Thank you all for continuing to read and review. It means so much that you're sticking with me through my slowness.
And lots of thanks to anhanninen for prereading and hand-holding and to MelissaMargaret for making this pretty.
I hope you enjoy the chapter! ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or these characters.
Esme POV
"Dat's mines!"
"No, J. It's mine!"
"No, mines. I had it first, Rosie!"
"Baby!"
"But red is – No, Pumpkin! That's my baby."
"Leeleeeee. Baby no no."
"I want the red one, Rosie! Gimme it now."
Standing in the family room doorway, I cleared my throat, catching all three of their attentions. "I'm not hearing very nice words right now. What's wrong?" I sat in the floor in front of the couch, and Pumpkin immediately ran over.
"Mama," he whined, climbing into my lap. "Baby."
I hugged him and kissed his head. "Is Rosalie not sharing her babies with you?" I looked up at Rosalie. "Which baby did your brother want to play with?"
She pouted, pointing at one of her smaller dolls that wasn't really a favorite. "Mommy, that's my baby."
"I know it's your baby, but it's nice to share. I bet Pumpkin just wants to love on the baby."
She thought for a few seconds before dropping the pout and passing the baby to Pumpkin. "Here, Pumpkin. But don't chew on it, 'kay?"
Pumpkin squealed and happily hugged the doll, patting its head and giving it lots of kisses.
"There you go, baby. Say 'thank you' to Leelee." I made the motion by putting my fingers to my chin and bringing them forward, and he copied me. The baby sign language was going better than I thought it would be after only three weeks. "Good job. Now, what other problems are we having today?"
Rosalie started to say something, but Jasper came over to me next, placing his hands on my face. "Mommy, Rosie gots the red net, but I wants it."
"Mommy, I always use this one!" she protested. "J is green and Em is blue."
"What's wrong with green, buddy?" I asked. "Isn't it your favorite?"
He shrugged. "Yeah buts I wants different."
"You could use the blue," I suggested. Emmett was having an afternoon play date with one of his friends from school, so it wasn't as if he would miss using the blue net.
Jasper's eyes lit up and he nodded, reaching over to grab the blue net from the floor.
"See, now you can play. Can Pumpkin and I watch?"
They both agreed, and once the Elefun game was loaded with "butterflies," I turned it on so the game could begin. All three of the kids squealed as the little pieces of paper flew into the air. Rosalie and Jasper did their best to catch them in their nets, and Pumpkin tried to catch the ones that flew over to us in his hands. It was a short game, even with the extra butterflies and other modifications Carmen and Eleazar had made before giving the birthday gift to the twins, but it was greatly enjoyed nonetheless.
After everything was cleaned up, I remembered why I'd missed the beginning of Rosalie and Jasper's argument.
"Hey, guys. Your swim suits are on my bed if you want to put them on and go swim at Nana's."
That got them moving faster than anything else could, and I chuckled as I stood with Pumpkin.
"What about you, baby?" I asked, kissing his cheek. "Do you want to swim at Nana's today?"
He grinned and gave my nose a sloppy kiss. "Nana nana nana!"
"I guess it's unanimous then."
Edward babbled as we headed up the stairs, and I let him walk once we made it to the top. He giggled as he entered the bedroom ahead of me, and with good reason. Clothes seemed to be flying through the air, landing all over the floor and bed. But after slowing everyone down a bit, we all managed to get our swim suits on, grab the bags I prepacked, and get out the door.
Eleazar was waiting for us at the door and managed to greet the kids with hugs before they ran off toward the back. They knew better than to get in the pool without an adult, but I called out a warning anyway before hugging Eleazar.
"Hey, E. How's your day so far?"
He kissed the top of my head and then took Pumpkin from me, kissing his forehead. "Pretty good. Quiet so far, but I think that just changed."
I chuckled and agreed. With our kids, there was never much quiet. "So what's Carmen up to today?"
"Volunteering," he answered as we walked outside. "Today's her day at the children's hospital."
