Chapter Info

Title: Breaking the Rule

Number: 6/?

Warnings: Angst

Author's Note: I just want to take a moment to thank all of you incredible people! I just started posting this story roughly a week ago and already I have over a thousand views, and many favorites and follows! It's astounding and just...thank you so much! I would love to hear more of your thoughts! Anything, constructive criticism, your thoughts on the characters, pointers, general comments, questions...I would love see more of your reviews and thoughts on the story! And a shoutout to Goldierlover who has commented on each chapter! Thank you very much! Once again, thank you all!

Goldielover: I agree! Definitely a mouthful so I enjoyed the nickname Nessie when they gave it to her. But personally I still like Carlie better, but that could be because Carlisle and Charlie have always been my two favorite characters in the series so I like seeing them honored like that. :) As for your other comments, I hope this chapter answers it! Thanks for reading and comment!

-Abigail-

Even though she knew it wasn't her fault, she was still nervous about Monday. She knew that Carlisle was a surgeon in the ER which meant she would be working with him pretty closely as it could get kind of tight in the trauma rooms. Part of her wanted to call in sick, but she decided she was still new enough that it would be bad practice, plus she didn't want his reaction to her to ruin her career. So he doesn't like you, big deal, she thought, though it made her shudder and actually tear up. Angrily she pushed the tears aside and forced herself into the car with Beth to head for Forks Community.

"Hey, Brett!" she called to the on-call doctor as she headed for the lounge that was for staff only and included lockers for the nurses and doctors along with a small kitchenette, a couple tables, and a couch. Beth said goodbye at the elevator to go up to the third floor where maternity was. Abigail was all smiles until Dr. Cullen was spotted reading through a medical journal on the couch. She knew his sabbatical ended at the end of last week—Maybe he really did have a meeting, it could've been about his return to work, she thought to herself, though she wasn't sure she believed it. Still, it was better than the irrational fear that he hated her for no reason.

Sighing silently, she headed in to her locker, gulping as she felt eyes land on her, though she didn't look up as she busied herself looking through her bag for her badge and thermos of coffee that she always brought with her. The thermos was easy and she set that atop the locker, but her badge seemed to have disappeared. Her eyebrows furrowed with frustration and she finally took out her wallet, keys, and phone to search without the clutter.

Please tell me I didn't forget it, she thought irritably. She shoved everything back in and checked the inside pocket she never used before tossing her bag in and searching the pockets of her dark purple, gray, and black plaid peacoat. She sighed as she found it in the right pocket, wondering how it got there as she always tossed it in her bag, but she had been off lately so she supposed she wasn't completely shocked. The jacket was tossed in next along with her thermos, knowing it would keep mostly warm, before heading over to set her bagged lunch inside the fridge, clipping her badge on the bottom hem of her scrub top as she went.

She was proud of herself, she hadn't looked at Dr. Cullen once, even though she still felt his eyes on her. No use torturing yourself like this, Abi. He's just a man; forget about him. But even as she thought it, she knew he would never be "just a man."

Turning to head for the door, she gasped and stumbled backwards against the door to the fridge as someone suddenly blocked her path. Hands shot out to steady her, and her gaze whipped up, her breath slamming out in one strangled gasp as she stared into Dr. Topaz Eyes himself. His face was as blank as it had been the other day, at least at first, but then he smiled kindly, if a bit sadly—Oddly enough—as he made sure she was steady in her footing.

"Miss Goodwin, I didn't mean to startle you. My apologies."

Between his smile and the words he finally honored her with, her heart all but stopped in her chest as her mind raced for something to say that didn't sound totally stupid. He stayed patient as she worked through...whatever it was that was happening in her mind, and finally she managed to get herself under control enough to shake her head.

"I-I'm fine, Dr. Cullen. Thank you." She took a step away, unable to concentrate with his cold, lovely long fingers keeping her trapped. Well, it felt that way, or maybe it was his eyes... Blinking quickly, she cleared her head and got her heart going again, giving him a quick answering smile. "And you can just call me Abigail. Or Abi." She shrugged. "Whichever you want."

