Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Twilight, but I enjoy putting them through the ringer!

Okay, this is an extremely short chapter compared to what I usually post in this story, it's from a never before seen POV. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

For The Love Of Esme

EsmePOV

Our sweet Bella was so exhausted; she practically had to crawl out of the door and down the hallway. She was so dedicated to my son. I knew beyond all doubt that one day she would break down the last of his barriers and he would make her his wife.

I walked over, running my hands through Edward's wild bronze hair, having as little luck getting it to tame as I had when he was a boy. I felt the tears welling in my eyes as I looked down at my strong, brave son, lying in bed, looking so weak and frail. It was so hard to see him like this.

I hummed as I stroked his hair. "Can you hear me Edward? I love you, my son. We need you to heal and come home to us soon. Okay, dearest? We all need you. Your friends need you, your father and I need you, and most of all, your Bella needs you. She may have been amazingly strong through everything, but she's suffering the consequences now. It's going to take her a long time to get over this. She is going to need you to help her. You are going to need each other, so you hurry up and focus on mending your body so you can help mend the love of your life's soul."

I smiled as his heart rate sped slightly. I brushed my hands across his cheeks comfortingly. "She'll be okay, honey. Don't you worry about that...your Bella is very strong, but even the strongest person needs their loved ones to lean on, especially their soul mates. You are half of what makes her whole, son. She needs that half to fully heal. I have no doubt that you will be doing that as soon as you can."

I began to hum again as I ran my hands up and down his arms. I walked to the sink to grab a wash cloth, wetting it with cool water, and running more cold water into a basin before crossing again to his bedside. I had spent many a night, sitting at Edward's bedside, blotting his face with cool compresses during his childhood, dating back to before he came into my permanent care. Even when he didn't have a fever, he would ask me if I could help him feel better by 'patting his face with the cold washcloth'. I would always agree and sit for countless hours, happy to be able to provide some form of comfort when he felt so poorly.

I settled on the edge of the bed, bringing the tray closer to sit the basin on. I began pressing the cool cloth to his face as I told him stories about my childhood, growing up with Elizabeth. I told him stories I had never shared with him before.

I told him about how Carlisle and I nearly missed out on each other because I had been too busy running away from my childhood. I had been desperate not to become some sad woman, trapped in a marriage she didn't really want anymore, because she had no way of supporting herself as Liz and I watched our mother do.

I was determined to have a career and be self sufficient. I continually pushed Carlisle away as he tried so consistently to break down my walls and get me to admit how much I truly did love him. We were children ourselves, not more than twenty two, when he finally broke through. He got me to agree to marry him after three years of tirelessly pursuing me as we both worked our way through college.

We married, still keeping our paths focused on our careers. We both wanted a family, but we always said that children could wait. He needed to complete medical school and his residency. I wanted to get my masters and get a few years in with a respected design firm before I broke out on my own and went independent.

The same year that I finally agreed to marry Carlisle, Liz had joined me at college. She tagged along with us most of the time. It was thanks to her tag along tendencies, that one night about five months before our wedding, she met Carlisle's roommate and best friend Edward and the rest was history.

Edward and Liz married midway through Liz's sophomore year of college. Liz dropped out and became the perfect corporate wife as Ed blazed his way through the ranks at the top rated law firm in Chicago. They were happy and in love. Before we knew it, we were all celebrating Edward Jr.'s birth.

I had just finished up a very large job with an extremely prestigious client, making many important connections. My success led me to believe that perhaps I was ready to break out on my own and start my own firm. Carlisle had just finished his last year of residency and had chosen to take on a fellowship. We were both so proud of our accomplishments, feeling that our lives were so fulfilled.

We walked into Ed and Liz's apartment, feeling on top of the world and completely satisfied with our lives...until we saw sweet little Edward Anthony Masen Jr.'s face.

Suddenly, our whole world shifted on axis. As I held that sweet baby boy in my arms, I realized that there was a big hole in our lives. We had met almost all of our professional goals, in my heart I knew it was time to move on with our personal goals.

We left their apartment that night with heavy hearts. The second the door closed on the car, we both looked at each other and announced we were ready to have a baby. I jumped across the car to hug Carlisle's neck squealing in delight. Of course, we rushed home to begin trying right away.

