Hello people of the Internet! For those of you who've been reading my story Changes, no worries, I'm still continuing it. For those of you who haven't, check it out! The idea for this story just hit me and I couldn't get it out of my head so I decided to show it to the rest of the world. Here it is, my brand-spankin'-new oneshot…

Case Closed

I heaved a sigh and leaned into the sculpted chest of my husband as I watched the sun set. So beautiful...the way the sky melted, stained with color as its great orb of light sank beneath the horizon. It was my favorite time of day, twilight, and how ironic, I used to think, that it described the most pivotal times of my life. Twilight, both the end and the beginning, the finish of a well-used day, yet the start of a fresh night.

My mind began to wander as I thought of when I'd first arrived in Forks, the day I met my Edward, the twilight of my human life. It seemed like such a magical time then, like I was living in a dream. Sometimes, it feels like I still am. I turned to look at the beautiful faces of my husband and daughter. Their bodies sparkled like the inside of a jewelry box as the crystalline facets of their skin reflected the ever-changing light of the darkening sky. We're so lucky, I thought to myself as I gazed upon their exquisite features. And we were. To still be alive even a year after the Volturi came so close to taking our lives. Ever since I had stumbled upon this mythical world, it seemed that fate was out to get my family and me. Perhaps the tables are turning, I supposed, smiling.

The thought of our dreadful experience with the Volturi led my mind back to a certain conversation I'd had with my love just before what we thought would be our last hour. It had been about Renesmee.

"I have two theories, one more likely than the other," my husband had stated. We'd been discussing just how far-reaching Nessie's power was.

"Give me the least likely first."

"Well, she's your daughter," he pointed out. "Genetically, she's half you. I used to tease you about how your mind was on a different frequency than the rest of ours. Perhaps she runs on the same."

I began to wonder about that. We never really tested it. I mean, we were all so panicked and there wasn't really time for experiments, anyway. Or maybe Edward's latter theory was more probable.

"…Maybe she took your talent and flipped it, too," Edward had suggested. "You keep everyone out…"

"And no one keeps her out?" I finished hesitantly.

I wondered for a second if this was, in fact, the case.

"Edward?" I mumbled, knowing he would hear me.

"Yes, love?" he turned towards me, curiosity burning in his amber eyes. I hesitated, forgetting, for a second, what I had meant to say. I did that quite often; I tended to get lost in his smoldering eyes when I let my guard down. Finally, after a moment of dazzled fogginess, I voiced my original question.

"Remember when you told me about your suppositions concerning Nessie's power?"

At the mention of her name, Renesmee turned in her father's arms to look up at us. I gave her a small grin as Edward thought back to the fateful day or lives were spared.

"Yes, what about it?" he asked, confused now.

"Did we ever test that assumption?" I prompted. Comprehension flashed across his face as he understood the meaning of my question.

"Well, not officially, but I do remember…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

"What? What do you remember Daddy?" Nessie asked, excitedly interjecting herself into the conversation. Edward looked down at his daughter with the most loving glance as he explained his thoughts to her.

"Do you remember when all the scary people in black cloaks came?" he asked, and I could tell he was trying not to frighten her.

"Yes," she replied, obviously unafraid.

"Well, when one of their leaders-"

"Aro?" Nessie cut him off. Sometimes we all forgot that her mind was so much more advanced than her ever-growing body. It was only instinctual that Edward should try to simplify things for her, however unnecessary it may have been.

"Yes, him." Edward confirmed. Renesmee gave a nod, signaling that she would try not to interrupt again. "Do you remember when you touched his face to show him of our honesty?" Edward began to speak to her as an adult now, something Nessie always appreciated.

"Yes, I remember, Daddy. What does that have to do with testing my power?" Renesmee was getting impatient now. She'd always been one for straight answers.

"Calm down, I'm getting to it." Edward said laughingly. He turned to look me in the eyes, serious now, finally answering my question. "When Renesmee reached up to place her palm on Aro's cheek, it took everyone by surprise. Even Aro's shield was caught off guard. He wasn't aware of it but I noticed. That woman was so shocked that she put her shield up for about three seconds, unconsciously, and Aro still heard Nessie's story."

"I see," was all I could say. "Does that mean you were right?" I had to ask.

"What do you mean Daddy was right? What was he right about? I thought you were always right, Momma." Renesmee suddenly exclaimed, confused.

I couldn't help but giggle at her questioning features and not-so-subtle implications before explaining to her Edward's speculations. Once she finally understood, I returned my attention to my adoring spouse. "So?" I prompted. "Did that prove your theory?"

"Yeah, Daddy, did it prove anything?" Renesmee imitated me.

Edward just chuckled at us. "I suppose it did."

I gazed down at my daughter, admiring her talents. "Nessie, you're special," I quoted her from the day we'd discovered my true power. She caught the allusion and smiled at me, reaching up to show me the memory through her eyes; the recollection of her own words and then their reiteration through my lips. "Hmm…I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" both Edward and Renesmee inquired at the same time. I smiled; if Emmett had been here he would have 'jinxed' them. "I wonder if we could test your other theory." I said to Edward.

"How?" he asked, fully interested in my most recent thoughts.

"Everyone said that my shield was the strongest they'd ever seen. And you implied that because Nessie was my daughter, it's only natural that our minds would run on the same frequency. If I put my shield up around someone else, do you think she'd still be able to show them her thoughts?" I was speaking a little faster now, excited that I'd thought this up all by myself.

"I don't know," Edward, too, was anticipating the results of this test. "Would you like to try?"

"Ooh! Ooh! We can test it on Daddy!" Renesmee squealed with joy, jumping up out of Edward's lap, as she thought of how much fun such a trial would be.

"Okay," I agreed and proceeded to shield my husband. "Now try, Renesmee." Nessie brushed her fingers across her father's cheek and turned her face to me, her eyes asking me Now what? I looked at Edward. "Do you see anything?"

He shook his head, slightly shocked. "No, nothing. Nothing at all."

We all sat in silence for a moment and, if I had to guess, we were probably thinking the same thing: Wow.

"So…what does that mean?" Nessie asked. I was also wondering what exactly that proved. We both looked to Edward for an answer and waited as he pondered for a bit.

After a moment or two he finally replied, "I suppose this means that the only thing stronger than Bella's shield is the bond between mother and child." Of course he chose today to sound all philosophical.

"Well, I guess that's it now," I declared after a few more instants of silence. "We have our answer."

"Yep," Renesmee added. "Case closed."

AN: In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm not Stephenie Meyer and I do not own these characters. And if you wanted to know, the flashback of Edward's theories was from Breaking Dawn, pg. 663-4 and when Bella quoted Renesmee, it was a take off of the sentence from pg. 598. Now you know, so don't sue me. Please.

You all know what to do now, PRESS THE BUTTON. It's calling you…