Annabelle's POV

Carlisle and I did, in fact, return to Brazil. Carlisle joined a different hospital nearby.

Dr. Silva lectured me on the "propriety of giving warnings before taking off," but she acknowledged that my situation had clearly been an emergency. She also kindly told me that I'd already proven myself to be a hard-working and dedicated member of the team, so she welcomed me back with a warm pat on the shoulder.

It was wonderful to be back, and to check up on the patients that I had known before.

"They missed you," Dr. Silva told me. "They said that you had a soothing presence."

I knew that said "soothing presence" came from my ability to send patients into sleep and give them dreams, just as Carlisle had once predicted, and I smiled at the compliment.

Between loving my work and loving Carlisle, time seemed to speed up. My days flew by. I was learning so much about medicine, about myself, about Carlisle, about life, and about love. It was all such a fantastic whirlwind. Some days, as wonderful as it all was, it did get overwhelming, and I would escape to the mountaintops to breathe fresh air again and ground myself, breathing slowly and reminding myself of who I was. Often, during these sessions of thinking, I found myself wondering about Levine, and what had become of him.

The only difference between us was that Carlisle was my creator, and the Volturi were his... I sighed quietly. We're too alike for me to save him. But I wish... I wish that he can find his way to freedom, and live a life where he values himself as a person, not as a force of decay, or even as a metalworker. I hope he can find some harmony within his inner violence and chaos. If he wasn't a vampire, his bright soul would have been his greatest strength, as opposed to such a tragedy. Sun and moon intertwined, indeed... I thought to myself, staring up at the night sky. After Volterra, the sun and the moon, intertwined as one, showed up in all of my dreams, every single one. I knew they would, forever. It's a beautiful vision, even if it does haunt me...

There were times when Carlisle and I took breaks off of work together, most often to see family. Bella, Edward, and Renesmee were the closest to us, in Chile, with Nahuel and Huilen. Nahuel, like Renesmee, was half-vampire and half-human, and Huilen was his aunt, who Nahuel had turned into a vampire. As Carlisle predicted, Emmett and Rosalie were in Alaska, where Emmett enjoyed polar bear hunting. Meanwhile, Alice and Jasper contacted us to let us know that they were in Milan. Alice was taking full advantage of "fashion week" and of the sports racing tournaments that were going on, since she had interest in both fashion and cars.

Carlisle also took me to visit Esme's grave. We laid flowers together at the stone that Carlisle had quietly and lovingly designated for her "vampiric" death. I sat before Esme's stone for a long time, wondering about her. I asked her questions about herself in my mind that I would never hear the answers to. Finally, I thanked her and promised to be there for Carlisle. I thought I heard a beautiful, light laugh in the winds, for just a brief moment, but I couldn't be sure.

Later on, Carlisle received a letter from the hospital in London where we had met. They were proposing an extra step in the consideration and use of enzymes during the second stage of the process that Carlisle had first suggested as the Director of the Cancer Research Institute.

"They've asked for a meeting," Carlisle told me, handing me the letter. He waited until I'd read it to ask me, "Well, what do you think? Shall we go?"

"Yes," I replied. "Let's go together."

Only a few years had passed since Dr. Cullen had left the hospital, to create me. Thus, he could still return as himself.

Predictably, Carlisle was greeted by the staff with cheers and cries of "welcome!"

I thought I looked different enough that I could accompany Carlisle, so long as I kept some distance and was very careful about showing my face. So, I hid my face behind a long, trailing scarf, wore a long jacket, and trailed behind Carlisle. Thankfully, the weather had just begun to turn into autumn, and my rather concealing outfit, while a little strange, was not too out of place in light of the colder weather.

As I mentioned, I kept my distance, milling about further down the hallway towards the guest entrance, while secretly watching the staff greet Carlisle. When I saw Nurse Evelyn enthusiastically wrap her arms around Carlisle in a warm welcome embrace that even Carlisle struggled to gracefully get out of without resorting to his supernatural strength, I laughed under my scarf.

Abruptly, I felt a tug at my long jacket. I looked down to see a young girl, perhaps ten or eleven years of age.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked me. "And why are you wearing a scarf across your face? Are you sick, too?"

"Oh..." I murmured, surprised and unsure of what to say.

At that moment, a man called from the guest entrance door, "Elise! Time for us to go."

A woman appeared at the doorway, too, calling, "Elise, darling!"

It was seeing the child's mother and father that made me recognize her.

But the little girl was still talking to me, saying, "Sometimes the treatment makes me feel really cold, too."

