Copyright over these characters belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter Six

Rosalie's POV

Worthless human. Stupid, Irresponsible, worthless human. Did she have any idea how many women around the world wanted to have children? Wanted nothing more than to hold a beautiful, healthy child in their arms and couldn't? She got the chance, she had it all, and she'd ruined it. I swear to God if there is anything permanently wrong with my precious Isabella, I will find a way to bring that useless bloodbag back to life so that I can tear her limb from limb myself. Issues! Carlisle says the woman had issues! No lady, I'll freaking tell you what issues are, issues are being a freaking octogenarian vampire prone in a state of maternal desire. Not being a freaking junky with no self control!

Carlisle had called me from the hospital once he had examined the body and let me know what was happening. He said it explained why she slept so long for a newborn, the high temperature, the screaming, and the want that Jasper could feel coming off her in waves every time she woke. It also explained why she was so small, she was most likely premature and underdeveloped. Emmett and I were now on our way to a private clinic a few hours away to have some scans done Isabella. Carlisle had arranged this under the premise that we were Mr. and Mrs. McCarty and that as our physician he had a few concerns about the brain functions of our newborn daughter. No need to tell them her potential problems were caused by drug use. Or that we weren't her real parents.

Once we had checked in, Isabella was taken off us by a nurse and taken away for tests. Had it not been for Emmett and the extreme force was exerting on my arm to keep me in my seat, there would have been no way I'd have let her go. Emmett rubbed small soothing circles on my back to keep me calm, a method he had applied in the past when I had been wound up, but it did little to soothe me now. A little under an hour later, Isabella was returned to us having had the requisite brain and respiratory scans. I sat in the back seat with Isabella in the car seat next to me sleeping as Emmett drove us home.

We were greeted at the door by an overenthusiastic Alice who could barely contain her bouncing. I hissed at her, unwilling to put up with her perkiness until I knew what was happening with Isabella, but Alice held up a hand to silence me.

Alive POV

"She stays!" I exclaimed as soon as Rose had quit hissing at me. Did she really think I would be this excited over anything that didn't have to do with my little sister, who was currently cradled in Rose's arms? "We get to keep her, they don't find any family! I saw it as soon as they started looking! We have to go through the usual family vote on anything life changing, but I already know no one opposes so I don't know why Carlisle makes us."

Relief flooded Rose's perfect features, but was quickly replaced by a frown. Looking ahead I saw what she was about to ask me.

"She'll be perfect" I breathed. "Once the scans had taken place her future cleared up. There's no permanent damage. She'll take about two weeks to get over the withdrawal, but she's going to be perfect!"

Rose looked happier than I'd seen her since she brought Emmett back and his change was successful. Possibly even more so. I stole another look at her face. Definitely even more so, but I'd keep that between me and the mind reader. I didn't want Emmett getting jealous of his new daughter.

"Are you sure? What happened to her family?" Rose asked as if she couldn't quite believe it. I didn't blame her, I couldn't quite believe it either. But I had the added benefit of knowing it was all going to work out.

"Positive" I beamed at her. "Looks like her father was an addict too, he overdosed a few weeks ago. No one was aware that Renee, her Mother, was pregnant. Most likely they were worried that if they knew that she was, they'd take the baby off them once she was born. Once Charlie, her father overdosed, Renee couldn't cope, so she took off from the US where they were living and started driving, the police don't think she knew where she was going, just away. Isabella was born in the backseat of Renee's car somewhere in Canada from the timeline that the cops are working out. At least that's what I hear them telling Carlisle. No one knows where the baby is. Well, except us of course. They think that she must have just abandoned her somewhere, which technically she did, they just don't realize it was on our doorstep."

I took another quick glance at the future. Yup! Isabella was going to be just fine. A bit of a handful, but fine!

Carlisle POV

I looked at each of my family members. We were sat around the dining room table that Esme insisted we had in every house, despite the fact none of us ate. The table did however make a good place for important family discussions, such as that which was about to take place. Alice had insisted that we all agreed on outcome, but I wanted to hear from each of them in turn about any reservations they had about the situation.

"So" I began, "I'm aware that Alice has told you what the police told me. The child has no traceable family members. Were we to let her go, she would likely end up in foster care until a family adopted her. Alice also tells me that despite the fact the test results are not back yet, Isabella will be a perfectly healthy your girl, with no permanent adverse side effects from the drugs she has been indirectly subjected to in the womb. The question is, what do we do next? I'd like to hear an opinion from each of you before we decide. We are a family, and every vampire here has an opinion that matters. Rose, perhaps you should start?" I looked to my eldest daughter who was sitting to my right, the baby still sleeping in her arms.

"I vote we keep her" she said firmly. "It's no secret that not being able to have children has been one of my biggest regrets with being what I am. This, it seems like fate. Of all the doorsteps in Alaska, or Canada, she could have been dropped on, she was dropped on ours. This is my chance to be a Mother. I know it may not seem like the most logical choice in the world, a human being raised by vampires, but I don't think any one of you can tell me that I won't love her or care for her as much as any human would. I don't want her to go through the foster system, she's barely a week old and she's been through so much already. I feel like she knows me, like she knows I'll look after her. I love her. She's my daughter." I could tell that Rose was attempting to keep control of her emotions and talk to us logically, but I could also see that were it possible for a vampire to shed tears, she would have been.

"Emmett?" I gestured to my giant of a son, who was sat on Rose's right, his arm slung around his wife's shoulders.

"Hell yeah I want to keep her!" Emmett grinned. "The tyke makes Rose happier than I've ever seen her, and all I ever want is for Rose to be happy. We all know when Rose is happy my life is easier!" he joked. "Plus, Alice tells me she's gonna be great entertainment as she grows up!" His face softened slightly "And I've always wanted to be a dad. To be able to do that with Rose would be awesome. And I kinda like her already, like when she looks up at me with those big blue eyes, I think she knows I'm her Daddy."

