Our return trip was slowed down, just a little, by the fact that we now had checked luggage. I bought two large suitcases in Paris to hold my purchases, and left them in trunk of a rental car while I led Bella through the blessedly rainy city streets on a lightning tour of preselected boutiques. In spite of the time constraints, it was a fruitful shopping trip even by my standards. Bella was fretting to get home to Edward and EJ, and it would've been a challenge to keep her there if we hadn't had to wait for our flight - as I'd foreseen in choosing that particular day and time for our trip. I had a wonderful time choosing clothing for Bella, and had even found a few items for Rose and Esme, and some truly adorable dresses for the baby.

As we waited at the luggage carousel, Bella said, "You realize the closet in our cottage isn't going to be big enough for all this?"

"We'll have to enlarge it, then. Esme's been wanting to finish the place off." Carlisle snagged the larger of the two suitcases as it came around on the conveyer belt, and I let Bella take two carry-ons so I could wheel the other one. I gloated happily over the treasures within. "EJ needs a closet, too."

"Also a bed," Bella said. At the mention of her daughter, she began walking a little faster. "She'll outgrow her crib before long."

In fact, we were all anxious to get home. Carlisle stayed close to the speed limit as we left the airport, but once he came to a deserted stretch of road closer to our home, he hit the gas, and we reached the house in record time. We dumped the luggage inside the door and turned to accept the family's greetings: hugs and kisses, congratulations and expressions of relief. My eyes stayed on Jasper while I exchanged embraces and high fives. I watched his future continually, but it was never the same as seeing him with my actual eyes. He approached me and I took his hand, and felt well again.

Bella ran into Edward's arms, sighing with relief, but almost immediately said, "Where's EJ?"

"Outside, with Rosalie," Edward said, kissing her. "She wanted to know the name of every plant she can see. Rosalie?" he called, and Rose darted through the back door, EJ in her arms. The baby had grown measurably in the short time we'd been away.

"Bella! What a relief! I was worried," Rose said, hugging Bella and kissing her forehead tenderly. I exchanged a look with Jazz. I was even more convinced that his 'grandmother' interpretation was right. Bella had been adopted.

EJ eagerly reached for her mother, and Bella scooped her up. "Ohh, my little girl, I missed you so much!" She whirled around, making the baby laugh, and kissed her repeatedly. It was lovely to see. At last, EJ took the time to say hello to me and 'Grandpa' before settling down on her mama's lap to show picture-stories about all that had happened while Bella was gone.

Bella raised an eyebrow at one of the revelations. "You let her swim? What was that water she was showing me? The waves looked awfully big."

"Lake Winnipesaukee," Tanya said. "Near our new place."

"She liked it," Rosalie said, smiling at EJ. "Didn't you, darling?"

Bella looked worried. "Isn't she a little young for swimming in a lake?"

"We don't have a swimming pool," Emmett said, "and she could only swim somewhere private, where she couldn't be seen."

"We went out on a rainy day," Edward said, "and chose an area without a sandy beach. We had the area to ourselves."

"But you have to be careful with her in the water," Bella protested. "She needs to breathe. It might be possible for her to drown."

"We stayed close by, love," Edward assured her. "Several of us were in the water with her the entire time."

"Even human babies go to baby swim classes," Rosalie pointed out. "EJ's a lot stronger and more coordinated than any of them."

"That's true," Bella conceded. EJ placed a hand against her face, and she smiled reluctantly. "Yes, I can see you had fun. Are you a good swimmer?" The baby nodded.

"She's an excellent swimmer," Edward confirmed proudly. "She caught on in no time."

"I've got to teach her to dive. Ten meter high dive - I bet she'd like that," Emmett said, adding, as he saw Bella's expression, "later on, when she's older."

I grimaced slightly. The high dive reference reminded me of the time Bella had almost died, jumping from a cliff into the ocean. Not that long ago, but it seemed like another lifetime. Edward sighed, probably picking up my thoughts. She's so happy now, I thought. Happier than she ever could have been in her other life. All that misery and pain you both went through, trying to keep her human. When you're wrong, Edward, you're really wrong. He gave me a smirk. Probably no one had ever been happier to be proven wrong.

