"Well!" Irina exclaimed. "What a discovery!"

"I hope she chooses to stay on," Tanya said, "with one family or the other."

Voices dropped, as Carlisle conducted a quick consultation with the rest of us, too low for Bella to hear from upstairs, asking what everyone's take on Bella was, whether they felt she was trustworthy and would be an asset to the family, should she want to stay on with us. Meanwhile, Tanya held a similar council with her own clan. Jasper's read of her emotions went a long way toward recommending her, as did the glimpses of her likely future I described from Alice's mind. Bella received a unanimous thumbs-up.

I could hear in Tanya's thoughts the hope that Bella would join the Denalis, and found myself bristling at the idea, even as I recognized that Bella had every right to go where she chose. I wanted Bella here with my family; moreover, it distressed me to think of Tanya and her sisters initiating Bella into their succubus lifestyle. I had, I believe, avoided thinking harshly of their approach, but it irked me terribly to imagine Bella joining in. I heard Alice's thoughts also object to losing Bella to another coven, but after a quick look ahead, she assured herself that Bella would definitely choose to stay with us. To stay with Carlisle, more specifically; she already trusted him and saw him as a protector. I felt something shockingly close to envy at the way Carlisle had managed to win her confidence so quickly. I would have liked to be the one who convinced her…the one for whose sake she wanted to stay. I was annoyed at myself for this line of thought, and quickly suppressed it, just as I saw Jasper, looking sidewise in my direction, raise an eyebrow in surprise. I reminded myself that, just because I had posthumously stalked the poor girl, didn't mean I had any kind of claim on her society.

I looked up as Alice and Bella came down the stairs, chatting and laughing as if they were already the close friends Alice foresaw. My eyes went directly to Bella as she walked gracefully down the steps, thinking again that the human Bella I had taken such an interest in was merely the chrysalis producing the fully-formed butterfly I saw before me. She was slender and delicate, but with a warm femininity that was all the more agreeable for being unintentional and artless on her part. She was clean at last, dressed in a pretty blue sundress that was just a little large for her, and a pair of sandals. Her hair was no longer tangled and matted, but had been brushed out into glossy, mahogany-coloured waves that hung past her shoulders. She looked happy and confident, and the mood Jasper picked up from her was, more than anything else, hopeful. I was delighted that she was safe once again, that she would find shelter and companionship here, with my family. What an admirable sister she would make!

We continued the conversation, but very little came out that was new to me. Bella filled in a few more details about her time alone; and she confessed that she had cautiously approached the five of us, despite her fear of another attack, because she had overheard us talking, and thought we sounded civilized and friendly. She was isolated, and so desperate for some kind of information about herself, that she took the risk of speaking to another group like those who had attacked her and placed her where she was.

The others shared some of their own histories with her, offering further background on the vampire world and her own nature. Bella seemed happy to talk to any or all of the gathering, but it was Carlisle she continued to turn to, for confirmation of her ideas, for support, or for approval. Tanya's thoughts accepted, with some disappointment, that Bella had allied herself with us, and when the discussion had begun to run down, Tanya finally brought up the essential question. "Bella, my little group would be happy to offer you a place; but I think you already feel more comfortable with Carlisle's family. Isn't that so?"

Bella looked questioningly at Carlisle, who said, "You are more than welcome to join us, my dear. In fact, if I am not mistaken, Alice has been planning your accommodations since before you arrived."

"True!" Alice laughed.

"Oh! That's so nice, but…joining you - what would that mean, exactly?"

"Only that you would be part of our family; to live here with us, hopefully to travel with us when it is time to move on."

"So is there a contract of some kind?" Her emotions were a battle between hope and caution. It made sense: after months of solitude and confusion, the idea of a home, of friends, would be such a relief; but her past experiences with the nomads would move her to be wary.

Carlisle chuckled. "Not at all. The sole provisions are that you continue to hunt only animals - or at least, do your best to continue so - and do nothing to give our identity away to humans. Members of the family are free to leave if they wish. Some of us have taken time apart, then returned. We live together by choice, for safety and companionship."

