Meeting

(Alice's Point of View)

On the drive home from the hospital, I kept thinking about the vision I saw while speaking with Bella. It wasn't the most detailed vision I have ever had, but what I did see scared me.

Bella was lying on a concrete floor in a very cold and dark place. She was covered in blood and injured from head to toe. She was still breathing, but her breathing was shallow and she wasn’t able to breathe deeply because of broken ribs. Her face was covered in blood and tears as she kept murmuring "No" over and over again. She tried to get up, but the moment she tried to move, she screamed out in agony and fell back down to the floor before she passed out.

I had come to already think of Bella as a friend; even a sister really. The visions I have had of the future, a future that included her in our lives, made me hopeful that one day she would come to see me as I see already see her. I knew that I hadn’t really known her long, but I already felt a strong connection with her. I have no idea why, but when it comes to Bella, I feel as though I must protect her.

This is the reason why my vision freaked me out so much. In my vision, Bella was hurt and alone. If the vision came to pass, it seemed to stand a fair chance that she would die and it scared the hell out of me. I had to get home to talk to Carlisle.

It seemed to take forever until I reached the garage. Immediately my yellow Porsche was parked beside Edward’s silver Volvo and I rushed inside to Carlisle's study. His door was closed and when I knocked it was a little louder than necessary, but I was officially freaked out.

"Come in" Carlisle seemed to sense my anxiousness and stood as I entered the room. I guess the habits that we grow up with never really leave us and Carlisle is ever the gentleman.

He gestured for me to sit, so I obliged but unfortunately I didn't feel any more comfortable sitting than I did standing. He watched me as I bounced up from the chair and began pacing. I assumed that I looked panicked and was thankful that he waited patiently for me to tell him what had me agitated.

I took a deep breath and began. "Carlisle, we have a problem. Well not exactly we, but I mean Bella". His eyes widened as I mentioned Bella and I could tell he cared for her just as Esme and I do.

"Alice, please start at the beginning." He prompted calmly. I don't know how he can always keep up a calm front even though I could see the worry in his eyes.

I started from the beginning just as he suggested. I told him about going to see Bella and how we had fun and really connected. I then told him about the vision I had and how it wasn't clear as to when, where, or why. I told him every little detail that I could think of.

When I finished, he seemed to be thinking over everything I said. I waited patiently for him as he worked through my words. I could see the different emotions flick across his face before he was able to compose himself. Finally he looked at me again and it seemed as though he was in full father mode.

"Okay, so in this vision you had, Bella was seriously hurt and terrified, but you don't know how she got there, correct?" I nodded and he continued. "I know that we have only known Bella for a little while now, but as Esme, you, and I have seen, she is a very remarkable young woman. She is unique and I sense that perhaps there is something deeper about her… something very special. Esme has already come to see her as a daughter and I can see how much you like her yourself.” I had to agree with him on that.

He continued, “I believe it is our duty to protect her, and I feel a connection to her that I can't explain just yet. I feel drawn to her and Esme has told me that she has felt the same. On another note, she is healing quite well, and is coming to a point where she will need to be discharged. Esme and I have thought it through and we agree that we should offer her a place here so that we can watch over her and help her heal like she needs to.”

He looked at me to make sure I was following him before he continued. “Of course this is something that will need to be discussed with the rest of the family, so I will call a family meeting in a little while, but I do think this is the best solution. We will discuss it and everyone will have a say. This decision affects us all. Go find the rest of the family and I will meet you all in the dining room in fifteen minutes."

I agreed with Carlisle, we did need to protect her. I headed off to find Rose, Em, Jazz, Esme, and Edward. Rose and Emmett of course were in their room enjoying each other's "company" and were not very pleased that I interrupted their love fest. I giggled at the look on their faces when I told them to be downstairs in 15 minutes. It was absolutely priceless!

Two down, three to go.

I knew where Jazz was so that was easy. He was in our room reading a book on the Civil War. I stopped at the doorway and watched as he looked very into it what he was reading. Emotions crossed his face quickly as he read the words in front of him. No matter how me he read on this subject, he could never get enough of it.

He looked up at me and smiled as I came in the room. Oh God do I love his smile! It is an amazing sight to see. It reminds me of the brightest star in the sky that guides you home to a safe place. He is my star and my guide. He is my everything and I love him with every part of my being. I danced over to him and kissed him gently on the lips as I told him about the meeting.

I left the room quickly and found Esme in her garden. She always loves to help nurture things, it's her entire nature to care for the things she loves. That's what I loved most about her: her unconditional love.

I left Esme to find Edward. I knew that he'd be in his meadow. He is always there when he's feeling low, and that has been quite often lately. I couldn’t blame him though, he's been alone for far too long. Yes he has us, but we each have found the love of our lives and he hasn't. I can’t imagine what that must be like for him.

