12 Coordination
"Carlisle!" Edward banged on the door with his fist, completely failing to fight his rising panic. His legs were still trembling from his interrupted workout and he probably stank of sweat, but he couldn't make himself care. He banged on the door again, even though he definitely hadn't given Carlisle adequate time to answer.
It swung open a moment later while he was still hammering on it. Carlisle was on the other side, looking concerned.
"There's something wrong with Alice."
His concern morphed into alarm. "What happened? Is she hurt?"
"She can't stack six blocks."
Edward stood there, panting heavily, as Carlisle's alarm downgraded into confusion.
"Sorry?"
"I'm not even sure she could stack three."
"I don't understand."
"The book," he said, gesturing weakly with his phone. "Bella gave me a book, and it says Alice is supposed to be able to stack six blocks by now, and there's no way. She can't even eat with a spoon."
Carlisle gave him an understanding smile which, quite frankly, pissed Edward off. This was obviously a major concern and Carlisle wasn't taking it seriously.
"Edward, those books . . . you can't take them too literally. The developmental paths that children take are astonishingly varied."
"Yeah, but it says that if she can't do these things she should be evaluated by a doctor."
Carlisle glanced at the house next door. "Is she with someone?"
"She's in the gym with Esme."
"Come in and sit down." Carlisle ushered him into the living room and perched on the edge of a chair, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Those books can be tremendously helpful, especially when it comes to giving advice on how to handle certain challenges of parenting. And . . . they can be unhelpful, too. They're giving you generalized information about how to raise highly individual children, and that's bound to be problematic."
"Okay, but things like developmental stages should be pretty consistent, right?"
Carlisle shook his head. "Not at all. Maybe it seems counterintuitive, but it's actually really difficult to pin down the ages that different benchmarks will occur. The books try to describe an 'average child,' but there's no such thing. They collect aggregate data on many children and present the median findings as 'average,' but that's far from an accurate description of how any one child will grow."
"But this stuff is for twenty-four months, and Alice is older than that." He waved his phone, where he had downloaded the audiobook, as evidence.
"Can I take a look?" Carlisle asked holding out his hand for the phone.
Edward backed up the audiobook to the concerning part and played it again. Carlisle listened, and Edward felt like he took in the information with far too much equanimity.
"Speak and be understood half the time, Carlisle! I barely ever understand what she's saying!"
"Only because you haven't gotten familiar with the way she speaks yet. I understand almost everything she says."
Edward tried hard not to resent the hell out of him for that. And yet, he had a point. Edward was starting to pick up the way that Alice substituted for the sounds she couldn't make yet. The way she aspirated her dental plosives when she used them to stand in for the velar ones she couldn't quite manage. The way L's and R's rounded or squeezed her vowels before she replaced them with bilabial glides.
"And listen," Carlisle went on, "it says she may be able to name one item in a picture. Alice could name dozens. And I'm sure you've seen her take off articles of clothing."
"But she can't draw a vertical line, and attempts at jumping end with injuries." He tugged at the hair on the back of his head. "She's smart enough, but I'm worried about her motor skills."
"Don't. There's no need." Carlisle reached out and placed a hand on his knee. "Alice's development is perfectly acceptable. She's an early talker and a little social butterfly. Many children her age couldn't address more than a couple of friends by name, but Alice can name several. Many children her age can throw or kick a ball and draw a straight line, and she can't yet. That doesn't mean she's behind. It just means that her motor skills are still being refined."
"So how do I know when there's a problem?"
He sat back in his chair, musing. "If her development in a particular area stops or slows significantly, that might indicate an issue. Instead of comparing her to other children, you might want to compare her to herself six months ago. I know that's hard when you didn't know her six months ago, so this time you'll have to take my word for it. She's coming along just fine."
"But she is behind where she should be."
"There's no 'should.' There's no 'behind.' "
"Bullshit. If she's twelve years old and still can't use a spoon, there's a problem."
Carlisle chuckled and allowed his point with a nod. "Fair enough. And if she weren't walking yet, yes, I'd be concerned."
"Okay. So at what point am I supposed to panic?"
"Let me ask you a question. What would you do if you found that there really were something wrong with her?"
He shrugged. "I'd find a specialist in whatever the problem was and get her what medication or therapy she needed to fix it."
"And what if the problem weren't fixable? What if she had a chronic condition with no cure?"
"Then I'd . . . get her any assistive devices that made her life easier, and I'd look at whether she would eventually need a special school that would work with her needs."
