A/N: You guys are so great! I'm so glad that there are more people out there that like Esme/Bella mother/daughter pairings.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. The story and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Also, I apologize for any errors. I don't have this story beta'd (mostly because I am unsure of how to even go about doing that), so the errors are my own.
Chapter 5: Settling In
Once Jasper, Esme, and Bella arrived home, Esme gently roused the little girl. "Wake up sweetie."
Bella's eyes fluttered open and she smiled at Esme. "Have we arrived?"
Esme smiled again at the small indication that Isabella was in fact a child, "Yes, we just got home. We also stopped to pick you up some dinner. Are you hungry?"
"I am. Will you eat with me? Mama and Papa always ate dinner with me."
Esme raised her eyebrow in shock, "They ate human food?"
Bella giggled, "No silly. Vampires do not eat human food."
Esme nearly gasped but composed herself while trying to phase her thoughts delicately, "Do you mean that they fed while you were with them?"
"Of course, why wouldn't they? Mama always says that families should eat dinner together."
Esme was floored. How stupid of Aro and Suplicia to feed in front of their daughter. What if they lost control? More importantly, how could they stand to murder innocent humans in front of their daughter every night? Jasper had now entered the room looking just as panicked as Esme. He spoke when it became clear that Esme couldn't continue; the waves of outrage and panic flowing from her making it impossible for her to speak. "I am sorry for interrupting Bella, but I don't think we completely understand. Are you saying that your parents fed from humans in front of you?"
Bella's eyes widened in shock, and then they narrowed at Jasper. He felt a brief stab of anger from her. "Why would you say something like that?" Her Italian accent becoming more prominent than usual from her outrage. "Papa and Mama have a cup of blood while I eat human food."
Esme and Jasper visibly relaxed. Esme was still shocked that Aro and Suplicia could stand to drink blood in front of their daughter, but perhaps without the hunt, their killer instincts were not roused. She was also still completely stunned that Isabella was so accepting of what most humans would find terrifying. She presumed that being raised by vampires must have made her immune to feeling fear in the face of blood-drinking predators.
Jasper responded to Bella, "I am very sorry for that Bella. I didn't mean to upset you or suggest that your parents would do something like that. Please forgive me. It appears that there is much we have to learn about how the Volturi operates."
"It is okay, Jasper, I understand. So does this mean that I will be eating alone while I am here?" She looked crestfallen.
Esme quickly regained herself and spoke softly, "Oh sweetie, how about we sit with you while you eat? Would that be okay?"
"Okay." She perked up slightly but her spirits were still dampened.
"Come on sweetie, let's go sit down."
Jasper followed them and the three of them sat in the dining room while Bella ate her dinner. While Bella was eating she looked up at Jasper.
"Jasper, why do you talk differently?"
Jasper smirked. "The same reason you talk differently, darling."
Bella scrunched her nose up in confusion. Esme thought it was the most adorable expression. She hoped that Emmett would make good on his promise and capture all of her different expressions.
"What do you mean?"
"Well you are from a different country, so you talk differently."
"But you sound different from the rest of your family? Are you not from this country?" She cocked her head to the side.
Jasper chuckled, "Well this country is pretty big. People from different regions talk a bit differently from each other. I am originally from the southern part of the country. This is how people talk there."
"Oh," she looked at him thoughtfully, "but you still speak the same language?"
"Yep," he said with a grin. Bella looked suspicious but she let the matter slide. As she finished up her dinner Esme turned to her.
"How about we go get you bathed and ready for bed? "
"Okay, Esme." She then took Esme's outstretched hand and followed her to the bathroom.
Esme helped Bella brush her teeth and got her into the tub. She helped her bathe and washed her long curly hair. Bella seemed to particularly enjoy the suds the shampoo left and she made a mental note to get some bubble bath for the little girl. As she though this she heard Jasper call up, "Alice told me to inform you that she already got some and they will also be home in just over an hour." Esme smiled and called down her thanks. She held up a large fluffy towel and hoisted Bella out of the tub. She wrapped the towel around her and cradled her for a bit. She decided that this was her favorite part of the whole bath experience; she felt she could really hold this little girl like this forever. She then proceeded to finish drying her and helped her into her pajamas. She brushed and dried her hair, relishing in the feeling of running her fingers through her silky locks.
"Mama usually braids my hair before bed. It helps stop the tangles. I do not like tangles." She said with a slight pout.
"I'll braid it for you, sweetheart," Esme said while slowly parting her hair and braiding it. She took her time because she really didn't want this moment to end. But eventually she realized that there was nothing left to help the girl with and she reluctantly tied off the end and gently squeezed her shoulders. "All finished, honey."
"Thank you, Esme."
"Are you tired?" She said while cupping her cheek. She couldn't seem to help it, she always felt the need to show some sort of affection toward the girl.
"Can I stay up for a little while?"
"Just for a little while. I know it feels early but it will help you adjust to the change in time."
"Will you read to me?"
Esme smiled at the request. "I'd love to. How about we go up to the library and pick out a book and then we can go up to my room and read on my bed." Bella's face lit up as she nodded and grabbed Esme's hand.
Esme read to Bella until she heard Bella's breaths even out her heartbeat begin to slow. She placed the book on the side table and shut off the light. She stroked the girl's cheek and watched her sleep until she heard the rest of her family arrived home. She then pressed a gentle kiss to Bella's cheek and lifted herself from the bed and quietly exited the room.
As she descended the stairs she saw Carlisle and Edward unloading food in the kitchen. She could hear Jasper informing them of their earlier conversation about vampire feeding. Carlisle looked up at Esme.
