A/N: Okay, I know you guys are going to murder me but there is a valid reason why I had to take this latest chapter down. I was reading through New Moon for the next chapter when I realized I'd made a few MAJOR Plot mistakes. Things that would mess with the flow of the story later on. So, i had to take down the other one and fix it. The first part is mainly the same. The last couple hundred words are completely different though, which is why i had to change the name of the Chapter. It's now called "Reconnecting" and you'll see why. I promise, next chapter will be up soon. I have four days of campus time with no classes so, i can chain myself to my laptop for hours on end, if that's what it takes.

I am sorry in advanced for the inconvenience, but i just Want to get Carlisle's story right. Please read this updated chapter so you will understand what is happening next.

-Wish

P.S. I'm finding a few continuity issues in some of SM's plot that I'm also trying to sort out. Apparently according to her, Carlisle is out hunting. THen Alice tells BElla she calls him, but then later on tells BElla that he doesn't know Alice is in Forks and that he and Esme will find out when they return in a few days. THen it seems to be alright because she talks to Jasper before going to Italy, so i think it evens out a bit there. If any of you can help me understand this, i would really appreciate it.

Chapter 50: Reconnecting

As we arrived at the familiar, removed house just outside the Denali National Park, four figures stepped out to greet us. Tanya was easily recognizable with her strawberry blond hair. Next to her was her sister, Kate. Eleazar stood hand-in-hand with Carmen, just behind the sisters.

"Carlisle." Eleazar stepped forward to shake my hand, a broad smile on his face.

"It's good to see you, Eleazar," I replied. I nodded to his mate behind him, "Carmen."

She returned my nod graciously. I looked to Tanya and Kate, who were talking with Alice and Rosalie.

"Where is Irina? And if I'm not mistaken, Laurent was intending to come here too." Laurent had helped us greatly in our search for James last spring. He'd refused to get involved, saying that it wasn't his battle. Instead, he'd gone north, supposedly to Denali to live with Eleazar, Tanya, and their family.

Eleazar's smile fell and I noticed Kate tense where she was with Rosalie.

"Why don't we all go inside?" Carmen suggested. "We can…catch up."

We all followed her inside the house, the mood suddenly more solemn. It was obvious something had happened to Irina, something the others didn't like to think about.

The inside of the Denalis' house was much like our old house in Forks. It was surprisingly open for a house in Alaska, even the southern part. They didn't have a glass wall like we'd had, but they did have plenty of large windows and their living room took up most of the bottom floor. It was there we settled down to hear what the Denalis had to say for Irina.

It was Carmen who started. She seemed to be the most able to handle the information. "Laurent did come here and he gave our lifestyle a chance. He was quite good at it, actually. He and Irina began to grow close. Very close."

"Did she become his mate?" Esme asked.

Carmen nodded.

"What happened to them?" Rosalie asked.

"They left." Kate's voice was bitter. She was obviously angry at Irina's sudden departure. "They left without a word of where they were going or when they would be back, if ever."

"So you don't know where they are," I finished.

"No." Eleazar's answer hung heavily in the air. I could tell the others were all racking their brains for some reason Laurent and Irina might leave, and where they would go. My own mind was grasping for an answer. The one I came up with was frightening.

"What if they went…south."

Carmen, Eleazar, Kate, and Tanya looked at me like I'd lost my mind. But my family looked at me with dawning dread.

"You don't think Laurent changed his mind, do you?" Esme spoke first.

But Alice shook her head vehemently. "No," she replied. "I would've seen it."

"But Edward asked you not to," I reminded her.

"And you had so much on your mind as it was," Esme added.

Alice took time before answering. "I spent so much time back in Forks, looking into Bella's future. Even if I weren't looking for it, I would've seen something that important. If Laurent had gone back to finish Bella, I would've seen it."

She seemed certain of it, so I dropped the subject. If Laurent and Irina had gone south, there was nothing we could do about it now. It sounded like they'd left a while ago.

"Why don't you get settled?" Eleazar suggested. "There will be time to talk about this later."

I nodded and the others dispersed, going back to their cars to get bags or up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. After our stay with the Denalis, Tanya, Kate, Irina, Eleazar, and Carmen had left the rooms as they were. We were sure to come back, after all. And then everything would be already prepared.

Eleazar followed Esme and I up to the room we'd occupied. It was small, much smaller than our room in Forks or even Ithaca. But with no need for a bed, the room had ample space for the two of us. Eleazar closed the door behind him and turned to us.

"What happened to your family?" he asked. "I've never seen you all like this. Not even after one of you slip. What happened to Edward? And what did you mean when you talked about Laurent and Irina going south?"

I sighed, setting my bag on the floor next to the couch and sitting down. Esme joined me and Eleazar took the lone chair.

"You remember last year, when Edward came up here for a week in March?"

"Of course," Eleazar replied. "He seemed so conflicted. I'd never seen him so uncertain."

"He came up because of a girl who'd just moved to Forks, Bella Swan. Because Bella's blood was too tempting to him. He almost lost control the first day he met her. As a result, he left."

"But he went back, yes? He was only here for about a week before he returned."

"Yes," I replied. "Edward came back, determined to not let one human's blood keep him away from his family. He tried to keep his distance from Bella. But one day she was almost hit by a van. Edward saved her, but in doing so, exposed himself to her. He tried to cover it up, but Bella was too perceptive. She figured out what we were."

"She knows?" Eleazar looked incredulous. "What did you do? Did you kill her? Change her?"

"No," I answered. "We didn't do anything. Bella proved herself, trustworthy. And Edward…" I sighed. "Edward fell in love with her."

