Chapter 28
Carlisle kissed Esme goodbye as she, Alice and Rosalie were busy decorating the house with Christmas decorations. He gave her a smile and wink, knowing this was one of her favorite times of the year.
"Maybe tonight we'll all go into Seattle again," she said to him in the form of a question.
"Ooo, yes!" Alice said, as she lifted Caleb so he could hang the mistletoe under one of the doorways.
Carlisle snickered, "Yeah that's fine. It might get a little crazy. I think they just decorated the tree last night. It's the first big Christmas weekend."
"Even better," Alice said again, continuing to give her input on their conversation.
Esme looked up at Carlisle and smiled. They shared another kiss and more or less agreed on the plan for later in the evening.
"Have a good day at work," she told him.
Carlisle turned around halfway as he was heading out the door. He grinned, "A couple more weeks."
Esme nodded, "I'll have to check with my boss to see if I can have some of those personal days," she joked.
"Make him understand," he said back playfully.
"I love it when they get all flirty," Alice said to Rosalie, loud enough for Carlisle and Esme to hear them, "It's the Christmas season."
"Have a good day ladies," Carlisle said.
Esme pulled him lightly to her for another kiss before she joined back up with her two counterparts and Caleb to continue with the festivities.
When Carlisle arrived at work, he went along with his typical routine and got settled, opening up his day with some paperwork before making his rounds to a few patients he had tended to regularly over the course of a couple of days. He took the time to appreciate his place of employment, truly a little saddened that it would only be a short period of time more that he would be working there.
Forks Hospital had been his longest job location in all of his three hundred plus years. He loved his work, enjoyed the atmosphere he worked in and thought very highly of his co-workers. It was a part of him.
"Dr. Cullen." A nurse peeked her head into his office as he had just settled down after a busy morning.
"Yes," he said with a half smile.
"Would you mind coming with me for a minute? Dr. Snow said there's something important he needs to discuss with you."
Carlisle stood up, "Sure. Do you know what it's about?"
She shook her head, "He didn't get specific. I'm sorry."
"That's alright," he said with a nod. He adjusted his jacket and let the young woman lead him down two long corridors.
"He's just down this way," she told him.
Carlisle noticed she was leading him toward the break room where many of the employees went to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on what shift they were working. He was about to let his suspicions get the best of him, though he didn't have time. As they entered the room, a mass of people all yelled "Surprise!" at the same time. The nurse smiled and looked at him with a shrug.
"I'm such a terrible liar," she told him, "I'm glad you didn't ask too many questions.
Carlisle smiled and let out a light laugh, "What's all this?"
"It's a surprise party," she told him, "Everyone got together last weekend and planned it, seeing as you're leaving."
He grinned, "Thank you Kayla." His eyes looked around at the rest of his co-workers.
"You're welcome," she told him with a smile, then gave him a quick hug before he made his way around the room.
"You guys didn't have to do any of this," Carlisle told a small group of nurses he worked with regularly and Dr. Snow, whom he had the closest bond with at the hospital.
His friend patted him once on the back, "We're going to miss ya. We've had some good years here together."
He nodded, "We have. I know."
"Gosh, you've aged much better than I have," Dr. Snow joked with a laugh. He ran a hand through his own gray hair, then brushed a hand over his moustache, "The moustache is starting to get the same salt and pepper as the hair."
Carlisle laughed and thought to himself how important it was that he kept out of the public eye. He was going to miss the people he worked with, though even through the light-hearted jokes, they certainly noticed his unchanging youthful appearance.
"It's a good thing you're going," Betty, an older, heavyset nurse who was well into her sixties said, "Because I was just thinking of leaving old Bill for you; well, propositioning you anyway."
Carlisle laughed and put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll certainly miss all of you."
Betty handed him a piece of cake, "Here, everyone's already having some and it's yours. Make sure you get a piece."
He smiled and politely ate the food that they prepared for him. Carlisle made his rounds to everyone and thanked each of his co-workers individually for the surprise party. He was truly touched that they all put the extra thought in and put something together for him in this fashion. People stopped in at different times who were too busy to stay, though wanted to give their special thanks to Carlisle for his services and friendship.
