Author's Note: Of course, starting this off with a big thank you to my reviewers! I've been trying to respond to some of them, and next time I'm going to respond to all! So if you ask a question or something, it will get answered!! Without further ado, the next installment.

1 year later, Clare is 7

Edward's POV

I leaned against the window of Emmett's car, counting down the minutes until we would return home. Emmett, Jasper, and I were headed back from a week long hunting trip, the longest we had taken in years. The three of us hardly had any time to spend alone together because we were always so busy. It had been a great week, and it was nice to spend quality time with my brothers, but we were all anxious to get back to our wives, and Clare.

"I can't believe she's seven already," said Jasper from the backseat. "Time has gone by so fast hasn't it?"

Emmett nodded his agreement. "Seven," he mused thoughtfully. "By the way," he turned to me, "Did the girls go by and pick up her present?"

"Yes," I said, a grin taking over my face. "If all went according to plan, they should have brought it home last night."

"Great," he answered. "I can't wait until she sees it."

We pulled down the long driveway, driving at human speed, in case Clare was around. As we approached the house, we heard the door slam and saw Clare running full speed at us, a big smile on her face.

"Your back!" she squealed happily, flying into my arms once I stepped out of the car.

I laughed and hugged her tight to my chest. "I've missed you," I told her.

She giggled and flew towards Emmett, who made it seem as if he was straining to pick her up.

"My goodness Clare, you're getting so big! Did you grow a few inches while we were away?"

"Must be because I just turned seven." she stated matter of factly, squeezing his neck tightly.

"Happy Birthday," said Jasper, coming up to rest a hand on her back. "Are you excited for your party?"

At the mention of her party, she squirmed out of Emmett's arms and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the backyard. "Yeah! We're setting up now!"

"Setting up?" I said out loud as we followed her.

Turning the corner, I could hear the girls chatting away excitedly, unaware that we had returned. Rosalie, Alice, and Bella were standing outside a large pool, setting up a tall plastic slide.

My nerves jumped a bit when I saw my wife. I had hardly thought about anything but how much I missed her this week, and seeing her again made me anxiously excited.

She was bent over, screwing in an attachment to the slide, and I couldn't help but admire the view. She suddenly stood up upon hearing our footsteps, and turned around. She met my gaze, but it seemed as if she was rooted to the ground. I realized I had stopped walking as well. For a moment, we were still, just looking at each other, until her face broke into a wide smile and she ran over to me, flinging her arms tightly around my neck.

"Edward," she whispered into my shoulder. "I'm so glad your home."

I buried my face into her hair, overwhelmed by emotion. "It was too long," I replied. We swayed on the spot, and I distantly heard Alice and Rosalie run over to greet Emmett and Jasper. For a moment, all six of us were lost in our reunion, oblivious to anything else around us.

"One week?" Rosalie scolded. "Never again." She wrapped herself tightly around Emmett, and he kissed the top of her head.

Clare bounded over and wormed her way in between Bella and I. "Edward," she asked, tugging on the bottom of my shirt. "Can you help us finish the slide for my party?"

"Of course," I answered, reluctantly letting go of Bella. "We'll all help."

For the next hour, we quickly put together the large slide. It had to have been about 25 feet high. Knowing Alice, the tallest slide they could find. We filled the pool with water, set up desserts, and enjoyed each other's company, happy to be all together. The door bell rang just as we all finished changing into our bathing suits. I looked toward the sky, a cloudy day. Everyone would probably feel bad and comment how bad the weather turned out, but if they only knew that for us, it couldn't have worked out better.

Twenty minutes later, our backyard was filled with what was probably every child in the second grade. Clare was currently splashing around in the shallow end of the pool with her blond friend Andrea. Emmett and Rosalie were sitting nearby on the edge, dangling their feet in the water to make sure all the kids, especially Clare, didn't get hurt.

The doorbell rang again, and I rushed into the house and opened the door to Chase and his mom.

"Hello Chase, Hello Mrs. Turner" I said, gazing down at the red head. He had a small pink box in his hand. "Come on in." I beckoned, standing aside for him and his mom.

"Thank you," his mom replied, walking into the foyer. She bent down, licked her thumb and immediately starting wiping the side of his face.

"Mommm," he moaned, glancing up at me for a split second, "Stop."

She smiled and gave him a quick hug. "You be good okay? Listen to Clare's brothers and sisters, and be careful in the pool."

"Yes mom," he replied, looking out toward the backyard anxiously.

"And make sure you give that to Clare," she said, pointing toward the pink box.

He nodded and she stood up, resting her hand on top of his head. "Thanks Edward," she told me.

"No problem, I'm glad he could make it," I said politely.

She huffed, smiling back at me. "As if he would ever miss her birthday party." I laughed and opened the screen door for her. It was true. Chase came over to our house often. He and Clare would spend hours together, playing outside, making up games, telling each other jokes and watching their favorite TV programs. We had grown to really like Chase; he was a nice little boy.

"His father is coming to pick him up," she said on her way out. She turned to me and her eyes held a distant sadness, but before I could determine exactly what it was, she spun on her heel and left.