"Are you still sick?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded solemnly. "They say I'm getting better, but what does that mean? I still feel sick."

"Elise, come on now! Stop bothering the lady," the man said, a bit more impatiently.

With that, the little girl dashed away, completely forgetting her conversation with me in less than a second. She ran forward, until her mother grasped her hand to stop her. A nurse stepped out to speak with them, and the family stood together in the doorway.

By then, Carlisle had managed to wrangle himself out of everyone's hugs. He made his way make to me discretely.

"I forgot how lively the staff is here," he said quietly, a bit breathless.

Then, he caught sight of my expression. "Annabelle?" he said gently. "What is it?"

He followed my gaze down the hallway.

"It's her. The child I wished to save," I whispered. "Her name is Elise."

Carlisle studied my face for a moment. Then, reaching out, he took my hand and he pulled me away into the records office.

We rifled through the different patient records until we found hers under "Elise Talbot." We looked at it together.

"The treatment didn't work perfectly for her," I recognized at once, my eyes shadowing over. "Well, I suppose I should have known that already, since she's still here."

Carlisle nodded, but as he ran his fingers along her numbers over the years, he observed, "However, the treatment's not failing her. It's just working very slowly."

"Look at that curve - subtle, but there. In other words, the jump into the second stage was successful for her, however small," Carlisle noted, pointing to a graph in the middle of the page. "This was where the treatment failed you, Annabelle. But it worked for her."

"Oh, I see," I breathed out, following Carlisle's fingers and understanding what he meant.

"I can't be sure if it will cure her completely, but as long as a new type of cancer doesn't spring up inside of her body, it may yet be successful," Carlisle told me. "What's more, the treatment has measurably elongated her life by at least ten years - and more, if the treatment continues working."

I didn't know how to express, in words, the tumult of emotions I was feeling. In that moment, I just saw so clearly how life was not perfect, that it was not a fairytale, and yet there was so much hope. Whenever I lost faith, Carlisle always strove to show me that hope remained. But even he could not disguise the bare-faced tragedy that constantly lay in front of me, and in front of everyone who lived...

I pressed myself against Carlisle's side. Closing my eyes, I rested my head on his shoulder. He reached up around me and rubbed my shoulder comfortingly with his hand.

"It must have been a shock to recognize her," he murmured.

"Yes," I agreed. "But I'm glad I did run into her."

Carlisle put the file back. As he did, I saw another familiar name in the same filing cabinet, though it was filed away in the very back of the cabinet and had clearly not been referenced for years now. Reaching around Carlisle, I pulled the file out of the cabinet and opened it.

"Who is -?" Carlisle began. Then, he fell silent when he saw the name and status stamped on top of the papers. It said: Annabelle Taylor. Deceased as of 3rd of September.

Inside of the folder, a few pages back, there was an old photograph of me, along with old, folded-up papers from the orphanage.

I stared at the photograph for a moment. I looked so... so exhausted. Is this what I looked like even when I was young? Even before I was sick?

Opening up the orphanage papers, I stared down at the information.

First Name: Annabelle.

Middle Initial: Unknown - Designated "N/A."

Last Name: Unknown - Designated "Taylor."

Family: Unknown.

Birthday: Unknown - Designated 20th of May.

Below these biographical notes, the orphanage director had written: Even as a baby, the girl shows impatient and headstrong tendencies. May God bless her going forward, that she finds her grace somehow.

Seeing the notes as well, Carlisle felt anger ripple within him. Trying to take care of me, however, he attempted to take a lighter tone. "Spirited even as a baby, I see."

I nodded numbly, not really hearing what he said. For there was something else that I had come to realize upon seeing my orphanage papers for the first time...

"It was false," I murmured, for I had stumbled across the knowledge that my birthday was not my real birthday for the first time. The realization was so unexpected.

"What was false?" Carlisle asked, frowning.

"It wasn't my real birthday," I whispered. "All of my childhood, I made such a fuss about not having birthday parties. It wasn't even my real birthday. No wonder the workers at the orphanage found me silly and selfish." I laughed lightly, but I was choking with a deep sense of nostalgia and sadness...

Carlisle's gentle hands slipped the folder out of my hands and closed it. But even after he put the file away, I still found myself staring at the empty space in front of me.

"Sweetheart," Carlisle whispered lovingly, and his hands slid up to hold my face.

"I'm all right," I assured him, though my voice only came out as a low murmur.

"Shall we get out of here?" Carlisle asked me, leaning forward to gently press his forehead to mine.

