Six years after Renesmee's birth, life is good for Bella, attending college for the second time in the Cullens' latest location, but new challenges arise. Nessie is almost adult physically and mentally, but what about in other ways? The Cullens meet some interesting and mysterious new people. Jacob is struggling with his position in the Cullen family. The Volturi continue to be a potential threat. Bella has some old, unfinished business she needs to deal with. And there's also shopping, 'alone time,' and baseball.
Rated an overcautious T, mostly for discussions of violence.

This story is a continuation of my previous post-BD stories, Home and The Gift; however, any of them can be read alone without confusion.

It was January, and the snow was just starting to stick to the ground. It reminded me of the events of another winter, back in Washington, just as the snow was beginning to stick, and we, along with every friend and ally we could find, faced what we could only assume was certain death, if not something worse.

Actually, here in our newest location, the snow had stuck to the ground, then melted off partially and formed slush, only to be replaced by a fresh snowfall, five times by the first week of January, and locals had begun to curse when they looked up at the sky on a cloudy morning. Forks had much milder winters than central Maine. The reminder still applied, though. I impulsively took a scarf from the hall closet and wrapped it around my daughter's neck as we started out the front door to my car. The scarf was unnecessary – Renesmee, with impermeable skin and a natural body temperature of 105 Fahrenheit, was almost as oblivious to the cold as I was – but it made me feel I was protecting her somehow.

She peered down at the scarf, raising an eyebrow, which made her look even more like her father. "Is this for keeping up appearances? I'm not cold."

I shrugged. "Just a motherly impulse. Snow on the ground, instinctively bundle up the kid. Besides," I added, assuming this would make more of an impression, "it looks good with that coat."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, looking again at the pale lilac scarf against her green jacket, and started to climb into the passenger seat without a word. Despite the best efforts of Aunt Alice, Nessie had never developed a real obsession with clothes, but she did like interesting colour combinations. Apart from colour, her clothes were like those of any schoolgirl whose parents kept her on a tight leash. I'd firmly put my foot down on all efforts by Alice to prematurely glamourize my daughter. Nessie dressed, if anything, a little young for her appearance, which suited me for now, and certainly suited her father. Her school's rather strict dress code helped maintain the status quo.

"Bella?" I heard Jacob's voice behind me as he emerged from the cottage adjoining the Cullen household. "I'm just on my way out. I can drop Nessie at school if you want."

I looked over at Nessie, who nodded and closed the car door. "Sure. Thanks, Jake." I gave my daughter a kiss goodbye. "Have a good day."

"You too, Momma." She ran gracefully to the far end of the outbuilding where our cars were stored. I heard her greet Jake, giving him a quick hug before tossing her backpack in the back seat and jumping into his little red Honda. Nessie was perfectly capable of driving herself, and did drive under the right circumstances, but while passing for a high school sophomore, she had to play the role of a fifteen year old and depend on others for transportation for one more year. In reality, she was six years old chronologically, in her late teens physically. Her exact mental age was debatable at this point, but she was certainly old enough and responsible enough to drive a car, or for that matter a fully armed Stryker tank. Her father had promised her a car of her own when she officially earned her driver's license next year, and she was already working on a short list of possibilities. She was a car enthusiast, another way she resembled her father.

Nessie had ridden to school with Jacob almost every day during her freshman year. That was her first time attending school - in fact, her first experience spending any significant amount of her day away from the family and out among the human populace - and Edward and I had panicked a little. We both decided Nessie should not be sent into the unfamiliar school environment without a family member on hand. However, our newest cover story had already been set in motion, and none of us could easily change our identities and pass for high school students at that point. Fortunately, Jacob's cover story had been left until last. With a little clever handling by Jasper, we were able to present Jacob to the school as a gifted but disadvantaged youth who'd been in trouble but was hoping for the proverbial second chance, that hope made more attainable by a wealthy patron's generous donation to the building fund, and Jake was successfully installed in the senior class at Nessie's school just before the year began. Easily playing the role of intelligent but smart-mouthed kid, Jake kept discreet track of Nessie and stood ready to inform us immediately if problems developed.

