Carlisle's POV
"We can't do this." Jasper was the first to speak.
"Yes we can." Alice said frowning and moving towards him.
"Think Alice. This is a house full of vampires. She is a human kid. Kids fall down a lot. They scrape their knees and different things." Jasper looked frightened, even when Alice took his hand and squeezed it.
"I've seen the future sweetheart. It's going to work out. In my vision we were playing baseball with her and she was teasing Emmett for missing the ball even though he's a vampire." She said.
"So she will know what we are?" Esme asked looking a little nervous. I squeezed my arm around her waist and she leaned into me.
"Yes. And she takes it well. I've seen that too." She said with a smile.
"When?" I asked.
"I don't know yet." She sighed. We were all silent for a while. We could all hear the faint thump of Annie's heart beat upstairs. It was kind of nice hearing it. It had been since Bella was human that anyone alive had been staying with us. She whimpered a little and Esme looked at me worriedly.
"We kind of don't have a choice." Alice said quietly.
"What do you mean?" I asked frowning.
"A man is going to come upon the campsite in an hour. He's an early fisherman and he will get lost looking for the lake. When he finds, he is going to call the police." She said. Jasper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Jasper I swear you're going to do great. Have I ever lied to you about my visions?" He shook his head and Alice smiled, kissing his cheek.
"If it will help your nerves, we won't leave you alone with her until you're used to her." She said softly.
"That would be good." He muttered. He sat down on the sofa and Alice sat next to him. We were silent for a while.
"How is everyone else going to take it?" Jasper asked softly.
" Rose is going to be worried but also excited and Emmett is going to be beyond happy and excited." Alice said with a giggle.
"Yeah I can see why Emmett would be happy about this. There will finally be someone on his own level of thinking huh?" Jasper chuckled and I laughed too. Emmett was the playful type. At least Annie wouldn't be lonely with him around.
"What about Edward?" Esme asked. Alice rolled her eyes and sighed.
"He's going to be Edward. He's going to be totally against it for a couple of days but…" Alice inhaled sharply and I glanced at her to see she had that blank look on her face again. A second later she blinked and looked a little uncomfortable.
"Um… Esme we need to go shopping and pick up a few things." She said.
"Why?" Jasper asked frowning.
"Well she needs clothes for starters. And she wets the bed." She said looking up at Esme and I. Esme winced a little and sighed. I was surprised I hadn't seen that coming. I've worked around kids for years so I knew a lot of kids in the children wards around Annie's age wet the bed.
"Think we should go now? As far as I've seen she won't be awake anytime soon." Alice asked.
"It might be best. We do need food for when she wakes up." Esme said looking at me. I nodded and kissed her forehead. Alice got up and grabbed her purse from the floor by the door.
"Should you go?" Jasper asked worriedly.
"It's ok Jazz. Carlisle won't leave you alone." Alice assured him. Jasper looked at me and I nodded.
"We'll play a game of chess or something if you want." I said. He nodded and sighed.
"I'm sorry I know I'm overly worried about this." He smiled sheepishly.
"It's ok babe, I promise it'll all be fine." Alice said kissing him lightly before heading outside to her car. Esme kissed me before grabbing her purse and following. Jasper and I sat down to a game of chess. We were silent for a few games; the only sound was Annie's heart beat and an occasional sigh in her sleep or moan.
"It would be kind of fun." Jasper mused after losing the fifth time in a row.
"Having a child in the house?" I asked, resetting my pieces.
"Yeah. It would be like we were actually…" He trailed off and I smiled a little.
"Normal?" I asked. He nodded sadly. "I love having all of you with us. But I have on occasion longed to actually raise a child." I admitted.
"I haven't really been around younger kids since before I was changed. I vaguely remember my younger siblings." He said.
"I'm around kids in the hospital sometimes." I said. "They can be a handful."
"Can't be much worse than Emmett." Jasper muttered. I thought for a second before nodding.
