Chapter 8

Carlisle parted ways with Masen and Leah, giving them each a hug before taking in an extra ounce of joy when saying goodbye to Cassandra.

"Bye Pop," she said with a happy go lucky grin that left him unable to feel anything except for happiness.

"See ya soon kiddo." He bent down and removed a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to her with a wink. She smiled and put it in the pocket of her jeans before she skipped past her parents who pretended they didn't see their exchange.

"I'll see you guys later," he said to Masen and Leah.

"Dad," Masen said, as he turned to walk out. "Go tell Mom you love her."

Carlisle took in a deep breath and looked down, "I'm not unhappy, you know."

"I know," Masen told him.

"We should have said something," Leah admitted, "We just didn't think it would really work."

"I overthink a lot of things. I have a tendency to analyze situations from all angles and think of a ton of different outcomes," Carlisle said, "I just get nervous because of what's out there. You all deserve to be safe and to have happy, healthy lives. I just wanted to make sure that that was a certainty before bringing anyone else into this crazy world." He took a deep breath, "But, thank you for..." he thought for a second, "thinking of us. I mean that."

They both nodded and Masen put an arm around Leah again.

Carlisle gave a wave, "See you later." He turned to go and dialed Esme's number as he stepped off the front steps. It took almost four rings before she picked up and he felt a small rush of relief when her voice came through the receiver.

"Will you meet me by the Quileute line over near the river?" he asked. When she agreed to his requests, he hung up and ran through the woods until he picked up her scent by the edge of the water.

"Why here?" she asked when the two of them came into each other's view.

Carlisle walked up to her and put a hand on the side of her face before putting a long, meaningful kiss on your lips. When she smiled, he looked a little confused but thankful, "I thought you were mad when you left."

Esme shrugged and smiled, "I figured it wouldn't take long for you to come around. Besides, this doesn't seem like that big of a crisis after everything we've gone through."

"It's not a crisis at all," he told her, "I'm happy, Esme."

"I know," she told him with a smile, "And I also know why you're worried."

"I don't even want to talk about that," Carlisle shook his head, "We'll have time later to think about, you know, the best approach to guide them through the different stages of life. And plus we have a vampire educational class going now." He smiled at her.

"You don't want to talk about all the possibilities that could happen to her?" Esme asked him with a grin.

"Her?" he asked, "Did Alice-"

"No," Esme said, still smiling, "I'm just guessing it's a girl."

"I just want her to be safe," Carlisle told her, "That's my only concern. I'd have a baby every year if I thought it was fair to the ones we already have."

"Well, now that we know our circumstances," she said, "This will be it for awhile."

"If this really revolves around Masen and Leah's wish, and it's true..."

Esme's hand quickly moved down to her stomach and just after a smile spread across her face, "Keep going. Sorry." She pulled his hand to rest on her stomach and he smiled at her when he felt their third child move beneath his fingertips.

"After the baby's born," Carlisle went on, "We're going to have to make some changes when it comes to... things... in the future."

Esme nodded, "I know." She thought for a second, trying to comprehend it all, "We'll have to find a time for that long talk."

"Yeah," he agreed, pulling her toward him.

Esme hugged him a little harder than normal and ran a hand along his hair line on the back of his neck. "Do you think this one will age like Cassie?" she asked him, "Like they told us."

Carlisle was going to pull back to talk to her, but he felt that she had no intention of releasing him and so he stayed with his arms around her and the side of his face against hers, "Yeah."

As the word left his mouth, he couldn't see her face but he could sense that Esme was smiling and her hands squeezed him a little tighter.

"Sorry I overanalyze these things," he whispered in her ear.

"Don't apologize," she whispered back.

They shared another kiss and Carlisle grabbed her hand, "I'm sure everyone at home already knows, but we should head back."

Esme nodded, "Yeah. I'm surprised Rosalie hasn't called yet."

"What do you think Alexandra will say?"

They quickly made their way back to their house and entered through the front door, making their way toward the living room and kitchen areas. Alice stood at the counter slicing up apples and Rosalie stood on the opposite side from her with her back to them. A small smile spread over Alice's face, though she didn't stop what she was doing.

"Can you get the pie crust, Rosalie?" she asked.

Rosalie turned her head slowly and looked at Carlisle and Esme, then smiled wide, "Sure."

Emmett ran into the kitchen and threw his arms around Carlisle, giving him a big bear hug, "Hey," he said with a smile, then raised his eyebrows.

Rosalie snickered and brought Alice the pie crust.

"Oh, the cinnamon," Alice said, "I forgot."

Emmett continued to look at Carlisle, giving him a head nod, waiting for him to say something.

"Who's that for, Alice?" Esme asked.

"Jake and Nessy are coming by in a few hours. The smell of the apples and cinnamon block out his scent a little, plus it's their favorite."

"Do we have ice cream?" Rosalie asked, "I know the dog loves it."

