A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.

Chapter 4 – Seeing the world through your eyes

"Look what I have for you, angel." I held out my hands to Bella, hiding a small crab between my palms, that I'd just found in our own personal little pond on the beach.

She was sitting in the warm water under the blazing brazilian sun in nothing but a tiny, adorable, red polka dot baby bikini and matching sun hat, with me laying on my side behind her, curled around her petite form protectively. She leaned back against my bare chest, enjoying the familiar, soothing electricity flowing between us freely – it'd only got stronger in the past three weeks, since the first day we'd met. Our family surrounded us, watching her play and laugh and simply just discover new, exciting pieces of the world, like she was the most enchanting sight on the face of the earth. Which she was, for me and for them, too. The most precious treasure.

I felt her hot little hand patting the back of mine gently and she looked up at me curiously, a small smile playing on her tiny, perfect lips.

Show me? She thought sweetly, the beautiful, melodious voice of her mind rang in my head deliciously, sending soft waves of tremor down my spine, as always.

She had not spoken a word out loud yet, but the development of her mind was truly mesmerizing to witness, it progressed even faster than her body. She'd started to think in more than just images and feelings only a few days after Alice had found her in the woods, then the simple words had grown into full sentences quickly. Her vocabulary expanded with a stupendous rate. I was sure that the only reason she hadn't started to actually speak yet was that she simply didn't want to. Of course, none of us wanted to push her, she would speak when she was ready. All we wanted for her was to be happy, and she was, immensely. Bella was a very calm, consistent and happy baby.

Edward? She asked again, staring up at me, waiting.

I grinned at her and leaned down to rub my nose playfully against her tiny one, making her burst into a fit of giggles. She pressed her hot little palms to my icy cheeks, holding me to her possessively. Just like Alice had said she would be, she was very protective and possessive of me, much to Emmett's amusement.

"So? Do you not want to see it?" I asked her teasingly, nodding toward my still clasped hands. "Well, in that case..." I heaved a heavy sigh and moved to throw the small animal back into the ocean.

No! She squealed both in her thoughts and out loud, shaking her little head furiously. Her beautiful, long, wavy hair bounced around her sweet face. What is it? She wondered, pointing down at my hands with her petite index finger.

I unfolded my hands slowly, showing her the little, frightened crab, that was trying to escape from my hold desperately, and watched as her chocolate eyes widened in wonder as she stared down at the strange and very interesting creature in my palm.

"It's a crab." I told her quietly. "It's a creature of the sea."

Crab? She looked up at me, then back down at the tumbling animal. It's funny. She giggled.

"Yes. It's pretty funny." I chuckled.

Can I touch it?

I nodded. "You have to be very careful with it. It's very fragile."

Like fish?

I smiled and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Yes, exactly like fish. What do you think, can you do it, baby girl?"

She nodded, looking suddenly very serious, her forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"Okay." I said, trying to stifle my laughter, along with our whole family, who watched our whole exchange with open fascination. Bella was just so cute.

She reached for the crab and brushed her tiny fingertips along its back gently, making sure not to hurt, even accidentally, the poor creature. Then ever so carefully, she took it into her own little hands and lifted it up to take a better look at it.

It smells like the ocean. She noted, after sniffing around.

"It lives in the ocean." I explained, resting my now empty hands on her bare, chubby little legs.

Is that its home? She thought, wriggling her tiny feet, until she managed to push her soles into my palms.

"Yes."

Like fish's?

I nodded, rubbing her soft, warm skin. "Yes. Pretty much like that."

I watched her little face and listened to her thoughts as she still studied the crab, turning and twisting it in her petite hands. The gentleness of her movements completely amazed me. She knew her own strength perfectly well, and was able to control it without any difficulty.

She looked up at Esme then and smiled at her brilliantly. The joy of her new discovery radiated from her tiny body and reflected in Esme's eyes perfectly. They shared a very special bond, which only strengthened with each passing day, much to Carlisle's and my delight. In Bella's eyes, Esme was her new mother, though she'd never forgotten the woman who had carried her in her womb and given life to her, sacrificing her own for her precious daughter in the process. She remembered her warmth, her soft, gentle voice and how safe and loved she'd made her feel.

"Momma," Bella said out loud, grinning at Esme widely, showing her tiny, pearly white teeth.

The others gasped, their eyes widened in surprise, while Bella stayed completely oblivious to their silent awe and how she'd just managed to render our entire family - even their mind - speechless for a few moments.

Wow...

