APOV (Alice)

Today was unbearable. Rose and I haven't been home for two days now, nor did we want to leave. And nor did Edward-which surprised no one. We thought this would raise questions, since Edward was not a family member, nor a practitioner. But Carlisle said he'd taken care of it, and that Edward had permission to stay as long as Renesmee needed him. The other nurses, who'd taken notice of our extended stay, insisted that we go home and freshen up, but Rosalie and I simultaneously refused. Renesmee didn't need a bunch of strangers fussing and stumbling all over her. She needed us, now more than ever.

She cried for about two hours, and every minute of it was torture. After a while she forced herself to stop, but somehow that made it worse. I stayed with her whenever I could, stroking her hair, reading her stories, playing games. I did anything that would come to mind, just to distract her from the pain.

My pain.

But it was a lost cause from the beginning-which I knew. But still, I couldn't do nothing. Whenever someone wasn't around-which wasn't often, since Edward, Rose and even Carlisle took turns keeping her company-she would sit in her room mutely and lie down or stare blankly at nothing in particular. Sometimes she would go into fits of sobs when she thought no could hear.

Something had to be done. And I had a pretty good idea what.

That afternoon I called Carlisle, Rose and Edward into a small room conference room in the hospital while Renesmee was in a nap.

I cleared my throat, "I think we can agree that this situation has been hard for us to watch," That was an obvious understatement. Renesmee had been the highlights of all our days since she arrived. Not even Edward could deny that we'd grown a huge affection for her. "And I never want to see her like that again."

Edward's eyes were shut. "Alice," he hissed, reading my thoughts.

"She needs a family," I continued on. "We could adopt her. We could take care of her. She already knows us, and likes us. It would be perfect. Think of how happy everyone would be," I forced out before I lost my courage.

Carlisle looked thoughtful, but Edward was just angry.

"That's a very long discussion."

"I could do it," Rosalie said suddenly. "Carlisle, I could raise her. I'll be a good mother to her. I-I love her."

"The social services will be here soon. She does have a distant relative down in La Push, and they almost always get top priority in these situations-"

"It's been days since we tried to contact and they still haven't replied. Please, Carlisle, she needs someone who will be there for and take care of her."

"I understand. I want the best for her, as well. It won't be easy. But if you're serious about this…"

"I am. I'll call Emmett right-"

"No," he growled. "Carlisle, you can't let her do this."

"It's my decision!"

"She's a child!" Edward retorted, so loud I was sure the other employees could hear. "You're…a vampire. Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?"

Rosalie looked like she might rip his head off. "How dare you." She said icily. "I am thinking of her."

"Please, don't. I didn't bring you here to fight," I pleaded. "Just here me out."

"Continue," Carlisle urged, eager for it to stop.

I took a deep breath, not bother to even look at Edward since I already knew what his reaction was going to be. "There might be another way."

Rosalie sighed, "You think Carlisle and Esme should adopt her." It was a flat statement, and I could tell I'd hurt her feelings.

"That's definitely a possibility, but it wasn't what I was thinking."

I finally leveled my gaze on him, but he was looking at the floor. "I can't. You know that I can't," Edward said in a low voice, reading my thoughts again and answering them out loud.

"Yes, you can. You can adopt her. She's already yours. Haven't you seen how attached she is to you? She's so different with you than with any of us."

"It's impossible," he whispered.

I sighed, "Not impossible."

All three pairs of eyes flew to my face. "It was so long ago that I barely even remember it. I couldn't see her face very clearly. She was half-facing the other way. She was older, and she was calling after her father. She was calling after you."

"You had a vision of her?"

I shook my head. "After Bella died, I thought it was impossible. I thought I was losing it or something, so I just put it out of my mind." Edward's eyes were shut again, and I didn't know if he imagining what I'd just described, or whether the sound of her name had brought him fresh pain. "But here she is, right in front of you. And you're a different person because of it. I've seen it. I know it's only been a couple of days, but she needs you now. She really needs you."

Admit it, Edward. You need her too.

It was a moment before he murmured again, "Impossible."

"If he won't do it, I will," Rosalie said firmly.

"Carlisle," he pleaded one last time. "This…is delusional and cruel. If you really care about Renesmee, you will leave her out of this. You will let her go so she can live safely and far away from us."

"You mean let her go so she can wander about the foster care system for years without a proper home!"

"We will find her a good home," he said calmly.

Rosalie had red in her stare, revolted. "Now I understand why you left and why never bothered to see us."

"Rosalie—" I warned, but there was no stopping it. She'd be waiting for this for a long time, and Edward waited expectantly.

"We were better off without you. You don't care about anyone and you deserve to be alone."

"Rosalie, that's not true," Carlisle said firmly. "Edward loves all of us very much, just like we will always love and support him and his decisions."

Edward's eyes were filled with ancient grief, but he said nothing.

"How about this? We talk to Bella about adoption, and see what she thinks of this before we rush into any decisions."

I beamed, "That's a fantastic idea!"

Edward's expression was hard and distant, but Rosalie seemed satisfied. "I think we should bring everyone else into this," she said promptly.

"I think you're right," Carlisle said. "Alice can you-?"

"-Already on it," I said, dialing up the house on my smartphone, ignoring Edward's sullenness.

Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay, I tried to comfort him as we were leaving the room.

But he wouldn't even look at me.