Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or these characters.

Carlisle POV

"Daddy?"

My eyes flew open, startled to see Jasper next to the bed, his face only inches from mine.

I'd been a dad for almost four and a half years, but I didn't think I'd ever get used to one of our children coming into our bedroom with ninja stealth and waking me in the middle of the night.

"Yeah, bud?" I managed to garble out, clearing my throat as my heart continued to race. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy, I have bad dream," he whispered. "Lotsa al-da-gators." He rubbed his eyes and lifted his arms, knowing I wouldn't waste any time lifting him into bed.

Once he was snuggled up beside me under the covers, my heart rate began to calm and I looked at my nightstand clock.

3:35 AM

No wonder Jasper had startled me.

The past week hadn't involved much sleep for Esme or me, though my wife was definitely carrying more than her fair share of the burden.

Ever since her appointment with Peter last week, Alice had been having a hard time. Not with anything physically. She was still breastfeeding appropriately and when Esme weighed her every day, she continued to show slow and steady gains. However, we were struggling with her temperament.

Before, Alice had been more like a newborn - content to snuggle between eating and although she was quick to let us know when she was unhappy, for the most part, we knew what would settle and calm her.

Now, she was having periods of time when nothing made her happy. During the day it didn't seem to be as bad, but our evenings and nights had been a challenge. At first all the moms of the family suggested it was a "witching hour" for her. It did seem to hit every evening around six o'clock. But besides crying fits all evening, we were dealing with them all night too. Alice had been sleeping several hours between feedings at night but now barely lasted an hour.

We had tried everything to soothe her: swaddling, cluster feeding, pacing, using the swing, rocking, even taking her for rides in the car. At first we thought she was in pain from her immunizations, but pain relievers did nothing for her. Then we explored the idea that gas was causing her pain but no amount of burping, gripe water, or gas drops did anything.

After a week of this, we called Dr. Gerandy who was able to see us Thursday. He was as baffled as us, but since our appointment was during the day, Alice was fairly calm and not showing any of the inconsolability we had been dealing with.

Her physical exam showed no changes from her previous appointment, apart from continuing to gain weight. Dr. Gerandy's best guess was either this being a continued trauma response or what he called a developmental "leap.

Alice was now eight months old but was about five or six months behind where she should be. It was anyone's guess when she would catch up. We weren't expecting any kind of major developmental progress from her beyond what we had already seen so far but Dr. Gerandy pointed out that her attachment to us happened faster than we had originally anticipated. There was no way to know what pattern her devoplemtn would follow. He wanted us to watch her through the weekend and then bring her back on Tuesday if nothing had changed for us to further explore what could be going on in her tiny body.

It was now Sunday morning, and last night had been rough. Esme and I were both awake until around two, taking turns pacing and bouncing our unhappy girl. Now at 3:30, Esme was thankfully still asleep as was Alice.

As my heart rate continued to slow and the panic left my body, I kissed the top of Jasper's head and tried to go back to sleep.

I must have dozed off, vaguely aware when Alice stirred some time later, but as Esme fed her she whispered to me that she was fine so I didn't get up.

Eventually, the sun through our bedroom window did wake me for good. I stretched, looking over at the clock. 7:14 AM. Well, that was better than three.

Jasper was still sleeping peacefully, as were Esme and Alice, so I carefully rolled out of bed and quietly walked to the bathroom. After a trip to the toilet I glanced in the mirror. I didn't look as haggard as I felt after less than five broken hours of sleep, but there was plenty of room for improvement.

After a quick five minute shower and throwing on a t-shirt and sweatpants, I looked a little more presentable. I went back into the bedroom, thankful to see Esme remained asleep. Walking softly, I crossed the room and looked into Alice's bedside bassinet, surprised to see she was wide awake but wasn't making a peep. Her eyes slowly met mine, and I could tell she recognized me because she kicked her feet.

I laughed silently as I scooped her up and carried her into Edward's room, laying her on the changing table.

"Good morning, baby girl," I said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "You're up very early for a baby who didn't sleep much last night." I removed her swaddle and lifted the bottom of her little pink nightgown to change her diaper. "Yes, you are. Daddy's sweet girl was not happy."

When I finished cleaning her up, I threw the used diaper in the diaper pail, fixed her nightgown, and picked her back up, holding her in front of me.

Alice made eye contact with me the whole time, the most uninterrupted eye contact I'd seen from her so far. I couldn't resist smiling as I kissed her cheek. She truly looked like an angel with her rosy cheeks and bright eyes, eyes that were almost sparkling this morning.

"Daddy loves you, sweet girl. So, so much."

Alice kicked her feet again and slowly the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile. It didn't last long, really just long enough for a lump to form in my throat and my eyes sting.

"Oh, Alice," I murmured, lifting her up to kiss her cheek one more time before settling her against my chest. "You are showing off for Daddy today."

She nestled her head against my neck, snuggling close, further showing off her progress.

Maybe Dr. Gerandy was right. This morning, there definitely seemed to be a lot of developmental progress happening. But I knew only time would tell. After all, Esme had caught a smile while school supply shopping last week, but I had been patiently waiting to witness one. Ten days later, this was the first smile since then but I reminded myself that with Alice, slow and steady would win the race.

Holding Alice close, I walked back down the hall. I stopped in our bedroom doorway and peaked in. Esme was still asleep but Jasper was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

When he looked over at me, I gestured for him to come with me which he quickly did. After closing the door to hopefully deter the others when they woke, we walked down the stairs.

"Daddy," Jasper said once we were in the family room. "I had bad dream."

"Oh yeah? What was it about?" I asked, then I remembered. "Oh wait . . .alligators? Did you have a dream about alligators?"

He nodded. "Yahuh. Lotsa al-da-gators come swim in Nana's pool, but then they try to eat me!"

"Whoa, dude. That does sound scary. Do you remember what happened then?"

He followed me to the kitchen, telling me all about how he tried to fight the alligators with Pops' help to no avail.

"They snap their big teeth a lot and a lot but then I wake up." He finished his tale with a shrug of his shoulders. "Can I have breakfast?"

I chuckled as I nodded. Clearly he wasn't too upset by his bad dream. "Of course you can. Give me just minute to get it ready, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy!" He hugged my leg. "Love you. I have milk, please?"

"I love you, too, bud. Go sit at the table and I'll get you some milk." I ruffled his hair and sent him off to his seat.

After pouring him a cup of milk, I settled Alice in the bouncy seat Esme kept in the kitchen. Alice wasn't usually a fan of the seat, mainly because she wasn't a fan of anything that wasn't being held, but today she sat contentedly and even seemed to be looking at the toys that hung on a bar over the seat. She had started grabbing toys recently, but this was the first time she really seemed to be interested in watching them.

I softly bounced her with my foot as I placed some frozen waffles in the toaster oven and sliced a few bananas. My breakfast skills remained bleak but I knew none of the kids would complain, and I was hoping Esme would appreciate a bit more sleep.

Once Jasper was happily eating his breakfast, I moved Alice's seat over by the table. I placed her pacifier in her mouth and then asked Jasper if he could watch her for just a minute while I brought everyone else downstairs. It probably wasn't my best idea having a four year old watch a baby, but I knew I would only be gone a minute and Jasper would yell for me if there was any issue.

With his agreement I quickly went back upstairs. My bedroom door remained closed and when I went down the hall, I found Rosalie and Edward just waking up in her room. Our late nights with Alice had unfortunately been affecting everyone with all of the kids going to bed a couple hours later than normal and Edward spending the past few nights in bed with his sister.

There weren't many complaints about that, though.

"Daddy, I love spending the night with Pumpkin," Rosalie said as I carried them both downstairs. "Can he do that forever?"

Chuckling, I shook my head. "I don't know about forever, but as long as you get enough sleep, Mommy and I are okay with some sleepovers."

"Mama?" Edward asked when he heard her name. "Mama mik?" He closed his fist, making the sign for milk.

He continued making the sign for milk and started whining and arching his back to try to get away.