I nodded, remembering the date. Carmen volunteered at least once a week at a long list of locations. I hoped to be able to join her in the fall, provided that the kids managed school with no issues. Emmett would definitely be fine, but there was no way to know how Rosalie and Jasper would handle it, and I wanted to be available for them.
"She should be back in a couple of hours," he continued. "I know she said before dinner."
"Carlisle will be here by then, too," I added. "He's going to get Emmett after work, but I packed swim suits and clothes for them so they don't have to make any other stops."
Eleazar laughed, shaking his head as he passed Pumpkin back to me. "I knew Em wouldn't have any social issues in school."
My baby definitely wasn't lacking in the friend department. Rarely did a week pass without him having a play date with one of his friends from school, and thankfully, a couple of his buddies would be in his kindergarten class. It was a relief to me that I would already know some of the other moms.
As I readied Pumpkin for the pool, Eleazar got in with Rosalie, helping her swim around without a float. She and Jasper were very close to swimming on their own without help and would probably have it mastered by the end of summer. Pumpkin was also a little fish, and as soon as I put him and his little float in the water, he kicked up a storm.
Jasper, however, hung back, hugging my legs as I pulled off my cover-up.
"What's wrong, buddy?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair as I sat down on the deck chair.
He crawled into my lap and hugged me. "Mommy, you play wid me?"
"Of course I'll play with you, bud. You miss Em?"
Nodding, he climbed back out of my lap and grabbed my hand. "Uh-huh. I miss him all day, Mommy, but you heres and I wanna play."
"Well, we can definitely do that," I said with a smile, letting him lead me over to the pool.
We joined Rosalie, Eleazar, and Edward in the water. Jasper tried to dominate my attention with a game of catch, but Rosalie begged every few seconds for me to watch her swim. We eventually came to a compromise of them taking turns jumping into my arms until that game became boring.
By the time the back door opened, and Carlisle and Emmett came out, I had my arms full of giggling Jasper and Rosalie as I spun in circles.
"Daddy!" Rosalie called as soon as she saw him. I stopped spinning and headed to the side of the pool as Carlisle helped Emmett remove his t-shirt. "Daddy, come swim with me!"
"Give me just a minute, baby girl," he said with a chuckle.
As promised, a few minutes later, Carlisle and Emmett joined us. Emmett swam over to me, telling me all about his play date while his brothers and sister attacked Carlisle.
It felt so nice to be back together again after being apart all day. Once the kids dispersed and started their own game, Carlisle brought Pumpkin over to me, pulling us both into his arms.
"Hi, sweetheart," he said, give me a quick kiss. "How was your day?"
"The usual." I shrugged. "Lots of laughs, a few fights, Some poop. And of course, lots of fun."
He laughed and hugged me a little tighter. "You know, that sounds a lot like my day, minus the fights. So what's the plan for later today?"
I looked over at Eleazar, and it was his turn to shrug.
"Menny is in charge of that so you'll have to ask her."
Carlisle nodded and sunk down further in the water with Pumpkin. "As long as there's food in the plan, I'm happy. Now, Pumpkin and I are going to take a swim."
Pumpkin squealed his happiest squealed as his daddy carried him around the pool. He bobbed, jumped, and turned in circles, and I couldn't stop smiling as I watched them. Soon, Jasper grabbed onto Carlisle back to go on the ride with them, and Rosalie and Emmett followed.
They played hard until Edward started rubbing his eyes, so I left Eleazar and Carlisle to entertain the kids as I headed inside to change both myself and Pumpkin.
He was happy enough to walk around and explore the bathroom as I changed into dry clothes. With many people always fighting for a chance to hold him, he really hadn't had much walking practice. It seemed he didn't need it though, instead having no problem navigating the room without falling.
Once I was dressed, I knelt down and opened my arms for him. He grinned and ran over to me, giving me a sloppy kiss when he was in my arms.
"Oh, I love you, baby boy. Let's get you changed now, okay?"
I removed his wet swim trunks and swim diaper before carrying him to the bed room and laying him on the bed. He was cooperative for the most part as I diapered and dressed him in a onesie. The eye rubbing continued, so I tried to be quick.
