Hello, before I start this story off, I would like to state that I would not have managed this without the help of 'JulesAnn' who helped motivate me into writing again. She was also the one who came up with the title and beta'd for me so thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own twilight

Carlisle's POV

There was a lot of panic going through my mind; panic that I hadn't felt so intensely before.

It was in my nature to remain calm in situations where many others would get overwhelmed with anxiety. It was also my job; not just as a doctor but as a leader of my coven and a father of my family.

But right now, it was very hard to remain calm when two of my 'children', whom had been out hunting, hadn't returned despite the huge forest fire that had started so spontaneously that it had remained unforeseen even to Alice.

Typically events like this pose much more of a threat to humans given the fact that we have the speed to out run such catastrophes' but natural disasters with the involvement of fire is still considered a danger to our kind and we needed to remain cautious when such event occurred.

We hadn't encountered a forest fire before; simply because we always chose to live in the colder states of America so that we could present as 'normal' as we possibly could to the human beings around us. But due to unusual sun activity, there had been a rare heatwave and was most likely the trigger to the fire that was destroying the forest that I was rushing to right now, desperately searching for two members of my family whose scents I was picking up weakly in the direction of the flames.

Emmett and Jasper had left late last night with the intent on some brotherly bonding; something that Alice enthusiastically encouraged Jasper to do. The pair were still relatively new and although my newest son still evidently struggled to bond with Edward, he found it a little easier being around my larger, more outgoing son. My guess was that Jasper found Edward's mind reading abilities a little intimidating, but then again, we all do at one time or another.

"Emmett! Jasper!" Rosalie called. Her usual stoic expression matched my own panic. She turned to Edward, who was focused intently on hearing out for distant voices.

"Do you hear anything?" Rose questioned with a hint of bitterness in her voice; her typical attitude towards Edward remains even with the situation we were in.

"Yeah, I just decided not to tell anybody" he replied sarcastically.

His frustration was clear and despite snapping back at his adopted sibling, I knew that it was actually mostly aimed at himself because he believed that although we all had the ability to pick up a scent from an incredible distance, Edward was the only one who could read minds, thus being able to 'hear' the condition of his brothers. But his power had its limits and he shouldn't rely on mindreading alone to pinpoint Emmett and Jasper's whereabouts.

Their scents did linger from the areas that they had passed on their hunt but the closer we ran towards the blazing fire, the harder it was to separate individual smells; the burning wood was becoming all too dominant.

"Jas" Edward suddenly murmured, stopping dead in his tracks.

His eyes were directed nearer to the coast. Had they run towards the cliffs to escape the blaze? It would have kept them out of danger temporarily but the fire was still moving towards us and we needed to steer clear of any fire services that would have surely been on there way in attempt to control any further damage and eliminate any danger to nearby homes.

"Emmett's hurt. I can hear Jasper with him but he's not…I don't think he knows where he is" Edward explained in a strained voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"How hurt is Em?" Rose added as we ran towards the cliff that Edward had directed us to. Receiving no answer, we both picked up speed to keep up with my fastest son.

I felt the smallest amount of relief when my eyes landed on my missing children but rather than jumping off the cliffs like I had originally thought they would, they appeared to be taking cover in a small cave. Again, although the danger wasn't immediate, we needed to get them out of the area before the fire spread more than it already had.

Emmett was down on the ground, groaning in pain. Just as Edwards had stated, he was badly injured. He must have got caught in the flames but managed to get out fast enough to escape certain death. This could have been so much worse. Who knows how close Emmett could have been to being destroyed.

The very thought in my mind would've made me rush to Emmett's side had Edward not have been the one to pull me back. Before I had the chance to question his action, Rosalie had also made the attempt to rush to her mate's side but an unexpected hiss made my daughter freeze on the spot.

The animalistic noise came from my newest son, Jasper, who was now crouched defensively in front of Emmett. Em groaned in pain once more and the very sound made Rosalie desperate to move forward. As she did, Jasper's his became a low growl, warning us to stay back.

