O.k so here is the big chapter! :) Hope it's worthy. Secrets out, plots coming full circle and the beginning of the end. I don't know if anyone has guessed it yet but let me know if you did. Don't panic everything will eventually be resolved. :p

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Edward

I thought my knuckles would explode from where my hands were clenched together so tightly. It was taking every effort I possessed to not run into the quarters and demand to see Renesmee, to make sure she was all right. Of course I didn't really expect Aro to harm her, she was probably just as safe with him as she were with Jaspar. He loved her but there was still that human blood pumping around her veins, which made her vulnerable. Also this time was different, it wasn't Renesmee that knew too much as she had been led to believe, it was Aro. Alice had gone to him and asked for his help, this made us exposed. Aro would stop at nothing to get to the truth, this I was sure of. We knew he would have been waiting for us to come into the meeting so that he could expose us in front of Renesmee, I knew where his loyalties lay; with her and her alone. Now that we had not attended the meeting, I was certain he would reveal all he knew to Renesmee and she would start to put the clues together.

There was nothing we could do now but wait, I had no excuses for Renesmee, we had deceived her but at least she was here in Italy with us rather than the alternative.

She'll probably never speak to me again but how long can that really last? I'll just have to explain to her that I did what I felt I needed to do…and if that doesn't work…

"Alice. Please calm yourself. Your constant fretting is helping no one." Alice's thoughts were a reflection of my own concerns; I didn't need them replayed over and over for me to hear.

We did the right thing! I thing so. You think so right? You knew we had no choice…

I sighed, tired from worry and the foredooming long evening that I knew was ahead of us.

"Of course we had a choice Alice, there is always a choice. Now we must deal with the repercussions. We knew what was at stake."

She became very quiet at this, regret circling her mind like a plughole.

Then before I had a chance to comfort her Emmett came bounding out of the grounds beaming with success. He was early, too early. "Piece of cake!" He exclaimed in delight.

"Why have you left them?!" I responded in anger. Emmett was her biggest source of protection and he shouldn't have snuck out.

"I didn't leave them! It's over. They're done." He explained happily.

This made me nervous, in all the years they had never rushed their meetings with Renesmee, Aro cherished his time with her, often it would be dark by the time he released her.

"How did it go?" Alice asked impatiently.

"Nothing to it. She was barely in there ten minutes." Emmett laughed easily.

The sentence scraped against me like a shard of glass, making me tense and agitated. "What do you mean she was in there ten minutes?" I sneered through gritted teeth. "You were supposed to be in there too protecting her!"

Emmett recoiled away from me, "Oh yeah, about that. Aro basically wanted her to himself, so we thought it was best to let her go in alone. Didn't want to cause any unnecessary friction."

Surprising Emmett and myself I lurched forwards and shoved him hard in the chest, he flew backwards into the wall. "Unnecessary friction! She could have been killed Emmett!"

"No she couldn't have! You know as well as me he adores her!" Emmett shouted back.

Then I sensed the others approach from behind me.

"Dad leave him alone, I'm fine. Look, still have all my limbs intact." I turned to see Renesmee waving her arms excessively in the air.

I glared back at Emmett, "Luckily for you!" I sneered and left him cursing to take Renesmee into a protective embrace.

"Wasn't my idea, the boys gave the go ahead." Rosalie added defensively and by the way Emmett, Jaspar and Renesmee turned to scowl at her, I assumed she was lying.

"How was it?" I enquired hesitantly.

Renesmee pulled away from my embrace slightly to speak. "Yeah it was fine. No violence what so ever. We just talked."

"About what?" Alice cut in too eagerly and Renesmee hesitated suspiciously.

"All sorts. Any news of Jake and mum?" She asked distractedly.

I had momentarily forgotten about Bella and Jacobs' ridiculous predicament. Bella would be furious by the time she got back to us and Jacob would be exhausted.

"No." I stated worriedly. "They're probably at the end of their rope by now."

"Let's find Bella but leave Jacob to chase his tail a while longer." Rosalie teased in amusement.

I could see the concern crease Renesmee's features as she decided to take control of the situation, "No, Emmett, Jaspar can you try and find Jacob? Rosalie can you get mum."

"Me!? Why can't Alice or Edward? It's his wife." Rosalie whined.

"I need to speak to them alone." Renesmee stated coldly. The rest of them looked between Alice and I in curiosity until Renesmsee continued. "It's about my meeting with the Volturi, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Well that's that, we're screwed. I heard Alice fret from beside me.

