Alice's head fell into her hands, her marble body shaking with sobs. Jasper immediately wrapped his arm around her to try and calm her down, but Alice couldn't seem to be stopped. She just sat their, breaking down slowly.

"Jasper what's happened?" Jake asked, concern laced into his voice. Seth was eyeing Alice, trying to figure out what was up but she lifted her face to look at us when Jake asked about her.

"I lost everyone. Everyone of us, Charlie, Sue, Billy... I can't see anyone anymore!"

We were all silent as Alice's face twisted into an agonised mask. Her lips crumpled and turned into a pout and she let out one heart- wrenching sob as she leaned into Jasper's shoulder. Her hair fell before her face, obscuring her pale, smooth skin and amber eyes from us.

I looked at Jake and saw his furrowed brow and narrowed eyes staring into space. Alice had mentioned Billy, so it was only normal that he worry about his father.

"I wish Reneesme would just stop, she's killing me-"

"Stop what?" I asked in utter confusion.

Jasper looked at me, his golden eyes drowned in sadness and grief. "Alice believes that Reneesme is affecting others around her with her brain. Edward can't hear us as
clearly as he used to and I can't feel emotions or control them as easily. She's affecting our powers, so to speak."

"So Alice can't see the future anymore?"

"Not always," Alice interjected, "It depends on Reneesme. When she thinks about me, she blocks my vision, Edward's hearing and Jasper's control. Apparently, she cannot effect mental or physical powers like Carlisle's compassion and Emmett's strength."

"So how come she doesn't affect us?" I asked, curious. She knew who we were, she could think of us every now and then, but I never felt weaker, slower or different in any other way.

Alice shrugged. "Could be that she has no effect on you, since you are werewolves and she's part vampire."

"She can still show us though," Seth pointed it. Jasper thought about it then shook his head and shrugged too.

"Is Bella...?" Jacob asked, stepping forward and making his way up the porch steps. Alice grabbed Jake's wrist and stopped him.

"Almost. But we would prefer it if you'd watch Reneesme for us. We're afraid of Bella's newborn burn and that she might lash out on Reneesme."

Jacob leaned against the wooden banister and looked at me before he nodded. "Sure we'll keep watch." Why was he looking at me? Seth watched this exchange with a devious smile before Alice and Jasper went inside and I heard them go upstairs softly.

Bella's heart was beating insanely fast, and it was kind of scary. Each pound reverberated in my ears and I saw Jake wince as he heard the heart beats too, obviously knowing that these would be her last beats as a human. That he would lose her now, forever. It pained me to see him so, but the imprint didn't allow me to the deny him his love for someone else. It just didn't work that way, even if I wanted it to. I sat down in Alice's spot and leaned back against the step behind me, tilting my head back to look at the sky. It was setting now, the sky above me pearly pink studded with cotton clouds. It was beautiful. I could sense the tension and anxiety present between all the members
and the excitement too.

Soft footsteps moved towards us and soon, Reneesme was being lowered onto my lap. I was kinda surprised and I turned my head to see Rosalie disappear into the house. Reneesme breathed me in, and cuddled up to me. I held her awkwardly at first but when Jacob sat down next to me and leaned close to me to look at Reneesme, I happily held her close. Seth stroked her cheek and she smiled and pressed her palm to my neck.

Momma's coming! She sang in her thoughts. I rocked her gently but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad and angry. Bella was going to be awake soon, a beautiful mystical being and I was afraid even the difference between them wouldn't keep Jacob from falling head over heels for her. Again. And I'd have to suffer from heart break again, because no one would love me, only this time it would be worse because of the imprint.

"Yes, she is," I assured her. She sat up and sniffed the air around her before pressing her hand to my cheek.

Jacob and Seth are here too, right?

"Yes," I said and she spread her hands out next to her and felt for Jacob and Seth. They knew what she wanted and they grabbed her hands to make it easier for her to show them.

They both smiled as Reneesme's thoughts flooded into their minds and squeezed her hands. Her tiny, pale fingers were barely visible in their massive russet palms.

"Listen to Bella's heart..." Seth trailed off, letting go of Reneesme's hand. She heard him and lifted her head up to hear her mother's heart. It was beating louder than ever, stronger, like the thrumming of a bird's wings.

"A few minutes," Alice said, her voice heavy with excitement. A few intakes of breath as they waited in anticipation.

Jacob sighed and raked his fingers through his silky black hair. Seth raised his eyebrows at me as I looked at him, rolling my eyes. Why did Bella have to come and ruin everything now that everything's perfect? Reneesme reached out to Seth and he took her in his arms and cradled her. I looked away from them and at Jacob, watching as he fisted away at his hair. A pang of sadness slashed at my heart, bleeding compassion,

longing and concern. I stood up and wrapped an arm around Jacob's waist, comforting him and satisfying my needs.

