Chapter 20

His black boots crunched through the snow that was falling at rapid measures, filling in the trail he had left behind. The black hood that hung low over his eyes would surely make anyone run in terror at the sight, though his senses told him that there wasn't a human for miles and miles. Why would there be? His quest took place on a dessert pathway from Canada right down to Forks. It was very possible that no human had set foot along the stray of land since early settlers. There would be no reason for one to pass through here.

Jane and Aro had returned to Italy, leaving Marcus to monitor the Cullens. He had been lonely in the old cabin for days on end, and tried to keep himself busy from having dark thoughts, not to mention he had only eaten once. Maybe that was why his mind was so drifty as of late. It wasn't until the last minute that he even realized he set foot on the wolves territory - something that Aro would surely not be pleased by. He knew that somewhere in his thought process Aro would come across this and come down on him for the brief moment of absent mindedness.

Snowflakes collected in a beautiful, scattered pattern along his cloak and in the strands of hair that fell beneath the hood. For some reason, Marcus enjoyed this. Nature here was much different than in Italy, and it was a nice change. Italy was a land to be treasured, for certain, but there was something about the grace of the Canadian border that greatly differed from that of his native parts.

He came to a clearing and found himself admiring the elegance of the North American winter. How long had it been since he'd stopped to enjoy something so natural and calm? He couldn't remember, and momentarily resented Aro for it. A memory of Didyme popped into his head for the first time in what felt like forever. He closed his eyes briefly before continuing on his trip across the open field. He walked slowly, knowing there was no rush to get to his destination.

At the Cullen house, Carlisle and Esme prepared for the meeting with Marcus. Esme was particularly unhappy and hated the exit strategy that Carlisle had in place. It involved her and Masen leaving him behind and immediately getting out of the area. She prayed with everything inside of her that this wouldn't happen. Looking at her husband now with their innocent baby resting on his chest, she couldn't picture her life without both of them.

Alice and Jasper were ready to support their parents, though weren't sure if they would accompany them to the meeting, or wait at a safe distance. Rosalie was a combination of enraged and worried, though her trust in Carlisle and Alice won the battle of emotions and she was able to contain herself for their sake, and the sake of baby Masen. Emmett would be waiting in the wings, chomping at the bit to get his hands on Marcus if he tried anything out of the ordinary. Bella hadn't challenged anyone, fully trusting the decisions of the people around her. She knew that they knew best, and was prepared to use her talents against Marcus, should they be necessary. Edward still wanted to protest against the meeting, but chose not to. He had followed his father this far and it had always kept him on the right path. To think he should go against the grain now would be silly, and so he stood by his father and made sure he would be allowed to accompany them to read Marcus's thoughts.

Edward held tightly on to Renesme's hand. "Dad, what's going to happen?"

He sighed, "We're going to have a talk with someone."

"About Masen?" she asked.

"Yes. We're going to show him how much everyone loves Masen, and how much he loves all of us."

Edward turned toward Carlisle and read the baby's jumbled thoughts. The one thing that he could pick out for certain, was that Masen felt safe, and this in turn made him feel happy. His golden eyes met Edward's, and both of them stared almost thoughtfully at each other. Masen never looked away, laying contently on Carlisle's chest. His little hand gripped the fabric of his shirt.

Carlisle grazed his fingers over the tiny hand that so willingly clung to him. Mason blinked his eyes a few times and twitched his hand at he sensation before gripping the shirt again. Carlisle lightly bounced up and down with a hand protectively behind his head.

Edward noticed Esme staring at them as if it would be the last time they would have a moment like this together. He placed a hand on hers and reassured his mother that things were going to be fine. As much as he knew she wanted to believe in that, Edward wasn't sure she could.

"I swear to you guys that this is going to work out for the best," Alice told them, "Esme, I promise."

Esme hugged Alice, "I know, Alice."

"I'm going to hunt fast," Emmett told them, "I want to be extra strong in case I need to, you know, be of some assistance."

"Hurry back," Alice said.

Rosalie joined him without saying much of a word to anyone.

"She can be such a -" Edward started, but Alice pointed to Renesme who was eagerly listening to everything that was going on.

"Come here, kiddo," Jasper said, pulling her onto his lap, "Don't look so worried."

Her face turned into somewhat of a pout, "You're all worried. I don't like it."

"I'm not worried."

She studied his calm expression, and suddently felt calm herself. Bella smiled from across the room knowing Jasper was working his magic on her daughter. Alice let a smile creep upon her face, as well.

"Why don't we play that karaoke thing on the video game?"

"American Idol?"

Jasper nodded, "Yeah, that one."

"He has a terrible singing voice," Alice joked.

Renesme smiled, "Want to play with us?"

Alice nodded, "Sure. Let's go."

Edward and Bella followed. He draped his arm around her shoulders and she placed hers around his waist as they walked.

Carlisle handed Masen over to Esme, who he could tell was dying to hold him. He then put his arms around both of them and talked to her, kissing her forhead in between each couple of words.

"I know things are going to be fine," he assured her, "Alice is so sure. It's only going to be one of them."

"I trust you," she said, "I trust you."

He held onto her tight and bent down to kiss the top of Masen's head. The boy stared up at his parents with the tender, calm eyes and both of them melted into his gaze.

"His eyes are yours, Carlisle." Esme told him, "He's going to grow up to be just like you."

"If I'm so lucky he'll have all of your traits - physically, spirtually, your personality, your heart..."

She let out a sigh, pressing the side of her face against his and gripping the back of his neck with her free hand. " I love you, so much, Carlisle. I love in ways that I can't even express. You've made all of my dreams come true. What I owe you I can never give to you. It's too much."

Carlisle pulled his face back so they were face to face and only centimeters apart. He locked his eyes with hers and put his hand beneath her chin like he always did when talking with her so intimately. "Esme, it's me who owes you so much that I could never begin to pay back every ounce of happiness you've given to me. You are my dream come true, and so is our son that you've blessedly given both of us. It's all because of you, Esme."

They stared into each other's eyes momentarily before Carlisle closed his tightly and put an urgent kiss on his wife's lips. Esme couldn't find the words to speak back to him, but he knew everything she was thinking and feeling.

"We're going to spend an eternity of happiness together," Carlisle said, "This is the beginning of forever."