Esme decided to call her husband from upstairs, as she didn't want to be overheard by her children. It wasn't like she was talking about anything they didn't already know, but she didn't want to be interrupted. Her husband needed as much information as possible if he wanted to bring Maddie back home. She strongly hoped he would be able to get through to her and show her that she had nothing to be afraid of.

"Carlisle?"

"Hello my love, something wrong?" he asked.

Esme could hear he was still driving as the faint sound of cars zooming past sounded through the phone. "No, why do you ask?"

"I was worried that Rose and Jasper would get into a fight again."

"No, it's fine, just profanities and death threats, but it went better than I thought."

That sounded positive and unsettling at the same time. "What are you talking about?"

Esme sat down on the bed, crossing her legs. "Carlisle, I just... I didn't know what to do, and sitting around being completely useless and waiting for your call got me worried. So I gathered all of them in the dining room and decided to find out the truth."

"With all of them in the room, together?" Judging by her nervous demeanour when he left, he would have thought all she wanted was to keep them separate, far away from each other in order to prevent them from finishing what they had started the day before. This was incredibly brave.

"Yes. I could have chosen a private talk with Jasper, but I felt like I would betray Emmett and Rose that way. They deserve the truth, too, no need to keep secrets from them, or anyone. No more secrets."

Esme had followed her intuition and it turned out well. Not knowing what was going on would have driven Rose and Emmett up the wall, but now they knew and probably were, at least for now, calm. "That was the right thing to do, love."

"Thank you."

"What did you find out?"

"The short version?"

He chuckled. "Yes, please." There was no doubt in his mind that the long version would include his children yelling, cursing and arguing, so the short version with only the important parts would do just fine.

"It's Jasper. He manipulated Maddie…," she replied and he could clearly hear how much this truth pained her. Her sweet son, always so empathetic and grown-up, had intentionally hurt his little sister, who was still in need of guidance and in need to feel secure. "Everything that happened was just like he had planned for it to happen."

"Why would he do that?"

She heaved a sigh. "He thinks it would make her stronger."

"Stronger how?"

"Gain confidence in her ability. He said she just needs to use it and that would take care of all this mess. Clear things up for her."

It didn't make any sense. Knowing how much his girl was suffering, it just couldn't be that easy. "I cannot seem to follow."

"She can leave her doubts and fears behind by just asking for the truth. At least that's what he said."

Interesting. "That might help… encouraging her to trust her ability might regain her trust in us."

"Do you believe he did the right thing?"

"Absolutely not, and I explicitly forbid him from talking to her about things that are just too soon. But what's done is done and the most important thing is to help her through this before I can concern myself with his disobedience."

"He thinks that if he hadn't done it, someone else might do it. But if she pushes through this, nobody would ever be able to play her like that again."

That sounded remarkably like a very typical coven tactic used in the wars. That's how they trained newborns… they often followed commands out of fear, not because they wanted to participate in a war that would bring them nothing but pain. They didn't even know why they were fighting. Fear and manipulation was the key.

Jasper had given this tactic a little twist of his own, and adjusted it to their situation.

"And that couldn't have been achieved by telling her to always ask for someone's motivation first? Make sure she stays weary until she can make sure she is not in any danger?"

"I think he got that idea in his head that she needed to be scared out of her wits to make sure she remembers."

A frown creased Carlisle's forehead as he realised something. "How could he endure her presence when she was falling apart right in front of him? Her emotions must have paralysed him."

"Maybe his anger was stronger than her fear and it drove him to adopt such measures. He was shocked that you wouldn't take his advise and dismiss it as just a ridiculous idea."

"Because that's what it is," he countered. "He can't just undermine our authority and make decisions concerning her when I strictly forbade him from doing so."

"He believes we kept her weak." Esme wasn't trying to excuse her son's behaviour, not at all, but it pained her that her son was so appalled by how they had decided to raise Maddie.

"Do you think she's weak?"

"No."

"And neither do I. He had no right to interfere."

Carlisle drove along the winding road up the mountain to the mansion he knew all too well. He had been driving for hours on end, only ever stopping for gas. This was important, something he had to do and he and Esme had agreed on, and so he refused to grant the child or his relatives any more time. Maddie wasn't well and didn't want to talk to him on the phone, so he had no other choice but to talk to her in person. This was urgent and couldn't wait any longer.

It had been going on for far too long, and they finally needed to talk and figure out how to help her process what Jasper had told her.

