Chapter 68

Carlisle was ending his shift at the hospital. He put the last of his paperwork away and found his coat. The clock read 9:00 p.m. and he was ready to get home and relax. An annoucement came over the intercom, and in the middle of the call, the microphone on the other end must have slipped and caused a slight screeching over the speaker.

The noise made Carlise's face twist in discomfort and he reached for his ear again, though the pain was nothing compared to what he experienced the night before. "What's going on with this thing?" he whispered aloud to himself, still holding the side of his head.

Erin, the intern that Carlisle and Esme had rescued, passed by the room, "Dr. Cullen," she said, "Dr. Cullen are you alright?"

He spun around to face her, immediately letting go of his ear, "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you."

"I haven't seen you since the night you and your wife helped me," she said, "I just wanted to thank you again for what you did. That really saved me."

He nodded, "Sure. It's not a problem. We were just glad you were okay."

"That guy, when he punched you. Were you okay from that? I mean it looked like he hit you kind of hard."

Carlisle smiled, eager to end the conversation, "I don't think he closed his fist all the way, that's why it broke so easily. And it hurt a little more than I let on. It didn't sink in until later."

She smiled, and seemed to be satisfied with his answer, "Okay. Well I'm glad you're okay, and if there's ever something I can do to repay you, just name it."

He nodded and smiled, "Just make sure you walk with friends that late at night."

"Oh I learned my lesson," she told him, then smiled and waved before heading out of sight.

Carlisle finished getting himself together and twirled the key ring around his finger before heading out to the car. Emmett's Ipod had still been plugged in from the day before, and Carlisle hadn't even turned the radio on on the ride to work earlier in the day. He decided to scan through his songs to see if there was actually something he would like. When he finally found a slower alternative song that was bearable, he put the car in drive and headed home.

The night was dreary and fog was apparent on the roadways, particularly once he got to the back roads. It made for an eeiry night, and flashbacks of the first masquerade Carlisle had been to earlier in his life made him shudder, which then lead his thoughts to the night before and Gianna's cold, red eyes.

He kept attempting to keep his thoughts on the present day, but found it difficult, longing for the company of his family to provide him distractions against his mind. A loud thump on the side of his car, made him jump and he suddenly picked up the scents of Felix and Demetri. The car skidded to a hault at the side of a road, with nothing but trees surrounding them.

Carlisle exited the car and saw the large dent on his side of the vehicle, before the two Volturi members stood before him.

"Hello Dr. Cullen," Felix stated with a smile.

At the Cullens' home, Alice began to have a panic attack and rounded up her family. As much as she wanted to keep Esme and Masen in the dark, it was impossible. She ran to Edward, "Carlisle's in trouble."

Edward dialed his father's number, and there was no answer. "Where is he?" Edward asked.

"He was on his way home from work. He's in the woods somewhere with Felix. I think I saw Demetri, too."

Esme rushed downstairs to where Alice and Edward stood. The rest of the family quickly gathered together.

"What's going on?" Masen asked frantically.

Alice looked around at everyone, and wanted someone to take the initiative and guide Masen away. Her eyes pleaded with Rosalie, who tried to get him to the other room. He fought against her, "No. What's wrong? Where's Dad?"

"We have to go find him, now." Alice said, "Like right now."

Carlisle tried to reason with Felix, "What's your reason for being here?"

"Aro sent us to check on Gianna," Demetri cut in and explained, "And he wasn't happy to hear of her death," he lied, needing a reason to pick a fight.

"Well, it wasn't our intention to do her harm," Carlisle explained, "We weren't looking for her. She came to us."

"Still," Felix said.

Demetri smiled and looked at Felix. Carlisle knew this was about to turn into a physical fight. He and Felix crouched defensively at the same time, while Demetri stood relaxed, just watching. The two of them clashed, and fought with Carlisle able to repeatedly get out of Felix's grasp. He finally found himself in a position to take down the big Volturi leader, and sent him hard to the ground with his hand on his throat.

Felix's face was filled with surprise, and Demetri charged Carlisle, who was able to dodge him, though was forced to let go of Felix, who in turn got up from the ground and had Carlisle in an immovable hold around the neck.

Demetri casually walked up to him, "If I could be blunt for a moment," he said arrogantly, "Let this be a statement of the Volturi's dominance."

Carlisle wanted to tell him that they were in no way competing for the title of number one coven, but Felix's hand was covering his mouth. The two Volturi members nodded to each other and Felix shoved Carlisle hard into a tall oak tree that looked to be one hundred years old. The tree cracked in half and swayed before crashing to the land beneath it.

Carlisle tried to regain his strength, and made his way onto his hands and knees, clutching his side.

"Stop!" Masen screamed, as the rest of the Cullen family entered the woods. Felix grinned at the boy and ran full speed at Carlisle, kicking him hard in the ribs, where he was already clutching in pain.

