A/N – Another one of those spur-of-the-moment ideas. I do have other ideas percolating, but this one was vivid enough that I wanted to get it straight out of my head! I'll put the question out there again – what do you think Bella's gift is? Please review and let me know your theories… I have been much more obvious this time.

We're taking this one from Edward's pov, and this is even further in the future… 10+ years after Bella's change.

Please note – none of these chapters will be in order and they're all intended to stand alone! I will be jumping freely back and forth, so it'll be a very good idea to always read these author's notes!!


"Do you really think this is very serious, Edward?" Bella asked, the familiar worry line creasing her otherwise flawless face. "He only looked curious to me, are you sure you're not reading more into his question than was really there?"

I sighed, trying to consider Bella's words. Was it possible that I'd misunderstood the boy's thoughts? It wasn't unusual for humans to come alarmingly close to the right conclusions about us, and then dismiss it later as fantasiful thinking. Bella was right – this could just be one such false alarm.

"You might be right," I allowed allowing myself a smile. Relax. "But I'd prefer to talk to Carlisle about this as soon as possible, regardless."

She nodded, the worry line disappearing from her brow. Years had now passed since that remarkable day that Bella relinquished her humanity – she had long since convinced me that I had not taken it – for me, yet she was still new to this life. Even if this adolescent was a threat, there was no reason to make my love anxious just yet. I need to know what Carlisle thinks…

We reached the hospital, and I made a deliberate effort at moving at a reasonably human pace, to reassure Bella. My fingers, of their own accord, entwined with hers as we walked together. She leaned into me, smiling sweetly up at me and invoking a slightly irrational but almost irresistible urge to steal her away from sight. Mine… I shook my head at her as we reached our father's office and planted a fleeting kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Stop that," I teased, opening the door and allowing her to precede me into the room.

Bella fidgeted restlessly as I calmly explained to Carlisle what had happened that afternoon at the school. It was excruciatingly difficult to concentrate on my father's answering thoughts as she shifted minutely in my arms – one moment stroking the back of my hand with a pale finger, then flicking the zipper on my jacket, then drumming her fingers on my leg – and I eventually paused.

"Are you alright, dear?" I murmured, giving Carlisle an apologetic glance. He smiled, his thoughts amused. Bella pouted at me a little and I tried very hard not to be affected as she knew I would be.

"It's always so boring when you and Carlisle have these half conversations," she sighed. "I know you don't intend to-" she gave our father a quick half smile "-but it makes me feel left out."

We'd had this discussion numerous times before, both with and without Carlisle present, and I was a little bewildered that she was bringing it up yet again. I had thought that she understood that this effortless routine between Carlisle and I was now so deeply entrained in our relationship that it was simply useless to try to change it. I was surprised when Carlisle chuckled softly.

"Why don't you go for a walk Bella?" he suggested. "You don't need to stay holed up in this office with us stuffy old men while we chew this over. Perhaps you could visit the children's ward – they always appreciate the sight of a beautiful and comforting face."

Bella beamed at Carlisle's suggestion, then glanced back up at my face; gauging my reaction. I nodded, eager for the chance to concentrate seriously on the issue at hand so that we could get it out of the way. Her smile grew wider and she threw her arms about my neck for a moment to kiss me soundly on the lips. Her intoxicating taste still managed to nearly incapacitate me and I was unable to resist as she soon flitted away from me once more.

"Stay away from the ER," I warned gently, suppressing a shudder at the thought of what she might do in such an environment without an accompaniment. She rolled her eyes at me as she opened the door.

"I won't go far," she promised. "So don't take too long… stuffy old men."

I joined with Carlisle's amusement now. Her personality seems to sparkle that little brighter with every passing day, was his thought, and I couldn't agree more. She was truly remarkable.

My conversation with Carlisle was soon over. He had agreed with me that it was interesting that this boy had somehow noted an occasional difference in our appearances – most noticeable to his mind, the change in our eye colour from the varying shades from our human existence to our natural deep gold – but had decided that it did not warrant our concern just yet. The changing of eye colour was a phenomenon that occurred in the human world, and it would be simple enough for Carlisle to simply shrug it off as nothing if the boy came any closer to airing his thoughts.

Bella had been annoyed at herself when I'd alerted her to the situation, and I understood her frustration. She was not as practiced in her gift as the rest of us, and was struggling a little to use it in this new capacity. However, as I moved through the halls of the hospital in search of her, I could not help but admire the unique way she handled the humans we surrounded ourselves with. Again, I replayed that moment in my mind.

