Dawn came to our little piece of heaven. The golden streams of light breaking – if only for a moment – through the perpetual cloud cover and washing over the little cottage I had come to think of as mine.
Well. Perhaps I should say ours.
"Good morning, Mrs. Cullen." Edward's velvet tones crooned. His lips brushed gently against my shoulder, my collarbone, my neck.
Finally his mouth met mine and he sighed contentedly, before we pulled away from one another reluctantly.
"Will you ever stop enjoying the sound of that?" I laughed.
"Not until the mountains sink into the sea, and even then I can make no promises." He murmured, his solemn expression only slightly ruined by my favorite lopsided grin spreading across his features after a moment.
In the next room, a slight pause in the otherwise steady breathing signaled that we were no longer without an audience.
"Hmm, it would seem that we must rise and greet the day, my love." Edward chuckled with amusement, instantly on his feet with a hand outstretched to me.
I took it slowly, nodding ruefully before flashing a grin and pulling him back into my arms for another passionate embrace.
"Now I can get up." I announced smugly, darting quickly into the mammoth closet that Alice insisted was a necessity if I were to be called her sister. Pulling on a long red skirt and a white t-shirt, I barely heard Edward quickly dressing beside me until he whispered in my ear.
"Everyday I think you couldn't be more beautiful and each morning I am proven wrong."
"Maybe you should get your eyes checked." I teased, poking my tongue out playfully.
A tinkling laugh sounded from the closet door.
Renesmee stood rubbing the sleep from her eyes, yawning massively and walking into Edward's arms. He easily lifted the 10 year old sized girl into his arms, her hand resting on his face for a moment as she smiled sleepily.
"Yes, we were just going to the house now, but maybe you would like to change before that, Nessie? I'm sure no one will object to you wearing silk pajamas, but I imagine they will be rather hard to run in."
Renesmee rolled her eyes, jumping gracefully from his arms and skipping quickly to her room, where Alice had placed a large chest of drawers and an armoire, both filled to bursting with designer clothes.
"It's hard to believe that it's already been three years since she was born." I whispered to Edward, wrapping my arms around his waist.
"It's hard to believe that Alice and Rosalie haven't grown tired of these parties they insist on throwing every other month." Edward grumbled, kissing me lightly on the cheek before walking out into our small family room, with me close behind.
"Okay I'm dressed! Can we go now." Renesmee pleaded as she rushed out of her room in a deep blue dress.
"Not quite yet Nessie." Edward laughed, reaching above the bookshelf for a small package he had hidden there. "Your mother and I would like to give you our present first."
"We would?" I asked, raising my eyebrows slightly.
"Absolutely, there is no sense in keeping her in suspense." He explained, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as Renesmee started to frown impatiently.
Edward turned to our daughter, taking my hand as he presented our gift to her.
"Happy birthday Nessie." He chortled as she started to tear open the wrapping paper.
"A phone?" Nessie squeaked with pleasure, turning the sliver device over in her hands.
"It has a satellite link so that it will always have reception, music storage, a video camera and internet access. It's already had everyone's number stored in it. Mine, your mother's, Charlie's, Alice's… It even has Jacob's." Edward reluctantly said the last name, still displeased by Renesmee's growing affection for my best friend. Over the years, Jacob and Renesmee only seemed to become closer, the Quileute tribe accepting Renesmee as a constant presence at their meetings and in their thoughts. Claire Young, Quil's five year old imprint, had even formed an incredibly strong friendship with Renesmee, who she called "Nezmey". For her part, Renesmee seemed delighted to know that Jacob would always be linked to her, still only calling him "My Jacob" in her thoughts.
"Thank you daddy! Thank you momma!" Renesmee squealed as she pulled us both into a tight hug that may have broken a few bones if we were still human.
"Happy birthday, baby girl." I breathed, pleased that our gift was received so well.
Renesmee released her hold, frowning in confusion. "I thought Jacob didn't have a phone." She huffed, disgruntled that she had not known this detail sooner.
"He didn't, until yesterday. It was your mother's idea to give him one also." Edward sighed, casting a sidelong glance at me.
"Momma, you're the best!" Renesmee chirped, throwing her arms around me once more. I picked her up, cradling her as I walked to the door.
"I think we had better carry you, the others will be getting anxious without you there as fast as possible." I said gently, knowing that Renesmee disliked being reminded she was not as fast as we were.
She nodded absently, already playing with her new phone.
Edward and I raced to the house, but with Renesmee in my arms and no newborn strength to help, he won easily.
