Edward went to greet them, while I remained inside. My only obstacles to my daughter were the glass window and the distance. Both I could have beasted with ease. Both I had to keep intact.

I could hear her heartbeat, fast and strong, along with another. The second was just as strong as the first though slower. Charlie.

I could see my father through the tinted windows of the car, as well as I could see the outline of a car seat, though not the small baby sleeping in it. Charlie was watching over her while talking with Edward. My husband was reminding him that he could only see me from afar; that it was still incredibly dangerous for him to be there.

I waved at him as he got out of the car.

I read the emotions as they scrolled across his tired gaunt face.

Shock. Disbelief. Pain. Loss. Fear. Anger. Suspicion. More pain.

I bit my lip. It felt funny. My new teeth were sharper against my granite skin than my human teeth had been against my soft human lips.

Charlie had lost a lot of weight, I could see it not only on his face, but on the way his clothes were hanging from him. I had a sudden need to make him a grilled cheese sandwich and give him a piece of pie.

Edward handed him his phone, while I put mine to my ear.

"Hi, dad." I had tried making my voice sound more human, but to almost no avail.

"Is that you, Bella?" he whispered.

"Yep."

He darted an accusing glare at Edward, and then his eyes flickered back to me. His jaw locked. I wished I had Edwards power so I could better apologize.

"I'm sorry, Dad," I said.

"Are you okay?" he demanded.

"Really and truly great," I promised. "Healthy as a horse."

"Why didn't you tell me, Bella?" There was pain and reproach in his voice.

"I couldn't. It was safer if I didn't."

"Is this safe?" He was getting frustrated.

"No."

He exhaled unamused.

It was the truth, after all. We were, in actuality, worse than we'd been before. Not only did a human know about the humans, there was now Renesmee, whose true nature must always be kept a secret.

"Was all that you've done necessary?"

"Yes."

"And was there no alternative?"

"None that we could come up with in the past four years."

"And you've always known about Edward?"

"Almost from the start."

"Did he tell you?"

"Not really. I found out on my own."

"How?"

"Good investigative skills."

"Funny."

"I get it from you."

"When can I see you from up close?"

"I don't know, dad. Even this is dangerous."

"Because I'm so irresistible?"

"Yeah."

"Can you promise you won't disappear? You and the kid?"

I bit my lip again, "I don't think I can."

"I'm done with all the secrecy," he yelled, "I'm not losing you again!"

"You won't."

"But you can't promise that,'' he mumbled.

"It's the best that I can offer for now. The future is still uncertain."

"That's no excuse."

"We have enemies."

"I heard. The Vultures."

"Volturi, dad."

"But they just want to see that you're a v… vam… Cullen."

"Yes. But we have to be careful that they don't find out about Renesmee. Or you."

"What will they do if they find out?"

"Nothing good."

"They are that dangerous?"

"More than you can imagine."

Charlie nodded and looked at the ground and nodded, "Then make me one of you."

"You don't know what you're asking, dad."

"I'm asking to be around my family and to keep you all safe. You'll have one more person to protect her and the Volturi can't be mad if I'm like you."

I had no reply.

"Just think about it, Bells."

"It's not just my decision."

"Well, it's mine and I want to do it. I love you both too much to accept anything less."

"You'll have to give up your whole life."

Charlie looked deep into my muddy brown eyes, "Gladly."

"Oh, dad," I sobbed.

Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder in support before joining them outside.

"Come Charlie," he said, "I'll take you home. We'll talk more on the way. Let Bella meet her daughter."

Charlie's eyes darted from me to Carlisle in uncertainty. "You have my word that we won't disappear in the night."

Charlie nodded.

"I am happy to have you back, Bells. Love you."

"Love you too, dad."

Charlie wiped a tear away from his eye, before he was taken to the garage.

When their car had been gone for five minutes, I went down.

Rosalie and Esme hugged me.

"How is she?"

"Beautiful, Bella," said Esme. She caressed my cheek, "I'm so happy to see you well."

My family stood by my side as Edward removed our sleeping daughter from the car.

She was gorgeous.

She was so small. Her hair was just like Edward's — a shiny bronze color. She was a lot like him, with small traces of myself. She was not as pale as everyone else and her round cheeks had a soft rosiness about them, like she'd been in the sun. She had long eyelashes, the color of her hair. Our daughter. Impossible, yet true.

I had to hold her.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm in control." Then I hesitated and added, "Keep close, though, just in case."

I'd been braced for anything – for a scent as impossibly insistent as the human smell in the woods. The temptation here was really not comparable. Renesmee's fragrance was perfectly balanced right on the line between the scent of the most beautiful perfume and the scent of the most delicious food. There was enough of the sweet vampire smell to keep the human part from being overwhelming.

Jasper's eyes were tight, focused. I knew he was taking in my emotional climate, and I worked on settling into a steady calm. His eyes were darting from the baby to myself.

