Hello again. Sorry for such a long wait, I ran into an issue with my account. Last chapter I tried something different with the pacing, and I don't think it quite came off like I wanted it to after took the formatting chewed it up, and spit it back out. Not the first time such has happened, but a bit disappointing nonetheless. Makes me wonder if I should take this story over to AO3 if only so all my edits and formatting comes across how I'd like it to.

As always, I do not own Twilight or it's characters.

The house was quiet, which was something that Esme was surprised about. For decades, Esme had been careful to always be aware of what was going on in the house. It was the only way that she really had to protect herself. If she knew who was in the house, what was happening, then she knew the mood of the house.

Sometimes knowing the mood of the house was the only thing that could save her a beating.

So Esme made sure to be observant, and to tread lightly. It had been easier lately; with Alice around Carlisle and Edward seemed to be on their very best behavior. It was different than with Bella. She was such a sweet girl, but she wasn't a vampire, and it was deceptively easy for their 'family life' to continue as it always had behind closed doors.

That wasn't the case with Alice around, seeing everything, and sometimes Esme wondering if this tiny girl would be the changing factor in their lives the way she once thought Bella would be.

She froze, the scent of blood breaking her out of her thoughts viciously.

Esme clapped a hand over her nose and mouth, years of Carlisle's 'training' making her feel nearly nauseous at the scent of human blood.

And it was clearly human blood, the scent floral and nearly fruity in a way that animal blood never could be. Slowly she lifted her hand from her face, struck by the sudden clarity that she has smelled this scent before. Never as intensely of course but…

Bella?

Quickly, quietly, Esme flitted towards where she thought the scent was coming from. Desperately she hoped she wouldn't be seen, wouldn't be noticed. Everything inside of her was telling her to leave this alone, to not interfere. Yet she couldn't get the image of Bella out of her mind, her heartbreakingly human face peering up at her with those dark eyes and such a trusting smile.

Once, when the house was quiet, Carlisle at the hospital and the rest out for a quick hunt, it had been just her and Bella. She was such a shy thing, but Esme could see a stubbornness that ran a mile long inside the girl. A tenacity. Bella showed her that tenacity when she plopped down next to Esme on the couch; seemingly completely unconcerned that Esme was a vampire who really didn't spend a lot of her free time with humans.

"Um, hi."

"Hello Bella, what can I help you with?" Esme tried her best to smile at the nervous girl and was gratified when Bella smiled back.

"Oh I don't need anything! I just wanted to kinda hang out with you."

Esme made a conscious effort to blink instead of stare like she truly wanted to.

"Oh, well, I am grateful for the company Bella." There. Surely that came across natural and welcoming without showing how horribly panicked inside Esme truly was.

"You know, when I first saw you, I thought you looked like a movie star." Bella seemed embarrassed to admit such a thing but continued on. "Like one of the actresses from like the 30s. I mean, everyone knows that Rosalie is beautiful, but you, wow."
Esme laughed, bringing her hand up to her mouth as if startled by the sound.

"That's very sweet of you dear." Bella blushed scarlet at Esme's words and the air around them perfumed with freesia. Esme didn't dare breathe.

One must always resist temptation.

"They're so lucky." Bella sighed under her breath, and before Esme could help herself she spoke.

"Whose lucky?" Oh lord above, if Esme could still blush she'd be scarlet. She couldn't recall the last time she spoke out of turn.

"Well, Edward and Rosalie, and Emmett. All your kids." Bella paused, looking down pensively before she glanced back up with a shy smile. "You're a great mom, I could only imagine how different my childhood would've been if you were my mom."

She practically tripped over her next words when Esme didn't immediately respond.

"Not that Renee isn't great! She is! It's just, I've been making sure bills were getting paid since I was eleven, and even now I worry. I mean, I made sure Phil had a binder so they should be fine but-"

Carefully, as gently as she could manage, Esme reached out and placed her hand on Bella's. Had she ever touched a human? Fleetingly perhaps, nothing that could have ever mattered.

This felt like it mattered.

"Bella, you could never know how honored I am that you think I'm a good mother." Esme smiled, a sad little thing, and blinked back the tears from her eyes. "You sound like you're a great daughter, but I think you have to remember that you're more than that too."

