Norah hesitated as she walked into the hospital, debating whether or not she should follow through with this plan. It was risky, just showing up like this, especially knowing that he was happily married with several children. Adopted children, from what she heard, all vampires, among several other random breeds thrown in. She wasn't there to start anything or cause any drama, she just wanted to catch up with her old friend.

Carlisle and Norah had been in the Volturi at the same time, both thirsty for knowledge and for friendship. Both had the intelligence and the capabilities that the Volturi desired, and while they were within castle walls, they gravitated towards each other.

At first it began as pure and simple friendship. Norah enjoyed his company, taking solace in their similarities and in their ease of conversation. Norah was surprised at how long they could sit there and talk about anything, from science to history, religion to philosophy. She had no idea when their platonic friendship turned into something more, but at the time it had felt right, natural.

Their relationship was short, at least to a vampire. It lasted several decades, the time flying quickly. They were happy, content. At least, she thought they were.

It ended as soon as he created his first 'son.' Norah had been able to understand Carlisle's strange love for feeding on animals rather than humans. She had tried it for him, but it wasn't her taste, and he never pressured her. When he left the Volturi, they had taken a break of sorts, but she followed him soon after and they were back together.

But when he took a particular interest in a young woman during the Spanish Influenza, things changed. The day that Carlisle came back to her telling her that he had saved the lady's son, had turned him into one of them, that was too much for Norah. She saw death as a natural way of life, one that she honestly felt she was jipped out of. If given the choice, she would not be what she was, but Carlisle had made it worthwhile. She saw his turning the boy a weakness, one that she feared would bring danger to them all.

And she couldn't lie and say she was not madly jealous by his sudden interest, his new 'project,' as she called it. They had ended affably, and she had left in good terms with Carlisle despite her vocal objections to his doing.

That was now more than a century ago, and whatever possessed her to go see Carlisle now, she knew not. But here she was, and she had traveled rather far to see him, so she couldn't back out now. She used her ability to move the air around the hospital, catching his scent quite easily through the breeze. She found her way to his office, and took a deep breath as she knocked.

She was both nervous and excited to see his reaction, unsure how he would take her unannounced and, quite frankly, random appearance.

Carlisle had two sets of paperwork splayed upon his desk--one was the standard documents needed to be read, filled out in detail and signed from the hospital; the other was a series of insurance forms for the house. Thankfully, aside from sustaining a few minor injuries, they had all survived; the same could not said for their belongings. As soon as the fire had been subdued, and the charred remains cooled enough that it was safe to entire the disaster area, they had gone picking through what little had survived.

The price of what they had lost was high. The memories behind these items was higher.

But at least they were all safe and sound. He took heart in that.

Carlisle's cursive scrawl unfurled across the page after the precise sweeps of his hand, sharp but never jagged. He was bent forward over this center of his attention, a few strands of his fine, golden hair slipping from their place and twirling pendent before him.

A knock shattered the silence. His head, previously inclined, lifted once, glanced at the clock--he wasn't due for another round for at least a half hour, which was his first concern. Unruffled, he considered the possibilities: someone had come to visit, then, perhaps, or someone wished to discuss hospital-related concerns. Either way, he would not ignore it. He rose from his chair with a rustle of his lab coat, pushing himself up by his fingertips, and moved around the desk and to the door to greet whomever was asking for his attention.

His hand engulfed the handle--he pulled it open gently, half a welcoming, genial smile emerging into prominence upon his pale features. His free hand floated upwards, brushing the rebellious golden strands that had broken free back into place. His topaz eyes rose, then locked upon the crimson eyes of the woman who stood before him.

Incertitude. Concern, certainly--but not for himself. Familiarity. It was all there, in his voice and in his expression. A blast from the past, if you will--the introduction of a time already gone. They had ended amicably, but certainly... well, Carlisle had not been expecting her.

"Norah."

Norah's smile faltered slightly as she saw Carlisle's reaction-or lack thereof- to her being there. She wasn't expecting a whole lot, but she kind of was expecting more than just him saying her name. Had she made a mistake in coming?

