The morning came and went, fading into the afternoon before Sarah was able to finally drag the kids inside for a nap. They had spent most of the morning outside, splashing around in the pool, teaching Connor how to float (a skill that still seemed to allude him), and reapplying sunscreen.

Now with the kids both asleep on the sofa inside, Esme and Sarah enjoyed a rare quiet moment together and it felt very much like she'd never been parted from her best friend.

"Geez, Ohio, that delicate skin of yours is going to fry. Where have you been bunking down, Alaska?"

"Close enough," Esme said, rubbing sunscreen into her shoulders. The sun and the heat felt especially nice but she knew she'd pay for it later if she didn't reapply diligently. Sarah put the baby monitor on the table between their chairs and handed her a glass of iced tea.

"Remember those summers spent at your grandparents farm? You'd always tan so easily. We'd go back to school and everyone thought you had spent the summer somewhere exotic."

Esme laughed. "Until I wore shorts and revealed my lovely farmer's tan."

Sarah snorted. "I don't know why you wore your socks so high as a child."

"I think it was to avoid getting ticks running through the fields."

"Oh yeah," Sarah mumbled. "I think I blocked that part from my mind."

"You never did like bugs."

"Still don't. That's what I have kids for."

"So I've been ousted as your official spider squisher?"

Sarah snorted, but sat up and looked at her seriously. "Connor keeps trying to keep them. I'm afraid I'm going to clean his room one day and find them in jars under his bed."

"They'll all be dead if he's keeping them under his bed."

"You're missing the point here."

Esme laughed, laying back on her lawn chair and fitting a pair of Sarah's oversized sunglasses over her face. "God, I missed you."

"Ready to trade Carlisle in and move out here for a while?"

Esme bit her lip. Though she knew Sarah was joking (mostly), the idea made her squirm. Before, she never would have hesitated had everything with Charles been settled. She would have moved out here in a heartbeat. But now, there was Carlisle and that changed everything.

Sarah twisted in her chair. "Okay, woman, give me the details on this Doctor Hotpants situation. You have your serious face on."

Esme frowned. "I don't have a serious face."

"Yes you do. You have a very-serious-thoughts-are-occurring-in-my-head face and I want to know them all, so dish. We only have a week, so we gotta make it count."

Esme agreed with a nod of her head, taking a sip of her drink. She swallowed. "Did you put alcohol in this?"

"Obviously. It's the holidays, we're celebrating. I'd make you eggnog but it doesn't keep as well in the sun. Now stop making excuses and tell me again how you two met . . . and don't leave out anything."

Esme picked Carlisle up outside the hotel that evening. He stepped out from beneath the awning that covered the front door, slipping into the passenger seat as the last of the pink left the dusky grey sky.

Esme recognized his bag—the one he usually took to work. It wasn't packed the way it normally was (bulging with medical files) but still she wondered what use he had for it here.

"What's that for?" she asked as he placed it on the floor by his feet.

"I am a doctor," he said. "And I was supposedly at a conference today."

"You're very good at this," Esme murmured as the reality of a life playing props dawned on her. Alone and playing pretend in a world where he didn't quite fit in, it was a miracle that Carlisle was the person he was. That he was so innately good.

"I had a tip from Alice, truth be told."

"Oh?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." He reached over and pecked her on the cheek.

She flushed, but groaned quietly when he lingered.

His laugh sent a rush of his sweet scent across her face.

"Am I distracting you?" he whispered.

"You always do, but it's increasingly difficult to concentrate on driving."

"I'll stick to my side then, shall I?"

She gave him an apologetic smile. "That's probably for the best."

He simply chuckled and asked about her day, which she regaled for him in intricate detail as they drove back to Sarah's place.

Ringing the doorbell for the second time that day, Esme waited for the patter of little feet, but was surprised when Sarah pulled the door open. Sarah opened her mouth, most likely to introduce herself, but instead her jaw dropped and she stared at Carlisle so hard he might as well have been naked. Her eyes made an obvious trail from his face right down to his shoes.

"Wow," she muttered, "Doctor Hotpants doesn't even cover it."

Esme dropped her head into her hand.

"Well, come in, come in!" Sarah said, ushering them inside. "Welcome."

"Good job," Sarah whispered as she passed, giving Esme a very obvious wink.

Carlisle shot her a toothy grin over Sarah's shoulder. Clearly he was enjoying this. If he was any other human man she'd be completely mortified right now. But for some reason she felt like Carlisle understood some of Sarah's more endearing qualities . . . her lack of filter, for starters.

To Esme's delight, Sarah and Carlisle got on exceptionally. She didn't know how much was natural and how much was Carlisle reading the situation and applying everything she'd told him about Sarah, but even if it was, she appreciated how hard he was trying.

