Even at 60 miles an hour, the winding road to Edward's home took almost fifteen minutes to drive. The entire ride was comprised of a constant view of forest, and nothing else. Callie felt almost suffocated in the isolation. It didn't help that she was overwhelmed for most of the trip with a desire to rest her hand on his as he shifted gears around tight corners. Even the air looked green.
The house was hidden carefully around a final bend and a particularly thick blanket of trees. As Edward took the final turn, he could have sworn his heart was beating faster, until he remembered he lacked one. At the same time, Callie's heart skipped a beat. The house that lay in front of her now was old, maybe even ancient, but perfectly maintained. It was a pristine white with a beautiful garden and vines growing up where walls met in corners. Even under the cloudy skies, it shined. The garden was perfectly arranged, with a large range of flowers and bushes, bright colors that danced in the light of day. The lawn was manicured in a fifteen foot circle around the house before it gave way into the natural underbrush of the forest, the different areas separated by a line of multicolored peonies. There were no tacky lawn ornaments in sight, though the Cullens did lay claim to a classy set of lawn furniture arranged on and around a patio to the east side of the house.
The two of them got out of the car, standing for a brief moment on the pavement. After a time, Edward led her to the door with nothing but a quick glance at her and a tilt of the head. He heard her heart beat louder. Before he could turn the knob, Callie stopped him. "Wait," She said, biting her lip. Edward took notice of this, seeing that her lips were raw with this form of adolescent teething. "Why are you doing this?"
He opened his mouth to answer immediately, not realizing that his brain hadn't sent a reason to be said. He shook his head in a moment of disbelief, and said, "I don't know."
With no real answer to respond to, Callie said, "Then you shouldn't."
Edward hesitated. "But I must," He explained.
He opened the red door to his home.
The interior was equal in beauty to the exterior, with an open, light feel to it. There were paintings on the walls and plants dispersed throughout the foyer, a piano in the corner of what looked like a living room one room over, and a carefully carved spiral staircase taking over the west side of the room. Edward smiled to himself as he noticed that Callie was speechless. She hadn't even entered the house yet, and she couldn't seem to remember to move. Edward cleared his throat, and she returned to reality, smiling bashfully. She scraped any dirt off of her shoes and took a deep breath, stepping inside to join him.
The first person they encountered was Esme. She was floating through the first floor, transporting a fern that was much larger than her torso from the living room to the kitchen. She took notice of a presence in the room, and said, "Hello, Edward." Then she paused and lowered the fern to see through squinted eyes. Edward almost winced. Then, suddenly, her expression turned joyful, and she started, "You must be –"
"Callie's coming! Callie's coming!" Alice said, rushing down the stairs just barely too fast to be human. She skidded to a stop on the hardwood floor, sliding a few inches further than she might have if she hadn't had socks on. "Callie!" Alice hugged her enthusiastically. Only after the embrace did she take notice of the situation. She looked at Esme, then Edward, who was holding his head in his hand a step behind Callie.
Esme gave Alice a look of disparagement, then looked back to Callie. "It is so nice to meet you dear. I've heard so very much about you."
Callie took it all in a respectable stride. "The pleasure, Mrs. Cullen, is all mine." She curtseyed, perfect but for the awkwardness her swollen belly caused her. The overall cute quality of Callie in that moment overcame Esme, and she cooed and hugged Callie with the same enthusiasm as Alice had. Callie was shocked at her welcome, but she smiled brilliantly.
Hearing the ruckus, Carlisle came down from his study. He wasn't surprised to see Callie there, though he did send Edward a discouraging thought or two. Edward glanced at him, then back at Callie and Esme and Alice. The three of them were giggling over Callie's belly.
"Excuse us, ladies, for just a moment," said Edward, as he walked out of the room with Carlisle. They ventured onto the back porch. Carlisle opened his mouth to speak, but Edward was quicker. "Let me explain."
He waited for Carlisle to respond. Eventually, the older man nodded.
"She has no home, Carlisle. No home, and she's pregnant. She's staying in a shelter and taking a public bus to school. I can't just let her do that anymore." He paused, gauging Carlisle's reaction, then gauging his own. "She's too…good."
This made Carlisle's eyebrows rise. "Edward?"
He needn't finish his question aloud. Edward heard it in his head. "Why the sudden change in opinion about humanity?"
"Her," He said out loud. "Not humanity, per say. But her. I've never met someone more deserving than she is. I...need to help her, Carlisle."
Carlisle nodded reluctantly, examining the consequences in his head. "Then we will do what we can." There was a silence between them, and Edward began to walk back inside. Carlisle stopped him. "Does she know what we are, Edward?" Edward shook his head. and Carlisle sighed. He wondered out loud if his family had the strength to live with a beating pulse in the house. Edward only looked to the floor and prayed silently that they did.
