I was in my room getting ready to leave for my favorite pastime, shopping.  I found such release being able to go into a store and find that perfect something.   It was similar to the sense of liberation I felt while hunting, catching my prey in its native environment, watching out for other predators as I stalked the unsuspecting quarry and then pouncing when I had found the object of my desire.  At least with shopping, the final outcome was not the death of some hapless creature.  But, the feeling was the same; I received such a rush when I found that perfect item, my prey. 

Thank heaven I am able to shop as often as I want. 

Of course, my husband’s inevitable reaction to many of my purchases also helped strengthen my anticipation, as well.  My husband, my mate, my Jasper, was just the kindest, sweetest man around.  He may not be able see the future, but he was so in tune to everyone around him.  This was his talent, but it always seemed he understood me more than anyone else in the world.  I knew that he could solve any problem I encountered. 

I was well aware that to others, it appeared that sometimes I did not necessarily have my feet on the ground. 

I know it’s true, every now and then I live on another plane.  I might as well confess to it now.  But, when you know the good things that are to come, it’s impossible not to look forward to and dream about them.

But Jasper was grounded.  In most ways he was my opposite, my foil as it was.  He was all I needed to stay firmly rooted upon this earth; he was my gravity.  Often, I would just have to look into his eyes, there was no need for speech and I knew everything was going to be alright.

So . . . anyway, I was getting ready to leave the boredom of high school life behind for a day of shopping.  It was going to be sunny in our current hometown, therefore we were unable to go out near home, at least around others.  Everyone, except myself and Esme, had already left in their own pursuits.  I felt terrible leaving Esme alone and had invited her along on my excursion to cloud-covered Seattle, but she was intent on working over some blueprints.  She loved architecture, and it’s amazing the way she can see the hidden potential of any building.  It brought her as much joy to design buildings as designing clothes brought me.  We both loved to see the dormant possibilities inherent in our “babies” brought to light for all to enjoy.

As I was walking down the hall towards the stairs, I was surprised when I heard noise coming from the third floor.  The only one who could be up there was Edward. 

I was sure he had planned to go out on his own today.

 It is all but impossible to surprise me, so I must have been too preoccupied by my plans and fretting over leaving Esme alone.  In essence, I was not paying enough attention to the future, very unlike my usual nosy self. 

I heard a strained chuckle and sigh from Edward’s room; I guessed he didn’t like me trying to find out his future, not that there appeared to be anything interesting there recently. 

At least I admit I’m nosy, I thought to him. 

I could tell he was in another one of his moods . . . again.  Or, maybe still.  He never seemed to get out of this type of mood.  As of late, it was just one variation or another of the same mindset.  Angst Boy had been around way too much, and it was getting on my nerves. 

I mean, how long can you allow yourself to wallow in isolation?  Maybe he is just a lost cause.

                A hiss from upstairs alerted me to the fact that he was still listening to my internal monologue about his social awkwardness over the past few months. 

You and your darned mind reading ability.  I only think the truth, dear brother, I retorted looking in a mirror and sticking my tongue out.  I knew he would see that, and my childishness brought me some perverse joy.  I was only a teenager, I believed.  Albeit a 100 year-old plus teenager!

Though it would be nice to have a thought that remained my own, I could not stay annoyed at my brother for his talent of hearing the thoughts of others.  My lack of frustration at his aptitude was because I wasn’t much better, what with my ability to see the future.  Though I felt I had the right to be slightly jealous of his talent since when we were together, he definitely got the better deal; he could share in my visions as I had them.  

In order to teach him a lesson about eavesdropping, I decided to think of the last time Jasper and I were together.   You might want to get out of my head, I warned before I started my mental battering.  I allowed myself to be overcome temporarily, thinking of the feel of Jasper’s warm, soft hands caressing my cheeks . . . the look in his loving dark golden eyes as he leaned in to kiss me . . . the feel as his hands began to roam further south:  to my neck, my shoulders. . .

                I was nearly swept away in my memories when I heard a growl uttered upstairs.  I started giggling and was promptly chided by my mother figure, Esme. 

“What are you doing to torment Edward now?  Are you goading him, Alice?  You used to be so close; I wish I knew what was causing the problems recently.”  You and me both, Esme.  You and me both.  ”I don’t like to hear you at odds.  I think you both really need to make amends.”

