This was it. Carefully, I loosened Renesmee's arms from my neck.

"You remember what I told you?"

Tears welled in her eyes, but she nodded. "I love you," she whispered.

Edward was watching us now, his topaz eyes wide. Jacob stared at us from the corner of his big dark eye.

"I love you, too," I said, and then I touched her locket. "More than my own life." I kissed her forehead.

Jacob whined uneasily.

I stretched up on my toes and whispered into his ear.

"Wait until they're totally distracted, then run with her. Get as far from this place as you possibly can. When you've gone as far as you can on foot, she has what you need to get you in the air."

Edward and Jacob's faces were almost identical masks or horror, despite the fact that one of them was an animal.

Renesmee reached for Edward, and he took her in his arms. They hugged each other tightly.

"This is what you kept from me?" he whispered over her head.

"From Aro," I breathed.

"Alice?"

I nodded.

His face twisted with understanding and pain. Had that been the expression on my face when I'd finally put together Alice's clues?

Jacob was growling quietly, a low rasp that was as even and unbroken as a purr. His hackles were stiff and his teeth exposed.

Edward kissed Renesmee's forehead and both her cheeks, then he lifted her to Jacob's shoulder. She scrambled agilely onto his back, pulling herself into place with handfuls of his fur, and fit herself easily into the dip between his massive shoulder blades.

Jacob turned to me, his expressive eyes full of agony, the rumbling growl still grating through his chest.

You're the only one we could ever trust her with," I murmured to him. "If you didn't love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob."

He whined again, and dipped his head to butt it against my shoulder.

"I know," I whispered "I love you, too, Jake. You'll always be my best man."

A tear the size of a baseball rolled into the russet fur beneath his eye.

Edward leaned his head against the same shoulder where he'd placed Renesmee. "Goodbye, Jacob, my brother…my son."

The others were not oblivious to the farewell scene. Their eyes were locked on the silent black triangle, but I could tell they were listening.

"Is there no hope then?" Carlisle whispered. There was no fear in his voice. Just determination and acceptance.

"There is absolutely hope," I murmured back. It could be true, I told myself. "I only know my own fate."

Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halved of the whole.

Esme's breath was ragged behind me. She moved past us, touching our faces as she passed, to stand beside Carlisle and hold his hand.

Suddenly, we were surrounded by murmured goodbyes and I love you's.

"If we live through this," Garrett whispered to Kate, "I'll follow you anywhere, woman."

"Now he tells me," she muttered.

Rosalie and Emmett kissed quickly but passionately.

Tia caressed Benjamin's face. He smiled back cheerfully, catching her hand and hold it against his cheek.

I didn't see all the expressions of love and pain. I was distracted by the sudden fluttering pressure against the outside of my shield. I couldn't tell where it came from, but it felt like it was directed at the edges of our group, Siobhan and Liam particularly. The pressure did no damage, and then it was gone.

There was no change in the silent, still forms of the counseling ancients. But perhaps there was some signal I missed.

"Get ready," I whispered to the others. "It's starting."

1. Visions

13 and half years later…

It was September 11th. My fourteenth birthday. And of course Aunt Alice was just as excited as ever.

I sat in my room in our small one-story house in Rio de Janeiro, in a huge country that would be hard to find anyone in, even vampires. I shared this house with Aunt Alice, Uncle Jasper, and Jacob. There were only two people missing. My mom and dad. It had been years since I saw them, for Jacob and I ran away when I was only a little girl. I was only a few months old, but I remembered that day so clearly, and every day I wanted nothing more than to see my momma and daddy that had once cared so much for me.

"More than my own life." I whispered to myself as I looked down at the engraving in the locket Momma had given me for Christmas that year. Inside was a picture of Daddy and Momma and me. We looked so happy and safe with each other. The locket was given to me just weeks before she and Daddy sent me off to run away from the Volturi. She loved me more than her own life. She died to save me. A small tear escaped from my eye as I remembered the pained look in Momma and Daddy's eyes as they said goodbye to me forever. Momma and Daddy were both vampires; however, when Momma was pregnant with me, she was human. That's why I sit here now, hidden, thousands of miles away from my old home in Forks Washington where it rains nearly every day, and none of us are forced to stay inside every day during the daytime.

Aunt Alice gracefully danced over to me and with a swift motion wiped the tear away. "Nessie, don't cry," she soothed. "You should be happy, today of all days." she followed my stare, down to my locket and immediately knew why I was crying. She hugged me, then kissed my forehead.

