2

It was almost noon by the time Carlisle dragged himself out of bed the next day. He found Esme in the kitchen with his youngest brother Edward. The two were hutched over the newspaper, laughing over some comic strip they were reading.

"Morning," Carlisle said, trying to muffle a yawn.

"Barely," Edward scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "It's practically afternoon."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he groused, falling into an empty seat at the table and leaning against the palm of his hand. "Where's my daughter?"

"She's asleep," Esme said, holding up a baby monitor. "Want some coffee?"

"Please." Carlisle turned toward his brother while Esme poured him a cup of coffee. Edward had just turned nineteen a few month ago, but he was a good two inches taller than Carlisle. Where Carlisle had inherited their mother's blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, Edward was the spitting image of their father. "How'd your finals go?"

"Good," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Should end up with a 3.88 for the year."

Carlisle nodded. Edward was in his freshman year at the University of Washington. Though Carlisle knew he hadn't wanted to stay in Seattle for school, he hadn't been ready to leave his family, either. They had lost their parents in a car accident three years before, leaving Carlisle to raise his brothers: Emmett, Jasper, and Edward. Well, raise Edward at least. Emmett had just turned eighteen, Jasper twenty-one, and Carlisle twenty-four when their parents died. It was a hard time for them, but they managed. Or mostly, managed.

"Esme said you found some girl this morning," Edward said, causing Carlisle's eyes to widen. "Said you hit her with your car."

"That's not what I said," Esme groused, setting the coffee on the table along with a plate with two slices of toast. "Almost hit. I said he almost hit a girl in his car."

"My bad," Edward scoffed, leaning forward. "So you almost hit a girl this morning."

"I was stopped at a red light when she ran in front of my car," Carlisle grumbled.

"Are you going to call Jasper?" Esme asked. "To help you find her?"

"I think so," Carlisle said.

"Do you think that's wise?" Edward asked, leaning back. "She might be dangerous."

"No, this girl is anything but dangerous," Carlisle disagreed. "You didn't see her, Edward. There was something about her."

"Wow, that sounds creepy," he scoffed.

"Maybe," Carlisle admitted. "But I doubt we're going to be able to find her, anyway. Figured I'd give it a shot, though."

Edward nodded and pushed his chair away from the table. "Mom would have."

"Yeah, she would have," he agreed, watching as his younger brother walked out of the kitchen, leaving just him and Esme, who settled in the chair next to him and dragged her hand across his. "I know it's stupid, honey, but this girl . . ."

"It's not stupid. Just have to be careful, though." And before Esme could say anything else, the sound of Beth crying echoed through the baby monitor. With a sigh, she pushed herself back onto her feet and left him alone.

Picking up the phone off the counter, Carlisle called Jasper. Three rings later his voicemail kicked in, and he left a message for him to call him back. While he waited, he pulled out the ingredients needed for a sandwich and spread them across the counter. He had just opened the loaf of bread when the phone rang and he picked it up, thankful to see Jasper's name and number on the caller I.D.

"Hey, Jay," Carlisle said, cradling the phone between his chin and shoulder so he could finish preparing his sandwich.

"Hey, man, sorry I didn't pick up. I was in a meeting with my captain. What's up?"

"I, um, kind of hit someone with my car last night," Carlisle said.

"You what?" Jasper roared.

"Not really hit," he clarified. "I was driving home last night and stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, this girl ran out in front of me before I could even move, so I didn't really hit her, but at the same time, she of kind of fell against my car."

"Jesus fuck, Carlisle, maybe lead with that, man," Jasper muttered. "So she's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I think so." Carlisle picked up his sandwich and carried it over to the table, sitting with his feet propped up on the chair next to him. "She ran off, but I caught up to her, checked her out as much as I could. She was . . . gross. Covered in dirt and grime. Jay. I wanted to take her to the hospital, but I knew she wouldn't go. I grabbed her some pancakes from Mama's Diner, though."

"Okay," he said, cautiously. "So, you're calling me because why?"

Carlisle frowned. "I don't know. Just . . . there was something about her, Jay. Something familiar."

"Familiar how?"

"I don't . . . I don't know," he groused, pushing his empty plate away and twisting so that he was leaning over the table. "Just something."

"You want me to find her, don't you?"

"Kind of."

Jasper sighed. "Okay, tell me what she looks like, and I will see what I can do. No promises, though. I don't usually hunt down homeless girls."

"Of course," Carlisle stammered. "She was young, maybe sixteen, seventeen. She had brown hair, I think. It looked like it hadn't been washed in months. She had brown eyes, she was maybe five foot three inches tall. Skinny. Like too skinny. Bet she didn't even weigh a hundred pounds."

"Okay, and where did you hit her at?"

"Almost hit her," Carlisle clarified. "It was at the corner of Plains and 45th. She took off down Plains, North toward Western."

"I'll see what I can do," Jasper said. "Esme texted Alice about dinner tonight?"

"She did?" Carlisle laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, figured you didn't know anything about it."

"You know Esme."

