Chapter 5

Bella's POV

Suddenly Edward jumped up and straightened his back. He held out his hand for me to pull me up. We both sat on the couch and Edward wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders. The Doctor went to stand beside Carlisle.

"We have to find Emmett." Rosalie demanded. "He's okay, he's got to be."

"She's right. Jasper you were the last one with him, did anything unusual happen?" Carlisle inquired.

Jasper exhaled trying to control his breathing while he squeezed Alice's hand so tight that it would have badly hurt any fragile human.

"It was just a normal hunt. We talked, wrestled, laughed-" a slight nostalgic smirk broke his face but suddenly changed to a stern frown. "He said that he thought he saw something like a statue, but he just blamed it on his imagination and we continued on."

"Try his cell," I suggested.

"I don't think his phone is working where he is" the Doctor stated. Everyone reverted their gaze back to him immediately.

"Do you know where he is?" Rosalie asked now with a slight tone of hope in her voice.

"No… well maybe. It was just a theory, but I now think Jasper here just confirmed it," the Doctor said while nodding his head towards Jasper.

"What is it Doctor?" Carlisle asked. Ever since this Doctor person showed up Carlisle seemed to have happily relinquished his role as our leader. It was like he had become an assistant to this Doctor.

The Doctor then replied, it was as if he was enjoying this entire event.

"I've dealt with this kind before-" the Doctor began but Jasper interrupted him.

"What kind? You mean the statue Emmett saw was real?!" he exclaimed, his voice oozing with worry.

"Oh yes! Very real. They're creatures from another world. A fascinating race. The lonely assassins they used to call them. No one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the universe or very nearly, and they have survived this long because they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved. They are quantum locked. They don't exist when being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature, they freeze into rock. No choice, it's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn to stone" (A/N: Picture on Profile)

Esme interrupted him "But if they're stone?… How could they have hurt Emmett?… I mean… I don't understand," she stammered out while clutching Carlisle's hand.

The Doctor sighed to her and began again "You can't kill a stone. Course, a stone can't kill you either, but then you turn your head away. Then you blink. And oh yes it can."

Everyone in the room was frozen in a mixture of shock, pain and most of all confusion. Everyone's mouths were hanging open in amazement at this man.

I was as in as much shock as anyone but I didn't know if I could believe this eccentric man or not, even with all I had seen over the years gone by.

But if there's one thing I've learned being a member of this family is that reality and fantasy are not always as they seem. If vampires exist, maybe creatures from other worlds do too. I sighed. There's still so much I have to learn about the world I am now apart of.

Edward was abnormally quite. Maybe it was because of what had just happened to him, but he just seemed distant. It was like he wasn't paying attention to what any of us were saying. There was obvious pain in his eyes, I assumed it was because something has happened to Emmett, but he just kept staring into space.

"But Doctor please, what have they done with Emmett?" Rosalie said practically begging for an answer.

"They are the only psychopaths in the universe that kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you back into the past and let you live to death. The rest of your life used up and blown away in a blink of an eye. You die in the past, and in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might have had. All your stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract, they live off potential energy-"

Jacob interrupted him "Do you always talk like this?"

Before the Doctor could respond Carlisle interjected "Trust me, just nod when he stops for a breath."

"So where is Emmett?…or should I say when?" Alice asked. She was obviously frustrated with herself as she couldn't help with her visions. I hated times like this when she blamed herself. I wanted to give her a hug but Edwards arm was tightly around me and she was with Jasper, so I let it pass.

"That's the problem," the Doctor responded "I don't know where or when he is. You see I'm a time traveller. My ship can take me anywhere in time so I would gladly and easily bring him back to you. But since I don't know where he is, I can't. if only he left a message or something to indicate what time he landed in, I would know where to go."

"Wait… Emmett is obviously a vampire, so he's immortal. He could have waited to come back to us" Rose said trying to latch on to any piece of hope she could find.

"I'm sorry, but time is complicated." he said sympathetically.

"What do you mean complicated? How complicated?" I inquired.

"Very," he replied simply.

"Well tell me what it is then and don't patronise me. I can keep up. I'm not happy, my brother is missing. So tell me Doctor!" I demanded forcefully.

"Well…" the Doctor began to explain "People don't understand time. It's not what you think it is. People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective view point, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."

"That sentence started out well!" Seth laughed.

Carlisle shot him a dirty look. The Doctor raised his head and as if distracted mumbled "It got away from me, yeah."

He snapped back into focus "The thing is- your brother, from what I read when I was in Edward's mind, isn't the most clever person."

Rosalie growled in a feral tone.

The Doctor began to hastily defend himself. "What I mean is that I'm surprised at the fact that he didn't come to you because how would he have known not to come. You see, once he was sent back he became a fixed point in that time. If he came back now he wouldn't be the Emmett that went missing today. He would have had to live through all those years and if he came to you here now he would be technically back tracking on his own past. It would have torn a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroy two thirds of the universe."

Everyone was silent. No one knew what to make of this strange man.

"Maybe if I go back to my ship, I might think of something I can do to help you get your Emmett back" the Doctor suggested.

