Chapter 14: Rosalie's Love

We bought a cabin about 20 miles outside the community of Appalachia without any problems. Rosalie and Edward played adopted children to Esme and I, which was half true. They took on a sibling relationship after we moved. Originally I had hoped that Rosalie might be to Edward what Esme was to me. But Edward never seemed to think of her as anything more than just a sister.

Rosalie took to hunting alone, rather then going with Edward, Esme, or I. It was alone that Rosalie came across a young hiker. Rosalie had been hunting in the Appalachians' southern part. That region had plenty of big game to provide a good challenge. Rosalie had been following mountain lion tracks when she heard a grizzly bear roar and the distinct cry of a human. She ran towards the sounds to find a very angry bear, mauling a young man of about twenty years.

Rosalie told me later that she had killed the bear, thus saving the boy, because he had reminded her of her old friend's son. I felt very fortunate at the time to be trusted enough for her to tell me that herself. Rosalie, not trusting herself to not kill the man, carried him back of a hundred miles to Appalachia. The trip was torturous for her, only two years to her new life and the human blood flowing thickly.

When they arrived, Esme, Edward, and I were home. She rushed inside, cradling the man's body to her chest, and pleaded with me to help him. He wasn't in good shape with multiple bite wounds, broken bones, and dislocated joints. He was almost in the same shape as Esme had been. And he was losing blood. Too much blood.

"Rosalie," I said. "He's not going to survive unless I change him, and even then he might lose too much blood before the venom can do anything."

"Please do it Carlisle," she pleaded.

I nodded and made my fourth vampire. I could control myself more easily this time. As soon as my venom was in his veins, the young man started writhing in pain. This time, Rosalie kept vigil at the young man's side. I checked on him at the occasions when he was quiet, but Rosalie never left him. She watched over him day and night as I had done for her, Edward, and Esme. I saw in Rosalie's eyes the same feelings that I saw in Esme when we were together. I knew then that this young man would stay with us. I knew before he ever opened his eyes.

After a little more then three days, I began to hear a difference in the man's heartbeat. His heart sped up, beating stronger then any of the others' had. I wondered what that might have meant. A new ability perhaps? Edward was the only one in the family that had displayed any sort of extra abilities.

As the young man's heart beat harder and faster, Rosalie tensed in anticipation of the end of his transformation. Esme, Edward, and I stood back a little, letting Rosalie have her space. All of us waited in silence, waiting for the moment his heart stopped, as all of ours had.

We listened as the one heartbeat in the house increased exponentially to fight the venom as it struggled to complete the transformation. It was a thunderous roar to our ears, which halted with a resounding final Thump.

Rosalie inhaled sharply, but none of us dared to move. The young man on the couch (where Rosalie had laid him) stirred ever so slightly. The one of his eyes opened, looking around, before he opened the other. He sat up suddenly. The newborn was huge. Muscles rippled in his arms, across his chest and his stomach, and right on through his legs. I had no doubt that even as an older vampire, he would be incredibly strong. Briefly I wondered if that was the result of such a vital heartbeat. He looked extremely confused, but didn't seem to mind the unfamiliar setting so much when he saw Rosalie.

He leapt up from the couch suddenly with a deep grunt.

"Who're you?" he asked in a deep, ringing voice, tinted with a Tennessee accent. "And where'd that bear go?"

Edward laughed. "I like him already!" he exclaimed. The young man turned his attention on Edward.

"You are…?"

"I'm Edward Cullen," Edward replied.

"Emmett McCarty," Emmett replied, offering his hand to shake. Edward took it and gave one firm shake before letting go.

Emmett's attention fell to me next and I figured it was time to start explaining again. "My name is Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Esme. You've already met Edward and—"

"And I'm Rosalie Hale," Rosalie interrupted, stepping forward. Emmett looked down at her and smiled.

"Oh I remember you," he told her. "How's my bear friend doing nowadays?"

"He's feeding worms," Rosalie replied dryly.

"Too bad," Emmett replied, actually seeming disappointed. I wondered if he had a death wish as a human. "I was hoping for a rematch."

Esme and I exchanged wary looks. What kind of person had this Emmett been when he was human? With such a seemingly reckless and violent nature, would he follow the same eating habits we did? Or would the thought of killing humans not really bother him?

For the first time, I was uncertain if changing this young man had been a good idea. But then I watched him as Rosalie and Edward told him about what we are and what our lifestyle was like. Emmett seemed intimidating and rough at first, but as I watched the way he listened attentively to Rosalie, the look in his eyes as he smiled, I knew Emmett had been the right choice.

Rosalie and Edward took him on his first hunting trip. Esme and I stayed back and occupied ourselves with other things. They were gone for two days, before finally returning rejuvenated. Emmett slipped one time, mauling a hiker who had been stupid enough to try hiking off trail. They looked grim at the mention of the incident. Emmett sheepishly admitted that he lost control and Rosalie tried to assure him that it was an accident. I wasn't sure whether to be disappointed that the incident had happened, or relieved that Emmett slipped in a back wood, rather than in the middle of town. I settled for assuring Emmett that he would get better at controlling his thirst in time.

The eighteen months that the five of us stayed in the cabin in Virginia were an exciting time. The three younger vampires, all of which Esme and I treated like adopted children, bonded as a trio. Edward finally had a brother he could joke with, and Rosalie couldn't keep her eyes off of Emmett. Before we moved, Emmett and Rosalie married; it was a small ceremony like Esme and I had had in Wisconsin. Edward was once more best man, and Esme served as Rosalie's bridesmaid. The minister was the only truly living being at the ceremony. As a wedding present, Esme and I gave Rosalie and Emmett a house we'd been renovating. It was a large, grand estate on the shores of Lake Erie. Rosalie and Emmett disappeared there for about four months, only contacting us once when they knocked down part of a wall.

That winter, for our anniversary, I bought Esme the island we'd honeymooned on, naming it Isle Esme and having a big, open house built on it. One where we could all go and never have to hide. I had it populated with wildlife when we spent a few months of our own on it, a sort of family vacation with Edward.

After Rosalie and Emmett rejoined us from their spacious mansion that was luckily still standing, I moved the family to the West coast, a little village in Washington State called Hoquiam. We never expected to find what we did.

And the Cullens keep growing. I know the family is growing fast, but according to the timeline on Twilight Lexicon and based on information given in the Twilight Saga, Carlisle's family grows at this rate. He barely gets rid of one newborn before gaining another. That's gotta be rough!

Anyway, thanks for reading, keep with me and don't forget to review. Also, if you like this story, recommend it to your friends, family, random strangers, I don't really care who. Just make sure they review too!

-Wish