As spring comes to an end, Carlisle receives a letter from Carmen and decides it's about time he take some extended vacation days from the hospital. The weather's getting fairer, the sun burning brighter and longer everyday, so it'll be nice to be somewhere he doesn't have to constantly worry about exposure for a while.
Plus, he's been thinking about taking Esme up North for several months now. She's been cooped up here long enough, and there's a small part of him that wants to introduce her to his friends. Wants to embed her into his life that much more. Wants the people he cares about to know he's found someone he wants by his side for this eternity they live.
Yes, they'll go to Alaska for a month. Maybe two. He knows Esme has always wanted to travel. So they might as well start in the North and work their way down.
Edward sits up from his chair as soon as Carlisle enters the room, reading the thoughts right out of his head. "That's a marvelous idea!" the boy declares.
"What is?" Esme asks, looking up over the top of her book. Her eyes are wide and lovely and Carlisle thinks he could spend hours just memorizing every intricate facet within.
Edward groans at his distraction and flops down next to Esme on the sofa, looking very much the part of the impatient teenager. "We're going to Alaska. Carlisle has friends there. A coven, just like us."
This intrigues Esme and she puts her book down, uncrossing her legs as she leans forward. "They hunt animals?"
Carlisle nods. "Yes. I'm sorry I haven't mentioned them before."
Esme dismisses his apology with a giddy wave, almost bouncing in her seat. "What's Alaska like?"
"You'll love the scenery," Edward says with boyish glee. He grabs her hand. "Come, let's go pack."
Carlisle watches the two disappear up the stairs and ruminates in the feeling. The glow that comes from making Esme happy. It's all he wants to do now. And he vows to never stop trying, no matter how long they live.
He can hear Edward digging through the closets upstairs, hoping to unearth the luggage and hurries up to help. Knowing Edward, he'll toss them all in a pair of shoes and be ushering them out the door without so much as a thought.
When he arrives in the spare bedroom however, it's to find Esme poking her finger through the moth holes on a worn out suitcase. "Oh, no. This won't do," she says.
Carlisle considers the sad state of the luggage. "We'll have to go to the store."
With a morose groan Edward flops down on the chaise by the window and throws his arm over his eyes. "This is taking forever," he declares.
Esme and Carlisle break into a duet of laughter at Edward's antics. "Alright," Carlisle concedes. "I'm going now. I'll stop by the hospital to inform them on my way back. We'll leave tonight, so you can stop being dramatic, son."
Edward grins under his arm, shooting Esme a wink.
They prepare to run to Alaska.
The same way they travel to most places.
"Shall we make another wager, Carlisle?" Edward asks, putting away the rest of his records.
Esme comes into the room and raises a delicate brow. Carlisle resists the urge to kiss her and instead considers Edward's proposition. "And what would you ask this time?"
Edward laughs. "Is that you agreeing? Because we both know I'll win."
"Win what?" Esme asks.
"The first time Carlisle took me to visit Alaska we made it into a race."
"But you're so much faster," Esme protests with a grin. "That can't have been fair."
"Ah, but I had no idea where we were going. I had to make my way based on what I saw in Carlisle's mind. And don't let him fool you. The old man plays dirty. He started translating the Cyrillic alphabet as soon as we crossed the Canadian border to try and throw me off. I got turned around a few times. Needless to say, I scared the pants off Kate when I came barging through their front door."
"Howling like a lunatic, if I recall her exact wording," Carlisle teases fondly. He had arrived just in time to stop Irina from throwing Edward off the porch.
"And so what did you win?" Esme wonders.
Edward gestures across the room. "My piano."
She smiles. "Then I'm glad you won."
"I agree," Carlisle says. "But you know, Esme may still beat us both there."
"Hardly," Edward grins. "I am once again the fastest vampire in the house." He bumps shoulders with Esme. "And it only took a year."
She grins at him, obviously resisting the urge to crush him in a hug.
Edward rolls his eyes. "You won't crush me anymore."
"Good," Esme says and she does just that, squeezing Edward with all her might. Carlisle can tell she's grown to love the boy over the past year and he's glad she had him to keep her company, especially when he had to be away for work. Edward doesn't even flinch, though he does indulge her long enough to hug her back before rushing around the house and locking up windows and doors in preparation for their absence.
"Kate will be able to give you a run for your money," Carlisle says as Edward leaps down the front steps.
He barks a laugh. "As if."
They run through the night; they have more freedom in the dark, being less careful with their path. As the sun rises they keep deep in the trees. It takes them longer to pick trails through the darkest parts of the forest, far from human hikers, but Carlisle doesn't mind.