"Okay, okay," I said as I lowered Rosalie to the kitchen floor. "I know you want Mommy and milk, but we're going to let her sleep a little bit more. Daddy will come up with something."

I buckled Pumpkin into his highchair as Rosalie climbed into her seat beside Jasper. I broke up a waffle onto his tray and placed a few pieces of banana, hoping that would placate him for a few minutes.

Alice also seemed to be protesting a lack of milk, so after helping Rosalie with her plate, I picked Alice up and went to check the refrigerator. Pumpkin wasn't a fan of regular milk, but I found a bottle of breast milk Esme had pumped a couple of days ago and prayed they would accept it instead of having to wake Esme.

I filled a mug with hot water and placed the bottle in it, gently bouncing Alice in my arms as I waited for it to heat up. Once the chill was gone, I poured some into a sippy cup and offered it to Edward. At first he looked at me as if I was crazy, but after taking a small sip of it, he seemed to accept my offering.

I let out a small sigh of relief, but I knew Alice would be the real challenge. I poured the rest of the milk into a bottle and settled her into the crook of my arm. We hadn't tried any bottles since being in the hospital and she hadn't been a fan then so I wasn't expecting too much now.

At first when I placed the bottle to her lips, she turned her head away. But after a couple more tries, she finally accepted it into her mouth and started drinking.

"Good girl," I murmured. "I know it's not the same but it'll do for now. We need to let Mommy get some rest."

With everyone happy for the moment, I went to wake the last of our herd. Emmett was often the last one awake, and I wasn't sure how he was going to handle getting up for school five days a week. It would be an adjustment for everyone though, hopefully a smooth one.

Once Emmett was awake, we joined everyone in the kitchen. I helped Emmett with his plate and got him settled while Alice continued slowly drinking her bottle of milk. I finally sat down and propped her in my lap so I could have a free hand and fixed myself a plate. I wasn't sure how Esme did this every day and did it so efficiently and with such grace. The clock showed 8:30, so even though I had been very slow, I still felt like I was winning. The kids were all in a silly mood and were eating and getting along, Alice wasn't crying, and my wife was sleeping. I couldn't ask for anything else for this morning.

I had almost finished my breakfast when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and a kiss was placed on my cheek.

"Good morning," Esme whispered in my ear. She kissed my cheek again so I turned to meet her lips.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I was hoping you'd sleep longer. Did we wake you? Are you okay?"

She shook her head and laughed as she sat in her seat beside me. "I'm fine. That extra sleep was definitely nice, but you could have woken me up. I know you didn't get much sleep either. Is Alice okay?

"She's been pretty good actually." I told her all about our morning and how many amazing moments we had had so far.

Esme hugged my arm as her smile grew with every word. "Oh my goodness, Carlisle! That's amazing! She actually smiled at you? And she's looking at toys? And drinking from a bottle? The lack of sleep might be worth it for all of that."

I laughed and shook my head. "I'm not too sure I'd go that far, but it has been an eventful morning. Dr. Gerandy might be onto something with his developmental leap idea. But I don't think she's entirely happy with this bottle." Alice had been listening to us talk and was getting increasingly unhappy, pushing the bottle nipple out of her mouth with her tongue. "I think she knows I'm keeping her from Mommy."

Esme lifted her from my arms, cuddling her close. "Good morning, love bug. I hear you've been showing off for Daddy. Mommy is so proud of you."

"Look!" I said as Alice began smiling again. "I think she's showing off for Mommy too."

The smile only lasted a couple seconds, but it was enough to bring tears to Esme's eyes. "Sweet girl, you are showing off. I'm so happy you're in such a good mood today."

The good mood quickly ended as she began making her angry faces and grunting.

"Okay, okay, buggy." Esme laughed as she shifted the top of her nightgown and got Alice comfortable at her breast. "That's really why I woke up," she said to me. "It's been a few hours since she ate and I was getting uncomfortably full."

"Well, you relax and feed her." I stood and kissed the top of her head. "Let me fix you a plate and get everything else cleaned up."

As Esme chatted with the kids, I heated two fresh waffles for her and then got to work on cleaning up the sticky mess.

