Twilight Fan fiction

Transitionals

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Twilight. I do use some sentences directly from the book, I don't own them. They were originally and forever owned by Stephenie Meyer.

Alright everyone so this is chapter 8 but it turned out that there was so much information here, that I broke it up into two parts. So this is Part A, I hope you guys like it.

Chapter 8

Edward's POV

I stayed in Bella's tree until the very last minute before she had fully awaken. I jumped down and raced on home.

My family was waiting for me when I ran through the door.

'How are they?' They all asked.

I shrugged and raced up the stairs to my room. I changed quickly and joined them in the living room.

"I'm certain Bella's going to be tired today. Cissy hardly ever has a problem, I can only guess if she and Anna will be okay today. Cissy woke Bella up twice last night, and Anna woke her once.

"Did Anna have a nightmare?" Rose's voice wavered with concern.

I nodded. "It was the fire again. She was running calling for her parents when she ran into Bella. Bella had Cissy and the three of them ran through the burning building. She woke up when some man in the dream grabbed her hand."

My face hardened and I turned to Carlisle. "I think the hunters caused the fire."

Carlisle nodded thoughtfully. "That would be my guess as well."

"What's the plan?" Emmett rubbed his hands together in anticipation. 'No one's going to touch my baby sister.'

The shock on my face as I stared at Emmett caused the rest of the family to stare at him.

"What?" he asked nervously.

Carlisle turned back to me. "What is it Edward?"

I shook my head and looked away from my brother. His thoughts had surprised me thoroughly.

'What's your deal, she's your mate; that makes her my sister.' Emmett rolled his eyes at me before facing a father. "What's the plan?" He asked again.

Carlisle folded his hand on his lap. "There's not much we can do until Bella talks to us. You all need to be patient and let her come to us." His gaze locked on Alice for a fraction of a second longer than the rest of us.

"But Bella won't talk to us," Alice complained. "It could take months before she comes to us. And what if the Hunters try again before she does?"

We all glanced worriedly at Carlisle; Alice did have a point. He nodded in agreement. "We could keep an eye on her. We'll look after her and the girls from afar."

We all agreed to that readily.

"Eddie can take the night shift," Emmett teased.

Before I could yell at him, Jasper spoke. "I think it would be wise to have at least two of us in range to help at all times. Obviously the five of us at school, should be able to keep an eye on them, but outside of school there should be at least two of us with them."

"Whether they know it or not," Emmett added with a grin.

"I agree with Jasper," Carlisle announced. He gave me a sympathetic smile. "Also if Edward is going to desensitize himself from Bella's scent, it would be wise for someone else to join him."

I grimaced hating myself even more for my weakness.

"None of the rest of us have ever smelled Bella's true scent, beside Edward," Jasper reminded us. "We need to find a safe way for all of us to test ourselves, none of us want to hurt her."

"Jasper makes an excellent point." Esme leaned her head against Carlisle's shoulder. "I think we all should go."

Carlisle nodded in agreement. "Then it's settled. We can go tonight."

I could tell from Carlisle and Esme's thoughts that they weren't exactly thrilled with spying on the girls, but they knew it was necessary.

I myself, wasn't looking forward to having my family come with me that night. Oh well, Jasper had a point.

The five of us younger members got in my car and headed to school. Like always we waited for Bella.

Usually when Bella was pulling into the parking lot, before she parked her car, her eyes would glance at us before returning to the road. No such luck today. Bella didn't look our way.

From our parking spot we watched as she messed with her backpack for a few moments, before getting out of the car. She didn't look over before getting Anna out of the car.

The little girl waved at us as she walked with Bella around the car. She smiled and played the game she had created with us.

While my siblings waved at Anna and watched as she ducked out of sight, I focused on Bella. She was determined not to look over at us. Her intention was obvious; she was going to ignore us.

I sighed, I had known that she would most likely do that, knowing that hadn't help the sharp, quick, pain in my chest. I brushed the slight pain away. Fine if she was going to ignore me, I would ignore her, or rather make it seem like I was ignoring her.

