It was a starry night and Tanya and Maddie were lying on the hood of the car in comfortable silence.

This trip had probably been the best idea Tanya had had in a long time, and the more time passed, the more Maddie turned into her old self again.

The woman had made sure not to mention any of the happenings back in Alaska or whatever happened at the Cullens'. She just felt that it would be in no way beneficial to continue to bother the girl and forcing her to talk about something she just wasn't ready to talk about. Maybe this was what she'd needed all along, just some distance between her and everyone involved, and a lot of patience and understanding from someone she trusted.

However, they needed to come up with a plan for all of this. Right now they were travelling around a bit and that was great, but they couldn't continue doing this for weeks or even months on end. Not with this unsolved issue lingering above their heads.

Tanya placed an arm around Maddie's shoulders and pulled her closer.

"How are you feeling, hm?"

Maddie tensed a bit, Tanya could feel it. "Fine?"

"Just fine?" she asked. "You look so much better than last week."

"Well," Maddie replied and turned her head away from her aunt. "I was feeling fantastic until you started asking."

"I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable, just thought maybe there's something on your mind that you'd like to talk about."

She grabbed Tanya's hand and lifted it up to ease herself out of this hug, then sat up and crossed her legs while she looked into the distance. "Nope, I'm good."

An answer like that was to be expected, but still, Tanya had hoped Maddie would open up. Truth be told, she wasn't just asking for Maddie's sake and to make her feel better, but she asked for herself as well. She just needed clarity and for Maddie to put her mind at ease.

Ever since she saw Carlisle and Maddie in the woods, she had been plagued by the image of the girl's head in a vice like grip, right next to a big fire. The situation was very obvious, but she refused to believe that that's truly the girl's intention. Having her here now right beside her in this peaceful surrounding, the memory seemed just like a bad dream.

"Okay, but would you tell me something? Please, I just need to know."

She did not sound too thrilled to answer questions. "What is it?"

"Maddie, when I found you in the woods with Carlisle…, she started to ask, but then trailed off as she was unsure how to ask about this highly sensitive topic. She feared her assumptions were true and that asking about it would enrage the girl. But she still had to know. "What were you doing?"

Maddie turned her head towards her and slightly tilted it to the side. "What did it look like we were doing?"

Tanya had to suppress a gasp. "Don't tell me this is what you truly want," she whispered in sheer disbelief, all the while shaking her head ever so slightly.

"I do, but thanks to you it didn't play out the way I had wanted it to."

"Thank God."

"Thank God or thank Alice?" Maddie sounded angry and even in the darkness Tanya could see that her eyes had changed colour.

"You scared her, too," she replied in a very calm tone.

"Oh please…" she scoffed. "She just wanted to rat me out. But jokes on her, I have a feeling it still worked. Must have, at least."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't," Maddie said and gave her a little smile. "But that's okay, because it's none of your business."

Tanya pushed herself up from the windshield and sat up straight. "You having a death wish is none of my business? Who am I to you?"

"Tanya, come on, just forget what you saw. It wasn't meant for your eyes, you were never supposed to see it."

"That doesn't make it any better. I would have lost you, we all would have."

"Okay, now I have no idea what you're talking about."

Tanya gaped at the girl in front of her. Was she purposely messing with her?

"You wanted to die, Maddie!" she almost screamed.

Maddie's hands shot up in a placating manner and her eyes were as wide as they could go. "Whoa whoa whoa, I wanted to what?!"

"Stop messing with me, Mad. The fire, Carlisle's hands on your head..."

She just shrugged her shoulders, obviously not seeing a problem with that. "So?" she asked, blinking at her.

"It's fairly obvious, but I want you to know that just because you were having a hard time, it doesn't mean it cannot get better. Whatever it is, I'm here for you. Let me help you."

"Thank you, Tanya, but I don't need any help. I'm fine, really."

It bothered her that her niece was dismissing this whole ordeal as just some minor occurrence and then tried to end the conversation. No, Tanya couldn't let her keep this up any longer. "Then what were you doing in the forest? With Carlisle?"

