Gravel crunched under the tires as Christopher pulled onto the shoulder mere feet from the edge of the Cullen's property and let his foot ease up on the accelerator. Shifting into park when they'd slowed to a stop, he turned to Ellie.
"Are you ready?"
"No," she replied, "but they know we are here so..."
He nodded. "Onward, then." He shifted the car back into gear and parked in front of the garage as Ellie instructed. Pulling the key from the ignition, he whipped around the car to her door, opening it slowly. Her brilliant smile nearly erased all evidence of her worry.
"Thank you," she said, accepting his extended hand.
Christopher followed Ellie up the front steps, and before she could reach for the handle of the door, it opened. Esme Cullen stood to the side, smiling and shooing them over the threshold.
"I've asked them all to give you a few minutes to settle in before they descend," Esme said as she hugged her daughter, answering the question written all over Ellie's face. When Ellie untangled herself from her mother's embrace, Esme looked over at Christopher with a wink. "But I wouldn't expect them to hold to that for very long."
Ellie blushed at an unspoken postscript. "Mom!" she hissed, the flush across her cheeks deepening as Esme laughed quietly to herself. She stepped around her daughter, standing before Christopher with her arms extended.
"Christopher." She reached up to hug him as well, carefully maneuvering around her the bags slung over his shoulder and clutched in his hand. When Esme stepped back, she kept her hands on his forearms. "Please make yourself at home. You are so very welcome here."
He couldn't doubt the sincerity of her words, in fact he found her so intensely genuine that it took him slightly aback. "Thank you," he mumbled awkwardly, clearing his throat and glancing back to Ellie.
"Mom," Ellie said, pulling her mother by the arm and flashing an encouraging smile at Christopher. Esme's looked over her shoulder at Ellie as she nodded toward Christopher with a meaningful look.
"Oh I'm sorry," Esme said with a jovial laugh. She let go of Christopher and waved them off toward the stairs. "I am overwhelming you myself, aren't I?"
Christopher shook his head. "Not at all, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you."
"Oh goodness," she scoffed with another wave of her hand. "Please call me Esme."
A few moments later they'd escaped to Ellie's room and Christopher dropped their luggage beside the bed. He turned around at the sound of muffled giggling as she shut the bedroom door.
"What are you laughing at over there?"
She turned on her heel with her mouth shut in a tight line. He could see how the muscles in her face twitched, fighting her attempt at control.
He darted across the room, holding her slim hips in his hands. "Ellie," he breathed, brushing his nose against her neck. "Are you laughing at me?" He looked back at her and she shook her head. "Ellie."
He pinched her rear and the last vestige of her control cracked. She burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Several moments passed as he waited. His incredulous expression only fueled her laughter further. When she finally began to regain some composure, she held her stomach and touched one of his forearms.
"I'm sorry," she choked, swallowing another giggle.
"What did I do?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, nothing. Just, the 'Mrs. Cullen,' and the look of sheer terror on your face when she hugged you." She held her fist to her mouth, pressing her teeth into her finger to quell another outburst.
"I wasn't expecting all that, Ellie." His arms crossed over his chest and his brow furrowed with irritation. "You know I'm not used to any of this."
Ellie's laughter suddenly ceased. "Oh, Chris, I'm sorry," she gasped, having caught the full breadth of his frustration in his thoughts. She tugged him back to her and pulled him into her embrace. "Really, baby." She stretched up on the tips of her toes and kissed his jaw.
She held her breath until he met her gaze, uncrossing his arms and weaving them around her waist. His head tilted upward and her lips trailed along the length of his neck. She retraced the path with her tongue.
"Forgive me?" she whispered. The heat from her breath tickled the skin just below his ear.
His grip tightened and he lifted her off her feet with a growl. With one hand securely holding her against him, he took hold of her head with his other hand and brought her face to his. His lips covered hers and her mouth opened to him with the slightest urging.
"I forgive you," he hissed, pulling her top lip between his teeth. Her legs locked around him and he pushed her up against the wall behind her. His hand slipped under her skirt, sliding up the back of her thigh to her bottom. While his other hand still cupped her face, he pressed the pad of his thumb against her lips, watching her eyes roll back slightly as her tongue darted out to taste his skin.
"How long can we push this whole 'give them space,' thing?"
Without a word she froze, leaning her head back against the wall and sucking in several deep breaths. He almost missed the sound of approaching footsteps until she tried to squirm herself free.
"About four seconds," she wheezed, rushing to her mirror to straighten her dress. Sure enough, a knock came at the door as she frantically combed her fingers through her hair.
Ellie dashed to the door, holding the handle still in her hand and looking back over at Christopher to make sure he was ready. He nodded with a sigh and leaned back against a dresser.
"Hi Daddy," she said brightly, giving him a quick one-armed hug before stepping back so he could enter the room. "Come in."
He smiled and nodded to Christopher. "Ellie," he said, looking back at her, "do you have a moment?"
"Of course, what's up?" Her eyes flicked to a large while envelope that he held in his hand.
Carlisle pinched the envelope with his thumbs and forefingers, smoothing them outward along the edge. When it turned upward, Ellie noticed that it had already been opened.
"Your mother left this on my desk yesterday," he explained, hesitating as he held it upright and studied the writing on the front. "I am afraid I didn't read the address as closely as I should have before I opened it…"
He passed the envelope to Ellie, whose eyes opened wide as she read the front. Christopher stood straighter, peering over her shoulder to see before she flipped it over.
"Er, Ellie," Christopher said, but she did not appear to have heard him. She tugged the pages out, letting the envelope go. Christopher snatched it up before it could hit the ground and stared at Ellie's name on the front.
Eleanor E. Cullen, M.D.
"Ellie," he hissed. "M.D.? You're a doctor?"
Ellie grimaced, shrinking back from him slightly. "Yes? Sort of? Well, not sort of. I was going to tell you…" Christopher took a step toward her, feeling guilty that she suddenly looked so afraid.
"I'm not angry," he said, reaching for her hand. "Just surprised." He nodded toward the letter in her hand. "Can you tell me what it says?"
Carlisle cleared his throat and both Christopher and Ellie jumped, having already forgotten he was standing there. Ellie dropped Christopher's hand and turned back to her father. She raised her eyes to meet his expectant gaze, and Christopher watched them in their silent exchange, which ended with Ellie's long, defeated sigh.
"Daddy," Ellie said softly, beseeching her father to understand something for which Christopher had no context, "I can explain."