A/N: I'm so sorry for those of you who read this story and waited for an upgrade. I didn't pay much attention and that was wrong of me. So here is the next chapter, and I promise to try to update sooner.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight characters.

Chapter 2: Introductions

Edward heard voices coming from the TV in the house as he pushed one of the double doors opened. He looked around the foyer, smiled at Lilianna and motioned for her to come in. She did as he said, and looked around as she stepped into the house.

"Hey Edward," Jacob was sitting on one of the couches as Edward and his guest entered the living room. Jacob looked up as the scent of their new visitor registered. He snorted.

"Where'd you get Goldilocks? Went to the gingerbread house or something?" Even his dislike toward vampires didn't keep him from seeing the strange appeal in Lilianna.

Not that any man could see her as a child, Jacob thought. Edward had to agree. Renesmee chose that moment to descend the stairs. Her eyes sought Edward, and he smiled. His daughter froze for a minute, but immediately recovered. He realized that she hadn't seen a genuine smile from him in a long time. Not that his spirits had been lifted miraculously, but he guessed he'd gotten tired of moping around.

Renesmee looked at Lilianna. She gave a tiny smile and a wave, and immediately plopped down on Jake's lap. It had bothered Edward the first years Renesmee and Jake had started acting like a couple, but now he had realized that no matter what he did the connection between the two was deeper than the roots of an old oak tree.

"Who's your friend Daddy?"

Daddy? The thought came from Lilianna. He looks too young to be a father. So…if he's a Dad, then there must be a Mommy too…

"This is Lilianna. Umm…I'll call Carlisle," he flashed to his room and picked up the phone set on the CD and book shelf that overtook one of the walls in his large room.

His father answered on the first ring.

"Is everything all right Edward?" His father's voice was concerned.

"Yes, yes. All is well Carlisle. I…uh…found someone on my hunt, and she has some questions regarding us. She's a vampire, but she doesn't know exactly what she is. I believe she has her suspicions, but she doesn't want to believe them. Also there was something she mentioned that was kind of unusual. It was about how the way humans smelled to her. She said that they didn't smell appealing," Edward paused and heard a door close on Carlisle side of the line.

"Hmmm. Interesting. Is Esme home," Edward could hear Carlisle's eagerness to learn something new about their kind and he smiled slightly to himself.

"No," He answered. "But she said that she was coming back after she found the right curtains that matched Alice's room. I doubt she'll be long."

Carlisle sighed.

"Ok. I'm on my way home. I'll just check on one or two more of my patients and I'll be there. Good bye son,"

"See you, Carlisle," He hung up and placed the complex phone Alice had gotten him on the shelf. He flashed to the living room. Lilianna was standing where and how he had left her. Of course, only about two minutes had passed since his hasty retreat. Still, he noticed that the stillness in which vampires carried them-selves was not something Lilianna had adopted. Even though she was standing in one single place, she twitched a foot, rubbed her arm, or twirled a golden tress of hair around her finger. He decided that it was her perkiness that had made the difference in her routine.

"Please," he said as he made his way into the large living room. "Sit down," he frowned at Jake and Renesmee, who were staring at each other rather intensely.

"Forgive the children's rudeness," he gestured toward a large chair that sat by another of the large light colored couches.

Jacob snorted, and Renesmee blushed with embarrassment.

At that moment, Esme entered the house. Her caramel colored hair was piled at the base of her neck, and stands of silky shiny hair brushed her forehead. She wore a pretty black coat and black slacks with some kind of black shoes. She smiled when she saw he four of them sitting together, and, of course, didn't seem surprised when she caught sight of Lilianna.

"Hello," She walked toward the closet near the entrance and at the end of the huge foyer where a closet had been made to accommodate all the coats they didn't need but for appearances. She returned to the living room, smoothing a white button-down shirt that held no wrinkles. Edward stood, and so did Lilianna.

"This is Lilianna," the two women shook hands, Esme slow and mild, Lilianna fast and vigorous. Esme chuckled.

"Carlisle is on his way, so lets sit and wait for him," She gestured toward the couch, and they were about to sit when two cars were heard driving at a high speed up their long driveway.

Esme, Edward and Jacob frowned. Seconds later doors slammed and voices were heard. Emmett's booming laughter reached them, while Alice's footsteps sounded almost at the speed of light on the huge veranda.

"Where is she?" Alice knew where 'she' was, but typical Alice, she loved the drama. The others followed close behind. Jasper and Emmett ran upstairs to deposit their luggage, and were back in an instant. Rosalie sauntered in, all blonde perfection. Even though Rosalie was virtually perfect, Lilianna's appeal would definitely catch more male and perhaps female attention. Of course, being shallow Rosalie, she saw this immediately and even though she didn't show dislike, she wasn't warming to Lilianna either.

Alice, in a flash of white ruffles, and spiky black hair, was at Lilianna's side in a millisecond. Lilianna seemed surprised when Alice hugged her, but she returned the hug. When the two girls separated, he saw that he had been right. They were exactly the same height. They both were thin, but Lilianna had some subtle womanly curves that couldn't be ignored. Alice jumped up and down.

