Chapter 48

Michael accompanied Alexandra on a hunt and found himself amazed at how someone so elegant and beautiful could stalk a dear in the woods with such ferocity and tenacity. He loved it. To him, everything about Alexandra was perfectly amazing. As the days went on, he found himself become more and more fond of her. There was a big part inside of him that feared his emotions would become too much to bear and the pain that could accompany the feeling if she did not feel the same.

The burning in his throat temporarily distracted him from thoughts of her as a large buck passed by in the distance. Michael quickly tracked it down, fed and tried to clean himself up. During his hunting sessions he always tried to wear the same clothing, a black adidas jacket and pants to match. They were old, informal clothes and the stains could not be seen due to the color of the fabric.

When he'd successfully wiped the blood from his hands and face, he quickly met back up with Alexandra.

"What'd you have?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Deer," she responded coolly.

"Same," he said with a smile. She smiled back warmly and he decided, at that moment, to take a bit of a chance. There was a big part of him that would have liked to see her reaction if he boldly placed a kiss on her lips. The other part of him decided that it was probably not the best way to approach the subject of him having feelings for her, especially after the nightmare that had had happened with Peter. Michael suspected her guard was still up following his ultimate betrayal and so, instead, he kept it casual.

"Alex," he said.

She stopped walking for a moment, noticed he had and looked at him, "Yeah?"

Michael smiled shyly and looked down, "Um..."

Alexandra's stomach dropped as she anticipated he was going to say something of significance. She balled up her fists and waited during his few seconds of hesitation that seemed to take an hour.

"I was just thinking that maybe, you know..." his voice trailed off and he suddenly felt like a complete idiot for his lack of words. "Maybe we could go see a movie together. Me and you."

She felt her throat tighten, almost as if she hadn't hunted at all. The expression on her face must have made him more anxious because he shifted his weight uncomfortably and shoved both of his hands into the pockets of his black athetlic pants.

"Like, kind of, like a date?" she asked.

Michael wanted to die inside, unable to read how she felt about the possibility of it. He decided to stop being soft and took a bolder route, "Yes. I'd like to take you on a date Alex. A very casual date. An afternoon movie even so your parents won't worry."

Alexandra knew he mouth hung open in disbelief but she then felt her mouth creep up in a smile she was unable to control, "Yeah. Really? Yeah."

Relief washed over Michael's body and he forced a laugh at her reaction, "Yeah?" he asked.

"Yes, Michael. I'd like that."

He smiled again and took in a deep breath, "Cool," he said, trying to sound even more casual, "Maybe tomorrow or something, then?"

"Tomorrow is good for me. I don't have much to do."

"Great," he grinned and took a deep breath.

The two of them stood on the wooded path staring at each other for a moment before he placed a hand on her back and began to lead her back to the house. Alexandra felt like her stomach was full of a million beautiful butterflies. It was a feeling much more intense and real than what she felt for Peter, even after he'd kissed her.

Michael, she thought, was a beautiful boy. She rephrased the sentence in her mind, a beautiful man.

They walked close together and Alexandra looked down toward his hand, eager to grab it so they could walk with their fingers linked together, though her shyness got the best of her and she decided to wait.

When they got back to the house, only a few lights were on and they made their way inside.

Esme and Leah sat together in the living room talking while something played on the television that neither of them seemed to be paying attention to. Down the hall they heard Masen and Carlisle talking and Michael looked at Alexandra and decided to go speak with her father.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

He pointed down the hall.

Esme and Leah looked in their direction, each giving a light wave.

"Hey mom.. Leah," Alexandra waved back before following Michael to where he now stood with Carlisle and Masen.

"Sorry to interupt," he said, sensing their conversation was light.

Carlisle smiled, "It's no problem."

Masen looked at his sister and eyed Michael behind his back, making her smile. He nudged her with his elbow before waving his hand to Carlisle and went to join Leah and Esme in the living room.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Michael asked, changing Carlisle's expression immediately to worry.

Alexandra snickered, knowing his thoughts must have gone in a hundred different directions after all that had happened recently.

Her giggling softened his expression and he looked back to Michael, "Sure."

"Well," he said with the same hesitation as when he asked Alex, "I would just like to ask you if it would be alright if I took Alexandra to a movie tomorrow afternoon."

A smile crept over Carlisle's face as the question was much less serious than he had originally anticipated. Lately, his thoughts had gone directly to the worse case scenario and so the fact that Michael, whom he'd come to find had great character and maturity, wanted to take Alexandra to a movie was the big question of the day, he felt secure giving his answer. "That's fine with me," his eyes adjusted to his daughter and he saw the elated expression on her face, "You just have to ask Esme. She's in charge."

Michael let a nervous laugh leave his mouth, feeling more confident going to face Alexandra's mother than he had coming in to approach Carlisle, "Alright."

Alexandra smiled at her father and as Michael left the room to continue on his journey through the house to ask her mother, she hugged him hard. "Thank you so much, Dad."

"You're welcome," he said with a sigh, slinging his arm around her.

As quickly as she'd hugged him, she was out of the room and following Michael.

Carlisle heard Esme's voice in the other room grant him permission, also telling Michael to go check in with him, though Alexandra quickly explained that they already had.

He felt a little more comfortable knowing that Michael was, indeed, a respecful young man, though there was still the anxiety that went with being a father allowing your daughter to be in the responsibility of boy who had feelings for her. His gut, however, told him that the two of them would be fine and could prove to be a light in each other's lives.

Esme joined him as he lingered in the hallway in deep contemplation.

"It's fine," he said with a smile before she could say anything to him.

"You're okay with it?" she asked him.

Carlisle nodded, "I've always felt like Michael was quality kid; a good person at heart. He has a genuine character."

She agreed with a nod, "Have you noticed a change in the heartbeat of Leah and Masen's baby?"

His eyes got more serious, "Yes." He escorted her out of the house so they could talk without their son or Leah overhearing them.

"Do you know why?" she asked him.

Carlisle shook his head, "I'm not sure. I don't want to worry either of them, but I'm sure Masen's aware of it."

Esme's eyes saddened slightly, "Do you think there's a problem?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "But the fact that both of us noticed the distinct change in the heartbeat worries me a little. It's significant."

Esme sighed and closed her eyes, "I wish we had use of Alice's gift."

"Me too," he agreed, stiffening his posture as he thought harder.

She placed a hand on his arm, "What can we do?"

"I wish we knew more," he said, shaking his head. His eyes met hers and each of them were filled with equal worry.

Esme's eyes began to glisten but she held back any tears that could have dropped.

"It'll be okay," Carlisle said reassuringly, "I've done tons of tests and I'm continuing to do more."

"What if something happens to him.. or her?" she asked, referring to the baby.

He threw his arms around her in a hug, "We'll do what we can. It may be nothing significant. The heartbeat is still healthy, just different."

"Less beats per minute. I calculated," she said, still serious.

Carlisle let a smile spread over his face and he kissed her forehead, "We'll figure out why."

"Don't hide anything from me," she begged him, "If you find something out-"

"I won't hide anything from you," he assured her, "When do I ever?"

"I know," she admitted, "You don't. I just don't want you to keep something from me if you think I may get upset."

"I won't," he said again, "But I think their baby will be just fine."