A/N: Ok, so here is my new story. This will post pretty much the same as my other WIPs, which will be every two weeks until I get until a better groove. So many people helped me get this story off the ground. May P Tucker read this for me. Alice's White Rabbit betad for me. They are amazing. Brierlynn03 also helped me hone some details. This is an ExB story and a departure from what I usually write. Off you go!

When I was 15 years old, I found out I couldn't have children. At that age, I couldn't be burdened with the news—I didn't even know if I wanted children. I was in high school and recovering from a bad car accident. I shied away from getting into any serious relationships after that, knowing the eventual confession could end in disaster and the end of that relationship.

When I was 19, I met James and that plan was blown to hell. He was the only one who got under my armor. I fell in love, and eventually, we had the discussion. He said he was fine with having no children, and we continued our relationship as before. It all ended up being a lie because, two years later, I found him in bed with my good friend, Victoria. James told me he wasn't okay with the "no kids" thing anymore, and he wanted out. I gave him what he wanted and kicked his ass out of my house. I decided from that point on I wouldn't let any other man get that close to me.

-1 year later-

I stepped out of the elevator into the parking garage. I'd just gotten off a 16-hour shift at the hospital and was dead on my feet. My two-week vacation officially started right now, and I was so ready to relax. I pulled my keys out of my purse and heard the chirp of my car unlocking. I saw something run past a car a few rows down, and I was sure I was seeing things due to lack of sleep. I shook my head and continued. I got into my car and pulled out of my spot. I navigated my way out of the parking garage and had to slam on my breaks when a girl darted out in front of me. She was probably around eight, and she looked frightened and disheveled. I put the car in park and got out of my car.

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to frighten her further.

"Please help me. They're after me," she pleaded with a slight accent to her voice.

I kneeled down to look at her. "What's your name?"

"Katiya," she answered, her accent now unmistakable as Russian.

"That's a very pretty name. My name is Isabella, but my friends call me Bella. Where are your parents, Katiya?"

She looked like she was in pain, and she shook her head. I put my hand out to her, and she took it hesitantly. "You don't know?" I guessed. "Well, let's see if we can go find them. The police should be able to locate them."

"No, please no cops." She pulled away, looking frightened again.

"Okay, no cops," I said, putting my hands up in surrender. "But you gotta tell me why we can't contact them. Come on, hot chocolate makes everything better." She grabbed my hand and gave me a little smile.

The car ride to my house was quiet. The little girl was beyond adorable. She had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and pouty lips. Her parents must be frantic trying to find her. I wanted to help this little girl, but she wasn't offering up any answers. When we got to my house, I turned on the TV and allowed her to pick something while I went and made hot chocolate. Once that was done, I called her to the kitchen. She seemed to be taking everything in. I'll admit my house was nice, but it wasn't extravagant. She sat down at the table, and I sat with her. I wanted her to feel comfortable with me, so I had the same drink as her. We drank in silence for a few minutes until I knew I had to get some answers. "Katiya," I began, "can you tell me about your story. I'll do anything I can to help, but I gotta know what's going on and why you're scared of the police."

Katiya took another sip of her hot chocolate and looked at me with her wide, sad blue eyes. "My parents are gone. They are dead," she said with finality. I saw a few tears well up in her eyes, and my heart broke for her. I took her hand without thinking, and thankfully, she didn't pull away. She looked at my hand over hers, and she seemed to visibly relax. "I was there when it happened."

"They passed away in front of you?"

"They were hurt by bad men." I gasped but covered my mouth and gestured for her to continue. "I don't know why, but I saw the men who broke in, and I crawled out of the window and called 911. When the police and ambulances showed up, the guys were already gone. The police said they had to put me in …" She hesitated, seeming to search for the word.

"Protective custody?" I guessed, trying to help her.

She nodded her head. "We were at a house only a day or two before they found us, and the man with the bad guys was a cop. I saw him when they took me to the police station." She was crying and gasping at this point.

Shit. I got up and hugged her to me. I pulled her onto my lap and cooed soothing words to her and told her she was safe. I started rocking her in my arms. I sighed because I had just taken on something much bigger than I knew how to handle. I felt bad for lying to her because there was no way I could keep this little girl safe by myself. It was late and I knew we both could do with some sleep, and nothing was going to be solved tonight.

Once she'd calmed down, she started playing with my hair and just looking at me, looking so innocent and lost. I smiled at her and told her that we should get ready for bed. She looked like she could use a bath, and I asked her if she wanted to take one. She seemed happy with this decision, so I ran a bath for her and gave her one of my smaller shirts to use as a nightgown. I gave her a clean towel and left her to take her bath. As I was about to close the door, she asked me shyly to keep the door open. I gave her a small smile and granted her request.