                I agreed.  Before his recent brooding, Edward and I had always had the closest relationship, besides that of mates.  Though we weren’t genetically related, I had thought of him as my brother ever since I first saw him in a vision years before I actually met him.   But recently, we were at odds quite a bit, as Esme stated.  He was having the same problems with the rest of the family, but it bothered me the most; it wasn’t easy for us two, we were both the outcasts in a way. 

We were different among a small population of those who were already different.  It made us stick out even more.  He liked to thinks of us as monsters . . . freaks.  But I did not agree, at least not in the figurative sense.  True we were oddities in our own way as vampires, and we had different circumstances than most of our kind.  But it was our choices, our way of life, that did not make us monsters.  We took the lemons we were handed and made lemonade, as the saying goes.  And I thought that brought us above the literal monsters we were. 

I worried that now he was probably up in his room mulling over his life, or existence as he felt he did not truly have a life, and that this was most likely the train of thought that had been making him downhearted recently.  He did this sometimes - it was kind of a phase he repeatedly went through, a continuous cycle- but this time, it was lasting far longer than usual, and I missed my brother.  Sure, he wasn’t as positive a person as I was- he called himself a realist though I knew he was really a pessimist – but he was usually not this bad.  I really wanted him back.

Also, I thought that it must be hard for him being the only one who wasn’t matched with a partner.  That had not seemed to bother him before, so I could not see how it would have started troubling him now, but maybe that was part of this whole depression thing. 

After thinking about Edward, I realized that he would only come out of his funk when he was ready; he always had before.  Why would now be any different?  He must be left to his own devices to figure this out on his own.  And my analyzing his every word and gesture surely must be annoying, though completely expected.

                I’m sorry, Edward.  I‘ll do my best to leave you alone and let you come through this on your own.  Please come back to us soon, though.  I miss you. 

I head a low, hard, frustrated laugh and took this as the only acknowledgement that I would receive.  I wondered whether it was because he thought he would not come out of it soon, or whether it was because he thought I could not keep from meddling.  I decided it was probably the latter, and he was most likely correct.  I had never found it easy not to tinker, especially with my talent.  With a sigh, I figured it wisest to leave before another spat.

Good bye, Edward. 

An additional sigh answered me as I made my way downstairs and through the living room to where Esme sat with the blueprints of her latest project spread on the coffee table before her.

                “Good Bye, Esme.  I’ll be back later.”

She smiled at me and I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and flitted out of the door.  I would be borrowing Rose’s M3 today, as I had no car.  I decided that I really needed to get myself a method of transportation, but nothing had ever struck my fancy.  Maybe I would do some automobile scouting today, admittedly Forks had very little that had interested me in the way of transportation.  Maybe I would see something of interest on the way to Seattle.

******************************************************************************

I was leaving Victoria’s Secret - I would rather have shopped at La Perla, but there was none in Seattle - when it happened.  I was so pleased about the new “outfit” I had just bought, a sheer, little, black baby doll number.   I knew as soon as I made the decision to purchase said item what Jasper’s reaction would be and that tripled my excitement for the acquisition, though the item would have a very short lifespan.  I had also experienced the strange urge to buy similar items in another size in navy and sea breeze, so I did.  I knew these would never fit me; my size would not change.  I was frozen as I was so many years ago and since they would not fit Rosalie or Esme, I wondered who they could be for.  I had been having a lot of these odd impulses –for lack of a better word - recently. 

They were similar to my visions in that I could sense I needed to do something.  But they were different because I did not see a outcome or reason as to why I needed to do these things; I just had the compulsion to do them.  

In fact, due to these desires, I had recently requested that Esme create a new “guest” room, complete with bed.  Everyone had found this rather odd as we rarely had guests that stayed at the house and when we did, they would not be in need of a place to sleep, as our kind never sleeps.  Still, I had all but forced Esme to turn some of our unused space on the third floor - I was adamant that it had to be the room across from Edward’s, it just felt . . . right - into a little suite:  a bedroom, walk-in closet and bathroom.  I thought the dimensions were a little off – too small for my taste, especially the closet - but I dealt with what I was given.  I asked Esme to deck it out in multiple shades of blue, as this also felt fitting and I was pleased – OK, ecstatic - with the outcome.  I also had designed and bought enough to outfit a whole new woman’s wardrobe, in the same size of the blue lingerie I bought today.  Again, I wondered why.  I guess it just seemed appropriate, almost necessary. 

