Carlisle stood outside the door to Aro's study, feeling just as, if not more, nervous than he had only a few days prior. Then, of course, it'd been on his own behalf and of his own will. He'd sought Aro out, wanting to clear the air, to give his excuses, and see just how much Aro held Carlisle's lack of contact against him.

Of course, Aro had then gone on to accuse Edward of—something.

What that something was had not been made clear to Carlisle. Just that Aro suspected Edward was mad, was dangerous, and that it was bad enough that he couldn't come out and say whatever outlandish thing it was he suspected.

And the thing was—he didn't have to.

He could have let Carlisle send Edward home without saying a word. He had to have known that Carlisle would do that, not just for Bella Swan's safety but for Edward too. Edward had never slipped, he had left, but he'd never killed someone he hadn't intended to. What murdering an innocent girl might do to his psyche—Carlisle couldn't begin to imagine his devastation. It could very well destroy him, Edward—he had never really come to terms with the manner of being Carlisle had made him.

Not to mention the life that was on the line and the gruesome fate that awaited Bella Swan should Edward have stayed.

No, Carlisle wouldn't have hesitated to buy Edward that ticket home, no matter how humiliated and miserable Edward had been. Carlisle also wouldn't have let Edward return either, or at least, would have argued strongly against it.

His family forgot sometimes, took their control as a matter of pride, but in no world was it worth the risk of human life. They took risks enough integrating in the human world as they did but—this was beyond that.

His point was that of course he was sending Edward home and of course he wouldn't let him come back while Bella was human. Aro hadn't needed to say anything to convince him, there was no reason for him to say what he did.

He said it anyway.

He'd even brought up Marcus as supporting evidence for—reasons Carlisle still couldn't quite wrap his head around (the idea of Marcus having opinions at all was still a non-concept to him).

Carlisle could only conclude, even days later that—Aro believed it. He sincerely believed whatever it was he thought that he, that Marcus, had seen in Edward. It was—it was the only thing that made any sense.

Except, that didn't make any sense either.

Carlisle had known Edward for nearly a century now. Edward was—he was complicated. He'd sunk into a deep depression, perhaps as far back as when he'd returned from his years spent away from the family, one that had worried not just Carlisle but the entire family.

He'd always been melancholic, emotional, stubborn, and so very young.

However, Carlisle had absolute faith in him. Edward may have left, but he'd come back, even when he had no obligation to and every reason to stay away. Edward sincerely believed in the sanctity of human life, was so generous and loving to his family, and put up every day with not only their thoughts but human's as well with barely a word of complaint. He never failed to put others before himself, doted on Esme and tolerated all of the rest of their quirks…

Over the centuries, Carlisle had seen both ends of the extremes of morality and behavior, from the most unspeakably depraved, to the most unexpectedly and extraordinarily good. He knew a noble spirit when he saw one.

Edward was a deeply good person.

And he wasn't mad, and certainly not dangerous, at least, not to anyone who wasn't a 'singer'.

However, that wasn't why Carlisle was here today. At least, he hoped it wasn't why he was here today. No, tonight, Aro had summoned him.

Carlisle was going to go out on a limb and guess this was about Emmett.

That…

In retrospect, perhaps he'd been a bit laxer in defining the Volturi's role in their world than he should have been. It hadn't felt like much of a priority, not with the way his family lived. Oh, they lived dangerously in how close they were to humans, but he'd made it clear that there was a secret and they couldn't get too close. Whenever someone did seem to stumble across the truth, they moved, and no one put up much of a fuss. Everyone from Rosalie to Edward seemed to take it for granted that humans didn't belong in their world, it seemed obvious to them.

That there were these people called the Volturi, somewhere out there, who would come for them were they to break this law was a distant concept to all but Jasper (who had lived in its bloody aftermath and thanked god for their existence).

Of course, they knew Carlisle had lived with them, he'd told them about the law, and told them that if you could consider vampires having a government (without any institutions or taxation) then the Volturi were the leaders of that government. Vampires did not have kings, not really, but if they did then the Volturi were the closest thing.

Carlisle had thought—he must have thought who and what they were, what they were capable of, was obvious.

