A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! I'm really sorry this took so long for me to update. The power cord to my laptop decided it hated me and stopped working. Then today, a storm came through and the power went out. So without further ado, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight :)

Song for chapter: No Air by Jordin Sparks

But how do you expect me

To live alone with just me?

'Cause my world revolves around you

It's so hard for me to breathe

Carlisle POV

It was hard for me to wrap my brain around eight years of injustice. I had listened to every detail in Esme's story, and I couldn't understand. How could anyone hurt such a gently soul? How could anyone hurt someone so loving, so caring, so giving, so wonderful?

And now, this angel was apologizing for something she had no control over.

I reached up to gently caress her face and hold it in my hands. "Sweetheart, don't apologize. It's not your fault and it's not my fault. Neither one of us could control the situation. We both need to move forward." In truth, I had held on to my guilt for many years. I still had moments where I would start to feel guilty about not doing more to find her, but I knew I needed to let it go.

Esme nodded and reached her left hand around to rest on my left hand. I noticed her body tense and she quickly closed her eyes and dropped her hand.

"Esme, what's wrong?" I asked. She didn't answer, but I saw tears start falling from her eyes. I had no clue as to why she was so upset. "Please tell me what it is."

"Moving forward," she sobbed. I still didn't understand what was making her sad. I thought moving forward together would be a good thing.

"I'm sorry, Esme, but I don't understand." She silently reached back up to her face and pulled my left hand down. She laid it on her lap and touched the ring on my finger softly.

Everything clicked for me then. She felt the ring and knew when finger it was on. She thought I had moved forward without her, as if that were even possible. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I could fix this.

"Esme, it's not what you think. Please just look," I begged. After what seemed like hours, she finally opened her eyes to look down at my hand.

"It's my family crest ring," I explained. "It was my father's and Uncle E. gave it to me when I graduated from medical school. I only wear it on this finger to attempt to deter some of the endless attention I receive from the nurses."

It was her turn to breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh. I'm sorry I got so upset. It's really none of my business," she whispered sadly.

"Esme," I said as I patted her cheek to get her to meet my eyes. "Perhaps I should show you my other ring." I brought my right hand down where she could see my claddagh ring. I always wore it on the third finger on my right hand with the heart pointing inward. I knew she would understand what I meant since I had given her one for Christmas years ago.

"Do you still have yours?" I asked softly.

She nodded. "I hid it from Charles when we got married, but I have it in a box at my apartment now."

She still looked sad as she traced the ring with her finger. "So who has your heart, Carlisle?" she finally asked.

"Who do you think?" I teased playfully. Her eyes darted up to my face and she had a look of shock on hers.

I couldn't believe she still wasn't sure of my intentions. "Perhaps it's time for me to tell you what I've been up to for a while," I said. She nodded and held my hand tightly, so I took it as a sign to begin.

"I think…" I wasn't exactly sure how to begin, but she squeezed my hand which gave me confidence. "I think that if I could have done anything different, I would have taken you away with me. I know that never would have worked, but sometimes the "what ifs" still run through my mind." She nodded in agreement, probably knowing from personal experience.

"After I got to college and realized I had no contact with you, I was depressed. My aunt and uncle actually began discussing medication with me because it got so bad. Eventually, I prayed about it and God continued leading me toward the path of becoming a doctor. I put the energy I was using from being depressed into my schoolwork and finished my undergraduate degree in three years. I was accepted into the medical school then came to work here."

"Carlisle, that's wonderful!" she interrupted. "Isn't UW the top medical school in the country?" I nodded and she beamed in pride. "But wait…you could have gotten a job anywhere in the country with that degree. Why did you decide to stay here?" she asked.

I took a deep breath, and I knew everything was about to change. I needed Esme to know my intentions and feelings for her. I looked down at the floor, too nervous to be staring at her face.

"I took a job in Seattle because I was hoping you would come find me. And I know that's very selfish of me to want you to find me, but I had no idea where you were. I knew that if we had any chance to be together, I needed to be here to wait on you. And now my wait is over."

I could finally breathe again, but I noticed her hand was gripping mine even tighter than should be humanly possible. I looked up and tears were once again falling down her face.

I felt my heart begin to break, and I knew this time, it couldn't be put back together.

"Oh, Esme. I'm so sorry. I just needed you to know my feelings. I didn't mean to upset you." I stood up to leave, but she maintained her grasp on my hand.

She was shaking her head while the tears still flowed, and I really wanted to get out before I caused her any more pain.

"Sit," she demanded, and who was I to ignore her. I sat back down and waited for her to speak. I was really confused at this point. She had gotten upset when she thought I had moved on, but now she was upset again after I shared my feelings. Maybe I was wrong; maybe I couldn't fix this.

She finally released my hand when she was sure I wasn't going anywhere and wiped the wetness off of her face.

"Carlisle, I…I'm…Well, I can't even begin to explain how happy it makes me feel that you waited on me, but it might be too late."

I immediately placed my head in my hands, not wanted her to see the dejected expression on my face.

"Wait, wait, wait!" she interrupted my private pity party. "Please let me finish. It's not my fault. Charles made me sign a prenup," she whispered the last part.

My head quickly shot up and I looked at her questionably. What did she have to lose? She already left him and worked for everything she had.

