A/N: I know this has been done before, but I simply loved the idea as well, so here is my story of Bella growing up with the Cullens. She won't be seen in this Chapter yet. I'm sorry about that, but I wanted to start with just the Cullens, to illustrate the difference once Bella comes into their lives. English isn't my first language, so please bear with me. Please review and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: SM owns it all.

POV'S: Edward, Alice, Carlisle.

21th June 1994

London, England.

Edward's POV.

The day was dragging, and we'd only recently moved here. I was already bored, tired of the inane chatter of hormonal teenagers.

At times like these, I wished I were able to sleep. We were in high school again. Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and I.

I had gone through this charade so many times, I guess this was my form of sleep.

It seemed highly unlikely that the teachers would give a lecture about something I didn't already know, nor that the students here would

surprise me in any way.

In fact, they were very predictable, annoyingly so. Their thoughts were already irritating me beyond words.

I tried to block them out, but as it happened we were the subject of their thoughts. We were standing out, even more so than usual, since we

were also the new students now.

My head was almost spinning from all the trivial gossip, but since I was the mind-reader of the family, it was sort of my responsibility to look out for us.

In case someone's thoughts took a turn, and we would risk exposure.

I sighed, and scowled.

It was lunchtime and I was playing with the food on my tray. I didn't need the food, of course, it was just part of the charade.

I didn't even understand why we had to go to school in the first place. The semester was almost over, and the summer holidays would start soon.

I knew, of course, why Carlisle had insisted on this. But honestly, these last few weeks wouldn't make any difference in my opinion.

We had to leave our former location, because Jasper had made a mistake, again. It was always a hassle whenever that happened, and Carlisle would tend to go a bit overboard

not attracting unneccessary attention to ourselves as soon as we moved.

None of us really blamed Jasper, we knew he was struggling more than the rest of us, but now we had to start all over again. And that included high school.

Rosalie was still feeling a little bitter about this, since she and Emmett would be stuck in high school again for the next couple of years.

They had just been about to graduate, and she hated to do it all over again so soon.

It didn't particularly matter to me, I would be bored anyway, no matter where I was. Besides that, I knew Jasper was trying, and that he felt really ashamed about the whole incident.

We just had to be more careful with him, not take unneccessary risks. Jasper's controle was limited, and he shouldn't make it any harder on himself.

He should just accept his limitations, and work with them. No reason to invite disaster.

Carlisle had taken up his new post at the local hospital, and Esme was still settling. Because we'd had to move so abruptly she hadn't had the usual time preparing the house.

We had moved into our estate on the outskirts of London. It was a few miles away from the hectics of the city, so we had plenty of privacy.
She was just finishing the last of the decorations, and she was re-building her garden.

All in all, I liked our estate in London. I didn't really care about decorations, but the surroundings allowed some peace and quiet, whenever I desired it.

How's the gossip?

Emmett's thoughts pulled me out of my reverie. I turned my head to him, and grimaced.

'' Same as yesterday, nothing terribly exciting, '' I whispered, to low for human ears.

Are they afraid of us, yet?

'' Not an ounce of horror. I must say, I'm a little disappointed, '' I whispered again.
Well, that can be easily fixed!

I rolled my eyes at that. At that moment the bell rang, indicating lunch was over. We all headed for our next class.

I wished the day would be over already.

There were only two weeks of school left 'till the summer holidays. It couldn't come fast enough.

Alice's POV.

Here we were, back in London! I had to admit, I was very excited to be back again. It had been a while, and I couldn't wait to go shopping.

Harrods was practically begging me for a visit.

Of course, it was a little sooner than planned, due to Jazz's mistake, but we were here now, no need to sulk.

It wasn't his fault, if anything, I should have been more alert. I still couldn't believe I hadn't seen it coming. It had been such a snap decision, and I wasn't paying enough attention.

Some psychic, hah! But I knew Jazz would only feel worse if I started feeling guilty as well, so I tried to push it aside.

He was still very upset with himself, and Rosalie's bitterness wasn't helping either. Honestly, she shouldn't get worked up like that. We were in London after all.

I should take her out this afternoon, go shopping. Yes, that would cheer her up. That would cheer anyone up.

Esme was still finishing the house. It was almost done now, with my help, of course. That was always the best part of moving, decorating our new home.

Everyone was still a little stressed, though, because of what had happened. It was always like this.

Maybe I should book a nice vacation for us. The summer holiday's were just around the corner. That would be great!

But where should we go? Some place with a lot of shopping opportunities, obviously.

Hmm... what about New York? Yes, New York would be perfect. It had been a while since we'd been there, and I just loved the city.

As soon as I made the decision I could see everyone's reactions, and in that I knew New York would be a great choice.