I chuckled softly at seeing Emmett so sentimental, it wasn't usual for him and it was quite endearing. "Her eyes may change colour Emmett, all babies start out with blue eyes. But I appreciate the sentiment none the less. I'm going to assume your position won't change with her eye colour."

"Probably not!" he shot back, "but if she turns out ginger I'm giving her back!" Rose elbowed him in the ribs and rolled her eyes as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Jasper took a nervous breath before he started. I could tell he was still feeling the effects of the withdrawal through the baby's emotions, and that, combined with the various emotions flying off our family members was obviously quite overwhelming for him.

"I'm not sure that raising a human child in a house full of vampires is a wise idea" he started. "However, my wife assures me that not only will it work out in the long run, but that I will grow to love her. I am worried about accidents which happen with small children, and potential cuts and scrapes she may have which would affect us quite differently than a human family. However her blood holds no appeal to me at the moment and I can only hope that by the time she grows and her scent gets stronger, we will be immune to it having spent so much time around her. Once again, my wife ensures me that this is indeed the case, and I for one never bet against the pixie."

"She's going to be my best friend!" squealed Alice. "Of course I want to keep her. She's the little sister I always wanted! I can buy her clothes, dress her up, do her hair, decorate her room, talk to her about boys when she's older!" She paused, "Why are we even doing this, you know we're going to keep her!"

"She's not a pet Alice!" hissed Rosalie. "She's my daughter!"

"Oh come on Rose! You know that's not how I meant it. Lighten up Mommy!" replied Alice with a wink.

"I don't have a problem with it" said Edward. "I can hear from most of your thoughts that you want her to be part of the family. And I must admit that for something so small she is quite intriguing. I find holding her quite calming, when she isn't screaming at least. When she's close, I almost feel I can relax, it seems to dull all the voices I can hear around me. I think she could be quite beneficial to our family, bring us closer together. I'd also like to second Jasper, I won't bet against Alice." He reached over and ruffled the hair of his favourite sister.

I could already see Esme's answer by looking at her face, but it only seemed fair to let her have her say.

"Like Rosalie, I already love her" she began. "I know how it feels to want children, and unlike Rosalie, I feel like I already do, I have all of you, I love you like you were my own. I want Rosalie to have the same chance, and this does seem like such a wonderful opportunity for us all. It seems to cruel to put her into the system and hope she comes out alright. We have her, and we know we can look after her. My vote is yes."

"It seems it's settled then" I said. "We need to decide how we are going to go about this though. She will need papers, a birth certificate. At the moment as far as the state is concerned she doesn't really exist. Rose, we can't name you as the Mother on her birth certificate. As she gets older, she may need to produce it and it will look strange once she gets over about five. We will simply list her Mother and Father as unknown, and you and Emmett can be her adopted parents. We will deal with the rest later."

"I want her name down as Isabella Marie McCarty" said Rose. "Emmett and I can go back to being husband and wife. I'm not starting school here; I'm going to be a stay at home Mom."

"Fine" I said. "I'll call Jenks in the morning and get her documents drawn up. Seeing as we have just moved here, I guess we can stay. Nobody knows anything about us so they won't notice that we suddenly acquired a new family member. I'm heading back to the hospital. Just keep looking after her as you have been and try her with some formula again soon. Any problems, you know where to find me."

Welcome to the family Isabella I thought to myself.

Alice POV

Once Carlisle left, Rose and Esme attempted to feed Bella, who managed to keep most of the formula down. Rose handed her off to Emmett to hold and we settled into positions around the lounge to talk. Not surprisingly, they all wanted to hear some of my visions of Isabella.

"She's gonna be a spitfire when she grows up, just like her Momma." "And stunning too" I continued.

"Just like her Momma" Emmett repeated looking at Rose.

"You're gonna have your hands full with those two Em!" I said looking at him cradling his baby girl in his arms. "Her teenage years are going to be tough on some of you" I laughed. "Esme, Carlisle and I are going to come out relatively unscathed but the rest of you better watch out!" I looked at Rose's stricken face, "Don't worry Rose" I said softly, "You two are going to share a fierce bond, even then. She'll turn to you for advice, for comfort, and for love. You're going to be her Mother, the only one she knows and the only one she wants."

"What about me?" asked Emmett. "

Well Daddy", I smirked at him, "You two are going to share a very special bond, the kind that only Fathers and Daughters have. She's going to wind you up, push your buttons, make you suffer mercilessly, be your partner in crime and love you unconditionally. She'll turn to you for protection, cheering up, comfort, love and your credit card!" I grinned at him.

"Carlisle and Esme will dote on her. When she's young she will consider them Grandparents, but as she gets older more like a second set of parents. She's going to be the apple of Carlisle's eye."

"Jasper will be like a big brother, always looking out for her, teaching her, guiding her down the right paths. She's going to look to him for sensible advice when things get crazy."

I stopped, censoring my thoughts as well as my words before I continued. "Edward" I looked at him. "Edward will be her rock, her strength, her comfort, her protector." Her Love. I thought to myself, remembering to continue blocking him.

"What, I don't get a familial title?" He asked. "I'm not her big brother, her crazy uncle, her weird cousin?" "No", I replied. "You're just her Edward. And you, my brother, are going to be wrapped around the girl's itty bitty little finger, along with every other male in this house by the end of the week!" I laughed. What I didn't add was that the females were already wrapped around her little finger. I could hardly wait for her to grow up into the best friend she was going to be. But there was going to be plenty of entertainment between now and then.