A/N: I would just like to let all of my readers know that this story GENTLE TOUCHES is the very same as author ANIMAL8. As I adopted it from her earlier on this year, most of the chapters that ANIMAL8 had already created are being posted the same as I do not want to ruin the amazing work she has worked so hard on. I will be setting up a link to ANIMAL8 page so it will be accessible to new and old readers. I do hope that I can do this story as much justice as ANIMAL8 and I do hope that you enjoy the old and new chapters of GENTLE TOUCHES.

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing Twilight

Gentle Touches

Chapter 6 – Making Progress (EPOV)

I stayed perched on the edge of the bed, hoping for the girl to become more comfortable in my presence as I tried to think of something I could do. I knew I needed to be slow and not overwhelm her, but none of us had any thoughts on how to progress with her.

It was a good sign that she had reacted to me in a positive way, even for that brief moment, instead of shying away as she had been seen to do. All I needed to do was find some way to encourage that response. Hopefully that way I would be able to assuage her obvious fears.

The angel in front of me had relaxed enough that she was no longer watching me cautiously, though she still glanced at me occasionally. I stayed by her side, keeping an eye on her and trying to study her behaviour in an attempt to understand her.

I listened to Carlisle's mind as he rifled through his psychology books, searching for something that might help us with this strange girl. Esme was hovering anxiously downstairs, cleaning as she tried to distract herself. I knew she was worried about this girl, just like I was, and that she didn't like not being able to do something in some way to help her. It went against her instincts as a mother.

I came out of my thoughts and glanced down at the quiet girl. She had gone back to ignoring me for now, I saw with disappointment. Her arms were held protectively around her body and she had her knees tucked to her chest with her eyes closed. Was she tired? I wondered. That would make sense, because she was so weak she was bound to be easily tired out.

We would have to be aware of that as well. It was most likely why, even when she was extremely stressed, she only put up a minimal fight that quickly powered out. The few times she had fought against us were only in short bursts of energy, probably due to an added adrenaline rush to her system.

I filed those thoughts away for later debate and focused on the fragile angel in front of me. Curious to attempt something, but wary of how she would react, I cautiously lowered myself down to lie on the bed beside her with my body turned in her direction.

As soon as I moved her eyes snapped open and fixed on me. She growled and glared at me, her hands pulling the blanket tighter around her body. I was pleased that she seemed to take some comfort from the simple material and thought that Esme would be happy as well to have been able to do something useful.

Despite her warnings, I continued to move until I was completely lying down on my side, making sure to keep my movements slow so as to appear unthreatening.

She still didn't remove her gaze from me, watching suspiciously even as I remained unmoving and unthreatening. I wanted to get closer to her, to see if that helped me hear what she was thinking, but I resisted and waited, knowing better from Carlisle's warning than to crowd her.

Instead, I listened to heart, pulsing steadily and strongly, if a little fast, in her chest. That sound represented her life and I found myself marvelling at it, wondering how something that was so fragile, so easily breakable, could sustain such life and how that life itself was so vulnerable.

After ten minutes of waiting, she still had not relaxed and I was at the point of considering moving back to where she was comfortable having me when she suddenly sighed and her body mostly un-tensed itself.

I didn't dare make a move, barely even breathing, fearing that anything I did would startle her. So I stayed where I was and watched her as she slowly calmed, but she didn't close her eyes again, instead keeping them locked on me. Those brown eyes captivated me. They were strange, flecks of gold and an almost red colour mixing in with the soft, warm brown. It was mesmerising.

Her breathing and heart rate slowly evened, but her hands remained clasped in the blanket with a firm hold. It was clear that she wasn't going to trust me easily, but so far she was okay with my being here. At least she wasn't fighting, I thought. I could deal with that and I could be slow and careful with her.

"What's your name, Angel?" I asked her softly, not really expecting an answer but feeling that I should say something to break the silence.

She tilted her head but said nothing. I continued talking. "My name is Edward," I told her, part of me somehow knowing that she understood. "I found you in the forest along with my brothers," I added carefully.

No answered, although her eyes showed interest. I smiled at her as she blinked slowly, her eyes falling shut. At first she struggled to open them again, but I soothed her gently. "It's okay, Angel," I whispered, "You can go to sleep. I won't hurt you."

She gave me another wary glance, but conceded to her body's needs and rested lightly. Her eyes closed and I almost missed the contact. I could tell from her breathing that she wasn't in a deep sleep and guessed I would have to leave when she needed to sleep properly.

I stared at her, mentally tracing the features of this mysterious beauty. Her damp hair looked so soft and inviting, shining slightly in the little daylight that entered the room through the window. I wanted to touch her, to see if her hair, her skin, was as soft and smooth as it looked and unconsciously I found my hand reaching out to her.

My fingers touched her hair lightly, brushing it back from her face. She flinched away instantly, a hiss escaping her lips. Her brown eyes followed me tensely and her body was stiff as I gently stroked the strands between my fingertips. It seemed to flow as I moved it about and I smiled, transfixed. Absently, I began humming a soft tune, relishing the feel of her hair.

