Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing around with them.

Lots of thanks to MelissaMargaret for making this pretty, and to anhanninen and xxluvCarlisleEsmexx for prereading


BPOV

Lucy was really, really sick. And even though Dr. Carlisle had said that it wasn't my fault, nothing could stop me from feeling like it was.

I hugged Lucy tighter as Esme and Dr. Carlisle walked upstairs. She was afraid of them, but when only Edward was in the room with us, we could both relax. Edward was nice to us, and Lucy liked him as much as I did. The whole Cullen family was nice so far, but there was something different about Edward. I didn't trust just anyone, but I couldn't imagine him doing something to hurt us. He was kind of weird, but that was okay.

"Mama," Lucy whispered, pushing her head against my neck. "Potty."

"Oh." How was I going to ask Edward about a bathroom? This was so embarrassing. "Um...Edward?" I asked timidly.

He dropped the remote in his hands and looked over at me. "Yeah?"

"Lucy needs...well, would it be okay...could we use your bathroom?"

For some reason, my question made his shoulders drop. "Sure," he replied, turning to point at a door on the other side of the large room. "It's right over there."

"Thank you." He simply nodded and looked at the TV as I stood with Lucy and carried her across the room.

When I opened the door and turned on the light, I was surprised at how pretty the bathroom was. Not that I should have been. The Cullens' whole house was prettier than anything I'd ever seen before. But the bathroom was all blues and whites and clean - so clean. Even Lucy was interested in looking around, but it wasn't the colors that she noticed.

"Duck, Mama," she said, pointing to the bathtub as I pulled her pants and underwear down.

I looked over, seeing a collection of yellow rubber ducks. "That is a duck. Good job, baby." I helped her up to sit on the toilet, keeping my hands under her arms so she wouldn't fall in. She was so small, and I knew there had to be an easier way to do this, but I wasn't sure what it was. I'd gladly hold her up since this was so much cheaper than buying diapers.

Once she was finished, I helped her with her clothes and with washing her hands. We didn't get to take our time in a bathroom very much, so I made sure we took full advantage.

As I took care of myself, Lucy quietly explored the small room. Her coughing still made me sad, but I hoped Dr. Carlisle was telling the truth about making her better. Already, she seemed happier than when we were spending the day outside. She was so uncomfortable that she couldn't stop crying, no matter how much I sang or told her stories. But here she wasn't as sad.

"Mama, duck go quack quack," she informed me as I washed my hands.

I smiled and nodded. "That's right. Ducks say quack. What does a chicken say?"

"Bock bock!" she exclaimed, only to end up coughing.

I picked her up and patted her back, frowning as she whined. "You'll feel better soon, baby girl," I promised.

"Eddard?"

I moved her back so I could see her face. Her big brown eyes looked so hopeful. "You want to see Edward?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded and went back to hugging my neck.

"Do you like Edward?" I whispered, kissing her head as I checked to make sure we hadn't made a mess, and then opened the door.

She nodded again, not saying anything else.

Edward hadn't moved while we were in the bathroom, and though I wasn't sure if he wanted us close to him, I sat on the couch he was sitting on instead of the one we were on before. Lucy wanted to see him, and I didn't want to stop her.

The TV was on now, and I watched as Edward flipped through the channels. It had been a while since we'd had a TV to watch, and never one this big. It was probably taller than me. It probably cost more money than I had ever seen, too.

When Edward finally stopped on a channel, I couldn't help my smile.

"Lucy," I whispered to her, nudging her face away from my neck. "Look. It's your name show." I wasn't sure if she remembered or not, but as soon as she looked, she smiled with me.

"Do you guys like this show?" Edward's voiced surprised me, and I jumped slightly. He was watching us with a questioning expression.

"We used to. I...really like it. That's where I got the name Lucy."

"I Love Lucy," he muttered, maybe to himself...I wasn't sure. "Rose is going to love you then. She loves all these old shows."

"Do you like them?" I asked before I could stop myself. I didn't know why it mattered, but I wanted to know what he thought.

"They're all right," he said with a shrug. "This one's tolerable. Lucy's a...uh cute name. Better than Ethel or Fred."

I giggled, relieved that he did know the show.

