"Dr. Cullen?"

I looked up from the paperwork on my desk to see one of the nurses standing in my office doorway. "Yes?" I asked politely.

"Your wife just called. She was hoping you could come home early today."

I nodded, trying not to smile at the look of disappointment on the nurse's face. "Okay. Thank you, Nurse Warner."

She smiled and nodded, then turned and left, shutting the door behind her. As soon the sound of her footsteps had faded, I jumped up and grabbed my things. I may have acted calm before, but truthfully I was eager to get home to Esme and, hopefully, an otherwise empty house. After all, it wasour anniversary.

When I got home, however, Esme was nowhere to be found. I went into the house alone, disappointed. As I was hanging up my coat, I caught sight of a note in Esme's handwriting on the counter.

Carlisle—Alice and I went to Port Angeles for the day. We should be back in hour or so. Miss you. Love, Esme

I sighed. Oh, well. I could wait an hour, I supposed. I started to go upstairs to my study, but as I turned, I saw something else on the counter, a tan file folder. Curious, I went over and opened it to find another note from Esme.

Dear Carlisle, Happy anniversary! I told you I wouldn't let you do all the gift giving. Don't worry, I didn't spend a cent. I love you. Love, Esme

I laughed and picked up the CD case on top of the little pile in the folder, a little surprised—one of my presents for Esme had been similar to this. Strange.

I popped the CD into the stereo and flipped the case over as I listened, where Esme had put a list of the songs.

Love Story by Taylor Swift

As Long as You're Mine from Wicked

For Good from Wicked

Bubbly by Colbie Caillat

Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

I listened to all the songs, understanding, for the most part, why she had picked them. I was only a little confused by the last one, Pocketful of Sunshine. Was Esme trying to tell me something? (a/n: If you've never heard this song or don't know what it's about, here's a link for the lyrics: lyrics/natasha%20bedingfield/POCKETFUL%20OF%20SUNSHINE/)

I bit my lip, thinking. You could buy practically anything nowadays, even stars. Could I buy my love an island to escape to? God knew I probably had enough money for it.

I turned back to the file folder and picked up the piece of paper on top—it looked like an old journal entry…

I know it sounds crazy, but I think he must have been my guardian angel. Crazy, yes, but it's the only thing I can think of. It would explain why he was always there, even in the middle of the night, and why he left the hospital after I had been discharged. Is it wrong to fall in love with your guardian angel?

I smiled—she'd never told me that theory, and it actually was a little amusing. Me, an angel? I don't think so.

I went through the rest of the pile rather quickly—there were a few more diary pages, as well as a design picture of the living room of our house in Ashland, which, strangely, seemed to be centered around me. The last thing in there was a drawing of a beautiful little boy who looked a lot like me, but with brown eyes, like Esme's when she was human. I'd never seen anyone like him in my life. I frowned; I'd have to ask her about that later.

I went upstairs to my study, bringing the folder with me. I had some research to do before Esme and Alice got home.

Esme walked into a little store right behind Alice, touching her locket. Carlisle had given it to her this morning. She had thought he might have forgotten their anniversary, but less than five minutes after she had left him and went down to the kitchen, he had come up behind her, putting the fine silver chain around her neck. It was very simple, a heart-shaped locket with her initials, EAC, engraved on the front and the word love on the back. She had turned around, surprised and delighted, to thank him, but before she could say anything he had her lips trapped under his. She hadn't even tried to resist; he was much stronger than her, and in any case she couldn't deny that she enjoyed when he kissed her like that.

But that wasn't even her only present. When she went into the living room to read and wait for Alice, she had found a folder on her chair with her name on it. Inside was a collection of sketches of her, most of which she had never seen before—one of her sitting by the fireplace in their Ashland home, reading, twisting her around her finger, her feet tucked under her; her in the garden, smelling a rose; her asleep, sixteen, in the Columbus hospital. She was quite surprised by the pictures; she had known Carlisle could draw, but she hadn't known that ever drew her or that he had so many pictures of her.

And then, when she and Alice had finally gotten everything together and were leaving, the found a CD in the CD player of Esme's car, with the songs Can't Smile Without You by Frank Sinatra, 1,2,3,4 by the Plain White T's, I'll Cover You from Rent, All I Ask of Youfrom The Phantom of the Opera, and a recording of the song that Edward had written for them. Esme was so happy she could've cried and was starting to wonder how Alice wasn't sick of her yet, she had been talking about Carlisle so much.