He needed the family back together, they all did, and while it might still take time for his son Edward to return, he could at least help his daughter find her way back.

The house came into view, and he took a long, deep breath, preparing himself for what would happen next.

There were several options. Maddie could be willing to come back, overjoyed to see him again and ask him to leave immediately so she could see her mother and siblings again.

However, Carlisle was being realistic here and knew that this was a highly unlikely scenario in her current state and with the strange beliefs Jasper had planted into her head. Still, it could happen if he'd only manage to explain to her that what Jasper had told her wasn't true. Well, most of it wasn't true at least.

He had kept her more or less in the dark about their kind, but not to mess with her or because he wanted to make her vulnerable. Unfortunately, Jasper had used this, spun it all around and now she believed he had only done so to make her dependent and weak.

He had no idea whether Jasper needed help to let go of his disturbing war memories, or whether he was aware of his malicious act and had done so on purpose.

Then it could happen that Maddie would continue to refuse to talk to him, maybe even refuse to see him. Sometimes he really wished to be able to borrow Edward's gift, just to finally understand the doubts that were tormenting his daughter and what would make it all better for her. It had never been his intention to harm her, make her uncomfortable or even scare her, but Jasper's interference had only worked on her because he had struck a nerve. He would do his best to show her the truth and he would only succeed if he could finally help her rid herself of her scepsis of him. It was obvious that she had kept it buried for a while, but Jasper had efficiently made it resurface. It had always been there in the back of her mind, never gone completely.

Carlisle parked his black Mercedes in the driveway and walked up to the front door where he rang the doorbell, then waited.

The door opened.

"Carlisle!"

"Hello, Tanya."

The blonde woman looked him up and down, clearly not having expected to see him here. "I'm surprised to see you, what brings you here?" she asked with a frown.

He gave her a short nod. "I'd like to see my daughter."

She shook her head at his request and gave him an apologetic look as she leaned against the door frame. "She doesn't want to see you, Carlisle. I'm sorry."

"Tanya, I appreciate your hospitality and everything you have done for Maddie. You have taken good care of her, and I cannot thank you enough."

"We did it for her," the beautiful blonde replied. "But you're welcome."

"And I am thankful that you have and always will protect her, but she does not need to be protected from me. I'd like to see my daughter now."

"That's really not a good idea, Carlisle. We are doing what we can, but I know for a fact that you are the last person she wants to see right now."

"I would never hurt her."

It was unnecessary for him to say it, she knew, of course she knew, but she was still not going to invite him in. "I know."

"Good. Would you her call her down for me?"

"No."

"You want to keep me from speaking to my own child?" he asked with raised eyebrows. He knew that she was just trying to protect Maddie, do what was best for her, but they'd never put this behind themselves if he wouldn't get a chance to explain it to her.

Eleazar walked up behind Tanya, a friendly smile on his face as he suggested, "Carlisle, my friend, how about we go out for a walk? Give the girl a moment to think about it. I'm sure she'll be willing to see you soon."

Carlisle agreed. Now that he was here, it didn't matter if he saw Maddie now or maybe an hour from now. He would see her and he would talk to her, and maybe granting her some time to prepare herself for seeing him would be beneficial. It couldn't make the situation worse, he assured himself and followed Eleazar to the living room and out the patio door.

"A very stubborn girl you have there, Carlisle," Eleazar said as soon as they had entered the forest in a leisurely pace.

"What do you mean?"

The dark-haired man sighed. "We had to worm detail after detail out of her, she was not going to tell us what had happened."

Carlisle nodded, he could imagine. "Esme talked to Jasper a couple of hours ago… he's still convinced that he did the right thing."

"I don't see how doing that to anyone could be considered the right thing."

"It's hard to understand."

"And since when is it his duty to train and educate her? I believe you told him how you want to raise her, and that he should respect. Aren't you their father, their leader?"

"I am, but apparently he is convinced that he knows better."

"What are you going to do about that?"

"Quite frankly: I don't know yet. Helping my daughter is my top priority at the moment. I cannot imagine what Jasper's lies must have done to her."

Eleazar buried his hands in his jeans pockets and in his voice rang a hint of sadness as he said, "It seemed like she was trying to protect this secret in order to protect us."

"Oh, because she believes I'm a threat."

Eleazar gave him a sad, sympathetic smile. "Jasper made you out to be the devil incarnate, or at least that's how she understood his little briefing."