Esme stops often, exploring brooks of tumbling water and caves etched into rocks. He can see her filing everything away for later, when she has her paints and brushes in her hands. She and Edward race each other up trees, and he's delighted to learn that although Esme is slower on the ground, she's faster than Edward in the air, more delicate as she slides between the branches.
At one point Edward drops from the trees, racing ahead. Carlisle stands in the middle of a dense thicket of pines, listening intensely. Esme is quiet above him and he wonders if she's stopped to watch him. He can still smell her scent, so he knows she hasn't left.
He hears the shift of wind from above suddenly and the next thing he knows, Esme is upon him, clinging tightly to his back. She laughs as he looks over his shoulder, his arms reaching back to hold her in place.
"Have I just been hunted?" he asks.
"Yes. I'm sorry to say you're mine now." She leans around him and lets her lips ghost across his cheek. She wraps her arms around his neck and breathes him in.
"I don't mind," Carlisle says, and it couldn't be closer to the truth. His hands rub against her dress, where it pulls tight against her thighs. He lets his fingers linger as she rests her chin on his shoulder, her hair like silk against his neck.
"You should mind," she says. "You may not know it, but I am a vampire."
"Hmm," Carlisle says. "A fearsome creature."
"Yes. And dangerous. You should be begging me for your freedom."
Carlisle shrugs her around to his front, until she's standing in the circle of his arms. "What if I don't want my freedom? What if I'm happy exactly where I am?"
"Staying will cost you," Esme says, her voice low.
"Whatever it is take it," Carlisle whispers. "Anything of mine is yours to have."
Esme grins, playful in a way he so rarely sees when they're trying to control themselves, especially for Edward's sake. But here they're entirely alone for the moment and Esme's arms tighten around his neck as she pulls herself to him, standing on her toes to reach her mouth to his. The kiss is warm and intense, quickly becoming a kind of fire Carlisle can't get enough of. He holds her by the waist, letting his tongue run along her bottom lip, swallowing the little moan that escapes her mouth.
It isn't until he feels something bounce off the back of his head that he stops. He looks down to see a sizable pinecone by his feet. "I think we've been found out," he says with a grin.
Esme shakes her head, looking dazed, hand on her cheek. "I suppose Edward wants to get going." She reaches up to peck him once more on the lips, then takes his hand and pulls him after her into the woods.
It's much later, when the day has turned to afternoon that they stop again.
"Carlisle," Edward says suddenly, skidding to such a hard stop that he leaves deep track marks in the dirt. The boy spins, twisting himself deeper into the mud. "There's someone here."
"Human?" Esme wonders, glancing quickly between the trees.
Edward's brows crush together. "I don't think so . . ." He glances around, eyes turning up to scan the tree tops. "It's fading in and out, like they're just on the edge of my radius."
Carlisle inhales deeply. "I don't smell anything yet. Perhaps we haven't crossed the scent. Shall we continue?"
Edward hesitates a moment, staring off into the distance, before nodding.
They run again, until a large herd of deer cross their path, and then they take advantage of the opportunity and split off to hunt. Esme darts to the left while Edward scales a tree. Carlisle makes use of the rocky overhang they've come upon and lies in wait for the largest of the herd to come running across his path.
When the sound of hooves are the loudest he jumps from his perch, landing expertly and snapping the animal's neck. He sees Edward land in his peripheries just as he leans down and cuts into a warm artery.
"The golden-eyed female," Edward mutters and Carlisle looks up from his buck, across the forest to where Edward had stood up, wiping his mouth on his shirt sleeve.
"What did you say?" Carlisle says
"It's back. The voice. Golden-eyed female. I just heard it." Edward turns on the spot, scanning the trees. "Where is Esme?"
Intuitively, like he's pulled by magnets, Carlisle turns in the direction he knows she was hunting, picking up her trail like it's his own scent.
He rushes to the edge of a glade, scanning the gentle sloping valley where Esme has taken down her second kill. She doesn't drain it though, simply crouches behind it as she stares across at the man who stands opposite her.
Carlisle watches as the stranger crosses through a patch of sunlight. His skin lights up in thousands of tiny diamonds before falling into shade once again.
"I knew someone was following us," Edward mutters beside him, but the only thing Carlisle can focus on is the overwhelming need to protect.
He rushes into the clearing, stopping, not beside Esme, but in front of her, falling into a defensive crouch, realizing suddenly that he is prepared to rip this vampire limb from limb. Those thoughts jar him slightly and he manages to stand, nodding as the stranger approaches.
