A/N
Some descriptions of the house and appearances of the characters have been taken directly from the Twilight books. Just in case you recognise it.

I was pleased to have been able to keep up with Carlisle and Emmett on the journey, aware that I could have easily outrun them if I'd wanted. I couldn't help but laugh the way I usually did as I ran and I noticed both vampires smiling at each other in amusement.

We came to a smooth halt and I saw the house for the first time. It was beautiful. I don't know what I had expected but it definitely wasn't this. The house was timeless, graceful and probably a hundred years old. It was painted a soft faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration.

"Wow." I murmured before I could stop myself.

"You like it?" Carlisle smiled.

"Yes… It's not what I expected." I swallow reflexively. "Well, actually I didn't expect you to have a house at all."

"Well, we have to fit in with the locals, don't we?" Emmett booms suddenly.

I couldn't help but laugh, a light musical sound I heard so rarely, because I couldn't imagine anyone more conspicuous than huge Emmett. He laughed too, winking at me. I decided that I was very much going to like Emmett.

"Come on in then Bella." Carlisle murmurs, opening the door.

I stepped inside and gasped in surprise. The inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. It was very bright, very open and very large. This must have been originally several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass and beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched from here to the wide river. A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

Standing just to the left of the door on a raised portion of the floor by a spectacular grand piano was a woman. She was a vampire, that much was obvious – with the same pale beautiful features as the rest of us. Something about her heart shaped face, her billows of soft caramel coloured hair, reminded me of the silent movie era. She was smaller than me and just as slender. Her eyes were the same golden colour as Emmett's and Carlisle's – another animal blood drinker. She was dressed in light colours that matched the inside of the house and she smiled in greeting.

"Carlisle! Emmett! Welcome back! And… we have a visitor?" She gushes, smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back. She was just so joyous, she had a certain charm that strangely reminded me of my own mother, Renee. Carlisle crossed the room in less than a second and pulled the woman towards him. "This is Bella, Esme. Bella, this is my wife, Esme." He explains happily.

Esme takes Carlisle's hand as she answers. "Pleased to meet you Bella." Her smile falters as she notices my clothes. "Goodness dear, how long have you been outside for? Your clothes are ruined!"

I feel embarrassed again so I grin sheepishly. "Well I've been living rough for a few months Esme." I explain quietly.

Esme gasps and I can see genuine shock in her golden eyes. "Don't worry, you can take your pick of our clothes. Alice always gets enough clothes for a whole country anyway."

"Thank you Esme." I say quietly, surprised by her generosity.

Carlisle smiles lovingly at his wife. "I've invited Bella to stay for a few days Esme. She's been living rough since she was created eight months ago and doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Esme gasps again, pressing her hand to her mouth. "You're a newborn?"

Here we go again. "Yes ma'am." I say politely.

"Carlisle, I…" Esme begins, her frown at odds with her happy demeanour.

"She doesn't drink human blood Esme. She's like us." Carlisle interrupts, smiling at his wife.

"She's too tame for a newborn, Esme. Seriously. I wouldn't worry." Emmett says loudly.

Esme purses her delicate lips together before smiling. "Well if you're sure she's safe then of course she can stay here. You know I hate turning down guests." She says to Carlisle.

Carlisle immediately relaxes. I got the impression that whilst he was the head of the household in one sense, Esme was the beating heart, the mother of the household and he obeyed her wishes. "Is Alice around?" He questions.

A worried expression instantly crossed Esme's face. "She's just at the lake with Edward. She had a vision that she needed to discuss with him. It was important." She forces a smile on her face as she turns to Emmett. "Rosalie wants you to go to the garage and help her with the car."

"Well when my angel calls I must answer. I'll see you later." He grins at Carlisle and Esme. "Ciao Bella." He winks, before flitting out of the room.

I turn back to Esme and Carlisle to notice Esme frowning again. "Carlisle. I didn't realise you'd been to the hospital today." She says softly.

