Six

It was the day that I expected to leave La Push that it happened. I'd spent days in a bubble with Jake, meeting his father, his friends and seeming to fit into his life as if I'd always been there.

The bubble of happiness burst dramatically as I was packing, preparing to leave. I had work in a few hours. Jake was staring, watching my every movement with distaste. He was as unhappy about my imminent departure as I was though he had yet to voice it. It seemed as if he were about to speak when his phone chirped in his pocket. He reached for it instinctively.

"What's up?"

I heard Quil's voice through the receiver.

"We got a problem. You're needed. Both of you,"

I frowned, what on earth could they possibly need me for? I shivered praying that it wasn't another body in the woods. The idea filled me with dread.

Jake locked eyes with me, I nodded once. Despite my anxiety I would follow him wherever if he needed me too.

Quil rattled off a location I didn't understand before hanging up swiftly.

"So race?" Jake suggested, smirking.

I shook my head,

"I need directions so I can't leave you behind."

"Burn," he responded, laughing.

"You wanna change first?"

I nodded, wearing my work outfit would not be appropriate for running through the woods. He stood and made to leave.

"I'll be outside," he told me.

I changed quickly into black leggings and a maroon-colored tee. I pulled on my sneakers and dragged my curls up into a messy bun. Finally ready, I left his bedroom, motioning a goodbye to Billy before heading outside after Jake. It took me a moment to spot him. Half hidden in the shade of the trees, I could see him in his other form, the oversized red brown wolf, waiting for me.

I searched the area and found no one nearby, I hurried to join him. Moving at speed felt glorious, I stopped before him.

"Led the way," I directed.

He tilted his head, a reply I didn't yet understand before darting off into the trees. I kept pace with him without much effort, he was impressively fast himself though. It really did impress me to see him move through the trees as easily as I did. Maybe not the same level of grace, but certainly not far from it.

The woodland grew denser, and it was then that I became aware that we weren't alone. I saw the others, minus Levi - it was a school day after all- waiting for us. To my surprise, they were in their human form. I frowned as I came to a stop.

Jake hung back, moving behind a thick trunked tree to change his form out of my view. He remerged a few moments later, dressed in the same moss green coloured shorts he'd worn earlier, his shirt was absent now though. I tried not to stare, focusing on the others.

"What's so urgent?" He asked,

Embry spoke first, "we found it."

"Not it," Seth commented, his voice unsettled, "her. We found her."

"Her? Who?" I asked quickly.

"The child," Quil told us, "the dead woman's child, the one like you."

I wanted to argue that statement, tell them they were wrong. They had to be.

"Show me," I added, anxiety rising inside me.

I didn't understand this at all. It didn't make sense for the child to still be here. If it was the dead woman's child then it had been out here all this time, nearly a week later. I shuddered at the thought, she must be starving.

Embry led the way, almost to the spot where the woman's body had been only a few days ago. I couldn't work this out, it made no sense. If the child had been nearby, I would have heard her before surely?

"Where?" I asked quickly,

Seth took over the lead. I noticed then the rapidly healing wound on his wrist.

"She bit you," I stated,

"Yeah," Seth confirmed, "I tried to help her."

I nodded, so that was why they called us. Seth had already attempted to extract the infant from wherever she had been hiding but to no avail.

"Up ahead," Seth directed, "she's hiding in an old fox den under the base of that tree."

I nodded again, "what makes you think I'll have any more luck than you did?

Seth shrugged, "maybe she'll trust you, you're like her after all."

"I don't like this," Jake said then, "what if she hurts you?"

I rolled my eyes, "as if."

I went to move when I felt his hand encircle my wrist. I turned to see the unnecessary worry in his eyes.

"I'll be fine," I told him gently, "honestly, she can't hurt me."

His reluctance to let go was obvious as he released my grip. I approached the infant's hiding place with caution. Calm and patient, I neared the trunk. I heard it then, the faint sound of a too fast heartbeat.

"Hey, little one," I spoke quietly, hoping to reassure, "it's okay, I'm here to help you."

A tiny growl sounded from within.

"There's no need for that," I whispered to her, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I reached the base of the trunk, crouched down before it. I knew it was likely a mistake to try but I didn't know what else to do.