I closed my eyes briefly, unable to hold back my own reaction to hearing my Bella's beautiful, high soprano voice for the first time - so similar to the sound of her mind, yet so much different. My whole body started to tremble as soft waves of pleasure rippled down my spine. I growled quietly and tightened my hold on her little feet, while she pressed her small, hot back closer to my chest in answer and beamed up at me.

Our family's mental voices seemed so quiet and far away in that moment, just a soft humming in the background. My mind seemed to be able to register only small pieces of thoughts.

…she... really speak? Emmett wondered.

…so beautiful... Rosalie's eyes sparkled with pure wonder.

In the past weeks she'd come to terms with the whole situation with Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle's help, and accepted the rules that were to protect both Bella and me. She did not want to cause any kind of pain to us, especially to Bella.

She's... magnificent... son... I heard Carlisle's faint voice.

Edward... you alright? Jasper watched me worriedly.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Alice's eyes widen, but I could not concentrate to her mind to watch the vision play out in her head, nor did I care about it in that moment.

"Look what I have, Momma." Bella turned back to Esme in the meanwhile and said fluently, holding up her new little friend happily. "A crab."

With one very graceful motion, she got onto her little feet, and after one last look back at me, she skipped to Esme, practically dancing in the sand like a tiny ballerina. Her trilling, angelic laughter floated in the air.

As soon as she was out of my arms and our physical connection broke, two things happened at once. The pain, we all had worked so hard to avoid, returned now, though it wasn't nearly as excruciating as it'd been on that first day. It was there, throbbing in every fiber of my body, making me a weak, trembling mess, but it did not paralyze me. I found myself to be able to tolerate it, at least for a little while.

Along with the pain, the voices returned also, or rather got stronger, louder, clearer again. It'd become so easy to avoid them with Bella so close. Her close proximity was like a soft, warm blanket wrapped tightly around me. It made me practically unaware of anything but her.

She stopped suddenly, halfway to Esme, and looked back at me, whimpering, her beautiful, chocolate eyes wide. Her tiny body was shaking the exact same way as my own. I would have had her in my arms in a blink of an eye, if I hadn't seen in her mind how much she wanted to go to Esme and show her her crab. She wanted to do it on her own. She wanted to make her Momma smile.

"It's okay. Go." I gave her an encouraging nod. We could endure a minute or two of this, and she was only a few feet away, she could be in my arms again in a heartbeat.

She stared at me for another moment before lifting her hand up to her rosy lips and blowing me a kiss, like she'd learned from Esme a few weeks ago. She smiled at me one last time, then turned back toward the others and continued her way to Esme.

The further she got away from me, the more anxious I became and the less I could control the trembling of my body. I could feel something strange and unknown start to grow somewhere deep inside me. It was a need, a feral instinct so strong that I could hardly found the strength to fight it, while it demanded only one thing: get to Bella again. It pounded in my head fiercely, making me nearly insane. It was so hard to see through the red haze that suddenly clouded my mind and not to act upon it and just grab my angel like a savage.

Bella... Bella... my Bella... my mate... MINE...MINE...

I watched my angel as she finally reached Esme, and stopped in front of her, unable to take my eyes off of her petite, fragile form. I was on high alert, monitoring everybody's thoughts closely. I could not let them bring any harm to her. They needed to stay far away from her.

Before I could control myself, I was on my feet and sank into a low crouch, ready to pounce on anybody, who might even think about getting close to her. They could not do that. They could not touch her. I let out a warning growl and watched with satisfaction as they carefully backed away from my girl at Carlisle's quiet command. All but Esme, who remained sitting in front of Bella, smiling warmly at her.

"Look, Momma." Bella lifted up the crab for her to get a better look at it.

She did not seem flustered or frightened by my actions or the others' anxious reactions, she didn't even seem to notice it, though I could see it in her mind that she was perfectly aware of it.

"What do you have, darling girl?" Esme asked softly, leaning slightly closer. Her thoughts burst with pure happiness and love.

Strangely, I did not find her closeness to Bella as intimidating as the others', but I was still on edge, burning with the overpowering need to protect my mate at all costs, even from our own family.

And Bella found it completely natural, understanding our unique connection fully. I could see it her mind that she knew exactly just how far she should push me.

"A crab." She answered proudly to Esme. "My Edward found it for me. Isn't it funny? "

Esme nodded. "It's pretty funny. Your Edward" her gaze flashed to me for a brief moment and she smiled, before turning back to Bella again. "can find the funniest things for you." Her smile widened as Bella ducked her head shyly and blushed beautifully at that.