"I haven't." Carlisle replies, a look of confusion on his face.

Esme's frown deepens. "But you smell like humans." She scents the air, nostrils flaring. "Wait, it's not you. It's coming from…Over there." She looks directly at me, her expression guarded. "Bella. You smell like humans."

"I do?" I question, frowning back. I hadn't come into contact with a human for months.

Esme looks unhappy, her soft features marring. "Are you quite sure she's a vegetarian Carlisle?" She asks hesitantly.

Carlisle squeezes Esme's hand, responding to her obvious distress. "Absolutely. Her eyes have a golden tinge to them. And I also stole the doe she was going to drink from." He explains quietly.

"Have you been in contact with humans recently Bella?" Esme questions quietly, her golden eyes sharp. Then she frowns. "That was a silly question. Of course you haven't. You're a newborn."

"I don't understand why that has anything to do with it." I explain. "I haven't been in civilisation for the last few months – mainly because of my clothes. I'd be noticeable. But before that, when I was first changed, I spent some time with humans."

Esme shook her head gently. "You've been around humans in your early months as a newborn… And you didn't attack them?" Her voice sounded disbelieving.

"No, why would I?" I questioned.

Esme looked confused, a look at odds with her motherly face. "I don't understand how that's possible. But if that's true then you shouldn't still have the scent of humans on you after all those months." She releases Carlisle's hand and flits over to me, scenting the air. I back away a few inches, taken by surprise. She frowns again. "Your clothes only have the faintest scent of human on them. So it's not your clothes." She whispers, sniffing again. "It's… It's coming from… Oh my goodness, it's you!" She exclaims.

"What?" Carlisle asks sharply, instantly flitting across to me.

I forcibly stop myself from growling at him. He was too close for comfort and like Esme, he was smelling me. A look of shock instantly appears on his face. "Esme's right! I smelt it in the forest on you… As did Emmett, but I'd just assumed you'd been near humans… But, it's not the scent of humans on you… It's actually you. You smell like a human." His voice was stunned.

I froze and forgot about my urge to growl at him. "And a vampire. You have that sweet vampire smell to you, but it's mixed in with a human scent. You smell quite strongly of human blood." Esme adds, instantly stepping back and swallowing. "There's just enough vampire in there to stop the human scent being overpowering and besides I've just fed, but you do smell rather appealing."

I shake my head in exasperation, a strong feeling of resentment bubbling to the surface. "I'm sick of being different!" I yelled. "I'm sick of being treated like a freak! I'm a vampire! Why the hell do I smell like a human!?" I stamp my foot so hard that the marble cracks beneath me.

I instantly freeze, looking at the floor guiltily. "I'm sorry. I think I've just broken your floor." I mumble ashamedly, the anger instantly draining out of me.

"It's nothing that can't be replaced." Carlisle says calmly.

I glance up from the floor to see Esme looking at me with a surprised expression on her face. "I was actually expecting you to go on a rampage and trash the house. But you reigned in your anger and stopped. Emmett was right – you really are tame." She breathes.

I shrug nonchalantly. "I also happen to smell like a human. Can we please focus on that for a second?"

"I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation." Carlisle replies calmly. "I promise I'll look into it whilst you stay here. But I'm pretty sure that you'll like to clean up and get out of those clothes?"

I look down at my tattered dress in surprise. I'd completely forgotten what I was wearing. "I don't mind." I say quietly, not wanting to be difficult.

Carlisle laughs. "Esme does. You're our guest. Alice?" He questions loudly and I knew the vampire Alice, whoever she was, would have heard him if she was at the river at the back of the house.

Twenty seconds later a gush of wind at my back tells me that a vampire has just entered the room. "You called for me Carlisle?" A sweet soprano voice trills.

"I did indeed Alice. Bella has urgent need for some of your clothes. She's a guest of ours." Carlisle explains.

