Settling In

We managed to get the kits back to my room in one trip after convincing them that Edward wasn't going to snack on them, which took a while. The storm helped a lot, the crashes of thunder getting more and more frequent. I carried the smallest back in my jaws by the scruff of his neck, and Edward carried the other four in a sack he made out of his shirt that he carried in his arms so they didn't have to watch the woods fly by as we ran. I jumped from the tree into the window, and Edward waited until I safely landed to follow.

When we set all of them down on the comforter, I got a better look at them. They only looked to be three weeks old, just old enough to get their feet somewhat under them and wobble around. They would still need to nurse for a few weeks, but I figured I could wean them a week or so early and get them back into the woods to teach them how to be little foxes.

There were two girls and three boys in the bunch, one of the boys being the runt of the litter. Even as they lay on the bed, he was the one slightly apart from the group. I laid down next to him and he immediately pressed his little self against me, feeling slightly cold even with our fur between us. I picked him up and placed him in front of me, laying my head over him and covering as much of his wet body as I could. It had started raining on the way back, the storm clouds just starting to drop their burden when we reached the castle. The others had been covered in Edward's shirt, so they were a little damp, but nothing like the smallest of them. The lines of dampness actually made him look like a shifter baby, the lines darker than the rest of his fur. I tried to sense anything strange about him, but there was nothing obvious. Then again, I wouldn't be able to since I wasn't his actual mother. If he was, I'd be able to tell when he was a little older, or if he decided I was his mother.

His body shook violently under me, and I started licking away the water seeping through his fur. He gave a slight protest when I first lifted my head, but he quieted when he realized what I was doing. I could see Edward from the corner of my eye, just standing a few feet from the end of the bed, watching. It was slightly awkward to have him watch me like that, but I couldn't just tell him to leave, especially when he was the one who told me where to find them in the first place.

Can you get a towel and wipe the water off the others? I asked without looking up, and he nodded, acting like he was unable to speak. He flashed away and back within a second, a fluffy towel in his hands. He stood in the same place he had been, looking from the towel to the kits and back again, unsure of what to do next. It was kind of pathetic, a vampire not knowing how to take care of little baby foxes. I shifted slightly until I was a nursing mother, and placed the little runt next to me. He immediately latched on and started eating, making me wonder how much he actually got to eat with his siblings around. I saw Edward tense when he saw, drawing up more questions that didn't need answering at this exact moment.

Edward, just pick one up and wipe the water off them. That is, if you're done staring, I said, making him jump and look away. He looked at the four balls of fur trying to find their footing on the uneven bedspread, constantly falling over as soon as they lifted a foot, and picked up the one closest to him. The little boy wiggled in Edward's hand, and he looked to me for help. I could tell he was uncomfortable and nervous about hurting him, his shoulders tense and his movements with the kit awkward.

Sit down on the bed and put him in your lap, if you feel like you're going to drop him, I said, humor in my voice. I surprised myself with it, but said nothing to try to change it.

Edward nodded gratefully and sat down with his squirmy bundle, setting the fox in his lap and gently running his hands over it with the towel. It was—and I couldn't believe I was letting myself think this—sweet, seeing such a formidable being become so flustered trying to care for something that weighed only a little more than a pound. He was like . . . like Lenny, from that old book Of Mice and Men, the one that tried to keep his strength under control but couldn't. Of course, Edward wasn't mentally handicapped, nor did he like petting soft things, or so I assumed, but the gentle giant concept was still there.

He put the little kit down and picked up another, this one a girl, and did the same with her, his shoulders slowly relaxing as he successfully dried the babies without hurting them. As he set the last one back down with the others, they tumbled their way over to me to nurse. The smallest had finished and fallen asleep, so I picked him up and placed him in front of me again so the others wouldn't push or step all over him. I looked up to find Edward sitting Indian style on the foot of the bed, his back against the footboard and his eyes watching nothing in particular. He looked like he was watching the kits, but his eyes were unfocused. I was curious as to what he was thinking, and asked him before I could even think of stopping myself.

Edward . . . what are you thinking? My voice echoed in my mind as I berated myself for saying anything. He started, like me asking such a question surprised him, and he blinked to focus his eyes again.

"I don't really know . . ." he responded. "I guess I'm trying to wrap my mind around what's going on. We're in the same room, somewhat comfortable even in each other's presence, having conversations, albeit mostly one-sided. It's a big jump from where we were just a half hour ago, don't you think?" I nodded in acknowledgment, thinking over what he said. He had a good point.

Well, I've . . . done some thinking, I said, looking down at the sleeping bundle in front of me. I could feel his gaze as he waited for more, and for some reason, I gave it to him.

