Esme's POV

When we returned to the yard, we sat down on the front step, as the sun broke through the clouds. The sun bounced off our skin, sending the shimmering reflection of diamonds everywhere. I smiled, rubbing the back of Carlisle's hand with my thumb.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, looking up from our hands. He looked better after our quick hunt. He hung his head, sighing softly.

"It's just hard… to think about seeing you that way…again," he said slowly, a sadness and nervousness in his voice. I continued to rub his hand with my thumb. "There was so much more damage done that I only discovered when I brought you home and changed you out of that dress," he continued, "I've tried hard to push the image from my mind… so it's hard knowing I'll have to see it again,".

I reached up and touched a lock of windswept hair, putting it back in its place.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, feeling guilty again for hurting my husband. He shook his head,

"It's alright. I'll be ok. It's just hard, and so… I hesitate," he told me. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"All you need to think about is that I'm ok, and I'm right here. No matter what happened or what you felt or worried about in the past, I'm here with you right now. And I'm glad I am," I assured him, leaning into his shoulder, letting him wrap his arm around my back. He was quiet for a minute, but I could feel the physical tension releasing from his body and he relaxed.

"That's why I love you," He whispered, pulling me into a full side hug. I smiled and he looked down, kissing my lips softly.

"But not the only reason," I said with a grin. He smiled sweetly,

"No, of course not, my love. Many more reasons," He said and kissed my hair.

"Shall we go?" I asked, sitting up straight. He sighed heavily but nodded, standing up and offering a hand to me. I smiled and graciously took it, making sure to weave our fingers together, as I reached my other hand into my pocket for the necklace.

I wrapped it around my left and his right hand, and focused as I turned back to moments before Dr. Cullen had arrived.

June 12th, 1921

The moment time moved at its own speed, music drifted from inside the house. A soft ballad. Edward. He was home and playing away the time, waiting for Carlisle; likely to go for a hunt together. Suddenly the sound was cut off and silence hung in the air for a moment before.

BANG!

The fallboard of the piano being aggressively shut. And then from behind us, the trees rustled, and several branches snapped loudly before Dr. Cullen appeared, moving at vampiric speed, the limp woman in his arms.

He slowed at the steps, to a human speed, and Edward was there, with the door open.

"Carlisle what's going on? Your thoughts are everywh-" but he cut himself off, seeing the limp, lifeless woman in his father's arms. Carlisle brushed past the boy and rushed upstairs without saying a thing to him. Edward slammed the door behind him, and his footstep dashed up the stairs as well.

Carlisle and I followed them, going into the house, right on Edward's tail. We moved quickly up the stairs of the home, down the hall, and into the office. Carlisle was gently laying Esme on the couch that was near the window. Books were scattered around the room; some opened, many on the floor as there weren't many shelves. Edward was standing just inside the door, his face angry, but he had rushed to get a blanket to cover the couch with before Carlisle had laid the young woman down.

She was not moving, and her heart was still beating very slowly.

Finally after several minutes of silence, Edward snapped.

"Carlisle what did you do?" Edward asked, seething, but trying not to yell. Carlisle remained quiet but must have answered him in his mind. "Do you even know who she is?!" Edward asked louder, only making Carlisle hang his head and run his fingers through his hair. Again, he answered in thought, seeming to frustrate the boy more. There was a strange moment of silence between the two before Edward spoke again, more calmly. "Clean her up. I'm going hunting…" he said to his father as he headed to the door and paused when Carlisle turned sharply, a sympathetic look on his face. Edward only huffed. "Yes WE were supposed to go…But I'm going now because the blood coming from her wounds is bothering me," he said and with that, he was gone.

Carlisle let out a heavy and shaky sigh and turned back to the broken woman. She had not moved and there was seemingly no difference to her appearance or alertness yet. Her heart thumped slowly, but a little louder. The only sound in the room.

Carlisle turned and quickly exited the office, rushing into another room; his room. I could hear drawers being opened and closed. He returned only seconds later with a set of clothing in his arms and a brush, setting it down on top of the desk in the room, a few feet opposite to the couch. He then quickly rushed out again. I could hear light shuffling about in the kitchen.

I took the opportunity of Carlisle being out of the room to step closer to the woman, who's clothes still hid the extent of her injuries. Her face, now in better light, was extremely pale white. Her gown; once white or cream, was now a nasty grey from the water, and stained with blood and dirt. Her broken arm and leg were both purple with bruises and slightly swollen. Her hair was tattered; the caked blood from her skull and a leaf that had gotten caught in the unruly curls whilst being carried through the trees.

