The house phone rang, and Jasper was the first to answer the phone before anyone else could, "Hello?"
"Jasper, it's me," Carlisle answered on the other side, easing the stern tone Jasper usually used whenever he'd answer. Normally, if it weren't one of the Denali, it would be a human calling to solicit or call Carlisle from their work.
"How is she?" Jasper asked right away, unable to think about anything other than the little girl who somehow won his heart so easily.
"Sleeping for now. She's in shock and needs lots of rest."
"How bad was it? Alice said she'd been losing a lot of blood in her vision." Carlisle sighed, making him tense when he hesitated, "...What is it?"
"She was definitely attacked by something...unnatural. The wound in her shoulder wasn't normal, not in the sense that it would convince me that it was a wild animal."
"A vampire? That doesn't make any sense though, why would they let her live then? That doesn't add up."
"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to keep an eye on Bella and monitor her recovery before asking around. If what Alice said was true and the Swans had been on First Beach, chances are the wolves must have chased them away before they could get to her..."
"Have you decided on what you're going to do then? If she does know-" Jasper didn't want to think about what would happen if Bella had a chance to understand she'd probably encountered a vampire. Not when the risk was too high.
Esme's voice could be heard in the background, gentle and faint as she spoke to someone. Carlisle hesitated once more, sounding more distracted than usual, "Yes...for now. We'll take her in and keep a close eye. Maybe Edward will be able to tell if she knows the truth or not. Until then, make sure you all go on a hunt tonight. We'll be home tomorrow evening." Jasper wanted to tell Carlisle he wanted to be there with them, to monitor Bella's emotions to gauge how she felt and help ease the pain of her loss. But he knew there was no way he'd be able to if she were wounded and bleeding. That wasn't a chance he was willing to take. After saying a curt goodbye to his father, Jasper hung up the phone before turning to face his siblings, who'd all been waiting in the kitchen with anticipation and reluctance.
"Well? How is she?" Rosalie asked, her arms crossed as she glared down at her feet—just as conflicted about the new member of their family as Jasper was. But he sensed the genuine concern beginning to grow as his sister learned more about the young girl.
"Bella's alive and resting. Carlisle wants us to go hunt tonight, and we should return to Forks as soon as we're done."
"They'll be bringing her, huh?" Edward murmured to himself, he knew the answer, but it was for the benefit of the others who couldn't read Jasper's mind to know the truth too.
As soon as Jasper nodded, Emmett's lips broke out into an excited grin, clapping his hands together with a hum, "Looks like we're getting a human then."
"She's not a pet, Emmett! Be nice when she gets here, or you'll be on her bad side," Alice slapped his shoulder, which only made Emmett chuckled. With a relieved smile, Alice walked out of the room with a positive attitude, "Looks like we're going to have some shopping to do on the way home!"
"Oh, good idea! Buy the kid some games," Emmett added before following after Alice. The two bickered about which games to buy and what clothes Bella would need as they chose to ignore the three vampires who mulled over every other possibility Bella's arrival will open up.
Rosalie exchanged a wary look with Edward, pushing off the wall she's been leaning against with her arms crossed, "I hope Carlisle knows what he's doing...for all our sakes."
Jasper couldn't find it in him to share his opinion, even though he was the one with the most concerns regarding being so close to a human—a child he would loathe harming. On the other hand, if she had been exposed to a vampire, there would be no going back, no way to abandon her when his kind had been responsible for her family's death.
"I supposed we'll just have to find out," Edward looked at his brother and shared a bitter smile before being the first to go on a hunt.
"Poor kid..." a nurse nearby sighed with lament as she watched Bella sitting across from Esme as she stared absentmindedly at the food she'd brought in for her, "I heard she was found by the Newton's. The husband found her sitting on her father's lap, can you imagine?"
Carlisle kept a calm demeanor though he could hear the nurses gossiping about the little girl from the doorway, "How horrible. Some kids really do lose their parents to freak accidents too often."
"Bella? Are you alright?" Esme asked when she noticed Bella start to push the covers off her legs, squeezing past the bed and around her.
