Esme had an idea. Carlisle had been working so much lately that it been four days since he had seen Lily awake and Lily was getting more and more moody at the fact she hadn't seen her father since she left for school at the beginning of the week. He had been home, but only for few hours or so, here and there, all while Lily was asleep. He had even tried waking her late one night, just to tell her he loved her, but she was too cranky and tired to even acknowledge who it was trying to wake her.

So Esme picked up Lily from school and decided to drive straight to the hospital. It would be nice to surprise her husband anyway.

He spent much of the time in ER, so when she walked in, she put her finger to her lips, signaling Lily to stay quiet. Confused, Lily nodded. She was glad she got to see her daddy but didn't understand why her mother wanted her to be quiet.

Esme moved quickly and silently through the halls, using her nose to sniff out her husband. She smirked when she stopped at his office door, laying on the couch with a hand over his face. He looked up at her as she entered the room.

"Don't think I've been doing this for the last several days," he said with a smirk as he sat up stealing Lily from her hands and kissing the girl's nose. "One of my nurses sent me in here to catch a power nap. I thought that's who was coming in at first."

He must have been out of it. Esme frowned with worry, but he kissed her lips and hooked his free hand around her waist. Her caramel hair was tied halfway back, hiding the scar on her neck, but was somehow framing her face just right to wear she looked absolutely beautiful. "Well, don't you look absolutely stunning, Mrs. Cullen," he whispered with his lips close to hers.

"You're not too bad yourself, Dr. Cullen," Esme replied contently.

Then he turned to Lily who was patiently awaiting her father's attention. "Hello, little one," he said so happily, Esme felt herself light up. That was love. He kissed Lily's nose again and hugged both his girls to him. "It's good to see you awake!"

Esme rested her against his shoulder as Lily looked her father in the eye. "You coming home, Daddy?"

"Not quite yet. Dr. Haynes is sick so I have to work twice as hard," he told her sadly. He truly did want to go home, badly. Even worse, he hadn't hunted over two weeks. The burning in this throat was becoming more than just annoying.

"It's a good thing you're not human," Esme mumbled. Of course she understood the hospital needed him, but so did his family. It wasn't fair of the hospital to work him so hard and for long. She could handle the time away because he always made it up for it, but it was Lily just missed him.

Lily wrapped her arms around her father's neck and hung on, not waiting to be put down anytime soon. Carlisle was beginning to realize that these long hours were different now. It wasn't like it used to be where maybe he'd miss the other kids, but they weren't his real kids. They didn't need to see him every day. Lily was six. She was still very dependent and her past made her little afraid she would be left or forgotten.

Esme was great with her. After all, she was normally a bit of a momma's girl, but Carlisle was still her father. She still needed him and this being gone for several days at a time really affected her.

"Dr. Cullen-" the nurse stopped short at the sight of the little girl in his arms and a woman on his arm. The nurse looked a little flustered and blush rose to her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I should have knocked."

Carlisle gave the nurse a patient smile. "It's alright. Jessie, this is my wife Esme and my daughter Lily. What do you need?"

She politely greeted them, but Esme knew there was something bothering the girl. She was probably in her early thirties and was one of the nurses that didn't look at Carlisle like a piece of meat. There was look of sadness on her face as her lips tightened slightly. "Mrs. Johnson is asking for you."

Carlisle nodded soberly. Just as he was about to put Lily down, he changed his mind. A smile tugged as his lips as he looked at his daughter with her head on his shoulder. "How would you and Mommy like to come with me?"

The nurse looked a little surprised, but Esme only happily accepted. She had met several of his patients over the years. When she popped into hospitals Carlisle would sometimes ask her to visit with a patient that didn't have family or one that seemed particularly down. Esme had a gift with people and she made everyone feel loved.

As they stopped at the door of one of the rooms, he handed Lily to Esme just to check and make sure with Mrs. Johnson wouldn't mind visitors. Then he beckoned his wife and child in.

The woman on the table was young. About the same age as the nurse. Her head was wrapped in a scarf and she had no eyebrows. It was the effect of the chemotherapy. Esme's heart broke for her as Lily clung to her mother's hand. Hospitals were very intimidating to any child.

"Well, hello," Mrs. Johnson said happily, but she sounded tired. "You must be Lily."

The girl nodded, but didn't speak, still nervously holding onto her mother.

"She's a little shy at first," her mother explained, pulling her onto her hip. "I'm Esme, it's lovely to meet you."

Mrs. Johnson held her weak smile. "I'm sorry I've been keeping your husband from you. I've heard a lot about you though." The tired eyes looked at her doctor as he checked her vitals again. "She's just a pretty as you said, Carlisle, but I don't see why you didn't tell me about this beautiful little girl."

Carlisle made a habit of really connecting with patients like Darlene Johnson. She had developed breast cancer at the age of twenty-nine and had been fighting in for three years now. It had spread to her ovaries and lungs now. He knew that she didn't have long to live, and he was going to make sure every second she had left on this earth she felt she had a friend.