"What the hell are you doing, Jazz? We need to get him out of here!" Rose told him impatiently.

There was absolutely no recognition on his face. The glare he held with my daughter was defensive but dangerous and despite naturally being protective in nature, the vampire crouched in front of my injured son was not Jasper; at least not the Jasper that we knew and loved.

The shy and quiet person we were familiar with was long gone. I have seen this before and thinking about it, I suddenly remember Edward's words just moments before.

Emmett's hurt. I can hear Jasper with him but he's not…I don't think he knows where he is.

"Now you know what I was talking about" Edward murmured, hearing my realisation.

I wasn't sure if this started before or after the fire has started, but it seemed to me that Jasper was caught in the middle of a flashback. Although we had experienced this several times before, this is the first time we have had to deal with it at a time as inconvenient as now. We all needed to get out of here.

The fire was getting closer but without access to Emmett, who was too hurt to move unassisted, we were in a really dangerous position. I needed to intervene.

Spotting my slightest movement, Jasper broke his glare with Rosalie and let out another growl directed at me as he backed up closer to Emmett. His wounds were healing already (as they would with being a vampire) but not as fast as we needed them to. I raised my hand slowly, trying to look as less as a threat as possible as I try to talk to him in a calm voice.

"It's alright, Jasper. You're okay. We're not going to hurt you but we need to help your brother. It's not safe to stay here" I explained, gently.

He growled once again, only this time it sounded rather uncertain…untrusting, even. Edward voiced his read on him.

"He knows that Emmett is in danger and he knows that he needs to be moved but he is really confused. He doesn't seem to know who we are but he knows Em. He doesn't know if he can trust us. Carlisle, it's like he is living half way in his past and half way in the present. It's not a full blown flashback. I can't explain it" Edward admitted.

I tried to make sense of it myself. Being a vampire may have given us immortal life but it didn't make us immune to mental conditions and putting it lightly, there is not a doubt in my mind the trauma Jasper endured in his past life gave him a form of PTSD. Right now he was lost in his mind but not lost enough to feel the need to protect his injured brother.

Rosalie relaxed her body a little and looked on to her 'twin' sympathetically and I knew that in her own way, she understood what he was going through.

"Jazz, sweetie, if we don't move now, we will all die. What good will that do Emmett?"

Her tone with Jasper was always different to the snarky one that she used towards Edward. (As if she hadn't made it clear enough that Jasper was her favourite brother). The way Rosalie seemed to truly connect with Jasper never seized to amaze me and I wondered if that connection they had would be enough to bring Jasper to his senses right now. I got a little nervous when Jasper turned his head to her again and bared his teeth at her but there was no growl this time.

Baring his teeth had more to do with displaying his fangs as though he was not afraid to use them if he needed to, but my daughter remained calm as she then rolled up her sleeve and offered him her wrist; a method used to familiarise him of our scent. It was smart but risky. With Rosalie being Emmett's mate, her scent would be on him and vice versa. This could be our key to getting him to trust us enough to help get the two of them out of here.

Jasper took a nervous glance at me and another at Edward before slowly closing the small distance between himself and Rose, delicately taking in the scent of her wrist.

"Rose" Emmett groaned from behind.

The call made Jasper's ears twitch rather animalistically and he responded with another low growl. The sound of a burning branch falling from a flame infested tree startled us all, and another fell close behind us.

Jasper froze at the sound and Edward took his chance and ran passed him to grab Emmett. Despite thinking that the sudden movement would cause Jasper to go into 'attack mode', once again, the blond teenage boy in front of me looked too lost, confused and most of all, terrified.

The fire had to have been the initial trigger and the closer it was getting, the worse Jasper got too. Rose and Edward had Emmett. I needed to break Jasper out of his frozen trance before he got himself killed.

"We gotta move!" Rosalie yelled, barely hearing her over the roaring fire.

"Get Emmett out of here! I'll deal with Jazz" I told the two of them.

