I hadn't noticed the music had stopped until Edward appeared at the threshold, his jaw tense and his eyes uncertain. "Are you ready to go?" He asked.

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Sure," I said, aware that a communication I wouldn't understand was occurring between them, the sharp narrowing of his eyes giving them away.

I moved off of my stool and stacked the empty plates, intending to clear up before we left. Esme, who'd vacated the room when Alice had entered, reappeared through the back door. She swept forward and took the plates from my hands with a sweet smile.

"Esme, you don't have to do that, I can wash up before we leave," I insisted.

Despite my protests, she persisted with her task and ignored me.

I turned to Edward with an anxious sigh. My reactions to each of the Cullens was extremely conflicted.

"Let's go," he said, stepping aside and sweeping his arm out to allow me to escape before him.

Before I had the chance to leave, the back door slammed shut. The sharp sound startled my heart and I whipped my head around, taking an involuntary step backwards as Rosalie stood front and centre, arms at her side and prepared for battle. Rosalie's stern voice clipped the air, backing me into Edward. "You're staying here tonight."

His hand went to my shoulder, speaking for the both of us: "No, we're going home."

I wasn't sure what to focus on: the fact that Rosalie was still being difficult, the fact that Edward was arguing on my behalf, or the fact that he'd just referred to the cottage as home.

The roll of her eyes muted the tension but didn't lessen her fierceness; the bite as piercing as before. "Edward, I know the arrangement, but either you both stay here or someone else goes with Renesmee tonight. Emmett needs to hunt."

She folded her arms across her chest, preparing for Edward's counterattack, but it never came. I felt him sag behind me, his spare hand moving in my peripheral - I assumed to his hair or to rub his jaw.

"He's thirsty, Edward, and he won't leave the family unless you're here in his place. He never had a chance to feed before you unexpectedly moved out - he's never let himself go this long before. Why do you think he won't come into the house?" She exclaimed.

I looked behind her and saw Emmett, still outside throwing and catching his baseball. This time when I looked, I concentrated on his face. Even from here I could see the darkness of his irises.

"Without Jasper or you here, he doesn't want to leave the family vulnerable, no matter how much I try to tell him we'll be fine. If you're here, the family has extra protection and with Nessie here, the wolves won't be split either."

Edward's hand tightened on my shoulder and I could feel his indecision. I guess Rosalie understood him too because she turned her eyes to me and implored, "It's just for one night."

It's just for one night. Despite everything that had happened when I was living under their roof, the Cullens' behaviour was easier to tolerate now. I was optimistic that this wouldn't change the moment I slept under their roof. But even if their treatment of me reverted back, Emmett needed his strength - the whole family relied on it. And Edward would be here with me. I could tolerate it for one night, knowing that I'd be back at the cottage before long.

I touched his hand, my gift sharing my acquiescence. My eyes relayed the same message to Rosalie. She gave a curt nod but the drop of her shoulders exuded a relief she chose not to share further. She ventured back out the door… to tell Emmett to go and hunt, I supposed.

"Is there anything you need from the cottage?" Edward asked.

I thought about that, but I couldn't be sure.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find some nightwear, and there are still toiletries in the guest bathroom you can use, too," Alice chimed.

I would have loved the excuse for a walk, but there was nothing essential I needed - not for one night.

I swiped up the pile of my sketchbooks. "I'm sure these will keep me occupied enough."

Both Edward and Alice smiled, probably thankful that I was being so accepting. Edward's understanding of me was still something that I trifled with. It was surreal how quickly he's acclimated himself to my needs. On the one hand, I didn't want to be so easily predictable, but at the same time I was grateful for that ability. Such a time was now, where he could sense my growing unease and he invited me to leave rather than wait for me to ask.

I walked with calm assurance at first, heading toward the stairs and up to what would be my room for tonight, but then changed my direction when a flurry of leaves blew past the glass wall like a hand of nature curling its finger and tempting me to join her. I turned back on myself and went out the front door, following the wrap around porch to the wooden swing bench that sat on the side of the house facing west. The winter sun was slowly descending, his bottom touching the tips of the trees. I curled my legs underneath myself and set the pencils aside, pulling one of the full sketchbooks to the top of the pile.

I couldn't remember when I'd decided that this sketchbook was going to be dedicated to my family - I don't think I'd consciously made that choice until I'd realised that each of the drawings were dedications of family and of home - but a time like now, and when I'd been alone at college, I was thankful for it. My own smile reflected back at me in well-placed charcoal lines, front and centre on the page. I'd worked for hours on making sure my eyes were identical to the other set on the page, proud that there was something tangible that I'd inherited from my grandfather. Charlie's face, to the left of my own, was much more interesting to draw, with his distinct creases and his prominent mustache. His smile was shy and uncomfortable but his eyes lit with the mirth of the moment.