But he looked very handsome, and that also made her falter a bit. She had always been attracted to him, even after they ended, even though she had been with other men since. Seeing him again brought back a rush of feelings that she definitely wasn't expecting.

She cleared her throat and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Carlisle. Sorry to burst in like this. I guess you can say I was in the neighborhood. It's been too long, friend." She smiled again, then bit her lip shyly as she stood outside of his office, unsure what to do from here.

She looked back up at him, seeing for the first time the stress in his forehead. "Have I come at a bad time? I can always, you know, come back another time." Or never at all, if you prefer. She wouldn't say that outloud, though.

She nervously ran her fingers through her long brown hair, waiting for him to do something, or say anything. Her next words came out in a whisper. "You look good, for an old man." She chuckled huskily, knowing she wasn't far behind him in the age department.

"It's been very long.." A hundred years, nearly, in fact. Carlisle's eyes seemed to warm slightly, the topaz color glowing as though someone had set a flame behind the stone itself. "I daresay I did not think I would see you again."

It wasn't that they had ended badly--that was a firm point to be made. Carlisle had known than when they parted for the last time, Norah had not gone back to the Volturi. She had effectively vanished--a task that was easy to do then, before the advent of computers, email, and the never ending trail of paper and numbers. Even then... vampires tended to become very skilled at never leaving a trail longer than a few years. Then they'd vanish... and only if you understood how to find them again, would you. Even the vampiric made patterns.

Still, Carlisle hadn't searched for Norah's patterns. He could have, but she had made it clear she didn't agree with what he was doing. He didn't want to cause her any problems, and their fundamental differences meant that even if he reached out after Edward's change, things might not ever be the same.

Then he found Esme. And he was happy. He hadn't shared his stories of Norah, because they were so irrelevant to anything else that happened with their family that he hadn't felt the need to. Eventually, while he didn't forget her, he came to put those memories on the shelf. He didn't think about them, or those times, even happy as they may have once been. He was happiest now. That was no lie.

Carlisle took Norah's hand in the both of his own for a moment. He let go, stepped aside, and gestured for her to enter with an inviting sweep of his hand. Carlisle preferred the etiquette of the centuries past, and he had not ever changed that. Whenever he could be, he was polite, even if others had no wish to be the same.

"It's not a bad time," he replied; he wouldn't turn her away simply because that was a lie. No time was bad, unless you refused to see it any other way.

The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly at Norah's quip. "Three hundred and seventy this year. They insisted on celebrating."

He shut the door behind Norah and stood there, glancing outward towards the courtyard into which his office looked. His gaze seemed far away, lost in another time and place, but when he looked back at Norah, they were the same, warm brightness of before.

"You look good, Norah." Carlisle's tone was soft. He watched her from the corners of his eyes, not entirely facing her, but obviously with his attention on her. It had been some time, indeed.

Norah smiled close-lipped at Carlisle. "I must say I thought the same. However, I needed a sort of vacation, I've been working way too hard. I had been thinking of you recently and thought it was due time for a much-needed visit." Norah could tell that Carlisle was deep in thought, and she chose to let him continue his thought.

She looked at the pictures hanging on his wall of his family, briefly wishing that she had the large, obviously loving family that he now had. She wondered briefly if she had stayed, if she might have that same family with him right now.

But she knew the answer was no. Even if she had stayed after the first boy he had changed, they were too different. His respect for human life was unknown to her, and their feeding habits weren't the only differences. No matter the circumstances, Norah would never force someone to have the same kind of fate she had.

She laughed, her smooth voice ringing through the office. "You old man. You look good for being almost four centuries old, Carlisle. Many would kill for your graceful aging." She chuckled again, picking up a picture of him and who seemed to be his wife. "I'm glad to see you're happy, Carlisle. You deserve it."

