A/N: This fic was partially inspired by The Cannabean Bethrothal, but more directly by Big Love. It references a made up polygamist religion that is based on fundamentalist Mormanism, but is not intended to accurately reflect that religion. It will have three parts- first Esme, then Carlisle, and last, Bella. It is Esme/Carlisle, and Bella/Carlisle.

A covenant is a contract with, or promise to, God.

As I lay in my marital bed, alone for the first time in 21 years, I prayed to God for the strength to not only bear, but welcome the change that had just happened in my life.

It had always been a possibility, even an inevitability, but I'd gotten soft and selfish and, if my current state of emotion was any indication, jealous of my husband's love and attentions. I'd had him to myself for so long, building a life with him and bearing his children. We'd been through so many joys, and the greatest of tragedies together.

He was my husband, my lover, and my spiritual leader. We were strong together, but we always knew we were not strong with God.

Our beautiful son's early death was proof enough of that, and for him, for Edward, I would push away my jealousy and pain and welcome Bella into our family with open arms.

It would be easier, though, if I didn't have to hear her sharp cry of pain as my husband pushed through her virginity with a low, loud groan of his own.

I prayed to God to thicken our walls, for at least this one night.

~esme~esme~esme~

I arose early the next morning, tired from my fitful night of sleep. As I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, I saw the damning puffiness of my eyes that would let my family know I couldn't hold back the tears last night. I wet a cloth with cold water and pressed it firmly against my eyes as shame flooded through my body.

This was a time of happiness. Our family was finally fulfilling our covenant with God. I had a new Sister Wife, a girl I had watched grow up into a beautiful young woman with a pure heart, a girl who had was our daughter's best friend and who would have been our son's first wife. It was not Bella's fault that I still thought of her as a girl and not a woman. She was only a little younger than Alice, and we had given our daughter away in marriage over a year ago. Alice had just birthed her first child to her husband, and as I tried to get rid of the signs of my tears, I reminded myself that with God's blessings, Bella would give us another baby soon as well.

I took a quick shower, distracting myself with thoughts of laughing children once again filling our home and our hearts. I'd always wanted a large family, not only because it was a tribute to God, but because I felt born to be a mother even more than a wife. If only we'd heeded God's warning when I'd lost pregnancy after pregnancy after our twins' birth, but in spite of our losses we were happy with our small family and our two children hadn't given me much time to mourn over the fact that there wouldn't be more.

Perhaps if Carlisle had brought another wife into our covenant then, Edward would still be alive.

I shook my head, physically trying to rid myself of the poisonous thought. I'd certainly been content enough to have Carlisle's full focus, and if I'd wondered in the beginning when he would take another, that thought faded over the years. Now, things were finally the way they should be and I was going to do my best to not only accept it, but embrace it.

I would embrace Bella and welcome her into our home. I would not allow her to see my tears or my selfish jealousy.

~esme~esme~esme~

I spent the early morning hours in the garden, working quietly under the rising sun so that I wouldn't disturb the newlyweds. It was work I enjoyed and it did as good a job as anything of distracting me from the thought of my husband waking up in Bella's bed instead of mine. His morning appetite was voracious in more ways than one, and leaving the house early before either one of them had a chance to wake up was the kindest thing for all of us.

I stayed out as long as I could, weeding and deadheading the roses, but when the sun was high overhead and my watch said it was past time to get breakfast started, I put away my gardening tools and headed inside to the kitchen. I started the kettle for tea and opened the refrigerator, contemplating what I should make. I briefly considered just setting out leftover pastries from the wedding gathering, but quickly decided against it. A small smile lit my lips as I remembered how hungry I had been the day after my own wedding, a combination of not having eaten because of nerves and an exhausting if thrilling wedding night.

As I heated up some bacon and sliced freshly baked bread to make French toast, a calmness spread through me. I had gained more than I'd lost and I would make the most of it. Yesterday's wedding had marked a fresh start for all of us.

When the bacon was finished, I placed it on a plate and bent down to slide it into the oven to keep warm. Standing up, I felt a familiar pair of strong arms wrap around me from behind and I relaxed back into Carlisle's chest for just a moment. He was freshly showered and I took a deep breath of his clean, slightly spicy scent. The simple act comforted me, a feeling that multiplied as his lips brushed my ear.

"Good morning, my love. Breakfast smells wonderful as always."

I smiled and turned in his arms to place a soft kiss of greeting on his lips.

"I was just waiting for you so I could finish the French toast. The water is hot if you'd like a cup of tea."

Carlisle smiled back at me, perhaps a little more stiffly than usual, and turned to the counter where I'd carefully placed three cups.