"I see."

"No very specific demands would be placed on you, although we all do what we can to keep one another safe - particularly, safe from discovery - and to help and support one another as we can. We would be delighted to consider ourselves your family."

The others called out their agreement, even Rosalie, who almost made me laugh out loud with the smug thoughts running through her mind, that the new girl was no competition for her where looks were concerned, being, in Rosalie's eyes, a little plain. Plain! Let Rose believe that, if it made her feel better.

"Then…thank you, I would love to," Bella said, smiling as everyone welcomed her, Emmett giving a whoop and calling out, "Welcome, little sister!" and Alice clapping her hands in glee.

"Come on, then!" Alice sang out, grabbing Bella's hand once again. "Help me fix up your room the way you like it!"

Everything was settled with incredible ease. Alice and Esme readily gave up their second-floor sewing and amateur forgery room to provide a place for Bella. It was decorated by Alice and according to Alice's aesthetics, but taking Bella's tastes into account to some extent, resulting in something pretty but simple and understated by Alice's standards. As the family provided furnishings and conveniences, I impulsively purchased the best music system I could find, remembering the sad little tape deck back in human Bella's room, and placed it in her new quarters.

It was even a little strange, when I thought about it, how effortlessly Bella was accepted into the family; as if she belonged there, and we'd been simply holding a place for her. Even Rosalie accepted her without question - and even with a little sympathy, since Bella had been brought into our life not only by force, but when her human life was just beginning.

Tanya's family took their leave. Jasper had, apparently, carried through on his promise to speak with Tanya. I could catch snatches of their conversation in her mind: Tanya asking archly Are you sure he's not just thinking it over? and Jasper replying firmly, Believe me, I'm very sure. He's even less inclined now than when we were in Alaska; and Jasper advising her not to push matters any further and threaten her friendship with me. I was uncomfortable, fearing I'd insulted her, but she bid me goodbye in a friendly enough manner. "No hard feelings?" she asked, offering her hand in a distinctly sisterly manner.

"Certainly not from my side," I replied, surprised.

"Not from mine, either," she assured me. "Best of luck to you, Edward."

"And to you, Tanya."

I was genuinely relieved to have that settled. I liked Tanya, and her family, and did not want this business hanging over us. I thanked Jasper for his intervention when we had a moment alone. "Happy to help," he said; but his thoughts on the subject were unusually skittish, as if there were more to the question than he was saying.

"Tanya wasn't offended?"

"No, not at all; only a little…persistent, and I wanted to make things clear to her, leave you with no loose ends." Again, his thoughts were quickly covered up, but it seemed to have little to do with Tanya, so I let it go. I do my best to allow people their inner privacy, to the extent that I can.

As expected, Alice spent a great deal of time with Bella, showing her the ropes, taking her hunting, answering questions about us and our way of life. To her frustration, she was unable to take Bella shopping for new clothes, since Bella was, of course, required to keep herself unseen for the time being; but Alice made up for it with online purchases, revelling in fittings and fashion shows which Bella clearly tolerated rather than enjoyed.

As summer wore on, we realized we might have to change our plans, as far as remaining in Forks another few years. Keeping a newborn concealed was risky at best; far more so in a town where she is recognizable by some. What's more, once Bella's newborn phase was over and her eyes has completely changed colour, she would want the opportunity to go out in public like the rest of us, and that would never be possible in Forks. We discussed our options and, with apologies to the prospective college students, we decided to relocate before fall. The usual preparations, from arranging for a house to establishing new identities, were initiated.

Bella turned out to be an asset to the family beyond what I'd expected. She did everything she could to fit in with our way of life, timidly but happily joining in with our pastimes. Everyone loved having her around. Jasper enjoyed her climate, as he called it. Alice was jubilant at having a best buddy, and while she and Bella seemed too different to be an obvious choice for best friends, somehow it seemed to work. Carlisle and Esme accepted her as a daughter with a warmth that gratified me deeply. Rosalie accepted her with as much friendliness as Rose was capable of. And Emmett enjoyed her sense of humour and the way she stood up to him. Emmett mentioned it to me while we were out hunting together. "New little sister is working out just fine, don't you think?"