The whole business with the Hunters had pushed any thoughts of staying away from her, from my mind. I could wait for her to come to us, but until she did I would stay far enough away that she wouldn't know I was there, but close enough that I could keep watch for danger. She would think that I was ignoring her too.

Alice patted my shoulder. "Good luck with that."

The others glanced at me curiously as Alice walked away from us.

"What was that about?" Jasper gave me a curious look and I shrugged. He clearly wasn't too interested because he let it drop.

I settled into my seat in first period and looked for Bella in the junior English class. I watched through the entire class period, as Bella did her work and Anna colored.

Second period was the same except Anna got down off of Bella's lap half way through class and sat down in front of Cissy's baby carrier. Third period she was back to coloring while Bella worked.

In fourth period, the students were doing a worksheet, something Bella managed to finish early. She used the rest of the class period to work on homework for her other classes.

When the lunch Bella rang I hurried to get to my chair. I sat down with a tray of horribly smelling human food and fought to keep my head from turning to look at Bella. I knew when she would enter the cafeteria, I could see her talking unwillingly with Jessica.

All through lunch I kept my eyes on the table I was sitting at, refusing to look up and over at Bella. All the while though I watched her through the eyes of Jessica and Angela.

I could see that Anna kept glancing at our table, to be more precise she kept looking at Rose. The little girl was obviously already attached to Rose. I had to say I loved the change she had brought to my sister. The little girls had melted her heart, and the new side to Rose was welcomed.

"Do you get the feeling that Anna wants to join us?" Emmett glanced over at Rose for a quick second before turning back to Anna.

Anna did indeed look like she would get up and come over to our table. I had feeling though that she wouldn't, even though she wanted to.

I survived through lunch, the only time that I had struggled to not look, was when she was passing our table to leave.

Biology would be another problem. Trying to seem like I was ignoring her would be difficult. Thankfully we weren't doing a lab today.

I took my seat and set my stuff down on my side of the desk. I opened the text book and kept my gaze locked on it. I didn't look up when Bella walked in with the girls. Neither of us greeted the other. I did though catch the look of annoyance Anna gave me before rolling her eyes in exasperation.

What that was about, I had no idea.

The hour couldn't pass fast enough. Neither of us were going to budge, no matter how hard Anna pushed. She was bent on getting the two of us to talk to each other. Her look of frustration at the end of the class almost made me feel sorry enough to break the silence first. Almost.

While fifth period had seemed to drag on forever, sixth period flew by. I hurried to my car to wait for the others.

Alice glared at me as she stopped beside my car. "You and Bella are the two most stubborn people in the world."

I shrugged and leaned against my car, waiting for Bella.

Bella never glanced our way from the point that she stepped into our sight, to the moment she had driven away.

My heart clenched when she vanished from my sight.

"We're not going to let her go off alone are we?" Emmett asked. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Who's going to take the first shift?"

I tossed my keys at Alice, but she took them and sent them to Rose. "I'm going with you." She narrowed her eyes, daring me to argue.

I wasn't going to.

We headed into the woods, making sure that no one noticed. Once we were safely behind the trees, we raced in the direction of Bella's house. We caught up to her car before she made it home.

From the tree line we were able to watch Bella and the girls without them knowing.

Bella helped Anna out of the car. Anna grabbed hold of Bella's hand before she could move to get Cissy. The two of them appeared to be having one of their silent conversations.

Whatever had happened between them, when Anna let go of Bella's hand, Bella shook her head, and her face looked annoyed. She grumbled something unintelligible -even to our ears- and grabbed Cissy out of the car.

The three of them went inside, and Alice and I settled in to wait. Whoever wanted to hurt my Bella was in for a rude awakening. They wanted her, they'd have to get passed me first.

"Auntie, you should talk to them," We heard Anna tell Bella not long after they had gone inside. "They can help."

"Anna, we're not talking about this. We need to stay away from them."

"But…"

"No, Anna."

Alice turned to me, her eyes filled with tears she couldn't shed, her lower lip trembled. "They need to stay away from us? What does that sound like to you?"

"The truth."

Alice smacked the top of my head. "No! It sounds like Bella's scared of vampires." She rolled her eyes. Her face softened though as she leaned against the tree behind her. "It's looking more and more like the fire was caused by our kind. The fire was obvious their way to cover their tracks."