I entered the meadow and sure enough he was there, lying in the sun. Even though he possessed unearthly beauty, you couldn't help but see the brokenness that captured his eyes like some part of him was missing. I just hope one day he would find whatever it is that will complete him. OH! Wow, what if he and Bella….. I stopped my thoughts immediately and began singing a random song in my head to keep him out.

He sat up and stared at me intently. I walked over and sat beside him. We sat in silence for a few moments until he looked at me with questioning eyes.

"I'm sorry Edward. I should have kept my thoughts to myself or so to speak. I'm sorry if I upset you" I stared at him to gauge his reaction and he gave me a sad smile that didn't reach anywhere near eyes like they used to before he finally realized that he was alone.

"No, Alice, you have nothing to apologize for. Every word you thought was true. Don't worry sis, one day I know that something will change for me, I just don't know when. So… what did you think was so important that you would interrupt my tanning time?”

He always did know how to make me laugh. It took a few moments to calm down from the image of him tanning then I told him about the meeting and how we would be late if we didn't hurry. He stood up and we headed back to the house just as everyone was gathering around the table.

I took my spot next to Jazz and focused my attention on Carlisle cleared his throat out of habit.

"As you all know, there is a special patient of mine at the hospital named Bella Swan. Esme, Alice, and I have gotten to know her fairly well since she has been in my care. She was tortured and abused by her stepfather for a very long time. He almost killed her right before she ended up in our E.R. She sustained extensive injuries but she is healing nicely."

He looked around to interpret everyone's expression. Mostly, everyone just seemed confused as to why this girl would deem worthy of a family meeting. Most of us try not to mingle with humans so this subject hadn’t really come up before unless it was to keep our family a secret.

He expected this confusion and continued, "Esme and I have felt this bond with her that seems a little more than average. Whenever we are around her, we feel as though we are connected to her and we both have had strong desires to protect her. I know this all seems a bit weird, but then again, what in this life of ours is normal?"

We all had to laugh at the truth of this statement. I don’t think any of us remember what a “normal” life is like. After the short laughter died down, he continued directly to the point.

"Alice had a vision earlier of Bella. In that vision, Bella was seriously injured and possibly dying. We aren't sure why or how she would be a situation like that but I assume it may have something to do with her step-father. Alice and I both agree that it seems as if someone had taken her there and left her for dead. Alice and I discussed it earlier, as I have also done with Esme, and I believe that the best thing to do is to bring Bella back here.” I looked around at the stunned faces. Different emotions clouded everyone’s face.

"Once she is discharged, she will have nowhere safe to go and she will need extra care after she is released in order for her to heal as much as possible. Since this decsision will affect all of us, I wanted to see what all of you had to say about it. So please be honest as this is an important decision that we have to make."

He looked around the table at his family and his eyes naturally landed on Esme. Carlisle is the soul of this family and Esme is the heart that keeps us going. Esme seemed to know the answer before Carlisle even asked her. Of course she agreed as did I.

He looked next to Rosalie who had a look of hatred on her face. Of course she said no, but in less pleasant terms that resulted in a scolding from Esme.

Next was Emmett, who had a wide grin on his face. "I vote YES! We need some life in this place and I think a human girl can do just that. It will be fun and hilarious to see all of her little human reactions! Who knows, maybe she can be Eddie's girl."

While that was meant sincerely by Emmett, it earned a growl from Edward and a slap on the head from Rosalie which resulted in an, “Owww! What was that for?” Sometimes I feel bad for Emmett because it seems that his heart is sometimes expressed in unaccepted words.

Next was Jazz. I expected he would take my side but I also know he is wary of humans because of his bloodlust. I could understand if he said no, so I wasn't hurt when he did just that. He looked at me apologetically but his reason for saying "no" was simply that he didn't want to hurt Bella, not that he didn't want her around. I smiled and pecked him on the lips. I appreciated the fact that he was concerned about her safety. This is a good sign.

Last but not least was Edward. He seemed to have an odd look on his face which I couldn't quite place so I tried to look into the future. I saw Bella staying with us and even though it was still a little fuzzy, most likely because Bella had yet to decide, I knew she'd be here.

Yay! I jumped up from the table and hugged Jazz's neck and kissed him again with excitement. "Thank you Carlisle, this will be great! Bella will have such a lovely time here, I just know it!"

My happy dance was cut short when Edward spoke up. "Alice, I haven't even decided yet, how could you possibly know my decision, which by the way I decided on a no."

I just smiled and replied simply, "It's Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and me against you, Jazz, and Rosalie. Four against three, we win!" I stuck my tongue out at him and went to hug Carlisle. I knew that Bella was a friend, but now we can actually develop a good friendship. I haven’t ever had a human friend so this will be an interesting adventure. I'm fairly certain that she will say yes to the arrangement, so I'm not too worried about it.

Then something dawned on me as I stopped short and grabbed my keys. I looked at everyone's confused expressions and yelled behind me as I ran to my car, "I need to go shopping!"