"Yeah. At least she can't break a coffee table in half when her football team fumbles." I chuckled. Jasper laughed with me. It went quiet for a while. A couple more games later I heard whimpers up above us.
"She's not waking up is she?" Jasper asked looking up at the ceiling. I shrugged, listening. "Alice said she wasn't supposed to wake up until later." He was starting to sound a little panicked. The whimpers turned into straight out crying and I stood up.
"Guess something changed." I said heading towards the stairs. I found Annie sitting up, crying into her knees. She looked up when I came in and she crawled across the bed towards me, still crying. I sat on the edge of the bed and she crawled into my lap, clutching my t-shirt tightly.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" I asked gently. Her answer was more sniffles and hiccups. I was aware of the strong scent of urine coming from her and I glanced at where she had been laying and winced when I saw the giant wet spot in the sheets.
"I-I s-s-sowwy!" She cried against my chest as sobs racked her small body. I felt bad for her and I hugged her tightly, rubbing her wet back soothingly.
"It's ok, shh, don't cry." I whispered against her hair. It was a few minutes before she settled down a little. She started coughing a little, from all the crying.
"Jasper, bring up a glass of water." I spoke loud enough for him to hear.
"Carlisle, I can't." Jasper answered in a pained tone.
"Yes you can, I'm in here its ok." I answered. He didn't say anything but I heard him moving around downstairs. She coughed against me and I patted her back lightly. A few minutes later the bedroom door opened a little more and Jasper stood at the doorway. I motioned for him to come in. he hesitated before stepping into the room, still staying close to the door. I reached for the glass of water and he sighed before coming all the way to the bed. Annie heard him sigh and looked over her shoulder, jumping a little at seeing another person in the room.
"Annie, this is my son Jasper." I told her as I held the glass up to her mouth. She took a sip, keeping her eyes on Jasper and Jasper doing the same, folding his arms and looking a little uncomfortable. I continued rubbing her back for a few more silent moments. Jasper looked Annie up and down for a second before moving over to my dresser. A second later he returned with another pair of my shorts and one of my white undershirts. I pushed Annie back a little and took the shirt first.
"Do you mind if we change your clothes?" I asked her gently. She bit her lip and thought for a second before reluctantly lifted her arms. I pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor before quickly putting the clean one on her. I set her on the floor and held the shorts out to her.
"Do you want to do this part or you want me to?" I asked. She quickly grabbed the shorts and I looked away, as did Jasper. She kept herself balanced by holding my knee with one hand.
"Done." She whispered a minute later. I looked back at her and couldn't but smile a little at seeing her holding the shorts in place.
"Stay here for a second." I said standing up. I went into the hallway and got a spare sheet from the linen closet. When I returned to the room I had to bite back a laugh when I found both of them standing where I left them just staring at each other. Both looked just as frightened as the other. I changed the sheets as quickly as I could at human pace and then put Annie back on the bed.
"Ok, you can go back to sleep now." I said as she crawled to the top and flopped back against the pillows. I covered her with the comforter and her eyes immediately started closing again.
"W-will you s-stay with me?" She asked nervously. I moved so I was leaning against the pillows with her and nodded.
"Of course." I answered. She moved a little closer to me as I heard Esme and Alice returning.
"I'm going to see if I can help them." Jasper said pointing over his shoulder. I nodded and Annie watched him leave, fighting to keep her eyes open.
"Why was he staring at me?" She asked, trying to cover a yawn, after he had shut the door. I was quiet for a second, trying to think of what to say.
"He… didn't want to scare you." I said. She thought for a second then yawned again.
"I'm not scared." She said tiredly snuggling deep into the pillows. I moved a stray curl out of her face and she moved a little closer to me. I put my hand on her back and rubbed gently. Within a minute she was asleep again. I got up slowly from the bed and headed downstairs. I found Jasper and the girls in the kitchen.
"You did fine." Alice said as she unpacked food from the shopping bags.
"You should have told me." Jasper said sternly.
"I know but I just wanted you to see you could do it." She said.
