Title: Beaches

Summary: Edward and Bella met on the beach when they were both four. Edward taught her how to ride a bike and Bella taught him how to tie a tie. Through their hectic lives they always counted on seeing each other every summer. But when they get older, how come they have such a difficult time expressing their feelings for one another? All human.

Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn. They are all owned by the very talented and loved Stephenie Meyer.

A/N: As I promised, Edward is in this chapter, but doesn't play such a big role. Also, please don't yell at me for something else that has been included in this chapter, lol. It will ALL work out in the end! I promise! If you've read my other stories, you should know that I am a massive Edward/Bella fan, but I also love Jacob very much.

Chapter 11: Plans

Twenty-four years old… BOV

I leaned over and pecked Jake on the lips quickly. He pulled me back and was about to deepen our kiss when we heard, "Momma, when's Auntie Alice gonna be here?" Jacob and I flew apart from each other quickly. I blushed then smiled down at Renesmee and scooped her up into my arms, sitting her on my lap. She had gotten so big so quickly. But even though she was five years old, she was still little to me.

"She'll be home in a few minutes, baby. She and Uncle Jasper went to the movies, remember?"

She nodded her little head, and then moved from my lap to Jacob's. I wouldn't blame her. It was freezing in here and I was sure he was toasty warm, just like always. "Hey, Nessie," Jake smiled. I rolled my eyes at the nickname. He knew I hated it, but Renesmee liked it, so I put up with it.

"Hi Jakey!" She said in a high pitched voice. "You wanna play horsey?" Her eyes got bright with excitement. I saw Jacob's face fall slightly. He disliked playing that game with her, but he knew it made her happy. He sighed and got down onto the floor. She threw one leg over his back and held on by grabbing the collar on his shirt. "Go, horsey, go!" She squealed and giggled as Jacob started walking around the living room on four legs.

I couldn't help but laugh. It was adorable. I ran down the hallway to the last room where I grabbed Alice's camera. I came back into the living room and snapped a few pictures for Ren's photo album. Jacob glowered at me. I stuck my tongue out and took another. The front door lock jingled. Ren jumped off Jacob's back and ran to the door, her hair whipping behind her. Her bronze curls were getting so long… I just couldn't bring myself to cut them.

Alice opened the door a few seconds later, Jasper in tow. Renesmee jumped into Alice's arms enthusiastically. Alice picked her up and kissed her head. "Auntie Alice! Guess what!" Renesmee gushed.

"What, sweetie?" Alice grinned.

"Jakey played horsey with me! And momma took pictures! Can you put them in the pichure album for me?" Ren asked. I smiled at her attempt at saying 'picture.'

Alice laughed once. "Sure. We have to get them developed first though, okay?"

"Otay!" Renesmee said happily then wanted down. Alice placed her back on her feet and she hurried over to Jasper. She wasn't the least bit shy with anyone. She could go up to a complete stranger and make them fall in love with her. Jasper picked her up and sat her on his lap. Renesmee stood up on the couch next to him. She cupped her hand around his ear and whispered something. Jasper smiled then reached into his school bag he had with him and pulled out a bag of Sour Patch Kids and handed them to her. Her face brightened up even more. She hugged Jasper tightly. "Thank you Uncle Jaz!" She said then scurried back over to me.

"Momma! Look what I got!" She said. I smiled at my daughter. "Can I have some?"

"Only a couple, then we need to go get you ready for bed, okay?" I opened the bag and poured a few into her tiny palm. She was finally content, all of her family here. She sat in the middle of the living room floor, humming to herself.

"She gets lovelier every day, doesn't she?" Alice smiled. I could help but agree with her. Renesmee was the bright spot in all the darkness. My school work was done for the night and so were the laundry and the dishes. I racked my brain for something I felt like I was forgetting.

"Jake, what's the date today?" I asked.

He thought about it for a moment. "It's… May fourth. Why?"

"Oh my gosh." I said as I ran for my bed room to get my cell phone. I dialed Esme's number quickly as I walked back into the living room. Today was her birthday and I'd completely forgotten. I was happy that I remembered now. It rang a few times. "Renesmee, honey, come on, let's go change into your pajamas, okay?" At the same time I said this, someone answered the phone, but it wasn't Esme. I was holding Ren's hand and we were walking down the hallway to her bedroom. "Hello?" I asked, thinking maybe I had the wrong number.

"Bella? Is that you?"

"Edward?" I said, barely above a whisper. I stopped walking and stared at the wall in front of me. Had I accidently called Edward? I didn't think so. I hadn't talked to him in a very long time. I still thought about him often. Well, every time I put Renesmee to bed I thought of him. It was still painful… Very painful to think about him, but Ren deserved to know who her father was.

"Edward?" Renesmee asked. Then her eyes grew wide. I blocked the speaker on the phone so Edward couldn't hear her. "Daddy?" She questioned.

"Alice!" I called. She came into the hallway a few seconds later. "Take Ren into the living room and keep her busy for a few minutes, will you?" I asked.

Alice stared at me speculatively; she knew something was up. "Sure… What's going on?"

I pointed to my phone. "It's Edward."

"Daddy!" Renesmee said again, her voice high.

Alice made a face then nodded. She bent down and picked Ren up and started gliding back into the living room. She started kicking lightly to be put down. "No! I wanna talk to daddy!" She said. She had tears forming in her little brown eyes as she stared at me. Alice continued to carry her. I could hear her bawling when they were out of sight. "Alice, give her to me," Jacob said. "I want my daddy!" I heard Renesmee cry, choking on her tears. My heart broke for my little girl.

"Bella, hey. It's good to hear your voice. How have you been?" Edward asked, pulling me back into reality.

"Oh, I'm okay. How are you?" I asked.

