Point of View might get wonky sometimes, I generally write in 3rd Person Omniscient, but Twilight is written in 1st person. Hence, my first chapter was also written in first person to flow accordingly with the excerpts I used. However, it will most likely be in 3rd person from here on out, switching between characters. I don't generally like to list when point of view changes (i.e. Bella's POV, Carlisle's POV, etc.). More often than not, I will make it known in the first paragraph or two whose POV it is in. Also, scene changes and POV changes will be marked with a '...'

For those of you who may be wondering about the title, when I use the word ships, I don't mean shipping characters. I got the title from the lyrics of a song called 'The Impossible' by Joe Nichols. The title refers to the fact that it is widely accepted that nothing but destruction/death can separate a vampire from their mate, which is exactly what has to happen to start off a fic like this. Hence, that reminded me of the lyrics to that song: "Unsinkable ships sink, unbreakable walls break. The things you think would never happen, happen just like that."

I'm also going with the theory/idea that it was the loss of the entire family that sent Bella into that awful catatonic state. I personally feel like if she had the support of the rest of them and knew they all loved and cared about her, if she wasn't alone, it would never have been as severe as it was.

That is all, enjoy the next chapter. :)

Charlie sighed wearily as he sent everyone home, thanking them for their help. In the house, he picked up the note left for him and looked at it carefully. Something had seemed off with it when he had read it initially, and now that he had more time he picked up on what it was. The handwriting was incredibly close to Bella's quick scrawl, but there was a certain flow to the letters that indicated it had been forged. It was the smallest of details, but he could still see it. Shaking his head in annoyance for the hundredth time that night, Charlie thought of Edward.

Bella thought he hadn't liked Edward, which wasn't exactly true. Edward was a good kid. He just didn't like Edward with Bella. There was a difference. Edward was too headstrong, too determined to have Bella comply with all of his wishes. It worked well with some people, but he knew quite well that having two stubborn people in a relationship together was a recipe for disaster. He and Renèe had proved that much. No, Bella needed someone calmer, someone more likely to compromise instead of push back against her. Edward had obviously been raised in a household that very much promoted the idea that women were to be seen and not heard, which was a very archaic idea.

Charlie began to ponder the Cullen family as a whole, as he had many times before. He wasn't a fool, he could tell something was up with them. Supposedly adopted, and they looked different enough that it was obviously true, but at the same time they looked alike. The similarities were subtle, not something that most people would notice. But Charlie had been promoted to Chief at age twenty-five, and for good reason. He was more observant than most, and noticed the things that others overlooked. Such as the chalky white pallor of the Cullen family, or the bruise-like shadows that lingered under all of their eyes. He knew from the contact he had with Carlisle, Edward and Alice that their skin temperature was unusually cool, and he'd bet his best fishing rod that the rest of the family was the same.

With the Cullen family, the differences and quirks fell into place very gradually, so slowly that if you weren't paying attention, you'd never notice. And if Billy hadn't been so adamant that they were trouble, even he probably would have never thought enough of it to string it all together. But despite the fact they were obviously a respectable, good mannered family, Billy and the rest of the elders up at the reservation had something out for them. It was so unlike Billy to be prejudiced in such a way that it made him pay closer attention than even he would usually have done.

The Cullen family as a whole was a puzzle. He didn't dislike or distrust them, whoever they were. He had no reason to. He hadn't been lying when he told Bella that he'd never had any problems with any of the kids, and he did like the doctor and Esme a great deal. But at the same time, he knew that there was something more going on there, a puzzle. And tonight he had two more pieces to add to his personal puzzle.

He had noticed immediately that Edward was stronger than he looked, sometimes surprisingly so. But that was just the case with some people. He had several friends who were lean, but still quite strong. But the strength Carlisle had shown tonight was beyond the realm of normality.

