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Chapter Ten: Who Are You.. Really?

CPOV

I'd found her. Esme was indeed a breathtaking beauty now. But, she was definitely married and I was feeling desolate that I had somehow missed my chance with her already. To my discomfort and utter dismay, Esme seemed perfectly content and happy to carry on her wifely duties while her soldier husband continued the conflict overseas in the name of our dear Uncle Sam. Despite my feelings about the war overseas, there was no way I would take her away from her perfectly sound human life. I decided to go home earlier than I had planned.

Maybe Bella was wrong about this. Maybe because she was here, her presence had already changed that reality for me. Despite Bella's beliefs, perhaps she was my intended all along and she simply didn't realize it because she was blinded by an old reality and that fool boy. Could she not see what a poor choice he was? He was so far beneath her, oh he was good looking and talented enough alright, but she was allowing herself to be taken in by appearances. I could give her so much more! Except.. I sighed, he was human. I couldn't give her that. I had to acknowledge that perhaps she wasn't being fooled. Bella knew what I was, and therefore knew very well what I could and what I couldn't give her. Still, there was no denying what her touch did to me. She must have felt it too. That sort of connection doesn t exist without going both ways, I knew that.

My mind whirled with possibilities, maybe Bella wasn't wrong. She did say the time wasn't right yet, perhaps Esme's situation would change. Well, she seemed to be fine for now. I resigned myself to keep an eye on her as much as I could now that my responsibilities at the hospital have been taken care of. I sighed again; my research time would be cut in half though. Perhaps I could train Bella sufficiently for her to make the notations on the necessary observations.. yes, that would definitely free some time for me and she could probably take some other responsibilities off my shoulders as well, I would have to give that some consideration. That would have a dual benefit, more work for her, less time for Edward. Humph, what Bella would have called a 'win/win' situation.

What kind of vampire was I? Jealousy? Such nonsense! How absurd could it be for an immortal to be obsessing over a couple of love struck teenagers? I could not deny my feelings though.. I wasn't about to start lying to myself. I chuckled at the absurdity of my own foolhardiness as I flew through the moonless night towards Chicago, home and Bella.

She was an angel in her sleep, and my own personal she-devil. I sighed as I watched her slumber, Bella's breath came as a tonic to my nostrils. At times like these, I tried to imagine the world she came from, but more often than not failed miserably, seeing her only in my own reality, perfect and content to be by my side.

Esme or no Esme, Bella had to be mine, I felt it and I couldn't understand why she refused to feel it as well. I had to stop torturing myself with this. It was her decision to continue thus, I had no choice as a gentleman but to be content and follow her wishes. It wasn't easy. Edward had become a fixture, showing up every afternoon without fail. I couldn't help but see his finer qualities emerge as his presence began to grow on me. He certainly was a likeable lad. There was no pretense about him, aristocratic upbringing or not, he was quite honest and forthcoming. His humor was self-effacing and ever present. His affections for Bella were quite apparent and truth be told, he was as taken with her as I was. I could not fault him there, much as I wanted to.

Bella had him over for dinner often and was fond of displaying her adeptness in the kitchen, a talent that hadn't escaped Edward's notice. She'd become indispensable in my laboratory as well, leaving me wondering how I had ever done without her keen observations and judgment. She was hard working and kept things down there in better order than ever before. We fell into an easy pattern, I worked in my laboratory with Bella four days a week and left it to her management while I went to watch Esme for the other three.

November was already upon us and Edward's football team was doing still doing well. I was pretending to be absorbed by the evening newspaper while Bella and Edward sat at the piano across from me in the study. She was giggling a little too much and Edward was making more mistakes than he was usually inclined to do, even on a new piece. I decided to casually call him on it. "What's the matter, Edward? Finally found something too difficult for your talented fingers to master?" To my surprise, Bella erupted into laughter.. while the heat in Edward's beet red face was radiating off of him in tsunami sized waves.

Clearing his throat he answered, "I don't know sir, I m having a bit of difficulty concentrating on this one at the moment. Perhaps I should give it a rest."

"Aw, Edward..." Bella started her protest.

"Coach wants me to get to bed early this week, Bella! You know it's the big game this weekend!"

"Ah, Edward.. your team is making it to the state championship playoffs this year?"

"Yes sir!" he announced proudly, "Bella has promised to come watch us win Saturday!" His excitement seemed in equal measure for Bella's attendance as well as the opportunity to play.

"Good for you, kid!" Bella frowned at me, but Edward just gave me a goofy grin.

"Would you like to come as well, Dr. Cullen?" his tone actually sounded hopeful.

"Sorry, no. I have to be out of town this weekend." as usual.

Bella winked back at me and surrounded Edward's arm with her own as they sat on the piano bench grinning knowingly at each other. I could no longer remain oblivious to the clues that their friendship had taken a turn towards a more intimate relationship, and this bothered me not a little. When Edward finally took his leave I determined to have a talk with Bella. She was finally coming back up the steps after having seen him to the door and lingered there with him for almost half an hour.

"Bella?" She halted and stuck her head in the study doorway. "Please come, have a seat, I want to have a word with you." She smiled at me with the same goofy grin Edward had been sporting earlier and sat down in the chair opposite my desk. "I couldn't help but notice that your relationship with Edward seems to have taken a turn."

"Oh, do you really think so, Carlisle?"

"Yes, I definitely do and I want to caution you..." I hesitated when she held up her palm to me like a traffic cop.

"I've worked so long and so hard to seduce him and I think he is finally coming around."

"What?" I simply couldn't believe my ears, "...do you mean sexually seduce him?"

"Don't be silly, Carlisle, of course that's exactly what I mean." She smiled back prettily.

