So I must admit, I am a little disappointed. I didn't get a single review on the last chapter. I know you all can do better than that!! Come on, think of it like a fundraiser!! Actually, no, I have bad luck with fundraisers. Okay, so this chapter may be a little slow, but it's really important that relationships start to develop. Alice knows something too, which she hints at an awful lot, because she's Alice. Anyway, read and REVIEW!!!

Also, I still ideas for a proper Cullen Thanksgiving. I've written around it, but I can't put chapter eight up without Thanksgiving, so please help me out!!

Chapter Five: Meeting the Cullens

I couldn't have been out more than a few minutes. And yet, I was a very comfortable bed, and there were suddenly many more thoughts around me.

What do you mean, she knows? Edward Cullen, I am personally going to kill you myself, and I can promise you, I will pull you apart joint by joint, starting with your fingers…

She's pretty. I bet she'd fit in well. She smells good too. Not really appetizing, but good. That's weird. She's human, she's supposed to smell yummy…

She was compassionate before she stole from Carlisle. She loves her family a little too much. It's not going to end well. I don't think. Unless she can get her mother to leave.

I shouldn't be in here. Why did Carlisle send for me? This isn't a good idea at all. Someone is going to end up in trouble. Most likely me.

Oh, she's been beaten up bad, poor thing. She looks as bad I used to. She's too young to be married though. I hope it's not her father. The poor girl, she's barely a woman yet. She's too thin, as well. You can just see that she's sick with worry. Look how tense her mouth is even when she's asleep.

"Adele?" My eyelids fluttered at my name. "That's it, dear, just wake up, and we can explain."

My eyes opened fully. I wasn't in the hospital. I was in a house. The room I was in was large, a front room by the looks of the ceiling. Much more decorative than the more functional upstairs rooms. I looked to my left, and saw Dr. Cullen, his golden eyes watching me.

"Where am I?" God, I sounded intelligent.

"You're in my home." He explained. "I thought it best that we brought you here. I want you to meet my family."

"I fainted." I remembered. "You didn't tell, did you?" I hissed, looking for Edward and finding him down by my feet.

"Didn't say a word." He said, and I knew he was telling the truth.

"Thank you." I whispered, my body relaxing to the news. He just smiled.

"Adele, I want you to meet my family." I looked around at the rest of the family, was surprised to find only one face I hadn't already seen. Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice were on my right, along with Jasper, who was just as my stolen memory had shown him, with one small exception. His expression was troubled, concern and confusion mixing, and also a bit a pain.

"You don't have to be here." I told him. His eyes snapped to mine, and for some reason I held his gaze. "Really, you don't. It's hurting you, and I don't want you to be hurt."

His eyes watched me for a moment, and then suddenly I felt calm. My heart rate slowed, and I sighed with relief.

"Do you feel better?" He asked, his voice holding the same honey tone as his hair.

"Yes." I glared at him with as much force as I could in my new state. "That's your super power, isn't it?"

He smiled. "I guess so." He said.

Alice was watching, and she suddenly grinned. "You two are going to be great friends." She said with utter confidence. "You'll be her favorite big brother, Jazz."

"Alice!" Edward and Dr. Cullen hissed. Rosalie didn't use words, but her discontent was known.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." Edward answered, too quickly. He was also running through the Battle Hymn again, so I didn't trust him.

"Adele, do you know them all?" Dr. Cullen cut in, his hand helping me sit up.

"Yes." I said, looking at all of them as I said their name. "Emmett. Alice. Jasper. Rosalie. Edward. Mrs. Cullen and Dr. Cullen."

"Esme, dear." She took a step towards me, her hand finding mine. Even though I should have expected it, her beauty took me by surprise. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you." I saw my bruises, my cuts, my damage in her mind, and it seemed so much worse from there.

"I'm fine." I whispered, unable to find my voice suddenly. I felt more calmness from Jasper. Esme's hand grasped mine a little tighter. "Thank you. All of you. I know you don't really want me here. Not all of you." I said against the oncoming protests from Esme and Alice. "So thank you."

"You're very welcome, Adele." Dr. Cullen assured me. "Although, we do have our own reasons for wanting you here right now."

"I know." I admitted. I cracked a small smile, then looked around. "Okay, who's first?"

"You mean I'm not?" Esme asked.