"Since when do you care about what Jacob likes?" Edward asked, entering the room with Bella.

She shrugged, "Since... today." A smile spread over her face.

Everyone looked at Carlisle and Esme before they looked at each other, each of them unable to contain a smile. Before either of them could say anything, Rosalie grabbed Esme and threw an arm around Carlisle, "Congratulations!"

"For what?" he joked before Rosalie gave him a look.

"I want you to make that wish for me the next time," she told them, "Not to be selfish or anything."

"Oh yeah," Edward said, "You'd never do something selfish Rosalie."

"How come we didn't think of this sooner?" Emmett wondered aloud.

"That's what I said," Alice told him, holding the knife up briefly while talking with her hands before beginning to put the pieces of the pie together.

"You're practically human," Rosalie teased Esme, "This is so amazing."

Esme laughed and accepted another hug, enjoying Rosalie's enthusiasm.

"Where's Alexandra?" Carlisle asked everyone.

"She'll be happy about the news," Alice told him. She made her way over to preheat the oven, then mumbled to herself, "I should have preheated it before."

"She went out for a hunt with Jasper and Michael," Emmett told him, "Should be back soon."

Rosalie continued chatting with Esme, and Alice soon chimed in, unable to contain herself. Bella, too, wanted details about what happened over at Masen and Leah's house and the four of them talked in the kitchen while keeping an eye on the oven.

Carlisle made his way into the living room, not switching the channels from the local news, which played on the television from whoever was there last. Edward and Emmett followed. As he sat, he felt Emmett looking at him, still smiling and so he turned in his direction.

"Happy?" he asked.

Carlisle nodded.

"Heard Masen kind of blindsided you." A light laugh left his mouth and Edward smirked at him, but shook his head a couple of times.

"It's fine," he said simply, looking back to the television screen.

Emmett looked over his shoulder and whispered quietly, almost mouthing the words without fully speaking, "Rosalie wants someone to wish for that for her."

Edward let out a laugh, already reading his brother's thoughts. Emmett put a finger up to his lips and made a quick "shh" sound.

"I know it's a great discovery," he went on, still overly quiet, "But that means every time you want to, you know..." he raised his eyebrows with a smile, "You have to worry about that. I'd rather just have a couple nights a year when it's possible and not worry the rest of the year."

Edward leaned in and whispered back, "You better hope and pray that Rosalie didn't hear that." He then looked at Carlisle and realized he hadn't said the words but had the same thought.

"It's not quite like the human timeline," Emmett said, "If it was, that'd be alright. But it takes a month for the entire thing. You could have like twelve kids a year at that rate."

Carlisle laughed, "Don't you worry about it."

"I am worried about it," Emmett told him, looking over his shoulder again, "I can guarantee somewhere in the near future, me and Rose will have a big fight."

Edward and Carlisle looked at each other and share a quick laugh.

"I wouldn't say to her what you just said to us," Edward suggested.

Emmett made a face then said, "They're back."

Alexandra and Michael entered the house, apparently crossing through the kitchen first as the three of them could hear their conversations going on.

"Carlisle!" Alice's voice called. He stood up and left the room with Edward and Emmett grinning at each other.

He crossed into the kitchen and Alexandra looked over at him, then back to Alice.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked, knowing her parents had been keeping constant tabs on her since her visit to Italy.

Esme looked at Carlisle and they both laughed. "No," she said, "Um..." She looked at Carlisle and he shrugged and motioned for her to go ahead.

Alexandra smiled and looked at Michael, who shrugged. "Are we going to Disney World or something?" she asked.

"We're going to have a baby," Esme told her, immediately studying her daughter's reaction.

She smiled, "What? When? The next eclipse?"

"Now," Esme told her.

Alexandra still looked happy, but ultimately confused, "I thought it could only happen during an eclipse. Are you pregnant, like, right this second?"

She nodded, "It's a little bit longer of a story. I'll tell you how it happened."

Her daughter made a face, "I already know how it happens. We're past that."

Rosalie and Alice both laughed, "Masen and Leah made a wish for them to be able to have children at any time," Rosalie explained.

"Congratulations," Michael told them. He looked over at Alexandra.

"This is so cool," she said enthusiastically, "I'm not the youngest anymore."

"I am!" Nicole's voice rang through the house.

Alice laughed and Jasper appeared momentarily with her by his side, "She gets her eavesdropping from her mother's side," he joked. Alice stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"So, you're alright then?" Carlisle asked her.

Alexandra hugged him, "Of course," she said, "This is awesome. I can get some more practice holding kids." His eyes shot in her direction and she laughed, "I'm definitely kidding. I just wanted to see what you'd say."

Michael shifted awkwardly and looked up at the ceiling, making Rosalie laugh.

"So everyone's on the same page now?" Alice asked, looking at Carlisle with a closed mouth grin.

He nodded with a smile and put an arm around Esme.

"Good." She smiled and continued to prepare things for Jacob and Renesme.