Author: BellaSunshine

Title: "Carlisle & Esme's Story," an outtake from "A Thousand Leaves"
Rating: PG-13 for language
Summary: Follow Carlisle and Esme as they navigate the loss of family.

A Thousand Leaves
Outtake: Carlisle & Esme's Story

May 17, 2006 

 
Carlisle was finishing up his examination of a boy who had fallen
from a tree when a nurse entered the room. 
 
"Dr. Cullen, phone call for you." 
 
Carlisle didn't take his eyes off the boy's bruised arm. "Please take
a message, Janice." 
 
Janice fidgeted nervously. “It's about your son, Dr. Cullen.” 
 
Carlisle sighed, gently laying the boy's arm back into its sling. 
 
He smiled at the boy. "I have to go for now. You look after your
mommy, okay?" 
 
The boy, no more than five, smiled shyly. "Okay." 
 
Carlisle turned to the boy's worried mother. "He'll be taken up for
an MRI shortly. He's going to be fine, Mrs. Andrews. Nothing a little
rest won't fix." 
 
She nodded and thanked him before he left, making his way to the
nurses station. "Transfer it, please," he said, heading for his
office around the corner. 
 
The phone beeped just as he walked in. “This is Dr. Cullen.”

“Dr. Cullen, this is Officer Kevin Lyons with the Forks Police
Department.”

Carlisle's eyes fell on a family portrait sitting on his desk.

“Officer Lyons, is someone in trouble?” He could only assume that
there hadn't been some sort of accident, given that he worked at the
hospital and hadn't seen any of his family come into the E.R.

“We've detained your son for questioning in a homicide, sir.”

Carlisle's stomach fell, and he stood quickly. “Where is he?”

“The Swan residence.”

“Bella,” Carlisle rasped, leaning over his desk. “I'll be right

there.”

He slammed the phone down, not bothering to ask for specifics. Emmett
wasn't in town at the moment, which left only Edward. He tore off his
coat before dashing out the door, stopping briefly at the nurses’
station.

“I have a family emergency,” he told them. “You'll need to get Carson

in here to help.”

He nearly broke every traffic law as he drove across town. When he

pulled onto Old Pine Road, he squinted through the glare of flashing
lights, pulling up behind a television truck. He barely had the
Mercedes in park before he was out the door.

He searched for Edward, finally seeing him sitting on the ground, his
wrists cuffed behind his back.

"Edward!" he called as he started toward them. 

 
A deputy stepped in front of him. "Whoa. Where do you think you're
going, sir?" 
 
"That's my son," Carlisle said. "Please." 
 
"He's okay," Charlie called over. 
 
Carlisle hurried over and quickly knelt at his son's side. "Edward?" 
 
Edward didn't even flinch as he laid a hand on his shoulder. It was
almost as if he had gone into a catatonic state. 
 
"Son?" 
 
“I reckon you ought to call your attorney," Charlie told him. 
 
Carlisle rose to his feet. "Chief, what exactly happened here? Is
Bella hurt?" 
 
At the mention of her name, Charlie glanced toward the ambulance and
Carlisle did the same. 
 
"Bella's fine. Her mother's dead," Charlie said. 
 
"Renee? But ..." Carlisle looked toward the ambulance, then the
house, before looking Charlie square in the eye. "Chief, I'm so
sorry." 
 
Charlie said nothing, just looked down at Edward. "The sheriff should
be here soon. They'll want to take Edward in for questioning." 
 
"Is my son under arrest?" Carlisle asked, his heart hammering. 
 
"No. At least, not right now. You understand that I can't say
anything..." Charlie told him. 
 
Carlisle was perplexed, and while he was screaming on the inside, he
had to keep his composure for Edward's sake. 
 
"You think Edward did this?" Carlisle asked, his thoughts running out
of control. He'd seen the blood on Edward, but the man he knew his
son to be wasn't capable of taking the life of another. Was he? 
 
Charlie didn't get a chance to answer as the sheriff and his team
pulled up, followed by a crime scene unit. 
 