Luckily, I had chosen a bedroom with a rocking chair, so Pumpkin didn't have long to wait before I had him situated for his favorite snack. He was nursing much more infrequently now – only three of four times a day when he was tired. I was cherishing every moment I had left of our special way to bond.
Only fifteen minutes later, I had a passed out baby in my lap. I was ready for a nap myself and thought about lying down on the bed until the phone interrupted me. Knowing Eleazar wouldn't be able to hear it outside, I carefully stood and quickly found the phone in the den. The caller ID told me Carmen was the caller, so I answered.
"E's with the kids in the pool," I said in lieu of a greeting, making Carmen chuckle.
"Well, hello to you too, dear. Are you having a good afternoon?"
"We are," I affirmed. "How was your day at the hospital? Are you on your way back?"
She paused for a few seconds before answering. "My day was…interesting, which is why I'm calling. I'm actually still at the hospital now. Do you think you can get Carlisle on the phone with you? I can wait."
My first instinct was to ask what this was about, but with my mother-in-law, it was usually best to just do as she asked. And since I didn't detect any extreme emotion in her voice other than her usual happiness, I wasn't too worried. Suspicious, yes, but not worried.
Placing the phone down, I walked to the door. Carlisle was out of the pool, looking through our bag for something, so I opened the door and called him. Grabbing his towel, he jogged over.
"Carmen called and wants to talk to both of us," I explained. He gave me a questioning look. "Your guess is as good as mine. But this is Carmen."
"True," he said with a nod. "Let's go see what she wants while E has the kids distracted."
I led him to the den and picked up the phone, putting it on speaker.
"Okay, Carmen. Carlisle's here too. What's up?"
"Well…I'm about to ask you to do something that might seem a little crazy. But please – just trust me."
Carlisle looked at me, raising an eyebrow. I returned a similar look, but we didn't interrupt.
"Okay so I need the two of you to come to the hospital. I'll meet you in the lobby."
"Just the two of us?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes. Eleazar can watch the little ones for as long as this will take."
"Pumpkin too?" I didn't mind leaving him while he was sleeping, but if this was going to take any longer than an hour, I knew he'd be waking up without me. And as much as he loved his Pops, I doubted he'd be too thrilled with me not close.
"Pumpkin too," Carmen confirmed. "So can you trust me on this?"
It only took a second for Carlisle and I to share a nod. Carmen wouldn't be steering us wrong. Whatever she needed us for at the hospital was important, and it was in our best interest to listen.
"Give us forty-five minutes?" Carlisle requested.
"Yes, yes, of course. I'll be waiting in the lobby. Love you both."
She hung up before we could say anything else, making us both laugh.
"Looks like we're going to the hospital." I said as I shifted Pumpkin to my shoulder. "You want to change while I let Eleazar know?"
"Sounds good, sweetheart." He kissed my forehead and walked back to the bedroom.
Eleazar simply laughed and nodded when I went outside and informed him of the plan.
"Don't worry, Ezzie. Menny more than likely isn't doing anything too crazy. And the kids and I will be fine. You just do what you have to do."
After Carlisle changed and we helped Eleazar get the kids settled with a movie, we kissed them all goodbye and started our drive into the city.
I wasn't sure how I felt during the drive. With Carlisle's hand in mine, I was calm and happy. But there was still an unexplainable anticipation surging. We had no idea what Carmen had in store for us, but it was starting to feel like something big.
Finding a parking spot in the deck wasn't too difficult, nor was finding the lobby. Carmen was waiting for us as she'd said she'd be. She greeted us with hugs and took my hand.
"I'm so glad you're here," she said with a wide smile.
"Are you going to tell us what's going on now?" Carlisle asked, winking. "We abandoned our children for whatever you've cooked up.
"I promise you won't regret it. Let's head up and I'll explain on the way."
With her leading, we headed to toward the elevator, but once we understood where we were going, Carmen hung back and walked between us as she explained.