"Okay," she said and scooted a bit further away from Tanya, just so she could turn completely and look her directly in the face. "Can I trust you?"

Tanya gave her a funny look, feeling that this question was a bit weird. "What kind of a question is that? Of course you can, Maddie. Always."

"Okay." Maddie nodded her head. "All I wanted was to give Carlisle a … memory. It had to look and feel real."

Oh dear.

"You didn't want to die?" Tanya queried wide-eyed.

Maddie shook her head.

"I'm relieved to hear that. But still – I don't understand."

"He thinks he can control everything, control all of us, so I wanted to show him that that's not the case," she explained. "I can do that, too."

"By making him believe you could force him to kill you?"

"Force him…," she scoffed and waved a hand about in dismissal. "No. I just wanted to remind him that I have a choice."

"Maddie, you do know that Jasper lied to you, don't you?" All of this, all the trouble and pain and misunderstanding were all caused by one person. And now Carlisle had to pay for Jasper's deceit and lies. Tanya wasn't sure if Carlisle would recover from this. He was strong, but the memory of almost killing his child? That was tough and he did not deserve that.

She shook her head at that question. "I really don't think he did."

"What makes you so sure?"

Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "Everything he said makes sense. He said I cannot fight, because Carlisle doesn't want me to. Do you think that's a lie?"

"It's not like we have to fight our own kind on a regular basis. It barely ever happens, and when it does, you don't need to get involved."

"See?"

Tanya averted her gaze for a second. Fine, Jasper had been honest about that, but the reason behind it was not what the girl assumed. "Do you know why?"

"To keep me weak." That answer came out quick like a shot.

"No."

Maddie folded her hands in her lap and looked at her expectantly. "Then please tell me, I'm really curious."

"To keep violence from you, let you grow without feeling there's a threat lurking behind every corner. Your family is skilled and I'm sure they'll teach you in time, but you cannot tell me that you want to fight in a battle."

"Of course I don't want to, but sometimes we have to do what's necessary. And I want to be prepared for that."

"But you are prepared."

Maddie knew what she was getting at, but as long as she couldn't fight, she was never truly prepared. "Not physically."

"You have something that is a lot more powerful that learning how to punch someone in the face – the gift of persuasion."

She snorted and looked down at her hands as she mumbled, "More like gift of betrayal."

Tanya had heard, and she reached out to place a hand on the girl's folded ones, making her look up. "What do you mean, Mad?"

"Oh come on," she practically growled and wrenched her hands free. "All of you constantly tell me it's part of me, but whenever I use it, everyone gets mad, tells me how I betrayed their trust, endangered everything and everyone. It's a curse."

"It depends on how you use it."

"I'm always tempted to use it, but I have to ignore that urge and I hate it. I hate having it. When I use it, it's wrong, when someone else uses their ability, it's perfectly good and normal. Alice spies on people, Edward just listens in on other people's thoughts and Jasper changes emotions whenever he feels like it."

The girl's frustration and sadness were showing and Tanya felt for her. It must be difficult for her to feel truly accepted when that part of her, her gift, seemed to be something she was constantly criticised for and therefore was supposed to hide away and never use.

"Sometimes they can't help it." Tanya didn't want to come up with excuses for their behaviour, but their abilities were very much different from hers. It took a lot more effort and concentration for them to not use them, whereas Maddie had to actively make the choice to use hers.

"See? Perfectly okay when they use it, but for me, who feels the same urge to use it, it's always wrong."

Tanya frowned at her. "So you never use it?"

"No, I do. But only on humans, only when no one's around." Maddie was looking down at her hands again as she replied, then looked up at her aunt and added in a very quiet voice, "It's just something I need to do, it wants to be used. Can you understand that?"

"Actually, yes, I can."

"Really?" She was surprised to hear that.

"Yes. They have neglected training you, haven't they? To control it, to not let it overpower you but also to let it grow to its full potential."

Maddie's eyes grew big as she listened to Tanya. "That's what Jasper said. He said I'm crippled because of it. He didn't lie."

