Exactly what does a snow storm produce other than snow? A whole day off for me to finish my chapter for all of you still reading my story, of course! And finally, we're about to get an answer as to exactly what is going on with Elizabeth. I know quite a few of you have been very curious about her, and here we are with the beginning of an answer.

I do have a few author's notes for this, but I'll save those for later.

Now, go on! Read!

Coveted

Carlisle

By the fourth time Elizabeth woke from a nap, a discernable pattern had been established for her schedule, and she was hungry this time, so Edward kept her in the study with me while still looking through my books. Of course it was nearly midnight by then, so he had to fight Rose and Alice to get Elizabeth to himself. My granddaughter had turned in after succumbing to jet lag, and along with her, Jacob, Seth and Leah had also decided to take their leave for the night. After my granddaughter had discovered Elizabeth, it had been somewhat tense, but now that everything had settled, I hoped it would all work itself out. It was rare for a vampire to change on the inside, much less on the outside, but this newest addition to my family had woven her way into the hearts of eight very overprotective vampires. I knew now we would all protect Elizabeth with our dying breath.

I saw the most change in Edward as he now paced along the floor across my study feeding Elizabeth the last of her bottle. He'd become so dependent on her survival so quickly that I knew it had nothing to do with Bella anymore. I knew it had everything to do with Elizabeth herself, and it was for that reason that I was now walking the eastern wall of my study near my books for the second time to see if I'd overlooked anything. It was uncommon for me to not reach a conceivable answer to a question in the first passing. The fact that I was in here a second time could only mean I was truly confounded by this question.

"She's just a baby, Carlisle," Edward told me from his place, and I glanced at him to see a small grin etched on his face.

"Yes, of course," I agreed. Then I moved closer to him slowly. "But if we are to provide for her properly, we must have all available information regarding her origins. I believe we can both agree that she is an innocent child in all this. Forgive me. I suppose it's simply my curious nature."

Edward lowered his eyes to hers, and she smiled around the bottle's nipple, gurgling and swallowing and sighing softly. The bottle emptied then, and Edward took it away to wipe her chin and then lay her over his shoulder. She laid her head down, staring at me and smiling again.

"You've adapted so well to her needs," I marveled. "Dare I say a little too quickly, but I supposed we've all done the same. She truly does have a way about her."

He gently pat her on the back and soon, she burped without regurgitating any of her meal before he moved her to his other shoulder so his right hand would be free.

"I have to clean this," he stated plainly, lifting the bottle and turning to leave.

"Well, I'll take her for now," I offered. "I haven't held her in a little while."

We exchanged Elizabeth smoothly, and Edward left silently. I knew he would be back within the moment's passing, but all the same. As soon as he was gone, I smiled at Elizabeth and whispered to her.

"More quality time for us to spend time together," I boasted, and she smiled again. "So," I continued, "what shall we start with first? I think you'll find I've been just about everywhere the civilized man has been."

I moved along the wall, thinking all the way back to London in the 1660's and the year of my transformation. While I didn't think it was appropriate to share such knowledge with an innocent infant, I found myself thinking about it much more than I'd expected. I hadn't really thought about that time since Edward had first met Bella, and I wasn't sure why I was thinking it now. Surely, there were other things to be thinking about with something so unexpected occurring in my family.

I stopped along the bookcase that normally held the collection I'd had during my stay in Italy, and Edward came back then just as Elizabeth extended her little hand to touch my face. I was immediately bombarded with the image of a young woman with light blond hair and clear blue eyes. She smiled and glowed much like Elizabeth did when she was near Edward or Bella. My son was at my side instantly.

"Who was that?" he asked of the image in my mind.

I looked at Elizabeth. "I'm uncertain. I saw it when Elizabeth touched me." I lifted my eyes to the bookcase, looking over the books and then seeing something I'd apparently missed upon my first passing. "Edward," I said, nodding to the small leather-bound journal nestled between two large volumes of Iliad and Odyssey. "My journal."

Edward gently pulled the journal from the shelf, untying the leather strap and then opening the binding. Immediately, I recognized my own handwriting, but for some reason, I didn't remember ever writing it. "I've never seen this journal before," Edward said.

I was perplexed, looking upon the first entry dated November 18, 1716. "It's my handwriting," I said. "But I don't remember writing it."

"1716," Edward said. "Wasn't that before you were with the Volturi?"

I nodded. "Just before, yes. But I was in Italy at the time. Read the first passage," I requested.