I thought about every step before I took it, analyzing my mood, the burn in my throat, the position of the others around me. How strong I felt versus how well they would be able to contain me. It was a slow procession.

As I arrived by Edward's side, she awoke and chocolate eyes stared at me with curiosity.

Suddenly, she was absolutely real, and of course I knew her. Half Edward, perfect and lovely. And half me – which, surprisingly, made her better rather than detracting. It was perfectly ordinary that I should take that last easy step and reach for her, putting my hands exactly where they would fit best as I pulled her gently toward me.

Renesmee seemed oblivious to the coolness of my skin, or at least very used to it.

"Hello, you," I said, my voice the sound of joy. "I am Bella, your mother."

I slowly placed my hand on her incredibly soft hair and I caressed her, "I love you so much. I'm sorry I wasn't with you from the start."

"Can I kiss her," I asked Edward.

He nodded.

It seemed very natural to lean in and press my lips to her forehead. The scent of her skin set my throat burning, but it was easy to ignore. It didn't strip the joy from the moment. Her small hand touched my cheek.

I gasped, stunned and frightened by the strange, alarming image that filled my mind. It felt like a very strong memory – I could still see through my eyes while I watched it in my head – but it was completely unfamiliar. My lips were still on her forehead.

"What... was...that?" I managed to choke out after she'd let her hand fall.

"What did you see?" Rosalie asked curiously. "What did she show you?"

"She showed me that?" I whispered.

"I told you it was hard to explain," Edward said. "But effective as means of communication go."

"What was it?" Rose insisted.

"Edward and… me. I was on a table."

"It was the only memory she had of you," Edward explained. It was obvious he'd seen what she was showing me as she thought of it. "She's letting you know that she remembers you."

"But how did she do it?"

Renesmee was perfectly unaware of my distress. She was smiling slightly and pulling on a lock of my hair.

"How do I hear thoughts? How does Alice see the future?" Edward asked rhetorically, and then shrugged.

"It's an interesting twist," Carlisle said to Edward. "Like she's doing the exact opposite of what you can."

"Interesting," Edward agreed. "I wonder...

I knew they were speculating away, but I didn't care. I was staring at the most beautiful face in the world. "I remember you, too," I told her quietly.

The rest of the evening was spent with Renesmee in my arms and Edward by my side.

She only left my arms for a feeding. In the meantime Rosalie and Esme told me everything that had happened during the day they had been away and Alice showed me all the pictures that she'd taken of Renesmee. With Edward, with Charlie, with Carlisle and Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, her and Jasper, one with everyone, including Charlie.

"And now it's time for you to have your pictures taken."

It took Alice the better part of an hour to shoot all the images she desired. No one protested (with one exception: when Emmett wanted to take a holding Renesmee like a football about to be thrown). My daughter had been asleep through most of it.

After the photoshoot had finished, I was left alone with Renesmee — only Edward and Rosalie close by.

Careful not to disturb her, I curiously slid my finger in her palm and her tiny hand strongly clasped around it. At first there was nothing, and then, after a few minutes, a flickering of colors like a handful of butterflies were scattering from her thoughts.

Mesmerized, I watched her dreams. There was no sense to it. Just colors and shapes and faces. My face cropped up the most in her unconscious thoughts, mixed with everyone she'd met so far.

For the first time, I understood how Edward had been able to watch me sleep night after boring night, just to hear me talk in my sleep. I could watch Renesmee dream forever.

The change in Edward's tone caught my attention when he said, "Finally," and turned to gaze out the window. It was deep, purply night outside, but I could see just as far as before. Nothing was hidden in the darkness; everything had just changed colors.

Alice came into view on the other side of the river. She swung back and forth from a branch like a trapeze artist, toes touching hands, before throwing her body into a graceful flat spin over the river. Esme made a more traditional leap, while Emmett charged right through the water, splashing water so far that splatters hit the back windows. To my surprise, Jasper followed after, his own efficient leap seeming understated, even subtle, after the others.

The huge grin stretching Alice's face was familiar in a dim, odd way. Everyone was suddenly smiting at me – Esme sweet, Emmett excited, Rosalie a little superior, Carlisle indulgent, and Edward expectant.

Alice skipped into the room ahead of everyone else, her hand stretched out in front of her and impatience making a nearly visible aura around her. In her palm was an everyday brass key with an oversized pink satin bow tied around it.

She held the key out for me, and I automatically gripped Renesmee more securely in my right arm so that I could open my left. Alice dropped the key into it.

"Happy birthday!" she squealed.

I rolled my eyes. "No one starts counting on the actual day of birth," I reminded her. "Your first birthday is at the year mark, Alice."

Her grin turned smug. "We're not celebrating your vampire birthday. Yet. It's September thirteenth, Bella. Happy twenty third birthday!"