Even a little later when Alex—Sarah's husband—finally got home from work, he made fast friends with Carlisle and they parked it in front of the TV with Sarah muttering "men" under her breath.

Carlisle took the beer offered to him by Alex and they put the basketball game on.

"You a sports guy?"

Esme glanced between them, but Carlisle didn't even hesitate. "Baseball, actually."

"You play?"

Carlisle nodded, leaning back against the sofa and raising his beer to his lips in an impression that almost had Esme believing. "Oh, my whole family does. My kids love it."

The conversation turned to talk of players and stats and batting averages and Esme almost forgot that she'd been worried about how they would react to Carlisle.

"Where are the kids?" Esme asked Sarah. She'd only been here a day, but even she knew that the house was unusually quiet.

"I just put Kayla down before you got back. Connor gets to stay up a little longer, but he's currently having a pajama crisis. Apparently the Avengers are not good enough for company."

"I see," Esme said as Alex appeared with a beer for her as well.

After the game, Sarah convinced Alex to help her tackle the supper dishes and Esme leaned against Carlisle on the sofa. "Are you okay?" she wondered.

"Fine. They're very nice. I see why you and Sarah get on so well."

She smiled against his shoulder. "I'm sorry about earlier. Sarah can be very blunt."

"I mean, she was only undressing me with her eyes."

Esme chuckled as a pair of slippered feet appeared on the stairs. Connor stared through the banister rails at them, examining this new stranger in his house. He took a couple tentative steps down the stairs. Esme gave him her best smile and with a grin he raced across the living room and dove into the sofa cushion beside her, hiding his face from Carlisle.

Esme rubbed her hand gently down Connor's back until he popped his head up, studying Carlisle with wide blue eyes.

"You must be Connor," Carlisle said, holding out his hand.

Connor made a face. He was either thinking very hard or about to cry and for a moment Esme couldn't tell which, though she hoped it wasn't the latter. Then, to her relief, he broke into a smile.

"You da doctor?" he said, taking his hand, his tiny palm engulfed in Carlisle's. He didn't shy away from his cold skin as Esme had feared, but instead looked up at Carlisle with a growing curiosity.

"More drinks?" Sarah asked, popping back into the living room.

"Just water is fine," Esme said.

Sarah snorted. "As if. I went shopping for the good booze." She left them alone, with Connor still looking up at Carlisle, face pinched.

"I a doctor," he said finally, before making a beeline out of the room.

"I'll take that as a good sign?" Carlisle said, though he smiled. If he felt out of place, he certainly didn't show it.

Esme took his now free hand.

Connor returned a moment later with one of those plastic stethoscopes, racing up and wedging himself between them on the couch.

He stuffed it in Carlisle's lap. "I listen," he said.

"Ah, I see," Carlisle said, stringing the toy stethoscope around his neck. "A fine piece of equipment you have here, doctor."

Connor giggled, his cheeks round and puffed.

"You have too?"

Carlisle smiled patiently at the boy, a twinkle in his eye, like something had dawned on him.

"In fact, I do." He pointed to his bag. "Bring me that bag over there."

Connor rushed across the room and scooped up the black leather bag, stumbling back to the couch with it.

"Thank you, doctor," Carlisle said, snapping the bag open as Connor looked on eagerly. He pulled a long black stethoscope from the depths of the bag and Connor's eyes grew wide.

"I have dat!" he squealed.

"This one is very special," Carlisle said. "I'll show you. But first we need a patient." He smiled conspiratorially at Connor. Slowly he turned his head and Connor followed suit, throwing his arms up.

"Auntie Esme! You be da patient." He crawled towards her, looking back at Carlisle expectantly.

Following suit, Carlisle fixed his tie and cleared his throat, grinning at Esme before growing serious again. "Good day, Miss. I hear you're having some troubles. Me and my assistant here are just going to take a listen if that's alright."

"Oh, of course, doctor."

Carlisle put the ear pieces in and then with gentle fingers he laid the bell of the stethoscope against the bare skin revealed by the dip of her shirt, sliding it over ever so slowly. "Ah," he said. "There it is."

He pulled the ear pieces from his ears and handed them to Connor, helping him adjust them. It took only a moment for Connor to hear the constant lub, dub and his tiny gasp gave away his excitement.

"I hear!" he shouted.

"What do you say, doctor? Will she make it?"

Connor scrunched up his face. "I dunno."

Esme laughed. "Oh, perfect. Just what I like to hear."

Carlisle smirked. "You could always ask for a second opinion."

"I might just do that," Esme said as Carlisle pulled the bell away. Connor took it from his hand and turned it on Carlisle next.

Esme's heart sped up because she knew very well there was nothing to hear there. And there hadn't been for a very long time.

"Now you turn," Connor said, fitting the bell of the stethoscope over Carlisle's chest.

