I had a speech therapy session after school so I went home as fast as my car would take me. I got home in time to change then I headed off to speech therapy. On my way there I saw the Verta children. When I got to therapy I was surprised to see my normal therapist. I had thought she was staying in Florida, to work with the other people. When I was leaving I saw the Verta children entering the room I had just left with two adults. No doubt that they were Ellena and Raphael Verta, the parents of Ivy, Nora, Leopald, Liam, and James.

          The next day I entered school with my board and wrote the whole day. Everyone was again surprised when I walked right to the table the Verta’s sat at. We carried a few short conversations with me of course, writing. None of the conversations lasted very long due to the fact that they always either stopped talking or they started whispering quietly to each other. Nora and James were the only ones who weren’t giving me rude glances. Leopald was giving me a look of confusion, worry and doubt.

          They were gone the next three days. For some reason their eyes had been getting darker day by day until they were almost black. When they got back their eyes were once again hazel. They had seemed angrier when their eyes were black. I planned to ask them why this was. I have been bringing my board every day now. On Monday we had a partner project in Chemistry, and we finished quite quickly. When we finished James initiated a conversation. His voice was velvety and smooth, it took my breath away. He spoke as if he were from another time.

I had started to piece it together. Inhuman beauty, glittering in the sun, speaking as if 

they were from another time, changing eye color, never eating or drinking. I had to confront them soon but first I had to prove my suspicions correct. By my next speech therapy I had confirmed my suspicions. Since I was sure they knew ASL that’s how I decided to ask them. After my therapy session I again saw the Verta family. I walked right up to them and confronted James as I believed he would tell me. He told me exactly what I had believed. I was right, they were vampires.

Three months later I was still friends with Verta’s although James ignored me

 for about a week. When I first shook Jame’s hand I felt an electric shock run between us. Me, Ivy, and Nora had discovered that we all loved shopping and went on multiple shopping trips at multiple malls including the West Edmonton mall.  I discovered that most of them had powers: Ivy could control any plant she wanted to, James was a shield, a defensive talent that blocked him from the powers of others, Nora could see into the future, and Leopald was an Empath. I had officially met Ellena and Raphael when I went to their house for the first time. It turns out that Ellena was mute which is why they were at the same speech therapist as me. Me and James asked Raphael about the electric shock when we first shook hands and he told us that it meant we were mates. It was hard to believe that we were mates at first. We soon started dating. I wasn’t worried about them hurting me because they only hunted animals.

My speech therapy sessions were going well and I was learning to talk louder. I was able to talk to the Verta's now but it was only in a quiet whisper. I was able to talk to my parents in a normal voice now and regularly had conversations with them. I loved talking to my dad about school and my visits at the Verta home leaving out the fact that they were vampires because it was dangerous for him to know though he did know that supernatural creatures were real. They had explained the vampire rules to me. I knew that I would be ok because we are mates so the Volturi would be willing to leave us alone. They did it for another family after all. As well as having a policy where you have one more chance and if you break the law a second time you are sentenced to death. 

It was time for my dad to meet James officially as my boyfriend. I decided to have them “meet” before we went on a date “Dad I’m home,” I called out quietly “and I have someone I want you to meet”

“Hi Esme, who would you like me to meet honey?” my dad asked quickly. I walked around the corner with James by my side. 

“Dad I would like to introduce you to my boyfriend James,” I said with confidence “Dad this is my boyfriend James, James this is my dad Jeff.”

“Boyfriend?” He asked with confusion apparent in his expression.

“Yes dad, I have a boyfriend” I told him.

“Be careful Esme I don’t want you to get your heart broken,” he told me with a concerned look.

“I know dad I’ll be careful,” I reassured him. I knew he was worried because. He got married to my mom at a young age and he hasn’t been with anyone ever since. I knew he was worried that the same thing could happen to me. He was very overprotective because I was his only child, his baby girl. He felt that he needed to protect me; it was fatherly love. I knew what happened to my parents so I knew I had to be careful but I trusted James as my mate. I knew James would always protect me and never let anyone or anything hurt me. 

We went to dinner and the movies. It was a pretty fun night. We went to his house for a little while before I went home. He had gotten me a bouquet of roses, they were beautiful white tea roses. “I love you,” he told me with happiness in his eyes.

