Hello and happy new year!

Not really here to make excuses, but I can promise there's a pretty good (and personal) reason for not writing. I'm slowly returning to my normal life, but all in good time. Still... Chapter one of what I hope to be a decent story. Decent enough to get some people interested? :)

NOTE: I think I've figured out how to distinguish Edward's thoughts? Should be alright to identify them..? But, I may be wrong, so please feel free to point out if so :)

Chapter One

Christmas was, hands down, the best holiday that ever existed - at least in Alice's opinion. This year, she was determined to make sure they were together, and that meant convincing Carlisle not to take the holiday shift like he would normally do.

"I bought us a few decorative reindeers to put outside." Esme said, as she walked into the kitchen, where Alice was hanging up Christmas lights along the wall. "They light up... It's actually rather adorable." Esme continued, with a bright smile. She too enjoyed the holiday, she just wasn't normally as enthusiastic as Alice, but this year, she figured she'd let Alice have her way.

"Everything's going to be perfect!" Alice beamed.

"So, what am I supposed to do with this?" Emmett asked, walking into the kitchen, carrying a giant snowman.

"That's going outside, so Carlisle will see it every morning before he leaves for work." Alice grinned.

"Alice, this is ridiculous." Rosalie said, irritably, as she dragged in a Santa in his sleigh. "I'm not putting this on the roof."

"Yes, you are!" Alice said, her eyes narrowing. "It's going to look beautiful, Rosalie, I promise." Alice added, with a smile. "Once you're done with that, we can finally start on the tree."

"I thought you'd at least wait for me to get back before starting on the tree." Carlisle called out as he entered the Cullen household. Alice eagerly rushed to meet Carlisle, as he set his things down by the front door.

"Carlisle, I have a very important favour to ask you..." Alice began, as Carlisle took of his coat. "I know you normally work on Christmas, because no one else really wants to, but-"

"I've already booked it off." Carlisle smiled. "Esme informed me you've been especially excited this year."

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Alice squealed. She gave Carlisle a strong hug, before rushing back upstairs to find everything she needed to start on the tree.

"You've clearly made her day." Esme said, as Carlisle reached the top of the stairs. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as his found their way around her waist.

"Yes, well, I do try sometimes." Carlisle smiled. He gave Esme a soft kiss before releasing her. "But perhaps a hunt before we work on the Christmas tree?"

"Now that's an idea." Emmett smirked, as he walked by Carlisle and Esme.

"I think I could use a little something." Jasper said, as he entered the room.

"Where's Edward?" Carlisle asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"He fed this morning." Esme said. "He went to the library after, hasn't been back since..." Carlisle nodded at this. "I'm worried about him."

"Worried?" Carlisle questioned, laughing slightly.

"He's alone." Esme said, frowning.

"He's perfectly fine, my darling." Carlisle smiled. "I'm sure Edward will find someone eventually."

"Or we'll find someone for him." Emmett chuckled and elbowed Jasper, who smiled in return.

"Can you not joke about things like that?" Rosalie said, entering the room and sending Emmett a glare.

"Have a sense of humour, Rose." Emmett grinned.

"I take it we're going hunting then?" Alice appeared, with a slight pout.

"But we'll get straight to work on the Christmas tree after." Carlisle smiled, and Alice immediately smiled back.

"Alright! Let's go!" Alice beamed.

...

Long, wavy, dark brown hair flowed behind her as the small girl ran... Alice tried to keep up, but it was tiring - or at least Alice thought it would be, if she could tire. "Wait for me!" Alice called out, and the girl turned, with a beautiful, bright smile on her delicate doll-like face. Her golden eyes glistened as Alice approached her. "You need to slow down." Alice said, and the girl smiled again. The girl's eyes suddenly closed, and she inhaled the scent of her prey. Opening them again, the girl gave Alice a mischievous grin, and held out her hand for Alice to hold...

