It's high time we had an Esme Outtake! This one was requested by abishop47, and takes place during 1950 Chapters 10-12.

Esme POV

I glanced up into the rear view mirror again, studying our newest daughter. Alice was a very petite girl, no bigger than a child, and so very thin. She looked to be full grown, though- perhaps eighteen or nineteen. She was beautiful, of course, though in a different way than Rosalie; her hair was her most remarkable feature, midnight black flames leaping away from her head at all angles. It made her look surprised, like she had just gotten some sort of shock.

But her smile was pure sunshine, and her golden eyes were full of excitement, and perhaps just a little mischief. I couldn't even imagine what was going through her mind, in terms of thoughts and visions, on this first day with our family: she had been waiting thirty years for this day, after all.

She was just so sweet, and so peculiar! At the moment, though, she looked a little worried. "Alice, dear, are you all right?" I asked.

She was staring out the window, turning in the back seat to watch behind us as we drove out the driveway. She blew her mate a kiss and then stared out the back window for another moment before turning around to face forward.

"I'm fine, Esme!" she said. Her voice was like a child's, too: high and happy. She leaned forward so that her face was between mine and Rosalie's. "This is so exciting! I've never been in a car before. How do you drive it?"

Rosalie shifted away from Alice's face, looking a little uncomfortable but smiling slightly at Alice's energy. "I can teach you, if you like," she offered. "Though haven't you learned by watching us?"

"Oh, I don't watch that sort of thing," Alice said, staring intently at my hands as I turned the steering wheel, pulling out onto the highway. "I mean, I've watched television a few times with you and Emmett, and I've watched Esme do things around the house sometimes, but I'd rather peek in when you're all doing something interesting. Like that time when…" she trailed off into silence, and Rosalie and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Alice?"

She perked up, looking at me. "Sorry! Just checking on Jasper. Anyway, like that time when Emmett –"

"Alice," I said gently. "Are you worried about being apart from your mate? We can go back, if you like."

"No, it's all right!" she said. "It's important for the boys to spend some time together before the big confrontation tonight."

"What confrontation?" Rosalie asked, leaning away from Alice again. Alice was climbing halfway up the side of Rosalie's seat, leaning across Rosalie's shoulder to look at herself in the side mirror. I couldn't help but smile; it was like having a toddler in the car, or even a half-grown puppy.

"Alice dear, one usually stays seated while the car is running," I told her. "Now, what confrontation?"

Alice plopped back onto the back seat. "Oh, about Jasper's gift. He was nervous about coming here, and so he decided to emit some helpful emotions: calm, trust, peace, whatever he felt was needed. Anyway, Edward is going to-"

"What do you mean, emit?" Rosalie asked sharply.

"I mean Jasper didn't tell you everything about his gift yet," Alice clarified, sitting up on her knees to look in the rear view mirror now. She frowned at her reflection, pulling at her unruly hair. "He can influence people's emotions, as well as sense them."

"You mean he's been controlling us?" Rosalie said through her teeth.

"Oh, just helping," Alice said cheerfully. "You can't blame him, really. He's so used to war and death and treachery, it was hard for him to accept the fact that you all were as nice as I told him you were. He's all about strategy, and contingencies,, and things like that. He didn't mean anything by it. So anyway, Edward's going to figure it out later, when he gets away from Jasper. And you know Edward, he's just so dramatic, he's going to go tattle to Carlisle…"

"Alice, I'm a little confused," I said, slowing down the car. "If there's going to be an argument, why don't we just go back now and explain everything? Maybe we can stop there from being a confrontation."

Alice was quiet for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, it's better this way," she said firmly. Her eyes focused on nothing again, and I shared a worried glance with Rosalie. Alice seemed to be a sweet girl, and I felt sure that she and her mate would be happy with us. But I wasn't sure what to think about their gifts. First there was the fact that Alice had been watching us without our knowledge, and now it looked like Jasper had been engineering our acceptance of them earlier. Come to think of it, Carlisle and I had accepted them into the family without a moment's hesitation. And Edward and Rosalie had been so calm around each other, unusually so, considering their recent fight. Perhaps we had been a little quick to accept these strangers into our home. They both seemed so friendly- well, Alice did, anyway- that I couldn't imagine them wanting to harm us. But it was a little unsettling to discover how in control they both were over this situation. I was beginning to feel a little uneasy.

