Disclaimer: Twilgiht's still not mine! Shocker, eh?

AN: Wow!! With all of your excellent reviews(fourteen after last chapter!!) I almost have no choice but to update every day!! I'm still having the problem of reviews not appearing on the site, but I emailed support, so hopefully it'll be rectified soon. Anyways, thank you very much to all the lovely people who reviewed!! (It'll take too long to list you all here, but you know who you are :D) I'm going to re-read them, and I'll try and answer any questions you asked me in a PM, cause I can't reply. Anywho, here's fifteen! This takes place still during the BPOV chapter 14, and it's maybe not as eventful as last chapter, but I think it's kind of fun. I love Emmett. :D (And I'm sure that the adoption/fostering process is not at all accurate, but it's fiction. :P) So, read on!


I don't know what I was expecting as I stepped through Door Seven, but it wasn't what I found. I walked into another office, but this one was thoroughly commonplace. It had the look of a room that had had one occupant for a very long time, with the walls sporting photographs in cheap-looking frames, and children's drawings and paintings on faded construction paper. It had the look of an instution, and a not very well-off one at that, with the brown-flecked linoleum floor, beige painted walls, and cheap faux-wood desk. The only furnishings besides the desk were two metal chairs with vomit-coloured uphosltry.

The woman behind the desk, whose nameplate read "K. Webber, Social work" seemed to be expecting me. Seemed to know me, as well. "Hello, Edward, have a seat." She smiled.

"Hello," I answered somewhat apprehensively. Social work?

"No need to look so scared!" she laughed. "It's good news this time, I promise. It looks as if we've finally found a somewhat permanent foster-home for you. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen specifically requested a boy about your age. It seems they have a son around your age and always wanted another child but they had some problems. Anyways, they'd love to have you, and if the fit's right, they're interested in adopting. They're coming to pick you up in a few minutes. You've got all your things?"

I glanced down and saw that I seemed to have been carrying a faded red duffle bag, now sitting beside my chair. I wondered what it could contain, but nodded my head.

She smiled. "Great." Then, she leaned forward across the desk towards me, adopting a less formal manner. "Edward, I know this has been hard for you, losing everything and then going through so many foster families. But I really have hope for this one. I interviewed the Cullens myself, and they seem like excellent people. I know a lot of people think that fostering a teen requires little work and is a temporary commitment, but this family is ready to accept another family member. So, don't worry. I really have hopes for this one."

I took that as my cue to leave, and stood up, gathering my duffel bag. As I was about to turn the door handle, though, she spoke again. "Oh, and Edward? Good luck."


The office opened into a waiting room, with walls covered with doors like the one I'd just left, and showing the same signs of a low budget. There were several of the vomit-coloured chairs around the walls, some containing scruffy-lookings kids of various ages, and a pair with a nervous-looking young couple.

I took a seat in one of the chairs, then opened the duffel bag. Right on top, there was a folded peice of paper. In a plain, anonymous hand, it bore the following note.

Edward,

Your parents died in the fire that destroyed your house on the outskirts of Chicago a year and a half ago. Since then, you've gone through five foster families, none of whom were very good to you. You have most of your parents' legacy in a savings account you cannot access until you're 18 or for school, but also a small spending account. All the paperwork is in this bag, along with some heirlooms inherited from your mother. She kept them in a safety deposit box. That's why they were not destroyed in the fire.

You know your purose.

Well, that was short, and to the point. I decided not to dwell on the hows, but simply be glad how simple this would all be. Besides another interesting, and slightly unfortunate occurrence to occupy my mind. My special ability, my mind reading, was gone. It had, I realized, also been gone in the white room, but I'd been preoccupied. It was too bad. I would miss that extra sense. But it was an easy price to pay in exchange for what I was receiving.

After reading the note, which I stuffed into the pocket of my jeans, I looked through the rest of the bag. It mostly contained T-shirts and jeans of similar styles and thrifty makes. There was also an envelop containing personal documents; birth certificate, bank cards and papers. At the bottom of the bag, there was a small box made of rich, mahogany wood, inlaid with a lighter wood and mother of pearl. I knew it well. It was my mother's jewelry box, but how it had come to me was also a puzzle. Still, it was nice to have a piece of her.

I had just finished my examination of the bag and zipped it back up when another woman, a social worker, I guessed, stuck her head out of a door across the room. "Edward Masen?"

"Yes?"

"You can come in now."

I shouldered the duffel bag, and walked over to the room. This one, I could see through the door she held open, contained simply a few of the vomity chairs. Seated in one of these was a woman, who appeared to be in her early forties. She was well dressed, and nice-looking, with long, wavy caramel-coloured hair. Despite her youthful appearance, she had a distinctly maternal air. "I'll let you two introduce yourselves a bit," the social worker told us, "When you're ready, there's a bit of paperwork to get through, and then you can leave." With that, she left, closing the door behind her.

The woman in the chair rose. "Edward?" she greeted me, extending her hand. "I'm Esme. Hello."

I took her hand, shaking it awkwardly. This was all still so bizarre. As we sat down, Esme continued to speak. "I'm sorry Carlisle and Emmett couldn't come. Carlisle had to work and, well, Emmett likes his sleep" she laughed.

"That's alright." I replied. "Sorry, who are Carlisle and Emmett?" I was trying to be polite, friendly, but most of my mind was still on when I would see Bella.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Carlisle is my husband. He works at the hospital. And Emmett is our son. He goes to Mapledale, and it's all set, you'll be going there too."

