Chapter 36
Carlisle and Masen met back up with Esme, Alexandra and Leah. Right away, Carlisle knew something wasn't right. He looked at his wife's expression and the pit of his stomach dropped, thinking the worst.
Esme motioned for him to join her away from the kids and Masen looked over his shoulder as they left.
"What's going on?" Carlisle asked.
"You're not going to believe it Carlisle," she said, shaking her head with worry.
He tilted her chin gently so she would meet his eyes, "Tell me." His voice was as gentle as his touch.
"Leah... she just realized that, well, we're pretty sure that she's... pregnant."
Carlisle's eyebrows raised and he looked intently at Esme, "Are you sure?"
She nodded, "We could hear two heartbeats. One was particularly loud in her midsection."
He ran a hand through his hair, "Wow." A thousand questions ran through his mind. Was the fetis compatable? Would her situation be similar to Bella's? What would happen to the baby if she turned into a wolf? Most of all, what were they going to do about their current situation with Leah in such a vulnerable condition?
"She can't go to meet Olivia and Peter," Esme told him, "And I'm not on the side of telling Aro either."
"I don't think it'd be best for her to go by foot all the way back to Forks," Carlisle said. He looked over at his son a few hundred feet away who had apparently just been informed of the news, "They'll have to go to a hotel in... what state is this?"
"New Hampshire," she said quickly.
"New Hampshire," he repeated, buying time to think, "They'll have to stay here and wait for us. It's not safe."
Esme nodded in agreement.
"But what if we need Masen?" Carlisle thought aloud, "What if someone gets gravely hurt and we need his ability?"
"Leah won't want to leave him," Esme said, shaking her head.
"Well, there are a good number of us. I don't think we'll be at any type of disadvantage."
Esme could read in Carlisle's eyes that he was thinking of all possibilities to their current situation. He continued to run a hand through his hair repeatedly until she stopped him. "Relax."
"I am," he assured her with a half smile, "I know it's a nervous habit."
"I think that's a good idea," Esme said.
Carlisle looked her in the eyes and nodded, "I can't believe this is happening right now."
"We'll deal with it later. Right now we just have to get them safe, and get Luciana back."
He nodded again and the two of them rejoined where now everyone had gathered.
Carlisle handed his son his wallet, "Take this. Use my credit card. Check in at the first hotel you find."
"Dad..." Masen shook his head.
Carlisle looked at Leah, "You're going to be fine. We just need to get you both into a safe location for right now. Stay there, don't leave the hotel. If you need food, order room service."
"Okay," Leah nodded. The corners of her eyes were damp.
"What's going on?" Seth asked, "Are we going?"
"Yes," Carlisle told them. He looked at Edward, who had been reading he and Esme's thoughts since hearing their panic filled conversation a few minutes before.
"What if you need me?" Masen asked them.
"We have them greatly outnumbered," Carlisle said, "We won't. Keep your cell phone on. I'll call you when we're through and your mother and I will come get you. And Leah," he added, "Don't phase."
"Okay," she said again.
"I just don't know what will happen if you do and I don't want to risk anything right now."
She nodded and clutched Masen's arm.
"What is happening?" Seth demanded.
Carlisle looked toward Masen and Leah, allowing them to answer.
"She's, uh.."
"I'm pregnant, Seth," she said, "I think I am."
Bella's jaw dropped and she looked over at Edward. Everyone looked around at each other, and Masen looked toward Sam to see his reaction. In his massive wolf form it was hard to tell how he felt about the situation.
Masen fiddled with the wallet in his hand.
Carlisle looked at it, "Go. Put it in your pocket. Call me when you get there and from then on out, wait for me to call you."
"Alright," his son said, looking at him with apologetic eyes, "Dad.. I-"
Carlisle pulled him in for a hug, "We'll talk about it later. Just do what I'm asking of you now."
Masen hugged him as Leah hugged Esme and they said a quick goodbye to Alexandra and the rest of them before heading east in search of civilization.
Esme watched sadly as they left her line of vision.
"Will they be okay?" Alexandra asked.
"Yes," Esme told her, "They'll be fine." She exchanged a concerned look with Carlisle before they began making their way with the rest of them to Maine.
On the Kennebec County border, their group met up with Alice's group to form a plan. Right away Emmett noticed that Masen and Leah were absent.
"Where's Masen?" he asked, "And Leah?"
"They're in a hotel in New Hampshire," Carlisle told him, "Long story."
Alice looked around at all of them and Jasper sensed that everyone's moods were tense, "No secrets," Alice said sincerely.
Carlisle and Esme looked at each other before Esme answered the question, "Leah's pregnant."
"What!" Emmett said aloud.
Alice and Jasper's faces were just as shocked.
"Long story short," Carlisle said, "They're in a hotel for now. Leah wasn't sure if she could phase."
"And the baby..." Alice finished.
"Yeah," he said with a nod, "We need to find Olivia and Peter now."
"I say we split into three groups and take the west, middle and east of the county," Jasper suggested, "It's what we've been talking about."
Carlisle nodded, usually siding with Jasper in these situations due to his combat and military experience and knowledge.
"It does seem like the best way," Garrett chimed in with a nod. He stood closely behind Jasper.
The wolves decided to stay as a pack up the middle, while Alice's group and Carlisle's took the east and west sides respectively.
"There's only two of them," Edward reminded his mother, reading her thoughts regarding Masen.
She nodded and got herself in the mindset for what was to come. Although she knew Edward was right, she also knew that Aro's wrath was nothing to be taken lightly, and with Masen out of the picture, at least for the time being, they were all at risk.