I cannot thank you all enough for the responses to this story. I... Honestly? I can't quite stop tearing up. I never expected much of a response, let alone getting to the point of 501 followers, 412 favourites, and 603 reviews!? Thank you all. So much.

I don't think I remembered to put it in when I replaced the last chapter, but there is a companion fic - If It's Not Too Late - Outtakes - which now includes a lemon, and that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

Chapter 20

Garrett glanced up from his book when Carys entered the shared suite the next morning in pursuit of coffee - then stiffened and quickly averted his eyes. He looked up at her again a moment later, opened and closed his mouth, then thought better of it and returned his attention to the page.

Carys, confused, checked herself over. Carlisle wasn't there, but when he'd kissed her awake half an hour before to the news he'd ordered coffee and croissants, he hadn't added a caveat that she should get changed before coming straight out when they arrived.

She couldn't find anything amiss with her pyjamas - made of a thick flannel-like material, the shirt and trousers covered her completely - if anything, they were a little baggy; she'd brushed her teeth and washed her face; she'd even had the forethought to add a bra before leaving her room.

It might have been her blood, but she was keeping her distance, and he'd seemed able to tolerate it the night before, and she was sure it wasn't the argument he'd overheard for similar reasons.

Carys mulled over his reaction while she filled a cup, before grinning as she sank into an armchair on the other side of the room. "Your centuries're showing," she told him.

Garrett glanced up again, his lips twisting. "Are they?" he asked, his gaze focused squarely on her face.

Carys' smile softened. "I was wearing skinny jeans last night and you didn't bat an eyelid," she reminded him, tucking her legs up and settling against the backrest. "Is it because I'm Carlisle's mate, wearing pyjamas, or both?" she asked after a long pause. "'Cause I can get a robe if it's a problem."

"Neither," Garrett said quickly. When Carys scoffed her disbelief, he flashed a grin of his own. "I'm used to humans recoiling when they see my eyes," he explained. "I didn't want you to worry; I've already had an earful about scaring you last night."

Carys hid her face in the crook of her arm. Her voice muffled, she giggled, "So it is because Carlisle's my mate?"

"Hmm..., I suppose it is," he mused with a faint quirk of his eyebrows. He didn't speak again. Instead, he watched her with the same assessing expression he had worn the night before.

Carys - embarrassed that she'd been the only one to find it amusing, leaned across to grab the remote from the small table beside her chair. When Garrett absentmindedly nodded in response to the question in her glance, she flicked it on and took a sip of her coffee.

"By the way, where is he?" she asked when she settled on the news.

"Right here, darling."

Carlisle stood in the doorway through which he'd escaped their argument. Clouded, his gaze flicked between the two occupants of the room for a little while, then, just when Carys began to feel uncomfortable and placed her cup on the small table, he visibly exhaled and strode across the room towards her.

Pressing his hands against the cushions, he slid them behind her knees and back, ignored her squeak of surprise when he usurped her seat and lay across it so that his legs hung over one arm. He then deposited her atop a cushion which now covered his lower abdomen and lap.

Carys all but rolled her eyes at the display - she couldn't remember the last time if ever, she'd sat on Carlisle in public - she then struggled not to laugh when his hand slowly snaked around the side of her waist. He was ridiculous.

Garrett leaned back in his seat and closed his book, discarding it on the sofa beside him. "I take it you're no longer arguing?" he asked, narrowing his eyes a little.

Carys looked down at Carlisle, who tore his eyes from Garrett to meet and hold her gaze. The news droned on somewhere in the background.

"I don't know," she answered after a minute or so. "I feel like I said all I had to last night, but I don't know if you did. Are we? Arguing still?"

Carlisle waited until she'd pulled her legs up to tuck them underneath herself again and retrieved her mug, then shrugged lightly. "I don't think we're entirely made up yet, no-" he nodded when she butted in to quickly say that she didn't think they were either, "-but I don't want to argue right now."

Carys felt some of the tension leave her. "Time out?" she suggested.

