Disclaimer - I do not own any of the products in this story.
Chapter 1
A Partridge in a Pear Tree!
"Jacob Abram Black, don't you dare." I warned with daggers in my voice as I stirred caramel with enough force and speed to make small children run away in fear.
Innocently, Jacob looked over at me, swallowing a reindeer shaped cookie whole. I glared through his phony smile. Looking back to the stove, I rolled my eyes. "Oh, com'mon, that was not a middle name offence!" he protested. I noticed he proceeded to take a piece of fudge and shove it in his mouth. A low growl rumbled from my throat and I snapped my teeth in his general direction.
"Behave!" I ordered. His face fell and he lumbered over to Renesmee, who sat at the table surrounded by cookie cutters and dough.
Nessie looked as if she had been attacked by a flour blizzard; her face, hands, hair and clothes were streaked with the fine white powder. Jacob stuck his head over her shoulder, just in time to for a poof of flour fly into his face. He sneezed in unison with Renesmee, his deep whooping sneeze chorusing with her high soprano one. Two streaks of flour flamed up both their noses from the sneezes. They looked like two very large skunks. Renesmee laughed as he gently brushed the white powered off her forehead. When Jacob had certified a flour free forehead, he kissed it gently.
A serious look crossed her face. Renesmee blinked a few times, as if she was deciding what to think of his gesture. She seemed to dismiss her thoughts as she leaned her head against Jacob's cheek.
I watched from my peripheral vision as Jacob reached over my daughter to help her roll out cookie dough. I sighed. While her growing noticeably slowed after the first year, she still grew up so fast. This was her fourth Christmas, yet she looked about fifteen. Her maturity surpassed her, as she reasoned like an adult. She was the world to Edward and me. I was coming to terms with her inevitable future with Jacob.
While I wandered in my dream world, the caramel began to snarl like five underfed baby lions in captivity. "Nessa, Jacob, I need one of you!"
Seeming to sense that the life of my caramel was on the line, they both jumped into action. However, they jumped up at the same time; resulting in a major Nessa/Jacob head collision. An audible crack rang around the kitchen as the table rocked; cookie cutters, measuring instruments and ingredients clattered to the floor and slid to every corner of the room. Jacob, in apparent agony, screamed incoherent slurs as he staggered around the kitchen, clutching his forehead.
"Jake, I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Renesmee followed him as he hopped around. She rubbed her forehead gently as she turned to me. "Momma! Is he alright?"
"Yes, he's just being a drama queen." He glared at me the second it came out of my mouth. I still had no help for my caramel. The baby lions had grown into caged circus lions, all fighting for the same steak.
The front door opened and closed and I heard footsteps in the hall. "Edward, Alice, I need someone's help!" In a half a second I felt a kiss on my cheek and a pair of warm hands settled over mine. "Hi." I breathed. "Stir, will you?"
Alice already stood behind me with crème, measured perfectly into to a cup. "I know. I'm great. Hey Jazz." Jasper stood in the corner of the kitchen. He glowered at Alice sullenly through his shaggy bangs. His arms were crossed and he looked rather peeved; probably from being bullied into hanging out with Charlie. Alice skipped over to him and launched herself into his arms. She kissed him gently as his solid frown turned into a smile. I took the crème off the counter with a smile and stirred it into my caramel as Edward slid his lips up and down my neck. Shivers oscillated through my spine as I reached up and touched his cheek. A crooked grin broke out on his face. My caramel made a content purr as it finished cooking. Perfect.
"Momma, I don't think Jake is going to live." Renesmee squeaked from behind me. I broke away from Edward and turned to look at Jake. He sat across the kitchen, leaning his head against the counter, howling like a wolf. A giggle escaped my lips but I left my caramel in Edwards's capable hands to investigate her claim.
"Are you alright Jake? I'm sososososoooooo sorry." Nessa fussed as we stood peering down at him. She ran her hands through his hair, which was long enough to need a comb in the morning, but still too short to pull back.
"I think it may have slightly cracked my skull but I'll be just fine in a minute." Jacob wined overdramatically, as if he were in a bad melodrama.
"Are you sure Jake?" I stuck my hand on his forehead, knowing it was freezing cold. He flinched. "We could put a Hello Kitty Band-Aid on it…" Nessie giggled, although she tried to bite it back.
"Shut up." He murmured, glowering at me. I suppose that was the price of getting the better of him in front of Renesmee.
"He's fine, sweetie." I kissed my daughters forehead and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Remember, the only thing you can hurt is his feelings."
"Bella, I hate to tear you away, but I have no idea what I'm doing." Edward's voice was soft but, clear as if he stood right next to me. Renesmee perked at his words, and trotted to help.
"This looks good, I'm already hungry!" Renesmee sounded excited as I scraped the caramel out of the pot and into the pan she held with hot pads. She probably didn't need them but I insisted she use them anyway. Even though Renesmee was different from a normal child, she was an adventure every day.
