A/N: Sorry this took a while… There was a mix-up with my beta.

Thank you all for your kind reviews. They make me happy And the song here is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" by CCR

Chapter Nine: Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

Someone told me long ago

There's a calm before the storm,

I know; It's been comin' for some time.

When it's over, so they say,

It'll rain a sunny day,

I know; Shinin' down like water.

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain

Comin' down on a sunny day?

The first week in Alaska actually went by rather quickly. Esme was great company. She never pried into my thoughts, but she was always there when I just wanted to talk. Sometimes we talked about more serious matters, such as my feelings of guilt for the murder of Eric, but more often than not, we talked about lighter matters, from a movie we watched on TV, to the antics of "her boys" as she liked to call Emmett, Edward, and Jasper.

When we hunted, she never forced me to kill for myself. She would take down the animal and then let me feed. She told me that one day that she believed I would be ready to hunt on my own again, but until then she would do what she could to help me survive and ease the thirst raging constantly in my throat.

The house in Denali was actually a beautiful log cabin. It was smaller than the house in Forks, but still a good size larger than Charlie's house. The first floor was very open, with a cathedral ceiling in the foyer and the living room. There was a hallway lined with a banister that overlooked the first floor, and all the bedrooms were situated upstairs.

The living room was definitely one of my favorite rooms. It was decorated in a warm style, with a plush carpet, and comfortable leather furniture centered around a large fireplace that Esme kept continually lit. Along the wall were bookshelves filled with every type of book imaginable. There was also another room off of the living room that held even more books. I knew I could keep myself occupied for ages just reading.

In the corner there was another baby grand piano. I noticed that it was a Steinway. I didn't know much about pianos, but I knew enough that Steinways were one of the best made models.

Seeing this second piano, I wondered aloud if anybody played.

She looked at me and smiled. "Edward."

Of course Edward played. He was good at everything. I was surprised to feel almost sad that he hadn't told me himself.

Sighing, I wondered if I would ever be good enough for Edward and the rest of the Cullens.

"Girls! What a surprise!" I heard Esme greet somebody from where I was sitting in the library.

"We could say the same for you," a musical voice laughed in reply. "It's good to see you."

"We came by and saw that somebody was in the house, and we wondered if the Cullens had finally returned!" Another ringing voice answered.

"Well, not all the Cullens have returned yet, Kate. The rest are expected within the next several weeks. But where are my manners? Come in and make yourself comfortable!"

I heard several sets of soft footsteps as the group of ladies made their way to the living room. I heard them sit down before Esme asked to be excused for a brief moment. By the sound of her footsteps, I knew she was coming towards the library, so I put away the book I was reading and went to meet her at the door.

I wasn't necessarily in the mood to meet anybody new, but I hated to be rude, especially to friends of Esme.

"Bella!" Esme gasped when I opened the door. "I was coming to get you!"

"I heard," I replied. "I hear we have visitors."

"Yes. And if you don't mind, I would like for you to meet them. They are another group of vampires like us, who only drink from animals."

"I would love to meet them." Esme did not need to know that my nerves forced a slight lie that behind that comment.

"Good," she grinned. "Let me just let them know that you are with me, and then you can come in to meet them. I need to warn them that you are still a newborn."

"Oh?"

"Usually newborns are not as calm as you are, Bella. They need to be prepared that they do not need to be as on edge as they would be with any other vampire."

"Oh." I did not feel very calm, though. With my recent killing and the never-ending thirst, I wondered if I would ever feel tranquility.

Esme squeezed my hand quickly before turning to return to her guests.

"Is there somebody with you?" a third voice with a slight accent asked as Esme entered the room. "I did not recognize the voice."

Esme cleared her throat, even though it was not physically necessary before she spoke. "We have a new addition to the family."

I heard gasps of surprise from the women as they all asked about my origins.

"She was actually…" she paused as if to choose the correct word. "…a friend of Edward's in school. She was fatally injured in a car crash, and so we changed her."

"Edward? Friends? With a human?" the first voice was incredulous.

Esme did not say anything, but I heard the slight movement of her nodding. "She is a newborn, but is quite controlled for one. I would like to introduce her to you, but I wanted to let you know that there is no need to be overly cautious with her."

"Well, show her in!" the accented voice exclaimed happily. "We would love to meet the newest Cullen."

"Bella," Esme said quietly, knowing I could hear her.

With that cue, I made my way into the living room and saw four of the most beautiful women all smiling at me. The woman closest to me had a beautiful olive complexion with long dark hair. By her appearance, I assumed that she was the woman who spoke with an accent. When she greeted me, my assumption was confirmed. Her name was Carmen.