He didn't seem to mind and leaned into my hug, resting his chin on my head and letting his anger loose by squeezing me to him. He wouldn't cry. No, he wouldn't. He was to proud for that. But he would cry if he could. I knew that. I inhaled his scent: woods, pine, fresh rain, masculinity and his own personal smell. His smell was so... Sensual. I
shuddered and he loosened his grip immediately.

"Sorry," he whispered in my ear, thinking that I had shuddered out of pain, when in fact, it was quite the opposite. He pulled away and I heard Seth snicker.

"Oh shut the fuck up!"

Reneesme's head snapped up in the direction of my voice and her eyebrows crinkled. She grabbed Seth's wrist and he was immediately laughing his ass off.

"What the-?"

"Reneesme told Leah not to swear in front of her."

I blushed a bright crimson and Jake joined in on Seth's laughter. The bitchy werewolf cannot swear in front of the half vampire half human girl. Ridiculous. I rolled my eyes and leaned against the banister.

"How does she even know that I'm swearing?"

"Don't know… probably heard her aunts or uncles or something being corrected about it," Seth suggested between laughs. I accepted his theory and listened to the wonderful sound of their laughs enter twined together.

They stopped laughing when we heard a hiss from upstairs. Bella's here! Oh fucking joy! Seth heard her too. And Jacob. We all looked to the second floor of the house and heard a slight commotion before everything was still again. Only the rough breathing of a newborn vampire.

Seth stood up and gave Reneesme to me and pushed me behind them as we stood silently on the porch. Reneesme was perked up, head held high, listening to what we were listening to. Her hand was pressed to my neck, passing her thoughts to me. She was confused. She couldn't determine what it was that she was listening to.

Momma... She was repeating over and over, as if she couldn't believe that she was finally going to meet her mom. I rolled my eyes, trying to imagine Bella as a vampire.

Ew.

My gaze floated onto Jake's huge back. Yes, huge. His biceps were crossed over his chest and his short jet black hair was swaying slightly to the movement of the breeze. He was so beautiful. The imprint pull seemed stronger now, here. I didn't know why but it just seemed like it. It wasn't just lurking beneath my every thought. It was there, very significant. It was probably due to the intensity of the moment. Could be...

Reneesme was quiet in my arms. She probably understood that this moment was too important for words. She just sat there, curled in my arms. They were talking upstairs but I didn't want to listen. I didn't want to listen in on someone else's happy ending, knowing I will never get mine. I let my thoughts wander, to the woods and the Sam
problem. Technically, it was ours too, but I couldn't seem to find it in myself to admit that I was going to have to fight against my family. It was just too damn hard. Jake was listening intently, his face drawn and his deep eyes sad. His lips were pulled down in pout, the muscles in his back locked in tension and anger. His emotions were like a blanket around him.

A small thud on the other side of the house and two sets of light footsteps bounding away from the house told us that Edward had taking Bella hunting, for the first time. As soon as they left the house, Alice giggled and all the family laughed as they made their way downstairs. Jake figured it was okay to go inside now and he opened the door with us on his tail. They were all there, in their beautiful glory, smiles from one ear to the other and no trace of the anxiety and tension that they had been emitting before. I stood at the entrance to the living room with Reneesme taking in all the new scents
that had assaulted her. I was surprised at myself for being so comfortable with a vampire child, but I guess my motherly instincts were making me do so. The fact that I had been able to hold a child in my arms, not necessarily mine, had calmed down my bitterness and my anger towards everything.

Seth was already sitting on the couch, next to Emmett, and they were loading a video game on the huge flat screen on the wall. Jake was... Not doing good. I walked over to him and shook his shoulder gently with my free hand. He didn't even turn around to acknowledge me but remained there, wallowing in self pity. I gave up and saw Rosalie
beaming at me. I figured she wanted Reneesme but she shook her head when I went to lift Reneesme off of my hip.

Is Momma here? Reneesme asked expectantly.

"No honey, she's with your Daddy and they went hunting for food. They'll be back soon, though," I assured her. She understood and went back to smelling the air around her. I contemplated sitting down on the couch but Seth and Emmett had pretty much taken up the whole thing. So I opted to remain standing up. Jake was looking at me now, his eyes drowning in tears. I gave him a look that screamed 'don't-fucking-cry-here' and leaned into him and whispered "Later" in his ear.

Whispering in a house filled with vampires, a werewolf and a hybrid is not very useful. As soon as I muttered that one word, I earned a few awkward glances from the vampires. A confused one from Alice and Jasper, an ashamed one from Esme, disapproval from Carlisle, a promiscuous look from Emmett and a blank from Seth. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, shutting off any ideas of what they thought we would be doing tonight. Jake understood, though, and nodded before he leaned against a wall and tilted his head back with his eyes closed.