I heard Renesmee gasp as we approached the big white house. From every tree were hung what appeared to be green and red jars, the candles inside glowing prettily in the morning fog. The house itself was glowing too, every room lit as the occupants waited for us to enter. Stepping lightly onto the porch, we approached the front door hesitantly, finally hearing the many heartbeats inside. Edward laughed beside me, shaking his head slightly. The door opened, Rosalie stood smiling at me and Renesmee as we entered the large front room.
"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted, and I do mean everyone.
The Cullens stood to our right, Carlisle and Esme smiling proudly as Renesmee's eyes went wide, taking in the scene around her. Alice jumped up and down, clapping happily next to Jasper, who grinned with pleasure at the jubilant emotional atmosphere. Emmet winked as he wrapped his arm around Rosalie when she stepped over to stand with him.
To our left were the Quileute tribe, the hulking, muscular wolves making the others seem tiny in comparison. Claire rushed over to hug Renesmee as I set her down, the five year old bubbling excitedly about waking up really early to surprise her. Seth wore a smile so wide I was surprised it didn't hurt his face to keep it there, his sister Leah wasn't smiling so hugely, but there was a small smirk on her face. She had grown to love Renesmee as surely as all of Jake's pack loved her, even making an effort to be nice around me, so that Renesmee was happy.
Standing in front of us was Charlie, his arm around Sue Clearwater's shoulders. The smile he wore was a happy one, even though his eyes flicked nervously from face to face. Sue patted his arm comfortingly, flicking me a smile to show that she had it under control. Billy Black sat in his chair next to Charlie, seeming more at ease in the Cullen's house than any other Quileute, with the exception of Jake and Seth.
The one face that took me by surprise was the woman who stood in the centre of the room, her blue eyes filled with tears as she looked into mine. Her short brown hair swayed slightly as she turned her gaze onto Renesmee. The tears she had held in burst forward now, as she fell to her knees, Charlie stepping forward slightly, before stopping himself and waiting.
"Momma, who is that lady?" Renesmee asked quietly, confusion playing across her features, a slight divot forming as she looked from my face to the kneeling woman's, then back to mine.
Our features were almost the same.
"Your grandmother, my mom."
Anxious silence met my announcement.
Charlie was frozen, silently counting to ten and then back down, a habit he had gotten into practicing during any less than normal moment.
Renesmee crossed the room slowly, towing me by my hand, sending me soothing images as we walked. Renee watched as we approached her, a sob breaking from her as Renesmee knelt before her, dragging me down into the same position.
"Bella…" My mother gasped, her hand flying to her lips as she saw my pale, perfect skin and golden eyes from close up.
"Hi mom." I whispered back, taking a burning breath to steady myself. "I've missed you."
Renee lurched forward, enveloping me in a crushing hug as she sobbed, her frame shaking as she cried.
"You're so different." She finally managed to stammer, shuddering slightly against me.
"I had to change a little, so that I could stay with Edward, so that I could stay at all." I hedged, hoping she wouldn't ask for details.
"I'm just happy to see you again baby." She breathed, finally releasing me from her hold.
Renesmee smiled at me happily, putting her hand on my cheek to replay the scene from her point of view. Curiosity surrounded Renee's face, intensifying quickly. Can I meet her now?
"Mom, I want you to meet someone special." I said, placing my hands on Renesmee's shoulders. "This is Renesmee Carlie Cullen. She's named after her four grandparents." I said slowly, watching her face closely, waiting for her to process my meaning.
Renee looked at Renesmee, her eyes widening slightly, before glancing quickly to Charlie and back. Obviously Charlie had tried to prepare her, but there wasn't much he could have said to stop her from being shocked.
Edward knelt on Renesmee's other side, smiling calmly as Renee looked sharply at him.
"She has my hair, but you can find Bella in her eyes." He said soothingly, reaching to take my hand.
Renee was still for a moment, before smiling at Renesmee hesitantly, opening her arms slowly, Renesmee gave a dazzling smile before embracing her human grandmother. Renee looked at me accusingly from over Nessie's shoulder, the expression softening as she saw my concern.
"There's a lot going on here that I may not understand young lady, but that's no reason to think I couldn't keep my head." She said sternly, pulling away from Renesmee and looking her over. "You may not know me Renesmee, but I'm your Grandma." Her voice broke slightly on the last word, but her face showed no hint of unhappiness at the term.
"I know Grandma, momma talks about you all the time. Only momma calls me Renesmee, people call me Nessie for short." She said proudly, looking at Jake quickly.
"Well, Nessie it'll be then." Renee laughed, falling in love with her granddaughter instantly.
"Are you guys going to stay on the floor all day, or can we go get the food already?" Jake interrupted, an easy grin falling across his face.