But we had welcomed them into our home, and they did need a home, after all. And they needed some clothes, if nothing else- and I was pleased to see how well Rosalie and her new sister were getting along. Although now, Rosalie's mood seemed to be deteriorating. Perhaps that was because we were away from Jasper now? Maybe that was why I was feeling more uneasy with every mile, though it didn't mean that we still couldn't make it work.

"Alice," I said. She just stared ahead, focusing intently on one of her visions.

"That's really strange," Rosalie muttered, staring at her in the rear view mirror.

"Alice," I said in a louder voice. She blinked twice, and looked at me.

"I don't know."

"You don't know what?" Rosalie asked.

"Esme was going to ask how long it takes for Jasper's influence to wear off. And the answer is, I don't know, because that's not the sort of thing I could figure out with my visions. And we've never met anyone else, since we were together, so I've never been around him when he's used his gift for this kind of thing. And he doesn't like using it on me. But I would guess it wears off pretty quickly. Regular emotions can change pretty fast, anyway- it seems like his influence would wear off even faster than that."

"Well, that explains a lot," Rosalie grumbled to herself. "And just for future reference, Alice, it's impolite to answer someone before they ask a question out loud. We already have one family member who talks to the voices in his head."

"Rosalie," I murmured. "Alice is very new to all this. Let's be patient."

"Oh…" Alice said, looking downcast. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Rosalie. I'm so used to just watching all of you, like a television show. I don't really know how to talk to people."

"It's all right," Rosalie sighed.

"It's not so much about manners, Alice," I said gently. "It's also confusing when you answer a person's question before they say it. It's especially confusing for the other people around, who didn't know what question you're answering."

"I see," Alice said brightly. "Okay, I'll try not to do that anymore."

"Maybe Edward can learn a thing or two from you," Rosalie said. "Manners like that seem to escape him on a regular basis."

"Rosalie," I sighed.

"I know!" Alice laughed, bouncing up onto her knees again. "Do you know it took me almost a year to figure out that he was a telepath? In the beginning, I thought he was schizophrenic!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Vampires can't have mental illnesses, or any kind of illness for that matter."

"Well, I didn't know that back then," she answered. "I didn't even know that I was a vampire until I read about them in a book- and even then, I didn't understand why I wasn't exactly like the ones in the story. I woke up without any memories, and no one taught me anything about who I was, or how to live."

"That must have been awful," I sighed. "I'm so glad you were able to use your visions to find out about us, and that you learned how to hunt animals that way, too."

"Me, too!" she said with a bright smile. "Anyway, I didn't really know at first how to control my visions that well. I'm guessing that when you were new, Carlisle and Edward explained his gift to you, but I missed that part. I was just catching little glimpses, here and there, and it took a couple years for me to be able to sit and watch you all have conversations- I mean that I could hear. And so at first, it looked to me like Edward just kept saying things that didn't make sense, like he was talking to a voice he heard in his head. He would just be sitting in a room by himself and say random things, like 'No, thank you,' or 'It's in the hall closet', when nobody else seemed to be speaking. It was really strange."

"I can see how that would be a little confusing," I admitted. "And I suppose that after while, none of us would think to say 'mind-reader' out loud, since it was just normal for us. So when did you figure it out?"

She thought for a moment. "It was in March of 1923," she said decidedly. "I was watching Edward, because he was playing the piano- I love his music! Anyway, the phone rang, and he answered it. He said a few things that made me guess that it was Carlisle on the phone. It sounded like he had called to ask Edward to look up something in his file cabinet, because Edward started rummaging through it, holding the phone with his shoulder. And then he laughed and said 'You know I hate talking to you on the phone. How am I supposed to know which green folder, if I can't see you picture it in your mind?' So that got me thinking about all those times he was supposedly talking to himself, and everything made a lot more sense. It was a relief to learn that he wasn't demented, after all."

