A/N: Thank you so much for continuing to read and review. I love reading all of the reviews, and I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter!

This chapter is a short one, but the next one should be longer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilihgt, these characters, or the song lyrics.

Song for chapter: This is Home by Switchfoot

This is home

Now I'm finally where I belong

Esme POV

The flight back to Seattle went by in a flash- mostly because I slept the whole time against Carlisle's shoulder. Making love to my husband all night was wonderful. Waking up early the morning after was not so wonderful.

Our honeymoon had been wonderful- full of fun, relaxation, and love. The love was my favorite part, and not just the physical expression of it. There was also the constant presence in the air of our love surrounding us. I always felt safe and secure knowing that Carlisle loved me and I loved him. I often thought that my love for him could not possibly grow any more, yet I proved myself wrong time and time again. I finally just decided that my love for him was infinite and left it at that.

After exiting the plane and picking up our luggage, we headed to the parking garage. The Mercedes was still there waiting for us, and Carlisle opened my door for me before going around to the back to place the suitcases in the trunk. I sighed as I felt the familiar leather of the seat. As enjoyable as the trip had been, I was glad to be home. Home meant Emmett, and I had missed my little monkey so much. I was excited to see him and have him back with us.

"So what would you like for lunch?" Carlisle asked as he got into the car and turned his cell phone back on. We had not had any time to eat lunch before our flight, and now we were both hungry.

"Somewhere fast, if you don't mind. A drive-thru would be good. I just really want to see Emmett."

Carlisle nodded knowingly, and I could tell he was ready to see our son as well. After his phone turned on he checked his voice mail, and as he listened, a smile formed on his face.

"Change of plans," he said, placing his phone in one of the cup holders before starting the car and backing out of the parking space.

"What do you mean? What plans are changed?"

"We're not getting fast food. Carmen called and left me a message. She fixed us lunch, so we are heading directly over there."

That sealed the deal in my head. Carmen definitely deserved the "mother-in-law of the year" award. She might not have been Carlisle's biological mother, but they were so much alive in their ability to anticipate the needs of their loved ones.

The drive went by slowly, and as soon as Carlisle put the car in park in the driveway, I was walking toward the door. Carlisle was right behind me, practically jogging to keep up. He laughed lightly at me, but I didn't care. I was a mother on a mission, and I needed to see my son.

Before we could reach the porch, Carmen had the door open waiting on us.

"Where's Emmett?" I asked as we climbed the steps and stood in front of her.

"It's nice to see you, too, dear," Carmen replied sweetly and pulled me in for a hug.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly and hugged her back. "It is really good to see you."

"It's alright, darling," she said with a laugh. "I know who you are anxious to see. He's excited to see both of you as well."

As soon as she released me, she pulled Carlisle in for his own hug. My body was vibrating with anticipation as they exchanged greetings. I wondered to myself if Emmett looked any different or if he grew while we were away. It had only been four days since I saw him, and I had talked to him the previous evening, but knowing he was only a few yards away from me made it difficult to be patient.

"Okay. I have lunch waiting for the two of you in the kitchen, and your son is playing in the den with Eleazar." Carmen held the door open for us and we walked in, both of us making a bee-line for the den.

Carlisle actually made it to the den a little before me, but he stopped in the doorway and didn't enter. He placed his arm out in front of me to stop me from going any farther, and I stared at him with a confused expression. He then put his finger on his lips, motioning for me to be quiet, before nodding his head toward the room.

I looked in and immediately smiled. Eleazar was lying on his back on the floor while Emmett was using his chest as a road, "driving" his little cars in circles as they both made appropriate car noises. It was such a relief to see him in front of my eyes, and I almost felt bad for wanting to interrupt his fun playtime.

Eleazar glanced at us and smiled before turning his attention back to Emmett, placing his large hand over Emmett's small one to halt his movements.

"Look who's here, buddy," he said and pointed to Carlisle and me.

Emmett looked over to where Eleazar was pointing, and his whole face lit up when he saw us. His smile was the biggest I had ever seen, and he dropped everything to stand up and run to us.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

His squeals were music to my eyes, and Carlisle and I knelt down to catch him when he got to us.

Emmett reached me first and crashed into my arms with a force that almost knocked me backwards. I held on to him tightly, rocking both of us back and forth. From what I could tell, Emmett had not changed any since Saturday, so I was glad I hadn't missed anything important in his life. He felt the same in my arms, and it was a feeling I had missed.

Carlisle wrapped his arms around us, creating an Emmett sandwich. Now that Emmett was back inside our love bubble, I was calm for the first time since we disembarked the plane. I could finally breathe, having my baby in my arms and the love of my life holding us.