She looked up at him as he complimented her. If she could blush, she would have. It had been awhile since she was last complimented. "Thank you, Carlisle. So tell me what's new. How many are in your family? Last I spoke with Aro, he thinks it's too many." She rolled her eyes, showing her disdain for their former master.

"A vacation to Forks?" Carlisle's eyes twinkled merrily at the thought. No sane human being vacationed in Forks, but for your typical vampire, it was perhaps one of the better spots. With a sun that so rarely peaked out, a big city and a port town nearby, and the knowledge you were safe so long as you didn't take your meal in Forks or the surrounding area...

It was a very good place indeed.

There was more to this than vacation, though. Norah herself had stated that she wasn't stopping by just to enjoy the fine weather. She had come to visit him. Carlisle would welcome her with open arms, of course, and hope that his family would do the same.

Carlisle followed Norah to the desk, reaching past her to take up the photograph of Esme after she was done with it. He glanced at Norah, the corners of his mouth lifting in a hint of a sly smile. He stared at the photograph for a moment, touched a finger to it, and set it back upon the desk.

"Please... make yourself comfortable." He adjusted the chairs in front of his desk and pushed one of them to gently orient it with Norah's stance. He waited until she had seated herself to relax in the other one, tapping his fingers lightly together in front of him.

"Thank you," he murmured, nodding gratefully in regards to her comment. He looked at her with obvious curiosity. "What of your story, Norah? Much can happen in a hundred years."

Naturally, Norah requested a similar sort of review for Carlisle. He smiled slightly, holding back a soft chuckle, and glanced down for but a moment. They had been awfully good at coming to the same thought at the same time when they had known each other best, in the Volturi. Apparently not even that sort of habit faded with time.

"Yes, Aro isn't too happy..." Carlisle sighed softly. He seemed sincerely bothered by the fact he was being something of a "burden" to his "old friend". "Too many vampires with too many powers that don't necessarily agree with him. He isn't making it any easier for them. On the other hand, I have not been the best friend I can be to him, either." Carlisle's smile seemed to state it all, even with all the reservations it held about what he was doing: he was denying Aro things that Aro believed was his right, such as the right to exterminate Autumn, or the wolves. They were not getting along very well these days.

"There's sixteen of us, now, at least that are immediately qualifiable as family. There's myself, Esme, my wife; Rosalie, Emmett, and their adopted daughters Whitney and Roslyn; Alice, Jasper, and their adopted daughter Gemma; Edward, Bella, and their daughter, Renesmee; Kaylee, and Autumn. There's Jacob, too--he is with Renesmee." Carlisle shrugged gently, and let out a soft laugh. "I have a sibling, too, by blood, who is with us. Maggie. Apparently my father had his secrets, ones time had to reveal for him."

He paused for a moment, then added, with some haste and no lack of amusement. "Renesmee would be irritated with me if I didn't add Moo and Turtle--her kitten and the wild rabbit she tamed and took in. And that is our family, in its entirety. " He glanced at Norah, smiling fully now, in that way that seemed to light up the entire room with its general glow and happiness. He truly cared about his family; no one could look at his expression and doubt that afterwards.

Norah chuckled along with Carlisle. "Forks is better than some of the other podunk towns I've traveled through. I can tell that in the, oh, 20 minutes I've been here." The clouds, the greenery...everything about Forks made Norah feel comfortable and at home, and the company she was with sure helped.

Norah merely shook her head entertained at the fact that they once more asked the same question at the same time. Old habits die hard, apparently. She sighed quietly as they spoke of Aro. "With Aro, it's difficult to remain friends with him. He likes to make us think we're friends, but really, we should be calling him master." Despite her harsh words, she had no hard feelings towards their old 'master'. She had pretty much been born into the Volturi, joining the force immediately after she had been changed.

As he began naming off his family, she felt a mixture of emotions. She was happy for him to know that he himself was happy with a large family, something she knew he always wanted, even though he never verbalized it. She was also intimidated, in a sense. She knew that he had a family, yes, but not one as large and extensive as that. She tried to see past that, tried to see past the wave of confusion-had he changed them all? That would be for a different day, though.

