Author's Note: This is just a one-shot fic portraying a father-daughter moment between Edward and Renesmee. I'm not getting technical with it; all of the Cullens still live in Forks, though it's been six years since Renesmee's birth. Because of her relative age, which is sixteen, she is a sophomore at Forks High School. I'm not going to try to delve into Nessie's supposed family ties to our favorite vampire coven, nor am I going to try to explain why the Cullen "children" (all long-graduated from Forks High) are still living at home. It's just a simple fic, folks, and my first attempt at fan fiction in several years. Reviews would be much appreciated. Please be nice. =) Oh, one more thing. Sadly, I own nothing. It's all Stephenie Meyer's.

Stars

Alice's breath caught quietly in her throat as her eyes became blank and distant. Her vision lasted only a few seconds, but when she returned to herself, Bella's questioning eyes were on her.

"Renesmee is on her way home," Alice said, her sing-song voice reluctant. "She'll be coming down the driveway in two minutes."

"What—"

"No," Alice amended suddenly, the corners of her tiny mouth pulling into a frown. "Make that ten-ish minutes. Nessie's pulled over somewhere on the road between here and the library."

Bella jumped to her feet, ready to run and save her precious little girl.

"Where? What's the matter? Has she been in an accident? Is she hurt?" Bella pressed anxiously. Her chest seemed to flutter frantically where her dormant lay as she waited for Alice's answer. For an agonizing moment, Alice sat motionless, her eyes squeezed shut in deep concentration. Although she'd learned to "see" Renesmee in her visions, it was still difficult for her, and the visions were often hazy and incomplete.

Finally, Alice's topaz eyes opened, and relief washed over her pixie's face.

"Nessie's upset over something," she explained, almost cheerfully. Bella ground her teeth in motherly frustration. She needed details.

"What is it, Alice? Why did she pull over?"

"She pulled over to cry; she's more deeply upset than I originally saw. Hmm. I don't know what the matter is, but she wants to talk to Edward as soon as she gets home. Edward's headed back here right now, much to Emmett and Jasper's disappointment; they're close enough to the house that he saw my vision, and now he's as worried as you are. Ness will be home in five minutes. If you go now, you can talk to Edward, and then walk back in here right as Nessie's coming in."

Bella caught just a glimpse of Alice's satisfied smile as she sprinted downstairs, through the living room, and out of the big house. She arrived at their cottage the same time as Edward did. She ran into his arms.

"Renesmee is upset. She's coming home right now. Alice said that she wants to talk to you."

"I know," Edward whispered against his wife's hair, stroking her dark waves gently. "I saw Alice's vision. Renesmee's thoughts are so incoherent; I can't figure out what's wrong. When she was crying, she was hunched over, wrapping her arms around her waist; the way that you used to."

Bella pulled out of her husband's embrace and looked at him, suddenly horrified. She opened up her mind to him, unable to form words with her lips.

Jacob?

"No," Edward said with a snort of laughter. "If there were a problem with Jacob, Ness would be mad."

Bella allowed herself a small chuckle, but the deep concern she felt for her daughter remained. Her eyebrows drew together. Edward reached to smooth out the wrinkles on her perfect forehead; his touch, however small, sent a shiver up her spine. Oh, how she loved him. Their lips met for a perfect moment; they broke away from each other when they heard Renesmee's car coming up the driveway. Bella looked at Edward anxiously.

"I'll wait here for her," he said softly. "She doesn't want to talk to anyone else." Bella nodded and turned to go back to the big house, squeezing Edward's hand as they parted. Bella concentrated on walking to the house at an annoyingly human pace, so that she would arrive at the same time as Renesmee. And she did. Bella had no more than walked in the door when she saw her daughter come in, fling her bag on the couch, and then plop down at the dining room table, her head buried in her arms, fists clinched. Esme and Rosalie were instantly at her side, murmuring gently, and smoothing her hair from her tear-streaked face.

"Don't ask; I'm not going to show anybody anything. I don't want to talk about it," Renesmee proclaimed miserably, her voice muffled by her jacket sleeves.

"I know, dear heart," Bella said gently, rubbing her daughter's back. "You don't have to."

"Mom," Renesmee sobbed as she stood and whirled around to cry into her mother's shoulder, tears flowing afresh. Bella stroked her daughter's hair and rocked back and forth softly with her in her arms.

"Sshh, sweetheart, it's ok. It's ok." Bella waited until Renesmee's sobs abated to speak again. She exchanged glances of alarm with Esme and Rosalie. "Your father is waiting for you at home," she whispered. "Can you make it there alone?"

Renesmee nodded, swiping a hand across her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said acidly, and no one missed the emphasis that she placed on I'm. She stood up and stalked out of the house with a sudden, unexplained fury, leaving three very bewildered women in her wake.

She continued to stomp as she made her way through the trees on the way to the cottage that she and her parents lived in. She fought tears the whole way, stumbling occasionally when her eyes blurred. She pushed the tears away ferociously, and looked up to see her father standing a few yards away from her on the cottage's threshold.

Edward's eyes widened; he'd never seen Renesmee so upset. Her mind was a tumultuous place, with a few outstanding things. The face of a friend, a troubled confession, Renesmee's pain and helplessness…

"Oh, Ness," he breathed, holding out his arms to her, understanding. "I'm so sorry."

She stumbled into his embrace. "He beats her," she gasped in between horrible sobs. "He gets drunk and he beats her and he's been doing it for years and no one knows, dad. No one knows. No one can do anything to help her."

"Shh, shh," Edward soothed. "Calm down, and then start from the beginning." He stroked her mahogany waves that were so like her mother's. She gulped in two huge breaths of air before pressing her pale hand to her father's cheek. He held it there with one of his own.

Stay tuned for chapter two! Coming soon to a computer screen near you… R&R. =)