"No shit," Jasper snickered. "So I guess we'll see you later."

"Yeah, okay." Carlisle paused. "Thanks, Jay. I know it's a lot of ask."

"It's not," he mumbled. "Besides, Mom would have asked, too."

And she would have. "Yeah, I know."

"I'll let you know what I find out."

And without another word, Jasper ended the call. Carlisle tossed his paper plate into the trash and headed into the living room, where he found Esme and Beth curled up on the couch. He smiled as he walked over and slipped the three month old baby into his arms, and settled next to his wife. Esme ran her fingers through his hair, causing him to shiver.

"What did Jasper say?"

"He's going to try to find her."

"Good, good," she whispered, and he felt her lips against the top of his head. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, honey, I just . . . I don't know." Carlisle tilted his head back so he could look at her and raised an eyebrow. "So we're having everyone over for dinner?"

Esme smiled. "Yeah, kind thought it would be nice to have someone other than Beth to talk to. Wasn't sure you weren't going to have to work again."

"Shit, me either," Carlisle snickered. "But it will be nice. Haven't seem Emmett and Jasper in a while."

"Good." Esme scooted from behind him. "Got her for a few? I really need to shower."

"Of course."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

—SfH—

Just after seven that evening, the doorbell rang. Carlisle scrambled off the couch calling out, "I got it," before hurrying across the room and yanking open the front door. They had just put Beth down and Esme would be furious if his brothers woke her up. "Hey, guys, come on in."

"Thanks," Jasper said, shoving a bottle of wine into his gut on his way by.

Jasper, like Carlisle, had blond hair and blue eyes. His hair, however was longer, shaggier, which amused him. Cops usually didn't wear their hair like that, based on every cop show he had ever seen. Walking in right behind him was his wife of two years, Alice. Alice was a tiny woman, barely standing five feet tall. She had long jet black hair and black eyes. She and Jasper meet during their first year at UW, and had been inseparable ever since. Alice had been Jasper's rock after their parents died, much like Esme had been for Carlisle.

"It's red," Alice said, smiling. "Figured it would go with almost everything."

"Oh, okay," Carlisle said, knowing nothing about wine. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Alice chirped, shrugging off her coat and handing it to Jasper. "So, Jay says you hit a girl with your car this morning."

"Almost hit," he grumbled, ignoring the way his other brother, Emmett, roared with laughter as he and his girlfriend walked into the house. "Shut the fuck up, asshole. If you wake Beth—"

"I'll get to hold her," Emmett snickered, clapping Carlisle on the shoulder.

Of the four brothers, Emmett was the tallest and biggest. He was just over six-foot five inches and a solid two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle, thanks to three years of being a starting offensive lineman for UW. He had just graduated with a degree in business, and was about to start graduate school. He had dark hair like Edward, but his was curly while Edward's was just messy. They both had green eyes, though.

Emmett started dating Rosalie Swan about eleven months ago. At first, they hadn't liked the gorgeous brunette with deep brown eyes. She was snobby and kind of a bitch, if Carlisle were being honest, but after the first few tense meetings with her, Carlisle started to see the real Rosalie. She was fiercely protective of those she loved. Emmett had shared with him, Jasper, and Edward late one night about how Rosalie had lost her entire family after someone broke into their house, killed both her parents, and kidnapped her little sister, who was only eight at the time. Rosalie, twelve at the time, had been spending the night with a friend, and they never found her sister. She was guarded and protective, and for good reason. After that, Carlisle saw the real Rosalie, and knew she loved his brother with all her heart.

"So, you almost hit a girl, huh?" Emmett scoffed.

"No," Carlisle groused, and closed the door.

"Liar," Edward laughed as he hurried downstairs, dragging his fingers through his hair. "From the way Esme tells it, he was practically sobbing into the phone."

"I was not!" Carlisle exclaimed, glaring at Edward as he hugged Jasper then Emmett, followed by Alice and Rosalie.

"You were too," Esme giggled, walking out of the kitchen. "But we're not talking about my husband's recklessness tonight. Dinner's ready, we have plenty of wine," she added, gesturing the bottle Carlisle was still holding, "so, let's get to the table."

Carlisle made to follow, but stopped when Jasper grabbed his arm, stopping him. He waited until everyone was in the kitchen, and then said, "So, I reached out to a couple of contacts I have in missing persons, you know just on the off chance that her family reported her missing. Gave them the description you gave me."

"Yeah, and?"

"Nothing yet," he said, dropping his hand from Carlisle's arms. "But they said they've had a few reports of a girl matching her description in the area. Shouldn't take too much to find her."

"Good," Carlisle murmured, biting the inside of his lip.

"Just thought you'd want to know."

"Yeah, keep me updated, okay?"

With a nod, Jasper walked past him and into the kitchen. Carlisle followed and as they sat around the table, enjoying the lasagna, salad, homemade garlic bread, he couldn't help but wonder what she would be eating that night.

Thank you for all the reviews. Next up, we will have more insight on our mystery girl.