So the day had come and gone - the day they had all prepared for and held the worst type of angst for. Aro and his coven, The Volturi, threatened to end their existence, but by some miracle he pardoned whatever he initially thought to be a threat or wrongdoing.

Esme had not taken a moment to process the monumental nature of the aftermath of events. She and Carlisle had been so busy with all of their friends that there was virtually no time to stop and feel the emotions that were circulating.

She leaned her elbows against the railing of a small balcony on the third floor that overlooked the yard. There was silence - nothing. After the chaos it almost seemed unreal, as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.

Esme let out of a sigh to decompress and played the events in her mind from their meeting with The Volturi coven. She attempted not to let her thoughts run wild but all sorts of scenarios entered and exited her mind in rapid fashion. People could have died - those closest to her; the ones she loved most in the world. If just one of them had not made it out their entire world would not have been the same. Esme closed her eyes and let the cool breeze ease her mind a bit.

We are all still here and Aro has gone, Esme reminded herself. Nothing bad happened.

She joined her hands and leaned slightly over the railing again after overhearing a conversation between Edward and Bella about retreating back to their cottage with Renesmee.

Poor Renesmee, Esme thought. She must be terrified still.

Again, she had to remind herself that her granddaughter was okay. Her laughter from downstairs made Esme smile to herself. A child's laughter was like medicine to the soul. She was glad to know that Renesmee was in good spirits - at least right then.

A click from behind made Esme turn. She heard Carlisle enter their room but didn't see him in the dim lighting until he joined her on the balcony. She gave him an exhausted but genuine smile.

"Renesmee seemed to be fine," were his first words.

"I just heard her laughing." Esme smiled again and sighed and then turned toward the yard, placing her hands on the railing. At the same time Carlisle slid behind her and put one arm around her, the other over one of her hands.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, "You've done such a fine job of playing host with me to our friends that we haven't had the time to sit and talk."

"I'm relieved," Esme told him. "I'm relieved no one was hurt - or worse."

"You know in all of my years I was the most afraid I'd ever been leading up to that day." He cleared his throat.

"Well you did a great job for everyone in not showing it." Esme pulled him tighter against her and closed her eyes when she felt him kiss her cheek and then continue on until he got to her ear.

"I love you," he whispered.

Esme needed to hear those words. They - at least for a moment - made all of her other thoughts and feelings go away. "I love you, too."

They stood for a moment entwined with one another and stared out toward the woods. Edward, Bella and Renesmee emerged a moment later and headed to the trail that led out to their home away from home.

"Bye!" Renesmee's voice screeched through the night and she smiled and waved up at Carlisle and Esme.

"Goodnight sweetheart!" Esme called back with smile, breaking away from Carlisle for a second to wave.

Edward and Bella turned to look over their shoulders as the strolled hand in hand. They waved with matching grins and then guided their daughter toward their house.

Somewhere in the distance came a howl and Carlisle smirked as he heard Edward make a comment about Jacob. Bella nudged him with her elbow and as quickly as they had come outside they were gone.

Esme turned to Carlisle. "Things are okay..." She said the words as if she wanted confirmation.

"Things are okay," he confirmed with a nod.

Esme stared at him and then placed a hand on his face, tracing under his eye. Carlisle's eyes closed and he took in a small breath through his nose.

"You have tired eyes," Esme told him. She proceeded to leave a kiss on his cheek and then one on his lips.

Carlisle's eyes reopened and they shared another kiss. Esme pulled him gently by the hand and pulled the curtain across the open doors that led from the balcony to their bedroom.

"You want to leave the balcony doors open?" He asked, laying down in the center of the bed.

"The breeze is nice," Esme said with a shrug. Her husband looked as tired as she felt, and she quickly joined him on the bed. "Don't you wish we could just sleep for the next eight or nine hours?"

Carlisle draped an arm around her and kept his eyes closed as she snuggled up beside him. "I would love nothing more."

"It would be nice to give our minds a rest," Esme told him, "If nothing more."

He nodded and felt Esme adjust so she was half on his chest looking up at him with her hands beneath her chin.

Carlisle opened his eyes. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing." Esme didn't break eye contact and Carlisle motioned for her to come toward him a little more. She positioned her face above his and then leaned her lips down so they touched his. Carlisle kissed her back softly, letting his tongue slide against hers.

Esme took a deep breath in a brief break of their kisses and then kissed him back with a little more force.