"That would be good," Carlisle assured her, then turned his head against the arm of the chair so he could look at Garrett again. "We're not arguing at the moment," he explained.

"Truce area," Carys agreed, placing her free hand over Carlisle's. He entwined their fingers while she took another sip of her coffee.

Garrett, having watched the display without so much as batting an eyelid, said, "Good - the sun's out, and I didn't much fancy having to pretend I wasn't listening from the other room." Addressing Carys, he continued, "We weren't properly introduced. Garrett."

"Carys," Carys replied quickly, her smile deepening. Carlisle's grip tightened around her hand and waist - she raised an eyebrow at him. He shifted uncomfortably, jostling her as he did so.

Garrett cocked his head and smirked. "Carys Ivy Thornton-Vale-Cullen, if memory serves?" he offered, all but ignoring his friend's possessive response.

Carys blushed at the reminder, and a low hiss emanated from below her; in the blink of an eye, Garrett was sitting on the back of the sofa; the sofa had been moved against the far wall; and Carlisle didn't appear in the least perturbed, his face a mask of serenity.

Carys didn't trust the expression for a moment.

Gripping her cup tighter in an attempt to cover the way she'd jumped and nearly spilled it over them both when the shift had occurred, Carys slowly drawled, "Got a last name there, Garrett...?"

"Just Garrett," he told her, a distrustful glint in his light-red eyes. "Even if I had one, I wouldn't tell you what it was. I've heard stories." He glanced at Carlisle, who then refused to meet Carys' eye again.

Carys playfully glared at them both and sank back to enjoy her drink.

She liked Garrett already, as Carlisle had often told her she would if they met. It was little wonder the two were friends - or that they were able to get past their fundamental differences.

Garrett put her at ease in a way Carlisle had when they'd first started to become friends - only, without the undercurrent of attraction. Despite her initial fear, she'd not once worried that Garrett might hurt her. For his part, he'd focused on trying to make her as comfortable as possible in his presence.

That being said, if Carlisle's response to the two of them making idle conversation was anything to go by, she wouldn't win too many points in telling him that too soon.

Both vampires fixed their attention to the television, and Carys decided it was a good idea to join them.

Less than ten minutes later, two croissants and a second cup of coffee consumed, she shifted on her makeshift seat and broke the easy silence. "Can I have my chair back yet?" she asked Carlisle. "Or am I stuck on the danger throne until you're done being jealous?"

Carlisle quirked an eyebrow. "Danger throne?" he repeated, failing to cover his amusement.

"Your eyes are day-twelve dark and the cushion isn't providing as much relief from your hard body as it you think," Carys told him, standing up so she could kick feeling back into her legs. "That's like two kinds of danger to start."

Both Garrett and Carlisle grinned. Carlisle swung his legs around and sat up, but made no effort to move, even when Carys prodded at his foot with hers and whined lightly.

After she tried again, to no avail, she gave up in favour of returning to her room to find her phone. Wandering back, she sat on the arm of the chair and sighed at the lack of messages as she burrowed her feet under one of Carlisle's legs.

Carlisle and Garrett were talking about something on the news, and Carlisle had seemingly moved past his brief jealousy, so she typed out texts to Sarah, and her mum, then dropped the phone onto the small table and joined in the conversation.

Half an hour later, Carys' phone began to ring and they paused so that she could answer. It was the Clearwaters' home phone.

"Leah!" Carys chirped. "How're you feeling, lovely?"

It wasn't Leah's voice that filled the phone after a couple of seconds, but Seth's. He sounded as if he'd been crying. "Um, Lee... Lee's not here right now. She's um..."

Carys quickly returned to her room again. Closing the door behind her, she wrapped an arm around herself. "Seth, lovely, what's wrong?" she asked, her worried voice low. "Has something happened to Leah?"

"No...," Seth moaned after another pause, during which he sniffled and hiccuped. "It's Dad," he explained simply - it seemed as much as he could get out in one go. Carys' stomach dropped to the floor at the same moment her heart leapt to her throat. "Can I-(Charlie?)"