"You're not crippled, what an ugly word. You gift and control over it might just be underdeveloped, even though what I witnessed in the forest seemed quite advanced."

"That was easy."

"Was it? I don't just mean using it, but using it on him, knowing what it would do."

The girl blinked at her odd question. "Of course I knew what it would do."

"I mean, what it would… leave behind, how it will impact him."

"That's exactly why I did it," she said matter-of-factly, looking at Tanya like she thought she was a bit slow in the head today.

"How much thought did you put into it? Did you plan it for a while, or did it just come to your mind when you knew he was in Alaska?"

Maddie narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion and slightly turned her head away, giving her a side glance. "What are you getting at?"

"I'd just like to understand."

"I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone else."

It was obvious that Maddie was trying to end the conversation again. But Tanya needed her to keep going, for her own good. This talk was so important. "I'm sorry, I thought we were closer than that."

"Stop trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill and we can be close again. Whenever I do something, make a decision, I get berated, my every move gets questioned. I don't do that to you, do I?"

Tanya let out a sigh. "I have been around longer than you, Maddie. I know a thing or two about human and vampire psyche." It actually was important to know whether she had spontaneously decided to traumatise her father as kind of a punishment for showing up at their place unannounced or if it had been on her mind for a lot longer than that. And if it had, it would be good to know for how long exactly and why.

"I don't need a shrink."

And again, Tanya had to try her best to keep the talk going as it seemed that Maddie was quickly getting fed up. "What do you need?"

"Just the truth."

"There's always more to the truth than just one side, but you refuse to listen to the other one."

Maddie's eyes flashed with anger. "So it's my fault I'm being lied to?" Of course it was her fault, everything was her fault. Always. She couldn't do anything right.

Tanya lightly shook her head and made sure her voice would be very calm when she explained. "Mad, you only believe what Jasper told you without ever hearing anyone else out. His version is just his interpretation of what happened, a biased opinion. And he exaggerated to rile you up and force you to act."

"And why should I believe you or Carlisle and not him? Hm?"

"I have no interest in lying to you, what would I gain?"

"What would you lose?" Her eyebrows were raised as she waited for her to come up with a good explanation.

Rubbing her thumb and index finger over her eyes, Tanya let out a groan. "Okay, Maddie, this needs to stop," she begged and as she lowered her hand again, she looked the girl in the eyes, hoping she would just take a deep breath and calm down again. She wasn't thinking clearly when she was upset like this.

"You're right," she agreed and narrowed her eyes at her, then grabbed her hand. "So shut up."

Tanya just stared back at her.

"You asked for it," was all Maddie said, before she jumped off the hood of the car and took a few steps.

Okay, she knew that was mean, but she was so sick of being lied to. She had no idea who was being honest and who was just trying to manipulate her. Maybe she was better off alone, it would save her so much trouble and heartache.

But then again, pushing the ones away who cared about her was maybe not the right thing to do. She always thought she could trust Tanya, so it was difficult to say whether she'd also been lying to her right from the beginning or maybe never had. It was so confusing.

She knew Tanya wanted to help her, otherwise she hadn't taken her away from everything and everyone to give her a break. Maddie doubted that this had been just to mess with her further. No, Tanya wouldn't do that.

Huh.

Slowly she turned around again and walked back to the car, then climbed back onto the hood to sit before her aunt.

"Sorry, Tanya," she said in a subdued voice, then touched her hand and said, "Please speak... if you want to."

But Tanya did not speak for a full minute. She just looked at the girl, but when she noticed how nervous it was making her, she nodded her head and reached out her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind Maddie's ear. "I really upset you, forgive me."

"I just don't know what to do…," Maddie whispered as she hung her head. This entire situation was so awful. She gulped, then looked up again. "I don't even know if I can trust you. Like, really trust you. You, of all people. I'm so sorry."

Tanya gave her a sad, little smile, then held out her hand.

Maddie frowned at it, not quite understanding what she wanted from her now.

"Ask me."

