A/N: Thanks again for your reviews! They mean a lot!

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 6: History and Baseball

Bella spent the rest of the morning learning about American history from Jasper. After Esme and Alice learned that she normally spent at least a part of her day with some sort of schooling they set out to make a schedule for her so as to provide as much normalcy as they could. Esme was surprised that her parents would give her such a rigorous schedule so young, but Bella seemed to be thriving under their tutelage. Jasper happily volunteered to teach his favorite subject while they got everything settled.

Esme and Alice, after much discussion, decided that Alice would help Bella with basic arithmetic, Carlisle would teach her about rudimentary science, and Esme would help with her reading and writing. To supplement the basics, they asked Edward to continue her piano lessons and Emmett to help her get daily exercise. Emmett was particularly thrilled because this would mean that he would get basically play games with Bella, which he was planning on doing already. In fact, he had already set up a playground and volleyball net in the backyard. He also got her a baseball mitt and bat. If she was going to be a part of this family, she would definitely need to learn to play their favorite sport.

After they got most everything arranged they still had one issue. Rosalie. Alice thought Rose would be perfect to help her with her another language as she was quite versed in French. Esme was not necessarily opposed to the idea, but she was concerned. Rosalie still hadn't shown much interest in spending time with the girl and she didn't want to force the issue. On the other hand she knew that Rosalie would regret not spending time with the girl in the end. She also didn't want Bella to be subjected to Rosalie's harsh nature. Alice, sensing Esme's indecision, decided to chime in,

"Don't worry Esme; everything is going to work out. I know it. You have to give Rose some time."

"We don't really have time, Ali." Esme responded with a sad smile.

"We have time, Esme. Please do not think any more on this. Everything will work out." Alice's smile showed understanding, but her eyes were enigmatic. Esme knew that Alice's gift allowed her to see possible futures. She didn't often share what the future held as it could change the outcomes. Esme normally didn't press her daughter, but in this one instance she wanted nothing more than to know what Alice meant by her statement, 'we have time.' As far as Esme knew, time was something they had very little of. Could she mean that they would get more time? She knew in her heart though that as much as she would like more time with little Bella, it was unfair to take more time away from her parents.

Jasper and Bella entering the living room interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to them and smiled. Just seeing Bella interact and breathe life into her family was enough for her she decided. That must have been what Alice was referring to with her mysterious statement. Bella ran up and hugged Esme tightly. She closed her eyes and savored the warmth of her small embrace. When Bella pulled away she saw that her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Jasper just told me all about American Indian tribes. Did you know that there is one that lives here in Forks? Do you think we could go visit them?" Jasper had the decency to look sheepish. He should have known that if he mentioned the tribe to Bella that her innate curiosity would drive her to want to meet them.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm not sure if we would be able to do that." At this statement, Bella looked crushed. Esme immediately wished she could soothe the frown from her angelic face. She hugged her tighter before she spoke again. "Because of what we are, we are not allowed on their land and they choose not to associate with us."

"I understand," she said morosely.

In an attempt to press on and change the focus of the conversation, Alice chimed in, "What else did you learn about with Jasper today, Bella?" At this, Bella's eyes brightened and she launched into a full account of what she had learned about the early peoples of the Americas. Esme and Alice couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the leavening of the previously tense atmosphere. As Bella was finishing up her summary of her morning's teaching, Esme took a moment to observe Bella's various expressions. Her brows would pull together and pucker when she was trying to remember something specific and then her eyes would widen and sparkle when she was able to recall the thought. Esme couldn't help herself; she gave the girl an affectionate squeeze and smiled down at her, content to listen to her bell-like voice. Esme made sure to be an attentive listener though; wanting to show Bella that her thoughts and stories were important to her.

When Bella finished Esme responded, "It sounds like you had a very exciting morning. Did you work up an appetite? Would you like to have some lunch?"

"I would like that." She then turned to Jasper, "Thank you Jasper, I really liked learning about the history here."

"It was my pleasure, darling. Come on, let's get you that lunch."

Esme carried Bella into the dining room and Alice and Jasper followed. Esme served up Bella some lunch and they carried on a light conversation while she ate. Emmett flew into the room with an excited flourish. "Bella! Guess what we are going to do this afternoon?"

"What will we be doing?" She said with excitement.

"I have decided that the first thing you need to learn is baseball. It's an American pastime and a favorite family game." He then turned to Alice, "I'll need your help, Alice. Esme, you and Jasper should come too. Oh and one of you be sure to take a camera!"

