A/N: I suck at updating this story, I know and I feel terrible about it because I love it so much. The transition from the last chapter to this one is a little rough and not what I intended but I've been working on it for over a month now and can't think of anything better to transition into where I want this story to go, so here it is. It's around eight pages long, hope you enjoy it, and has many Cullen antics.

I have watched the sun rise

Every day

For the entirety of my existence

And it never ceases to amaze me

The way it continues to paint the skies

As chaos reigns below.

Noelle Rousseau - Paper Heart

Chapter 17: The Manuscript

I was not used to being told no. I was not used to being told much of anything. I was not used to having people around me who were interested in actually having me articulate an answer to my actions.

What I was used to was figuring things out myself, finding a way when all other roads were blocked. I was used to going about things on my own. No one held me when I was sad, or helped when I was sick, no one bothered to ask where I was going or who I was with, or even how I did on some test at school.

It felt strange how much things had changed this weekend. How I felt like Carlisle and Esme were as close to being my parents, something that I had always wanted, even before I knew them.

I went home Sunday afternoon to find Charlie asleep in his recliner. I was better, not 100% though, so Dad wanted me to stay home another day. Luck was in his favor because Monday was a professional day so we were off regardless.

Dad stopped us before we went through the front door.

"Bella, I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me to Seattle tomorrow? I have to take care of a few things up there and thought you could come along and we can make a day of it, just the two of us." He offered.

Just me and Dad? "Yeah, that'll be so much fun." I said with a big smile on my face. I love spending time with Carlisle, my vampire father.

"Great. I'll come by to pick you up around 8:30." He told me. "Rest up, nothing too strenuous Sweetheart."

"I won't." I promise, wrapping my arms around him as he does the same. "Bye Dad."

Edward took my hand, leading me to the door after we said our goodbyes.

"I'm glad you're happy, just wish I was the one you were spending the day with."

I rolled my eyes. "Then you should have asked first," I smirked.

It's not much later that I'm falling asleep, my cold still taxing on me.

"I love you," I murmured sleepily into Edward's chest from where I lay on top of him.

His arms tightened around me as I felt sleep overtake me. "I love you, too." He whispered into my hair.

There was a loud beeping breaking through the daze over my head and I managed to turn it off by blindly hitting my hand in the direction the sound was coming from. With a big yawn, I sat up, wiping my eyes, while checking the time on said alarm.

Crap, it's past eight already. I rushed out of bed and grabbed some skinny jeans and a dark blue sweater Alice had given me a few days ago. I hurried to get ready, brushing my teeth with one hand while trying to run a brush through my still-damp hair that I hadn't brushed after my shower last night with the other.

I grabbed my purse and my cell phone, sat on the bottom step and pulled on my sneakers.

There was a knock on the door. "Coming!" My foot caught on the edge of the rug and I stumbled forward a little bit but made it to the door relatively unharmed.

Carlisle was waiting at the door and he smiled when he saw me, pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. "Are you ready to go, Sweetheart?"

I mentally ran over my checklist, looking down to make sure I didn't forget anything. "Yep, all ready."

He waited for me to lock the front door and then held the passenger door open for me. We took off down the road. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, though I overslept and had to rush to get ready," I admitted.

"Your body probably needed it. What did you have for breakfast?"

I paused for a moment as I remembered, my face heating up. "Um, I forgot to eat breakfast," I replied softly, cringing away from the slightly stern look he was giving me. "I didn't mean to."

"You won't get better if your body is fighting for nutrients, Honey. I'm just a concerned father." He tells me and the simple word brings a smile to both of our faces. He drove through the one drive-thru we had in town, a Dunkin' Donuts near the police station and hospital. He ordered me a bagel and a smoothie, nothing that would be too hard on my still-recovering stomach.

We made it to Seattle in record time, though now that I think about it, I think Alice and I made it faster when we were trying to get to Italy. I grimaced. The thought sent a shiver down my spine and Dad turned the heat a little higher.

"Is something on your mind, Baby Girl?" He looked over at me.

My gaze drops down to my hands which are shaking slightly. "My last trip to Seattle wasn't very pleasant. . . I'm happy I got the chance to spend the day with you Dad." I try to end on a happier note.

He reached over, grabbing my left hand in his right. "The pleasure is all mine, my Sweet Girl."

I had to think of something else besides our mad race to Italy. "So what did you have in mind that you needed to come to Seattle?" I asked.

"All in good time, my Dear."