I reached my arm down into the fox den. Miniature razor sharp teeth sliced into my arm as I reached for the infant I knew was present. I didn't give any indication that she'd hurt me and just placed my hand against her neck. I showed her who I was, I showed her I was safe and what safe meant to me. I felt the grip on my arm relax somewhat. Enough for me to take hold of her and free her from her hidey hole.

From within, a small dark haired naked infant was retrieved. Appearing nearly six months old after a week's growth, her short fine hair was nearly black in color, eyes a deep green and skin as pale as my own.

"Well that wasn't overly friendly," I commented on the shredded skin of my forearm.

She looked at me with eyes older than her body. Alight with fear, she looked agitated and terrified.

"It's okay," I whispered down to her, "you're safe now."

I reinforced my words by showing her my meaning again. I showed her my parents and their love for me. How they had always made me feel safe.

The small girl burrowed into my t-shirt and I realized then just how frightened she must have been up until now. Thirsty, hungry, and alone. She must have been so scared.

I held her close and rose up out of my crouch. Her little hands did not relinquish their grip on me.

"Quil, can I borrow your shirt?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

He handed it over without a word, I wrapped it around the child. Swaddling her up in it, she drifted off to sleep against me as we began walking back through the woods. Jake kept a steady pace beside me.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, staring down at the infant in my arms, "I could call my parents, they might be able to help."

There was no might about it, the whole family would jump at the chance to raise another child. Something held me back from that idea though and I wasn't sure why.

"Well firstly, we'll take her home," Jake replied instantly, "food, bath and sleep. I'm sure Sam's got a cot in storage and people around here are bound to have baby clothes knocking about. Long term decision we can discuss later."

"It might not be safe though," I admitted, he looked at me curiously and I added, "she might not be safe around your father yet."

Jake stopped moving, I watched as he thought it all through.

"So, we need somewhere secluded for a little while at least?"

I nodded, "if she's staying, then yes."

"Right," Jake said, "hang on."

He moved to speak to the others then, I tried not to eavesdrop, but it was difficult not too. It appeared they knew of somewhere that may work, it wasn't in the best condition though.

Jake jogged back to me after a few seconds of discussion.

"Right so, there's an old cabin out in the woods. It's a bit of a wreck but we should be able to make it safe pretty quickly."

I noticed the others leaving as he spoke, clearly going to do as he asked. It surprised me how willing they were to help with this. The little girl in my arms wriggled in her sleep. A feeling of warmth spread through my hand and onto my shirt.

"Need to include diapers onto that supply list," I said, feeling slightly disgusted by the liquid now soaking my hand and my tee.

"I owe Quil a shirt," I added.

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about that," he laughed, "he barely wears them anyway."

"Yeah," I told him as we continued walking back towards Jake's house, "I noticed that. None of you seem to make a habit of shirts."

He nodded, "Yeah don't feel the cold."

"Neither do I," I commented, "I still wear clothes."

"Also makes it easier to phase."

I nodded, understanding dawning on me.

We walked almost silently through the trees. The infant began to stir in my arms as we reached the tree line. I could see Jake's house from here.

"She's waking up,"

He nodded, "I'll get some supplies for today and be back soon."

I sat in the shade of an ancient tree, it's trunk wide enough to hide us from the view of any passer-by. Not unlike the tree that she had hidden beneath for some days. Her place of safety kept us safe now. She wriggled once more, moving to look up at me curiously. Her eyes were more intelligent than was the norm for an infant, just as mine had been.

"Hello,"

She looked at me, sniffed in my direction and laid her head back against my chest, snuggling up into me.

"You're safe now," I told her, "I'll keep you safe, I promise."

An instinct I thought I didn't possess seemed to have been activated upon finding this child. This girl needed someone to care for her, someone like her who would support her, and show her the way. I had never been able to picture myself as a mother or even a mother figure. I had always believed it was not a path I would take and yet, here I was, presented with a child who had been left, no mother, no father, just us.

She held onto me tightly, refusing to relax her grip. Until there was a crunch in the leaf litter nearby. A rabbit snuffled around in the fallen leaves and bracken searching for a potential meal, it was close enough that I could hear its tiny heartbeat hammering in its ribcage. The girl heard it too, I saw her face light up at the sound.