Edward glanced at Elizabeth, his expression unreadable as he bowed his head and began reading softly. "November 18, 1716. Somewhere outside the walls of Volterra, Italy. I'm writing this all now as a record of something truly amazing and completely unexpected. Just the Saturday before last, I thought myself the most unique thing. A Vampire who feeds off animals. But more than that, I have discovered I am not alone in my quest for inner peace and a place on the Earth. It has only been three days. I acquired this journal purely on happenstance as I passed a man on the road as he was leaving the city of his own accord. I had nothing to give him, but the beauty of my companion pleased him so that he relinquished it for merely the presence of her company at a meal. She ate. I observed. I've been observing her for nearly 72 hours, and she is quite the rarity. More than that, she has given me my most incredible challenge. For I have found something so impossibly lovely and enchanting that no one outside my realm of existing could possibly understand her ways. By her own admittance, and my unabated curiosity, I have found . . . a fallen star."

Edward stopped, looking at me, and I lowered my gaze to Elizabeth as she held her knowing eyes on me. Slowly, she lifted her little fingers to my face again, bringing forth not only a most curious sensation as what could only be described as pain blossomed behind my eyes, but also the memory of someone I'd never known existed — that is before she'd suppressed the memory of her altogether.

November 15, 1716

I stayed off the beaten path as often as possible, only traveling at night and hunting the local game whenever I knew I would be near even the smallest band of humans. It was easy and somewhat tedious, and while I walked I did my best to keep myself entertained. I'd only just wandered into Italy, but the farms and vineyards were plentiful, and with them, the animals were abundant. So all I truly had to accomplish was finding my way without garnering much attention. During the day, I'd been reading what books I'd been able to bring with me, and even though I could've read their pages many times over, I chose to read them slowly to engage my mind in their stories and recollections of a life I no longer knew.

Traveling by foot was the easiest method I'd been afforded, and even though I did have a few valuables, I had nothing to barter with, nothing of import worthy of any true transportation. And outside of my hunting, all the horses were skiddish around me enough as it was. So I walked. And every other moment I had, I would look at the sky to see how far I still had to go. The smaller communities would increase the closer I came to a larger community of people, but they would thin out again as the larger community passed me by. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, but until I found it, I would walk.

I wasn't really sure why I felt the need to look up, but I did it nonetheless, and it was on one of those occasions that I saw something I'd never seen before. A shooting star. But with my keen eyes, this looked nothing like the drawings I'd seen. I'd never fancied myself a star gazer, but I was intrigued. I was also surprised that this star seemed to be headed right for me as I stood there watching it. I couldn't move one way or another, but it appeared there was no need as the shooting star blasted over my head to the north. While the whole thing would've been outside any human's way of thinking, the moment I heard a loud explosion, I knew something that had never happened before was happening right now. And without thinking of what I would do when I arrived, I ran toward the explosion like my life depended on it.

A little more than a hundred kilometers from the Italian border, I found the remnants of the burning trees and blasted dirt of the lower eastern Alps surrounding what looked like a deep, long crater. With the late time of year, snow was already falling, and I was hard-pressed to get to the bottom before too much time passed. I wasn't sure what I would find, but one thing was for certain with all the space around me. This had been no star. It had been something much more powerful. I walked slowly, looking in every direction and surveying every piece of charred wood and dirt around me. But there was nothing.

Nothing at least until I came within a few hundred meters of the very northern edge of the crater. There I saw something I didn't think I would ever find inside something like this as the body of a young woman laid over the melted ground where it appeared the tip of the crater had curved in around her. She had blond hair and she was wearing a dress made of pure light. She looked to be unconscious, though I wondered exactly how she'd come to be here. Whether she'd fallen into the crater or something else more plausible, I felt it was my duty to get her somewhere safe.

Upon further inspection, I saw she was very beautiful and pale with a slight pink blush in her cheeks. I knelt beside her slowly, reaching for her face and feeling a gentle heat radiating from her. It was different from human heat, and she reacted to my touch slowly, lifting her hand to mine and wrapping her fingers around the back of my hand. Her pulse was strong, and it didn't appear that the cold was bothering her.

"Miss?" I prompted reaching for her again and helping her sit up.

"Where am I?" she whispered. "What is this place?"

"You're in Italy," I told her feeling a little strange for having to explain this to her. "This place is . . . well, it's not a pleasant place. What's your name?"