Unless, of course, Emmett really would have gone to the Queen of England, started playing Sexy Back, and stuffed dollar bills into her underwear.

… Emmett might have done that if he ever got the opportunity.

However, explaining that to Caius—

Well, given Carlisle hadn't been thrown out yet with his family, Aro must have talked Caius down. However, given this sudden summoning, Carlisle was going to guess that Aro had something to say. And Carlisle was going to have to somehow explain just why his progeny had thought treating Marcus like a stripper was a brilliant idea.

Though Rosalie, who had found Carlisle not long after the mess had occurred, had thought that if they couldn't appreciate Emmett pointing out that Marcus was in there stripping then there was something wrong with them.

Of course, Rosalie had never wanted to come in the first place, so being thrown out was hardly her concern.

Taking a breath to calm himself, knowing he'd be sweating profusely were he human, Carlisle opened the door. The study was much as he'd left it a few days prior, the books all on the shelves in familiar places, a modern map of the world framed on the wall, and Aro himself sitting at his desk looking more like a clerk than a man who ruled the world.

That much hadn't changed in the centuries since Carlisle had left. Whether he was in embroidered clothing fashioned by the finest craftsmen or in modern synthetic suits, without the cloak or the throne, he looked like a misplaced accountant.

"Have a seat," Aro motioned absentmindedly towards the sofas and coffee table in the middle of the room, sounding about as exhausted as Carlisle felt.

Well, Carlisle hadn't expected Emmett to go over well with Caius.

Carlisle himself had never gone over particularly well with Caius. Oh, the man had made a habit of avoiding him, but twenty years together meant they were bound to run into each other more often than not. Caius had made his dislike of Carlisle no secret.

He'd found Carlisle presumptuous, uppity, and downright bizarre with his choice of diet. Of course, Carlisle suspected that it'd never really been about him, per se, it'd been that Aro had invited him to stay for so long.

He'd made himself sparse in the few days since Carlisle's family had arrived, but Carlisle was willing to bet a sizable sum of money that this hadn't changed.

With a sigh, Aro extracted himself from his desk and sat down on one of the couches, waiting for Carlisle. Carlisle started to move, but then stopped, Aro—he didn't just look tired. He looked distracted in a way that Carlisle had rarely if ever seen from him. Rather than watch Carlisle move, he was staring blindly at the lone book on the coffee table containing scenic pictures of Iceland.

Carlisle—Well, he'd hoped that Aro might distantly find it funny. He'd expected that Aro might be a little annoyed and start in immediately. He hadn't thought Aro would actually be concerned over what happened.

Carlisle felt the first itch of panic in the back of his throat.

"He didn't mean anything by it," Carlisle assured Aro as he quickly took his seat, "He just—He thought it was funny."

Aro turned his attention to Carlisle, a dark eyebrow now lifting, and by the look on his face he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"He does this all the time at home," Carlisle continued desperately, "Nobody's safe, the family, the neighbors, kids at school, visiting friends."

Aro, if anything, looked even more confused than before.

"You must have seen it, Aro" Carlisle blurted, now beyond desperate, "Emmett has—he is, I mean—he really wants to be funny, and he doesn't always realize—"

"Oh yes, Emmett, of course," Aro said, his eyes lighting up in sudden realization.

Carlisle stopped rambling and stared.

"That—is what you called me in to talk about, isn't it?" Carlisle asked slowly, that feeling of dread from earlier only growing.

Aro let out a small laugh, looking amused more than anything else, "Yes, well, I suppose I might as well."

He fixed Carlisle with a look that was desperately trying to be serious, "Now, Carlisle, you must know I had to hold Caius back from tearing off your son's head—your other son's head—"

Aro winced, held up a hand to stop Carlisle from saying anything, and with a deep sigh started over, "Never mind, let's try again, shall we? Carlisle, in what universe would treating Marcus like a low-end stripper ever be a good idea?"

Now it was Carlisle's turn to wince.

However, Aro didn't wait for Carlisle's excuse, "I don't blame you, Carlisle. Caius might, does, but I've seen exactly what you told them and exactly what you tried to convey to them. It's not your fault that your son is an idiot."

