What's in a Name, a twilight fanfic

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A/N: See my profile for the alternate history behind the dates and Nessie's full name.

April 2007

Nessie almost two A/E six and a half, claiming almost seven, first grade

Carlisle

I smiled as I turned the pages of my book. It was a dry tome on diseases of the ear; only half my mind was focused on my reading. Downstairs I could hear Nessie chattering excitedly to Esme. She was thrilled at the fact that she would be staying with us for a week while Bella and Edward went to Isle Esme for their anniversary. I loved spending time with my granddaughter, of course, but I couldn't see why she was so excited; she practically lived at the big house anyway, running in and out two or three times a day.

I heard Edward's low chuckle just before he pushed the study door open. "She can be a mystery even to a mind reader," he admitted. "Do you have a minute?"

"Of course," I answered instantly, setting the book aside on my desk. "What is it?"

Edward pushed the door shut behind him and went to lean against my desk. "I wanted to ask a favor, actually. Would you mind dropping Nessie off and picking her up after school while we're away?"

"Dropping her off would be fine," I said slowly, "but my shift at the hospital doesn't end until an hour after school lets out…you know any of the others would be glad to give her a ride home."

Edward's eyes went hard. "I don't want her in a closed car with Jasper," he said shortly, his upper lip curling slightly in the hint of a snarl.

"Is that being very fair to him, Edward?" I asked quietly. "It's still harder for him, I know, but he hasn't slipped since…" I trailed off; Edward would count Jasper's last "slip" as the time he nearly attacked Bella; hardly likely to be a comforting thought to him. "He's fine when there's no fresh blood," I finished lamely.

Edward shook his head. "It's not that I don't trust him, Carlisle," he said in a low voice. "It's that he doesn't trust himself. As long as there's a doubt in his mind that he has enough control to be around her, the possibility is there that he could slip. Once you decide that there's absolutely no way you're ever hurting that person…it's easier. In the end, it was easier to be around Bella, even bleeding, than other humans; the call of her blood never lessened, but it was the one call I knew I wasn't going to give in to. Sometimes I think the reason she had such an easy time of it as a newborn was that she knew even before she became a vampire that she wasn't going to kill a human. And Jasper has the hardest time partly because he expects to…if I could convince him of that, I could trust him with my daughter."

"What about Emmett and Rosalie?" I questioned.

To my surprise, Edward growled softly. "I've caught Rosalie's thoughts a few times when she didn't realize I was in range. She daydreams about Nessie being hers, Carlisle. With Bella and me out of the way, I wouldn't put it past her trying to run away with her."

"Emmett would never go along with it," I said flatly; I didn't really think Rose would attempt…kidnapping, but there were times when there was no point arguing with Edward.

He shrugged. "Maybe not. I'd just as soon not give Rosalie the chance. You don't mind, do you, Carlisle?"

"Of course not," I assured him quickly. "I'll stop by the office Monday and let them know she'll be in aftercare for an hour until I get off work." I didn't mention Jacob; I knew his picking Nessie up would be out of the question.

"Thanks." He sighed. "Maybe I am being overprotective…but I can't stand the thought of anything happening to her."

"She'll be fine, Edward," I assured him quietly. "You enjoy your time with Bella and don't worry about Nessie."

He grinned. "All right, I won't. Think you can keep up with her, 'Grandpa'?"

I growled at him playfully. "Not so young yourself, are you?"

"Younger than you, anyway," he teased. "And she's a handful, Carlisle."

I chuckled. "I think we'll manage."

oOo

So it was that when my shift ended on Monday, I drove down to Nessie's elementary school. The thick clouds showed no signs of breaking, but by long habit I parked where the shadow of the building would fall if the sun came out.

The office seemed overly warm as I walked in; what humans would consider a bit stuffy.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"I'm Carlisle Cullen; I'm here to pick up my daughter Nessie." She was still young enough that I claimed she was my biological daughter; Edward claimed to be Esme's brother to explain their resemblance.

"Ah, of course. Sign here, please." She glanced at Nessie's full name on the chart. "Rensmee…such an unusual name."

"Renesmée," I corrected automatically, signing beside her name. "She was named for her grandmother and mother, Renée and Esme."

The lady smiled. "It's pretty. And unique; I was one of four Marys in my class, and I hated it."

"There's only one Nessie," I agreed; it was true in more ways than one.

She picked up the telephone receiver to ask the aftercare teacher to send Nessie down to the office.

When Nessie came in, she offered me a small smile and slipped her hand into mine. I frowned slightly; the Nessie I was used to would have skipped straight into my arms, eager to touch my face and share her day with me without the bother of words. "Did you have a good day, Nessie?" I asked her.

She nodded, but pressed against my side without speaking.

"Thank you, ma'am," I told the receptionist as I turned to leave.

"Have a good day," she responded.

Nessie remained subdued as she followed me to the car and got into the passenger seat. I wondered if she missed her parents, though that hardly seemed likely after only one day. And she wouldn't have seen them during school hours, regardless.

"Nessie, what's wrong, sweetheart?" I asked as I got into the driver's seat and started the car.

She sighed. "I didn't know what to call you," she admitted in a low voice.

"In the office?"

"No. Anna was asking me why I was in aftercare today, and I told her you were picking me up — but I didn't know what to call you. I know I can't say Grandpa with the humans. Carlisle would have been all right — I call Momma and Daddy by their first names sometimes, and that's not too bad — but you're pretending to be my father. And I couldn't call you Daddy because Daddy's Daddy!"

"What did you call me?"

"'My father.'" She sighed. "Of course, even that's not really true." She leaned her chin on her hands, looking utterly miserable.

She was right about not calling me Grandpa in front of humans, but other than that, I really didn't see that it made much difference what she called me. But this was obviously very important to my granddaughter, and I slowed to just above the speed limit so we could finish this conversation before we reached home.

"It's as true for you as it is for any of the others," I reminded her. "But maybe what we need to do is think of a name you can use for me all the time."

Nessie perked up a little. "Like what?"

I tapped one finger on the steering wheel, running through my mind the various names I had heard over the years for fathers and grandfathers. "What about Papa?" I suggested after a moment. "Some children use it for their father and others for their grandfather, so it works either way."

Nessie clapped her hands. "Perfect!" she exclaimed. Then her face fell again. "But what about Grandma? I can't call her Mama, because it sounds just like Momma, and no one would know who I meant."

I chuckled softly. "Call her Mama Esme," I suggested. "When you're talking to humans, you can drop the Esme."

She looked up at me anxiously. "You don't think she'd mind me using her first name?"

I chuckled. "Renesmée, none of us could care less what you call us." I was thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, if you're talking to humans and it doesn't matter if they think you mean Esme and me, you could call Bella and Edward Momma and Daddy like you usually do. Like you said, Momma and Mama sound the same, and it wouldn't be too unlikely that you would call me Papa sometimes and sometimes Daddy."

I pulled up in front of the house, and Nessie smiled at me as she reached for the door handle. "Thank you, Grandp — Papa."

I held out my arms, and she jumped into them, both hands on my face…this was the Nessie I knew. "I love you, Renesmée Charlisle Cullen," I whispered as images of her day flashed across my mind. What had I ever done to deserve a granddaughter like my Nessie? She could call me anything she liked; I was hers forever.

The End

A/N: Yes, Esme can and does drive, but all the reasons why Carlisle had to be the one to pick Nessie up were a bit author's need [see my profile], and I couldn't think of one for Esme at all! Barbie

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie