A/N: 'Ello chums =) Hope you enjoy all the drama and crazyness going on in the Cullen household at the moment...and Emmett has even turned up yet hahaha! Review please my lovelies!

Carlisle PoV

I started on in horror at the image of my son standing before the bleeding body of a man he had just tortured and then killed. He stared intently, like I did, the only difference was, he seemed to enjoy looking, whereas I most certainly did not.

Esme's screams of shock next to me yanked me from my trance. I grabbed her by the waist and practically flew outside the house. The last thing I needed was Esme, a newborn, around her violent husband's dead, bleeding body. She would feel such guilt afterwards, it would tear us all apart.

She struggled against my grip. When I looked into her eyes however, they were surprisingly engulfed with horror, shock, sadness and worry, rather than bloodlust.

"Esme" I cooed. She struggled again and this time broke free, she made three steps before I reached for her waist again, a little too roughly obviously. We ended up on the floor.

"Carlisle! Get off me! We have to go help him, we have to go stop him. We can't just let this-" she frantically screamed. The words came so fast that I barely managed to decipher them before she was clawing at my grasp and wriggling her legs away from me as if I was attacking her.

"Esme!" I exclaimed, a little harsher than before. "There is nothing we can do to stop him. If I tried to intercept then he would probably hurt both of us in his rage. It's too late." My own words hit me and I realised that this was Edwards' first slip up concerning our diet.

It'd always been difficult for him being around humans, naturally. Not just because of the cry of their blood; he struggled specifically with moving and talking at human speeds. He was the first vampire I had ever sired, so this was a very new experience for both of us. I rested my head on the ground in realisation that I probably should have explained more fully. I should have allowed him more free time, instead of watching him every second of every day. I should have guarded my negative thoughts regarding his progress or my disappointment. I should have helped him, guided him, and taught him better. I should have been a better father.

She clambered out of my grasp, dashing back through the doorless frame. I was right behind her. Edward was finished.

Esme abruptly froze still when she set eyes on the sight before her.

What shocked me the most was not Edward's torn shirt, his ripped sleeves. The blood that covered his entire face, neck, hands and part of his chest was a classic sign of a first human kill, he was so eager his teeth had ripped the artery completely, causing the blood to spurt out uncontrollably. The fact he frantically licked and sucked every drop from his fingers like a drug addict sniffing the last grain of cocaine from the floor, did not disturb me highly either. The sudden ablaze coating his eyes was to be expected too.

But the innocent, shocked, by not appalled, look on his face was not to be expected. I had prepared myself for a monstrous sly grin, or even worse, this was not what awaited me.

"You didn't tell me how good it tasted Carlisle…" He stuttered, child-like.

Everything about him said 'vulnerable'. Edward was clearly not pleased or happy with what he had just done, yet he was not ashamed or disgusted with himself. I don't think it had sunk in yet. He inspected his hands, gazing at them dreamily, as if he could not comprehend what had just happened and what was now happening to his body and mind.

Human blood empowers us, much more than drinking animals' does.

I didn't tell you how good it supposedly tastes because I have never drank human blood. I reminded him.

I need to get Esme out of here Edward, she will be suffering. I would like to speak to you, will you stay here until I get back? I questioned carefully in my head. He was in a very impressionable mood at the moment; everything could change in the blink of an eye.

His response was to shrug casually as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

Esme was still gaping and shaking uncontrollably. I gently guided her towards the forest, rubbing circles into her left shoulder with my fingers; although I was about to go mentally insane, she needed to be completely at ease, if I didn't want this situation to get any worse. She didn't seem to be experiencing or showing typical features of…

She's not an example in a text book Carlisle! I snapped at myself.

"I'm fine" she croaked. "Leave me here and go deal with him, please. I'll be fine." Her voice was so small and insignificant when compared to the sounds of the wind that I strained to hear her words, yet again. The pleading, desperate look in her eyes conveyed easily what she thought without any words however.

I hesitated, looking from her to the house twice. Esme dropped to the floor; she sat crossed-legged, pulling grass from the floor and scattering it around her legs. She looked down in a daze; I guessed she was trying to make sense of what just happened and what her exact thoughts on the situation were. Even now, she appeared so graceful.

I touched her shoulder attentively and raced back to the scene. This time Edward was pacing up and down the room, fidgeting with his fingers. His head shot up as soon as he felt my presence. Then he looked down, a puzzled expression smeared across his face.