I nodded.

"Come," Carlisle said. Grasping my hand tightly in his, he led me out of the hospital.

Carlisle and I were staying at a hotel nearby. We checked in and made our way up to our room.

I was trying to recover the happier atmosphere of our trip, effusing my voice with a purposefully bright tone as I chattered on, "And the advancements they've been able to make with your research is incredible! Don't you think, Carlisle? The side effects will be greatly pared down if they can perfect the use of the modified enzyme. It's very exciting to think about the possibilities."

Carlisle managed to smile at me, as he always appreciated whenever I was excited about something, but we both knew that our interactions weren't fully genuine. There was a strange, almost painful, atmosphere hanging around us that we couldn't seem to dispel.

Feeling my façade about to break, I went and washed up, taking a shower and finding relief in the cold water splashing down my body. I avoided looking at the mirror. I didn't think I could handle seeing it tonight, not after unexpectedly seeing my old photograph. But I took my time, purposefully drying myself off very slowly.

When I finally returned to the room, Carlisle was gone.

I hesitated. Did I upset him? I really hope not.

I laid down on the bed, wondering where he could have went. Well, maybe he needed some time alone, too, I thought. I mean, he has even more memories of his past here than me. Though he hasn't told me all of the details, I do know that Carlisle grew up in London. He was the son of an Anglican pastor, and his father often led the hunts for witches, vampires, werewolves, and the like. Carlisle inherited that mantle, only to be turned into a vampire himself... I wonder what it feels like for him to see London so transformed. Does he recognize any of his upbringing here?

My eyes slipped shut. If I had met Carlisle all of those years ago, what would it have been like?

I naturally began to dream of what old London might have been like. In my mind's eye, I envisioned a town of mostly timber-framed buildings. Back then, the first building of sophisticated Palladian Masonry, featuring rhythmical rows of tall windows, carved decorations and classical pilasters, all in mathematically, carefully proportioned precision, would have caused a great stir among the people as an innovation in architecture. London's first modern square might have appeared then, too, in a classical style piazza lined with colonnaded terraced houses... In fact, that "modern" square would be partially renovated many times over before, in our contemporary times, it became a park, a very familiar park not too far from here, where I used to sit and watch the sun set and tell me that I wasn't afraid of dying...

But years before I had found solace on that park bench, there might have been a pastor's young son, blonde-haired and with light brown eyes, sitting on a bench in the same spot. He would likely be staring at amazement at all of the change occurring so quickly to his once sleepy town. He wouldn't know how to feel about it at first. Was it right for mankind to sprint headlong into the temptations of richness and industry? Ironically, that very same young man would have no idea whatsoever of the years and years of changes that he would eventually come to live through. The ignorance of youth was both beautiful and tragic, in that way.

My dream blossomed beautifully and naturally in my head as I fell asleep. As I slipped deeper into my dreamscape, I saw night falling upon the old London town, and high above the buildings, a silver moon, intertwined lovingly with the golden flames of a still-burning sun, rose over the innovative gothic architecture...

My eyes flashed open. I thought I just heard movement. Did someone come into the room?

Carlisle's warm voice woke me up fully just then, as he asked in a hushed voice, "Are you sleeping, my love?"

I sat up in bed, turning to look towards the door. "Carlisle?"

Carlisle had just entered the hotel room. He was holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers.

Approaching me on the bed, Carlisle presented the flowers to me. "Happy Birthday, Annabelle."

"My birthday?" I repeated, confused.

"Your vampire birthday. Today is the day you were created," Carlisle explained. "It's September 3rd."

Listening to Carlisle, I suddenly realized that the day I'd "died" according to my hospital records must have been the day I was also "created" by Carlisle.

"Yes," Carlisle said, smiling a bit wryly as he caught my expression, "we vampires have our births and deaths and afterlives all mixed up."

"Do all vampires consider their creation days as their birthday?" I asked him curiously.

"Well, no," Carlisle admitted. "Our kind usually don't celebrate birthdays, as it becomes tedious after many years. But, I am thoroughly in favor of making an exception for you, if you're all right with it."

I smiled at Carlisle, touched by his thoughtfulness in cheering me up. "Yes, I would like that," I admitted. "At least for a few years. Just because it would be fulfilling a childhood dream of mine."

Carlisle felt his heart lift at seeing me smile. He came and sat besides me on the bed.

"Thank you for creating me," I said sincerely, if not a bit shyly.

Carlisle shook his head lightly as he replied, "Well, I didn't know it then, but it turns out that I was creating my own happiness."

