A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. They really make my day when I read them.
I hope everyone who celebrated had an amazing holiday weekend. Mine was a bit crazy, hence another late chapter! :)
I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or these characters.
Carlisle POV
Esme was one hundred percent right about our bed being extremely comfortable. The only bad thing about that was that I hated leaving it in the morning. I longed to set aside one day for us to just cuddle together in bed as a family, but since we had a mid-morning appointment with Siobhan, today was not the day. There was no use putting off the inevitable, so I resolved myself to getting out of bed.
Jasper was sleeping soundly while lying as close to me as he could get. He seemed to always like to sleep up against either Esme or me, and I was very grateful that he didn't kick in his sleep or move around. Our sleeping arrangement would not work if that was the case.
His arm was thrown over my chest, so I gently moved it before rolling out of bed slowly as to not disturb him. I smiled as he rolled over into my now empty spot and continued his quiet slumber. His face was peaceful, and I didn't begrudge him at all for staying in bed. He and Rosalie had been doing so well, and I knew it had to do with the sleeping, food, and the love that we had available to them. It was almost as if they had no choice but to feel better and recover.
After placing the covers over him, I quietly left the room to begin my usual morning routine of checking on Rosalie and Emmett before taking my shower. Emmett was sleeping soundly as always, so I didn't spend much time checking on him before heading over to Rosalie's room. I looked forward to the few minutes I had every morning to spend with her, even if she was asleep.
When I stepped into her room, I saw that she was turned on her side, facing away from me. I recognized it as her preferred sleeping position right away. She liked to sleep on her side while hugging her baby doll, and the fact that we understood more about our new children's personalities everyday made me smile.
I walked slowly to the side of the bed to give her a good morning kiss, but I was surprised to find that her eyes were open. Rosalie seemed even more surprised to see me in her room and immediately sat up and scooted away from me.
This was uncharted territory for us. I had never been alone with her while she was awake, and I hadn't even thought about what her reaction would be. So far, it wasn't so good, but I tried to not let myself overreact. They had only known us for a week. I couldn't expect Rosalie to be anywhere near comfortable around me yet.
"Good morning, sweet girl," I said softly while stepping away from the bed. "Did you sleep well?"
I watched her face closely while keeping a gently smile on mine. She seemed more shocked than scared, but the fear was still there. When she finally gave me a minute nod, I let out a breath of relief. I was glad she was communicating with me, even if it wasn't much. Anything was better than her getting upset. But the longer I was in her room, the more agitated she became. I saw her hold her baby doll tighter, and her lower lip started trembling.
"Do you want to go lie down with Mom…Esme?" I asked quickly. In my haste, I had almost called Esme 'Mommy,' and we had agreed not to change anything until talking to Siobhan. Even though we were nervous, I couldn't wait for the meeting so we could get some things worked out in a way that would benefit the children.
Upon the mention of Esme's name, Rosalie nodded fervently, and I was relieved that I my suggestion had apparently been the right one.
"Okay, baby. You can go see Esme. Do you want me to carry you?" I held my arms out slightly after my cautious request, but lowered them after seeing the fear in Rosalie's eyes.
It hurt to know that she didn't want me near her, but I could deal with it. I needed to earn her trust, which I hadn't yet. But instead of dwelling on the disappointment, I saw it as a way to build that trust between us. I would respect what she wanted and never do anything she was uncomfortable with. In time, I hoped she would realize that I wasn't going to hurt her, and I was definitely excited about the prospect of when that day would come.
Since Rosalie didn't want me to carry her, I wasn't sure how she was going to get to our bedroom. She didn't walk on her own much, if at all, and I didn't want her to hurt herself trying. Waking Esme up was an option, but before I could decide what to do, Rosalie began scooting to the edge of the bed.
I remained in my spot away from the bed as I watched her slide down and land on her feet. She seemed a bit unsure of her footing at first, but seemed to be fine as she stood on her own. Once she was comfortable standing, she looked toward me hesitantly, and I smiled in reassurance.