“I love you too,” I replied. I had never been happier.  Such a beautiful man loved me. I loved him with all my heart. 

We were seniors so graduation wasn’t that far away. Me, Ivy, and Nora had started planning a small graduation party after the ceremony. We made sure not to invite people we thought might notice something weird. We mainly tried to invite family but we didn’t want to raise suspicions so we invited a few people from school. The party went well and it was fun. Ivy did amazing with the decorative flowers while I got the needed things for the party. Nora had made our dresses.

After graduation I spent a lot of time with the Verta’s and we got closer. Me and James had been together for almost a year now. Me and my dad were closer and I talked to my mom regularly. Out of me, Ivy, and Nora I was closer to Nora. It was almost my birthday which I dreaded. I would be a year older than my forever 18 year old boyfriend.

“James,” I yelled. My selective mutism was not too much of a problem anymore. I had a lot more confidence and was doing quite well in speech therapy. Me, Ivy, and Nora all went on long shopping trips, dragging the guys along.

             Apparently James had escaped the shopping trips for years with the excuse of not having a mate. He was surprised to see how many bags us girls could get in one shop. At first I was reluctant to buy anything expensive but I soon learned that they would not be worried about money. With Raphael being a doctor and our thriving business we would be ok. I was soon so used to spending that I didn’t bat an eye when I spent hundreds of dollars on something.

“Yes love,” he replied quickly, being by my side in an instant. I knew what I was about to ask of him could make him extremely mad.

“I’ve been thinking and…” my voice trailed off. I didn’t know how to ask this.

“What is it, love?” He asked me with another quick response. I had gotten used to his velvety voice by now.

“Will you turn me,” I paused then continued “I don’t want anything to ever take you away from me not even death.” My voice was quiet now I was unsure how he would react to this.

“No!” He shouted, “I don’t ever want to lose you either but I won't do that to you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you ever regretted becoming like me.” I could see it in his eyes. It hurt him to think about it but I had thought this through thoroughly.

“I would never regret it.” I reassured him. “I know I would have almost no control over my thirst at first but I would learn. We will never be separated. The Volturi would have no reason to even try to hurt us. I know Nora’s seen it, there is no way that I’m betting against her.” There was pain in my voice now. It hurt to know that this is how he would react. 

“Nora’s visions change all the time there’s now way that it is certain it might be too late for my soul but I will protect yours at all costs,” he responded. There was fear in his eyes

“They change with decisions and I’ve made my decision,” I said quickly. 

“I will never change you,” he was yelling now the anger in his eyes was obvious.

“You're not the only vampire in the family,” I said smugly.

“Nora would never.”

“Oh Nora, will you come here for a moment.” 

She hopped into the room quickly.

“Would you ever turn me?” I asked her 

“Of course I would love to help you,” her voice was happy 

“No!” James roared. “Nora, how could you do this to me, you're my sister.”

“James I’ve seen it,” she paused before continuing “I’ve seen her on her deathbed you 

frantic by her side just before her change.”

“What happened? Why was she on her deathbed?” He asked frantically 

“It looked like she was giving birth, the child looked just like both of you and it aged so quickly like the girl in the Cullen family. I think you will have a hybrid child and Esme will be on the brink of death when giving birth,” her face was worried while saying that.

“Should we find the Cullens then? Don't they live in Forks? Four mated pairs right? Most of them have powers. Jasper an Empath like Leopald, Alice has visions like yours, Edward a mind reader and his mate Bella who has a shield like mine. Although I have multiple shields and both a mental one and a physical one, can push mine out and I can have multiple shields at once. I can’t lose Esme ever,” his voice was even more frantic, as Nora’s words set in.

I was scared too. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about “Who are the Cullens and what’s a hybrid” my confusion was obvious.

James started explaining it all to me “A hybrid is a child whose mother is a human and father is a vampire. The Cullens are a family in Forks that has a hybrid named Renesmee the Volturi wants to know more about her though. She is the daughter of the mated couple Edward and newborn Bella. Bella’s control is remarkable; she resisted human blood on her first hunt. Renesmee is gifted and will most likely live as long as her parents. One of the La Push shapeshifters imprinted on her not long after she was born. She has accelerated growth and is still very young, only 5 months old but she looks to be around 7 years old."