We sat and watched in silence. Lucy stayed in my lap, but I could tell she was thinking about something. She had little wrinkles in her forehead, and she sucked on her top lip. As I was about to ask her what she needed, she leaned out of my lap and slowly crawled over to Edward. Sitting beside him, she said nothing and just leaned against his side.

Edward looked down at her, also not saying anything.

"I'm sorry if she's bothering you," I said softly. "I can move her if she's in your way."

"No, it's fine," he said. "Does she want me to hold her or something?"

I wondered why he didn't just ask her. Sure, she was only two years old, but I made sure she was smart. I might not have been, but I wanted Lucy to be.

"Luce, do you want Edward to hold you?" I asked her for him, and she reached her arms toward him. "I guess she does."

"Oh. She understands?" He slowly lifted her to his lap, and she moved to sit so she was still facing me. Her smile was small, but it was there, and that made me very happy.

"She knows a lot," I defended. "Can you tell Edward what you saw in the bathroom?"

Lucy titled her head back so she could see him. "Duck, Eddard. Duck go quack."

"What color is the duck?" I asked.

"Lellow," she answered without hesitation. "Lellow duck, Eddard."

"Oh. We have a yellow duck? In the bathroom? When did that happen?"

I giggled again at how confused he sounded. "I think they're toys. Like for playing in the bathtub. Are they yours?"

He laughed this time, shaking his head. "Nah. Not mine. My bathroom's upstairs, and I don't have any animals in it. I guess those are Seth and Brady's. My nephews."

I tried to work it out in my head. Edward had a sister named Alice and a brother named Emmett. So the two boys belonged to one of them. Or maybe they each had one. I didn't know anything about little boys.

"You'll meet them soon," Edward continued. "They're Rose and Em's kids. They're over here a lot, I think."

If he lived here, why didn't he know? Maybe because their house was so big. Part of me wanted to explore and see more things. But I didn't know how long we'd be here and I liked sitting with Edward, even when we were quiet. For the first time in a long time, I could just sit and not worry. At least for a few minutes.

We were left alone for a whole episode of I Love Lucy and part of another one, but then Esme came back. She smiled at us and sat beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"Lunch will be ready soon," she said, hugging me close. It wasn't something anyone had ever done before her, but I liked it. "It's not much, but I thought some hot chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches would be perfect for this weather. But if you or Lucy want something else, it's no problem."

"Soup is fine," I assured her. "Thank you so much for the food and letting us stay here."

"It's absolutely no problem," she said for maybe the third time. "It looks like you'll be with us for a while, and I'm so glad."

"Weather bad?" Edward asked, leaning over to look at Esme.

"Looks like it will be. They're predicting a blizzard, a fairly serious one at that. I sent out an email to everyone because it looks like we won't be going into the office for a week or so."

This news seemed to make Edward happy, and he sat back with a smile.

But I didn't know what it meant for us.

"Um...Esme? What will we do during the blizzard? What is that?"

"It's a big snowstorm," she explained. "It's possible we'll lose power or other things and probably won't be able to leave the house for a while, but we'll be fine. We have enough groceries to get us through and a generator. So you and Lucy will stay right here with us, and we'll enjoy being snowed in."

Esme smiled, and I tried to smile back but it sounded scary to me. No way to leave the house? That was very scary.

"But don't you worry, sweetheart." Esme kissed the side of my head. "We're going to take good care of you both. And speaking of which, if you want to come up and have a hot shower before lunch, you're welcome to it. I have a room ready for you."

I gasped. "A room? For us?"

"Of course! It's a queen sized bed, so hopefully there's enough room for you and Lucy. We can get her her own bed after the storm passes, if she wants."

I was speechless and frozen. Even if I'd had words, they wouldn't have been able to come out. Maybe the Cullens were angels. Why else would they keep doing nice things for us? Before I could question anything, Esme was standing up and grabbing my hand, tugging gently.

"Come on upstairs and I'll show you. You too, Edward and Lucy."

As soon as I stood, Lucy was scrambling to get to me, so I took her into my arms before following Esme up the stairs. We went a different way than how we came in, this time going up another set of stairs.