And then it suddenly clicked. "No," she said emphatically and shook her head.

"It's okay, Maddie. Ask me."

"A-are you sure?" This seemed like a bad idea and Maddie was not on board, but Tanya was obviously not willing to give up just yet.

"Ask me anything," she said again and gave her an encouraging smile.

Maddie was truly scared. What if she found out that Tanya had indeed been lying to her all this time? Maybe it was better not knowing. Not knowing was bad, but actually hearing her tell her that everything was a lie would hurt so much more. She always thought she was ready for the truth, actually needed it, but what would happen then?

"No, I can't."

"Don't be afraid."

"But maybe I won't like what you say."

The poor girl sounded almost whiny as she was so scared, but Tanya was convinced that this was the best way to help her, maybe even the only way. "But it will be the truth."

Looking down at her hands, Maddie took her time to make her decision. If she would do this, it might change everything. Tanya knew so much more about the family and their kind and Carlisle's true self than Maddie did. And while she really wanted to know the truth, she suddenly wasn't sure if she could handle it or even live with it.

"It's going to be fine, I promise."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I just know."

With shaky fingers, Maddie reached out to take Tanya's hand in hers, and after one last encouraging smile from her, she took a deep breath to ask her first question.

"Do you think it's my fault that the coven is weak?"

"No, I don't. And your coven is anything but weak."

"But I can't fight, and it's his fault."

"He will teach you eventually, but for now he thinks it's too early and he is confident that he can keep you safe from harm."

Maddie was surprised how easy this was. Their connection was almost superficial, it barely took any effort for Maddie to make her tell her the truth, as she wasn't planting ideas or thoughts in her head like she usually did when she decided to control someone. "Carlisle is dangerous, isn't he? Be honest."

"He only is when his family is in danger. He would never hurt anyone of you, you are safe with him."

Maddie bit her lip for a moment. "But he killed Edward."

"I don't believe that."

"It happened right after he left."

"Edward stayed with us for a short while after he left you, Carlisle hadn't harmed him in any way."

Maddie's eyes widened. "He came to Denali? Tell me the truth."

"Yes, he did."

She let go off Tanya's hand. "Edward's alive?"

"I believe so. Carlisle let him go because he needed to get away from everything, but he would never harm him, Maddie. It hurts him not having his son around, but they have gone through this before."

Maddie could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She had been convinced that her brother was gone, killed by Carlisle, but if he had really gone to Alaska, then it meant that he was indeed still alive.

"Oh Maddie… that's what had been tormenting you the whole time?"

She turned her head away as more and more tears started pooling in her eyes. She felt so stupid for believing it, but also so relieved to hear that she had been wrong all along. So it was indeed possible to leave a coven, their coven, if they wanted to. Edward had left and Carlisle had let him, just like that.

"He's not gone, Maddie, I'm sure of it. No one in your family would ever hurt him and he is very much capable of protecting himself. It'll just take some time for him to come back, but he will come back."

She reached out and pulled the girl into her arms just as the first venom tear started trickling down her cheek, letting her cry it all out.

"Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone, huh?" she said as she let her hands run up and down the girl's back. "You and Edward were never really close, were you? And still, you miss him."

Maddie pulled out of the hug, sniffling and wiping at her eyes. "I don't want him around all the time, he's annoying, but that doesn't mean I want him dead."

"That's sibling love, Mad," she replied and chuckled lightly. "Are you feeling better now?"

"I think so. Thank you."

"I'm glad I could help. I don't like seeing you upset."

"But what do we do now? Are you sending me back?"

Tanya could clearly hear fear in the girl's voice and it pained her that she would think she'd be happy to get rid of her now. No, her work wasn't done until she knew that Maddie was completely all right again and sending her back now would be the worst thing she could do. "Nope, never. It's your choice, Maddie. But I believe seeing that your family is indeed not as bad as they seemed for a while, you might want to talk to them. Just talk. And then you can make your decision, hm?"

"Talk to Rose and Em?"