“Oh I understand now,” I had no clue hybrids existed until now. I was now less confused now. I wanted to keep learning everything about vampires. I wanted to learn everything I could about vampires before my eventual transformation.

A fortnight later it was my 19th birthday. I dreaded it I didn’t want to be older than James but he still wouldn’t change me. I had spent the night with my dad. When I woke up and got dressed before going downstairs to eat breakfast. When I got downstairs I saw that my dad had gotten me a beautiful necklace. It looked stunning on me. After breakfast James came and picked me up. 

            We were going out for the day. First we went to their house. Me, Nora, and Ivy were going to do a little shopping this morning. After we finished shopping Nora and Ivy took my bags back with them because me and James were going to the movies after lunch. We saw “High School Musical”. Afterwards we went back to their house to discover that Ellena, Nora, Ivy, Liam, Leopald, and Raphael had planned a party for me. The cake was beautiful with white tea roses and blue frosting. They had all gotten me presents as well. From Ellena and Raphael I got two round trip tickets to see my mom, one for me and one for James. From Nora and Liam I got an amazing yellow Porsche 911 Turbo. Ivy got me a very pretty dress with beautiful white tea roses on it. Leopald had gotten me a beautiful sapphire bracelet to match my necklace.

James turned to me “My gift for you is in our meadow” he said. I smiled and hopped onto his back. Whenever we went to our meadow he carried me there. When we got to the meadow he set me down carefully. Then got down on one knee and pulled out a ring.

“I love you more than anything in this world. Esme Marie Kindhart I promise to love you forever. Will make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?” I could see the love in his eyes. 

“Yes yes of course yes,” I was crying out of happiness. This was the best day of my life. 

He picked me up and spun me around. We were both so happy.

“I love you my beautiful fiancé,” he told me.

“I love you too,”  I told him. We both had the same love, affection, and happiness in our eyes. A little while later we arrived back at their house aside from Nora who had seen it in a vision the whole family was shocked. They had no idea James had even thought about proposing. They found out when they saw the beautiful diamond engagement ring. Soon I returned home. I had to tell my dad about my engagement. 

“Dad I’m home,” I called “and we have something very important to tell you.”

“What is it, Esme?” He looked worried that something might be wrong.

I held up my left hand. “Dad, I'm engaged!” I squealed with excitement.

“Engaged?” My dad asked with questioning eyes.

“Yes dad! I am so happy,” the excitement in my eyes was very obvious now. 

“Are you sure about getting engaged this young?” His voice was concerned “I don’t want you to get hurt then divorce like me and your mom did.” 

“I know dad, don't worry I will be very happy with James. If you can’t tell we madly in love with each other,” I was getting mad now just because he got married young and divorced within a few years doesn’t mean I would do the same thing.

“Okay but you have to tell your mom I’m not going to do that.”

“I know.” It was time to tell her the news, hopefully she would take better than dad did. 

James could see that my dad’s reaction had brought down my confidence that my parents would be accepting. 

“Don’t worry love, I'm sure your mom will be happy for us,” he reassured me.

“What if she takes it the same way dad did,” I was worried now.

“I can tell that she won’t  and even if she were to everything would be okay she would come around,” he said calmingly. We went off to call my mom.

She picked up the phone immediately. “Hello Esme,” her voice was cheery as usual.

“Hey mom,” I replied.

“Hello Mrs. Kindhart,” he greeted. His voice was just as confident as usual. 

“Why hello and who is this?” She asked.

“It’s me James,” he answered. 

“Hello James,” she was still happy as normal so I was worried to tell her. Jame sensed this

“Don’t worry love,” his voice was a whisper as not to give a hint to my mom yet. 

“Mom we have some good news for you,” my voice was gaining back confidence.

“What is it, Esme?” She asked

“Well mom, me and James got engaged!” My voice was excited once more.

“That’s great, Esme! When is the wedding?” There was even more happiness than usual in her voice.

“We don’t know yet mom we haven’t started planning yet,” I was happy that she took it so well.

“Well why not and how long have you been engaged without telling me,” her voice was playful.

“Mom you’ve been in the darkness about this for about the last two hours,” I was laughing now.

“Two hours! This is far too long I should have known the second he proposed,” she was laughing.

“I’m glad you took this so well. Dad didn’t so I was a little worried to tell you because I didn’t know how you would react,” I was getting quieter now.