Alice must have seen Esme's question coming, because she grinned suddenly and said, "Esme. How could you even think that? I love you. And besides," she added, "I'd much rather hear about Carlisle than Emmett." Esme joined in Alice's laughter, but suddenly Alice's eyes went blank, and a look of incredulous delight spread across her face. "He didn't!" she exclaimed.

"Who didn't what?" Esme asked curiously.

Alice looked confused for a moment, then said, "Oh—Jasper's going to get me that necklace I've been looking at. I can't believe it, it's so pretty."

Esme couldn't help frowning; she knew Alice was lying. On the other hand, she also knew Alice wouldn't lie to her if she didn't feel like it was her responsibility to do so, so Esme decided to let it go for now. "Oh. Lucky you." She fingered a dark blue-gray cashmere scarf absently. "Do you think Carlisle would like this?" she asked Alice, holding it out for her to see.

"He'd better," Alice replied. "It's his color."

Esme laughed. She really should spend more time with Alice.

Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie ended up beating Alice and Esme home.

It didn't really bother me; I figured they had just gotten distracted and would be home soon.

Edward saw my plan before he'd walked through the door. "You bought her an island?" he said in disbelief. I nodded.

"Wow," he said.

"I know," I replied. "I'm crazy."

"When are you going to tell her?"

I paused. I'd already thought about this, but I still wasn't entirely sure. "I was thinking I'd tell her when she and Alice get home. The island actually comes with a house, and they said they could have it ready for us in three days, so I thought we could go down for the weekend. As long as you guys think you'll be okay, anyway."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Of course we'll be okay. This isn't the first time you guys have gone away, you know."

"Just making sure."

Just then, the door opened and I heard Esme and Alice come in. Alice immediately came to find me. "Did you actually do it?" she asked, a little breathlessly.

I nodded, then said hesitantly, "Is she going to like it?"

"Carlisle!" Alice said indignantly. "I can't tell you that, that's cheating!"

"Whoa," Edward said suddenly. He glared at Alice. "We didn't need to see that, thank you."

"Sorry," Alice said. Then she turned back to me. "I'm not going to tell you. Be surprised. And don't you tell him, either," she added threateningly to Edward, who made a face. "Can I at least give him a hint?" he asked.

Alice sighed. "If youmust," she replied in an exasperated tone, then went upstairs to put her new things away. I raised an eyebrow at Edward. He winked. "Let me just say, I don't think you'll be seeing a heck of a lot of that island," he said with a grin.

I frowned. Was that supposed to have been helpful?

Edward's smile widened. "Yes," he said. "Now go talk to Esme."

When I got into the kitchen, Esme was already there, standing by the counter and looking like she was waiting for me. She smiled when she saw me, and I went over to give her a kiss. "How was your day?" I asked, keeping my forehead pressed against hers.

She smiled. "Fun. Girly. I got you something," she added, pulling away and reaching for a bag on the counter.

"Anything good?" I asked, curious in spite of my own news.

"Well, I think so," she said, pulling a dark blue-gray scarf out of the bag. "Like it?"

"It's okay," I said, teasing her.

"Yeah?" she asked, her tone playful. "Personally, I think it's better like this." She came up to me and looped the scarf around my neck, pulling me closer to her and kissing my neck lightly. "Beautiful," I said, cupping her chin in my hand and pulling her lips to mine.

I allowed the kiss to last another minute and then pulled away and asked, "Esme, would like to go away this weekend? Just you and I? The kids can take care of themselves."

Her eyes brightened. "I would love to. Where would we go?"

"Sorry," I said. "That part's a surprise."

She frowned slightly, but her face cleared after a second. "Okay," she said.

"Wonderful," I replied, and leaned down to kiss her again.

The trip to Isle Esme was a very long one, partly because of Esme herself. I don't think her hands left my skin during the entire sixteen-hour flight to Rio de Janeiro, and she wasn't exactly being chaste. Needless to say, I was completely distracted and wasn't able to read a single page of the book I had brought for the flight.

I didn't really feel like tormenting her much longer, so the boat ride to the island was relatively short. When I stopped the boat, Esme frowned. "Where are we?" she asked, looking confused. I smiled. "This," I said, "is Isle Esme."

"What?" she said. "Oh, my God, Carlisle, you didn't!"

My smile widened. "Yes, I did," I said. "Happy anniversary, love."

Suddenly she was in my arms, kissing me and unbuttoning my shirt, and I abruptly remembered what Edward had said, about not seeing a lot of the island. I smiled. This was going to be a nice weekend.