The two of them returned to the foyer, where Rosalie and Emmett had joined the party. Emmett, relieved at an excuse to slip away from the baby-talk, walked over to them and grinned. "Oh, the female species."
The party was complete when the last of the Cullens finally arrived; Jasper walked in through the front door, surprised to be mobbed by a loud group of voices. Just the overall happiness and excitement in the room put him in a very bright mood. "Callie. It's lovely to see you." He hugged her tightly, holding his breath perceptibly.
Carlisle then took his cue, and introduced himself. The other members of his family stepped aside, and Edward fell behind Callie, a hand on her back. "If I may introduce myself?" He asked courteously, answered only by a nod. He took her hand in his and kissed it carefully. "My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Welcome to our home."
Callie blushed and nodded, speechless for just a moment before she gathered up her nerves and said, "Thank you ever so much for having me, Dr. Cullen." She curtseyed again, this time with a little more grace.
There was a moment of silence, broken soon enough by Alice, who jumped to show the house to Callie. She pulled her up the stairs quickly and they disappeared into the hallway. Rosalie followed, not to be outshown by Alice, and Jasper and Emmett headed outside. Edward smiled to himself and leaned against the door, just thinking about the smile on Callie's face. In his head, he heard Esme whispering excitedly to Carlisle.
"She doesn't have a home? Well she must stay here!"
"Esme, in a house of vampires? She is still a girl. A human girl. With a baby inside her. She is a danger to herself and this family!"
"She is not a danger! She wouldn't hurt us, see how happy she is? She just wants to feel loved again. I just imagine her parents had kicked her right out when they realized. She needs us."
"Esme…"
"Carlisle, we need her." Esme paused. "Edward needs her."
Edward looked up at that, slightly shocked. What did she mean, he needed her?
Carlisle, meanwhile, gave in. "She may stay for a while," He said, "But we must find her something better. You know this. I know this." He whispered it with a sigh.
Carlisle's answer distracted Edward from his quandaries, and he ran across the room to them. "She may stay?" Carlisle nodded. For the first time in years, Edward embraced him. He then gave Esme a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear.
Finally, the girls sauntered down the stairs. Callie had been completely redressed already, and was now wearing a short, flowy dress that hung tight at her ribs and breasts and loose on her stomach, with cap sleeves and a ribbon that came to a perfectly tied bow in the back. Her curly hair tumbled down naturally over her shoulders, and her feet were adorned in simple slippers with a matching ribbon that wrapped around her ankles and calves and came to an equally perfect bow as the dress had. Her outfit was comprised of various shades of green, and it highlighted her eyes and contrasted her red, red hair. Esme took one look at her and cooed again. "Oh, I'm so excited!"
"About what?" Callie asked, confused.
Edward took the initiative to step forward. At that moment, Jasper and Emmett also returned inside. Everyone was present to hear the news.
"Callie, we would like you to stay here, with us."
For a moment, she was too stunned to speak. Then she looked to each member of the family, respectively, and searched for their opinion on their faces. Carlisle and Esme were both smiling paternally, Alice's face was alight with glee, and Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper looked at each other excitedly. Edward's face was decorated with that perfect, crooked grin as he waited for her to respond.
She found she couldn't, as a lump had gathered in her throat. Tears gathered in her eyes and she whispered, "Thank you." Edward couldn't help but laugh, and he took her in her arms as she started to cry. Through the tears, she thanked them all once again, and explained in a muffled way that they were tears of happiness.
"You don't care that I'm pregnant?" She said, a few minutes later.
Esme laughed immediately. "Callie, I love babies." Alice and Rosalie nodded with her, and even Emmett and Jasper grinned.
Carlisle followed it up by saying, "You need someone to watch out for you, Callie. You and your baby." Edward caught a thought from Carlisle's head, and smirked. Carlisle was incredulous at his own words. "This is insanity…"
"And we are here to do that," Edward finished.
Callie smiled softly, unable to believe that the people that surrounded her were so compassionate and caring. "This is all happening so fast…" She searched for a place to sit, and Edward led her to the piano bench. He smiled and brushed her hair out of her face.
"Welcome to my home," He said, holding the sarcasm out of his voice. Everything happened fast in the Cullen home, if anything was happening at all. Briefly, he was thankful. The thought left his head quickly.
The house, with Esme's slight overestimation in space, had four extra rooms. All were beautiful, but Callie became particularly excited in the room with lilac walls and a wall that was entirely glass at the end of the west wing of the house. She didn't know that her room was right next to Edward's. When she found out, she didn't mind.