Carlisle placed the stethoscope over his heart. "Hear that?" he said, rubbing the stethoscope in place before tapping the top of the bell gently. "Thump, thump. Thump, thump."

Connor shrieked. "Auntie, Esme! Listen." He stuffed the ear pieces in Esme's face and she laughed, trying to untangle them.

"Hear?" Connor asked, putting his chubby fist on her cheek.

"Thump, thump," Carlisle whispered. They shared a glance and Esme wondered why she had ever panicked. Carlisle gave her a knowing grin and pecked her on the lips.

"Ewwy, kissies," Connor grumbled.

"Ew, kisses, hmm?" Esme said, snatching the boy around the waist and blowing kisses into his neck. Connor giggled and shrieked until she released him.

"Oh, good. Play doctor," Sarah said, coming back into the room at the sound of Connor's laughter. "I'm aiming for Harvard, so I figure gotta start him young."

"I go Harard," Connor said, rolling his eyes in a very good impression of his mother.

"Yes you are," Sarah said, "but not tonight. Tonight you are going to bed. We'll work on Harvard next week."

"No," Connor whined, flopping down between Esme and Carlisle again. "I not tired."

"I think you are," Sarah sang. "But only tired boys get stories so . . ."

In a flash Connor was up, scrambling up the stairs on his hands and feet.

"Say goodnight," Sarah called.

Connor paused, sticking his face between the rails on the stairs. "Night!" he shouted before taking off again. His little feet thundered across the ceiling and Sarah winced, hands on her hips.

Just a moment more and the tiniest cry could be heard. Kayla had obviously been woken up.

"I got it," Alex said rushing up the stairs.

"Oh, good." Sarah reached over the couch, taking Esme by the hand. "Help me make drinks. Carlisle, man the TV."

Esme was led away into the kitchen, now tidied after a day of meal prep. There were an assortment of alcohol bottles on the counter, but Sarah didn't bother with them, instead pulling herself up to sit on the edge of the counter. "That man is beautiful."

Esme tucked herself onto a stool by the island and laughed. "Please control yourself. I don't want to scare him just yet."

"I will. I'm gunna host the shit out of your stay."

"Don't go to any extra trouble. Honestly."

"Esme, you listen to me. This isn't just a nice guy to hang around with for a while. This is the real deal, so I'm gunna make it happen. You can thank me later. What does this man like to eat? I know I tell you I hate cooking, but for you, I'll do it."

"Oh, he eats at the conference. You know, they always do those big fancy meals." She waved her hand. "He'll be fine."

Sarah nodded slowly. "The way he looks at you, Es." Her mouth curved into a soft smile, so unlike Sarah, that Esme really paused to listen. "It's like nothing exists past you."

Esme ducked her head, looking out into the yard, now highlighted with small garden lights, to keep from thinking too hard about what those words meant.

"He's really something."

"I know."

"I wish you told me how serious this was," Sarah said.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought he was a good thing for you, but I didn't think he was going to really mean something, you know?"

"I guess . . ." Esme worried her lip, "I didn't either. Not at first. At first I was just . . ."

"Overwhelmed?"

"Yeah . . . a little." She smirked. "Or a lot."

"That's fair. After Charles, all of this must be a big adjustment."

"It was . . . it still is. But Carlisle's amazing."

"Well, it seems like it got serious really quickly. Normally I would warn you away from this kind of thing. I would tell you to take a step back and clear your head. And remind you that you're still going through a divorce. But I don't want to. I think he's really good for you. And he brought you here to me, so in my books, he's a keeper."

"I'm glad you like him."

"Like him? I'm sending both my kids home with him."

Esme snorted and Sarah gave her a look that said she wasn't kidding.

"Alright, enough with the heavy. Tell me about school. I want to hear more about this Jeremy guy."

"Why?"

"Because he sounds like he's trying to put the moves on you when you've already got a great guy out there. If that doesn't scream drama—"

Esme sighed and shook her head. "You sound just like Carlisle's kids."

"They sound smart."

"They are."

Alex walked in then, taking a couple more beers from the fridge and Esme wondered how Carlisle had disposed of his first one—perhaps he watered the plant by the front entrance. Alex gave Esme a glowing smile over his shoulder. "I really like this guy."

Sarah rolled her eyes and pushed him back towards the living room. "Go make a good impression then."

"And what do you think I've been doing?"

"Drinking and talking about sports. He's a doctor, babe, try to sound smart."

"Your faith in me is astounding."

"Oh, you know what I mean. I'm trying to seal the deal here."

"What deal? Esme, you know you can say no to her, right? It's good for her. Don't let her push you into anything." He smirked at his wife for a moment. "But for the record, Carlisle can visit anytime with you."

"Thanks, Alex. That means a lot."

He raised the beers and left.