Chapter 2

Carlisle and I were alone for a long time. Even though we acted like brother and sister around the humans we had more of a father-daughter bond. I could tell that Carlisle was missing having a mate and I longed for him to find one. I just wanted him to be happy, I knew he was happy doing what he did and having me around but it isn't the same as having a mate, if he found his mate he would be whole and totally happy.

We would stay in one place for a maximum of seven years, and that was really pushing it. Carlisle and I both had several bank accounts throughout the world with several different names, it was the easiest way to get around suspicion. In 1923 Carlisle found his mate and I was ecstatic. Her names was Esme. She was brought into the hospital that we were working in at the time. Apparently she had jumped off of a cliff to try and kill herself after her baby boy died weeks after birth.

Carlisle had been working in the morgue at that point while I was working in the Intensive Care Unit. Esme had been taking right to the morgue since the humans thought that she was dead but Carlisle was able to hear her slight heartbeat. He told me that once he saw her, though she was almost dead, he knew it was her, he had to save her and protect her. He snuck her out, leaving work early, and bit her to start he change as he ran her home.

When I arrived home I was shocked to find this screaming woman in the house.

"Carlisle, what is this?" I asked as I walked into his bedroom which was where he and the woman were. I mainly asked since I was shocked that Carlisle was actually changing someone into a vampire.

"Bella, please don't worry or think bad of me." Carlisle said standing up and looking to me then down to the floor like he was ashamed.

"Carlisle, just tell me. I don't think bad of you, I am more shocked then anything." I said going to him and hugging him.

"Bella, she is the one for me. The humans all thought she was dead, they brought her to the morgue, but she wasn't, she had a very faint heartbeat. I just couldn't let her die." He said still sounding ashamed.

"Carlisle, you saved her then, stop beating yourself up. After her transformation is complete she will have another chance at life. Really, there is no need to feel so guilty. When she wakes up I am ninety-seven percent sure that she will feel the same way for you that you feel for her, though her bloodlust might be more powerful at first." I said to him as I got him to sit back down.

"Bella, you are to kind to me and always have a good head on your shoulders." Carlisle said with a sad smile and a look of hurting in his eyes.

"I just want you to be happy. You are a great friend of mine, and in all honesty a father to me. I just want you to have the happiness that you deserve, you are an outstanding man and the fact that you are a vampire and do so much more than what most humans do, you definitely deserve to be happy." I said. "I am going to cover for Margret in the Emergency room and then do my shifts as well. I just came home to get a couple changes of clothes and to do a quick hunt before going back. I will let the hospital know that you just received word that our father died and that you already left to help our mother and that I will be leaving in a couple days seeing as we will have to move now." I said to him as I walked out of the room.

Carlisle stopped me before I got out of sight. "Thank you Bella, you really are a fantastic being."

"Well thank you Carlisle, but it really is no problem. And I am truly happy for you, I am not just saying it so please stop beating yourself up. I can hear her thoughts, she can hear us and finds your voice to be very musical and she can't imagine anything better which is already a good sign. Haven't you noticed how she isn't screaming as much since we started talking." I said with a huge smile on my face, I really could not contain my joy for him.

"Oh how I wish you could stay and tell me everything that passes through her thoughts. I just want to know everything about her." He said wistfully.

"If it wouldn't be suspicious and if I hadn't told Margret I would cover for her I would but it is not wise to do so Carlisle, I am truly sorry about that." I said, and I really was. I wanted nothing more than to grant Carlisle his wish and tell him everything that she thought so he knew just how much she already wanted him as her husband. She had picked up on the word vampire that I had said and was a little nervous about that but she seemed ok with it if it meant she could be with Carlisle, the heavenly man that saved her.

Carlisle never left her side and was always whispering encouragements and apologies to her non-stop. I was happy that I only had to cover two of Margret's shifts so I was able to be home when Esme woke up to her new life. The hospital took my story that I fed them with no problem, they gave their sympathy and told me that Carlisle and I were welcome to go back when we were ready. I had to tell them that it sounded like we were moving back home and would not be returning.

When Esme woke up she was a little crazy in her need for blood. She almost attacked Carlisle until she heard him talk and then she snapped out of it, realizing that he was the man with the heavenly voice. Her eyes immediately changed to hold a look of love. Her thoughts all centered around him, taking in his appearance, his scent, his stance, and his voice. Everything about him she loved and she really had to control herself to not ambush him. I decided that it be best to read her thoughts until we were certain that there was a very, very slim chance of her attacking a human

"Hello Esme, I am Bella. I think we should take you to hunt so we can help relieve the burning in your throat since you already know what you have become." I said to her which drew her attention to me for the first time. Her thoughts were very maternal towards me right off the bat which shocked me. Right away she wanted to protect me and make sure I was happy, she wanted to take me under her wing and show me how to do everything that mothers show daughters. Little does she know that I have seen a lot more of the world and have been around for longer than she has.

