Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, and I do not own the rights to any of the characters or quotations that I have used from the Twilight Series.

A/N: I want to say a big THANK YOU to my friend, Wendy, who convinced me to write this story and kept me motivated with her awesome feedback along the way. :)

Edward drove us to the airport late at night while Renesmee slept in the back seat. We were finally making our long-awaited visit to Zafrina and her sisters in the Amazon. This would be our first family vacation together; in fact, it would be our first time away from the rest of the Cullen family and Jacob since Renesmee was born. Jacob, of course, bitterly resented us for taking Renesmee so far away, but he could hardly argue against it since the trip was her choice. We weren't just going to visit our friends, we were also going to connect with Nahuel and meet his sisters, Vauliel and Brienay–the only other half-vampires in the world that we knew of besides Renesmee. She had come to think of them as cousins, and she had become increasingly anxious of late to see them all and get to know them. Our plan was to spend some time with Zafrina, then take Renesmee to meet up with her "cousins" and leave her to get acquainted with them while Edward and I went on a second honeymoon. We were going to revisit Isle Esme. I was immensely excited to relive the experiences we had on that magical island with my new, stronger senses. It lived in my memory as a place taken straight from a fairy tale, and I knew it would only be better this time around.

My gaze swept from Edward's face to the little sleeping beauty behind him. Watching her sleep always made me pensive, reflective. I quickly skimmed through my memories of my life since becoming a wife, a vampire, a mother, and I held each precious moment in my mind as happiness flooded my body to the point that I felt like I was going to burst. Many things about my life still seemed too utterly perfect to be real, not the least of which was that miraculous creature in the back seat of our car: my daughter, Renesmee. I mean, morphing into an incredibly beautiful vampire, assuming immortality and turning to look into eternity with the man I had married was pretty hard to fathom. But that was nothing, all in a day's work, compared to the mind-blowing concept of motherhood. It came so naturally to me, being a mother, and yet the ability to fully comprehend all the aspects of it completely eluded me. Of course, mothering a child like Renesmee was something totally new to the world altogether. To our knowledge, no mother had ever survived the birth of a half-vampire child. And such a child she was! She never ceased to amaze me with her intelligence, and I continued to be awed anew each day by the changes in her physical and mental makeup. She was just three and a half years old now, and already she could pass for a ten-year-old. We believed she'd be fully mature in another three years or so. That was still a little hard for me to think about. Even though I knew she was an immortal, it still felt like her life was whizzing by at an alarming rate, and I hated to see her childhood years passing so quickly.

Edward noticed the direction of my gaze and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Just the mysteries of life. And immortality. Smiling, I quickly nudged my shield away from my mind, it was so easy to do now after a few years of practice, and let him see Renesmee through my eyes. I lingered on her long, brown curls; they looked so soft and luxurious in the light of the moonbeam that fell through the car window. I focused on every detail of her face, so slender and mature-looking for a young child. Her eyes were closed, but I saw them in my mind, deep pools reflecting her serenity, happiness and love. Her countenance was always bright and alert, a combination of intelligence and playfulness. She was as smart as any adult, but still had a childlike innocence. Edward, I thought, I cherish every minute with her.

"And she grows more beautiful with each passing minute, impossible as that seems," Edward whispered, moved by the depths of my emotions.

It's true.

We smiled into each other's eyes for a moment and the silence of the night settled on us as we continued down the dark highway. I let my shield drop back to cloak my mind, as privacy was still important to me, when I turned my thoughts to the man beside me: my husband. I still got a little thrill each time I said those words, even to myself. I was used to the idea of marriage now, but I couldn't help thinking that ours was a love story of epic proportions, unworthy as we were for such a thing, and words like husband, wife, marriage, love, etc. almost seemed to trivialize what we were to each other and how we felt about each other. Our relationship since the most recent battle for our lives had intensified many times over. My newfound ability to allow Edward into my mind quickly created a unique intimacy between us. It was so relieving to be able to simply show him my thoughts when something was difficult to explain. It was also very useful for communicating things that couldn't be said in the presence of others, and I got a secret pleasure out of springing my thoughts on him when he was least expecting it. Most of all, it was one of Edward's greatest joys to finally understand the workings of my mind; he absolutely reveled in it. It wasn't long until we came to understand there was even more to it than we had originally thought. That day was one of my fondest memories.