Upon the conclusion of the get-together, Carlisle made sure he thanked as many people again as he could, then got back to work for the rest of the afternoon. He maintained a good feeling for the remainder of the day, and as darkness crept in a little after five o'clock, he made his way out to his car and drove towards home.
The back roads were fairly quiet with only a few cars passing by. As Carlisle drove, a familiar scent caught his nose and it took him an extra second to place it. He quickly realized, however, that it was Micah and Helen. Knowing almost right away that they were traveling parallel to his car for almost a mile, he slowed down and pulled his car to the side of the road and stepped out of the car.
The couple emerged from the woods immediately and approached him. Carlisle was cautious but didn't feel threatened. The pair were calm and direct.
"Carlisle," Micah said, "I apologize for following you, but I was hoping you would sense us nearby and stop. We've been traveling beside you for a minute or two."
He nodded, "I could tell. Is something going on?"
Helen nodded back, "Yes. We wanted to tell you that we felt the presence of the humanizer," she told him, "That's what the four of us having been calling him or her."
"Helen and I both felt it," Micah said, "The elements that we are typically immune to. The freezing December weather. The very light snowfall from yesterday's morning."
"It was quite uncomfortable," Helen added.
"How long did it last?" Carlisle asked.
"Five minutes," Micah said.
"Not even," Helen said back, looking at him. He nodded in agreement.
"Did you catch the scent of who was doing this?" Carlisle asked them again.
"No," they each said.
He looked around the wooded areas that surrounded them, "Maybe he doesn't have a scent. Luciana doesn't. It's possible."
"Aro's daughter?" Helen asked.
"Yes."
"We wish to get on your good side," Micah continued to enforce, "We understand your trust issues, but we sometimes fear traveling in such a small group."
"Why?" Carlisle asked, "I know of others in smaller covens.
"We were attacked by a larger coven several years ago," Helen said, "It was unprovoked. We lost a younger member of our family."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"We know we cannot travel with you, or take a permanent residence in Forks, or the areas of Washington nearby because of our choices for food," Micah said, "But being allies is something Helen and I very much desire, as do Christopher and Jacqueline. They're very much like family, but weren't as deeply effected like we were when our friend Jim was taken from us. For a time it was just Helen, myself and Jim, and then we met Christopher and Jacqueline about five years ago."
"Jim was vulnerable, and small," Helen told him, "He was turned at only fourteen, and I looked at him like a son. It was heartbreaking when he was taken from us."
Carlisle nodded, feeling badly for the couple, "I'm very sorry. I know the bond you're talking about and I couldn't imagine it being taken away."
"That's why we wanted to know about conceiving children," Micah told him, "There has been a missing part of our lives since losing our son the way we did; that's the way we looked at him anyway. Having a child of our own would make our lives more manageable."
Carlisle sighed and looked toward Helen. He felt guilty for lying about the conception process and contemplated giving them all of the information they needed to know in order to expand their family. There was a much bigger part of him, however, that wanted no part of putting his family at risk if he did tell them the truth. He decided to talk it over with Esme when he got home before making a decision on the matter.
"I'm sorry to hear of your loss," he said again, "And I'm sure my family would be comfortable finding the four of you as allies. I appreciate the concerns and the warning about this vampire with the special power he has. I'll pass it on to my family. Do you think they're looking for trouble?"
Micah and Helen looked at each other before he shrugged, "He hasn't attacked, or tried to. Maybe he's just getting used to his ability, or trying it out. I really can't tell for sure."
Carlisle nodded, "Okay."
"I'm sorry I can't help you more."
"Don't be silly," Carlisle said, "I appreciate the help."
The three of them stood in silence for a moment before the couple made the move to part from Carlisle.
"We won't keep you any longer," Micah said. He pulled his mate to his side and she eagerly linked herself to him. "I will let you know if there is another incident."
"Thank you," Carlisle told him.
Micah extended his free hand and Carlisle shook it. Helen looked to Carlisle with a polite nod and the two of them disappeared as quickly as they'd emerged. Carlisle watched them go before jumping back in his car. He wanted to get home as soon as possible.
