Hey everyone! Welcome to my second one-shot! It's a little longer than the first one (actually…a lot longer), and it's about….well, read the summary! It captures every possible emotion a man could possibly have, and really shows (what I think) Edward was thinking throughout most of Breaking Dawn. Warning: If you did not read the fourth book in the Twilight Saga, DO NOT READ THIS STORY. Gives away…basically the entire thing. I don't wanna be responsible for ruining someone's reading experience. Otherwise, happy reading!

My whole life flashed before my eyes.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could I have been wrapped in newlywed bliss just moments ago, and then feel like my whole existence was crashing down on me? This couldn't be happening. Not to me. Not now. It was just too risky. The things that could happen to it…to Bella…my darling Bella.

I could only imagine what was going through her head. It was times like those that I wished I could get past whatever was denying my entrance into her mind. Then, I could find some way to soothe her. Right then, she was bent over the toilet, pregnancy test still in her hand, sobbing uncontrollably. I was waiting for her to calm down, standing timidly by the door. I never thought I'd ever use the word timid to describe our relationship. Then again, I never thought this would happen either.

Normally, I would have been comforting her. When she was hurt, or when she was having any sort of trouble, all it usually took was my arm around her shoulder and some calming words to heal her pain. If I had tried that then, she probably would shake me off. I wouldn't have blamed her. All I kept thinking about was the present. How could I have allowed this to happen? When will she be ready to talk? What are the others going to say when I tell them? However, when I had stopped to think about it, I realized I shouldn't have been harping on about it. It was done. Life had taken its course. What I should have been contemplating was the future. What is my offspring going to be like? Will it be dangerous, harmful to my fragile wife? And, most importantly, Will I be a good father?

"Bella," I began softly. "Bella…"

I took one step toward her, and stopped. Maybe I should wait. How long before someone fully accepts a change like this? This, coming from me, the guy who still thought he was dreaming.

Bella tossed the stick in the trashcan and turned to face me. Her eyes were squinted, as if she were looking in direct sunlight, and puffy from crying. She looked thinner than ever, ironic, since she would only get bigger from there. She was pale, and looked cold. She stared into my eyes for a long time. Since I couldn't read her mind, I tried to analyze her eyes for some sort of expression. For a moment, I thought she was going to burst into tears again, and both of our lives suspended around us. All she did, though, was walk right into my embrace, sighing beneath the strength of my hold on her. I never wanted to let her go.

"It's gonna be okay," I whispered, to her and to myself. I was reassuring my uneasy, petrified being, doing all that I could to stay strong.

One Week Later…

Man, Rosalie was being a piss-off.

"Rose, just because you never had kids, doesn't mean you can take advantage of this situation. It's dangerous," I growled.

"Oh, shut up, Edward. Let me enjoy this. You…go be a stud or something," she replied. Ha. Like I hadn't done enough of being a stud already.

Alice, Jasper, and Emmett had been great. The only things that were keeping us all sane were Alice's visions. They were coming more and more frequently. They seemed to be positive…thought mostly vague. All of them began with a hand. It reached out, touched someone's cheek, and the vision went black. Alice always said she felt happy after experiencing one of these curious visions, and that they sent her a good vibe. We were putting all the faith we could muster into those revelations, and were praying for a miracle, that Bella and the baby would be unharmed.

"Edward." It was Alice.

"Yeah? What did you see?" She sounded worried, and this made me alert, suddenly aware of everything around me.

"It was them. The Volturi. I saw them coming." My stomach twisted in a knot, but I remained stone-faced on the exterior. My throat fostered a huge lump. I couldn't believe it.

"When are they coming?" I asked urgently.

"Not for a while. But, they were all there. Aro, the wives, everyone."

"Will you two please stop? Those silent conversations of yours drive me up the wall," Emmett said, agitated.

"Sorry," Alice apologized. Bella was lying on the couch, pale in the face, looking exhausted, and her hand flew protectively to her stomach. Noticing the suspended tension in the room, she looked at me. I just smiled at her, not wanting to set her off. Her emotions had been like a time bomb over the past week. Since, of course, our child was not altogether human, it was growing at a rapid pace. Bella didn't know what to make of this, so she took to being slightly bipolar instead. I just knew that this news would throw her in a twist, so I thought it best not to tell her at all.

"Edward, maybe you should tell her," Alice advised me silently, reading my thoughts. "I mean, it's her future that is potentially at stake."

"Guys! Clue us in, will you?" Rose shouted. Emmett nodded in agreement. Jasper looked sullen, as always, but looked at me expectantly. Esme and Carlisle walked in upon hearing Rosalie's outburst, and immediately looked at Alice when they saw everyone's faces.

"What's going on?" Esme asked, sitting near Bella's head on the couch.

"Nothing we need to be concerned about. Not now anyway," Alice said gravely.

One Week Later…

This is getting too tragic for me to tolerate.

Yet Another Week Later…

September 10th. 2:03 in the afternoon. Brown hair, brown eyes, flushed face, and sparkling skin. Tragically beautiful. Renesmee Carlie Cullen.

For the moment when she looked up at me and smiled, a twinkle in her deep eyes (ones she inherited from her mother), the mayhem and terror all around me seemed to be moving in slow motion. I forgot, only for that precious moment, my wife's shrieks and screams, Rosalie's snootiness, and everyone else's shouts to, "Do it now!" My daughter then, suddenly, was snatched away by Esme and Rose to be cleaned and dressed, and I snapped back to reality. I had a job to do.

Changing Bella was hard, to put it lightly. I couldn't bear to be the one who was causing so much pain to course through her body, her whole being on the brink of death. I knew that if I failed, life as I knew it would be even sadder than it already was.

I remembered that fateful day in 1918 like it was yesterday. Lying in the morgue, the hustle and bustle of Chicago right outside my window, the influenza completely dominating my body, feeling like giving up, the abrupt feeling of sharp teeth on my neck…the fiery, sharp, excruciating pains pulsing through veins as the venom took over.

This was what I was doing to her. The only thing that motivated me was knowing that, when I was done, we would be together. Forever and always.

So, with that thought in mind, I bit down on her neck, cautiously at first. I didn't want to scare her the way that Carlisle had scared me. My loving wife, my supporting family, our newest allies, and my new daughter…they were all at stake. Everyone was counting on me. The inevitable had to be done…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Now, her eyes are sparkling like a thousand suns. The fact that she doesn't need to breathe anymore, and her discovering it, is making me laugh. Her skin is pale white and ice cold…forever has finally begun.

Now that the hard part is over, here I find myself contemplating the life ahead of me. All the questions are coming back to me. Especially the one putting me most to the test: Will I be a good father? I know that the threat being posed by the Volturi is looming nearer and nearer by every passing minute. However, this solitary query asks more of me than any physical fight in the world.

I hope I will be a decent father, mentor, protector, caretaker. I hope I will show Renesmee how to use her abilities to their fullest potential. I hope I will be an example, an influence on her, in the most positive way possible. I am nervous, yes. It will be a difficult thing to convince the Volturi not to think of her as an immortal child. But, for now, I want to focus on what matters most to me: I want to love my wife, raise my daughter, and live in peace after this whole conflict is finally all said and done. I want to be a dad.

I just realized how corny the ending really is. But, look past that, at the deeper meaning of the story! I hope you enjoyed it, and will show that by reviewing. Even if you didn't enjoy it, I hope you review! Remember, constructive criticism is helpful. However, plain old criticism is not welcome. No flames allowed. Peace out.

~luckoftheIRISH19