Esme led us to a room, and I wasn't surprised to see that this one was beautiful. The large bed looked like a cloud with a fluffy white blanket covering it. There were plenty of pillow on it too, brown and purple ones. The whole room had white, brown, and purple things, and I couldn't decide where to look first. It was just...whoa.

"So what do you think?" Esme asked, fluffing one of the pillows. "I hope this room is okay. It has its own bathroom, and I made sure it was stocked with everything I could think of. But please let me know if there's anything you need. I'm more than happy to get it for you, as is everyone else in the family."

"But this is...so much." I shook my head, still not understanding. "You really don't have to do this much, Mrs...Esme. Really. We can just sleep on a couch downstairs. It's more than enough for us."

Sitting on the end of the bed, she patted the spot beside her. I assumed she meant for me to sit there, so I did, and the bed felt just as soft as I expected.

"Do you know what makes me happy, Bella?" she asked softly.

Her questions surprised me, and I didn't know so I shook my head.

"Taking care of my family makes me happier than anything else. Sure, I love my job and all my volunteer work, but my family means the world to me. And while you're staying here with us, you and Lucy are part of my family. It makes me so happy to be able to take care of you, especially since I'm sure it's been awhile since someone did. Can you let me do that?"

Not knowing what else to do, I nodded.

"Good." She smiled, patting my knee as she stood. "Now that that's settled, you two take your time and relax in the shower or bath. I already placed some clothes on the counter for you. We'll be waiting for you downstairs, okay? Assuming I find where Edward went."

She left the room, closing the door halfway behind her. I sat still, not knowing what to do. Part of me wanted to cry for the fact that no one had ever been this nice to me before. How could someone I'd known for only a few hours treat me better than people I'd known for years? It didn't make sense. I knew I wasn't anything special. Lucy was very, very special, though. Maybe they were doing this for her. My poor baby girl deserved that more than anyone, so I would just have to accept this help, even if it confused me.

Lucy's eyes were wide as I stood up and slowly walked around the room. There was a soft chair in the corner and a dresser on one wall with a TV above it. The whole room was cozy, and I was tempted to try out the bed. Having a warm bath or shower was just more tempting.

The bathroom was just as pretty as the one downstairs, but with brown and green instead of blue. The bathtub was huge, but there weren't any ducks on the side of this one. A basket on the counter held anything we could ever need to get clean, and I couldn't wait to use them. The clothes were right where Esme promised as well, so once I was over the most of my shock, I didn't waste any time before running the water for a bath.

"Let's take a bath together, Lucy girl," I said as I helped her undress. "Does that sound good?"

"Bath?" she questioned, tilting her head. "All clean shower?"

Smiling sadly, I ran my hands over her hair and cupped her sweet face. "Yes, baby. It's a bath. It's different than a shower, but we'll still get all clean." There was so much she didn't know yet, so much she didn't remember seeing in her short life. If nothing else, i wanted her to learn as much as possible during our stay with the Cullens, just in case we never saw it again.

She was hesitant as I placed her in the rising water, but as soon as I was sitting with her, she calmed and enjoyed the warmth. I hoped we'd have a chance for more baths because I wanted to relax in the water, but this time, it was about getting clean.

Even though we'd taken a shower at the shelter yesterday, both Lucy and I were filthy. I shampooed each of our hair twice and made sure we washed all over until we smelled nice like the soap.

The bath tired Lucy out, so as soon as we were clean as we could get, I wrapped us in the soft towels to dry off. The bathtub was a mess, so while Lucy sat in her towel on the floor, I tried to make the bathroom look like it did before we came in. After that was done, I dressed in the soft clothes Esme had left and helped Lucy with the t-shirt and fuzzy pants that were for her. Once combing our hair was finished, I picked up my sleepy girl and attempted to find our way downstairs.

The further I walked down the stairs, the louder it became. I could hear Esme and maybe Alice, but there were new voices. Taking a deep breath, I talked myself into continuing. I could only hope the rest of the family would like us, too.


A/N: I'm so sorry this is late and for the lack of review replies. If you ever want to be overwhelmed with no free time, go to nursing school. ;)

Thank you all so, so much for the continued support! It really means the world to me. You guys are just the best.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll try my best to post a twitter teaser next week. (I'm KelleyRachelle there.)