"Thank you Doctor, I really do appreciate all the help you are giving me and my family." Carlisle said. But with a hint of curiosity he began to speak again "But speaking of the Tardis how did you end up here in Forks of all places?"

The Doctor responded happily to his old friend. "Like I said, I've dealt with them before. They once sent me back to 1969 but while I was there I built this device to help. I called it my timey-wimey detector. It goes bing when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at 30 paces. Whether you want it to or not actually, so I've learnt to stay away from hens. Its not pretty when they blow." He snapped his teeth together and grinned. "…Anyway that's what led me here. It began to give off signals again so I tracked them down. But who knew I would bump into you."

"Doctor its not that I don't appreciate your help as well, but its just… how do you and Carlisle even know each other?" I asked.

Suddenly everyone tensed, wanting and waiting for an answer.

"Yes, Carlisle you have some explaining to do, you never told me anything about him before" Esme stated. Everyone was now demanding an explanation.

Carlisle then began to explain "Back in 1917, before I met Edward or any of you, as you know I was working in a hospital in Chicago. It was relatively quiet in the hospital at that time, it was before the Spanish influenza epidemic really broke out. One night while I was working, I was visited by these two strangers," he paused and stared at Edward and I. It made me slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed. Edward still didn't seem like he was paying any attention. If I could have, I would of blushed.

Carlisle shook his head and continued on. "They were vampires, one male and one female, never said their names. They talked about how they wanted to get home and they handed me a letter. They said to keep it on me always until I meet a man called the Doctor and then give it to him. They also said not to open it until the second time I met him-"

"It's still in the Tardis, we shall open it later. I've been looking forward to this day," the Doctor interrupted. Carlisle and the mysterious Doctor exchanged glances.

Carlisle stayed serious and began again. "Anyway, their longing to go home made me a bit nostalgic for my own home, so I decided to return to London for a quick visit. Since the hospital was quiet I had no problem leaving. When I arrived in London, in the docklands I stumbled across this group called 'The Forge'. They were carrying out secret experiments for the government. 'Project: Twilight' they called it. They were creating vampires to be used as weapons during World War One. Then I met the Doctor and we worked together, fortunately we put to stop what was going on. We even had to destroy the 'Twilight Vampires' as they were called, but we did get to save one girl named Cassie, but that's not the point. I then gave the Doctor the letter. We travelled together for a short period. Soon after though I had to return to Chicago because the influenza epidemic broke out and the hospital really needed my help. So we parted ways and vowed that we would someday meet again and find out what was in that letter."

Everyone was amazed by Carlisle's story. Though some were a little shocked as to why he had never told them this before. Esme seemed the most upset.

"Why did you never tell me any of this before?" she asked while trying to hide some of her true feelings.

Carlisle placed his hands on Esme's shoulders and looked into her eyes "I'm so sorry I never told you. But when I was with the Doctor we spoke about anonymity and how we had spent large amount of our time hiding, keeping the secret and protecting humans from ourselves and other creatures. So to protect the Doctor's secret I never let my adventures with him pass my lips."

At that moment I wondered if Edward already knew about this due to his mind reading abilities. I looked to him but he was still staring vacantly into space.

"So, do you understand why I could never tell you about him?" Carlisle asked Esme. She nodded and they embraced with a brief kiss. It was as if they were making up and if they were it was definitely the biggest fight I had ever seen them have.

"Thank you Carlisle," the Doctor added "I appreciate your respect and what you have done, but I would have understood if you told your family …Anyway I must get back to the Tardis. First, I left my timey-wimey detector in there and it might really help this situation. Second, I shall get that letter and third, but perhaps the most important. I must make sure that 'they' don't get to the Tardis. It's a whole world of time energy in there, they could feast on it forever, but the damage they could do could switch off the sun! So I must go now, but I'll be right back."

"I'll go with you" Carlisle said. The Doctor nodded and they both headed for the door.

"Wait!" Edward practically yelled as he broke our embrace and jumped up. It was the first word he said since we both got up off the floor and sat on the couch.

"Carlisle can you please stay here while Bella and I accompany him to the Tardis. I want to talk to him in private," he requested.

Carlisle was a bit stunned by what Edward had just asked. "Umm, sure, I guess." They both looked at the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled and replied "It's fine by me."

I stood up from the couch. Edward turned around and took my hand in his once more. He began to walk towards Jacob and Renesmee as I quickly followed, hand in hand. He then took Renesmee from Jacobs arms. She wrapped her short arms around her father's neck.

He kissed Renesmee on the forehead and whispered "Don't worry, you'll be safe here with Jacob, Grandma and Auntie Rose". I saw the Doctor slightly wince when Edward said the name Rose. "Mommy and Daddy are going to talk with the Doctor for a few minutes. We won't be long."

I then kissed Renesmee myself and took her out of Edward's arms, embraced her and handed her back to Jacob. I smiled at her. Edward took my left hand and began to lead me out of the room.

Edward, the Doctor and I all headed for the door. Edward and I walked purposefully behind the Doctor. What did Edward want to talk about?

I was worried. I looked up to his face as we walked though the door but it was expressionless. We were now out on the porch and Carlisle closed the door behind us.

There was silence between the three of us. We started to walk towards the forest and to this thing they called the Tardis.