Of course she would pick them. However, Tanya wasn't convinced that that would finally bring and end to this mess. "If you want, but I think there is another person that you might want to start with."

"I don't know...," she replied, wiping at her eyes.

"No pressure," she said and let her hand run up and down the girl's back again.

"Do you think he's mad at me?"

Tanya drew back a little and frowned. "About what happened in the forest?"

"No, I don't care how he feels about that," she said and sniffled. "I just mean, in general."

"He's not, I can promise you that. Just very, very concerned."

"I'm not sure if I want to talk to him just yet," she admitted.

Tanya thought about it for a moment. "Do you like Canada?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, we'll just stay here a little longer, what do you think?"

Maddie sighed in relief and gave her a smile. "Yes."

And they did. They travelled around for another week, until they chose it was time to end their travels and go back again. Not back to the family just yet, but to do something else.

To see Carlisle.

Finally Maddie was willing to speak to him. Tanya had shown her that there was indeed another side to the story, and only Carlisle could explain what had driven him to do what he did.

Still, Maddie was apprehensive. Having all these doubts in her head, all the anger and hate, she had difficulty letting it all go and face him unbiased. Jasper might have just shown her how he himself regarded Carlisle's actions, but there was truth to it. There had to be.

Seeing him again might make it all resurface in an instant, even though she truly wanted to push it to the back of her mind and truly listen to what he had to say without constantly calling 'Bullshit' in her mind. The family wouldn't judge her for the way she had acted and how she had pushed all of them away, so he also deserved to speak freely without her holding a grudge.

This has tormented her for a while now and not once had she felt like herself. She didn't want to despise the family she had or turn her back on them, and hopefully he could change that. She just needed him to be honest, no more lies or half-truths.

It would be difficult, Maddie was aware that it would be, but she had Tanya by her side.

They had chosen a small lake near Duluth in Minnesota as their meeting point, and Tanya had made sure that Maddie would feed the night before, so she would be calmer and didn't have the additional burning pain in her throat to distract or agitate her. The talk would be hard enough for the girl.

It was a beautiful day, a bit cloudy and windy, but they didn't mind. The air was fresh and smelled of lake water and there was thankfully no human around. They had arrived a bit early and taken the time to walk around some, until they could hear a car heading their way.

The moment the black Mercedes came into view, Maddie tensed and Tanya noticed. She placed a hand on the girl's back, giving her a calming rub and assuring her that way that she was not alone. There was no reason to be nervous and the talk would surely go well.

She guided the girl in the direction of the car just as Carlisle turned off the engine and got out.

His eyes were bright and golden as he locked gaze with his daughter and he even gave her a smile.

So he wasn't upset with her, Maddie noticed. That was good.

"Maddie, it's so good to see you. You have no idea how relieved I am." He walked over to them, but when he got close enough to actually be able to touch or even hug her, she took a step back.

"Too soon? It's okay, I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you could make it, Carlisle," Tanya said and stepped up to him, hugging him to herself.

"Of course, the moment you called, I got into the car. Thank you so much, Tanya."

He was not lying about that, Maddie noticed, as he was still in his dress pants and shirt that he only wore at work. At home he dressed a lot more casual, and Maddie figured he had still been at the hospital when Tanya called.

"I think I'll give you two some privacy now, no? There's a lot to talk about."

Maddie was just about to protest as she did not want to do this without her. Tanya had told her she would stay, she promised.

"I'm not going to drive off, I will be over there if you need me, Mad. Right over there, okay?" she reassured her.

"Just stay, Tanya. I think Maddie would be more comfortable with you here," he said, then turned to his daughter. "Wouldn't you?"

Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"I just don't want this to turn into a conversation between you and me. I'll be over there Maddie, okay?"

Eventually the girl nodded her head.

Maybe it was better for them to talk in private, even though Maddie had nothing to hide from Tanya. And she had told her the truth, or at least what she truly thought was the truth, so Carlisle wasn't a bad guy and wouldn't do anything she didn't want. Like take her with him.