Carlisle dearly wished he could refute that. However, if he could, then he supposed he wouldn't be sitting here right now.

"Just—See to it that it doesn't happen again, if you can," Aro said, waving his hand dismissively, as if the issue was done with, "Given Emmett's been thrown out of 'class', I doubt he'll get another opportunity. Just—tell him to be mindful of Marcus as well as Bella. He didn't make any friends today."

No, no he hadn't.

Bella, Marcus, and Renata's visit to his room had been perfectly surreal—Carlisle was half convinced he'd imagined the entire thing, but their mutual dislike of Emmett had come through loud and clear.

"I'm not concerned about Emmett," Aro said, and then, with a small smile that was little more than a quirk of his lips, "And I do have to say, out of context—it was kind of funny."

Carlisle felt himself grow unnaturally still, a nervous tic, for those moments when he forgot how to act human.

"No," Aro said with a sigh, glancing longingly at the book of pictures, as if he'd give anything to teleport himself to Iceland right now and away from this conversation, "I'm afraid I didn't call you here just to talk about Emmett—Something… a little more concerning has come up."

Aro reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and brought out a cellphone. As he started punching buttons he noted, "The messages you are about to hear were taken from Bella Swan's phone, left in her voicemail all in the past twenty-four hours. I have no doubt, in the hours since I collected these, she has received several more from numbers she hasn't yet blocked."

With that, Aro pressed play, and Edward's unmistakable voice came through the speaker.

"Bella, I realize what I'm saying may sound absurd, and that perhaps my zealousness in trying to reach you is to my detriment," Edward said, a note of panic in his voice, making it all too clear that this was hardly the first message he'd left her, "However, you must listen to me. These people, these things you've found yourself in the company of, they will devour you. They will devour either your flesh or your very soul. You must leave the castle, the city, as soon as you can. If you leave, I can find you, I can protect you from them. On your own you haven't a chance, their capabilities are beyond your wildest imagination. They can move, Bella, faster than your eye can process, they are stronger than a hundred men. Leave, Bella, leave now and—"

"And that was when Edward ran out of time for his message," Aro completed for Edward, "Of course, he left dozens of others, I'll spare you the trouble of listening to the rest."

Carlisle could only stare at the phone in numb, growing, horror.

Had anyone asked, and many had with the way his family lived, Carlisle would assure them that they abided by Volturi law and took the secret very seriously. Yes, Carlisle worked as a doctor among humans, yes their cover story had become increasingly absurd as the size of the coven had grown. However, they were believably human, and they each endeavored to be believably human.

So much effort went into the charade, far more than Carlisle's nomad friends realized. They attended work and school, they went grocery shopping every week, they impersonated human movements and behavior. Blinking, shifting, wringing hands, moving slowly, everything had to be learned and practiced every day. And when the slightest misstep was made they had to pack everything up and try all over again.

It wasn't easy, pretending to be human, not in the least.

If they hadn't respected the secret, if they hadn't realized just why it existed and how important it was, they would have blown their cover ages ago.

And yet, here Carlisle was, Edward's words ringing in his ears. Not just being careless, accidentally breaking the secret, but very intentionally breaking it to a woman who was kept under close observation by the Volturi themselves.

Every word out of his mouth had been more damning than the last, either unconcerned or else not realizing that the Volturi could and would kill him for this just as they'd killed so many others for the very same crime.

In the best scenario, this damned Bella to be turned, even had she not been doomed already.

"She told Marcus," Aro continued, ignoring Carlisle's horrified silence, "I'm not sure whether she took any of it seriously but—she seems to believe it's a threat of sorts to him more than it is a message to her. She's not wrong, of course, though not wholly correct either."

"Aro—" Carlisle said, but the words died on his tongue.

What could he say?

That Edward meant well? Yes, he'd just blurted the secret ten times over on a cellphone. Yes, he was explicitly trying to get in Aro's way, ruin his plans for this girl, and tempt her out of the city of Volterra where he'd—Carlisle had no idea just what it was Edward thought he would do.