His hand faltered for the briefest of seconds before he picked up a cup, much the way my own hand had done as I pulled down an extra one to set out.

Turning away, I battered the first slices of bread and added them to the skillet. Behind me I heard Carlisle slide back a chair, followed by the sound of his morning paper snapping open. The routine of it all gave me a sense of peace as I finished up his breakfast, and then my own. I turned down the heat on the skillet just a bit, leaving it on in case Bella joined us soon.

When I sat down on his right, Carlisle looked up from his paper and reached out to grab my hand.

"It's delicious. Thank you for always taking such good care of me."

It was a sentiment that he'd spoken countless times over the years, but this time there was an extra note of seriousness that was new. I pulled my hand from under his only to lift it and stroke my fingers gently across his furrowed brow.

"Taking care of you is one of my greatest pleasures in life." And I would do it the best I could for the rest of eternity, on this plane of existence and the next.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, but there was a heaviness that grated at my senses and made it difficult to enjoy my food. I nearly sighed in relief when Carlisle cleared his throat and broke the silence.

"I heard you get up this morning. It was really early. Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked, a flash of anguish marking his face before he swallowed and composed himself.

I didn't want him to worry about me, nor feel any guilt over his relationship with Bella. It was as God wanted and I had no desire to defy His wishes any longer.

This time, I was the one to grab his hand and squeeze.

"I've slept beside you for over 20 years, Carlisle. It will take some time for me to get used to sleeping alone. I promise, I'll adjust and everything will be fine."

He nodded, squeezing my hand in support, but worry still marked his handsome face.

"I. . . I love you Esme. I'll do anything in my power to make this transition easier for both you and Bella."

"I know you will," I answered. It was the truth. I had been trusting Carlisle to take care of me and guide me my entire adult life and he had never let me down.

But my assurances didn't seem to sooth him as they normally did. His jaw clenched and he looked down for a moment before meeting my eyes again.

"I'll call the contractor today and pay him as much as it takes to move up the timeline on completing the third floor renovation."

It was my own turn to look down at my plate as I absorbed both his words and the underlying implications. It finally clicked what had him so tense and worried.

He'd been able to hear me when I got up this morning, and Carlisle was anything but stupid. He must have realized that if he could hear me through the wall that separated our bedrooms, that I had been able to hear them as well.

The memories of Bella's soft cries of pleasure and Carlisle's voice, murmuring words I couldn't understand and moans of satisfaction that I could, were too fresh. I closed my eyes against the sudden threat of tears and nodded, not wanting my husband to see the shamefulness of my emotions.

"Esme. . . ," he began, but whatever he planned to say was interrupted when my new Sister Wife appeared at the threshold of the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting. I'll just. . ." Bella began, but I quickly stood, shaking my head. I masked the emotions evoked by my conversation with Carlisle the best I could as I walked toward her.

"You're not interrupting, Bella," I assured her, smiling with as much warmth as I could muster. "This is your home now. If Carlisle and I want to have a private conversation, we'll do that in our. . . my bedroom. And you and he can have privacy in yours. Otherwise, I think it would work best if we just consider ourselves always welcome in any other room of the house. Don't you agree?"

Bella looked unsure, as her teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. Her gaze went to Carlisle, and I turned just enough to see him still seated at the table, with a soft, reassuring look. I could see the way her shoulders relaxed in response, and when she turned back to me, she was smiling shyly.

"Sure, I mean yes, I agree. Thank you, Esme."

I smiled back, then turned back to the stove and began preparing more food.

"Sit down, then, and let me get you some sustenance. I have a feeling that you're a very hungry woman this morning."

I glanced at her just in time to see a blush spread across her cheeks.

Turning back to the toast, I prayed that the awkwardness of our new status would fade soon.

~esme~esme~esme~

Carlisle took the time to kiss us both, whispering something private in each of our ears before he left to go to the hospital. His message to me was filled with gratitude and love for trying so hard to make Bella's first morning with us comfortable for her. I didn't know what he said to my Sister Wife, but whatever it was heated her cheeks once again and I had to bite back a tinge of jealousy for what felt like the hundredth time in 24 hours.

Bella insisted on washing the dishes from breakfast, and I reluctantly let her, knowing that the sooner we established a routine of sharing housework, the easier it would be for both of us. There was no point in treating her like a guest, though it was difficult to break a habit that we had forged over years and years of her visiting my home as a guest of my children.

