Chapter Twenty-One: By The Lakeside and Waterfalls at Midnight

Ashland, Wisconsin, July 1921

Esme

The moonlight painted the world black and white. The running water that collided with the rocks was brilliant silver, while the once blue water was the darkest shade of black. We arrived at the Copper Falls State Park a little after ten o'clock that night, wearing our new bathing suits. The boys were wearing shorts and short-sleeved cotton shirts, without any shoes or socks. I was almost embarrassed when I came downstairs to see them in such a state of undress, not because I didn't like it, believe you me, I liked it, but I could almost hear my mother scolding me for liking seeing Carlisle like that so much. It felt somewhat sinful… but I truthfully didn't care. He looked that good. I might have suffered a heart attack should I have possessed a beating heart.

Second best to the way he looked in his swimming attire, was how he looked at me in mine. Edward – or the storekeeper – had chosen a very nice outfit for me to bathe in. I couldn't decide if it was a very long top, or a very short dress, made of navy blue material with a bow atop my chest, which sat atop tight fitting blue shorts. The top or dress, I was inclined to believe the former, fell to half way up my thigh, and the shorts stopped just above the knee. Although for swimwear it was not indecent, in fact it was probably rather modest, I felt as though I may have been naked, the way his eyes looked at me when I first appeared. Ever the gentleman he quickly looked away, but I grinned, I liked him looking at me that way. For the rest of the night – side from one time – I only ever noticed his eyes on my face.

We visited Brownstone Falls first, which was in the Copper Falls State Park, and Edward was naturally the first in the water. He didn't even wait a moment before catapulting himself into the pool below the majestic falling sheets.

"I've never seen a waterfall before," my high ringing voice was out of place in the serenity.

Carlisle looked to me and smiled, "Do you like them?"

I nodded, "Very much."

I heard Edward chuckle from the water, "Yes, that would make you win, but I don't think it's possible."

I looked between the two boys, "What did I miss out on just then?"

Edward grinned at us mischievously, and Carlisle groaned, before plunging into the water himself, "Carlisle was contemplating buying you a waterfall one birthday."

I couldn't stop the ridiculously large smile that spread across my face at the thought of the beautiful doctor wanting to spoil me.

"Are you coming in?" Edward teased.

I laughed and nodded, then walked over to the edge of the water and dangled my toes in the warm liquid.

"It's only warm because we're frozen, you know? And aren't you going to jump?" Edward asked playfully, but as I was about to answer, his face fell slack.

"Edward, are you all right?"

Carlisle resurfaced then, "What's wrong?"

Edward shook his head, "This wasn't a good idea," he murmured.

Suddenly, I held my breath, Humans?

"No, no humans." He said lifelessly.

I tentatively took breath and tasted the air, just to be sure, but there were no humans around.

"Edward, what is the matter?" Carlisle swam over to his side.

Edward gave him an almost exasperated look, and then eyed me cautiously.

Did I do something wrong?

He shook his head.

"Then what is it, Edward?"

He sighed, "It just occurred to me, how insensitive this was."

My brow furrowed, I didn't understand, but Carlisle apparently did, because I heard him murmur a quiet, "Oh."

Edward nodded, "Yes."

A silent conversation – that I wasn't a part of but believed I was the topic of – ensued. Then Carlisle turned to me, "You do like the waterfalls, don't you?"

I nodded carefully, "Yes, why?"

He quickly swam over to me, and stopped in front of my feet, "It's just that… Edward was worried because of… well… the cliff… and jumping…" His eyes betrayed his worry too. I was touched at their concern for me, but I couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled in my throat.

"I do not associate waterfalls with the cliff I jumped off." Relief flooded Carlisle's face, but Edward was still unconvinced, I sighed, "Edward, you are possibly the singular most pessimistic person I have ever encountered. Please, believe me. I hold that cliff in my mind with mixed feelings. Pain, because it symbolises what I lost as a human, but happiness because it symbolises what I gained as a vampire. You must understand that these passed few months, although hard at points, have been the best months of my life. I'm not about to avoid every single hill, or cliff on Earth just because that is how my human life ended. I am not sad that I died, or nearly did, what have you be, I am only sad I lost my son. That is all, and he would still be gone, cliff or no cliff."