Charlie's gruff voice took over a second later. "Hello?"

"Charlie?"

"Carys," he sighed.

"Charlie, what's going on? What's happened to Harry?" she asked urgently.

"He uh..." Charlie sounded close to tears himself, but he cleared his throat and managed, "He had a heart attack yesterday morning... It was sudden... He..."

Carys sank down to perch on the edge of the bed. Some things didn't need to be said aloud. She physically shook herself.

"I... God, I'm so sorry, Charlie... Is-uh, is there anything they need?"

"The..." Charlie took a long, shuddering breath. "The funeral's tomorrow," he informed her. "Can I give you the information?"

After waiting for her to grab a pen, he ran her through the details. Seth had called because they were going through the invitations, and she was on the list. Leah was at her grandmother's, looking after her, which was why she hadn't called herself.

"There's not really anything to do before that," he finished a good few minutes later. "If you could bring something for the wake, I know Sue would appreciate it."

"Yes, of course. Definitely. How are they?"

"Sue's pretty dazed but the family's rallying 'round," Charlie said. He sounded quite dazed himself. "Seth's taking it hard... I haven't seen Leah today, but she wasn't doing well after it happened. Might be a good idea to give her a call?"

"Already planning on it," Carys assured him. She bent over her knees, resting her forehead against her wrist, and closed her eyes. "Would you let them all know - if they need anything, anything at all, I'll be back in Forks in a couple of hours..."

"Thanks, Carys. I'll let them know."

Carys was sure they would have heard the same thing over and over again by now and would do over the next few weeks at least. She sat up a little, letting her hand fall.

"Do you need anything, Charlie?"

"Me? No. No... Alice is back - slept over with Bella last night, did she tell you?"

"Carlisle did," Carys told him. "We're in Port Angeles - we can check in on the girls on the way home if you like."

Carys didn't mention Edward. Carlisle hadn't mentioned him yet, but she imagined they must have hidden him if he was back as well - he was the last person Charlie would want to see right now.

"Oh, Carlisle's back as well, is he?" Charlie asked distractedly. "That's good. That's good... If you could, that'd be great - don't know when I'll be... They might need pizza money - I should have thought..."

"We've got it, don't worry."

Charlie sighed wearily. "Thanks... I should go, there's a lot to do. You'll be there tomorrow? Nine?"

"I'll be there... I'm so sorry, Charlie. Give them my love, okay?"

Charlie murmured a slightly incoherent response, and the line cut off.

Carys noted the absence of voices from the other room as she tried Leah's cell - which went straight to voicemail - then picked up the hotel phone receiver and asked for the number of a florist.

Carlisle was already on the phone taking care of an arrangement when she walked back out - straight into his arms. He passed the phone to Carys when it came to the card - she told them what she wanted it to say, and where to send it.

"A friend of yours?" Garrett asked once she was finally off the phone.

Carys nodded, then shook her head. "No, he hated me," she half-laughed. It was the sort of laugh that held no amusement whatsoever but hinted at affection despite the words themselves. "I'm friends with his daughter. I said we'd check on the girls," she told Carlisle, looking up into his dark eyes when he pulled back just with for her to do so, then recalled, "of course. You heard that. Erm... What should we do? I think I should get back in case... I mean, I... If Leah..."

Carlisle nodded, pressing his cheek to her hair. "We'll go back now," he promised.

Carys wasn't sure if Leah might need her at all, but she wanted to be home just in case. Harry had been fine, looking after his sick kids on Thursday morning, cracking terrible dad jokes as he did so. Charlie had said it was sudden, but it didn't seem real that it could have happened that quickly. It must have happened soon after she'd last heard from Leah.

"What they must be going through," Carys whispered to herself.

Carlisle's arms tightened around her, and he dropped another kiss to her forehead. When she patted his chest, he let her go so that she could get ready. By the time she had changed, repacked her suitcase, and carried it back through, Garrett and Carlisle were standing by the door.

"Garrett's going to stay here until nightfall, then he'll head back to New Orleans," Carlisle said, taking first her suitcase and then her hand.