"It sounds to me like there's no point where you need to panic, then."
Edward disagreed. Because there were worse things out there than chronic disabilities. There were conditions that would take Alice from him. But he found himself incapable of speaking about those things, and anyway, he didn't really think whatever was going on with Alice was that severe.
Probably
"Okay. Fine. No panicking. But sometimes it can help to address problems early, right? How do I know when some sort of intervention is necessary?"
"Make sure you're taking her to her regular checkups. Take videos of her and save them by date so you can look back and see if there have been improvements. And if you're really concerned about her motor skills, maybe you can do little things to help develop them."
"Like what?"
"You might have her sit and draw with you sometimes. Show her some simple shapes and see if you can get her to copy them. Take her outside and kick a ball around with her. But no matter what you do, it should feel like playing. If she doesn't want to do it, don't force her. That will only make her avoid practicing these skills."
Edward nodded. It felt better to have a plan of action. He couldn't just sit around and do nothing when there was a chance that Alice needed his help.
He thanked Carlisle profusely and headed back home to see if his father had kept any of his old sporting equipment.
Their first attempt at kicking a ball around didn't go well. He managed to unearth a soccer ball, but the thing came up to Alice's thighs and was too difficult for her to manage. Which didn't keep her from trying. She kicked at the thing so exuberantly that she knocked herself off her feet twice. But eventually she just started rolling it to him, and that didn't seem like it was really targeting the small muscle groups that needed developing. She loved it, though. Alice was having a great time.
But there was limited time for play that morning. Rose showed up to work on the graphic novel before Edward had made it to the shower, and though she was gracious about it, he could tell she was impatient to get to work. He'd warned her that the days that Alice was home would be less productive, and in fact, that he would have to step out to take her to her various classes. But it didn't actually make him feel much better that she was forewarned, as most of the early work relied on him. Esme could make up some page formats based on his thumbnails, but she could only do so much before he started providing panel sketches. He felt a little guilty taking time away from his work to focus on Alice, but he did it anyway. The kid was his first priority, and if that was a problem for Rose, she'd have to find a different artist.
So when Alice got bored with scribbling at her baby drafting desk and wanted to sit with him, he put away his thumbnails and lifted her onto his lap.
"Let's draw together," he said, handing her one of her markers. He plucked one of his Micron pens from the holder and drew a straight line on a piece of paper. "Can you draw a line?"
Alice reached for his pen and he held it away. "Use your pen."
"No. Diss." She stretched, trying to grab the pen.
"This is one of my special pens. You use your pen."
"No. Habba pesho pen."
"That's my pen, though."
"Habbit. Pease?" She turned such a charming smile on him that he begrudgingly surrendered his pen. He could always order new ones after she bludgeoned the extra-fine tip all to hell.
"Okay, draw a straight line."
Alice scribbled on the paper.
"Remember, that's a special pen," he told her. "We want to try to be very careful with it." He took another pen from the holder and drew a line. "Can you draw like that? Just one straight line?"
Alice drew a very crooked line, but Edward was pleased. It took more control than just a scribble.
"Good job! That's a great line! Can you draw another one?"
She grinned her scrunch-nosed grin at his praise.
The two of them drew several lines, all slanting in different directions, until Edward pushed too far and tried to get her to draw a circle. That was too much of a challenge, and Alice went back to scribbling.
"So much for that pen," Edward muttered. He pulled out his phone and ordered himself a new set of Microns. While he was at it, he figured maybe he could get Alice some special pens of her own so she might be a little less interested in his. He found some glittery gel pens that he didn't mind letting her use under supervision, and then he added a couple of soft rubber balls that he suspected would be a more manageable size for her. He flipped through the toys, adding some blocks and a few other things that looked useful for developing motor skills, until he realized that Esme and Rose were watching him shop instead of work.
"Okay, whatever, my kid needs supplies," he grumbled, and he pulled out his thumbnails again.
But they had a point. They were waiting on him to get the project underway. So when Rose and Esme volunteered to take Alice to her dance class, he agreed, even though it made him a little sad to do it. Edward hadn't gotten to take her to that one yet, and he wanted to see what it was like.
Of course, he was also a little worried that the dance teacher would tell him to put on a leotard and join Alice for some grand jetés.
It was practical, though, so he got an excited Alice dressed in her tights and crinoline skirt and tightened the braids around her tiara.
"Esme and Rose are going to take you to your dance class, okay?"
"Danceen!" Alice crowed in delight.