Confused, I shut the door to see Chase still looking anxiously to the backyard.

I put my hand on his back to lead the way. "Let's go."

The second we stepped into the backyard, Clare looked up. Her eyes brightened, as they always did when she saw him. She scrambled out of the pool and ran over to us.

"Hey Chase!" she cried happily, "Come in! The water's not too cold." She went to grab his hand and saw the pink box.

"This is for you," he said, shoving it towards her.

Her hands were wet so I stepped in and took it for her. "We can open this later; I'll put it with the rest of the presents."

"Okay," said Clare. "Thanks Chase!"

"You're welcome," he replied as she started dragging him towards the pool.

I chuckled to myself, watching them. I felt two familiar arms slide around my waist.

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, eyeing the pink box.

"Chase's present for Clare," I smiled, turning around into Bella's arms. I brought my lips down to hers for a second, pulling back to rest our foreheads together.

"How sweet," she said. "Clare is lucky to have such a nice friend."

"Not as lucky as I am to have you," I said quietly, staring into her eyes.

She stared back, until she began blinking rapidly. She suddenly laughed and playfully slapped my arm. "Stop dazzling me Edward Cullen, it still isn't fair, even after all these years."

I brought my face down to kiss her again. "I plan on continuing to dazzle you for many years to come."

"Even ten years from now?" she replied softly, returning my kiss.

"Twenty," I nipped her ear.

"Twenty five," she whispered, her head falling back.

"One hundred and twenty five." I crushed my lips to hers, and she wound her fingers into my hair.

A loud shriek broke us apart, and we looked toward the pool to see Emmett catapulting Clare into the water. She resurfaced, laughing loudly, and swimming over to him again. Pretty soon, all the children were lining up in front of him.

"Let's go," called Bella motioning toward the water. I put the pink box on the present table and followed her. We stripped down to our bathing suits and climbed into the pool. For the next hour, Emmett, Bella, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice and I were tossing kids around left and right. Everyone was having a great time, and I was enjoying myself seeing Clare so happy.

Bella and I slipped secretly out of the water and made our way into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out an enormous chocolate cake. I helped her set it on the counter.

"I miss eating cake," she pouted as she placed eight candles strategically on the top tier.

"Well go ahead, try some," I teased, dipping my finger into the frosting and holding it to her lips.

She smirked at me, licked it off, and continued to suck my finger, causing my hand to shake a bit. The moment was gone however when she scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Ugh," she muttered, shaking her head quickly. "That is certainly not how I remember cake tasting."

I laughed and reached into the drawer to get matches.

"Chase's mom looked upset today," I told her, remembering her face at the door.

"Did she?" Bella answered calmly. "Why, what was wrong?"

"I don't know," I said, striking the match to light the first candle.

"You know," Bella said thoughtfully, "She has looked upset recently. I sometimes want to see why, but I really don't want to invade her privacy."

Bella hardly ever used her mind power. She thought it wrong to interfere and delve into the thoughts of others. She only used it in emergencies, and stayed very strict on that fact, caving once and a while when Rosalie would ask her what Brad Pitt was thinking, or the one time when Carlisle was curious about the President's thoughts.

I laughed and quickly lit the rest of the candles. Balancing it on one hand, I walked out into the backyard. Emmett spotted us at once, and immediately starting singing happy birthday in his booming voice.

The kids scrambled out of the pool and around the table. Clare sat atop Jasper's shoulder as about 60 children and six vampires sang their unique versions of the song.

I smiled up at Clare, who was positively glowing with happiness. She blew out the candles and we spread the children out on the grass to serve them their cake.

"Oh! Let's get her present!" cried Alice, jumping up excitedly.

"Yeah," agreed Jasper, "Now's a perfect time."

I agreed to stay and watch over the kids while the five of them disappeared into the trees to get her present. Clare was going to be ecstatic when she saw it. I looked around the sea of faces and spotted her, Chase, and few other children laying under the tree, chatting happily while eating their cake.

I walked over and sat down next to her. She climbed into my lap, piled a bit of cake on her fork and put it to my mouth. "Want some?" she asked.

"No thanks," I told her. "I've already had three pieces," I lied, holding my stomach for emphasis. She laughed, settled into my lap and resumed talking to her friends.

I saw Bella emerge from the trees and give me the thumbs up. I scooped Clare up into my arms. "Clare, we've got a special surprise for you," I told her in her ear.

"Really!" she asked, her tone laced with excitement, "What is it?"

"It's a surprise silly, I can't tell you. But you've got to close your eyes!"

Two hands immediately shot up to cover her face.

"No peeking!" She nodded and clamped her hands tighter as I carried her over, feet away from Bella.

The rest of the children followed us over, looking warily into the dark forest.

Loud gasps and shrieks of surprise filled the air when Alice emerged from the trees, leading a stunning all white Palomino horse. I smiled. It was the perfect present for her. Clare had fallen in love with horses over the past year, and she had asked to take riding lessons. Jasper, who knew how to ride them well, was going to start with her right away.

"Can I look now?" she asked, leaning into me at the sounds of her friends voices.