There would be plenty of shopping opportunities for us girls, and a lot of sight-seeing for the boys. That would definitely put everyone's mind at ease again, and lift their spirits.

Well, almost everyone. Edward would be his sulking self no matter what, but he would be like that anyway, so who cared.

Maybe he could go find a nice music store there and spend ages sifting through a million different CD's, as he usually did. That was about the only shopping he would get sort of excited about.

I would arrange the details as soon as I got home. Oh, this was so exciting! New York would be great. I can't wait for the holidays to start!

That afternoon I took Rosalie shopping. My attempt to cheer her up worked, of course. It was a very cloudy day, so we didn't need to worry about anything.

I had dragged her into Harrods, and we were raiding the lingerie section.

Rosalie was trying on the new collection of Victoria Secret, while I was throwing more clothes at her to try on.

I found a fiery red lingerie-set that would be perfect for her.

'' Rose, you have to try this on, Emmett would love you in this, '' I exclaimed, dashing into her fitting room.

Rosalie grinned at me, and put it on. She looked absolutely gorgeous. But then again, Rosalie always did. She was probably the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

She loved dressing up for Emmett, though, most of the time, he didn't really need the encouragement.

'' It's perfect, Rose. We'll take it, '' I said to her. She nodded and put her clothes back on.

I had also found a lovely, yet daring, babydoll dress that Jazz would love. It was purple, and a little see-through in subtle places. That would definitely cheer him up as well.

After the lingerie shopping we went to get some clothes for the others too. Rose found a new shirt for Emmett saying- '' Please, bear with me, '' with a picture of a bear under it.

We both laughed when we saw this shirt. It was perfect for Emmett.

Eventually we made it to the jewelry section.

'' Alice, you've got to see this necklace. It would go perfect with that new black dress we just bought!, '' Rosalie called out to me.

'' You're right, let's take it! '' God, I loved shopping. Was there a better thing in the world? The only thing I loved more than shopping was Jazz, of course.

I had bought him a lot of nice things, too. And a lot of nice things for me, which were also a little bit for him. He loved it when I dressed up for him. And I loved dressing-up.

After we had bought half the store - Rose and I had needed it- we went home, because I also had a little bit of shopping to do at home.

I couldn't wait to surprise everyone with the trip to New York.

When we got home, I dropped the shopping bags in the living room, and dashed up the stairs. I booked the plane-tickets, and four hotel suits, so we could all make the most of it.

I had planned the trip carefully, not wanting to be stuck indoors because of the weather. It would be nice and cloudy that week.

'' Guess what?! '' I sang, dancing into the living room again. Everyone was already seated there, perfect.

'' You booked a vacation to New York for everyone, '' Edward answered, pulling away from his piano.

My face fell, and I pouted. It was impossible to keep a secret from Edward, and he was such a spoil-sport.

I glared at him. '' A simple ' what ' would have sufficed, Edward. Thanks for ruining my moment, '' I grumbled.

He shrugged, and gave me little smirk. Stupid mind-reader.

He laughed at that.

'' Really? Alice, that's great, dear, '' Esme said, smiling at me.

That brought my excitement back, and I was dancing up and down again. I was just so excited to go to New York, and the others were loving it as well. That only added to my excitement.

Jazz was at my side in an instant, and put his arms around me. He sent me a very strong wave of love, and I threw my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.

'' That's great, Alice, '' he murmurred, smiling at my enthusiasm.

With everyone excited we started planning immediately. God, I couldn't wait for the holidays to start!

Carlisle's POV.

It was nice to be back in London again. My hometown. It had been a while. I had missed it here.

The children were back in school, ever so reluctant. They didn't see why a couple of weeks would matter, but I didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to us.

Besides that, the sooner we could pick up our day-to-day lives, the better. Everyone was still a little shaken from the recent events, and I wanted things to go back to normal as soon as possible.

I felt for Jasper. He was really upset with himself, and ashamed for what he did. I had already forgiven my son.

This lifestyle we had, was a little difficult for him, and I knew of his efforts. Overall I was very impressed with him, despite the occasional slip-ups.

We shouldn't hold it against him, and just support him. He needed it. Now more than ever.

I drove home when my shift at the local hospital was over and found Esme in the garden. I smiled at the sight, and pulled her into a hug.

'' Welcome home, sweetheart, '' she said lovingly, kissing me for a moment. She gave me a smile. '' How was your day? ''

'' Good. It's nice to be back in London. '' She rubbed my cheek affectionately with her thumb.

'' How was your day, dear? '' I asked her.

'' It was great. The house is all but done, and the garden is blossoming. I really want a few more flowers here and there, and maybe a nice new tree, I think I'll go get them tomorrow. ''

I smiled at that. She was always so happy and peaceful when she could work in her garden. It brought me so much joy, seeing her that way.
I pulled her into my arms, and kissed her again.