"B-bathroom..." Her face paler than it had been moments ago, Bella rushed across the room as quickly as her little legs could allow her. Carlisle frowned with concern. Esme stood and grimaced when the little girl whimpered behind the door as she entered the bathroom.
Frowning towards the nurses who continued to speak about Bella, Esme's usual patience was running thin, and it made Carlisle's come to a shocking halt as he stood up from his chair.
Turning around to face the nurses with a strained smile, he crosses the distance and grips the door's handle to close it. The women tensed as he spoke as politely as he could, "Would it be possible for you two to notify Dr. Barns that I'd like to speak to him? As soon as possible?"
Flushing with embarrassment and glancing once more over his shoulder, the nurses hurried away with a quick apology.
"Thank goodness, I was about to say something myself," Esme murmured under her breath and accepted a comforting hug from Carlisle. His amber eyes focused on the full tray of food that had been brought for Bella and sighed into his wife's tender touch as she cupped his cheek, "she's in shock like you said. It will take time before she'll be able to be a normal kid again. Loss of appetite is to be expected."
"How is it that you know what I'm thinking before I say it out loud?" He kissed her lips with a smile.
"Edward isn't the only one who can read you like a book, my dear. You've always been open with me."
Carlisle ran the back of his fingers over her cheek and gazed into his wife's warm eyes with affection, "Always."
The sound of the door opening brought them out of their solace before Bella slowly made her way out of the bathroom. It was challenging not to go to her when Carlisle noticed she was still pale from the pain and blood loss. Standing in place, Carlisle watched closely as Bella walked over to the bed and noticed the sun was out from the window to her left. Stopping, Bella turned and placed her hand against the glass.
Esme took a chance and attempted to approach her once more; kneeling beside her and smiling, she spoke softly, "Bella, would you like to know a little bit about our family?" Bella turned her head, and her eyes shifted between the kind woman and the window as if unsure where to focus. It made Carlisle note the subtle way Bella fidgeted with her fingers and her heart beating erratically now and then. When she gave Esme a nod, the latter beamed before explaining the Cullen household, "I was told you met Jasper once or twice. Do you remember Jasper?"
"The...pretty boy," Bella murmured as she stared at Esme with round brown eyes that showed her curiosity.
Carlisle smiled to himself at the same time Esme giggled, "Yes, that's Jasper. He's our eldest, and he has two more brothers named Emmett and Edward. They can be loud sometimes but funny, and all three love to play games. Do you like games?" Bella's lips quirked as she hesitantly nodded and listened to Esme's excitement while talking about her children. "There's Rosalie and Alice who are wonderful, and I'm sure they would be more than happy to play dress-up with you if you want."
Just like the clouds that covered the warm sun and the room grew cold, Bella's smile fell, and she looked back down to her hands.
"Mommy doesn't like it when I play with her clothes. She'll be mad at me." The tears that welled in her eyes broke Esme's heart when Bella looked out to the window and bit her lip, "Where's Mommy?"
Carlisle walked over to help Esme explain when the girl had clearly forgotten since last night. The shock of the entire situation either impairing her memory, or Bella was simply too small to understand the difference between life and death. The second time Carlisle explained, however, Bella didn't burst into tears, nor did she question where her parents were. Carlisle and Esme had a feeling that Bella was far more intelligent than they could have imagined when she whispered numbly, "Mommy and Daddy are sleeping now."
"Yes, Bella. They are," Carlisle nodded before reaching his hand out to pull her into a hug and comfort her gently, but before he had the chance, Bella flinched away and hurried to the bed again. The fear in her eyes was alarming when she peeked up at him as soon as she curled up under the sheets. Far too real to be a one-time thing like he'd thought after she'd shied away from Esme's touch. As if she thought he would harm her in any way...
"I can...come with you? I don't have to stay here?" Bella questioned.
"Of course you can. We want nothing more than for you to come home with us," Carlisle states wholeheartedly, his heart aching to wipe away the fear she'd just looked at him with and hoping to replace it with the wonderous gaze she'd granted him and Jasper the first day they met.