"I do," I agreed, pleased as always to hear Bella well spoken of. "She's a wonderful addition to the family."

"Lots of fun, and a plucky girl, too!"

"You say that because she's not afraid of you, I suppose."

He laughed. "Yeah, partly."

"Of course, she also fought off three mature vampires and a pack of werewolves, successfully."

"Right, that was something, wasn't it! Kind of wish I'd been there."

"And then, not going after humans from the start, while she was still a newborn, all alone and without any help."

"That's true! I've never heard of anybody managing that, except Carlisle."

"Exactly. And at least Carlisle knew what was happening to him, knew what vampires were. Bella had no idea what she was, and yet she figured out, on her own, that she was a threat to humans, and found a way to avoid hurting them. It's quite a feat!"

He nodded. "I guess you're right."

"And to top it off, she's got a powerful gift. The only person I wasn't able to read, ever. She's incredible."

"Wow, sounds like you've got some serious hero worship going on!"

I shrugged, laughing. "I guess I have."

He teased me about it a little, saying it's easy enough to idolize the one person whose mind I couldn't read. It didn't bother me. I felt that I knew enough about Bella, through one means or another, to feel secure in my admiration.

At first, I got to know Bella indirectly, through her friendship with the others. I watched her warm relationship with Carlisle continue, and extend to Esme; saw her become pals with Alice; was as surprised by her confident banter with Jasper as by Jasper's enjoyment of it; rolled my eyes at Emmett's big-brotherly teasing; and approved of Rosalie's sisterly acceptance. My own relationship with her, however, remained a little distant and once-removed for a while. I still saw her, to some extent, as an unexpected revival of the human Bella, for whom I'd had a peculiar fascination. She'd been the first human I'd taken a genuine interest in for a century, and the catalyst for a revival of my own when I'd reached a low ebb. To have her return to life as a vampire and join my household was…just a bit staggering. It took time to process. As I learned more about her, both by watching her and through Jasper's readings of her emotions, I found myself transferring my fascination from dead, human Bella to the new, permanent one, and that was what finally drove me to know her better for myself.

Realizing that she had very little music to play on her state-of-the-art system, I offered to lend her any CDs of mine that she might fancy. That led to a fairly easy conversation about music, and I suggested she look over my collection and feel free to borrow whatever she might find. She hadn't been in my room before, and seeing her walk through the door had a curiously momentous feel to it. "Wow!" she exclaimed, seeing my shelves of CDs, and the occasional vinyl album. "Quite a collection!" She began looking through the neatly stacked selections, occasionally exclaiming over something interesting, or familiar, or completely new to her.

She glanced around the room at one point. "Very different from my room," she noted evenly.

I grinned, understanding what she was getting at. "I didn't have Alice do my decorating."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is it even possible to avoid?"

I laughed. "Just barely. I insisted on choosing my own furnishings this time, when I saw a brocade chaise longue in her plans." She nodded sympathetically. "Maybe you can try to gain some control of the process for our next move."

That made her frown a little. "End of August is the plan, right?"

"Yes." She seemed pensive, and I wished I could know what was in her mind. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, not at all. I was just thinking, I won't see my dad again after that. I hope he'll be okay."

My heart went out to her, and my admiration increased. With all she had to deal with, and to learn, she still felt responsible for her former father's happiness. I felt a strong impulse to help somehow. "He'll be happy. Alice saw it, and she's almost never wrong."

"Oh, I know, and I believe her. But I still worry." She made a face. "He doesn't take good care of himself. He has almost no savings, you know? No retirement fund or whatever. He's planning to live on his pension, and it isn't that huge."

