Leah drove carefully toward the hospital, though her speed was a bit over the limit. Worry was clear on her face.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, looking over at her friend.

Leah shook her head. "I just have this feeling..."

"Tell me," Lily said, realizing Leah was hesitating. "Please?"

Leah pulled into the hospital parking lot, taking advantage that Lily still had her parking permit to be close to the building. She threw the car into park and cut the engine before speaking. "Renesmee is Bella and Edwards biological kid. You know that now. What you don't know is that she was born five years ago. Something about Edward being a leech made it so she was this horrible monster child that nobody except for Bella and Rosalie wanted to let live. Anyway, Edward changed Bella right after she gave birth and Renesmee had this accelerated growing thing."

"What does all this have to do about you having a weird feeling?" Lily asked patiently.

Leah glanced at the woman before looking at the steering wheel again. "Before Bella even got pregnant, Jacob was practically in love with her. He didn't imprint on her, but we all knew how he felt. That feeling only got stronger the more Bella's pregnancy went on. He imprinted on Renesmee. Nobody knew it would happen but looking back at it- everything makes sense. I just... I saw how much it killed Jake for Bella to choose Edward. I don't love you the way he loved Bella, but I still don't want to lose you to the doctor. You're honestly one of the best things to happen to me."

"Leah," Lily said softly. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around her friend. "You won't lose me. Carlisle and I... I know he cares for me enough to help me. We've kissed a few times, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I- I don't know that I want to spend forever being a vampire. Not when the rest of you are going to eventually grow old and die. Not when that means losing Elsie. Besides, Carlisle hasn't said anything about it. Not really."

Leah snorted. "That's something you don't know about wolves. As long as we keep phasing, we won't age. None of us has aged physically since this entire thing started. Sam's still alpha of his back, but he doesn't phase much. That allows him to grow older with Emily and have a family. Quil keeps phasing because Claire isn't old enough to know if she's going to want to spend her life with him. Embry and Seth and I haven't stopped phasing because we didn't have anyone. Embry will keep phasing until Elsie is old enough and tells him what she wants. Jake... He's a different story. Nessie will stop aging when she's technically seven. She'll be fully grown and appear to be anywhere between seventeen and twenty. Jake will always phase. He wouldn't chance to lose her because he grew old and died."

Lily nodded idly, taking in all the information. Knowing the truth of Renesmee helped her to see more clearly how protective Edward was of her and why. She truly was too young, even if she didn't appear to be physically. She sighed before speaking. "I should get inside before Carlisle starts to worry."

Leah nodded silently and climbed out of the car. The two women made their way inside to Carlisle's office. Dr. Page had decided he wanted more time for surgery and had given Carlisle the Chief of Surgery position for a limited time. Carlisle was effective enough with the job, even with the extended time he was now away from the hospital. Lily lead Leah through the halls of the hospital, taking the elevator to the correct floor, and waving to colleagues who recognized her. One nurse ran over to give the doctor a hug.

"Lily, how are you?" the nurse asked. "We haven't seen you in a while. Some of the staff was beginning to worry."

Lily offered a sad smile. "The cancer is back, so I've been resting at home. Dr. Cullen often shares patient files when he needs a consult on something, but I haven't been doing much else."

The nurse furrowed her brow. "I haven't seen you in Oncology. Nobody has."

"That's because Dr. Cullen has expansive medical equipment at his home, which he's been using to help me. I've also decided against chemo this time. Elsie needs me now more than ever, and I want whatever time I have left to be spent with her."

The nurse pulled Lily into another warm hug. "You call if you need anything. It's just so kind of Dr. Cullen to take you in and care for you."

Lily hugged back before pulling away and grasping Leah's hand. She waved to the nurse and led Leah toward Carlisle's office. Lily knocked on the door before walking in. "Hi. Alice said you wanted to run some more tests?"

Carlisle looked up with a knowing smile. "Actually, I have a surprise for you."

Lily raised an eyebrow uncertainly. "A surprise?"

The vampire held out a file, looking back down at his paperwork. "Look for yourself."

Lily took the file and opened it, scanning through the information quickly. A sarcastic smile appeared on her lips. "An appendectomy, you shouldn't have."