He chuckled and it was the most amazing sound in the world; she found herself leaning closer to hear it and try and seem nonchalant at the same time. His arms went to lock behind his back and his eyes fell to their feet. "Very well, Abigail." He paused for a moment. "That's a very beautiful name. Has anyone ever told you before?"

My damn heart, she thought as once again she struggled to keep it working. Slowly she shook her head, matching his small smile. "Never," she breathed. "But thank you." She reached up to tuck a piece of stray hair behind her ear, ready to speak, when the lounge door burst open and she jumped.

Her eyes widened, she looked over to see Dr. Jones—aka Brett—peak in with a frown on his face. "We have an accident coming in. Nothing major, but we could use your help, Abs?"

Abigail let out a breath and nodded, ignoring the annoyance than sprang up at the nickname, and gave Carlisle another smile. "Excuse me, Dr. Cullen." She slid around him, headed for the door.

"Abigail?" Her name brought her to a halt and she turned slightly, looking back at the beautiful man before her, his topaz eyes twinkling at her.

"Yes?" she managed to ask.

"You can call me Carlisle." He paused. "Please." Her eyebrows raised in surprise and slowly she smiled again, wider this time, feeling it light up her face even as she felt a bit bashful. Don't be stupid, he's just being polite because you're friends with his kids.

"I'll see you later, Carlisle." Ducking her head, she followed after Dr. Jones quickly to enter the trauma room.

.x.x.x.x.

-Carlisle-

"I'll see you later, Carlisle." The words rang through his memory as he wandered down to his office. His shift started in a half an hour, but he always like to be early to through his patient files, especially having been gone as long as he had. He hadn't expected to see Abigail first thing and he very nearly left, but he knew he couldn't avoid her forever. She was friends with his kids, and now they worked together. Just like old times, he thought sadly. But speaking with her, his name slipping off her tongue... It was the most beautiful sound in the world and he longed to hear it every single day.

Because no matter what he said, no matter what he tried to hide, the truth of the matter was that he had felt something when he saw her, the feelings buried so deep he thought he had forgotten them. But they were the same feelings he had when he first saw her on the battlefield in 1776 and again every moment he saw her until her last breath in 1955. The sight, the sound of her death never left his mind, haunting him. He never forgot it, never let himself think of anything but that sound for the last fifty years. It's why he spent so long in that silent state, to force every thought to be of her, to make sure every moment of eternity he was tortured with the sound of her body being ripped in two, the sound of her falling limply to the ground, the sight of her being tossed in that burning barrel like garbage.

Only Edward, he supposed, knew how much he thought of her and he hated to torture his son with it, too. He hoped by now the boy stopped listening, tuned into other frequencies because all Carlisle's mind included was his own personal hell, replaying the night he lost his love and his life due to his own failures.

It was because of these failures that he knew, that he firmly decided, he would never pursue any type of relationship with her now. For some reason, somehow and some way, she was given a second chance at a human life. He knew his Abigail was in there, firmly believed that this was his love come back to life, to him. Reincarnation was never in his beliefs, and he wasn't sure if that were even what happened now, but it didn't matter how it happened, only that it did. So he wouldn't take it away from her, because despite the beast inside him roaring to make her his once again, take her and claim her as he had so many years ago, he knew he couldn't do it. He had a better hold of his monster and he would fight it. He took away her life twice before, and now it was her turn to live it. The urge to protect was even more powerful than that to possess, but she had good friends like Charlie and Billy that would look after her.

Truth was, though, he wasn't sure how much longer he could live by her side without being with her. As difficult as it was now, watching her be happy without him would be too much. He knew by letting her go, by not having her remember him and not pursing a relationship, that meant that she would eventually find someone else to be with. His monster roared with fury, but he ignored it studiously as he got up to begin his shift.

Stepping out the door, he paused because the object of his aching agony stood not twenty feet in front of him. His office opened into the main room and she stood leaning over the desk speaking with Mackenzie, the receptionist. He took that moment, that selfish moment to watch her eyes light up and sparkle, her soft pink lips pull into a grateful smile, her lightly tanned skin flush with blood and hiding her rhythmically beating heart. It was music to him, hearing her alive and human again.