"Christ," Carlisle mumbled. He looked back down at his son, who was
still seemingly unaffected by everything going on around him. 
 
Charlie moved away, and Carlisle knelt at his son's side, placing a
hand on his shoulder. 
 
“Edward?” 
 
When he got no response, Carlisle sighed. “Son, do you understand
what's happening?” 
 
“I ...” Edward muttered. He squeezed his eyes shut, and Carlisle
frowned at his son's lack of fight. Unless... 
 
No.

It wasn't much later that Edward was hauled to his feet, and Carlisle
helplessly watched as he was placed in the back of a patrol car. All
he could do was stand there, watching everything play out in slow
motion. 
 
When Bella started screaming from the back of the ambulance, Carlisle
nearly dropped to his knees. He wanted to go to her, to comfort her,
but in the numbness of his own grief and confusion, he blocked it
out. 
 
He had to call Esme. He didn't want her to hear it from a secondhand
source. He pulled his phone out and hit her speed-dial number. 
 
“Hello, darling,” she said, her soft voice filling his ears. He
closed his eyes, turning his back to the scene. 
 
“Esme, I have something to tell you, and it's not … well, it's bad.
Are you seated?” 
 
“Carlisle?” she questioned, her voice lifting an octave. “What's
wrong?” 
 
“I'm afraid Renee Swan has been murdered.” 
 
Esme gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh! Oh, Carlisle. That's
… oh, poor Bella. Is she okay? Are you with her?” 
 
“I'm at the Swan home now,” he said. “Esme, that's not all. Edward's
here.” 
 
There was a pause as Esme worked to process his words. She dropped
into the nearest chair as the blood drained from her face. 
 
“Carlisle, what do you mean?” 
 
“He's not talking, Es, but it looks bad. I don't know what happened.
They've got him handcuffed, and-” 
 
Esme began weeping, and Carlisle wanted nothing more than to reach
through the phone and comfort her. 
 
“Did he kill her, Carlisle? Did he?” she asked despondently. “Please
tell me it's a mistake. Please!” 
 
“I don't know!” Carlisle shouted, frustration in his words. “I don't
know, Es. He won't talk to me. I have to go for now. I'll call when I
know something.” 
 
He closed the phone as a pretty woman who had been speaking to Edward
left the patrol car and began walking toward him. 
 
“Dr. Cullen, I'm Detective Rosalie Hale. Are you doing okay?” 
 
He looked at her incredulously. “No, I'm not doing okay. I want some
damn answers. What did my son say to you?” 
 
“He's not saying much,” Rose replied, glancing over her shoulder
toward the car. 
 
“Is he under arrest?” 
 
“Not at the moment. If you'd like, you can drive him to the police
station. We'll question him there.” 
 
Carlisle nodded, and Rose walked away to speak to Charlie, who grew
angry when told Edward was going to be released into his father's
custody. 
 
Carlisle quickly dialed Esme and told her they would be at the police
station shortly. 
 
He began making his way toward the patrol car when a deputy opened
the door and pulled Edward out. Carlisle grabbed his son into a hug,
but Edward merely stood there, unresponsive, even as Carlisle draped
his jacket over his shoulders. 
 
“I'll expect to see you there in ten minutes,” Rose said to him as he
and Edward walked toward the Mercedes. 
 
“We'll be there,” Carlisle responded, glancing at Edward who was
staring straight ahead. He laid a hand on his son's back and opened
the car door for him. 
 
He was well aware that the detective was following them as they
headed toward downtown. He looked over at Edward, who sat unmoving.
He wasn't even sure if his son had blinked. 
 
“I called your mother.” 
 
“You shouldn't have,” Edward said with a frown. 
 
“Don't be absurd. Of course I should have. She's your mother,”
Carlisle replied. “She'll be meeting us at the station.” 
 
“Dad, that's not necessary.” 
 
Well, at least he's talking, Carlisle thought. “I'm afraid it is,
son.” 
 
“She'll just get upset, and I don't think she should be subjected to
this.” 
 
Carlisle's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his thoughts going
down a saddening path. “To what? What exactly is this? Did you kill
that poor woman? Bella's mother?” 
 
