Uncle Jazzy!
Carlisle was at the hospital, Esme and Alice were redecorating some rooms in Edward and Bella's cottage, and Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett were off hunting. Bella had taken Nessie to visit Charlie, Jacob, and some of the other wolves earlier this morning, but she was due back soon.
Meanwhile, I was content reading one of my books and enjoying the lack of emotions washing around me. The emotional climate around here truly was an enjoyable one, now. Two months had passed since the Volturi came to Forks, and everyone's spirits were at peace, again. Nonetheless, I still liked a reprieve from my own gift, now and then.
Just as I came to the end of another chapter in my book, though, I was hit with a wave of pure, irresistible bliss. I promptly dropped my book, stood, and opened my arms to what I knew was coming.
"Uncle Jazzy!" Nessie cheered as Bella walked in, carrying her daughter on her back. The little half-vampire, half-human girl sprang off her mother's shoulders and ran over to me at her current top speed. She leapt into my waiting arms and I was engulfed in her joy, on contact. The happiness was so delicious I almost didn't notice just how hard my little niece had crashed into me. The impact didn't hurt either of us, of course, but the force still surprised me. She was getting so strong!
Though Nessie was barely six months old, she looked more like a three-year-old, by now. She was still growing at an alarming rate, getting stronger and faster every day. Thankfully, we all knew, now, that her growth rate was nothing to worry about. Alice and I had found other human-vampire hybrids in our time away from the family, and we knew her speed-aging would come to an end once her physical appearance matched that of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. Mentally, she was already close to that age marker.
"You weren't trying to tackle me, were you, Nessie?" I teased my niece, holding her in one arm and ruffling her curly bronze hair with my free hand. The peal of bells that was her infectious laugh filled the room. "I don't think you're quite that strong, yet. Besides, haven't you been watching the play fights between your Mommy and Uncle Em? A frontal approach like that won't get you anywhere fast."
"Jasper!" Bella scolded me while trying to hide her smile. "You're still training me to fight properly! Let's not go there with my daughter, yet!"
"Of course not, Bella," I said, smiling at my little sister. "I'm very practiced at training newborn vampires, but I draw the line at, literally, training babies."
"Hey!" Nessie protested my choice of words, verbally, before she clapped one of her hands to my face, replaying the offending exchange between myself and her mother in my head.
"I'm sorry, Nessie," I said, trying to sound serious and not laugh, "but you are only six months old. What else am I supposed to call you?" Nessie struggled with that one. She wasn't really sure what to say. I could feel the uncertainty seeping out of her, so I knew that much to be true. I didn't like feeling the uncertainty, though. I wanted that happiness back.
I sent a wave of giddiness to her and Bella, both. Bella promptly snickered and Nessie burst into another peal of giggles. Much better.
Nessie's renewed excitement made her a little restless and she squirmed in my arms. I loosened my hold on her and she bounded out of my embrace and back over to Bella. "Let's show him, Momma!" She said, grabbing the hem of the skirt Bella wore and tugging impatiently. It only occurred to me, then, that I had never seen that skirt before. Alice must have dragged Bella along when she went shopping, yesterday. I had narrowly avoided the same fate, myself.
"Show me what?" I asked, looking between Nessie and Bella with genuine curiosity.
"Just something Nessie and I found, while we were out with Alice, yesterday," Bella said, shrugging. Right, Bella. Try to underplay what you're talking about to the empath, while he can clearly feel the impish excitement suddenly radiating from you and your daughter.
"I'll get it, Momma!" Nessie nearly squealed and she took off, out the back door. At first, I thought she was running for the cottage, but then, she sped into the garage. Apparently, whatever she was retrieving was still in Alice's Porsche, or one of Bella's cars. She was back only three seconds later, carrying what looked like a rolled up quilt under one arm.. Wow, she really was getting fast. She pounced at me, again, once she returned, scrambling onto my shoulders this time. Sheer joy was overflowing from her, again, and the physical contact made me feel it that much stronger. I knew, as she handed me the bundle of golden fabric, that I would still feel ecstatic, even if it turned out to be noting more than a potato sack. I unrolled it, and it was anything but.
It was a quilt cut in the shape of the insignia for a U.S. Army Major. Sewn onto the bottom of the quilt were two small flags: The Union flag and the Confederacy flag. I was speechless.
"The insignia quilt, we found in a little shop in Seattle," Bella explained. "We found the flags in a craft store and sewed them on, ourselves. We were surprised we found the flags at all, but, of course, Alice saw where we would find them."
"She also saw that you'd like the quilt, Major Whitlock," Nessie added, still perched on my shoulders. She giggled when she said my old name, and the added jolt of happiness put me over the edge. I unleashed my own gratitude and happiness out into the room in a strong wave, causing Bella's smile to grow impossibly wide while Nessie lost all control and dissolved into a fit of laughter, barely managing to maintain her position on my shoulders. I pulled her off, anyway, so I could hug her close.
"Of course, I like it, Nessie," I told her. "I love it. Thank you."
"I'll take it up to your room," she said, and she promptly pushed against my hold with all her strength. It wasn't really enough to even make me budge, but I played along and let her fight her way back down to the floor. She gathered up the golden quilt and took of upstairs, laughing the whole way. Bella came closer to me, then, and I hugged her, too.
"Thank you, Bella," I told her. "That was so thoughtful. I truly do love it. I can't believe you found those Civil War flags!"
"Well, I have to share the credit for that feat with Alice," she said. That was my little sister for you. She still couldn't just accept compliments given to her. At least her feelings of self-worth had grown stronger, since her change. I only felt contented pleasure coming from her, now. She was so much more self-confident as a vampire than she had been, as a human.
Not even a full second after Bella mentioned my wife, she came running into the room. Alice darted over to me first, giving me a quick kiss. Then, she turned to Bella and bounced up to kiss her on the cheek. "Hi, Bella. I'm glad you're back," she began. "Esme- "
"Aunt Ali!" Nessie squealed, darting down the stairs and colliding with Alice in a fierce hug. Alice returned the hug with matching enthusiasm.
"Hello, Nessie!" She cooed, "Did you have fun at Grandpa Charlie's? Did you bite any of the wolves?" I guffawed at that question while Bella snickered. Now that Nessie could hunt with the rest of us, she rarely bit any of the wolves, but it was still a very amusing sight, when she did. I laughed even harder at Nessie's reply:
"Just Leah," she said, grinning at Alice. Alice laughed at that, too. Then, she remembered what she had been trying to tell Bella:
"Bella, Esme wants your opinion on the new bedding she wants to put in your and Edward's room," she said. "I told her you love it, but she wanted to get the answer from you. Can you come to the cottage?"
"Of course," Bella said. "Renesmee, do you want to come?" Nessie considered that for a second, before shaking her head, making her curls bounce from side to side.
"I want to stay with Uncle Jazzy," she said, smiling at me and hitting me with another wave of the purest bliss I'd ever felt. Alice handed her to me and gave me another quick peck before grabbing Bella's hand and running off with her, toward the cottage. As soon as they were out of sight, Nessie cuddled closer into my shoulder and I felt her sudden lethargy.
"You need a nap, Nessie," I told her softly, carrying her over to the couch and sitting down with her still cradled in my arms.
"Will you tell me a story, Uncle Jazzy?" She asked wearily, looking up at me. I felt another pulse of happiness from her, along with contentment and love, and there was no way I could say no to her.
"Which story?" I asked her.
"After you left Peter and Charlotte," she said softly. "When you met Aunt Ali."
I smiled down at my beautiful little niece. I loved that story, too.