"I've known Edward for seventeen years," Rosalie said drily, "and I still think he's demented."

"Rosalie!" I scolded. "That will be quite enough. I thought you two had made up! You were getting along so well earlier."

"That was because we were being manipulated by an empath," she growled.

"Well, wasn't it nice to be civil to each other?" I asked gently. Rosalie just folded her arms and looked pointedly out her window. "I know you're angry, sweetheart," I continued, "but I don't see how refusing to feel better is going to help."

"I don't want to feel better," she said to the window. Then she glanced back at Alice. "I suppose you saw all that, didn't you?"

"Your fight with Edward yesterday?" Alice said quietly. "Yes, I saw it. And I saw it the day before, sort of. I wished I could reach out and shake him before he said all those awful things to you."

"How?" I asked. "I thought you said your visions were based on the decisions people made. Surely Edward didn't decide beforehand to behave so poorly! And I'm positive that you would never would have hit him on purpose, Rosalie. You were just upset, and you lost control for the moment. It was an accident."

"Mostly," Rosalie muttered under her breath.

"Rosalie," I said sharply, "Do we need to discuss this again? You know how important it is for our kind to control our violent urges. You could have hurt each other!"

Rosalie finally jerked her eyes to mine, her nails digging into her sleeves. "You know he started it! And you heard what he said to me!"

"I know, dear. And it was very wrong of him, and very hurtful. But you're the one who took the fight to a dangerous level; you know this family does not abide physical violence, under any circumstance except play-fighting."

"But we're vampires, Esme. Sometimes-"

"No buts, Rosalie. You and Edward both have some apologies to make later tonight, and under the… circumstances, I don't think you and Emmett should run off tonight at all. So even if Edward doesn't come forward first, I am trusting that you will still offer your own apology. You're older than him, in human terms, and you know how much he's been through this week. And you're not just a vampire; you're a young lady. You'll try to be gracious, won't you?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I already apologized for hitting him, anyway."

"Good. And?"

"And it won't happen again," she recited, rolling her eyes. I hated it when she did that, but I had already picked apart her behavior enough, and in front of Alice, too.

"I'm sorry, Alice," I said to the mirror. "I was about to ask you, how were you able to see their argument a whole day ahead of time, when they couldn't have possibly decided to have it?"

"I didn't see the whole conversation, per se," Alice said thoughtfully. "But I saw there would be a fight. It was sort of inevitable that something like that would happen, what with all that went wrong this week for him. You do sort of bring out the worst in each other, Rosalie."

Rosalie huffed and spun back to face forward. "No, she's right, dear," I said carefully. "You and Edward are both wonderful people. I can never understand why you bicker so much."

"It's because he's an overbearing, meddling, know-it-all," Rosalie said easily. "And he's incapable of minding his own business."

"No, I'm incapable of minding my own business," Alice said gaily.

"Yes, but you're nice about it," Rosalie sniffed.

"Let's drop it for now," I sighed. "We're here." I pulled into the parking lot and Alice squealed with excitement, gluing herself to the left window to look at the storefronts.

"I love the blue dress!" she cried. "Thank you, Esme!"

"What blue dress?"

She pointed to the boutique on the left, jamming her finger against the glass. "We're going in there first, and you're going to find me the sweetest blue dress, with little puff sleeves and white polka dots and-"

"That's really strange," Rosalie mouthed to me behind Alice's back. "I hope she doesn't embarrass us in there."

"Alice…" I wasn't sure how to say this. "Before we go in, I think we'd better… I mean, have you ever been in a store with humans before?"

"Oh, yes!" she said. "And don't worry, I'll talk quietly and sit like a lady."

"I wasn't going to say that," I said quickly.

"Oh, yes you were!" she said with a twinkle in her eye. "But it's all right, I know how to behave in public, and how to sit with my knees touching, and all that. I used to sit in department stores, back when I first went on the animal diet."

