AN: This is a Christmas story I put together because my twitter buddies, Kaia and Pam, were complaining about the lack of holiday fics. I hope you enjoy this little tale told from alternating Edward and Bella points of view. I will be posting a chapter a day, corresponding to the twelve days leading up to and including December 25.

Much thanks goes out to Julie, Pam, Kaia, and Stephanie, who all helped me out by pre-reading and encouraging me to keep writing. Also, there aren't enough words to thank my friends Perry Maxwell and Bookishqua, who both agreed to beta this at the last minute. They are a couple of the greatest people and authors you could ever meet.

All mistakes are mine and I own none of these characters. This will be the only author note for the story, unless there are major questions from reviews that need to be addressed later. There will be a mention of past verbal/physical abuse, but it will not be graphic. Please take caution if you are sensitive to this topic.

Have a happy and safe holiday season!

Twelve Drummers Drumming

~*~Edward~*~

I really hated attending charity hand-out events. During every holiday season over the years, my father made sure my siblings and I participated in some way.

It was noble to give back when we were so fortunate.

That saying had been hammered into my head since I was a kid. So there I stood, behind a makeshift buffet, scooping food I had helped cook onto plates for the homeless. The whole scene made me extremely uncomfortable, and I couldn't wait for the evening to end.

It wasn't that I didn't believe in charity or helping those in need, it was the hypocrisy inherent in this particular tradition. Three hundred and sixty-some days a year, the lot of us were out there making and spending our money, not giving two hoots about the less fortunate.

Now, taking a day to cater to them in some big show was supposed to correct our karma?

They stared at me with the same unease I felt, eyeing me with disdain, and I completely understood why. They saw me as some rich do-gooder who wanted nothing more than to pat my own back. That was the reason most of the other trust fund babies were here, preening in front of the cameras and newscasters present to broadcast our good deeds.

What a load of crap.

There was no legitimate reason for the news cameras to be filming the rich serving the poor, except for the fact the rich wanted everyone to know how wonderful and magnanimous they were. It certainly didn't matter to them that the cameras likely made the homeless feel even more small and insignificant… as if our presence and some turkey could solve all of their problems. Each time one of them met my eyes with a wary expression, I wanted to assure them I was aware of how much I looked like a dickhead back here.

"Eddie, quit slopping that food around. You just got a spot on my new Dolce blouse."

I suppressed a groan from the annoying voice breaking into my brooding thoughts.

Tanya.

Another society princess here for her yearly duty, and a constant drain on my intelligence quotient. Our parents had deemed us a suitable match, and we were often pushed together at functions where I was required to be present.

"Why would you wear something that expensive to serve food anyway?"

I grumbled under my breath and took a deep breath, pushing my annoyance down and trying not to roll my eyes. Ladling up another heap of mashed potatoes, I lifted my head to glance across the table at the next person waiting in line.

Sweet baby Jesus.

My heart skipped a beat as a pair of gorgeous brown eyes stared back at me. They were deep, dark, captivating, and pulled me in completely. And not only her eyes, her entire face was gorgeous. Her nose, her cheeks, her perfect lips.

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. I couldn't do anything but stare.

The spoon fell from my hand and landed in the large vat with a splat.

"Shit!"

My cheeks heated in embarrassment as I tried to fish the spoon out of the potatoes. Whatever was going on had me flustered to a point beyond anything I'd ever experienced. Nothing and nobody had ever thrown me for a loop like this before. A giggle burst from the girl in front of me and my mouth turned up in a smile at the sound. It calmed me a little, and once I had hold of the utensil again, I glanced back at her.

Unfortunately, she hid her face from me behind a curtain of dark brown hair.

"You should probably get a double scoop for having to witness my clumsiness," I joked, hoping she would show me those magnetic eyes again.

She didn't say a word, only held out her plate. I shuffled my feet, trying to think of something—anything—to say to keep her here. The crowd in line behind her began making noises, agitated with my dawdling.

Eventually I sighed, putting the food on her plate. "Merry Christmas."

She immediately bolted to the next station, giving me nothing further after her giggle. No smile, no words, not even a nod of acknowledgement. In between serving others, I tried to keep track of her.

The girl with the prettiest eyes in the world.

She had maneuvered to a corner table and sat next to an old woman wrapped in a ratty shawl. The two of them were huddled together, although it seemed like only the old woman ate.

Why wasn't Brown Eyes eating? Was she sick? Did she not think she could take enough for two?

After the tenth elbow from Tanya to quit holding up the line with my staring, I shook my head at my obsessive thoughts. I was borderline stalking some poor girl who was obviously down on her luck. I forced myself to leave her alone. The last thing she needed was to deal with my neuroses.

But as the long line kept moving forward, my eyes continued to dart in her direction, as if she was tugging my attention with a string.

I could just go over there. Take her a plate like a gentleman. She had to be hungry.

What could it hurt?

As the line dwindled, I finally worked up the nerve. I took off the silly apron and Santa hat before grabbing a plate.

"Are you starving, Edward?" Tanya asked with a snort.

I ignored her, piling portions of everything available on the plate. The others chimed in with more rude remarks and questions, but I didn't care. There was only one goal in my mind: go talk to the girl.

When I finished with the plate and turned to walk back to their corner, my heart stuttered again. But this time it wasn't as pleasant as the first. She was no longer at the table. My stomach churned as I glanced around the room, not finding her anywhere. The old woman still sat at the same table, and I decided to take a chance. I walked over, and she gazed up at me as I approached.

"Hello," I said, putting the plate down on the table in front of her. I sat down, leaving a chair between us and held out my hand in greeting. "I'm Edward."