“Oh Esme, darling, as long as you're happy I’m happy. If you want this for yourself than I want this for you,” her voice soothed me. I was a little more at ease.

“Love you mom.”

“I love you too.”

“Bye.”

“Bye see you in two weeks.”

“Wait, I thought you said that you haven’t started planning the wedding yet.”

“I did.”

“My parents bought plane tickets for us to visit you and we decided to come in two weeks,” James explained.

“Oh well then see you in two weeks,” she paused then added “I can’t wait to meet you James.”

I hung up “I’m happy that it went so well. I love you James.”

“I love you too,” he told me.

We grabbed an outfit for me because I had decided to stay in my room at the Verta house. When we got to the house Nora ran to me “I’m so sorry about what happened with your dad at least it went well with your mom.”

“It’s ok Nora he will come around,” I told her while trying to reassure myself of this. 

Leopald picked up on my guilt.

He turned to me “Esme don’t feel guilty it’s not your fault, your dad should’ve been more accepting. Plus you should worry about your happiness. If you want to marry James, that's your decision not his.”

“I know I just don’t want to push him away.” I was still feeling a little guilty.

“Ummm guys get ready Jeff is on his way here I’ll take Esme upstairs to help calm her down. James I think you should stay down here Ivy come with me,” she seemed worried that something would happen. 

Ten minutes later my dad knocked on the door. “Hello,” he called “is Esme here.” He walked into the living room.

We knew that he wouldn’t come upstairs but he would want me to come down. I wasn’t able to hear the conversation.

Suddenly Raphael called for us “Ivy, Nora, Esme.” We came downstairs.

My dad walked up to me and gave me a hug. “I’m so sorry I should’ve given you my full 

acceptance as soon as you told me. I was just so worried. I want you to be happy. I realized that James makes you happy. I give you both my full blessing.”

“Now James if you ever hurt my daughter I will personally hunt you down and hurt you,” 

He was serious.

“If she ever got hurt I’m sure you couldn’t make it hurt nearly as bad as it would hurt me to see her in pain,” James told him with truthfulness in his voice.

I ran over to James and jumped into his arms. He lifted me and hugged me tightly. I loved him so much. I was happy that we finally had the full support of both my parents. I reached up to kiss him. I knew that we had to get to planning the wedding. My dad left. Just to mess with Nora I made the decision to run off to Vegas with James and get married

Suddenly she shouted, “Absolutely not Esme you will have a proper wedding and I will be planning it.”

I laughed and playfully said “We will have our wedding the way we choose and who said you could plan it I know I sure didn’t,” I turned to James “James, did you say that?”

He caught on and replied, “Nope, I sure didn’t say that.” We were all laughing now.

“Oh come on Esme please let me plan it.”

“Fine you can plan it,” Me and James replied in unison, “I was messing with you Nora.” I added. We were on the floor laughing now.

Three months later the wedding was almost here. Nora had planned most of it but passed everything through us. Me and James had gotten closer if that was even possible. Our wedding was in a week. My mom had just arrived that morning. I wanted to spend time with her so we went for lunch. When we got there she bombarded me with all kinds of questions like How long have you been together, is he the one for you, and is he always like that. My answers were things like 1 year, yes he is the one, and yes.

After we ate I returned home. I moved into the Verta home two weeks ago. I had made sure that dad wasn’t going crazy though. Nora was going crazy with so many over the top ideas. James was getting worried that I wasn’t getting enough sleep because Nora would burst into my room in the middle of the night. I told James to just make the decisions without me. 

The whole family was waiting for the wedding. Me and James were the most excited out of everyone. I was just happy for him to finally be my husband. Nora had gone overboard for my bridal shower so I couldn’t imagine how far she had gone with the wedding. I would have been happy with something small but knew that we would never hear the end of it from Nora.

The night before the wedding James left at midnight so that he wouldn’t technically see me before the wedding. “See you in the morning ” he told me before he left,

“I’ll be the one in white,” I told him before getting on my toes to kiss him.

“I love you,” I added before he left.

“I love you more. See you tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

The next morning Nora and Ivy stole me away before I could catch a glimpse of James. 

Nora was suddenly going crazy over every detail of my appearance.

“Nora, why are you going so crazy?” I asked.

“Everything will be perfect Esme so don’t worry,” she was trying to assure me.