"What do department stores have to do with hunting?" Rosalie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Well… after my eyes started to change, it was the first time that I could really spend time around humans. I mean, it took a little while for me to not go crazy around their scent, when I first stopped, but after that I loved to sit in department stores. I just loved to watch the mothers and children go about their shopping, chattering with each other and enjoying themselves. I knew that someday I would be able to go with you two, and so when I watched other families like that, it made me feel a little less lonely."

"Oh, Alice," I sighed, reaching back to grasp her little hand. "You must have felt so alone, all those years!"

"Yes, I was," she admitted. "For Jasper, but for all of you, too. It was so frustrating, being able to watch you all and not be able to participate!"

"Well, now it's time," I announced, squeezing her hand. "Although I'm sure you've gone shopping yourself plenty of times, on your own."

"No, I haven't," she replied with a dainty sigh.

"You've never gone shopping?" Rosalie asked in shock. "But where'd you get that dress?"

"I stole it," she confessed. "I don't like stealing, but I didn't have any choice. In the beginning, I got my clothes off of my human victims. Or I would just sneak into a store at night and get something- my eyes were too red to go shopping with all those bright lights. And then when I switched to animals, and I could be seen in public, I didn't have any money, because I wasn't killing people anymore. So I would just sit in the stores and watch people, stealing something only when I really needed it. And since Jasper, well… I don't like to leave him alone, so I go into town even less now. I just keep wearing the same thing until it wears out." She picked at the threadbare hem of her dress. "But not anymore! Jazz is going to love the blue dress!"

"Well, here's a bit of advice for your first shopping trip," Rosalie said, getting out of the car. "Don't use your visions!"

"Why not?" Alice asked. "Oh, I see."

"See what?" I asked.

"Oops! Sorry," Alice sighed.

"That's exactly what I mean," Rosalie said. "Just like peeking ahead can spoil a conversation, peeking ahead while shopping is just going to take the fun right out of it. You've got to…" she waved her hand in the air, searching for the right word. "You've got to think of it like a hunt. Enjoy looking for something you like, and enjoy the act of looking for it. Use your imagination, not your visions. Don't just peek ahead to the end result. Shopping is all about the search, the mystery, the possibilities."

"Possibilities?" Alice asked, her eyes glazing over.

"You're doing it again."

Alice laughed, coming out of her vision. "Okay, no more peeking. I mean, not on purpose. Sometimes I can't really help it."

"I can tell," Rosalie muttered. We walked into the boutique, and Alice made a beeline for the blue dress. She rubbed the fabric between her fingers, sighing.

"See?" Rosalie said. "Don't you think it would have been more fun if you had spent time looking through all the clothes, trying to decide what to get, instead of going right for the kill?"

"You're right!" Alice agreed. "But can I still get this one?"

"Of course," I laughed. "You can get whatever you want."

"Anything?" Alice asked, her eyes wide. "I've never owned more than one dress before!"

I wrapped my arm around her tiny shoulders. "Alice, of course I'll get you more than one thing," I said warmly. "You're a part of our family now."

"But I thought you said that before because Jasper was helping you trust us," she said, looking a little uncertain.

"Maybe so," I admitted. "But I'm feeling my own emotions right now, Alice. I'm so glad that you're here, and I'm hoping that you will choose to stay with us. I'm sure the others will feel the same way, after Jasper explains everything."

"Mmmm," she said, staring off into space. "I'm not sure about that. But I still see us staying… mostly. So I think everything will work out."

I pulled her closer, squishing the blue dress between us. "I hope so," I said, my voice hitching. "Because nothing would make me happier than to give you the home you've been waiting for."

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It was only ten minutes later that things got... interesting. Alice had been having the time of her life flipping through the clothes in the boutique, and I only had to remind her once to browse at human speed. She had taken a pile into the dressing room, and I had laughed to see her look of fierce concentration as she walked, the pile of clothes higher than her face.

"What's wrong?" I laughed.

"I'm trying not to peek ahead, really," she said into the clothes. "But I have to peek a little, so I know where to step! I can't see a thing!"

I laughed. "Here, let me help you." I led her into the dressing room and closed the door to give her some privacy. I went back to find Rosalie looking thoughtfully at a pair of earrings.