EJ showed her mother the rest of her story, while Edward sat beside them, an arm around Bella, watching the images pass through his daughter's mind. Esme was on Carlisle's lap, and Jazz and I stood with our arms around each other. The picture stories came to an end, and Bella asked, "What about all of you? What's been going on while we were away?"

"Not so much," Emmett said. "Kate signed up for college."

"That's a surprise," I said. "It must have been a very last minute decision." I hadn't seen anything about it. Of course, my attention had been occupied for the past few days.

"It was," Tanya agreed. "She had to pay some kind of penalty for late registration, but they let her in. She's taking sociology. She thinks it will give her insight into modern day humans."

"It might," Carlisle said skeptically.

"If college works out for her, I might consider it another time," Tanya said. "You seem to have no trouble blending in with the community as students, and we've all thought of following your example."

"You could start with high school," Emmett suggested, laughing as the rest of us made faces.

Tanya held up her hands as though warding off an attack. "Please, no! College I can manage, but not high school! It sounds tedious beyond description."

"Can't disagree with that," Edward said ruefully.

"Besides, I think we look a little too old for high school. Me, especially." That was true. All three sisters had been changed in their twenties; and while Tanya was no older than the others, she had a look of maturity about her that would stand out in a high school classroom.

"No, not high school," Tanya said, "but we may all start attending college next year. It provides an excuse for living in a place several years without employment."

"Besides," Eleazar added, "education is never a waste."

"Very true," Carlisle agreed.

"I know you're both great advocates of higher learning," Tanya said teasingly. "Especially Carlisle. How many degrees does your family have among them?"

"Many," Carlisle said, smiling. "Well, my very best wishes for Kate's new endeavour. Especially as she is testing the waters for the rest of you."

"Where is Kate today?" I asked. "And Irina?"

"In Hanover, at a fraternity party." Tanya smirked. "Campus social life is part of the college experience, after all."

I snickered. "Those poor, unsuspecting frat boys!"

EJ placed her hand on Bella's face, looking up at her curiously. "Oh, college is a kind of school. A special place where you go to learn things. Understand?" EJ nodded, and touched Bella once more. "Well…yes, I suppose you might go to school. When you're older. Right now, you'll have to let us teach you, okay?" Another nod, and the baby rested her head against Bella, continuing to listen in on the conversation. I saw Bella and Edward exchange a look.

It was an interesting question. Would EJ eventually attend school? Would she be able to be around humans? How would she develop once she left infancy? Everything about the little girl was uncertain, and I knew Edward and Bella worried about her.

When the sun began to set, Bella took EJ to a quiet corner with the book they'd been reading. She'd started reading aloud to her daughter when she was less than a week old, and although EJ could read well enough on her own, she still liked the ritual of the bedtime story. The choice of story was less traditional; Bella alternated between children's stories and adult literature, ranging from poetry to carefully selected novels with G-rated content. When we left for Italy, she'd just finished reading EJ The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, and tonight she started on The Wind in the Willows. Edward took a place near them.

We all lowered our voices while storytime was in progress. "Did anything else happen while we were away?" Carlisle asked.

"I found a possible house for us," Esme told him, "for, probably, two or three moves from now. It's a defunct brewery."

"How terribly glamourous," Carlisle said, grinning.

She laughed. "It has some very nice architectural elements. I think I could make a home of it."

He smiled at her. "I'm sure you could. Do we need to purchase it now, or will it stand empty until we're ready to start renovations?"

They looked at me. "Where is it?" I asked. Esme provided the name of a town in Minnesota, and I tried to find it. It's harder when I'm looking for something I've never actually seen in real life. "Can I go with you some time to see the site?" I asked.

"Certainly," Esme said.

That helped. I tried looking into our own future, seeing us visiting the town, on a typically cloudy day. "Not a very sunny place," I remarked.