Another question came to mind:  What was this new obsession with the color blue?  It was yet one more query for which I did not have an answer.  I had always been more partial to yellow or green or red or . . . heck!  I love the whole rainbow!  So, why was I so intent on having everything for this room and most of the wardrobe blue?  Who knows?  I hadn’t figured it out by this point and I was the psychic!  So if I didn’t know, no one did!

At any rate, I was still reveling in the pure bliss of Jasper’s coming reaction when he saw the newest addition to my wardrobe.  Of course, the reality would be much, much better.  I was basking in the anticipation this newly purchased item gave when I was assaulted by another possible glimpse of the future. 

At first I saw a shadowy figure in a small clearing; everything was indistinct.  I was able to recognize the area and figure out that this meeting was to occur tomorrow afternoon.   As with the room and clothes, I had felt drawn to this particular part of the forest area over the last few hunts, another compulsion, though it was not where I usually went.  I decided that I would make sure I was near that area around the time my vision was set to take place.  Suddenly, the vision changed, becoming more distinct in a series of images and sounds.

Carlisle, the only father I could remember, Esme and I were in the forest.  We were now near the spot I had frequented on many of my recent my hunts.  Nearby, I heard a muffled whimper.  I left to investigate, asking the others to stay put for a moment.  Just then, through the brush, I could see a girl sitting in the middle of the forest curled in a ball, weeping.  I called to her and she slowly raised her head. I noticed that she was a cute, brown-haired girl, not more than 16 or 17 years old, with dark brown eyes and skin almost as pale as mine.   Her pale cheeks were tear-stained and the clothes she had on were dreadful and looking worse for the wear.  She was truly disheveled.  At that thought, my vision began to fade slightly.

I knew this girl was important, otherwise I would not have had a vision of her, though I did not know why.  And, I knew that she was human.  It was unusual for me to have a vision about a human, but that could be due to the fact that I had no human friends.  I usually only saw visions of those I was close to.

I also knew that I had to help the girl; for some reason she appeared to be inextricably tied to my family.  So, I decided to try and find the best approach for her and our safety.  I systematically made decisions and sifted through each conclusion's future to find the most helpful path. 

If I told anyone about the girl, something would happen and my vision of her in the forest would never come to be.  For some reason this outcome frightened and worried me; she felt essential to my family, so I couldn’t let that happen.  Therefore, I decided it would be my burden to keep this secret from everyone for a short time. I was relieved when my vision of the girl returned.  Keeping this a secret was not going to be an easy task. 

Jazz could read my every mood.  In addition, he knew me better than I knew myself, so it was probable he would see through my pretense.  I hoped that although Jasper would feel my tension about the current situation, he would think it was due to my feelings about Edward’s recent brooding.  I would have to find a way to sidetrack him from my emotional rollercoaster.  It looked like I would be putting today’s acquisition to good use that night, a positive diversion and not one I was opposed to.

Keeping the secret also meant I would need to keep Edward out of my head, not the easiest of tasks.  I had done this on many occasions, so that was not anything new.  It was always difficult, though, to keep my mind occupied.  I just needed to decide what I would do to distract myself. 

Hmmm.  The Magna Carta in Cantonese?  Then, Warlpiri Sign Language?  Maybe, Aramaic?  Hopefully, that would keep me busy for long enough to put the other part of my plan into use.  But, I'll make that decision closer to home.   

 If I were to bring this girl home, which must be the reason why I have been having the drive for all the shopping and decorating - well, maybe not the shopping, that was pretty much a constant- I thought that Jasper should definitely hunt that night.  His lack of thirst would probably be the best and foremost precaution. 

He found it extremely difficult not to hunt humans.  His life prior to my arrival had been such a time of upheaval.  And the only comfort he was ever given was a reward in the form of a warm, tasty human.  I had slipped myself, when I was still young, and I knew the discipline it took after tasting our intended sustenance.  I had only made that mistake a few times, and I had not tasted human blood in a much longer time than Jasper.  He had lived on that diet for some time and it was hard for him to abstain; I knew that this would be difficult for him, and I felt sorry for bringing my love pain. 

Getting Carlisle and Esme to hunt with me the next day would be the perfect way to have them with me without raising too much suspicion.  I could sell it as a daughter trying to spend some time alone with her parents.  I did out-of-the-ordinary things all the time – with me it sometimes felt like there was no ordinary.  Sometimes, I could be unpredictable, so I hoped this would not raise too much suspicion. 