"Do you want to hold my hand?" I asked in one last attempt to establish contact. She shook her head with much less fear in her eyes, and I nodded in acceptance. She still hadn't gotten upset, and that was extraordinary progress in my eyes.
Rosalie looked toward the door, and I chuckled softly at her signal that she was ready to leave. I walked slowly, leading the way as Rosalie followed behind me. I glanced back at her several times to watch for any signs of pain or discomfort as she walked for the first time in over a week, but found none. She was absolutely adorable as she took hesitant steps with one hand against the wall. She used her other hand to hold on to her doll and blanket which was quite an armful, but she managed. My heart swelled as I realized that she was beginning to trust me, even if it was only to lead her somewhere familiar. It wasn't much, but it was enough to fill me with hope.
When we made it to Esme's side of the bed, I couldn't have been more proud of Rosalie. She hadn't had any trouble walking, but I had a feeling she still wouldn't be doing much of it whenever Esme was awake. I knew Esme would also be proud of Rosalie's progress even if she didn't mind carrying her around everywhere.
Our next challenge was getting Rosalie into bed with Esme. I didn't want her to try to climb up, even with the amazing progress she had already had this morning. I also wasn't even going to offer to help her since I didn't want to be too pushy.
After a few seconds of internal debate, I leaned down to gently kiss Esme's temple.
"Wake up, sweetheart," I whispered into her ear. "Someone wants to join you."
Esme eyes fluttered open long enough for her to look up at me and then down at Rosalie. With a smile on her face, she lifted Rosalie into bed so she could lie beside her before immediately going back to sleep. Rosalie didn't seem to mind that Esme was asleep. Her presence alone calmed her down, and she snuggled closer before closing her eyes, too.
I smiled as I made gently covered them up, and I took a few moments to watch them. It was a nearly perfect picture: my wife sleeping while snuggled in bed with two of our children. The only thing missing was Emmett, but I wasn't about to wake him any earlier than I had to.
With everyone sleeping peacefully, I headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Once I was finished and dressed, I went back to the bedroom to check the time. The clock confirmed that we still had about two hours before we needed to leave for our appointment, so I left the family in bed while I went downstairs to begin cooking breakfast.
Esme had done so much in the past week, and I wanted to give her a chance to sit back. I always enjoyed being able to pamper her every chance I had, and my muffin preparing skills had improved greatly, if I did say so myself. Once the coffee was started and I put the muffins in the oven, I prepared the morning juice, milk, and medicine before returning upstairs for a wake-up call.
I went to Emmett's room first and gently nudged him as I kissed his forehead. He slowly stirred and whined softly as he woke up.
"Five more minutes, Daddy," he mumbled, and I smiled at the phrase he had picked up from Esme.
"Come on, little man. You have to get up," I said before blowing a raspberry on his cheek.
He giggled but didn't open his eyes or make any move to get up. I knew I wasn't getting anywhere which meant a compromise was in order.
"How about you go downstairs and drink your juice on the couch? I can turn the TV on for you to watch while I wake up Mommy, Jasper, and Rosalie."
Instead of answering me out loud, he placed his arms around my neck and held on tightly. I chuckled as I lifted him into my arms; I definitely knew how to catch his interest. He laid his head against my shoulder as I carried him downstairs and placed him on the couch as promised. After giving him a cup of juice and turning the TV on, I walked back up the stairs to continue waking everyone up.
Jasper was already awake when I walked into our bedroom, but he seemed to be happy as he snuggled against Esme. When he saw me, however, he crawled across the bed to give me a big hug. I lifted him right into my arms and gladly returned his hug.
"Good morning, buddy," I whispered and kissed his cheek. "Do you want to go downstairs and sit with Emmett?"
He nodded, and I repeated the process of taking him downstairs and getting him settled on the couch before walking up the stairs once more. I was definitely getting my exercise in for the day.
Once I was in our bedroom again, I crawled into bed carefully so I could reach Esme without disturbing Rosalie. She had been surprised enough this morning.