Your mother and sisters paid me a visit and told me a little about you, how your mother raised you and that you've held on to those lessons even after your change. And even with what just happened, I've thought even more that maybe . . . maybe you . . . are different than the others, I finally admitted in a mental sigh. I looked up at him without moving my head to see a completely shocked look on his face.

You've kept your word about not giving me orders, about letting me do what I want, and you've kept to yourself instead of pushing yourself on me like you could have, I explained softly, still not meeting his eyes.

You act so differently than the others, I think I denied you were actually being sincere with your actions. Since the very beginning, you've treated me like an equal instead of an inferior, and you said something that's stuck with me since the words left your mouth. I admit, I thought you confirmed my initial thoughts with what happened in the meeting room, but you haven't changed from who you were before then. With what you just did, helping these kids, you showed me even more that you're different. By no stretch of the imagination do I completely trust you, but . . . now I know I don't have to walk on eggshells around you for fear of punishment, deserved or not. I paused, but he said nothing so I continued. I think . . . I think I should thank you for that peace of mind. He jumped at this, his eyes growing impossibly wider in response. At first he didn't say anything, but after a second or two his eyes softened and he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. You shouldn't be treated this way to begin with, so I'm just trying to do what I can to help. If I could get you out of here, I would, but I don't want to make things worse in case it doesn't work," he said softly. He stayed silent for a moment before speaking again. "Do you really think I'm different?" I gave him a blank look, moving my gaze from him to the kits and back again before quirking my foxy eyebrow. I didn't know how it looked to him, but he got the idea. He gave me a shy smile, the first time I'd seen one of those on him, and shook his head.

"I can see how a big, bad vampire caring for baby animals could make you think that," he said, chuckling. I gave my fox version of a short laugh, something like a bark.

I would have expected you or anyone else here to have just left them there to fend for themselves, but you came back and got me to help them. I don't think anyone else would have done that. Besides, you could have ordered me to do whatever you wanted, and you have yet to say a word before today, in the form of an order or anything else. I looked down again and sighed. You were actually giving me a choice in approaching you.

"I don't like to force my presence where it isn't wanted," he said, just as the four larger kits finished with me. One wandered over to him on shaky legs as I shifted back to normal, and he raised his hands like someone was telling him he was being arrested. She climbed up into his lap, laying down against his stomach and resting her head on his thigh. He looked at me in surprise and shrugged, gesturing with my head towards one other, the other girl, who was making her way over to him too. Edward stayed perfectly still as she settled herself next to her sister and promptly fell asleep. He stayed frozen for a second more before slowly lowering his arms, his eyes expressing his awe of the little animals as he settled one of his hands to rest on them. They sighed contentedly and a smile slowly spread across his face.

They are amazingly trusting in their innocence, I said wistfully. I would give anything to have their peace.

"You will, Vixen," he whispered. I think it was supposed to be to himself, so I didn't comment. "If it's the last thing I do, you will have your freedom and the happiness you deserve."

It's been five days since Edward and I brought the five fox kits back to the castle, and they loved him. Any time he would leave the room, all of them would wobble behind him and scratch at the door until I distracted them in some way until he came back. I would play with them until they got hungry, and then they would nap for an hour or two before starting the cycle all over again. I was amazed at their reaction to him, especially since they should have been getting predator vibes from him, but they didn't seem to notice. As soon as I told them he was okay that first day, they haven't doubted him for a moment. I kept telling myself I could learn a thing or two from them, and, involuntarily, I was.

All the time Edward spent with the kits meant he was also spending that time with me. In my room. Just the two of us and the five kids. It wasn't a situation I ever would have thought I would be in, but it was surprisingly . . . pleasant. Edward and I became more and more comfortable with each other, which was a real surprise the moment I actually realized it was happening. He was actually spending more time in my room than anywhere else, only leaving when I was going to sleep, and when he went hunting, he would bring back whatever he had drained for me, since I absolutely refused to leave the kits in the castle without me and I didn't want to shift in front of them just yet so I could eat. The first time he brought one of his hunts to me was also the first time I saw him with his fangs extended. I had growled and spat at him until he calmed down enough for them to recede, and he explained his idea.

He was sitting with the kits now as I got out of my first shower since we went to rescue them, and of course I forgot my clothes. God just enjoyed shitting on my life, and this was just another entertaining scenario for him. I sighed loudly and wrapped myself in a towel. I threw my hair up in a wet mass of a ponytail and stepped around the bathroom door, not opening it all the way, and lipped into my closet without making much noise. He wasn't paying much attention anyway, sitting Indian-style with all five kits in his lap and his head back against the edge of the bed. His eyes were closed like he was sleeping, but I knew he wasn't.

