Home Alone

Esme nodded to her love and watched him quietly exit the room to investigate.

She hated that he was going alone, but did as she was told, quickly grabbing her clothing and dressing in a flash.

She growled gently. It had only been moments since he left, but it was already too much. What was taking so long? Were they in danger?

Carlisle made his way out into the darkness, following the scent that he had picked up. He was sure that the person outside his house was a shapeshifter but it wasn't one of the Quileute tribe.

"Hello?" He called out as he spotted a young woman half concealed by the bushes. He waited a few moments for a reply, but received nothing. The girl buried herself further into the bushes. "Ok, why don't you just come into the house when you feel comfortable... You must be quite hungry."

He turned and made his way back to the house, Esme was still staring frantically out of the window.

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Esme hurried to the door as she heard Carlisle speak and guesture to whoever was in the bushes to follow him on inside. He would never put anyone in danger, let alone the two of them. She was certain that he knew that they were not going to have problems with this... Creature.

"Who is it my darling?" She asked quietly. She loved having company at the house. She was the perfect hostess. She was used to having a lot of company, the Wolf Pack spent quite a lot of time eating her out of house and home.

She nervouslly pushed her hair behind her ears and straightened out her crumpled clothes.

"She's a shapeshifter, but she's very scared... I'm hoping she'll join us when she's a little more confident of us, until then I think we should cook her something to eat, maybe the scent of it will entice her in." Carlisle smiled, putting his arm around her Esme's waist and pulling her close, kissing the top of her head.

Anna had ebcome to weak to stay in her animal form, she had only managed 15 minutes, that was the shortest time yet. She heard someone come out of the house. They were going to find her, and shje was naked. She didnt know whether to laugh or cry.
they would probably run away screaming when they saw her anyway.
But then something very strange happened. The man didnt try and shoot her, or run away screaming or even threaten to phone the police. Anna didnt think he even saw her, otherwise he may have been a bit more embaressed about seeing a naked female with a mutilated body crouched beneath his window.
He invited her in, for dinner.
Maybe he was crazy. but then she remembered someone else was in the house aswell.
She slowly stood up, careful not to scrape the infected scar on her leg against anything then peered in theroom, gaping in amazement. It was, huge and light, but so incredibly homnely and bright. Then she saw her. She looked like everything you would expect in an all American mom, the kindones you see on tv baking cookies, except there was something different about her, but Anna couldn't pinpoint it.
She tapped on the window trying to get their attention. She think she succeeded then gestured down at ehrself indicating that she was infact completely nacked. So either they would now call the police or they were really as crazy as she thought they might be and get her some clothes.

Carlisle heard the tap on the window and looked around, a slight smirk crossing his handsome face.

"That explains a lot." He turned to Esme. "Darling, why don't you get her some clothes and I'll start making her something to eat."

He kissed Esme, hurriedly on the head and marched off to the kitchen, to see if the wolves had left anything in the fridge to cook.

Anna slowly limped to the front of the house when she had heard the woman leave something outside the door. it was, thankfully, a pile of clothes. The woman looked about the same size as Anna so they should fit quite well. If not maybe a little big around the chest area.
She slipped on the slim fitting jeans and short sleeved top. the scars on her arms were visible buit at least her legs were covered.
She wondered how they would react to her eyes and her hair, her appearance was pretty distinctive. She had lost her sunglasses as soon as she had arrived in the country the first time she transformed into her panther in america so they were oing to nootice her bright blue cat eyes straight away. She brushed her long straight white hair back from her face and tried to make herself as presentable as possible. She had no idea why these peolpe were inviting her into their home but she was not going to turn down a meal. SHe had not eaten in over 5 days.
She very slowly and carefully opened the large front door which was already ajar and peered in, wondering whether she should knowck, very tempted just to turn around and leave.

Esme sensed the presence at the door, and she opened it more widley, looking at the nervous look girl standing there.

"Hello, welcome. I'm Esme. Please, wont you come in?" she asked softly. She took in the girls appearance, now wearing an outfir which she had taken from the clean pile in the laundry room. They'd belonged to Rosalie, with her her and Emmett out of town, she'd guessed that would not matter too much.

The girl was very pretty, with a shock of white blonde hair and the most beautiful peircing blue eyes.

Esme stepped aside to welcome the stranger into her home.

Carlisle heard the door open and Esme welcome the nervous girl, graciosuly. He stood at the hob in the kitchen, making an omelette, the wolves having eaten them out of almost everything but the eggs.