"My name is Eli."
Carlisle nods, introducing himself.
"Is this your land then?" the nomad asks.
"We're only passing through," Carlisle says.
"Me as well. I picked up your scent earlier and thought I might have intruded into coven territory." His eyes flicker to Esme.
Behind Carlisle, Edward growls low in his throat.
"I was only curious," the nomad says, tilting his head to see her eyes. "I apologize for startling you. When I saw you take down the deer . . . though I guess that explains the eyes then."
"Yes," Carlisle says. "It's the diet."
"Fascinating," the nomad says. He gives a wry smile. "Though clearly not for everyone."
"Clearly," Edward mutters darkly.
With one last look at Esme, the nomad backs away towards the trees. "Well, I'll leave you to be on your way. It was a pleasure, Carlisle Cullen."
He vanishes into the trees and Edwards makes them wait until he can no longer hear the vampire's thoughts before he allows them to move. He groans and shakes his head, telling Carlisle he's heard things he wishes he hadn't, though he doesn't become angry, meaning that the thoughts have merely annoyed him.
Carlisle suspects they had to do with Esme. Coming upon a beautiful female vampire, he can only imagine what those thoughts might have entailed, but he forces them from his mind, along with the raging, jealous desire to destroy anything that may threaten Esme.
Jealousy is a new emotion for him and he doesn't quite know how to deal with it, so he ignores it instead, reaching out to pull Esme to him. She folds into his arms easily and he rests his chin atop her head.
Edward runs ahead to scout.
"I'm sorry," Carlisle says. "I should have been closer."
Esme shakes her head. "I'm fine. He startled me is all . . . his eyes. I've only ever seen red on myself. And I kept that to a minimum if I could help it. Looking at you and Edward all the time, I'm not used to how jarring it is."
She turns away from him before he can really look at her. Before he can see the lie in her eyes. "We should probably catch Edward," she says.
"Esme," he calls softly. "Please talk to me."
Her fists curl at her sides and she stares hard at the ground.
"I cannot be afraid of every man who is not you or Edward for the rest of my life," she says.
She's angry with herself, he realizes, for reacting the way she did. "You cannot berate yourself, darling. You've yet to meet another vampire other than us. It's instinctual to react with wariness."
She turns to look at him over her shoulder and he can see the uncertainty in her eyes. But she comes to him again, when he holds his hand out, taking it between both of hers. She stares down at his fingers, interlaced with hers, and sighs. "I'm sorry this has been difficult. You and me. And thank you for being so patient."
He shakes his head, because here he is, vibrating with an unseen rage because he stood between Esme and a strange vampire, prepared to dismember him on the spot for no apparent reason other than the fact he had approached her. He doesn't feel very patient at the moment, but he knows what she means and even that he cannot fault her for. "I would wait forever for you, Esme. You do know that, don't you?"
She sighs, smiling despite herself. "I might have guessed," she teases him, but it's missing that spark of her usual cheery self.
"What is it?" Carlisle asks, reaching up to cup her face, so she can no longer avoid his gaze.
It's only a moment before she breaks. "I was afraid," she confesses, the words rushing out of her. "Terrified really. I wasn't paying attention, I'd just taken down the doe and it was all I could do to focus, but the next thing I knew I was frozen. I smelled him first," her eyes flicker closed, "and then there he stood, before me, eyes red and curious and all I could do was stare." She shakes her head. "Here I am in this new body. Stronger and faster than anything I could have ever dreamed of, and yet I couldn't move. The more time that passes, the more I think I've forgotten those things in my past. And then it creeps up on me suddenly and I realize that Charles is still controlling me."
Carlisle fights the growl that rips up his throat, catching it before it can spill out.
He swallows hard, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear. "You are stronger, Esme. And faster. And capable of so much more than you even know." He presses a kiss to her forehead. "But give yourself time. Your mind is just as powerful as the rest of you, it just needs some time to catch up." He runs his thumb across her temple. "One day Charles will not be here anymore. And until that time, I will be. Believe me."
She shudders against him, burying her head against his chest. "I do not deserve you, Carlisle Cullen."
"You do," he says, though he wants to shout it. "Because I deserve you. And I will continue to tell you until you believe that of me as well. Even if it takes forever."
Their moment is broken by the sound of Edward crashing through the trees which Carlisle knows it's intentional. "Hey slowpokes!" he calls. "I could have made it to Alaska and back by now. Come on!"