Rosalie and Emmet had gone hunting this afternoon, so they should be fine.  Last on the list was Edward.  In his constant wallowing lately, he had been shirking his feedings.  It was not unusual for him to go a while without hunting, and he normally had excellent control.  He was almost as good as Carlisle but I still felt he should go with Jasper to be sure he was as sated as possible.  It was one thing to go to school with a bunch of humans, and a whole other thing to have one lone human living in your house.  It would be so much easier to end her life as there would not be witnesses, making the temptation that much stronger.  Convincing him to hunt without telling him the reason was near impossible, the stubborn boy that he is.  I made the decision to attempt persuasion when I returned, though I already knew it would not work.

I tried not to think of the outcome this probable living situation could have on my family, or the girl, as this was more than likely not going to be easy on any of us.  We would all suffer from the thirst that being in close contact with a human brought.  And, Jasper would suffer especially due to his upbringing.  Again, it distressed me to cause this for my love, but I knew it was necessary for some unknown reason. 

Carlisle and Esme, always the caring parents, would be accepting and willing to help this child.  It might be nice for them to have a new addition to the family.  Jasper and I were the newest and we had been around for almost 60 years.

Emmett would accept her as he did everything.  Although his maturity level could sometimes get on my nerves - he was a big kid at heart - you could always count on Emmett to take everything in stride and to be the most accepting of any of us.  Nothing ever seemed to faze Emmett.  And he never thought anything he would not speak.

His mate, Rosalie, on the other hand, could always be counted to do the opposite.  She hated change, and did not accept it without a fight or some dark comment.  She had a tendency to be shallow and made everything about herself.  I knew she wouldn’t like these circumstances one bit, especially since it would make things uncomfortable for us all.

Last and certainly not least, especially in mine or Carlisle and Esme’s eyes, was Edward.  I was sure Edward would not appreciate opening our home, hearts and lives to this girl.  In some ways, he felt himself above humans, and did not feel the need to bother to lower himself to their level.  Also, I thought it might make him uncomfortable to have a child, especially a female, living with us, and he was never one to mask his feelings of discomfort from the family. He had been fairly apathetic lately, though, so maybe he would not care one way or the other. 

Yeah, right.  Keep telling yourself that, Alice.  One day you might actually believe it. 

Edward had always been opinionated, so I did not expect his reaction to go smoothly.

But, I felt a strange kinship and desire to get to know this human girl, and I would not let Edward’s apathy, Rosalie’s cynicism, or both of their tendencies toward arrogance interfere with my intentions.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love my family very much, but I could see their faults as well as their positives.  Their strengths far outweighed any weaknesses, and I do not know what I would do without them, but this girl was too precious to lose as a result of their inadequacies.  My unconscious efforts had already gone to making a safe and welcoming environment for her so she must be very important in our lives, though I could not be certain why.  It was a weird feeling, this . . . not knowing; it was something that I was unaccustomed to.

I was also scared about what danger I was bringing upon the girl by introducing her to our world.  Although we did not feed on humans, most of our kind did.  And we received 'visitors' from time to time.  They were usually welcome--well, maybe accepted would be more correct.  But, I wondered if a human in our midst would be too enticing for them, analogous to tempting an alcoholic with a glass of intoxicating hard liquor.

Would we need to defend her against them? 

My family would protect her, if necessary, but I hoped nothing like that would happen.  And then there was the Volturi, the coven that ensured we kept the existence of vampires a secret.  They would not allow her to survive – at least not human – if they found out she knew our secret.   And there was no doubt that her existence with us would require telling her about our kind at some point.  All in all, it was a lot to think about.  I knew her presence in my family’s lives was imperative and this overruled all worries, though it could not stop a small part of my brain from chanting: What will this cost her?  What will this cost us?

I pulled into our practically hidden driveway a few hours later, translating texts in my head to keep Edward out of my thoughts.  I leapt out of the car and I instantly searched for Jasper so I could start my plan in motion.  I found him up in his study reading a large volume.

“Dearest, I think it would be best if you go hunting tonight.  You haven’t been in a while, and I think you need to go.  Besides, I bought a new present for you today and you need all the strength you can muster,”  I wheedled in my most persuading way, adding a wink.  Jasper knew there must be a reason, and he did not attempt to argue; he just smiled and nodded his head like a true southern gentleman. 