I sighed, exasperated. "Da-ad."

We pulled up to a big stone building that soared well above us, columns reaching from the entrance to six stories up above, under what looked like a balcony.

The stairs leading up to the wide, glass, double doors were white marble. All the cars around us were as expensive (if not more) then Dad's.

He had an arm around my shoulders as he led me inside, perfectly at ease.

"Where are we?" I asked him quietly.

"The bank." He smiled down at me and my look of skepticism.

I was about to ask him why before we came up to the front desk.

"Good morning, what can I assist you with?" The receptionist questioned, every part of her immaculate from her sleek red hair pulled back in a bun to her perfectly tailored suit.

"I have an appointment with Christopher Fredricks." He replied.

"Yes Dr. Cullen, I can take you up right away." She was clearly flirting with him but he didn't appear to notice. Like father, like son.

We entered the glass elevator and I looked down at the people below as they grew smaller and smaller while the floor numbers grew larger.

We finished at the top floor, at least twelve stories up. The entire top floor was an office, and an older man (nowhere near as old as Dad) in an expensive suit came over to greet us.

"Dr. Cullen, it's good to see you again." The man, who I assume is the one Dad came to see, greeted us. "You haven't aged a bit."

Dad laughs at the man's words. "Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment. It's always a pleasure Mr. Fredricks." Dad said with an easy charm I hope to possess one day. He reached his hand back for me and I took the two steps to his side. "I would like to introduce you to my youngest daughter, Isabella."

The man held out a hand, more surprised by the fact my hand wasn't anywhere as cold as Dad's, I'm sure. "I assure you, Dr. Cullen, the pleasure is all mine. It's nice to meet you, Isabella."

I felt the blush heat my cheeks as I gave him a shy smile. "It's nice to meet you, I go by Bella."

"Can I bring anything for either of you? A drink or snack?" The receptionist asked.

Dad looked down at me. "No thank you," I said and Dad repeated it to her.

He looked back at Carlisle as the receptionist entered the elevator again, leaving us. "What can I do for you today?"

"I need to add another trustee to my account so that she will have access to everything," Dad told him, looking down at me when he heard my heart rate increase.

My eyes were wide as the reality of the current situation slipped in. He is planning on adding me? Did he think I wanted this? Why would he do that? "Dad?"

He gave me a soft smile, running his fingers through my hair.

Fredricks retreated to his desk and motioned for us to join him.

I was frozen, looking at Dad questionably. His hand on my back urged me forward.

"I assume the trustee will be Isabella, Bella, here?" Fredricks asked Dad.

"Yes she is."

"Dad," I started to interrupt again but he silenced me with a look before continuing his conversation with Fredricks, undeterred in the slightest.

"The full name?"

"Isabella Marie Swan Cullen." Dad answered, no hesitation between the two last names. He looked back at me when my heart skipped a beat. "Until it's official you'll have both last names in case there is any confusion. It'll be Cullen soon, Sweetheart."

I felt the blush return to my face at his words.

As their conversation became more in-depth, I soon couldn't follow it. I played with the bracelet on my wrist absentmindedly.

"Bella," Dad called to get my attention. "Can you bring out your driver's license, Sweetheart?"

I fumbled around in my wallet for a moment, pulling it out once I found it and handed it to Carlisle.

They filled out the paperwork together, Dad answering as Fredricks wrote. "Bella, we will need your signature." Fredricks said as Dad put the paperwork in front of me. He had just finished signing and initialing himself.

Dad pointed to where I was to initial and where I had to sign, then handed it back to Fredricks once I was done. I didn't bother reading it, Dad would never have let me sign it if I shouldn't have.

"I'll get a copy of the paperwork for you, Dr. Cullen. One card I assume?"

"Correct."

I looked between the two men, not really knowing what to expect. As Fredricks closed the door behind himself as he exited down to another floor my attention went back to Carlisle. "Dad, this isn't necessary. I don't need or want any of your money or anything." I insisted. "Really."

"Bella, you are just as much my daughter as Alice and Rosalie. Your Mother and I want you to be included in what your siblings have." He told me.

"But Dad, I don't want it." I tried again.

He sighed. "This isn't up for debate, it is done already. . . Bella, I'm sure that in your entire life, you won't spend as much as Alice, or any of your siblings really, spend in a month."

I rolled my eyes, he has to be exaggerating.

"You're so stubborn." He said before noting my coming objection, "this is not up for discussion." He warned.