The party went well, Renee never wandering any further than the same room as me, glancing at Nessie and I every few seconds, almost as though she expected us to disappear if were out of sight for too long. Edward assured me that she was handling the whole situation as well as it seemed. Charlie had known that being away from her was hard on me, so he asked Carlisle and Esme to help bring her into the fold, Alice was soon involved and they arranged for her to arrive today, staying until after my birthday.
"Alice wanted to make the whole three days one party, Emmet and Jacob were all for it, but Carlisle thought that it would be better for everyone involved if we didn't showcase our sleeping habits, or lack thereof." Edward told me, rolling his eyes slightly at his favorite sister's antics.
"I would have gotten away with it too, if Rosalie hadn't mentioned that Nessie would be too tired to enjoy it. Jacob jumped ship faster than a damn lightning bolt." Alice said ruefully, glaring at the traitor-in-question as he helped Renesmee blow out the candles on her cake.
"Where's Phil?" I asked mom as soon as everyone had taken their pieces of the cake.
"He's in Atlanta right now, I didn't want him to miss a game on my accord, plus Carlisle was worried about involving any more people. He said that "The less anyone knows, the better, I'm afraid." Mom tried to imitate Carlisle's calming tones without much success. "Honestly Bella, this is marvellous cake, you should try some!" She said around a bite of said cake.
"I'm not hungry mom, I just ate." I lied smoothly, hearing Emmet laugh quietly across the room.
"Your loss, I guess." Mom said easily, shrugging slightly.
Presents were opened next, Jacob had gotten her a skateboard and promised to teach her how to ride, Carlisle and Esme had bought her a thin laptop, Rosalie and Alice presented her with a jewelry box – complete with jewelry more expensive than Charlie's house – Emmet and Jasper gave her boxing gloves with the reassurance they would teach her how to use them, Charlie and Sue presented with a diary and the wolves gave her a sound system the size of a small car.
Renee gave her a picture album, filled with photos of me growing up. This gift seemed to intrigue not only Renesmee, but delight Edward as well, who had seen very few photos of my youth.
As the day wore on, members of the pack would come and go as their patrols switched, Renesmee wandered among the guests, laughing and playing with them happily. Every so often she would reach for their cheeks and they would laugh or answer her unspoken question. Once again I was reminded that my mother was far more perceptive than I would have liked.
"Why does Renesmee keep touching their faces?" She whispered to Charlie, who had quickly become her source of taboo answers after she found me unwilling to go into detail.
"That's another little bit of magic." Charlie replied quietly, even though he was well aware that most of the people present could hear him anyway. "Carlisle says that sometimes his family can do more than just stand around looking pretty. Nessie can talk to people without talking, but she has to be touching you."
Charlie had grown more accustomed to my peculiar new family over the years, even started to become curious. He had heard Edward answer unspoken questions, seen Alice dodge snowballs she hadn't seen being thrown, felt the soothing presence of Jasper's gift. Carlisle had relented after constant questioning and told Charlie enough for him to be satisfied, though he still looked suspiciously at Edward at seemingly random moments.
"Can I see?" Mom asked after a moment.
The wolves paused for a second, before realizing that she had spoken too low for a normal person to hear and resuming their conversations quickly, the Cullens were too well practiced to give away their surprise. Renesmee looked to Edward for permission, I looked as well, wanting to see his reaction.
Edward was looking at Renee with great amusement, and just a hint of understanding.
"I think it would be quite alright if you show Renee how special you are, my dear." He chuckled, turning from Renee to look at me smugly.
"What are you thinking?" I inquired, confused by his willingness to go along with Renee's request, but more so by Edward's sudden look of superiority.
"It seems your backwards reaction to the supernatural is an inherited trait." He chuckled, kissing me swiftly, before turning to watch Renesmee approach mom.
"Grandma? Would you like to see?" Nessie chimed, offering her hand to my stunned mother.
"I do believe I would." Renee murmured, lowering her face to Renesmee's hand.
Her gasp as Nessie's hand touched her cheek wasn't one of fear, nor even surprise.
It was one of awe.
"She's showing Renee the memories she has of you, telling her about your mother. The times she overheard you on the phone with Renee, and the sadness you had after. Now she's showing her Charlie, you, me and Renee, indicating what has she inherited from us." Edward chortled in surprise, covering it with a cough as Renee glanced to him.
"She's remembering Charlie muttering about Nessie having Renee's "Stubborn overconfidence" after she climbed a tall tree behind his house." Edward explained, for me and the others that were listening.
Renesmee took her hand from Renee's face, waiting anxiously for her reaction.