The fire was practically on top of us now and we couldn't afford to be here any longer. We didn't just risk being as injured as Emmett, we risk the chance of turning into nothing but ashes. Physical contact wasn't usually an option for Jasper, especially in his current frame of mind but with our lives on the line, I ran forwards and gripped an arm around my skittish son and threw the two of us off the cliff and into the safety of the water.

The moment the cold water hit our skin, I felt Jasper tense stiffly and I released him from my grasp in attempt to relieve any panic that he was experiencing. When I did, he dove further underneath the wet surface and headed towards the shore. I headed in the same direction but cautiously kept my distance; giving my wary son the space that he needed.

We were both soaked through and Jasper had an appearance of total exhaustion. It made him look more human than the animalistic side of him I witnessed moments ago. He was breathing, a method he often used when he needed to calm himself. Although breathing wasn't necessary to keep us alive, it was certainly beneficial to us whenever we needed to take a 'breather'.

As I watched him, his eyes locked on to mine and I tried to figure out what was written behind them. They didn't look completely lost like they had before but I couldn't quite determine if he knew who I was either.

He, too, also seemed to try and figure me out.

"Go help Emmett" he whispered, in a defeated manner, before running off out of my site.

Although I worried about him not running in the direction of home, he was at least keeping away from the ongoing fire. He was right. I had two sons that currently needed me but with Jasper out of immediate danger, it only made sense to prioritise Emmett.

I would come back for Jasper.

I still felt uncertain about my choice but despite the doubt, I took an unnecessary breath of my own and began to track down Emmett.

I met Edward, Rose and Em back at home. There wasn't much we could do for him other than wait for his vampire nature to kick in and allow him to heal his wounds at a speedy rate but it was difficult to see my son in pain so I did what I could to keep him comfortable.

"Edward, could you get the emergency blood that we have stored away" I requested, knowing that feeding helped with the healing process. His mate was also feeling the need to comfort him. Rosalie had pulled Emmett's head up to rest on her lap as he lay on the couch, wincing; clearly trying to hide any pain that he was in.

Boys….

"Tell me where it hurts, son" I asked him, gently as I crouched down to his level.

He winced again as he started to speak. "Where's Jas?"

I should have known he was more concerned about his brother's disappearance. I didn't know how to respond without worrying him. I hated feeling useless like this. Rosalie ran a hand through his hair to soothe him as Edward returned with a bag of blood as requested. Emmett looked at me with his pleading eyes, waiting for me to respond.

"I don't know exactly but you know how Jas gets. He just needs to take a moment" I said quietly as I removed the cap off the blood bag and passed it to him. "Drink up"

Emmett turned his head away from the bag and put a desperate hand on my forearm.

"He's gonna think it's his fault".

He struggled to get his words out but hearing Emmett's thoughts, Edward found his own voice to go into detail.

"The smell of fire was Jasper's trigger. Emmett couldn't get Jasper to move away from it. He tried but…it was only after Em got hurt when Jasper realised the danger they were in"

Hearing this from Edward out loud made Emmett close his eyes in pain; not physical pain from his injuries but the emotional kind from knowing that his brother was likely beating himself up about this. On a good day, Jasper could 'tolerate' who he was but self-hatred was all too common for him.

Emmett took the blood bag from my hand and mustered the strength to speak once more.

"I'll feed and I'll heal. I have Eddie and Rose with me right now. Jas has no one right now, Go find him Carlisle. He needs you more than I do" Emmett pleaded.

It seemed like both brothers had wanted me to pay attention to the other. Emmett's words were very true though. Jasper was alone and was suffering in the mind that tortured him. Alice wasn't here right now and I had already done what I could for Emmett. He would be fine now that he was away from the danger of the fire. In fact, in a few hours, he would be fully healed and would seem like nothing had even happened.

Rather than standing around here, unsure of what to do with myself, I should be out there comforting the one son that feels entirely alone. It was no wonder why he struggled to feel a part of this family. This was my chance to convince Jasper that he was one of us, despite how guilty he feels of current events.

"We've got this, dad" Edward reassured, quietly.

He knew how much I loved hearing that word and how much it meant to me when he said it. He always used it wisely though; times like these to give me the final push.