Silence. Except from the repeated explosions from the video game. But other than that, silence. Reneesme was a really quiet child and didn't even utter one single word. But then I figured that she probably couldn't speak if she wanted to, maybe because her speech was affected by the disease. I didn't know. Rosalie and Alice were flipping through a fashion magazine and Carlisle was reading a book. Esme was silently sketching on a large mahogany desk in the corner of the living room. Jasper was looking at Jacob, confusion etched into his features. He was probably trying to figure out his emotions. I could tell it was not such an easy task.

I was interested in Reneesme. Or rather, her thoughts. The girl was showing me everything going in her mind, every question, every colour, every doubt, every smell, and she was even trying to conjure up images of everyone in her family. I didn't know how she was doing it, but she would occasionally feel her face to get the shape of the face right. She was basing each appearance on voice and smell. Some of them were
surprisingly accurate. Rosalie's was really good and Jacob's was like a young child had drawn him. Mine, left much to be desired. She thought I was pale, for crying out loud!

"No Reneesme, I look more like Jacob," I explained. She immediately arranged her mental picture of Jacob to look like a woman and immediately, it looked better. I smiled as she lengthened his hair and made it look shiny and nice.

"Damn, Reneesme is a real mouthful," Jacob commented suddenly.

Emmett paused the game to smile at Jacob. "Hell yeah, brother!"

"Well... It's her name, dumbos," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes and tapping the side of her head.

"Yeah, but a nick name would be great," Alice chirped, bouncing in her seat. It had obviously been a really long time since Alice had gotten a surprise.

"Re Re? Sessie? Ren?" Seth suggested.

Jake shook his head and closed his eyes again to think. I looked at him and hoped Jasper wouldn't be too shocked at my emotions. Fortunately, he was still looking at Jacob.

"How about Nessie?" he asked, opening his eyes again and straightening up. Rosalie nodded enthusiastically and Alice was whistling contently.

Perfect, Reneesme thought and sent happy emotions towards me.

"Reneesme likes it," Jasper said, sensing the happiness she was sending to me. Man, it was really annoying in here. You couldn't move an inch without everyone knowing what you're thinking, feeling and going to do next. Irritating. I tried my best to not let them get on my nerves, but sometimes, I just couldn't help it.

"Then Nessie it is!" Seth hollered from the couch before Emmett pressed play and they continued the game. Then, everything fell silent again as everyone continued what they had been doing before. They astonished me at how easily they interacted with each other, but how comfortably they lived in their own silence.

Reneesme's thoughts were continuous. She flew from one thought to another without pause and each one was different and more colourful than the other. She was keeping me entertained, as if she knew that I wasn't too comfortable with her family. I caught Jacob looking at us once or twice, eyes narrowed and forehead creased in frustration. I was confused too, by the way he was looking me. It was… strange. A shiver ran down my spine, causing me to shake slightly. Reneesme stopped for a few seconds before her thoughts continued on a steady flow.

Jacob heard them before I did. He stood up rigidly and his hands balled up into tight fists, his veins protruding beneath his skin. Two sets of footsteps, soft, and a bell-like voice laughing along with a velvet one. My heart skipped a beat as the whole family stood up and walked towards me, holding up a defensive ground around Reneesme. Jacob and Seth stood beside me and Reneesme sensed the sudden tension. She buried her head in my hair and I suddenly wanted to give her to Rosalie, but she was standing up front, closer to the door than I was.

My breathing was coming out in quick, short huffs and Seth gripped my hand and squeezed it tightly, calming the tremors coursing through my body. Breath in, breath out. Okay, good.

Momma? Reneesme asked, excitement laced with the question.

I didn't want to answer her, I didn't want to give my presence away. I would be risking my life, and Seth's too. I gnashed my teeth together and nailed my gaze on the back door as Edward and Bella approached the house at a human pace. They were leisurely talking between themselves, laughing. They smelt of blood. Figures. The Cullens were spread out randomly next to me, but they were definitely defensive of Reneesme. They were protecting Reneesme, but who was protecting us? We were, after all, human too. Beating heart, a pulse. The whole shebang. But that didn't seem to matter to anyone.

In a flash, the door was open, and a shocked Bella looked inside. She was beautiful, like all the other vampires, but she still had that same look she had when she was human. Annoying. Yeah, that was the word.

Edward was next to Bella, holding her hand, eyes on the girl in my arms. Reneesme wouldn't turn her head to face her mother or her father. Rosalie moved to stand halfway in front of me and at that moment, I just wanted to get the hell out of the house and not be associated with them. But I couldn't, like some force was compelling me to stay. Oh yeah, Jacob. So I had to stay in the house, holding the vampire hybrid in my arms. I had never, not even in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would be doing such a thing.

Bella's eyes looked at everyone before they saw the head of bronze curls resting on my shoulder. Her eyes zeroed in on Reneesme and she took a few tentative steps towards us. She tilted her head to see who was behind Rosalie and she shrieked when she saw me.

"Leah Clearwater!" she screamed and lunged towards me.