This drawing was a copy of my favourite photograph and had monopolised a large portion of my time.

I'd concentrated the most on getting Bella right. She was so beautiful and I always felt like my hands could never do that justice. I'd come to realise that a part of what made her beautiful was her temperament and that wasn't something I could capture on paper, so I conceded to only being able to draw her with 95% accuracy.

In the picture, her head rested on mine. If I closed my eyes I could feel it now; her long hair brushing against my shoulder, her arm wrapped around my back, the chuckle as Jake fumbled yet again with the shutter. I missed her something fierce.

I was a masochist. The more I flicked through the book, the more I wanted her here; the hollow pit that was settled at the bottom of my stomach activating a controlled level of dread and desire.

The small voice in the back of my head gave a whoop of triumph when I finally listened to it and slammed the book shut. I threw it to the other side of the bench and picked up the fresh book and pencils. After stretching my arms over my head and shaking the feeling back into my legs, I skipped down the porch steps and headed right, into the small bank of trees aiming for the log Edward and I had graced earlier. I thought it would be the perfect perch to draw a picture of the house.

A step away, I heard a rustle in the distant trees. Freezing, I held my breath as I concentrated on the sound. It was too big and abrupt to have been the wind, and too close to the house to be a wandering animal.

The sound didn't happen again so I shook my head, figuring it was one of the wolves or just my imagination.

Just as I squatted to sit, a squeal of surprise erupted from my throat, my heart hammering double time as Jake swept me to his chest, his arms wrapping protectively around me. A door slammed in the distance and suddenly Edward, Rosalie, Alice and Carlisle were by our sides, all prepared and focused. A small growl, more like a purr, was bubbling in Jake's chest. My eyes darted around the empty space that seemed to have captured the attention of them.

I placed my bare palm against Jake's hand, asking him the question.

"There's a newborn," he grumbled.

My breath caught in my throat. With my palm still on his, I asked my questions without voicing them. Except, his focus was trained ahead, his mind probably with the rest of his pack.

Thankfully, Edward explained, "Seth caught the scent: a newborn and another vampire. They're heading this way. He's following behind. The wolves are creating a perimeter so they'll be surrounded."

"Where's Esme?" I asked shakily as my thundering heart caused my voice to convulse, trying not to panic at her absence.

"She went with Emmett." Carlisle's calm voice juxtaposed the current situation but I appreciated it in a warped way.

"Who's the other vampire?" Rosalie hissed, bringing my mind back to the situation.

"They don't recognise the scent, but it's male," Edward responded.

"Can you hear anything?"

"Not yet."

"Alice?"

A moan escaped through her small, puckered lips. "I didn't see anything and I can't look without knowing who or what."

No one spoke after that; each focusing on the impending attack. Postures stiffened as twitches of the forest became more pronounced, and when it was clear the noises weren't the wind's doing, everyone braced. Jake's arms, a slow tremor before, escalated until his muscles were vibrating, constricting me further. My hand stayed on his as I told him to phase. He huffed in return; his arms tensing around me.

"Jacob," I scolded, forcing myself out of his hold. He looked at me, heartbroken, confused and angry as hell. I stared back, undeterred. "Phase," I ordered.

His wolf burst forth, legs kicking out and shards of fabric littering the air and to the ground. His anger expressed, I stepped into the juncture in front of his hind leg and rested my hand on his side.

"What is it?" Carlisle's voice distracted me. Edward's stance had changed as his eyes narrowed, listening. "What do you hear?"

"The male knows he's being trailed. The newborn is female."

"Do you know the voices?"

"Not his, but hers I think-" His eyes widened. He stood out of his crouch unexpectedly but Jake's growl caught my attention more. I looked ahead, the scent of our company drifting towards us, their bodies not so far behind.

"WAIT!" I yelled, throwing myself directly in front of Jake before he had the chance to leap. She hadn't quite stepped through the thicket, but the blond hair I saw at such a familiar height was enough for me to register who it was and she was no threat.

I felt Edward move next to me, halting Jake's attack until he too could recognise who stood before us. Whilst Jake might still have been processing, my mind was lost to the vision before me. Her face has sharpened; the delicacy of roundness having disappeared in the change. There was a feral elegance that hadn't been there before though she carried herself with uncertainty; the tension in her shoulders evident as she looked back at me. Her ash-blond hair, which had always been her most discernible feature lay polished and thick round her shoulders, so luminous that it was comparable to Rosalie's. Her red eyes, that had once been green, were the only part of her that wasn't familiar to me.

"Jenna," I breathed. The dread in my stomach had morphed into relief. A pressure built behind my eyes as I struggled between feeling joyous I was looking at the face of my best friend, and guilty she was no longer human.