"Are you thirsty?" I asked, tapping my throat to show her what I meant. I knew she probably was. I took her from my arms, placed her at the base of the big tree, tucking the slightly damp shirt around her.

"Wait, here," I instructed, hoping she would listen. I would be gone for a matter of seconds and it appeared she wasn't able to move far by herself anyway.

I darted off into the trees and returned to her quickly, the dead rabbit slack in my hands. When I reached her, I punctured its throat and handed it out to her. She pulled a face, I laughed.

"You get used to it," I told her.

She wasn't thrilled by what I offered her, but her thirst was clearly too much for her to ignore the merger offering. She drank a few mouthfuls of the rabbit's blood, the burgundy liquid running down her chin, staining the shirt. Once she was finished, I discarded the body in the brushes, returning to her swiftly.

A tiny smile spread across her face and she moved to cuddle up to me again. After so long hiding in the dark, it must have felt wonderful to be found. She was comfy for a time, gently pulling at my curls that had escaped the bun. She giggled as she pulled the curl taut, then let it go for it to spring back into its usual shape. She had found a game it seemed. She was still playing with my ringlets when Jake returned. All of sudden her posture changed, her body tensing in my grip. A faint snarl leaving her.

"It's okay," I assured her, "he's safe."

She didn't seem convinced, eyeing him uneasily but returned to playing with my hair.

I noticed my packed bag in his grip and a thought crossed my mind that made my stomach clench. I was expected to be on shift tonight. There would be questions if I didn't at least call them to let them know I wouldn't be there.

"I need to call work," I told Jake.

He nodded, dumping the bags, he had three in total, on the ground, and fished my cell phone from one of his pockets. I smiled widely and thanked him.

It was difficult but necessary to lie to them. Swiftly calling to foreign illness and making sure they understood I would be out of action for a few days. They weren't pleased by the lack of notice but wished me well regardless. I handed my phone back to Jake and he returned it to his pocket.

"Probably easier to go on foot," he explained, "It's not the most accessible place."

I nodded, that was probably a good thing.

"Here," he spoke up then, eying the small girl with concern, "better than a shirt."

She looked his way as he passed it over. It was a large, knitted blanket, multi-coloured in various hues of gold, brown, and red. The pattern was intricate and nothing short of beautiful. I locked eyes with him, trying to tell him how thoughtful he was without having to word it. I discarded the shirt from around her and wrapped the woollen blanket about her in its place. She watched him as I did so. Her little mind was curious, taking in every word, every gesture. Learning who we were and if we were to be trusted.

She took her inquisitive gaze from him and snuggled under the blanket, enjoying the comfort I supposed.

"That's kind of you," I stated, tucking the blanket more securely around her.

He grabbed up the bags from the floor and began moving at a steady pace, heading back the way we had just come from. He shrugged off my observation.

"She can't sit in Quil's gross shirt all day," he remarked, before leading the way towards our new destination.

We walked through trees until darkness had begun to fall. She had fallen asleep some time ago, her little body held snugly against mine as we trekked towards the cabin. When we found it, it was obvious that it had been abandoned for some time.

The roof had a gaping hole through it, the wood rotten from being subjected to near continuous rainfall. It had no door, the windows appeared to have been smashed in some time ago, with dust and dirt settled on the shards. The overall structure though seemed sturdy. This little house would need work, they had said so themselves.

"Seth's inside," Jake told me as we approached, I could faintly hear the sound of a person moving about inside, "he's been clearing out the rubbish."

I noticed the pile of broken roof slats and old furniture piled up outside. Seth appeared as I was studying his progress.

"Right," he began, giving Jake and me the details, "we've cleared both rooms, removed the dangerous stuff. The bedroom is safe for you guys tonight, but there is still a hole in the roof of the main room, but we brought a tarp to cover it for now. Also, not sure if the bathroom works. I don't think you have running water."

"Nice one," Jake praised, "you guys did good. Where are the others?"

How bad was it to start with? I thought at his praise.

"Gone to get some stuff to fix the roof," he replied, "it won't be done tonight though. We spoke to Levi; he's going to bring up some stuff for you guys. Emily said she's got some old baby clothes in the attic."

