*Sorry for the delay once again. I've been working like a fiend these past few weeks, by the time I get home I am so tired I just want to sleep and rarely want to write. I'm so sorry guys, I'm sure I've lost a lot of readers, but I'm going to try and finish the story in the next couple days. Hope you like :)*

Chapter 25 – Complex Is An Understatement

The following days after revealing ourselves to Derek had been quite eventful. The rest of the family returned the next day and were not surprised when Derek greeted them as if he had known them for many years. I had taken the time to call Alice to fill her in on the details of what happened while they were hunting. After the big reveal, the two of us, along with my parents had sat down to discuss the large problem that now lay ahead of us. Derek learned of the treaty and the main rule that bound us, he was disappointed but was not discouraged with his possible future plans of becoming one of them. I was still stunned as how similar my life was following the same paths as Mom when she entered the world of the Cullens. In a way though, I was pleased to see what the outcome if both Derek and I had our way.

After the difficult conversation and the meeting of my family, Derek and I were almost free. We agreed to stay within the boundary lines and never completely alone. A member of the family was always hanging around to keep an eye on us, not much time for romance. It never really seemed to bother Derek, he took an immediate liking to Carlisle, who he spent a lot of time with learning of our history and the ways of life for a vampire, much to our dismay. At the moment we had not officially agreed on whether it was right for him to be changed. This was a different scenario than when Mom was changed, he did not have an axe constantly hanging over his head, and the Volturi was still unaware of another human knowing the vampire secret. Hence Alice was keeping an eye just in case.

The days seemed to speed by faster then I would have liked. Two weeks passed by and Jacob's return drew closer and closer. I forced myself to keep in contact with Seth to insure that the packs were not planning an impending attack. Thankfully he had kept his word and Jacob was still in the dark, leaving me to do the dirty work when he returned. On a happier note, I had been introduced to Derek's mother and younger sister a week ago and immediately loved them. His father, Tony had died a few years back from cancer and from how they described him, I knew I would have loved him too. Lisa, his wonderful mother took to me right away, she was so pleased to see her son happy and in love. I could see so much of her in Derek, the kind eyes the most. His younger sister Amy was a joy to be around, for eleven year old, she was very smart. If I could have children, I wanted my daughter to be just like her.

"When Daddy died, Derek kind of took his place. I was only eight when he died and sometimes Derek has become like a father figure for me. I'm so happy he found you, he never seemed quite right after Daddy died. Now he is always smiling, I hope you are always around Rene. You're like the sister I never had." Her words tugged at my heart, this family had already lost Tony and possibly soon Derek as well, but not to a disease. To a new life of his choosing; sometimes I wished he had never learned of my secret. I hated to see this family broken once again, they still needed Derek around. "Hey Rene, I hope you can come to my recital next week. I have my first flute solo, I have been practicing so hard."

Next week... Jacob was coming home next week. Would I still be in the area when her recital took place? I smiled down at her while we rested on a bench in a park near their apartment. "We'll see Amy, my family has some stuff coming up next week so I'm not sure I'll be in town but I will try." She smiled and hugged me before we rose to continue our walk. This was another time I wished I was fully human, so I would never have to worry about leaving people I loved in order to protect them.

As the evening approached I found myself alone on the balcony of their apartment alone with my thoughts. Amy's words still stung my heart as I thought about this family once again losing another loved one. How could I force him to leave them just so he could be with me? The next few years would not be difficult because we could still bank on our young looks; his family would not really notice any minor differences, minus the new golden eye color. As I listened in on Lisa chatting with Amy in the kitchen, I fought back tears. I loved Derek but now I truly understood the sacrifice Mom had made when she entered this life. This was the first time in a while I began to ponder whether Jacob was truly the right choice for me.

I was startled by the buzzing of my phone and with a glance at the screen I sighed as I placed it to my ear. "Hi Dad." His soft chuckle brought a smile to my face. I may not possess his capabilities but I could always sense what he had meant to say. Our life was a complicated one, dealing with various difficult decisions, consequences and heart ache. The main point he was ready to make was that Derek was like Mom, this was his decision and he was willing to anything for us to be together. I had inherited Dad's ability to over worry and make rash decisions. I needed to just step back and focus my attention on the Jacob situation.

"Well you are almost right, I was going to briefly speak on the Derek, Jacob thing. You just missed my good news, you are being released from twenty-four hour protection for the night. We gave Derek permission to take you out for the night so come home, get ready and enjoy yourself. Leave the worrying to me." He hung up before I could question this sudden freedom. I shook my head and said my goodbyes to the girls before making the drive home. The entire ride was spent wondering how Derek had convinced my family to release the chains for the night.