I took a step forward, the desire to throw my arms around her overpowering everything else.

"STOP!" A startled voice rang forward. Her pitch was higher and clearer than before but it was still her voice. Alice came to stand by my side, her hand on my back as I swayed from Jenna's unexpected rejection. "I'm sorry, Nessie. I'd love to but, I can't."

Shane, who I hadn't paid attention to, stepped up behind her and planted his hands firmly on her shoulders. "You're okay," he reassured.

I watched as Jenna breathed in slowly through the tiniest gap in her mouth. "I'm struggling," she said in a small voice, "with my control." Her air preservation now made sense. "I attacked Justin," she admitted with a sob in her voice. "I want to hug you, too, but I can't risk it."

"I understand," I told her quickly. Her face was filled with confusion, shame and a hatred which could only be directed at herself. Jenna had been strong and confident, always on the verge of teasing. As beautiful as she was now, the expression on her flawless face was heartbreaking and didn't belong, and I didn't know how to help. "Justin - he's okay though."

"He's perfectly fine," Shane informed us with a warm lilt to his voice that was mostly for Jenna's benefit. "Enjoying that he'll never let her live it down."

Jenna rolled her eyes.

"You and your mom could be twins now," I joked.

She cracked a small smile.

"I'm taking her away for a while," Shane said, "just the two of us. She wanted to stop by on our way through to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine. More than fine now you're here."

I didn't need a mirror to know that my expression was exactly the same as hers. Both of us had fallen victim to Victoria's attack, and neither of us knew each other's outcome. But now we had that reassurance and it cleared some of the weight I had been carrying. She'd survived and she was okay.

"We should go," Shane told her. She nodded.

"I love you," I said before they could take a step.

She sucked in a small, controlled breath. "I love you, too."

My smile was honest but strained, because as much as I was glad to see her, thankful she was here, I didn't want our time to be limited to this minute. "I'll see you soon."

She nodded her head once, sharply, returning the promise.

I stood there, watching as they ran into the trees, and stayed there even when they were no longer in sight and they could no longer be heard, the scents they'd left slowly dissipating into the dew of the forest. No one else moved, waiting patiently for me. Two tears - one from either eye - spilled over. Wiping them away seemed to break the spell, and Rosalie joined Alice at my other side. Together they turned me around and guided me back to the house in silence.

I wasn't sure of how an understanding had been agreed in the silence (a part of me registered that this was something magical that could only be the result of living as a family for nearly a century), but when we arrived back at the house, Alice and Rosalie had guided me back to the porch swing and sat me down. Together, they draped blankets across our knees and around our shoulders. Alice's hand held mine in my lap; Rosalie's arm was around me and she gently encouraged my head to rest on her shoulder. Neither spoke as they offered me their comfort. The tears slipped seamlessly from my eyes cathartically; I'd stopped wiping them away by this point.

I stared, unseeing, lost in the depressing, hopeless tracks of my mind. Seeing Jenna had brought a realisation of how irrevocably different and out of place my life was right now. Less than a month ago, I'd been at home enjoying Christmas with my family with the added bonus of having Jenna and her family with us too. Jenna, who had become so important to me as a human, now couldn't risk coming near me. I hadn't seen Charlie in what felt like forever because of this ridiculous protection plan. Jake, who was worrying so much about keeping me safe, was nothing more than a fleeting visitor. And, my mom - I took in a shaky breath - my mom could have been anywhere.

And I was here… with a family I didn't know but was part of.

Loyalty was a strange thing. It was a powerful tie, but it could also be the biggest obstacle in existence. My loyalty for my mom was inciting huge waves of guilt, and what I sometimes saw as weakness, because I could feel myself becoming attached to these people. I'm not sure when it happened; it could have been this very second or as soon as I learned who they were to me, but it was becoming more difficult by the day to keep my walls up around them.

Seeing Jenna had been the final chink in my armour on this occasion and suddenly everything I'd been withholding, even from myself, was gushing through the broken dam.

I blamed this house.

Bella and her absence was always on my mind. At the cottage it was easier to ignore the pangs of worry that often stabbed at my gut, but here it was like the house was screaming it at me. It was here that Victoria had attacked, where Jenna was bitten, where Bella had agonised over me, and where she'd decided that she needed to chase the evil with Jasper. I associated the house with that and it wasn't easily ignored.

Someone began playing the piano from inside; the first couple of notes shocking my entire body into a state of relaxation. I turned my head toward the noise.

Thank you, I thought.

Alice looked at me, a sympathetic smile on her delicate face. Her hand whipped up and swiped the remaining tears from my cheeks so gently that I barely felt it.