Carys threaded her fingers through his and looked up at Garrett. "You're not staying at the house? We have space - you'd be more than welcome to stay," she assured him.

"No, not this time - but I'll be back soon," he told her. His tone matched his sympathetically apologetic expression. "I didn't expect to fulfil the kidnap part of the best man duties, but it was good to meet you. I'm sorry we're parting on such bad tidings."

Carys wasn't quite sure how to respond for a moment. Garrett had saved her from the jaws of death and then hunted and killed a human - all within the space of two hours. The fact he was now apologising for another human's death felt strange.

After a beat, she settled on, "Thank you, Garrett. It was lovely meeting you too."

It had been. He was the first active drinker of human blood that she had met and got on with. The first one who hadn't wanted to kill her, to boot.

Carlisle had already taken his leave of Garrett, and so they headed straight downstairs to where the valet had the car waiting for them, under the cover of the entrance.

The drive was much less tense than the night before, but it was just as quiet. One of the only times they spoke was when Carlisle squeezed her hand and informed her that he hadn't managed to find Edward and that his son, therefore, had no idea he and Alice were back in Forks.

When they arrived at the house, around forty-five minutes later, Carys almost asked if they could go to hers instead. She hadn't been back since the night both she and Bella had been injured. She was as relieved to find that Carlisle only planned on a pit stop as she was surprised that contrary to what she'd been led to believe, not everything in the house had been removed when they'd left.

He left her sitting in the car while he ran up and changed into what Carys called his 'doctor/dad clothes', returning less than a couple of minutes later.

His hair had been pushed back from his face once again, held in place with wax so light it was hard to tell his hair didn't naturally decide to fall that way. The style made him look a little older, but still young for the age he was supposed to be. He grinned when she expressed her immediate displeasure.

"Sorry darling," he said, turning the car around in the large courtyard. "I can't risk anyone seeing me slip."

Carys distracted herself from checking her phone again on the short drive to Bella's by telling him all the reasons she could think of as to why his hair deserved to roam free. He found "It deserves to breathe" especially amusing.

When they pulled in in front of Bella's, Carys dithered anew over unbuckling her seatbelt. "I don't think either of them wants to see me right now," she admitted quietly. Taking a deep breath, she eventually muttered, "Oh fuck it. I promised Charlie, didn't I?"

Carlisle held his tongue as he had throughout her near-silent deliberation, clicked her seatbelt out of the holster, and rounded the car to open her door for her.

The front door was flung open just before they reached it - Bella all but flew at Carlisle, launching herself at him. Carlisle caught her with one arm, hugging her as he held onto Carys' hand, and Carys curled her free hand into a fist. Her fingernails would likely leave marks in her palm.

"Carlisle!" Bella cried, pulling back just enough to tilt her head back and beam up at him. "You're back too!"

Carys ducked her head, her presence seemingly forgotten, and whispered, "Hiss hiss," under her breath.

Carlisle instantly released Bella, favouring her with a wide grin once she was no longer attached to his person. "It's lovely to see you, Bella," he said, his accent shifting back to the American/English hybrid he tended to use in public. "You had us all worried for a moment there."

Bella blushed, pulling her sleeves down over her hands, and ushered them inside the house. She seemed as hesitant to greet Carys as Carys had been to leave the car. The door closed behind them, and out of nowhere - or so it seemed to Carys - tiny arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, and Alice's face was pressed against her ribcage.

Carlisle released Carys' hand so that she could hug Alice back. He ruffled his daughter's hair affectionately before dropping a quick kiss to Carys' cheek, and was then more dragged than invited into the living room by Bella.

Carys tried to extricate herself from the embrace half a minute later, but Alice only tightened her hold. "Come on," Carys gently coaxed, giving her one last squeeze. "If you're not careful, anyone'd think you missed me."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't fully realise how bad it was," Alice told her, finally pulling away. Carys was surprised by the near militant look on her tiny angelic face. "I talked to Charlie this morning," she explained, her tinkling voice wavering slightly. "I thought maybe you were exaggerating some of it, but he said she was screaming. She lost all her friends... Refused to go home with Renée... He said-"

"All the things I said, but a little more?" Carys cut in dryly, raising her eyebrows.