"I just don't understand…" he mused.

"Understand what, Edward?" I said, un-necessarily. Actually speaking out loud seemed more appropriate and polite than answering him in my head.

"I feel so…so…right!" His eyes shot to mine, the flicker of excitement daring to escape through them.

"Now, son. I know you must feel very different after the changes your body has just been subjected to. But it's ok, I understand, we all make mistakes" I coaxed and edged forward an inch.

"A mistake?!" He asked, incredulously.

"Well…yes. You realise what you did, don't you?" I was as puzzled as he looked.

"I killed a fucking monster. You know, the guy that hurt Esme for months? That tormented her to all that sick, demoralising, perverted-" he rambled.

"Yes" I interjected. "That's what I'm saying. It could have been dealt with more" I struggled to find the word, "fairly."

"FAIRLY?! He could have killed the woman you love, and all you can think about is how I treated him so unfairly?" He imitated my voice, "Ooooh, don't hurt Charles, we can't possibly get rid of the wife-beating, pond life SCUM, in case it hurts his feelings!" Edward yelled angrily.

He was so frustrated now that his hands were balled up against his sides. Suddenly he raised them above his head, bringing them down forcefully against the kitchen table behind him. The four legs buckled under the impact and the entire thing went crashing to the floor. I needed to keep my distance at the moment and try to calm him down. It didn't matter whether I won the argument at the given moment or not, all that mattered was that I calmed Edward and made sure everyone was safe.

"I mean…it's not like he was innocent. It wasn't an unprovoked attack; I didn't attack a baby, or an innocent woman minding her own business. You've got to understand Carlisle" he practically begged.

"Ok, ok son. It'll be fine. We can talk about this when we get home." I desperately tried to keep the freight from my voice.

My mind gave me away.

Edward turned, disgusted for some reason, to look at the blood drenched corpse in the corner. I followed his eyes, and saw a slight smile appear on his face.

"I made quite a mess, didn't I?"

"Edward…" I was beginning to think that vampires could go crazy. Edward was acting extremely strangely and I didn't know why.

"I can read minds Carlisle! I have a gift that none of the rest of us have. I know who's good and who's bad! I can choose the bad ones, only feed off them. It'll be ok then" he rambled excitedly.

"Have I taught you nothing?!" My voice rose involuntarily. His eyes snapped shut, his fingers pinched the base of his nose, and his head was bowed in concentration. Edward was fighting against the two sides of him; he knew which one was morally right. What he was trying to work out was the path he wanted to follow. Just like he had been doing just before he drank Charles' blood.

Now I realised why he hesitated for the time he did. Though it was nothing considerable, a human would barely notice, for us a lot of thinking could take place in those few milliseconds. If the attack had been caused simply by the blood-lust taking over his mind, then Edward would have reacted instantly, there would be no time or space for thought. His limbs would have moved almost without his knowing, until it was too late. It became clear that although he was obviously affected by the raging fire in his throat once the blood was spilled; but that's not why he attacked. This was a conscious choice that he made coherently.

I physically wretched.

His reaction to the thoughts in my head merely confirmed them. He looked ashamed for disappointing me, for going against everything I tried to teach him. I naively thought it would be enough to stop him on this quest for rebellion and what his body most desired.

I was wrong.

Esme PoV

The water cascaded over my body, down my back. I felt each droplet trickle towards the back of my calves, coming to a near stand-still at the base of my heels until they made impact with the floor of the bath and travelled on their new journey down the plug. I put the jug down and wiped the water from my face.

Twelve hours, thirty seven minutes and ten seconds had passed since he darted from the house like an escaped convict, leaving Carlisle to dispose of my now ex-husbands' body. I didn't know whether to be relieved or repulsed.

Charles was gone. He could never hurt me or anyone else ever again. For that I was happy. The fact he was killed so brutally, by my adopted son, did not relieve me.

The look on Edward's face when we entered the room again after he'd finished, I had never seen anything like it. He looked like a vampire was supposed to. Now I understood all the supposed "tales". They were not lies like I had once hoped.

My thoughts were too dense and too many for my brain to cope with. I let out a tearless sob and Carlisle's tender voice instantly filled the room from outside the door.