"Oh come on babe, it'll be fun! Chasing them through the woods, it's like a giant game of tag." Emmett thankfully encouraged Rosalie.

What makes him think I like tag? Rosalie moaned internally and I couldn't help smirking to myself. Rosalie certainly didn't like tag.

Jaspar was looking intensely to Alice and I. Keep this under control Edward; you need to have each other's backs. He urged me and I nodded in agreement.

"Right come on slow coaches." Emmett shouted as he ran off too quickly back towards the cabins. He was the worst at keeping his abilities under control, who ever he passed by that moment would have seen nothing but a blur. Jaspar took up the challenge and sped after him and Rosalie rolled her eyes in disapproval and then followed on.

I took a moment to prepare myself for what was about to come.

"I know you know what we need to talk about." Renesmee addressed us both as if she was suddenly the adult and we were the children. I felt overcome with shame.

"What did Aro tell you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Enough."

Alice simply nodded gravely and I tried to blank out her continuous stream of worries.

Renesmee walked into the corner of the outside building where we followed her. There was a small fountain and a bench in which she sat down on and crossed her legs over one another, preparing her self for the worst. She did not seem distressed or worried, she was calm and direct. Alice and I stood in front of her, letting the cool spit from the fountain hit softly at the back of our necks.

"Now, I know you find it hard to know how to treat me sometimes, I have heard all of the excuses about my growing habits and unpredictable tendencies. But now I am fully developed, I'm not a child anymore and I won't have any more secrets or lies between us. We're family, if that means anything to you, you will come clean now about everything. "

Alice and I exchanged looks of hesitation.

Are we really going to tell her everything? Alice asked me, which was pointless, as she knew I couldn't respond.

"I'm sure this has something to do with something Alice has seen in the future. Correct?"

Alice and I both nodded silently. I had never felt more childlike in front of my own daughter; It was an interrogation and neither Alice or myself wanted to give up the information willingly.

"And something to do with James." It wasn't a question.

Both of us flinched in surprise, we hadn't expected her to know so much.

"You wanted to keep me away from him. Why?"

Silence again. I wanted to explain but couldn't even begin to think how to start.

"Aro wanted me to turn James didn't he. He didn't care about the bite. You lied to me to get me here, I'm guessing you also lied to everyone else. Jacob, mum..?"

Alice decided to try out her words, "We didn't want to lie to everyone but the less people that knew the easier…"

"Knew what?!" Renesmee interrupted.

Silence again.

"Dad!" Renesmee addressed me now with understanding eyes, "Come on, what is so bad that you would go along with one of Alice's crazy plans? Hide it from mum? Keep me from James when you knew how much I needed to stay near him. How worried I've been."

The guilt trip was working; I looked down to my feet to decide how to execute my apology.

She read my mind, "No apologies, I don't need them. I just want the whole truth."

O.k. Lets tell her, what choice do we have? Once they find Bella we're done for anyway. She'll crack you like a walnut.

I shot Alice a look of annoyance, which Renesmee picked up on immediately.

"Don't think among yourselves! Be honest. No more lies or I'll never trust either of you again." She was serious, this wasn't a stropping child or a sulking teenager; it was a young woman who was at the edge of her tether.

"O.k." Alice and I both gave in at the same time and Renesmee linked her hands together to prepare herself.

I took a deep breath and then began, "You're right. The Volturi weren't ever going to be a threat to James; they are protecting him. They would do anything to fight Jacob's claim on you and James is their first real hope."

Renesmee frowned, "But he's human and completely ordinary, why would they pick him?"

"You picked him!" Alice dived in. "They didn't care who it was, as soon as you took an interest in James they did. Aro knew he couldn't pick for you, he thought you would only have eyes for Jacob, we all did but then you bring James home and they see an alternative path for you, someone you yourself have selected."

"They would rather you picked an ordinary boy off the street and turned him for yourself than mate with Jacob." I explained.

Renesmee shook her head aggressively. "That's ridiculous! I would never turn James."

"But you would. You nearly did, you bit him and we all thought that was the end of it. He would have to be turned to a vampire and you would have felt responsible for him, indebted to him forever." Alice fought to keep her voice calm., she was desperate to justify herself.

"Right. But then he recovered. So I don't understand? This doesn't explain why you forced me to leave?! It's a bit extreme when he was getting better."

Here we go. Alice fretted with dread.