We soon realized it was after 9:15 and there was no way we would make it to Sunday school this morning. We both wanted to try to make it for the regular church service, so I texted my aunt to let her know we would be late and then it was all hands on deck.

Thanks to Esme laying all of our clothes out last night, we were able to quickly get everyone dressed and out the door. We made it to church with five minutes to spare, and Esme and I both sighed in relief as we took our spot in the pew next to Carmen. The kids were fairly well behaved which led to an uneventful and enjoyable service for us.

Carmen demanded we come over for lunch at their house, but we weren't going to put up much of a fight. We already had plans with them this evening for a big combination party for Esme's birthday and back to school for everyone along with celebrating Alec and Chelsea finally moving into their new house this week.

Alec had flown in yesterday morning and had surprised Chelsea with a night at a hotel. I wasn't surprised we didn't see them at church this morning. I couldn't imagine being away from Esme during the week and only seeing her on the weekends like they had done for the last month, but their wait was over and I was sure they'd enjoyed being reunited, this time for good.

We made our way to my aunt and uncle's house and unloaded everyone. They weren't back from church yet, but we let ourselves in and by the time everyone had taken a potty break and Esme and I had changed two diapers, they had arrived and started passing out hugs to everyone.

"Was everything okay this morning?" Carmen asked as she pulled me into a hug.

I patted her back and kissed her cheek. "Everyone's okay. Rough night with Alice last night, so I let Esme sleep in."

Carmen furrowed her eyebrows. "Still?"

I nodded. "But she's had a great morning so far. Even smiled twice."

"Well, praise God, that's wonderful! Add that to the list of things to celebrate tonight."

Soon, Kate and Garrett and their family arrived too and we gathered in the kitchen for a light sandwich lunch. After we finished eating, the ladies kicked us out of the kitchen so they could get everything ready for tonight. Uncle E, Garrett, and I took the kids outside for a while to let them run and jump off some energy. After a while, we were tired so we convinced them to come back inside and rest until the party started. Pumpkin was the only one to actually go to sleep, but the others were easily occupied with a movie in the den.

I checked on the ladies several times, especially making sure Esme was okay. She had Alice snuggled in the wrap against her chest and continued to assure me that she was fine and so was Alice.

A couple of hours later everyone had arrived, and this time it was everyone. Beside our families, Peter, Charlotte, and Sarah Beth had made it, Chelsea and Alec, Maggie and Ben, and even Renata and her husband Demetri and son Felix. It was their first time at one of our family gatherings, and we definitely overwhelmed them at first. But with Emmett, Jasper, and Riley quickly taking Felix under their wing, the adults were able to soon relax as well. We were a loud and boisterous bunch for sure but also welcoming and loving, something we could be proud of.

After everyone had greeted each other and the chaos had died down, we all gathered in the kitchen.

Uncle E cleared his throat loudly but with a playful grin. "Are we ready?" Everyone nodded or murmured yes, so Eleazar nodded too. "Okay. Let's pray."

We all linked hands and reminded the kids to stay quiet and bow their heads. I squeezed Esme's hand beside me, my other arm holding Edward.

"Dear Lord, thank you for this beautiful day we've had together. Thank you for allowing us to gather in your house today and worship and then come here to spend time with our family and loved ones.

"Please be with our little ones as they start back to school this week. Keep them safe and help open their minds for learning and their hearts to show Your love to everyone around them.

"Lord, thank you for bringing Alec here safely to join Chelsea. Please be with them and all of the helpers as we move them into their home this week.

"And be with our smallest babies. Help Alice to continue to grow strong and know we love her as well as the two babies still cooking. Help them to grow strong and healthy until time to join us here.

"And Lord, thank you for our precious Ezzie. Thank you for another year of her life that we get to celebrate. Our family wouldn't be whole without her, and we are so thankful to have her.

"Thank you for this food our ladies have so graciously prepared. We ask that You use it for the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to Your service. In the holy name of your son Jesus we pray. Amen."

"A-men! Eat!" Edward yelled while clapping before anyone else could say it, making the whole room erupt in laughter.