I knew tomorrow we would be in a situation because she had no clothes, and I couldn't take her to a store to get more, not without her possibly being seen. I knew I needed to ask my best friend for a "no questions asked" favor. I grabbed Katiya's dirty clothes to get a size and put them in the wash. She also had no shoes, so I just asked her what her size was, and she yelled it back to me. I texted Alice and waited for a reply.

No questions? Really, this sounds like an odd request because those are children's sizes- A

Ali, this is a 911 situation- B

Okay. I'll have them for you within an hour. If this is illegal, you so owe me, at least enough for bail money- A

I laughed because I knew she was burning with curiosity, but she trusted me. Deal- B

I waited for the little girl to get out of the bath, and when she asked for a brush, I went and grabbed one from my collection in the bathroom. She asked if I could brush her hair for her, and I said of course. I grabbed the towel and made sure her hair was as dry as I could get it. Then I parted it and started to brush, making sure to be gentle. Her blondish hair was starting to curl from being wet like mine did, and I felt a pang of longing. When I found out I couldn't have kids, I was too young to even care, but as I got older, and after the confrontation with James was in my rearview, I found myself wanting children and being upset at the cards I was dealt. I allowed myself to wallow while I brushed her hair, but when she turned to look at me, I had to shake the feelings off.

She looked a little sad, so I made a funny face, and she laughed. It was a tinkling, bell sound. I berated myself for feeling sorry for myself because this girl's whole world had been ripped away from her. I grew up with two loving parents and an older sister who were there for my graduation and had cheered me on as I had received my RN at the University of Pennsylvania with a 3.8 GPA. They were also the reason I decided to apply for jobs back in Washington after my graduation. My sister was expecting a baby soon, and my parents wanted me closer. I wondered if they were gonna be able to meet this little girl. I realized that I still knew so little about her.

"So, how old are you?"

"I'm seven. I'll be eight soon."

"When is your birthday?"

"June fifth."

"That's soon—two weeks from now. That's exciting."

Katiya shrugged. "How old are you?"

I laughed. She definitely wasn't shy now. "I'm 23." I finished brushing her hair and put the brush down.

Katiya turned around to look at me. "When's your birthday?"

"September 13th." I wondered about her accent. She can't have been born in the US when she started talking for her to have an accent. "I noticed you have an accent. Were you born here?"

She shook her head no. "I was born in Russia. My parents wanted a better life than we had there, so they worked until we could emigrate over here. I was six when we came over here, and we got citizenship as soon as we could."

I nodded and it seemed to make sense. I opened my mouth to say something when there was a knock at the door. I told Katiya to go in my room until I came and got her. She was up and in my room before I could say anything else. I opened the door and it was Alice. She had several bags in her hand and smiled at me. I grabbed the bags from her and ushered her inside so I could put them down, give her a hug, and grab my purse to pay her. "How much was it?"

"Don't worry about it, Bella."

"Ali—"

"I got to use my discount and my credit card, so it was almost nothing. Just consider it a gift. Can you really not tell me what's going on?"

"Alice, I don't want to get you caught up in this because the legality is murky."

"Bella Marie Swan, now you have to tell me!"

"Did you just middle name me?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot in her stylish boots, waiting. "Oh, God. Fine. Sit." She did as I requested, and I started to pace. "When I got off work at the hospital, I almost ran over this little girl. She asked me for help, and after not getting many answers from her, I said we should go to the police, and she completely freaked out. I knew there was more going on, so I brought here, and I finally got her to talk. Her parents were murdered in front of her. The guys who did it got away, and she was put in protective custody, but I guess there was some corrupt action going on because they found her with this cop's help. She ran, and I found her, and now here we are." I finished, sitting down and finally looking at her. She had her mouth gaping open at the moment, and I was getting anxious.

"Holy shit, Bellsy! That is a whole clusterfuck you just fell into."

"I know. I want to keep her safe, but I don't know how I'm going to do that. I can't go to the cops because someone there is corrupt as fuck. I can't go off the grid because, once my vacation is over, I gotta go back to work. She can't be seen anywhere. Oh, God. I'm gonna go to jail. I can't breathe." I started panicking, and it was getting hard to breathe. Alice ran to the kitchen and came back with a paper bag. She coached me through breathing in and out. I listened to her instructions and started to calm down.

"Okay, I didn't want to do this, but it seems like it's unavoidable." She grabbed her purse and took her wallet as she sat next to me. She handed me a business card with handwriting on the back.

"Edward. Why are you giving me Edward's number?"

"He asked me to give it to you. I know how you feel about relationships, so I debated giving it to you. He gave it to me, like, two days ago."