"Well," Carlisle hung his coat as everyone had done as he entered, and smiled with amusement at everyone. "I see that all of us are here,"

Emmett snorted loudly.

"Yeah. Crazy Alice called us yesterday saying that we had to 'absolutely be here' or she'd 'rip us up and give our pieces to the wolves'," Emmett laughed at that. "But she did interrupt our honeymoon," images of what Rosalie and her husband had been up to flashed in their minds, and Edward flinched.

"Ohmigod! I love your dress! And your sandals! How did you keep them so clean?" This was Alice. Lilianna, however, didn't exclaim her approval of Alice's attire, a long white sundress that left her small shoulder bare. But she wanted to; she was just too shy to say the things she wanted out loud in a room full of strangers.

Carlisle stepped forward with his hand extended, and a warm smile on his face. Edward made the introductions, presenting Lilianna the whole family. She smiled with her charming and sensual innocence. His brother hadn't failed to notice how every time Lilianna smiled they froze, and every time she looked at them under her lashes, their breath caught. They were starting to feel guilty, when in unison, something occurred to them. They left the topic alone to be discussed with their father, though.

"So, you have questions, Lilianna?" Carlisle asked after they were settled. Lilianna nodded, and after an hour, all of her questions had been answered thoroughly, one by one, by the whole family. Even Jake had answered a few questions of his own.

"Now," Carlisle said as he rubbed his chin in a thoughtful way. "Tell me about what humans smell to you," he asked.

"Well…They don't smell unpleasant, but not edible either. And believe me," she said and gestured with her small hands. " I was very thirsty. But their smell was just too sweet! Like…" She motioned with her hand wildly, looking for the perfect example. "Oh! I know! Like when a person wears too much perfume and you just can't stand it even though the smell of the perfume isn't bad," She nodded proudly at her example and Carlisle thought for a second.

"Did you eat meat when you were human?"

"Oh, no. Never. I was a vegetarian. My mother said that I needed the protein, but when I went to college—"

"Wait!" Boomed Emmett. "You're in college?" He snorted. "You look like you should be in third grade!" Another snort.

"No," Lilianna said with exaggerated patience. "I'll be nineteen in a few months." She dismissed Emmett with a toss of her hair. Apparently, Edward noted, she was very sensitive about her age for totally different reasons. She hated believing that she looked like a child and not a almost nineteen year old junior in college. Edward was surprised that she had been so advanced in her studies at such a young age.

"You're a bit young to be a junior in college," Edward said, and Lilianna turned to look at him with warm burgundy eyes and a smile.

"Yes," she said as she snuggled in to the couch and pushed her hair behind her ear. "When I finished high school I was sixteen and that was because I skipped two grades. My mother…" she frowned at the vague memories. "She was very proud." She then remembered what had happened to her mother.

"My mother was killed by the person who made me this," She looked heartbroken for a second. But then she recovered and looked back at Edward.

"I wanted to major in psychology and sociology to become a psychologist, but…" she shrugged.

Alice shrieked. Everyone didn't even flinch except Lilianna. She was seriously starting to wonder about Alice's mental health. Edward chuckled. Everyone stared, and he shrugged.

"She's going to stay!" Alice Jumped up. Carlisle motioned for her to sit back down. Alice did so, but she was practically bouncing up and down. If Edward squinted he thought he could see steam coming out of her ears.

"I see that you have decided to take our style of life," Carlisle began. "And that you have no one to accompany you. So," he said slowly. "The whole family would like to extend the invitation for you to join us." Carlisle looked around, and every one gave their nods of approval except Renesmee and Rosalie. Carlisle pretended not to see, and stood up with arms extended.

"Then," he approached Lilianna, and motioned for her to step into the circle of his arms. He gave her a tight hug. "Welcome to the family." Esme followed suit, and then so did the rest of them. Rosalie and Nessie however, stood up and exited the house.

Edward waited last to give her his welcome, when the whole family, except Alice, had retired to do their respective activities.

She looked up at him and smiled. He felt that familiar breathlessness, and tried to ignore it. He leaned down and hugged her tiny frame.

"Welcome," He said softly.

"Thank you for bringing me here," She whispered in her high thrilling voice.

"Come on!" Alice wedged herself between the two and tugged on Lilianna. "We have to fix your room, decide which color you want to paint it, what curtains you want…"

"I like pink," Lilianna said enthusiastically as the two pixies climbed the stairs.

"Yes! Perfect. I know where we have to get all your stuff," They chatted about what kind of cloth they were going to buy, and after a heated discussion about where the money was going to come from, they finally settled down to design Lilianna's room.

Mean while, Edward was curious about Rosalie and Nessie's abrupt departure, so he went to eavesdrop on them. They had gone only a mile away, where vampire ears could not catch their conversation, but Edward easily heard their thoughts.

"Did you see how all the boys were looking at her, Aunt Rose?"

"Yes," Rose said with irritation in her voice. "It was as if the were going to start to drool every time she smiled," And I don't Like it at all, thought Rosalie.

"And Daddy was staring too," Renesmee said. "I don't like her Rose. Not at all, " Nessie said.

And that's when the two women started plotting how they were going to get rid of Lilianna.