Warning: Breaking Dawn spoilers. This story takes places after the events in the last novel.

Chapter One

Welcoming Home

"NESSIE!" A VOICE CALLED ME from behind. I didn't have to think twice about who it was. There was only one person who said my name with such enthusiasm and excitement for no apparent reason. I couldn't help but smile as I turned around and I really couldn't help smiling even wider when I saw his expression. Two dark eyes gleamed at me with thick, black eyebrows leaned over top. His eyes were partially squinted in his wide smile which I could have sworn reached from one ear to the other. He flaunted his bright white teeth unintentionally, sincerely caught up in the glee of the moment.

"Jake!" I called back in a mocking tone. I squinted my eyes shut with exaggeration and bared my teeth in an attempted super-wide smile. Jake simply scoffed and rolled his eyes, too excited to let the blatant affront get to him. Instead, he bolted forward and lifted me up between his two giant arms. My face was smothered in his hard chest and my legs fell loosely at the opposite end of his impossibly strong hold.

"H-Hey, take it easy," I said, my words a little chopped up from laughter and muffled from his enormous muscles. He ignored me—sincerely or on purpose, I wasn't sure—and held me there for a second or so more. He was exactly like he always had been, a loving and caring brother.

"Jake, really, I can't breathe," I whined, still laughing. This time he chose to respond to my untroubled protests and boosted me up higher so I could see his face. Two massy palms were pressed against my tiny waist and the heat radiated through me. The warm feeling was welcomed in the midst of near-freezing air. I stared into his dusky eyes and was reminded of the look a puppy makes when you get home from a long day at work. In actuality, you weren't gone very long at all, but when you get home to see those eyes and that face staring at you with such adoration just to see you again, it made you wish you never left in the first place. My reaction was still typical.

"Oh, don't give me that look," I rolled my eyes. "It was only five days." I wouldn't say it, but I really missed the puppy, too.

"I know," he answered calmly and gave me one more hug before setting me back on my feet. I was reluctant to let go; his heated embrace was unbelievably soothing. The soles of my shoes made a soft thud on the icy pavement and a tiny "crunch" as the small pieces of salt were cracked under my weight. It seemed sort of silly for a house of vampires to leave salt on the driveway because none of us would ever get close to slipping. Then again, it was probably just for appearances. I had a feeling it was something Grandpa Charlie would have insisted on, maybe even done himself. I warily looked over my shoulder at the frost-incrusted grass. A part of me wished I hadn't come back at all to the bitter cold. I was just getting used to the damp, warm air of the Amazon rainforests.

"How was your trip?" he asked, directing his voice behind me to my parents, who were busy unloading the car. Or, rather, busy for two seconds as they hoisted the three suitcases out of the trunk in one fluid motion.

"Wonderful," Mom replied smiling, too. "Zafrina was more excited to have us than Nessie was to be there." I could see Jake give a struggled grin in response. His deep-rooted hate for vampires still hadn't faded away. Sometimes I wondered if it ever would.

"They're grateful to you," Dad said. He'd probably read a discourteous thought of Jake's. "They credit their lives to you and the pack." Jacob's fake smile grew a little more real. He was warming up to us, but it was as slow as ever. The subject was still uncomfortable for him and I could see it in his expression.

"It's cold. Let's go inside," I offered, eager to get Jake's mind on something else. He instantly turned to me and then to the door, motioning for me to go first. My parents were close behind, carrying our luggage like it weighed nothing more than a small pillow. My suitcase was considerably larger than the rest, almost as big as my parents' suitcases put together. As much as I'd tried to cram all my belongings into something smaller, it never would have worked. I was one of the few who indulged Aunt Alice in her obsession of spoiling everyone with nice clothes. Naturally, she took full advantage of that. I had more pieces of clothing than I knew what to do with, more shoes than I could count and a boutique of accessories I couldn't distinguish apart. Even though it was difficult to keep up with so many belongings, I loved spending time with my Aunt so much that I went along with it. It wasn't so bad and I was at least picking up on it quickly. Maybe when I stopped growing, she'd let me stick with an outfit longer than two weeks. Somehow, I doubted it.

When we walked through the doorway I was hit by a wave of heated air. I was always more comfortable when my words didn't turn into tiny clouds of condensed air in front of me. The wave of heat was immediately followed by a wave of hellos and welcome homes from everyone inside. I could pick out each and every voice from the other, following their words and figuring out where they were when they spoke. Aunt Alice was closest, and that brought a grin to my face. Before any more time could pass, she was in front of me with wide open arms. I instantly jumped into them and squeezed her as tight as she did me. My feet didn't reach the ground as she held me—even Alice was taller than I was. Unfortunately, I'd probably never pass her height. I was petite and small, destined to be that way for the rest of my existence. I'd only been alive almost six years, after all. I linked my legs around her and sat like a child in her arms. She twirled in a tiny circle and spun me around with her. "Nessie, Nessie, Nessie!" she crooned. I inhaled deeply, taking in her sweet scent and then happily sighed. With my arms wrapped around her neck, I quietly sent her some of the most frequent thoughts I'd had while I was away.

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "I missed you, too." I could feel her spiky hair against the side of my face and her cool skin against mine. It was exactly how I had always known her.

"I thought you weren't coming back until late tonight," I could hear Jasper say as he made his way down the stairs. I popped my head over Alice's shoulder and rested my chin there. "It's only five. Rosalie would have wanted to be here when you did." I asked Alice a silent question.

"Yup, hunting," she replied. I pouted slightly, just as anxious to see them. Alice caught my disappointment and immediately added "they'll be home soon, but I really want to hear about your trip." She placed me back on my feet and took a seat on the couch, motioning for me to sit next to her. Both my Grandad and Grandma appeared in the room, giving my parents welcoming hugs and asking how the flight was. They would have done the same to me if Alice hadn't have been hogging me. I plopped myself down on the couch and everyone seemed to follow suit, crowding around my parents and me to hear the stories. We sat mostly for Jacob's sake; standing or sitting made no difference to the vampires.