Carlisle gave me a small smile, but Edward's face was still upset.

"The day you discover that nothing in our world is one dimensional, will be the day that all of my dreams come true, Edward." I shot him a humorous smile, and he finally grinned.

"You'll be waiting a while on that one, me thinks."

I shrugged, "I have eternity."

I grinned down at Carlisle, whose return smile was positively gleaming and then all of a sudden some ghastly sea monster grabbed a hold of my foot and tried to eat it with its million sharp and vicious teeth.

Edward doubled over laughing and Carlisle tried to stifle snickers as the sea monster engulfed my other foot and I squealed.

"My feet!" I exclaimed, squirming about.

"Are being tickled," Carlisle teased.

I stopped squirming, and fixed a glare upon his face, "You are going to wish you never did that, Doctor."

He grinned in anticipation, "Is that a threat, little apple?"

"Yes, and you should be very afraid."

He raised an eyebrow trying to look unfazed, but all the while trying not to smile, "And why is that?"

I leaned in close to his face, my nose almost touching his, "Because," I whispered as menacingly as I could, and watched his eyes light up with glee, "I am a vampire."

Then I pushed him back into the water as I fell in with a splash.

We spent a few hours at Brownstone Falls, jumping down the rocks, attempting to slide, pushing each other in, and having a splendid time. But when midnight came, we moved on to Copper Falls, and did much the same activities as before.

We arrived at Potato Falls at around three in the morning, and discovered that they were the easiest to slide down. Edward began to talk of visiting Niagara Falls someday, an idea that had Carlisle and I enticed. We visited Morgan Falls on the way home, in the Chequamegon National Forest, about an hour out of Ashland, where we relaxed and watched the sun rise behind the clouds that had formed during the night.

"I had a wondrous night tonight, thank you both." I murmured, as I swam slowly on my back.

"It was very fun, wasn't it?" Carlisle mused.

"We should do this more often," Edward agreed, "What do you think, the only vampire coven in the world who don't go hunting on birthdays?"

Carlisle laughed, "I'd say we're the only vampire coven in the world who actually celebrate birthdays."

"Well I'd say we're the only vampire family in the world," I added.

Edward and Carlisle both gave me a big grin, "And to that we agree," Edward murmured.

"There you go talking for me again!" Carlisle laughed.

Edward sighed theatrically, "It's just so much easier than having to wait for you to speak."

"So my voice is annoying now, is it?"

"Sometimes, " Edward shrugged, holding in his laughter quite amicably.

They spent the rest of the morning bickering jovially.

Two Weeks Later

Ashland, Wisconsin, July 1921

Carlisle and I sat in the study together, he reading a medical text, me reading Beauty and The Beast, again. Our morning had been devoid of Edward – who left as soon as Carlisle arrived home, muttering something about Duluth – but dotted with pleasant, and often teasing conversation. There had never been anyone I had come across, whose company made me as comfortable as Carlisle's, but I was sure he had that impact on everybody.
Edward waltzed back into the room at a quarter to ten, wearing an exceptionally proud grin, and holding a brown box. "Today I have purchased a very exciting object."

Carlisle's brow furrowed, "Should I be worried?"

Edward shrugged, "Well I did borrow your wallet."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow, "How much was it?"

Edward pursed his lips, "$79.00."

Carlisle laughed, "Whatever it is, you chose the most expensive one, didn't you?"

"No!" Edward shook his head histrionically, "It's limited edition! They're only making them for a few months."

"All right." Carlisle sighed acquiescently, "What is it?"

"A Number One Autographic, Kodak Special Camera, B Model."

"A camera?" I exclaimed, to which Edward laughed.