"I'll be back" I told all my present 'children'.

I turned around and ran through the door once again to track down my veteran son.

He wasn't so hard to find this time.

He was stood at one of the beaches, watching in the distance as helicopters and men did their best to contain the forest fire. Many animals would have been killed but the flames were calming down now and didn't seem like it would pose any danger to people in their homes. Still, it was likely that the nearest homes were going to be temporarily evacuated as a precaution

I wasn't sure how to approach Jasper without startling. He was jumpy on a good day but after this? He would be running at the sound of a dropped coin. He looked very still; almost as if he was zoned out again, which made me worry that the sight of the distant flames had sent him back into a bad memory.

But of course, the vampire who was stood with his back to me was an empath and that was enough to alert him that he wasn't alone. Turning his head in my direction, he tried to hold my gaze but it was clear that doing so was difficult for him. He dropped his eyes onto the ground and turned fully around so that he was facing me.

"You shouldn't be here. Emmett is."

"…is okay" I interrupted. "He's in safe hands and he's going to be alright. He's worried about you. We all are" I added.

He shook his head, looking defeated. "It's my fault" he whispered so quietly a human being wouldn't have heard him.

I expected nothing less than the sound of my newest son being so harsh on himself and it was a habit I feared he wouldn't ever grow out of; scarring his mind as permanently as the bite-marks that had scarred his skin.

It wouldn't stop me from trying though.

"Nobody blames you, Jasper" I commented, lightly.

"They should! We would have gotten out there without a problem if I wasn't so screwed up in the head. He stayed with me! Why? Why did he stay? He should have just…" He ran a frustrated a hand through his hair as he began to pace back and forth.

"Could have just what? Leave you? So that you would have been the one to perish in the flames? So that Emmett would live the rest of his life hating himself for making such a decision? Jasper, he stayed because you are his brother and he loves you like one. As I know you do too. Even when you weren't fully aware of who or where you were, you still had made it your main priority to protect Emmett after he had been hurt. Nobody is going to forget that; especially Emmett" I told him.

Jasper slowed his pacing and looked up at me. He seemed a little confused as he tried to think back.

"That was Emmett?" He asked, curiously.

I moved a little closer to him. "What do you remember about your flashback?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I usually remember them so clearly that they feel like they really happened but this time, everything is sketchy. It's like I wasn't reliving a memory, I just forgot where I was. I guess I saw the fire and I wasn't me for a moment" Jasper tried to explain.

"But deep down, despite not being completely aware, you knew that Emmett was family and in that moment, he was vulnerable" I concluded.

It was Jasper's turn to sigh as his eyes returned to the ground and walked a small distance away from me.

"It was still my fault that he got hurt in the first place. One of these days, I'm really gonna get someone killed, Carlisle. I'm too unpredictable" he stated in defeat.

I could already see where this was going. He was giving me an 'out'. He was giving me the opportunity to consider forcing him out of our coven for the safety of our family.

"Son, the predictability of your flashbacks may be out of your control but we all learn from them every time you have one. As we discover new triggers, we can learn how to prevent them from happening. We will help manage them as a family. You are not a burden despite what you may think. I will not let you go this alone, Jas" I assured him.

I could see that he was reading me but I was confident that all he could feel from me was love, hope and the truth behind my words.

"Come back with me. Emmett is desperate to see you" I encouraged.

He watched me for another moment, looking as though he wanted to say something but seemed reluctant to speak further. He bit his lip uncertainly and shyly nodded his head. He began walking besides me, thankfully, opting to head home.

It was around 30 seconds of silence before he stopped and relieved himself of the words that he was previously reluctant to say.

"I doubt there is any other coven leader on this planet that is as caring and passionate as you are; but one day, you are going to look back on this moment and wish you realised the danger I bring into this family. He whispered sadly.

I didn't get the chance to respond.

At least this time, he sprinted in the direction of home.

I have been working on this for over a month and I'm still a little nervous about it so please tell me what you think.

Constructive criticism is accepted.

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