I growled. Alice's words made since, and that would explain the Hunters. Our kind were natural hunters.

A couple of hours went by in silence before Alice spoke up again. "You know, if you would stop ignoring Bella, we might be able to get her to talk with us. You're her mate after all, if anyone could get her to talk with us it would be you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes. "I don't want to talk about this Alice."

My mind was filled with blurry visions. One after the other, the only thing I could make out in each, was myself.

"I didn't catch most of that."

"Neither did I." She shrugged, closing her eyes and resting her head against the tree. 'Your future is shifting around so much, I can't keep up with it. I know why now though.'

Before I could duck out of the way she slapped me. I didn't even get a chance to question her.

'Bella should get a say in this. You can't just leave her without giving her a choice in the matter.'

"May I remind you that she's trying to stay away from us vampires. Why would she…"

Alice clamped a hand over my mouth. "Do not finish that sentence," she hissed.

Neither one of us spoke until Jasper and Emmett showed up an hour later.

"Everything going alright, here?" Emmett glanced at the house before scanning the woods we were hiding in.

"Everything's fine." Alice gave Jasper a quick kiss, ruffled my hair and pulled Emmett away.

Jasper leaned against the tree Alice had been resting against.

We listened in silence. The television was going, playing what sounded like some sort of children's program.

Charlie's cruiser pulled into the driveway and we watched as he walked inside.

"Uncle Charlie," Anna's sweet voice called.

We heard Charlie laugh gently. "Hello little Belle."

"Hey dad."

"Bella, how was school?"

Bella's voice was surprisingly upset. "School was fine, and before you ask, no I didn't talk with them."

Charlie grumbled. "Bella, you should talk to the Cullens. If not all of them at least that boy."

Jasper chuckled softly, wondering if Charlie didn't know my name or if he was just refusing to use it.

"What would be the point?!"

Jasper and I shared the same confused look. The conversation definitely had taken a turn neither of us expected. In fact I was figuring she would have the same short argument she had with Anna.

"The point Bella, is that the Cullens could help." Charlie's voice was tight, strained as if he was forcing himself to remain calm.

"This is my problem."

"You don't have to handle it by yourself. What do I have to do to convince you of that?"

Bella's response was quick and harsh. "I'm not going to get them involved. I'll take care of this on my own." Her voice softened. "I need to stay away from them."

"Bella."

"No, this is how it has to be. You're not going to get me to change my mind!"

'Bella's temper could be a problem,' Jasper thought. 'If it were to get the better of her when she's facing the Hunters, who knows what could happen.'

'She could get herself killed.' I thought to myself. The idea of Bella, cold, still and lifeless, caused both of us to double over in pain.

Jasper forced calm through me. "She is fine," he hissed. 'You know you wouldn't have to worry about her so much if you changed her.'

I growled. That wasn't going to happen. She would not live this monstrous half-life. My resolve to stay away from Bella strengthened. I would continue to ignore her, and watch from afar. Now if only I could stick to that; I wouldn't know until after we took care of the hunters that were after Bella.

As the evening continued and the dark finally set in, Jasper and I moved closer to the house. By the time everyone in the Swan house had fallen asleep, the rest of the family had joined us.

Alice being the little criminal she was, snuck into the house and retrieved some of Bella's clothes for her scent. The rest of us waited for her.

Bella's scent hit me before it did the others. I clenched my fists, it was just like the first time. I doubted I'd ever get used to her scent, not when it changed whenever she wore her ring.

Alice held out three shirts.

"She does have quite a flavor," Emmett said after taking in her scent.

The snarl broke through my lips before his words had even registered all the way, an automatic response."

"Careful Emmett," Jasper warned.

Carlisle brought the conversation around to where it needed to be. "How are all of your thirsts?" He of course had no problem being near the scent.

"Fine," the three woman in the family announced.

Emmett shrugged. "Doesn't bother me any differently than any other human."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "She just smells like the other humans."

They all glanced at me, only to find I had stopped breathing.

Alice held up when the shirts to my face. "You can get used to it Edward, I know you can." 'It'll take a little while but you will.' She added the last part so only I would hear.