-His thoughts alerted me to his intentions before I even registered that he had turned in his seat. I'd been much to preoccupied with tracing teasing patterns on the sliver of exposed skin between Bella's skirt and her high boots to notice anything much.

I'm sure that they were gold when I saw them yesterday, but how to make her look at me…that made me pause and I looked up, into the face of the boy. I recalled that his name was Jonathan. Bella's eyes followed mine and she smiled gently at him, putting forth her best image of humanity.

He smiled tentatively in return. Brown! I wonder…

"Did you need something, Jonathan?" Bella asked, I noticed the subtle persuasion in her tone. The boy blinked.

"Do you wear contacts?" he blurted. A sense of déjà vu washed over me as I remembered Bella asking me the exact same question. It worried me that another human had noticed a difference in our eye colour – could he discern the reason behind it as easily as she had?

Bella's answering smile was warm, and she actually laughed gently. I wondered if she, too, recalled asking me that very question. A faint blush crept across the boy's face.

"Not today," she answered honestly, and with greater grace than I had. She surpassed me on every level, this angel of perfection. "Class is about to start, you'd better turn around."

Of course, he obeyed her instantly, as she'd most likely intended. His thoughts were slightly fuzzy, unable to concentrate properly on what had just passed. No doubt, again, just as Bella had intended.

Words in her handwriting suddenly appeared on the page before me. What's wrong? I shook my head infinitesimally and wrote a single word on the paper, leaving it there only a brief second for her to see before I scrunched it into a ball.

Later.-

I had reached the Children's ward by this time, and I paused. Bella was nowhere in sight. Her scent, still stronger to me than any smell in the world, was concentrated slightly at the doors to the brightly decorated room, but it continued down the hall. She'd paused to look in, nothing more.

I followed her path, curious. The signs on the walls confirmed my experience with other hospitals had already suspected – I was moving in the direction of the Maternity ward. I wondered what could have drawn her this way.

I always found the mood of Maternity wards strangely comforting, not that I'd found myself wandering in them often. Thoughts full of love, acceptance and relief swirled around me lazily, complementing the peace of hushed voices. All showed reverence for the simple miracle of birth that occurred in this place every day.

Two nurses were chattering with each other at their station, and they barely noticed as I passed. When I rounded the corner, I finally found Bella, and the sight of her rendered me motionless.

She stood in a small, circular room, and was clearly visible to me through the windows that continued uninterrupted around its circumference. Her back was turned so I could not see what it was that she bent her head over as she held it in her arms. I had a good idea though, and I moved around the room to see if I was correct.

A baby.

My heart wrenched as I stared at her beautiful face, serenely gazing down at the infant cradled in her arms. I heard the tiny human whimper slightly and watched as she crooned gently to calm it.

As usual, she seemed to feel my gaze and her eyes snapped up to meet mine. The peaceful light shining out of her face was breathtakingly beautiful as she smiled at me. Her eyes seemed to beg for me to join her, and I moved to the door. I could deny her nothing.

As I stepped into the room, I inhaled the warm, sweet smell of their blood. It was a scent I'd never encountered before; somehow weak enough that it did not entice my thirst in the slightest, yet the balmy allure it held was irresistibly pleasant.

"Isn't he beautiful, Edward?" Bella whispered, so quietly her voice was hardly louder than a breeze. "He was only born a few hours ago."

I looked down at the tiny creature that nestled in her arms. A round, pink face and two miniscule fists poked out of the soft blue blanket he was wrapped in. Fascinated by the intricate details of this baby human, I reached out a finger and stroked one of his hands. The skin felt as soft and delicate as a rose petal.

At my touch, the infant shifted in Bella's arms, opening his pink little mouth and sighing a soft breath straight into my face. Again, I was struck by the unique scent, and I suddenly placed it – fresh, warm milk. His minute fist suddenly opened and wrapped around the tip of my finger, gripping with a surprising strength for one so small.

"Incredible," I breathed.

I looked up into Bella's face, an amazed smile on my lips, and found her own face similarly filled with wonder. Never before had I wished so fervently that I could be human for her.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her close to me, being careful not to break the babe's grasp on my finger. I was momentarily struck that not one of the infants was startled by our presence, their natural predators, and I glanced around the room. They all slept on just as peacefully as this creature my wife held so close.

