is different, difficult. Not like with Bella where I cannot hear anything but with Anna I only get a few words here and there. When it happened, upstairs, the only thing I got was 'no' and 'a block or filter' that was all I heard and it was only for a split second and very soft. I say Alice's vision then heard those words then all of a sudden you were relaxed and not wanting to attack anymore." Edward said. "Now that I think about it, ever sense we met her and her children out in the woods I have only been able to hear just a hand full of words from her and all of them softly spoken, like hearing them through a filter or a really thick wall or window. It is very strange, though I do know that she is not a threat to our family. Even those few words that I have gotten from her they seem honest and sincere, though I do know, power or no power, newborn or not, she will protect her children fiercely just as we would protect each other."
Still pondering everything that had been said and trying to figure out the mystery that was Anna, or her powers really both Edward and Jasper were drawn out of their thoughts as they sensed Alice once again go still next to them. Turning their attention to her they waited for to finish seeing what she was seeing to then tell them what was going on. Coming out of her vision Alice emmediantly started to sing the national anthem for Russia in Greek of all things so that Edward would not know what it was that she saw.
"Alice!" Edward said with a hint of an exasperated growl. Alice just smiled thoughtfully before standing up with a slight bounce to her step. "We need to go shopping!" she said quietly clapping her hands together. "When Emmett and Rosalie get back she and I are going to go shopping. We need to get things for the children as well as some things for Anna." As soon as she said this her eyes went glazed again before returning to normal with a slight frown that quickly turned into a pout.
Edward smirked before looking back to his sister. "She is not going to like that Alice. You should have already figured that out when she was reluctant to stay with us because she could not pay us for letting her and her children say here." Edward said as he saw the vision Alice had just had about Anna adamantly refusing all of the shopping bags that Alice and Rosalie would be bringing home.
"Don't worry, I will figure out a way for her to let us shop for her." Alice said as she thought for a moment before her eyes glazed over again as she was seeing the outcome of yet another possibility. Coming out of her vision Alice once more clapped her hands together. "It will be perfect." She said before she and her mate and brother stood up and turned to the hallway that led to the back door. They could hear that Emmett and Rosalie were back from the hunt that they went on for the newborn upstairs. Though they all thought that 'newborn' was a very loose term for Anna seeing as how her control seemed to be that of a vampire that was a hundred years old at the very least.
As they heard the back door open and then close, Emmett was at their side at once while Rosalie hurried up the stairs to give the three thermoses to Carlisle before joining her mate and brothers and sister down stairs.
As soon as Rosalie was back Alice wasted no time in telling her of their shopping plans, to which Rosalie quickly agreed to, and in no time at all the two women were out of the door, purses in hand, to head to the shopping mall. In was almost dawn and they knew that no place close would be open yet so they had decided to head into Seattle to shop. They figured that once they were there all of the stores that they wanted to go to would be open by then and they could get all that they wanted and needed before coming back and having it be late morning or early afternoon when they returned.
When Rosalie came upstairs she slowly entered the room that Carlisle and Esme were still in with Anna and her sleeping children. Smiling softly to Anna Rosalie handed the three thermoses to Carlisle while quietly telling him that two of them were bear and once was mountain lion. Smiling one more time to Anna they all watched as Rosalie left the room to go downstairs with the rest of her siblings and mate.
Smiling Carlisle stood up and handed one of the big thermoses to Anna and watched as she smiled gratefully to him before opening it and downing its contents quickly. Carlisle had noticed that a few times Anna had swallowed and would grimace a bit but would seem to push it aside as if it did not matter before going back to her usual expression. He knew that she had to be thirsty, newborns where known for their insatiably thirst and for the first few months, at least, had to drink often. Looking at Anna now, he was amazed at how much control she had and was curious to ask her about it.
Watching as Anna finished the first thermos he handed her another and smiled as he watched her down it just as she had done with the first. When she had finished he quietly handed her the third and watched as she took slow drinks of it instead of gulping it down as she had the first two. Seeing her nurse this one he decided to ask the question that had been on his mind for awhile now.
"Anna, can I ask you something?" Carlisle said as he sat back down in his chair next to Esme. Seeing Anna's nod he continued, "how is your thirst?" He said softly.
"I feel the burn in my throat but…." At this Anna trailed off for a moment. Looking to her children she smiled before turning back to Carlisle. "When you are a mother, your children come first. You put your children ahead of you in everything, even if it means going without so that they don't have to. I have gone days before with nothing to eat because I had to ration what we had and I rationed enough for my children. I guess it is just like that, I feel the thirst, the burn, but…. I just push it aside I guess. I don't feel a need to go after the blood like you said was normal, though I do apriciate the blood that your children got for me. I cant thank you enough for that. It tastes amazing, I never thought that blood would but, I guess the smell is better then what human blood does, at least from my children it does. Thank you by the way Carlisle." Anna said as she drained the last of the blood in the third thermos.
They all sat in talking softly for the next few hours until they could start to see the sky outside lightning up.
AN: i just wanted to say again that i am sorry i dont have a beta and as such i am having to edit on my own. i do go over every chapter before i post to try and make sure everything flows as best as i can make it but it would be so much better to have a new pair of eyes to help. if any of you would be willing to be my beta for this story i would greatly appriciate it. i have plans for this story to go along way as well as many stories to follow it as sequels. please write me a note from my profile page or in a review if you would be willing to help me with this story as beta and i would love you forever. lol kidding but seriously i would love all the help that i can get.
thanks again,
Annajewel