"They're lovely, dear," I said, holding them up beside her face. "Why don't you get them?"

Rosalie sighed, taking the earrings from me and tracing them with her finger slowly. "Esme…"

But we were interrupted by the sound of Alice's high-pitched scream. We rushed back to the dressing room, wherd the store owner was already opening the door. Alice was huddled in the corner, a blouse slid halfway onto her shoulders. She was a frozen statue, staring straight ahead in a panic.

"What's wrong, miss?" the owner asked. "Are you hurt?"

Alice jerked back to the present, staring up at the human. Her eyes were darker than they had been a moment ago. I slipped between them, just in case.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, tugging down Alice's blouse to preserve her modesty. "You'll have to forgive my daughter. She has these fits sometimes… she'll be all right in a moment."

The owner sniffed disapprovingly. "If you can't control your children, ma'am, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Of course, we were just going," I said, kneeling to gather up the clothes as quickly as a human could. "Come on, Alice, dear. We're leaving."

Alice stood up, waiting until the owner went back out into the store. "I'm so sorry, Esme!"

"Never mind," I said, laying a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Did you havery one of your visions? Is something bad going to happen?"

"No, everything is fine," she said sheepishly. "I just saw Edward attacking Jasper, and it took me a moment to realize that they were playing." She drew another deep breath. "I'm okay now."

"Let's get out of here," Rosalie sighed. "Did you pick something yet?"

"Not yet," Alice said. "Everything is too big!"

"There's always the children's section," Rosalie said with a smirk- but a friendly one, it seemed.

"Let's go to one of the department stores," I suggested. "They'll have a bigger petite section, and then we can pick out some things for Jasper, as well."

We paid for the blue dress and went to put it in the car before we headed into the department store.

"Shoes first," Rosalie announced. "And then underwear."

Alice's eyebrows jumped up into her hair. "I've never really thought much about underwear before," she admitted. "I mean, I always gave you all your privacy, so I don't really know anything about that."

"It's all right," I said. "I'll be able to-"

"I'll handle that part," Rosalie said firmly. "And the shoes. You could get some things for Jasper- he's a size twelve shoe. Why don't we meet back here in a little while?"

I agreed, and they dashed off at human speed toward the shoes, giggling about lingerie and looking for all the world like the sisters I hoped they would be. I moved on to the men's section, picking out a few shirts for Jasper. He looked to be about Edward's size, if a bit broader in the shoulders. I also chose three pairs of slacks- just a bit longer than Edward's, two belts and some socks, underthings, a sweater vest, and some summer shirts. I even found a winter jacket on sale. I would hold off on finer clothes for now... he might not like that sort of thing, and I really wasn't sure how he would take it if I dumped too much on him.

"Pardon me, ma'am, but has your husband tried these yet?"

I turned around to see a salesclerk waving at me with one hand, lifting up a pair of denim pants with the other. I was about to explain that I was shopping for my son, but it was simpler not to.

"Oh, thank you," I told her. "But he's a doctor."

"It doesn't matter what he does!" she said brightly. "Waist overalls are the newest fashion, for any man! Perfect for leisure, a good price, and they hold up better than anything. Men of all trades have been wearing them in Europe for the last couple of years."

I stepped closer, rubbing the coarse blue fabric with distaste. Carlisle might not bother much with his appearance, but even he would laugh at being dressed like a factory worker or a cowboy. Still, if the fabric held up like it seemed it might, it would be perfect for hunting. I tugged gently at the stiff cotton, pleased with its resilience.

"I'll take eight pairs," I announced, rattling off the measurements and asking for two in each. The salesclerk fumbled for her pencil, and I repeated the sizes again, deciding to get a third pair for Emmett. Rosalie and Alice walked up to me as she left, their arms loaded with shoeboxes and tiny lingerie bags.

"What is that?" Rosalie asked, nodding toward the fabric in my hand.

"I thought Carlisle and the boys might like to try them for hunting. The salesclerk said they're becoming very popular, even for men who don't need them for work."