Bella smiled then, a bright thing that made her eyes sparkle, and before Esme knew it she had her arms full of warm little human. She shuddered, but was quick to gently embrace Bella back.

It was that interaction that kept playing in Esme's mind as she crept closer and closer to the smell. Oh no. It was coming from the basement.

They hadn't used the basement much in this house, but that didn't mean Esme didn't know exactly how it was set up down there. She had been in enough of Carlisle's basements to have the layout memorized. She couldn't go down there. No, she couldn't handle seeing the shackles; she wouldn't survive seeing that damn table.

But the door was open. The door to the basement was never left open, it was one of Carlisle's rules. Even Edward, the clear favorite of the family, knew to never leave the door open.

Yet, it was Edward's voice that drifted clearly up the stairs.

"-you're going to die here, and I am going to have these to keep your memory alive."

A disturbing noise, caught somewhere between a pat and a slosh.

Esme was down the stairs before she knew it, just in time to hear the heart-wrenching sound of Bella's slurred reply.

"Mm. Good luck, Eddie. Ya gonna need it."

It was all too clear to Esme now, there would be no turning back from this moment. Carlisle would probably kill her for this, if Edward didn't get to her first. But Esme couldn't leave Bella to die on that cold operating table.

Quickly, taking advantage of Edward being distracted by Bella's blood, Esme darted forward. She ripped the arm closest to Bella off first, forcing herself not to pause at Edward's surprised agonized scream.

Flitting forward she grabbed the arm he was flailing towards her, pulling straight down sharply so that it snapped clear off at the shoulder.

Edward stumbled forward, bumping into the tray that Esme could now see had bags of Bella's blood on it. She gagged when a bag split open under Edward's foot, but Edward slipped with the motion; his lack of arms throwing off his balance.

"Esme, please." Choked pleading as Edward tried and failed to right himself. Esme stepped forward, hands hardly shaking as she placed them on either side of Edward's face.

"She's just a girl, Edward. This isn't right."

Edward's eyes widened as he read her thoughts, and he began to struggle in earnest.

"Esme, no! Have mercy! Please!" At his words Esme gave him a sad, empty smile.

"Oh Edward, you should know by now," A quick flick of her wrist, hardly any effort at all really, and Edward's body crumpled at her feet. "Mercy is a weakness. Carlisle taught me that."

She dropped his head then, rushing forward to scoop Bella up into her arms.

There.

A pulse, a thready thing, but strong enough that she would live. Maybe.

Without a thought she rushed up the stairs and out of the house, a cell phone that could be Edward's in her hand. As it rang, she could only hope that the person on the other end would pick up.

Emmett glanced at his phone, an eye roll in place before he could stop it.

"Who is it?" Peter's voice cut across the clearing before Emmett could put the phone back in his pocket.

"Edward." The disdain in his voice was clearer than Emmett had ever let it be before. "I don't know why he's bothering to call me now."

Peter hmmed, turning so he could look at Emmett. He cocked his head to the side, regarding the phone.

"Answer it."

Emmett shrugged and answered before it could slide into the fourth ring.

"Hey Eddie! What's up? Ya know Rosie and I are out of town right?"

Silence on the other end, and just as Emmett was about to pull the phone back to make sure it connected he heard wind rushing on the other end followed by a voice he wasn't expecting.

"Emmett, I need help. I don't know how far you and Rosalie are, but I don't know what to do."

If Emmett had been human he would have dropped the phone out of shock. Instead he quickly switched the call over to speaker and motioned for everyone around him to be quiet.

"Esme, what happened? How did you get Edward's phone?"

Esme's breathing was erratic on the other end, which let Emmett know that something serious must have happened. Meanwhile, Peter had a strange look on his face, and he quickly got out his own phone, finger lingering over the speed-dial for the Major.

"I don't know how he got her, I thought she was dead, we all thought she was dead, but Edward had her Emmett!" A slight groan, and a muffled shushing trailed over the line. "It's Bella, Emmett, I have Bella."

Peter cussed and hit the button to call the Major, cursing the fact that he just knew he would have to call. It rang through to voicemail and Peter cussed once more before trying again.