"It's good to see you again, Maddie," Carlisle said to break the awkward silence. His daughter had just stared after Tanya, and he got the feeling that she had suddenly changed her mind and did not want to see him.

She looked up at him, and he nodded, then motioned towards a couple of rocks by the lake to sit down.

She walked over there and he followed. He watched her closely with concern, wondering if this might still be too early for her. He had been here for just a minute or two, but he noticed that she hadn't said a single word so far.

They sat down on separate rocks, and Maddie immediately looked away from him.

"Maddie, I can leave again if you're uncomfortable. We don't have to do this now."

"It's okay."

"I'm glad to hear that. I've missed you."

She just glanced at him.

"Your mother missed you, too."

"Okay."

He swallowed heavily. She sounded so cold, so distant, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what she had been through. And it was their fault.

"I'm so sorry for what happened and I promise we won't ever move so suddenly to a new place again without telling you first. Esme could show you all the places we can go to, she even has pictures of the houses. And you two could make a list of all the things you'd like to take, so we won't leave anything behind that you'd need."

Maddie had no clue why he would talk about moving now, but she didn't say anything.

He noticed that she didn't react to what he just said, and so he continued. "And I'm sorry for the way I handled the situation between you and Jasper, it was wrong of me to not tell you that it was just so you two could talk."

"We talked."

Finally. He thanked the heavens that this wasn't just going to be one big monologue, but indeed a conversation between them.

"I'm glad that you did, but when it transpired what he had told you, I don't think it was a good idea."

"Why? Did he lie?" she asked and turned her head to look at him, waiting for him to explain. It sounded a bit like she was testing him, challenging him.

Carlisle allowed himself a moment to sort his thoughts. Telling her that Jasper hadn't been honest wouldn't be wise, and she'd surely would end the talk right then and there. No, the boy was clever, and she was, too, and there had been a lot of truth behind his words. Maddie knew that. However, it had only been from his point of view, his opinion, and he had made damn sure to convince her of his truths because he knew exactly what her insecurities were.

With his hands clasped tightly together, he looked her deep in the eye and sighed. "Maddie, you need to understand that he had a completely different upbringing than you, or anyone of us."

"I know."

"And so far, we haven't shown you how to fight because there were other more important things that needed to come first. And I hope you believe me when I say that we always made sure you were never in any kind of danger and were always protected."

Maddie didn't say anything, it even seemed like she hadn't even heard him as she now decided to look out onto the lake instead of focusing her attention on him.

He waited until her silence became unbearable.

"Please talk to me."

"What did you do to Jasper?" she asked, still focusing on the lake.

"Your brother is fine."

Now that made her look at him. "Can I hold your hand?"

Alarm bells started ringing in his head. He remembered quite clearly what happened last time when she had grabbed his hand and he didn't want her to finish what she had started. Or to be more precise, make him finish what he had involuntarily started. He still hadn't told anyone about it as he still needed time to process, but he was sure he would never mention it to his wife. Esme would be devastated.

Alice had asked him about it, assured him that she would never let it happen and that Maddie was fine, but he couldn't help but feel very apprehensive now. He turned his head to see if Tanya was still there, and she indeed was.

"You want me to trust you, but you don't trust me."

He sounded apologetic when he spoke again. "I quite clearly remember what happened last time when we were in a similar situation."

"Good."

Her reaction was quite unsettling, and he didn't know what to make of her answer. "Could I ask you something?" he asked carefully.

"What?"

"Why did you do it? Was it really what you wanted?" He dearly hoped she would say no. Or at least explain so that they would know how to help her.

Maddie sighed. "Edward is alive, you know?"

That was a weird way to answer his question... he did not know what to make of it. He frowned and hesitated for a moment, before he said, "Yes, I know. Why wouldn't he be?"

"I thought you'd killed him."

Like a punch to his stomach. She had really thought he would actually kill her brother? His wife and children were everything to him, nothing mattered except their well being and he hoped they knew that he'd die for any one of them. "I would never do such a thing."