"Well done, Seth," Jake told him, before moving to enter the small wooden structure. I followed, noticing as I passed by that Seth's eyes flickered almost involuntarily towards the little girl. Questions surfaced in my mind. Did he fear her? Surely, he must know from seeing my memories through Jake that she wouldn't be dangerous if taught not to be. Or did he resent her? Irritated maybe by the fact he had had to spend his entire day fixing up a decrepit cabin.

The little cabin was just that, little. There was a small living space, barely enough room for us all to stand in together, from that room there was another even smaller space, roughly the same size as Jake's bedroom. There was also a bathroom, though apparently non-functional. The shower, basin and toilet looked to be from the early seventies, in a dark green color. After the guy's handiwork today, there was no furniture left in the cabin. Each room void of things but swept clean and free of hazards.

"Where are we going to sleep?" I asked, unsure.

I didn't mind a night on the floor, but I wasn't sure if the little girl should be subjected to it.

"Embry is going to grab the airbed from his, Quil said his nan has loads of blankets knocking about. You'll have everything you need for tonight don't worry about it."

"Do you need any help with anything?" I asked, feeling as if I should.

Seth was quick to wave off my offer of help.

"Nah, we got this."

"It's very kind of you all," I said, feeling as if I was missing something. Why were they so willing to help the offspring of their enemy? Was it because she was just so young? So vulnerable? I wasn't sure. Maybe it was just the obvious thing, they were being kind. From my years living amongst humans, I had learnt that for the most part, people were a little selfish. It was entirely possible that these past experiences were clouding my judgement today.

It was well and truly night before everything was ready for us to turn in. The air mattress was up, overwhelmed by blankets and cushions. A small table and some camping chairs had been brought for us to use in the morning. Enough supplies to get through a day or two had been provided too; bottled water, soda, snacks, and tins that would keep well. A couple of boxes of clothing had been sent up by Emily too, inside were baby girl clothes of various sizes.

Once everything was ready for us to stay here safely, the guys left. Embry hung back, waiting for Jake to join him on their nightly patrol.

"I'll be back before sunrise," he promised, kissing my cheek, and squeezing my hand gently.

The little girl watched him leave, looking between myself and Jake and taking in the situation. Her little brain already trying to figure out who we were and what that meant.

I made us peanut butter sandwiches; all I was capable of with what we had. She snuggled into my lap, staring at the food offering unsure as I dug out my phone, playing the only Netflix show I had downloaded: a documentary about wildlife in the jungle. Thankfully, I had finished all the shows about serial killers some weeks ago and had moved onto something else.

She nibbled unsure at the sandwich but enjoyed the little television my phone had become. Watching the colors, the tropical birds and plant life seemed exciting to her new eyes.

"Should we go to the rainforest one day?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

A tiny smile crossed her face, and I returned the gesture, silently promising to take her wherever she wanted whilst hoping it was something I could fulfil. We watched the same hour long documentary twice before she snuggled up against me clutching her blanket and drifted off to sleep. I laid down, holding her close. I huddled up under the blankets, more for the feeling of security, of normalcy, than for warmth. With her safely tucked up beside me, I drifted off to sleep. Dreaming of adventures, we'd hopefully have one day.

It was in the early hours of the morning that I felt the pressure on the mattress change as he joined us. The little girl was curled into my side as I woke to find Jake looking across the limited space at me with a grin on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said.

My eyes narrowed, "liar," I accused.

"It's just nice that's all," he admitted, "I could get used to this."

He leant closer, stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, the warmth sending shivers through me. I could see his intentions, but the little girl grumbled and stirred, drawing our attention towards her.

"She's comfy," he commented,

"Yeah," I replied, "me not so much. I lost feeling in my arm about an hour ago."

His laughter set me off, the movement of my chest as I fought to contain the giggles was enough to wake her up fully. She looked up at us, studying our faces.

"I was thinking tonight," he spoke up then, drawing both of our attention onto him.

"She doesn't have a name. Have you thought of anything?"

I looked down at her, studying her face. Wavy black hair, deep green eyes, pale skin, and delicate features, she was stunning as a child and would be even more so when grown. How could I choose a name for her? She wasn't mine to name, my rational mind reasoned, and what if she hated the name I chose for her? I wasn't fond of the name my mom had chosen for me though I understood her reasons. Being Ren was my choice, how did I make that choice for her?