Alice's eyes unfocused for a moment, and she wrinkled her nose to match Rosalie's disapproval. "It looks like we'll all be wearing them eventually," she said, "though I can't imagine why. Ugh!"

Rosalie frowned as well. "I guess I can see where they'd be good for hunting, but they're hideous! Why would I ever wear something like that?"

"Women have worn waist overalls before, Rosalie," I reminded her. "Remember when we saw those Lady Levi's in that one magazine?"

"That was an ad for a dude ranch," she scoffed.

The salesclerks brushed by us, her arms full of the boys' pants I had requested. "Excuse me," I said, catching her attention. "Do you have any of these in your ladies' department?"

"Not in stock," she answered. "I don't get too many requests for those. But I could order them, if you like."

I nodded. "I'll get two pairs each for the three of us." Rosalie huffed in disapproval, but she grudgingly gave her size after I gave mine. "Alice is new to our family," I explained. "You'll need to take her measurements."

"You may need a girl's size," the clerk said to Alice as she slipped the tape off of her neck. "Hold still, now." Alice froze into an uncomfortable-looking statue as the clerk knelt to measure her.

"Don't forget to breathe, dear," I said quietly.

Alice inhaled and exhaled nervously. "I've never touched a human before," she whispered back over the woman's head. "Except to kill them, of course."

"Alice!" I hissed in alarm. "Some humans have better hearing than others!"

Alice clamped her mouth shut, forgetting to breathe again the rest of the time. Rosalie just covered her face in embarrassment. It seemed that we would need to review the human charade a bit more with our Alice.

"I am not wearing those," Rosalie whispered as the salesclerk scurried off.

"Just give them a try, dear. After all, Alice saw that we would all be wearing them eventually, and it's important for us to fit in with the times."

"Over my dead body."

"Exactly!" Alice laughed.

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We continued on until all the stores had closed. After the waist overalls incident, Rosalie and I gave Alice a quick review of the things that you really mustn't say in front of humans, whether you thought they could hear you or not. Then Rosalie perked up as we moved on to select Alice's clothes, deciding that her new sister was a "winter". We spent the rest of the evening shopping for Alice herself, and she enjoyed this new kind of "hunt" to the fullest, trying very hard not to use her visions. The only other thing we got for Jasper was a pair of sunglasses, in the hopes that he would soon be ready to start being around humans.

It was so wonderful to see the two girls getting along so well- MY two girls, I thought proudly. I worried a bit about the "confrontation" Alice had foreseen, though. I thought once or twice about calling home to see how it was going, but she reassured me that everything would be fine.

It seemed that our little family really had just turned into a big family. I was sure there would be bumps in the road, and it would take us all some time to adjust to each other, especially in terms of Alice's and Jasper's gifts. And it seemed like Jasper might need some time before he was really ready to relax around all of us... to trust us and feel at home. And, truthfully, I felt a little nervous about him as well, now that he wasn't calming me anymore. Not that I worried about what he might do, so much as I worried whether he would be happy living with us. But it was obvious that Alice meant the world to him, literally. And it was clear that Alice was having the time of her life, being here. So maybe he would be all right. I would do my best to make him feel welcome, starting with the clothes.

I had five children, then. Five! And to think that I had thrown myself off that cliff, because of the emptiness inside of me. As dear as my children were, they could never replace the child I had lost. And this life wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. But this second chance had brought me so much joy, right from the moment I awoke and saw Carlisle standing there, looking nervous and hopeful as he held his hand out to me. I found a love that I had only dared dream about, as a human. I also found a son waiting for me, nearly a man himself but quietly aching for a mother's love. The fact that I had technically died hardly mattered; it was clear, even on that first day, that my true life was just beginning.

And now here I was, with as full a home as any mother could hope for. My heart swelled with love for our two new children, and with that old familiar hope, that Edward would find love someday. Maybe it was too much, to hope for a sixth child, but I hoped nonetheless. My life had been made complete again and again, as our family had grown. Surely it was all right to hope that someday, it would become complete just one more time.

But for now, I would leave the future to the future- or to Alice, as the case may be. For now, I would just count my blessings. All six of them.