"Alice? Alice!" Jasper said, holding onto Alice by her shoulders. He'd been so close to his third deer, which he so desperately wanted, but he could feel Alice's mood change, and she immediately became his top priority.

"Jasper?" Alice gasped.

"Is everything alright?" Jasper asked, worriedly.

"Yes... I think so?" Alice said, confused. "I... I don't know what I saw."

"Would you like to go find Carlisle?" Jasper asked.

"No... I think we can finish here first." Alice said, as Jasper helped her off the ground. She hadn't even realised she was sat down until that moment.

"Are you sure?" Jasper questioned, still sensing Alice's strange mood.

"Yes... I haven't had the chance to feed yet." Alice smiled weakly. "And I know you're still thirsty."

"Alright..." Jasper said, hesitantly.

By the time Jasper and Alice got back to the Cullen household, the other's were already there, including Edward. Alice had been unable to concentrate properly throughout that hunt, and she returned not fully satisfied, and a very strange feeling lingered within her. She knew Jasper could feel what she was feeling, and he seemed genuinely worried about her.

"We'll talk to Carlisle about it." Jasper assured, wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulder. Alice simply nodded.

A young, human girl, who looked to be around thirteen or fourteen, walked down the dark street, her few-inch high ankle boots clicking against the pavement. She glanced over at a man, whom she thought to be dead, but she was too terrified to check for herself. She began moving faster - she was almost running - and then, suddenly, someone grabbed hold of her arm, tightly. She struggled to break free, but the man was relentless. Alice could see fear, anger and hurt within the girl's eyes. The girl wriggled against the man, and finally, he let her go - but as the girl made a move to run, the man grabbed her again. The girl fell roughly onto the pavement, and Alice could see her jeans rip at the knees. The man lost his balance, and the girl took this as a chance to run. Alice wanted to scream and get the girl's attention. She wanted to save the girl from the bad thing that was going to happen - because Alice could sense that something bad was going to happen. From there it all happened too quick. The girl had broken free from the man's grasp yet again, by kicking him in the face, and she ran - but the man pulled out something from his jacket - and Alice wanted to scream, to warn her to hide, because the man had a gun, and he was going to shoot her...

"Is she alright?" Esme asked, worriedly, as Carlisle attentively watched Alice's expression.

"I don't think she understands what she's seeing." Edward said, with a confused look on his face that matched Alice's expression. "I've never seen this person before."

"Is it possible that it's connected to the vision she had whilst we were hunting?" Jasper asked, worriedly.

"I won't know until she tells me." Carlisle sighed.

"Yes..." Alice answered, suddenly. "Yes, I think they're connected. Whoever she is, she's in trouble."

"Perhaps a family member?" Edward suggested.

"That could be plausible." Carlisle nodded. "Did you manage to figure out a name, Alice?"

"No..." Alice said, as a terrified feeling took over her. "But she's in France... In Paris..."

"Carlisle, we have friends in Paris." Esme informed, and Carlisle nodded.

"Wait, where is this going?" Rosalie spoke, suddenly.

"Rosalie, she could die." Alice said, with eyes wide. Jasper sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, as he attempted to calm the fear that was building up inside of her.

"She's not our problem!" Rosalie argued, and Emmett had to grab onto Rosalie's arm to keep her from prancing forward.

"If Alice is seeing her, there has to be a reason. She could very well be connected with her, or with one of us." Carlisle stated, calmly.

"But if it's meant to happen, it'll happen." Rosalie spat.

"I know when it'll happen, so I'll save her before it does!" Alice retaliated, and Jasper continued to attempt to calm her.

"And what will happen if you don't get there in time?" Rosalie shot back.

"I'm sure Alice will be able to help." Esme said, sending Carlisle a look, hoping he would step in.