Carlisle reappeared, a moment later carrying a bowl of water at a human pace being sure not to spill it; draped over his arm was a cloth and a blanket. He set the blanket aside and pulled his chair over to sit with the unmoving woman. He set the bowl of water and cloth on the small end table by the couch, and looked down, brushing the hair from her face with his hand. He leaned in, listening.

The thump-thump of her heart was beginning to pick up slowly. He smiled only softly.

"You're gonna be ok," he said to her.

He then took the wet cloth from the bowl of water and rung it out, before gently wiping the caked blood from her face and hairline. He moved slowly and with caution as he cleaned her skin delicately, then attempted with a small men's comb, to untangle her knotted locks.

I watched from the side as he hesitated to unbutton the unconscious woman's gown. His fingers hovered over the buttons for a moment, and let out a heavy sigh, brushing the unconscious woman's hair away from her cheek.

"I don't want to do this my dear…but the blood on your clothes with drive you mad when you wake," he said softly to her, and proceeded to change her out of the blood-stained clothing.

When he removed her clothing, I saw just how much surface damage there was over her skin. Large portions of her midsection, ribs, and back were scraped, and several were raw; already scabbed over. Bruises, deep blues and greens, were present with them. Her collar bone was also broken; the jagged shape of the misaligned bones protruding. Carlisle looked her over completely, stating softly, either to her or himself, that her pelvis and lower back was likely broken, and had severed her spinal cord.

"How did you know that?" I asked my husband, turning to look at him. He pointed to his ear.

"Listening…and feeling," he said to me, "Even as your heart started beating harder, your legs showed no sign of response to the venom. I was worried the venom may not have the power to fix the extent of the damage," he said, hanging his head slightly, as we both looked back at the two people in front of us.

I guess being a doctor, I wasn't surprised when Carlisle paused and whispered to himself.

"You had a baby…" in almost an observatory way rather than a statement.

There was no mistaking it. The stretch marks across the poor girl's entire abdomen were very visible when her dress and undergarments had been removed; and if that hadn't been enough, having gone four days without feeding an infant had engorged her breasts to an uncomfortable size.

When Carlisle had gotten Esme completely cleaned of blood, and into the old pair of pyjamas he had brought, he draped the blanket over her, and threw the blood covered clothing in the fireplace to burn it. He then sat down in his chair again, putting his head in his hands for a moment, before dragging his palms down his face. A very human like indicator of stress. He sighed, taking one of Esme's hands in both of his, stroking the back of it softly.

"What happened to you?" he asked her as she lay, still unmoving.

OoO

It had been two hours since Edward had dashed out the door. Carlisle had sat in silence, holding Esme's hand. It hadn't felt like much time has passed.

There were suddenly footsteps approaching the house, and the front door was opened and closed, much more calmly. Edward entered the room several moments later walking at a human pace. His eyes were bright gold again and he seemed calmer overall. Carlisle looked over at him, perking up from his somberness slightly.

"I know what you're going to ask without you even thinking it; I can't hear her. She's just…in the dark," Edward told his father, whose eyes saddened. There was a pause between them for a moment before the boy continued to interrogate his father. "What were you thinking, Carlisle?" the boy asked. Carlisle ran his fingers through his hair again and looked at the boy. The look on his face when his eyes met Edward's made him look like a child in trouble. But he kept his side of the conversation in his head. There was a silence until Edward answered.

"Sound's like a story," he replied. Carlisle pursed his lips and nodded slightly, looking at Edward. Silence.

"You've treated thousands of people. What makes her different?"

Their one-sided conversation continued on this way. Edward retorting back at Carlisle, who made faces and replied in his mind.

"That was 10 years ago, Carlisle. You don't know anything about her!"…

"She could have a family you just took her away from,"…

"You're not a detective Carlisle. If could have been foul play, suicide, an accident!"…

"Would you stop this! Use your voice," Edward finally snapped. Carlisle sighed,

"Do you think I like not knowing what I took from her?!" Carlisle asked, rasing his voice in frustration, and slumping his shoulders in defeat, "I just-…couldn't let her die," he said quietly.

Edward's posture seemed to relax at the sight of his father's confliction. Then he sighed himself.

"You need to go hunt," he said in a normal tone.

"I'm fine," Carlisle brushed of his statement. Edward furrowed his brow, stepping into the space between his father and Esme.

"Go hunt," he said firmly, "I'll sit with her while you're gone. You won't be able to restrain her if you haven't fed when she wakes up," Edward said, and the rationalization seemed to get through the distraught mind of Carlisle, who stood up and touched his son's shoulder.

"You're welcome," Edward said with a soft nod.

Carlisle turned slowly and left the room. His footsteps retreated at a human pace until he was out the door and headed into the trees.