She nodded her head, and Carlisle had trouble understanding why she would bring this up. Was his sudden absence the reason why she wanted to end her life? Or because she thought he had murdered him? "Maddie, I still don't understand. Why did you do it?"

"Why do you think?"

"Because you thought Edward was gone and so you also didn't want to live anymore?" He was just guessing here, as he had truly no clue as to why she would want him to end her life.

She thought about it for a brief second. "Yeah, let's go with that."

"Sweetheart, I'm so confused."

"How does it feel?" Maddie asked and blinked at him.

"Not good."

"Welcome to my world."

Hearing her say that pained him. "We never meant to keep anything from you, just take some time teaching you so it would be easier to process and learn. But please, if you ever have questions, come to us directly. Jasper told you what he believes in, but we had completely different reasoning for our actions."

Maddie looked away again and it concerned Carlisle. This was his chance to make things right again, show her that Jasper did not know everything that was going on. And he remembered something... she needed to ask for the truth, and so he should let her.

"Here," he said and offered his hand to her. She turned her head and looked at him.

"I thought you didn't trust me."

"I do trust you and I'm sorry I hesitated before."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Anything you don't want me to know?"

"No, I want you to ask what you want. Whatever you need an answer to, ask."

She reached out and let her hand hover over his. "Last chance," she said.

But instead of pulling away, he lifted his hand higher until they touched. This was the only chance now to have an honest conversation with her, because this way, she would hear him out and believe him for it would be the truth.

She swallowed hard like she was bracing herself for her first question. "Why did you really turn me?"

"You deserved a second chance at life."

"That's the truth?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yes. We believe Alice had these visions for a reason. There had been so much done to you and so much taken from you, and we just couldn't let you die like that. We wanted to be the ones to show you that life can be different - we were confident that we could do it."

Maddie had half a mind to ask what exactly they knew about her human life. Of course she had told them some things, but they had probably gotten more information and details from Edward and Alice. But then again, she wasn't sure if she truly wanted to hear it. Maybe they knew something she had already forgotten and if that was the case, it was probably better for those memories to be lost forever.

"What did you get out of it?"

"A daughter."

Maddie let go of Carlisle's hand and turned a bit to face the lake again.

Carlisle watched her curiously. She had completely broken contact like she was done questioning him. But why? So much had happened, there had to be at least a million questions in her head that she needed and wanted answers to. Or so he thought.

"Maddie...," he asked quietly. "That's all you wanted to ask?"

Never taking her eyes of the lake, she nodded her head and the blonde vampire got up, only to take a step, then kneel in front of her. He covered her folded hands with his, hoping she would not push him away, but she did something completely different.

She looked right at him, then pulled her hands free and flung her arms around his shoulders. He hugged her back, feeling all the worry and fear lift off his chest in an instant. Finally it seemed like they had put all this mess behind them and hopefully everything could go back to normal now. Still, it was painful to know that she had doubted them all these years. This most basic question of why she had been turned, why she was still here, had always been on her mind, tormenting her. He was shocked.

His poor girl had suffered for so long, but now having her here in his arms, he was confident that she would be all right.

Tanya had been watching them the entire time and thanked the heavens when she saw Carlisle offering his hand to her and eventually they hugged. It would have been nice if this had happened sooner, because then Maddie wouldn't have had to mourn her brother for so long, all alone with her pain. Yes, Edward was very much alive, but with everything Jasper had done, her mind had gone haywire.

Poor thing.

She was leaning with her back against a tree, her arms crossed over her chest and a big smile appeared on her face when they came walking towards her.

"That seemed to have gone well. Good job, you two," she praised jokingly and pushed away from the tree.

"Thank you for your help, Tanya. I don't have words to tell you how grateful I am."

"Anytime, it was no trouble at all." While that wasn't entirely true, she figured Carlisle didn't need to know everything. He was happy, Maddie was happy, that was all that mattered.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked and looked in between them, but eventually her eyes lingered on the girl. Ultimately, it was her decision what would happen next. She could go back to her family with her father, just jump into his car and off they went, or she might decide to go back to Alaska. Tanya had told her again and again that she would not be forced to do something she did not want, so now she was curious where she would want to go.

