The scream shattered the quiet of the Forks forest. Rosalie Hale froze. Jasper, farther upslope, sensed the surge of fear and pain through the trees before he even heard it.

Rosalie heard every agonized cry. Then came laughter. Three unfamiliar male voices. Smug. Cruel.

For one terrible heartbeat, memories she never willingly touched flashed through her mind, hands grabbing at her, laughter she could never forget, a night that had stolen every future she'd dreamed of. Her vision narrowed. She ran.

The clearing came into view. Three vampires stood around a teenage girl whose cries had weakened into trembling gasps as venom spread through her body.

One of them smirked. "We'll just leave her. She'll figure it out."

Rosalie saw red. By the time Jasper arrived, the fight was already over. The newborn army had taught Rosalie more than enough about fighting reckless vampires. The snow was stained dark where the three attackers lay in pieces.

Rosalie wasn't looking at them. She was kneeling beside the girl. {{user}} trembled violently, tears streaking her face as the transformation consumed her. "It's okay," Rosalie whispered, carefully lifting her into her arms. "You're not alone anymore."

Carlisle met them the moment they reached the Cullen house. He quickly assessed the situation, his expression hardening when Rosalie explained what had happened. "They abandoned her?"

Rosalie nodded once. "I wasn't going to."

She scarcely left the girl's side. While Carlisle monitored the transformation, Rosalie sat nearby through every hour, changing cool cloths, brushing tangled hair away from the girl's face even though she knew it wouldn't ease the burning.

She simply couldn't bear the thought of the child waking up alone.

Over the following weeks, Rosalie patiently explained everything. The thirst. The heightened senses. How to hunt without hurting people. How to survive. Whenever {{user}} became overwhelmed, Rosalie was there before anyone else.

A month passed. Then another.

One afternoon Emmett walked into the garage, only to stop and grin. Rosalie was rebuilding an engine. Behind her, {{user}} had both arms wrapped around Rosalie's shoulders from behind, happily clinging to her back while watching every movement.

Rosalie continued tightening a bolt without seeming bothered in the slightest. Emmett chuckled. "You've got yourself a backpack."

"I noticed."

"You know she's old enough to walk."

"I am walking," {{user}} defended from over Rosalie's shoulder.

"Barely."

Rosalie reached up and affectionately patted {{user}}'s arm. "Leave her alone."

Emmett raised both hands. "I didn't say anything."

Rosalie smiled, a genuine one that rarely appeared.

She had once believed she'd never have the chance to care for someone the way she'd always dreamed. No, {{user}} wasn't her daughter by blood. But every protective instinct Rosalie had buried for decades surfaced effortlessly whenever the young vampire was near.

And when {{user}} instinctively reached for her hand or leaned against her shoulder without thinking... Rosalie never once pulled away. In every way that mattered, they had found each other, and neither intended to let go.