A/N1: I had some trouble with deciding if I would put either this chapter, or the next chapter (from Bella's POV) first, and honestly don't think the order matters that much. I chose to put this chapter first because it flows better with the chronological time line, however. So that's why this chapter is also from Carlisle's POV instead of (as promised) the BellaPOV first. This also means that the next two chapters will be from Bella's point of view - I'm currently working on/editing those chapters.

Hope you guys like it!


The house in Forks was nice. He had not expected anything else. Esme had impeccable taste.

The house was also very empty. The movers were a day late.

"We should leave," he said, lifting Rosalie from the couch into his arms. She curled herself into him. It made him smile. "I don't want to be late."

"We have toddler twins, they'll have to cut us some slack," Esme said, wriggling her feet into high heels. "It's just a church barbeque anyway, nobody cares if we're a little late."

"You are the one who always emphasises how important socialising is," he said, half-joking.

"I know, I know." She stood up and took Alice from the couch. "Let's go."


Upon their arrival, they were welcomed by pastor Swan. "Welcome, welcome," he said, leading them to the courtyard where the barbeque was already in full swing.

"We've set up a play area over there," he pointed, "for the small kids."

"Great!" Esme took Rosalie from Carlisle and immediately strolled away, off to the play area.

Carlisle felt naked without his girls, and looked at the ground. Socialising wasn't his thing.

"Come join me at the grill," the pastor said, picking up on Carlisle's discomfort easily. "I'm sure you'll be a much better judge of when the meat is ready."

Carlisle chuckled, his discomfort sliding off now that he had a job to do. "I guess, yeah." He took the tong of the side of the grill and gave it a few clicks.

"How's Forks treating you guys?" the pastor asked kindly, casually.

"Good, good," Carlisle mumbled, turning over some of the meat. "The um. The movers are delayed, so our stuff doesn't arrive until tomorrow."

"Inconvenient."

"It's okay, we'll manage, it's only one more night, and we already got some stuff we needed when we arrived so…" He didn't know what else to say.

"Let us know if you need anything," the pastor said before clapping Carlisle on the shoulder in a friendly way, "I'm gonna go check on the teens."

"Uh, okay…" Before Carlisle could think to protest - and what would I say anyway? Please don't leave me? I'm a grown adult, I should be able to handle a barbecue - the pastor stepped away.

No one else came to bother him, not even to get the meat that was done, so he slowly relaxed a little, and looked around. It was moderately busy, and everyone was split off in little groups, chatting, eating and playing games. The homely atmosphere made him feel a little more at ease.

"Dr. Cullen!"

Alarmed, he raised his head in the direction of the voice, expecting to be needed in professional capacity. A young woman jogged towards him. She did not look distressed, and he relaxed a little. Her eyes were big and dark, and her hair was up in braids. There was something ethereal about her, something distinctly non-human. He looked away before she came too close.

"It's so nice to see you again!" She beamed at him.

"Oh, hello, ahm…" he turned a little to face her again.

"Isabella," she said, gesturing at herself. "How are you, did you finally move to Forks?"

"We did," he mumbled, turning over the hamburgers. "It's our first time living in a mixed community."

"I'm sure you'll find it to your liking, we're all very welcoming."

"I'm aware." He realised his voice lacked inflection, but he had no idea what emotion to emulate for this conversation.

Isabella moved her weight from foot to foot before stepping closer to him. "Here, why don't I take over for you."

"Oh it's - it's okay," he murmured, looking down.

"Don't you want to play with your girls?" She motioned towards the play area with one of her hands, the question not only in her tone, but in her body language as well.

"Esme's got it covered, thank you." There had been a reason Esme had removed herself from him upon their arrival, and although he had no idea it was, he didn't want to get in the way of her schemes.

Isabella shifted her weight again, stepping away from him. "Well, if you're sure…" Her tone was polite, albeit a little confused.

Carlisle tried to think of something to say, but came up with nothing.

"Baby!" A man, equally ethereal, equally beautiful, simply equal to Isabella came up to them. He kissed her deeply, holding her tight against him with an arm around her waist and a hand buried in her lush, shiny braids.

When they seperated, Isabella was blushing and looking somewhat uncomfortable. She leaned into the embrace of the man, however, saying, "this is my fiance, Edward."

"It's nice to meet you." Carlisle extended his hand to Edward, forcing him to let go of Isabella. There was something about the possessive way he curled himself around the girl that made Carlisle feel sorry for her. She appeared to feel embarrassed.

Edward's face contorted into one of dissatisfaction for a fraction of a second, before letting go of Isabella to shake Carlisle's hand. "Likewise. I understand you're new to the congregation?"

"We just moved here," Carlisle confirmed. "Esme's flipping houses and I got a job at the local hospital. We're still looking for childcare options, so for now, Esme's been taking the girls with her to work."

Edward hummed and pulled Isabella back to his side, wrapping an arm around her and trapping her against his body posessively. "Well, church is a great place to recruit a few babysitters."

Carlisle managed a discomforted chuckle. "I can't deny we haven't thought about that."