I looked down at our interlocked hands, and felt her gift pulsing underneath my skin. "No. Not yet." I paused, and imagined lifting a gate. In that moment, I was flooded with a maternal instinct that was not my own. I felt it course through me, warming me as Dr. Cullen's gift had. "Now you are." I smiled. She felt it as well. Her eyes locked on our hands, almost expecting to see it happening. "You're gift feels warm, comforting. Just like Dr. Cullen's did." I broke contact, and felt the new gift settle into place next to Edward's. Suddenly, I felt cramped.

"Edward?" I asked. He knew what I was going to ask, and had his hand already stretched towards me. I felt the tingle of his gift leaving me, and began to wonder why his felt different.

"It may have something to do with what kind of gift you are receiving." He answered for me. He shrugged. "Test it out."

I returned Esme's gift to her, and looked around. Alice was next to me in an instant, her palm out. I touched it gently. The tingling sensation was back. I shuddered against it. It was stronger with her than with Edward.

When she pulled away, she closed her eyes. "Okay, focus on me." I did, using my new power as well. "What do you see?"

As soon as she asked, I was assaulted by a memory that wasn't mine. Alice in a store in Boston. A showroom, more like. Clothing was everywhere, and she was stuck between two similar dresses. The memory dissolved there. I hadn't realized I had closed my eyes, but when I opened them, they were wide with horror.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have let Alice go without a warning." Dr. Cullen frowned slightly.

"You saw my future." Alice shrugged. "I decided to go shopping this weekend, and you saw that. Then you came to a decision I hadn't made yet, so it stopped there."

"what, so that wasn't just a memory?" I asked, smirking slightly, Alice shook her head. "That was the future?" She nodded this time, her grin growing wider. "That's so weird." I shook my head. "Please, take this one back."

Alice laughed, but held out her hand. The tingling was unpleasant now as it ran back to its owner, as if punishing me for my reaction. "Let Jasper go next." She said. "If my theory is right, he won't hurt her as much." Jasper inched closer, and he seemed nervous. "Don't worry. You won't hurt her."

"Right." Jasper murmured to himself. His hand touched mine, and Alice was right. Jasper's gift was warm, and, like everything else about him, like honey.

"You're trying to calm her at the same time." Alice pointed out. "That's cheating."

He sighed, but pulled back whatever he was using to soften the blow. This time, it wasn't as pleasant, but it didn't hurt either. It was warm, though.

"It doesn't hurt." I said. "It's still warm."

"Try it." Jasper said, pulling his palm away. I searched the room, feeling the emotions in the room stronger than I ever had before. They were tangible, like auras. I saw them. Dr. Cullen and Esme were calm, and interested in me. Alice was more excited. Rosalie was furious. Emmett was amused. And Jasper was nervous. I sent a wave of calm in his direction. He smiled as it hit him, and the others around him. Even Rosalie relaxed for a moment.

"She's pretty good, but she could use some fine tuning." He finally said.

"So we've discovered her talent." Rosalie suddenly broke through the calm I had sent, her eyes flashing. "What are we going to do with her?"

"We can't change her." Dr. Cullen said immediately. "I won't do it, and I don't want any of you to. Her life is still ahead of her."

"What if that option is taken from us?" Esme asked quietly, and I saw her eyes flicker to the bruise at my neck, still bright to all those with the golden eyes.

"We will be the first there, and we will offer her a choice then." Alice said. "I can tell you exactly when that will happen, should nothing change."

"Something always changes." Edward said.

I cleared my throat. "While I love coming up with my own wild theories, will I ever get an explanation as to what you actually are?"

Seven pairs of golden eyes stared at me, each contemplating.

"Later." Dr. Cullen finally said.

"Nope." I shook my head. "I need a day."

"Before Thanksgiving." Alice piped up. Everyone turned to her. "If we don't tell her, she'll figure it out by then."

"We'll tell you before Thanksgiving." Dr. Cullen took my hand. "But, please, do us one favor. Don't talk about this to anyone. We cannot stay here if we appear out of the ordinary. We try to blend in as much as possible."

"I won't tell a soul." I promise. Edward nodded, satisfied by my sincerity.

"You promise." Rosalie said. It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. Suddenly, she reached out, her long fingers finding my hair. She ran through the long, tangled locks, her eyes never leaving mine. She sighed, and took her hand back.

"I like her." She announced, looking around to her family. "I knew you were concerned, but I do like her. She'll just take some getting used to."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual." They laughed, and even after I gave Jasper back his gift, the sound filled me with warmth.