CHAPTER FIVE:
"Isn't Carlisle working today?"
Without meaning to the Cullen's had taken turns watching the girl sleep, especially Rose. She hadn't meant too, she was only planning on cleaning up the bathroom, but somehow her feet led her down the hall and into the small room across from Carlisle's office. It was Renesmee's second bedroom. She also had one in the cottage, Edward and Bella's technical home, located in the woods not far from the house. But sometimes she chose to spend the night with the rest of the Cullen's especially when her parents went off hunting and Jacob wasn't around.
Evelyn slept soundly. Her breathing was even, she didn't talk or moan or cry out. But Rose felt the need to just watch her sleep, almost feeling as if she looked away the girl might disappear, like a figment of the imagination, or a wispy cloud of smoke. She might just drift away on the breeze as easily as she had first appeared.
"I knew I'd find you here," Emmett muttered. His huge form took up most of the doorway, a rippling statue of marble muscle. But he had a grin on his face like that of a boy: young and carefree. He was everything Rose had needed in her better half. He had a certain outlook on life that made her think everything would work out, somehow. There was just something about the way he managed to stay calm and composed. He was the happy-go-lucky ying to Rose's worrisome and often edgy yang. He was her soul mate.
"I was just checking on her," Rose murmured, turning to leave, but Emmett surprised her.
"Let's just sit with her for a while," he said, taking her hand in his. He played with the ring on her finger, admiring how beautiful his wife was. And so they sat, hand in hand, watching the air come and go from Evelyn's lungs, listening to the fluttering heartbeat that echoed like a strange type of music through the room. Rose couldn't help but feel that it would be hard to come by a more perfect moment.
Later when the he thought the girl was alone again Carlisle slipped quietly into the room. Esme was already perched on the edge of the bed, running her fingers along the girl's forehead to push the loose curls behind her ear. Carlisle stood beside his wife, feeling anxious.
It wasn't the girl's presence that made him nervous, it was her strange past, the odd circumstances that brought her here, and the unknown future that awaited her that made him feel worried. Slowly and surely the Cullen's were becoming attached to her and that unnerved him more than anything. What if the girl wasn't meant to stay? What if she had a terrible future in store for her? What if, and he knew it was already happening, his family happened to fall in love with the angel-faced child? How could he possibly look at Esme's broken hearted expression day after day? How would he bare it? Somehow he would have to make room in their lives for Evelyn. Somehow she would have to fit into the family. There wasn't going to be any other choice.
"Carlisle?" Esme whispered.
"Yes my love?"
Esme grinned. She knew she could ask him for anything and Carlisle would move the mountains to get it for her. He doted on her, even when she didn't deserve it. He was a wonderful man: kind, sincere; everything she had always wanted in a husband. But she had found more than she could have ever hoped when she found Carlisle, or better yet, when Carlisle saved her. He was her sun, the thing she gravitated towards, the thing that propelled her forward.
"Can she stay?" Esme asked, almost breathlessly.
The words were simple. But Carlisle knew the danger they could hold. They barely knew the child and he couldn't be certain what her future held, but the longing in Esme's voice told him she was already falling for the child, and he couldn't help but admit that so was he.
"She's welcome to stay as long as she wants," he said after a moment of deliberation. How could he say no? Not that he wanted to, he would never turn the child away, but even if he had wanted to, he could never say no to his wife, especially when she looked at him with those wide, golden eyes: they were so deep and welcoming he felt as if he could fall into them. That's what had happened when he found Esme. One look at her and he knew he was falling, head over heels in love, and he never stopped. He was still falling, every moment of every second of every day. His thoughts belonged to Esme as much as hers belonged to him.
"I think Rosalie would like that." Esme looked gratefully to Carlisle. His compassion had been something that shocked her when she first became a vampire. Even as a human she rarely knew compassion from people, but vampires were cold killers, it was in their nature to be black-hearted and cruel. She had wondered how Carlisle, the perfect predator, had dedicated his life to prolonging, even saving human lives. He fought against the monster he was supposed to be. He fought and it was because of him that their family could have a chance at happiness; an eternity together; love. He was miraculous, in every aspect of his being, but it was his compassion that defined him.
