Even the Fallen May Rise

Chapter 11: Pealing Back The Layers

Chapter Summary: "Wow," Charity said again, there weren't many words able to describe exactly how she felt. Glancing at the clock she gaped, two hours had passed between their story telling. "Time flies," Carlisle said, noticing her reaction, "Looks like we're half way there."

"So Carlisle," Charity began, fiddling with her seatbelt. "You know a lot about me now... tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?" he asked glancing at her.

"I'm not sure... where were you born, how did you grow up, when were you turned, how you met your family?" Carlisle laughed at her onslaught of questions.

"Alright Charity. I don't remember my exact date of birth, but I know it was in London England sometime in the 1640's."

"Wow," Charity gaped. "I've always wanted to go to London, it's so beautiful."

"It wasn't in my day," he smiled sadly, "There was civil war between those who supported King Charles and those who supported Parliament."

"Did you fight in the war?"

"Fortunately not," he grinned, "No I was brought up by a religious father, a pastor, who believed to be ridding the world of evil by conducting witch burnings and hunts for vampires."

"Did you find any?"

"Not at first," he said more soberly, "Most my father killed were innocents. Later, when I was older I was put in charge of hunting them down. I found one coven of Vampires."

"Is that how you were turned Carlisle?" She asked and he nodded.

"He did not drain me all the way, and I crawled into a potato cellar and endured my transformation. I knew my father would have killed me if he'd found me."

"That must have been terrible."

"It was," he confirmed, "When I finished transforming I tried every way I could think of to kill myself."

"But you couldn't do it."

"No," he said with a sad smile, "While attempting to starve myself I attacked a herd of deer, and found I could live off of animal blood.
"I studied at night and became a doctor before coming to the America.
"I was a Doctor at the time of the Spanish Influenza, that's how I found Edward. He was orphaned after both parents died of the disease.
"I was lonely, I wanted someone to talk to, someone like me, so I turned him.
"Esme came into our family next, she'd tried to commit suicide after loosing a child.
"I'd fixed her broken leg when she was sixteen, so... I don't know I just didn't want her to die."

Charity nodded in understanding.

"Next came Rosalie, she struggled a lot with what she'd become, but then she found Emmett and after I turned him she had a companion, someone to love.
"Alice and Jasper entered our coven separately, Alice had had a vision of us meeting, she and Jasper were traveling together already."

"Wow," Charity said again, there weren't many words able to describe exactly how she felt.
Glancing at the clock she gaped, two hours had passed between their story telling.

"Time flies," Carlisle said, noticing her reaction, "Looks like we're half way there."

"Two hours," Charity murmured in disbelief.
She looked up when she noticed the car slowing.
"What's up?"

"Drusilla's getting off at this exit," Carlisle said following her.
The cars that held the other four vampires followed as well.
Charity blushed when she realized that Dru was pulling up in front of a fast food place.
She was doing this for her.
Getting out of the car Charity stretched, spine popping, grimacing she sighed.
Carlisle looked at her in amusement and felt slightly guilty.
He hadn't noticed it was already one in the afternoon and that Charity would most likely be hungry.
They hadn't packed any snacks in the car so the last the human had eaten was at eight that morning.
He watched as Dru walked up to them, her spiky black hair wild from the wind.

"Come on Charity," Dru commanded, "Let's get you something to eat."

Charity happily followed the dark haired vampire and soon found herself loaded down with an enormous amount of food.
Dru contentedly carried the tray for her and found them a place to sit in the back of the fast-food joint.

"Thanks Dru, I didn't even realize how hungry I was," Charity said digging into the mound of food happily.

"Of course il mio amore."
Charity blushed.

"Not in public Dru."

"They cannot hear what I'm telling you," Dru admonished with a small smile.
The couple looked up as Doctor Cullen joined them, pulling up a chair.

"Where's everyone else?" Charity asked.

"Oh they've gone on ahead," Carlisle said with a smile.
Charity felt bad about having held him up but then the smell of food once more took over her senses.