She eyed my hand in speculation before meeting my eyes again. Her stare was intent as if she was sizing me up, and oddly enough, I found myself hoping she approved. She was dressed in rags, obviously hadn't had a bath—or a haircut—in years, and smelled like something I would throw out in the garbage. Despite all of that, I had a strange compulsion to be in her favor. For her to like me.

And I had no idea why.

Finally, she reached out and grasped my hand, shaking it with a firm grip. I waited for her to tell me her name, but she never talked. Our hands fell from each other and I pushed the plate closer to her.

"Um… I brought over another plate. There was… a girl sitting here and I… I wanted to make sure she ate something," I stammered, rubbing the back of my neck. I sounded crazy.

She smirked at me and shook her head, but didn't say a word. I sighed at the awkward silence, wondering if she even understood what I was saying.

"Well, I don't want this to go to waste. Can I wrap it up for you to take with you?"

Her eyes lit up, and I smiled at her eager nodding. That was something at least.

I picked the plate back up and took it to the kitchen. After putting the wrapped food in a bag, I grabbed my wallet and pulled out a few twenties, placing them to the side of the food before closing the bag tightly. When I returned to her table, I was disappointed to find Brown Eyes still missing.

"Here you go." I set the bag in front of her. "I hope you have a Merry Christmas."

Before I could turn to walk away, she gripped my wrist. She crooked her finger, enticing me to come closer, and I leaned down until we were eye-to-eye.

"Bella good girl," she whispered. "Bella went try get bed for night."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was such an idiot. Here I was, thinking about the most captivating eyes I had ever seen, and here they were, worried about staying warm in the freezing weather.

I was an asshole.

I crouched down in front of her. "Do you have someplace to stay warm tonight?"

She nodded. "Have my place. Bella 'fraid there. Bad men no bother me. Scare Bella, though."

Her soft words echoed in my head, and an intense urge to protect the girl flared up inside me. Bella. Her name was Bella. I ground my teeth, thinking of the horrors she must have gone through daily.

"Do you know where she would have gone tonight?"

She shook her head and shrugged.

I ran a hand through my hair as I stood back up, unsure what to do next. "Thank you. Are you sure you have a place to go?"

She nodded and crooked her finger again. I chuckled and leaned down.

"I Ruby."

I grinned and held out my hand again and shook hers. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ruby. Take care of yourself."

Tanya and the rest of the society crowd were long gone by the time I went back to the serving area. I stayed behind and helped clean, hoping maybe Brown Eyes would show back up. Eventually, I threw in the towel. It was nearing midnight when I finally emerged from the building.

The wind and snow blowing off of Lake Michigan were fierce, and I tightened my heavy coat around me as I walked to my car. The streets were desolate in the rundown area, and I was just thinking it probably wasn't the best idea to walk alone in the middle of the night in this part of Chicago when I was knocked down to the ground from behind. My breath whooshed out of me when I hit the pavement.

"Give me your money," a voice snarled behind me.

I turned my head and found a grimy man with dirty blond hair tied back at the nape of his neck. What caught my attention the most was the knife in his hand, gleaming from the streetlight.

I quickly scampered to my feet before he could stop me, and faced him. I was both taller and bigger, but I wasn't a fool. I didn't feel like dying on a dark street for a few bucks. My eyes stayed on him as I pulled my wallet out.

"Give me the whole thing," he said when he saw me grabbing the cash.

"Take the cash and call it a day," I sneered.

Fuck him.

He moved closer to me, the knife tight in his grip. "Give me the fucking wallet."

As I contemplated some defensive moves I could make to disarm him, someone flew toward us in my peripheral vision.

"No!" she screamed, jumping on the back of the grimy man.

My mouth gaped as they both tumbled to the ground. She was yelling, hitting him over and over with her tiny fists. The knife became dislodged when he crashed to the sidewalk, and I kicked it away.

"Bitch, get off me!" he yelled and threw her off his back.

He took off running, and I knelt down next to the girl. My breath caught for the second time tonight.

It was her.

Brown Eyes.

Her head had smacked the pavement when he threw her aside, and I gently brushed my fingers over the bump, glad I couldn't feel any blood. She shivered when I leaned in closer and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Are you all right?"

She opened her eyes and nodded.

"I need to get you looked at. You bumped your head pretty hard."

"No, please. No hospitals." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her request was clear. I didn't understand why, but wasn't going to argue with her out in the street.

She shivered again, probably from shock and the extreme weather. It was no wonder. The girl had no meat on her bones and was hardly wearing clothing appropriate for the freezing temperatures. Jeans and two cotton long-sleeves didn't cut it in a Midwest winter.

There was no way I was letting her out of my sight again, let alone leaving her here alone in the cold and dark. I put an arm under her knees and another around her shoulders, lifting her up as I stood. Her eyes fluttered closed by the time I made it to my car.

"Bella?"

She didn't rouse at all after I called her name a few times, and I wasn't sure if I should try to wake her or not. I needed some medical advice.

I placed her in the passenger seat and buckled her in before rushing to my side and blasting the heat as soon as the ignition turned. After pulling away, I dialed the number for my brother-in-law. I would attempt to abide by her wishes, unless Jasper told me she needed to be seen in a hospital.

"Hello?" his sleepy voice asked when he picked up.

"Jasper, I need you to come over to my place right now."

"It's the middle of the night, and I have a shift starting at six in the morning."

"This is an emergency. I need your help."

He must have heard the pleading tone of my voice. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

I hung up and glanced over at the brown-eyed beauty next to me. Her hand was ice cold when I reached to hold it in mine.

"I'm taking you home."