Bella had wandered for hours, and a good number of people had combed the woods thoroughly for a couple of miles before he'd called the Cullen house a second time, and the doctor had come to help. With Bella's catatonic state, there was no way she'd walked a step through that forest on her own, and everyone had returned before Carlisle had. That meant that the man had carried Bella for at least two miles through the forest, before standing casually in front of him for another fifteen minutes without the slightest sign of discomfort. And even though Bella was small, barely over a hundred pounds, that was way beyond the realm of normality.

The second thing he'd noticed, he couldn't quite put a finger on. When he'd taken Bella's hand, he deliberately had wrapped a couple fingers around her wrist, so he would notice if her pulse gave any indication she knew what was going on around her. So when her pulse had stuttered for a moment, he noticed immediately. The catch was, the doctor had noticed too. But the doctor had no way of noticing her pulse change, and that had been the only sign Bella had given that she was aware of her surroundings. If Charlie didn't know any better, he would swear the man must have heard it. But that was downright impossible.

Then again, so was the kind of strength he had exhibited carrying his daughter out of the forest. Charlie thought for a moment. Or finding her at all, for that matter. No one else had been able to find any signs at all. But the timing would suggest that Carlisle walked right to her.

Charlie scrubbed his face with the heels of his hands as he thought, thoroughly confounded. He was glad that, whoever they were, they were decent people. He shook his head once more, this time wearily. He hoped that he never had to force Bella to stay away from them. She was nothing if not his daughter, and that kind of demand would surely bring on a reminder that she was of legal age. He chuckled to himself. Bella reminded Charlie so much of himself sometimes.

…

Bella was silent on the ride back to the Cullen home. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around the events of the past few hours, though it was getting clearer. She sighed, feeling bad for Carlisle and his family.

"I'm sorry," she whispered weakly.

Carlisle gave her an odd look. "What ever for, Bella?" His tone made her want to cry again, because it was so plainly bewildered. He honestly had no idea.

"You lost your son because of me. Your family is being forced to choose and it's my fault. If I had never-"

"Isabella," Carlisle began firmly, the use of her full first name startling her into silence. "None of Edward's choices are your fault. This is not the first time he has gone off on his own or made a snap decision without thinking everything through. Edward is strong willed and very impulsive, just as his age would suggest. None of that is your fault."

Bella gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Carlisle sighed heavily. "When we are turned, our development freezes where it was when we were bitten. Though Edward has been seventeen for over ninety years, he is still seventeen. He will always be seventeen. No matter how much knowledge we gain, no matter how much we memorize or see, our maturity does not change, nor our personality. When I transformed Edward, he had not yet lost the impulsiveness and will of a teenager, though he was treated as a grown man. As such, that will never change."

Bella nodded slowly, but she was still somewhat confused. "But you were only, what, twenty-three?"

"I was. But I was raised differently than Edward was. I also had a great amount of responsibility thrust upon me when I was still a young teenager. As such, I had to mature much younger than Edward did. Combine that with my natural personality, even from my time as a human, and you have a very different individual, though the ages are rather close."

Carlisle could see that Bella was still chewing things over, not completely sure how it all worked out. "Maybe this will help," he said slowly. "There is a law among our kind against something called an immortal child. Have you ever heard of that?" Bella shook her head, looking confused again, and Carlisle went on. "An immortal child is a child who was bitten and transformed very young. There is no exact age, it depends entirely on the child and their ability to keep our existence a secret. For instance, if one of us were to transform a two-year-old, that child would never progress beyond that maturity level. Though they would have the same memory as any vampire, their mental development would be frozen where it was when they were bitten. Even five hundred years later, that child would still act two years old. Does that make sense?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah, it does. You're frozen exactly where you are, there's no moving forward," she said thoughtfully. "Edward always wanted me to wait to be changed until I was older, had seen more…" She trailed off, and Carlisle looked at her patiently, waiting for her to finish her thought. "Would I have… outgrown him?" Bella asked softly, not really wanting to know the answer.

Carlisle hesitated, not sure she should hear his answer right now. She noticed, however, and urged him on. "I want to know, Carlisle. It will help me, I think." He nodded slowly.