I was home and dressed by the time Derek called to say he was on his way. There was a nervousness in his voice, I found it strange because his voice was usually bouncing with excitement to see me. It caught me off guard but I brushed it aside knowing that I would be with him in a short amount of time. As I descended into the living room, Mom and Alice exchanged a secret smile which had me wondering what they could possibly be planning. Alice bounced up and flitted to my side to assess my outfit and with a flash of a smile she patted my shoulder and danced into the kitchen. I shot a look at Mom who simply giggled and shrugged with the usual 'Alice will be Alice' attitude. I took a seat next to her as she returned to reading her very weathered copy of Wuthering Heights. I rested my head on her shoulder and placed my hand on her thigh. She jumped as she saw my continuous worries of what would be happening in the next week.

"Renesmee, for once forget Jacob. Tonight we are giving you a chance to just enjoy time with Derek, please just relax. Alice is watching the Volturi and Seth has kept his promise of not telling Jacob about this new relationship. We will be leaving for Denali the day after Jacob returns, just enjoy Forks while we are here." Her eyes lowered from the page as the realization of leaving Forks for good sank in. The family had stayed longer than we should have, all for Grandpa. I was his only grandchild and he deserved to see me grow up, quite fast but at least he was there for me. Now it was our time, we could not stay after I broke up with Jacob; the danger was too great for us now.

I softly stroked Mom's hair to try to remind that I too was sad about leaving Grandpa. We had already planned for him to come up and see us the week after we moved to Denali. The sound of car tires on the road caught my attention and I leaped from my seat, kissed Mom on the cheek and dashed out onto the porch. It seemed like hours until I saw his car pull into the clearing. The moment the car came to a stop, I was in the passenger seat and my lips were to his. The kiss was brief but intense, we drove away from the house beaming with excitement. I was expecting a nice restaurant and maybe a trip to the beach for a walk in the moonlight, I was wrong. To my surprise Derek made his way towards the meadow, a place where both my parents and I went with our loved one for peace and romance. His car was parked in the usual place and soon we began the hike through the woods; the hike was slow since we took breaks to steal a kiss or two. We shared the events of our day and even though I questioned how he managed to convince my family to relent on the constant supervision he simply smiled and said he was very persuasive.

My breath caught in my chest as we broke into the meadow. There in the centre of the meadow sat a romantic picnic for two. Candles surrounded the blanket and to my surprise, dinner was already in place. As I turned to look at Derek he was smiling and held me close. "I asked Alice and Esme to sneak up here." So that is why Alice was so excited, I should have known the two of them would have had a hand in this. As we took a seat on the soft red and white checkered blanket I gazed in wonder at the meal that had been prepared. Chicken caesar salad, homemade bread sticks, bottle of Cristal champagne and for desert my favorite, lemon meringue pie. Just behind us sat a CD player which was playing Clair de Lune but I noticed a difference in the tone, it was just how Dad played it. I was touched by how much work had gone into this but now, I wondered the meaning behind this romantic dinner.

After dinner was finished, I curled into his arms and gazed up at the stars. This night could not get any better, I was happy just to be with Derek alone. This was one of the last days that I would be with him; since we were moving to Denali, I knew our time together was precious. "Rene, I need to ask you something, I know its sudden but I need to do this now before you leave for Denali." I slowly rose up from his arms and looked towards him, my mouth was set in a thin line now worrying what he wanted to ask.

His eyes fell to his hands as he nervously rubbed them together, he took a deep breath and returned to my anxious gaze. My heart began to race even faster as my mind began to develop ideas as to why he would be so nervous. Anything could be running through his mind, was he giving me up now that he knew vampires existed; or was he thinking of making this night we finally submitted to our desires? I too began to worry, I still was not sure if I was ready for this. Jacob and I had talked and nearly come close a few times but I was usually stopped by my family. But now... we were truly alone; for once Alice was not monitoring my every move, there was no family hiding in the shadows, we were alone. "What is it Derek, you know you can ask me anything."

I began to gnaw on my lower lip as he slipped a hand into his pocket, already anticipating what I believed was in there. My mouth nearly dropped when a black velvet box was sitting in his now open hand. My eyes shot up to his face as he slowly opened the lid to reveal a beautiful four carat emerald cut diamond ring in a white gold setting. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen, will you be my wife? I know our relationship has been rushed and I know what marrying you entails but I love you. You are my life, my everything; I will do anything to be with you forever. Marry me."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at the ring. How could this be happening now? Jacob was returning in a week and he was asking me to marry him now. My heart was screaming to say yes and I wanted to but I was worried what would happen if Seth found out; I doubt he would keep his promise then. His eyes bore into me as he waited for an answer. I could not say yes, how could I? I opened my mouth to decline but something clicked inside me. I realized this was perfect, if my family accepted changing him, I would have him forever. Maybe there would be children, maybe not. We could be together forever, Jacob offered the same thing but this felt more natural. "Yes, Derek I will marry you!"