Ness could see the hesitation in our posture; she knew there was more, much, much more.

"Alice what did you see in your vision?" She asked slowly.

This was the question; Alice and I froze in place. I can't tell her. Alice reclined and so I went ahead on her behalf.

I braced myself for the aftermath that would follow the next two words and then I forced them out. "A boy."

But Renesmee rolled her eyes with impatience. "Oh so it's a love triangle now is it. When do I meet the lucky fellow? Is he human or a warlock? You know me I'll take anything. Has he also slept with mum?" She babbled sarcastically, tired of the games.

I was just about to retaliate when I felt Alice's walls and defences' collapse beside me; she couldn't keep it hidden any longer. "A baby boy Renesmee!"

Renesmee stilled in shock, her sarcastic expression fell and her brow grew serious. "A…baby…boy." She repeated carefully, as though the words didn't make sense.

"Yes." I reinforced cautiously.

She seemed on the edge of every emotion possible, I wasn't sure if she was about to laugh, cry or scream.

She's going to cry. Alice warned me. But she didn't.

"A baby. A boy. A baby boy….a baby."

She does this a lot when she's shocked. Repeats things. Alice continued as a running commentary. I knew this was true of Renesmee.

Then the repetition stopped abruptly and she focused in on us. "Mine?"

I looked to Alice to confirm and she took her cue; "Yes Nessie, yours."

Renesmee said nothing. I knew Alice had to take it from there but my mouth was dry with expectation, I was scared of how Renesmee would react.

"It came to me weeks ago. I was obviously shaken up a bit but to be honest I was ecstatic! I had pretty much assumed that you and Jake would have a family one day, so I just pushed it aside and felt confident everything would work out. I even managed to keep it from Edward, I wasn't even thinking about it. I only told Jake in some sense not to worry about his future with you."

Renesmee stayed motionless, she didn't react to a word Alice was saying but I knew she was clinging on to every syllable.

"Then everything changed. You bit James and we all started to worry. Not because of the bite but because of the way you reacted to it."

Renesmee didn't speak but shook her head slightly in confusion.

"You were distraught. We'd never seen you so upset…" Alice rushed.

"…And it wasn't just a concern for James' life, it was your fear of loosing him." I picked up. "When you brought him to Carlisle and me that day; waiting outside the study to hear the news, I knew something wasn't right. You reminded me of how protective I had been over your mother. You loved him…"

"…And imprints aren't supposed to love other people…" Alice and I were finishing each other's sentences; Renesmee seemed to be still unable to move.

"…Or from what we've seen and heard. I started to worry that because of your vampire genes you were immune to the imprint. Jacob was worried too so I didn't want to say anything to cause him more concern…" I continued.

"…But then Edward found out about what I had seen." Alice finished. "I had worked out that the vision had come to me in the same week that you met James. I panicked, I couldn't concentrate and Edward found out within hours."

"Alice can't see Jacob or your future. The fact she could see you with this child was further reason for concern."

"I had never seen a child in your future before, why would it come now if it were Jacobs? Why would I see it as soon as James entered your life? It was too much of a coincidence."

I could see Renesmee having enough of the pieces to start putting together the big picture.

"So you took it into your own hands." She concluded, her voice empty and void of emotion.

I felt a need to defend our actions. "Jacob is family, even if the imprint wasn't active in you it is in him. Strongly. For you to be with James would have killed him. Maybe literally. It would have tortured him for the rest of his life."

This snapped Renesmee into life. "I love Jacob. Imprint or not. I wouldn't have done that to him! Did it ever occur to you that you could have just told me all of this and I would have made the right choices for myself?" She was understandably flustered.

"Actually we thought the opposite." Alice told her bluntly. "We thought if you knew about the boy you'd want to see him and then he would be tangible to you. You would be too attached. You'd want him and that life for yourself."

Renesmee rubbed her face into her hands, it had not occurred to her that she could look into Alice's head and see her possible future child. "What did he look like?" She groaned wearily.

"Beautiful! The cutest thing you've ever seen!" Alice jumped in quickly.

Renesmee looked up at her with an unimpressed scowl, which I was also expressing myself. "I meant like Jacob or James?" She spat coldly.

"Ah, oh um well he had dark hair, but you have dark hair so… and brown eyes, but you have brown eyes so…"

"Quileute like skin?" Renesmee prompted impatiently.

"It's hard to say when they're babies. They all look pale don't they…"

I raised my hand slightly to silence Alice; she was not being useful to poor Renesmee.