I stretched on my side beside Esme and propped my head on my hand before leaning in to nuzzle her neck. I had shaved after my shower, so there wasn't any stubble to scratch her. The feather light kisses I was placing on her neck seemed to do the trick, though, and it didn't take long for her to begin stirring and stretching as she woke up. I moved my kisses from her neck to her jaw where I traced the edge until making my way to her lips. We were way past the stage of caring about morning breath, and she smiled against me before kissing me back.
"Mmm, that was a nice way to wake up," Esme hummed once we released each other.
"I'm glad you liked it," I chuckled as I placed one last kiss on her lips before sitting up. I didn't move from my spot as I gently ran my fingers through her hair, fanning it out on the pillow behind her. She smiled and looked at my with half-lidded eyes.
Times like this always reminded me how truly blessed I was. For a few minutes, my wife was the only one that had my attention, the only one that mattered. I loved her, and she loved me back. As long as I had her in my life, everything else would be okay.
But our moment was soon over after I glanced at the clock.
"Breakfast is almost ready, sweetheart. We have to leave in about an hour and a half, okay?"
"Okay," she yawned, not offering any other communication.
I chuckled as I slid out of bed and headed to the kitchen. I knew she wouldn't go back to sleep and that she would be more talkative after a steaming cup of coffee.
The boys hadn't moved from their spot on the couch as they watched one of their programs on TV, so I left them alone while I took the muffins out of the oven. After they were cooling on a plate, I cut up some fruit and fixed bowls of yogurt for everyone. This was a new breakfast for Jasper and Rosalie, and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. So far, they had continued to eat well, sometimes even better than Emmett. I didn't even want to think about them ever being hungry before they came to live with us, but I knew they would never go hungry here.
As I was setting the table, I heard footsteps behind me followed by someone's touch on my shoulder. I turned and smiled when I saw it was Esme with Rosalie, both hanging on to the last bit of their sleep.
"Good morning ladies," I said cheerfully. I placed a quick kiss on Esme's cheek as I went to pour her a cup of coffee. Once I handed it to her, she took a sip and hummed in appreciation.
"Thank you, Carlisle," she said. "For the coffee and for making breakfast. It smells wonderful."
She kissed my cheek in passing as she pulled Rosalie's cup out of the refrigerator and grabbed her medicine. I watched in fascination as Esme sat down with Rosalie and was able to give her the dose of medicine without any complaints. She was so great with our daughter, and Rosalie always felt secure around her, secure enough to do things she really didn't want to.
"So how did this one end up in our bed?" Esme asked as she kissed Rosalie's head. The tone of her voice was casual, but I could tell that the curiosity was almost killing her.
"Well…" I began slowly, "I went to check on her this morning, and she was already awake."
Esme sucked in a quick breath, and her eyes grew wide.
I nodded in conformation, and continued. "And she wanted you, so…"
"But how did she get to our room?" Esme interrupted. "She won't let you near her, will she?"
I chuckled at her frantic interruption and shook my head. "No, but she did walk down to our bedroom."
Esme looked amazed at what I told her, but her surprise quickly turned to pride as she looked down at Rosalie.
"Did you walk with Carlisle this morning?" she asked her softly as she brushed the messy curls from her face. Rosalie nodded, but her eyebrows were knit together in confusion. She didn't understand why we were so proud, but this was something to be happy about.
"That's so good, baby. I'm glad you came to find me," Esme said as she hugged Rosalie tightly and kissed her forehead.
Esme then turned back to me. Her expression was still happy but had some worry mixed in.
"She didn't hurt herself did she?"
"I don't think so," I assured her. "At their age, they aren't going to do something that causes them pain, especially without any protest. And she was fine, though I doubt she's going to want to walk again anytime soon."
Esme laughed, but agreed with me. Rosalie was very comfortable being on Esme's hip all day, every day.