"Esme, love. Are you ok?" The frantic voice was back. His mood had been changing from terrified and panicky to withdrawn, reserved and silent every few minutes.

For some reason he thought his concerns and thoughts needed to be with me at this moment. I disagreed. I had wanted to chase after Edward as soon as I sense his scent move from the house to the East and then disappear. Carlisle insisted Edward's mind would not be changed by him now. He got to work disposing of the body straight away, then we came home. Carlisle said nothing to me of what happened in the house, except for that he tried to calm Edward down, but he shot off before Carlisle really had the chance to make any progress. The main focus of his attention was spent worrying about me, saying we needed to get home and I needed to hunt right away. He mused constantly over how I managed to not shove Edward out of the way and ravish Charles for myself.

I didn't want any part of him inside of me again, I had answered. Carlisle shut up pretty quickly after that.

I grabbed my towel, wrapped it around my body, tucked it under my armpits and stormed out the door, almost knocking Carlisle down as I did so. I spun around on my heels to face him and cocked my eye-brow in frustration.

"Wha…da…" Carlisle was speechless. He probably thought I was coming on to him. Huh, a few hours ago maybe. But now! What the hell was he thinking? Leaving Edward in this state to just worry and fester over what he'd done! Edward needed re-assurance, guidance, support, for God's sake!

"Why are we sat here doing nothing when our son is out there suffering and beating himself up about what he's done? We need to help him Carlisle!" I shot the words like bullets in his direction and waited for them to hit.

"Edward is certainly not beating himself up about what happened" Carlisle mumbled.

"What?! What are you talking about? I saw the innocent look on his face after he acted! He couldn't control it Carlisle! You know how difficult it is, you can't condemn him for one mistake. He was angry and upset, he acted in the first way that came to mind and didn't think –" I screeched out.

"He did enough thinking afterwards Esme. You don't know what went on once I went back into the house. He was not guilty, he thought Charles deserved it…he wants to use his gift to pick out the 'bad' people and only kill them." He stated almost matter-of-factly.

"How can you speak about this with so little emotion? Why don't you want to go find him? He's not thinking straight, you know that!" I glared at him as I spat the words.

"Precisely. He's not thinking straight, so how are we meant to rectify the situation?" I could tell my words had struck a chord by the disenchanted look upon his face.

I huffed, like a teenage girl, and pouted. He was breaking my resolve with his damn logic.

"I still think we should go find him, he could be anywhere!" I said. I felt as vulnerable as Edward had looked in the house. A thousand emotions flooded through my body and I felt exhausted.

"He'll come back when he's ready" Carlisle huffed.

"He's not a DOG!" I screamed. "He has feelings and emotions, no matter how irrational they are at the moment, just like me!" I stormed back into the bathroom and slammed the door in Carlisle's face.

I was well aware that I was throwing a childish fit like a spoiled brat. I was a woman for hell's sake! What was wrong with me? Everything swamped my mind yet again. Why was I thinking about what I wanted from Carlisle when Edward was in such danger and pain? I allowed my body to slump against the sink basin, resting my hands on the side as if supporting my body. I was filled with need, frustration and want.

Another cracked sob escaped my lips and part of the marble came off in my clenched hand.

The door creaked open, I turned round to face the most beautiful topaz eyes. I started to speak, god knows' what I would've managed to say, but he stopped me. I felt his smooth, warm hand trace my jaw line, cup under my chin and raise my head up to his face. I just stared at him like I was brain-dead, in fact, I might well-have been. The intensity was so hot it probably could have easily frazzled brain cells.

My lips quivered and I prayed this was not a dream, not a wild imagination of my mind, tricking me into believing I was in heaven.

He eyes probed mine, I hoped they found what he was looking for. He edged forward, hesitating only slightly, but enough to make me mad with anticipation. I feared that at any moment Carlisle would pull away and reject me, wonder what he was thinking and never come near me again.

But then his lips were on mine. He moved one of my hands up around his neck because I must've been clutching onto my towel with dear life. I allowed my lips to part and that's the last thing I was able to consciously do for a long time.

It felt like I was human again, like I was dreaming one of the most perfect dreams imaginable. That was a lie, I could never have imagined something so amazing as this.

Every thought dissipated out of my head the moment he touched me.

He curled his tongue up over the inside of my top lip and I melted into oblivion.

Thank you for writing if you got this far! Review, please! Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like!