"That's just wonderful."

"But never fear, I got the feeling that Jasper convinced her that all covens are like that," he said and Carlisle lifted an eyebrow.

"Even yours?" That peaked the doctor's interest. He was curious just why Maddie had come here if she feared they'd be just the same.

He frowned at that question, then shook his head. "No, surprisingly not."

"That's good. So she knows she can still trust you." As they were walking, Carlisle realised how calming the quiet woods here in Alaska were. He had always enjoyed living in this state and was glad that his daughter was here now, surrounded by loving people and this serene landscape.

Eleazar rubbed his chin with his hand, thinking. "She never said a bad word about her siblings, so I believe she still trusts them too."

"Do you think Rose or Emmett would be able to get through to her?" he asked, giving him a sideways glance as they walked side by side.

"They were the first people she trusted in her new life, so I have no reason to believe that they wouldn't."

Carlisle nodded, more to himself than to him. "Then I made a mistake by keeping them from coming here."

"They are concerned… why would you allow them to suffer as well?" Eleazar knew that they must all be upset, but Rose and Em were great with her and she listened to them and their advise.

"My children are injured, I couldn't let them drive all across the country in this state," he explained in a pained voice. All he had wanted was to at least do something right, and telling them to stay home for their recovery seemed like the smartest thing to do. He had so much faith in their extended family, that he was sure they'd be able to help his daughter through this.

"I'm sure they would have been able to control themselves," Eleazar commented, as he knew that when Rose and Em had set their minds on doing something, nothing could distract them.

"Are you criticising my parenting skills or my leadership qualities."

Eleazar had kept his eyes on the path ahead, but now turned his head to look at his old friend. "Neither, I just notice that your family is out of order, which puts all of you under immense stress. Why did it get so out of hand?"

"Jasper losing control, Edward leaving, the sudden move… pick one, but I assume it's a combination of everything that had happened."

"I believe it's best if we take care of one problem after another."

We. Carlisle noticed how Eleazar did not tell him to fix his problems one after another, but that it affected him just as much. "It wasn't my intention to burden you with our family affairs."

"While that may be, we are part of your family, and I am very much involved with the matter at hand, which is to help your daughter see through the lies your son has poisoned her mind with."

"Maddie? Hey, can I come in?" Tanya had opened the door just a crack, and waited for Maddie's answer. If she'd tell her to go away, it would make the situation a bit more difficult as she truly wanted her to know what's going on and make a decision herself. It was easy to just send Carlisle away, but maybe now the girl was finally willing to speak to him.

"What do you want?"

Tanya entered the room and shut the door behind her before she made her way over to the bed Maddie was resting on and took a seat.

"How are you feeling?" she asked gently and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm good," she replied and Tanya slowly nodded her head. The girl's facial expression looked a bit tense, like her mind was preoccupied with something. "Why are you here?"

"Mad, I need to talk to you."

Maddie released a sigh and looked away. "I don't wanna talk anymore." She sounded tired, like the last couple of days had truly taken a toll on her.

"Okay… how about listening, can you do that?"

She shrugged one of her shoulders. "I guess."

"Perfect. Um, Mad… you remember that I promised you that I wouldn't let anyone take you away?"

"… yes?"

Tanya could hear that she was getting nervous. But she would be able to calm her in a moment, at least that's what she hoped.

"Good, because I keep my promises, don't you ever doubt that."

The girl turned around so she would be facing her and crossed her legs. "Okay."

"The thing is… well, we've got company."

Maddie tilted her head to the side, waiting for her to continue.

"You remember my promise, yes?"

"Yes."

"Okay, this shouldn't worry you too much then, because… Carlisle is here."

Maddie's eyes looked like they were just about to pop out of their sockets and she scooted back until she hit the headboard of her bed. "You promised."

"Yes, and I am keeping my promise. I did not invite him here, he just showed up. But you're safe."

"Is he in the house?"

"No, Eleazar went outside with him. They're not here."

"Is Esme here, too?"

"He came alone. Maddie, I believe he just wants to talk."

She shook her head, still in disbelief that this was truly happening. "Why didn't he send Rose? I'll talk to her… she tried calling me but I figured if I didn't pick up, she and Em would just come."

"I don't know, he came here alone, unannounced."

"Why didn't they come?" she asked and her voice took on a hint of forlornness.