Soon it was time for the dress. It was very beautiful. It was an amazing mermaid dress with a sweetheart neckline, the best beading I had ever seen and some beautiful white tea roses that Ivy had grown before I woke up.

My parents came upstairs. “Oh sweetie you look amazing,” they told me in unison.

“Thanks guys,” I told them.

Before long it was time for my dad to take me down the aisle. I started my walk down. At first I was nervous, then I rounded the corner and saw James. All the wedding jitters I had were gone. As soon as I saw James I couldn’t focus on anything else but him. We both had the same loving smile. As soon as we got to him I enthusiastically accepted his embrace. “I love you,” I told him before we turned.

At the last second before we turned he whispered, “I love you too.”

We started our vows, “repeat after me,” the pastor started “I James Verta.”

“I James Verta,” he started before we took over “take you Esme Kindhart to have and to hold.”

I started “for better or for worse.”

“For richer and for poorer.”

“In sickness and in health.”

“To love.”

“To cherish, as long as we both shall live.”

“I do.”

“I do.”

We both leaned in for our first kiss as husband and wife. Our wedding went amazing and 

I made sure to make a mental note to thank Nora later. The first song we danced to was our song dedicated to our love for each other. We were so focused on each other that we forgot that there were other people present. It was time to go on our honeymoon. He had told me we were going to a private island off the coast of Hawaii. The island was absolutely beautiful.

One month later we returned because I had been feeling sick. We were ready for 

Raphael to check it out. We found out I was pregnant. This scared James because of Nora’s previous vision and we couldn’t stand to ever be apart. My emotions had gone off the charts. I never wanted James to be away from me but reluctantly agreed to let him go so he could hunt. 

We had decided to meet with the Cullens so that we could gather all the information possible on my pregnancy. The oldest one approached us first. “Hello my name is Carlisle and this is my family Bella, Edward, Rosalie, Emmet, Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Renesmee,” he paused to look at our shocked expressions “Renesmee is a half vampire half human hybrid,” he added to calm the obvious fear in our eyes. Only me, James, and Nora were not shocked.

“Thank you I am Raphael and this is my family Ellena, Ivy, Leopald, Nora, Liam, James, and his mate Esme,” He told them. “We came here to talk to Bella and Edward. Actually they have gone through a similar situation that my family is currently going through,” he said gesturing towards me.

The one called Alice spoke first “I know you are currently worried about the pregnancy of Esme and you heard of our story with Bella’s pregnancy so you came to ask for tips on what to do. We will give you any information we have on the subject.

“Thank you,” I told them.

Bella and Edward came forward. Edward spoke first, “We will give you every piece of information we have. I remember how scared I was that Bella, my mate, would die. I don’t want you to have the same fears,” he clung to Bella who looked like she was in pain. He turned to her and encouraged her to step closer. “It will be ok Bella, you have always had amazing control.”

She came forward and extended her hand to shake mine. She was still clinging to her husband which I understood I didn’t like James to be very far from my reach. She smiled then spoke softly “I had to drink blood and keep up a good appetite or I would feel very weak. Before we discovered that I needed to drink blood my health deteriorated quickly. My pregnancy drew a small wedge between me and Edward at first but soon made us closer than ever. You will have morning sickness worse than the average pregnancy and will get bruises on your stomach where the baby kicks towards the end of the pregnancy. You will need to be changed right after the birth or you risk death. You will most likely need to hunt as soon as you wake up so that you don’t risk hurting your child.”

Alice and Nora’s eyes went blank for a moment before they smiled at me and James who was still by my side. “You will be having a daughter,” they said in unison. Then their faces dropped, “you will need to be very careful she is deaf and prone to being hurt or worse hunted. I think you will want to learn sign language very quickly and teach it to her.”

“Well it’s a good thing that we already know sign language because if not how could we talk to Ellena? Ellena is mute and I had selective mutism. So I’m pretty sure that it will go well in that department,” I told them with a little surprise in my voice.

“That is good to know,” Alice’s said before her eyes went blank again and her face dropped  “Oh no. This can’t happen not to them, not then not ever not to anyone.”

“What is it Alice,” everyone but Edward asked in confusion.