"We only got a few things for now, since we don't really know what she likes." Esme said pulling out a few articles of clothing. I leaned against the counter as they finished unpacking the bags.
…..
(Later)
As Alice had predicted, Annie didn't wake up again until nine-thirty. I heard her crying and Esme moved to go up the stairs.
"Can I come?" Alice asked excitedly.
"I don't know Alice. Why don't you and Jasper wait in the kitchen and we will bring her down. Just so you don't scare her." Esme said. Alice sighed and nodded, heading towards the kitchen with Jasper behind her. Annie was sitting up in the bed, rubbing her eyes and sniffling.
"Hey darling." Esme said gently, sitting down on the bed. Annie hurried to her side and Esme rubbed her back. I leaned against the door frame and watched as my wife smoothed Annie's hair from her face and wiped her eyes with the edge of the sheet.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked, kissing the top of her head. Annie nodded and sniffed against her side. Esme pulled her up into her arms and headed towards the door. Annie looked up and noticed me. I smiled and she sniffed again.
"Where we going?" She asked.
"I'm going to introduce you to someone." Esme said as I followed her down the hallway.
"Who?"
"My daughter Alice and her husband Jasper."
"I met him. He's scared of me." I bit back a laugh and Esme smiled.
"He'll get used to you."
"Are mommy and daddy coming to get me today?" Esme froze halfway down the stairs. I stopped too. I should have seen this coming. Of course she would want to know where her parents were.
"I…honey…" Esme trailed off and looked at me for help. I cleared my throat and walked the rest of the way to them and put my hand on Annie's back.
"Annie, we're going to have to discuss something." I said gently.
"Am I in trouble?" She asked frowning. I was little thrown off by the question.
"No of course not. Why do you ask?" Esme asked smoothing her hair back.
"Whenever I do something bad, daddy says we gotta dis…disgust it." She said trying to pronounce "discuss" correctly. I bit back another laugh and patted her back.
"No honey, you're not in trouble." I assured her and she seemed to relax a little. She laid her head on Esme's shoulder as we continued down the stairs. Alice was sitting on the counter next to Jasper. She hopped down when we entered and smiled at Annie, who pressed herself closer to Esme and looked down.
"Annie, this is Alice." I said gently. She glanced up at Alice, who smiled and waved. Annie lifted her fingers in a slight wave and buried her face in Esme's shoulder. Alice moved to stand right in front of her and put her hand on her back.
"Hey, how do you feel about pancakes?" Alice asked gently. Annie's head popped up and she nodded quickly, curls bouncing everywhere. Alice giggled and nodded. "Pancakes it is." She moved to the counter and pulled a box of pancake mix and a mixing bowl closer to her.
"Can I watch?" Annie asked hesitantly.
"Of course." Alice smiled wider and patted the counter. Annie looked at Esme, silently asking for permission and Esme set her on the counter, staying close to her so she didn't fall.
Alice's POV
I'd never really gotten to cook for anyone before and standing in the kitchen mixing a bowl of pancake mix with Annie sitting there watching me was fun. I looked forward to cooking with her more.
"Do you want a big one or a small one?" I asked. She thought for a second before grinning.
"Can I have a bunch of tiny ones?" She asked.
"Yes you may." I said smiling and as I carefully made little dots of mix in the frying pan. Esme got out a plate and the syrup and set them next to Annie.
"Mommy makes them like that. It makes it fun." Annie said softly as she kicked her legs back and forth. I looked over my shoulder at Carlisle and he sighed. I felt bad for him. He was going to tell her that her parents were dead after she ate. I'd already seen how it was going to go. After setting the plate of mini pancakes in front of Annie at the table we all sat down around her as she ate. Esme set a glass of orange juice next to her plate and she grabbed that first, taking a long drink of it. It was silent as she ate. She looked at all of us, like she was studying us. Her glance landed on Jasper, who was still scared of hurting her and had stayed back, sitting on the counter. We were all shocked when she giggled and broke the silence.
