Hi guys! Hope y'all had a good weekend!

I do wanna give a quick shoutout to SassYNoleS and lillianolivia-white. Y'all's reviews on every chapter always bring a smile to my face and I appreciate them so much! *Muah*

With that being said, let's see what happens with Bella's gifts and you guys can tell me what you think!

Chapter 12

BPOV

We were standing in the back yard of the Cullen home, with everyone. Edward was next to me, the other mates were standing together behind us, Carmen, Irina and Tanya were standing together, and Kate and Zafrina were standing with Eleazar.

"Alright, Bella. Are you ready to try this?" Eleazar asked me.

I nodded.

"Ok, so the others can only get through your shield, sometimes. What I want to try is to get you to expand your shield over them. It seems that you've done it a little over your experimenting, but I want you to try to add people one at a time as you go. But first, I want you to try it without touching anyone. That has obviously been how you've been able to do it before, so I want you to work your way outward. The way that things have been described before were times when you're completely calm, collected and wholly focused. Alice has apparently only had visions that are few and far between of you, without your touch. But, it seems she's been able to show you things she's seen before, by touch. And it's seemed that your connection to Edward has mostly been by touch, also. You felt something from Rose earlier, and there was no touch from her. So, we're going to get you to where you don't have to touch them at all for them to read you. Now, from what I've heard of the shield's power, you should be able to feel it around you. Can you?" Eleazar asked.

It was hard to say. I felt something, but if it was my shield, I had no clue. It felt like… a stretchy cloak of some kind. It was almost like a blanket or a film was protecting me. Wait, that has to be it. I can actually feel it all around me. Not just my mind, but it's mostly centered on my mind. I feel it the most there.

"Yeah, I can. I didn't know what it was before, but now that you've said it, I can actually feel it around me." I said kind of awestruck.

"Perfect, Bella. Now, I want you to grab hold of your shield, with your mind. See if you can stretch it out all around you. Don't push too hard, just see if you can push it around." Eleazar coaxed.

Well how the fuck do I do that? Hmmm….

Ok, well, it seems easy when you say it, but trying to 'grab' something with your mind, isn't all that easy. It's like chasing after something. It keeps being just out of your reach. But as I stand there messing with my shield, I feel a slight push against it. It feels like something is pushing towards me. Then I realized something and my eyes fly open.

"Who was that, just now?" I ask, looking around.

"What do you mean, Bells?" Edward asks from behind me.

"It felt like someone was pushing against my shield. I could feel it pushing inward. Who was trying to get to me?" I asked.

"That was me. Sorry, it just looked like you were havin trouble focusin on it, so I tried to see if I could calm you so you could focus better. Apparently, that didn't work. But you could actually feel me pushin against it?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah. I was trying to grab it and push, but I felt it push back."

"Hmm… Alright, no one tries anything yet until she's got a better idea of what she's doing. I want her focused." Eleazar said to everyone.

I went back to trying to push at my shield. I think I can get a feel for it a little better, now. It's almost like pushing an elastic band. You know those kinds that you exercise with. I can feel it give if I push against it with my mind. Huh, never thought it would be that easy. It's so weird, though.

I wonder if others have this kind of 'band' around them…

"I don't think I do, Bells." I heard Edward, right behind me.

Huh? I turned around and looked at him. I felt my shield snap back to being around my mind, alone.

"Don't give me that 'huh' shit. You're the one doing it. Not me." He smiled at me with excitement.

Wait, what the… "I did it?" I asked stupidly.

His growing smile told me my answer.

I jumped up and down, looking like Alice, clapping my hands. I jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Wait, how did I do it? I didn't try to put it over you. I don't even know what I really did." I said, looking back over to Eleazar.

"Bella, your mated connection to Edward means that you are inordinately more in sync with him. You'll put your shield over him without even the faintest of thoughts about doing it. But now that you're working with your shield, you're obviously pushing it to him, subconsciously. Now I want you to try it again. If you cover Edward, that's great. That means it won't be as much work to get him under it." Eleazar said.

Alrighty. I focused back on my shield again. This time I had a hold on it. And I felt like I could actually push it away from me. Kind of like blowing up a balloon. So that's what I did. I pushed it away from me and I could actually feel another person there. It felt like there was a 'beacon' attached to that person. But it also felt so familiar to me. Like I've known that person forever.

"You have, baby. Just keep holding on to it. You're doing so great, Bells." Edward said. He sounded like there was a little bit of wonderment in his voice. "There is, sweet girl."

"What are you seeing, Edward?" Eleazar asked.

"…Everything from the past few days. I'm guessing that's what you're remembering most clearly, Bells. I'm also feeling Olivia." Edward said, and I heard so much love in his voice when he talked about Olivia.

Hold up…

"You're actually feeling her, too?" I asked as I turned to look at him.