I turn around to smile at Alice apologetically. The first impressions I had of Alice was that she looked rather erratic with her short dark pixie like hair, her large golden eyes burning out of her pale face, peeking out from under long black eyelashes, dressed in a gorgeous purple dress that wouldn't look out of place at a party. She was just as pretty as Esme, but substantially smaller with a lithe graceful body that reminded me of a ballet dancer. My smile faded as Alice didn't smile back. Instead she stood there absolutely motionless, only like a vampire can, staring at me with a look of horror and shock on her face.

I frowned. Was this normal for Alice? Was she as erratic as her appearance suggested? Carlisle cleared his throat, a frown also on his face, so I guessed this wasn't normal behaviour for Alice. "Alice? Are you okay?" Carlisle asks immediately, his voice full of concern.

"No." Alice chokes, not taking her eyes off me. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

"Her name is Bella and she is a guest." Carlisle says sharply.

Alice begins to shake her head wildly before he's even finished speaking. "This is not good! Why does this have to happen now? We have to get her out of here before Edward sees her. He's freaking out already, this will make it a million times worse. It's too soon." She says so fast I'm glad I have vampire hearing.

"Alice. Slow down! What's going on?" Carlisle demands.

"I've just had a vision. Bella was in it. Edward went crazy." Alice says, her soprano voice wavering.

"Vision?" I question, wondering what the hell they were talking about.

Carlisle glances at me, his eyes startled. "I'm surprised you didn't come across gifted vampires in your travels. I'll explain later." He says quickly, before turning back to Alice. "What was in your vision that shocked Edward so much?"

I couldn't help but interrupt again. "Edward?" I question

"My son." Carlisle explains patiently. "Alice, answer the question."

"Well Bella was…" She begins before I hear a noise at the door. We all turn to look. Emmett enters the room, flanked by two vampires I'd never seen before.

They were both blondes, but different genders. The male was tall and leonine and just radiated a sense of ease as Carlisle did honesty. He had honey blonde hair that matched his golden eyes and pale skin. My gaze travelled to the female. She was beautiful, even by vampire standards. Her hair was long, perfectly blonde, and fell down her back in thick waves. Her eyes were large and luminous, the golden colour of the matching her hair beautifully. She was of medium height with curves that were impressive, even on a vampire. Her legs were perfectly shaped, showcasing the jeans she was wearing.

The leonine male flitted over to Alice, his expression concerned. "Alice? What's wrong? What is it?"

Alice stared blankly at him and he immediately turned to Carlisle. "Carlisle, why is Alice…" He breaks off suddenly, blinking like a rabbit caught in headlights. "Carlisle, I think you've overdone it at the hospital today. You reek of humans."

Carlisle sighs at the conversation that is going to inevitably follow. "I haven't been at the hospital today Jasper." He says quietly.

The male frowns. "Then why does this room smell like humans?" He sniffs the air and his golden eyes unfocussed. "It's not a bad scent actually."

"Jasper." The blonde female says warningly, her voice like golden chimes, before turning to Carlisle. "Who is the female vampire?" She demands.

The blonde male she called Jasper turns to stare at me, his eyes focused once again, evidently noticing me for the first time. His expression hardens. "What's a newborn doing in our house?" He says flatly.

I blink in surprise, staring at him whilst wondering how he'd known I was a newborn from just one brief look. Then I notice his skin is glittering in the light. On closer inspection I realised his skin is covered in crisscross scars.

Vampire bites.

I cannot help but gasp. He looked like he had been attacked by hundreds of vampires at once… And survived. He screamed dangerous and scared me so much more than Emmett's bulk ever had.

"Whoa! You're scaring Bella." Emmett's loud voice sounds suddenly and he instantly flits across the room to my side. "Take it easy Jasper. She's a guest."

"And how do you know who she is, Emmett?" The statuesque female demands coldly, whilst Jasper crosses his arms in annoyance.

Emmett grins, showing pearly white teeth. "Chill out babe. I was with Carlisle in the forest and met Bella there."

"Humph." The blonde pouts, looking remarkably like a stroppy teenager.