"Esme, I need you to calm down. We're going to figure this out. Is Bella okay? Is she," A quick breath to steel himself and his wild thoughts before Emmett continued on. "Is she bit?"

"No no, he didn't bite her. But she's lost a lot of blood, and I can't take her to the hospital Emmett! I can't!"

Before Emmett could try to reassure her, a beep came over the line letting him know he had another call. He glanced at it and cursed when he realized it was Rosalie's burner number.

"Esme, Esme, it's alright. But I need you to take a deep breath. I have to switch over to this call, it's Rosalie."

"Rosalie? But I thought she was with you?" Esme's frantic energy kicked up a notch and Emmett shushed her as gently as he could.

"I'll explain in a moment, Mom. Just let me switch over so I can three-way call us." A few buttons pressed and Rosalie's panicked voice came over the line.

"Em, I don't know what happened, but Bella is gone! It's like everyone is passed out or something, I'm the only one awake. There is a vampire body torn apart here though, looks like one of the newbies."

"Rose, Rose, it's okay. Esme has Bella. I'm going to three-way call us, give me a second."

A loud tone cut off Rosalie's shocked 'Esme?', and then they were connected.

"Mom, Rose is on the line, explain to us what happened."

"Oh Rosalie," Esme sounded relieved, yet she was quick to placate. "Oh dear, I know you didn't really agree with Bella being a part of our lives, but I had to save her-"

"Mom, it's alright, I have nothing against Bella. Tell us what's going on, we'll come to you." Rosalie's no-nonsense tone cut through Esme's words; she wasn't willing to listen to Esme's platitudes.

"Edward was in the basement, trying to drain Bella. He had her hooked up to an IV system, and he was filling up blood bags." Esme took a shaky breath before continuing. "I...I don't know how much blood she's lost but she's been passed out since I've got her."

Peter cussed as once again his call went to voicemail, and he tucked the phone back in his pocket. "Tell her to go to the hotel, we'll meet her there. Major ain't answering his phone, so that spells trouble."

"Who was that?" Esme's tone was finally settling down. "The hotel on 64th Street? What the hell is going on?"

There was silence as both Emmett and Rosalie tried to process hearing sweet docile Esme cuss. Peter rolled his eyes and snatched the phone from Emmett's paw.

"Evenin' ma'am. Ya got my great niece in your arms right now, and while I'm real thankful that you got her out before it was too late, I need ya to listen to me right now." Peter waited for an affirmative noise before continuing. "Yes it is the hotel on 64th Street that you're headed to, Rosalie will be there to greet you. We'll be right behind. Now I got an important question for you."

"Yes?"

"What happened to the piece of shit that stole my niece? We need to be ready if he's gonna be back around."

Esme's response was vicious when it came across the line, so much so that Emmett and Rosalie felt both stunned and proud when they heard it.

"I ripped his arms and head off. He isn't going to be hurting her again."

Peter let out a slow and impressed whistle.

"Well alright, I'm gonna end up liking you little lady. See ya soon."

To say Jasper was pissed would be an understatement. No, the correct term would probably be closer to feral. He stood there, idly kicking at the squirming pieces of newborn at his feet, all too aware that tearing them to shreds had done nothing for his rage. All around him vampires worked to clean up his mess, careful not to come too close to him and what he was sure was the aura of rage he projected.

He felt the vibration of his cell phone going off in his pocket, and purposely slowed his movements so that he wouldn't crush it when he answered.

"What?" His voice was a harsh snarl, but he couldn't find it in him to care; not when he failed his mate by not knowing where she could possibly be.

"Take a chill pill, Major." Jasper growled at the sound of Peter's voice but Peter just continued the conversation. "We have Bella, we're heading over to the hotel now. Leave your squad in position, I'm sending Garrett over to lead them to their new spot."

The line clicked dead, and Jasper slid his phone back into his pocket. He cracked his neck, and rolled his shoulders before turning to his group.

"Garrett will be here shortly, finish cleanin' up."

Then he turned on his heel and left, eager to find out what the fuck happened.

So, what did we think? Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but at least we got Esme! I'll be honest, I'm utterly in love with the idea of Esme being lowkey feral. I'm hoping to kinda give her that type of feel in this fic. We'll see how it goes.