“I will do anything to please my love,” Jasper stated, leaning in for a kiss. 

How lucky am I to have found such a wonderful man?  I can’t and don’t want to imagine my life without him, my true other half.

Step  1 – done, I thought to myself.  Let’s try to implement Step 2.

“Maybe, you should try to get Edward to join you.  He hasn’t been out in a while, and I think he could use it.”  He looked at me warily.  “You two haven’t spent much time together, he will need to go soon, and I would like to hunt with Carlisle and Esme alone tomorrow. You know, a little time alone with my parents.”  I smiled trying innocently to convince him that this was the only reason, though I knew he picked up on my attempt at trickery.   Again I received another nod and smile, and he left the room to go upstairs.

As expected, Edward did not agree to either Jasper’s request or my pleas; he’s just unbelievably pig-headed and stubborn.  In reality, I knew he wouldn’t, but it was worth a try.

Step2 – stalled and likely not going to happen.  Though I had known that this was the likely outcome, I still felt moderately defeated.  Proceed to Step 3.

The next day, Carlisle, Esme and I left for a hunt as I had suggested.

Step 3 – in action! I smiled to myself.

 I had a particularly enjoyable time; I was able to find large game, so I was overly satisfied.  I made sure to end the hunt right when needed in order to get to the area near the girl in time.  On our way back, I took us down a slightly different path than we had first traveled as I explained my vision to Carlisle and Esme.  I now knew it was safe to divulge my secret and that she would not disappear if I did.  I explained that even though I was not sure, I had the feeling that she would be spending some time with us.  They seemed excited to have a new “child”; I saw the gleam in Esme’s eyes that told me she would accept this girl no matter what.

As we walked through the woods, we came closer to the spot where I knew I would hear that whimper.  Per usual, my vision did not disappoint; I heard it when we were about 5 minutes, according to our speed, away from home.

I let my senses roam and came across a particularly appetizing scent, her scent.  It was so appealing that I was glad almost everyone had hunted recently.  If only I could have convinced Edward, though like I thought before, his resistance was only surpassed by Carlisle’s. 

Something must be said for being obstinate.

 I asked Carlisle and Esme to stay behind while I went to find the girl.  It was best not to overpower her, at first.  That would come soon enough when she met the rest of the family.

“Hello. . . Is there anyone there?"  I called, knowing she was just beyond the trees.  She did not respond.   "Hello?" I called again, hoping she was well enough to answer, and waiting in anticipation to finally hear her voice.

"Hey!  I’m over here," came her scratchy response.  Obviously she had been crying; she sounded so hoarse.  Even with the strain evident in her voice, she sounded adorable.  Her voice was high and sweet, like most teenage girls.

I walked through a particularly thick area of underbrush and just into the clearing, where I knew she would now be able to see me.   When she looked up, I realized that she was much prettier than in my vision – I don’t see humans so clearly in my glimpses, they are partially obscured, so I did not have a sharp view of her features.   She had mahogany brown hair, large, dark almond-shaped eyes and a pale heart-shaped face.  For a human, she was attractive. 

The clothes I bought her will accent her perfectly! Thank god, because what she is wearing needs to go.

I nearly bounced and clapped my hands right then and there, essentially ruining my calm facade.  

Rein yourself in, Alice. Don't scare the child with your enthusiasm.

                I called to Carlisle and Esme and offered her a small smile and began to speak.  "My name is Alice.  Do you need help?”  A vision of us sitting on a couch in our living room with her arm draped over my shoulders pervaded my senses, and I knew I was right to help her, even if it meant bringing her into our world.  The worries of my family’s reaction, of the dangers nomads could bring and of the liabilities Volturi could bring left my mind for a brief instant.  I realized she was the element to make our family whole. 

How odd that it would come from a human.  I just hope the rest of the family feels this way. 

As I came nearer, the thought that she could possibly be bleeding hit me like a truck, which would only hurt the truck.  I immediately stopped breathing, having enough air to ask, "Are you hurt?" 

She confirmed she wasn't, and I began to breathe again.

                I came to find out her name was Isabella, Bella for short.  It was an old-fashioned name, but also still common enough that she could fit in with both my family and the teenagers nowadays.

                Carlisle and Esme walked over and they spoke with the girl to get to know her further.  It turned out she had a secret that I could not have foreseen.  Just like us, she was older than she looked.  She appeared to be in her teens, but she was really thirty years old.  And, like me, she had no prior memory of herself or her life. 