I blushed. Dropping my eyes from his gaze, I tried to cover up my sudden rush of joy and embarrassment by reaching out and grasping the beautiful bouquet in Carlisle's hands.

But a moment later, I breathed out, "Oh...", for I'd barely taken the flowers from Carlisle, when he pressed his lips against mine, kissing me passionately enough that I fell back against the bed, still clutching the flowers with one hand, but now clutching the fabric at Carlisle's chest with the other. And all at once, though I knew the deep wounds of my existence were too embedded in my identity to ever fully disappear, I was certain that I was, day by day, gaining the confidence required for my wounds to heal. Not because the wounds would grow any lesser, but because I would grow stronger, especially with Carlisle by my side...

At some point, in the years that followed, Carlisle and I married. The wedding ceremony was not a grand event. In fact, we didn't even consider a ceremony. It simply seemed like such a natural escalation of our being together that even Carlisle, with his more traditional notions of marriage, didn't really consider it a "big step forward" in our relationship. Instead, it was simply a happy and lovely event, as all of our evenings together were.

However, Alice, of course, being Alice, foresaw what would happen. Under her command, the entire family surprised us with a small ceremony.

I was thankful, but embarrassed, all the way throughout the ceremony. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it - I did. But I wasn't used to such celebrations or having such intense attention on me. Besides, it felt as though I had to openly admit how intense the love between Carlisle and I had become in front of everybody, and though I was sure and ecstatic that we were falling deeper in love with each other the more we were able to learn about each other, I had never been comfortable with being too open and vulnerable about that. I was gradually getting better at being honest and open with my emotions, thanks partly to my own growth in self-confidence and partly to Carlisle's ever-present patience, but it was still a journey that I was on.

Carlisle saw at once that I was overwhelmed, and he whisked me away as soon as it was appropriate, so that it was just me and him together again.

"Was it too much?" he asked me.

"No, no," I replied quickly. "It was very sweet of them to do that for us. And I do love seeing everyone together."

"Yes," Carlisle agreed. "We'll have to find a place for all of us to settle down again soon. I miss them too much."

"However," Carlisle said, and his voice slipped into his more teasing self - which I loved and instantly responded to, lighting up myself, "before our family gathers together, I do plan to have you all to myself, Mrs. Annabelle Cullen."

A bright smile spread across my face helplessly when he said my name in such a fashion.

Oh, Carlisle, I thought, thanks to you, I have a real, meaningful name and birthday now.

I reached up and kissed him deeply. Ignoring the embarrassed voice in my head telling me not to show too much of my emotions and make a fool of myself, I pressed forward. Breaking through the barrier in my heart, I whispered my confession, "I love you."

I saw Carlisle's eyes widen for a moment, and then inexplicably soften. "Annabelle..." he murmured softly. "My love. My heart. My soul." Then, his lips claimed mine again, and I breathed out, sighing happily as we kissed again.

After our wedding, Carlisle and I headed deep in the jungles of Brazil to take our honeymoon together. We didn't have any specific plans, but, it just so happened that I spotted a wild panther in the jungle area very close to our private villa. Immediately, I was intent on taming a panther, and the panther was intent on absolutely not being tamed.

Today, I hesitantly held out a mango as an offering. The panther yowled piercingly loud and swiped the fruit from my hand. Its heavy paw was a millimeter from my hand and wrist, nearly taking it off in one blow. I yelped in surprise, and dropping the mango stem – for the rest of the mango had exploded from the force of the panther's blow – I turned and began to sprint away, when I ran straight into someone's chest.

"Oof!"

"Ah!"

Carlisle's arms immediately came around me and he stabilized me against him.

"Annabelle?"

The panther was growling furiously behind me, and it began to leap at me, thinking that it had been tricked somehow by exploding fruit.

"Oh." Carlisle realized what was going on in a split second. After all, this was not my first attempt at taming the panther. No, of the five days we had been on our honeymoon, this was my fifth day of trying.

Carlisle sighed a little, but locking his arms around me, he said, "Hold on, now."

I wrapped both my arms and legs around him and held onto him as Carlisle leapt gracefully forward, deftly avoiding the panther.

Carlisle ran back lightly, carrying me, all the way back to our private lodge. He carried me all the way to our bedroom, before he finally made to put me down on the bed. I, however, held onto him for a little longer than he expected, and he toppled over onto the bed with me. We ended up all entangled together, holding each other as we found ourselves lying on the bed together.

