AN: Thank you to all those that have followed or reviewed - you're encouraging me to get this out faster than I had originally planned!

Here's a touch of Carlisle backstory for you. Don't worry; there is much more to come.

* I do not own Twilight or the characters within this story, nor the songs.

﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄

"And my world it drifts apart
From the one that remains
And I now long for this place and
I want to be free from these chains."

Even When I'm Gone - Quietdrive

﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄

Carlisle ✦ Hourglass ✦ Amnesia

'Patient in Ward Three, bed four needs a check-up for discharge.' Cally, the head nurse of the hospital had informed me.

'Of course,' I had replied, glancing up at her with ochre orbs from my office desk, which had been littered with paperwork. 'I'll be right there'.

I peered up at the clock above the entry – six o'clock in the evening. Thank goodness there were only just over four hours left of my shift. I could not wait to return home.

Alice had organised a movie night with everyone - Well, almost everyone - and it had been a while since we had all been at home base at once. Rosalie and Emmet had been constantly leaving to travel the world, while Esme had been making recurring trips back to Ithica. Alice and Jasper often stayed in Maine, though every so often they'd make a shopping trip to New York. It would be nice to spend the time with them all together at once, but it had still not felt complete without Edward here. Though, if I had been honest to myself, our coven had not felt complete since when we last departed from Forks.

We had been in Maine for three years now. It had not felt right to stay in Ithica after the events that had transpired whilst we were there. So, we packed up, we moved to a newly bought house that we had never lived in before – a lovely 'little' Chalet at the base of the mountain – and very honestly, other than Forks, nothing had felt more like home for a long time – for me at the least.

Alice had decked out our Chalet with a lavish library, a home theatre and a games room. I cherished the time spent with Jasper and Alice. Although I spent most of my spare time invested in medical journals and research papers, sometimes she and Jasper convinced me to try their new and modern board games with them.

I settled into a job as a general surgeon with this little rural hospital. We were often surprisingly busy as we often doubled as a GP for nearby residents. Usually, we didn't have anything too serious come through our doors but every so often we had some emergencies.

The hospital was a rather long distance from home - about an hour's drive - but I loved our charming home in the mountains. I loved the peaceful drive home. I loved it even more in winter when the trees and mountainside were painted in white

Esme had grown ever distant since Edward's departure. I had tried to keep her close, but every time I tried to pull her in, I felt her push further away. I let out a sigh at the thought. I knew it would take her some time after those events three years ago, but I had hoped by now that she would open her heart to me once more. She had largely closed herself off from me. She didn't often speak about how she felt. We spoke on the phone of late more than face to face.

But lately, with her trips to Ithica, she had seemed happier. She had said that it reminded her of him, and she felt more at home there. Our feelings it seemed, had not aligned, but she was also not willing to accept my offers to move back there with her. So, she had gone there often. I told her I would support her through anything that she needed, and I would. She'd return; I'd wrap my arms around her in an embrace. She'd melt into them.

We just held kindred comfort for each other; holding onto one another through our sorrow and regret. Together, knowing what we could have done to prevent everything.

If only we had never left Forks...

Rosalie and Emmet had only just returned from Paris last Tuesday, and I had been so busy at the hospital I had barely seen them since their arrival.

I returned my gaze to the endless pile, swiftly signing the bottom of the sheet that was on top. I would finish these with haste later, when no human eyes were upon me.

I proceeded to stand up and leave the room.

I made my way down the hall to Ward Three, turning a corner to enter.

I swept my fingers through my hair as I approached the patient. This kid had been in here five times in the past four weeks alone. I laughed inwardly. He had certainly reminded me of a certain brunette that was once a crucial part of our lives, and in many ways still was. Part of my stilled heart twinged at the thought.

Scruffy dirty blond hair, grazes covering his knees and elbows, his right arm in a sling; he could not have been older than fifteen. I wondered how much time had passed since I had been fifteen, young and careless. Perhaps I had never been that care-free. He seemed enthralled with the small screen hung from the ceiling at the end of his bed.

I approached the bed-end slowly as to not perturb him, taking in his full name on the whiteboard behind on the wall; 'Benjamin Locker'.

'Hey Benjamin, feeling better?' I asked, kindness trickling out through my gaze.

He jumped slightly, somehow not having detected my presence despite me making an effort to be apparent. I found sometimes even our friendly coven just had that effect on humans; they may not know why, but they tended to be wary of us. And they did have good reason to be.

'Oh, hey doc!' I was rewarded with a grateful grin. 'Much better thanks, I can barely feel any pain in my arm with the meds you gave me!'

'I'm glad to hear it. You will need to keep the cast on for at least 3 weeks. Thankfully it wasn't a nasty break. You do need to be more careful next time though, I'm sure you're sick of this place, by now.' I laughed heartily, folding my arms and allowing a smirk to settle on my lips.

'Come on now, it totally wasn't my fault! That rabbit came out of nowhere, I swear. I had to dodge it!' he pouted, raising his free arm in a melodramatic fashion. He had been skateboarding in the park in the next town over.

'Mhmm,' I picked up the clipboard attached to his bed. 'You better tell those rabbits to watch out then, or otherwise, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to believe that your visits are intended,' I chuckled.

'Hmmph,' he huffed.

I began to tick the boxes of his discharge form and wrote some notes about aftercare, though I'm sure he'd heard it all before. His X-ray had shown the remnants of numerous previous fractures and breaks, just in the one limb!

After explaining my notes to him, I called the nurse to discharge him and took my leave; it was time to deal with those overflowing piles of paperwork.

I continued to routinely visit patients throughout the rest of my evening shift in between completing paperwork; I had been due to finish at ten-fifteen tonight. It had been a long, eighteen-hour shift as a few of the other doctors were on leave. I couldn't help but smile as I slipped off my white coat into the laundry basket.

We'd had nothing overly interesting happen today, and although I liked to make use of my expertise, I preferred uneventful days; for one less chance for me to lose a light in this world was one more chance for me to be redeemed.

I glanced at my watch; ten-past-ten. Thank the Heavens. Only five more minutes. I sighed in relief as I leant back in my office chair, bringing my hands up behind my head and interlacing my fingers. I really did love it in this quaint rural hospital. I loved the people, the small regional towns that surrounded it, the slow hustle and bustle that ran through our wards. But I could not wait to go home.

﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