Excellent. That was were Bella went. "Great."

She seemed somewhat surprised by my enthusiasm. "All right, well," she looked at her watch "Carlisle gets off at one, and Emmett should be up by now. Shall we go get rid of that paperwork and take you home?"

Home. I found I liked the sound of that. I hadn't had a home in so long. "Okay."


For some reason; maybe it was the anme, or being referred to as "son", I'm not entirely sure, but during the fifteen-minute ride to the Cullens house, I'd created a picture in my mind of the boy called Emmett, who, it seemed, was to be my brother: fair, skinny, more than a little nerdy, bad skin. Again, I'm not entirely sure what brought about this picture, but it certainly gave me a shock as Esme(she'd insisted I call her that after I'd addressed her as "Mrs. Cullen") unlocked the door. From the foyer, there was a clear view into the kitchen, and I saw a massive boy - man, really, with dark, curly hair sitting at the kitchen table, sleepily eating a bowl of some sort of cereal, and clad only in boxers.

"Emmett!" Esme remonstrated. "I told you I was bringing your brother home this morning!" brother? "The least you could've done is get dressed."

"You know," Emmett mused, pointing his spoon at his mother, "I've never got that expression. Because clearly, that's not the least I could do. This," he gestured towards his current state, "is the least I could do." He seemed to realize I was there then, as her turned towards me slightly. "Hey." he waved at me with a huge, muscled forearm.

Esme rolled her eyes, hitting her hand to her forehead with a smack! sound. "Edward, would you like to go into the sitting room?" she motioned to a door. "I'll bring some tea."

As I headed towards the door, I could hear her talking to Emmett in the kitchen. "And you, get dressed- ugh, shower - and get back down here."

"But I'm not-"

"Now."


"Sorry about that," Esme said as she came in a few minutes later, bearing a tray with teapot, cups, milk, sugar, and some little biscuits.

"Not at all." I smiled.

We talked for a few moments, getting to know each other. She told me she was very sorry about my parents, but that her and Carlisle would love to "not replace them, but stand-in for them, because they can't be here" and that "despite that show, Emmett actually is happy you're going to be a part of the family now" I liked how she said that. It was good to be a part of a family again. "but mornings aren't really his thing."

After about thirty minutes, Emmet came down again, this time fully clothed, and not much later, Carlisle - tall, blonde, and looking rather like a doctor out of a hospital drama -arrived. I was formally introduced to the rest of the family, and there was a little more awkward conversation, until Carlisle was called back to the hospital. A few minutes after that, Esme glanced at her watch. "Oh, shoot! I've got to get to work. Emmett, could you show Edward his room, help him get settled? Edward, will you be okay?" We both nodded yes, and then she left.

Emmett seemed to cheer considerably once his parents were gone. We were both standing there rather awkwardly, and he walked over to me, punching me lightly on the arm "So, little bro, you wanna go see your new digs?"

"okay?"

"C'mon," he said, already going out the door, and heading up the stairs. I grabbed my duffel and quickly followed him.

Once we got to the top floor, we passed a closed door "Mom and Dad's room", a very messy room with dark blue walls "my room,", and a room with wood-panneled walls, a dark, shiny wooden desk, and paintings on the walls, "dad's office", before reaching the last door. "And this," he paused for effect before throwing open the door, "is your room."

It was painted a dark green, with a dark wood bedstead, dresser, desk, and chair. The desk held what looked like a brand-new white laptop computer, and there was a flatscreen TV on the wall. Nice.

"It's pretty plain, sorry," Emmett gestured around the room. "But I got Dad to put in that TV - it's good, same as the one I've got, and I told them you'd need the laptop for," -he made quotation marks with his fingers - "school. Like I said, not much in the way of decor, but that's better. I promise."

"Why?"

He grinned. "Because you're not twelve."

I laughed. "No. Seventeen."

"Right. Well, d'you want to get your stuff put away?"

"sure."

As he helped me put my meagre supply of clothing in the dresser, he grimaced. "You like these?" he gestured at a t-shirt.

"Not really," I answered honestly. Although the modern style of dress for boys didn't exactly appeal to me, I was sure there was better than these, which were boring and obviously cheaply made. "This is what they gave me."

"Ah." As quickly as he'd led me upstairs, he spun, leaving my room and going into his, where he grabbed car keys from the mess of stuff on a dresser. "We'd better rectify that." As I just stood there, he motioned for me to hurry up. "Come on."


In less time than I would have thought possible, it seemed I was fully integrated with the Cullen household. After that first day, it felt like I'd known Emmett my whole life - like he really could be my real brother. He'd brought me to a giant mall, where he'd made sure I got "good" clothes, and not letting me pay - "Mom'll want to."

Esme and Carlisle were also very easy to get along with, and in just over a week, I felt almost at home. The only thing in the way of my happiness was that I'd yet to see Bella, but, being unable to drive, and, as I was supposed to have come from the other side of town, and to have been some what of a loner, I had no way to explain how I knew her, why I needed to see her. So that would have to wait.


AN: Well, there you are, I hope you enjoyed! I think I like this one. I hope the ending's not rushed, but I was afraid it might be getting boring, and, frankly, I need to go to bed. :P Now, I don't know if I'll get another chapter up tomorrow. I may just want to relax. :D But soon, I promise. Now, if you enjoyed you know what to do! Rrrrrrrrrrrrrreview!

Thanks, as always,

SkySong :)