David, her husband, was there when he could be but he worked a lot to keep up with medical expenses. Carlisle knew the story well. At first the employer will be sympathetic, but eventually they need the worker they are paying for.

"This is my youngest, Lily," he introduced with a fond smile. "She's a bit of a momma's girl."

Lily shook her head and went running over to Carlisle, wrapping her arms around his legs. "I'm mommy and daddy's girl!" she said insistently, making Darlene laugh.

"She may be a little spoiled," Esme said with a smile. "Between having five big siblings and a daddy that can't say no, she is very good at getting what she wants."

Carlisle rolled his eyes a little as he pulled Lily into his arms, looking at her big blue eyes. "Listen to Mommy acting like she's any better. You just have us all wrapped around your little finger, don't you?"

Lily didn't reply, just smiled as she looked back at Darlene. "Are you sick?" she asked carefully, knowing that it was a sensitive situation and not knowing how to manage her curiosity. She glanced at her father to make sure it was okay to talk. He made no motion to correct her so she slowly moved slowly toward the bed and tried to climb up, but it was too high for her.

"Yeah, I'm sick." Carlisle lifted her on the bed and noticed that Esme moved closer as well. Darlene immediately smiled and patted her bed, signaling it as alright for Esme to sit too. "I would probably be the same way if I had kids. She's beautiful," Darlene said fondly as Esme put an arm around Lily and the little girl leaned into her, looking at the ill woman curiously.

"We think so. She's our little miracle," Esme said softly, kissing her daughter's hair and catching her husband's eye. Darlene could tell that the kind Dr. Cullen had a wife with a kind heart to match his. She had heard of their inability to have children of their own they adopted five children many years ago. She had also heard that they recently adopted a smaller child.

The Cullens were a mystery, therefore a topic of conversation. Dr. Cullen was especially popular among the nurses and with her room being near the nurses' station she heard plenty of gossip. There was very little she kept for truth unless Carlisle just told her. He seemed to be fairly open about his family and liked having someone to talk about them with.

She wanted children, she always had. But it was never in the cards for her and David. Maybe that was the reason she already felt like she could bond with Esme if she wanted to.

There was definitely sadness in Darlene's eyes as Lily hung close to Esme. Carlisle had a soft spot for Darlene and David, but he was beginning to think it was because their love reminded him a lot of his love for Esme. He was thankful that he would never have to see Esme like David had to see Darlene: weak, tired, dying. Their life after death was at least together.

"Daddy going to make you better?" Lily asked Darlene as Carlisle pushed some pain meds into her IV. The little girl was watching him closely, but didn't leave her mom's side.

Darlene gave a sad smile. "He's going to make me feel better."

Esme gave the woman a compassionate look as she touched her hand. There was nothing to say really. Esme knew that well enough. When the end was near, it was near. Saying sorry wouldn't stop it, and in truth words from strangers didn't mean much at the end.

"Hey, mommy, I'm hungry," Lily announced quietly, pull looking up at Esme with sleepy eyes. She almost always took a nap after school and Esme knew very well that Lily would be out by the time they got home.

Carlisle almost looked sad, realizing the same thing. He missed his little girl so much. "How about Mommy and Darlene chat for a little while and I'll go see if we can find you an apple?"

Lily scrunched her nose and shook her head against Esme's torso. "She's on an anti-apple kick this last week," Esme explained. "You can blame Emmett for telling her that worms lived in them."

Darlene let out a laugh as Carlisle shook his head. "Emmett..."

"Mitt says that the make princess fall asleep forever and ever too. That's what happen to Snow White!" Lily told her father, reaching for him. "And I don't wanna sleep forever. I don't like sleeping for a little while."

Carlisle pulled her into his arms and shook his head. "I know. Mommy says you haven't been wanting to sleep in your bed."

Esme leaned over toward Darlene. "She'll lay in her bed for a while but it always ends up me having to lay with her in my bed until she falls asleep."

"And I wake up in my bed," Lily said in a slight huff. Obviously whatever plan she tried to execute, never quite worked.

"Okay, you and I will go and try to find a banana? Something healthy that's not an apple?" Carlisle offered picking up his favorite little girl and holding her close. She easily fell into him and immediately closed her eyes. She was tired. There was no hiding it.

He kissed the top of Esme's head as she left and walked toward the cafeteria with Lily in his arms. Her breathing was already beginning to shallow. She buried her face in the coolness of his neck and closed her eyes, her hands holding onto his shirt for comfort.

"Tough day in the first grade?" Carlisle asked her, ignoring the looks from the nurses he was getting. Truthfully, he barely noticed them anymore, but when he had Lily he seemed to notice everything. His protective side came out and he just wanted to make sure he was several steps ahead of anything that tried to hurt her. Of course the likelihood of that happening at his workplace was slim, he just wanted to be sure.