Eleazar looked even more surprised now than he had hearing Bella knew about us. "He fell in love? With what sounds like his tua cantante? That must've been very painful for him."

I nodded agreement. "But Edward was determined to keep Bella safe. Only, a tracker came through and targeted Bella. We managed to trick him into following us, while Bella went south, back to her mother's house in Phoenix, but we couldn't finish the tracker off before he figured it out. He tracked Bella to Phoenix and almost killed her. He'd bitten her, and Edward sucked the venom out."

Eleazar's jaw fell open. I could understand why. The strength and control Edward exerted was tremendous, to stop when Bella's blood was clean. I don't think I've ever been more proud of him than I was that day.

"Bella was okay," I continued, "but she had a broken leg, among other injuries. That summer, the two of them spent a lot of time together. Most of their time, actually. Bella was over at our house almost as much as Edward was at hers."

"Is that where he is now?" Eleazar asked. "With Bella in Forks?"

Esme hung her head next to me as I shook mine. "No. On Bella's eighteenth birthday, we threw her a party. But Bella tends to have accidents and get into trouble. She got a paper cut when trying to open her presents. Jasper attacked her."

"He killed her," Eleazar resolved. "I'm sorry, Carlisle."

"No, he didn't kill her. Edward protected her. But she did get hurt again, and it was a very close call. The incident prompted us to move on. Edward didn't want anything like that happening ever again. He didn't want to risk Bella's life, just for what he calls 'his own selfishness'. We left Bella behind in Forks and moved to Ithaca. But Edward and the others were never the same afterwards.

"Edward was in almost a constant state of depression. He didn't feed often enough, he didn't speak to anyone, and he hardly ever came out of his room. Soon, he left, going after the tracker's mate, who is still out there, possibly looking for revenge.

"Soon after we moved, Rosalie and Emmett went on a second honeymoon in Europe. They just got back a few weeks before we came here. And Alice and Jasper went south. The tracker had revealed a few pieces of Alice's past. He'd tried to track her when she was a human, but she'd been the first prey of his to get away. An old vampire had changed her before the tracker, James, could kill her. She and Jasper went to Biloxi, Mississippi to do some research on Alice's past. They returned not too long after Rosalie and Emmett did."

"But Edward hasn't," Eleazar added. "Have you heard anything from him?"

"No," I replied. "Not since he left. He hasn't called or communicated in any other way. For all we know, he could be in a whole other country."

Esme squeezed my hand and I returned her gesture. I know that the subject of Edward was a hard one for her, but Eleazar needed to know.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle," Eleazar said. "We haven't heard anything from him either. But I promise if we do, we will contact you immediately, wherever you are."

"Thank you," I replied. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your kindness."

"He's always welcome here."

I nodded and further expressed my gratitude before the three of us left Esme and my room. We turned to a more immediate topic as we entered the living room again.

"Esme and I were considering taking a hunting trip, just the two of us," I told Eleazar. "Just for a couple of days." Esme nodded with me. We'd both thought it would be a good idea for Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper to have some fun with their for lack of a better term, "cousins".

Eleazar nodded.

"I know Emmett will want to go hunting right away. He's been looking forward to the grizzlies for a while. It's hard to find bears on the east coast."

"Well we have an abundance of them here. I'd be happy to take him and the others, if you two want to spend some time alone. And when you get back, we'll play a ball game or two. It's a lot more fun with more than just four players."

I smiled. "Absolutely." It was good to see Eleazar and the other Denalis again. It'd been so long since the last time we'd visited. Over two years. As we were in the process of reconnecting our own, immediate family, it felt right to catch up with our extended family as well.

Esme and I said our goodbyes to Tanya, Kate, and Carmen, before searching out our children in their separate rooms. We found Alice and Jasper first, in their room, just talking.

"You're leaving," Alice said, for me.

"Yes. Esme and I are going on a hunting trip for a few days. Behave yourselves and don't break anything."

"We're not the ones you need to worry about, Carlisle," Jasper said, smirking.

"All the same," I replied. "We'll be back soon." Esme gave each of them and hug and Alice skipped forward, giving me a soft squeeze before turning back to her husband.

"Oh, and by the way, weather should be perfect for a game when you get back," Alice called as we left.

"Thank you, Alice," I replied, pulling their door most of the way shut. We walked down the hall to Emmett and Rosalie's room. Thankfully, the door was open, so there was no chance of walking in on them. They were both lying on the bed, Emmett with one hand behind his head and the other wrapped around Rose at his side. They were staring up at the ceiling and laughing together at a joke Esme and I must've missed.

"Emmett, Rose, Esme and I are leaving on a hunting trip for a few days," I told them.

"Ditching us already?" Emmett teased. "And you think Rose and I are bad."

Neither Esme nor I said anything in reply. What we did together was not our children's business.

"Behave, and don't break anything," I told them, specifically looking at Emmett. "I'm leaving my cell phone here, so you won't be able to talk to me until we get back. Remember that we are still guests in this house."

"Sure Pops," Emmett replied, waving his free hand at me. "Go have your fun."

Esme said goodbye to each of them before we left, leaving this door open, and headed back to the living room. As we walked to the door, I pulled Esme close to me, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked Esme.

"Yes," she replied, smiling softly.

I offered her my hand and she took it lightly before we took off, out the door and away from the house.

A/N2: Please review if you haven't done so already. I realize a few of you awesome readers have already done so and i don't think it will let you review again, so if you have any comments about this latest chapter, don't hesitate to drop me a PM or something. THanks!

-Wish