By the following year, we were ready - more or less - to let her attend school without constant supervision.

Although Jacob was happy to help, our obligation to him for his year impersonating a high school student was a godsend for the family. Repaying him for this service gave us the excuse we needed to provide for him in some way, something he'd resisted before. When he refused to allow the family to pay his college tuition, we set him up in business instead. Jake insisted his own fully-equipped high-end auto repair shop was too generous a return for merely going to high school an extra year, but we wore him down. Since Jacob had started moving around the continent with us in order to be near Nessie, we'd hoped to place him under the Cullens' financial umbrella without it seeming like a handout. This looked like the perfect opportunity to move in that direction. In the end, Jacob had accepted the shop and the chance to work on upscale and classic cars, and did his utmost to make sure it remained profitable.

Sadly, he would not be able to remain in one place long enough to establish a reputation. Edward had told me, in confidence, that Jacob worried about his future as a poor mechanic, or worse, a penniless, unemployed hanger-on, tagging along after a beautiful heiress who was forever out of his league. Most of the time, he was more than satisfied to be close to Nessie and an extension of the Cullen family, but sometimes his situation seemed to bother him. Worst of all, he had no real choice in the matter. Imprinting made a lot of his decisions for him.

Jake quickly turned his car around and sped down the driveway, fast enough to look heedless but not quite fast enough for me to protest. He liked to ride that line. Nessie waved to me happily as she rode past, her copper-coloured ponytail fluttering in the breeze from the open car window. I grimaced; she would look more 'normal' if she kept the window closed in this weather.

I was struck, as always, by how beautiful Nessie was, as beautiful as she was kind and affectionate and intelligent and creative. This was partly maternal fondness, but also partly objective reality. Nessie was lovely and striking. She had the dark brown eyes I'd once possessed, and her father's vivid auburn hair, curling in her case, and his features. The strong, straight nose and square chin, so appealingly masculine on Edward, somehow did not detract from Nessie's delicate appearance. They only gave her a brave, forthright look which was a touching addition to her overall femininity. She looked, Edward and I had once decided, like a classical statue representing some noble but slightly energetic virtue, like Fortitude or Justice.

Yes, we actually sat around and talked about which virtue our daughter would make a good statue of. We were that pathetic. But then, Renesmee was a very, very special daughter.

I returned to the house and replaced my coat in the hall closet, drifting toward the sound of Ravel's Sonatine. Edward smiled as I entered the room, his fingers continuing to move smoothly along the piano keys.

Esme looked up in surprise from the kitchen desk, where she was sketching out plans for a possible future home in northern Alberta. "I thought you were driving Nessie to school."

"Jacob offered to take her on his way to work." I sat down beside Edward on the piano bench. I loved watching him play. He finished Sonatine and launched into Cincinnati Stomp.

From Carlisle's study, I could hear the distinctive sound of his cell phone, which Emmett had set to ring with the Mickey Mouse March. Carlisle had never changed it; whether out of indifference, to avoid hurting Emmett's feelings, or because it was actually his preferred ringtone, I wasn't sure. A moment later, he entered the main living area, calling softly for the others as he walked through the doorway. Members of the family began to appear within seconds.

"Eleazar's phoning from London," Carlisle explained to us. The Denali were on a family trip to Great Britain; we hadn't expected a call from them until they came home. Carlisle spoke into the phone. "Eleazar, I'm putting you on speaker."

"Hello, my friends." Eleazar's gentle voice came through clearly. "I hope you are all well?"

We answered in chorus. "How is your trip going?" Esme asked.

"Extremely well. We are having a wonderful time. As much as we love our home, the history and culture here are a refreshing change. Carmen is enjoying the ancient architecture, Tanya the nightlife, Kate and Garrett are visiting historical sites, I have been spending time at the British Museum, and we have all been to the theatre four times so far." The Denali had moved from Alaska partly in order to be closer to our family, and were in a very isolated setting. It made for more comfortable living in many ways, but lacked in some civilized amenities.