Renee looked at Renesmee for a long moment, her expression going from surprise, to confusion and then with a finality echoed in Edward's answering grin, devotion.
"You're an angel, as real as my own arm. An angel sent to give my Bella happiness." Renee whispered, a single tear escaping from her eyes.
"Nah, she's a little monster sent to keep me awake with worry, aren't you Nessie?" Jake said, picking Renesmee up and spinning her as she shrieked in pleasure.
Renee broke from her trance, hurrying over to chastise Charlie for keeping such a large secret from her. Sue's eyes tightened slightly at this, but she seemed to be more amused than anything else.
Renee turned to me after she was done with Charlie, who stood looking like a kid that had just broken the neighbor's window.
"Bella honey, I'm not going to pretend I understand everything, but stop acting like I'm going to snap and run screaming from you. I'm not asking that you tell me everything, but tell me enough." She huffed, setting her hands against her hips in the universal pose of motherly disapproval.
"Okay mom, I'll keep that in mind." I smiled fondly, realizing that she had said much the same thing that Edward had heard from me.
Edward chuckled quietly beside me, obviously the irony was not lost on him either.
Night soon fell, and the human members of the Quileute tribe began to trickle out, the wolves followed slowly after. The Cullens, Charlie and Sue, Jacob and of course mom, stayed longer to have a family moment with Renesmee.
As was becoming the yearly custom, Renesmee walked from person to person, sharing her favorite memories of us from her year. Edward chuckled beside me along with whoever was seeing Nessie's memories. As she touched my cheek I saw our first beach trip, were Jake had sweet talked Sam into letting Edward, Nessie and I into La Push so that we could take her to First Beach. The image shifted into our Halloween party, were Edward had stayed true to form and dressed as Count Dracula, Carlisle had donned a pirate's suit, Jasper had been a frighteningly realistic zombie, Rosalie was dressed as a goddess – though Edward claimed she had merely dressed to suit her true self image – Esme had raided Carlisle's closet and masqueraded as a doctor, imitating Carlisle the entire time, Jacob was there in a wizard's robes and hat, Emmet took on the guise of Frankenstein's Monster and Alice made herself into a rather fashionable witch. I had been forced by Edward and Alice into a Princess's gown, along with a real diamond tiara, Nessie – who had dressed as a fairy – lingered on her first sight of me coming down the stairs from Alice's room, comparing it to photos of my wedding day, which were almost identical. Finally Renesmee showed me her memory of watching as Renee and I embraced, her thoughts taking on a proud undertone. You were happy on my birthday.
Edward was grinning from ear to ear as I surfaced from Renesmee's memories. Renesmee walked over to Renee, who had been watching our odd display with intense concentration, perhaps attempting to understand what was happening. I dropped my shield for a moment, hoping Edward could tell me what had her so worked up.
"She wants to remember this, to know what to expect the next time." He supplied, murmuring so fast that even if they could hear us, no human would understand his words.
"Next time?" I asked, surprise edging my voice.
"She won't be locked out of your life so easily, not if she can help it." Edward purred, flashing my favorite lopsided smile as he watched my face light up in happiness.
She wanted to visit again.
Renesmee slowly put her hand against Renee's face, who leaned into it encouragingly. Her eyes went blank as Renesmee sent her memories.
"She's showing her the safest memories of us. Her bedtime stories, the gifts we have given her, the beach trip, her lessons. She's showing Renee all she can of what took place while your mother was gone." Edward whispered, watching Renee's face and hearing not only what she saw, but how she received those memories.
Renesmee stepped away from mom quickly, smiling proudly.
Renee sat for a moment, stunned. Her eyes focused on me, her features settling into a fierce pride.
"It looks like you're destined to be a wonderful mom Bella, first with me and now with Renesmee." She laughed, reaching forward to hug Nessie tightly. "I must have done something right, for you to turn out so perfect."
Charlie and Sue left after that, satisfied that Renee would be able to handle herself from this point on. Soon Renee also had to leave as well, she was staying in a hotel in Port Angeles and was anxious to get some sleep.
"I'll be back in the morning honey, have a good night." She pecked me on the cheek, shuddering again as she felt it's hard chill.
"I will mom." I assured her, ignoring Emmet's hushed laughter from the floor above.
Mom was soon gone when Renesmee fell asleep, Edward carried her to her room in our cottage as we returned.
"She had a long day, perhaps she'll sleep in tomorrow." He murmured, kissing the top of her head before following me to our room.
"Emmet is getting on my nerves, surely our nightlife isn't that amusing." I grumbled, turning to find him closer than I expected.
"Why not give him something to laugh about?" He growled playfully, sending any thoughts of all but him from my mind.