The beast saw Dr. Brett Jones before he did, his ochre eyes zeroing in on the way his hand settled far too familiarly and casually on the small of her back. She turned to him, the smile lifting her lips higher. He spoke and she nodded before turning to wave to Mackenzie, then let Dr. Jones lead her way, hand still on her lower back. The beast was contained, but just barely, rattling furiously behind the cage as wave after wave of jealousy and fury raged over him. He actually began to tremble a little, but his facial expression told nothing of his inner turmoil or rage.

Battling down the monster, he headed to Mackenzie to speak about patients, knowing without a doubt he would never survive watching her be happy with another man. It would kill him.

.x.x.x.x.

-Abigail-

Near the end of her shift, Beth found her in the lounge and excitedly told her about a date tonight. It was with some lab tech from maternity—Rick something—and she wanted to borrow the car. Abigail knew that meant she would be walking, but she gracefully handed over the keys and hugged a squealing Beth. She just laughed and ignored the way her feet already hated her. She bribed them with a hot bath when she got home, but they didn't want to forgive her quite so easily until she forked over the goods.

At seven she clocked out, grabbing her coat and bag before heading out for the twenty minute walk. It was dark out, of course, and she cursed herself when she realized she forgot one of her dad and Charlie's most important rules: never walked alone in the dark without a flashlight and pepper spray. She was breaking the rule completely as she took out her keys to try and make it a little better, putting different keys between her fingers as a makeshift weapon.

Better than nothing, she thought. She was lost in her own thoughts as she walked, flipping between her dream, the hot bath, her tired feet, and that morning's conversation with Carlisle. So lost, in fact, she hadn't realized that a car had sped up and pulled up alongside her until a horn beeped.

She squeaked and jumped, looking over in fear at an unfamiliar black car. She was all ready to run, feet stumbling back, holding the keys tighter, when the passenger window rolled down, and her lips parted in shock.

"Alice?" she sputtered, noticing a second later the irritation coloring the girl's face.

"What in the hell are you doing?" she quickly jumped out, putting her hands on her hips. "You're lucky Emmett and I happened to be driving this way." A quick glance inside and Abigail saw the bear-sized man from the wedding sitting in the driver's seat silently, not looking at her. She hadn't met him yet, maybe that's why he didn't care. "You could've gotten hurt!"

"I have my keys," she mumbled lamely, holding them up for a second but Alice's expression had her dropping her arm and looking at her feet like a scolded child because that's exactly what she felt like. "It's just a twenty minute walk, Alice."

"I don't care. Get in." Without another word she climbed back in the car and shut the door roughly. Abigail gawked at her, ready to balk and argue, but one more look from Alice had her scrambling for the back door. As soon as it was shut, Emmett squealed off, quickly bringing the speedometer up past eighty. She forced herself not to look out the window in fear of what she would see.

The car ride was silent and she could tell Alice was still fuming, but as they passed her place and then Charlie's quickly, she frowned. "My house is—" She stopped at Alice's expression.

"We're going to ours," Alice said simply. Abigail's feet complained loudly, wanting that bath, but she wasn't willing to speak up for them as they drove along the old highway. Without the twinkling fairy lights, she never would've seen the drive way, but Emmett clearly had no problem finding it. The three mile lane was bumpier in the car than Harry's Blazer so she hung on as they got closer, eventually opening into the meadow. It looked a lot different without the wedding decor, but she loved how it looked naturally, too.

Emmett pulled up into a garage already full with other cars that sat next to the house. She was taking in the red BMW convertible next to them when the door opened and Emmett's hand was there in eyesight. She hadn't even realized they had gotten out, so Abigail just sheepishly took his hand and allowed Alice to lead them inside, Emmett still beside her but his hand had moved to the small of her back.

The house looked a lot bigger inside than it even seemed outside and she gaped at the large kitchen and dining room that opened into an even larger great room. The whole family seemed to be there doing different activities: Edward sat at the piano with a small girl with long bronze-colored hair, Bella stood to the side watching them silently with a small smile on her face, a blonde girl sat playing chess by herself to which Emmett quickly joined, Carlisle stood off to the side silently staring out the window, and on the couch was none other than a grinning Jacob Black. She had no idea he was even friends with the Cullens and the sight of her good friend made her squeal and launch herself across the room and into his arms.