Alice nodded, tried to go in for another hug, then stopped short when Carys blocked the attempt. "Mom..., I didn't realise what it was like for you either," she appealed, pausing when a faraway look came over her. When she came back to herself, her jaw set. "Mom."

Carys, her eyebrows still raised, lifted them further. "Yes, Alice?"

"I saw you at your hotel," Alice whispered harshly. "But Carlisle's going to say Garrett picked you up on the street... Care to explain?"

"You make that sound like I was touting for trade," Carys said with a faint smirk, sidestepping the question.

Alice was not so easily distracted. She grabbed Carys' hand and pulled her through to the living room, surprising Bella, who, having not heard their exchange as Carlisle had, paused in the middle of a sentence.

Bella and Carlisle were sitting on the sofa, at one end of which a blanket and pillow were piled on top of one another. With a quick shove, Alice pushed Carys down between them. She stood before the trio like a tiny superhero, hands-on-hips, caramel eyes hard, her lips pressed into an uncompromising line.

Carys felt the urge to point out how adorable she looked, but then Alice's eyes narrowed and she all but hissed.

Bella flinched, but Carys and Carlisle stayed exactly as they were. Carys narrowed her eyes and fixed Alice with an arch glare, but it was Carlisle who stopped her in her tiny tracks just as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I wouldn't if I were you," he warned, his tone suggesting he was more dissuading her from the fourth slice of cake than stopping a tirade.

Alice blinked, her resolve wavering. Carys and Bella looked at Carlisle, just in time to see his lips fall still, and then turned their attention back to Alice, who stared at the window, frowned for a few moments, and then walked over to Charlie's armchair and sat down.

Carys felt Carlisle's lips on her temple. "I reminded her it might be useful to make things up to you before she set about making them worse," he explained quietly.

Carys nodded and patted his knee. "Thanks, lovely," she praised under her breath.

"What's going on?" Bella all but demanded, nonplussed by the exchange. "What's happened?"

"Nothing to worry about," Carys assured her, leaning her shoulder against Carlisle's chest.

"Alice said you took up cliff diving?" Carlisle asked, efficiently changing the topic of conversation. He included both Bella and Alice when he continued, "Do we know why she couldn't see you after you entered the water?"

Carys perked up, interested in the answer. No wonder they'd raced home if that were the case. Alice would have thought Bella had died. Carlisle hadn't quite gone so far as to mention that part during their argument.

Bella squirmed in her seat. "Erm... Well, you see...," she mumbled, sending a look of appeal to Alice before giving in and admitting, "Jacob's a werewolf. It doesn't seem like Alice can see them."

Carys recoiled - not because of the fact there were werewolves, as much as Bella's ability to instantly out Jacob as one. She accepted it was important to know, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth all the same. Had Bella told Jacob about the Cullens? She wondered. About the inner workings of their family? Their abilities?

"He's a Black, is he-? Carys." Carlisle broke off with a mildly exasperated sigh when Carys snorted so hard she had to curl up and clutch her forehead.

It took the best part of half a minute for her to control herself. "Hmm," she hummed, the high-pitched sound coming from somewhere deep within. "Sorry. Sorry." Lips twisting, she pressed her forefinger and thumb along her lips and chin and attempted a mild expression. "Jacob Black, you were saying?"

"Yes...," Bella said. Not quite seeming to understand Carys' amusement, a crinkle formed in her forehead. "He told me about the treaty you made with his great-grandfather."

Carys sobered almost immediately.

"I wouldn't have thought he would have changed now," Carlisle mused aloud from just behind Carys' head. All the attention in the room was now fixed on Bella once again. "If he hadn't done so when we were here."

Bella squirmed anew. It was Alice who piped up to explain the situation further.