Esme, Jasper, and Alice all nodded their acceptance and Bella responded to Emmett, "Sounds fun. I've never heard of the game. How do you play?" Emmett proceeded to explain the ins and outs of the game. Bella looked as though she didn't quite believe some of what she was hearing but her upbringing prevented her from expressing her skepticism as it would be seen as rude.

Once they were in the backyard, Emmett launched into teaching Bella the basics of the game. She soon proved to be more coordinated than the vampire family anticipated. Esme wondered if growing up with vampires had somehow influenced her motor skills. Perhaps the expectation of higher performance actually led to higher levels of performance? Carlisle came home from work in the middle of the training and then he and Edward joined to watch the rest of the training. They both marveled at the agility of the princess. Edward even asked Carlisle if her ability was consistent with children her age. Carlisle responded in the negative.

After Emmett trained Bella on the basics of game play, they all decided to play a short game at human strength and speed. Normally, they wouldn't enjoy having to hold back while playing, but for some reason, playing with Bella was enough. Even while they enjoyed the game Emmett still informed Bella that she would have to observe the vampire version during the next thunderstorm. Bella seemed excited by the prospect and expressed a desire for the weather to comply soon. During the game, Esme briefly glanced at the house and saw Rose watching from the upper window. She motioned for her to join but was met with a dismissive shake.

"How about we go get you settled for a little nap and then when you wake up we will get you some dinner?" Carlisle asked Bella softly when he noticed she was tiring. As if her body was choosing to respond, Bella yawned and then nodded her assent. Carlisle took her hand and led her up to her room. On the way up Esme heard him ask if she would like to join him at work the following morning. She smiled to herself thinking of her husband and the little girl spending more time together.

While Bella was napping, Emmett loaded up all of the pictures on the computer and the family gathered around to pick out their favorites. Esme's personal favorite was the shot of Bella just after she hit the ball for the first time. Immediately after hitting the ball she had looked to Esme, her face lit up with a mix of surprise and joy. The whole family had celebrated her hit and Emmett responded by lifting her on his shoulders and running her around the bases cheering.

Alice pointed out her favorite after Esme. It was the photo of Bella and Esme laughing together. During the game Jasper hit the ball and Emmett was running to tag him out. Alice ended up holding Emmett back so Jasper could get on base. Bella was so amused at the sight of the hulking Emmett being held back by the pixie Alice that she fell into a fit of giggles. Esme naturally followed and Carlisle was able to capture the moment. After staring at the photo for a few moments, Carlisle turned and spoke softly in Esme's ear, "I think this is my favorite as well. I know that she is not our daughter but anyone looking at this picture would not be able to deny the bond you have with her. It is truly amazing how close you are considering she has only been with us for such a short time." He looked toward the picture again and smiled adoringly.

Alice, pulling the vampires from their gazing, suggested they have a picnic for dinner and Esme went to the kitchen to start preparations while Carlisle went to wake up Bella from her nap. While Esme was making dinner she reflected on the past few hours. She had never spent so much time with her family in a single day. She hoped that the trend would continue. For even though they had all been together for decades, she never felt more like a family. The only dark spot was Rosalie, but she trusted Alice. She knew that she would come around. Jasper and Alice joined her in the kitchen and interrupted her thoughts.

"You know I've never felt everyone have such peace and happiness," mused Jasper. "It's nice. It almost feels as though I've been given a reprieve from experiencing everyone's emotions."

Esme had never considered what Jasper must feel like all of the time. Sure she knew that when people were extremely emotional he tended to suffer but she had never considered how taxing it would be to feel everyone's emotion at all times. She was pleased that he was able to find some peace basking in the collective happiness of the family. Alice looked to him and took his hand and spoke knowingly, "I have a feeling this feeling will last for quite some time." The comment made Esme grin. Esme knew that Alice was keeping something from them and she was content with not knowing. However, when she made comments like this, she felt as though small pieces of her worry about what would happen in the future slip away. She didn't want to build walls around herself because she was worried about the unknown.

Carlisle returned with Bella as they were finishing up with dinner preparations. Edward took a large blanket outside and the all settled in and joked and laughed while Bella ate her dinner. Emmett took to trying different bits of Bella's food, making Bella giggle when he would wrinkle his nose and spit it out. Esme was too happy to stop and chastise him so this continued for the duration of dinner.

When Bella was finished, Carlisle turned and asked if she would be able to briefly discuss going with him to work tomorrow. When she agreed he said,

"So you know, Bella, I work around quite a few humans. Will you be okay with that? Your father informed us that you haven't had much experience interacting with humans. I don't want you to be overwhelmed."

"I will be okay. Heidi has taken me out quite a bit, so I have been around humans. I have not really talked with them though. Are they really weird?"