The boy laughed loudly as he stood, easily catching her and holding her against his warm body. Like Charlie, he lifted her right off her feet so she dangled about a foot or so in the air, her face pressed against his shoulder with his happy laugh in her ear. He all but swung her around, which he probably would've done except for the coffee table in the way, but there was still enough room for the hug.

"God, I missed you," Jacob breathed against her ear.

"It's your fault, kid. You made yourself a stranger."

"Hey, you're the one who was in Seattle."

"I've been back for five months! And I'm at Billy's nearly every weekend with Charlie." She clicked her tongue and pulled back, narrowing her eyes at his childish, grinning face. He was almost seventeen, but she was glad to still see the kid in him.

Slowly he lowered her to her feet, making sure she didn't stumble around the coffee table. "Sure, you hang out with everyone but me, and it's my fault."

"Of course it is," she said with a wink before giving him another hug, but around the waist this time, face pressed against his warm chest. It was comforting to be with someone who knew her so well, someone she's known for most her life, when a lot of the world seemed to be so foreign to her.

Slowly she turned to the others and they had odd looks on their faces, but it wasn't something she could place. Heat rose to her cheeks and she reached up to push escaped pieces of hair behind her ear. "Sorry," she said self-consciously, eyes moving round the room and shyly catching Carlisle's for a second.

A blank, yet resolved expression stayed on his face and she felt...well, almost disappointed. She thought the conversation that morning meant he didn't hate her, yet he was looking at her now as he had at her house the other night. Quickly her mind flipped through the day; she hadn't even seen him again after that first contact. Then it flashed over the other day, and without meaning to, through her nightmares and how they transformed because of him.

A choking sound made her looked over at the piano in alarm where Bella was rubbing Edward's back soothingly. "Swallowed his gum," she said and Abigail raised an eyebrow, but accepted it. It almost felt like he was reacting to her thoughts of her nightmares, but that was impossible so she shook away the notion immediately. In doing so, she turned to Alice who's expression had turned back to the irritation from the car and her cheeks darkened even more, making her look glumly to her feet.

"Want to explain?"

"Beth took my car for a date and I've walked home alone in the dark dozens of times in Seattle, I didn't think anything of it here..." One glance back to Alice told her that was the wrong thing to say as her irritation changed to anger.

"In Seattle?! Do you know how dangerous that is?!" Abigail simply shrugged. Alice sighed. "Look, if you need a ride, call one of us. Or ask Carlisle, he leaves around the same time you do. But don't walk alone, even for the twenty minutes."

"I'm sorry. I'll call you next time. I honestly didn't think it would be such a big deal." Her parents, Charlie, Billy... They would be angry, but none would react like she committed a felony. What made this time so different? What made these people so different? It's like...like she was too precious for them to lose, and their fear come out in anger. Though the closer she looked, the more she realized there was fear there hidden behind the mask. Bone-deep terror and it made her eyes widen in shock. She barely knew them, they barely knew her, why were they so concerned for a girl they didn't even know? I'm nothing to them, she thought, trying to decide if she heard another sound from Edward, but let it go.

Slowly she stepped closer to Alice and the girl's anger drained into that fear that Abigail saw in barely a second, and a moment later she was wrapped up in Alice's cold arms. Are they always this cold? she randomly wondered, noting the stark contrast of Jacob's warm skin, but neither bothered her because it just suited them.

She smiled gently and hugged her back, arms tight—though not as tight as Alice's, as if she were afraid to let Abigail go—and murmured, "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. It'll take more than some crazed man in a dark alley to take me down."

She meant it as a joke, trying to lighten the situation as that's just what she did, but another noise from Edward and a shudder from Alice made her shut up and clung to the pixie girl as if her life depended on it.

Author's Note: I don't think I've mentioned before, but there are some Easter eggs, if you will, with the side characters in this story. They're from another fandom, one of my favorites. :D If you've noticed, you're awesome.