We worked quietly together, companionably even. She dropped a spoon on the floor at one point and I noticed her wince as she squatted to pick it up, so I wordlessly got her a couple of Tylenol and set them on the island for her with a glass of water. Bella smiled gratefully, and I was able to smile back without reservation. I took no joy in her tenderness, able to remember even after all of these years what it had felt like the day after I'd lost my virginity. It had been both wondrous and terrifying, and I thought perhaps it would have been nice to have had a Sister Wife to comfort me the next day.

When we were finished cleaning, I hesitated, momentarily unsure of what I should do next. On a normal day I would go to spend some time with Alice and the baby, or head over to the library where I was a volunteer. But Carlisle had asked me to take a couple of days off to help Bella settle, and even if he hadn't asked, I would have done so.

After a deep breath to settle my nerves, I turned to Bella with a smile.

"Would you like to go to the living room and work out our schedules, or if you're still tired, we could hold off on that until later so you can take a nap."

Bella took a moment before answering and I could see her hesitation, and her anxiety. When she spoke up, her voice was soft.

"Whatever you want, Esme."

I felt a spark of irritation that I quickly squashed down. I realized that this situation must be as difficult for her as it was for me, perhaps even more so. I prayed to God for patience and understanding.

I was tempted to tell her we could talk later, as it was bound to be awkward and difficult. For that very reason, I forced myself to get it over with. It was just another thing I needed to get used to.

"Let me get the calendar, and I'll meet you in the living room. If we can get through a schedule, we'll be able to settle into a routine a little easier. I think that will make us all more comfortable."

I gathered what we needed and joined Bella on the couch. We started with the easy things: her class schedule at the local community college and my volunteering schedule, deciding how we would share cooking and cleaning duties given our other responsibilities.

"Of course when you start having children, we'll revisit our responsibilities," I assured, and I smiled in excitement at the thought. It occurred to me for the first time that though the odds were very low, my Sister Wife could already be pregnant.

That thought gave me the courage I needed to address the next issue at hand.

"I'm sure Carlisle has already told you that he'll be spending the rest of the week with you as a "pre-honeymoon" until he can take time off for a real trip. But we should probably discuss how we'd like to share his time after that." I paused for a moment, wanting to do my duty as First Wife and lead this discussion, but feeling like a bit of a fraud as Bella was more than aware that I had no first-hand experience in this area. I had grown up in a family with three mothers, but I'd now lived longer as a single wife than I had spent in my father's house and my memories of how my mothers' had split my father's time weren't fresh. However, there were only so many ways this could be done, so I took a deep breath and prayed to God for the confidence and wisdom to guide us through this. "It seems to me that we have a few options. We could share by day, by week, or somewhere in between. I suppose it's also possible that we could be more unstructured if that was our wish. What do you think?"

Bella flushed pink once again, and I reached over and gave her hand a soft pat, trying to put her at ease. She had always been reserved and I had no doubt that every bit of discomfort I felt about scheduling intimate time with Carlisle was multiplied for her. She gave me a somewhat nervous smile in response and took a deep breath. The fingers of her hand played at the hem of her shirt as she chewed at the inside of her cheek. I thought for a moment that she might refuse to answer, but just as I was preparing to offer a suggestion of trying a weekly schedule, she hesitantly spoke up.

"Maybe we could do an every-other-day schedule? My mother said that unstructured time leads to jealousy, and Sue said that sometimes a week just feels too long to go without sleeping beside one's husband. But, really, it's whatever you want, Esme."

I considered what she'd said, and then nodded in agreement. Bella's mothers had offered her sound advice, and I was grateful for it. I liked to think that I wouldn't be so petty as to count and compare the time that Carlisle spent with each of us in an unstructured schedule, but many a good woman before me had struggled with the green monster. If I was honest with myself, there was a part of me that worried that Carlisle would be so enamored with Bella's youthful beauty, fertility, and novelty that he would unwittingly favor her bed over mine. And I was used to having my husband beside me every night. This first week apart from him was going to be difficult enough without anticipating doing it every other week for the foreseeable future.

"I think that's a great idea, Bella. Let's see how that works and we can always reevaluate if we need to."

She nodded, looking relieved that we'd finished that particular conversation, so I denied my urge to tell her that I'd even be willing to give up one or two of my nights while she was ovulating whenever necessary. I didn't want her to think that her ability to bring us children was the only reason I was happy to welcome her into our family, though undoubtedly it was a big part of what was allowing me to muster the grace to face this challenge without resentment or regret.

Or at least without much resentment or regret.

~esme~esme~esme~

After we finished, I headed upstairs for an afternoon nap. I was so tired.

I doubted I would get much more sleep tonight.

A/N: Carlisle POV is up next week.