Oh my God, son, what have you done? 
 
Carlisle's heart broke as his son glanced at him. 
 
When Edward finally told him what happened, that he had been touching
Bella when the chief entered the house, Carlisle gasped in horror. 
 
“No, Dad, not like that,” Edward answered. “Jesus Christ.” 
 
Carlisle's relief was miniscule given the big picture. His cell phone
rang and he flipped it open. 
 
“This is Carlisle.” 
 
“Carlisle, it's Jason. Esme just called me. My God-” 
 
“Jason, we're on our way to the station,” Carlisle responded. 
 
“I'm out the door right now. Whatever you do, don't let him speak to
anyone without me. Got it? He hasn't spoken to anyone already, has
he?” 
 
“No, I don't think so.” He looked at Edward. “Jason wants to know if
you said anything to anyone. Did you answer any questions?” 
 
Edward shook his head. 
 
“He says he didn't,” Carlisle told his old friend. 
 
“Good. I'll be there shortly.” 
 
As they neared the station, Esme was still several minutes away. She
knew better than to drive when upset, but she had to get to her son.
He was probably scared, and Esme wanted nothing more than to hug him
and tell him it would be okay.

It's all just a big misunderstanding. We'll be fine. 

 
In the meantime, Carlisle had made sure Edward was cleaned up before
his mother arrived. He had dried blood on his hands, and Carlisle's
stomach cringed at the thought of it. He retrieved an old shirt from
the trunk of his car, and knocked on the door to the restroom. 
 
“Edward? Are you alright, son? I have a shirt for you.” 
 
Edward opened the door and took the shirt, pulling it on without a
word. The door to the station flew open, startling them, and Esme
hurried toward them, immediately drawing Edward into her arms. 
 
“Oh, Edward. Please tell me this isn't happening. What on earth is
going on?” 
 
Carlisle tried to soothe her, and she buried her face against his
shoulder as sobs wracked her body. His already broken heart was
shattered even more as she gasped for air, clinging to him. 
 
He'd give anything to make it stop, even though he had no clue what
was going on. Perhaps it was all a big misunderstanding, but Edward
didn't seem to care one way or the other. Clearly, the boy was in
shock, but he seemed resigned to his surroundings. 
 
As their son was being interrogated, Esme sat stoically in an
uncomfortable chair in the hallway, watching Carlisle's feet pace
back and forth, his shiny shoes echoing off the walls. 
 
“Carlisle,” Esme said softly, twisting a tissue in her hands, keeping
her eyes on the floor. “Please tell me that Bella's okay. She is,
isn't she? He didn't … I mean, whoever was there didn't hurt her?” 
 
Carlisle's steps faltered as his wife's words sank in. “For Christ's
sake, Esme. Do you think our son murdered that woman?” 
 
Esme turned her face up, her eyes rimmed with tears. “Carlisle, I
don't know anything! But I have the feeling that you know more than
you've shared with me.” 
 
Carlisle sighed. “Bella's fine, physically. You should be glad you
weren't there, Es. The poor girl-” 
 
Esme's sobs cut him off. “We should go to her. She'll need us.” 
 
He looked down at her in disbelief. “I doubt very much that Bella is
going to want to see us right now.” 
 
“Don't be absurd! She's going to need all the support she can get!”
Esme countered. 
 
“Not from the family of the man who's currently being questioned for
Renee's murder,” Carlisle said quickly. “If this turns out to be
nothing more than a mistake, we'll certainly go to her. But for now-” 
 
Their conversation was cut off when the door opened at the end of the
hall and Edward stepped out, followed by Jason.

“Well?” Esme asked, rising. 

 
“They're releasing him,” Jason said to her before rubbing a hand over
his face. 
 
Esme let out a whoosh of air and grabbed Edward into a hug. “Oh,
thank God. Come on, honey. Let's go home.” 
 
Carlisle's relief was short-lived when he looked at Jason, who shook
his head slightly. “You two go on,” he told Esme. “I'd like to speak
with Jason for a moment.” 
 