After a few seconds, Emmett finally had enough and started struggling to get out of the human cage. We laughed at his efforts, and Carlisle moved back a little to give him some room. I brought one hand up to my face to wipe away the happy tears that had fallen so Emmett wouldn't think I was sad.

"Mommy home?" Emmett asked while jumping up and down, still excited to see us.

"Yes, monkey. Mommy's home." I held his face between my hands and pulled it to me, covering him with kisses until he was giggling and playfully fighting me.

Once I released him, he turned directly to Carlisle and held his arms out to him. Carlisle immediately scooped him into his arms for another long hug and more kisses. After asking if Daddy was home, too, and receiving an affirmative answer, Emmett seemed satisfied that we were all together again.

I finally stood up to go hug Eleazar. He was also standing and had removed all of Emmett's toys from his chest. Carlisle joined us in an upright position a few seconds later. Emmett was holding on to him tightly, not even moving out of the way for Carlisle to embrace his uncle.

After all of our greetings, Carmen reminded us that she had lunch ready for us to eat. We all went into the kitchen and sat together at the table. While Carlisle and I ate Carmen's pot roast and potatoes, we gave them an overview of our trip, leaving out the more private details.

"So you two enjoyed yourselves then?" Carmen asked when we finished our summary.

I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was asking about the private details we left out. I knew they weren't oblivious to what we did on our honeymoon. They were, after all, happily married and had had their own honeymoon once. I also knew that Carmen was partially asking out of concern. Given my past, we had all been nervous about what the implications would be when Carlisle and I were alone together.

"Yes. We had a lovely time. The whole trip was incredible." If my words weren't enough, I was hoping my bright smile would be sufficient to reassure her.

She returned my smile and nodded, so I knew she understood. We then continued on to other topics while the food gradually disappeared from our plates. The food was absolutely delicious and assuaged the hunger that had been growing since our flight. The food had been very good at the hotel, but in my opinion, nothing was better than a good home-cooked meal. I was incredibly thankful that Carmen had treated us with the meal, and from the way Carlisle inhaled the food, I knew he was thankful as well.

While we ate and talked with Carmen and Eleazar, Emmett went back and forth between Carlisle and me. It was almost difficult to eat with all the kisses he was giving out, but I would never refuse the love he was so freely giving. His hand also found its way to my hair several times. I had left it down just for him since I knew he would want to play with my curls.

Emmett was also talking up a storm, telling us all about our time apart. From what we could understand, it seemed like Carmen and Eleazar had filled his days with many fun activities, not giving him too much time to miss us. Carmen did reluctantly confess that it was harder at night right before bedtime. She said that he cried for us, but after she gave him some milk and rocked him, he settled down and slept well every night.

It made my heart hurt to know that he called for us at night, and we weren't around to comfort him. Carlisle noticed my mood dropping and reached over to squeeze my hand, silently telling me not to beat myself up over something that was now in the past. I squeezed back and reminded myself that we were together now, and Emmett wasn't likely to suffer any ill effects from us being gone for a few days.

Once we were finished eating, we were all ready to head home. Carmen had already packed up all of Emmett's things, so after Eleazar loaded the bags along with a few unexpected wedding gifts into the trunk, we thanked them again and said our goodbyes before leaving. I didn't feel bad about leaving in a hurry because I knew we would see them again during the weekend at the latest.

When we got home, Emmett immediately went to find all his toys that he missed while Carlisle unloaded the car and I unpacked. I put a load of laundry into the washer as soon as possible and then started placing the unworn clothing back into the closet and drawers. I also moved most of my clothing from my old room into Carlisle's bedroom that was now ours. The changes that came from being married never failed to put a smile on my face.

I finished the unpacking and then went to join Carlisle and Emmett in the living room. Carlisle had pushed the coffee table back, and they were building with blocks in the middle of the floor. I began constructing with them, and it wasn't long before we had a block fortress finished. Of course, Emmett knocked it over as soon as it was complete, but that was to be expected with him. As long as he was having fun and wasn't breaking anything, it didn't really matter what he was doing.

By the time the block clean-up was over, Emmett was ready for dinner since he had eaten lunch at a normal time. I was really still tired from the trip and didn't feel like cooking a big meal, so I improvised with some buttered noodles and a cut up hotdog. His dessert was some grapes and yogurt, but the little monkey didn't seem to mind the quick meal. He ate everything I gave him and then went back to his non-stop playing.

Carlisle and I were both relieved when it was bath time for Emmett. I wasn't sure where all of his energy came from, but we were practically exhausted and couldn't keep up. I bathed Emmett quickly and let him play for a few minutes once I was finished. After I dried him off and dressed him for bed, I took him into his room where Carlisle was waiting in the rocking chair with a book. I deposited Emmett into his father's lap before quietly leaving the room to give them some time together.