The girl whimpered in pain as Alice placed her onto the bed, which was now crimson with the girl's blood. "Edward, get Jasper out of here." Carlisle ordered, as he got to work. "Alice, please find her some clean clothes?" Alice nodded and let Carlisle take care of her. "Is she going to be okay?" Alice asked, worriedly, but Carlisle didn't respond. It didn't look promising. "Please... Don't let her die?" Alice pleaded.

"Alice?" Jasper wondered if his attempt to calm Alice was working at all, as he held onto her shoulders.

"It's not normal for her to have frequent visions like this." Edward said.

"I'll contact Claude and Jacqueline." Esme said, entering the Cullen household once again.

"Maybe if you try finding her a while before?" Rosalie suggested, and Alice closed her eyes almost immediately, with a pained expression forming on her face.

"I keep seeing her die..." Alice said weakly. "Every route... It ends in her death... By the hands of the same man."

"So kill the man?" Emmett suggested.

"We'll go to France, and we'll decide what to do from there." Carlisle said, his eyebrows creased in concern.

"I'm going. I'm not leaving Alice's side." Jasper said, determinedly.

"As will I." Carlisle nodded. "The rest of you should stay and keep an eye on things around here."

"I saw Edward too..." Alice said, and Edward nodded.

...

Claude and Jacqueline had met Carlisle in the early 1700s, in Italy. The two were turned by a rogue vampire, who was later dealt with by Volturi. The two were away, however, in Iceland, but they were more than content to have someone in their humble place in Paris. Knowing Claude for as long as Carlisle had, he had expected Claude's home to be more like a palace - but instead, it was a simple, two-bedroom apartment in Paris. It was cosy, however, and Carlisle found himself quite content, despite the circumstance of their sudden vacation.

Alice barely moved for three days. She decided it would be easier to focus on her visions if she wasn't occupied with anything. However, it seemed that the more she waited for a vision, the less likely it seemed to come. Edward had assisted Carlisle the best he could with his research about the mysterious girl, but with Alice not being able to discover her name, it became close to being an impossible task.

"Anything, Alice?" Carlisle asked, but Alice simply shook her head and continued to sit and stare out the window.

Jasper sighed and moved to sit next to Alice. "Jasper, please don't manipulate my mood. It might affect the visions." Alice said, as Jasper attempted to calm her anxiety.

"Manipulate is such a harsh word." Jasper said, giving Alice a kiss on the cheek. "But, I'm sorry ma'am, I promise I'll keep to myself." Alice smiled at his words, and naturally eased slightly.

"I'm worried I'll be too late." Alice frowned.

"Well, you've seen what happens if you are." Edward said, mainly to himself, but when Alice spun round to glare at him, he realised his mistake.

"You have?" Carlisle asked, curiously.

"Thanks, Edward." Alice frowned, and turned to face the window again. "You help her, Carlisle..."

"Well, it's a good thing I brought some supplies." Carlisle said, moving toward his bag.

"Not in that sense." Alice said, nervously, and she heard Carlisle stop fidgeting with his things.

"Alice-"

"Just keep an open mind." Alice pleaded, spinning round to face him once again. "She's clearly important, for some reason, and we can't just leave her to die."

"There's a lot to consider, Alice." Carlisle sighed.

"Not everyone is going to turn out like Rosalie." Alice smiled, slightly, and Carlisle chuckled.

"I meant, regarding the Volturi." Carlisle said.

"You won't have a problem with them, as long as we manage to control her while she's a newborn." Alice grinned, excitedly. "And she and I will be great friends, I just know it!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Alice." Carlisle said. "For now, we'll try and save her from dying."

Alice nodded and spun back round to stare out of the window. Jasper felt her mood lighten tremendously at the thought of a new addition to the Cullen clan, and if Alice was happy, he was happy. Edward smiled at Alice's antics, before focusing back on the laptop, and going through the Parisian news online, hoping to see something about the mysterious girl, but he had no luck.