"Feel better?" She asked lightly. I nodded, pulling myself up and off Rosalie.

"I know you don't miss being here, but there's one thing here that isn't at the cottage…" she teased.

"Yeah?" I replied. "What's that?"

She practically gleamed. "A bathtub."

-o0o-

I hadn't thought a soak would help (I had initially accepted to appease Alice), but the hot water and the scent of the lavender bath oils she'd added had relaxed me into such a tranquil state that I didn't want to leave this small essence of serenity that the water provided. I did, however, when the temperature had dipped to the cooler side of lukewarm.

Taking my time, I towelled off and changed into the pale, tartan pyjamas that had been left by the sink. I wrapped myself in the fluffy robe that Alice had hung on the back of the door and slipped my feet into the matching slippers, taking a moment to feel the faux fur between my toes.

I opened the bathroom window so the condensation could clear and paused to listen to the sounds of the night. Daylight had disappeared during my soak and the forest had awoken.

I went back to the sink, still listening and brushed my teeth. Once complete, I pulled the plug in the bathtub, turned out the light, and went down the hall to the room I assumed I'd be staying in for the night. The door was ajar and a warm glow emanated from inside. A lamp on the bedside table and it's counterpart on the dressing table were switched on. The bed had been turned down for me and the pillows plumped. I hadn't realised how tired I was.

I walked to the dresser to collect the hairbrush and then perched on the edge of the bed, gazing out of the window and at the outline of the trees in the starlight.

There was a light knock on the doorframe and I turned to see Rosalie. She pushed the door open further at my attention, smiling. "May I come in?"

"Sure," I responded. She stepped over the threshold and hesitated halfway between me and the door. I wouldn't mention that my hearing had allowed me to hear the conversation her and Alice had shared on the stairs moments prior: Rosalie for, and Alice against disturbing me.

"I came to see how you were; are you hungry? Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm okay, thank you," I responded, my fingers toying with the brush in my hand.

The movement caught her attention. After a second, she came forward with only a slight amount of hesitation, slowly extracted the brush from my hands and sat beside me on the bed. My eyes were on her face as hers were on the brush, lifting it slowly - giving me time to say no if I wanted - and touching it to the roots of my hair and gliding it through. My eyes fluttered involuntarily at the sensation. I shifted my weight so my back was facing her, inviting her to continue. She took her time, trailing from root to tip repeatedly, her hand occasionally following, lulling me into a trance-like state.

"You have beautiful hair," Rosalie commented.

"Thank you," I responded. "My mom used to do this."

I had no idea why I admitted that aloud, especially to Rosalie.

"My mom used to brush my hair, too. But I think she did it more for herself than for my comfort. She used to comment how envious she was of the colour… and that was before I became a vampire."

I chuckled. "Mom tells me the colour is my best feature."

"I always said his colour would better suit a girl." I heard the smile in her voice and it stood out as the first time I had.

We fell back into a silence, the only sound being the brushing motion until she broke it: "I can braid it for you if you'd like?"

I nodded. She went to the dresser to collect a hair band then resumed her position, her gentle fingers manipulating strands into an intricate braid. After my bath, this relaxed me further - I'd be purring if I could.

"There," she declared as the final twist of the band snapped in place.

"Thank you."

"I'll let you get some sleep." She stood, and I did with her because it felt like the polite thing to do. I went to say goodnight, but the unexpected lift of her eyebrows cut me off. Her eyes sparkled differently as she looked back at me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind her as we left my room and descended the stairs. As we stepped into the living room, Edward was walking in as well; the same anticipatory glow alighting his face.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

I frowned. "For what?" The only thing I was ready for was bed.

"She was quiet to my ears, I doubt Nessie heard," Rosalie chimed from my side, her hand relinquishing me.

Edward smiled secretively. "Come on," he said, leading me into the kitchen.

At the threshold, I scanned the room. Carlisle was at the island and Alice stood centre, her back to me. When the rest of us appeared, Alice spun around and looked directly at me. Something in her expression had me holding my breath. There was a brightness to her ochre eyes which I hadn't witnessed before and a small, black phone pressed to her ear.

"She's here," she spoke into the device before stretching her arm out, offering it to me. "It's for you."

I took the phone, my hand shaking, and pressed it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hi baby, are you doing okay?"

The way my heart bounced caused my breath to catch and my stomach to flip, so shocked that I was hearing her voice. My shock subdued me. I blinked. My throat tightened and the familiar pressure of tears pushed at the back of my eyes.

"Mom?" My eyes zig-zagged around the occupants of the room, as if seeking confirmation that the voice was truly hers. A similar joy emitted from each of them, all happy that I could have this reassurance that none of them could give me.

"Oh my- Mom!"