"He could be Jacobs! Or he could not be mine! You have no idea. He could be anyone's." She fought.

"He's yours." Alice told her with certainty. "And yes he could be Jacob's but…."

"But what?" Renesmee demanded.

"But I don't think he is. One I could see him and two he didn't seem very wolf like."

Nessie grimaced with disbelief, "What does not wolf like mean? Not a baby wolf cub?"

"No!" Alice laughed despite herself. "I mean I can usually sense the werewolf gene and I didn't sense it in him, he's just a baby."

"Stop speaking like he's real!" Renesmee shouted. "He's an idea, a fantasy. How do you know that Jacob and I haven't got a dozen kids in the future that you just can't see."

"Exactly!" Alice yelled triumphantly. "That's exactly what I said to Edward. See I knew she'd feel the same way. You probably have a whole life I can't see with Jacob."

Then for some reason the moment Alice agreed with her, Renesmee's front cracked. She started to seem unsure of herself.

"You shouldn't have made this decision for me. Torn me away from James like that. He needed me."

That was the problem. Alice thought.

"Because he was sick we worried it was clouding your judgment."

"What you thought I'd sleep with him out of pity!" She cried angrily.

"Pretty much." Alice admitted to my horror.

"No!" I protested. "Of course not pity, you love each other. We just thought it was better to separate you both when your emotions were so high and you were both so vulnerable."

But it was too late Renesmee was catching on like wild fire. "Right, so that's not why you suddenly decided to lift the no sex rule for me and Jacob? Years of wanting me to wait until marriage and then mysteriously you're all for it! You were so scared I'd sleep with James you pushed me on to Jacob. It's sick!"

I sat down on the edge of the fountain, I was a vampire, I hadn't needed to sit but I sat. I felt heavy.

"It wasn't like that. You were out of control. You were having your first kiss one minute and then within a week you were up against a wall." It hurt to say but I wanted to make an impact on her. She flinched at my words; I knew she hadn't known I knew such details. I wished I didn't.

A wall! How scandalous! I could hear Alices' delight in my head. You never mentioned a wall to me! I ignored her.

"James was bringing out the teenager in you, the angst the hormones. Then when I found out about Alice's vision I panicked. I knew it was possible; I didn't want to believe it. I knew I was the only thing standing between you and Jacob and I just couldn't bear to keep you apart any longer. Not when I knew the possibility of you turning to James."

My explanation seemed to have calmed her slightly. "What did you tell Jacob?" She persisted weakly.

"Nothing!" Alice and I both rushed to answer.

"I told him the same as you, the Volturi needed to see you, we were all in danger of them. I wouldn't dare tell him about anything else." Alice assured her.

"Good because he's going to go nuts over this one." She groaned. She was taking everything too well for my liking. She didn't seem to be taking any of it on board; she was brushing it off.

"So is your mother." I added miserably.

Renesmee let out a long exhale of breath. "Right, well you better get on and show me then." She stated simply.

Alice and I, who had found our selves in a routine now, of looking to each other with concern, took our cue. "Show you…"

"The baby." She finished bluntly. "Obviously I need to see him for myself."

We would have objected had it not been the first thing we had expected her to say when she found out. We had expected her to become irate and parental, demand to see her child. But no, she was collected and unemotional, there was no attachment.

"O.k." Alice agreed and went to sit next to her on the bench.

Renesmee looked from me to Alice with a stern look of discipline. "You've gone too far with this one. You're playing god with life, with my future. You can't intervene and choose my path for me. You just have to trust I'll make the right choices."

"I know. We got out of our depth." I admitted. "But we couldn't risk telling you, if the Volturi found out about the boy they would start a frenzy. They would probably turn James themselves."

"We'll they'll know tomorrow. I have to go back to see them."

I was instantly on edge. "What?"

"And you didn't think it was best to mention that before?" Alice whined.

Renesmee bit her lip apologetically. "We'll worry about that later. First, I want to see." She wiggled her fingers at Alice, signalling her to show her the vision.

Are we sure about this? Alice checked with me and I nodded, seeing no way that Renesmee would back down. Also she didn't seem to be overwhelmed, I was relieved. She was being rational and I was certain the vision wouldn't affect her too drastically.

Alice closed her eyes in concentration but as Renesmee raised her hand up towards Alice's temple, I saw something in her that suddenly changed my mind and made me pull back slightly in panic; it was the undeniable glow of excitement.