"Ah, crap!" I jumped back with lightning speed, away from Renesmee's now mangled toy that lay on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Edward came up behind me.
"Well, while we were wrestling, I fell on Nessie's toy. Dammit, she really liked that one, too…" I bent down to pick up the doll that Alice had bought Nessie about two weeks ago.
"We can get her a new one." Edward said, sliding his arms around my waist from and resting his chin on my shoulder.
"Yeah, but, I hate it when I break her toys. I break everything!" I fumed.
"And I believe we weren't done breaking things," he purred in my ear.
I shivered.
"Okay," I gave in.
I tossed the toy into a corner of the living room of our small cottage. He was suddenly on top of me again, pinning me to the ground. That wasn't fair; he didn't give me any time. I wiggled out from underneath him and slid into a crouch. He chuckled and backed away slightly. Gotchya. I pounced then, giving him no time to escape. Now I was on top of him. I smiled smugly.
"You know," he began, "this whole being-stronger-than-Edward-and-every-one-else thing isn't going to last forever, love. Maybe you should give up now, because I'll get you back when you least expect it."
"Ha."
"I will, and it may not involve any thing to do with wrestling or trickery… okay, maybe a little wrestling and trickery." He smiled and kissed my shoulder. His words clicked into place and gave me another shiver. I leaned down and kissed him.
"Can we start the-getting-back-at-me now?" I whispered.
He laughed and kissed me back.
"No." he pushed himself up with one arm and used the other to pull me into his lap.
I frowned.
"Why not?" I nearly whined.
"Because, Jacob is almost here."
"Jacob, shmacob." I grumbled.
He chuckled and pulled me onto the couch. I leaned my head on his shoulder and listened to Jacob's footsteps get closer and closer. Finally, I could hear him emerge from the trees into the small yard just outside. Edward rose from the couch, pulling me with him, to open the door before Jacob could knock.
"Hey, Jake." I said.
"Hey there, Bells. Edward." He lightly punched Edward in the arm and gave me a swift hug, "Is she still sleeping?"
"Yeah, but I can wake her up, she's been out for a while."
"Okay, cool." He followed us back in and plopped himself on the couch. "You know if you asked me to babysit Bella's kid a year ago, before all of this happened, I would have slapped you in the face. Now, you can't get me to stop."
"Well I guess that's one of the perks of having your wife's best friend imprint on your daughter," Edward laughed.
"Ha. Ha. You guys are hilarious." I rolled my eyes as I walked into Nessie's room. She looked like an angle lying on her bed, peacefully sleeping. I didn't want to disrupt her slumber, but I wanted to get Jacob out of here so Edward could start getting back at me. I opened her curtains to let the late morning sun shine in and saturate the tiny room. Nessie shifted and opened her chocolate eyes to the sudden brightness.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Jacob is here to take you out and play."
"Yay!" she sighed sleepily.
I flitted to the side of her bed and picked her up, kissing her softly on the forehead. She the size of a five-year-old now and was getting heavier. She touched her hand to my cheeck, showing me a dream she had the night before; a swirl of colors and shapes. She liked this dream. It was peaceful to her.
"That's a lovely dream, honey. Thank you for sharing it with Mommy." I smiled down at her. She smiled ruefully and touched my cheek again. This time she was impatient to see Jacob.
"Okay, baby. You can go play."
She jumped out of my arms and flew to the living room. I followed her and leaned against the doorway as I watched her jump into Jacob's arms. I smiled to myself; Jacob was funny to watch when he was in the presence of Renesmee.
"Hey, kiddo!" he bellowed. "What do you want to do today, Ness?"
Nessie put her hand on Jacob's big face and giggled.
"But, we played tag all day yesterday!"
"Jake, you're such a weirdo." I laughed.
"And you're not?"
I laughed again.
"Renesmee, let's go get some real clothes on you; you can't play in your pajamas." I said, opening my arms to her.
"Okay, Mommy." She jumped out of Jake's arms and ran to Edward who had drifted toward the fireplace, looking at the chair that we had broken an hour ago while wrestling. Edward turned and held his arms out; already hearing what she was planning. She jumped into his arms and snuggled into his chest.
"Good morning, Renesmee, I'm glad you slept well last night."
"Good morning, Daddy."
Edward smiled warmly and kissed her cheek.
"Now, go with your mother and put on some play clothes." He said, ruffling her bronze curls.
"Okay, Daddy, I love you."
"I love you, too, baby."
Renesmee jumped into my arms once again to change into her play clothes so she could spend the day doing what she loves.