Save Bella from vampirism, that much was clear, but did he really think he could overcome his thirst? Perhaps he thought it was worth the risk, that there was no other way to save Bella from her fate, except this wouldn't save her at all. Demetri might not be able to track her, but he could track Edward, they wouldn't make it out of the country. No, the most likely outcome of this was Edward eating the girl.

But none of that would mean anything to Aro.

"I'm sure you can guess what Caius thinks should be done," Aro said somberly, lacing his hands together, "I argued against it. Your son—from what I know of him, I believe he—thinks he's being rather clever. He's looking for loopholes in the laws and believes he found one. He's lucky that he did, albeit not the one he expected."

"Loopholes?" Carlisle asked, feeling his brow furrow into a puzzled frown.

Aro frowned in turn, then seemed to realize something. For a moment, he looked almost chagrined, "Ah, that is, I believe Edward did not realize he had revealed the secret."

"What?" Carlisle asked.

"Edward-How do I put this?" Aro said, looking back at the Iceland book again as if for inspiration, "Edward fundamentally fails to understand what the secret is, what vampirism is."

"What?" Carlisle repeated, feeling a bit like a parrot.

"It's not your fault," Aro assured him, "Edward's simply-not a particularly deep thinker. He believes he's far more intelligent than he truly is."

Rather than ask 'what?' again, Carlisle just dully stared at Aro. He was sure his thoughts were written all over his face.

"His extensive vocabulary, his repeated higher level education, and his gift makes him very convincing, even to those who know him very well. But, Carlisle, and I don't say this just because I dislike him-he's an idiot. He might just be dumber than your other son, Emmett."

"Emmett's not-"

"Oh, yes he is and we both know it," Aro interjected, and before Carlisle could interrupt to defend both Edward and Emmett, continued in a rush, "My point is that he thinks the secret is vampirism."

"The secret is vampirism," Carlisle said slowly, but Aro shook his head.

"No, Carlisle, he thinks the secret is only vampirism," Aro explained, shaking his head, "He thinks that if he doesn't say the word 'vampire', if he doesn't confess to drinking blood, then it doesn't count. I think it likely doesn't occur to him that our species, that the law itself, is far older than the legend of the vampire. This, I imagine, is the loophole he thought he was exploiting when he left Bella these charming messages."

"Of course," Aro added, "What's saving his bacon is that, by technicality, he is actually following the law."

Looking Carlisle directly in the eye, Aro said, "As we fully intend to turn Bella Swan, unless thwarted by an unfortunate accident, she can be told the secret in full without breaking the law. Bella Swan does not have a human future."

Carlisle couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him. He nearly crumpled into his seat with the force of it. However, it seemed Aro wasn't finished.

"But Carlisle, if this continues, if it escalates, then it may very well come to a vote. Even if I vote in favor of your son, Marcus may act as a tiebreaker and—I do not think he will vote in your son's favor."

"He won't—"

"That girl is your son's single-minded obsession, Carlisle," Aro cut him off, "I realize you don't believe me, that I have no evidence other than a collection of disturbing voice mails that might be construed as well-meaning desperation but trust me when I say he will not stop here. Not, at least, without your intervention."

"My intervention?" Carlisle asked.

But Aro simply nodded, "Call him, tell him that Bella Swan is strictly off limits. No more messages, no luring her out of the city, he shouldn't even think her name. Send some of the others home to keep an eye on him, as I understand it your Rosalie is just dying to leave anyway."

Aro ran a hand through his hair, sighing, "I can only hope that he might listen to you."

"Aro, I—" at Aro's look Carlisle backtracked, "I'll call, of course I'll call, and he will listen. Whatever you think this is—he's just trying to look out for her. You know I don't like any of this either."

Aro said nothing to that, but he looked profoundly unimpressed.

"But I can't just send Rosalie or Emmett home like errant children," Carlisle said, "And it was different with Edward, you know that. Bella's not in danger from them and if they don't want to leave then I can't make them."

And he didn't think they would without him and Esme.

"Edward's already with family, you know that. He's with Alice and Jasper and—"

"And they're doing a perfectly fine job of making sure his head remains attached to his neck, aren't they?" Aro asked caustically.