"Yes, a camera. Would you like to help me set it up?" He looked far too eager about the idea of new technology.

I laughed, "I daren't do anything of the sort. I am still a newborn, remember? I don't think you'd ever forgive me should I break it before you get to use it."

"Very true," Edward nodded, "Carlisle?"

"Since it is mine…" He teased, to which Edward grinned, so the two boys rolled up their sleeves and cleared Carlisle's desk, before opening the box and pulling out all of the little pieces.

I watched from afar as the boys eagerly analysed every single part of the camera, making guesses as to how it all worked. However, they seemed to be dismantling it, rather than actually assembling it.

"Isn't the point of setting it up, actually getting it to work, not philosophising how every little piece will have a pivotal role in changing life as we know it?" I asked at one point.

Edward ignored me, but Carlisle turned around to grin, "That's the thing though," he teased, "We have to understand every single part before we can use it just so when the day comes that these little objects do change life as we know it, we can say we saw that coming."

I shook my head and buried it in my hands, laughing.

"How has the hospital been lately?" Edward murmured as he closely inspected what he had playfully theorised to be a light bulb.

"Much the same as usual," Carlisle was examining the lens with a cloth and I wasn't entirely sure they would be able to put the poor machine back together again.

Edward shot me a wary look, "So much doubt, dear mother. What happened to your optimism?"

I grinned, "There is a fine line between optimism and insanity, and I'd rather not cross it."

His mouth pulled up in a lopsided grin, "Too late."

I shot Carlisle a playful glare when I heard him snickering away.

"I got a letter from a distant relative the other day, the post office received it from my home in Chicago." Edward murmured.

"Yes?"

"He wants to see me. He's been looking into my death. I think he wants the inheritance."

Carlisle put the lens down on the desk, "We'll that's a bother."

Edward nodded, "I know. I've never even heard of the man before."

Carlisle shook his head, "Money is slowly destroying the world."

"Isn't that the truth, except I wouldn't say slowly. What do you think I should do?"

Carlisle considered it, "I'm really not sure."

"Write back to him using a fake hospital address from somewhere overseas," I suggested, "And say that you have a horrendous case of tuberculosis, but the doctors are confident that you'll make a full recovery. However due to the contagious nature of your disease and your foreign location you are unfit for any visits, and will be for some time to come."

The boys turned to face me; their expressions were filled with surprise, "I never thought you, of all people, would be so practised in the art of deception." Edward's voice mimicked his expression, yet he looked somewhat impressed.

I sighed, "Unfortunately it is a necessary skill for every woman to learn."

"And here I thought that it was men who were sneaky."

I grinned mischievously, "And that's exactly what we want you to think."

Carlisle chuckled and picked the lens back up, "I think that's a good idea. Any doctor would tell him to stay far away from a man with tuberculosis."

"Well that was easier than I thought. What hospital should I say it's from?"

I smirked, "Germany would be your safest bet."

The boys chuckled, "That is very true. He wouldn't dare go there. Nobody would, not so soon after the war," Edward mused.

"Your face says a different thing," I murmured.

He shook his head, "No, I was just thinking about how I won't be able to go and fight in the next one either."

"The next one?" I queried.

He shrugged, "There's bound to be another one, humans can't stand to be peaceful. History is dotted with wars."

"So we live in the moment, and relish in the fact that there isn't one now," Carlisle interjected softly, I was saddened by the thought of how many wars he would have seen.

"Do vampires have wars?" I wondered.

Carlisle nodded, "In the southern states the newborn wars still wage. They used to be worse, before I was created, but the Volturi stepped in. They're still going on, but they're not as bad."

"What are they fighting over?"

"Territory." The boys began to piece the camera back together, "Up north here, you'll rarely find a large coven, only nomads or mated pairs."

"So we're an oddity," Edward grinned.

Carlisle laughed, "For many reasons, yes. I always check that there are no covens occupying an area before I move… or we move I should say."