* * *

I hadn't gotten too far into my index of special human memories with Edward that first night, and by morning he was asking for more.

"Bella, would you show me what you were thinking when you realized you were pregnant. I don't have a very clear...recollection of what happened after..."

It's no wonder. I smirked, remembering how he had totally shut down with the shock of the news.

I hefted my shield out of the way, still not very adept at this action yet, and thought of my statue-Edward in the bathroom that day.

He laughed lightly and rolled his eyes, playing down the shock that had shaken him to his core. "I guess I may have been over-reacting, huh?"

"You? Never!"

I thought of how I had stood there with my hands clasped to my belly trying to understand. The emotions I felt at the time seemed diluted now, but I remembered feeling first confusion, followed by a dawning recognition, denial, horror, fear, and then...the nudge. Edward felt it, too, through my mind and reached to put his hand on my stomach as if it would happen again now. I continued, remembering now the way that nudge had turned the universe around for me. In one moment I was just a girl scared beyond words at the thought of what might be going on inside me, and the next I was an expectant mother who would give anything for the wondrous child I carried. My mind had flooded with peace, knowing that this was good and right, and my heart had been overwhelmed with love for this tiny baby I had never known I wanted. I let my shield snap back at that point, not wanting to cause Edward pain by showing the panic and desperation that had followed when I realized he didn't feel the same way.

"Bella...I am in awe," Edward gasped out. "Absolutely stunned. I wish that it hadn't taken so long for me to feel the same way about her. I'll never be able to apologize enough for what I put you through."

Uh oh, here we go. I pulled him towards me and kissed him, hoping to cut his guilt trip short.

"Hold on, Bella, wait."

Ha! Not a chance!

"Wait, I'm figuring something out. It's important." He put some distance between us and puzzled over whatever it was for a minute or two. Just when my impatience was about to get the best of me, he stepped forward and reached for me again. "I didn't realize it last night because it was so new and unexpected, but I noticed just now that there's something different about the way your mind sounds to me. It's almost as if what you're thinking is coming right out of your head and into mine. I don't hear what you're thinking so much as think what you're thinking, as if they were my own thoughts. It's as if I'm not listening to your mind, but linking to your mind!"

"What does that mean? I'm not sure I understand..." I breathed the words, my thoughts swirling around the possibilities. Linked minds?

"I think it means that our connection to each other mentally is as powerful as it is physically," he said with a grin and a kiss. "And I think it might mean that distance isn't a factor when it comes to reading your mind. And maybe...can you hear my thoughts now, too?" he asked, clearly not sure how he felt about that last option.

"No, definitely not getting anything out of your mind. Don't worry, your secrets are safe from me," I teased, grinning back.

"That's a relief. Listen, Bella, let's test the distance theory. Stay here, and keep thinking!"

I pushed my shield away again, feeling the strain as if I was lifting a heavy weight. I didn't know how long he'd be gone, so I picked out a book and sat down by the fireplace to read it. Jane Eyre was an old favorite of mine, one I hadn't read since becoming a vampire; therefore, I didn't have a clear recollection of plot details. I had been wanting to refresh my memory, but I couldn't concentrate on the words now. I had to keep a good portion of my mind focused on my shield, and the rest of my thoughts kept drifting back to Edward. Even though I knew we were out of danger now, it was still hard to be separated from him, even for a few minutes. Thankfully, he wasn't gone long.

"I couldn't stand being away from you either, love," Edward said, as he burst through the door and swept me up in his arms. "I ran about 15 miles out though, much too far away to hear someone's thoughts normally, but you were still loud and clear in my head!"

I snuggled against him, my head spinning. Wow. I felt so in awe of him, of his ability, and so special to have this unique connection with him. It really was as if we were specifically designed for each other.

* * *

My thoughts returned to the present when the landscape around us brightened with the lights of the city as we neared the airport. A wave of excitement washed over me, but was quickly tainted by the sad ache that crept into my chest. I hated to say goodbye to so many people that I loved, even though it was only for a short time. I knew Edward and I would be anxious to return to them just as we would relish spending some time alone.