"I don't know," I replied honestly,

"I had a thought," he admitted quietly,

I stared at him expectantly.

"Now, it's a bit out there and I know how you feel about yours so," he began, almost stumbling over his words in insecurity.

"Just spit it out, Jake," I prodded,

"Adoette,"

"Huh?"

"No, that's the name," he stumbled again, "Adoette, its Native American, it means like trees and forests and stuff,"

I had to think it through for a minute. He had clearly spent more time over this then he was willing to admit too. It was certainly a pretty name, and unique enough without being out of place, especially if she would stay with us. A Native American name didn't seem too unique for her.

"How can you shorten it?" I asked, curious.

He shrugged, "erm, Addy? Ettie? I don't know."

I smiled, "I like Ettie."

I moved my eyes onto her, she was watching me intently.

"What do you think?" I asked.

She held my gaze, and I wasn't sure what that meant.

"I won't hold you to this, you know," I told her honestly, "I mean it, if you want to change your name when you are old enough. It's entirely your choice. I do think it's a pretty name though."

She simply stared, before reaching up to play with the curls that were falling free across my shoulder.

"Is that a yes or a no?" I asked again,

She said nothing, obviously. I don't really know what I had been expecting.

"I think it's a lovely name, Jake," I told him, "definitely suits her. Adoette for the girl born in the forest."

Jake was beaming when I met his gaze again, he seemed thrilled that he had named her. Given her something. Where I seemed to bring her comfort, he had given her an identity. Together maybe we could give her everything, be everything she needed.

It seemed a little sudden though, to be here with Jake. Only a week into a relationship and we were jumping into a huge commitment. I had to be sure, before I allowed myself to take that plunge that he was certain.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked,

A frown formed at my question.

"Sure, about what?"

I rolled my eyes, as if he didn't understand me.

"This?" I said again, gesturing towards us all, sitting here together. Trying not to immediately gesture towards Ettie.

"Of course," he replied, completely firm in his response.

"How can you be so sure?" I had to ask, "You don't know me? We don't know where she came from. What if it brings trouble for us? Your family?"

"Ye of little faith," he replied, laughing.

"I'm serious," I told him.

He reached over and took my hand, stroking across the palm in a gentle motion.

"You're overthinking this," he told me, "Her mother is gone, Ren. Whoever fathered her doesn't appear to care about that, if he does come looking then we'll deal with that when it comes."

"But if he does come and he wants her back then what right do we have to –"

"She's not going anywhere," his voice was firm again.

"We don't get to –"

"She stays," he repeated.

I went to protest further but he shook his head.

"You're not going to like this," he spoke low, almost as if to himself.

"She's not leaving, Ren, because it would kill Seth to do that to him."

It was my turn to be completely confused.

"I'm not following,"

He sighed.

"It's not just adults who imprint, Ren."

My face changed dramatically, disgust, horror and shock morphed my expression into something ugly.

"It's not like that," he added quickly.

"It better fucking not be!" I yelled, startling the infant in my arms.

"Jeez, Ren, cool it." He ordered, his eyes flickering down at Ettie worriedly.

"Just calm down and hear me out please?" he requested.

I nodded once, calming myself to keep Ettie calm.

"I promise you; it doesn't mean what you think it means," he explained, "imprinting isn't always like how it is with us, ok? I mean it can be, Jared met Kim when they were teenagers and it worked well for them, like it is for us. Sam and Emily were the same. But Quil imprinted on Claire when she was only a toddler. He has been her big brother, her best friend throughout her entire life. He is her everything, and she is his. It's not romantic love from the get-go and it never has to be, not if she doesn't want that."

"That's why he was so helpful," I said my thoughts allowed, "Why he corrected Embry for calling her 'it? and why he looked at her strangely yesterday?"

"You really are quite perceptive, aren't you?"

"I like to think so," I agreed.

"Modest too," he continued.

I slapped his arm at the comment.

He laughed at my irritation. He seemed to find my mood amusing.

"Can you sit with her for a minute?" I asked as the thought crossed my mind. At his nod, I directed my words to her next.