"I wanted to tell you about an interesting chance meeting we had the other day." We listened more intently. Eleazar had certainly called for a specific reason, and his voice now became more serious. "We were all walking together on our way to the theatre when we heard beautiful violin music just ahead. A young man was playing in the street - busking, I believe they call it - for whatever coins the passers by would drop into his hat. A surprisingly handsome individual, with a certain aura about him, which we all noticed from a distance. It was just after sunset."

I now understood. The violinist they had encountered was a vampire, and Eleazar was speaking circumspectly, in case their call was being overheard or even monitored. His time with the Volturi had taught him to be cautious.

We looked at each other. "Interesting," Carlisle replied. "Did you speak to the gentleman?"

"We did. We stopped a moment to listen to him play, standing back a bit, you understand, to avoid making him feel intimidated. About his playing, that is."

"Of course."

"It was the most fascinating thing. We couldn't help but notice that the young musician had an unusual eye colour." Carlisle's eyebrows shot up, and we all moved a little closer to the telephone. "They were precisely the same shade as...as Kate's eyes. You know how uncommon that is."

A vampire without red eyes - one that did not hunt humans, then. And until now, someone unknown to us, even to Carlisle.

"Very uncommon, indeed," Carlisle replied. "Especially between people not in the same family."

"Exactly. Quite a coincidence to encounter it at random, but a coincidence it was."

"I see. And did the violinist notice the similarity as well?"

"He did. He seemed very much startled by it. We waited until his song was finished, and the crowd had moved on, and then greeted him. We ended up in conversation - about his music - and then the subject of his, er, resemblance was mentioned. It made him wonder if we had other things in common. We seemed to get along so well, we left him with an open invitation to drop by at the house we were renting, at any time before we left England."

"Did he mind this spontaneous offer?"

"Oh, no. He was a most friendly and outgoing person. However, he mentioned he was going to rejoin his wife, or sweetheart - a lady, in any case - and we naturally expanded the invitation to include her."

"It can be very educational to meet local residents when you are abroad."

Carlisle was probably trying to make this sound more like a casual tourism conversation. I felt a little like laughing at the whole secret password, hidden meaning routine, but kept it to myself. I was as interested as the others in Eleazar's news.

"Very. The gentleman did, in fact, drop in on us later that week, and we had a long and fascinating conversation. His young lady did not accompany him, as she is apparently very shy of strangers, but he implied that she was waiting eagerly to hear more about his visit with us."

"Are they natives of London?"

"The gentleman's novia is originally from London, I understand, and she lived there until fairly recently. The musician is from some village in Scotland which he left many years ago, a small place which I think is no longer even on the map." The male vampire was rather old, then, if I understood Eleazar, and his mate had been human more recently. "They usually reside in the country, which they find more agreeable, but come into London frequently. The man makes what living he can with his music."

"It would be interesting to meet them."

"Well, odd you should mention that. Our friend was so intrigued by what we told him about North America and our life at home - and we did in fact mention you and your family as well - that he became determined to try and travel here when he could, he and his companion."

"Would that be difficult for someone in his position? As a street musician, that is. He is probably not a wealthy man."

"No, indeed. However, we were able to assist him with information on plane fares." In other words, the Denali had offered to buy them tickets. "What he was more concerned about was the trouble of obtaining a new passport. You know how inconvenient all this paperwork can be."

Jasper responded this time. "It can be, but with the right information, the process is quick and simple." As Eleazar had obviously hoped, Jasper was offering to provide forged documents if required.

"I am glad to hear you say that, Jasper. Perhaps you can send any helpful tips you may have by overnight mail to our London address."

Jasper looked at Carlisle, and received a nod. "I'd be happy to help. Maybe you can email me the particulars, so I can make my advice more specific."

"Right away. Well, I must run. I look forward to hearing from you, and we should be back home within the week."

"Goodbye, Eleazar, and thank you for the call," Carlisle replied. "Give our love to Carmen and the others."

"Of course. Goodbye, all."

Carlisle snapped the phone shut, and we stood and looked at each other a moment. "Well, what d'you know!" Emmett said. "More vegetarians!"

"And possibly coming here." Esme's eyes were wide.

"Well, naturally they're coming here," Emmett said, laughing. "We're smack dab in the middle of the vegetarian vampire capital of the world!"