"Yeah, the way you feel her. Like… a warm bundle of pure love centered in my stomach. An absolute, desperate need to want to hold her. The feeling of unadulterated happiness. I didn't know those feelings quite as well as you do, but now I understand how much you already love her. And how you protected her in the accident. I was so excited and happy before, but now I can see a whole new side of it." He said, as he put his hands on my stomach, over where Olivia was sleeping. Thank god for that little miracle, or I'd never be able to focus as much doing this exercise.

I leaned up and pecked his lips. Then I heard a huff behind us, and knew it had to be Tanya. She's the only one who would have a problem with us being affectionate.

I looked back over to our family and saw Rose with her hand over her mouth, her eyes shut and Emmett rubbing her back, trying to soothe her.

"What's the matter?" I asked her, worriedly.

She looked up at me, and she seemed overwhelmed. "I just felt so much coming from the two of you, just then. That kind of love you have for your daughter was amazing. I hadn't been able to get a read on you for so long and it was just a surprise to feel it." Rose explained.

"Woah. Edward? Did you know that I got it as far as her? Or could you not feel that?" I asked him.

"Well, I could read some of her reactions, but I didn't pick up on how much it affected her. I was trying to focus on you at the same time." Edward said.

"I want to try again. I want to see how many I can get under my shield. I've got a much better grasp on it. I want to see how far I can push it. Tell me when I've got you under the shield, so I know who is who." I said. I felt a little pumped.

Eleazar nodded, so I went back to my experimenting. I could now sense that there were people under my shield. They felt like small flickers of light. So I pushed further. I felt someone else under it.

"That's me, Bells." Alice said.

"Me too." I heard Jasper say.

I nodded and went on. I pushed harder against the shield and it was starting to feel like it was getting stretched thinner and thinner. But it didn't give.

"You got me, Jean Grey." I heard Emmett say, and had to laugh at that, but kept pushing on.

"Me too, Bella." It was Rose that time.

I suddenly felt my shield snap back to my own mind, and I gasped.

"Woah, Bells. You ok, baby?" I heard Edward trying to sooth me.

I felt like I had just gotten hit in the head by a bunch of rubber bands. Wow, that feels weird. It also felt like it took a good bit of energy to stretch it that far.

"Bells? Do you want to stop for a while? I don't want you to overdo anything." Edward sounded concerned.

I shook my head. "No, I want to go again. Just give me a minute. That made me feel weird."

"Babe, I don't know…" Edward started.

"No, Edward. Really, I'm fine. I'm just not used to this shield. Livy's still sleeping, so I want to get as much done while I can." I saw a huge smile grow on his face. "What?"

"Livy. I like it. It's a cute nickname for her." He chuckled.

"I just thought it was something fun. Anyways, the less she's kicking at me, the more time I can concentrate on what I'm doing." I said.

"As long as you're sure." He whispered in my ear.

"I am." I whispered back.

I took a minute to clear my head. I took some cleansing breaths, even though I didn't need them. It felt good to have that fresh airflow. Once that's done, I open my eyes to the loving family that's been supporting me. I feel the power of my shield more-so now than earlier. It's more of an energy now. And it's a pretty awesome feeling.

"Alright, let's go again." I said, feeling like a boxer in the ring.

I pushed at my shield with as much force as I could. And there was a sound off, immediately of people who were covered by it.

"You've got me, babe." Edward said.

"Me too." Jasper said.

"Me three, Bells." I had to laugh at Alice.

"Got me." Emmett said.

"Me too." Rose said.

"You've got me too, Bella dear." Carlisle said.

"You've got me too, sweetie." Esme said.

I heard a gasp, and turned to see Eleazar staring in wonder. "Woah. You got me under it too, Bella. This is extraordinary."

"Do you see it?" He nodded. "Does it look different to you than it does to the others?" I asked.

"…It's like a blanketed effect. I can see a light, sheer, blue outline where everyone is protected. Whereas before, it was centralized to you, Bella. But before I didn't see a color to it. It was more of a haze around you. This is certainly interesting." Eleazar explained.

"You've got me now, Bella." Zafrina said.

Ok, four more. I can do it. I pushed a little further.

"Oh wow. Me too, sweet girl." Kate said.

I heard a gagging sound, and saw Tanya, in all her bitchery, acting like this was getting on her last nerve. Uuuurrrrgggg, I want to hurt that little bitch. I've just about had enough of her shit.

As I was pushing further away from me to get to Tanya, I felt Olivia moving in my stomach, and then I saw Tanya jerk then land on the ground and convulse.

"Oh holy fuck!" I exclaimed and slapped my hands across my mouth.

Oh no. Did I just do that?

A/N: Hehehehehehehehehe! Anyone know what happened to Tanya? She certainly deserves it. Heinous bitch.

As always, I love hearing from y'all, so leave some love!

I'll see ya'll tomorrow!