I went back to setting the table, and Esme asked to help me. I wouldn't let her, so she sat in her chair with a playful pout on her face as I laughed at her. She eventually laughed with me, and we were all in good moods by the time I called the boys to the kitchen.
Breakfast went by rather quickly since we had limited time. Over all, the food was accepted by Rosalie and Jasper without much fuss. Jasper wasn't a big fan of yogurt, but since he was drinking milk, it wasn't really a problem. We were trying to keep their diets as balanced as possible to make sure they were healthy, but we took their likes and dislikes into consideration as we always did with Emmett.
Since our breakfast had been simple, clean-up was relatively easy. Even the kids were able to help, and we were finished quickly. As soon as we were finished, Esme took them upstairs to pick out clothes for the day, and I filled three clean sippy cups with juice to have for later in the morning. It was going to be our first time going out with three children, and I wanted to make sure we were prepared.
After fixing some snacks to go with the juice, I joined the boys in Emmett's room. Esme had laid out their clothes on the bed for me, and it seemed that the color of the day was red. The boys had matching red hooded sweatshirts with blue jeans, and I had a feeling that Rosalie was going to be wearing a red dress of some kind. I was amazed by how much Carmen had already bought for them, but I was very grateful. Esme and I had no time to shop for them, so my aunt's shopping expertise had been a lifesaver.
I sent Emmett to the bathroom to go potty while I changed Jasper's diaper. Once that was finished, I dressed them before combing their hair. Shoes were the last thing needed, and after they were tied, I let them go back downstairs to play in the family room.
I was going to see how Esme and Rosalie were doing, but as I walked into our room, I heard the shower running in the bathroom. I turned right around and left, giving Esme some privacy, or as much privacy as she could get with Rosalie in the room.
While Esme finished getting ready, I found a bag to take with us and made sure to stock it with diapers, wipes, and blankets. It had been quite a while since we had to carry a separate diaper bag, but we were going to have to get used to it again. Once I had everything we needed from upstairs, I went down to the kitchen, checking on the boys as I passed through. They were playing together without any issues, so I left them alone while I finished packing up the snacks and juice.
When everything was in the bag, I placed it by the door so we wouldn't forget it and went to sit in the family room. Esme came down with Rosalie soon after that, and I smiled when I saw I was right about the red dress. This one was complete with ruffles and black polka dots, and a matching hair bow was placed in her now tamed curls. In my mind, Rosalie was the prettiest little girl ever, but I could have been biased.
"Maybe we should prepare them a little for what we're doing today," Esme suggested as she placed Rosalie in the floor next to Jasper. "Going in completely blind is probably not a good idea."
I nodded in agreement. They deserved to know what we were going to be doing, and hopefully it would prevent any unnecessary fears.
Esme convinced Rosalie to stay in the room with me while she went to put her shoes on, but only after she first convinced the boys to hold Rosalie's hands. It seemed that safety in numbers made Rosalie more comfortable, so I was all for it.
I remained sitting on the couch so I would be at their level and smiled at my three curious children. Rosalie was hesitant about being close to me without Esme, but she held on to the boys' hands tightly and didn't panic.
"Okay. So we're all about to go out for a little while," I began slowly.
"Where are we goin'?" Emmett asked, not missing a beat.
"Well, we're going to go somewhere and sit and talk to a nice lady. But she won't hurt you," I stressed, looking between Jasper and Rosalie. "You'll be with us the whole time, and when we finish, we'll go do something fun. How does that sound?"
"What lady?" Emmett questioned once more. I smiled at his inquisitiveness but was happy to answer the question since he knew Siobhan.
"We're going to see Miss S. Do you remember her?"
Emmett's face lit up, and he nodded excitedly. "Ya'huh! She gots the toys!"
I nodded in confirmation. Siobhan did have several rooms with toys in them, and Emmett had the opportunity to play with them several times when we didn't have a babysitter for him during Esme's appointments.
As Emmett celebrated going to see the toys, Jasper caught my attention by patting my knee. I quickly focused on him, and waited to see what he wanted.