"No," Esme agreed. "It seems ideal."

I watched us looking over a deserted structure, a faded sign reading Jewel Brewery still visible over the main door. "Is it a rectangular brick building, with Art Deco features around the doors and windows? Jewel is the company name?"

"That's right."

I scanned forward. "It's still standing ten years from now, although it's a little the worse for wear. There's a For Sale sign on the door that looks very weathered. Do you need to see further than that?"

"No, thank you, dear. That should do. I'm not sure if we'll even be in the country at that point, but I'll keep it in mind."

I nodded. We had places we could all resort to in an emergency, of course, but otherwise our next move, the location of our next home was still unclear. Eventually, Bella would want to come out of hiding and take part in human type activities, like college and shopping, and we weren't too sure when that would be safe. Her picture might still pop up on news reports occasionally. For that matter, we weren't completely sure when it would be okay to let EJ join the outside world, and I couldn't even help them with that. Her future remained a blank to me.

Bella concluded the first chapter, which happened to include Mole's first trip away from his home into the wide world, where he learned to swim, among other things. EJ had started to yawn, and before Bella had finished the first paragraph of Chapter Two, she had conked out, her head resting against Bella's shoulder. When we were certain she was soundly asleep, Carmen asked, "What happened in Volterra? We've only heard that you saw the Volturi, and returned safely. Tell us all about it."

"The trip there was uneventful," Carlisle said. "Alice kept watch until the very moment Bella entered their audience hall. There was only one concern, when she saw Aro contemplating…well, you heard about that, and how it concluded."

"Indeed," Eleazar said. "Was the hall the same as when I resided there, I wonder? Has the Guard grown?"

"From what you described, and what Carlisle described, it's almost exactly the same," I told him. "I think I saw a new Guard member, though. He was standing by the chamber door, like a footman; tall and skinny, with black hair?"

"You're right; I think he's new. Perhaps Aro found someone with a particularly intriguing gift."

"Would the Volturi have a Guardsman who wasn't gifted?" Bella asked. "Just to be an actual footman?"

"In my experience, it would be highly unusual," Eleazar said. "The Volturi - particularly Aro - like to select Guard members who have unique abilities. They are chosen for the usefulness of their gifts, primarily, but also for their distinctiveness. Even someone who did the work of a common servant - answering the chamber door, for example - would probably be gifted in some way. You could make the comparison with the kings and queens of Europe, who used to select members of the nobility to perform personal tasks: lords and ladies given the honour of turning down the royal bed, fetching the royal breakfast, and so forth. A kind of affectation. The Volturi take a similar approach to their own attendants, except that innate gifts replace rank."

"They're very full of themselves, aren't they?" Bella muttered.

"Bella doesn't much care for the Volturi," Jasper observed. He and Emmett were engaged in a bout of Dragon Hunter III on the game unit. Em was almost certainly going to lose, as he usually did when competing with Jasper, but was giving it his best shot. Jasper had said he admired the way Emmett preferred a challenging opponent over a greater chance of victory.

"I met them when I was still human. They made kind of a bad first impression," she said.

"Yeah," Emmett agreed, "death threats tend to do that. Ha! Extra weapons!" he said, clicking buttons rapidly and providing his avatar with a bow and magic arrows.

"I wasn't any more impressed this time," Bella went on. "Aro started hinting that they might get at Edward if I didn't agree to join them. More crazy death threats!"

"Psycho killer," Emmett sang softly, clicking away at his control buttons. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"Did they directly threaten Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"No, never directly. Just hinted, in the vaguest possible way."

"A nice man, your husband," Emmett said, in a gruff Don Corleone voice. "It would be a shame if, God forbid, he should meet with an unexpected accident."

"We heard your response, of course," Carlisle said. "It seems to me nothing would be more effective than pointing out the Volturi's dedication to the law. It is something Aro, in particular, is deeply proud of."

"Why did it make Caius so mad?" Bella asked.

