A/N: I'll try to follow the time-line, but it gets a little confusing at times, especially since I'm going so far back.

Disclaimer: SM owns it all

POVs: Bella, Edward

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Bella's POV

Edward was hunting with pretty much everyone else. Well, except for Emmett, but he was playing his Wii.

I was with Esme in the garden as she got rid of the weeds. I wasn't allowed to do much because Esme didn't want me to hurt myself. Mostly, she was showing me around her garden, telling me which plant was which.

I loved spending time with Esme in the garden. It was so…Relaxing.

"And this one?" I pointed to a bunch of pink and red flowers.

Esme smiled widely at me and chuckled. "Those are freesias," she bumped into my side gently.

My eyes widened. Edward always told me that I smelled like freesias. I felt a blush coloring my cheeks. "Like me?" I asked innocently.

Esme laughed, nodding her head. "It smells just like you," she said affectionately.

Without thinking, I leaned forward and took in a deep breath. A sweet scent filled my nose and I smiled. "Wow," I breathed. "I smell really good."

Of course, this just made my mommy laugh harder.

I blushed, looking around. I saw a tree with golden leaves that grew downward. I pointed to that tree. "What about that one?"

"Hmm?" Esme stopped working on her rose shrubs to look at the tree I was pointing at. "That's the weeping willow, dear."

I frowned. "Weeping willow?" I said slowly.

Esme nodded her head, putting down the sharp thing I wasn't supposed to touch and pulled off her gardening gloves. She helped me pulled off mine, too. "Come on, Bella. Let's go back inside. I don't think we put enough sunscreen on you," she glanced warily at the sky.

It was one of those rare days when it was sunny outside, and most of the Cullens were taking advantage of it.

Emmett had already gone hunting, so he didn't need to go. Besides, Carlisle didn't allow him to go because he was punishing Emmett for throwing knives in the house while I was nearby.

Esme wanted to stay home and take care of me.

She lifted me into her arms and carried me back into the house. She sat me down on a tall chair at the kitchen isle and I kicked my legs back and forth while she poured me a glass of lemonade.

Esme's head snapped to the living room. "Emmett!" she yelled. "Punishment includes no video games!"

Emmett was yelling his protests so Esme told me to stay in the kitchen while she wrestled the video game from him. I giggled when I thought of Esme and Emmett, my mommy and my brother, wrestling.

Esme would probably lose.

I glanced at the weeping willow through the glass door that led to the backyard. The entire wall had been replaced by glass, so I could see the tree quite clearly.

Why was it called a weeping willow? Was it because it looked so sad? Was it because it was sad? Why would a tree be sad?

I took another sip of my lemonade then placed it gingerly on the counter. I wriggled down from my chair and made my way outside.

I stood in front of the golden-leaved trees, just staring at it for a while. It did look sad, I decided. Maybe if I talked to it…The tree was farther away than most of the other flowers. Maybe it was just sad it didn't have any friends.

I took a deep breath. "Hello," I said nervously. Of course, the tree couldn't respond. "I'm Isabella Hale. I used to be Isabella Swan, but my real mommy and daddy died, so now I'm a Hale…But you can call me Bella."

The tree still didn't look any happier. I bit my lip, thinking of ways to cheer it up. "My mommy, Esme, said that you're a sad tree…I don't think any tree should be sad at all. I'm gon try and make you happy, 'kay?"

Suddenly, I knew what I could do to make the weeping willow feel better.

I ran back inside the house, where Esme was still yelling at Emmett. I rushed up to my room, and took the book Emmett had given me. It was full of all sorts of jokes.

I ran back downstairs, tripping over the last step. I picked myself up, waving away Esme's motherly concern. She made sure to check every inch of me for ten minutes before going to yell at Emmett again.

I went outside and sat down next to the tree. I settled the book on my lap and opened it. "There was a Labrador, a Dalmatian and a Doberman. They went to a doggy bar and a girl doggy walked in. She said, 'if you can say the best sentence with 'liver' and 'cheese', I'll give you a kiss'. The Labrador said 'I like cheese but I don't like liver'-which is stupid. The Doberman said 'I like liver but I don't like cheese' which is also stupid. The Dalmatian said 'liver alone cheese mine'…"

I noticed that the tree still looked sad, so I sighed. "Yeah, it's not very funny. Who would want to kiss a boy. They have cooties," I shuddered.

I moved on to the next joke. "Hey, have you heard about the rabbi, the priest and the duck?"

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Edward's POV

I came back from hunting just as the sun went down. Rosalie had already grabbed Emmett and ran off into the woods. Alice and Jasper had went upstairs to their room.

I went to the kitchen, where Esme and Carlisle were. They were laughing like teenagers in love, his arms wrapped around her waist as she prepared what looked like lasagna. I smiled. It was for Bella.

Speaking of… "Esme," I greeted her with a smile. She looked up at me and grinned widely. "Where's Bella?"

She laughed a little and pointed to the sliding glass door leading to the garden. "Outside, talking to the tree," she replied with a shrug, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

"Talking to the tree?" I repeated slowly.

She nodded her head but didn't offer me any explanations.

I walked out to the garden, curious as to why my little angel was talking to a tree, of all things. I found her sitting under the weeping willow, a book on her lap. She was talking about a bear and a mouse…

She was talking. To a tree. I chuckled to myself, shaking my head as I sat down crossed-legged next to her.

"Bella, what are you doing?" I asked amusedly.

She looked up at me, anxious. "Edward, can you go get your music stereo?" she asked me urgently, pronouncing stereo as 'steweo'. She was still having trouble with her 'r'.

I reached out and lifted her up. I set her down on my lap, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I smiled down at her. "Why?" I asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

She pointed to the weeping willow. "Esme said that tree was sad," she said unhappily. "I don't want it to be sad…So I keep telling it jokes. See!"

Bella grabbed the book she previously held and shoved it in front of me. I recognized it as the joke book Emmett had given her. I rolled my eyes, pushing it aside. "But it still looked sad, so I read Cinderella…But I couldn't read anymore after the prince came to the ball, because Jazz and I never read that far…"

She frowned as she said this and my shoulder shook with laughter. Silly Bella.

"Maybe if we let it listen to a song…Edward, why are you laughing!?" she demanded, placing her hands on her tiny waist as she glared at me, her lips pouting at me.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead, still smiling widely. "Bella, the tree isn't really sad," I said, tapping her nose. "It's just a name."

Esme could hear our conversation, of course, all the way from the kitchen. Oh, she's just too precious! I snickered. Leave it to Esme to find a six year old talking to a tree adorable.

Bella frowned at me, thinking. "So it's not really sad?" she asked. I shook my head, deciding not to mention that trees couldn't really feel anything. I knew that would only bring on an onslaught of questions.

I stood up, cradling Bella against my chest as I carried her towards the kitchen. "Come on, let's get you inside."

"Wait!" she screamed. I froze. "Promise it's not a sad tree?"

I chuckled, ruffling her hair. "I promise, Bella."

She stuck her tongue out at me before holding out her pinky finger. I sighed, and hooked my own pinky finger with hers.

I moved towards the house again when she yelled, "Wait!"

I raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned playfully. "Don't forget the joke book," she reminded me. I had the book in my hand in a flash.

She wrapped both her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder. "Edward?" she whispered.

"Yes, Bella?"

She blushed as her stomach growled loudly. "I'm hungry."

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Next chapter will be Bella's first day of school! Boo-yah! (Sorry, too much Kim Possible…I know it's a cartoon and all but she rocks. I just love the feminine aspect, I suppose).

And don't worry, more Cullen POVs coming right up.

Review please. Thank you!

Juliet.