“Stephan and Vladimir’s coven in Romania will want to kill her thinking she is an immortal child. Tanya of the Denali coven won’t help but the rest of her coven will,” Alice stated. “Tanya that backstabber has been our friend for so long but she will be the one to tell the Romanians of your daughter.”

“Thank you for telling us that,” Raphael paused and looked at us. “We must prepare for that. I won’t let them get near anyone. Goodbye now, we look forward to seeing you again.”

Carlisle spoke this time, “Goodbye tell us if you need anything see you soon.”

When we returned home James got me a cup of blood and some eggs. Soon after my meal, I fell asleep and James carried me to our room before laying beside me so he could get me whatever I needed if I woke up in the middle of the night. 

Three weeks later. My due date was the next day so everyone except James were out hunting. Liam and Leopald were going to bring back two elk for him. I was glad the whole family had medical degrees. We planned on Leopald taking Liam on a trip so that he couldn’t feel my pain. James and Raphael would do the delivery as only the teeth of a vampire could get to the child and they had the best control. I was mad that during the days of my change my daughter would be growing and developing. We had decided on the name Rosemary Charlize Verta. When Nora was about two miles away she had a vision about Rosemary being born early and rushed back home to tell James. Liam and Leopald rushed to get the elk for James and started getting ready to leave. 

I had a short labor and thanks to the information the Cullens had given us. James made sure to change me right after. As to not make me lose too much blood. We had set aside a bit of venom so that it could be injected into my heart to make the change happen faster.  We tried to get as much venom as possible into my blood. It was close but we were reassured that I would survive by Nora and Alice’s visions. I told James to take care of our little girl while I was changing and to have the whole family take lots of pictures. I knew that James would beat himself up over every scream of pain I let out for the next two days so I would try to focus on him and Rosemary, the two most important things in my world.

Two days later I woke up and saw James standing by me. I noticed immediately that this world looked nothing like the one I left. I had a slight tingling in my throat but stomped that out as soon as I realized that it was Rosemary in the next room over. I was happy to be awake and to see James. James walked over to my side and helped me up before walking me to the mirror. “I love you,” I told James. If I really tried to listen I could still hear my human voice.

“I love you too,” he responded. The love in our eyes matched that of when we got married.

“Rosemary?” I asked.

“She's wonderful love. The whole family has been spoiling her.”

“Can I see her?” I asked with excitement. I wanted to meet my little girl.

“You need to hunt first love, I'm sorry.”

We went out to the woods behind our house to look for some deer. James led me to something that smelled delicious. Just then the wind changed direction and I smelled something mouth watering. I knew it didn’t smell like something I drank during my pregnancy so I decided to wait for James hoping it was a particularly good smelling mountain lion or elk. “Stop!” He shouted “it’s a human!” There was fear in his voice. 

“Awww I was hoping it was a good smelling elk or mountain lion. But I didn’t remember drinking it while I was pregnant so I decided to wait for you to tell me what it was just in case it was a human,” I explained.

“I am so sorry Esme if you had gotten to that human and lost your control it would have been my fault. We need to hunt somewhere else,” his voice was still fearful but a little more relaxed. 

We found somewhere where there were no humans. It turns out that we have similar taste our favorite animal was elk with a mountain lion a close second. I was finally going to be allowed to see Rosemary now. “Are you ready?” James asked me with no chance at hiding his excitement.

“Of course I’m ready,” I answered. We entered the living room where the whole family was with Rosemary waiting for me to wake up and hunt so I could see her. “Don’t worry Liam, it's ok I won’t hurt her,” I assured him.

“Ummm Esme I didn’t say anything,” he now looked confused.

“Yes you did and it’s really loud in here,” I told them.

“Esme,” Nora started, “I think you have a talent.” She turned to James, “James shield us from mental talents.” Suddenly everything was quieter.

“Thank you for being quieter that was going to drive me up the wall,” I told them. The thanks in my voice was obvious.

“Esme,” Raphael was the one speaking this time. “I think you can read minds. James unshield us and everyone be quiet but make your thoughts loud.”

Suddenly the voices came flooding back to me. I covered my ears, “Owww can you guys stop your going to break my eardrums if you don’t.” Then I heard the most beautiful inner voice that sounded like James was talking. “I’m sorry love,” he thought to me.

I walked over to Rosemary to pick her up. I wasn’t worried about hurting her because James could shield her and her skin is as hard as ours.