I dragged in a breath through my teeth. The taste made my throat ache.

My family was sympathetic.

The seven of us stood in the woods behind Bella's house and listened for any trouble.

I held Bella's shirt under my nose and gave into the self-torture.

The hours ticked by with no trouble, and no sounds from the house. I of course knew that wouldn't last. Neither of the little girls slept through the night. The inevitable was held off until after one in the morning.

I just barely managed to catch hold of Rose before she could take off towards the house, after hearing Anna scream.

"Sh, Anna, you're alright," we all heard Bella tell Anna.

The next thing we heard was the lullaby Bella would sing to the girls.

A closed my eyes as I listened to her sweet voice. Notes that didn't belong in that lullaby, but definitely belonged in one, floated in my mind. I could hear a new song in my mind. So lost in my new composition, I hadn't noticed that my hands moved, floating in the air to play imaginary keys, until the thoughts of my family members interrupted the music.

'I wonder if he knows how ridiculous he looks when he does that.' Emmett

'You should really try and stay focused.' Jasper

'Whatever he's playing it's not the same as what Bella was singing.' Rose

'If you want to go home and finish Bella's lullaby you can.' Alice

'A new song, it's been so long. I can't wait to hear it.' Esme

'He's already changed so much. Bella is good for him. If only she'd talk with us.' Carlisle thoughts turned, trying to think of ways to get Bella to trust us.

I managed to stay in the woods with my family, instead of going and sitting in the tree.

Alice quickly returned the tops to wherever she had gotten them from, and the seven of us head back home.

Nothing had happened to Bella that first day, hopefully this plan of ours would continue to work. Eventually we would meet up with the Hunters, hopefully we'll be ready.

Days went by, each one ending up being more difficult than the last. I couldn't fathom how that was possible. I would have thought that with time it would be easier. That wasn't the case.

The entire family had a new routine. During the weekdays the five of us younger members would keep an eye out during the school day, then the seven of us would switch up who was waiting in the woods during the afternoon and night. Though, I've gone back to spending the nights in Bella's tree.

On the weekends we would follow Bella and the girls anywhere they'd go. It would appear though they don't go anywhere unless it was necessary. Usually the three stayed home, Bella working, and Anna playing inside. It seemed unfair that Anna didn't really get to spend time out side.

The bell signaling the end of class shook me from my thoughts.

I quickly scooped up my things as Bella packed up her own stuff. Normally I would leave the classroom while she got the girls ready to go outside. I started to leave but a small tug on my sleeve made me stop.

Anna gave me a soft smile and pleading look before turning her back on me to face Bella.

I flipped through my notebook, making it look like I had forgotten something, not that Bella would believe that if she was paying attention.

To my surprise the three of them headed for the door, and Anna never explained what she wanted.

I shook my head and headed for the door. Rounding the desk I noticed an oddly folded piece of paper on the ground. It was obvious who had left it.

I picked up the paper and unfolded it finding a kid's drawing. I had to admit for a three year old she did a good job.

'What's you got there?' Emmett asked after I had sat down beside him.

I showed the drawing to him. "Anna left that for me. She apparently doesn't want Bella to know I have it though, she left it on the floor for me to find."

Emmett laughed lightly. 'This is cute, Anna did a good job.'

I nodded in agreement.

'What exactly is it though?'

I rolled my eyes. "Come on Emmett, look at it. That's a shopping cart." I pointed to the cart behind two stick figures, one a man and the other a woman.

'So what's that?' Emmett to the other cart which had a strange curved shape sitting in the front of the cart.

I looked over the rest of the picture before realizing what it was. "Okay, that is Cissy's baby carrier." I then pointed to the smallest stick figure in front of the cart with Cissy's carrier. That's Anna, so that's probably Bella." I pointed to the person beside Anna.

'And the other two?'

"I'm not sure, but that box full of yellow crescents has to be the banana stand at the grocery store.

Emmett's face scrunched up as he stared at the picture. 'You think Anna was trying to put words on the flag in the banana stand?'

I glanced back the picture. In the corner of the box the bananas were in, was a flag. On the flag was a bunch of squiggly lines, it was possible that it could represent a word.