At first Edward and I expected our job would be easy; we'd be there for advice and support. When she was born we assumed she had the properties of a vampire, minus her beating heart and flowing blood. Well, I suppose everyone knows what happens when you assume.
Right now, her fearless parents, Edward and Bella the conquerers, spoke in petrified whispers when she slept about her future. While Jacob had imprinted on Renesmee, we didn't want her to be bound to that relationship; forced to choose someone long before she had understanding of how love worked. We knew Renesmee noticed the extra dose of affection Jacob had slowly injected into everyday interactions. From an early age, Renesmee had been taught how Jake felt. However, Nessa was reaching the age where she was noticing the boys who were noticing her, especially at the resorts and shopping locations we went to with Alice. I wanted her to be happy, even though she will most likely end up with Jacob.
In a way, I felt bad for Jacob. Renesmee was beautiful. Her skin was a pale and warm, the color of a white peach, with cheeks and lips spray dusted a deep lollipop red. Nessa had huge eyes which gleamed a deep chocolate brown, the same color mine had been. Her hair was a soft bronze, just like Edwards, streaked with natural red and sandy blonde. Gentle ringlets curled halfway down her back. There was nothing not to love about her dimpled smile or her magnetic personality.
Renesmee was graceful, but not perfect. She stumbled and tripped quite a bit for having vampire senses. Jokingly, we called her goofs "Bella moments." She was intelligent, witty and levelheaded, like Edward, and caring and kind like me. Nessie also had a fun, outgoing, and playful. I swore she got it from Edward, yet he swore it came from me. After a long debate, we came to the conclusion that our recessive traits ended up in our daughter.
Now, she was battling adolescence at age four.
"I'll go put this on the counter to cool momma." Renesmee said softly. I jolted suddenly, startled. Mentally, I beat myself; getting lost in dream world was not what I wanted to do today. I heard the door open and shut again. Carlisle, Emmett, Esme and Rosalie were here. Their soft feet stomped in the corridor, knocking off snow and murmuring about the cold. They played human very well.
The blizzard of the century raged outside. Even Carlisle admitted he had never seen a worse blizzard in this area. All the windows were covered in a flurry of snowy white darkness, which slanted almost horizontally because of the wind. Even a vampire it was slightly uncomfortable and when I pretended to be a human, the weather was downright unbearable. Acting was by far the hardest part of being a vampire. Acting 'human' took effort because I had to remember the basics like slouching, blinking and shifting my weight. My old human habits such as biting my lip, pulling on my clothes and playing with my hair made it easier. It was these little things that kept me from going insane. Compared to any elder member of my family, I was still young, inexperienced, and fidgety.
Edward taught me the best way to act human thought: the theory of reaction. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It made things easier to comprehend. As a vampire, I'm a slab of walking granite. I could be hit by a car and the recoil would be absorbed into my body. In fact, I would probably total the car. Considering the recoil made things more interesting, like when I jumped into Edward's arms, I considered how he far he should lean back to naturally catch me without losing his balance, or when I landed, I calculated how much my knees would have to bend to take the impact.
"They're losing." Charlie stated sullenly, as if Christmas football really mattered. He strode in from the living room, a giant mug of hot coco in one hand and a finished plate of goodies in the other. "Are those cookies done yet Nessie?"
"Not yet Grandpa," Renesmee chimed. She stood and took his dishes. Charlie kissed her forehead. She blushed a deep red before she scampered to put his dishes in the sink.
I never told Charlie about Vampires. I figured after Jacob phased in front of him it wouldn't need explanation. We also stuck to the story that Renesmee wasn't ours, but I'm sure he never really bought that lie in the first place.
"Good news," Carlisle entered the kitchen, weighed down by a brown grocery bag. "I come bearing steak." Esme, Rosalie and Emmet followed him, their arms equally loaded with presents, groceries or decorations. Wisps of snow were tangled in their hair. Breath caught in my throat as time seemed to lapse. Love for my family swelled in my heart. Even though my beauty was equal to theirs, I still felt like I was in the middle of a Macy's commercial every time one of them walked in the door, covered in snow and designer clothing.
"Hi Auntie Rose, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett!" Renesmee stood from her chair to help Rosalie with a pile of presents.
"Hey sweetheart, are you making cookies?" Rosalie sang as she smooched Remesmee's forehead. Emmett overdramatically staggered and strained because of the stack of gifts and decorations in his arms.
"Yes, Mom's cooking the last batch right now." Nine vampires, Charlie and a werewolf crammed into the kitchen. I looked around and drank in each face. I knew some I would see forever and some I would lose soon.
Charlie sifted through a long forgotten drawer for a bottle opener, beer in hand.