It was all fun and games at first, but as the months passed on with no good news, my heart began to grow more and more depressed. We continued trying on our own for nearly two years before we approached my doctor about the issue, beginning the endless series of emotionally draining testing.

Two months later, we sat in the office of my doctor. Carlisle held my weeping frame in his arms, as the doctor told us that the chances that we would conceive on our own were very, very slim.

Years passed as we worked to exhaust every possible treatment option available with no luck. Edward continued to grow into the sweetest, most kind hearted little boy you have ever met. Whatever love and devotion Carlisle and I had in our hearts that we could not devote to our own child, we bestowed instead upon our precious nephew. All along though, we never gave up hope, continuing to try for a child of our own.

Nine years after our attempts began, the last vestiges of hope were ripped from us when it was discovered I had a benign tumor growing on my uterus. Between that, the endometriosis that plagued my existence and the high probability that a cancerous tumor could eventually arise considering my family history, the doctors pushed me to have a hysterectomy. When they removed that bit of me that was designed to allow a woman to bear a child from my body, I felt like they removed the last bit of what made me a woman.

I fell into a deep depression. I pushed everyone away from me, most of all my poor Carlisle, as I mourned for the loss of a child that would never be and the part of me that in my mind made me a woman. I felt less of a person and most of all, completely hopeless. I had the career, the husband, the home, the money, but what I wanted most in the world, I would never have.

In addition to all of this, Ed was diagnosed that fall with cancer. It was already highly progressed and most definitely terminal. Only a few short months later, he passed away, leaving Edward Jr. and Liz behind.

Liz pulled away from everyone, barricading Edward and herself in their home. I tried to be there to help them, but my efforts were pushed away as she would close her door in my face time and time again. Once again, I was left feeling helpless as my sister disappeared inside herself, taking my nephew with her and I was powerless to stop it.

Around the time of Ed's death, Carlisle finally convinced me to go into counseling. I struggled with my issues of feeling less of a woman. I struggled with my resentments against the universe in general for the raw deal I had been dealt, in addition to the pain of my Ed's loss and my sister's subsequent withdrawal from everyone. It was a slow process. I was growing frustrated more and more each day.

Carlisle began to hint at adoption, but that only made me angrier. I began to follow Liz's example. I started refusing to go out and do anything besides work and sleep. I was giving up on everything.

One day, Carlisle got sick of it. He demanded I get dressed and go out with him for the day. He took me to the Art Institute, my favorite place in all of Chicago. He followed me quietly as I made my way through the halls filled with color and life. I would look over occasionally and see him with his eyes closed and his head down, appearing to pray as we walked from room to room. The longer we walked, the more I saw the impact my actions were having on my poor sweet husband who had done nothing to deserve any of this, the guiltier I felt. I knew I needed to do something, but I had no idea what or how.

As we made our way home that day, for the first time in months, I reached across the console of the car and initiated hand holding. We walked up the front steps, still hand in hand. We walked in the front door to find to our utter shock, Edward sitting in the living room, crying, clutching his tiny suitcase to his chest.

Francesca, our maid at the time, rushed up to us, explaining how Liz had dropped him off an hour before with no explanation and left. It was only after she left that Edward told her that he didn't think Liz was coming back.

Before Francesca had even finished the first sentence of her story, I had crossed the room. I pulled Edward into my arms, running my hand through is hair. I held him close, trying to comfort him. It broke my heart to see how broken my sweet nephew had become.

Over the next several weeks, Carlisle and I struggled with helping Edward settle into our home. I redecorated his room and bought all new furniture for him. He held little interest in the process, quietly thanking me, and not willing to provide any opinions.

Slowly he began to open up about life with Liz. I was shocked to know that she had taken such poor care of him.

Anger flared in me more bright and hot than any I had ever known before. How dare she take such a gift for granted? Here Carlisle and I had struggled for years to have a child that would never come, meanwhile, she had the most wonderful son any woman could ask for, and she neglected him in deference to burying herself in bottles of alcohol.

Life was so unfair, but I knew immediately that I would make it all up to him. I loved that little boy more than life itself. Where his mother failed to be what he needed, I would do my best to fill those shoes.

That day I stopped being Edward's aunt and started being his mother. While the path to that place was painful and difficult, I wouldn't trade my son for anything.

