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Carlisle entered the kitchen a while later. Pearl had finished her meal and was doing the dishes upon her insistence. Esme and Bree were having a girl talk. Occasionally Pearl would join in, but she mostly stayed silent, listening in.

"Ladies." Carlisle greets them. Going over to Esme and giving her a kiss.

"Hi hun." Esme responded, kissing him back.

Pearl nodded her head in acknowledgement and Bree smiled at the couple, waving slightly.

"Do you mind if I borrow Pearl for a bit?" Carlisle asked Esme and Bree.

Pearl raised an eyebrow in question, but didn't say anything.

"We don't mind." Bree responded in a happy tone. Smiling at Carlisle.

Carlisle nodded and faced Pearl. "Will you come with me to my office, please?" He asked her politely.

Pearl nodded and speedily finished washing and drying the dishes. Putting them away in the cupboards, she followed behind Carlisle, leaving Esme and Bree behind, and headed to the patriarchs office.

Once they got inside, Carlisle gestured to the sofa in the room and closed the door behind them. Ensuring that no one else could hear their conversation. Pearl sat down on the sofa and Carlisle pulled up a chair to sit in front of her.

'What's this about?' Pearl wondered.

Carlisle took a deep unneeded breath, before speaking, "I wanted to talk to you about how you're doing."

'He's checking on me? My injuries are healed.' Pearl thought. 'He was the one who treated them. He knows that I'm all better.'

"I'm fine. My leg and shoulder don't hurt anymore. And other than the scars they've left behind, I'm fully healed." Pearl said, confusion lacing her tone.

"That's good. But... I'm not asking about you injuries." Carlisle replied.

'Then what is he asking about?' Pearl internally questioned.

Seeing her confusion, Carlisle clarified, "I'm asking about how you are feeling Pearl. How you're doing mentally."

Pearl was taken aback by the question. The question itself wasn't anything special per se.

Since Bree had constantly been asking her that ever since she had broken down in her arms a few days ago.

Pearl was however, surprised by the fact that Carlisle had pulled her aside, specifically to ask about it.

Pearl hesitated for a while, unsure about how best to respond.

Being truthful wasn't going to happen, sharing her feelings isn't a good idea.

Besides, she could deal with it herself.

But, if she were to downright dismiss his concern, she'd only end up drawing attention to the issue.

She needed an answer that would be satisfactory for him.

But with her mind going completely blank.

Pearl ended up saying her usual response by default.

She knew she had messed up as soon as the words "I'm fine" left her lips.

Carlisle sighed and stared at the hybrid. 'I knew it would be difficult to get her to open up. She's always been closed off about her feelings. Getting her to talk to me is definitely going to be a challenge.' He thought.

Watching him carefully with her eyes. Pearl decided that it would be best to leave, as she had no interest in talking about her feelings to him, or anyone for that matter. Pearl stood up to leave the room, but got interrupted by Carlisle.

"Sit down please." He said firmly.

Her body automatically followed his request, much to Pearl's annoyance.

"I know you don't like talking about this kind of thing. But, it's pretty obvious at this point, that you need to." Carlisle said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Pearl got defensive.

"Pearl. Since the wedding and what happened on the reservation, you've been a lot quieter, more withdrawn.

Now, I attributed that to your injuries at first. But like you said, physically, you're fully healed now.

Which means, that whatever is going on with you, is in your head.

And I can't help you with it, unless you talk to me. "

"I don't need your help with it!" Pearl snapped at him.

Carlisle looked at her calmly, and continued talking after a moment in a comforting tone. "That's okay. You don't have to talk about what happened, until you are ready to."

"Great. So why am I here?" Pearl asked, clearly irritated.

"Because something is weighing heavily on you. And unless you release it, and unburden yourself, it's going to eat you up from the inside." He said gently.

Pearl paused, and internally ranted. 'I'm doing fine.

Yes, I've been more irritable. Yes, I've had mood swings.

And yes, I still think about what happened between me and my ex-family, and it still hurts.

But no, I'm not drowning in self pity. I've not become non-functional. I'm coping. I don't need help.'

"I'll be fine." Pearl bit out quietly, looking away from the patriarch.

"That implies you aren't okay now." Carlisle responded, not wanting to let this go.

