Okay, had to get one more chapter in before we hand in our cable boxes & modem back to Comcast. Lol, I'm not addicted, right? See you all in a few days :)

Chapter 16

Carlisle did a few medical tests he thought could possibly be effective for a vampire. He used himself and a few other family members as comparisons to Masen's results, having them all take the most powerful exhales they couldn't into a tube that was attached to monitor. He recorded the strength of everyone's breaths, using Edward, Emmett and Michael as the primary "lab rats".

He also tried seeing if a cotton swab of Masen's venom would show anything abnormal. Despite Rosalie's lingering conflict with William, he also had him come to see if there were any significant differences between changed vampires, and vampires who had been born by the moon.

For hours, Carlisle studied all the information he documented from the tests, looking at the make up of their venom through a microscope and even testing the effectiveness of each of theirs out on mice.

Throughout the course of the day, he never strayed from his work. He wanted to make sure that everything he could possibly test out was done to the best of his ability. Certain tests took more time, and lots of observation; the mice testing in particular. He registered different results in a book regarding initial reactions, five minute later and so on.

Esme stopped in to check on him a few times, and the male members of the family were constantly in and out, curious as to what the results would be. Carlisle began pinning theories to a board that was hung on the wall, tearing a few down in his thought process upon ruling them out.

For a solid hour toward the end of his analysis, he sat in a chair thinking and staring at the board of educated guesses in front of him. As much effort as he put into the day, he still knew that all he had to go on was speculation.

Esme and Edward entered at the same time, pushing the door open as they did. It caught Carlisle's attention as he broke his stare from the board for the first time in awhile.

"Hey," Esme said.

"Hey," he said back, giving a half smile. He stood up from the chair and gave an unnecessary stretch, raising his arms above his head before dropping the back down.

"We just wanted to check in," Edward told him, "You've been in here all day."

Carlisle walked over toward them.

"Any luck?" Esme asked him, "Has anything helped you come to any conclusions?"

Edward and Esme both waited as he began to detail what he found out.

"The air capacity he was able to blow out, as well as the velocity, were much less and much weaker than everyone else's," Carlisle explained.

"Could it have anything to do with how we were created compared to him?" Edward asked.

He shook his head, "It's not likely. William was very comparable to you, Emmett and Michael. Higher than Emmett, believe it or not."

"What about the venom?"

"His venom's make up was slightly different from all of you."

"William included?" Esme asked again.

Carlisle nodded and gave her a sympathetic look. "I wish we would have, for some reason, tested these things prior to the beginning of this." Edward could see that he intended to in the future so there would be something to compare it to, should another crisis arise.

"Did you use the mice?" Edward asked him.

"Masen's venom took longer to react on the mice. I tested their immediate responses, then again at five minutes and so on."

"Could the individual mouse have played a role? What if there was something off, or different about one of them?"

He shook his head, "I did three separate trials. The odds aren't in favor of that."

"So, what does this mean?" Esme asked him.

Carlisle looked down, then back up, "He's weaker than the rest of them."

"But how? What's causing this?"

"I don't know," he shook his head.

"Could it have something to do with Leah?" Edward asked him.

"I don't believe so," Carlisle told him, "They've been together for years. She hasn't eaten anything different, or new. They haven't changed their routines. I asked her to really think about it, and to call me if something came to mind, but I don't think she's playing a role in this."

"Well, he didn't sound any worse," Esme told him, "At least that's one positive."

He nodded and gave her a smile, "You're right. He didn't seem worse."

"You don't think his job could be playing a role in this, do you?" she asked, "I mean, that's one thing that's different."

Carlisle and Edward exchanged a glance and thought about it for a moment.

"You could go down to Charlie," Esme went on, "Ask him about their routines. Maybe something they cross paths with every day is triggering this cough."

He nodded, "That's a good idea."

She gave a closed mouth smile, hoping that would aid in their quest to help Masen. "Do you think it's anything serious?"

"Well," Carlisle said, "I can't be totally certain, but he wasn't in worse shape, and his venom is still effective. This ailment, whatever it is, has made him weaker, but it looks to be somewhat controllable right now. And I think the trip to Charlie's could come up with some more ideas that will lead us down the right path."

The three of them stood in silence for a moment.

"Why don't you come for a hunt fast," Esme suggested, "Recharge your batteries, then come back."