Someday...
The next day, Bella's doctor gave the okay to take her home, and Carlisle went on to fill out the necessary paperwork to do just that with Jenks's help. Being listed as adoptive parents to the others had proven to be a great help, legally speaking, thus ensuring that Bella could indeed be taken in with them without a major case being opened. It helped that J. Jenks was willing to forge paperwork thanks to Jasper's gift; however, it always left Carlisle feeling rather guilty.
Carlisle was just about to turn and head back towards Bella's room when Doctor Barns called out to his colleague, holding a prescription in his hand as he greeted Carlisle, "Now, I don't want to alarm you, but since you will be taking Isabella home with you I thought it'd be best to give you these," The shock that registered on Carlisle's face upon realizing that Bella was being given small doses of antihistamines did not show on his face right away.
"I'm sorry...why does Bella need these? She's very young to be getting sedatives."
"Oh, they're not exactly sedatives; however, Mr. and Mrs. Swan had come to me for an evaluation on Bella's health when she started showing signs of anxiety and hyperactivity. I explained it was nothing a little cognitive therapy couldn't help fix however they rejected my suggestion. Now that they're gone..." Doctor Barns shook his head with a sigh, "anyway, I'm sorry for keeping you. Good luck, Dr. Cullen."
By the time Doctor Barns walked into another patient's room and greeted the parents, Carlisle was looking down to the prescription he'd somehow accepted. A five-year-old did not need such things...not so soon anyway. Why on earth would they resort to sedating their child when all Bella needed was attention and affection. It didn't take an empath to know that her mother had constantly rejected Bella. The sound of a crack made him look down at the bottle of antihistamines in his hand and grimaced, looking around to make sure no one had noticed the slip. Carlisle walked over to the nearest trash can and tossed the prescription with a sigh before heading to Bella's room. If Bella had anxiety and hyperactivity, he would know what to do to help her, and he would do it without the help of drugs.
Meanwhile, Esme was helping Bella get ready to leave the hospital. She was grateful for Alice's thoughtfulness for bringing over a few of Bella's clothes earlier this morning while the child slept.
"Beautiful," Esme mused as she zipped up Bella's jacket and handed the little girl a hand-knitted beanie to keep her head and ears warm. "Are you ready, Bella?" Bella nodded and, out of habit, reached for Esme's hand while she was distracted, looking back towards the room she'd been staying in for two days. Before her fingers could graze Esme's hand, however, Bella quickly pulled away and tucked her hands under her sleeves. The blush on her cheeks illuminating her complexion as she tucked her chin under the zipper of her jacket. Physical touch, it seemed, was close to impossible with Bella right now, and Esme couldn't blame her if she didn't want comfort or affection of any sort currently, given she's just lost both of her parents. It still made the woman yearn to give her the love any child deserved, though. With a sigh, Esme tried her best to smile brightly as she said, "Alright, let's go."
As Bella walked between Carlisle and Esme down the hall, she couldn't help but notice the stares of nurses and doctors as they passed by. It wasn't until they were out of the hospital and walking towards a shiny black car that Bella realized she'd been looking for her mother and father. Carlisle had been right. Her parents were sleeping.
No, not sleeping. She'd heard Charlie mentioning what happens when someone doesn't wake up. They're not sleeping they're-
Dead.
The word rang out in the back of Bella's mind as she buckled herself into the car seat in the back, missing the impressed look Carlisle gave her when she did so without any prompt or help to put her seatbelt on. Her shoulder ached whenever she moved her arm, and a shiver ran up her spine at the memory of the man that stretched her when he grabbed her harshly. She expelled the memory away when she grew frightened again, shutting her eyes tight until she saw stars.
The comfort of hearing Carlisle and Esme converse in low tones in front of Bella coaxed her to open her eyes and think about her parents again.
Dead.
Resting her head against the side of the car seat, Bella stared out towards the window as trees blurred on the sides of the road and rain splattered across the glass, rushing to the side as the wind picked up. Her eyes started closing gradually when the movement of the car and Carlisle and Esme's soothing voices lulled her to sleep, preventing her from thinking about her dead parents and instead began dreaming of them walking on the beach, holding hands with her.
