AN: This section is in honor of Peter Facinelli being in MY TOWN today doing an interview session. *le sigh* I hate being broke, I'd totally go get an autograph and picture with no hint of shame!

Also, this is because I've been requested to let you know what's going on. And I had the desire to throw another thing at you, another unexplained thing. Just to warn you, there's an OC in here (no, not me) solely because I need it down the road. *evil grin* You know you love me. Or something like that. Please let me know what you think, I do try to please my audience.

**HM**

Carlisle

He really felt like an ass, he thought as he leaned into the wall in the hallway and replayed the last ten minutes in his head.

After he had made love to Esme, she had laid on the bed, her hair spread out on the sheet like a halo, the moonlight kissing her skin, staring at him. It had taken all of his will to get up, leaving his love there on the bed, and move around the room packing what he needed. She had laid there, her eyes silently following him despite the darkness. Finally, as he sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his jeans, she moved slightly, her hand caressing his back, causing him to look over at her. God, she took his breath away every time he looked at her. He'd not thought, when this life had just begun, that he'd ever be this happy. But he was, and he chose not to question why God gave him this angel. Instead, he smiled slightly and leaned over, kissing her mouth softly, pulling her lower lip into his mouth for a little nibble. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck, not pulling him in but instead, in her own way, showing him how she treasured this moment. That was something about Esme that he'd discovered in the first years of their time together, she treasured everything, everything he brought her, every moment that put smiles on the faces of their 'family', every sunset was a magical experience. God, how he loved her.

He slipped an arm under her shoulders, lifting her up to him a little, savoring the feel of her skin on his. There was no way he could delay, but he had to take another moment to show her how much he worshipped her. He knew her very well, this moment, with his focus completely on her, was as meaningful to her as hours of love making.

It took effort, but he gently laid her back on the bed, and broke the kiss, though he stayed with his mouth hovering over hers. "Ah, my love," he said quietly, letting himself nibble on her lip again, before moving to kiss her jaw. "I am sorry that I have to leave you, I really am. But I will not be gone long, love, I promise."

She sighed, turning her head slightly and letting her fingers softly caress his back. "I know, Carlisle," she murmured, there was pain there, and he felt it stab into his heart like a dagger. "I won't push you for the why; instead I have but one question."

Her hands came up to cup either side of his face, pulling slightly so he was looking right into her amazing eyes. She held him like that, her eyes searching his for…something he didn't pretend to know what. After a moment, she asked quietly, "Is it worth it, my heart?"

Carlisle closed his eyes, letting the words wash over him, allowing himself to feel that pain, taking his share of the pain he had been inadvertently causing the ones he loved. He opened his eyes and gently laid his hand on her cheek, his thumb rubbing little circles on her cheek, taking a little joy out of how she leaned into his touch. "Yes, my love," he said, leaning in to kiss her again, "It is worth it. You'll see very soon, I promise."

She nodded, but didn't speak again as he carefully detangled himself from her and finished getting dressed. His hand was on the doorframe when he looked back over his shoulder at her. Esme was still laying in the moonlight, her face turned slightly towards it so it illuminated her face. She looked over at him and whispered, "Hurry home to me, my love."

Carlisle didn't trust his voice not to break, so he nodded, kissed his fingertips and held them out to her in a gesture that was his custom. She nodded and then looked away, back out her window into the dense forest that surrounded their house. He felt the same stab of pain as he left their bedroom and he stopped to lean on the wall for a moment. He could hear Edward and Rosalie downstairs talking quietly and he didn't want them to see him like this, they didn't need to worry about him or Esme any more than they already did.

A little noise alerted him to some else's presence and he turned to see who had found him at his most vulnerable. It was Esme, wrapped in a robe. He turned his head back to the wall so he didn't have to see her, to avoid this pain he felt in not only lying to her and their entire family, but in having to leave them.

Esme made a quiet soothing noise and came in front of him, wrapping her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. "Don't feel so bad, mio campione," she said softly, her pet name for him making him smile slightly. "Let's not part like this, amore."

She lifted herself up on her toes and kissed his neck, nuzzling the sensitive part just below his ear. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, lifting her up slightly, feeling a bit bad for being so tall. She chuckled, nibbled on his earlobe, punctuating her nibbles with her whispered words, "There, now we can show our children our happy faces now, can't we, mio salvatore?"

He shivered in the best possible way, feeling his body react to her as it always, did particularly when she whispered Italian to him. Carlisle lowered his bag to the floor so he could have both hands free for Esme. A window opened in the back of the house, meaning that Jasper and Alice had chosen to leave by a more unconventional method. A small smile ghosted over his face as he turned towards the wall, lifting her up so he could kiss her. She giggled softly, wrapping her legs around his waist. She opened her mouth to speak but he had other ideas. He leaned over, kissing where her neck met her shoulder and she gasped quietly. Her back was pressed to the wall, and he moved a hand from its place on her perfect ass and slipped it between them, slipping it between the folds of her robe, finding her pearl and softly caressing it. She gasped again, still quietly, her sense of decorum still intact. That was fine by him; he didn't want to be interrupted. He rubbed and flicked her pearl, occasionally pinching it slightly, his mouth still on her neck. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as she got closer and closer to the edge that would throw her into perfect pleasure. As she got closer, he slid a finger inside her, savoring the feel of her, slick and tight around his finger, his own body aching to be inside her. A moment later, her nails dug into him and he felt her spasm, the ripples coursing through her wonderful body. It was almost more than he could take and he knew he had to be inside her, now. He moved his hand for a moment so he could undo his jeans. Esme leaned her head forward, nibbling on his neck, murmuring words he was sure, but he couldn't make his brain recognize them. He had himself free of the confines of his pants quickly and was about to slide into her when her hand reached down, grasping him. It was his turn to gasp, his head falling forward to lightly thunk into the wall. Her mouth was on his ear, words that he still couldn't understand falling from her lips between her nibbles, and her hand…Oh God, her hand. It was moving up and down his shaft, making him shiver with delicious pleasure. He could feel his pleasure mounting and he wondered, distantly, how much more he could take before his desire to possess her overtook him. Esme shifted and he groaned again, she had him poised right at her entrance, the tip of him grazing over her, teasing him with her delicious wetness. He shuddered again, and said quietly, "Esme..love…please." She chuckled into his ear and the first words he'd understood in a while whispered from her mouth, "Tutto quello che dovevo fare era chiedere."

His world came undone when she slipped him inside her. Every time was like the first time with Esme. For a moment, they stayed like that unmoving, him deep inside her, adjusting to the new sensation, feeling her quiver around him. It was almost enough to send him over the edge. He regained control of himself again and started moving, sliding in and out of her, feeling his pleasure build. She moved with him, her forehead pressed to his, her eyes holding his as they stroked closer and closer to oblivion. He could feel the tightness starting to build and he knew it wasn't going to be too much longer. She bit her lip and nodded slightly. They'd been together for so long he knew what she meant, and let himself go. The gentle movements changed, took on a new intensity, a new ferocity. She gripped his shoulders again, her hips moving to meet his. He felt her start to clench around him and he continued his intense pace, wanting to watch her. It only took a few more strokes and she was done, her legs tight around him, her body convulsing around his. As usual, he could only watch a moment of her pleasure before his body threw him into oblivion, spilling into her, his sight darkening for a moment, her face and name in the front of his mind.

How long they stayed like that, Carlisle had no idea. Time was such an odd thing when you were a vampire. She moved first, kissing him softly, bringing him back to the here and now. He returned the kiss, slipping his tongue over her lips softly until she sighed, letting him in. They kissed, long and deep, and Carlisle felt as though he was trying to bring her into him. Or that she was trying to bring him further into her.

The kiss ended as it had begun, slowing down until they were just brushing their lips together. She sighed softly, a sigh of contentment and said, "That's a better way to say good bye for now, isn't it, my love?"

He nodded and set her down gently. While he readjusted his jeans so that he was decent again, he said quietly, "It is. Before I go, I want you to understand one thing."

She nodded, biting her lower lip and looking up at him. Carlisle cupped her face and looked down at her. "I am doing this for us, for all of us. I promise you, it will all make sense to you very soon. To all of you."

Esme smiled and placed her hand on his, "I trust you, Carlisle. I always have and I always will."

He nodded and they continued downstairs, exchanged another long tender kiss at the front door, and then he headed out into the blackness of the night.

********

Carlisle had been driving for over a day now, following the directions that Aro had sent to him. It had been hard not to think about what he was about to see and do, but he'd managed, blaring the radio and translating the songs into randomly selected languages. They had no idea how far Edward's 'reach' was, but Carlisle was very close to his son, so it stood to reason that he might be able to 'hear' him this far out. It was a chance Carlisle was unwilling to take. This was too big, too promising to risk getting everyone's hopes up. Shaking his head, he pushed his Aston Martin up over 150, using the speed as a distraction.

He pulled into a non-descript office building on the north side of Winnipeg, just before dawn. As he got out of the car and grabbed his bags, he looked around. The Volturri had picked a good spot for this project, fifty miles from the nearest humans, but in the middle of what appeared to be an abandoned commercial park. He made his way to the entrance and pulled open the door. Once inside, he saw one of the Volturri's guard standing by an interior door. As he approached, the man bowed slightly. "Dr. Cullen. You've been expected; go through this door, third door on the left."

Carlisle nodded and went to pass the man. The man reached out and lightly touched his arm, "The entire complex is shielded from mental intrusions, do not fear for your secrecy here."

Carlisle was surprised, but did not let it show on his face. So the Volturri were interested in keeping their secrets? Interesting. Who were they hiding from? He made his way down the hall, immensely glad to now be able to think freely about his work. The third door on the left was an office that was apparently meant for him. He tossed his bags on to the waiting couch and allowed himself the luxury of contemplating this research while he dug out and put on his lab coat. Aro wanted him to look into a few things, mainly designed to help vampires blend into humanity a bit more. One of those was trying to figure out if there was a way to make mortal food palatable. Carlisle shook his head. He could see the use of that to him and his family, but not to the Volturri. It made him nervous. As he shrugged into the lab coat, he came to the first of two real reasons he had agreed to be involved in this project. When Aro had first suggested it, Carlisle had thought he was hearing things. One of Aro's 'pets' had discovered a group of half human half vampires living in South America and Aro wanted to know if it was possible to recreate that at will or was it some genetic peculiarity to the region and the vampire in question. While Aro was not concerned with the human 'host' as he'd called the mother survival, Carlisle was. It was his primary focus, though he'd taken pains to insure that Aro not realize this until he had reason in mind that would satisfy the old man. The larger reason that he'd agreed was the second part of the research. Even thinking about it made him feel light headed.

Aro wanted to find a way for vampire women to give birth.

The implications were amazing and Carlisle was not so stupid as to think that Aro didn't have something heinous and devious in mind for this advance, but Carlisle was prepared to do whatever was needed to insure that never happened. He had almost turned down Aro's request when his traitorous mind had pulled up images of Esme holding a baby and, worse somehow, Rosalie holding a baby. He wasn't so detached that he didn't realize that the lack of baby was a huge part of Rose's issues. If he could find a way to give the two most important women in his life the one thing that they were missing, he would sacrifice almost anything to see it happen.

Carlisle shook his head, glad to have been able to let his mind run free for the first time in over a year. Leaving his office, he grabbed a young vampire woman in scrubs and a lab coat and asked her which way to the lab. She smiled and pointed him in the right direction. It was time to get down to business.

He stepped into the lab and looked around. Everything he'd asked Aro for was here, including a glass window that he assumed looked into the room where the young pregnant girl they'd brought up from Brazil lay in a bed, pregnant with a vampire's baby. He was about to head over to check in on her when he noticed a lab coat clad figure looking into a microscope. Tipping his head slightly, he wondered who it was, but decided to find out after he'd checked on his patient. He was halfway to the door to the little room when he heard, "Dr. Cullen! Is that anyway to treat on old friend?"

If his heart had still been beating, it would have skipped eight beats at the sound of that voice. He'd not heard it in over 50 years. Turning slowly, he looked at the woman who'd hailed him. Maggie Coleman, Dr. Maggie Coleman he corrected himself, was standing in the middle of the lab, her hands on her hips and a grin on her face as she looked at him. She still looked the same, black hair done in the style of the era in which she'd last been living, the 1940s, her clothing hailing from the same era. 'Holy shit,' he thought, 'Aro's serious if he looked her up.'