"It tickles my hands with its legs." Bella giggled softly.

"Well, it's probably trying to get back to its family." Esme explained patiently. "You should let it go, sweetheart."

Bella's eyes widened again and she looked at the still wriggling animal in her hands in wonder. "Do you think, it has tiny babies, Momma?"

Esme cocked her head and smiled again, amazed by the tiny girl in front of her and her incredible progress.

"Hm, most likely, darling."

Bella gasped and twirled around. She was back in my arms in a mere second. Every single muscle in my body relaxed instantly and she practically melted into my embrace, pressing her face into the crook my neck, the pain forgotten once more.

The crab has babies, Edward. She thought to me excitedly, wrapping her arms around my neck tightly. Momma said it.

I chuckled at her, feeling completely at ease now that I was holding her again.

We have to let it go back to its babies. She pulled back and looked into my eyes, resting one of her little palms on my cheek.

"Your Momma is very clever." I kissed the tip of her cute, button nose, making her giggle while she nuzzled her angel face against mine. "Let's release that crab, baby girl."

We sat back into our little pond and she leaned down to place her new little friend back into the water.

Will it find its way home? She asked worriedly, watching it swim then crawl further and further away from us.

"I'm sure, it will." I assured her, caressing her small back lovingly.

"Momma, will it find its way home?" She turned back to Esme and asked her too, needing her reassurance, also, besides my own.

"Of course, sweetie. Don't worry about it." Esme nodded and Carlisle wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her gently back against his bare chest.

Bella smiled at the two of them. She absolutely loved to see them show affection to each other, to witness through small gestures how much they loves the other. It fascinated her and made her absolutely happy.

Daddy loves Momma so much. She sighed internally, snuggling closer to me and I couldn't help grinning widely. It was the first time she called Carlisle 'Daddy' in her thoughts. Her shy nature and our very complicated connection made it pretty difficult for her to get close to anybody and form a deep bond with them.

"Yes, angel. Daddy loves Momma very much." I looked up at Carlisle and see him beaming at the little girl in my arms with surprise and love. "Almost as much as I love you."

She leaned her head on my chest, a soft smile playing on her rosy lips as she stared up at me.

"Sweetheart?" Carlisle's voice burst our bubble and Bella turned toward him curiously. "Would you like to help me build a sand castle?"

I watched with amusement as her big, chocolate brown eyes widened in amazement.

A real castle? Like in that pretty book you read to me once? She asked looking up at me quickly, remembering our second night together, when I'd read her a bedtime story for the first time from one of the children's books Alice had bought for her.

I nodded, grinning. "Only made of sand."

She clapped her tiny hands and giggled, bouncing excitedly in my arms. Yes, I want that. Please?

"You need to tell that to Daddy, baby girl." I nudged her playfully. "He can't read your beautiful mind, you know."

"I'd love to help you, Daddy." She said sweetly, yet somehow shyly. She was so adorable. "Can Momma help too?"

"Of course." Carlisle nodded, smiling widely. "But maybe we should ask her about it first if she'd like to help us or not, don't you think?"

"Momma would you like to help us build a castle?" Bella asked Esme immediately, staring at her pleadingly. It was impossible to resist her pout.

"I'd love that, my sweet." Esme smiled too, nearly bursting with happiness.

"Make that a competition," Emmett clapped, then rubbed his large palm together mischievously. "and see who can build the coolest one." He flashed a wide grin at Bella, who shrank back against my chest sheepishly, blushing profoundly.

She bewared of him a little bit, which all of us but Emmett found quite amusing. She found his big muscles and his noisy nature a tad bit frightening, which I could fully understand; she was such a petite and delicate little thing compared to him.

"Emmett, you moron." Rosalie hissed at him and smacked the back of his head. "Stop frightening her all the time you open your big mouth."

"It's okay, Rose." I chuckled, shaking my head at them. "She's perfectly fine, so there's no need to scold your husband this time."

"See Rosie?" Emmett asked, rubbing the spot she'd just hit. "There's no need to get abusive."

She just rolled her eyes at him while he pouted like a small child who'd been just denied his favourite cookie.

They're so funny. Bella thought to me and chuckled at them.

"Yeah, they're pretty funny." I agreed, kissing the tip of her nose. "Let's start to build that castle while they're still busy arguing. Before they know it, we're going to have the prettiest one of all."

She clapped her hands and laughed. Let's go... go... go...