Upon their arrival back in Forks, Jasper waited with silent contemplation for the little girl who would soon be living under the same roof along with seven dangerous vampires. Alice had tormented the entire family with her plans to decorate Bella's bedroom upstairs, making Emmett and Jasper haul the bedframe and mattress while Edward carried a vanity with a bored look on his face, all too used to Alice's antics by now. Rosalie had begrudgingly accepted to go grocery shopping since it was a given that Bella would need actual human food in order to survive.
Currently, Jasper was assembling the mahogany bed frame, thinking that the size was far too big for a small child; however, she'd eventually grow into it...if all goes well.
As soon as he was done with the bed, Emmett trudged into the bedroom with an armful of stuffed animals he'd purchased in Port Angeles with Alice.
"Emmett, where do you plan on putting all of those toys? What if she doesn't like them?"
Emmett rolled his eyes, "Then I'll return them, obviously. C'mon Jazz! A kid needs to have fun too."
"I know Bella needs it...I'm not quite sure why you need it," He chuckled when Emmett chucked a stuffed animal in his direction. Releasing a sigh, Jasper stared at the teddy bear in his hands, "This isn't going to be easy."
"Of course it won't be," Emmett shrugged as he lined up the animals along the glass wall window on the floor, "but we adapt quickly. We always have."
It wasn't long before the sound of tires crunching over gravel was heard, and they all knew by the slow heartbeat in the car that Bella had finally arrived. Remaining seated on the couch with a book in his lap, Jasper idly played with Alice's hair as she rested her head against his shoulder. Rosalie kept a firm hand on Emmett's hand to keep him seated beside her as she stared at the television screen and watched the random film they'd selected. Edward was stowed away in his room, listening to music until he lowered the volume—highly aware that at any moment, they would all have to meet the little girl.
"She's asleep," Esme said as the sound of the front door opening and closing echoed in the entryway. Bella's heart beating steadily was all the proof they needed to know that Bella was indeed fast asleep.
When Carlisle walked into the living room with Bella tucked protectively in his arms, her hand curling around his jacket, Jasper sat straighter in his seat—as did everyone else in the room.
Her face was paler than it had been the last time he'd see her, and the circles under her eyes were prominent. The bandages on her cheek were shallow, but the scent of her blood filled the air instantly, and it was hard to ignore completely, no matter how long Jasper held his breath.
Alice's hand held his and squeezed, feeling her trust and cherishing it wholeheartedly as he registered what she was trying to tell him. With a nod of understanding, Jasper placed a kiss on Alice's temple.
You won't hurt her.
Carlisle nodded in greeting to all of his children before heading up the stairs with Esme following close behind them. His whisper reaching everyone as Carlisle asked, "Keep things down in here, okay? She hasn't slept at all."
"Aw man, I thought we'd at least get to meet the kid," With a disappointed sigh, Emmett sat back down beside Rosalie on the couch and muttered with a smile, "she's so dang small."
"Yes, she is. So you better not play any pranks or roughhouse. Humans can be broken so easily..." Rosalie said, conveying everyone else's thoughts exactly.
It wasn't long before Carlisle and Esme finished settling Bella in her new room that they returned downstairs and finally breathed a sigh of relief they could all sympathize with.
"Why don't we all talk in the dining room?" Carlisle motioned behind him, sounding a little more tired than before as if that were possible. Looking around him, Carlisle he paused as he noticed there was one member of the family missing and asked, "Where's Edward?"
That's when Jasper realized he couldn't sense his brother in his bedroom anymore because he wasn't home. Edward was long gone as if he'd never existed in the first place. What had led to the mind readers' sudden departure perplexed Jasper immensely—leaving him and the others unaware that the little girl sleeping across the hall from him had also awakened something in Edward. Something that frightened him enough to flee before the thirst for her blood began.
Thanks for reading x
Aw, Bella's finally with the Cullens :) what do you guys think so far? Thanks for all the reviews, follows/favorites!