"Are you ready to get in the car?"
"Oh, yes!"
Although, when they got to the door, Alice gasped and turned around. "Hammye pendy puss!" she exclaimed as she ran back to her bedroom.
"I don't think you need to take your pendy puss to dance." He trailed along behind her.
"Yes!" came her muffled voice from the bedroom. "Hattoo!"
"You can't dance with a purse on your shoulder."
"Inna taw," she explained, emerging from her room.
"You'll leave it in the car?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay."
Edward buckled her into her carseat and then surrendered his keys to Esme. "No bars or strip clubs," he instructed her sternly.
"Killjoy," she shot back.
Edward sent them off and settled down at his desk again to get to work.
About a half hour later, a text came in from Esme. He opened the attached video and watched Alice running around a small multipurpose room with about a dozen other kids. She was one of the smaller children in the group, and Edward noticed that she wasn't great at following instructions from the teacher. When the other children did, though, she was happy to fall in with them and imitate what they were doing. She may not have been the most coordinated dancer in the group, but she was the most enthusiastic one, and Edward couldn't help but notice that she was absolutely the cutest one. By the time the video finished, he was grinning like a fool. He played it again, and then forwarded it to Carlisle.
Then, as an afterthought, he sent it to Victoria as well. Her reply to Alice's photo on the exercise bike had been a simple "cute," and he hoped that this would elicit a little more of a response. A few minutes later, his phone pinged and he glanced at her reply.
You might want to consider getting her private lessons.
Edward frowned. That wasn't exactly the kind of response he'd been hoping for. But he decided she was probably just teasing a little and her tone got lost in the texted exchange. He shrugged it off and got back to work.
He was engrossed enough that he didn't notice the time, so when the door opened, he glanced at the clock. It was about a half hour later than he had expected, and he wondered what had taken them so long. Surely Forks couldn't have any traffic to speak of? He stood and moved to where he could see the door, and discovered that Alice's face, hands, and clothes were sticky with residue from the ice cream bar that she was just finishing.
"Ice cream," he said with a force smile. "Who gave you that?'
"Muzzmay. Iss nummy!"
"Muzzmay, huh? That sure was nice of her to give you all that extra sugar right before dinner." He arched an eyebrow at his colleague.
Esme only shrugged. "I had to do something to make her stop suspecting me of plotting to steal her purse. Now I'm the ice cream lady."
Edward chuckled and shook his head.
"We brought food, too," Rose said, thumping a frozen vegetarian lasagne down on the kitchen counter. "So you can keep working while we take care of dinner."
"Fantastic. I'm making good progress."
Rose shooed him back to his desk with a flap of her hands, and he obeyed.
With Rose and Esme taking care of Alice and handling meal prep, Edward made even more headway on his layouts. He was feeling good about his progress when the lasagne came out of the oven and they finally broke for dinner. He made Alice a plate, optimistically adding a little of the salad to the lasagne and the half breadstick that he put on her plate.
"This is great," Edward said, sitting down at the table with his plate. "I really appreciate you two handling dinner."
"Don't get used to it," Rose muttered. "I'm not domestic."
"I am," Esme said with feeling. "I just love cooking and homey chores. Maybe because I've worked from home so much and I like keeping my environment comfortable."
"Ugh. Paperwork over laundry any day."
"Still, I appreciate it," Edward said. "It feels good to make so much headway. If there were any decent restaurants around here, I'd just have all our meals delivered."
"I could pick up breakfast in the morning," Rose offered. "Any coffee shops with good pastries?"
Edward shook his head, but he wasn't really thinking about coffee shops. "There's this bed and breakfast. I wonder if we could talk them into letting us buy breakfast from them in the morning. Might have to keep my name out of it, though."
"Why?" Esme asked.
"Alice owns some shares in the business, and they seem to think that means we don't pay for anything when we're there. Free breakfast every morning is way too much to ask."
"No problem," Rosalie said. "I'll pick it up on my way here in the morning and you can Venmo me." She pulled out her phone. "Where is it?"
"Oh. Um. I'll have to write out the directions. Google doesn't have it mapped right."
"Have you requested a correction?" Esme asked him.
"Um. No." He hadn't even thought to. Which was negligent, considering he was supposed to be looking out for Alice's interests.
Esme rolled her eyes. "I'll help you. Let's drive over after dinner so I can write down the steps."
"Cool."
