EPOV

Renesmee had just turned one, though she looked six. Of course, Alice had thrown the biggest birthday party the Cullens (or Denalis) had ever seen. Balloons, streamers, banners, and any other party decoration you could think of lined the walls and ceilings of the whole house, even some in the cabin. But no glass. At all. Especially in bowl form.

Everyone was excited. At first, Nessie hadn't really understood the concept of a birthday or the point of having a party that goes with it, but she caught on quickly, and got on board the second I explained it to her.

She was growing up so fast. It seemed as if every time I turned around, she was and inch taller and a year smarter. Other parents said their kids grow up fast; they should take a look at mine! It was hardly fair. As I watched her now, playing with the gifts she had received from all of us, I couldn't help relishing in her sheer existence. Since I'd been changed, I had never had the privilege of even imagining having a child of my own, much less expect to someday have one as beautiful and wonderful as my sweet Renesmee. She was the absolute definition of the phrase "pride and joy." And she needed to know that. Sure, I'd told her I loved her many, many times, more times than I can count, but I wanted to go all out in explaining that to her. The only question was how. I already made her favorite food for her almost every day. It was scrambled eggs, and one of the very, very few human foods she would eat voluntarily. It was pretty much just that and ice cream, and I took her to the local ice cream shop on a regular basis. I've composed a few songs in her honor already as well. It needed to be something that I'd never done before. Something from the heart, too, not store-bought. That night I consulted Bella about my issue just after we put her to bed.

"I want to do something special for Renesmee," I told her quietly as soon as we were out of Nessie's ear-shot.

"Like what?" she asked.

"I don't know. I thought about writing her a song or taking her out for ice cream or making her some scrambled eggs, but I've done all that before."

She nodded knowingly. "This is quite the dilemma." I nodded in agreement and ran my hand through my hair. "Well, what's the message you're trying to get across?" Why hadn't I thought of asking that question? It was so simple, getting right down to the core of my problem.

I thought about that for a moment. "I guess I just want to her to know how much I love her," I replied, "to let her know how much she means to me. I want to tell her she can come to me for anything, anything at all, and I'll be there, anytime, anyplace. I want her to know that I'll protect her from anything and everything that threatens to harm her. I want to tell her that she's my pride and joy." Bella looked somewhat surprised. "What?" I asked.

"I just didn't know your list was so long. I think the only way that you can clearly get that across to her is to tell her that specifically." Then the question becomes, do I sit her down and tell her that the next time we're alone? Or something else? Maybe it was just me, but the former seemed too cliché.

And that's when I thought of it. It was easy, simple, I'd never done it before, and she could preserve my words for as long as she wanted. It was perfect. Now I just had to put my plan into action.

"Now enough talk," Bella said suddenly, "We have some business to take care of." I smirked at her as she gave me the eye and pulled me toward the bedroom.

RPOV

I slowly opened my eyes as the sunlight filtered in through my window. It was one those rare days here in Forks where there was any real sunlight at all. I was lying on my stomach, my left arm above my head with my right hand halfway underneath my pillow. It was my favorite sleeping position. As I moved to stretch, my hand went further under my pillow, and I felt something strange that hadn't been there before. I grabbed it and pulled it out to see what it was.

It was a note, a piece of paper folded twice so that it was only a forth of the size it was originally with my name printed neatly on the front. I opened it, and inside the paragraph took up a little over half the page. I started reading, and it had my full, undivided attention from the first sentence.

You made my life complete from the very first breath you captured. You became my pride and joy. You beautiful baby girl with eyes as beautiful as the night stars themselves. Your rosy cheeks. Your baby's breath. Your wavy hair. Your radiant, uncomparable beauty. I am your father. You may one day get angry at me, but never forget that I love you. I will never let anything happen to you. You come before myself. I never in all my years pictured having a daughter, but now that I have you, I will never let you go. You are what maters to me now. Your mother and I will keep you safe as long as we both shall live. Now, if that dog ever hurts you, you come to me, and I'll show him why he shouldn't have imprinted on you in the first place. You can come to me for anything. You must never forget this.

My dearest Renesmee, I love you.

- Daddy

I was almost in tears. I knew my daddy loved me, but he'd never told me like that before. The only way I can explain how I was feeling right then would be to say that my heart was grinning from ear to ear. I had to tell him I loved him too. I didn't have the words to say it as well as he did, but the feeling was definitely mutual. I read it three times before I climbed out of bed, and walked to the kitchen, still clutching the note.

"Good morning, Renesmee," my mother said when she saw me. She was dishing me up some scrambled eggs. Everyone knew they were my favorite.

"Good morning," I replied and climbed into a chair at the small, wooden table. "Where's Daddy?" I asked after a bit.

"He's at the big house helping clean up from the party yesterday." She set a plate of eggs in front of me and a fork. I picked it up and started cramming the food into my mouth as fast as possible.

"Slow down, girl," Momma told me, "Chew your food." I slowed the tiniest bit and finished in less than ten minutes.

"Thank you!" I cried and raced toward the door.

"Not so fast!" she said and beat me to the front of the cabin. "What's the rush?"

"I have to talk to Daddy!"

"Well, you can wait until you change clothes."

"No, I can't!" She gave me "the look," and I calmed down a little. "Well, I can't," I said a bit quieter.

"At least get some shoes on," she said. I hurried to my room, and slipped on the first pair I saw.

I raced through the door as fast I could, barely letting Daddy get out a "Hey, Ren-" before attack hugging his legs. He patted my back and finished his sentence. "-esmee. I guess you got my note." I nodded into his legs. He came down to my level and grabbed my chin delicately in his strong hand. "Every bit of it was true, right down to the letter." He had a mixture of joy and pride and sincerity in his eyes that let me know he meant what he said. I only became aware of our audience watching us from various parts of the room when I heard Aunt Alice let out a quiet "Aw!" I kissed his cheek and hugged his neck as tightly as I could. He wrapped his strong arms around me in a way that made me feel safe and warm despite his low body temperature. I knew then that I would always be safe as long as he was around. I love you too, Daddy, I told him silently, So much.