Carlisle's lips quirked up into a crooked smile at her tone. He spoke without looking up. "Look again."

Lily looked at the file closer, making sure she didn't miss anything. She let out a soft gasp. "I remember this guy. We removed his spleen the day before you started here. It was routine, no major complications. I remember him because he-"

"Was missing both limbs on his left side," Carlisle sated at the same time the woman did. He met her eyes. "He flatlined during the surgery once without any clear reason. Even when prompted, he never admitted to having any other problems."

"How did you know that?" Lily asked.

"It's in his file," Carlisle said kindly. "And Dr. Page was impressed with your work. He couldn't help but share the story."

"When do you operate?" Lily asked.

"You have two hours before the patient is taken down to the OR," Carlisle answered. "I will be assisting."

"I should get back," Leah said quietly. "As much as the guys trust you leeches, they prefer having one of our own around when they are all on patrol. And I don't speak medically, so I have no idea what either of you just said."

Lily frowned and looked at her friend. "You sure you can't stay? I can sneak you into the gallery to watch."

Leah smiled at a little at Lily's thought of fun. "I'm sure. Call me if you need anything."

Lily nodded. Leah squeezed her shoulder and left.

"There are no tests, are there?" Lily asked the vampire across from her.

Carlisle shook his head briefly. "No. For a patient refusing intensive treatment, I've done what I can. Now... we wait. I'll be sure to keep you comfortable. If you decide that you want me to do everything in my power to save your life, I will. Not a moment sooner."

"Okay…" Lily whispered. She sat in the chair across from Carlisle, realizing what he was truly offering- even if he had never said the exact words. "Thank you for everything."

"You have no need to thank me," Carlisle said quickly. He closed the folder he had been working on and placed it on the counter behind him. The two sat in silence for a while.

"Carlisle?" Lily said suddenly.

Carlisle paused, looking up at her with curiosity. "Yes?"

"What..." Lily pulled in a breath for confidence. "What is this? Between us, I mean. If Leah or Elsie aren't spending the night with me, you are. I really enjoy spending time with you and learning from your stories and past. I feel like we connect in a way I've never connected with anyone before. I know about Esme. I know you loved- love her. She sounds really amazing. I know I can't compare to her, and it's never easy to move on from a first love, so I'm not asking you for anything. I just want to know what this is, I guess. I understand if you-"

Carlisle was suddenly in front of Lily, crouched in front of her with her hands in his. He looked up at the frail woman. "You don't need to compare yourself to her. I don't want you to. Vera, you and Esme are two completely different people. Yes, I miss her. Yes, I love her. We spent a long time together and she helped me to pull my family together. But none of that matters when I'm with you. You make me feel alive in a way I haven't known for a very long time. I love to watch you with the girls, and the way you interact with my family. I took the risk of telling you what I am because I feel something for you that I have no way of explaining. It was selfish of me, really, to put you in danger this way."

"Do you feel it too?" Lily whispered. "When we kiss?"

Carlisle nodded kindly, placing a gentle hand on her cheek. "Yes. Vera, I've never truly loved a human being the way I find myself loving you. The thought of losing you frightens me. I feel empty when you aren't around, and that frightens me even more than anything else. I imagine I'm beginning to understand the way Edward felt about Bella when she was still human. The internal struggle he wrestled with daily."

Lily chewed her lip, blinking back tears. She cleared her throat. "So what does this all mean?"

Carlisle's lips curled into one of Lily's favorite smiles. "I imagine this means we both feel something strong toward one another. LilyVera Bradshaw, I would rather spend the rest of what time you have left together than be left to wonder what could have been."

Lily nodded. "Me too."

"Well then," Carlisle stood and leaned back against his desk. "Would you care to accompany me on a date tomorrow evening?"

Lily broke into a huge smile. "I would love that."

Carlisle smiled, barely putting his hands in his coat pockets when Lily stood and wrapped her arms around him. Their lips met briefly in a soft kiss before she rested her head on his cold chest and his arms snaked around her in a loving embrace. Rationality told Lily that she should be in shock going from Leah's heat to Carlisle's cold skin all the time, but something about her sick and frail body didn't seem to mind the frequent temperature change.