                I knew I would like her.

She seemed shocked when we were surprised about her revelation.  I could not be certain why; she had to know she looked about half of her actual age.  Even though she had long been an adult, she was still a great deal younger than any of us.  The closest of us was still over 60 years older than her, but her actual age should allow for a certain maturity level.  That would make it easier for her to assimilate into our family dynamic and since she had her own circumstances, maybe the others would be more willing to accept her. 

I don't know what I would do if they didn't; I have already become so attached to her, and I don’t really know her, yet.  I plan on remedying that situation.

To my relief, I could see that both Esme and Carlisle were just as smitten with Bella as I was.  I could tell from the way Esme looked at her, she had already accepted her as a daughter. 

How wonderful!   

And, I could see Carlisle’s compassion toward her in his every action.  He, too, seemed to have accepted her as a daughter. 

Two down, four to go.

As we neared our home, Carlisle suggested that we rest for a moment.  Then, in an aside to me and at a speed Bella would not understand, he recommended that I go ahead and warn the others.

I only had a few moments, so I ran ahead and alerted the others that a human girl would be coming to the home.  Emmett, Jasper and I ran through the home to remove anything incriminating.  Edward remained in his room listening to music and Rosalie remained on the couch inspecting her nails.

As soon as we were certain there was nothing to allude to our reality, I ran out to the porch.  I sat on one of the chairs.  They were already in the clearing, but I moved so fast, that there was no way Bella could have seen me.  I was sure she would just think I had been there the entire time.

She seemed very impressed with the house as she walked up.  I welcomed her to make her feel at ease and an appetizing shade of pink graced her cheeks.  She seemed to relax slightly.

She had shown her lack of coordination quite a few times during our walk, and again she tripped as she entered our home.  I heard a low laugh emanate from somewhere within the house. 

Was that Edward?  How strange. 

When we entered the living room, Emmett and Rosalie were sitting on one of the couches as ordered.  Emmett did not disappoint.  And, true to character, Rosalie did.  But, she always hated change, so that was expected.  Jasper seemed to accept Bella, as well, though I could pick up that he felt uneasy about having a human in the house.  I knew he would do anything to keep me happy, even keeping his distance as much as possible.

What I did not expect was Bella’s ability.  Humans do not normally present with any talent this extraordinary or well-developed.  It became apparent when Emmett had made an inappropriately stupid comment about Bella being “fresh meat”. 

Could he be more oblivious?  Yes, I’m sure he could. 

I could tell this comment made her uncomfortable, and I was exasperated.  I thought about the many ways I wanted to punish him, sadistically watching each option play out in my head.  I would never actually do anything to hurt him, but I thought this might assuage my anger.  Rather than the images calming me, they infuriated me even more.  Jasper sensed Bella’s and my emotions and in order to help her and appease me, he sent a feeling of calm towards us.  I was so grateful to Jazz for attempting to alleviate the situation; he always knew how to make everything better. 

Bella was truly worn-out and I think Jazz hit her harder with the tranquility than he had meant.  In order to steady herself she grabbed my arm, touching the skin of my forearm, just before a vision overtook me.  Oddly enough, from her reaction it was apparent that she saw this vision in her mind, as well.  She was quite shaken by this ability, as was I.  She stated it was out of focus, blurry, but that she could understand enough of it.  I expected this vision of Edward attacking her to terrify her, but it did not seem to faze her one bit. 

She surprises me in so many ways.

It was an odd reaction coming from Edward; he had not killed a human since his rebellious period, which was over 70 years ago.  But I did not think anything of that particular aspect, the result of his action was more disconcerting.  He had not hunted in weeks, so he was probably just overcome with the scent of a human being so close and in his home.

Moments later, Edward appeared at the top of the stairs. His body was rigid and his black eyes had a wildness I was only accustomed to seeing on the hunt. This terrified me.  I could not let his feral bloodlust take control.  This girl was just too important.  I screamed at him, trying to bring him back to his senses, but he was too far gone.

Jasper and I kept Edward away from Bella and wrestled him out of the house to hunt.  Jasper suggested Edward hold his breath and as we were leaving the room, he calmed down quite a bit.  I noticed his pupils dilate as he looked in Bella’s direction, though I was not sure what type of attraction could have garnered such a reaction.