"Oops, sorry," I said, laughing a little. My eyes were bright with exercise, and my hair was full of twigs and leaves.

"Are you all right? Cat didn't get you?" Carlisle asked me.

I shook my head, smiling. "No. But he got the mango."

"Did he eat it?"

"No. He destroyed it. Slapped it right out of my hand."

"A pity," Carlisle said, to soothe me.

I laughed again. "Ah, well, it was worth a try."

"That's true. But, well - I hate to say this, but I don't think the taming is getting anywhere," Carlisle told me.

"I know, but I'm determined to pet him," I replied, still smiling. "At least once. He's got this furry patch right between his ears. Looks very pettable."

Carlisle sighed, though his expression was still warm and affectionate as he regarded my excitement with genuine affection.

However, I suddenly felt a flash of guilt. "You don't care for the panther?" I asked him. Before he responded, I answered my own question. "No, of course you don't," I murmured knowingly. "You're probably bored to tears, watching me amuse myself so stupidly."

"No, not at all," Carlisle reassured me. "And we've been doing everything else together, anyhow."

"I'll stop," I promised him. "I don't think the panther likes it, either."

"Well, I don't think the panther knows what to make of you," Carlisle replied, lifting his eyebrow at me in amusement. "Nor do I, sometimes. I don't mind you trying to tame a panther, though I do wish you were more careful."

"It's not what you thought we'd be doing though, right?" I said, smiling at Carlisle.

"Er – well, that's true," Carlisle finally admitted. "Taming a reluctant panther and running away from it repeatedly is not how I imagined spending our honeymoon."

"Right, right," I said quickly, nodding sagely.

Carlisle chuckled and reassured me, "That's all right, though. The point was to be together, and to have a good time – and I must say, you are making the most of it."

"Always so understanding, Carlisle," I murmured. Then, suddenly realizing that he must have had some idea of what he wanted to do, I asked him, "But tell me, how did you imagine spending our honeymoon?"

Carlisle had been very quiet ever since we'd arrived, mostly because I'd been immediately fascinated by our surroundings, and Carlisle had seemed content to watch me make a fool of myself all over the jungle. We did, as he said, hunt together, read together, rest together, and generally spend our days together.

One night, Carlisle took me up to the highest mountain peak and told me about the different constellations and how he'd seen astronomy develop while he was under the Volturi's tutelage. I crafted and gave Carlisle some of my most beautiful dreams of flying through the heavens and high skies that night. I'd held him tightly in my arms as he slept, experiencing the dreamscapes I'd created for him. When he woke up and opened his eyes, I swear there were newfound stars in his beautiful golden eyes. We'd also gone swimming together in the ocean, where I'd seen a school of bright yellow fish pass by.

Besides that, we spent many hours just sitting together and talking, mostly learning about each other. Carlisle's life was so fascinating to me, and I couldn't help but ask him question after question about his prior experiences. For his part, it'd been such a long time since he'd thought about his experiences that he found he rather enjoyed telling me about his past, for he'd so adamantly forced himself not to think of it since Esme's death. Carlisle finally found that he could speak about the past without feeling hurt or guilt anymore.

In return, Carlisle always asked me for my thoughts, wanting to know my impressions of this and that, and never thinking less of my opinion for lack of experience or specific knowledge. We had the loveliest discussions, where we talked about everything from medicine to philosophy to art. We were always honest with each other, and sometimes, it was through our disagreements that I fell in love with Carlisle more and more. He thought of the world in such a compassionate way that it challenged me to think more broadly and to feel more deeply.

It was so lovely to talk to and listen to Carlisle. Apart from medicine, I truly could not think of a better way to spend my days than to listen to him speak and to share my thoughts with him. Through these discussions, I also realized that we shared a love of knowledge that extended well beyond medicine, and into a desire for worldly and otherworldly understanding that helped us make sense of our lives and the values we should aspire to while alive.

But I suddenly wondered if Carlisle had been thinking of something for us to do other than just talk together.

I stared at him curiously as I wondered aloud, "Was there anything else you wanted to do with me?"

Carlisle Cullen's POV

To be honest, I hadn't really had any plans for our honeymoon, except, of course, to spend time with Annabelle. Thus, if Annabelle wanted to tame a panther, then so be it. I regarded her with a warm curiosity in everything she did, genuinely loving her playfulness and curiosity. In fact, I rather admired her determination to tame the panther, and I found it endearing how seriously she took it. It was impossible not to root for her. Annabelle's spirit was so bright to me, and her energy coaxed out a deep tenderness within me that I hadn't previously known I had within me. I only wished that Annabelle might want to tame something that was a bit less threatening. Vampires couldn't really die from a panther's attack, but still, sizeable predators like bears, lions, and panthers could cause quite intense harm to a vampire. So, the potential danger of repeatedly tempting a fully mature and irritated panther was truly the only concern. Other than that, I hadn't minded one bit.