Jasper turns on me suddenly, growling. "It's not Carlisle that smell like humans. It's you." He snarls. "How many humans have you killed today?"

Emmett steps in front of me as Jasper tenses but he looks uncertain. "He's right Bella. You stink of human blood. I've glad I've fed today or I'd probably be attacking you, it smells that strong." He shrugs.

"Carlisle, what the hell are you doing bringing a newborn in our home, especially one that's slaughtered humans today?" The blonde female demands harshly, glaring at me with undisguised hatred.

"Rosalie." Esme says warningly, speaking for the first time.

The blonde bites her lip, deferring to Esme just like Carlisle had. After a brief moment of silence, she continues. "I don't care Esme. She's obviously feral. Look at how she's dressed!"

I growled at the blonde. "You'd look like this too if you'd been living in the forest for eight months!"

Emmett immediately stepped away from me and closer to the blonde. Carlisle sighed. "Bella, quiet. The same goes for the rest of you."

Surprisingly all the vampires stopped growling and gave Carlisle their full attention. There was no doubting now he was the authority figure in this household, with Esme as his support. "Everyone this is Bella. Yes, she's a newborn. Bella, this is Jasper." He points to the tall leonine male. "And Rosalie." He gestures to the beautiful female vampire who was glaring frostily at me. "You already know everyone else. Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett there's something you have to know. Bella's a vegetarian vampire, just like us – she's never fed on human blood, not even when she was first created."

"I know!" Emmett says loudly, rolling his eyes. "I was with you when she told you!

Rosalie speaks at the same time. "Oh sure she hasn't, that's just why her clothes stink of human blood." She says scornfully, flipping her golden blonde hair.

"Rosalie, if you smell Bella, you'll realise that it's actually her and not her clothes that smell like humans. Bella, although she is a vampire, has a human scent." Esme says firmly, leaning into Carlisle.

Jasper and Rosalie turn to stare at me and Emmett immediately bounds back, smelling me. He frowns. "She's right babe." He says to Rosalie. "Bella smells like a vampire, but she also smells like human blood." He smells me again. "It's a really nice scent actually – I'm glad I've hunted."

Rosalie scowls at Emmett's close proximity to me. "How is that even possible?"

"Not that this conversation isn't fascinating but can someone please tell me what's wrong with Alice?" Jasper interrupts, before Carlisle can answer.

As one, every vampire turns to stare at Alice who has been standing motionless throughout the entire conversation, her eyes not even blinking. Carlisle frowns and instantly flits over to Alice. "She's in shock." He says after a few seconds.

"A vampire in shock? Not possible." Jasper says instantly.

"Alice." Carlisle says urgently. "Alice. It's okay. You're safe. Tell us what's wrong."

There's a brief silence and then Alice blinks, her eyes searching the room until they finally focus on me. She's in front of me in a second. "What are you still doing here?" She demands, her soprano voice rising a few octaves.

"We've gone over this Alice." Carlisle says firmly. "Bella's a guest."

Alice shakes her head fiercely. "She can't stay here Carlisle." She backs away from me, towards the door.

"Why not?" Carlisle asks in surprise. "I know you've had a vision but…"

"You don't understand!" Alice exclaims. "Edward mustn't see Bella! She has to leave! Now!" She growls. Alice instantly frowns after her outburst, staring at me. She gracefully dances across the room, as lithely as a ballerina, so she's back in front of me. "You smell like a human." She says bluntly.

"We've established this." I say dryly.

"This isn't good." She moans, closing her eyes briefly. "Go Bella. Now. Before Edward comes back. He can't…"

"Carlisle! I need your car!" A velvet male voice yells suddenly, interrupting Alice. "I need to leave and I don't plan on stopping!"

Every vampire in the room freezes except me and I hear fast footsteps flitting at vampire speed n the landing at the top of the stairs.

"It's a bit late Alice." Emmett mutters, his voice unusually quiet. "Edward's already here."

I feel a gush at my back again as another vampire flits into the room.