The omelette just started turning golden, so Carlisle tipped it out onto a plate and set the plate down at the kitchen table, then waited for their guest to enter.

Anna had not been around people for so long. She didnt know what to say to them. So she settled for "hello" and "thankyou" before following the woman, Esme, into the kitchen. She realised that the woman was smaller than she had first anticipated, so there was no way these were her clothes. Anna was 5ft 7 and they fited her on the lengh perfectly so they could not have been Esme's.
She glanced shyly at the man efore sitting down at the table and savouring the delicious smell of the omlette. SHe probably ate in just a few seconds but she felt full almost straight away. Her stomach must have shrunk.
When finished she looked around at the hosue surrounding her, it was huge. Light and airy with almost no walls to the first floor and a large winding staircase going up to the second floor. Thwere was definately no way these 2 poeple could live here by themsleves.
She said thankyou again and thanked them for the clothes. She was beginning to get curious again, her appetite saciated for now, but she was too shy to ask them any questions. Then she noticed the scent, having eaten her energy levels had risen slightly ans some of her more sensitive senses were coming back.
She couldnt make out what the scent was though, it was not one she had ever smelt before. It wasnt bad, but it wasnt good anymore, to her it smelt of danger. She started getting agitated, her instincts teling her to change and run, but she was still to weak to transform and there was no way she could possibly run with her bad leg. She was trapped.

Esme quietly moved over to where the young girl sat and gently placed her cold fingers on her arm. She was very cautious, but needed thier guest to know that she was safe here with them. And that there was no need to be scared.

"You're afraid?" she asked. Although it really wasn't a question. It was plain to see that right now, the girl was thinking of running away. "Please, stay. Talk to us. We wont hurt you" she whispered.

Esme noticed some wounds on the girls body.

She turned around to Carlisle. "She's hurt too" - Esme was full of concern for the poor child.

"I noticed." He grimaced, moving at human speed to the girls other side, he didn't want to scare her more than she already was. "My name's Dr Cullen and this is my wife Esme." He sat down. "When you feel more comfortable I can take a look at your wounds if you wish?" He asked, looking at Esme with concern in his eyes.

Esme nodded to him, preying that he would take care. She knew that the girl was a shapeshifter of some sort. Not a Werewolf - She didn't smell of dog... She didn't smell of anything that Esme would consider eating either.

And she was obviousy wounded and in pain.

Shapeshifters were dangerous. Particurally if they were young. She'd seen how volotile that wolves could be. Snapping and phasing very suddenly after being angered, provoked. Or just out of fear and wanting to protect themselves.

Did the girl know what she and Carlisle were?

Anna flinched at the womans cold touched, she had never felt a human so cold, and that smell. Who were these people, or what. She had seen quite a few different things in the last year and a half and knew there were things in this world that normal people couldnt imagine.
But they were being kind.
so she nodded slowly. "My name is Anna." looking at the man, Dr Cullen "you are a real Doctor?" She didn't think a normal human Doctor would understand her injuries. She had only met one doctor who did, he was not human and was now dead.
She started to pull off the top layers of her clothes, standing in the borrowed underwear. REvealing the extent of her injuries and infected scars. Then she collapsed. Her leg burning, she had hit it against the table while taking off the jeans.

Esme tried to stifle a gasp as she say the state of Anna's scarred and wounded body. She had an infection on her leg which would need treatment. The poor, poor young thing. If her heart was beating, it would have broken there and then for the poor girl.

She aand her husband looked on in horror as she caught her leg and fell hard onto thr kitchen floor. They wete both at Anna's side in an instant. Esme cradled Anna's white blonde head in her lap. She looked over at Carlisle, needing his verdict on the matter in hand.

Carlisle scooped Anna into his arms and raced her at vampire speed through to his study. He held her close to his body with one arm, with the other he swiped everything off of his desk and onto the floor. He lay Anna down gently and immediately began looking at her wounds.

"Esme, can you fetch my bag from the garage?" Carlisle asked, remembering where he had left it earlier in the evening.

He took a closer look at the extended injury to her leg, the wound had began to heal but an infection had started taking hold and pus was seeping through the open wound.