To my amazement, her eyes became entranced as she stared at me wide eyed. Her reaction both startled and pleased me. She seemed to like the music, I thought incredibly as my smiled broadened. I ran my hand over her hair again, still quietly humming to her as she remained in a daze. Vaguely, I registered that I was singing Clair de Lune by Debussy; one of my favourites.

As my nails grazed her forehead, she snapped out of her trance and swiftly jerked away with a slight growl. I let her move. My hand fell back to my side as she shuffled further away from where I lay, keeping her limbs close to her at all times. I was frozen as she moved; a reaction I felt to her feeling threatened. Her eyes were only half open as she dragged the comfort blanket over to her side and curled underneath it again, her body quivering.

I waited for her to relax, monitoring her physical reactions closely. It took longer this time for her to calm as much as possible with me here, and the subtle picking up of her respiratory rate warned me of her increasing distress.

Her eyes were open, but she wasn't looking at me, her face was turned into the pillow as she stared blankly. She was shaking all over again and I was becoming concerned, but I should have known better than to do what I did and I felt foolish later for not thinking before I acted.

Almost automatically, my hand reached out to check her, coming in contact with her shoulder as I tried to get her to look at me. Immediately, I realised my mistake as her heart rate picked up, sending a flurry of blood pulsing through her and her eyes flashed briefly with fear before she buried her head away from me.

She made a strangled noise as I stiffened and snatched my hand back. She thrashed once before she lay still, though her body trembled and shivered under the covers. I feared I had pushed her too far, but I didn't know what to do.

I berated myself for being so stupid. Why did I do that when I knew she was afraid? I had already taken my chances in touching her once, but I had forgotten her sensitivity and now may have cost myself a great deal of what trust I had managed to gain. I had to find a way to make this right and quickly. It was bad for her to be stressed in her condition.

"Shh, Angel," I hushed, unable to bear watching her suffer, "I'm sorry, you're okay, I'm so sorry." I didn't know how to calm her without being able to touch her so I just moved away, leaving a distance between us as I continued to whisper comfortingly.

Eventually, her tremors slowed, though they didn't dissipate entirely. She kept her head buried as her shoulders shook and I stared in anguish at her with pain and regret for my actions. I remembered Alice telling me about leaving her alone to adjust herself and I thought that might be a good idea right now so I quietly lifted myself off the bed and walked to the door.

I saw her still slightly when my weight was removed from beside her and I stared miserably at her as I turned and left, closing the door softly behind me.

Two hours later, Alice found me sulking in my room, staring despondently at the ceiling. "Edward," she sighed.

"I know, Alice," I grumbled bitterly, "I could have ruined everything with her today because I wasn't thinking about what I was doing." I didn't need her coming to berate me when I was already annoyed at myself for being so stupid.

She shook her head. "That wasn't what I was going to say," she denied. I gave her a look, knowing that was exactly what she had been thinking about. "Okay, maybe a bit," she acceded and I snorted at the understatement. She was just as annoyed at me as I was, she just didn't want to say it.

"What do you want, Alice?" I asked, whispering and wishing that she would just leave me alone so I could figure out what I was going to do.

"I wanted to tell you not to just give up on her," she told me, "Just give her time and she'll adjust. Talk to her, Edward, let her get to know you. Everything will be okay, you'll see."

I turned to her hopefully with her last statement, sitting up on my bed. "You've seen something?" I questioned, feeling my dark mood lifting.

She smiled apologetically. "It's getting clearer, but I haven't seen anything specific. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Alice," I sighed as I lay back down. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't see anything. This angel was scared and confused and didn't know whether to trust us or not and the uncertainty messed with her ability.

"I know. It's just frustrating not being able to see anything, you know?" She asked and I nodded because I did know. I hated not being able to use her visions to predict how this angel would behave and it was indeed frustrating, especially as I didn't have my own advantage of mind reading either. I never knew what to do around her and it made me feel uncomfortable and almost out of my depth.

"It will be okay," she reasserted, helping to comfort me as only she knew how. "You will gain her trust, Edward," she assured, "I know it. You just need to trust in yourself first." She left me alone after that, puzzling over what she said.

Sometimes I wondered if she saw more than she let on, but I couldn't be sure. Even without her visions, she still seemed to have a knack for predicting things. I trusted her though, so I believed that I would, one day, be trusted by my angel.

I wondered what I could do to help her settle down. I remembered when I sang to her and how she reacted. Maybe I could play her some music, I mused. If I could just get her used to being around at least me, then we had a better chance at helping her.

Carlisle's thoughts told me that he believed if she trusted me that she would be one step closer to recovery. I understood his reasoning, because if she trusted me then I would be able to support her and she could rely on me as she learned to trust the others of my family.

I wanted to be the one that she trusted, that she confided in. Confused by my own thoughts, I shook my head. It was irrational to be feeling like that when I had only known her for a couple of days and on top of that, she was human. I definitely shouldn't be obsessing over a human. If anything, she should be kept as far away from a monster like me as possible.

But she needed help, and so as long as she needed it, I was determined to be there for her. I would find some way to make progress with her. That I would not fail in, I told myself.

A/N: I make no promises as to when I post new chapters…but I will do my best to make them as closed together as possible. Please remember to review as more reviews will get a faster posting of the next chapter.