More sadness panged at my chest when I was reminded of how long he spent alone.

Edward clapped him on the back, "Yes, now you have us. You shouldn't go forgetting that, old man."

Carlisle gave Edward a look I didn't understand, and then Edward began to laugh. Carlisle sighed and looked to the object on the table, that they had somehow, miraculously, pieced back together, "We should really try this out."

"I'm not convinced it will work anymore," I teased.

He grinned, "Then we should really, really try it out."

"Oh yes," agreed Edward, "Let's climb to the tops of the trees and dangle by a single finger then scatter the photographs all around town."

Carlisle sighed, and looked to me, "Sometimes I have no idea how to reply to him."

I giggled, "Although the idea of climbing tress is exceptionally enticing, how about we go for a picnic by the lake? Of course, not a real picnic, but I've been wanting to paint a picture of it, and I can't imagine the exact colours. Perhaps we could take some photographs down there? I'm sure there are a lot of different things to practise on."

"That," Carlisle grinned, "Is a very good idea."

"We could go swimming again," Edward grinned, "Now that we all have costumes."

I nodded, "That sounds nice."

We all quickly dashed up to our respective rooms to change, and then gathered downstairs, with the camera and my paint supplies, ready to go.

We ran through the forest, all the way out to the Porcupine Lake Wilderness, me holding my breath the whole time, in case of humans. Edward and I had found a little lake that held no human scent, on a hunting trip a while back, and Edward had always promised me he'd bring me back. He ran the perimeter first, when we arrived, just to make sure that no human had been by.

His search came up clean.

Carlisle lay a rug on the stones of the bank, and we all managed to squash onto it. Carlisle collapsed backwards onto his back in his usual fashion, and Edward began skipping rocks without getting up.

"What are you going to paint, exactly?" Carlisle wondered.

"The three of us," I smiled.

"Dangling in trees from a single finger?" Edward's voice was playfully hopeful.

"Oh, yes. Of course," I replied sarcastically.

Edward chuckled, "Sarcasm really doesn't suit you, but you do it so well."

I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well," he reasoned, "I always thought of sarcasm as more of a ma… a … a ma…"

"A manly thing?"

He tried to hide his smile, and nodded cheekily.

I shrugged, "You are so naive as to what women are really like."

Carlisle chuckled from behind us.

Edward scoffed, "Well I know that women are more sensitive than men."

I raised my eyebrows, "You think I'm being sensitive?"

He couldn't mistake the calmness in my voice for anything else, surely, "No," he shook his head, "Sometimes you do surprise me."

I gave him a satisfied grin, "Let's just say I can give it like a woman and take it like a man."

Edward chuckled and Carlisle roared with laughter. I turned around and fixed a disapproving look upon my face, "Are you making fun of me?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head, his eyes still betraying his amusement, "No. Not at all. I'm all for feminism."

I tried very hard to keep the smile from ruining my pretend displeasure, "Well I'm taking that quite sensitively."

He couldn't hide his grin then. I narrowed my eyes as my own smile won the battle and spread across my face. Then I did something quite positively unladylike. I put my sketchbook to one side, and then danced wiggling fingers across his stomach with gentle force. His laughter erupted in a sound so loud, I couldn't help but join in. Out the corner of my eye, I watched Edward shake his head, but a small smile played upon his lips.

Carlisle writhed under my fingers like a fish out of water, "No!" he exclaimed through his laughter, as his legs reflectively lifted of the ground, bent at the knees, and he began to turn onto his side. My laughter became too much for me to continue.

I let my head fall into my lap, as I wondered what was coming next.

When his laughter had subsided, but giggles still escaped my lips, I felt his arms weave around my waist, and his lips brush against my ear, "You," he whispered, "Are a little mischief maker."

I giggled more.

"What on Earth are we going to do with you?"

Edward cleared his throat to remind us of his presence. I felt Carlisle shake his head, but he released my waist and shuffled back to his seat. Relaxing back, but not lying down.