Esme smiled, grabbing Edward's hand before leading him out of the
station. She was in maternal mode now, wanting to take her baby far
away from harm. 
 
Carlisle looked at his old friend. “They still think he did it, don't
they?” 
 
Jason sighed. “I'm afraid so. And Edward didn't help matters any. I
know he was nervous, understandably so, but, Carlisle, Aro is a
bulldog.” 
 
Carlisle scowled. He'd had many run-ins with the detective, and
wasn't the least bit surprised to hear confirmation from Jason. “Esme
and I saw him come in. I knew right away Edward was in trouble,” he
told Jason. “Aro has a reputation. I've heard stories about him. I've
had to fight to get him out of a patient's room many times.” 
 
Jason nodded. “He's ruthless, Carlisle. There's a reason he's the
county's lead detective.” 
 
“What happens now?” Carlisle asked, though he had a fair idea they
hadn't seen the last of Aro. 
 
Jason told Carlisle he wanted Edward at his office at nine to cover
everything. “If he sneezed today, I want to document it. And I also
want to find out more about Isabella Swan.” 
 
Carlisle frowned. “Bella?” 
 
“She could be key to Edward's case. If she got there right after her
mother died, she may have noticed something important.” 
 
“But she passed out right after she got there. At least, that's what
I was told,” Carlisle replied, the picture forming in his mind. He
shook it away, his worry increasing. 
 
“That's what Edward is saying, but if she can remember anything, it
could help us.” 
 
“She thinks he killed her mother,” Carlisle said sadly. He wanted to
go to her as much as Esme, to comfort the girl, but it would be a bad
move at the moment, and he knew it. 
 
Carlisle finalized his plans with Jason to bring Edward in before he
headed home. 
 
When he walked into the house, it was eerily quiet, and Carlisle
suddenly felt a new wave of sadness. Gone was the warmth that the
home was always shrouded in. It felt hallow now. Hallow and bleak. 
 
He found Esme and Edward in the dining room. Edward lifted his hands
from his head when he heard his dad enter. 
 
“I'm in trouble,” Edward said flatly. 
 
Esme gasped, her eyes immediately darting to Carlisle. 
 
“What do you mean?” Carlisle asked, crossing the room. “Edward, if
you killed-” 
 
“Carlisle!” Esme cried. “He's our son!” 
 
“Jesus Christ,” Edward said, getting to his feet. “I didn't kill her!
Fuck. I … I don't know. I found her. She was still alive, and I
didn't know what to do! I had her blood all over me, and Bella found
me there, and things are so fucked up. How am I going to get out of
this? I can't! They're going to say I did it, and it looks like I
did!” 
 
Carlisle gripped his hysterical son by the shoulders, shaking him
gently. “Edward, look at me. Edward! You have to fight this. You
can't stay silent. Do you hear me?” 
 
“Oh, fuck,” Edward said, digging his fists into his eyes. “The blood.
There was so much blood. I can still feel it on me. And she looked at
me. Renee looked at me, and she grabbed me, and I panicked! I didn't
know what to do. And then Bella came home, and I tried to keep her
from going inside, but she did, and I was so scared! She passed out,
and I had to check to see if she was breathing. I didn't know what
happened to her, and the chief came and he found me over Bella's
body, and-” Edward was rambling so quickly that his words were
running together, and Esme was sobbing quietly into her hands. 
 
“Son, you're not going to jail. You have nothing to worry about. Do
you hear me?” 
 
“Fuck, the real killer … he's still out there! What about Bella? What
if...” Edward mumbled, pushing away from his father. “They'll find
him, right? They will. They have to. I can't … I don't want to go to
jail, Dad! Jason's going to help me, right?” 
 
Carlisle did his best to reassure his son, and his wife, that Jason
would help him. 
 
Less than two days later, Edward was arrested and charged in the
murder. Carlisle had taken a leave of absence from the hospital, and
was awakened by a pounding on the door at two in the morning. 
 