She smiled at me and said, "Nice to meet you Bella. It would be nice to soothe this burning but I don't want to kill anyone."

"Did Carlisle not tell you that we hunt animals, not humans. We too do not wish to kill humans." I said to her with a bright smile.

"I might have forgotten that part when she was changing, I just wanted to comfort her however I could and didn't fully explain it all to her." Carlisle said looking down to the floor again.

That brought Esme's attention back to him and she was silent for a minute, still stunned by the man in front of her. "It is ok Carlisle, at least I know, it makes it easier to accept this now, and now I don't feel as bad." Esme said going to comfort him. She really didn't think about it, she just did it, and she flashed over to him. She was surprised at how quick she moved and the fact that she was comforting him without really knowing him. She looked up to him and forced him to look her in the eyes so he could see how sincere her words truly were.

I cleared my throat to get their attention, as happy as I was that Carlisle had found his mate, we needed to hunt with her and then move on. Carlisle and I had quickly shoved the bare essentials into a couple duffle bags so we could run with Esme to one of our houses in Canada that were in the woods and we knew we would not be bothered by humans. "Um, I hate to spoil the moment but we really should hunt and then be moving on now." I said as I picked up two of the bags.

"Where are we moving on to?" Esme asked.

"Oh, one of our houses in Canada, it is in the woods so we shouldn't have any humans around it." Carlisle answered her while grabbing the other three bags.

"Why does that matter, whether humans are around or not, you both work around them all the time, and they are bleeding. If you can handle it can't I?" Esme asked looking confused.

"Well you will be able to handle being around them with no problem if you continue with our diet of animal blood but it will take a year at least until you will be in control of your bloodlust. Your body is going to use up your own blood first so your eyes will be red until that is all out of your system, then they will be gold like ours. The first year is the worst with the bloodlust, you are almost constantly going to be thirsty. Carlisle and I will help you through it though and we will slowly work on your control with humans around." I explained to her. Carlisle liked how I explained it though he wished he was the one to.

"Oh." Was all that she said looking down processing what I had just told her. "I understand." She then said.

"Come on, we will hunt and dull the fire in your throat and then we shall run. It will take us a day on foot but I don't think it will be bad at all." Carlisle said reaching for Esme's hand but he stopped midway, unsure if that was the proper thing to do or if she would even like him holding her hand.

Esme had noticed and before Carlisle could drop his hand back to his side she shot her hand out to grab his. According to both their thoughts there was a feeling of home in the touch. It was so satisfying knowing that they were meant to be together and that they both would be happy. "Let's go, I am thirsty and would love to see our new home." She said smiling at Carlisle. He smiled back at her and was so thrilled when she said 'our new home'.

"Alright then, shall we?" I asked as I motioned towards the door.

Carlisle and Esme went first and I followed. We went into the woods that were behind our house and Carlisle instructed Esme on how to let her senses go so she could find her prey. She did rather well for her first time, she took three deer down and drained them all though she did get rather dirty. Carlisle and I then each had one and she watched us in awe, especially Carlisle. She was proud of both of us since we had no trouble with our kills and made no mess.

"Ok, are you ready to move on to our new home?" Carlisle asked.

"I will follow you anywhere Carlisle." She said with a love sick smile, then she looked embarrassed.

"Is something wrong Esme?" Carlisle asked looking nervous.

"I cannot believe I just said that out loud is all. I hardly know you and yet I love you so much. I just want to be wherever you are and make sure that you are happy. It is a little odd for me." She said looking up to him.

"Well I feel the same way about you Esme. Since the moment I saw you in the morgue I had to protect you, that is why I changed you, to save your life. Though I do feel that it was selfish of me, I took away your chance at heaven to walk the earth forever, never aging or changing." Carlisle said looking ashamed of himself.

Esme was to his side in a second with her hand on his cheek and he relaxed into it. "You saved me Carlisle, I was not ready to die even though I jumped off that cliff. I was to upset about the loss of my child, but now that I truly know what love is, with you, I am happy that you saved me. It would be a shame to die not knowing this." She said looking him in the eyes.

We ran for almost a whole day until we were at our old cabin that we haven't been to in over thirty years. The entire time Esme and Carlisle were filling each other in about their lives beforehand. Esme was already starting to lose some of her human memories and was a little upset about it but didn't let Carlisle know how much it affected her, though he was able to tell. That is the thing about mates, they know things about each other even if they didn't voice it or show it. I tried my hardest to give them their privacy, running a good half a mile behind them, I was still able to see them and hear them, I would occasionally listen into Esme's thoughts just to make sure she was doing alright with her bloodlust. Esme loved the feel of running and tried to take a bag from Carlisle, he would not hear of if, he truly was a gentleman.