"Victoria's been here," she told them bitterly, practically spitting venom over the name. "She's been scouting out the land ever since we left. Laurent was here last week. The werewolves chased him away from Bella and destroyed him."

"What!?"

Carys and Carlisle had spoken in unison, their horrified exclamations lifting the air.

Carys grabbed Bella's hand. "Are you okay?" she asked urgently.

She could feel the air shift through her hair where Carlisle spoke against it, too low for them to hear. Alice's lips blurred in her peripheral vision. Bella nodded slowly, seemingly restless and slightly shamefaced.

"They got him before he hurt me," she said quietly. "If it wasn't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me instead, or Victoria would have by now."

Carys frowned lightly, casting her mind back to the year before. "I don't know why, but I'm not surprised he came back," she murmured, remembering the interest he held for both of them. "Can you tell us what happened? Or is it too...?"

Bella nodded eagerly, taking back her hand and sitting forward in her seat. "I told Alice last night. I was..., walking," she said, though the weight she put on the word suggested she was hiding something. "And he came across me. Victoria sent him to see if you-" she directed the 'you' to Carlisle "-were coming back soon, or if we weren't under your protection anymore."

"If it was last week...?" Carys waited for confirmation, then nodded. "He might not have known they were visiting Alaska, depending on when he left... Go on?"

Carlisle had stiffened when Carys mentioned Alaska. She wasn't sure why, but Bella didn't seem to notice.

"The werewolves have been changing because she's been crossing onto their land so often. I should have called when everything happened with Laurent, but I think I got a bit caught up, and, well..."

"You maybe didn't have my new number?" Carys supplied. Swallowing past a lump in her throat, she frowned her concern. "I'm sorry, I should've been there, but I was-" she broke off, glancing in Alice's direction.

Alice was staring at Bella - Carys couldn't be sure if that was because she was waiting for Bella's response, or because she now knew what Carys had been doing instead of being in Forks.

Bella waited, worrying her lip between her teeth until she had Carys' full focus once again. She then shook her head. "I had your number," she admitted softly. "Charlie put it in the address book... I was going to tell you when you got back, but by the time I found out about the werewolves, Sam had ordered Jacob not to tell anyone-"

Carys - who had been momentarily horrified by the knowledge that Bella had actively decided not to warn her about Laurent being back, or Victoria coming to look for the two of them specifically - zoned out of the conversation with a faint gasp as everything else clicked into place.

Sam... Jacob Black... Jacob had joined Sam's gang. If Sam's gang was actually his pack... That meant... Carlisle had been wrong. Leah had been wrong. The wolves were very much back in play.

Carys ran through the names of those she knew were either in the gang (it was difficult to switch immediately to calling them a pack) or closely affiliated with them.

Sam.

Jacob.

Jared.

Embry.

Emily.

What was Jared's girlfriend's name? Karen? Kate? Kim. Kim.

She was pretty sure there was a Pete or a Paul in the group somewhere as well.

Oh god..., she thought. They had been eyeing Seth up, the same way they had the others... What was it, Leah had said about Sue and Harry's argument? That Sue had thought Seth was too young for something?

Seth.

Sweet, caring, sudden-growth-spurt-having, too-old-for-his-age-looking, broken-hearted at the loss of his father, Seth was either a wolf or going to become one!?

Carys truly hoped there would be one day that she could find out about someone she knew being an actual real-life supernatural being and not feel the overwhelming urge to cast up whatever she had in her stomach...

Today was not that day.

Carys reached behind her, grabbed Carlisle's hand, and applied it to her forehead as she would an ice-pack.

Bella stopped mid-flow, her eyes widening with alarm.

"Go on," Carys urged her, battling sweet saliva as Carlisle moved his hand to better press his palm to her suddenly overheated skin.

Bella hesitantly continued, all the while staring at Carys as if she was unsure about her sanity. "... I..."

"I'm fine," Carys assured her, forcing her tone to suit her words. "Nothing to worry about - just a little 'oh my god, werewolves' sickness, but it'll pass. You were saying?"

Carys realised how much she'd missed when Bella eyed her warily and asked, "Well, if you're sure...? Have you heard about Harry?"

