Chapter 10: Prodigal son

A/N: I own nothing. The characters all come from much more brilliant minds than mine. I am just playing with them, the way others may play with dolls. I was thinking about the end of Breaking Dawn and how it reminded me of one of my favourite TV shows and so the two were combined.

I didn't want to stay in Manhattan after the events with the Daleks. That was six months ago now. Life had almost settled back to normal except for my our son.

Esme and I took our time leaving Manhattan. Edward had known we were heading there, but once we left he would have no way of finding us – if he even wanted to come back. In the end we agreed that if we moved to Rochester it would be close enough that he would be able to find and follow our scent. After we moved I ran to Manhattan and back every few days for a month, leaving my scent between the two. It was the most I could do. If he didn't come home soon, he may truly be lost - I couldn't allow myself to think he might be already. It didn't matter what lifestyle he had been living since he left, Esme and I just wanted our son home.

I just returned from my shift at the hospital when I heard a whooshing sound coming from the forest beyond our backyard. Esme fell into a crouch and growled at the source of the noise but I ran towards it. Only one thing in the universe made a sound like that. I wasn't sure whether his arrival was the coming of doom or the visit of an old friend.

His smile beamed as he opened the TARDIS door, "Carlisle, old friend."

"Fourth", I smiled at him.

"Fifth – at least we are being sequential now, that's a change."

"Come in and meet Esme."

"Just a minute. I have something, well someone really, that I think belongs to you, or with you I should say." He stepped out of the door way and I saw a figured slumped onto the ground. I would recognise the shade and style of hair anyway – it was my son. My Edward. His eyes were shut and his face was lined with pain.

"What happened to him?"

"I think it's me."

"What do you mean it is you? What did you do to him?" I didn't mean to sound quite as harsh as I did, but seeing Edward crumpled in pain was too much for me to handle.

"I am sorry. See, I think, technically he is seeing my mind. And see, the way I see the universe is an awful lot to take in, even for the increased brain capacity of your species."

"What do you mean?"

"How can I explain this? You know the Earth spins right. Logically you just know it. But a part of you just can't quite believe it because the stars look like they are standing still. Well I can feel it – the turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour. And I can feel it. Then there is time - I can see the entire span of time. Every waking second, I can see: what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's how I see the universe. That's the burden of a Time Lord. And that is what he is feeling now."

I gasped and ran over to Edward. His eyes were black but I could see a thin edge of crimson. He was weak but looked up when he felt my touch. He finally seemed to find his voice, "It's so beautiful, so much." I could see how much effort it was to get those five words out.

The Doctor knelt beside me, "Edward. Now that Carlisle is here, concentrate on his mind. If you try hard you should be able to single out 'voices'. If you concentrate on Carlisle's mind, mine should fade a little. It should at least make it bearable."

Edward nodded. He looked into my face and his eyes stopped burning with pain. I was so concerned about him. I worried a little about where he had been and what he had been doing but I was glad the Doctor spared his life and bought him back to me.

As I looked into Edwards eyes new emotions entered them. Shame, regret and disgust. He was disgusted with himself. He shouldn't be. Wasn't it I that made him into what he was? I that made him deny his thirst?

"It's ok Carlisle. I don't blame you." Some of his strength was returning. "I just thought I could hunt without the guilty conscience."

I wondered what he meant by that.

"I only hunted people with bad thoughts. I tracked those who were going to hurt other people, the worst of society - murderers and rapists. I thought it wouldn't be bad to live like that. I was saving people, stopping the scum from hurting the innocent. I thought I could find a compromise - walking the fine line between being a killer and being a hero."

The Doctor surprised me by chuckling, "Like a vengeful god."

"What's funny about that?" I asked him.

"I've been called that from time to time. Edward..." Edward winced as he faced the Doctor, he obviously fell into his usual habit of listen to the thoughts of the voice he heard. He closed his eyes and slumped forward, "Now, Edward, listen to my voice and not my mind. Can you do that? I promise, it will make it easier. Would you like me to leave?"

I was disappointed that the Doctor couldn't stay for at least a little while, but I couldn't bear to see Edward in such pain. It surprised me then when Edward shook his head, "No. Stay. I think I can manage."

The Doctor and I helped Edward to his feet.

"We had better go inside though. Esme is out of her head with worry." He smiled, obviously thrilled to be able to see her again. I was glad he didn't resent her for what happened,

"How could I resent her? She was only acting on impulse and instinct. This," he tapped his forehead, "is not her fault."

The Doctor slipped in quietly behind us as we headed towards the house.

"Esme, we have a visitor." I called as we got nearer to the house. She came out, still in a slightly defensive crouch but as soon as she saw Edward she rushed forward and gathered him into a hug.

"We've missed you so much dear." I could only imagine what was in her thoughts but the sincerity rang from every word.

"I have missed you both too. And I want to ask you to forgive me. I am so sorry I went off. I shouldn't have, I was such a monster." He looked down at his hands in shame. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"We will work it out. Just know I do not blame you. I would never blame you. Why don't you tell me why you came back? And how did you meet the Doctor?"

"Nice to meet you Esme – I'm the Doctor." The Doctor came out from behind me and waved hello to Esme, "And I think I might be able to explain that better than Edward. His memory of it might be a bit...well lacking. See it was just after our last meeting. Martha and I were about to leave. Edward came running up to us at full speed before anyone had even said a word he fell to the ground screaming in pain. I realised who he was at once so I looked into his mind and saw the reason for the pain. I can usually turn off latent telekinesis ability but his isn't latent. If I tried to disconnect him from the thoughts, it could have killed him. I guided him back through what he had been doing. He had tracked your scent on me and knew I would know where to find you. But I guess I overshot it a bit." He ran his fingers through his hair.

Esme turned to him, "Thank-you. From the bottom of my heart thank-you for bringing my son home."

He just nodded.

"Doctor, there was a girl. When I saw... everything... I saw a girl. Such a girl. I couldn't see her face, but I could feel her – presence, her goodness. Her strength." Edward's voice sounded almost dreamlike as he remembered, "Who is she?"

I queried the Doctor, "Rose?"

The Doctor shook his head, "No, someone else. Another companion. You will meet her in the future, although you may have to wait a while. She won't be born for another 60 odd years and I didn't travel back in time with her. But I can't really tell you any more than that."

I chuckled, "Yeah I know – time lines."

"Anyway old friend, I would love to stay and catch up but I, ah, left Martha in Manhattan six months ago. I'd better get back to her before she starts to worry."

"Why didn't you bring her? I would have loved to see her again and I know Esme would like to meet her."

His eyes flicked to Edward, a strange look on his face. Then I realised what he meant. Edward was thirsty and had recently been feeding on humans. Even I wasn't sure if he was ready to commit back to a vegetarian life.

Edward "I am. I definitely am."

I understood were the Doctor was coming from there. He wasn't going put Martha in that sort of danger. I nodded. "Well then. Thank-you. My family owes you much. I will see you next time, or I guess last time for you."

"Yeah, when I was with Rose." He sighed, "Rose."

He smiled sadly and turned. Then he was gone. I guessed he wasn't into good-byes.