Prologue

Carlisle Cullen

I was a nervous wreck! Get it together! I was screaming at myself! I just couldn't control myself. The only thing on my mind was my amazing wife, who was upstairs in labor while I was stuck down here in hell! Being a resident in one of the busiest trauma centers in the country had its perks, but obviously it also had drawbacks. I just wanted to get this last patient stabilized so I could join my Esme for the birth of our child, a boy! I worked quickly and as soon as I was done, I ran from the room without looking back. If something happened they could page me. It wasn't like I was leaving the hospital compound!

"How is she?" I asked Mrs. Cope, my favorite nurse here, but that is probably entirely due to her ability to actually talk or work with me without hitting on me or drooling… yes drooling!!!

"Last time I checked your wife was doing very well! I suspect it will still be a couple of hours still. Now take a deep breath and calm down before you walk in there," she laughed, but right as usual! I smiled, composed myself and opened the door!

Esme was curled up on her side facing away from me. I slowly made my way over to her. It helped to ease my panic seeing her sleeping peacefully. I kissed her cheek and thought about the day she told me she was pregnant.

I was just walking in the door from a particularly grueling shift. There had been a bus accident and I had been sent to the scene for triage. There had been a woman. Her legs were trapped between two seats and the ground and the little girl in her arms was dead. I didn't even have to check because I could visibly see the brain matter coming from the hole in the toddlers head. I tried relentlessly to convince her that the baby was gone and that I needed to take the child away, yet the woman refused to relinquish her hold on the lifeless form. I had watched as the woman died. I realized then that I would have acted the same. I had always wanted to be a father. The thought of a little boy who I could play baseball with or a little girl who would run to me because there were monsters in her closet delighted me to no end. When I had opened the door the lights were out and at first I thought that Esme wasn't home, but her car had been in the garage. We had just moved in. We were young and she brought me out of my depression. I had run from my home in Italy as soon as I would be able to make something of myself in America. My father was an evil, controlling man and getting me out was the last thing my mother ever did. I found her sitting at the kitchen table, a small photo in her hand. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed her head. I looked down at the photo and it dawned on me what I was staring at, a baby, my baby!

"Carlisle?" My angel whispered from the hospital bed.

"Yes, my love?" I smiled at her, but she looked scared, almost.

"What if something goes wrong? He's early. It's entirely my fault. I should have…" I silenced her with a finger.

"You did nothing wrong, mi amo. Everything will be fine. I promise." A few more hours dragged by and I praised God when the doctor said it was time to push. I whispered words of comfort to Esme as she brought our child into the world. I felt the tears fall down my cheeks when I heard a cry. It was one of the most beautiful sounds in the world, and then he was handed to me. My son, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. What happened next shocked everyone. My sweet Esme cried out in pain. Her doctor gave me a panicked look and turned back to my wife. The nurse took my son from me and I returned to her side. I few agonizing moments later the doctor looked up and said, "The second one is in distress. We need to go to the OR, now!" I stared in utter shock and Esme also forgot her pain momentarily to ask the doctor if he was insane. He showed me the heart monitor. A second baby!

The nurse came back and whisked the love of my life off to the OR. I sat in the waiting room for what felt like days before the doctor came in with any news.

"Your wife has finally stabilized. It was touch and go there for a while Carlisle, but we got her back. There was a lot of bleeding and we were almost forced to do a hysterectomy, but managed to save the uterus just in time. On a happier note, though, your little girl is doing fine. She is small, but she is as tough and as stubborn as your wife." He finished with a slight laugh in his voice. I thanked him profusely. I had a daughter.

I slipped into Esme's room to find her asleep with two sleeping bundles in plastic basinets beside her. I smiled at my family. My baby girl started to squirm and whimper. I moved swiftly to her side and gathered her in my arms. Her small frame curled into my chest and her cries quieted. I vowed then that I would always protect my baby girl.