Carys closed her eyes briefly. "Yes," she whispered, opening them again. "I spoke to your dad earlier. Are you going to the funeral tomorrow?"

Bella shook her head. "Charlie said its just people from the Rez, and some extended family and friends from Forks and the Makah tribe," she explained. "He's helping with the preparations. He called you?"

Carys felt strangely hesitant to speak.

She felt as if after Bella's easy admittance of the werewolves' secret (though, she understood why she might have felt able or compelled to do so with Alice and Carlisle present), she couldn't be sure she could trust her to tell her too much. It definitely wouldn't be right to out Seth as a potential werewolf when she didn't have all the facts, and couldn't know for sure just yet if that was what was going on.

If she mentioned Leah, she would need to mention Seth, and then it would be omitting her assumption. Even if she was ultimately to be proven correct, she almost couldn't bear the thought of Alice hissing about Seth's being a werewolf as she had when mentioning the other wolves.

"Carys was invited," Carlisle supplied for her when she failed to respond. "She's rather close to Leah, his daughter."

"I know," Bella murmured slowly. "I'm sorry, you must have known him well by now."

Carys shook her head. Her eyes welled up, and she moved Carlisle's hand from her forehead, clutching it to her chest instead. "It's just... He was fine yesterday morning, and then... I'm sorry."

Alice slid to the edge of her seat, and Carlisle tugged Carys back against his chest.

They seemed to understand that she couldn't speak - though they could only have known one of the reasons - that she was shocked by his sudden death - and the conversation moved on without her for a while, with Alice and Bella leading, and Carlisle replying every so often.

Carys was thankful for that.

She wasn't ready to talk about Harry's death, nor was she ready to talk about the vampires in Seattle - though she knew it was hypocritical to feel as angry at Bella for not telling her about Laurent or Victoria as she did when she was doing much the same. If she was part of the conversation, someone would likely ask about her time in the city, and either she or Carlisle would tell them.

It was around an hour later that Carys' stomach growled as she checked her phone for the tenth time, still waiting to see if Leah or Sarah might respond, though she highly doubted they would.

Alice had migrated to sit cross-legged on the floor beside the sofa, and she and Carlisle were telling Bella about Esme's latest project - the restoration of a seventeenth-century house in the forest north of Ithaca. Carys had only been half-listening again - Esme had kept her updated from the moment she'd been brought on to revitalise the historical monument, as Alice had called it.

Carlisle shifted and spoke against Carys' hair, his voice rumbling through her again. "You're hungry, and I'm thirsty. We should get going, love."

Carys nodded. "And there's lots to talk about when those're taken care of," she whispered.

A/N: I understand Bella is still recovering, is "joyful" at Alice being back, and terrified she'll leave again but damn if this corresponding chapter in the book isn't maddening... I mean... Also, in the next chapter in the books, she talks about how she could choose to have Jacob belong to her... I dunno... Just doesn't quite sit right with me... Also, I love how Carlisle found out Carys likes coffee and croissants and just runs with it literally every morning.

Thank you to - chellekathrynnn, Riariabookworm (I'm glad you like him in this fic - especially so if you've not felt that way about him before - I love him, and I'm glad I've won him a new potential fan!), Missed a step (it's all the way back in chapter 26, when he tells her about his story, so quite a while back! Thank you so much!), souverian, mariananininiha, vancabreuniter, Ella (I know, right? It's a big thing they need to talk about, and definitely one they'll need time to discuss! I hope Alice's intentions were hinted at a little more in this chapter - we'll find out more when they have a chance to speak alone, or during the "big" conversation Carlisle and Carys are putting off!), Guest (I hope you're still with us! You probably would have seen by this point that it was the hikers making comments about her skin colour. I should probably go back and add that word!), jigglypuffs, Ghostwriter71, ReadLikeHermione, Love. Fiction. 2020, famawoo, TDI- Ryro- Eclares, and memory bleeds (less than three hours later, your wish is my command!) for your reviews!