Esme laughs, real and hopeful, the worry and dread erased from her face and Carlisle silently thanks Edward. The boy appears, gives him a quick wink, and then cries out as Esme races ahead of him. "Cheater!" Edward calls.
All Carlisle can do is laugh.
The house in Alaska is long and sprawling, set into the snowy backdrop with columns of redwood framing the door. Esme's eyes grow wide as she takes in the sight and Carlisle wonders more and more if her proficiency with numbers and the intricate way she admires houses will translate into some sort of architecture degree when she is confident enough to go out into the world on her own.
He had a sneaking suspicion that she would fall in love with the Denali house, so he told her very little about it. Watching her light up as they draw near, mouth forming an adorable 'O' shape, is totally worth it.
Edward shakes his head at him before jogging back towards Esme. "This is nothing. Wait until you see the inside."
He jogs ahead then, running to greet their hosts who appear at the side of the house on the glass-railed porch. It's made of the same strong beams of wood, giving the entire place a majestic cabin like feel. If cabins were solitary winter mansions built by vampires near the arctic.
Edward launches himself from the ground and over the railing, landing delicately next to Carmen who wraps him in a hug.
Esme slows at that, noting for the first time the five vampires that line the porch.
"It's okay," Carlisle whispers, coming to stand behind her. He places both his hands on her shoulders, leaning so close to her ear that her hair brushes against his lips as he speaks. "You have nothing to fear here. The Denali's are some of my oldest friends."
Esme nods and reaches up to wrap her hand around his. He takes the hint and pulls her along at a more human speed, lacing their fingers tightly. Even as they reach the porch and he greets his old friends he holds her hand; he'd be lying if he said it didn't also bring him some sort of comfort and in a way it's easier this way, to let them know what Esme means to him.
As he expects, after he introduces Esme, she is welcomed easily, just as he knew she would be. It's impossible not to like her. Her soft, unassuming nature. Her natural warmth and tender-heart. Her shy wit and sense of humour. And judging by how quickly she befriends the Denali sisters, he'll be lucky if he gets to talk to her again before they leave.
In fact, after that moment, Esme is whisked away and it feels like days before he sees her again; when he checks his watch and considers the time he finds that it has indeed been that long. Without the hospital to keep him on schedule, not to mention the old friends who keep him busy here—Eleazar always has updates on the Volturri for him—time seems to slip away. It isn't a bad thing by any means, but he can feel a tender sort of ache in his chest. He knows it has to do with Esme's absence. That he's longing for her company. They may very well be residing in the same house, but being apart, even so much as in different rooms, creates a loneliness that he's only ever felt when he's stayed too long at the hospital, covering for physicians too sick to make it in. So he excuses himself from Eleazar's library, where Edward has holed himself up asking the man questions of the philosophical type, to go in search of her.
He wanders the wood-lined halls of the cavernous mansion, past rustic decor and through the seldom used dining room.
He finds the girls in the kitchen, seated upon silver legged stools, gossiping around the massive island. Esme sits in the middle of the foray, a brilliant smile on her face. She's missed this, he realizes. Female company. Despite how good she's become at being around humans these past couple of months, no human relationship will ever be like what she will have with the sisters or Carmen. There's so much about their world that must remain secret from the humans that it becomes very difficult to build any kind of meaningful relationship. He's learned this the hard way, spending many years in hospitals, being known by the masses, while not really getting to know them in return. In the end it's futile, for no matter how carefully vampires build their facade, the truth is that after so long humans pass away.
It disappoints him that he failed to think of this earlier. He'd been so caught up with helping Esme cope, that perhaps he failed to see that establishing relationships among their kind may have served to help her transition better into this world. Despite his and Edward's best attempts, there are, of course, some things that only women can understand.
"Esme," he interrupts, standing in the doorway. She looks over at him with a kind of warmth that makes him feel like he'll start to float. "Would you care to hunt? I thought I might venture out now."
He recognizes the moment she notices her thirst, having ignored it for longer than usual, distracted by her new surroundings and her new friends. He registers the slight discomfort on her face as she excuses herself from between Tanya and Kate.
"Don't steal her for too long," Tanya says, feigning a pout and shaking her curly blonde hair from her shoulders.
"I'll bring her back," Carlisle promises, though he has no intention of returning her in the immediate future. He reaches out his hand to Esme as she rounds the island. She accepts immediately and Carlisle tips his head to Irina and Kate. "Ladies," he says.
Irina waves them off. "There's a herd of elk to the North. But do show her something more interesting. Before your Edward mows down all the good carnivores in the area."