"That's right, Pumpkin," I said, chuckling as I bounced him on my arm. "Let's eat."

I put my arm around Esme, pulling her close as I kissed her temple. Her cheeks were slightly rosy, clearly embarrassed by Uncle E's attention.

"It's not my birthday," she muttered to me as we stood in line to fix our plates. "You know I didn't want to celebrate anymore. Last week was more than enough."

"You know if I had my way, we'd be doing even more than this. Last week definitely wasn't enough in my opinion."

Esme's actual birthday had been last Monday so unfortunately I had had to work, but I only worked until lunch and then spent the rest of the day trying to spoil her. The kids and I had several gifts for her and then Carmen and Eleazar had brought over dinner from Esme's favorite Italian restaurant. We spent the evening with them and Chelsea while stuffing ourselves with delicious food and then singing happy birthday with candles in a big pan of tiramisu and some cannolis. The only negative side of the night had been Alice's unhappiness that started not long after we finished our dinner, but I was praying tonight would be better for her.

I would be giving my wife the world if I could, so to me, this night of extended birthday celebration with everyone we loved plus some burgers and a homemade chocolate cake was definitely necessary.

Esme laughed and nodded. "I know, I know. I just don't need all the attention. I'm happy to celebrate back to school and Chelsea and Alec. I'm going to go talk to her unless you need me?"

I shook my head and kissed her again. "I'm totally fine, sweetheart. I'll get Pumpkin settled and come find you soon, okay?"

Esme nodded and cut in front of me to prepare her plate and go take a seat by her sister at the kitchen table where the women were congregating.

Carmen had the kids set up a couple of tables on top of a large sheet in the middle of the den, so after getting Pumpkin set up in his booster seat there with his plate of food, I checked on the rest of our kids.

They seemed to all have a plate and were happily eating and talking together. That was one thing I loved about our big family. No one hesitated to help out and we all looked out for each other. I'd heard the saying that "it takes a village" to raise a child, but we truly had the best village anyone could ask for.

I made sure all the kids were okay and then went to get my own burger and plenty of sides. The men had all settled in the den with the kids so I took a spot next to Peter as we dug in.

As we ate, Peter asked how Alice had been and I gave him a summary of the last few days including all the progress she seemed to make just this morning. He was also cautiously optimistic that this was just some kind of response to developmental changes. He had researched the concept of "leaps," and didn't find much hard scientific evidence for them that wasn't anecdotal but there was no denying that some babies did have increased fussiness around learning new skills. And with all the trauma Alice had dealt with in her young life, there was no way to know how her nervous system would react with any changes she experienced.

So far this evening, Alice continued to nap peacefully on Esme's chest between feedings, but I was mentally preparing myself for another sleepless night.

When everyone had finished eating, we quickly cleaned up and then sang happy birthday to Esme before she blew out the candles Carmen had put on the large chocolate cake.

We all enjoyed our fill of the cake before the kids started begging to go swimming. Uncle E had planned to close the pool this week, so we all conceded and quickly changed them into their swimsuits.

Kate and Renata were the only adults brave enough to get in with them. Even though we'd had nice weather this Labor Day weekend, the fact was it was only around seventy degrees outside. Even with the heated pool, most of us weren't willing to brave it and instead chose to sit around on the covered patio and watch football highlights on TV or be lifeguards for our crazy children. Kate called us all pansies but I gladly wore that title if it meant I wasn't shivering right now.

The kids all swam for an hour and then I brought Edward inside, finding Esme in a rocking chair in Carmen and Eleazar's room.

"Everything okay?" I asked as I watched her place an unhappy Alice against her shoulder and readjust her shirt.

She shook her head. "We were good until a little while ago and she started getting fussy like she was hungry. I just fed her and she ate really well at first but then she kept unlatching and squirming around. The crying just started though."

I set Pumpkin down and he ran over to Esme, so I took Alice from her. "It's okay, sweetheart. Let me burp her and see what I can do. We've survived this long. We can make it another night too. Together, okay?"

Esme sighed and nodded, grabbing my hand. "I know. I just hate it for her. I miss my content girl."