Edward was an intimidatingly hot man. He was devastatingly beautiful and rugged at the same time. He had a jaw that could cut glass, piercing green eyes, a tall frame, copper-colored hair, amazingly kissable lips, and tattoos completely coloring both of his arms. We'd been flirting back and forth for some time, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would have to pull together all my willpower to turn him down. I wondered what he had to do with my current situation before I remembered. "Edward is a US Marshall. Oh, my God, Alice, I know he isn't corrupt, and he can totally help. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, he's not gonna get the call he expected from you, but I know he'll help you." Edward was Carlisle's son, and her aunt Esme had just married Carlisle. They were now related by marriage, so she knew him well enough to make that statement. I nodded my head and sighed. "Can I meet her?"

I worried momentarily, but then it passed. I trusted Alice with every secret I had, and she had never betrayed me. I knocked on the door to my room and opened it. Katiya was lying on my bed, passed out. Alice stood in the doorway as I walked over and covered her with the comforter.

"She's beautiful."

I turned off the ceiling light and turned my bedside lamp on in case she woke up and left the door open, remembering her request from earlier with the bathroom. Alice said she needed to get going because Jasper was expecting her to come over. I walked Alice to the door and gave her a hug, thanking her for helping in more ways than one. When she left, I locked the door with the deadbolt and chain. I grabbed the bags and started sorting tops from bottoms, socks, hair stuff, and more than one pair of shoes. I got everything organized and realized it was starting to get late. I looked at the card with Edward's name on it—I'd call him in the morning. I grabbed a pillow from the bed and the throw blanket from the couch, deciding to sleep in the armchair in my room. I didn't want to leave Katiya alone, but I didn't want to make her uncomfortable by lying in the bed with her. I fell asleep quickly to the sound of her even breathing.

~oOo~

I woke up with blonde hair in my face and small arms wrapped around me. I looked down and saw that Katiya had crawled onto my lap during the night. My heart tugged for her. She needed someone to trust, and she'd decided to put it in me. I was honored and completely terrified. I gently woke her up. She smiled shyly and stretched before getting up. I made us some breakfast, and then I let her pick out what she wanted to wear for the day. She got a little excited about having clean, new, cute clothes. I put her hair in a French braid and then sat her down. I needed to explain to her what was going on. I'd called Edward while she was eating and got his voicemail. Before he called back, she needed to know that everything was going to be okay.

"Okay, Katiya, I need you to listen to me. I want to do everything I can to help you, but my knowledge in this area is extremely limited. I called a friend, and he can help us. He's with law enforcement, but I know I can trust him, and he won't hurt us. I'll make sure we don't get separated if that's what you want, but we need him to get through this safely."

A myriad of emotions crossed her face before they passed. She nodded. "I don't want to be separated from you. You're sure he won't hurt us?"

"Positive." My phone rang right after I said that, and it was Edward as if he knew we were talking about him. "Hello, Edward."

"Bella, I gotta say I wasn't expecting you to call me so soon. Ali said the chances were low," his velvet-smooth voice joked.

"I'm actually calling you for a huge favor, not a date," I clarified.

"Oh, I'm intrigued now." He chuckled.

"Not over the phone," I said quickly. There was silence for a beat.

"Is everything okay, Bella?" he asked.

"I need you to come over here, and I need to talk to you in person. Please, Edward. I'm trusting you here," I pleaded.

His voice was calming and soothing. "It's okay, Bella. I'm finishing up some things here at work, and then I can head over. Is an hour okay?"

"Yes, that's fine." I gave him my address. "Thank you, Edward."

"Anytime, Bella."

We hung up, and I looked at Katiya, blowing out a large breath. She gave me a thumbs up and smiled. I smiled back and shook my head. I sat down with her and watched cartoons for a few minutes. We soon got bored with TV, and I found some puzzles that I had bought a couple days ago. I planned on doing them during my vacation. We'd just started putting one together that we'd agreed on when there was a knock on the door. Katiya shadowed me to the door, but she stayed behind me. I opened the door, and Edward stood there in all his glory. I swear he was sex on legs. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, dark-washed jeans, aviator sunglasses, and a bright smile.

"Hey, Bella," he greeted me. His smile faltered a little when Katiya poked her head out from behind me. "Hey, what's your name?" he asked, squatting down to her level.

"Katiya," she said with a shy smile and her Russian accent. That seemed to trip him up a little bit. I told her to go continue with the puzzle while Edward and I talked. She smiled, nodded, and ran back to the living room. Edward gently grabbed my elbow and led me to the kitchen. He pulled his sunglasses off.

"Alice has never mentioned you having a kid, nor have you, but that still wouldn't explain why she looks and sounds Russian. What's going on, Bella? You gotta start giving me some answers. I'm feeling a little blindsided."

"I know and I'm sorry, but there was no way I could explain everything to you over the phone. Please just let me explain before you make any judgments or decisions."

He gestured for me to continue. "I'm listening."

I took a deep breath and readied myself to tell him both of our stories, praying to whoever was listening that he would help us.

A/N: So how do we feel? Let me know. Later lovelies!