"You stay me?" he asked quietly, the volume just above a whisper. But I heard him, and I was so proud of him using his words.
"Yes, buddy," I said with a smile. "I'll stay with you the whole time. You won't have to leave me at all."
He relaxed upon hearing that I wouldn't leave him, so I looked to Rosalie to try to ease some of her fears.
"And you, sweet Rosalie, can stay with Esme the whole time. Is that okay?"
She also relaxed and nodded, and I was finally able to breathe easier upon knowing that the kids at least had some knowledge of what was going on.
As soon as Esme returned, we wrangled everyone to the garage to load up for our first trip together in the new minivan. I took Jasper and Emmett over to the driver's side and unlocked the doors.
"Daddy, we gets to ride in the new car?" Emmett asked while jumping up and down beside me.
"We sure do, buddy," I chuckled as I opened the door.
As soon as it was open, Emmett jumped in and quickly found his car seat in the back. I looked at Esme through the opened doors, and she rolled her eyes playfully as she began buckling Rosalie into her seat. Emmett continued to chat happily as I buckled him and Jasper in, and I found it funny that he seemed to think we had picked out the van with only him in mind.
When Emmett finally sat still, it didn't take me long to have the boys secure in their seats. Esme had a more difficult time with Rosalie since she was almost crying over the fact that Esme was going to leave her side. It wasn't worth the fear for Esme to sit in the front, so she decided to just sit in the back and hold Rosalie's hand.
After we were all loaded in, we made the drive to Siobhan's office. The sky was cloudy, but the weather was clear for once. I hoped it stayed that way so we would have an opportunity to take the kids to the park after our meeting with Siobhan. They needed a fun adventure after all of the unpleasant things they had been through.
By the time I pulled into a parking space, anxiety was rampant. I took a deep breath before opening the door and sliding out of my seat. The kids could easily pick up on our feelings, and I wanted to make sure I was as calm as possible before getting them out. We had no idea what to expect, so there wasn't much we could tell them to ease their fears. But I trusted Siobhan, and I knew she would do everything she could to make our whole family as comfortable as possible.
Once I had my feelings under control, I smiled as I opened the door and unbuckled the boys to show them that everything was and would be okay. Emmett took everything in stride as usual and was excited about visiting the room with the toys. Jasper was still a bit nervous and buried his head tightly against my neck as I carried him inside. Esme held Rosalie tightly, who was mirroring her brother's position, and whispered soothing words in her ear to keep her from panicking.
After checking in with the receptionist, we sat together on what on the couches that were provided in the waiting area. There were magazines to look at, but my arms were occupied with Jasper. He wouldn't just sit on my lap; he wanted me to hold him with my arms completely around him. He was longing for protection, and I gladly offered it. The one person who was supposed to protect him before hadn't been able to, but I would do anything in my power to protect him, Emmett, and Rosalie. I wanted them to always feel safe with us.
Esme was in a similar position with Rosalie while gently rocking her from side-to-side. She had a blanket wrapped around her along with her arms, effectively shielding her from our surroundings. That thin barrier combined with the car trip and now the rocking was working wonders for Rosalie, and she seemed to be almost asleep. I looked to Esme in question, and she nodded, confirming that Rosalie was very close to sleep.
Our wait was over fairly quickly when Siobhan walked out of her office and motioned for us to follow her.
"Good morning, guys," She said softly, mindful of our now sleeping child. "You can come back me."
Emmett jumped up right away and ran over to Siobhan to talk to her about the toys. Esme and I followed, her with a sleeping Rosalie, and me with a nervous Jasper. Actually seeing Siobhan hadn't helped calm him any.
"We're just talking, remember buddy?" I whispered in his ear as we walked down the hallway. "I won't leave you, okay? You're safe with me."
He snuggled closer in response, and I kissed his head, hoping that he would be all right.