And lastly and most shockingly was jealousy. Jealousy towards Carlisle, and Esme, his wife. She wanted what Carlisle had, and she also wanted, well, Carlisle. But not really. She knew that era was over, and she would not come between him and his wife. Still, that jealousy was there, and she would have to work to suppress it.

"You seem happy, Carlisle. I'm happy for you. I hope I can meet them soon. As for me, I've been wandering around, learning what I can, where I can, taking things as they come. I have yet to find a new love, then again who can compare to Carlisle Cullen?" She chuckled, leaning back against the chair she was sitting in.

She happened to look down and notice the insurance papers on the desk. "Insurance papers? Is everything alright in paradise?"

"True," Carlisle replied, nodding sagely at Norah's words. "To be Aro's friend is to be in a constant state of want and need--he wants us to obey him as fully as his guards do, but he needs us to defy him, lest he become so completely removed that he cannot see the logic of logic itself anymore." Carlisle glanced away, his thin, pale pink lips pressing together into a line. His voice, middling in pitch, added softly, "As he is so close to becoming already."

Carlisle seemed honestly concerned about their old master--Aro had done many a disservice and attack against his family, but rather than feel brute anger at the ancient vampire, Carlisle felt a sort of sadness in regards to what the once great nighttime patron of the arts had become. Aro was a shell now--a shell filled with black blood and mechanical parts. He could make himself to be perceived as capable of humanity--but it was unlikely there was any humanity within him left.

"I am rather happy," Carlisle went on, murmuring softly as his gaze went to that of his family--the last time they had all stood together for a photograph. Only eight of them were in that particular photograph--just the family, as it was when they had moved here to Forks again. Around it hung individual photographs of the others--if one was to look in here they might assume an array of friends and associates, rather than family.

But it was family.

Carlisle's golden eyes rested on Norah as she encapsulated her hundred years in a few brief sentences. He let out a laugh when she mentioned him, one that him tossing his head back. "There are many, many more out there who can compare. Who am I? Just a surgeon and a family man, at most, with an unusual predilection for a different kind of diet." He locked gazes with Norah--his smile glowed. "Perhaps they are intimidated by your strength. You always had a way with that."

At the mention of insurance papers, Carlisle, too, looked to his desk. He reached for the sheaf of paper work and rifled through them, then sat back. "Our home was destroyed in a fire not long ago. They are thinking it's arson--we weren't the only home targeted." He cracked a slight smile. As per usual, he was striving to see the bright side of the most dismal of situations--in as realistic a manner as he could. "Makes it a little easier to fill out the paperwork when that's the case. Not that we need the reparation--we'll still be able to rebuild just fine."

The doctor and vampire leaned forward and aligned the papers with each other, tapping them lightly against the desk and sliding them into a folder that had been laying nearby for such a thing. He set it down again, where Norah would not have to look at it, and settled back into his seat, clasping his hands together.

"Please, Norah," he said, and as he did, his smile grew warm and as friendly as it was when he had first let her in. "I'd like to hear more of where you've been. Of what brought you here."

Norah chuckled along with him, her heart soaring as she heard him laugh again. It had been a long time since she had heard that laugh, and she found she had missed it. She had pretty much just missed Carlisle in general, missed the close friendship they once had.

She shook her head. "Strength? Maybe. I'm just picky, I guess. There's been a few hopefuls, for lack of a better word, but none that stuck around long enough. They didn't approve of my lifestyle. Too smart for them, apparently." She winked at Carlisle, unconsciously twirling a strand of her hair, a habit she'd had since her human years.

Her forehead creased as he mentioned the fire. "Oh Carlisle, that's horrible. Is there anything I can do to help? You know my bank account is as unlimited as yours, if not more with the lack of 16 people to support. Name it and it's done." She highly doubted he would accept any help of any kind, but the offer was on the table, and she sincerely meant it. Losing everything would be hard to recover from.