Then something in Aro seemed to fizzle out. His anger disappeared and he was left looking unusually small and empty.

"Just—call him, at the very least call him," Aro said quietly, "Then all that's left to do is hope for the best."

Carlisle had nothing to say to that, to any of it. He wished he could assure Aro that whatever he suspected was not the case. He wished Edward was—a little less willing to fight the world, at least, today. He wished, for a moment, that Bella could have the future that Edward still imagined possible for her. He wished he didn't feel like a coward for sitting here, agreeing to call Edward and tell him to give up on Isabella Swan.

Instead, he reached out with a hand to take Aro's.

Aro smiled, or he tried to anyway, "I know, Carlisle."

Carlisle supposed this was the point where he should get up and make his exit. He'd run out of things to say, it seemed Aro had as well, and now they were simply staring at one another.

However, if he left to make the call, then it was all too likely he'd be overheard either by Rosalie, Emmett, or God forbid Esme. It was unlikely any of them would roam close enough to Aro's study to hear him here.

And this wasn't a phone call he wanted them overhearing.

It wasn't that it didn't concern them, but it… would worry them. And there was no reason for them to get involved, Esme was already so distressed as it was. She didn't need to hear this. And she wouldn't need to, Edward would listen and nothing would come of it.

"If you think that's best," Aro said, still holding Carlisle's hands and reading his thoughts. By the look on his face though, he didn't think anything was best.

That, more than anything, emboldened Carlisle to bring out his own phone. He scrolled through his contacts and found Edward's number and without further ado pressed call. As the phone rang, he and Aro maintained eye contact.

Eventually, Edward picked up, "Hello, Carlisle."

"Hello, Edward," Carlisle said, hoping he sounded less nervous than he felt. Aro's eyebrow quirked damningly upwards.

"Has anything happened? Are you alright?" Edward started in, sounding almost panicked and… Had he suspected something would happen? He must have known that eventually Aro would hear those phone calls and expected some consequences for them.

Except, had there been consequences, the true consequences to fear, then it would be Edward reaping them, not the ones in Volterra.

"No, nothing's happened," Carlisle said, only to earn yet another unimpressed look from Aro.

"Everyone's fine," Carlisle clarified, barely holding in making a face back at Aro, "However, Aro did bring something to my attention."

Edward, on the other end, was damningly silent.

Carlisle forced himself to speak, "Edward, he played the messages you left Bella for me."

"Did he?" Edward asked, his voice oddly toneless, "And let me guess, Marcus was the one to find these messages?"

Carlisle's brow furrowed and he glanced at Aro. Aro made an odd tilting motion with his head, his eyes rolled upwards, as if weighing the merit of Edward's question. After a moment he nodded, apparently it'd been Marcus to find all the messages.

Right, Aro had told him that Bella had shown him them.

"Yes," Carlisle said, "But Edward, that's not important-"

"Carlisle, I realize you won't believe me," Edward interjected, sounding… oddly like he had in his message to Bella, Carlisle felt a sense of deja vu, "However, be wary of Marcus."

"Marcus," Carlisle said slowly.

"He's more cunning than any of us realized," Edward insisted.

Aro looked as if he was desperately holding in laughter. He'd actually moved his free hand to his mouth, clamping in the sound should his self-control fail him.

"Isn't this all convenient, Carlisle?" Edward asked, but in a manner that made it seem as if it was a rhetorical question whose answer was perfectly obvious.

Trouble was, Carlisle had no idea what he was talking about.

"What's convenient?" Carlisle asked.

"That I, who can read everyone's mind, just happened to be sent home. More, that shortly after that, Marcus happens to find those messages, shows them to Aro, who of course shows them to you in the worst possible light."

Carlisle started, "Edward, you weren't sent home because of Marcus or because of your gift-"

However, Edward didn't let him finish, "Oh, Carlisle, you must see what's happening here!"

Carlisle had no idea what Edward thought was happening here.

He looked across at Aro, wondering if he'd somehow be able to shed light on this, however Aro just gave Carlisle a rather dull and knowing look. Right, Aro thought Edward was mad, and apparently an idiot, this was probably very in line with the behavior Aro expected from Edward.