Siobhan led us to one of her rooms with leather sofas and chairs arranged in the center of the room. It was very nonthreatening, and of course there were toys in one of the corners that had Emmett ready to sprint toward them. When we gave him permission, he did just that while the rest of us sat down.
After taking a few minutes to get comfortable, Siobhan got her writing pad ready and gave us her full attention.
"Okay, so I'm very happy to see all of you," she began with a smile. "Now, I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable during our time together, including the children, so we'll just take things as they come. It should be similar to my meetings with Esme, so feel free to ask questions at any time. Does that sound all right with you?" She looked between Esme and me, but we both nodded. I knew Esme enjoyed her meetings with Siobhan, so I didn't doubt that the rest of us would be comfortable with her as well.
"Excellent," she said with a smile before folding her hands in her lap. "So today I was thinking that we could just talk about any issues you have thought about that we're going to need to address, and I'll give you an overview of my opinion on where to go from here. Do you have any questions before we start?"
I shook my head, but Esme spoke up quietly.
"How much do you know?" she asked while gently stroking Rosalie's hair. "I really don't think we should talk about it with little ears around."
"Don't worry," Siobhan said with a knowing but sad smile. "I've talked to your case worker and she sent me the files, so I basically know everything that you know."
Esme nodded in relief. I hadn't thought about having to relay the story again, but I was glad she had. It definitely wasn't something I liked to think about considering how angry it made me. In my mind, Mr. King and Ms. Garcia would get off too easy with any prison sentence they received after all the hurt they had caused our babies.
"Any more questions?" she asked and nodded when we shook both shook our heads.
"Okay. I think the best place to start would be my immediate thoughts upon reviewing Rosalie and Jasper's case. I think the biggest thing you should watch out for is post traumatic stress disorder. You have no way to know how or if this will manifest itself, but you need to be prepared when it does."
"How should we prepare?" I asked. I knew about PTSD, but only in adults. Rosalie and Jasper were so young and hadn't developed many ways to express themselves yet, and I wasn't sure how that would factor in.
"Be ready for outbursts at anytime. Triggers are unknown at this point, so just be ready. They could get angry or sad or possibly even withdrawn. Punishing them for said outbursts will not help; they need to get their feelings out in any way they can. Whatever happens, you need to be by their sides to show them that you're there and aren't leaving."
"Age is something I've been wondering about," I brought up. "Do you have any idea how that will affect them?"
"I've been wondering the same thing," Esme interrupted with a nod. "Will they even remember this?"
"Age is a good question," Siobhan affirmed. "That is one of the things that makes this an even more delicate situation. Addressing the trauma is important, but it is possible that they could forget. Most people don't remember anything before the age of three. But at the same time, you don't want to let them repress anything in case they do remember."
"There seems to be a lot of unknowns," I sighed as I hugged Jasper. He had calmed down slightly and was starting to loosen his grip on me.
"You are right," she nodded again. "And I think it's wonderful that you came to me for help. The desire to help them is actually a very important factor. Caring goes a long way."
"That's what we were hoping," Esme said. "I know love can't cure everything, but it definitely can't hurt, right?"
I reached over to hold her hand and looked at her with as much love as I could express. I could see the same amount of love reflected in her eyes as she squeezed my hand. Our love was a wonderful thing, and our children would definitely receive it.
"Absolutely," Siobhan smiled, this time with joy behind it. "Love is the best thing for them. Now, I was wondering if we could talk about how they have been adjusting so far."
Esme and I told then explained everything that we had been doing with them since they had come home with us, including the basic routine we had in place. She approved of it wholeheartedly and explained that the normalcy would be good for them. She also approved of my approach to Rosalie and how we weren't pressuring her or Jasper into doing things they weren't comfortable with. Earning trust wouldn't happen immediately, but any progress was better than no progress.
We also talked about our sleeping arrangements, but she didn't see any problem with our methods. Having Jasper in our bed every night was normal for both his age and for experiencing trauma. Siobhan seemed to think that Rosalie's nightmares would dissipate in time which Esme and I were both glad to hear.
