"I worry about her."
Carlisle Cullen glanced up at his wife. She stood at the study window, caramel curls gently luminescent in the moonlight. Porcelain forehead wrinkled, she absently fingered the window frame. Carlisle didn't have to ask as to the subject of her statement. Bella had just left with Edward, eyes bloodshot from exhaustion, bloodshot yet strangely exhilarated. She had just been reassured of imminent immortality and the promise glowed beneath her skin. Edward would try to dissuade her, his glowering expression revealed that much, but Carlisle knew that Bella's change was an inevitability that none of them could avoid. Her tenacity rivaled Rosalie's, much to the latter's chagrin.
"What about her: her inability to walk on two feet or her invariable danger magnetism?" He smiled slightly. It was a weary motion that Esme absorbed with a flick of her eyes.
"Both," she acknowledged, "More than that, actually." Biting her lip, she crossed the room to Carlisle.
"Did you see her, Carlisle? Really see her, I mean? Her skin was almost as pale as mine or yours! Did you the register weight loss? The bruises?" She gripped his shoulder.
Of course he had. He wouldn't be a good doctor if he hadn't. In fact, he had noted it soon after Bella had managed to extricate herself from Esme's arms upon their arrival in the airport. He studied the brave subject of Edward's desire, intently noting a few disturbing differences. Her clumsiness wasn't new but Bella's arms showed evidence of recently healed lacerations and contusions. He could smell the sharp scent of liquid stitches lingering on her person. Her hair lacked its previous luster, dull and damaged. Purple circles bloomed beneath haunted brown eyes. And then, even more concerning, was Alice's story and the reason behind this entire fiasco in the first place.
He nodded as she continued.
"She jumped off a cliff. Do you really believe her story about recreation? We didn't almost just lose a son. We almost lost a daughter too!"
Her earnest topaz eyes met his and he could read the turmoil in their depths. An image of Esme's broken body flashed in his mind and he felt the sudden urge to embrace her tightly to his chest. Barely controlling this desperate impulse, Carlisle chose his words carefully.
"I know, love. I know. I greatly regret that Bella was hurt by our absence."
Esme opened her mouth to speak but Carlisle gently tapped his finger to her lips.
"But we're back now. Bella didn't succeed in killing herself, whether that was her original intention or not. Edward didn't manage quite as he planned as well. And soon, Bella will truly be our daughter. We just must be sure that we don't make the same mistake twice."
"I could help her," Esme whispered, "I know…" Anguish was personified in her voice.
Carlisle's eyes flashed and again he saw Esme's beautiful, broken body in the morgue. Even in death, she had been glorious. However, alive she was a divinity. He saw the face that had smiled at him tentatively as a young girl in his practice in Chicago. Composure abandoned, he gripped her in his arms, lips grazing the top of her head. She stiffened before melting into his embrace.
He whispered in her ear. "I know that they love each other, just as I love you."
A dry sob escaping Esme's throat, she looked up into the good doctor's burning eyes.
"As I do you."
And everything was forgotten in one searing kiss. A familiar warmth spread to her toes as Esme held her savior, searching his mouth. Hand tangling in her hair, Carlisle clenched his personal angel. She had fallen at his feet, time and time again, as though it were ordained by the Heavens.