"That is a subject that has created a conflict between them for some years," Eleazar said. "Caius fears that Aro's fascination with collecting gifted individuals is going to destroy their credibility and influence. Aro is sometimes willing to overstep the law in order to obtain a promising recruit, and Caius argues that their reputation for upholding the law for the protection of all is the main thing that prevents uprisings. The vampire world accepts the Volturi's authority, partly because it is thought to be scrupulously fair. Bella's comments would have reminded Caius of their ongoing dispute; pointed out that Aro was, once again, pushing boundaries in order to acquire another addition to the Guard."

Bella nodded. "I see. Well, I'm glad it worked."

"You didn't understand the reason your comments were effective?" Carmen asked.

"No. I just had a feeling they would be."

"Interesting. Your second gift seems to operate almost on an unconscious level."

"Well, it did use to come from her dreams," I pointed out.

"We really should help Bella work on developing it," Tanya said, "Like she did with her shield."

"But where's the present?" Emmett asked. "Didn't the Volturi give you some piece of the Crown Jewels or something?"

"Not quite." She started to get up carefully, holding the sleeping EJ in her arms, but I quickly tossed her handbag to her. "Thanks, Alice." She took out the jewelled box and opened it.

"Nice token," Tanya said, picking up the bracelet and examining it.

"It's not a token," Bella said grimly, "it's a bribe. Attempted bribe, that is."

"The Volturi may not think of it that way," Jasper said. Onscreen, his avatar successfully captured yet another dragon's egg. Emmett growled at the setback. "It may simply be their way of showing their interest, saying they'd welcome your contribution. Or even just what they stated it was: a welcome gift."

"I don't understand why you defend them," Bella said.

"Because," he said, his eyes still on the TV screen, "I've seen how bad things can get when they're not involved."

"It's true, Bella," Eleazar said. "The Volturi provide a necessary service. Our kind could not live safely and secretly without them. There would also be no other recourse against powerful alliances of vampires, like the ones who fought in the south years ago. It could be, as you suggest, that they are corrupt and self-serving, but they do serve the law as well. We need them."

"I suppose so," Bella said grudgingly, "but I hope I never have to see them again."

"Most likely you won't," Jasper said, "unless you do something incredibly out of line."

"Fat chance," Emmett said. "She's the Goody Two Shoes of the vampire world." Bella stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed.

"Jasper is right," Eleazar said. "The Volturi rarely leave their palace. It would take a serious infraction to bring them in person. At most, two or three members of the Guard might come in person to correct some dangerous behaviour or other."

"It's kind of odd, then, that they all came to deal with Victoria and her newborns," Bella said.

"Unusual, yes," Eleazar mused, "but not unreasonable, if they thought a new war among newborn armies might be underway."

"They showed up in person to deal with the southern armies," Jasper said.

"They had an ulterior motive, in this case," Edward said. "I heard it in their thoughts. Aro wanted to look in on Carlisle. Apparently he'd heard accounts of the growing family, and of the fact that we'd become acquainted with a former member of the Guard. He was curious; I'm not sure if there was more to it than that."

They all looked questioningly at me. "I haven't seen them take any action involving us," I said, "but I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thank you, Alice," Carlisle said.

The conversation moved on to lighter topics. "Are those the things you bought in Paris?" Tanya asked me.

"Yes! Most of them are for Bella. Her wardrobe is still pretty inadequate." I saw Bella look at the ceiling, and grinned at her. "But I have an item or two in there for others, as well. Do you want to try on some of the highlights, Bella?"

She glanced down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "Not tonight, Alice. Tomorrow, okay?

"Bella, do you mind if I look?" Tanya asked, gesturing to the suitcases.

"No, go right ahead."

Tanya and I took out a few selections, and I distributed the clothes I'd bought for other family members. Even Emmett could now appreciate quality clothing, and he grinned as I tossed him a hand-stitched grey silk shirt - a hard thing to find in his size. Emmett gave me hope: if he could learn to enjoy being well dressed, I knew I could win over Bella eventually.