"Maybe Isabella can help you guys out."

Carlisle noted how Edward's hand dropped to Isabella's hip, performing his ownership of her further - though Carlisle could not understand why. It wasn't as if he was a threat to Edward. He was happily married to Esme.

"I'm sure I can help out." The words came out of Isabella's mouth in a practised, composed way.

She probably has to pick up jobs like this all the time, being the pastor's daughter. I'll make sure to give her a way out, just in case she's just being polite. "Thanks, I'll make sure to ask Esme what she thinks." Carlisle stepped away from the grill a little, and Edward stepped into the space he'd left, taking over the spot of main-griller without complaint.

"Uh-huh," Isabella nodded, looking at her fiance.

"Thanks again." Carlisle stepped further away from the grill, looking around for a conversation he could join.

When he didn't find one, he made his way over to the play area. Esme was chatting with another woman, and he simply stepped close to her, touching her hand to let her know he was back. She turned towards him with a little smile to confirm she understood, and made space next to her for him. "Anette, this is my husband, Carlisle."

He stepped into the space, curling an arm around her and smiled at Anette.

"Oh, the doctor?" Anette said. Her tone was an uncomfortably high pitch. "I'll say, you've won the lottery, Esme, with a husband like that."

"Oh, shush," Esme laughed.

Mildly embarrassed - why do women always talk about me like that? - Carlisle tuned out of their conversation, letting their chatter wash over him as just noise, not as something he needed to filter or pay attention to. It was easier that way.

Esme pinched the skin of his back together between her fingers to make him pay attention, and he immediately nodded, "uh-huh…"

Esme nodded almost imperceptibly.

"... definitely," he added, having no idea what he just agreed to. Esme would take care of it, regardless.

"Wonderful!" Anette smiled. She was going to say something else, but then one of her children came up to her, asking for food. "I'm sorry," Anette apologised, taking her child by the hand, "we need to go get some food. It was nice meeting you!"

The rest of the barbecue was much of the same - Esme socialised while Carlisle smiled and nodded. His personal highlight of the night was when he could sink down in one of the garden chairs with both of his girls in his lap, humming a made-up melody for them until they both fell asleep in his arms.


The hospital was a breath of fresh air for him, even as he stepped inside on his first day.

Most people already knew him, and greeted him casually regardless of their rank in relation to his. It was new, but he liked it. Forks wasn't big - not big enough to warrant the formality and hierarchical structures larger hospitals often developed.

He entered the staff room to grab a cup of coffee before heading off to his official department - neurology - and was greeted by one of his nurses. "Good morning, Dr. Cullen!"

"Good morning, Gloria," he replied, pouring her a cup of coffee too. "How are you?"

"I'm all good, you?" She took the coffee from him with a grateful smile.

"Oh, you know…" He rubbed his eyes with a sigh before admitting, "life with toddler twins is…"

"Exhausting?" Gloria finished in a part-questioning, part-jesting tone.

"Oh, definitely." The coffee was blazing hot as it went down his throat and tears sprung to his eyes. At least I'm awake now. He took the second sip a little more carefully. "The girls were out like a nightlight last night, after the barbecue."

"Barbecue?" With a glance at the clock, Gloria rose from her seat, starting to grab her stuff.

"Uh-huh," he nodded, "the church barbecue? I understood from pastor Swan that they do it every year at the end of summer, before the kids all go back to school." They left the staff room and started to make way for neurology.

"I hadn't pegged you for the religious type, Dr. Cullen," Gloria said, her tone a precarious balance between friendly and curious.

He looked at her, frowning a little. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No, no, of course not," she hurried to say. They arrived at the neurology hallway and she quickly took her place at the nurses' station.

"Alright," he said, quietly, not necessarily for her, although she seemed put at ease by it regardless. Stepping behind the counter with her, he flipped open the general planner to check the appointments of the day. Forks General was a very small hospital, so there were only two days where he worked as an actual neurologist. He had one day a week to work on rehabilitation and quality-of-life plans for his patients, and the other two days he was on call for the emergency room. The latter could be extremely boring work, especially in a small town like Forks. It was unlikely he would be treating complicated injuries - most of all, he anticipated hunting accidents and hiking injuries, considering Forks' nearness to the Olympic National park.

"Huh…"

"Is there anything I can assist with, Dr. Cullen?" Gloria asked, sounding polite yet eager to get him out of her hair.

"I was just…" He shook his head. "Never mind. Are you guys used to keeping a separate calendar for the doctor, or is it just the general planner?"

"Just the general planner."

"If I left my own one here, could you write my appointments in for me?" he asked, making his tone as polite and friendly as he could. "I know there's the computer system too, but I'm afraid I'm a real-paper kind of person."

Gloria blinked, surprised. "Um. Okay. We can do that."

He dug his agenda out of his bag and placed it on the desk. "Thank you." Before leaving the nurses' station, he cast one more look at the general planner, one set of names springing out at him in particular.

13:00-15:00. General checkup Isabella Swan and Edward Masen.


A/N2: As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts and read your comments. See you guys again soon!