Siobhan stressed the same thing that everyone else had: time was our biggest hurdle and ally. Mostly, we had to keep taking everything one day at a time, and if we kept doing that, many of our issues and concerns would be resolved.
Esme remembered to ask about names, and I was curious about it, too. My role in Rosalie and Jasper's lives was new, but Esme would be more like a replacement. The advice Siobhan gave us once again involved time. She believed that Rosalie and Jasper would solve the problem for us and make the transition themselves. We were Esme and Carlisle right now, but eventually they would pick up on the fact that we were 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' to Emmett and adopt those titles.
We agreed to start meeting every week with Siobhan as a family. Individual meetings wouldn't do Rosalie or Jasper any good because of their age and communication abilities, or lack thereof. Meeting as a family would also give Siobhan a chance to watch our family dynamic and see if there was anything we needed to change, especially in regards to Emmett and how to make sure he didn't suffer any negative effects from the upheaval in his life.
By the time we said our goodbyes to Siobhan, Esme and I were feeling much better about everything we had talked about. We didn't have to start doing anything differently, and as long as we continued to give Rosalie and Jasper the support they needed, recovery was a very likely possibility.
The weather had stayed clear so when we left Siobhan's office, we drove over to our favorite park. Rosalie still hadn't woken up, so as the boys played, Esme and I sat on a close bench to keep an eye on them. After the nerve racking day, it was nice to be able to sit with my arm around my wife in the park as we watched our children play. It was much more entertaining than when we were teenagers and watched the squirrels.
I gently pulled Rosalie feet into my lap while Esme cradled her, and we relaxed together. Emmett and Jasper came over to us several times for sips of juice or some crackers. I couldn't stop smiling from seeing them so happy and carefree.
Eventually Rosalie did begin stirring, but I didn't move as she opened her eyes and stretched. I was curious as to how she would react with me this close to her, but I was ready to move at the first sign of fear of discomfort.
"Hi, baby girl," Esme greeted her softly once she had finished stretching. "Did you have a nice nap?"
Rosalie rubbed her eyes with her hands and nodded. When she opened her eyes again, she looked up at Esme and tensed.
"Lady?" she whispered, furrowing her eyebrows in worry.
Esme chuckled softly and brushed her fingertips over Rosalie's forehead to smooth out the lines.
"We already talked to the lady, sweetheart," she said with a smile. "You slept all the way through it. Now we're playing at the park."
Rosalie looked over to where Emmett and Jasper were running around and smiled upon seeing them.
"J and Em," she giggled as she pointed at them. "Go pay, May?"
It was the longest sentence I had heard her speak, and it was beautiful to hear. The fact that she wanted to go play with the boys was even more incredible. My smile was almost too wide for my face, but Esme's matched. I was also excited about the fact that Rosalie's feet remained in my lap without her moving them. It seemed like she didn't notice, and I didn't outwardly acknowledge it either.
Esme quickly complied with Rosalie's request, and I also stood from my position on the bench and went to play with the boys. Their loud laughter filled the air as I chased them, tickling them when I caught them. The whole family was carefree, and it was a welcome change after being cooped up in the house. It was also good to know that the boys were wearing themselves out and would take good naps.
When my legs started to get tired, I took a break from chasing the boys and returned to sit on the bench. As I watched my family laughing and playing together, I knew that there was no way that things wouldn't fall into place for us. It would take time, but we had as much as we needed. With Siobhan's help as well as the support of our extended family, not to mention God's grace, we would grow closer as a family unit and help Rosalie and Jasper heal.
Esme looked toward me and smiled which I gladly returned. I loved seeing her so happy, and my level of happiness probably matched hers. We had a bright future ahead of us, and even though I knew it wouldn't be without issues, I couldn't wait for it.
A/N: The next chapter will cover quite a bit more time, and there are important things coming soon! :)
The next update will be sometime next week, but I'm not sure what day. Thanks for being patient with my crazy schedule.
I hope you all have a fantastic new year!