Carlisle chuckled at the question, "Some are weird. I will tell you that most of the nurses and other doctors will probably want to talk to you. If it is alright with you I will tell them that you are my niece and are visiting for a while."

"What will they want to talk to me about," she paused briefly and added, "Uncle Carlisle?" with a grin.

He grinned back and ruffled her hair affectionately. Alice butted in to respond to her question, "Honestly, they will probably fawn all over you and talk about how cute you are." Bella blushed crimson.

Carlisle nodded in agreement and continued, "Also, they may try to press you for details about our lives. We are very private and humans do tend toward the desire to gossip."

"I understand," Bella replied solemnly. "Uncle Cauis always told me before I would go out with Heidi that I could not say anything that could reveal that they were vampires." She looked slightly exasperated before she added, "he was always very," she paused as if trying to find the appropriate word, "lengthy." The family laughed knowing all too well that Cauis was the king that was the strictest about following every rule. They had also just learned that he was apparently quite verbose.

Carlisle smiled at her, "Would it be alright if Edward joined us? It may be useful to have his skill so we can be sure that we don't raise any suspicion."

"That's okay with me," she then turned to look at Esme, "Are you coming too?"

Esme quickly glanced at Carlisle to see if he was okay with her accompanying them to the hospital and potentially disrupting his work. He nodded that he was okay with her joining and then she responded to Bella. "Would you like me to come?"

Bella blushed slightly and lowered her gaze before responding, "I thought it might be nice if you came, just in case," she trailed off. Esme gently cupped her chin and raised her head so she could look the girl in the eyes.

"I would love to come with you. And don't worry, if you get scared or overwhelmed at any time just let me know and we can go to Carlisle's office. I happen to know that he has a few games we could play as well as some snacks," she ended trying to bring some levity to the conversation.

Bella beamed at her. Carlisle broke in, "Just remember Bella, if Esme comes you will have to refer to her as your aunt as well." If possible, Bella's grin spread.

"I can do that."

Esme closed her eyes and took a moment to soak in the happiness. She turned to Carlisle and playfully stated, "Well seeing as my niece has a busy day tomorrow," she practically glowed when she referred to Bella as hers, "we should get up and get her ready for bed." She reached for Bella's hand and pulled her up before turned back to the rest of the family, "would you mind getting the things inside?" When they nodded their agreement she turned back around and walked with Bella back to the house.

Following the same pattern as the night before, Esme helped Bella brush her teeth, bathe, and wash her hair. As she was lifting her out of the tub wrapped in the towel she again reveled in the moment. After she got her dressed and fixed her hair in her braid Alice knocked softly on the door. "Esme, are you finished? Someone would like to speak with Bella." Esme looked confused but opened the door to see Alice holding on to Carlisle's cell phone.

"Hey sweetie," Alice looked toward Bella, "guess who wants to say 'goodnight'?"

Bella practically launched herself at the phone, but still managed to politely thank Alice before delicately taking the phone from her hands. She held it up to her ear almost shaking with excitement.

"Mama?" She asked hopefully.

Esme, of course, could hear Suplicia answer on the other line.

The little girl continued to talk excitedly to her mother. Esme heard her narrate what she had done that day and provided a brief description of each member of the Cullen family and her time spent with them. The slight jealously that flared uninvited was doused when Esme heard the glowing review that she received from the child. They talked for a few more minutes and then Esme heard Aro get on the phone to speak with his daughter. He, having obviously heard Bella's updates, proceeded to tell her about how everyone was doing in Volterra. Bella seemed most concerned about Jane and Pocio. To her delight, Jane decided to get on the phone to provide her own update. It was talking to Jane that caused a few tears to pool in her eyes.

Bella said her goodbyes followed by a few affections spoken in Italian, which Esme was pretty sure translated to 'I love and miss you'. When Esme saw the girl hang up and begin to cry she gently picked her up and carried her to her bed where she held her in her lap. She cooed softly in her ear and rubbed soothing circles on her back. When Bella stopped crying, she looked up with watery eyes and spoke,

"Will you read to me again?" Bella sounded so broken in her plea that Esme was sure that she would have done just about anything she asked.

"Of course. Let's get you under the covers, okay?"

At Bella's nod, Esme tucked her into the bed. Bella scooted herself over until she was nestled in Esme's side and laid her head under her neck. Esme read until Bella drifted off to sleep. Once she was sure the girl was in a deep sleep, she unfolded herself and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, sweetheart. Goodnight." She whispered as she gently closed the door.

a/n: I feel like this was a bit choppy. I'll be honest; I would rather start on the next chapter than spend time to adjust this one. Sorry! I will probably come back to clean everything up once I finish the story. Thanks for reading!