Esme immediately thought the worst, and was right. Edward was
awakened and brought downstairs, where he was placed in cuffs and
read his rights in front of his parents and Alice. Esme and Alice
were beside themselves, and Edward said nothing as he was taken away. 
 
When they learned the knife used in the killing was found near their
property, along the route that Edward would have taken that evening
on his jog, their world began to crumble piece by piece. They didn't
know what to believe anymore. 
 
“I know you don't want to think about this,” Jason told them in their
living room, “but if Edward were to take a plea deal-” 
 
“No, absolutely not,” Carlisle stated, refilling his glass with more
scotch. 
 
“Carlisle, just hear me out. If he were to plead guilty, he could
avoid a trial and possibly get a lighter sentence. If he goes to
trial and is found guilty, the jury will likely give him the maximum,
which is life in prison.” 
 
Emmett stormed out of the room, Alice on his heels, and Esme said
nothing from her spot on the sofa. 
 
“Did you mention this to Edward?” Carlisle asked. 
 
“I did. He wanted me to bring it to your attention.” 
 
Carlisle was silent for a moment before voicing his thoughts. “If he
pleads guilty, he's guilty. We did not raise a killer, Jason. Our son
didn't take that woman's life.” 
 
Jason sighed. “I doubt very much any jury will see it that way. You
know what the evidence is, Carlisle. It doesn't look good.” 
 
“Fucking do your job!” Carlisle shouted, throwing his glass to the
floor as he stared at Jason. “My son is not a killer! Prove it, or
I'll find someone who can.” 

“Carlisle,” Esme said, standing. She crossed the room and stepped in
front of him, laying her hands on his cheeks. “Honey, I'm sure
Jason's doing the best he can.” 
 
Carlisle shook his head as he backed away from her. “It's not good
enough.” 
 
Jason left without another word, and Carlisle locked himself away in
his study for the rest of the day. He read article after article
about the case, trying to find contradictions in evidence. He wasn't
a lawyer, he was a doctor, but the hope that he could find something
that someone else might have missed kept him up many nights. 
 
Carlisle tuned everything and everyone out, except for work. He
returned to the hospital, working long hours. It was only when he was
with patients that he didn't think about his son's future. 
 
Esme spent most of her days at home with Alice and Emmett. They
watched movies, they read, they cooked, they did things together to
keep each other from falling apart. There was an Edward-shaped hole
in their lives, and it wasn't until they were each alone that they
were forced to deal with it. 
 
When it was decided that the trial would move to Seattle, Carlisle
and Esme went house-hunting. They knew that staying in Forks was
likely not an option no matter the outcome. 
 
Carlisle left his post at Forks General, and Esme tied up loose ends
with her business. The house that the Cullens had called home for
nearly twenty years went up for sale. 
 
They sat stone-faced in the courtroom, silently supporting Edward
each day of the trial. They saw Bella every day. So close, yet so far
away. The day she testified, the hurt and disbelief was still so raw
that none of them were all that shocked when Alice declared in front
of the entire courtroom that Bella was no longer her best friend. 
 
Esme sobbed quietly as Bella described her feelings for them all. She
had always thought of Bella as a daughter, and it pained her
immensely to lose her. She still remembered Bella as a young girl
with a sweet smile and a pure heart. 
 
The day that Edward was found guilty was the final nail in the coffin
for the Cullens. They each retreated. Esme rarely saw her husband. He
came home for three or four hours at a time, long enough to shower
and grab a nap in his own bed. 
 
Esme would attempt to sit down with him, to encourage him to eat a
home-cooked meal, but he'd always decline and head off to the
hospital once again. 
 
She had wished that Emmett and Alice were closer, that Emmett would
have moved to Seattle, and Alice wouldn't have gone to New York. Her
loneliness was deepening, as was her depression. 
 
On their wedding anniversary, Carlisle came through the door at
midnight and went straight to bed. Esme had been sitting in the
living room, a bottle of wine and a box of tissues on hand. 
 
The next morning, she was surprised to find him seated in the kitchen
at the breakfast table. Hope flowered in her chest, then deflated
when he merely mumbled a good morning to her. 
 