"I'm going to get you some breakfast," I told her, "Stay here with Jake and show him the jungle birds, ok?"

She gave me no response, but happily followed my phone screen to watch Our Planet again. Moving to sit nearer Jake in the process.

"I won't be long," I told them both.

Darting outside into the rain, I ran deep into the surrounding woodland and waited. Crouching ready for the first sign of movement. She didn't need much; a small animal would suffice to keep her going. I waited completely still, closing my eyes, and absorbing the sounds of the forest. It was mere minutes before I noticed its presence. The sound of soft paws digging into the damp earth as the little mammal foraged for the food source it would never consume.

The rabbit was dead within moments of my finding it. I returned to the cabin carrying the little creature as my bounty, it was not the most appealing, but it was familiar to her and big enough to keep her going.

When I returned, they were engrossed in the documentary that we had watched twice last night. It was only about 20 mins into the episode. I noticed as her nose twitched and she sniffed at the air. I tried not to look at Jake as I handed her the dead rabbit, I didn't want to see the horrified expression on his face. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of the mammal. She shot me a look that made it hard to keep a straight face. This was not the food she wanted; she was making that abundantly clear.

"We talked about this," I reminded her of our conversation the previous day, "besides it's not ok to hurt people. Nobody deserves to die so that we can live."

I remembered those words, that exact phrase. My father had said it before, as if such a thing were simple. It was difficult for them all to sustain as they did. Easier for me than any of them and I would make sure that while I cared for Ettie that she would follow suit. Nobody would get hurt because of her, even if that meant hiding away in the woods.

Her eyes held understanding as she took the rabbit from me, she drank as she had the previous day, drinking more than I expected. Blood ran down her chin as she pulled her mouth away.

"Well, that was… different," Jake commented,

"It's who she is," I told him, "Who I am."

"I know," he replied, smiling reassuringly at me.

"I was actually referring to the dead rabbit in our bed," he added, "Does it come with a gift receipt?"

I rolled my eyes at him, trying to keep the smile from my face. It was then that I noticed it. Despite his good humor his eyes were heavy, and I knew the night without sleep must have affected him more than it would have me.

"You get some sleep," I instructed, "I'm going to find my lady here something to wear."

Despite being given boxes of clothing, it had been late, and I hadn't wanted to search too thoroughly so late into the night so had grabbed her the first thing and forced a diaper onto her reluctant self. It was this that I dealt with first. She was not keen on the idea of wearing it, but I was able to explain why she had too. I let her choose her own clothes as a reward, ironically, she chose a pale green tee with a white rabbit embroidered on it. I chose the dark colored leggings that accompanied it.

Once we were both dressed, we spent most of the day together exploring the woods surrounding our little cabin. Seth returned late morning, smiling at us in a way I understood a little better now.

Days passed here differently it seemed, repetitive but not dull. There was always something new to discover, something interesting to explore. As we wondered, finding leaves, sticks and pretty stones, the guys worked to fix the roof. Slowly bringing the cabin up to code.

The plumbing was trickier. Ettie had found it highly amusing when Seth unscrewed the wrong piece of the pipework and sent a fountain of filthy water raining down upon him and Embry. Her laughter tinkled like a set of miniature bells. It captivated us to hear it.

She was a truly enchanting little lady, and she was ours. Slowly becoming more ingrained in our lives are the days ticked by. On the fourth day, she saw something she wanted across the room and moved towards it with us all watching on in surprise. Her crawl was not perfect at first, but it quickly became so. I knew then that it wouldn't be long before she walked.

It was on the fifth day that I admitted to myself that we couldn't stay locked up here forever. With no running water to the cabin, it became necessary to make a trip into the village. Jake went to his place while I, at Emily's insistence, went to hers. She had found some old clothes of hers while sorting the attic and wanted to see if they would fit me. Being away from home, any clothes would be helpful.

Ettie was dressed in old clothes of Sophie's, a pale pink slogan tee and fuchsia leggings, an outfit she had chosen for herself this morning. She had already removed her shoes and socks by the time we arrived at Emily's. We'd have to return via the same route to find them again.

This was a big gamble, taking her here. I'd explained to her that she couldn't bite these people, and I wasn't sure how much she had understood.

