Chapter 9: Family Time

The crackle of the fire along with Edward's hand moving slowly down my back were the only two things I was focused on. Nights after our daughter was sound asleep, safe in the soft confines of her bed belonged to me and Edward. We both realized that we should take advantage of the free time and do more work on the house, but our craving to be together had not been, in the least bit, sated. When the movement of his hands on my back and other parts of my body increased, even the sound of the fire was drowned out by the sensations his touch was causing, and for a very long time our love was the only thing that mattered.

Much later, as I rested half on top of him with my cheek pressed to his well sculpted bare chest and Edwards arms wrapped around me, I began to think about the day ahead of us. Yesterday was not as bad as the first two. Renesmee went willingly with us to hunt, and was very happy when she caught the biggest deer. While Edward and I focused on our catches, our little girl finished with her kill and went a few miles away to spend time with her bear. We heard her telling him about Forks and my father, and after that I couldn't focus on much else.

My thoughts drew back on the present as I felt Edwards kiss on top of my head before his arms pulled me more securely against him. "Tell me what you are thinking please."

"Just about yesterday and what Renesmee talked about with that bear."

Another kiss was pressed on top of my head. "She is getting used to being here and her thoughts are no longer as unhappy as they once were."

At his words I lifted my head, gazing into the golden depths of his eyes as I balanced myself on his chest. I reached out to stroke my right hand against his cheek. "Sometimes I wish I could know what she was thinking like you do. I know she shares her thoughts but since she hasn't been I've missed that."

When Renesmee shared the events of her day with me, I got to see things through her eyes. Now that she wasn't doing that any more I felt an emptiness in my heart, which only made it harder not to worry. Thinking about our daughter made me realize that we needed to start working on the schedule we had discussed before leaving Forks. Along with that we also needed to help her adjust to eating human food. Glancing over to the window and seeing the first light of the new day, I realized that it was time to get up.

Before I could bring my thoughts to words Edwards hand was gently turning my head back to face him. He leaned up and when his lips touched mine there were no more thoughts. Suddenly my back was to the mattress and Edwards's weight pressed down against me as his leg pushed mine apart. My whole body was alive with sensation and a different kind of thirst was there, needing to be quenched by only the love he could give me.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The confusion of Renesmee's thoughts broke through my own consuming ones of Bella and what we were currently doing. As I broke our kiss Bella's hands wrapped in my hair and she tried pulling my head back down. "Renesmee is awake."

My wife understood, and it took all of our efforts to untangle ourselves and get up. Once we were dressed I took her hand and we walked down the hall to the small room our little girl occupied. She was very much awake standing in front of her bed.

"Renesmee?"

When she heard my voice she glanced over at me before looking away to the floor. As we walked closer the unmistakable smell of urine hit me and Bella, and I realized why our baby was embarrassed.

My wife let go of my hand and went to our little girl, kneeling in front of her. "How about a bubble bath?"

Lately Renesmee loved being in the bath, especially when there were bubbles. Now she was shaking her head and moved away sitting down on the carpet as she pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. I tried reading Renesmee's thoughts but she was singing the Sunshine song Jacob had taught her, though the tune was off and some of the words were wrong.

Before going to Renesmee myself I comforted Bella, wrapping my arms around her when she stood. Bella rested her cheek against my chest. "I'll get the water running," she whispered before pulling away from me.

Once Bella had gone my focus went back to our baby. When I was behind Renesmee, I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her. "You did nothing wrong." My little girl was shaking and I carefully lifted her, turning her until she was cradled in my arms.

"Why did it get wet on me?"

"You must have been very sound asleep, and didn't realize that you needed to use the potty."

Those chocolate brown eyes, so like Bella's had been, were focused on me and Renesmee's lips were trembling. "It was wet in my dream, and you didn't come."

In the bathroom the tub was full of bubbles smelling of Strawberries, and Bella was there with a worried expression on her face. "I'm sorry." That was all I could think to say to my baby as I knelt down against the cool tiles on the floor, lowering her on her feet.

Once her wet gown was off I lifted her up and started to put her in the water full of bubbles, but Renesmee clung to me shaking her head.

"We have to get you clean." When my baby still wouldn't let go I hugged her close as Bella put her arms around us. Our daughter was embarrassed and I felt helpless. Thoughts of that conversation I had with Esme crept into my mind. I hadn't known how difficult being a parent would be and Esme said there was no way to describe the challenges until I had a child of my own. I now understood that point quite well.