When Carlisle emerged a few minutes later, I was already waiting on the couch. He sat down beside me and held me to his side. I sighed in contentment, being back in my favorite place. We sat in silence for a few minutes until Carlisle suggested that we eat dinner. I wasn't very hungry, but it was getting late, so we needed to eat if we were going to. Carlisle called and ordered some Chinese take-out for us to share. It wasn't very much, but it was plenty to tide us over until morning when I planned to make a good breakfast.

After we ate, Carlisle suggested that we look at our wedding gifts. Some of them were the expected kind such as kitchen appliances and bed linens. We also received a few monogrammed towels which I was excited about. The last two gifts were the ones we were wondering the most about. There was a medium sized box from Kate and Garrett, and we had no clue what was inside. I unwrapped the box and looked at the picture on the side with a puzzled expression.

"A baby monitor?" Carlisle questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders and opened the box to see if the contents matched the picture. The box did in fact contain a baby monitor, but I still didn't understand.

"Why do we need a baby monitor?" I asked. "We're not having a baby as far as I know, and Emmett doesn't usually wake up in the middle of the night."

"Maybe the card will help us figure it out." Carlisle opened the envelope and pulled out a small piece of paper.

"What does it say?" I asked.

Carlisle's eye brows furrowed as he read it to himself. "It says, 'Just trust us. You'll thank us later.' I don't think I understand."

Kate and Garrett obviously had a reason for giving us this particular gift. Maybe it would have been better to wait until morning to open the gifts. I wasn't thinking straight, and the only thing I could think of was going to bed.

Oh. Bed. That would explain a lot.

"Carlisle, I think I know why we need this," I said with a shy smile. "We never needed it before because we always slept with the doors open so we could hear Emmett."

"Yeah, we do sleep with the doors open. But why would we stop now…Oh. We might need to close the door now, huh?" Carlisle turned the box around in his hands. "Kate's right. I do want to thank her, but is it bad that I feel so out of the loop all the time?"

I shook my head. "I don't think it's bad. I feel that way sometimes, too. But many of our friends and family are married, and their advice is actually useful. I'm really grateful that we have them to help us out in ways we don't realize we need help."

"I see what you mean, sweetheart. It is good that we have these people in our lives for help in areas we are inexperienced in." He leaned over to kiss me and then put the new baby monitor down on the floor.

The last present was a rather large box from Carmen and Eleazar. It wasn't wrapped, so Carlisle simply tore through the tape on the top to get it open. As he pulled out the contents of the box, I gasped and felt tears come to my eyes.

The box contained a beautiful quilt. The background was an ivory color, and the traditional wedding ring pattern was done in different purple fabrics. The middle of the center ring was embroidered saying, "My beloved is mine, and I am his," followed by the date of our wedding. Carlisle placed the quilt across our laps, and I reverently ran my fingertips over the fabric. There was also a note pinned to it which Carlisle removed, but it was addressed to me. After I opened it, the tears started again as I read Carmen's words for me.

Dearest Esme,

First of all, I wanted to tell you thank you for completing our family. You'll never know how much you mean to both Eleazar and me, but I know you are worth infinitely more to Carlisle.

I truly loved you from the moment Carlisle brought you home to meet us all those years ago. I could tell you were perfect for him- so loving, generous, and kind. When you were taken from us, it felt like it was one of our own children who was missing. Every day I prayed that God would keep you safe and one day return you to us.

But my faith was no match for Carlisle's. He never lost hope that he would find you again someday. In his mind, you were his and always would be. He did attempt to continue on with his life, but I know it was never totally fulfilling to him. Part of him was missing, a very critical part that he needed back. I can honestly tell you that I had never seen Carlisle as happy as he was the day he brought you to the house for dinner after you found each other again. In eight years, I never saw a smile as genuine as the one I saw on his face when he was with you and Emmett.

I also think that my faith is no match for yours. I don't know if you thought you would ever see Carlisle again, but I do know that you never gave up on him. Even after everything you have been through, every hardship, you retained your ability to love so openly. That is a fact that I find amazing.

I also think that you are an incredible mother. I loved Emmett even when I didn't know he was yours. That little boy can capture hearts so easily. He also has your ability to love, and Eleazar and I are very blessed to call him our grandson. We never thought we would ever have this many grandchildren, and we especially love having one in our daily lives. Thank you for allowing us that privilege.

This past summer was one of the best of my life. I was able to spend time with you as you healed physically, mentally, and emotionally. I know you didn't really notice, but I could see the changes every day as you grew in your relationship with Carlisle. You might not think of it this way, but I believe your separation was needed to mold your relationship to what it is now. You both know what it's like to lose the other, and I know you don't want to repeat that. I have faith that your marriage will continue to grow as the years pass and you build your family together.