"I think I'm going to call it quits for the time being." Edward said, closing his laptop. "I was thinking... It would be interesting if she were related to Rosalie." Edward said, and everyone chuckled at the comment.

"She'd still be against the idea of creating another of our kind." Jasper smirked. "She'd insist that growing old is a much better option."

"Rosalie will accept this life in time." Alice assured.

"How much time, exactly?" Edward laughed.

"A while." Alice said, after a few seconds of silence. Then, suddenly, she felt something come over her - a strange sense of danger...

"Annalise, you're going to regret this if you keep this up!" The man shouted, but the girl continued to struggle against his grip. Her foot connected with his face, and the man screamed out in pain, and blood dribbled out of his nose and onto the pavement. The girl began to run. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP!"

Alice had leapt out of the window before Jasper could question her. Edward rose to his feet immediately and walked to the window, but he didn't follow Alice.

"Carlisle..." Edward began. "You might want to get your things ready."

...

Alice saw the girl bleeding out on the pavement. The man she'd seen in her vision was quickly rushing away with the girl's bags.

The man muttered words of gratefulness under his breath when he saw the hole in the ground. Builders were clearly working on a new project in the park during the day, and it was exactly what he needed. He quickly dumped the bags into the hole, and rushed off to grab the girl off the ground. Only a few minutes later, without a second thought, the man threw the girl into the hole, and he quickly grabbed the large shovel that had been left, and began filling up the hole.

Alice could've destroyed the man right then and there. She was, after all, a killer - and the smell of blood in the air would easily bring out that side of her. She wanted nothing more than to rip the cruel man's head off... And she almost did. It was the sight of the young, mysterious girl on the ground, and her heavy breathing, that made her rethink her options. "No..." Alice said, shaking her head. "No... No... I'm too late." Alice said, mostly to herself. She heard the girl whimper slightly, and knelt down beside her, running a hand through her soft, dark brown hair. "It's okay, sweetie, it's okay... I know someone who will help you..." Alice wasn't sure if the girl could hear her, but she spoke anyway. She heard the man dumping the bags into the hole at the park, and she quickly, but carefully, picked up the now unconscious girl off the pavement.

Carlisle was set and ready to tend to the girl's wound as soon as Alice jumped back through the window. "No one saw me, we're fine." Alice said, as she carefully placed the girl on the bed, the sheets immediately turning a crimson colour.

"Alice..." Jasper said, his eyes widening.

"Edward, get Jasper out of here." Carlisle said, urgently, as he injected morphine into the girl's arm.

"He won't hurt her." Alice assured.

"Alice..." Jasper said, shaking his head.

"Jasper, trust me." Alice said, leaving Carlisle's side to grab hold of Jasper.

'This doesn't look good...' Carlisle's eyebrows creased as he carefully began the extraction of the bullet in the girl's abdomen. He glanced up, for a brief moment, and he was certain he felt his chest tighten. 'Do I know you? What is this feeling?'

"That man..." Alice said, shaking her head. "He was going to put her in the ground... He was going to bury her alive." Jasper wrapped his arms around Alice, though, this time it was to ensure he would keep himself away from the bleeding girl.

Carlisle listened as Alice told Jasper about her visions, and the two discussed how they could all possibly add up. 'She's lost too much blood... I'll only have one way of saving her now...' Carlisle thought, and he glanced up at Edward.

"Rosalie will have to deal with it." Edward said, in response. He could obviously hear what Carlisle was thinking.

"Is there no way of helping her?" Jasper asked.

"She's lost too much blood, and the damage the bullet caused is fatal." Carlisle said, as he finally pulled out the bullet. Alice winced at the sight of it. 'I cannot save her...'

"Yes, you can, Carlisle." Edward said.

"Not without turning her..." Carlisle shook his head. "I don't believe I can do that again."