"Don't you think you should be concentrating on his proposal of marriage first?" I had pinched the bridge of my nose in disbelief and clenched my eyes closed. If vampires could get headaches, I would have one by now.

"Of course I'd like that, but I am pressed for time here. I have absolutely no idea how long any of this will last, so..."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Carlisle, that every morning I awake in your bedroom upstairs, I say a prayer of thanksgiving at the chance to see Edward one more time. I never know when I'll be forced to face my own reality once again!"

I hadn't considered the possibility that Bella's stay here might be terminated at any moment. I supposed I hadn't wanted to consider that she might leave, ever. That may have had something to do with the slight panic I felt settling in my lower abdomen whenever I broached the thought. "So what are your plans for Edward?"

She took a deep breath and sighed heavily, "Mostly to enjoy every moment I get with him as fully as possible. I'm working on a timeline here, Carlisle and it's a short one. Very short as far as I'm concerned and Edward's Victorian sensibilities have been very troublesome indeed. You do realize that we've only recently gotten to second base..."

I was completely confused, "Second base? You are playing baseball with him?"

She laughed, "No, Carlisle. Where I come from the stages of intimacy are compared to baseball." I gave her a blank look and she continued. "First base equals kissing..."

"Oh.. OH!" I gasped, "Second base, hmm?" I just took comfort that they hadn't scored a home run yet. "So what exactly is your.. timeline based on?" She hadn't told me specifically about this yet and I pushed for answers, watching her squirm as she tried to decide what she should and shouldn't say. I didn't like putting her in this position, but I couldn't help myself.

"You'll be saving Edward from his mortality by the end of next September, Carlisle. I plan to be pregnant with his baby before then."

BPOV

Carlisle looked stunned. OK, well I hadn't really approached the topic very gradually. I couldn't decide exactly what he was thinking so I decided to continue revealing the plan I'd so recently devised, "In my reality, Edward is a vampire...to me he always has been. But one of his major concerns was always that he couldn't offer me the possibility of a family of my own. Which belief has made me certain that a son or a daughter of his own would have been one of his fondest wishes come true. Now that my Edward is gone, it's even more imperative to me that I try my best to make that possibility a reality. In this time or my own, makes no difference to me."

Carlisle cleared his throat, "You do realize that if you stay in this reality, you could suffer major repercussions for such a decision?"

"I don't care, as long as I can carry the pregnancy to term and produce his healthy offspring, I'll be creating a type of immortality for him that you never could, Carlisle. It's worth everything that I am, much less a reputation I care nothing about."

He nodded solemnly, "I see. It means that much to you then?"

"It's what I'm here for, I'm more certain of it every day I wake up in your brownstone. It's all I m living for now, that and the hope of seeing his face one more time." I smiled at him. I felt certain that the perfect serenity this plan had brought me was showing in my face.

"Very well, Bella my dear. I can see this is what you truly want." It sounded to me as though Carlisle's throat was constricting but he found his voice and continued, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

I paused for a moment, saddened to see the effort this was taking for him. I stood up from the chair and moved around his desk to look down at him as I placed my palm against his cheek, "If I ever manage to get Edward to propose, will you walk me down the aisle?"

He smiled back up at me gratefully, "Of course."

I was so nervous, my hands were shaking as I pinned the bonnet on my head. I'd gone to a few high school football games to watch Edward play by this time. But not only was this the State Championship game in Springfield, this time I was going with Edward's parents.

It wasn't like I hadn't ever met them before, I'd even had dinner at Edward's house a couple of times. But this time, I would be with them alone. Edward would be down on the field, while I would be up in the stands, possibly sandwiched in by his mother and his father, whom I'd only ever spoken with briefly. My gravest concern was to convince them I was worthy of their only son, not the easiest task. Mr. Masen was quite fond of his son and had a very high opinion of himself as well. Mrs. Masen was more likely to trust Edward's judgment and had a mother's intuition about such things. I was in her good standing, so far.

The door knocker sounded and I quickly gathered my things before answering the door. "Mr. Masen."

"Bella."

He didn't move, so I thought I should offer, "Would you care to come in?"

He hesitated, clearly looking over my shoulder, "Ah, no we really don't have the time at the moment. Come along dear." We hurried to the car waiting for us on the street and I climbed in next to Elizabeth Masen.

"Hello Bella," She smiled at me.

I held my bonnet as I nodded at her, "Mrs. Masen, thank you for picking me up!"

"Not at all dear, I'm so glad you could come with us. Isn't it exciting?"

"Oh yes, Edward is such a great athlete!"

Mr. Masen humphed, "I guess we'll have to see that for ourselves, won't we dear?"

"Oh Ed, there's no debate over Edward's talent.. what we're looking for this afternoon is simply what kind of luck the two teams will have." She winked at me, "It is a game after all."

We made our way to the stands and found relatively comfortable seating in the shady section of the west stands. The afternoon was beautiful, sunny and warm by Chicago standards. Edward's parents seemed to make it imperative that I sit between them, just as I had feared. As the stands were still filling and the game had yet to begin, Mr. Masen leaned over to me and spoke into my ear, "I haven't mentioned it to my wife, but you bear an uncommon likeness to a girl I found unconscious and naked on my front lawn a few months ago. Wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Panic gripped my lower abdomen and I stared at my hands in my lap while he continued, "The authorities took her to Cook County Hospital, but when I tried to follow up on what had happened to the wench a week later, no one seemed to know."

I was wringing my hands in my lap by now, unable to move any other part of me.

"I did, however do some research and found that a Dr. Carlisle Cullen had been listed as the main care giver for the child. The same Carlisle Cullen that currently lives at your address." He paused briefly before continuing, "Odd, isn't it? My son seems to think this very same Dr. Cullen is your uncle. Quite the coincidence."

Yep, this was going to be a very long game.

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