Carlisle slid one hand up the back of Esme's shirt and squeezed her hip with his other hand. She leaned back and swiftly removed the shirt so she could feel Carlisle's skin against hers. Esme then began to toy with the buttons on his shirt.

Carlisle closed his eyes and focused on Esme's fingers as they touched his bare chest as each new button was undone. He could see she was waiting for him to remove it the rest of the way when she finished and he managed to get his arms out of the long sleeves.

Esme saw the little jump of Carlisle's Adam's apple as he swallowed hard. He kept his hands against the bare skin of her back as she began to trail kisses down his chest. She paid extra attention to his lower stomach and then retraced the path of her lips up to his neck.

Carlisle's eyes were closed and he hummed her name once before the two of them began to kiss again - this time with a harder sense of urgency.

Esme felt Carlisle begin to slide off the khaki pants he was wearing and so she got up to allow him to do so.

Carlisle didn't think about what he was doing and immediately put his hands back on his wife as he stood up and let his pants fall down around his ankles.

Esme arched her neck backwards as Carlisle wrapped his arms around her from behind and began kissing her neck and bare shoulders.

She wanted to moan but tried to keep it in with a series of sighs and rapid breaths. His hands traveled down her stomach as he still held her from behind and he unbuttoned the jeans she still had on before helping her remove them.

Esme turned to him as she stepped out of the last of clothing and didn't have time to think before Carlisle crushed her mouth with his own.

She didn't hold back - she couldn't. Esme moaned into his mouth while he explored the rest of her body with his hands.

"You are so..." Carlisle spoke in a heavy whisper against her lips and then kissed her again before finishing the sentence, "...amazing."

Esme let her eyes flicker open when he paused for a moment and then pushed the first two layers of sheets and blankets aside before pulling him into the bed with her. She didn't stop kissing him as he brought their intimacy to the next level with a moan of his own.

Carlisle felt his hand become entangled in the waves of Esme hair and breathed heavily against her ear.

Esme held him against her and closed her eyes tightly in the midst of the pleasure. It was rare that Carlisle let himself completely go in the moment. He was careful to protect their privacy in a house full of family members with supernatural senses. His moans against Esme that night were anything but discreet, and it made her pull him closer.

Carlisle lifted his head but never stopped. Esme pulled his face to hers and kissed him with all of the passion that radiated out of both of them. She took his lead and stopped wondering if someone might hear her.

The first word poured out of her mouth for several seconds, "Ohh Carlisle."

He kissed her again, sighing and breathing in their escalated, passionate embrace.

Esme linked her fingers through his hair as she held the back of his head with one hand. His lips trailed along her neck and he gently used his teeth to graze the mark he had left on her neck decades and decades before.

She tugged on his hair as he met the particularly sensitive area and tightened her legs around his waist. There was no way she could bring him any closer to her.

The intensity progresses with each passing second and Esme felt every pleasure sensor in her body come to life at the same time. Her fingers dug into his back and shoulders. The muscles in her arms and legs tightened and she barely got Carlisle's name out of her mouth as he kissed her again amidst their simultaneous climatic moment.

He muffled a moan into her mouth as his tongue aggressively explored hers.

Esme could feel his body tense and he released his lips from her to let out a final lament of pleasure. She sighed, slowly letting his legs down to rest flat on the bed while keeping her arms securely around him.

Carlisle's upper body rose and fell with a final few breaths. He relaxed and took a few seconds before lifting his head so he was looking down at Esme without attempting to separate himself from her.

He gently leaned down and touched his lips to hers. Esme let her hand drift to the side of his face and they shared the final moments of intimacy the same way things began - with a series of sensual kisses.

"I didn't respond to you before," Esme spoke quietly, still keeping her hand on his face.

"Respond to what?" He asked capturing her lips once more with his own.

Esme almost didn't answer. She wanted to just keep kissing him, but she eventually pulled back. "You're an amazing man. I love you."

"I love you."

Esme looked him in the eye. "I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to."

She pushed back his hair and then lifted her head so se could touch his lips another time. "Can we spend the rest of the night like this?" Esme asked him.

Carlisle's closed mouth grin made her smile back. He ran a hand through her hard, down her face and then kissed her again. "We have nowhere to be."

Esme closed her eyes and embraced the moment they shared together. She knew she had to cherish every moment, every touch, every kiss. After the run-in with the Volturi coven all feelings of security had vanished.

"I'm not going anywhere," Carlisle whispered in her ear as if reading her mind.

Esme held him tighter and whispered back, "I know."