I left the door cracked about a foot in case I needed to get out fast for some reason, and took a random shirt and jeans from the hangers and shelves. The shirt turned out to be a baby blue tee whose neckline plunged to just below the top of my cleavage in a U-shape. The material between my breasts was slit to where the bottom of a bra would be, and was held together by little metal clasps with space in between that worked as a bra with the tightened material around my chest and the strip that cinched the shirt in the same way a bra would just under my chest. Aro had called it my "peep show" tee. How creative . . .

"Vixen . . ." Edward's voice called hesitantly. I moved half around the door as I buttoned my jeans and pulled up the zipper to see him staring down at the not-so-small runt of the litter, a confused look on his face. I sprinted over, thinking something was wrong, and knelt beside him.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, picking the little one up and twisting him this way and that as I looked for injuries. I could feel my heart beating against my chest as I waited for his response, clutching the bundle of fur against me when I didn't find anything wrong. Edward put his hand on my shoulder, making me look at him in surprise and anxiety. He had never touched me besides when he was taking care of my injuries, and the sharp spark I felt spread through my body at the contact was unexpected. I could see his confusion grow for a moment before he went back to the matter at hand. He had felt it too.

"Look at him, Vixen, all of him, and tell me if you see anything different compared to the others," he said, removing his hand when he finished speaking. My body instant grew cold and I shivered, goose bumps breaking out over my body.

I did as he said, looking from the runt in my arms to the four in Edward's lap and back again, my mind registering nothing but the feeling of Edward's hand on me. On the third round of my eyes moving back and forth, I finally realized what Edward had been talking about. The kit I was holding was much bigger than the others, and he had started out as the smallest of them all. He actually looked two or three weeks older than the others now. He also still had those darker stripes in his fur, the ones I had assumed were from him getting wet form the rain but hadn't paid any attention to since. My heart started beating faster, and my head shot up to look at Edward's serious—and seriously confused—face.

"He's . . . he's got shifter stripes . . ." I said, looking back down to the little guy. He had frozen in my grasp, not knowing who I was, but had instantly relaxed when he recognized my scent. His head was currently pressed against the front of my shirt as I lightly ran my fingers over the darker red lines across his back and I looked back up at Edward, who nodded.

"That's not all," he said, running a hand through his already mussed up hair. He sighed loudly, like he was unsure of whether he wanted to say anything, but he let the words go in a rush. "I think I just heard his thoughts, and I can't do that with normal animals. I can read their body language like I would read a human or vampire mind, but I actually heard him. Didn't you say I wouldn't be able to read your mind? So why would I be able to hear him?"

"I have a shield that protects my mind and body from abilities and powers that would affect me, like yours and Master's, and our kind are naturally protected so we can hear each other, but someone who can read minds couldn't unless we let them. He must have let you in without realizing what he was doing," I explained, looking down at him again, but my gaze shot up to Edward's again. "What did he say?"

"It wasn't really words, just the 'm' sound, like he was trying to say something. That was the only sound though, so I don't know what he was trying to say," Edward responded, following my gaze back down to my little not-a-fox-baby.

I focused my mind on his, trying to see into it, and I met no resistance. I was wondering how Edward would have heard him before me, but I remembered my parents telling me a baby's thoughts and mind needed to gain strength before it would be able to communicate with anyone over great distances like adults. I must have been too far away to hear his first thought at the time, but I wasn't moving away from him again until I did. I settled my back against the bed, mirroring Edward's position, and sighed. I visibly jumped when I heard something coming from the little bundle, a repeating of the "m" sound, just like Edward said. He pressed his face harder into my chest as he kept up with the sound, and my heart felt like it was going to burst.

Mom, I thought to him, and he nuzzled his little head impossible harder, his mind filled with happiness.

Momomomomom, he repeated in one long word. I purred, pulling my knees to my chest and rubbing my cheek against the top of his head.

Baby, baby, baby, I repeated back. He sighed and completely relaxed against me, like a blob in my arms, and instantly fell asleep.

I couldn't stop purring and looked up at Edward in ecstasy. He was smiling back, happiness for me plain on his face and the tension-free set of his shoulders. He started to raise his arm, like he was going to wrap it around my shoulders, but caught himself with his arm half-way up. He looked at me in apology, but I gave him a small smile in return, still purring like a nursing kitten, and gently rested my head on his shoulder. He draped his arm around me, rubbing his thumb on my bicep, and a soft humming filled my body from the inside. The warmth was back, and I embraced it. I embraced vampire contact for the first time in six years from someone I just met, and I enjoyed it.

As I drifted off to sleep against Edward, I couldn't help but think he was settling himself in for the long haul, whether I liked it or not.