Childhood Innocence

by Psychotic


Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


I had just gotten home and was lounging on our chaise, reading a book, when the door burst open and Alice rushed inside, closing it behind her. "Esme!" she exclaimed. "The new kids! Edward and Emmett are bringing them over! I had a vision of it!"

I was instantly up and heading to the kitchen. "What?!" I asked, panicking. I didn't have anything made, I hadn't cleaned the house, the dishes weren't done...

Alice nodded. "Yeah! I haven't met them yet because I don't have any classes with either of them and I had to take a test during lunch today, but I the vision... The boy is him! The one I've been waiting for!" She was positively beaming.

I smiled at her. I was happy for her. Hugging her tightly, I said, "Congratulations, Alice. Are you sure, though?"

"Absolutely." She was firm and positive.

It took only a moment for the panic to set in again and I fluttered around the kitchen, putting things away, pulling things out. I had the table set with plates and various snacks in only a few minutes. Alice was doing the dishes for me; I hadn't asked, but she knew me well enough to know what I needed.

I hurried out into the living room and did a quick dusting and cleaning, putting things back where they were supposed to be.

I had just finished setting out the cups and drinks and Alice was drying her hands when I heard the door open. Alice and I looked at each other, her eyes shining in excitement, and then went into the hall.

"Mom!" Emmett greeted me, pulling me into a bear hug. "Oh, Alice came to tell you. Poo, she ruined my fun." He pouted.

Alice giggled. "I skipped my last hour to help Esme out. She needed it."

Edward came in then, followed by two tall beautiful blonde teens. The female was lovely, just as Alice had said; she had flowing long hair and endless legs. She was smiling in a friendly way, though, and seemed nice. The male was taller than his sister and was lean and muscled. He wasn't as bulky as Emmett, but was bigger than Edward. Both had the most beautiful blue eyes.

"Mom, this is Rosalie," Edward said, gesturing to the female. She smiled politely and shook my hand.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Rosalie," I said sincerely.

"And this is Jasper."

Jasper stepped forward and bowed his head in greeting, taking my hand and kissing it. "It's a pleasure, ma'am," he said, a light Southern accent apparent in his voice.

"The pleasure is mine," I told him, smiling. He was such a gentleman! "Come into the kitchen. I have snacks for everyone." I was about to lead them into the other room when I saw Alice approach Jasper.

"You've kept me waiting a long time," she said to him, almost scoldingly.

He bowed his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. Alice just grinned and took his hand in hers, pulling him into the kitchen.

"I'm Alice Brandon," she told him happily.

"Jasper Cullen," he replied, his eyes lighting up. Alice seemed to make him happy.

His last name caught my attention, however. I paused in shock. Cullen was a rather common last name... Of course it was. It had to be just a coincidence. Carlisle wouldn't have come back to dull old Forks...

"Mom? Are you okay?"

I was shaken out of my thoughts by Edward calling my name in concern. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Um, Jasper? Did you say your last name is Cullen?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"Please, it's Esme. Who did you come here with? Your parents?"

Jasper sat down at the table when he was pulled down by Alice. She kept her hand in his even when they were sitting. The rest of the children sat as well. "Rosalie and I came with our father," he said. "It's been awhile since I've seen him and my sister, though. I was living in Georgia with some relatives. I got news that they were moving and decided to go with them."

Rosalie spoke up then. "Yeah, that's why he's got that accent. I like to make fun of him for it." She gave Jasper a playful look.

Alice squeezed his hand. "I like your accent, Jasper," she said sweetly. Jasper beamed.

I offered them all something to drink and then told them to take whatever struck their fancy from the table. In moments, their plates were filled and the food in the center was half-gone.

"Are you two twins?"

"Yes, we are," Rosalie said, taking a sip of her water. "Sometimes it doesn't seem like it, though, because Jasper's got an accent and is a bit tanner than I am."

"I like to work in the sun," he explained.