"Renesmee, why don't we get you cleaned up, and we can go to the grocery store today like we talked about," Bella tried. We discovered that it was going to be another rainy day, and when we brought that up to our daughter yesterday, Renesmee had been very excited.

"They know," Renesmee whispered.

"No one will know, and Momma and I won't tell anyone else," I promised as my little girl wrapped her arms tighter around my neck.

It took a lot of persuasion but we finally got Renesmee cleaned up and dressed. While she and Bella went downstairs to work a puzzle, I stripped the wet sheets from my daughter's bed and with some mild soap and water cleaned the mattress, leaving it uncovered so it could dry. While doing that simple task I thought about how normal our lives were becoming. Never before had I felt like I belonged, and certainly not in a world full of humans all delicate and breakable. Now that we were a family, and I was doing things such as cleaning the mattress on Renesmee's bed, I felt almost human, or more so a part of things than I once had.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With my daughter nestled on my lap and nearly a hundred puzzle pieces in front of us, I watched as she patiently picked out all of the edge and corner pieces putting them in to one pile. A few months ago, Edward and I got back from hunting and found her sitting with Emmett and Rosalie working a fairly complex puzzle. Since that time Renesmee's love for working puzzles has grown. For hours on end she will sit still, very carefully finding each piece to put into place, and she never grows tired of that or becomes discouraged. I on the other hand still can't stand to work them, but this time spent with my little girl is the best part of my day

"What about that one?" I pointed to a piece too far for either of us to reach.

Renesmee stood up and took few steps before she bent down to get it, adding it to the edges and corners pile. Once that was done she settled back on my lap. "Momma, you work the first piece," she said through a yawn.

Keeping my left arm around her I glanced at the organized piles. I selected the corner that would go into the top right hand side, putting it in front of us as I looked for the first edge piece that would fit it. I guess I was taking too much time, because after a few minutes of not finding the right piece Renesmee sighed and picked up the what I needed and gave it too me. "I'm sorry baby, I'm not very good at working a puzzle until all the edges are put together."

"You can go do something else," Renesmee said sadly.

"I want to be with you, but do you mind if I watch until you get the edges worked out?" She nodded once and picked up another piece fitting it easily into place. As she sought out other pieces I found one that would fit the upper left corner and reached around her putting the two together. When we both began to work on it, she moved off my lap working at a steady pace, while I found pieces to add to the puzzle more randomly.

By the time Edward joined us, we had most of the edges put together. I lifted my head as he stood behind me, and he bent down kissing me gently on the lips. "I thought we should go on to the store. The rain is supposed to start clearing up a little after noon."

"I thought it was supposed to last all day."

"Alice," he said with my favorite crooked smile forming on his lips.

"Renesmee we need to go to the store now," I announced while getting to my feet.

Her hand stopped midway from putting a piece into place and when it dropped onto the floor, Edward had her in his arms hugging her and assuring her that no one would know about her accident earlier this morning. Once Renesmee felt better I got my purse and her rain coat and helped her put that on.

Outside it was steadily raining, but we kept dry in the garage. When Renesmee was safely in her seat and I was settled in the front, Edward started our newest Volvo and we were soon on our way. Most of the drive was quiet and I noticed just how green it was here as well.

Our house is located in the safety of the forest around Hanover and the closest road is Goose Pond Road ten miles away. At one point I glanced back at Renesmee finding her looking out her window as we made our way into town. My hope was that she would learn to like human food. If she could learn to do that then maybe high school wouldn't be as awkward for her as it would be for the rest of us

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As we drove closer to town I glanced in my rearview mirror. "Renesmee." Once I had her attention I began. "When we get to the grocery store I need you to stay close to Momma and me." Reminding her to be careful when we were out in public was second nature, and she never complained when we did. "When we get in side the store we will show you all the food they have there, but it is important that you do nothing unusual."

My daughter's gaze fell to her lap and I reached behind me putting my free hand over her smaller ones. My intension wasn't to make her feel different, but at the same time she had to keep up the charade just as the rest of us did.