Bella accepted a particularly becoming wrap dress to take back to the cottage and wear tomorrow. The rest was repacked.

"It's been ages since I've been in Paris," Tanya sighed. "It would be fun to go together some time." There was a general assent.

"Maybe during Spring break," Rose suggested.

"Yes; now that Kate's a co-ed, we have to work around times when class is in session," Tanya agreed. "It's a new experience for us."

"How come Irina's at the frat party?" Emmett asked. "Just helping Kate size up prospective conquests, or is she thinking of going to college, too?"

"Both," Tanya said, giving him a smirk. "She was wondering if she looked too mature, and I suggested colouring her hair blue."

"That would lend an air of immaturity," Carlisle agreed.

Bella glanced uncertainly at Tanya. "Speaking of hair, can I ask something, well, something that might be a little out of line?"

"Oh, those are always the best questions." Tanya sat up, interested. "Ask, ask."

"I was wondering about Irina's hair." She gestured with one hand at chin-length, where Irina's blonde hair ended. "Every other female I've seen, apart from Alice, has long hair. Rosalie said it wasn't the custom for women to cut their hair until the early twentieth century; but Irina is from…"

"From long before the twentieth century," Tanya agreed. "Is that your idea of being out of line?"

"She's too polite for her own good," Rosalie said, giving Bella a smile.

Tanya chuckled. "Irina had her hair cut short because she was very sick, near the end of her human life. It was a common practice. A woman's long hair was believed to sap her strength, so if she became dangerously ill, it would be cut short to aid her recovery. Irina isn't even sure what disease she suffered from. In the advanced stages of the disease, she lost consciousness, and woke up in a coffin in the back of a cart, her transformation already underway." Tanya cocked an eyebrow at Bella. "Almost too much of a stereotype, isn't it? The coffin and all."

Bella smiled weakly. "I suppose so. Why was she in a cart?"

"Being taken away from the graveyard, where she'd been transported for burial, but for some reason was left above ground. Possibly the gravedigger went away for fear of infection."

"But…I don't understand. She was sent to the graveyard before she was dead?" Bella asked.

"It seems she was believed dead. It was quite possible at that time to mistake deep unconsciousness for death. I think that happened in Esme's case, in fact."

"It did," Esme confirmed. "Fortunately, Carlisle was there, and saw I was still alive." Her eyes met Carlisle's, and Jasper smiled faintly as he drank in their emotions.

"So Irina was taken from the graveyard by the person who changed her?" Bella asked. "Do you have any idea who that was?"

"Oh, yes," Tanya replied, with false lightness, her smile fading. "It was Sasha, our mother, who found her, and brought her into our family."

"Oh!" Bella looked around at us in alarm. We'd warned her not to refer to their late lamented mother. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…!"

"It's all right, sestrenka," Tanya said. "We don't like to mention our mother; it makes us sad to remember her. But occasionally her name must come up, and I suppose it is good to recall sometimes, even if it hurts. There is no need for you to walk in eggs."

"Walk on eggs," Jasper corrected.

"Oh, on makes more sense," Tanya nodded, seeming to put aside her sad memories. Or maybe Jasper had given her a hand with that. "So, Irina was forever left with hair like a boy's, something to cover up or explain away, until the time when women all began bobbing their hair, and she found herself not boyish any longer, but fashionable. I think you have another question in mind," she said, looking sidewise at Bella.

"Kind of a silly one."

"Oh, those are good, too." She smiled impishly, and Bella grinned back.

"Well, in both our families, there's an awfully large number of blondes. Natural blondes can't make up a huge percentage of even the Caucasian population. I just wondered if there's any particular reason why they're so, er, over-represented."

Edward burst out laughing. "You really do sound like Carlisle sometimes." We had to laugh. It was true; that was just the kind of analytical response Carlisle would have to a superfluity of blondes.

"Bella," I said, very seriously, "don't you realize that vampires, like gentlemen, prefer blondes? Blondes are eight times more likely to be bitten by a vampire than brunettes."