Carlisle chuckles. "He does enjoy hunting up here."
Carmen stands to usher them out the door. "Go, go. Enjoy. I'll make sure the boy doesn't create any endangered species while you're gone."
They don't have to venture far from the house before they come upon a pack of arctic wolves, their fur bright under the sun. The elk have moved further North, mostly likely as a result of these pursuing predators, but Esme is captivated all the same.
"Oh my," she says under her breath, crawling to the top of the snowy hill they've stopped beneath. She settles down in the snow, until her dress is caked in layers of white fluff. Carlisle realizes that she's never seen animals of this type, and not even her thirst can win out her insatiable curiosity for the beauty she finds before her. Her fingers twitch in the snow and he knows she's itching to sketch, committing the image to memory for later.
He settles down beside her, content when she leans against him. They stay that way for so long the edges of her dress start to turn to ice; despite this he doesn't disturb her, happy enough to sit in her company, memorizing the look of wonder on her face, perhaps preparing his own sketch for later.
"Can we hunt something else?" she asks him eventually. "I know how much you prefer a carnivore, but—" She trails off with a sigh. One of the wolves below lets out a long, majestic howl. It's answered from far away. "They really are marvelous, aren't they?"
Carlisle chuckles and offers her his hand. "Come," he says. "Edward has been wanting to show you a polar bear. I'm sure we'll find him out here somewhere."
As the days come and go, Esme's spirits continue to brighten in the company of the Denali's and Carlisle almost wonders if she's forgotten that moment in the woods. He knows she hasn't, not really, but her mind is occupied otherwise and for that he's glad.
He on the other hand has had plenty of time to consider what happened, what she said, and how out of sorts he's felt because of it. It's been a long time since he's had feelings as intense as the ones Esme makes him feel. There's a chaos to it that makes him nervous, almost as if the last few centuries of perfect self control could be foiled by the restrained strength that brews beneath his skin.
It doesn't take long for his friends to search him out about his contemplative mood and he spends a long afternoon in the company of Eleazar and Carmen, telling them of the nomad and of the utter terror he felt in his gut watching him size up Esme. Even as a newborn, possessing all her immortal strength, he would have feared for her, but especially now that the year has come and gone; it's become apparent to both him and Edward how much weaker Esme is physically.
It had happened one day weeks ago. A man had come to the house, calling for Carlisle, and on instinct, he'd reached out to grab Esme's arm. Instead of being distracted by the human blood like he'd expected, she'd flinched under the force of his touch, gasping and pulling her arm towards her body. She had not even needed to whisper in pain. The look on her face—even for the split second it had taken her to rearrange her features—told him clearly that he had hurt her.
He'd been so distraught with himself. A sudden wave of grief overtook him as he felt every bit the monster that her last husband had been. Knowing if she could bruise that there would be marks on her arm now, ones that would match those that vile man had left for years was enough to make him feel ill. An entirely foreign concept, but so apt in that moment it had rendered him both horrified and speechless. So much so that Edward had taken the initiative to answer the door, turning the man away with the promise to pass along a message.
He'd been shaken when he realized how easily he could now overpower her. He'd always tried to be conscious of her past, of these things that might trigger her. But he'd not known. When he'd reach out, he'd grasped her out of fear.
"Why didn't you say something?" Carlisle had said. He had to work to keep from moaning the words out of distress. "Before now. If you'd noticed that your newborn strength was waning."
"I know you'd never hurt me," Esme had told him. "I know that. Besides, it was only because you thought I might react to the blood. Most of the time you're far more gentle with me." She had smiled at him, brushing her hand through the hair that fell against his forehead, trying to assuage his guilt.
Though it had been those words—most of the time—that had given him pause for he never wanted to hurt her. Never wanted to be the reason she was in pain.
"Carlisle," she had said, admonishing him gently. "I'm not that breakable, really."
But that memory had stuck with him, and it wasn't until that moment in the field, watching the nomad stare her down, that he'd realized the true extent of what the end of her newborn year entailed.
Esme is far more vulnerable now, especially against their own kind.
"Well," Carmen says, smiling in a telling way at him. One that comes from years of experience. "You know what you must do now, correct?"
Eleazar nods. "You must teach her to fight. To defend herself at the very least."
Carlisle sighs. He doesn't want any part of Esme's life to revolve around violence, though he cannot stomach the thought of her in danger. "Yes," he agrees. "You're right."
Carmen pats his hand. "It's the only way you'll feel better. She means something very special to you, doesn't she?"
