Based on characters from the Twilight© by Stephanie Meyers. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.

38 IMMEDIATE RELOCATION

"How could they just leave you alone after such a tragic loss?" I asked incredulously. I couldn't feel her emotions but they were plain enough. The sudden flood of memories of her husband were disgustingly graphic. She looked over at me sadly.

"They said my baby's death was punishment because I left my husband."

"But… he was cruel and brutal. He beat you and… You shouldn't have to stay with a man like that, married or not."

I was appalled at her memories of what he had repeatedly done to her in addition to the beatings. He was the one that should have gone over the cliff, I thought angrily.

Carlisle gasped, looking over at me. My shocked and angry expression let him know I had 'seen' more in her memory and it had affected me more than what I had just expressed.

"How?" she stared wide-eyed at me. Her thoughts suddenly pulled back from her miserable past to now, to Carlisle and the things he had told her while she was in pain. "Ah, I remember," she said smiling up at Carlisle. "So this is your son's gift."

"Yes, sorry… I can't help it. It just happens," I said smiling apologetically, reining in my anger. "I can block your thoughts though, so don't worry about me hearing everything you think."

She smiled at me, Carlisle smiled, too. I smiled back at them. This could work out, we could be a family, I thought wistfully.

"Hello, my name is Edward Cullen," I introduced myself to her.

"Hello Edward. I'm Esme. I hear you need a mother," she said heartfelt and totally serious.

I laughed.

Yes, you do! Carlisle thought, liking what she had just said. They were still wrapped around each other like they were never going to move or if they did they were going to move as one body.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" I asked him, dryly amused.

I'm pretty sure it does. You can't have one without the other, he replied as dryly.

"What?" she asked not hearing the other side of the conversation.

"Uh, here is something for you to change into. The bath is upstairs. We will find you some better clothes in the morning. Let's go hunting," Carlisle said quickly, holding up the nightshirt.

"Yes, let's go hunting," I echoed, stunned at Carlisle's train of thought. Seriously in love, he was planning to ask Esme to marry him. To him it made perfect sense. Even stranger was that Esme was expecting him to ask.

"Yes, let's," she said, grabbing the nightshirt, ripping it in half. "Oh?" Suddenly she stood, looking down at Carlisle her eyes wide with surprise. "Wow that was…fast," she giggled as he stared up at her. He was the one distracted now.

I prodded Carlisle with my barefoot and pointed toward the stairs. "That way." He jumped up to lead the way for Esme.

She reached out and held his hand.

"A little distracted by something?" Esme asked as she walked barefoot with no hesitation across the glass strewn floor.

"Just a bit," Carlisle said smiling at her. His focus on her blocked all other thoughts but taking her hunting so I still had no idea what had triggered the destruction. I wanted to know so badly my curiosity was growling like a beast but I left the question unasked, I'd find out if he wanted to tell me or if it slipped out.

She bathed quickly and coiled her hair on top of her head using what hairpins had been in her hair. Instead of the nightshirt she opted for one of Carlisle's shirts and a pair of his trousers, which she quickly shortened with a pair of scissors. She was a very practical woman; hunting in a nightshirt or a dress would have been difficult.

We couldn't stay in Ashland, it was too dangerous. Both Carlisle and I could help her try to cope with her thirst. Since she couldn't tap into Carlisle's mind, as I could, she needed to be far from the temptation of human blood.

He decided we would head for his house in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where she could hunt and not be tempted by humans at all. I knew about the house but had never been there.

We left almost everything behind. I knew Carlisle would call his aide and he or she would take care of everything in Ashland for us. I stayed in the wilderness with Esme as Carlisle went back into town. Carlisle brought his medical bag and some instruments he thought he might need. Not for us but for those we might accidentally meet on the way but I knew he was thinking ahead for his future job. He made a pack for it to carry on his back. Carlisle contacted the hospital and told them we were leaving for a family emergency, so they wouldn't think we disappeared.

I went to the house while Carlisle and Esme hunted. I stuffed my mother's wedding ring box into my pocket. It was my mother's ring but my father had given it to her so it linked the three of us together. It was a token, a reminder that they would always be a part of me, even if I had wonderful new if somewhat strange parents.

I packed all the shirts and pants I could fit into a large knapsack. Esme was just as messy feeding as I had been. If she ran through clothes as fast as I had she'd need all we could carry because the house in the mountains was very isolated.

We were running from Wisconsin across the upper peninsula of Michigan, swimming over to Canada then down into New York and over to New Hampshire. It would take us a few days, hunting along the way.

I was running in a zigzag pattern ahead of Carlisle and Esme checking for any sign of human scent when I caught the scent of something I'd never smelled before. It was similar to bobcat, yet different. I followed the scent and caught a glimpse of the creature. It was a large wild cat about twice the size of a bobcat. I tracked it for a while, hunted it as it hunted. I tracked other wild cat scents as I followed and knew it wasn't rare in these forests. I gave myself permission to let the scent take me and fell into a hunting crouch running toward my predatory prey. It was an entertaining hunt and my reward eased my burning thirst nicely.

The next day while I was ranging out ahead of Carlisle and Esme I heard an anguished scream coming from behind me. It was Esme's voice echoing across the valley.

"Esme, I coming," I yelled. I ran toward her scream. I was out of mind reading range for her so I had no idea what was happening.

"No! Edward, Stop!" Carlisle yelled back across the valley. Suddenly I 'heard' Carlisle's frantic thoughts, realizing my range had increased again, at least as far as Carlisle was concerned. Stay where you are, Edward. Don't come close enough to hear her mind. Then he repeated the words again.

"I heard you," I replied and stopped where I was. I could see through Carlisle's eyes; Esme, blood dripping from her mouth, her face a mask of terror kneeling on the ground a dead man at her knees.

I was horrified, somehow I had missed the man's scent and she had caught it while hunting. She had no chance of stopping once she had his scent and being a newborn she was so much faster than Carlisle he couldn't catch her in time.

I had no words for the pain I felt as I empathized with the pain her scream conveyed after she realized what she had done. I was glad that I couldn't hear her now, but I should be suffering along with her since it had been my job to keep her safe from such things.