"I miss them too Nessie," she whispered. Daddy was Aunt Alice's brother and Momma was her best friend and sister-in-law.

I was so grateful to have found Alice and Jasper once again, they were like parents to me for the past 13 and a half years ever since my Jacob and I had met up with them in Rio de Janeiro. My aunt and uncle both ran away before we did, to go and find something or someone to save us all from the Volturi's attack that Alice had seen in one of her amazing visions. The Volturi had never heard of something like me and they never stopped to listen to Momma, Daddy, and the rest of my friends and family, who were telling them I was not a danger to the vampire world, and never would be. Alice saw this would happen, and that's how she and Uncle Jasper found Nahuel and Kachiri. Nahuel is a half human and half vampire just like me; though he is much older, but both our moms were human, and both our dads were vampires. Her plan was to find him in time to be able to bring him back and show the Volturi that Nahuel, like me, was not dangerous. She knew this was a risky plan, so she had a back up one. She gave Momma clues that would lead her to someone who could help make illegal documents so I could escape with Jacob far away from any danger. After Momma got the documents and plane tickets, she wrote the words "Rio de Janeiro" on a piece of paper knowing Alice was keeping an eye out for herself and Daddy (But not me and Jacob, she found out that we are blind spots) in her visions. Alice immediately knew where to meet me and Jacob after my long, exhausting journey riding his back and on a plane. I barely got any sleep during that time because I was so worried about Momma, Daddy, Aunt Rosalie, Uncle Emmett, Grandpa Carlisle, Grandma Esme, and all of my vampire and wolf people friends that I had to leave behind. I didn't know if I would ever see them again, but I knew if any of them had survived, especially Momma and Daddy, they would come for me. They never did, and I knew they were gone. Alice didn't believe it, and every night she would concentrate very hard on her visions of them, but would never see them. Further proof that they were gone. It was a very sad few months, but I survived much easier with the love from Alice, Jasper, and Jacob.

Coming back to reality, I tore my eyes away from the picture inside the locket and glanced up at Alice with desperate eyes.

"Tell me the story of Momma and Daddy," I begged. "Please Alice?" hearing our quiet conversation, Uncle Jasper walked into the room and I immediately felt calm. I glared at him. I hated when he did that. He laughed at my glare and sat down next to us. "Tonight, before bed sweetheart, okay?" she said.

"Fine." I mumbled, and stood up. I loved the story of how Momma and Daddy met. How hard it was to be together since Daddy was a vampire and Momma was human, but how they loved each other so much, that they somehow made it all work out. I loved how my daddy was so strong and fought the delicious smell and taste of Momma's blood that he wanted to feed on so badly, but loved her too much to imagine how he would live with himself if he ever did such a thing. And, I admired how brave my mom was, for knowing all of this but still wanting to be with my dad.

"Nessie?" I heard my favorite voice in the whole world call for me.

Jacob. My Jacob.

When I was just born Jacob, who is a werewolf, imprinted on me. Ever since then we have been inseparable. Jacob is everything I ever dreamed of, and we love each other very much. At first, when I was much too young to have a boyfriend, he was the best friend anyone could ever have, and looked out for me all the time. He was very protective and never left my side. He took the long journey with me to find Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper, and put up with and comforted me through all my tears over Momma and Daddy on the way. Jacob and Momma knew each other since they were born, but didn't become best friends until she was eighteen and still human when my daddy decided he was putting my momma in too much danger by being with her, and left for her own good. Jacob was her "sun" as she called him, when Daddy was away. Jacob would always make her happy though she was sad almost all the time. As I grew older, Jake and I began dating, and now he is my boyfriend. I ran as fast I could over to him.

"Jacob!!" I called happily. He saw me and smiled his big, toothy grin at me and I couldn't help but smile back. He caught me in his arms and gave me a strong hug.

"Umm…Jake… Can't… Breathe…." I gasped. He laughed deeply, and released me, now holding on to only one hand.

"Hey dog. "Aunt Alice teased as she came into the room. He smiled "Hi bloodsucker," he teased back. Then he turned to me, "Happy birthday Renesmee Carlie Cullen." he said softly as he kissed the top of my head. Embarrassed, my cheeks flushed scarlet as I muttered, "Thank you" to him. Alice sighed and smiled, "You look just like your mother when you do that Nessie." Still embarrassed, I started to walk away, only to be pulled back by Jacob's strong grip.

"Nessie, honey," Jake said. "It's your birthday, we won't let you ignore it. What would you like to do?" I sighed. Like Momma, I hated when people made a big deal about my birthday and they all three knew that.