"I cannot believe it! I never thought the Volturi would change their feeding habits."
"Carlisle," Esme questioned, "is it safe for them to drink blood in front of her. Does it not make them lost control?"
"I can only speculate, but I assume it would be safe for a number of reasons. Firstly, Isabella doesn't actually smell like a human so I doubt that she is appealing. Secondly, Aro and Suplicia are millennia old, and as such, their control is impeccable."
"Could we…" she started before trailing off, almost as if she was afraid to voice her question. Carlisle, however, seemed to know what his wife was asking.
"I do not know, Esme. I would hypothesize that without the need to actually hunt, the beast-like instinct would not be triggered. Also, because the blood is not fresh, it should be less enticing. We could test it during different stages of thirst to determine if we…" Before he could finish, Esme cut him off.
"We will not be testing anything on Isabella."
Carlisle simply smiled at his wife. He enjoyed the mama-bear like protection that was gleaming in her eyes. He raised his hands in surrender, "I was not suggesting that we test my theory on Bella, we can test it at crash sites. If we don't feel the need to attack humans on which we can actually smell their blood flowing, then I think we will be safe to be around Bella, who doesn't even smell human."
"We would all need to be tested, and even then I am not sure I am okay with us feeding in front of Isabella."
"We will leave the decision completely up to you. If you do not feel as though it is safe, we will trust your instincts."
At that moment, Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice came bustling in. "We are back. Where is little Bellaboo?" Emmett questioned eagerly.
"She just fell asleep, you can see her in the morning," Esme responded.
"Great," Alice began, "Now we can set up her room and it'll be ready before she wakes up!" She drug Rosalie after her to set up all the things they bought for her room.
"Did you get everything on your list, Emmett?" Esme asked.
"Yeah, and I got a few more things as well. I think I am going to go set everything up!" His whole face lit up like it was Christmas morning and he sped off to set up everything he purchased.
Esme turned toward the rest of her family, "I am going to go hunt; I'll be back in a few hours. Please keep an ear out for Isabella."
After hunting, Esme quickly washed up and returned to watch Bella just before she woke up. She watched as she reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes and she called to her softly. "Bella, sweetie, are you ready to get up and have some breakfast?"
"You called me Bella," she responded sleepily.
Esme looked at her and raised her eyebrow slightly, "Is that okay?"
"I like that you called me Bella." She smiled sleepily. "Breakfast sounds good. Is everyone else here?"
"Yes, and they are all excited to see you."
"Even Rosalie," she whispered very softly and her eyes misted over faintly.
Esme cursed inwardly at herself for not speaking to Rosalie the night before. She pushed her thoughts aside and gave Bella a small smile, "Yes, even Rosalie. She takes a while to warm up. I promise that she is excited to see you again. She even helped set up your new room."
Bella's face lightened in curiosity and Esme could almost see the questions swirly in her eyes. "New room?" Her face scrunched in her adorable expression of confusion. Alice burst into the room she playfully kissed Bella on the cheek.
"You want to go see it?"
"Yes, please!" Bella jumped from the bed and took Alice's hand. Alice ushered her down the hall and then covered her eyes with her hands before opening the door. When she positioned Bella in the center of the room, she removed her hands and said, "Open your eyes, princess."
Bella twirled around as her eyes widened and took in the room. She smiled brightly and turned to Alice, "Oh, thank you Alice. I love it!" She continued to look around and took in the shelves stocked with books and toys. Then her eyes landed on the bed covered with a purple duvet and lavender pillows. At the center of the bed was a stuffed dog with a purple collar. Bella picked up the toy and squeezed it, "Purple is my favorite color, how did you know?"
"It's my gift, remember Bella? I had a vision of what you room would look like and I knew you would love it."
Bella beamed. "I do love it, thank you again," she said as she lunged at Alice and hugged her tightly. Alice swung her around and picked her up and started to carry her down the stairs.
"Let's go get you some breakfast, princess."
After finishing breakfast, Alice took Bella upstairs to change and get ready. Esme was reluctant to let Bella out of her sight. She realized, though, that this wasn't just an opportunity for her to spend time with the little girl, but it was an opportunity for her entire family. So with that in mind she set off to talk to Rosalie.
"I don't know what you want from me, Esme. It's not like I said anything to the girl."
"That's the problem. She thinks you don't like her. She said as much when you were out hunting this morning," Esme chastised with a stern glare.
"She really said that." Rosalie seemed sad for a moment and then returned back to her cold features.
"Don't do that, Rosalie." At Rosalie's upturned eyebrow, Esme continued. "Don't pretend you don't care. I have seen how you look at her when you think we aren't looking. Tell me what is going on with you. I would have thought that you would have loved to get the chance to be a family to such a precious child."
"She's going to break our hearts," Rosalie snapped. "Don't you realize that she is only here temporarily? Once the war is over and it is safe for her to return, she is going to leave us. She will go back to her real family and she will leave us." Rosalie crossed her arms and tried to appear angry but Esme saw the venom pooling in her eyes.
"I know that," Esme whispered and took Rosalie's hand in her own. "I know that we will be heartbroken when she leaves. But this may be the only chance we have to spend with a child. Even if it is only six months, don't you think it is worth it? She needs us Rosalie. She needs us to love her." Esme hesitated before continuing, "I think that you need her too." With that being said, she left Rosalie to her thoughts and sought out Bella and Alice.
a/n: Next up, Bella spends some time with Emmett and Jasper. Don't worry, Bella will worm her way into Rosalie's heart yet, she's just stubborn.