"I do too." I leaned down to kiss her lips. "If you don't mind taking Pumpkin, I'll take her outside and see if some fresh air helps."

Esme easily agreed and started getting Pumpkin ready for bed while I headed toward the kitchen. Alice's cries weren't quite at a defcon 2 like they could be, but defcon 3 was still pretty bad. After finding her pacifier on the kitchen counter, I placed it in her mouth and continued patting her back and bouncing her as I rejoined everyone outside.

"Uh oh," Garrett said as I took my seat beside him. "Sounds like Miss Priss is in one of her moods."

"Oh, this is nothing. You should've seen her at midnight last night."

He held his arms out. "Pass her over."

"Are you sure about that? Even Carmen hasn't been able to calm her down and you know how she is with all the kids."

"Positive. Hand my little niece over."

At this point Alice's cries had calmed to whimpers, so I did as he said and passed her to him. Garrett tucked her head into his chest, cradling her with one hand as he patted her bottom with the other.

To my surprise, Alice continued to settle down until finally letting out a long sigh and closing her eyes as she drifted to sleep.

I didn't say anything, afraid to ruin whatever kind of miracle had just happened, and tried to focus on the conversations around me. I couldn't stop myself from glancing over at them every few minutes which made Garrett roll his eyes with a smile each time.

The kids swam for a little longer and then we had to convince them to come inside to wind down for the night. The clock showed it was very close to everyone's bedtime, so we all said our good nights and soon it was only our family and Garrett and Kate's left.

Through all of the goodbyes, Alice remained in Garrett's arms, not making a peep.

"Garrett, are you sure you don't want me to take her back?" I asked, not for the first time, as I wrangled Rosalie into her pajamas. She gave me a kiss and then ran off to play again.

"Carlisle, it's fine," he insisted. "I know Alice is going through a lot but really, all of our kids did something like this too. One time Kate couldn't even calm Corin when she was this size and we had to call my mom at two in the morning to come help. Sometimes babies just need someone calm, cool, and collected. And who could be calmer or cooler than Uncle Garrett?"

I laughed and shook my head but really, he probably had a point. I knew Alice could probably sense how worried and stressed we were, but it was hard to not be when you felt like you couldn't help your child feel better, especially when they were too small to tell you what was wrong.

"To be honest," he continued, "I'm loving every minute of this. My three are getting so big and independent, it's been a while since I had a little one cuddle with me for this long. Jane used to always want to snuggle with me, but now she's too busy most of the time. The worst thing is Corin tried to tell me all about some boy on the Disney channel that she thinks is cute. She just turned nine! Nine, Carlisle! Where did my babies go?"

"Well, you could always have another," I teased.

"I don't know about all that," Kate said as she entered the room, running a towel through her wet hair. She sat down next to Garrett and gently touched Alice's back. "We'll just help with yours."

"Fine with me," I said. "I'm sure Esme won't complain either. Have you seen her?" Eleazar was outside shutting down the pool for the night, and Carmen and I had changed all the little ones into their pajamas, but I hadn't seen my wife since I traded Edward for Alice.

"No," Kate answered. "At least not for a while. I think Mom is setting beds up for tonight. Maybe Esme is helping her."

A little hand tapped my shoulder, and I looked beside me to see Jane. "Uncle Carlisle, I found Aunt Esme. I went to go potty in Nana's potty and founded her. Come see."

She took my hand so I followed her down the hall into the main bedroom.

"See?" she whispered as we walked into the room. "She asleeping."

Sure enough, Esme was lying on top of the middle of my aunt and uncle's bed next to Edward who was also sleeping peacefully beside her. I assumed she probably fell asleep while trying to settle him, but I wasn't all that surprised. Sleeping in this morning couldn't be enough to make up for the last week of sleep deprivation.

I put my index finger over my lips, gesturing for Jane to stay quiet as we walked out of the room. She ran off to play again, and I went to find my aunt.

Carmen was easy to find in the bedroom she and Eleazar had recently renovated into a room just for sleepovers with their grandchildren. The room had a wall of bunk beds as well as a regular king sized bed, and Carmen was attempting to tuck everyone in for their inaugural back to school sleepover with Nana and Pops.