“You forgot our anniversary,” she boldly stated, taking a seat across
from him. Her words were laced with sadness rather than malice. 
 
He lowered the newspaper and looked at her. “I'm sorry?” 
 
“Our anniversary,” she repeated. “It was yesterday.” 
 
He glanced at the date on his watch, then noticed the time. “Shit,
I'm late.” He stood quickly, tossing the paper on the table. 
 
He left without another word, and Esme sobbed into her hands. It
wasn't the last important date that Carlisle would forget, but Esme
still loved him. 
 
For his part, Carlisle felt like a complete louse for forgetting
their anniversary, though he failed to see any point in celebrating.
He couldn't bear to sit with his wife and toast to their years of
marriage when they had failed as parents.
 
When they went to see Edward, it was forced and painful. They didn't
know what to say to him, and by the time they left, Esme was in
tears. 
 
And to top it all off, Emmett had revealed that he had started dating
Rosalie Hale. Carlisle couldn't fathom Emmett's need for this, but
Emmett wasn't about to back down.

Carlisle wasn’t sleeping, afraid that the sight of his son covered in
blood, or Bella’s piercing cries, would haunt him in his dreams.

He had always prided himself on being a responsible and ethical man.

However, one evening, when the hospital was quiet, he found himself
holding a bottle of prescription sleep medication. He stared at the
bottle, his hands shaky, before dropping it into his jacket pocket.

Esme was always asleep by the time Carlisle would arrive home. He
would stand at the door to their bedroom and watch her for some time,
a glass of brandy or scotch or vodka in his hand. She would stir, and
he would back away from the door, intent on not letting her draw him
in.

She was hurt, and he knew that. He hurt just as much over the loss of
their son, over his freedom. As much as he wanted to go to Esme, to
hold her at night and tell her he would always love her, he couldn’t
take the risk. He didn’t want her to get her hopes up that life would
ever be normal again.

It wouldn’t.

One night, nearly a year after Edward was sent away, Carlisle came
home to find Esme sitting in the living room. There was an emotion on
her face that Carlisle had never seen before.

Loathing.

“It’s late,” he said as he drew off his coat and draped it over a
chair. “I figured you’d be asleep.”

“Are you having an affair?” she asked, keeping her voice steady to
mask her pain.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous,” he replied incredulously, immediately

going to the bar.

Esme wrung her hands together, her eyes on him. She didn’t want to
believe that her husband, the man she had given her heart, soul and
body to for so long, could stray so far from her, but he was clearly
getting consoled somewhere, and it wasn’t by her.

“I called the hospital tonight. They said you’d left over two hours
ago. It’s not the first time that’s happened, Carlisle. Where do you
go when you’re not here? I never see you, and-”

Carlisle stared at the wall, unwilling to look at her. He didn’t know

what to say to make her believe he was faithful to her, despite their
growing apart.

“I need you, Carlisle. Please come back to me,” she whispered, tears
running down her cheeks. “We can get through this, and-”

She stopped talking when Carlisle let out a laugh.

“There is no getting through this, Esme,” he stated. “It’s always

going to be hanging over us. Our son is in prison for the rest of his
life for killing a woman. Perhaps that’s easy for you to live with. I
would rather not pretend that everything is okay.”

“I know everything is not okay!” she cried, getting to her feet. “But
I’m doing my best, Carlisle. I’m trying, and if you would actually be
home with me once in awhile, you could try, too. What the hell are
you doing? If you aren’t having an affair, what are you doing? Are
you drinking yourself into oblivion? Is that it?”

Carlisle slammed his glass down and stormed to her, putting a finger
in her face. “Don’t you dare say things like that to me.”

Esme didn’t back down. She lifted her head a little higher and stared
back at him defiantly.

He searched her face, shook his head and backed away.

“Carlisle, I know you’re hurting,” she said. “Please, don’t shut me

out.”