"I think so too," Carlisle agreed. Esme had been staring at him for eight minutes now, unwavering, unblinking. She held his gaze and Carlisle couldn't help but feel himself melt. She was so beautiful. In a flash Carlisle pulled Esme to her feet. He pressed his lips to her forehead. He felt the white hot rush of desire fill him. With his eyes closed Carlisle traced a familiar path down the bridge of Esme's nose until he found her lips. He felt her lips curve into a smile underneath his.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital in twenty minutes?" Esme asked Carlisle in gasps, whenever their lips parted for longer than a second. But Carlisle didn't respond right away. His wife was slowly making him forget why he had agreed to work today. It was usually his day off. He scowled at her playfully.
"Don't look at me like that," Esme said with a shy grin. She turned away from him, knowing if this kept up that she wouldn't possibly be able to let him go to work, which made her feel guilty. She was keeping him here, from his job, when he could be at the hospital saving lives.
"The good people of Forks need you. What would all those smitten stay-at-home mothers think when they stopped in to drop off casseroles for the most handsome doctor in the world and you weren't there?"
Esme bit her lip. It was taking all her self-control to force the words out. Of course she didn't want Carlisle to leave. If she had it her way she would lock him in their bedroom and never permit him to leave again, but she knew she couldn't do that. It would be wrong. So she forced herself to look away from him. It was harder to be strong when she looked at his face: the way his perfect blonde hair was slicked back to the nape of his neck, the way his forehead shadowed his dark-golden eyes, the strong jaw line, the dimple in his chin, and his smile. Oh, his smile made her swoon. She shook her head. Stop, she told herself. It made her selfish to think that way. She wanted him all for herself. He was hers and she didn't want to share.
Carlisle chuckled. He had been watching his wife, mildly amused. He leaned forward to kiss her neck and felt her sigh contentedly. It seemed to radiate from her head all the way down to her toes.
"They would think that the world's most handsome doctor had played hooky to spend the day with his wife. I am a married man you know," Carlisle grinned mischievously, running his tongue along Esme's jaw line until his lips found hers again. He had slowly and soundlessly, so as not to disturb Evelyn, backed his wife into the hall and they were currently pressed up against the door to his office. He could feel Esme's breathing quicken, not that she needed to breathe, but living without a sense of smell could be frustrating. Her body molded perfectly against his. Her hands were pressed against his chest attempting to stop his advance, but she was quickly losing her resolve.
"Carlisle, don't say things like that to me," she pouted. "You haven't ever taken a 'sick' day. Your attendance is impeccable. Besides what would you do all day if you didn't have patients to look after?"
Apparently that was exactly what Carlisle had been thinking, but he already had a long list of things he was planning for the day, most of which involved Esme in one way or another.
"I think we could think of something," he said cocking an eyebrow. He reached down, wrapping his hands firmly around Esme's waist and lifted her off her feet. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He opened the door to his office and managed to kick it closed again rather gracefully as he and Esme tumbled inside.
As the sun began to rise in the east, peeking its bright face between twisted pine trees, Alice sat perched on the rug in Renesmee's room. Somehow staring at the girl made it easier to see what was going to happen, so far nothing much. There were some unknown forces that might try to drive the girl from their home. She could see her running through the woods again, scared and visibly upset. Was she hurt? Did we hurt her? The reason was still foggy, but Alice had a sinking feeling that it had to do with Jasper. She sighed ruffling her hair in frustration. It fell back perfectly against her head, in neat little wisps.
"What is it?" Jasper asked concerned. He was lying along the floor behind Alice, staring up at the ceiling as his hand traced tiny circles up and down Alice's spine.
"If I asked you to tell me the truth about something, would you?" she asked in frustration.
"Of course," Jasper responded without hesitation. There was nothing he would ever keep hidden form Alice. He propped himself up on an elbow.
"Do you think you are going to attack Evelyn?"
Jasper shrugged. "She smells very appealing, but I'm in control. I won't attack her. There is just enough vampire scent there to help me keep my wits about me."
Alice grimaced.
"Have I helped?" Jasper asked but he already knew the answer. He could feel her annoyance and a hint of failure. She was berating herself for not knowing what was going to happen. Jasper hated seeing her upset.
Alice shook her head. "I'm very happy you don't want to attack her Jasper, don't get me wrong, and I never thought you did. I was just trying to find an explanation for my vision and apparently that wasn't it. Would it be wrong to say I was disappointed?"
Jasper chuckled, "No, but I'm glad your instincts were wrong for once."
There was a long silence in which Alice attempted to take another stab at the vision. She came up empty handed again as a thunderous crash echoed from the other room.
"I thought Carlisle was working this morning," Jasper said suddenly.
Alice smirked. "He's taking a 'sick' day." She put air quotes around the word sick.