"I dulled their instincts," Bella murmured, her voice reflecting a suddenly bitter-sweet smile.

I was about to ask her why she looked so sad, when one of the voices that had been quietly humming in the back of my mind suddenly came into focus. I've really been away from them too long. I hope the newborn didn't start to cry while I was gone, the others will be so restless if he did…

The jangle of keys was noisy in the silence as one of the nurses who'd been talking as I passed rounded the corner, then stopped in shock when she spotted us. I thought I locked the door… I smiled minutely at my wife.

"Time to go," I murmured to her.

She nodded reluctantly, looking one more time into the petite little face of the baby boy. Gently, I pried my finger out of his clasp and he whimpered. Bella soothed him once more, bending her face lower and briefly kissing his velvet-soft cheek before replacing him in his cradle. The nurse stood stock still in the open door, watching as I steered my wife out of the nursery.

"I'm very sorry," I apologised quietly. "We didn't realise we shouldn't be in here."

The nurse shook her head slightly. I must have left it open, I hope they don't say anything to the Head Nurse, she'll fry me for sure… Bella must have picked up on the woman's distress.

"I was walking past and I heard one of the babies crying," she explained quickly. "There was nobody around-"

"The door" I muttered in a tone inaudible to human ears.

"-and the door was unlocked, so I just came in quiet him down. I thought he might disturb the others. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble."

"It's fine," the nurse finally stammered. "Thank you for your help." I wish I could keep them quiet like this all the time. As beautiful as they are, they certainly can be a handful.

Bella smiled brilliantly. "I can see that you do a wonderful job, caring for them. I think you'll make a great mother one day."

I was still taken aback by the uncanny accuracy of Bella's perceptions, even after so many years, and I tugged lightly on her waist to indicate that we should leave now. Giving the nurse a final smile and the babies a blown kiss, she walked with me. I kissed the top of her head and she looked up at me.

The wistful sadness which returned to her face as she gazed at me nearly broke my heart, as I realised what thoughts must be behind such an expression. Because of me, Bella would never have a child of her own. I wondered if she would resent that fact, just as Rosalie did.

"Are you ok?" she asked, rasing her hand to rest against my cheek. "Why so sad?"

I nuzzled her fingers. "Because you're sad," I answered truthfully. She would know I was lying if I tried to shrug it off. "I'm so sorry, my love."

"What do you mean?" she asked, the worry line creasing her forehead once more. "What is there to be sorry for?" I sighed.

"You can't have children any more," I reminded her gently, "and I could see the longing in your face as you held that baby. I'm sorry that you had to give that up for me."

Surprisingly, Bella laughed; a quietly poignant chuckle.

"I don't regret that decision," she said firmly. "I've never really longed to have a baby." I looked deep into her eyes – the regretful yearning was still there – and I frowned.

"I don't understand," I muttered. "If that's true, why did you look so sad?"

Her fingers traced a feather-light trail across my face to my lips. We'd stopped moving now, standing stock still in the middle of the hospital gardens, and I suppressed a shiver at her gentle caress.

"I was sad, because I realised – as you looked into the face of that little boy I could see your longing to be human and I knew… you would have made a fantastic father."

The conflict of emotion at her words was strong and I instinctively knew she was right. I couldn't deny that I'd wished that I could be human, that I could be a father. But I also knew that she was the reason for those feelings – it was all pointless without her.

As understanding filled my mind, a grin grew across my face and I kissed her, savouring the glorious taste of her lips. I could still feel that bitter-sweetness in her touch and I pulled away to look into her chocolate brown eyes.

"You once told me, that the only things worth doing in your life were those you could do with me," I murmured onto her mouth, unable to completely remove my lips from hers. "I didn't understand how you could say that, how you could simply shrug off those precious human experiences you would give up purely because I could not have them with you… but now I do."

As I spoke, her eyes shone gold. She slid her hands into my hair and I could almost literally feel her love radiating off her and into me. We needed no words, that look was enough, and she pulled me close again to kiss me deeply. We stayed, for a moment, in that place I never thought I'd see until I found her – heaven.

And that phrase that we had both used so often suddenly took on a whole new meaning. I love you more than life itself.


Just a quick note to remind you – please review!! I need to hear what you think works and what doesn't so that I can continue writing.

Thank-you to everyone who do review, and can I just make a request? I don't mind anonymous reviews, but if you don't have an account here, please try to leave an email address that I can contact you at (Tiffany!!). Thanks again for reading guys!!