"So I usually volunteer wherever they need me. Today I was in special care rocking babies, and you'll never guess who I saw."
She was right. We couldn't guess, but as soon as we stepped in the elevator, she didn't keep the secret any longer.
"Shelley Cope is here today," she said, calm as ever as she pushed the button for the fourth floor.
I failed to hold in a gasp. There was any number of reasons for Shelley to be here, but deep down, I knew. I knew why she was here and why we were now here.
Carlisle squeezed my hand, and I looked up at him. I could tell he knew, too.
"Is she still here?" Carlisle asked, and Carmen nodded.
"Mmhmm, and she's waiting on us. She has some information for you, as you've probably already guessed, so let's not keep her waiting."
As soon as the elevator door opened, Carmen was out and walking to the right. Carlisle and I, still hand-in-hand, quickly followed after her.
My mind seemed to be going a million miles an hour, but I did manage to take note of our surroundings. These hallways weren't the general neutral colors most hospitals had. Instead, the whole floor resembled a garden complete with blue sky, green grass, and many flowers. There wasn't anything sad or scary about this place, and I found myself smiling even with all the questions in my mind.
"Rosalie would like that," Carlisle whispered to me, nodding his head toward a large purple butterfly on the wall.
"She would," I agreed. "And somehow I have a feeling that we'll get the chance to show her."
He chuckled, holding me tighter to his side, but didn't disagree.
Somehow, we both knew we'd be back to visit.
Carmen finally slowed her pace as we neared a room with a closed door, but she didn't waste any time before opening it and walking in. I wondered if she had permission to do so, but when I saw Shelley sitting just inside the room, my doubts vanished.
"Carlisle, Esme," Shelley said, smiling as she stood and greeted us with hugs. "I see Carmen was accurate in her prediction that she could get you here quickly." She motioned toward the seats in front of and beside her, so the four of us sat down.
"We've learned to trust Carmen," I explained. "She usually doesn't request crazy things unless they're important."
Shelley laughed and winked at Carmen. "Well, this is definitely important. Did she tell you anything?"
"Just that you were here," Carlisle answered. "Although, that speaks a lot without really having to say anything else. I assume this is one of your cases?"
"It is – a very new one, in fact. Today was my first visit to a very challenging case. At least until I ran into Carmen. It doesn't seem as challenging now."
"You want to place a child with us?" I guessed. "A sick child?"
"Now, I don't want to pressure you," she clarified. "Please, don't feel that way at all. Tell me 'no' if you have any doubts. This is about the best fit for everyone involved."
I looked at Carlisle, squeezing his hand between mine. Our communication was silent, but not any less effective than if it had been aloud. Yes, this was unexpected and sudden – something that wasn't anywhere close to being on our radars. But did it matter?
"There's just a…feeling I have," Shelley continued. "I don't know how to explain it, but it was there even before I saw Carmen. Then it just clicked."
Carlisle's eyes widened. "Christmas Eve," he whispered.
My mouth opened slightly as I remembered. Shelley's "feeling" on Christmas Eve that had brought her to our house for a home study. That was over six months ago, so I'd mostly forgotten about it, but now it made sense. It had to be the same feeling, and there was no way we could simply walk away now.
I swallowed and nodded to Carlisle, and he did the same in return before we turned back to face Shelley.
"I think we'd like to hear more," Carlisle said softly. "But we're definitely not leaving yet."
Shelley and Carmen both breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing in their seats. Seeing Carmen this excited about the possibility of taking a child home with us had me getting excited. Carmen loved children – all children – but her grandbabies were special, meaning that this child was special, too.
"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that," Shelley said with a wide grin. "Now, we can do this one of two ways. I can give you the information now and then you can meet her, or we can head back now and I'll fill you in after."
"Her?" I whispered, placing my hand over my mouth. "A little girl?"
Carmen nodded and reached over and squeezed my knee. "A beautiful baby girl. Go meet her."
"How old?" Carlisle asked Shelley.
"Seven months. She's a tiny thing, though. I'm guessing you want to meet her first?"