She stood up and walked to the window as he asked where she had been, what brought her here. "It's hard to summarize in a few short words, Carlisle. Especially since I don't really know myself. I guess I've been a little lost, lately. Trying to find my purpose, you know? A place where I belong." She laughed wrly at herself. "It sounds silly, I know. I'm 350 years old, for God's sake, you would think I'd be past that stage of my life. I guess a part of me is hoping to find what you have. A family. Someone to go home to. Hell, a home to go home to." She smiled at him, shrugging her shoulders.

Her expression turned serious again as she turned back to the window, watching the rain pelt the ground. "Carlisle, please don't think that I'm coming on to you or anything, my intentions are pure. But...do you think things might be different if I had stayed? Did I make the biggest mistake of my life? I would like to think not, as it led you here to your family. But I can't help but think that I was a fool." She shrugged her shoulders lightly, meaning no harm in her question.

Norah's amused chuckle was not a sound Carlisle had heard in some time. He smiled at it, like one who smiles fondly as an old memory resurfaces. He did not regret his past, which meant, then, that he did not feel shame as one might if an old love resurfaced. He and Norah had been friends, first and last. The time in between was treasured, but it was a time passed, and they had accepted that.

Carlisle cared for Norah. There was no doubt of that.

An eyebrow rose slightly at Norah's words. "Picky is not necessarily bad." Carlisle smiled and shrugged slightly, lifting his shoulders perhaps half an inch or so. Carlisle believed that, in time, Norah would find whomever she was searching for. It just took some longer than others.

Carlisle gently placed a hand upon Norah's forearm, his expression, if anything, reassuring. "Please, don't worry about it, Norah. We'll be just fine. I appreciate your generosity... I simply wouldn't wish to take from you like that." Norah had done many a favor for him in the past already. As it was, Carlisle wasn't the kind of man to willingly burden another being, not if it could be helped. In this case, it could be helped.

Carlisle's golden eyes followed Norah as she stood, and walked about the room. She seemed to drift gently about--not exactly listless, but as though she was a boat at sea, carried by calm waves. When she seemed to have settled by the window, Carlisle rose and joined her, his hands clasped behind him as he stared out at the rain.

He listened... and he absorbed; he watched Norah with those golden-ringed eyes of his, not necessarily expressionless, but not necessarily displaying one strong emotion or another, either. He was listening--everything about him was open and ready to recieve. He did think to respond when she was about halfway through her words, but held his tongue as more words bubbled forth. She wasn't done... and what she brought up was a subject far more delicate than that of a wandering heart.

He didn't fault her for wondering, nor was he upset or bothered that she brought up the subject. What could life have been like, if they had chosen to overcome their disagreement regarding Edward, and had chosen to stay together? What might their story be today?

Carlisle loved Esme dearly. This was truth. But he also knew that love was never so simple as the one and only, the true and everlasting. Life held too many choices, too many twists in the story line, for things to be as simplistic as that.

"They might have been, Norah," he said, gently, softly. Could he have spent his life with Norah? Certainly. But she was not Esme. She was not his wife. "I would never say it was the biggest mistake nor would I call you a fool. There is a reason we chose to part, and there is a reason that kept us apart. Could we have been? I don't doubt that. I don't doubt that at all."

He reached up and gently brushed the back of his hand across her cheek, giving her a slight smile. It was an old gesture of his, one she might remember well. Carlisle could be undeniably sweet, given the chance, but he was private about it. "I love you, Norah. But I love Esme in a way I cannot explain, nor do I wish to try. I want you to find that happiness. I know it wasn't meant to be with me."

Norah shrugged her shoulders lightly as Carlisle did, nodding her head in agreement. "Yes, picky can be good, unless it makes it impossible to see a good catch when you have one." She shook her head at herself, chuckling under her breath.

She turned back to Carlisle. "You wouldn't be taking things, Carlisle. Consider it a gift. Whatever I can help with, let me know. I am sure you had a lot of precious artificats and books in there, and I can try to help replace them. Please, Carlisle, let me help." She knew where and when he had gotten many of his possessions, and while most couldn't be duplicated, she had ways of finding new items that would interest him. She knew, because they interested her.