"I don't know Jake, I don't really feel up to doing anything special." I complained.

"That's fine. You want to go hunting and then maybe watch a movie?"

"Sure, hunting." I was pretty thirsty and I certainly did not want to eat any of the nasty human food we kept in the house. I turned to Alice, who looked pretty disappointed about the simple plans for my birthday. "You want to come to Alice?" I offered.

"No, that's okay. You two go ahead." she said, still grimacing.

"Jasper?"

"No thanks," he smiled. "Have a mountain lion for me, though." he teased. I rolled my eyes at him and went to go hunt.

Jake and I got back late evening and, overall, it was a pretty good birthday. After I went hunting with Jake, we watched movies with Alice and Jasper until I became so tired, that I could hardly keep my eyes open.

I yawned and stretched as the credits started rolling.

"I'm going to bed," I announced, turning to kiss Jake goodnight.

"Goodnight Nessie," he smiled, giving me a goodnight peck. I turned to Alice and Jasper to say goodnight and hug them, then went to go to my room.

"Wait," Alice called after me. "Did you want me to tell you your mom and dad's story? Or should we wait for the morning?" I deliberated for a minute, comparing how tired I felt to how very badly I wanted to hear about my mom and dad.

"I think I can stay awake for a few more minutes." I finally decided.

"Okay, get ready for bed and I'll be there in a few minutes." Now I was more awake, I hadn't heard the story for a while and I was always worrying I would forget something about Momma and Daddy.

I went back to my room after I got my pajamas on and teeth brushed, and found Alice already sitting on my bed. She smiled up at me and kissed my forehead as I climbed into bed.

Like always, she began the story talking about how different my dad was before he met my mom. Then, the burning feeling in his throat the first time he saw here, and how much he despised her for making him so thirsty. And eventually, she told me about how as he watched her sleep, he found out he couldn't stand to stay away from her any longer, because he loved her. The story was very long, but soon she came to the part where I came into everyone's lives. Alice was a great story-teller, and I got so lost in the story, every sentence like a picture in my head, that it startled me when Alice gasped. She was also staring into space, at nothing. I knew that face.

"Alice? Alice what did you see?" my voice was frantic. She didn't respond, she just stared. She looked like she was concentrating very hard. My thoughts immediately went to Jasper and herself-since she couldn't see me or Jake-and I panicked, wondering what was going to happen to my aunt and uncle, the ones who had raised me ever since I was just a baby. Also, wondering if possibly the Volturi had found us and we would have to move to somewhere completely different. I waited impatiently for the news that I knew would be unfortunate.

After three long minutes, she blinked, and a surprised look painted across her face.

"Alice? Please tell me." She was staring at me looking confused and startled. No worry or panic like I had pictured. Maybe it was nothing bad.

"It's nothing, Nessie. Nothing you need to worry about it," she said too quickly. "I.. I think we should leave the rest of the story for tomorrow." She darted out of the room, flashing a quick glance at me, that I didn't understand.

That just made me more suspicious. What had happened? She almost looked….hopeful. For what? I heard the soft hum of her voice talking to Jasper in the other room. Jake wasn't there, so he must have been asleep. They were talking, on purpose, too quiet for me to hear.

Feeling completely awake now, I tip-toed out of the room, trying not to make a sound that my vampire aunt and uncle's sharp ears would hear. Being half vampire myself, I could be that quiet. I held my breath, and stopped at the door to the small living room, not wanting to risk going any closer to where they might see me. I heard Jake's loud snore coming from across the hall, which made it harder to hear. I came just in time to hear Alice explaining her vision to Jasper.

"Alice? Come on sweetheart, tell me." Jasper begged, seeming just as worried and impatient as I felt. He was probably feeling her emotions right now.

"I don't know, Jasper, they were just flickers. I can't be sure of what I saw…I don't want to get your hopes up." Alice said in a small whisper. She had her head between he knees with that same confused and hopeful look on her face.

"Alice, honey, this is killing me. Could you please try to explain? Is it about us?

"No. No, it wasn't either of us.."

"Then is it the Volturi?"

"No, it's not them either...It's…" her voice trailed off. "Are you sure? I could be wrong."

"I'm not worried about that. Just please tell me what or who you saw," he pleaded, still waiting with an impatient expression on his face. She thought about that for a moment, then took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Who was it?" he questioned her again. The hopeful smile escaped, and played across her face.

"Edward and Bella."