I scrunched up my face but didn't argue.

Fredricks came into the room handing him the paperwork along with the black credit card with my name engraved on it.

Dad put the card in my hand, "wallet."

I roll my eyes again but do as he says.

We say our goodbyes then head for the elevator, Dad's hand on my back guiding the way.

I don't say anything as we get in the car, not trusting myself. Right now I think I am very capable of saying something I'd regret, arguing with him over this, but I'm angry, I never have a choice when it comes to the Cullens, all of them it seems. They know better than I do, which is up for debate since I don't believe that as completely as they seem to. . .

Then a painful thought resurfaced in me. "Is this bank tied to the Pacific Northwest Trust?"

He frowns. "Not that I'm aware of. If you don't mind me asking, what is that?" He replies, appearing genuine.

I had mentioned it before, the night of the vote, but I had been too overwhelmed to elaborate on anything at the time. ". . . While you were, um, gone I, uh, was generously awarded with a college scholarship I never applied for. . . Do you remember the broken window when you got back?"

"That rings a bell. What does that have to do with this scholarship?"

"I'm sorry about that, by the way. It wasn't intentional. I apologized to Mom. But the scholarship was Edward. It was ridiculous and a pain in the ass, sorry." My cheeks redden when the curse comes out, guess I'm not over the residual anger.

"What did he do this time?" He sounds resigned yet amused.

"It started when I went to the bank to deposit my paycheck from work and Mrs. Stanley gave me a balance statement. It was twenty thousand over what it was supposed to be. Dr. Greandy's wife called the bank where the transfer took place and informed me this scholarship existed and was awarded to me, plus an additional five grand a month until all my schooling is finished, no matter how far I want to go." I told him. "So I closed my account." I shake my head. "A few days later I got a letter from the trust congratulating me along with a check for twenty-five grand."

"And?"

"And I burned it in the sink and flushed it down the garbage disposal."

He lets out a laugh. "I assume the story isn't over since we haven't reached the window yet." He prompted.

I mirrored his smile. "Of course that's not the end, Edward is nothing if not persistent. A few weeks later I came home to a package on the doorstep from the 'Pacific Northwest Trust' with no return address. It contained thirty grand in cash. I figured I had one return address, your house. So I drove there and left on the doorstep, but before I drove away I decided that wasn't a good place in case anyone came through. So I planned on donating it to the hospital or something but I was mad at Edward and I wanted him to have his money back so I threw the box towards the house from my truck and it accidentally broke the window." I'm still surprised at my aim, I mean what are the chances of me actually hitting a window? Let alone hard enough to break it.

Money is never something I've had. . . And it feels like a hand out, something I don't readily accept often. I like to work for my money. And, really, the Cullens have done so much for me already I am at a huge disadvantage. I can never pay them back for all they've done for me.

"I'm sorry about the window, by the way."

He chuckles to himself. "I don't blame you, and our houses have been damaged over far less."

"What do you mean?" Now my curiosity is piqued.

He smiles at me. "Don't ask your Mother, she's still upset at your siblings. . . One time comes to mind, your brothers, sisters, and Edward play a vampire version of manhunt which Esme had, during a previous game, banned from being inside the house. . . So they made the roof base. Long story short, Emmett ended up tackling Alice and they fell all the way through to the main floor, going through an attic, and three other floors. They were all grounded for a year after that and thankfully it hasn't happened again since." He retells the story with such ease and nonchalance as if this extreme behavior is a regular occurrence. For the Cullens it probably is.

I stare down at my hands, my mind abuzz with confusing thoughts and emotions.

"I-if you don't mind me asking. . . H-how much money do you have?" I ask him, my thoughts a mixture between curiosity and apprehension.

His brow furrows but he isn't put off by the question. "Personally or the entire family?"

"Is it that much of a difference?"

He shakes his head. "No, though I try to stay as oblivious as possible to Alice's stock broking premonitions." He smiles at me and I smile back. "We have many accounts all over the world under various names and aliases. This particular bank, where we just left, there is a few million. I know there's at least a million dollars in cash around the house at any given time," he says as I look at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. He sighs. "I can't count the amount of times your Mother and or I have had to bribe or bail out your siblings so they can stay out of trouble."

I feel my mouth drop open. I need the stories. I need details!

"I bought your Mother an island for our anniversary one year." He adds nonchalantly.

He managed to shock me more with each sentence out of his mouth. I will make a mental note to come back to this later.