When the three adults had finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, and when it had become clear that Alice was only going to eat the cheese that she had picked off the top of her lasagne, Rosalie headed home and left the three of them to deal with the Google problem. Edward put a video on for Alice to keep her entertained while she was in her carseat, and then he drove to the center of town and made his way toward the Willow Tree Inn.
"Wow, this is the Google listing?" Esme asked, sounding unimpressed. "I bet I could get some better pictures while we're there. Especially now, with the sun about to set."
"That would be good. It wouldn't hurt to make the place a little more attractive to prospective customers."
They rounded a bend and Esme hummed her approval when she saw the grounds. "What a gorgeous place! Look at those willows!"
"Right? It's pretty cozy."
Esme jumped out of the car as soon as he parked and started snapping pictures with her phone. She caught good angles of the main building, the brook, the cobblestone path to the shady cottage in the back, and the pretty little wooden bridge. She got wide shots of the grounds, and then the three of them went inside and were greeted by Emily's cheerful smile. Esme asked permission and then took a picture of her and started getting some interior shots.
"What's going on?" Emily asked Edward.
"We're going to try to upgrade your listing on Google. Correct the Maps problem and post some more photos."
"Oh, wonderful! Let me know if you want to see any of the rooms."
"Definitely," Esme said, "but let me get a few more shots of the exterior in the sunset."
Emily turned on some lights to make the building look warm and homey, and Esme went back out to get a few more photos. Edward thought she was satisfied, but then he caught her eyeing one of the willow trees by the parking lot.
"Give me a boost," she said, heading for the tree.
"What?"
"Help me up." She reached the trunk of the tree and looked up at the branches. "I want to get a shot of the inn from behind the willow branches."
"Damn. Yeah." Edward had been holding Alice, but he set her on the ground beside the tree so he could help Esme. He laced his fingers together and offered his hands as a foothold. Esme stepped in and he hoisted her up to the nearest branch. She pulled herself up and started crawling out onto the limb.
"A-dooeen?" Alice asked.
"She's climbing up in the tree," Edward told her.
"Inna chwee?" Alice asked and then giggled.
"I know, she's funny, huh?"
"Tumishoo!" Alice called up to her, stretching her hands toward a branch.
"No, you can't go up there with her. It's not safe for kids."
"I'm not sure it's safe for adults, either," Esme said with a little laugh. "Willow branches aren't exactly known for their rigidity."
"Just go slow. Test everything."
"Ooh, that's pretty." She snapped a bunch of photos from her vantage point before climbing a little higher.
"You need more?"
"I want to see if I can get high enough to see the honeymoon cottage over the roof of the inn."
"So high!" Alice exclaimed.
"There it is," Esme murmured. She eased herself a little higher and then held out her phone, looking for the perfect position. "That's it . . ." She snapped a bunch of photos. "Got it!"
"Doddit!" Alice agreed.
Esme tucked her phone away and started making her way down again. In her excitement, though, she moved too quickly and placed her foot just wrong. Her ankle rolled and she fell from the upper branches of the tree to the grass below. She landed hard and crumpled into a heap, gasping in wordless pain.
"Esme! Shit!" Edward dropped to his knees beside her, but he didn't want to touch her and cause more pain. "What is it? What hurts?"
"Leg," she managed to gasp, her face white. "Fuck!"
Blood was starting to seep through the denim of her jeans just below her knee, and Edward snatched his phone out of his pocket. He dialed emergency and started explaining the accident.
"What are you doing?" Esme asked.
"Calling an ambulance."
"Are you kidding me? Do you know how expensive those things are?"
"Jesus, Es." He shook his head and turned his attention to the phone conversation, giving directions to the inn and requesting that the ambulance please not use Google maps.
"Hey!" She smacked his arm, but she seemed to be trying hard not to move her leg and she didn't hit very hard. "I'm not kidding. Just drive me to the hospital. I'm not paying for an ambulance."
"Relax. I got it. I'm not going to drag you to the car and do God-knows-how-much damage to your leg in the process."
Edward ended the call and tossed his phone aside, and it was only then that he realized that Alice was standing a couple of feet away, wide-eyed and silent.
"Hey," he said softly. "Come here."
Alice obeyed, letting him lift her into his arms.
"You okay? This is pretty scary, huh?"
"Muzzmay sad?" Alice whispered.
"Yeah. She fell down and got hurt."
Alice gave Esme a worried look. "Habba ban-aid?"
Edward laughed through his anxiety. "Yeah. We're going to take her to the hospital and get her a special band-aid."
"Doh-wa?"