Her eyes widened. "They are? So…"

Emmett's guffaw gave it away, and I giggled. "No, sweetie, I'm kidding. It's pure coincidence."

"Coincidence, yes," Tanya agreed, "and in the case of my sisters and me, I think there were more blondes in the area we all come from - more than here."

"I see," Bella said. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome, sestrenka. I like your questions. Ask me more whenever you want." She grinned. "Especially if you think of something truly out of line to ask."

Edward caught my eye. Go figure! I thought Yes, it surprised both of us that Bella and Tanya would be getting on like a house afire; but, as Edward always says, Bella never fails to surprise.

EJ sighed softly in her sleep. "We should take her home to bed," Edward said, and he and Bella rose to say their goodbyes before carrying the sleeping EJ out the back door and across the starlit fields to their cottage.

"They seem very happy together," Tanya noted.

"They are," Jasper said - the one person who could speak with authority on the subject. "Edward is happier than I've ever known him to be. They're both so perpetually joyful, it's a pleasure to be around them."

"A happy ending," Irina concluded, "to a very strange and complicated story."

Autumn came, and asters and chrysanthemums bloomed in Esme's garden. The cottage on our adjoining property was renovated, bit by bit, during the day when it was unoccupied. Bella had her walk-in closet, and EJ's bedroom was decorated in whites and pastels, and furnished with a beautiful little canopy bed.

Classes began at Dartmouth, and Rose and Emmett, Jasper and I all attended, along with Kate. Bella was excluded this time, of course. She had to remain out of sight following her fatal heroics; and besides, she wanted to stay close to EJ at this point. Edward cancelled his acceptance to the music department, allowing people to presume it was out of grief at the death of his girlfriend, and he and Bella devoted themselves to EJ's care and education. And, of course, to each other; they were very much the typical newlyweds, apart from already having a child.

Attempts were being made to gradually wean the baby off human blood. EJ was good as gold about not hunting humans, but didn't like the idea of giving up her cruelty-free product. She was able to eat and drink human type food, but she didn't really care for it, much preferring human or even animal blood. We weren't sure how far to indulge this preference. It might mean food was good for her but not all that tasty, or it could indicate her body required blood. We didn't like to take chances with her health, so we didn't try to force food on her. Carlisle had restocked his supply of donated blood twice, but was reluctant to push his luck by obtaining more. Therefore, we started taking the little tyke along with us when hunting, and if necessary caught and incapacitated small animals for her. She was getting better at it, and by the end of September could run down smaller species on her own.

A rather weird preference of hers was the feral cats who had populated an area of forest. They were frequently in poor health, and EJ liked to pinpoint the ones with diseases and broken legs and such, and hunt them specifically. Emmett thought her cat euthanasia programme was hilarious, but we were all kind of pleased with her instinctive kindness.

Carlisle started his night shift at the hospital the first week of October, and our cover story was fully in place.

The lack of school attendance was no problem for our littlest member; EJ wasn't a hard person to teach. She was curious about everything. We all became used to having her observe an action or hear a remark from one of us, and leap into his or her arms to ask the meaning of it. That meant hearing about the Civil War, splenectomies, Coco Chanel, the life cycle of the boll weevil, the Great Depression, scat singing, tire rotation, and the Cuban Missile Crisis before she had learned to divide and multiply. Her education may have been eclectic, but it was thorough.

At one point she developed a fascination with maps. Edward obtained an oversized world map, the kind they usually put up in classrooms, and hung it on the kitchen wall, along with a smaller map of North America, and another of New Hampshire. She seemed to like the concept of real places being translated into printed representations.

"That's where your Aunt Rosalie was born," I told her, pointing to Rochester. That intrigued her, and she pointed to me. "Me? Oh, I was born right here." I indicted Biloxi. She touched me, asking how far away the place was. I quickly estimated. "If we ran fast all the way, it would take four or five hours." She then asked for the birthplaces of other family members, and was particularly intrigued by the fact that Carlisle had come from across the ocean. She pictured him swimming, and I said, "No, honey. He swam to here," I pointed to France, "but after that he went on a ship. A big boat." She seemed familiar with the concept of ships.