'Mother?' Edward furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the bleeding girl. 'Is this what you felt?' Edward smiled to himself - it was a good thing he understood French. 'I can't die... Not yet... I have so much I'd like to do... I have a whole world to explore... This can't be it, mother. Please? Please tell me this isn't it? Tell me this is a dream... I'm going to wake up and I'll be at school... And you'll come collect me for Easter break... And this time we'll actually spend time together... And father, he won't be the same.'

"Edward, are you listening?" Alice asked.

Edward turned, confused. "What?" He asked.

"Help me out here? Carlisle will do it, I've seen it." Alice said.

"Alice-"

"She wants to live, Carlisle." Edward said, quickly turning to face Carlisle. "I can hear her... And Alice has seen it." Alice grinned behind Edward.

"Edward-"

"And I know you've felt a connection of some sort." Edward said, and Alice jumped up at this.

"You did?" Alice questioned. "Could that be why I've found her? Is she related to you?"

"I... I don't know." Carlisle sighed. He glanced back at the dying girl on the bed. He had indeed felt something, something he's never felt before. A need to keep her around at all times... A certain urge to protect her from everything and everyone...

"A protective connection?" Jasper asked. Carlisle glanced at him for a brief moment, before focusing on the girl once again. "I've seen this before... A couple of newborns back in the day... They had this strange, protective connection. Their respective mates weren't too happy about it, but they couldn't avoid it."

"It's not common." Carlisle muttered.

"She's important to you, Carlisle." Alice insisted. "Do you really want to let her die like this?"

Carlisle closed his eyes for a brief moment. He took a deep breath in - something he wouldn't normally do - and for the first time in that night, he took a whiff of the strong scent of her blood. He was surprised Jasper managed to control himself... It was highly intoxicating. Carlisle knew he'd never lose control over it, because it wasn't in his nature, but he still found it intoxicating. The more time he spent staring at her, the stronger this strange connection began to feel. "Alright..." Carlisle gave in, pathetically. "Edward, could you get started on these for me, please?" Carlisle said, handing Edward the supplies he'd used. "Alice... Make sure Jasper gets something?"

"We'll wait for you." Alice said. "You're going to need it just as much as he does."

Carlisle simply nodded. He sat beside the girl on the blood stained bed and brushed her dark brown hair back. "Alice... If I-"

"You won't lose control, Carlisle." Alice said.

Carlisle sighed and closed his eyes. 'Please... Please don't resent me for this...' Carlisle leaned in, the scent of her drying blood becoming stronger the closer he got to her. He found himself taking another deep breath before gently placing his teeth on her neck. He would've found it amusing, if he weren't focusing on not losing control, that he was doing everything he could to be as gentle as possible. Not that the girl would've felt it, what with the morphine still in her, and with her being so close to death. A strange sensation crept inside of Carlisle, and he wondered about what Jasper had said. A protective connection? It definitely felt that way... A strange feeling of not wanting to allow this child to die, because she had to be a part of his life. She had to be a part of their family... But her blood was almost irresistible. Carlisle gripped the crimson sheets, as though to remind himself of who he was, and what he was there to do. He had to save this girl... Sure, the only way of doing this was by turning her into one of them, but he would still save her. Alice and Jasper watched in silence, both anxiously waiting for something to happen. Alice was about to tell Carlisle to stop, thinking his teeth had already been on her for too long, when he suddenly pulled back. "We should go. Hunt. Now..." Carlisle said. Alice wasn't surprised when she saw Carlisle's eyes go dark.

"We shouldn't leave her alone..." Edward said, walking back into the room.

"I'll stay." Alice said, glancing over at the girl. "I'll get her cleaned up and changed, and I'll hunt when you three get back."

"Are you sure?" Jasper asked, worriedly.

"Yes." Alice smiled. "You go. You and Carlisle need it the most. Edward can keep an eye on you both."

"We won't be long." Carlisle said, his eyes never leaving the young girl. "Let me know if you see anything we should worry about."

"Of course." Alice nodded.

- fin -

... of chapter one ;p !