2. Confusion

Without thinking, I gasped. I quickly covered my hand over my mouth. Not more than half a second later, Alice and Jasper's heads were up, staring right where I had just been standing. Before they could even see me, though, I was already back in my room. I could not let them know I had just heard their entire conversation; although, knowing them, they had probably already caught me.

I sat there on my bed, and even though I had just heard the most incredible news, I couldn't react. It was as if my mind had shut down, like I couldn't comprehend what I had just heard with my own two ears. My mom and dad are alive? I shook my head. It couldn't be true, that's probably why my brain was blocking out the thought. My parents, and everyone else who were going to fight, won against a huge group of ancient, very experienced vampires? No. I didn't believe it. Alice was seeing things, like she had explained to Jasper. Her visions had been wrong before, they probably were now too. Besides, if Momma and Daddy had lived, they would have come for me by now.

So it was no use thinking of the thoughts that were slowly creeping into my head, but I couldn't help it! My mind started drifting off to our reunion, the happy tears we'd cry as we reunited after not seeing each other for over thirteen years. I finally got my mind cleared, and I was quietly crying just thinking about it.

I was interrupted by the small sound of Alice's voice. "Do you think she heard us?"

"I don't know," Jasper replied. "I thought I heard someone in the hall but no one was there….she is quick, though."

"True." agreed Alice. "We better check, though." I heard them starting to walk towards my room. I tried to slow down my heartbeat and ragged breathing, and to get these stupid tears dried up. They walked at a fast human pace, probably trying to listen for what I was doing, or if I was asleep. Great. My door opened.

"Hi." I forced a smile. "So…umm… what was that all about?" I tried to lie, although it probably wasn't working, with Jasper feeling my emotions, and all that.

"Renesmee….it isn't something that we feel you're ready to know. You didn't hear any of it did you?" Jasper questioned with a very suspicious look on his face. I took a deep breath to try to keep my heart beat steady.

"Of course not, Jasper, I've been in here the whole time, waiting for Alice to come back and finish her story." But it was too late, I knew I was a bad liar (another thing I got from my mom) and I felt my cheeks burning, which made my heartbeat speed up. I sighed, giving up at my lame attempt at lying. "Okay, I heard it all." I admitted, my voice breaking as I started to cry. Again.

"Nessie," Alice said, brushing back my hair with her hand. She sounded like she would cry too, if she could. "I'm so sorry, I didn't want you to hear that. I got your hopes up, maybe for nothing."

"But Alice," I whined, "Why else would you see Momma and Daddy in your visions?"

"I don't know." she muttered, looking frustrated at herself. "But like I said, you weren't supposed to hear that, I don't even know for sure if it was them. Honey, it was less than a second long."

"Why are you crying?" Jasper asked, very concerned and trying to comfort me. I hadn't even noticed the tears streaming down my cheeks, from the thoughts I was thinking right now.

"It's just…….Jasper, what if Alice really did see Momma and Daddy? Why aren't they coming for me? I thought for sure, if they ever survived and still cared about me, they would come back to us. But they aren't, what's that supposed to mean? Have they forgotten about us?"

"No, Renesmee, don't ever think that. Your mom and dad loved you very much, and I'm positive they would never forget about you." Jasper said in an assuring tone, hugging me. "Besides, you have to remember that your aunt doesn't even know for sure if she saw them."

"I need to wait, and see if I have any other visions of them, to know if I'm right, sweetie. I promise I'll keep a very close watch on my visions, like I used to every night. You aren't the only one who misses them, remember?" Alice told me, smiling a little. "But you need to get some sleep." she said, starting to tuck me back into bed.

"You expect me to sleep with what I just heard?? And all that snoring in the other room from Jacob?" I complained.

"I can wake him up for you." Alice said with a sly smile.

"No, no I was kidding, goodnight!" I said quickly. She laughed, then got all serious again.

"Please try to sleep Nessie, don't let it bother you, and I promise to keep looking out for them tonight. Jasper and I miss them too, more than you know. Just don't worry, and sleep."

"Fine." I mumbled

"Oh yeah, and no more sneaking around in the hallways tonight, or at least, if you do, make sure you don't gasp." Jasper teased.

I glared. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Nessie, sweet dreams." they both said, kissing the top of my head and walking out of my room, hand in hand.

"Sure, sure." I thought in my head, as they closed the door. Immediately thoughts started flowing into my mind about what tomorrow would bring, how they would break the news to Jacob, his reaction, and if Alice would have any other visions tonight while I slept in bed, completely unaware. I fell asleep quicker than I thought I would, and soon was unconscious.

I did not have sweet dreams.