"You don't have to be scared of me." She giggled. We were all silent for a second before Jasper chuckled and slid off the counter to stand behind my chair. He put his hands on my shoulders and I put mine on top of his.
"You have a big house." She spoke again, looking around at the big kitchen.
"We have a big family." Esme chuckled.
"How many?" She asked curiously, nibbling on one of her pancakes.
"Jasper and Alice have two more brothers and a sister." Carlisle answered. Annie's eyes widened and she looked at me.
"How do you live with that many boys?" She asked in awe. I laughed along with everyone else and shook my head.
"Our brother Emmett can get a little annoying at times." I answered.
"I don't have any." She said sadly. Then her eyes brightened. "But I might be getting a baby sister or brother soon. Mommy and daddy told me yesterday." I felt my chest seize and looked at Carlisle and Esme. I knew if we could cry, there would have been tears in Esme's eyes as she watched the child, unaware that her parents were dead, finished her food.
"Annie… there's something we need to tell you." Carlisle began. I tightened my grip on Jaspers hands and he squeezed my shoulders gently. Annie looked at Carlisle curiously. "It's about your mommy and daddy."
"What?" She asked, the curiosity in her face had grown.
"Sweet heart… there was an accident." He said began. "They didn't…make it." It was quiet for a few minutes.
"You mean… they died?" She asked quietly. Carlisle nodded slowly. Tears welled in her eyes and she looked at Esme.
"I'm sorry sweet heart." She whispered gently. The tears spilt over and she was crying. It was terrible to see. Nothing like this should ever happen to anyone. It made me hate what we were more. Esme pulled her into her arms and cradled her close. Annie allowed it and buried her face in her neck. She cried for several minutes. Carlisle patted her back and whispered soothingly to her. It was a while before her sobs turned to sniffles. Jasper sat down next to me and put his arm around my waist. I leaned into his embrace with a sigh.
" W-will I-I ever seen th-them a-a-a-again?" She asked hiccupping.
"Not here. But one day, in heaven." Carlisle offered. More tears came and she pressed tight into Esme's chest. It was another few minutes before she settled down again.
"Honey, do you have any family?" Carlisle asked. Annie thought for a second, sniffling, before shaking her head.
"Your parents didn't have any brothers or sisters?" Esme asked. She shook her head again hiccupping.
"What about grandparents?" Jasper asked.
"N-no." She shook her head and sniffed. It went silent again, except for Annie's hiccups and sniffles. Carlisle cleared his throat and leaned closer to Annie.
"Annie?" He asked. She looked up at him, wiping at her eyes.
"What would you think of staying with us?" He asked gently. She sniffed and looked around the room at us. She hiccupped a few more times before nodding slightly. I felt a rush of happiness run through my body, even though I already knew she was going to say yes. Esme stood up with her in her arms and smoothed her hair from her face.
"Let's go clean you up ok?" She asked gently. Annie sniffed but nodded. They left, Esme still talking soothingly to her, and Carlisle sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his face with his hands.
"Well I guess that went as well as it could have." He sighed.
"Yeah, but now what? Carlisle… how are we going to go about this keeping her? I mean yeah everyone here is going to be fine with it. But the people in this town…. They're going to think it's strange that we adopt a little girl right after a little girl went missing not too far from here." Jasper said softly. I looked at Carlisle to see his reaction.
"I guess we only have one choice really. We're going to have to move again." He said.
"We just got here though." I said sighing. We'd only been living in this place for two months. I really didn't like that we had to keep moving so much.
"We don't have a choice." Carlisle said shrugging. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. Jasper sent out a calming wave and I smiled at him thankfully. "We'll just have to have a family meeting tomorrow when everyone gets home." He said.
"I'm kind of glad everyone is coming back a little at a time. It makes things a little easier." I said with a small laugh.
"And it might be better. We don't want to overwhelm Annie." Carlisle said nodding. "Do they know why you told them to come home?"
"No. I just told them it was an emergency." I said.
"This will be fun." Jasper sighed sarcastically. I giggled and slapped his arm. It was actually.