"Shall we go for a swim?" He wondered.

"I'll throw stones, you dodge," Edward suggested humourlessly, but laughed when Carlisle shoved his shoulder.

"Esme?" Carlisle's eyes still sparkled with mischief.

I shook my head, "I'm not getting wet."

"But you wore your swimming suit, you must have expected to get wet?"

"I did, but not by my own doing." There was silence for a moment before I caught a glimpse of the mischievous smile spreading across his face and heard Edward's quiet chuckles, and I realised the double meaning of my words, "Oh no, that did not come out how I intended it to."

"It really didn't, did it?" His eyes twinkled, "Because now I'm morally obliged to get you in this lake."

"You wouldn't," I whispered.

He shrugged, "Wouldn't, shouldn't… Still going to."

Then all of a sudden, he was lunging at me, and I was screaming and laughing as he wrapped his arms around my waist from the back, and lifted my feet off of the ground, spinning towards the lake. His arms were so thick, and strong, but gentle and soft. I was sure that should he ever hold me tighter, he could actually fit me entirely in his embrace and still manage for his hands to meet the opposite side of his body, that's how much bigger he was compared to little old me.

My screams were of glee and delight, as he ran into the water with me safely tucked into his arms. He kept walking backwards, laughing with Edward who aimed stones at his head then began to take photographs, until the water got deep enough to submerge us.

"Going under, little apple," he whispered in my ear.

I squealed again with delight and glee, his accompanying laughter was the perfect contrast, low and loving.

Edward joined Carlisle in the water when Carlisle would let me go, which took a lot of coaxing, and he acting disappointed as I skipped back to the rug on the shore. Edward showed me how to use the camera, and once I'd gotten the hang of it, I managed to get some rather amusing shots of the two boys having fun in the lake.

I got a few rough sketches as well, but that was effectively ended when Carlisle and Edward decided to splash me, and lure me into the water once again.

It was nine o'clock and dark by the time we decided to leave, Carlisle's shift began at ten. He'd run off to check the surrounding forest for traces of humans before I could leave. I was greatly looking forward to not being a newborn.

Edward and I were sitting side-by-side, shoulders touching on the pebble banks, he looking out at the lake, and I looking into the trees, waiting for Carlisle to return. I was marvelling at how I didn't think it possible, but somehow I loved him even more after today, when Edward turned and looked at me in earnest, "Esme, you don't realize how young you make him. How happy."

I looked up to Edward, his words sending my mind reeling. How happy. My stomach fluttered, I wanted that to mean so much more than I was sure it did. I went over the past month in my head, all the times he held my hand, the night in the forest, how we danced with our faces so close I almost kissed him, my birthday, lying on the lawn our noses almost touching, that night swimming, his tickling my feet, and today, his arms around my waist, his face in my hair, him pulling me into the water.

All the signs seemed to say that he was in love with me. But that couldn't be? Carlisle Cullen couldn't be in love with me, could he?

I looked to Edward, whose eyes were now fixed on the lake. I had so much respect and love for the boy; he couldn't block everyone else's thoughts out, so surely that meant he knew the answer. He'd vowed to keep the secrets that he knew, and that made me love him so much more, but I needed him to help me in that moment.

Edward, please… Am I reading the signs wrong?

His golden eyes were filled with conflicting emotions; there was annoyance, impatience, wariness, and happiness? I sighed, and watched the moonlight dance in his eyes, replaying the moments I cherished so much over and over in my head, wondering how Carlisle could ever love me, because nothing about made sense. So I concluded that there was only one answer. Yes, I was reading the signs wrong.

.

.

.

But two seconds later, Edward made everything make sense, with just a slight shake of his head.

A.N. Surprise! Another chapter! (I should have been studying for my med school exams... shhh)

SHE KNOWS!
YAY.
This was heaps of fun to write! So I hope you all enjoy!

Thank you so much again to everyone! Much love x