"I know what you're thinking. I have nothing to lose, right?" she stated with a small smirk. I nodded, feeling a little happier knowing that she still knew me better than I knew myself.

"I already told you that Charles was contolling. The prenup I was forced to sign did involve the basic things like money and property, but also included much more important things." Her expression turned dejected this time as I waited for her to continue.

"Children," she mumbled, emotionless. I gasped in disbelieve. The man truly was a monster. "I didn't notice that particular clause until after we were married," she explained. "If I divorce him, he gets custody of any children we have. I'm not sure if he knows about Emmett, but he will find out if I start proceedings. And I can't do that to my child. He will never even meet Charles if I have my way."

In a way, I was relieved. She made it very clear that she did not love the demon she was married to. However, she would never abandon her child, and that was one of the many reasons I loved her. Esme was a kind and gently woman, but she could turn into a fierce predator if someone threatened one of her own.

But then I remembered. I had honest money and power from my family name. I had an excellent lawyer. My despair was replaced with hope once again.

"Esme, I can help you. This abuse is on the record. You can press charges and request for full custody of Emmett. We have multiple professional opinions about some of your previous injuries that were noticed. They all cite abuse as the cause. You can testify and put him away for good. There's no way he will get off. It will work out, sweetheart. I promise."

She stayed quiet through my whole speech. When I was finished, I squeezed her hand and she burst into tears again. This time, I knew better than to jump to conclusions about her crying. Life had finally caught up with her, and I knew she needed to let her emotions out.

"I'm sor-rr-y I ca-can't stop crying," she sobbed. "I…I just fe-feel so s-safe here with you." Her sobbing quieted after a few minutes until it was reduced to soft sniffles.

"You are safe with me. Never forget that," I whispered as I stood up and leaned down to softly brush my lips against her forehead.

"I love you," she sighed softly, almost as if she didn't want me to hear it.

But I did. Loud and clear. They were the three words I had been dreaming about hearing for years. I stood up quickly and tried to get my emotions in check since I could feel the tears beginning to form in my eyes.

Esme misunderstood my actions. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. So sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear that. Please, you don't have to say anything. It's okay," she rambled with her eyes closed tightly. We definitely needed to improve on communication.

I quickly placed a finger on her lips to silence her silly apology. I would never apologize for loving her, so she should never apologize for loving me either.

"Sweetheart, please look at me," I pleaded in the loudest voice I could manage. She finally peeled her eyes open and they softened immediately as she noticed my tearful expression.

"I love you, too. Always. You've owned my heart for ten years now. It will never be anyone else's."

She smiled against my finger and her eyes filled with tears once more. I leaned down and enveloped her in my arms the best that I could. She held on to me as tightly as she could as we embraced and cried with each other.

It felt like I was home, finally back in her arms again. Our moment was cut short when the alarm went of on my watch, signaling that my lunch break was over.

Esme snorted which made me chuckle. Our sobbing quickly turned to laughter.

"I'm sorry I kept you from lunch," she said in between chuckles.

"You need to quit apologizing so much," I responded in between my own laughter. "There is no where else I'd rather be than here with you, even if that means I skip a few meals."

She placed her hand on top of mine and looked at me with a beautiful smile on her face. I knew we were going to find a way to make this work.

"Unfortunately, I do have to get back to work. But I'll be back for rounds and again when I get off this afternoon." I hated leaving her, but the sooner I did, the sooner I could get back.

"Is there anything I can get you before I go?" I asked. I would do anything for this woman, and I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible as she recovered.

"A laptop would be nice," she said with a giggle. I knew she was partially joking, but I nodded and left the room.

I knew she had to be puzzled by my actions, but I didn't care. I quickly hurried down to my office and retrieved my laptop from its case. I carried it back up to her room as quickly as possible.

I was right about her reaction. She was sitting in bed, looking toward the door with confused expression on her face.

"Carlisle, where did you g-…" She didn't finish her thought as I set up the laptop on the table and turned it on for her.

"Anything at all," I reinforced as I kissed her forehead again. "Just promise me you won't work. You really need to rest."

"Thank you, Carlisle," she said with a smile. I'm just going to email my boss and my neighbor, but you really didn't have to go to all this trouble for me."

I shook my head again and smiled at her. "Nothing is too much trouble for you. Remember that. I want to do anything and everything for you." I looked down at my watch regretfully.

"But, I do have to get back to work. We can talk more later. I can't wait to hear all about your son." I had hoped Esme would share more about him earlier when she told me her story, but she just skimmed the surface. I wanted to know more about this little guy she loved so deeply.

"I will. I promise," she said while her face lit up with a wide smile. Her eyes always sparkled when she started talking about her son, and I wanted to see it more.

After one final kiss to the top of her head, I left the room, eager to be finished for the day.

I was overflowing with emotion, and I didn't know how to contain it. I wanted to climb a mountain and scream "She's back!" to the heavens. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let go. I wanted to find Charles and give him a piece of his own medicine. So many ideas, but all I could do was continue working and count down the minutes until I could see her again.

If you've never seen a claddagh ring, you might want to look it up. I think the symbolism is beautiful and very fitting to Carlisle and Esme's relationship.