AN: Hi All, here is the last chapter for now!

I will be marking this as complete because part-one is complete now. When part-two eventually starts posting, it will begin showing up here as Chapter 21 and so on. But yes, for now, this is the end of the road.

Thanks to all who read, follow, favourite and review! It's been a fun journey!

Blessings,

-BMW

Chapter Twenty: When Hearts Come Home

Esme's POV

Carmen and I were having a leisurely morning working in the garden together when Eleazar came zooming up looking about as frazzled as a vampire can.

"Esme, it's Carlisle! He heard from Alistair. He's coming here. He found a second mate whose gift has allegedly cured his anxiety. Carlisle is losing his mind. He asked for you. He's in the pasture. I'm supposed to find Jasper too," El told us. I gasped.

My eyes shot to Carmen. "Carmen, do you mind if I…?"

"Go, Hermana! Your mate needs you," she insisted, kissing my cheek.

"Thank you, Carmen. I'll come back if I can, I promise."

I took off like a shot as Eleazar went inside to look for Jasper.

When I found Carlisle, he looked so lost. I zoomed to his side, pulling him close for comfort. "This is good news, right?" I confirmed.

"Maybe?" He sighed. "Oh Esme, I'm scared to hope. For hundreds of years, I dreamed that perhaps one day there would be a solution that would bring him back to me permanently. But it never occurred to me the solution could be another vampire. What if he doesn't want me anymore? What if this other person is enough for him and he's only coming here to say goodbye?"

"Carlisle Cullen! Don't you dare do that to yourself. Alistair wears your mating mark, Sweetheart. He loves you just as much as I do. You know that every day he spends apart from you is just as hard for him as it is for you. If it wasn't for his anxiety, he would have been by your side this entire time, you know that," I chastised.

"I know, Esme. I'm just scared. I'm scared to hope for a happy ending here. Everything else about my life is so perfect. This has always been my one struggle. I guess I'm afraid of what else might fall apart if this gets resolved." He frowned.

"Well...we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, just try to be happy. Your mate is coming here. That's cause for celebration." I smiled.

"You're right. I should hunt and shower and change my clothing and tell the family." He nodded, seeming to snap out of his funk a little.

Just then, Jasper came running up.

"Carlisle, you called for me?" He said, sending out a wave of calm.

"Yes, thank you, Jasper, that helps tremendously." Carlisle nodded, seeming less tense.

"No problem. But...is it true what Eleazar said? Alistair found a vampire who can get rid of anxiety? Because even my gift can't do that for any real length of time." Jasper asked him, looking hopeful.

That's when it dawned on me. "Oh, Jasper! Peter and Charlotte?"

"That's what I was thinking, Esme. Carlisle, do you mind if I invite them?" He asked slowly.

"Let's wait and see if this Will fellow's gift is all it seems to be. No use getting their hopes up if it doesn't work. Maybe it only works on Alistair because they are mates," Carlisle reasoned.

My eyes bugged out of my head and I looked at Jasper. He sent me an extra wave of calm. I sent him my gratitude.

"When will they be here?" Jasper asked, changing the subject.

"I'm not too sure. Alice might be better able to answer that," Carlisle suggested. As if on cue, Alice came whizzing up.

"They'll be here in four hours. They were in Germany when he called you. Go hunt and get ready, Carlisle," she advised and he thanked her, speeding off to do just that.

"Esme, I need you to brace yourself. Will is more than just Alistair's mate. It's William, Esme. Will is your William."

My ears started ringing and I felt like I was going to pass out. Surely I heard her wrong. My William was dead. Killed in action during the war.

I felt Jasper's calming influence as he came to stand by my side. "How is that even possible, Alice?" he asked.

"Well, he will tell us the whole story when he gets here, but battles are prime feeding grounds for vampires, what with all the dying soldiers lying about. Someone interrupted a vampire's dinner and he was turned accidentally," she explained.

"He's alive?" I whispered barely able to hope it could be true.

"Apparently, yes." Alice nodded. "You might want to hunt and shower as well before he gets here. You're covered in garden dirt." She giggled.

"Oh, yes, of course." I nodded, heading off on autopilot to do as she suggested.

My William might be alive!

And he was bringing Alistair home. It had to be fate!

Jasper's POV

I couldn't decide which was more exciting. Carlisle getting his mate back after being separated for decades at a time. Esme's long lost love returning after being presumed dead all these years. Or the possibility that Pete and Char might be able to come and stay here without suffering.

I had to feel a little bad for the Denalis whose visit was thoroughly overshadowed by the news. Thankfully they were very understanding and gracious about the whole thing, happy to take a backseat to the impending reunions.

For myself, I knew it would be a while, if at all, before I would receive the green light to phone Peter, so I threw myself into my time with Fiona until then. Thankfully she didn't really expect me to be all that emotionally present since she was mostly interested in the physical side of things. Which was good because my mind was on Pete and Char.

The couples who weren't directly affected by the impending arrival of Alistair and William carried on with their temporary unions. But Eleazar and Carmen wisely opted to offer their support to Carlisle and Esme as their friends.

And soon, I was able to detect two emotional signatures that must have belonged to our newcomers. I excused myself from Fiona's bed for a while in case my empathic abilities were needed.

Carlisle and Esme, having gotten a heads up from Alice that they would be arriving soon, had gone out to the field for a semblance of privacy. I asked them if they wanted me to stay close by just in case. They said that was probably a good idea. So I made myself seem busy repairing a nearby section of fence, so it didn't seem like I would be eavesdropping but I could still help if it were required.

I had to admit I really did snoop, though, oops.

Alistair spared not a moment, running straight into Carlisle's arms. Carlisle caught him up in his embrace and it was a very intense thing. Their emotions nearly caused me to double over from the force of them. Longing, love, nostalgia, fear, hope, excitement, happiness, pain, joy, concern, it was quite the mix. No anxiety though, thanks to Will.

Speaking of...it really must have been the same William from Esme's past because her emotions once she got close enough to have a good look at him, as well as his emotions upon recognizing her, did bowl me over, literally.

In fact, if Carlisle and Alistair hadn't been so busy with their own steamy reunion, they might have noticed when their mates started mating right beside them. As it was, they were too busy renewing their own mating bond to care.

Now if anyone in the family was going to need a giant bed, it was those four.

In fact, it wouldn't have surprised me if Alice was already on the computer shopping for such an item for them.

As for me, I waited respectfully until the four of them were all redressed and conversing before I wandered over and asked Alistair if William's gift had truly abolished his anxiety.

"Yes, it is gone completely. As long as I stay within about a twenty-mile radius of him, it doesn't come back," he assured us.

"And does it work on other vampires or just your mates?" I asked William.

"It seems to work on all the vampires I encounter, though it doesn't work on humans," Will explained.

"You are thinking of Peter and Charlotte?" Alistair confirmed and I nodded.

They had met each other during the Volturi conflict, so he knew them a little. "Yes, I had that thought as well. I remember they seemed to have struggles similar to my own. I think they would experience the same kind of relief around Will's power as I do," he mused.

I looked to Carlisle to find out if I could call them yet. "Go ahead, Jasper." He nodded.

I sent them all my gratitude and zoomed off to the barn to make the call.

As I waited for it to ring, I heard Esme and Will discussing how each had thought the other was dead all this time. It was quite moving to think that they had found each other after all these years.

"Hey Major. I hope this is a happy call?"

Pete's sexy twang answered.

"It is, Pete. I have some amazing news…"

AN: Aww, there you go, a mini HEA for now!

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-XOXOXO