"Nadia," she breathed, still grasping onto my hand and then lifting her eyes to look at me. Her eyes were the clearest, brightest shade of blue I'd ever seen, even more so than the shade my eyes had been before they'd turned.

"My name is Carlisle," I nodded. "Come with me. We'll get you to safety."

She allowed me to guide her away from where I'd found her, and for the first time since I'd left the place of my birth, I felt like I'd just done something good. And it seemed like my companion felt the same way as I helped her climb the inclination to the edge of the crater. It never occurred to me that I'd just saved someone who could've fallen from the sky. It was such a ridiculous notion.

"How did you come to be in this place?" I asked her as we walked.

"I don't know," she said, gazing around like she was seeing the trees for the first time. "I was up there, and then I was down here."

I looked at her thinking she was mistaken. "Up there?" I repeated. "Up where might I ask?"

She lifted her eyes to the sky, and even though it was covered with snow-laden clouds, I could see passed the thin layer to the heavens above. I'd never paid much attention before, but I could see several of the stars much brighter than they should've been. I was intrigued, but also confused. How was this possible?

"Surely, you can't mean you've fallen from the heavens," I said to which she smiled. It was a beautiful smile, for certain. "That would make you a . . ."

She lifted her eyebrows, and I probably would've blushed had I still had blood pumping in my veins. I'd fought many things as a human, and I'd been attacked by a vampire nearly fifty years earlier. The realm of the unknown was something of a normal thing for me. I'd seen many things no human could possibly comprehend. So perhaps this wasn't so far-fetched despite the fact that I'd never seen anything like this before.

"So you are from the sky," I acknowledged. "An angel?"

She lifted her eyes to the sky again, and I did as well. For several seconds, I pondered this question before me, and without so much as a shred of proof one way or another, I almost immediately reached an unexpected conclusion.

"A star," I said, and she laughed softly. I looked at her again, really looked at her and saw what could only be described as light coming from her eyes. "You're a star. That's amazing," I marveled. "But how did you get down here? How long will you be here? Are there more of you?"

She laughed again, the sound of a soft bell falling from her lips, and I was absolutely enamored. How incredible this was! A fallen star.

"Please forgive me for my behavior," I implored. "Madam, I'm traveling through the countryside, and I would be honored if you would accompany me. I'm certain we can find shelter for the night for you if you wish."

I reached for her hand, and she graced me with the privilege of guiding her from where she'd fallen. She smiled as we made our way back the way I'd come, and I realized I wasn't even concerned with my previous destination anymore.

"The honor is all mine," she insisted to which I bowed my head and led the way back through the wilderness.

"A star," Edward said, pulling me from my thoughts and bringing me back to the present as we still stood in my study sequestered from everyone else. "It was a girl? Like a real, walking, talking girl?"

Now that part of the memory of her had been restored, I could only acknowledge his question. "Yes. I can't believe I forgot her. But I found her in Italy after she fell from the heavens. She must have suppressed my memory of her."

"Why would she do that?" Edward asked still holding my journal in his hands.

I thought over all the memories I'd recovered so far, thinking of the long walk we'd taken to Volterra and then when I'd found the Volturi. But there was so much in the middle that I couldn't remember yet. I lowered my eyes to Elizabeth as she still laid awake in my arms, and part of me understood. She'd awakened these memories inside me, so it was only a matter of times before I was able to recover them all.

"I'm uncertain of the details at the moment," I told Edward. "But what's clear to me now is that this woman in my memories has much in common with Elizabeth. It's even possible this might be the insight we've been needing to figure out where Elizabeth came from."

"How long did you know this girl?" he asked, stepping a little closer and also looking at Elizabeth. She looked at him, and in an instant, my priorities shifted. I needed my journal, and with Edward here, he could keep Elizabeth close while I read through the entries in the amount of time it would take for me to completely remember the events that had transpired all those years ago.

"Edward," I said softly, "take Elizabeth. I will read my journal. Perhaps then, I can find answers more quickly."

We exchanged our respective bundles quickly and gently, and once I had my journal in my own hands, I began reading quickly.

Upon our first meeting, Nadia, the star, had completely piqued my interest, and it had barely taken a simple request to find out what I needed to know. But I'd had so many questions. I'd needed the answers, and she was the only person who could give them to me. And to my happy astonishment, she'd agreed to allow me my questions of her origins. In fact, she was very glad for my curiosity. She said most people wouldn't have been able to understand what she was or where she'd come from.