Jasper leaned in a corner with Alice in front of him. Her eyes were closed and her head leaned back against Jaspers chest, exposing her dainty neck. Jasper gently stroked his fingers from her eyelids to the back of her hair.
Rosalie sat on the counter. Emmett stood next to her. Her child sized hand was enveloped in his bear claw fist. Lazily, he twisted her wedding ring around her finger.
Carlisle and Esme stood with the refrigerator wide open. Mechanically, they put away groceries. As Carlisle loaded several pounds of steak into the meat drawer, Esme rubbed her hands on his shoulder. Smiles erupted on both their faces.
Renesmee sat at the table with Jake. She giggled as he drew a stick figure dog in a pile of flour left over from cookie making.
Edward kissed the back of my head as I sank into his embrace. My eyes drooped closed and I drank in his intoxicating smell, which had only intensified since my transformation.
The close proximity of wrapping paper, family, snow and cookies screamed Christmas like a neon sign on a dark road, yet today, the 23 of December felt more like July with a sudden snow storm.
I swayed and almost lost my balance as Edward suddenly disappeared from behind me. My eyes open as Alice's voice let out a gas "Charlie!"
In unison she and Edward bolted toward him. I gasped, already judging what would happen. Everyone but Charlie could see what would happen next.
Edward stood frozen for a millisecond. He seemed to judge whether or not he wanted to reveal him his vampire speed or if he could make a heroic save without explanation afterward. By the time he had made up his mind to remain at a human speed, it was too late.
I flinched as the Charlie's right foot landed square on the sharp edge of a cookie cutter. 2.875 seconds later, his face knotted into a yell of pain equivalent to a cat that had just gotten its tail pulled.
Several things happened at once. Edward and Alice grabbed Charlie by his underarms and helped him fall back into Renesmee's chair. The chair had been vacated seconds before when Renesmee jumped, first to try to push Charlie out of the way, then behind Jacob to hide. Carlisle skidded into the room with his doctor's bag. He seemed incredibly human as he dodged people, chairs and a cookie cutter. Esme picked up the dangerous decorating tool and threw it into the sink, where Rosalie promptly poured in about a gallon of bleach.
"Youch!" Charlie hollered above all of the noise. Everyone froze to watch as Carlisle peeled the sock of Charlie's foot. Tears began to well in Charlie's eyes as Dr. Carlisle gently wiped away blood with sterilized cloth. It was so quiet I could hear It's A Wonderful Life playing from the neighbors house. I didn't want to break the silence, but I mentally sent condolences to my dad.
Jake, who peered over Carlisle's shoulder, suddenly let out a snort. He shoved his hand over his face and muttered something about leaving his lights on. He was out the door in a second flat. I heard him laughing, uncontrollably, from down the street. I looked over at Edward, but he looked as confused as I felt.
Several sterile wipes later, Carlisle and Edward stiffened. They were compressing laughter in a gentlemanly way. A silly smile crept across Emmett's face and he fought to get rid of it. This was too weird. I gravitated to Charlie's foot to investigate.
I saw it. Embedded in Charlie's foot was the perfect outline of an angel. It was a faultless mirror of the cookie cutter. Streaks of blood ran from the angels figure, almost like a heavenly light.
Either this was a hell of an accident, or Charlie was a very happy, artistic emo cutter. I guessed the first as a small giggle escaped my lips.
"What's so funny?" Charlie demanded through tight lips. "This hurts like hell."
"There's an angel…" I snorted. My lungs couldn't hold the laughter in. "Cookie cutter!" I managed to snort in between gasps of hysterical laughter.
Renesmee wandered over to me. Her cheeks were fire truck red from embarrassment. My giggles subsided as she stuck her arms around me and buried her face in my side. I stroked her hair.
"I'm sorry Grandpa." Renesmee murmured as she touched his hand. "I should've picked it up." His eyes glazed over. A second later, she drew away, back into my arms. Tears were in her eyes as she tried to hide herself in my arms.
Charlie blinked several times before he began to laugh. Nessie looked up at the sound with tears running down her cheeks. Charlie continued to laugh and he beckoned for Renesmee to come over to him.
"I gotta hand it to you kiddo," Charlie said in between gasps for air, "You pack one hell of a punch!"
"You're not mad?" Renesmee's voice was barely audible.
"No, angel, no," Charlie giggled, "Laughter's the best medicine!" Edwards's musical laugh joined Charlie's as Renesmee hugged her grandfather.
Soon, we were all laughing (except Carlisle of course, he used the opportunity to keep working.) Jake came back inside when he heard the rest of us cracking up. For the next ten minutes everyone from Charlie with a bandaged foot to Rosalie laughed like we were all unbelievably, falling down drunk.
Laughter felt good. I loved how it spilled from my throat and out into the room. I could practically see my laughter mingling with Edwards or Jakes and it made me laugh harder. But it felt so good to just let go.
R&R