"Oh, my word," I heard Emily exclaim as we approached her yard.

Ettie buried her head into my chest in the presence of a stranger.

"She's beautiful," Emily gushed.

"Yeah, she is," I agreed, stroking her fine black hair in a comforting gesture.

She gradually turned her face towards Emily, her nose lifted, sniffing the air.

This was a bad idea.

"No biting," I whispered, hoping, praying she understood.

She looked at me then, looking absolutely put out by my reminder of the rules. I had to force the laughter back. The expression was so adult on such a tiny face it was hard to not find it amusing.

"Oh, I recognize that tee!" Emily stated, "I miss mine being so small."

I didn't comment on her recollections, they were private, and I didn't know how to appropriately respond.

"You best come in," she instructed, beckoning me inside, "the rain won't hold off for long."

I laughed at that, no it certainly wouldn't. I had realized recently why this area had appealed to my family so much, it was nearly always overcast and/or raining. It was perfect for them.

Following her inside, I found the dining table covered in folded piles of clothing.

"Now these are my old clothes I found," she told me swiftly, "they haven't fitted me since before I had the children so they're possibly a little outdated but anything you want just help yourself."

"It's incredibly kind of you,"

"Nonsense, these are so old now, I don't think goodwill will even want them,"

"Still, you're helping me again, and I'm very grateful for that,"

She smiled at me, before glancing down at Ettie. The little girl was finally being brave and looking around at the house. She wriggled forcefully, looking at something across the room, jumping down from my arms and crawling over to an end table beside the couch. It held a framed photo of Emily, Sam, Levi and Sophie. She pulled herself up and stared at the photograph, piecing things together. Her little brow furrowed as she looked over at Emily and then back to the picture. I understood what she was doing.

"Yes that's Emily, the same,"

She frowned at me, then pointed at Sam.

"That's Sam," I explained

She pointed to Levi and then Sophie, with me telling her their names as she did so.

Satisfied at her newly gained knowledge, she crawled back to me and I scooped her up to find Emily staring at us both in astonishment.

"Seth said she wasn't like other children but that is incredible," she

"She understands you?"

I nodded, "I think so, for the most part anyway."

"Well, there goes the idea of a television babysitter this morning," she spoke, almost to herself, laughing a little.

"Anyway," she went to stand beside the clothes, "tees, pants, sweaters, dresses," she directed my attention to each pile of clothes in turn, "take whatever you like."

I smiled and began looking through the clothes one handed, Ettie clinging on to my side supported by the other.

"I can hold her, if needed," Emily spoke up then.

I froze, "I'm not sure it's a good idea," I admitted.

Emily frowned, her expression borderline hurt.

"Not you, her," I was quick to explain, "she's young and if I'm honest, I can guarantee she wouldn't bite you if she was close enough."

Emily eyed Ettie a little differently after that.

Bath time was interesting. I had to join her in the tub as she refused to consider getting in until I did. Ettie was a little unsure of the water but enjoyed it after getting used to the sensation. She was then fascinated by every aspect of the process.

Washing took some time, she flinched when I attempted to pour water over her head, so I made a show of going first. Scrubbing at my curls, removing days' worth of dirt that had built up whilst we'd kept to ourselves in the woods. Ettie let me wash her hair after that, wriggling at the feeling of me scrubbing the dirt away. I reached for the soap after, she stared at it confused, gaining understanding of everything going on around her, and then she tried to eat it before throwing it across the room when it tasted, well, like soap.

After we were clean and dry once again, I went back downstairs to find Emily and Jake in the lounge. His smile when he saw me was brilliant. I was confident that mine was also. Ettie smiled too, reaching out for him when she saw him.

"Well, you smell better now," he commented, with a laugh.

She snuggled into him, taking comfort from his return in a way I hadn't quite expected. It warmed my heart to see it. For days she had been stuck to my side like glue, sitting with Jake on rare occasions. It seemed however that she had missed him after all.

He held her close, and it made me feel whole to witness their moment. Maybe he was right after all, maybe it didn't matter that I couldn't give him children. We would make a family together in a different way, our own way. Ettie was our family now, and we would care for her as long as she wanted us too.