"No, not a Dora band-aid. I think she might need a bigger one." But Edward was worrying that Alice wouldn't tolerate the hospital well, so he grabbed his phone again and called Carlisle.
"Hey," he said when Carlisle answered. "Are you busy right now? I could use an emergency babysitter."
"I'd love to take Alice. Is everything okay?"
"It's fine—uh." He didn't necessarily want to announce Esme's health business, but after all, Carlisle was probably going to see what was going on if he came to pick up Alice. "Esme is hurt and I need to get her to the hospital. We're at the Willow Tree Inn right now. I don't suppose you can come and get the kid?"
"Absolutely. I'll be there in a few minutes." He hesitated. "Would it be all right if I talked to her?"
"To Esme?"
"To Alice."
"Oh. Sure." He handed the phone to Alice. "It's for you."
Alice brightened at being offered the phone. "Hi!" she said, holding it to her ear.
Edward set Alice down and let her wander away, happily chattering with Carlisle on the phone. He took Esme's hand and squeezed it. "Hang in there. Help is coming."
"The ambulance is entirely unnecessary," she muttered.
Edward just shook his head. He honestly couldn't imagine someone fretting over expenses while she was lying there suffering, but it made him think of Bella. Of the way she couldn't seem to fathom his casual relationship with money. And there was something really horrible about the idea that emergency medical services could be so expensive that Esme would hesitate to use them even in the condition she was in. Edward had honestly never given it much thought. There had always been enough money to cover his medical needs, emergency or otherwise.
"I got that fucking shot, though," Esme said, her voice heavy with pain. "And it's gorgeous."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "I'd show you . . . but I landed on my phone. I think it's broken."
Edward raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'll get you a new phone."
"Like hell, you will. You'll get the wrong one. I'll buy my own damn phone."
"All right, fair enough. How about I keep you supplied with edibles until that leg heals, then?"
"Now you're talking."
Edward tried to talk to her for the next few minutes to distract her as much as he could from the pain. And Carlisle, bless him, distracted Alice. The two of them chatted until Carlisle pulled into the parking lot, and then he got out and gathered her up into a hug. He nuzzled her head and gave her a warm greeting, and then he set her down and came to Edward's side to kneel beside Esme.
"How's your head?" he murmured. "Did you hit it when you fell?"
"No." She smiled gratefully up at him.
"Your spine? Any pain in your back?"
She shook her head.
"Have you lost movement in any of your limbs?"
"No. I mean, I haven't tried moving my leg, and I'm not going to. It hurts."
He gave her a sad smile and nodded. "I understand. It sounds like it could have been worse." The sound of sirens wailed nearby, and Carlisle glanced in the direction they were coming from. "You should have pain medication in just a few minutes. Are you allergic to anything?"
Edward backed off and let Carlisle do his thing. He made sure that Alice was out of the way when the ambulance arrived, but as soon as the vehicle pulled into the parking lot, Emily burst out of the inn.
"What happened? Is someone hurt?"
Edward took Alice to intercept her while Carlisle helped the EMTs. He explained how Esme had fallen from the tree, and Emily twisted her hands in front of her.
"Should I make an insurance claim? I've never had anyone get hurt here before."
Edward shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I've got this. She was obviously not using the property as expected, so you're not liable." He flashed her a grin. "She said she got some pretty great shots, though. I'll show them to you in case you want to put some on your website."
But Emily was too concerned to think about marketing. She fretted the whole time Esme was being lifted into the ambulance, no matter how much Edward told her not to worry about it. It wasn't until a guest came outside looking for assistance that she left them.
Edward hoisted Alice higher on his hip and turned to Carlisle, who was backing away from the ambulance to let it pull away.
"Thanks for coming out. Um. Do you need the Volvo? It's got the carseat in it."
"No, thank you. I have a carseat."
Right. Of course he did. Edward still had to force himself not to wince when he was reminded how much closer Carlisle had been to Ted and Alice than he himself had been. "That's convenient. I guess I'll stop by and pick her up after we're done at the hospital?"
"Would you like me to keep her at my house, or would you rather I take her back to your place and put her to bed?"
"Uh . . . yeah, actually, that sounds good. If you think you can get her to sleep, that would be great. This might take a while."
"I'll see you there, then."
Edward said goodbye and then drove to the hospital to be there for Esme when she was able to see him. He was relieved not to have Alice with him, as the wait was long and it involved little entertainment. He hadn't thought to send Alice's diaper bag home with Carlisle, which turned out to be a good thing because he'd tucked a sketch pad in there. He loaded Rosalie's script up on his phone and spent the time mapping pages while he waited for updates on Esme's condition.