"I think you would have, yes," he replied. "You are still growing, maturing. He is not, nor will he ever. By trying to put off your transformation, he was forcing you to grow and mature beyond the point that he was frozen at. Eventually, I do believe it would have driven you apart."

They had long since parked at the edge of the Cullen driveway, allowing Carlisle to face her fully as she took in his words. He was not remotely surprised to see fresh tears track their way down her face, and Carlisle felt his heart break for her. Edward had been foolish, and had only hurt her in the process. While his family was hurting also, they were stronger. He knew Bella hated to hear it, but humans truly were much more fragile than his kind, both physically and emotionally. It was true that vampires felt everything far more acutely, but they were also stronger, more adapted to handle it. Bella, however, was not made to handle this type of pain. Carlisle scooped the young woman into his arms effortlessly, and quickly slid himself into the passenger seat, cradling Bella on his lap gently.

Bella felt another wave of pain crash over her as she realized that even if Edward were to come back, there would be little to no hope for them. The more she thought on what Carlisle had said, she knew it was true. And she couldn't quite decide if that made it better or worse. On one hand, being left behind so callously killed her, she had been so sure Edward had loved her. On the other, she thought it might be preferable to trying to make a doomed relationship work and wasting her time.

Right now, though, it just hurt, and she clung to Carlisle as she cried, her tears soaking into his shirt. He soothed her by making slow circles on her back with his hand, holding her close and letting her cry herself out. His cold skin and hard body were comforting and familiar, and she had no idea how long she sat there, curled in his lap crying out every bit of pain Edward had caused her that day.

Eventually, she came to her senses, noticing that she had been sitting on her ex-boyfriend's "father's" lap, bawling all over him. "Oh goodness Carlisle, I'm so sorry," she whimpered, blushing furiously. She couldn't believe herself.

"What are you sorry for Bella?"

"For blubbering all over my ex-boyfriend's father," she said bluntly. "That's humiliating." Bella put her face in her hands, unwilling to look at him.

As soon as she did, though, Carlisle grabbed her wrists and pried her hands away, tipping her chin up with his finger so she was looking him in the eye. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for Bella. You need to grieve, which means you need to cry. I consider you a part of my family, which means that if you need anything at all, please feel free to come to me."

To his slight bewilderment, his words caused fresh tears to flow. He furrowed his brow in confusion, swiping her tears away with his thumbs. "What did I say?" Carlisle asked in confusion.

Bella couldn't help the watery chuckle that escaped her throat, despite her tears. "You're so kind, it's so much more than I deserve. You have a wife and a family to be with who are all hurting and you're out here with me."

"Wait, Edward never told you?" Carlisle said suddenly.

It was Bella's turn to furrow her brow, completely lost. "Edward never told me what?"

"Esme," he said simply.

"She's your wife," Bella said as though it was obvious. "You've been together since you changed her."

"Bella, that's a cover story. Esme is a distant cousin of mine. About ten years ago she started posing as my wife, to make work easier for me."

Bella couldn't help the feeling of shock, and next the feeling of betrayal right on its heels. Edward had a habit of limiting the truth, it was true, but this was flat out lying. "Wait, what? Why?"

Her question made Carlisle glance away, and she was quite sure that if he were human, he would have been blushing furiously. "Um, about ten years ago or so nurses started to become very… forward. Being single made getting through a week nearly impossible, so the next time we moved Esme posed as my wife, seeing as none of the nurses, single or otherwise, would leave me alone."

"I wonder why," Bella muttered under her breath, forgetting entirely that Carlisle could hear her quite clearly. She jumped a mile when threw his head back and laughed loudly, making Bella blush a bright crimson that felt like it would leave a burn. Humiliated, she hid her face the first place she could, which happened to be the crook of his neck. Incidentally, his icy skin soothed her burning skin.

After a minute, Carlisle managed to coax her out of her hiding place, and his grin made her look down in embarrassment. "Oh Bella," Carlisle chuckled. "You are an extraordinary woman, you know that?" Bella blushed again as he kissed her forehead affectionately before opening the car door and leading her to the house.