It was pouring when we pulled into the parking lot next to the Foodstop. Once the car was parked I turned around, reaching back to unfasten the safety straps freeing Renesmee from her seat before I lifted her into the front. I pulled the hood of her rain jacket up and tied it under her chin giving her a kiss as Bella reached for her.

Once Renesmee was in Bella's arms I got out putting up the large umbrella as I shut the door. When I got to their side I opened their door making sure to keep the umbrella over both of them. Bella and I don't mind the rain so much but Renesmee does which was all the more reason to hurry.

Inside it was warm and dry, and I felt Bella's arm go around mine a moment before I realized that we hadn't hunted since yesterday. "Do you want to wait outside in the car?"

"I can manage just don't let go of me." My wife's determination to fit into this life is so like her. Since we met, Bella has wanted this, to be a vampire, more so than any of the rest of us.

"Renesmee, would you like to ride in the cart?" Bella asked.

Our little girl shook her head. While I carried her Bella stood at my side pushing as we headed to the produce section. We showed Renesmee oranges, apples, banana's and pretty much everything else we could think of, but she kept shaking her head. After going down two isles I was beginning to wonder if this was a wasted trip, until my baby lifted her head from my shoulder and pointed to all of the pasta. Bella picked up a box of regular spaghetti noodles, but Renesmee shook her head struggling for me to let her down.

When she was free our little girl reached up and pulled down a box of Angel Hair Pasta and put it in Bella's hands. I wasn't sure when she had eaten pasta, but Bella seemed to know. "Do you want spaghetti like Billy makes when you are with Jacob?"

Our daughter smiled for the first time in a while, and Bella got three other boxes and two bottles of Ragu. My wife led us to the isle where the cooking spices were and got some garlic powder and other ingredients upon Renesmee's request.

After Bella had the spices Renesmee held up her arms and I held her again. She leaned in and whispered, "Have to get bread for Garlic."

"Garlic Bread?" When she nodded Bella led the way, and Renesmee pointed out the French bread loaves. We bought all the fixings for an Italian Dinner, including what we needed for salad. I wanted to ask my baby if she would eat all of that food but didn't. Renesmee was interested in eating human food, and I wasn't going to chance upsetting her. Along with the spaghetti we also bought some less healthy foods, things she liked when she was with Jacob. Maybe when Jacob came to see us I could persuade him to eat healthier to see if Renesmee would do the same.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Since it was still drizzling when we got home, I stayed with Renesmee while Bella headed out to hunt. We asked our little girl if she wanted to go out, but she said it was too wet and that she wanted to have spaghetti instead.

In the kitchen, with Renesmee standing on a stool, I opened the jar of sauce and put it into a small pan. Once that was ready she took the garlic powder I opened, and sprinkled it in the sauce covering the top with the powder, before she took a small wooden spoon and began to stir. "You're pretty good at that."

"Jacob and me made some," she whispered as she sprinkled in some Oregano. Once that was stirred in she reached out, and I took her small hand helping her down from her stepping stool. "We have to stir it ten minutes later."

"Do you want me to do the rest?"

She nodded and was singing You are my Sunshine again.

Twenty minutes later her spaghetti was ready along with the Garlic Bread, and Salad. Upstairs I found my baby playing with her two dolls, gifts from Rosalie and Emmett when they returned from their last trip to Europe. "Are you ready to eat?"

"I want to eat here."

"How about if I sit with you while you eat in the kitchen."

"Can I bring Rose and Violet?"

"Yes."

Back downstairs I helped her into her booster seat and put her two dolls in chairs close by before I sat down myself.

"Daddy do I have to drink blood?" Renesmee asked as she slurped a noodle into her mouth.

Carlisle and I had talked about that and determined that she needed blood to survive. Human food was something she also needed, but could do with out for longer than the blood. "Yes, your body needs that along with what you are eating now."

Once she had taken a bite of salad and swallowed it my baby looked at me again. "Little Bear eats bugs. He showed me, and I am glad I don't have to do that."

Renesmee giggled and I laughed. "I'm glad also." I couldn't imagine eating them, though I knew in other parts of the world that certain insects were a delicacy.

"Something smells good," Bella called out as she entered the house from the backyard entrance.

"Better than bugs," Renesmee said when Bella entered the kitchen. Our little girl laughed as Bella looked at me with confusion in her eyes.

"We were just discussing Little Bears dietary habits, and Renesmee was telling me how glad she is not to have to eat bugs."