I bent down beside her and held her arms, pulling them away from her face.

She opened her eyes and looked at her horse for the first time. Her jaw dropped and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. She stood there for a split second before she let out a high pitched shriek and ran over to it.

"A horse!" she screamed over and over, bouncing wildly around her new pet.

We all stood watching her happily. I walked over and placed my arm around Bella, trying to contain my laughter at her excitement.

"Oh thank you!" she cried, throwing herself into each of our arms. When she got to me, I hugged her back tightly.

All the children gathered around the horse trying to pet it at once. Jasper calmed them down a bit, and eventually they started heading back to go in the pool. Clare however, would not leave the horse's side, and she stood there proudly with a smile plastered on her face.

After that, the party started to thin out, as their parents came to pick them up. I was right, for many of them commented on our rotten luck with the weather, but we played the part well.

Clare and Chase were seated next to the horse, which was currently eating out of a feed bucket that we had previously prepared.

Carlisle and Esme had just arrived home, and had right away started talking to everyone's parents. Bella, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and I were laying out a few feet away from Clare under a nearby tree.

"What are you going to name her?" we heard Chase ask, as he absentmindly picked at the grass beside him.

"September," she answered right away, stroking the white fur.

"September?" he asked, pausing to look at her. "Why?"

"Well," she began, "She's a birthday present, and my birthday is in September."

"Oh," he said, looking half confused and half amused. "Oh yeah!" He sprang up to go get his present, throwing it into her lap when he returned. "This is for you, my mom picked it out," he added quickly.

Clare smiled at the pink box and untied the small ribbon. She lifted the top and her eyes lit up. "Chase! It's just like September!" she squealed. She pulled out a thin chain that had a small silver horse dangling from it.

"Aww," enthusiastically whispered Alice, Rosalie, and Bella all at the same time.

"Ours is better," huffed Emmett, glaring at the two of them sitting together. "Ouch!" he suddenly cried when Rosalie punched his arm.

"Thank you," Clare told him, pulling it out of the box.

"You're welcome," he replied. "My mom knows you like horses," he told her quickly as Clare struggled to get the clasp open.

"I'll help you," said Bella, standing up and brushing the grass off her bathing suit. She walked over to them and bent down to put the necklace around Clare's neck.

I watched them happily, until I saw a man, leaning against the side of the house leering at Bella. My eyes narrowed as he walked closer. He was headed right for the three of them, and he was not discreet about the fact that he was completely checking out my wife.

"Who is that?" asked Emmett, standing up at the same time I did. I felt Jasper on my other side once I started to make my way over. We reached them the same time he did.

"There," Bella said cheerfully, standing up once she put the necklace on Clare. "This is a beautiful present Chase," she continued. When she looked up, she spotted me and gave me a questioning look, probably wondering why I looked so upset. She followed my gaze and turned around, coming almost face to face with the man.

I growled dangerously and rushed to her side, wrapping my hand possesively around her waist. His eyes flickered to me for a second, before he looked around us to Chase.

"Let's go son," he called. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and by the look of it, he was clearly a little drunk. I turned to Bella and from her expression I knew she smelt it too.

Chase stood up and walked slowly to his father's side. I noticed his shoulders were a little slumped. I was suddenly overcome with worry for him. I didn't want his father driving him home if he was drunk.

"Bye Clare," called Chase over his shoulder.

"Bye Chase!" she answered, waving from her spot next to her horse.

Chase's father cleared his throat. "Thanks for having him." And with that he turned and walked away, leading Chase towards the car.

"Let's follow them home," I said to Emmett and Jasper once they were out of ear shot. I gave Bella a quick kiss, and the three of us headed off into the trees.

When we returned about fifteen minutes later, after making sure that Chase made it safely home, we found our wives sitting quietly under the tree. I saw Carlisle, leading Clare around on her horse about quarter of a mile away.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting down next to Bella.

She looked at me, sadness etched across her face. "I found out why Chase's mother was upset today," she answered. I knew automatically that she had broken her rule and saw into their thoughts.

My stomach dropped. "Why?"

"Chase's father lost his job, and he has been drinking almost every night. Mrs. Turner has tried to talk to him, but they just end up getting into really bad fights. Nothing physical yet, but it seems to be getting worse."

No one spoke, we just all sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what we just heard.

"Poor Chase," said Alice, snuggling into Jasper's arm.

"You've got to keep a watch on them," said Emmett to Bella. "I don't want anything to happen to Chase or his mother."

Bella nodded sadly in agreement. But after a second she looked up. "But maybe times are just hard for them right now, hopefully it will get better."

"Hopefully," Rosalie said.

Clare shouted over to us, and seeing her so happy on her horse brought me out of my saddened state.

"Woo hoo!" called Emmett jokingly. "Who is that little lady riding that white stallion!?"

Clare waved to us again, but her attention was drawn right back to her horse.

"Today was a good day," sighed Bella. "Clare had a great time, and she loves her horse. That was a perfect idea Alice."

"Naturally," Alice said smiling.

We all laughed and tossed as much grass on her as we could.