I showed her Edward's birthplace, Chicago. She touched me, inquiring whether her mother was born there, too. "No, Mama was born 'way down here." I pointed to Phoenix, just as Bella walked into the room. EJ ran to her, placing her hand against Bella's forearm and looking up into her face.

"No, I didn't meet your papa for years after that." More questions seemed to be coming in. "Well…Papa was born here," she pointed to Chicago, "and that was where he met Grandpa Carlisle. They lived there a while, then moved to other places. And I was born here, in a city called Phoenix. Then the family moved to this town, called Forks," she showed EJ on the map, "right at the same time I went to live in Forks, to stay with my father. That's where we met. Then we all moved here, and Papa and I got married, and we had you."

EJ had zoomed in on something Bella had said, and pressed her palms against Bella's arm, looking up at her earnestly. Bella looked a little uneasy. "Well, I lived with my mother, down in Phoenix, and I came to stay with my father for a while, that's all." More questions. "Sure, I had a mother; I lived with her, but she and my father lived apart." Another interrogative pause. "They just did. They didn't get along very well, so I lived with my mother most of the time, and visited my father for a while every year."

Another question, and Bella hesitated. "Actually, they're…both still living in the same places." EJ jumped into Bella's arms, touched her face. "You can't meet them, sweetheart. They're both human. Even I can't see them any more." This led to a long and difficult discussion, which the entire family ended up participating in. EJ finally came to understand and accept the need for secrecy, something she would have to know eventually anyway.

She was a little sad to know she had grandparents she could never meet. That first message I'd heard from her mind, seeing strangers as more people to love; people who will love me, still defined her attitude to everyone, human and vampire alike, and would probably apply even more to her mama's parents. She climbed into Edward's arms and touched his face.

"Possibly," he answered slowly. "Maybe when you're all grown up, we might be able to manage it."

"What does she want?" Bella asked.

"She wants to know if she can at least see your parents some time, without their knowing it."

"Oh! Maybe, sweetheart, once you're older."

She seemed satisfied with that. "You know," Edward told her, "you're named after your mama's mother. Your middle name, Renee, is her name." She touched Edward, asking the predictable question. "You're named Elizabeth after my mother," he said, his expression changing as he realized too late what the next question would be. "No, my sweet. I'm afraid she died a long time ago." EJ rested her head on his shoulder pensively, and he finally asked, "Do you understand about dying?"

She thought a moment, and laid her hand on his cheek. He nodded. "Yes, I know you've seen animals die. Humans die eventually. Sometimes they're sick or hurt, but even if they're not, once they get old enough, they just stop living." EJ pressed her hand to Edward's face once more, for a longer question. He seemed momentarily stumped. "Well…when animals die, I'm pretty sure they just, er, stop. They're like plants that die. You've seen that, right, in Grandma Esme's garden? Once plants die, they just decay and turn back into soil. Understand?" EJ nodded solemnly. "Animals do the same."

Once again, she replied with the inevitable question. "Humans? Well, their bodies turn to dust, just like plants and animals, but…but with humans, there may be more to it." His eyes went desperately to Carlisle, who dutifully intervened at that point, and took EJ off for a very careful talk about the concept of the afterlife.

"Her questions are getting harder," Bella pointed out.

"Yes," Edward agreed, looking rattled. "And most parents wouldn't have to deal with such things in their child's first year of life."

They looked at each other with that concerned expression they always got whenever EJ's unusual growth pattern came up. We'd more or less hit a dead end in our online research, and were trying to find other ways to know what to expect from the little mystery in the months and years to come. We were discussing just that, in fact, when a vision hit me unexpectedly and I broke off in the middle of a sentence.

Carlisle looked at me curiously. "Alice?"

I focused on him again. "We're going to have company. Charlotte and Peter are coming."