After that we all laughed, and it felt good to sit at the table as a family and share in this moment of happiness. All I could hope for was more of these moments and less of the sad.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Violet you have to be very quiet." My doll has red hair and blue eyes and she has a very pretty flower dress that goes down past her feet. I putted her down on the little chair and went back to Rose. My other dolly has brown eyes and brown hair just like me, and has a yellow dress with butterflies on it. "When the Faery prince comes back tell him to shush."

My dolls are safe so I went down stairs to the kitchen. Momma and daddy are getting their room fixed up. My momma has lots of books and she wants to go slow to put them way on the shelves. That's silly because she is fast. Sometimes when I don't want my daddy to hear the words in my mind I sing Sunshine song, so I did. The chips were on a high up shelf over the counter so I need to climb. I got two drawers open and climbed up them, but they were wobbling and I almost falled down but Daddy caught me.

"Why don't you let me help you?"

"I am a big girl," I told him as he set me down on the counter. That way we could see and I didn't have to look way up high.

"You are very smart, but if you need something that is much higher up than you, you need to come and find Momma or me so that we can help you."

"I want to go upstairs now." When I looked down he put his hand under my face and I had to look back at him.

"Will you promise to let us help?"

"Yes Daddy." He hugged me but I didn't hug him, and when I was on the floor I ran to my room and shut the door very soft. "Jack, why can't we be taller?" My Jack is a wolf, and he guards my room when I'm gone.

He didn't say anything that anyone else could hear, not even vampires, but I can hear him. "When we get done growing we will be tall? But that will take us a while." I climbed on my bed, careful not to hurt Violet, and hugged him close. "Maybe we should go see Little Bear.

Outside my window it was still wet but the rain had gone away and I was happy. I don't get as cold as other people, but I don't like how it feels when it rains. "Daddy, I want to see Little Bear now."

In the big room momma and daddy were still putting books away, but they stopped when I got to them. "I want to go by myself."

"Not too far. Do you remember the trees we showed you?"

Yesterday we found four trees and I can't go past them. "Yes, I'll be very careful."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Letting my daughter venture off on her own isn't always easy for me, though being able to hear her thoughts is comforting and allows me to know that she is safe. Renesmee was still singing her song as she left, but the tone was happier and carefree so I focused on what I was doing, wondering once again why we had to take our time. "Bella, we could have this done already and be on to more interesting venues if you would allow it." When she wanted to be Bella was the most stubborn person I had ever met, but it was that stubbornness and courage that I loved.

"We could, but I still want to do some things at a more human speed," she answered, not really paying much attention to what I was about to do.

When I leaned in and blew a breath of air into her ear, Bella shivered and the book she had been holding dropped on her lap. If I had known that all I had to do was a simple act of seduction instead of trying to talk her out of putting the books away, I would have done that long ago.

Very quickly we fell to the floor and a few books fell around us. I turned on my back and lifted her up helping her straddle my chest before her lips were on mine. Too soon she pulled away. "Renesmee?"

I listened, expecting to hear our baby's song, but I didn't. I focused on other noises outside listening for her voice, but I didn't hear that either. "I can't hear her."

We were to our feet in a second, and Bella grabbed me turning me toward her. "What do you mean you can't hear her?"

"I can't hear her in my head." It was then that we were both racing down the stairs heading outside, both of us on edge as we listened for anything. I couldn't hear her thoughts and as my panic grew I took off into the woods focused on finding our little girl, praying that she wasn't hurt.

~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: I am very sorry for taking this long to update but I kept writing Renesmee being crabby all the time and I wanted something different for her. Finally I've found something more to add to her part of the plot line and get things cooking hopefully. I'll try and update in the next two weeks because I don't want to rush it. If you noticed Renesmee doesn't always get words in the right order. I'm doing that deliberately I think that her mind works so fast she has a hard time catching up even in her POV, which is hard to write but I like trying. I hope you guys like what you see, and thanks to all of you who are reading this. One other thing is that I'm trying to show the more pasionate part of Bella and Edward. I don't want to have to put an M rating on it which is why I'm not going into much detail or spending a great amount of time on it. Hopefully you all like what I've done so far, I'm out of practice writing the adult scenes like that, and it's difficult not to go into to much detail. Anyway Happy New Year