Edward stood until his father was out of hearing range, and then sat down gently in the chair, looking down at Esme. His eyes were studying her, probably searching for anything in her mind.

"You have a nice name," he said quietly, taking the same hand that his father had been holding, "I just wish he hadn't done this. He interfered. He made you into this. It's not fair," he added, rubbing circles on her hand with his thumb. Then he leaned back, and sighed, furrowing his brow.

"Come on…there has to be something in there," he said to himself, closing his eyes.

Suddenly there was a movement. It was barely there but my eyes caught it. Her fingers on the hand that Edward held twitched once, ever so slightly. Edward's eyes shot open and looked down. Her fingers twitched again, the end's curling subtly. The boy's eyes moved to study her face. Her lips twitched as well, barely noticeable.

"Come on Esme, give me something…" Edward whispered, hoping for a thought to come through.

"I don't remember any of this," I said, looking over at my husband, who's eyes were transfixed to the scene around us.

"Edward never told me what he said to you while I was out," he replied. I looked back at Edward, studying his interaction with Esme.

"Think of something..." Edward said to her and listened.

He paused for a long time….and then:

"I know it hurts… But it will be over soon," he said to her, caressing her hand. Her lip quivered a little more.

"It's ok, you're safe here," he added, "Just think of something. It will keep your mind off the pain,"…

"No Esme, I'm not God,"…

Edward chuckled.

"No, you're not in a coma…It's not a dream either,"…

"It's ok, don't panic…you're not actually dead,"…

The pain of the venom must have overwhelmed her because she let out a whimper, that turned into a horrifying scream of agony. She started moving more. The hand twitch turned into arms thrashing. Her legs still were not moving. She was trying to hold back the screams of pain but was failing. Edward was forced to grasp her arms to keep her still as she screamed, her head tipping back in agony, her hair falling out of the way and revealing the raw wound of where Carlisle's teeth pierced her jugular twice.

Edward was trying desperately to reach her mind and calm her down with words, but it was useless. He only sighed and held her down to prevent her from hurting herself.

I hadn't even heard him approach the house, but suddenly the door was thrown open, slamming against the wall, making me jump and grab my husband's arm.

Carlisle was in the room again, right by Edward's side.

"What happened?" he asked, taking over from the boy and holding Esme down.

"She started twitching and then she managed to think of a few things. Then she started screaming and thrashing," Edward told his father. Carlisle had his full attention on Esme.

"Have her legs moved?" he asked, looking back at Edward, who shook his head.

"It's ok Esme. I know it hurts," Carlisle told the thrashing woman.

"She recognizes your voice, Carlisle," Edward told him, and Carlisle had a hopeful look in his eye.

"I never told her my name," he said, and looked back down, "Esme...It's Doctor Cullen," he told her.

"She's relieved it's you," Edward told his father, who smiled at the woman.

"Yes, it's me…You're gonna be ok, I promise," he told her. Esme's thrashing calmed down slightly. Carlisle slid onto the edge of the couch rather than into the chair, sitting next to Esme's side.

"Should I stay?" Edward asked, gaining his father's attention.

"It's up to you Edward. But I need you here when she wakes up. Even if she's level-headed, she'll still be stronger than either of us," Carlisle told him and Edward nodded, before leaving the room.

A few moments later, a soft song filled the air. Edward back at his piano. I smiled at my husband, wrapping my arms around him.

OoO

I skipped ahead a couple hours, and it was now the middle of the night. Edward had retreated to his room and was listening to music quietly.

Carlisle had let go of his hold on Esme, as she had calmed down and was not thrashing as wildly anymore, just moaning from the pain a lot. She still hadn't said anything though. Her fingers had curled into a death grip on the pillow that her head was on. Carlisle had taken a book from one of his stacks and situated himself on the couch, at Esme's feet; her ankles laying over his lap. He was reading quietly from a book of old Shakespearian sonnets. Something to break the tension in the room.

He was pulled from his reading when Esme started crying out in agony again. Carlisle threw his book down and jumped up from his spot, crouching by her head. He stroked her cheek softly as she screamed, trying to calm her.

Almost out of nowhere, there was a sickening sound, like a cracking, and then Esme's body jolted, straighten out and adding several inches to her torso. It caused her to scream. It sounded like a horror movie. I gasped in shock when it happened.

I had almost forgot her back and pelvis had been broken, focusing so much on her screams. I notice both Carlisle and my husband beside me wincing at the sound. It was a sound that would have made any human vomit. The sound almost made me sick myself as I clung to my husband's arm.

And then she thrashed again, but not her arms. Her legs kicked and squirmed against the couch. Carlisle let out a sigh.