"Edward," Carlisle said, perhaps a bit more forcefully than he would have otherwise, taking out his frustration with Aro on poor Edward, "I'm not calling to talk about Marcus. I-"

He was about to say he hadn't spoken to Marcus in centuries but then remembered that Marcus had appeared in his room not a few hours earlier and had, in fact, actually said a few words to Carlisle. More words, in fact, than Carlisle could ever remember having heard from him in over twenty years of living in Volterra.

That wouldn't help his cause though.

"I am not calling to talk about Marcus," Carlisle repeated lamely, "I'm calling because you've left Bella dozens of messages that she does not want, each flagrantly telling her the secret."

There was another, long, pause.

Finally, in confusion as well as a sense of hurt, Edward said, "I didn't break the secret, what are you talking about?"

Carlisle felt his jaw drop and couldn't help but catch Aro's eye. Aro, damn him, smirked and winked back as Edward proved his point.

Goddamn him.

"Edward, you told her the Volturi aren't human, that they're planning to eat her flesh if not her soul," Carlisle said, rubbing at his eyes and wondering if he should laugh or cry.

"... Carlisle-that's not, I didn't say-She didn't even believe it anyway," Edward dismissed, as if that meant it didn't count.

"Then why tell her?" Carlisle asked in despair, "You clearly want her to believe it, Edward. Or at least some of it!"

"Well, yes, of course, but-"

"Edward," Carlisle said, "I realize you want to save her. Believe me, if I could then I would offer her a choice in all of this as well. However, like it or not, she doesn't have one. This, Edward, is the world most of our kind live in. If a vampire takes interest in you, as a human, then you are turned whether you like it or not."

As Carlisle himself had turned Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett.

"I came to Volterra, Edward, because I thought that I might be able to change Aro's mind," he earned a look from Aro at that, though not a surprised one, "And if I couldn't change his mind then perhaps I could help to soften the blow. Perhaps I still can, but Edward-neither you nor I can keep her human. It's just not in the cards."

"You don't know that-"

"How?" Carlisle asked dully, "You lure her out of Volterra, Edward, what then? You run? Demetri will find you. You fight? Alec can easily incapacitate you. And that's if you don't accidentally murder her yourself first."

"Let her go, Edward," Carlisle commanded.

Edward said nothing, several seconds passed by and there wasn't a word. Carlisle waited, a mixture of dread and anticipation in his stomach.

Finally, after far too long, Edward said, "I understand."

"I won't call her any longer, if that's what's troubling you," Edward added.

"Good," Carlisle said, then, after an awkward beat of silence, added, "And we'll be home before you know it. I know it seems long now but it will be quick, you'll see."

And Bella Swan would become just another human to his family.

Feeling the need to add more, Carlisle started babbling, "And I understand you mean well, Edward, I do. I'm very proud of you, glad that you're so concerned."

(After all, it wasn't every day his family went to such lengths for a human they barely knew.)

Aro was making the world's most ridiculous face, his head tilted to the side like a bird's, his eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets. As Carlisle caught his eye, he said quietly enough that Edward wouldn't hear over the phone, "Carlisle."

Carlisle ignored him, "I know this is hard and I know it's not what our family believes in. Know that I'm proud and very grateful to have you for a son."

"I'm not worthy of you, Carlisle," Edward said on the other end, causing Carlisle to smile, even as Aro's face distorted itself further into confused horror.

"No, I'm the one not worthy of this family," Carlisle corrected, "We'll talk later, tell everyone I said hello."

"Of course," Edward said, and Carlisle could just hear the smile in his voice.

"Goodbye," Carlisle said, Edward echoing the sentiment and hanging up.

"Carlisle," Aro said, shaking his head back and forth, "I-Oh, Carlisle."

"What?" Carlisle asked, "I called."

Aro just continued to numbly shake his head. Finally, when he recovered his senses enough for speech, he simply said, "Oh Carlisle, you are such a mess."

Author's Note: Do we think Edward's given up? Let's do a poll.

Thanks to Vinelle for betaing the chapter and ensuring we got to see Aro's funny faces during that phone call.

Thanks to readers and reviewers, reviews are much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight