Esme spent the rest of the day keeping busy, working hard, and seeing a lot of patients. She ignored Tanya when she asked why she hadn't gone home, even going as far as volunteering to work an extra shift when Carmen asked. The agreed time she was supposed to work too was 3am, and though Esme knew her husband would be beyond angry when he realised she had taken the late shift without talking to him first, but she was banking on him being asleep when she got home, and at work when she woke up.

The last few hours of her shift were exhausting, with her mainly focusing on paperwork, and taking a quick nap in the on call room. She had one missed call from Carlisle, and figured he had just given up arguing with her. At the end of her shift, she sought out Eleazar, the night nurse manager, who gave her the weekend off, reminding her she was still supposed to be on maternity leave, and was only supposed to be working when they were short staffed.

She knew, if he was awake when she got back there would be trouble. She had noticed the missed call, but hadn't noticed the voicemail he had left her around 1am. Threatening would be putting it lightly. It was when she stepped outside the hospital doors, that she remembered she had walked to work. The brisk wind caused her to shiver and pull her jacket tighter, heading off in the direction of her home.

After the long walk, which seemed only longer as the temperature dropped, she arrived home having lost all sensation in her fingers. She locked the door behind her, turning the fire on to warm up. She didn't risk turning on the kettle, or microwave, lest the noise wakes anyone up, instead she grabbed a blanket, settling on the couch. The hunger pains she had been suffering from earlier had gone, now she just felt empty.

When she had sufficiently warmed, and had eaten a banana, due to the dizziness she experienced whenever she was stood upright, she made her way up to bed. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, and more than anything just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for days.

Having not seen her daughter for almost 24 hours, she decided to poke her head in just to check she was ok. She was surprised to see that she wasn't asleep, that she was sat up with her knees pulled to her chest, staring intently at the doorway Esme stood in. Without a second thought, Esme crossed the room, scooping her daughter up in her arms. Rosalie relaxed, letting her body go limp as she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, hiding her face in her shoulder. Esme held her tight, moving to the rocking chair she used to sit in when Rose was a baby, and relaxed herself. Rose held her hand to Esme's face, taking her attention. Her eyes were full of unshed tears, and Esme frowned at the heartbroken look on the young girls face.

"You or daddy is leaving." It wasn't a question, and Esme took her hand, confused. "What would make you say something like that?" Rose wiped her eyes tiredly. "Alice said her mommy left her daddy cos they were shouty all the time. Like you and daddy." Esme didn't say anything, merely held her daughter tighter, kissing the top of her head.

Eventually, Rose fell asleep. Esme was dozing, still exhausted, but stayed awake, watching her daughter sleep. What felt like seconds later, she felt herself being lifted into the air, before being put back down in her own bed. She looked up, only just awake and saw Carlisle standing over her. He had carried her and Rose to her room, and was tucking them in together so they could sleep. She was almost back in her deep slumber when she felt the bed dip, Carlisle having joined them. She felt him wrap his arms around them, before exhaustion knocked her out.

When she woke again, she was alone, and the sun was shining brightly through the window. The alarm was blinking at 12:00. Esme sighed, rolling over to reach her watch on the nightstand. 2:30 pm. So she had slept for almost eight hours. That had by no means eased the fatigue, but she could hear her family downstairs, Rose laughing at something on the TV, Carlisle talking to the boys as he fed them.

Esme sat up in bed, shaking her head a few times to wake herself up. Her daughter laughed again, and the sound made her stand, grabbing a robe, to make her way downstairs. She was at the bottom of the stairs, about to go to her kids, when the doorbell rang.


I know it's a stupid place to end it, but it was where I ended it in the original, and I have not yet re-read my old chapter 10, so I cannot remember what occurred there. However, I shall probably start re-writing that one tonight, to finish this weekend. Probably. Back to lectures and studying tomorrow :(