Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga and all its scenes and characters belong to their respective owners (Stephenie Meyer, etc.). I write fanfics merely to entertain, not to gain profit out of it.

Some of you wanted this story to be a little longer, so I extended it for you with my wonderful beta Mikarin Aoi's help, as always. ^-^ I hope you enjoy it.

Why Can't You See (Extended)

Several months have passed since Esme Anne Platt joined the Cullen family. She had quite the struggle trying to resist human blood, but had improved a lot and Carlisle was extremely proud of her.

"You're doing great, Esme. Your self-control has improved enormously," he said one day they were hunting together in the forest and a group of humans passed them by.

Esme timidly smiled. "Thank you, Carlisle," she answered. She would have blushed if she were still human. But somehow she still felt insecure about herself. She had doubts about Carlisle's decision of changing her. She needed to know…

"Carlisle... I need to ask you something..."

"You know you can ask me anything, Esme."

"I just don't know why..."

"Why what?"

"Why you bothered changing me in the first place. You're perfect... You've never killed anyone... You're a doctor; you even heal humans and resist their blood without help. I, on the other hand, am weak and useless."

"Oh, Esme…" he sighed, a little sadly. "You can't see it."

She looked at him, surprised. "See what?"

"Everything I've done since I met you. Everything I did when you were human. Everything I've been doing since you woke up and I got to know you more."

Although Carlisle wasn't tired, for as vampires, they could never be, he took his seat upon a huge boulder and offered his hand to Esme, inviting her to sit next to him. She gracefully did and folded her hands upon her lap, sitting like a real, proper lady.

"You know…" he continued, "I always tried to keep you safe, to protect you. When we met, your scent, your blood... it was too much. That's why I left so quickly, only a week after we met. I'm far from being perfect, Esme. Your blood was too much for me. All my years of practice, withstanding the scent of blood, seemed to be practically useless with you. I've never been weaker than when I met you. I couldn't risk your life. You were such an innocent, kind, sweet, vivacious, hopeful, beautiful girl. And I really liked you, perhaps even a little too much. I had to stop that attachment right away. It was too dangerous for you, although it did help me resist your blood."

He was certain the embarrassment would've presented on his face were he still human, but he had to tell her. She needed to know. And she deserved to.

"That's why I left. I wanted to protect you from myself. And I must confess I tried not to think about you the next years, because it was painful knowing that I would never see you again, but I couldn't help it. I thought about you practically every day. I wondered how you would be, if you had become a teacher as you've always dreamt, if you had your own family... I truly hoped you were happy. I never wished anything else."

Carlisle paused with a thoughtful expression on his face, which turned solemn as he slowly continued.

"When I found you dying in that cold morgue... It was too much to bear. It was so unfair, too cruel. You were so young, so precious. You deserved a long life full of happiness. And I wanted to give you a second chance at life. But I won't lie to you. I didn't want to lose you either. I enjoyed having you close. So I bit you and took you home. And later you awoke, stunning like a goddess and as kind as an angel. You never hated me. And in the next days I completely fell in love with you, Esme. I've cared about you since we met, but then I felt something I've never felt before and so strong that I'm still intimidated. It's love. That, I know now. I love you, Esme Anne Platt. I love you."

She stared at him in disbelief and shook her head. "No. That's not possible."

"Do you think I would lie to you?" Carlisle asked, his words low and gentle. He almost looked hurt.

"No," she shook her head with more energy. "But it doesn't make sense. You can't love me."

"Why not? Why can't you see?"

"You simply can't. It's absurd. I'm worthless. You're flawless; you resisted my blood when I was sixteen and when you bit me. You're extraordinary. I'm not," she fussed a little too fervently.

"Oh, Esme…" He wanted to hold her tight and swear to God that he loved her more than anything. Why couldn't she see? "Why can't you see...?" he reiterated.

"You... You think you love me..." Esme stammered. "But… but that makes no sense. I'm weak and worthless. I don't deserve your love."