The other three women were all unimaginably tall, with the fairest of complexions. All had long blonde hair, although the farthest from me had her hair in curls and there was a slight strawberry tint to her hair. Their names were Kate, Irina, and Tanya.

The former two greeted me with friendly smiles with a simple "hello," but Tanya took my hand in both of hers and stated, "Bella! We have heard so much of you!"

Shocked, I asked, "Excuse me?"

"Edward traveled here a while ago, trying to get away from a Bella and his thirst for her blood. I am assuming this is you?"

"Oh!" I gasped. "Yes, he told me about when he first met me."

"Well, I guess now he doesn't want to suck your blood now, does he?" Tanya winked.

I made a nervous giggle, a little anxious with the friendly way Tanya was treating me.

However, just as I was going to turn to sit down, I noticed a sadness in Tanya's eyes, and I wondered what could have possibly prompted such emotion in a beautiful woman.

Despite my earlier unease, I grew to enjoy the almost daily visits from the group of women. I learned that Carmen had a mate named Eleazor, but the three remaining vampires had no mates.

They truly seemed interested in me, although I sometimes suspected it had to do with the fact that I was like a new toy. They asked about my life as a human and what I enjoyed doing in my never-ending free time. They wondered what types of books I read and what music I listened to. They also asked me what my relationship to Edward was before the change.

"I… I… I don't know," I stuttered to find the words. "At first he hated me for my scent, but even after he learned to push my scent from his mind, he did not talk to me much."

They then wondered what would persuade Edward to turn me, and I confessed that I thought about that often as well.

Tanya, Kate, and Irina seemed to be like Alice in terms of loving fashion. They constantly tried to dress me up like a doll despite my objections that looking nice wasn't really necessary when we were out in the middle of nowhere. Carmen and Esme didn't actively participate in the "Barbie days" as I liked to call them, but as they watched my fashion shows with laughter on their faces, they did nothing to discourage the blondes' fun with me.

Despite my vocal protests, I was secretly growing to enjoy thir dressing and pampering. I missed Alice and the way they doted over me reminded me of her. Thinking of Alice, though, only made me think of the others, especially Edward, and I wondered when they were to return to us.

There was something about the women that made me trust them. Perhaps it was because I knew they were long time friends of the Cullens, or the comforting golden color of their eyes. I even accompanied them while hunting when Esme did not need to feed again. They never protested or chided me when I told them I was uncomfortable with killing an animal myself.

And so the next two weeks passed with the happy company of my new friends, and of course Esme. They kept me so occupied; I barely had time to dwell on the fact that I missed Edward as much as I did.

But every day brought me closer back to my reunion with the rest of the Cullens.

"What do you think Esme?" Kate asked as I grudgingly showcased my new outfit.

"I think she's beautiful," Esme gave her usual soft smile.

For once, I was not really aggravated with the outfit they put on me. It only consisted of a pair of skinny jeans and a blue blouse. It was much better than some of the skimpy skirts or dresses they put on me.

Suddenly, the sound of car tires on the gravel driveway reached our ears. Instantly, a wide grin appeared on Esme's face. "My family's home!"

Impatiently, we waited for the remainder of the Cullens to enter the house. Suddenly, the door slammed open and Alice, the ever bouncing pixie, practically hopped into the room followed by Jasper.

Suddenly, she was in my arms, giving me a stronger hug than she looked capable of. "Bella! I missed you!" She released me just as quickly as she bounded into my arms and one by one, she greeted our friends. Jasper followed behind her, fittingly greeting me in a much more calm manner.

I smiled as Carlisle was the next to enter and immediately went to his wife, whom he embraced as if he spent much longer than a month away from his mate.

Rosalie came in next, barely giving me a nod before warmly greeting our Alaskan friends. Emmett entered at Rosalie's side, but he came over to give me a huge bear hug, saying, "I missed you kiddo."

And finally, the one person who I missed the most, although I did not want to admit it, entered. His face immediately broke into a grin as he saw me and he drew me into a hug.

"You look good, Bella," he whispered. "I think Alaska was good for you."

If I had still been human, I would have blushed at his complement, but I could only whisper a "thank you," before he released me from the hug.

As I reluctantly let go, I caught a glimpse of Tanya's face as she stared at Edward and me. The sadness I had seen in her eyes the first day I met her had returned at an even more profound level. And then it dawned on me.

Tanya is in love with Edward.