When we reached the cabin Esme was awe struck. Our cabin was bigger than most, Carlisle and I built it ourselves so no one would know about it. We had made it two stories, a bedroom for each of us, a study for Carlisle, a library, a family room, a living room, and then we had a kitchen and bathroom just to be on the safe side. We really didn't have any of our personal things here since we barely ever come here, though we still had all of the furniture here. Carlisle took Esme up to his room so she could change into fresh clothes that I had bought for her.

When Esme was freshened up she came out to the living room where Carlisle and I were sitting in front of the fire that I had built in the fire place. Carlisle was on the loveseat while I was sitting on one of the chairs, I was reading Romeo and Juliet for the thousandth time. Esme went and sat next to Carlisle. She looked to me and quietly cleared her throat to get my attention fully. "Um, Bella, I was just wondering what your story is. Carlisle told me all about his life but I know nothing about you except that he met you in Italy and you both have travelled together ever since." She said to me looking curious.

"Well I am in a way older than Carlisle. I am a hundred and sixty-four years older than him in vampire years. I spent some time in Volterra, Italy which is where the rulers of our kind live, but I am sure that Carlisle already told you that, that is where we met. He told me about his diet and I joined him with it since I hated killing humans. When he told me he was coming over here and leaving Volterra I was saddened and he asked me to join him, so I did. We have become a little family, though we play brother and sister to the humans it is more like he is my father, or at least that is what I think." I said with a smile and watching Esme. She was listening to me intently and smiled as well. I had purposely left out about me being one of the rulers, it could wait until later, after she is fully settled into her new life and our little family. I definitely have to tell her before we go to Volterra if Carlisle or I decide to go back for a visit, though for me it would be just that, a visit.

"Well I am glad that you two found each other and were able to stay together. You two really seem to help each other and I am thankful that he had you with him. I also like that you both feel as though you are family and I hope that you don't mind me intruding into it." She said.

"Of course I don't. I have been longing for Carlisle to find his mate so he could fully be happy." I said.

"I am so happy to have you in our little family." Carlisle said while grabbing her hand to hold it.

"What is a mate? It sounds dirty or wrong." Esme asked looking confused.

"A mate is a vampires other half. Like a soul mate if you will. You see a vampire only has one person that they be with if you know what I mean. They only mate with one person, if they are separated it is nearly impossible to function properly. And if something were to happen to their mate such as being killed then the other feels dead and either will want to seek revenge or just want to die as well." I explained.

"Oh, I see. Well what about you? You don't have a mate?" She asked me.

"I don't have one, I haven't come across mine yet. Although I would like to find one it is not all that important to me. I really just wanted Carlisle to be happy. As long as everyone that I care about is happy then I am happy, and if I someday come across my mate then all the better." I told her. She looked at me in complete disbelief.

"You are such a caring and giving person you deserve your happily ever after too you know." She told me coming to give me a hug.

She hugged me a little too tight, I gasped, "Can't breathe." She quickly let go of me. "You just need to learn how to control your new strength, after your human blood is out of your system you will not be as strong, but still extremely strong in human standards, you will be equal to both of us." I told her.

"Ok, sorry that I hurt you." She said shrinking back into Carlisle.

"Don't fret about it Esme, it is not like we need to breathe, it is just a habit that I like, it is comforting and allows us to smell everything." I explained to her. She stopped breathing and sat like that for ten minutes, Carlisle and I just watched her in amusement.

When she breathed again she laughed and said, "That is interesting, I prefer breathing too."

"It comes in handy though if the scents of humans gets to be too much to bare." Carlisle said and I nodded my agreement.

Carlisle and I stayed with Esme nonstop for the first year. After that we moved to Rochester after her newborn year was over. Carlisle worked in the hospital again and I started to attend school. Carlisle worked nights so that there was always someone with Esme so there still wasn't a huge risk with her. Esme liked having one of us around, not for fear of what she might do if a human were to go to the house but because she just loved having someone to care for around. After we first got to Rochester Esme and Carlisle got officially married and it was Esme's first experience around a human which she handled very well. Now I was playing Esme's niece since we both have shades of brown hair. The story was that my parents died in the Spanish Influenza so Carlisle and Esme, my aunt and uncle, took me in out of the goodness of their hearts. All of the officials at the school accepted our story with no questions, though it was annoying getting all of the apologies for my loss and the odd looks from my classmates. I kept my distance from all of them, keeping to myself, so it would be easier when we had to leave.


I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Since my birthday was on the 22nd I thought I would give you all a gift and get the next chapter out, if I had access to the internet then it would have been out on that day.