We both nodded and stood to follow Shelley. Carmen came with us as we walked to an area in the center of the floor. There was a separate nurses station from the one I saw on the way in, and this one was facing five rooms without doors.
"This is special care," Shelley explained, waving to the nurses as we headed to the last room. "The whole floor is, but this part is for the ones whose parents don't stay for whatever reason. The nurses have to basically babysit more so than usual."
"Special care?" I asked, suddenly very worried. "Is she very sick?"
"Not in the sense that you're probably thinking. She's sick, yes, but she's in no immediate danger." She shook her head to herself. "I think this will make more sense once you see her. Here we are."
The room in front of us was daunting, almost scary. What, or who, we would find would undoubtedly change our lives.
Gripping my hand even tighter, Carlisle took a deep breath and started to walk into the room.
"Wait," I said, turning back to Shelley. "What's her name?" I couldn't believe we'd forgotten to ask.
"Her name is Mary," she answered with a soft smile. "Mary Alice, but we've all been calling her Alice."
"Alice suits her," Carmen added. "She's not really a Mary."
"Alice," I whispered to myself and nodded. "Okay, now I'm ready."
Once more, Carlisle started to lead us into the dimly lit room, and this time, we didn't stop.
The room was unlike any hospital room I'd been in before. Even when Rosalie and Jasper were in the hospital, each of their rooms was bigger than this one. Aside from the crib in the center of one wall, there was only a plastic chair and a chest of drawers. Nothing else would probably fit.
It was quiet too. No beeping monitors or activity - just the flashing of two pumps. I recognized one as an IV pump, but the other, I wasn't so sure.
Squeezing Carlisle's hand and letting go, I quietly walked over to the crib. But I immediately reached my hand back for my husband because of the sight before me.
"Carlisle," I whispered, tears filling my eyes. "She's… beautiful."
It was the only thing I could think. The tiny baby in front of me looked to be not much bigger than a newborn. With a head full of dark brown hair and porcelain skin, she could have passed for a little doll. Her eyes were closed, and the fullest lashes fanned her cheeks, but only one cheek was bare. The other had a strange tube taped to it, but it only momentary distracted me as I looked down at her.
There weren't enough words to describe this baby – little Alice. I'd only known her for a minute, but I already wanted to just sit and love her.
Carlisle stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder as he studied her.
"She is," he agreed, hugging me against him. "Such a beautiful baby."
"What's the tube for?"
"It looks like a nasogastric tube," he explained. "A feeding tube."
A tear dripped down my cheek as I sniffled. "She's so tiny. Is that why she needs that?"
"Possibly." I felt him shrug against my back. "I'm sure we'll get the full story from Shelley. Do you want the full story?"
Slowly, I reached over the side of the crib and ran the back of my fingers over her bare arm, feeling her soft skin. I itched to get her out of the crib and into my arms, but since I didn't know if I could, I settled for leaning forward and kissing her forehead. She twitched in her sleep, pursing her rosebud lips with a sigh before setting again.
My heart was settled too.
"I want to know everything."
Carlisle chuckled and kissed my temple, leaving his lips there for a few moments. "We've already decided, haven't we? Nothing Shelley can say will change this."
"Nothing," I agreed. "She's ours."
He nodded and stepped around me to get closer to the crib. Gently placing his hand on the top of her head, he leaned down and kissed her bare cheek. "Welcome to the Cullen family, Alice. We'll be back to see you in a little while. Sleep well, sweet girl."
A/N: Finally, right? I am SO very excited to be sharing this part of the story with you. Alice was the first character I knew before I even started writing, and she's very special to me. Hopefully she'll be special to all of you too. =)
Next update in 3 weeks. Possibly a few days early, but we'll see. My schedule is a bit unpredictable.
Sorry I didn't get to replies this time, but I do appreciate every review.
Also, I posted a new o/s last week for anhanninen's birthday called Sweet Caroline. E/B doctorward and a cute kid. Check it out if you get a chance.
Thanks again for reading!