Meeting the New Family Member

Esme POV

Just then, we heard his Volvo coming down the driveway. The kids all looked relieved and excited. We heard two doors shut. Two? Then we heard a feminine squeal. One we didn't recognize. As they approached, we could hear a human heartbeat. A human? Edward was bringing a human to our house, without even warning us first? My eyes rapidly scanned the room for anything that might set us apart. Edward walked in, carrying a human girl in his arms. Carlisle and I exchanged a quick look of surprise. Carlisle stood up and slowly approached, assuming his medical skills were needed.

"What's wrong?" he asked in his professional doctor voice. Edward set her down on her feet, taking a few extra seconds to be certain she found her balance.

"Nothing right now, Carlisle," the girl murmured quietly. "No doubt I'll need your services many times in the next couple of years though. I'm terribly clumsy."

Emmett snickered. She walked right up to Carlisle and gave him a full body hug. I was on my feet and by Carlisle's side before I even realized it, instinctively staking my claim on my mate.

Edward smirked at me and announced, "Um, yeah, we really need to start keeping human food and a first aid kit handy."

What? Why?

Edward nodded toward the girl who still had her arms wrapped around my husband. Before I could say anything, she released him and saw me. Suddenly, her arms were wrapped around me, her head resting on my shoulder.

"Esme! Oh, Esme! I have always longed for a mother like you. I have always needed to take care of my mother, rather than her take care of me. I was always the responsible one, while my mother behaved like a child. I love my mother, of course, but she never fulfilled that role in my life. I would dearly love it if you would adopt me too and be the mother I always dreamed of but never thought to have," the girl choked out between shaky breaths. I felt my heart swell with love at her words. She needed me. She needed me to take care of her. I loved being needed and taking care of my children. My heart had already claimed her as one of my own, and I didn't even know her name yet. She stepped back, looking at both of us with respect, trust, and love. But she's a human. How could she feel that way?

"Carlisle, you are my hero. You are the perfect example of persistence and determination overcoming all odds and tremendous obstacles to do what is morally right. Esme, you are my hero, too. You represent the epitome of motherly devotion and love, adopting five children into your family, making them feel like your own, and tying all these different personalities into one unbreakable bond, teaching them all love, respect, and loyalty to each other. I would be deeply honored if you would accept me into your family and love me as one of your own."

Carlisle and I were both overwhelmed. Neither of us knew what to say.

"You know, you never even told them your name, love," Edward laughed. "Let me do the honors. Mom, Dad, this is Bella Swan, my soul mate and future wife."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. Her heartbeat immediately responded to his touch, but there was no fear in her eyes.

Love? Soul mate? Wife?

She looked up into Edward's eyes and smiled. I didn't need Jasper's gift to witness the love and devotion they shared. I had seen it on the faces of the other mated couples in the house. He bent down and lightly touched his lips to hers. Her heartbeat started racing like crazy. All the vampires laughed. Her cheeks flushed bright pink. I gasped as her scent hit the back of my throat.

Does she know what we are? The danger? The limitations?

Edward broke the kiss and looked at both of us. "Yes, she knows everything and no, I didn't tell her.

You remember the package I got the other day? It was from a psychic by the name of Stephenie

Meyer. Bella got a duplicate copy. I learned a lot about her and how to protect her. I also learned a great deal about myself and pitfalls to avoid. For both of us, the words disappeared off the pages shortly after we finished reading them, so we have no proof. Both of us were unsure of the existence of the other and the truth of the writings until we met. I put out a search on Stephenie Meyer, but there does not seem to be any such person."

"The words disappeared after you read them? How odd," Carlisle commented.

"Bella thinks it may be because we already changed the future, just by knowing what could happen and choosing to do things differently."

I found my voice at last. "Bella, sweetheart, welcome to our family. We are very pleased and honored that you choose to join us. I already think of you as one of my children." I gave her another hug to emphasize my words.

"Thank you, Esme," she gasped, with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Oh, my! I need to go grocery shopping! We don't have any food in the house. Oh, I hope my cooking skills are still up to par. It's been eighty years since I cooked anything. I'll need to pick up some more kitchen things. Does our oven even work?"

"Calm down, love," Carlisle laughed, putting an arm around me. "One step at a time. I'm sure you'd like to spend a little time getting to know our new daughter first, wouldn't you? We can order her some pizza for tonight." I beamed at him, overflowing with happiness. Edward finally found his mate and now our family is complete. I let out a sigh of contentment. At that moment, all was right with my little world.

"Bella, I am delighted to welcome you to our family," Carlisle insisted, pulling her into a sideways hug and kissing the top of her head. "Please come and join us so we can all get to know you. I take it you already met the rest of the family at lunch today?"

She nodded shyly, sitting on the couch beside Edward.

"Do you have any questions for us, Bella?"

"Not at the moment."

"Well, then I will go first. Feel free to ask a question whenever you think of one. So you know we are vampires?" Carlisle began his interrogation. She nodded.

"Do you know what that means?"

She sighed, "Yes, you drink the blood of animals, which is what gives your eyes their golden color, versus the red eyes of those who drink human blood. You're incredibly strong and fast, all your senses are enhanced, and you are always somewhat thirsty. Your eyes fade to black when you're hungry, angry, or aroused. You have no heartbeat, but you do have a soul." With that last statement, she glared at Edward as if trying to burn it into his head. He chuckled and nodded. She smiled and continued, "The only way you can die is to be dismembered and burned to ash. Werewolves, like the ones at La Push, are your natural enemies. The change from human to vampire takes three days and is painful beyond imagination. The change occurs when vampire venom circulates through the human bloodstream. Vampires mate for eternity. Even though you are animal drinkers, you are still dangerous to humans because you could accidentally lose control, either of your thirst or of your strength. The Volturi are very dangerous. They collect gifted vampires, and we want to avoid them knowing anything about us if at all possible, because they would kill to get hold of Edward and Alice in particular. Once I am a vampire, I can learn to control my shield and use it to protect our whole family from Jane and Alec, and some of the other vampires who use mental attacks."

She stopped as she realized everyone but Edward had gone into shock at her words about the Volturi. Edward sighed.

"What happened to ignorance is bliss, sweetheart?" he asked. She looked at him in surprise.

"Well, you are not going to take the path that leads them to our front door, but I still think everyone should know how dangerous they are to our family. Though Aro remembers Carlisle fondly, he believes Carlisle to be weak. If he finds out how large and powerful the Cullen family is, he will find an excuse to attack us. He would view us as a rival coven and would give us the choice of death or joining his guard. If anybody doubts me, all they have to do is ask Eleazar. He figured out the pattern in our alternate future, so I'm sure he could do so again in this one. But the Volturi don't know anything about us, so as long as we don't give them any reason to investigate us, we should be fine. As long as everyone stays away from Italy, we should be in good shape."

Oh, dear. Ignorance is bliss. Now I have to worry about my family's safety even though there isn't an imminent threat. The possibility of a future threat is enough to trigger my anxiety.

"I'll keep an eye on the Volturi, for us. I'll know if they ever learn about us, and we can act accordingly then," Alice promised. Jasper sent me a wave of calm. I smiled gratefully at both of them. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful children.