"Uh-huh," she sighed.

He had a feeling that if he just took the long way around the hospital she would be asleep and they wouldn't have to waste the trouble with trying to carry a snack too.

"Are you coming home tonight, Daddy?" she asked, her voice heavy with sleep.

His hand ran down those wild curls as he continued to lull her to sleep. He wanted to say that he would, but honestly he didn't know yet. It was emotionally exhausting and he needed to rest. It was already relaxing with Lily against him, just starting to get to sleep. The warm breaths against his neck alerted him that she was out and he started to head back to Darlene's room when a nurse came out of a room and literally ran right into him.

He had shifted Lily where she wouldn't be disturbed, but the nurse looked flustered. "Dr. Cullen! I'm so sorry!" Carlisle quickly put his finger to his lips and nodded at Lily. He wasn't the least bit angry, it had been a complete accident and he knew it.

Blush rose to her cheeks as she looked even more apologetic and Carlisle offered her a small smile. "No harm, no fowl."

"I didn't realize you had one so young," the nurse mumbled quietly.

Esme appeared from the corner and smiled fondly at her husband and child standing in front of the baffled nurse. "I thought that might happen. The pain medicine made Darlene sleepy, so I let her rest."

Carlisle nodded but didn't seem ready to give Lily up as the nurse quickly excused herself. Esme walked with him as they lazily moved around the hospital, going nowhere really. "You have patients you know."

"Who have been seeing a lot more of me than my wife and daughter."

The sadness in his tone made Esme stop. She pointed a finger at him and narrowed her eyes. "Don't do that. Don't you dare guilt yourself, Carlisle Cullen. Soon the other doctor will be back and you'll be back to playing with her every night. She's not angry or truly upset, she just misses you."

She laid a hand on his chest and kissed his lips, knowing very well that all the nurses are watching them. She wasn't the jealous type and she knew she never had anything to be worried about with her and Carlisle's relationship, but she wanted to kiss him and maybe some of his colleagues would leave him alone for Carlisle's sake.

"I'll take her home. Will we see you tonight?" she asked him, but noticed he still wasn't quite ready to hand Lily over.

"Let's walk a little longer," Carlisle suggested. "I have a little longer before I have to go back to work."

He slipped his hand into hers as they continued to walk. "How about we go to the island for a couple weeks. It's almost winter break. Lily's never been and she'd love it."

Esme smiled. "You think you can get off that quickly?"

"I think I can talk them into it," he said with a reassuring smile.

That night, he made sure he got off in time to see Lily before she went to bed. She sat in Carlisle lap as he played a game of chess against Esme. Lily watched with extreme intent. She probably knew how to play the game by now, but she never asked.

He sat with her as she ate, listening to all the stories he missed during the week, wishing for a moment that time would truly stand still and everyday would be like this moment. His little girl grinning at him with spaghetti sauce on the corner of her mouth, her dress wrinkled and her eyes watching him like he was the most important man in her life.

"Hey Daddy?" she said to him as he held her hand and they walked up to her bedroom together.

"Yes, flower?" he replied, savoring every moment he was given.

"I really missed you."

His heart broke and swelled all at the same time at her slightly hesitant tone. For a few moments he thought back to the tiny, ill looking child that was covered in bruises he had first met. The little girl that shrank away from people's touch. Taking in a breath, he lifted Lily onto her bed and began helping with her pajamas. Normally she would have protested, insisting that she was quite capable of dressing herself, but tonight she said nothing. There were no bruises and the scars had faded considerably. Maybe one day they would be nearly unnoticeable.

"I wish you were always my daddy," Lily told him, knowing very well that he was examining the marks her last daddy left behind.

Carlisle felt the knot in his throat form as he looked his little girl in the eye. "It's an honor to be your daddy now," he told her as he tried to control his emotions. He ran his hand across the long scar on her back. He never wanted to know what caused that scar and he honestly hoped that Lily didn't remember. "I will never hurt you."

She nodded. "I know. That's why you're my real daddy."

Carlisle didn't leave her room that night. Lily fell asleep cuddled into his side and he like to listen to her even breathing. After an hour or so, Esme joined them. She crawled to the other side of Carlisle and rested her head on his chest and ran a hand down Lily's hair.

"Darlene made me realize something today," Esme said softly, her head tilting up to look him in the eye. He silently asked her to continue. "Sometimes the life we always wanted comes after our lives end."

Carlisle swallowed hard and felt Esme relax deeper into his chest. It was true. The life Esme had dreamed up was right there. She had finally be given the chance to be a mother, one to a child that truly needed her and in a way Carlisle was able to give her that.

But what she gave him was so much more. She and Lily both. He had never dared to dream, he was simply too old for it. He knew that most dreams that came into his mind were things that would never happen.

Yet his beautiful wife and adoring daughter changed that. He had learned the possibilities of dreaming again.

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