I started this quilt that night in May after the three of you went home. I couldn't sleep because of the excitement, and I wasn't sure what I was going to make at first, but it turned into your wedding quilt. Love is in every stitch, and I know you will treasure it.

I've already told you, but I really do think of you as my own daughter. You have a place in my heart just like Kate and Carlisle do. Thank you for allowing me to fill to role of mother for you.

Please remember that Eleazar and I are here for both you in any way you might need us.

I love you so much, my darling, and I pray that you and Carlisle will have a long and happy life together.

Love, Carmen

By the time I finished reading, I was full-out sobbing. I turned my head to rest it on Carlisle's shoulder and handed him the letter to read. Carmen's heart-felt words meant as much to me as the actual quilt, which was incredibly beautiful. When Carlisle finished reading, he cradled me further to his side while he kissed my head. My tears were happy ones, and he didn't try to stop them. I had no idea how I would ever express my gratitude to Carmen, but I knew she wouldn't want me to try.

"She especially right about one thing in particular," Carlisle commented once I had quieted down.

"What's that?" I asked as I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

"I do love you infinitely more than anyone else. No other person will ever love you as much as I do."

I snuggled closer and kissed the side of his neck. "I believe you because it's the same for me. No one else could ever possibly love you like I do."

We sat in silence for a few more minutes with Carlisle caressing my arm and kissing my head. After a while, I yawned involuntarily and felt my eyes closing.

"Maybe we should head to bed," Carlisle suggested softly.

I nodded and felt him lift me off the couch and carry me bridal-style into the bedroom. I think I mumbled something about the baby monitor which made Carlisle chuckle softly. Once we were in the bedroom, he helped me change into one of my new nightgowns before changing into his own pajamas. I crawled into bed to wait on him, but I was already mostly asleep when he climbed in beside me. He turned the lamp off before holding me to his side. The last thing my mind registered was him telling me goodnight before I drifted into a deep sleep.

It seemed like I had only been sleeping for a few minutes when I started to regain consciousness. The first think I noticed was my position. My arm was thrown over Carlisle's waist, and my legs were tangled with his. I hugged him closer, and then I realized that he was kissing me. Feather-light kisses were being placed all over my face. I scrunched my nose and smiled as he continued which made him chuckle. I finally opened my eyes to find his watching me closely.

"Good morning, Mrs. Cullen," he said softly and kissed my lips. "How was your first night in our bed?"

I rolled to my back and stretched. My body felt a lot more rested after sleeping all night. It had felt like only a few minutes, but from the light in the room, I knew it was morning.

"I like our bed," I answered and turned back to look at him. My hand went to his disheveled hair and I swirled the stands between my fingers while intermittently scratching his scalp. "I'm sorry I feel asleep so early."

Carlisle hummed in pleasure from my actions. "Don't apologize. I fell asleep right after you did. We haven't had very much sleep in a few days, plus traveling will always wear you out."

"What time is it?" I asked him.

He rolled slightly to look at the clock on the nightstand.

"It's just after seven. Sorry to wake you so early, but Emmett will be up soon. And I always like kissing you awake."

"I like that, too," I confessed. "It's my favorite way to wake up. Maybe I should go get Emmett now and put him in bed with us and then we can have a few more minutes in bed together. I don't think I'm ready to get up yet."

"I'll get him," Carlisle volunteered. He was out of bed before I had the chance to even think of protesting.

While he was gone, I quickly went to the bathroom and returned to the bed before he got back. When Carlisle did come back into the bedroom, he was carrying a still sleeping Emmett. He laid him in the bed next to me and then took his own turn in the bathroom.

I hugged Emmett close to me and watched his chest rise and fall with each breath he took. Carlisle crawled into bed on the other side of Emmett and we sandwiched him between us.

It was still early, but so far the day had been perfect. I had woken up next to my gorgeous, loving husband, and we were now cuddling with our son. I didn't think it could get any better.

I was wrong, of course. When Emmett opened his eyes and saw that we were all together, he smiled brightly and started giving out good morning kisses. He was content to lie with us for a few more minutes as we all enjoyed our time together. He did eventually start rolling around everywhere, and we had to get up when he wanted to jump too close to the edge.

Once we were out of bed, Carlisle and Emmett followed me into the kitchen. They both helped me cook breakfast, and we had a lot of fun. As we sat around the kitchen table eating, I couldn't help but want to spend every day like this. So far, being married to Carlisle was somehow better than I ever imagined it would be. I looked forward to every future day we would have together.

A/N: The next chapter will be posted next Saturday. So far, this posting schedule is working out. It just took a while for me to figure out how to balance this with school, but I think I'm good now!

The next chapter will cover the rest of September through November (which is when Emmett's birthday is!)