We met the others at the car, where Alice announced she knew I had the picture.

"The two other people are Carlisle and Esme."

The others were used to her cryptic words when it came to visions.

Emmett snatched the drawing from me. He glanced at it thoughtfully. "How do you know they're supposed to be Carlisle and Esme?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "That's a picture of when Bella and the girls met Esme and Carlisle."

"I wonder why Anna didn't want Bella to know she gave that to you," Emmett wondered aloud.

The others, after hearing his words turned to me.

Alice reached a hand out for the picture. "Let me see that."

Emmett handed it to her, and she examined it.

"Hmm, we need to show this to Esme." With that she hopped into the passenger seat.

Jasper stopped Emmett from getting into the car. "You three go on ahead, Emmett and I will keep an eye on Bella and the girls."

I nodded before getting behind the wheel. Once Rose had gotten in the backseat I hurried home.

Esme was working on a set of blue prints in her study. Her thoughts, before she realized she needed to monitor them, were thinking about our houses we already have, and how she could change my room in them so they'd be Bella's and my rooms. I also caught plans for a nursery for the girls in this house. She already had the room beside my bedroom cleared out. Once she heard my Volvo turn onto our driveway she immediately cleared her thoughts and headed downstairs to wait for us.

Alice jumped out of the car as soon as I had it parked in the garage. "Esme, does this mean anything to you."

Esme took the picture and cooed. "Did Anna give you this?"

I nodded as I stepped into the living room. "We're wondering if there's anything important about it. Anna made a point to make sure Bella didn't see her give it to me."

"She left it on the floor for him," Rose added.

Esme laughed gently before looking the drawing over seriously. "I'd say this was the day we met them, but there wasn't a flag with the bananas that day." She tapped the picture thoughtfully before gesturing for us to follow.

We walked into the kitchen and Esme pulled out the recycling. She grabbed the grocery ads and right there on the front page was a picture of the banana display. Bananas were on sale, but it was only going to be on Saturday between one thirty and five. We all knew what Anna was trying to tell us now. Bella was going grocery shopping on Saturday.

Carlisle's POV

My darling wife and I had just pulled into the parking lot of the town's grocery store. Edward had called to let us know when Bella had headed for the car.

We were exiting our car when Bella parked unknowingly two rows over. Even with the sale going on in the store there weren't many people shopping today. We were able to clearly see Bella's car, and we could of course hear her and Anna talking.

"I want all the bananas." Anna giggled in what I was sure was anticipation. It had been made clear that the little one loved bananas.

Bella laughed sweetly. "We need to leave some for everyone else Anna."

"Can we get a lot?"

"We'll see Anna."

Through the window in the back of Bella's car we were able to watch as Bella grabbed a circular device. She shook her head and put it away.

"Sorry Anna, we need to head back home."

"But… Do we have to?"

"You know Uncle Charlie doesn't want me to take any chances."

"We'll be super quick. Get bananas and leave." Anna's little voice was heartbroken as she pleaded.

Bella's was hesitant though. "We have to be real quick, in and out faster than we've ever been."

Esme already had her phone out and calling Rose. She explained what we had heard while I scanned the area for danger. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Edward stepped up beside me, he had been waiting in the forest. He wasn't letting Bella out of his sight for long, especially if he couldn't monitor with his ability to read others' minds.

"I'm not getting anything," he said.

Esme put her phone back in her purse and turned to us. "The others are on their way."

Edward and I nodded, and the three of us watched as Bella got out of her car and quickly helped Anna out. The two of them rounded the car and Bella decided to carry Cissy without her carrier.

Esme and I waited until the three of them were in the store before following. We had to pause outside the doors because Anna was checking the carts.

Bella ran a hand over Anna's curls. "Come on Anna, we need to hurry."

Anna quickly checked another cart before deciding that it would do. "To the bananas."

I chuckled softly while Esme laughed. That was one remarkable little girl.

We walked in and I grabbed one of the carts that Anna hadn't checked yet. I couldn't help wondering if she would have approved. That made me laugh.

"What is so funny?" My dear wife asked as she placed her purse in the cart.

I nodded towards the cart. "Just wondering if it would have passed her test."