"You're not like most people," she's said, and in a strange way, it was obvious she knew I was different.

While still having the memories fall into place, I read through the first several pages of my journal as I recounted all the events that led me to acquiring this small book, and it was remarkable that such a creature could even exist, much less walk around and completely charm the people around her. None of the people we encountered, the men especially, seemed to mind that she was beyond beautiful. A goddess. But she was also kind and gentle, towards the children in particular, and the women all appeared to welcome her kindness with hardly any resistence. It was truly incredible.

In three days, until I'd acquired this journal, Nadia had told me so many things that didn't seem possible. She'd told me stars had been falling to Earth since it's formation, but it was only the appearance of humans that began their current state of being. She said that when Mankind had emerged civilized from their caves and hunter-gatherer society, a star whose name she did not know had fallen in love and decided to stay on Earth. This intrigued me, since Mankind had really only been civilized a few hundred years. Nadia herself confided in me that she was already ten centuries old, quite young for her kind.

"So," Edward said swaying gently with Elizabeth now falling asleep in his arms. "If a fallen star could be with a human, then . . ." He paused, and I looked at him. He was holding his eyes on Elizabeth, and even though I didn't have the ability to read minds, I could already see he was coming to a rather distinctive conclusion.

It did make sense. With the way Elizabeth reacted to all of us and the way she behaved doing the smallest things, one could make the obvious conclusion that this was her legacy. And the more I thought over everything that had happened in the last 36 hours, it only solidified that this was as likely as anything else. And Elizabeth's mother had virtually disappeared from the morgue, as though she'd never been there to begin with.

"Carlisle," Edward said. "How is this possible? Even with our kind and the wolves and true werewolves that walk the night, a fallen star? And more than that, one that bears a child with a human? Why?"

I had no answers for him, having only just remembered this very important history of mine and still sifting through cloudy memories as I attempted to save them from oblivion. There were flashes and sounds — me and Nadia and the Volturi. Aro. What was his part in this? Did I even want to know?

"Do you think they knew?" Edward asked. "My God. Aro would've been beside himself if he found a fallen star. Much more so than when he found me and Alice. He barely allowed us from his grasp. She would've been so rare. He would've wanted her more than anything. And if she'd had a child —"

He stopped as the last word came out, and I could read the expression on his face. Dread and fear and anger. He looked at me, holding Elizabeth closer and appearing to make his mind up even more than he already had. "We have to protect her, Carlisle," he announced. "We can't let any others know she's with us. If Aro knew of this, there would be no way he could let her leave if he had her."

I put my journal down, facing Edward and attempting to keep him calm. "Edward, please. Don't overreact to my thoughts. We're in this city alone for the time being, and we're safe. She is safe. Perhaps you should put her down for now. I'll read through my journal, and soon, we'll know everything we need to keep her safe. I know this is her life we're protecting, but you shouldn't lose yourself within it. Please. Go on. You might even want to talk with Bella about the adoption."

He bowed his head then, turning without saying anything and leaving the room to do as I'd suggested. He truly was becoming too invested in Elizabeth's safety. To even consider what he'd been thinking was too dangerous with her in our stead. We had to be invisible for now, at least until it was time for Elizabeth to go to school and interact with other children her age. We had time before then, and I was inclined to wait until then to worry over the implications of my memories.

Another memory flickered through my mind, simmering beneath my eyes and settling into its new home, and I heard Aro's voice speaking rather apologetically.

"I apologize for the implication that you would have a choice, my friend. But this is something I cannot pass up. Imagine all we could learn from her. I'm afraid this must outweigh your affection for her."

It was that one word — affection — that again stirred my newly developing memories. I had always believed Esme had been the first woman in my life to mean more to me than anything imaginable. Had I been wrong? Had I loved Nadia so much so that I'd dared Aro's anger? Only love could've driven me to do such a thing. Was it possible that I'd cared for another woman in my youth as a vampire?

One thing was certain. It was very clear to me now that the answers to Elizabeth's origins lied within the pages of this journal I'd kept during the time I'd been in Italy. Was this her legacy? Was the woman who'd had her, a woman by my own eyes had seemed more-than-humanly beautiful, the way Nadia was in my memory? The likelihood was becoming increasingly possible despite my distant memories being only half restored. I longed to know more about this woman in my past, and I returned to reading my journal before I heard Edward's footsteps on the second landing of the house. Despite him coming to this conclusion already, I still needed to know for sure. I needed to know what had happened to Nadia, and the only way I could know was to read every page of my journal more carefully than I'd ever read any book before in my life.