"I'm pretty good."

"Good." I said. We were both quiet.

"Who's Renesmee?... Did I say that right? I heard you talking to them when I first answered the phone."

Shit. My heart started to race. What do I say? "That's, um… a girl that Alice and I know from school. She was just hanging out over here, that's all."

I hoped he wouldn't be able to catch my lie. That would be so like him. "She has an odd name, doesn't she? I don't think I've ever heard it before."

"Yeah, it's pretty unique…" I said awkwardly. We were both silent again. I decided it was my turn to break the silence. "Um… so… have you gone to your beach house at all?" I asked. We hadn't gone yet, but I've wanted to take Renesmee. She would love it there. I was planning on going back not this summer, but next summer. That would have been seven years. That's when I was going to tell Edward about Ren… That way, I think, he would be done with school, or almost done, anyway.

"No, I haven't been there since… Well, you remember when. I was still planning on going there next summer… Are you still going?" I smiled.

"Yes, of course. I've been looking forward to it, actually." We talked a little bit more, but not much. I asked him if I'd accidently called his phone number instead of Esme's, but he said she was downstairs and asked him to answer it for him. I told him to wish her a happy birthday. We told each other goodbye after a few minutes. I closed my phone and went back into the living room. Renesmee flew out of Jacob's arms and ran over to me. She was still upset. I picked her up. Everyone's eyes were on me. They all wanted to know the same thing: Did you tell him? I shook my head no for all of them then turned to walk back into the hallway and to Ren's room.

I sat her down on her bed and went to get some pajamas out of her dresser. I walked back to her bed and sat down. She lifted her arms above her head and I slipped her shirt on. "Momma?" She asked sadly. My heart ached for my daughter.

"What, baby?" I asked, helping her finish getting into her pajamas.

"Will I ever get to see my Daddy?" She walked over to her tiny bookshelf and picked up the red picture album. She brought it to the bed and set it down before climbing up and getting under the covers.

I sighed. "Next summer, okay? You know the pictures in the album that are on the beach?"

"Ya." She answered, flipping to one of them and showing me.

"Yes. How would you like to go there and meet your daddy?" I asked.

Her eyes got bright. "Really?" She smiled.

"Not this summer, but next summer. When you're six. How would that be?" I asked.

"Okay," Ren said. She started looking at the pictures some more. She came across the one where Edward and I were kissing. That was a very long time ago, it seemed like. "Momma, do you love daddy?"

I smiled sadly. "Yes. I love your daddy, but just as my best friend."

"Then how come he's not here? Auntie Alice and Uncle Jaz love each other and they're gonna get married." Alice and Jasper had gotten engaged a couple months ago. Alice told Jasper that she wanted to wait until they finished school to get married. She said she would feel bad if she left me here in this apartment. I told her it would be fine and that Renesmee and I could move to something smaller, but she was stubborn. But it didn't help that Carlisle and Esme somehow managed to pay our rent every month.

I tried to think of how to explain it to her so that she would understand. I settled for something kind of simple. "Well, baby, there's different types of loves. Your dad and I love each other as family and Auntie Alice and Uncle Jasper love each other differently. Does that make since?" I didn't really doubt that Edward loved me. I thought he did, or at least, he use to. I wouldn't be upset with him if he moved on to someone else. I would be happy if he was happy. Besides, I was over what we had…

She thought about it for a moment. "Do you love Jakey like Auntie Alice loves Uncle Jaz?."

I blushed and thought about what to say. I settled with changing the subject. "Let's get you to sleep. You have preschool tomorrow you don't want to be tired in the morning." She hoped off the bed while I pulled the covers down. She scurried back up and under the covers, resting her head on her pillow. She yawned. I picked up the album to put it away.

"Wait… Can you tell me the story," She yawned "On one of those pichures?"

I nodded and sat down on the bed. I handed her the album back and she flipped through the pictures. This was kind of our routine. Almost every night, she would pick a picture from the album and ask me to tell her the story behind it. She said that it helped her remember her daddy. Although I knew that that couldn't be possible, I wanted her to know about Edward. She went to the middle of the book and pointed at a picture with Edward, Alice, Jasper and me. That was one of our last days at the beach… almost six years ago.

I was about to start telling her the "story" when someone knocked lightly on the door. I looked up and Alice was in the doorway. She skipped to the bed and sat down on the opposite side from me. "What's the picture tonight?" Alice asked.

"This one!" Renesmee pointed to it. "That's you, Uncle Jaz, momma, and daddy." She explained, placing her tiny finger on each of the people as she said their name. Alice and I took turns, telling her a cute little story on the picture. Some of it was true, and some of it was fluffed up a bit. By the time we were finished, Renesmee was fast asleep. I carefully took the album from her hands and pulled the covers up over her more so she wouldn't be cold. Alice and I got up to tip toe quietly out of the room.

"Momma?" Renesmee asked, her eyes still closed. I was almost out of the room.

I stopped, my finger on the light switch. "What, baby?"

"You promise I can see daddy next summer?"

My heart broke for her. She missed and loved Edward so much and she hadn't even met him. I felt horrible for hurting her. I had to fix it. I was going to change this. Renesmee needed her father… And so did I. "I promise. Now go to sleep."

I turned off the light and headed to my room to change into my pajamas. Jasper was still here. I could hear him in Alice's bedroom. Alice told me goodnight then said she wanted details in the morning on the conversation Edward and I had. I rolled my eyes at her as she skipped off to her bedroom.

Jacob was waiting in my room for me. He kissed me goodnight then left, saying he would be over tomorrow. I changed into my pajamas then went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I walked back to my bedroom and attempted to fall asleep.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? Reviews are to me like adorableness is to Renesmee!