"Mad, I really don't know, I'm sorry," she replied apologetically, even though she hadn't kept them from coming here. She had no clue why they wouldn't show, they had visited often during Maddie's newborn years and were always around when she wasn't well.

"And what does he want? Jasper said I'd be fine if I only talked to Esme on the phone, and I did. He said it would keep them from coming here. That's what he told me and I talked to her, I did."

The poor thing was getting worked up over something neither she nor Jasper nor anyone else had control of. Carlisle was worried and he was her father, so he had done the logical thing and tried to help her. Tanya wasn't sure if he was fully in the loop yet, but Eleazar was more than likely briefing him right now. All this secrecy needed to stop.

"Yes, but as of late, Jasper isn't really known for telling the truth, so..."

"What do you mean?"

Funny how that confused her. She and Jasper were never close, she trusted everyone in the family a lot more than him, and now here they were stuck in a situation where Maddie's world was upside down due to that boy's manipulation.

"I think it would be great if you'd consider talking to Carlisle. You only heard what Jasper told you, but since it's about Carlisle, it would be good to let him explain. Hear him out."

"But I don't want to," she replied and shook her head.

"Look, Maddie-" "I don't want to and you can't make me."

Wow, she just sounded like her old self. That was good, even though in this situation not so much.

"Fair enough."

"Can you make him go away?" she queried and it sounded more like a little child than the teenage girl sitting in front of her. "I don't wanna see him."

"Are you sure?" Tanya asked as she reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Maddie's ear. "Just think about it."

Maddie just stared back at her, and it didn't look like she wanted to change her mind.

With a sigh, Tanya got up. "All right."

Eleazar and Carlisle walked towards the house. They had spent two hours in the woods and more than enough time had passed. Either Maddie was willing to talk to Carlisle now, or not.

Eleazar was sure that Tanya had briefed the girl, talked to her about her father's sudden arrival and maybe managed to convince her to just listen to him for a couple of minutes. They could do it here at the house, with everyone around so that she wouldn't feel too apprehensive in his presence. She still needed to be reassured that no matter what Carlisle would decide on, they'd follow her wishes. If she wanted to stay for now, they would not allow Carlisle to take her away.

But since he now knew what lies were roaming around his daughter's head, he would do what's best for her and forcing her to do anything was definitely not advisable. He wouldn't do anything she wouldn't want to do, that Eleazar was certain of.

They entered through the front door. "Tanya?" Eleazar called out, looking around in hopes she would be nearby to tell them what Maddie had decided on.

"Eleazar, Carlisle," she greeted them. "You're back so soon."

"It's been two hours, I figured it would be enough time for her to think about it."

"Actually, it only took a minute. She doesn't want to see you, Carlisle."

"I understand."

"Give her some time, she has just opened up. The wounds are still fresh."

Carlisle sighed. "Jasper is usually a very obedient person, values order and structure. I don't understand why he would cause such havoc, defy me like that."

"That's foremost on your mind? Your son's behaviour?" Tanya asked in a slightly raised voice. She was shocked.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "But his betrayal is what caused my daughter to suffer, so I cannot ignore it if I want to fix this."

"I think you should let us fix this while you take care of Jasper."

"It doesn't seem like I have a choice, I was just hoping Maddie would, deep down, know that I would never harm her."

"I'm sure she does," Eleazar reassured him. "It's just overshadowed by lies."

"Esme will be devastated."

Tanya gave him a sad little smile that was meant to calm him. "She'll understand, it's not much different from Edward's time away. But we'll do our best to help her, rest assured."

"Thank you, all of you."

"We'll call you, Carlisle."

"All right, I guess I'll be on my way now."

The stood by the door, said their goodbyes, and just as they were about to shut the door and send the doctor on his way they heard the tripping of feet down the stairs, which made them stop.

"Wait!"

They turned around, opening the door further again, and saw Maddie heading towards them.

She looked at them through bright honey-coloured eyes, and as she drew nearer, a smile appeared on her young face.

She walked past Eleazar and Tanya, not even acknowledging their presence anymore, stepped outside and took Carlisle's hand in hers.

"Come," she said and pulled at his hand to make him follow her.

Okay, guys, I need to tell you something. The next chapter was always the last one in my mind. BUT it will be very unsatisfactory for most of you... or maybe even all of you. So I will write it and add one more after that to make sure we all leave this story more or less... happy. Kay? ;-)

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing!