Chapter Three
"Vam…Vampires?" Rose stuttered out the word in a whispered tone as the unfamiliar feeling of panic took hold of her body. She closed her eyes and breathed deep for a few moments, taking comfort from the Doctor's earlier assurances and the feeling of him standing beside her. When she was certain that the panic had mostly subsided she opened her eyes and tried again. "Vampires?" Her voice still shook slightly, but her volume was much more natural.
"Yes." The one word came out sounding like the purest of musical notes and its speaker, the oldest of the group standing in the clearing (though Rose was certain he could only be a few years older than herself), stepped forward gracefully. "However, we aren't what the stories claim. I assure you that we neither sleep in coffins nor have any intention of sucking your blood." He stopped walking, though Rose thought that gliding might be a more accurate description, with several feet of space still between them and held out his hand to her. "I am Carlisle Cullen. And it is very nice to meet you, Rose Tyler."
"How do you know my name?" Her brow furrowed suspiciously and she took a half step to the side so that her shoulder brushed against the Doctor's.
"I apologize for startling you. As the Doctor has already briefly mentioned, our transformation vastly increases our speed, strength and senses. Including hearing." He tacked on the last for the benefit of her shocked expression and she gasped as she realized that he, or perhaps they, had overheard the Doctor and her earlier conversation in the woods. Carlisle paused with an apologetic smile as he allowed her to take in the bizarre turn of events. When she was once again looking at him with curiosity rather than fear he continued. "All of our kind experience those changes, but for some rarer and even more extraordinary traits emerge. My son Edward," he gestured toward the bronze haired young man at one end of the line, "is one such individual. He has a gift that you would refer to as telepathy."
"So he can, like, read my mind?" Carlisle was surprised by the curiosity in Rose's voice. His experience was that people, human and vampire alike, tended to respond with either intense excitement or severe suspicion to the news that his 17 year old son could read their thoughts. She, however, appeared to be only interested, taking the news as neither useful to her personally or something to fear, but instead as merely new and odd. A side effect, he assumed, of traveling with the Doctor.
"Not exactly." The young man in question stepped forward, his voice matching the lilting musical quality of Carlisle's. "For most people, yes, that's exactly how it works, but you I can't read. I assume it is for the same reason that I can't read the Doctor." Here he looked to the Time Lord who gave a single nod in response to the unasked question. Looking back at Rose he continued, "The TARDIS protects your mind from my intrusion. But it is a living organism; it has a mind and a highly telepathic nature. It saw fit to announce your presence to me as you made your way here."
"Oh." Rose could only stare at the young man blankly. She'd always known the TARDIS was special, but she'd had no idea that it extended that far. She continued to stare, trying to process all of the new information, and only the Doctor stepping forward and shaking Carlisle's still outstretched hand saved her from continuing as the center of attention.
"It's good to see you again, Carlisle." The Doctor's voice was chipper and warm as though he had not a care in the world; as if he had forgotten about the alien horde that would soon be descending on them. "Your family has grown since I last saw you." He gestured to toward the woman and young girl that had been standing next to Edward. Rose suspected that the brunette woman was at least a few years younger than herself and the young girl couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years old.
"Yes, of course, my apologies." Carlisle gestured to the entire family, who moved forward to join them, "Doctor, Rose, please let me introduce you to my wife Esme," he gestured to the woman at the far left of the line who inclined her head with a smile, "my son Emmett and daughter Rosalie," the hulking body-builder grinned while the blonde model next to him merely nodded, "my son Jasper and daughter Alice," the young man of average height gave a tight smile that was almost a grimace while the tiny dark-haired girl danced forward to hug them tightly, a move that left the Doctor grinning and Rose frozen in confusion. Carlisle shook his head slightly at Alice's behavior and continued, "And these are the two newest additions to our family: Edward's wife Bella and their daughter Reneesme."
The beautiful brunette drifted forward another step to stand tight against Edward's side and smiled politely before speaking, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard about your last adventure with Carlisle and I have to say that I'm rather intrigued about what you intend to get up to this time." She smiled mischievously.
Rose looked over just in time to catch the Doctor's embarrassed smile. After years of knowing him, Rose knew that the Doctor did not embarrass easily and she was suddenly very interested in hearing about exactly what had happened during his last visit with the Cullens. Her active imagination ground to a halt as the Doctor's next words reminded her of the trouble they were in.
"As much as I would love to rehash old adventures and share new ones," he passed briefly to shoot an intrigued glance at Reneesme, "we really don't have the time."
Carlisle's gaze drifted between Rose and the Doctor for several long moments before he spoke, "You're in trouble."
The Doctor sighed, "Trouble is an understatement and it's not just us."
TBC