She sighed as he spoke, not quite regretting her decision to leave, as it led him to his family. She wouldn't have wanted to take that away from him. At the time, she was not ready for that, she was selfish, wanting him to herself. That was one of the issues she had with his newborn. She wasn't ready to be the 'mom' to his 'dad'. No, she sighed because he was right, that there was a reason they went their separate ways and stayed that way. What the reason was now was different than the reason it had been then.

Ultimately, she felt she wuld never be good enough for him. His compassion, his love for all things, his kindness surpassed hers, and she always felt guilty even looking at a human for food when she was with him, let alone actually feeding on one. Yet, she could never give in to the animal diet-she was too stubborn.

She closed her eyes and let herself lean into his touch for just a brief moment. It was over too soon, but it was a good thing. Anything more and she might have done something she would regret.

She nodded as she turned back to look out the window. "I know, Carlisle. I haven't met her and I can tell that. And I promise I haven't come to disrupt your life in that way. I'm ready to find that now. I wasn't, not even with us, and it took me awhile to realize that. I've always been rather independent, you know that. But I'm tired of being alone, and I'm done being so stubborn about that."

She looked up at him with a shrug, her hands flying up frustratedly. "Now it's all a matter of finding the one who can deal with all my quirks and stubbornness." She grinned, knowing he would know what she was talking about.

"And how many good catches do you think have you thrown away?" Carlisle asked, a smile glimmering to life upon his face. He reached out and gently took Norah's shoulders in his hands, inclining his head towards her. It had been a long time since they had had any sort of contact, not even written contact. Nearly a hundred years, in fact... and an intermittent amount of time before that.

Yet Carlisle could hardly deny that he still felt that ease and comfort talking with Norah. There were obvious reasons they didn't work out, aside from their fundamental differences and disagreements over the changing of Edward. There was their stubbornness to think of--neither quite comfortable with the other over diet choice, and one prepared to be a part of the world in a way that was entirely different from the other. Carlisle had chosen family. Norah had moved on. No relationship can exist in that kind of vacuum.

Yet, while Carlisle had settled down, Norah, not even in the time when the both of them moved on, had found anyone. Why?

There was loneliness in her. Carlisle didn't wish that for her... not at all.

"A time will come when there will be someone there for you. You are quite stubborn--that statement is undeniably true." He laughed softly, glanced away, then back again. "I sometimes like to believe you were given this extended life because whomever that 'good catch' is was not ready for you. Call me foolish."

His smile was warm.

It was so characteristically Carlisle.

The vampire in question shook his head gently at Norah's offer. "It's all right, Norah. It really is. Most of the material items I lost might be irreplaceable--" Such as his father's cross. "--but the most important thing--my family, and my friends--they all survived. It will be fine."

He rubbed her shoulder gently. He had stepped closer, initially, and as he looked out over the courtyard and its lifeless, snow-bedecked greenery, his thoughts stole him away for a moment. His eyes alighted upon Norah once again, and this time, he voiced the thought that lurked beneath the surface since the beginning of this conversation.

"You seem lonely, Norah."

Norah scoffed quietly. "Too many, but only one that mattered." She smiled ruefully at that one, chuckling under her breath. She had to turn her gaze as he grabbed her shoulders, the action to familiar and pleasurable for comfort.

Norah could only shake her head in frustration at Carlisle's words. While she truly wished she could believe his words that there was someone out there for her, her many years alone were beginning to prove otherwise. Sure, there were hopefuls, but none lasted.

She sighed as she turned back towards him. "That's the thing, Carlisle. I am far too lonely. Too much for comfort, in fact. Where did my independence go? Where did my whole "I don't need a man to be happy" mindset disappear off to? I'm not so sure there is 'the one' for me. You have yours. Even Aro has his." She laughed disdainfully at that. "I just don't know anymore, Carlisle. I don't know where I'm heading with my existence. Carlisle, I'm more lonely than I have ever been."