She took my hand after a moment as we walked back into the house.

Jasper and Emmett were on the couch in front of the TV, playing a video game.

'' Jazz, knock it off! '' Emmett bellowed, smacking him on the head with his controller.

'' What are you talking about? I won fair and square! '' Jasper yelled back, though there was a huge grin on his face.

'' No way! Quit messing with me! You're just scared you won't be able to beat me without your stupid tricks! ''

'' Children, take it easy, '' I called them off before things could escalate. Esme was just done decorating the house, and a demolished living room wouldn't be save for anyone right now. She would flay them alive, and ground them for eternity.

Edward was behind his piano, not really paying attention to anything else.

'' Where are the girls? '' I asked, scanning the room.

'' Shopping, '' Edward answered absentmindedly.

Of course. I smiled a little. Leave it to Alice to buy the whole of Harrods in our first week here.

I settled down on the loveseat with Esme next to me, holding her hand. I sighed, and smiled around me contently. Yes, everything back to normal. The best thing for everyone.

After a while the girls entered the house, their arms full of shopping bags.
Alice dumped her bags into the living room, and dashed up the stairs without saying a word. I shot a questioning look at Rosalie, but she merely shrugged.

She went over to Emmett, and sat down on his lap, kissing his cheek.

'' Hey, babe, '' he said, without taking his eyes of the screen.

'' I bought you something, '' Rosalie said, with a smile on her face. She reached into one of the bags, and pulled out a shirt. He tore his eyes away from the screen, and a huge smile spread across his face. He barked out a booming laugh.

'' Awh, Rosie. That's awesome, '' he choked out between laughs.
He pulled her into is arms, and started kissing her fervently, the video game forgotten. After a few seconds Jasper started to move away from them with a pained look on his face, and Edward gave them a disgusted growl from behind his piano.

'' Guys, take it down a notch with the lust. I'm dying here, '' Jasper groaned.

They broke apart. Rosalie glared at the both of them, and Emmett had a goofy grin on his face. Ah, my children. I shook my head with a small smile on my face.

Then I heard a squeal from upstairs that could only belong the Alice, and a second later she was dancing into the living room.

'' Guess what?! '' she sang, excitedly.

'' You booked a vacation to New York for everyone, '' Edward answered her, pulling away from his piano, and walking over to the rest of us.

Alice's face fell. '' A simpel 'what' would have sufficed, Edward. Thanks for ruining my moment, '' she grumbled.

Edward shrugged, and gave her a little smirk, unrepentant. She scowled at him, and he laughed. I shook my head. Those two...

'' Really? Alice, that's great, dear, '' Esme said, still holding my hand, and smiling brightly at her.

Alice regained her former excitement, and started jumping up and down with a big smile on her face.

Jasper ran over to her, and put his arms around her. She threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek.

'' That's great, Alice, '' he murmured.

I smiled at the sight of everyone, my family. This was exactly what they all needed. A nice holiday. It had been a while since we'd been to New York.
They all started planning the trip with much excitement. Alice, of course, had planned various shopping sprees with Esme and Rosalie, and Emmett and Jasper really wanted to go to the Empire State Building again.

Only Edward wasn't really taking part in the planning, and after a moment he went back to his piano again.

I sighed. I was worried for my son. He was so miserable all the time. I wished he would find someone so he wouldn't be alone anymore. He had been the odd man out for too long now. He deserved better than that. He deserved happiness.

Edward threw me a look, and I gave him a small smile. I knew he had heard my thoughts, but this wasn't something he didn't already know.

I really did hope he would find someone soon, even though he said he didn't care about that. He would be so much happier.

Unable to take my thoughts anymore, he walked out of the room, and up the stairs to his bedroom. A second later I heard the loud blaring of rock music.

I sighed again. The others were to preoccupied planning their trip to have noticed anything. Or so I thought.

Esme walked over to me, and kissed me lightly on the cheek. I gave her a weak smile, and pulled her close to my side. I knew she worried about Edward, as well.

'' I'll be in my office, '' I said after a second, kissing my wife briefly again.

I closed the door of my office behind me, sat in my leather chair, and let out another deep sigh. I looked around me, and smiled a little.
The office was amazing, Esme had done a wonderful job.

With all the worries about my family still in my head, I wasn't able to relax very much. I stood up, and crossed the room to pull a book of the shelves. Maybe a little reading would help.

All the problems and worries would work out fine somehow, I had to have faith in that. Even for Edward. It was impossible to believe that there would be no happiness out there for one as him.

He would find it, I just hoped it would be very soon. It pained me to see my son unhappy.

Alice was truly great. After all that had happened the last couple of weeks a family vacation was exactly what we needed.

I smiled as I sat down in my chair once more, and opened my book for some relaxing time.