Pearl stayed silent, avoiding eye contact with him.

Seeing that he was making no progress, Carlisle decided on a new tactic.

"Why don't we get to know each other a bit more?

" He suggests. "You know me as a Coven leader.

You also know me as the adoptive father of my children.

Plus you know me as a doctor. So, how about I tell you a little bit more about my life before all this? " Carlisle offers.

"Sure" Pearl answers absentmindedly. 'I'd rather that, than actually have to answer his questions.' She decided.

"Well, I was born in 1640. My father was a religious public figure, and my mother died when I was very young." Said Carlisle with a smile on his face.

'Esme told us about the year he was born. She didn't mention his parents though.' Pearl thought, her interest piqued. She turned to face him, to show that she was listening.

"My father was very strict. He believed that hunting down the supernatural, would rid the world of evil and sin. It was expected that I, as his only heir, would follow in his footsteps. So, when he became too old to lead the hunts, I took his place as leader."

"You hunted vampires." Pearl spoke with some uncertainty.

"Vampires were our main target, yes." Carlisle confirmed in a calm manner.

"I take it, one of those hunts led to you being bitten?" Pearl assumed.

"You would be correct. When I was 23, me and my party discovered a group of vampires residing in the sewers of London. The fight that followed, was rather brutal, I'm afraid." Carlisle regretfully informed her.

Pearl paid close attention to Carlisle's story. To her, it felt like she was listening to her father tell her about the legends all over again. It was kind of nostalgic, in a strange way. A new story, and a new person. But the same feeling.

Carlisle continued. "I was bitten during the raid. Fearing what my father's reaction would be, I hid in a potato cellar for the entirety of my transformation." Carlisle took an unneeded breath.

So Pearl decided to ask, "What did you do when you fully transformed?"

"My views at the time, because of how I was raised, led to me despising what I had become. I attempted to destroy myself many times over. I was obviously never successful, but i did try." He said.

Pearl was unsure how to respond. Hearing about it all, and thinking about what his mindset must have been like.

She couldn't help but compare herself to him.

If she hadn't of shifted, and had just become a plain vampire.

Would she have tried to do the same? She thought that she handled her initial transformation pretty well, but, if she had found out her family's life purpose, was to destroy her kind, would she have been able to hold on?

Would she have resorted to doing the same thing Carlisle did?

Carlisle interrupted Pearl's thoughts by continuing his tale, "With my many unsuccessful attempts, I resolved to starve myself deep in the woods. I never wanted to harm anyone, so staying far away from humans was my only solution."

'That's what I did.' Pearl thought. Noting yet, another similarity between the two.

"Eventually, I became so thirsty that I attacked the first thing that crossed into my path. That creature, ended up being a deer. That was how I discovered a new way of life." He finished.

"I did that too." Pearl mumbled out loud.

"You did?" Carlisle questioned, slightly surprised.

Pearl nodded her head. "When I was figuring out what I was, I lost all control and attacked a stag that tried to run away from me. It was only when I instinctively drank it's blood, that I figured out what I was." She mentioned.

"Animal blood can fulfil our needs, but it's not entirely satisfactory." Said Carlisle.

"It is for me." Pearl stated. Seeing his intrigue, she continued.

"Human blood is appealing, but, I find it much harder to resist the urge of attacking an animal.

Humans mostly come easy now. Plus, the blood is very fulfilling for me.

As soon as I drink it, the burn in my throat dissipates completely. " She explained.

"It's likely due to your wolf side." Carlisle theorised.

"Since wolves naturally hunt deer and other animals as their prey, it would make sense for you to enjoy the taste of their blood slightly more.

In terms of attacking them, that's likely due to your natural prey drive as a wolf.

For normal vampires, that activates around humans, but yours must be different due to your unusual anatomy. "

Pearl smiled lightly and nodded her head. 'This is nice. Talking like this. It's weird that I like it, but, I can't deny that I do.' She thought.

Carlisle and Pearl spent more time talking about Carlisle's past over the next hour or so. Pearl became more comfortable over time and started asking more questions. Carlisle was more than happy to oblige.

When the two left the office. Carlisle hadn't achieved what he had set out for. But he was content with the result.