She sighed as she placed her forehead on his shoulder, trying to hide the fact that she was downright miserable. Seeing him only reinforced her loneliness. She hated showing her weakness, but with Carlisle he knew he wouldn't judge her, wouldn't see her any differently. Carlisle was too compassionate, too caring, to judge her for having emotions.

She leaned back slightly and lifted her head from her shoulder, shooting him another rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. That wasn't fair to throw that all at you like that. Please forgive me for that."

One slender, light eyebrow lifted slightly, out of curiosity rather than speculation. Carlisle didn't press the issue; he didn't even mentally consider it. He didn't want to encourage his own ego, though he could certainly accept detracting from it. Thus, if Norah did decide to state whom it was, and that person (as he, deep down, was wont to accept) was not him, he could handle it.

Things like that didn't ruffle Carlisle's feathers.

Carlisle was quiet while Norah spoke. He absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder with the back of his hand; how disturbingly natural it was , even after decades upon decades, for him to interact with Norah. Was it the lack of true animosity in their old relationship? They had rarely argued--but Carlisle was not an arguing man. He was passionate, but spoke gently and intellectually whenever he needed to display a viewpoint of his own. Norah was generally indifferent, when outside that sphere of a relationship--within, she was as sweet and caring as Carlisle was said to be.

Their last argument had been stronger, perhaps, than most in the proceeding decades. But they hadn't parted angrily.

Of course Carlisle would be comfortable. Norah, despite the fact he had only mentioned her once or twice to her family, was still a significant swatch of his memory and life. And he had known her when he was young.

Norah's forehead came to rest upon his shoulder, and he gently embraced er in turn. He spoke, staring ahead and out towards the world--but his words were for Norah.

"You've spent so many years without a companion... even our kind need others, need company. You remind me of Edward in that way--even though he insisted on being alone for so long, it was not good for him. He has found someone now, and I think you will too. We were not meant to be solitary creatures."

Carlisle began to turn his head to face Norah, as she straightened slightly. It was just the right angle, just the right timing, that their lips brushed...

Carlisle did not turn away or pull back. He did not, strangely enough, even think. He kissed Norah. He made a choice, an instinctive choice, stolen from memory and time past, arisen from a stress he had never had to experience before, from an empathy for someone he cared deeply about--had loved just as strongly as he loved Esme--and... from another flavor of loneliness

Even he... was only human.

Norah merely nodded slowly, reluctantly agreeing that she did need company, a companion, as he said. His arms around her were bittersweet-they felt comfortable, like she was at home in his arms. And yet, bitter, because she wasn't at home in his arms, not anymore. She could have been if he had stayed. But that was entering once more into the land of 'could have been.'

Norah swallowed deeply at the close proximity of their faces to each other. She knew where it was leading, and she knew she should stop it from happening, since he was married, and happily so.

And yet...when his lip first brushed across hers, it was the most natural feeling in the world. As he kissed her, she kissed back, with possibly a little too much fervor. One hand found his chest and rested against it, and the other at the back of his neck, where she absentmindedly twirled the ends of his cropped hair.

She couldn't help but to deepen the kiss a bit, moving herself closer to him. It was as if the past century never happened, that they had still been together as if nothing happened.

But it had happened, and they were not together.

She broke of the kiss extremely reluctantly, wishing more than anything that she could continue it. But he was married, and he was happy. And she didn't come to rip his life apart.

She looked down with a sweet yet sheepish smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. Maybe...maybe I shouldn't have come. This was a bad idea. I never meant for this to happen..." Her eyebrows furrowed, too embarrassed to look at Carlisle.

She had enjoyed that way too much, and she was afraid now that the feelings would seriously resurface and make it unbearable for her to ever see him again. She wouldn't want that, but she would not want to come between him and his wife.

Sure, it was just a kiss, but kisses could lead to...other things.