It was hours later when a nurse finally let him know that Esme was ready to see him. He was escorted back to a hospital room, where he found Esme lying on a bed with her leg raised and wrapped in a plaster cast. When she saw him, she gave him a wide, glassy-eyed smile.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked her.
"Weightless. You?"
He chuckled. "They've got you on the good stuff, huh?"
"Mmmm." She closed her eyes and let her head roll to one side.
"I'll just go over all the care instructions on your behalf, then," Edward told her with a smile. He turned to the nurse, who was lingering in the doorway, and accepted a handout with medical advice.
"She'll need to make sure to keep the cast dry, and for the first few days she'll want to ice and elevate as much as possible."
"Got it."
"The doctor is calling a prescription for pain pills into the Chinook Pharmacy. Will that work for you?"
"Yeah, that should be fine." He tried not to laugh at the fact that there was apparently only one pharmacy in town. "Can I fill it on the way home?"
She shook her head. "They close at six. But I can get you a few pills to take with you today."
Edward had suspected that there wouldn't be an all-night pharmacy in town, but six o'clock seemed like an absurdly early closing time even for Forks. "Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "That should help. Thanks."
There was a little more waiting for paperwork and proper permissions, but eventually the nurse helped Esme into a wheelchair and rolled her out the hospital doors to the curb. Edward met her there with the car and helped her inside. They drove home in silence, as Esme was still drugged and drowsy, and when he pulled up to the house, it occurred to him how convenient it was to have a ramp to the door. He helped her out of the car and onto her crutches, and she made her unsteady way up the ramp and into the house.
Carlisle was sitting on the sofa when they got inside. He looked bleary-eyed and rumpled, as though he'd been sleeping before they arrived. He smiled sleepily at Esme, though, and she smiled back.
"What a nice face to come home to," she murmured, and Carlisle's smile widened.
"Can I help you with anything?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "I just want to go to bed." She started to turn away, but something caught her eye and she looked back. Edward followed her gaze and noticed the excessively large bouquet of flowers resting on an end table next to the sofa. Tucked among the cheery blossoms was a white card that said "Get Well Soon" in gold foil lettering.
"Are those for me?" Esme asked.
"They are," Carlisle said. "An injured person is entitled to something pretty to look at."
"That is so sweet. Edward, he's so sweet."
"Absolutely," Edward agreed, smirking at Carlisle. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
She turned away again, but once again looked back.
"Water. I'd really like some water."
"I'll get you some. Would you like me to take it to your room?"
"He's so sweet," Esme said, allowing Edward to guide her back to the bedroom.
Edward helped her to her bed and then let her direct him to where to find her pajamas in her suitcase. Carlisle appeared as he was getting her what she needed, carrying a glass of water and a second glass filled with ice.
"I didn't know if you preferred it cold," he told her.
She took the glasses and sighed. "Edward, he's so sweet."
Carlisle winked at her and backed out of the room again, leaving them to their privacy.
"I want to climb him," Esme murmured.
"Yeah, I bet he'd like that." He took the glasses from her and set them on the night stand. "Do you need help with your pajamas or can you manage?"
She drew in a deep breath and let it out, lying back on her pillows and letting her eyes drift closed.
Edward chuckled to himself. He'd leave her pajamas and the water where they were in case she woke up later and wanted them. He let himself out of her room and closed the door behind him, but when he turned to go back to the living room, he saw Alice standing in the doorway of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes with her fists.
"Hey, kiddo. Did we wake you up?"
She didn't speak but moved forward and hugged him around the knees.
He lifted her into his arms and cuddled her against his chest. "Are you sleepy? You want to go back to bed?"
"Seepishoo," she mumbled.
"Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that. Let's go say goodnight to Carlisle and then we'll get in bed."
"Tay."
Carlisle was smiling to himself when Edward walked into the living room. It wasn't hard to imagine why.
"Thanks for looking after Alice," he said.
"It's my pleasure. I'm always happy to help."
"Nigh-nigh, Taw-why," Alice murmured.
"Good night, my heart." He leaned in and kissed the top of Alice's head. "Good night, Edward. Call me if you need anything."
"Thanks."
Carlisle let himself out and Edward closed the door behind him. "Know what?" he asked Alice as he carried her to bed. "I think Esme's gonna get lucky."