"Forks must be a pain for you, then," I said with a smile. "We get little to no sun here. It's the rainiest town in the continental US."

The two shrugged, their mouths full. They had good manners. "Why did you move up here?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Our dad got offered a position at the hospital here," Rosalie said. "It doesn't pay as well as his last job, but he said that he would much rather help the minor injuries of the people of a small town than work with the excitement of daily surgeries."

"So he's a doctor?"

"Yeah."

"What's his name?" I had turned around to clean up some of the dishes and put a few things away and wasn't facing them anymore.

"Carlisle Cullen."

My eyes widened. Carlisle was here? He was back? He had returned to Forks? My mind was so focused on the fact that he'd come back -- just like he'd promised -- that I didn't even notice that I'd dropped the plate I was holding and it had shattered on the tile. I didn't hear the voices of my children calling me. I was completely centered on Carlisle.

He had returned. He had kept his promise.

My breath came out in a whoosh and I felt my legs collapse. I felt a pair of large arms catch me. I looked up, my eyes still a bit cloudy, into the face of my son Emmett.

"Mom?!" he asked, horribly worried. "Are you okay?! What's wrong?!"

I blinked a few times and stood up shakily, gaining my balance. I laughed breathlessly. "I... I'm fine, Emmett. I'm... perfectly fine." I laughed again and grabbed the broom and dustpan. I had to get the remains of the plate cleaned up.

"What was that then?" Edward asked, helping me by holding the dustpan.

I finished sweeping the shards into the dustpan and Edward threw it them out. "Just... well, Carlisle..." I couldn't even form a coherent sentence. I sighed. "Sit back down. I'm fine. I'll tell you. Keep eating."

They did as I'd told them to. Jasper had stood up in alarm when the plate had fallen, as had Alice. Alice had apparently gotten me a glass of water and was handing it to me. I thanked her and took a refreshing sip. Once everyone was sitting, I leaned back against the counter and set my glass down.

"When the boys were four," I explained, "we met a family at a park here in Forks. They had found a couple playmates on the playground and I had met the father. They had no mother, just as Edward and Emmett had no father. We decided that we would get the children together sometime for a playdate. The first time I brought them over, there were two other kids there, also four. The children all became great friends and we continued to plan days when they could play.

"It wasn't long, though, before one of the little girl's parents got a divorce and the mother and daughter moved to Arizona. Then the father I'd met at the park got offered a job on the east coast and moved with his twins there. He promised me that he would come back, and it's now been twelve years since then."

I paused, and was about to speak again when Emmett asked, "Edward and I already know that story, Mom! What's that got to do with your freak-out?"

I gave him a look. "Emmett. I was getting to that." He looked away apologetically. "The children that my boys had become friends with at the park that day were named Rosalie and Jasper. Their father was Carlisle Cullen. One of the other kids at that first playdate was Alice Brandon."

Rosalie and Jasper stared at me in surprise. It took a moment for Jasper to speak up. "You're the Esme that Dad always talks about? Esme Platt?"

This made my heart swell. Carlisle talked about me? "I... I suppose I am," I said happily. "I had no idea that he talked about me, let alone still remembered me."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Everything he does revolves around you. What would Esme think of this, if I do this will it get me closer to Esme, would Esme approve..." She trailed off. "It kind of gets annoying."

"I'm sorry," I said sheepishly. "I had no idea."

"It's alright," Jasper stated. "It's not your fault. Rosalie just enjoys complaining." He glared at his sister, who stuck her tongue out at him.

I laughed. "Wow, you two have grown up so much," I said. "It's so great to see you again. I can't believe that you came back... that Carlisle came back..."

"Would you like to see him?"

My eyes were instantly on Jasper, who was smiling. "He's just down at the hospital. I doubt he's busy."

It was only minutes before I was in my car, driving away.


A/N: So I'm feeling a major spurt of inspiration and wrote the fourth chapter. Yay for me! :D

Hopefully I'll be able to write the fifth one soon.

Psychotic Female of Many Names

11.26.08