Corin and Riley were mostly settled in two of top bunks and then Rosalie and Jane were just getting in the bottom one. I went over to kiss Rosalie goodnight and then went over to the larger bed where Carmen was tucking in Emmett and Jasper.

"Daddy," Emmett said as I gave him a hug and a goodnight kiss. "Pops is gonna sleep here with us! And tomorrow Nana is making us back to school breakfast and taking us on a hunt!"

"A back to school scavenger hunt," Carmen explained with a laugh. "And Pops will be in soon. He's just finishing up outside and then our sleepover can start."

All the kids cheered, and after kissing Jasper goodnight, I followed Carmen out of the room.

"Esme fell asleep in your bed with Edward," I confessed as we walked down the hall. "Is it okay if I let her sleep a little bit before we leave?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "Poor thing is absolutely exhausted I'm sure. You let her sleep as long as you want. In fact, why don't I keep Edward tonight, too? I already have the others. You and Esme need a night to hopefully get some rest. Or at least not worry about anyone but Alice. How has she been tonight? I haven't heard much out of her, but the little ones have had me a little distracted."

"Surprisingly, she's been okay tonight. She got a little fussy earlier after Esme fed her, but Garrett has been holding her for a long time and she's sleeping like an angel."

"Good. Maybe this really is her turning the corner. We'll certainly be praying for that. Hopefully this has been her mind and body starting to heal. You're both doing such an amazing job with her."

She pulled me into a tight hug, and I let her, soaking in the love and support from the best mother figure I could've ever asked for. I often thought about the choice my aunt and uncle had made to take me into their home and raise me no differently than their daughter. They would probably argue that there was no choice to be made, much like Esme and I had said about Rosalie and Jasper and now Alice. Sure, I was their nephew, but I knew from experience that the challenges of loss and healing and adding another member to your family weren't always easy. Esme and I were so blessed to have their example and continued support as our family grew.

"Thank you," I said when the hug ended. "That sounds great. But if I need to come pick up Pumpkin at any point, just give me a call. I don't mind. He's been doing well sleeping with Rosalie this week though."

"We'll be fine," she assured me. "I think he'll enjoy our back to school festivities with the rest of them."

Carmen and I walked back to the den and this time I did take Alice from Garrett so he and Kate could say goodnight to their crew. Thankfully Alice didn't make a peep as she snuggled against my chest as I went to wake Esme, knowing she wouldn't want to miss out on saying goodnight to the rest of the kids.

This was the first night in over a week that Alice hadn't been inconsolable, and I was praying hard that this could be her turning point. At the very least, I was hoping for some rest tonight for both Esme and I. Tomorrow was Labor Day and our office was closed, and now I was excited to hopefully have a slow morning with just Esme and Alice at home before our chaos started on Tuesday with Emmett's first day of kindergarten.

We were about to enter a new season of our life, and I had to hope our sweet baby girl was about to do the same.

Hi. I'm not sure if anyone remembers me or this story since I haven't updated in 9! years.

It has been a very eventful 9 years for me. I think the last time I updated PL I had just started a new job. I worked that job for a few years before meeting someone, getting married, moving states, starting a new job, having a baby, moving again, and having another baby. My boys are now 3.5 and 17 months and I'm so grateful to God for his kindness, giving me the life and family I've always prayed for.

This precious little Perfect Love family is always in the back of my mind through every milestone I've reached in my personal life. I've always said I would never give up on this story, and I mean it. I just might be writing it during retirement. lol.

And if you've read this far, thank you thank you thank you. The Carlisle/Esme section of the fandom has always been pretty small, I'm sure even smaller now, but everyone has always been so, so sweet and full of encouragement. Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed or sent messages over the years, hoping for an update.

Also, lots of thanks to Emily/Sasha Snape for the dialogue and inspiration for the Carlisle/Garrett/Alice scene. She sent it to me like 84 years ago, and I'm so excited I was finally able to work it into the story.

Thank you all so much again! I hope it was worth the insanely long wait and here's hoping the next one takes less than a decade!