I walked to the sink to get a fresh basin of cool water, I returned to his bedside to apply the compresses to his face, neck, and arms. It felt good to talk to him, even if he couldn't respond. I had to hope he could hear me. Occasionally, his heart rate monitor would beep more quickly and then fade back to a regular pace. It hadn't failed my notice that this usually happened when I would share a particularly emotional memory about Liz and Ed. I couldn't resist the hope that Bella was right and he could hear us.

I wasn't sure how long I had been there when I heard the door open behind me. I turned to see a freshly showered, yet still completely exhausted Bella shuffle back into the room. The dark circles under her eyes gave her the appearance of a worked over prize fighter, rather than the peaceful, although quite resourceful doctor that she actually was. I had seen the footage of the confrontation in the ER. I was shocked to see how Bella had reacted in the moment. If she hadn't taken the actions that she had, I was almost certain that more than just the gunman and Edward would have been left injured or dead.

She smiled and hugged me before reaching down to run her fingers across Edward's forehead. Immediately, his heart rate picked up. I smiled as she leaned down and kissed his forehead, whispering that yes, she was there and she would stay there until they kicked her out.

Donna had told me the last time she came in that her shift was ending in about half an hour. After that, it would depend on the next nurse on duty whether or not they would be enforcing the visiting hours rule. I hoped, for my son's sake, that he would have another understanding nurse who would see the merits of having a doctor staying in the room, especially after witnessing Edward's heart rate fall into a nice steady cadence that was a bit lower than it had been the whole time Bella had been away. It was obvious to even myself, who had no medical knowledge whatsoever, that Edward was resting better with Bella nearby.

Bella and I sat and chatted as she stroked Edward's hair. I watched on, grateful that my son had such a wonderful relationship in his life. For a long time, I feared that his mother's actions had ruined his chances at ever finding true happiness, but Bella always held a special place in his heart. I knew early on that it would be just a matter of time before she managed to break down all of his barriers, just as Carlisle had done to mine.

It was a quarter till ten when the next nurse walked into the room, giving both Bella and I curious glances as she set about her task of taking Edward's vitals and checking the activity on his heart monitor. She asked a few questions about the accelerations and how long we had been in the room. She seemed to put together Edward's steady lower rhythm with Bella's arrival and nodded to herself.

She turned to us shortly afterward, explaining that since Bella was a doctor, she didn't mind if she stayed in Edward's room for the night, but that she felt it best if only Bella stayed.

Bella glanced at me apologetically.

I shook my head at her with a smile.

"No sweetheart, I was praying that they would let you stay. He needs you. You're good for him any time, but you seem to be especially good for him now. He's more at peace when you're around, you can tell. I'm going to go home and get some rest. I'll be back up here first thing in the morning."

I crossed the room, hugging her around the shoulders.

"Just please do me a favor. Try to get some rest. You know he'll get over stressed if he thinks you didn't take care of yourself."

She nodded and thanked me. I kissed Edward's forehead once more before I left the room, making my way to Carlisle's office.

He was sitting at his desk with his hands buried in his graying blonde hair. He looked exhausted. I could tell he was hiding from his concerns for Edward behind his work.

When I walked in, he looked up with a tired smile. "Hello, my beautiful wife. I assume you just left our son?"

I nodded as he sighed.

"Are they allowing Bella to stay with him tonight?"

I smiled, nodding again. I watched as he ran his hands through his hair followed by another long sigh.

"I'm worried about her. I'm going to call down an order with the nurse for a sedative if she needs it tonight. This is only a temporary reprieve for her from dealing with the trauma of this week. Once Edward is better, it's going to hit her all over again. We're going to have to be ready for that."

It was my turn to sigh this time as I crossed to stand behind him, rubbing his shoulders gently.

"And we will be, but for now we both need to go home and rest. Bella will be watching over Edward. We will do neither one of them any good if we are too exhausted to be there when they need us."

I gently pulled the pen out of his hand, leaving it on his desk. I pulled on his hand to have him follow me.

I led him to the coat rack, grabbing his winter coat off and handing it to him before reaching for the door handle and turning the lock. I motioned for him to lead the way as I shut off the light and closed the door behind us. I took my husband's hand, walking with him toward the parking deck to get in our car and make our way back home.

I had expected for more to happen in this chapter originally, but once I finished typing it, I felt like it should stand on its own. I hope you enjoyed a little bit of insight into Esme's past. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your reviews.