"That's romantic," Jasper chuckled. Alice pushed him playfully. She leaned against him, pressing her lips to his cheek and then she froze. He was almost here.
"Edward's coming. Let's go. I don't want him prying inside my head right now."
"Alice, you know he's going to catch on eventually. You two are mentally connected. You're like the beacon signal and he's the radio tower. He's going to hear something eventually. Wouldn't it be better if you just told him?"
Alice shook her head back and forth. "It's too soon. And if it does solidify, he'll freak out. Besides, there are still too many variables. I don't want to be the reason for everyone's disappointment."
"You mean you don't want to be the girl who cried wolf and then it turns out that you were really the wolf the entire time."
"Nice analogy," Alice laughed. Even with the visions, sometimes Jasper pleasantly surprised her. "That's exactly how I feel when I promise something that doesn't come true. I offer up a future and then take it away."
"Alice you can't control what happens," Jasper said seriously.
"I know, but I'd feel better if they didn't know what they were missing."
"What they don't know can't hurt them?"
"Exactly! You amaze me you know."
Jasper grinned. "What?"
"You always understand, even when I'm making no sense, you always seem to get what I'm babbling on about."
"Alice, I live to decipher your twisted ramblings," Jasper joked, pulling her to his chest. She lay there, revelling in the moment for just a second.
"Thank you," she said, and then a vision of Edward and Bella walking up the front steps flashed within the depths of her mind. "Let's go."
Carlisle had every intention of being silent and discreet. He also knew that Esme hated when they broke things, so it surprised him the most when it was Esme who pushed the computer off the desk, as she pulled Carlisle down with her.
"You're lucky I already transcribed all the medical notes I had saved on there," Carlisle whispered in Esme's ear.
"Sorry doctor," Esme purred, playing with his tie. "I'll be more careful."
But that was a lie, and Carlisle didn't seem to mind. Together he and Esme broke the desk in two, tore up the leather couch, and were nestled together in a mess of shredded paper from his medical journals. Esme was being rather destructive today, which was unlike her, but there was urgency in her touch. Had he been depriving her?
He had been working a lot of hours lately. There was a flu outbreak and it had hit the medical staff hardest. Carlisle was filling in a lot and that was easier to do when you were a vampire that didn't require sleep. But she would have said something to him, wouldn't she? No, of course she wouldn't have. She was too nice, too caring. He knew Esme would even feel guilty that he had called in sick to work today. Well, he was just going to have to work extra hard to make her forget about that.
As Carlisle locked eyes with Esme he mentally decided that if this is what he was missing then perhaps he would take more time off work and spend the days at home with his wife. But next time they were going to use the bedroom. His office looked like a hurricane had torn through it, since it wasn't set up for these sorts of activities. Though he did secretly wondered if Esme was just using it as an excuse to redecorate? She did love picking out new furniture.
Either way he didn't care. He loved her more than anything and as his lips met hers again in a hunger that might never be sated, the shredded paper exploded in bursts around them, fluttering down like feathery rain.
Edward and Bella walked into Renesmee's room just as Alice and Jasper fled into the woods.
"What was that?" Bella asked as something pounded against the wall in Carlisle's office.
"Carlisle's taking the day off," Edward said, looking around for Alice and Jasper. "Just missed them," he said irritably.
Bella leaned against the doorway. "Did you catch any of what she was saying?" she asked.
"She was yelling at me again: telling me to stay out of her head or else." Edward really wanted to know what Alice meant by 'or else'. She was a pipsqueak. What could she do to him? But then he thought about it some more and cringed. She would just sick Jasper on him.
"She's been doing that a lot lately," Bella noted.
"I never realized I was so intrusive," Edward commented. "I just comes so naturally now, easier than speaking sometimes. Especially with Alice, we've always had this kind of bond."
"She must have a good reason for it," Bella said reassuringly. He was obviously hurt by Alice's constant rejection from her thoughts.
"It's Alice. Of course she does. But usually I'm in on the secret. It's weird to be on the outside."
"I'm sorry Edward," Bella blurted suddenly. She couldn't keep sidestepping this conversation.
"For what?" he asked, taking her hand. "You can't control Alice any more than I can, darling."
"Not about that. About Renesmee, I should have told you."
Edward shrugged. "It's okay; I should have paid better attention. I just didn't want her to grow up too fast."
Bella nodded looking at the girl. "Do you remember when Renesmee was that small?"
"Yes, the entire three months," Edward laughed.
"It went by much too fast," Bella sighed.
"Yes, it did," he agreed.