Tanya didn't give her that choice to steal her away from her family, but to reassure her that she was safe and free to decide for herself. Sure, she would love to have her up in Denali with her, but if she wanted to go back to the Cullens', that would probably be the best for her and she would support the girl's decision.

"Come home with me, Maddie."

A pained expression appeared on the girl's face when Carlisle said that. "Look, dad, I want to come back, I really do, but that place is not my home." Maybe she should have made that clear before, so that he wouldn't look so disappointed now. The house was bad memories and returning to that place had actually never been an option for her.

"We are not bound to that house. We can move right now, I'll just give your mother a call and she'll pack everything up within a minute."

Another option she did not want. "No."

He frowned as he tilted his head to the side, studying her face. "What's wrong?"

"I can't right now. Just give me a little more time."

"Of course. You can take all the time in the world, Maddie," he reassured her, letting his hand run up and down her upper arm.

"Call me next time you move, okay?"

His face fell. She was talking years here, not days or weeks. That was definitely not what he had meant. "What are you saying?"

"I'm not going back there, so just call me when you move again. I know it's going to be a while, but that's okay."

Shaking his head, he said, "We're not staying in West Virginia if you don't like it. It's no problem at all."

"Everyone just got settled in. Don't make them pack up because of me. I don't want that."

"Maddie," he sighed and bent down a little to be on eye level with her. "It doesn't matter where we live, as long as we're together."

"We'll be together again, next time. I promise."

"Don't you want to see everyone again?" He knew it wasn't right to pressure her or question her decision, but he didn't want to give up just yet. He couldn't.

"Tell Rose and Em to come, okay? I wanna see them."

Of course she would ask for them, but she wasn't asking for the person who was sick with worry. Who desperately needed her to come home.

"Esme would love to see you again."

"She will," she said and nodded her head. "But not yet."

He desperately wanted her to think about it again, but she seemed to have made up her mind. For now, at least. Trying to talk her out of it now would only make her draw back again, and he couldn't risk it. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"It is."

Carlisle truly dreaded going home. He'd return without his daughter, and Esme would fall apart. Even though her promise was good news, the fact that the separation would last even longer was not. He knew his wife would immediately pick a new house in a different state and make them move, but unfortunately it was not what their youngest wanted or needed. It took time to work through the feelings of deception and fear like she had experienced, and they just couldn't rush the healing process. If distance would help her now, they should grant her the time she needed until she'd be willing to return, even though it would be painful.

"Tell us if you need anything or change your mind, yes?"

She nodded her head. "Thank you for understanding."

He understood, of course he did, but that didn't mean he liked it. "Of course," he said and hugged her to himself. "Of course."

He was so glad she hadn't drawn back or pushed him away. It let him know that this was indeed temporary, just like Edward's absence. He'd find his way back to them, and Maddie would too. At least with her they knew where she was and that she was safe and cared for.

"I guess I'll be on my way now."

She bit her lip, but still managed to nod her head and give him somewhat of a sad smile.

"It's okay, princess, take you time."

"Bye, Dad."

He hugged both of them one more time, before he got into his car and shut the door. After taking a deep breath, he buckled up and started the engine. In his rear view mirror, he saw Maddie lean into Tanya with tears in her eyes as they watched him drive away.

We're finally at the end of the story! I know there wasn't much bonding between Maddie and Jasper, but it was the best I could do. At least she trusts him now, even though the circumstances are a bit off. But everything starts with trust, doesn't it?

And I know I haven't updated in a while, but all this Covid-19 chaos didn't leave much time for anything. I was and still am working everyday and since end of Jan it was a pain in the arse to get the material we need. Also I was constantly worried we'd have to sent the team into short time or even unemployment, but turns out, work didn't get less but a lot more so that we're actually hiring now. Anyone interested? ;-) But you shouldn't be squeamish about blood, lol

Anyways, I hope all of you, your families and friends are doing well, are safe and healthy!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!