I was relieved to find something I might actually be of help with. "That's easily remedied, actually." She looked at me in surprise. "Thanks to a combination of time and an in-house fortune teller to guide investments, we have access to virtually unlimited funds. We could easily provide for your father's retirement."

Her eyes widened. "That would be…but…you couldn't just go and hand him a pile of money. He'd have questions…"

"Yes, but we can arrange for him to come into the money by some plausible means. Winning a contest, an inheritance from a long-lost relative, the possibilities are endless." Elated at having a way to help her, I babbled on, "I'll talk to Carlisle. I'm sure he'll agree, and we can work out a method."

"Thank you," she said. "You've all been just amazing. I don't even know what to say." She shook her head helplessly.

"No, no, it's nothing," I assured her quickly. "We're so happy to have you here. All of us. You're so…" I wound down, at a loss for words. I was happy but strangely flustered. It was so gratifying to do something that made her happy.

We talked on, letting the conversation wander wherever it would, as we left my room, paused to place Bella's chosen music in her room, and walked downstairs. When Bella went to the door, I unthinkingly followed her outside, and we strolled across the grass, through Esme's garden, and on into the surrounding woods, still engrossed in our aimless discussion. When Bella paused to look around, admiring the green canopy overhead, I impulsively asked her, "Would you like me to show you a favourite spot of mine?" I paused, a little surprised at myself for offering to share my private sanctuary, but at her enquiring look, I went on, "It's a very lovely area I came upon one day. I like to go there when I'm in the mood for quiet and solitude."

"You won't have any solitude if I go with you," she pointed out, smiling.

I felt myself smile in return. "No, but I'd like to…to show you; that is, if you wouldn't mind…"

"No, I'd like that."

I led her through the trees, to where the land began to slope upward. Exuberant, I began to run without thinking, but when I looked back, she was running just behind me, grinning and happily chasing me up the steep hillside. When we arrived at the wide, horizontal shelf of land, I stopped, turning and awkwardly presenting the place to her. She had no noticeable reaction for a few seconds, only stood still, looking around; and for a moment, I had second thoughts. The place seemed special to me, but to others it might only seem an uninspiring patch of land. I wished, once again, that I could tell what she was thinking. Then she took a step forward. "So beautiful!" she murmured. "It's like a wild little garden! Just look at the flowers! I love it!"

I was relieved. The meadow was blooming with summer wildflowers, completely covered with blossoms of every colour, the occasional butterfly fluttering among them, with a backdrop of vines covering the rock face behind it. It had always seemed to me like a sanctuary of natural beauty, one I'd never shown to anyone until today. And Bella felt just as I did about it. I felt giddy with relief.

We basked in the quiet beauty, at first in silence; then our conversation casually started up again. Feeling that we were on good enough terms by now, I took the opportunity to ask her some of the questions that had occurred to me since Bella had come to live with us: simple questions, like her favourite colour, or flower, or gemstone; and more complex ones, such as her feelings about her home in Arizona, whether she had grown comfortable with hunting, if she was finding herself at ease with her new family. From there, we talked about the family members and the relations between them; she expressed great warmth toward them all, ranging from her easy friendship with Alice to the grave respect she felt for Carlisle. I made her laugh with stories of our past adventures as a family, delighted to share my history with her and make her even more one of us.

When she confessed her uncertainty about being able to fulfill the role of Cullen adequately, I was able to reassure her. "We've had new members who were newborns, completely out of control; but they all learned to live within the family, and they all became valuable to us. You're already ahead of the game: you're the calmest, most controlled newborn any of us have seen."

"I've been told that. Why would that be, anyway?"

"We don't know. Carlisle has a theory, which you've heard."

"Yeah, that it's a side-effect of this shield I supposedly have?"

"You definitely have a shield. No one else has ever blocked me from reading their thoughts; and Kate tried her gift on you as well." She shook her head, still finding it hard to believe she had special talents. She didn't regard herself as special, which seemed a shame, when she was so remarkable in so many ways. "We all work for the common good in this family, but it's not a matter of being given assignments. Somehow we all fall into the task that we enjoy, and that we have a talent for. You will, too; I'm sure of it." She seemed satisfied with that.

At dusk, we descended the mountain, more slowly than we'd climbed it, sometimes talking, sometimes walking in companionable silence. I returned home still drifting on the pleasant emotional current created by the happy day I'd had; Jasper smiled faintly as we entered the house. Remembering my promise to Bella, I went to Carlisle immediately, to ask about arranging a bequest of some kind for Charlie Swan. He was more than willing to undertake it, and he, Jasper, and Emmett put their heads together to come up with a plan. Bella gave me a grateful look, and I found myself smiling almost continually through the rest of the evening, as the family gathered to talk. I went to my piano, playing softly while joining in the conversation and merriment, taking pleasure in both.

When the couples finally took their leave for the night - Carlisle had a rare day off, and he and Esme joined them in pairing up - Bella did not, as usual, retire to her own room, but remained behind on the ground floor. Alice paused on the staircase. "You'll be all right, Bella?" she asked. "You can wait until morning to hunt?"

"Oh, sure," she said. I realized it had been a few days, long enough for a newborn.

"You should have said something earlier!" I protested. "You could have gone during the day, when we were out." The family still insisted on Bella having someone with her while hunting, although she had been quite reliable so far.

"You could take her, Edward," Alice pointed out.

"Of course, I'd be happy to. If you don't mind, that is, Bella."

"No, I don't mind," she replied, suddenly looking shy and failing to catch my eye.

"Good, all taken care of, then," Alice said casually, following Jasper up the stairs. She was once again masking her thoughts, this time by mentally reciting Cupid and Psyche, breaking off the poetry recital abruptly when, presumably, Jasper drew her mind to other matters. I blocked her thoughts, and turned back to Bella.

"Is there an area you prefer?" I asked.

"Maybe you can choose the direction," she suggested, "since I've never gone hunting with you before."

It was true; and I'd wondered when I'd have a chance. Each of us have our own style of hunting, one that often parallels our personality: Emmett, a straightforward attack based purely on physical strength; Carlisle, quick and methodical, mercifully stunning the animal first with a precise blow to the base of the skull; Alice, at once playful and ruthless. I was curious as to what Bella would be like.

We ran to my preferred hunting grounds: south-east, to the foothills near the Bogachiel River. She ran gracefully but with no conscious efforts at grace, taking simple enjoyment in the act of running, and occasionally making great leaps for the sheer pleasure of it. We located nothing better than deer, but Bella seemed content with that. Her hunting style was…fierce. She did not play with her prey, but having sighted it, she chased it down and dispatched it with a single minded ferocity that, frankly, delighted me. Bella in mid-hunt was a thousand miles from the diffident human she had been, that she still retained a glimmer of much of the time. Pursuing what she desired, she was strong, resolute, and fearless, and full of joy at her own strength and speed. She made me feel, for the first time, that vampires were not only stronger and faster than humans, but truly more beautiful.

We wandered the hills, alternately talking together, and running through the trees. I found myself sharing Bella's delight at her own strength, and we competed at leaping over the river, climbing to the treetops, jumping from tree to tree, laughing together. When the sun rose, I watched the sparkle of sunlight against her skin, this time seeing not an unnatural monster, but only a beautiful woman who glistened like a jewel. Then I saw the sun strike my own hands, and for once did not look away in loathing. We arrived home well after sunrise, the entire family already downstairs for the day.

Much of the morning was spent finalizing details for our relocation, less than a month away now. Jasper had our new paperwork, with false names once again. Carlisle and Esme had adopted Esme's former surname, Platte, and Bella would become Marie Platte to the outside world. The family had also contrived a way to have Charlie Swan end up financially secure without arousing suspicion. Bella once more expressed her gratitude. I could read her emotions through Jasper's mind: along with being grateful and happy, there was a touch of nostalgia, presumably coming from thoughts of her father, and also a feeling of resolution and acceptance, which eased my mind. She harboured no resentment or discontent over her present life.