"Thank god," he said with relief, and took her hand in his, placing a kiss on it.

"I had no idea what I would do if you ended up paralyzed," Carlisle said, looking over at me. I gave him an awkward reassuring smile.

"A paralyzed vampire? Is that even possible?" I asked him.

"I highly doubt it is now… Back then I was worried it was," he told me, "If our family has taught me anything about vampires, it's that venom is more powerful than I ever thought it was," he added. It was true. It had saved my body from a feeble heartbeat and broken bones that no medicine or surgery could have fixed. It saved Rosalie from bleeding out and Emmett from the horror of what the bear had done to him. Bella had been legally dead after Renesmee had been born, with no heartbeat at all and the venom had brought her back. You didn't need a half alive human for it to work.

Edward came into the room, a worried look on his face.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at Carlisle who was softly stroking Esme's cheek, soothing her. She was whimpering in pain from her recent event.

"The venom. It fixed her back," Carlisle said, looking at his son and then back at Esme, "It's ok," he whispered to her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"She wants to speak. But she can't," Edward told Carlisle, as he wandered closer to the couch, leaning over the back to look down at the woman.

"What is she thinking about?" Carlisle asked, holding Esme's hand close to his face.

"She's scared, confused. She can hear us, but I don't think anything is really making sense… The short few thoughts I got from her while you were out is the most sense her mind has made," Edward told his father. Carlisle sighed hanging his head.

"The venom is too much for her to think," he said, and then looked at his son, "Thank you," he added, and Edward nodded once before leaving the room again.

I turned to my husband who had a sad look on his face. I reached up and caressed his cheek softly with my palm.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"You're just in so much pain," he replied, gazing on at the sight of the whimpering woman and the man trying desperately to comfort her in a proper manner. I nodded softly.

"I was… but it's over…it's the past," I said, trying to absolve his worry. Then I tried to change the subject to relax him. "Why don't we skip forward?" I suggested, and he nodded softly.

I turned the time forward, two more days.

June 14th, 1921

When I looked around the room, the sun was coming in through the window of the study, casting rays across the floor. Carlisle was standing just out of the ray's reach, off to the side, with his hands in his pockets. Edward was standing in the open doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

Esme was laying on her side on the couch, the blanket was draped over her body, leaving her shoulder partially exposed. Both men were silent and had their eyes transfixed on her. Her appearance was much better. The scrapes and bruises on her face were now gone, and she was peaceful looking in her sleep.

Her heartbeat was thumping, the only sound that was in the air. Slowly it began getting weaker and slower, until…

It stopped.

And then her eyes flew open, and she gasped, inhaling sharply, gasping for breath she didn't need.

The boys stood frozen, not moving, not breathing, afraid to startle her.

Esme let out a heavy exhale, trying to calm herself. She groaned as she sat up in her spot, the blanket fell down onto her lap. Esme closed her eyes for a moment and one hand went up to her forehead as she rubbed it, like she had a headache. Then she swallowed, and her hand moved to her throat. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed the blanket and pyjamas she was in, as well as the couch she was on. Then she looked around the room, her bright, fiery red eyes were full of confusion. She was relatively calm as she was adjusting to her new sight. Her head turned sharply, and she caught side of Carlisle and jumped slightly in her seat.

"Hello," Carlisle said softly, not moving from his spot. Esme sat frozen, and then a realization came over her that a man was looking at her in her pyjamas, and she pulled the blanket close. Her fingers tore through the thin blanket like tissue paper, but she didn't notice. Her focus was on him.

"Dr. Cullen?" she asked, and then grasped her throat again, almost shocked at the sound of her own voice.

Carlisle smiled softly, bowing his head slightly.

"Miss Platt," he said fondly. There was a moment of silence between them before Carlisle took a human paced step towards her. Esme didn't react, and Carlisle moved closer, slowly lowering himself into the chair he had spent hours sitting in holding her hand. Her piercing eyes were unnerving to look at as her gaze followed the doctor nervously.

"I understand you must be confused," Carlisle said to her, his voice soft and soothing, keeping her relaxed, "What can you remember?" he asked her, his eyes hopeful. She swallowed nervously.

"Um…a lot of pain…" she said quietly, "What happened?" she asked, her eyes meeting his.

"I remember this," I said, looking up at Carlisle, his eyes met mine, much like our reflections before us.

"Still one of my favorite memories," he said with a gentle smile. I glanced back at our past selves.

"We should leave them," I said quietly as Esme's face contorted at the explanation Carlisle was giving her.

Carlisle nodded and I took one last glance at the red eyed me, before turning us back…