"An island?" Jesus.

"Yes. It's off of Brazil. Isle Esme." He says. "We'll take you there someday."

"An Island? Like an actual Island in the middle of the ocean?"

He laughs.

"Oh my god." I'm speechless. I was at a loss of what to say. I had never been around people who had enough money to buy someone their own island. Hell, I didn't know that was possible! I didn't even think the Cullens were that rich, but I had obviously misjudged their wealth even after all this time.

He smiles at my reaction. "We also own properties around the world; Forks, Ithaca and Denali, for example. My father's home in London. Then everyone has personal accounts as well, Edward inherited everything after his parents passed."

I knew about Edward's house in Chicago but I ever thought much about the whole family, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Still, "wow."

"Emmett was the only one of us who had family after we turned. Well that's not entirely true, Rosalie did as well, but her family had money. Emmett's didn't. After his mother died, he and his father were the breadwinners so to speak and losing him impacted his family greatly."

"Emmett? The guy who died fighting a bear? He was supporting his family?"

"Yes, it's hard to believe but it's the same Emmett. We set up a fund for his family that he still adds to, to this day. He wanted them taken care of, and he still does."

"I keep saying 'wow' because I don't know what to say. That's amazing."

"Your Mother and I are proud of him." Carlisle nods. "After what happened with James, Alice spent some time looking into her past and she has a great niece living in Biloxi, Mississippi who I believe recently came into some stocks for Amazon and the Walt Disney Foundation. She had fun creating an elaborate ruse for that to play out, as only Alice can."

Coming from the girl who threw herself out a window as a cover for James breaking my leg. "I imagine Alice had fun with that."

"I can assure you she did. Your Mother, Jasper and I had to rein her in quite a bit. I think one of the plans she came up with, with Emmett's help mind you, she wanted to create a rigged televised game show."

"That sounds like a fun family discussion."

He shakes his head. "It really wasn't. I haven't slept in over three hundred years and I never felt it more than I did then."

We sit across from each other in a tiny book cafe, the walls lined with shelves and shelves of books. They are all wrapped in a brown paper cover, the summary written on the back so you can't judge the book by its cover. I am sure Edward would love it as much as Dad and I do, I'll have to bring him one day.

"So. . ." I trail off. I stir my cup of tea, hoping it will cool off quicker.

"So?"

"So why did you do all this, the adding me to your accounts and stuff?"

Dad sighs, clearly expecting this question at some point today. "A few reasons. It's something we should have done a long time ago because you've been a part of this family since the day Edward saved you from that van." He stirs his tea as well, adding a sugar cube. "My plan was to then do it a few days ago, but you were too sick so I moved the appointment to today. As for why," he sighs, his hand reaching across the table for mine.

"I know you're still afraid we'll leave. We won't ever leave you again, Baby Girl, but I want you to feel secure. That's one of the reasons behind our trip today."

"What do you mean?"

"You will always be taken care of Bella. You will have the resources to find anybody, us included. In a few months the Denali coven is coming to visit. They've lived in the same house in Denali for around two hundred years now. One day we'll be going to visit them there but we wanted you to be aware of them, should anything happen you can find them and then find us."

I stay quiet, processing all he's said.

"Your Mother and I hope that this will soothe some of your fears and nightmares. You still hold these fears, valid fears that we, unfortunately, instilled in you. Though it was never our intention. I know you are still scared we will leave you and now you can be assured that if that were ever to happen, you can find us."

I feel my face heat up. How could he know every right thing to say?

"Thank you. . . I know I'm difficult when it comes to money and stuff because. . . because well, we never had any. We were always scraping by when I was growing up. It's taken a lot of getting used to, with Edward and Alice and everyone. . . But thank you for this, for everything you and Mom have done."

He smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. "You don't have to thank us, Sweetheart."

"I know but I am anyway. You didn't have to, to do all this."

"You are a part of our family. What's ours is yours."

It was a strange thought, that Carlisle and Esme wanted me to spend money. . . that I could buy things that I needed and not feel guilty. I'd never really bought myself stuff, besides the motorcycle. I got clothes when mine didn't fit or were worn out, though usually I just borrowed Renee's clothes. I bought groceries for the house. But that was it.

This will take some getting used to.

"Eat up," he motions to my half-eaten sandwich, "then we can look through the books."

I nod, readily agreeing to the plan.

A/N: Please Review, it makes me write faster because it reminds me to write in the first place.