"What are you saying? Oh, dear God, Esme, why can't you see? Why can't you see that I love you? I love you more than I've ever loved anyone ever. I love you more than my own life. I love you more than anything. I love you. Why can't you see it?"

She started sobbing then, wishing her tears could come. He gently cupped her face with his hands.

"Don't cry. Please, don't cry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm so sorry. I'm terribly sorry. Please, please, don't cry."

She looked at him with eyes that were filled with pain and sadness.

"You didn't make me cry. I'm crying because I love you too, Carlisle… I've always loved you, since the day we met. But I'm so worthless… I'm crying because I'm so unworthy of you… I don't deserve you… Although I wished it for years, I still can't understand why you love me. I'm not good enough. I'm not beautiful or smart… not like you. I'm broken. I'm just a poor and weak woman who lost everything. I couldn't save my baby, and what's worse, I couldn't save myself. I didn't want to save myself after that… Charles was right, I'm useless. I should be dead. I have nothing. I am nothing."

"Don't say that. Please, don't say that. You don't know how much you mean to me. You are everything to me. You gave me a new reason to exist, a new reason to continue, a new reason to live. You gave my life sense. I can't even begin to explain how happy I am I found you again. How fortunate and grateful I am that I was able to save you. How happy I am to know you love me, to know that you have always loved me. I've never been happier. Because you are a beautiful, brave, strong, kind and wonderful woman.

You are so beautiful that your husband became insecure and so mistreated you because he feared you would find someone else and leave him. You were so brave and strong that you left him to save your baby, getting over your fears. You saved your baby from him. You are so kind that you don't hate me for changing you into a vampire and damning you with an eternal existence. You are a wonderful woman, Esme Anne Platt. You have always been and you will always be. And I love you just as you are; I love every bit of you. Because you are the best person I've ever met in my entire life. You are perfect to me, and you always will be."

She didn't know what to answer, so she said the simple truth.

"I love you," she said, her voice a little hoarse.

"I love you too, my darling," he answered, smiling. "I love you with all my heart, soul and being. And that's why I have to ask. My dearest Esme, my one and only... Will you grant me the extraordinary honor and happiness of becoming my wife and spending the rest of our existence together?"

Esme's hands flew to cover her mouth, new sobs tearing from her chest. "Dear God knows how many times I dreamed about this day and hearing this question from you and for how long my answer was ready. Yes, I will, Carlisle. Nothing could make me happier than having you, the most wonderful person I've ever met, as my husband. I will."

With a smile brighter than the sun, Carlisle stood up, pulling Esme up with him. He wrapped his arms lovingly around the female vampire. Enveloped in his embrace, Esme was still sobbing.

"I'm sorry I'm such a crybaby..."

"No, Esme. You're not the only one. Tears of happiness would be running down my cheeks right now if that were still possible. You've just accepted my proposal. Right now, I don't think there's a man, human or vampire, happier than I am. You made me the happiest man on Earth. And do you still think you're not extraordinary? Nobody has ever made me this happy, this blissful. And nobody will ever be able to, only you. You have a gift, Esme. Love. True and pure, selfless love. And I think the ability of loving and the gift of being loved is the best present you can have. This is why the fact that you are giving me your unconditional love is the best present I can ever have. You are everything I have been looking for. And this is why I'm the happiest man alive."

"God... Carlisle... I don't know what to say."

"I just need three words, Esme. Just three words and I will be in Heaven. Just three words I will never get tired of hearing. Because no matter how many times you say it, they will never lose their meaning, like our love will never disappear. A love like ours will never disappear. Please, just say those three words..."

Esme looked up into her future husband's eyes and spoke those three words he so longed to hear, "I love you."

With a smile, she continued, "I love you, Carlisle Cullen. I love you with all my heart, with all my soul, and all my being. I love you."

"I love you too, Esme Anne Platt. Never forget my love. I will never forget yours."

"I'll never forget."

"And never forget I'm yours."

"I'm all yours, too, Carlisle. I love you."

"I love you, Esme."

He cupped her face with his hands once more (God knew how much he loved doing this) and touched his lips to hers, their lips meeting in the sweetest kiss ever.