My dad's parents were particularly interested in how the entire Amazon coven was doing and what they'd been up to since the last time they'd been together five years ago. Of course, they were even more interested in learning about the coven's way of life and how it differed from ours. Although I was thoroughly interested in it, too, there were things I was absolutely dying to say.

Or, rather, show.

"Zafrina showed me so much," I said to Jake, knowing he'd be uninterested in the vampires. "It was like traveling the world in a matter of minutes. You have to see!" Without waiting for him to answer me, I reached up and pressed my hand to the side of his face. My ivory skin was looked even paler compared his dark, olive complexion. Once we had contact, I instantly recalled the scenes Zafrina had showed me down to every last detail.

I started with the images she had shown me. She had taken me through nearly every place she'd ever been, and then proceeded to places she could picture herself. Each was a high-definition image, taking into account every single detail that made the picture unique. Most of the scenes were from South America, ranging from the ancient ruins to the rainforests to as far as the icy caps in the far southern regions. I flipped through each picture like a slideshow, giving him just enough time to take in the image before I moved to the next one.

Sharing thoughts and feelings had become a second nature to me, as effortless as breathing. What I once had to intently concentrate on now came with ease. I was even able to perfect the action by adding my own bits and pieces to the images to make it that much more vivid, which is why I saved my own experiences for last.

When I showed him what I had seen myself, I could add in the sensations that went with it. I recalled the smell of air, earthy and thick with humidity. I thought about the sound of the freshwater falls in the middle of the green jungles, accompanied by the songs of the birds and the rustle of the brush on the forest floor. My mind drifted through the feeling of warm, damp air on my skin and the cool ground beneath my feet. I closed my eyes and placed myself right back to that spot, exactly as I had remembered it.

When I was finished, I pulled my hand away and waited for his reaction. Jake slowly opened his eyes to look at me with disbelief. I just grinned.

"Nessie," he gasped. "That was unbelievable!" Out of the corners of my eyes, I could see everyone turn towards me, eager to know what Jake was talking about. We were too caught up in the moment to pay much attention to them. "Show me again?" he asked eagerly. I willingly complied. Before we could get through the sequence again, I was bombarded with more requests.

"Aw, Nessie, show me!" Aunt Alice chimed. I thought to Jake a quick apology before turning to put my hand to Alice's face. I couldn't help but wondering if they were more interested in the actual images I showed them or the method of presentation itself. Regardless, I found myself going through each member of the family and giving them each my own virtual tour. I gave each of them the precise detail I had given Jake, lingering on the details that I thought each would like best. For Alice, I paid attention most to the scenery and tarried on the view from the top of canopies over the rainforest. When I was showing Carlisle, I showed mostly the local tribes and the details on how they lived their lives and for Esme, I paid a deep attention to the wildlife. It was one of my favorite parts, too, and even I enjoyed recalling it so lucidly.

We sat around talking for a long time, still discussing the trip and even planning the next one. By that point, we had four more who wanted to accompany us. I could see the sparkle in Alice's eyes at the idea of going with us. At least two hours into our conversation, a long yawn escaped my mouth. Unfortunately, it didn't go unnoticed.

"It's been a really long day," I explained to everyone before they could comment. It was those odd, human quirks that I absolutely hated. "I think I'm going to head in early. Good night." As I stood, Jake stood with me.

"I'll walk you there," he said, implying the walk from the Cullen's to house to the cottage my parents had further into the woods. "Charlie invited my father and I to dinner, I'm already late." We were whisked away with loving good nights and good byes but before we could even make it out the door, they had continued right away with their previous conversation. I couldn't blame them, it was all extremely intriguing.

"What's the rest of the pack up to?" I asked casually as we made our way through the woods. My breath materialized into a puff of smoke in front of me. It felt like the temperature had dropped twice as low in the past couple of hours. Neither of us was in a hurry, so we walked slowly at an almost human pace. The only thing that really motivated us was to get out of the cold. Our footsteps were nearly synchronized, though it was hard to tell. They were so silent that the rustle the wind made in the trees was loud enough to drown out the sounds.

"Taking it easy, I'm sure," he laughed. "Everything's been so calm lately that we're all bored out of our minds."

"You all just need to get out more," I said curtly. He just laughed in response. By that point, we reached our destination and were standing on the stone patio to my parent's own little, private home. I jiggled the door knob and pushed the creaky door forward but just a crack. I didn't want any of that precious hot air to leak out.

"Well it's great to have you home," he said as he gave me one last brief hug. He ruffled my hair on the top of my head and patted my shoulder before heading back into the chilled forest. "'Night, Nessie."

"'Night," I called after him. For the longest moment, I stood there on the patio, watching my honorary older brother walk back through the forest. The brother who had unconditionally loved me my entire life, the brother who made me feel like everything about me was perfect. I had always loved him in return—it was hard not to.

Before I had any more time to dwell on that thought, a cold shiver ran down my back and immediately disrupted my train of thought. I hurried inside to envelop myself in the warm air, eager to shake off the cold chill. There was a lurking feeling that the tremble was caused by something more than frozen air. I shook the feeling off immediately. I was utterly exhausted both from the long day of traveling and the mental exhaustion from reliving it for each family member. The call to curl up in my bed was too great to ignore.

Okay. So this chapter was a bit boring, but I had to start somewhere. I'm a sucker for fluff and thrills, so I can promise some more action (…in both senses of the word) later in the story. Thanks for reading!

P.S. I'm disclaiming Twilight and all that jazz. : kthanksbye nd seeyarealsoon