However, the way that Annabelle asked that question of "Was there anything else you wanted to do with me?" - with her legs still locked around my waist, her hands pressed up on my chest, and her bright, lovely eyes gazing at me - flipped a switch on in my mind.

I swallowed slightly, but I thought I managed to pass over it smoothly as I responded, "No. I didn't have anything planned."

"Oh, really?" Annabelle suddenly cocked her head at me. "I think you're lying, Carlisle."

"No…" I said weakly.

Annabelle snuggled closer to me, close enough to press kisses all over my face, before she murmured, "You've seen me make a colossal fool of myself for the past five days. Surely, you can't be embarrassed to say what you want… It can't be more stupid than trying to tame a panther."

I laughed lightly, though the sound came out a bit hoarse.

"Tell me, Carlisle," Annabelle whispered, pressing her lips to my jaw to lay more kisses on me. "What is it that you want?"

I felt her soft lips working up and down my jawline...

Well, that certainly doesn't help matters, I thought to myself.

Finally, I confessed, "You."

Annabelle's head popped back up, as my reply confused her. "Me?" she said, puzzled. "You have me already - Oh."

"Yes," I agreed. "Oh."

Annabelle paused for a long moment.

"Never mind," I told her, closing my eyes and shaking my head. "Forget I mentioned anything. Really. Let's think of another way for you to tame your cat -"

That sentence never finished, however, for Annabelle sweetly pressed her lips to mine at that moment.

I appreciated her kiss, and I responded to her. But after a moment, I murmured, "Annabelle, please, it was just an errant thought. You really don't have to -"

"Too late," she whispered. "Cat's out of the bag."

I felt her smile at her own little pun.

My heart figuratively fluttered at her charm, but I was insistent on her letting go of the matter if she didn't wish for it at all. I had probably startled her by my sudden suggestion, as it was, and –

Oh, but she's kissing me again, and so sweetly… I sighed a little. Why am I so susceptible to her scent? Even that day, when I finally found the courage to chase after her through the woods, I was immediately able to pick up her scent. I can't do that with any another vampire, except perhaps my family members, but I've been with all of them for so many years now. With Annabelle, it was instantaneous. Even way back in London, sometimes on my way home from work, I would often pick up her scent, lingering around a bench in a park I passed through to get home. It was how I knew she was still alive and in the world, without my having to check up on her, even though I sorely wanted to. It's her scent. Now that she's a vampire, her scent is even stronger and lovelier, but it's still the same as before in its essence. It's still her. And now, her scent and her warmth are all around me… Truth be told, I'd more than willingly lose myself in it.

I could feel myself starting to give in. Rolling over just a little, my hands slid up and gripped her waist more tightly, and as I was now leaning over her, my hips pressed against hers slightly.

I felt Annabelle breath out. I began to pull away from her, suddenly realizing how I'd pinned her down against the bed, but she tightened her legs around my waist.

"Carlisle, wait," she whispered fervently. "Please don't pull away from me. Don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere," I replied quickly. "I simply was – was creating some distance -"

"Please don't," she repeated. "

I paused. "Annabelle…" I murmured, looking down at her.

"You know... Don't you?" she asked me softly. "You know what I want..."

I simply gazed at her for a long moment, unsure of what to do.

Annabelle smiled warmly, and then she reached up to touch my cheek. "Shall I spell it out for you?"

I lifted my eyebrow questioningly.

"I want you, too, Carlisle," she confessed.

My gaze softened as I took in her beautiful expression.

Finally, I slowly sank down on top of her, and she hummed with happiness as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Annabelle," I breathed out, nuzzling my nose against her cheek for a moment.

"Carlisle," she replied lovingly.

Annabelle turned her face a little, her lips searching for mine. I quickly replied, capturing her lips softly in mine. The next instant, we were kissing fervently. Then, slowly and tenderly, in the deepening night, we bound ourselves closer than ever before. As we did, I found myself falling in love with her brightness, her softness, her love – her - all over again.

And in that love, there was endless possibility – for her life and mine, for her soul and mine, entwined together for the eternity to come.

a/n: Next chapter is the last chapter!

to MDBEU: :D

to Not Happy: I did! I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like the pairing.