Esme laughed with me. "We'll never know, but maybe we'll get a chance to actually witness her testing them."

I knew Esme would enjoy that. Honestly I could see myself enjoying watching the little one pick out the perfect cart. The simple action brought so much joy to her, that getting to see it would be a gift.

We set out for our own shopping, just the pretense for being in the store, we were solely focused on Bella and her cousins. Any sign of danger and we'd be at their sides.

Thankfully nothing happen. No one tried to harm them.

As a man who detests violence, I normally wouldn't want to fight. This situation though was different. I already considered Bella a part of my family. Edward and her belonged together, as much as Esme and I did. I would do anything for my family. I would protect them with my life, and I most certainly would fight for them.

Edward's POV

Since the 'could have been' incident at the grocery store, nothing else had happened to Bella. We still followed her around everywhere, but there hadn't been any trouble.

We had all seen the small circular device that Carlisle and Esme had told us about. From what we had seen, Bella checked it at least once a day. We were almost certain that it was how she was tracking the hunters, but we couldn't be positive.

Our biggest problem lately now was how tired Bella was. She wasn't getting enough sleep at night, and it was slowly taking its toll. She would seem fine in the morning but by the time first period ended I could see that she was tired.

It had been sixteen days since I had last talked with Bella and I almost gave in and asked her what I could do to help. I had to bury my nose in my text book to keep myself from asking. Bella looked well, horrible. She set Cissy's carrier down, and freed her from the buckles before grabbing her stuff out.

Anna climbed onto my lap, too nervous to sit with Bella who was so tired she didn't even notice.

Thankfully PE was a free day. Bella spent the class period walking hand in hand with Anna, around the gym.

My siblings and I waited beside my car for Bella. It had taken Bella so long in the locker room that our two cars were the only ones left in the parking lot when she finally appeared.

'We've got to do something.' Rose declared in her thoughts.

'Poor Bella, looks exhausted.' Alice

'We're not going to let her drive home are we, she looks as tired as she did after the time Alice and Rose went shopping with her.' Jasper eyed me nervously.

I doubted Bella would let any of us drive her home, but we shouldn't let her drive.

'Forget waiting for Bella to come to us, she needs help, big time.' I agreed wholeheartedly with Emmett's thought. We just needed to figure out what we could do to help.

From the angle we were at we were able to watch as Bella buckled Cissy's carrier into the seat. She double then triple checked it before shutting the door. She tossed her backpack in the front seat and she and Anna went around to the other side.

We couldn't tell how many times she checked to be sure Anna was secure in her car seat, but we didn't see Bella get in the car for a few minutes.

When no one made a move to stop Bella from getting behind the wheel, Jasper started to head for Bella's car. Alice grabbed a hold of his arm but that didn't stop him. He was determined not to let her drive.

He froze halfway to her car and I quick glance through Bella's windshield told me why.

Bella had her head rested on her steering wheel, and if I hadn't known any better I would have thought she was sleeping.

A police cruiser pulled into the parking lot and Charlie Swan got out of the passenger seat. "Thanks for the ride Mark, and thanks for covering the rest of my shift."

Deputy Mark drove away and Charlie nodded in our direction. He helped Bella out of the car and into the passenger seat and then they were gone.

The five of us were in my car in a flash and sped towards our house. We had to do something to help Bella.

I didn't bother parking in the garage. I stopped once we were outside the house, and we all bolted inside.

Carlisle and Esme who had definitely heard my car tear up the driveway were waiting in the living room, both of them worried.

Emmett didn't wait for either one of them to ask. "Charlie had to drive Bella home. His deputy dropped him off and he drove back. He's going to stay with them the rest of the day."

Rose picked up the explanation effortlessly. "Bella was exhausted, all of her responsibilities are finally taking its toll."

"She's not getting enough sleep, she looked absolutely horrible today," Alice added.

"I don't know how much more she can deal, at least three of her teachers wanted to send her home." I had agreed when those teachers had thought about sending her home, but I could also understand their reasons for not wanting to call attention to her. The rumors that were being spread about Bella were awful, and if she had gone home early they would have gotten worse. So far though they hadn't bothered Bella, so I still thought they should have sent her home.

Carlisle's thoughts dragged me out of my own and into his. He was thinking about sleep deprivation.

With my own medical training I had a list of everything that could happen to Bella health wise because she wasn't getting enough sleep. I grimaced. "We can't let this continue. Bella's got to have more sleep."

Carlisle nodded immediately in agreement. He thought about ways for us to talk to Bella, she needed to trust us for us to be able to help her.

"Bella's not going to listen to us are even talk to us, any time soon. We need to do something now." I was hit by a heavy dose of Jasper's powers. I relaxed, knowing he was just trying to keep this conversation as calm as possible. It would make it easy to come up with a plan.

"What were you thinking Edward? There isn't much we can do without her knowledge." Carlisle had a point, but Rose already had a plan.

"We could take care of the girls at night." She told the rest of the group since I already knew. "She needs the sleep," she added before anyone could argue.

Emmett gestured to me with his hand. "I already suggested that he could care for the girls at night."

Rose glanced at me uncertainly. "It might not be a good idea for Edward to be the one to take care of the girls. Bella might not appreciate it. It's almost certain that she won't like this idea, but she'll appreciate it once she's getting enough sleep." Nothing was going to deter Rose. Even if no one else agreed, she already planned to take care of the girls, even if she had to be the one to do it. She would deal with Bella's possible wrath whenever she found out.

Jasper crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head as he went through a list of ideas. He couldn't find one that would be better than Rose's. "I think Rose is right. If we take care of the girls Bella can sleep. It's true that she is not getting enough. This might be the only way to help that until Bella trust us enough for us to really help."

Emmett took a seat. "I'm game."

Alice agreed to, and I was all for any plan that would help Bella.

Carlisle and Esme shared a long look. He smiled grimly before nodding.

Alice glanced at each of us. "So who's taking care of the girls, or are we going to switch every night."

Carlisle put a stop to that idea. "I think it would be more appropriate if the person sneaking into Bella's room at night, was a woman. I'm sure Bella would appreciate that none of us men were in her room."

Emmett stuck his thumb in my direction. "What about lover boy there? We can't exactly keep him away. And it would be easier for him to get used to her scent if he was in her room." He then had the nerve to add with a laugh, "it's Edward after all, he's not going to do anything inappropriate."

"It also might be helpful to have another set of hands just in case both girls are up at the same time," Alice added thoughtfully.

I sighed, agreeing with both of their logic.

"I think Esme should be the one," Rose announced. I had figured she'd say she wanted to. Her thoughts said it all though. She voiced them aloud for the others. "I doubt Bella could get too mad at Esme."

"Who could ever be mad at Esme," Emmett interrupted.

Rose continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Esme would easily be able to care for the girls. She also knows how to be quiet. Esme's motherly instincts can handle anything that could come up during the night."

If our mom could have blushed she would have. She smiled at the compliments. "I'm willing to help."

"I believe it's decided then." Carlisle placed a hand on Esme's shoulder.

With that issue taken care of, I got up and headed to Bella's. Hopefully nothing had happened while none of us were watching.

The ran to Bella's house relaxed me. I assumed though that was only because I knew we were going to help Bella with the girls. Now that we had some sort of plan I could relax.

I jumped into Bella's tree and sighed.

Bella had no doubt gotten home and fallen to sleep as soon as she had laid down. She hadn't changed into more comfortable clothes, and she had fallen asleep on top of the covers. Her shoes were still on.

She stayed in that position practically motionless until Charlie came in the evening to put the girls to bed. He gave his daughter a sorrowful look before preceding to care for Anna and Cissy. He had both girls ready for bed quickly, and Cissy in her crib sleeping peacefully. Before he could tuck Anna into bed though, he had to make room on the bed.

He carefully slipped Bella's shoes off and set them under the bed. While he lifted Bella, Anna pulled the covers down. She climbed into bed and Charlie tucked the two of them in.

"Night little Belle," he whispered before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Esme arrived shortly after Charlie shut the door.

I carefully opened the window, and the two of us climbed in. There wasn't much room for the two of us inside. With that in mind, I went a sat in front of the door on the floor.