Carlisle nodded, "Give me five minutes."

Esme and Edward exchanged glances and a smile, "We both know you well enough to know that five minutes means forty-five minutes," Edward teased him.

He snickered and looked at them, "If I'm not out of here in five, you can come drag me out yourself." His eyes shifted to Esme.

She walked up and gave him a quick kiss, "Okay."

The two of them left the room, leaving Carlisle to his thoughts again. He walked up to the board and ripped a piece of paper off from beneath a thumb tack and tossed it in the garbage.

Alice quietly slunk into the room and leaned on the table beside him.

"I need to tell you something," she said to him in a serious whisper.

Carlisle recognized the tone of her voice and raised his eyes to meet hers.

"It's about Masen." Her eyes were as solemn as her voice and she took in a deep breath.

"What is it?" he asked, now fully focused on her.

"If we can't figure this whole thing out," Alice told him, "His condition... he'll get worse."

Carlisle closed his eyes and slowly reopened them.

"How much worse? And how much time?"

She kept her voice quiet, though struggled with the words, "I can't give you an exact time frame, but soon."

"How much worse?" he asked again.

"Significantly," Alice told him, swallowing hard. She saw his hand tighten on the edge of the table as he looked down.

"I've been avoiding Edward for the last half hour so he wouldn't see this in my mind and tell Esme. I had Jasper take Nicole out."

Carlisle looked around the room, then back to Alice, hoping she would elaborate.

"Carlisle," she shook her head, "Masen will have trouble..." she paused and he could tell she was biting down on her tongue to keep from crying. A few seconds went by and he waited patiently for her to continue. "He'll have trouble walking. He'll be cold. I've seen his teeth chattering." She paused again, then went on, "Nicole said she saw Leah wrapping him in blankets to keep him warm."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"You'll get a phone call from Charlie," Alice went on, taking in a deep breath as a tear fell away from each of her eyes, "I've seen Masen collapse at work, and Charlie won't know what to do. He'll call you. That happens before all of the other stuff."

Carlisle put a hand on the lower part of his forehead and used it like a visor to hide his eyes, running his thumb along one of his eyebrows. He took in a deep breath and felt Alice pull him into a hug, one which he returned.

Tears fell off of her cheekbones and onto the shoulder of his shirt as she felt his pain.

"Send Edward a message," he asked, pulling back, "Ask him to come in here."

Alice nodded, crying a little steadier at the break in his voice. Her fingers punched over the keys on her phone and moments later Edward entered the room, concerned. He began to immediately read their thoughts and caught on rather quick to what was said between the two of them, as well as Alice's complete vision.

"These things are subject to change," Edward reminded him, trying to stay positive, "We'll all work together. We'll find our own leads." Carlisle's numb expression made him feel slightly overwhelmed. He was used to seeing his father confident and rational.

"I want to talk to Charlie," he told him, "I want to see if what Esme said could be right. Maybe something they do every day, or a location they pass has something that's affecting him."

Alice took a deep breath and composed herself, feeling her tears subside for the moment.

"What if we can't figure this out," Carlisle said to both of them. He put a hand over his mouth and rubbed his jawline with his fingers.

"We'll do everything we can to figure this out," Edward told him.

"What if it's not enough?" His hand clamped down harder around the lower part of his face and he pressed his eyes shut for a second and swallowed hard.

Edward walked up and gave him a long hug, "We'll figure it out, Carlisle." He eyed Alice who's expression didn't match Edward's positive, hope filled words.

Carlisle pulled back, "I don't want to tell Esme this yet. Don't say anything to her." His voice shook slightly and he attempted another sentence, "I can't," he cleared his throat and almost looked angry at himself for being on the edge of crying, "I... I can't..."

"Alright," Edward agreed without hesitation.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting composure regain control of his mind and body. "I'm going to hunt with Esme in a minute."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Edward asked him.

Carlisle nodded, "I'm fine." He took in another deep breath and looked at Alice, then Edward again, "Would one of you mind stopping over at Masen's. Get every detail of his days at work. Be persistent with him. I want to know everywhere they've been. Where they go the most. Everything."

"Okay," they both said.

Carlisle thought to himself for a minute in regard to the persistency he asked of them, knowing another member of their family might win out over both of them on that end, "And bring Rosalie with you."