They all charged at the same time, but Felix put Carlisle into another hold, this time with his head turned at a near impossible angle, "One more step, and I will break his neck." Felix bellowed.

Emmett, who was leading the pack stood huffing about a foot from Felix.

"We're about to leave," Demetri explained, "But let this be a message from Aro, if you've ever heard one."

"This isn't about Gianna," Edward screamed, "I can see it in your thoughts."

Demetri smirked, "When will you smarten up and join us Edward. Aro is still anxious for your gifts to be added to the rest of ours."

Carlisle made eye contact with Masen and Esme.

"We'll release him," Demetri went on, "Take one step in our direction, and we'll send Aro and Jane back here to finish the job."

Everyone still looked ready to attack.

"Do as they say," Carlisle choked out. Felix twisted his neck harder and it caused him to wince. Esme began to head in his direction, but Carlisle put a hand up, telling her to stop. She very reluctantly listened. "Do as they say," Carlisle repeated.

Felix and Demetri looked at the abundance of glares before them, before releasing Carlisle and disappearing without a trace no longer than a second later. Carlisle fell to the ground and laid on his back to gather his strength.

"Why'd you let them go?" Edward asked.

"I don't want any fights," Carlisle said, closing his eyes. His hands still clutched his torso.

Masen stood over him and place a soothing hand on his forehead. Within a few seconds, he felt his strength come back to him and stood up.

Carlisle stared at the faces of his family members. They all looked sad, and hurt after watching him suffer at the hands of the Volturi. He didn't like the attention on him, especially in that sense. "Let's go home," he said, trying to sound normal.

Edward put a hand on his shoulder, "Carlisle, are you alright?"

Carlisle looked at Masen with a smile, "I feel fine. Masen helped me out." Masen walked slowly toward his father and leaned up against him. Carlisle slung an arm around him.

"Aro was sending us a message," Alice said with certainty, "I've seen it. I've seen his intentions."

"Will they be back?"

She shook her head, "No. I don't think so. Felix and Demetri were here to check on Gianna. Aro wanted her to be destroyed. Something triggered him to attack us, but I'm not sure what. I think it was a one time thing. I don't see much else."

"I saw in Demetri's mind," Edward said, "Aro wanted to show himself as the dominant leader of a coven. People were comparing our status to their, and our gifts. He wanted to show that they were the top family."

"We've never challenged that," Esme said.

"Aro just wanted to set the record strait, according to Demetri's thought process," Edward explained, "And Aro knows Carlisle is the leader of our family."

"Can we talk about this later?" Carlisle asked politely, "I want to get home." He looked down at Masen, who stared up at him with hurtful eyes.

Everyone agreed, and Alice volunteered to drive his car back with Jasper.

Carlisle threw Masen on his back and took Esme's hand. They made their way slowly back to the house. Every time Carlisle loosened his grip just a little, Esme squeezed his hand and pulled him an inch or so closer to him. He knew tonight would not help the cause that the two of them talked over the night before. If anything, it would drive her more crazy, and now he knew she would worry every time he left for work, even if she denied it.

Their house slowly came into view. Jacob and Leah were waiting by the front door and approached everyone as they came home.

"What happened?" Jacob asked.

Renesme looked at Carlisle, and he motioned for the two of them to talk separately about the situation to avoid everyone from talking and thinking about it some more. Leah approached Carlisle and Esme, noticing Carlisle's tattered clothing. "Are you alright Dr. Cullen?"

He smiled, "I'm fine. Thanks for asking. And you can call me Carlisle if you'd like."

She nodded. Masen seemed to feel a little better after seeing Leah's face. "Are you going to come inside?"

Leah looked to the Cullens. They both nodded and Carlisle felt it would be a good distraction for him.

"What's your name?" Masen asked with a warm smile.

"Leah."

"I never really saw you with Jake and everyone before the other night," he said, "I'm Masen."

Leah smiled, "Yeah I know."

They headed into the house. Carlisle held the door and went to enter behind them. Esme grabbed him and pulled him to her in a long hug. He hugged her back. Carlisle's eyes met Leah's for a brief second before she looked away, trying not to stare.

"Esme, I know this isn't helping my case after last night's conversation," he said into her ear, "But don't let this worry you."

"What if we didn't get to you in time?"

"They were just picking a fight."

Esme let her lips linger around his ear, "I can't live without you, Carlisle."

He pulled back to face her and cradled his hands around the edges of her face, "You'll never have to."

"How do you know that?"

He kissed her, "I just know. I won't leave you and Masen."

"I know you won't leave, but what if someone tries to..." Esme couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. The image of Felix kicking him and nearly snapping his neck constantly replayed in her head.

All Carlisle could do was hold her and tell her that things would be fine.