“What do you want me to say, Esme?” He picked his glass up again,

finished the drink, then poured another. “Do you want to say that we
can go back to being a normal family again? That it’s okay that we
have a son imprisoned for taking the life of another human? I’m a
doctor, Esme. Perhaps in your world, it’s easy to pretend life is
perfect again. But in mine? I go to work and watch as innocent lives
are snuffed out by diseases, and murders, and car crashes. I think
about Renee with every single one of them, and how she should still
be alive. How she should be here to watch her daughter become a
woman, but she’s not because for some reason, my son decided to take
her life. Tell me, how is that easy to get over?”

Esme furiously wiped at her tears. “Our son is not a killer,

Carlisle.”

“Our son was found guilty in a court of law!” Carlisle shouted,

causing her to flinch. “You heard it. Guilty! Guilty! He’s a killer!”

“Stop it!” she yelled. “Listen to yourself, Carlisle!”

He dropped into a chair, and for the first time in his life, he began
to sob. Esme went to him and fell to her knees, grabbing his hands.
“Carlisle, please. I miss you. I know you think there’s no hope, but
there is. Please, come back to me.”

Two days later, Carlisle and Esme hired an investigator, and then
another when the first said he couldn’t help them. The second didn’t
do much better, telling them that perhaps there was nothing that
would help their son because he really was where he belonged.

After that, the relationship between Carlisle and Esme grew so

strained that Carlisle began renting a condo in downtown Seattle.
They put up a front when they needed to, when one of the kids would
visit.

Eventually, the both of them stopped driving to Clallam Bay. Carlisle

could use the excuse that he was far too busy at work, or that he was
off attending numerous medical conferences. Esme would say she was
accompanying her husband, though that couldn’t be further from the
truth.

It was easier for them to get through each day when they weren’t
reminded of Edward.

And then came the call from Emmett that changed everything.

Carlisle had been flying back and forth between Seattle and Chicago
for some time. He missed his hometown, and was anxious to begin a new
life there. He and Esme had decided just weeks prior that there was
no longer any reason to keep up appearances, and Esme filed for
divorce.

As Carlisle made small talk with one of his new colleagues at a

dinner in Chicago, his cell phone rang.

“Dad, it’s me,” Emmett said, his tone hurried. “Edward’s getting
out.”

Carlisle froze, immediately excusing himself from his company. "What

do you mean?"

As Emmett explained the situation to him, Carlisle found himself

wandering outside, his mind trying to process the details.

“It’s Bella, Dad. She did it. She got information to clear him.”

Emmett’s words snapped him out of his stupor.

"Wait, I'm sorry. Did you say that Isabella has been working to get
him cleared? Emmett, are you sure?"

"Dad, it's already happened…" Emmett said, going on to tell him about
how Bella and Rose were missing. "Can you and Mom fly back? Edward's
going before a judge in the morning, and … it'd be nice if you could
be here."

"What do you mean Isabella is missing? And Rose? What the hell is
going on, son?" Carlisle was pacing back and forth on the sidewalk,
one hand on his hip as he walked.

“Dad, they’re gone. I don’t know what happened. The cops are looking
for them. Just, please, can you get here as soon as possible?”

“I’ll be there, son,” Carlisle stated.

As soon as they disconnected, he dialed Esme. He wasn’t sure how to

tell her. What should he say?

“Carlisle,” she said, picking up on the third ring after excusing

herself from her clients.

“Esme, Emmett just called. Edward’s …” His voice trailed as he sought

the words, and Esme’s heart stilled for a beat.

“Carlisle? Is something wrong with Edward?”

Carlisle sighed. “He’s going to court tomorrow and might be

released.”

Esme quickly stepped into the hallway. "Carlisle, there has to be

some mistake. Are you sure?"

"Emmett explained it all to me," Carlisle told her. "I'm going to

book the first flight out."

“Is Edward coming back to Seattle for the hearing?”

“Yes, it’s in the morning.”

She leaned against a wall. “Carlisle, are you sure?”

Carlisle laughed softly. “Esme, I’m sure. There’s some new

information that’s going to clear our son.”

It wasn’t easy to comprehend, for either of them, but by the time

they laid eyes on their son in the hospital, it became clear.

They might all have been freed from their personal prisons, but the
pain wasn’t over.