Esme took a seat on the rocking chair and we waited. After a little while Esme silently asked if I was alright.

Truthfully, the pain in my throat was manageable. I could deal with pain as long as it meant Bella was fine.

Anna's nightmares started around midnight that night. I pointed to the bed letting Esme know.

She got up and moved to the bed. I could tell that she wasn't sure whether or not this was a good idea. Any doubt she had, vanished when she heard Anna whimper in her sleep. She carefully took Anna from the bed and rocked her in the chair.

When Anna opened her eyes, I had expected that we would need to calm her down, figuring that she would be scared. She though didn't seem bothered to be in Esme's arms, and she interestingly enough, didn't seem surprised. She buried her head into Esme's shoulder and fell back to asleep quickly, listening to Esme's soft voice sing to her.

When Cissy woke up three hours later, I was able to see into her mind and determine that she was hungry. Most of the baby's thoughts were pictures, since she was unable to form words or sentences.

Esme lifted Cissy into her arms before she had fully woken up, and before she could cry. While she quietly cooed to the baby to keep her calm, I made the bottle.

Cissy was surprising too. She wasn't bothered at all by being held by a strange woman she had never met before. She held one of Esme's fingers while Esme bounced her gently in her arms.

I handed Esme the bottle once it was ready, and she sat down on the rocking chair. She was complete enthralled by the baby in her arms.

I smiled as I watched Esme interact with the two small children. My mother really was the perfect mother.

When we left that morning I was feeling like we had finally done something helpful. Esme was thrilled with the outcome. Bella had been able to sleep the entire night, and the little girls had absolutely no problems with Esme.

At school I counted a total of six different times that Bella almost came and talked with us. I knew she wanted to most likely yell at us, realizing immediately how she had been able to sleep through the entire night.

None of us were happy when she'd catch herself and go back to ignoring us.

Well at least we could take care of the girls at night. Eventually we'd get Bella to talk to us.

Esme's POV

I rocked Anna in my arms, wishing more than anything that I could make her bad dreams go away. She curled into a little ball in my arms and her little body shook. I didn't just feel bad for her. My poor son could see her nightmares and they were always about the fire.

I absolutely loved these girls, all three of them, and I wished so badly that I could take away all their troubles.

I could take some comfort from the thought that we were helping Bella. Also, she wasn't mad enough to confront us, so hopefully that meant she was alright with this.

I couldn't let myself feel bad about helping. Bella need to sleep, but the girls needed to be cared for.

Eventually Anna was able to go back to sleep. I tucked her back into bed, resisting the urge to brush Bella's hair out of her face.

I had just sat back down when Edward point to Cissy's crib. I laughed silently, glad that I didn't need to sleep. These poor girls tonight were up and down. Cissy wasn't staying long in her crib. I took her in my arms and gratefully rocked her, glad to be able to have this experience. I quietly sang the song that we had all heard Bella sing to the girls. It was such a sweet song.

When Cissy had finally gotten back to sleep, I decided against putting her back in her crib. Something must be making it uncomfortable for her.

Hearing my thoughts, Edward got up and checked the crib. "There's nothing out of the ordinary, it looks fine."

Then why wasn't she staying asleep in her crib. That's when it hit me. She was too hot; that's why she would always go back to sleep in my arms.

I got up and looked through the dresser for some cooler pajamas for Cissy. I found some and quickly changed her.

The next time I set her in her crib she stayed asleep for the rest of the night.

I sighed and sat back down on the rocking chair. I hoped it wouldn't be much longer before Bella and the girls would truly be a part of our lives. I always found myself missing them during the day. I felt like I was missing a piece of my family.

Author's Note

I'm almost certain that this is my longest chapter, but who knows, this is only part A of chapter 8. Part B could easily be as long, we'll see.

How did I do with Carlisle's point of view?

Were the scenes where Esme took care of the girls what you expected? Did you like them? What did you think about Esme's point of view there at the end?

What did you think about how Anna tried to help them? Do you think the picture ended up in a frame or on the fridge?

Just to answer a question real quick. When I made my parting words "Don't get on Jane's bad side" I was meaning Jane of the Volturi, don't get on her bad side.

Now, onto part B,

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