If it was true, and Elizabeth was the daughter of a fallen star, I knew the same as Edward that if any other vampire found out, it would mean our home here would be compromised. It would mean a new start in a new place. We'd already lingered in Chicago for nearly eight years, far longer than we'd ever been anywhere. But since I'd forgone finding employment nearby in favor of lending a helping hand to the local clinic when it was needed, people hardly noticed that I looked exactly as I had the moment I'd walked through the door. In fact, they mostly marveled over how attractive and talented I was. It would be completely conceivable that I could leave with little more than a single call stating I'd received a better offer elsewhere. If it came to that, there were many places we could go to be safe.

But if word got to Aro of our newest family member, I was sure of her fate. He would never let her out of his grasp. I couldn't bear to have anything like that happen to any member of my family, and that now included Elizabeth. I knew Edward would go above and beyond his call to keep her safe, along with Bella and Renesmee. And I feared what the consequences would be if it was discovered that not only had we brought a newborn baby into our home, but we'd also found the child of a fallen star. I knew in that moment that Elizabeth's father would never be found. He was either dead or so far away from this place that finding him would prove to be either impossibly difficult or completely pointless. And that saddened me. Elizabeth was an orphan. Like Edward.

The door to my study opened then, allowing Esme inside, and she moved to my side with a gentle smile on her face.

"Is everything all right?" she asked softly. "You two were in here a little while."

I closed my journal then, deciding to wait until later to do more reading. I moved my arms around her, holding her against me and reveling in the way she felt. I'd always loved her so much, and even though it seemed like I'd loved a woman before her, I wouldn't let that change how I felt for my wife. Esme was very much the love of my life, and if it was revealed that I'd loved and cared for Nadia, I knew it would only intensify the way I felt for the woman in my arms now. If anything, it would help me to know that I was capable of such great love and blessed by the presence of them both in my life. And that knowledge was enough for right now.

"Everything is just fine," I promised her, leaning down and kissing her gently. She responded, and for the time being, I was focused only on her. Whatever answers lied within the confines of my journal would still be there when I returned after giving my wife some well-deserved attention.

I moved with her to the door of the study, closing the door and then strolling through the living room to make our way toward the staircase. "I'm sorry for neglecting you," I apologized gently.

"Don't be silly," she chuckled. "We've all been overwhelmed by Elizabeth's presence in the family. Even Jasper has given in to her charms. I expected no less. She deserves as much attention as we can give her. Just as our granddaughter did when she was born, and just as she does now. Have you discovered anything that will help us?"

"Several things," I revealed to her. "But Edward and I are still looking over everything. We'll know what we need to soon, and then we'll know how to keep Elizabeth safe. But for right now, I want to focus on you. There are still days when I think I've forgotten how blessed I am to have you in my life."

She smiled wider, holding onto me tighter as we rounded the corner of the third floor which held our separate apartment from everyone else. "Well, you don't have to worry about anything where I'm concerned. I'll always be here to remind you exactly how lucky you are to have me around. How would we live otherwise?"

I grinned graciously, arriving at our private bedroom and pulling her inside. "Very true indeed. It's a wish I believe I will be making for the rest of eternity."

With that, I closed the door to our room, knowing my children would grant us this time together, and when we emerged again, a new light will have been shed on our situation.

Okay, first things first. Yes, this is what I had planned for Elizabeth all along. She's half-human, half-celestial (literally!) And I knew the only way to make it real was to include it into a part of Carlisle's history. I hope you're not disappointed, shocked, ready to throw tomatoes at me (?)

Second thing. Even though chapter 16 of Twilight, entitled Carlisle, doesn't specifically state a year (Stephenie Meyer, how could you?) it does mention a painter, Solimena, who was a Baroque period painter which would put the year in the 17th or 18th century. However, the Lexicon states that Carlisle found the Volturi in 1720. Though I have no idea where they've found this year, if it's a guess or from the source, since they've used it, so will I. One day, I suppose we'll all know for sure.

Again, thanks for reading. I love everyone who's reviewed and added my story to their alerts and favorites. I'll get started on the next chapter tomorrow probably since, guess what, you guessed it, I'm still going to be home because I'm stuck in a snow storm. Yep.

Catch you on the flip side!