While I was out taking care of Edward, Esme tried to make Bella feel as comfortable as possible.  I thanked God that we had some edible food, our props as they were.   I had forgotten how often humans need to eat - they really are so fragile.  So even though I had seen the vision of her, I hadn't thought to go food shopping; besides, I would not even know what kinds of food to buy.  Even if I remembered being human, I was sure that the types of food I would have eaten would probably not be too popular now, there had to be so much more variation.

.

Outside in the fresh air, Edward started to wallow again.  He was obviously disgusted with himself.  Jasper and I calmed him down and he agreed to go hunting with Jasper.  I said I was going to go back to the house to try and smooth over the situation.

Upon my return to the kitchen, I heard Bella ask to use bathroom.  I offered my bathroom to let her freshen up prior to going to bed.  I thought it best she use mine so I could stay close without being too obvious, and it gave me time to gather clothing for her to sleep in. 

While I was getting an outfit together for her, my mind wandered.  I wondered why she would need the lingerie I had bought.  It did not seem like there would be a use for it in the too near future.  It wasn’t like she could bring a boy home to a houseful of vampires.  And it wasn’t like she would want to, for that matter.  So many of our kind together in one place would probably scare the heck out of any human other than Bella; it was fairly obvious this was the case at school.  She seemed oddly at ease with my family.  Normally humans felt very uncomfortable around us, though I do not think that they knew exactly why.  It seemed instinctual that they subconsciously knew we were exceptionally dangerous. 

The only single one of us was Edward, a completely different species from her.  Given his prior reaction to her and his feelings towards humans, I would have thought a relationship between them was impossible.  I was sure that his introduction was terrifying for her.  Before she even met him, it was apparent he wanted to “jump” her as she had said.  That didn’t make for a great start to a “love” connection.  And then there was the way he looked down his nose at humans.  

How would he ever be interested in her if he thought her beneath him? 

So Bella would more than likely not be a match for him.  That is, unless she was no longer human, which could easily be remedied. 

Not by me, of course.  I wouldn’t know how to do it without killing her.

Undergoing the transformation into a vampire would need to be her choice.  We would never force that decision on someone; we weren’t the Volturi.  I didn’t think Carlisle would go along with it, though, since he prized humanity above all things.  He had only changed others when it was obvious that there was no option other than their death.  I knew he would not entertain the idea of changing someone without valid reason.

And, changing her would anger Edward.  He was quite a conundrum.  Although he felt we were the next step in evolution, he also resented what we were, thinking we were soulless.  He would give anything to regain his humanity.  As a result, he would go through the roof if he thought a human had willingly given up their soul without an underlying and necessary reason.  That is not to say that he was ungrateful to Carlisle for saving him from a certain death, but he wished he had the opportunity to make the decision himself.  He constantly struggled with what we were.

I searched the future, but could not see her transformation in it; I continued to see her with brown eyes and pale, though slightly flushed, skin – both signs of her humanity. 

Hmmm.  An oddity I would need to ponder further.

Another flash blindsided me and I dropped the pajamas that had been in my hand.  I saw Edward running through the wilderness.  Eventually, the scenery turned more desolate and began to become covered with snow.  I saw Edward nearing a large log cabin.  It was a place I knew well:  the Denali Coven’s house.  He was going to run to our “extended family.”  I felt my throat close at that prospect. 

Esme and Carlisle would be so upset at this news.  They had hated it when he left them for those few years so long ago.

If I searched farther into the cloudier future, I could only see him lying in the snow near the log house.  So, it appeared he was not planning to return for some time.   

There went any plans for him and Bella.  I frowned at that thought.  Had I already paired them off?

I ran downstairs and updated the rest of the family on Edward’s decision.  As expected, my parents were very saddened when I informed them of my vision.  Esme began to dry sob and Carlisle stood there with a forlorn expression, shaking his head from side to side.

I heard the shower upstairs stop, and I ran back up to Bella’s room to grab up the night clothes I had previously chosen.  I had just snatched the perfect pair back off the floor when a scream reverberated through the hall.  It was obvious that it was her scream, as the sound was clearly from a human, much too rough to be a vampire. 

I ran down the stairs, her heart beats quickening with each of my steps, and to my bathroom door scanning the near future.  All I could see was her sitting on the tile floor staring blankly straight ahead.

What could have happened? She was only taking a shower.