Carlisle nods.
Carmen beams. "I thought so. You've changed, old friend, though I'd say for the better. You seem much happier."
"She is a lovely woman," Eleazar says. "A perfect match in a mate if I've ever seen one."
Carlisle glances down from the balcony, to where Edward has just tackled Esme into the snow. She proceeds to dumps an armful of slush onto his head. "I'm going to marry her," he whispers.
"And you should," Carmen says, moving to stand close enough that their whispered words cannot be heard by any of the other women in the house. "Does she know?"
"That I love her so desperately? I hope she realizes. We've been moving slow. Tortuously it feels, sometimes, but her past was . . . difficult in many ways. I did not want her to feel rushed. I still worry that it's all too soon. She's barely out of her newborn phase as it is."
"I think you're doing a wonderful job, Carlisle. Both by Esme and Edward. Our kind usually cannot settle in covens of more than two or three. We seem to be an exception. But you, you haven't created a coven." Carmen nods down to the never ending hills of snow. "This is a family."
She's right, Carlisle thinks. And he must protect them. He looks to Eleazar. "How do I teach her to fight?"
Carmen raises an eyebrow. "The same way you did with Edward."
"I could not even pretend to strike her," Carlisle says. "Even in jest. Even knowing that no hit would land."
Eleazar claps him on the shoulder. "The girls will help. If anyone can teach Esme a thing or two, it's those three."
For the following week they practice. Tanya and Irina take turns engaging Esme in harmless wrestling matches, teaching her and honing innate vampire skills. Edward stands on the sidelines, cheering Esme on with unrestrained excitement. A few times he manages to convince both Carlisle and Eleazar to join in, but since Edward can pull things right out of their minds, they mostly spend the match chasing the boy around the field.
The rest of the time they leave the women to practice. At some point during the week, Carlisle takes up a spot on the porch where he can hover without Esme feeling overwhelmed. Edward joins him after awhile, watching as even Carmen takes a turn on the field. Esme improves quickly under the watchful eye of Kate. She never practices, but critiques Esme's form and offers ways to exploit weaknesses in her opponents.
"Do you not practice?" Esme asks her one day, when she's finally managed to best Tanya.
Kate gives her a wry smile and a wink. "I have a little extra power which means I don't have to worry about fighting as much."
Esme watches her curiously.
Beside him, Edward tenses and Carlisle gets to his feet, watching the two women below.
"Kate," Edward warns and Carlisle looks between him and Kate.
"I'll be gentle," Kate says with a grin, holding her hand up to Esme. "Here, let me show you."
Esme reaches out a finger, closing the distance. As Carlisle realizes what's about to happen he leaps from the porch and crosses the field, sliding in between the two woman. "I think that's enough for today," he murmurs, staring down at Kate's outstretched hand, his arms reaching behind him for Esme. He can feel her hand against his shoulder blade as she peers around his arm.
"You're no fun," Kate jokes. "I was on low. You can ask, Edward."
Esme frowns. "I don't understand."
Edward sighs at Kate, shaking his head before addressing Esme. "She has a penchant for electricity. And yes, if you're wondering, it does hurt. This is why we don't wrestle with Kate, because she cheats."
Kate shakes out her long hair and taps her temple. "No more than you do."
Edward smirks, crossing his arms against his chest. "Care to put it to the test?"
Kate waves him onto the field. "I won't go easy, you know."
Edward laughs. "I can take it."
Carlisle shakes his head, and presses a kiss to Esme's temple. Before they walk away, Kate calls out to him, a grin breaking across her face. "Love looks good on you, old friend. It gives me hope for the future."
Carlisle holds Esme tighter to him, smiling as they walk away and chuckling to himself when he hears Edward's groan and Kate's jubilant cheer of victory.
A/N: Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed so far! This story was born of some annoying plot bunnies about my favourite twilight couple that kept hopping around in my head. I think I originally intended to tell this story from mostly Esme's point of view, but somewhere along the way Carlisle snuck in and kind of hijacked it. The next chapter should take us back into Esme's view, though! I always thought Esme and Carlisle's love story was beautiful, and although Stephanie Meyer has said that upon waking Esme was quite content to find Carlisle again, I think she would have had a lot of emotional trauma to work through, even as a vampire, which I've tried to explore more in this story. Anyway, I love hearing from you, so drop me a comment if you want to talk about the story, the amazingness that is Carlisle/Esme in general (sassy, but sweet pre-Bella Edward), or even if you have any one-shots that you'd like to see worked into the story :D