Anna could feel herself being moved and being very close to a cold rock hard body, like steel or stone. THen she was placed very gentle onto somethign equally hard. She was no longer aware of her surroundings or where she was, only of the sething pain in her leg and the convultions that now shook her.
She was confused. She no longer knew where she was. In her head she was back in the cage in the dark cave that she was kept in for months hislt being kept as some kind of "pet" an unloved pet at that.
"please, no more, please don't hurt me again. noooooooo" She screamed as in her mind she could feel claws ripping at her skin, using her as a play thing".

Carlisle's hand flew to her forehead when she starting muttering, he could feel the heat radiating off of her and hoped his cool touch would help to soothe her.

"Shh," He cooed. "You're safe here, Anna, no-one is going to hurt you."

A feeling of safety and love suddenly radiated through Anna. The nightmare vanished and in its place was sleep, and peace. She had not felt this calm in a long time, she had not slept without nightmares in weeks.
She dreamed of the only place she had ever been able to call home, the little farm on Eista Island just off Scotland, with its rolling hills and the poeple she loved. the waves crashing against the shore and the stormy nights when she would curl up in the little living room on the arm chair in front of the open fire.

Esme ran back down to the garage where Carlisles black dcotors bag had been discarded in their brief moment of passion not an hour earlier.

She took it to him and by that time, he had already placed her onto the metal gourney and was examining her infected leg. Esme took a blanket out from a nearby cabinet and placed it over her upper body to give the door irl a little dignity.

"What did this to her darling?"

Esme had returned quickly with Carlisle's bag, he wasted no time undoing the clasp and quickly pulled out a saline solution, gauze and suture kit. He cleaned out the wound with the saline, the liquid pooling in the wound and spilling out, combined with pus onto the desk. He dried the area gently with the gauze then began the process of stitching the injury. He worked at vampire speed, a liberty he could take in his own home, something he was never able to do at the hospital.

"An animal at a guess." He replied, only now remembering that Esme had spoken.

He dipped his hand back into his bag and pulled out a bandage which he quickly began winding around Anna's leg. He looked at Esme, not breathing, in the doorway. She had struggled herself in her newborn years with human blood and had slipped a couple of times, the taste of it still clouded her thoughts.

"Darling, why don't you prepare a bedroom for our guest... I just need to give her a shot of antibiotic, but I'm sure she'll be fine." He said with a smile. "I'll clean up here."

Esme smiled at Carlisle, silently thanking him for his permission for her to leave. He was so understanding of her needs. It had been well over half a century since she last tasted human blood, but Esme was so loving, she was afraid to get too close and slip up, in case she hurt someone she loved.

She excused herself and gracefully went to prepare a room for Anna, it seemed she would be staying with them for a little while - if she wanted to that is.

Whilst she worked, she thought about the poor girl, and what she must have been through. And, what creature she became when she shifted.

Her ears pricked up suddenly when she heard familier footsteps running towards the house. Edward and Bella.

Esme wondered what could bring them to the house this late. Surely Renesmee would be sleeping?

She zipped down the stairs and opened the door just in time to greet them.

Edward had a wriggling Renesmee in his arms and both he and Bella looked afraid.

"Whats wrong?"

"Anna." Carlisle began, trying to rouse her from her unconsciousness long enough to tell her she was safe. "I'm going to take you to one of the upstairs rooms... You can have a nice sleep, you're safe here. Stay as long as you like."

He put his arms around her and picked her up, carrying her up the last flight of stairs to Edward's old room and laying her down on the sofa. He heard footsteps approaching the house and pricked his ears curiously. Then he heard Esme speak.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Carlisle went to the bedroom door and inhaled deeply, the recognizable scents of Bella, Edward and Renesmee hit him. It was lucky that he had already cleaned up the study. He raced down both flights of stairs and joined Esme at the door.

"Son?" He asked.

Edward composed himself for the sake of his wife--and for everyone.
"I'm not certain what's wrong with her." He motioned toward his daughter. He slid Bella a rueful glance then looked up to Esme and Carlisle.
"Renesmee's been under the influence of something dynamic...though elusive." He paused as he stared anguishly at his father of over a century. "Night terrors, and they aren't ebbing. Could you help her?"

"I'll do what I can." Carlisle replied, extending his arms to take the whimpering child. "Tell me everything that's happened." He demanded. He needed every detail, he, like everyone else had little knowledge of half breeds, his grand daughter was a very special girl but it didn't make it any easier for him in a situation like this, where Bella and Edward were looking for him to give them a miracle and he wasn't sure if he could.