"No, this doesn't count. I stopped aging three days ago. I am twenty-two forever."

"Whatever, semantics," Alice said, dismissing my protest with a quick shrug. "We're celebrating anyway, so suck it up."

I sighed. There was rarely a point to arguing with Alice.

Her grin got impossibly wider as she read the acquiescence in my eyes.

"Are you ready to open your present?" Alice sang.

"Presents," Edward corrected, and he pulled another key – this one longer and silver with a less gaudy blue bow – from his pocket.

I struggled to keep from rolling my eyes. I knew immediately what this key was to – the "after car." Since my change had been delayed, the "after car" had gone through several iterations, so many that the Cullen garage had been expanded another level underground. Rosalie had been more than delighted to have the cars to play with, though it left Emmet scrambling for new gift ideas.

I wondered if I should feel excited. It seemed the vampire conversion hadn't given me any sudden interest in sports cars.

"Mine first," Alice said, and then stuck her tongue out, foreseeing his answer.

"Mine is closer."

"I know – I'll play you for it," Alice suggested. "Rock, paper, scissors."

Jasper chuckled and Edward sighed.

"Why don't you just tell me who wins?" Edward said wryly.

Alice beamed. "I do. Excellent."

"Don't I have a word in this?"

"Nope."

Rosalie came to take Renesmee away. "But she can come with us."

"It's better if she stays here. She has to be fed often during the night…"

"Ah… I understand."

"Enjoy," Rosalie grinned at me, and I was glad to see that the new comradeship between us was still there in her smile. I hadn't been entirely sure it would last after Renesmee's life was no longer tied to mine.

She had been of great help to me during the early days of my pregnancy, while Edward was enraged, anxious and on the whole difficult to be around. It'd taken him several minutes of stunned silence, where I began to wonder if you could take a vampire out of commision by simply giving it an inconceivable news.

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as anyone can be."

"How?"

"By doing our favorite pastime."

"Don't be funny!"

"It's better than being sullen. It's good news."

"Is it?"

"How can you say that?"

"Because we don't know what you have in you."

"I think it's pretty obvious: your child."

"What have I done to you?" He whispered to no one in particular.

"Nothing."

"How can you say that?"

"Because you haven't, Edward. I'm pregnant! A lot of women have done it before me. What? Are you saying that you don't want the baby?"

"I do, but…"

"There is no but! Don't you understand? We can have it all. You can have and raise your own child. You wanted this."

"I didn't think it was possible."

"Neither did I. Yet, here we are."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Edward asked after the ultrasound that confirmed the pregnancy. Carlisle had politely stepped out of the room, though I knew he could hear our every word.

"I mean no, Edward. I'm not going to have an abortion."

"But we don't know what the fetus is!"

"Half human and half vampire. It's pretty clear! But most importantly it is ours! Or are you saying that you want to leave me?"

"Don't twist my words, Bella! I'm terrified! I can't lose you; the you that is standing in front of me and that I have loved for so few years for the small possibility of something more."

"But you're not going to lose me!"

"You can't know that."

"But I do," I put my palm on his forearm but he pulled it away from my touch.

"You don't, you're just hoping that it will all turn out well."

"It hasn't failed me so far. You aren't at all happy about this?"

"I'm trying to be," he said looking out the window, "but all I feel is soul eating dread. Greedy men lose all that they have," he turned, his sorrowful onyx eyes meeting mine.

Edward's foul mood did not improve much during the next few months and though I could not blame him for his consuming fear, I felt alone. Rosalie and Esme were the two that understood what I was going through.

"Edward, stop making this about yourself!" Rosalie admonished him while they thought I was sleeping.

"It's easy for you to say that."

"Easy? Really? You know how unbelievably envious I am! I would cry if I could. This is all I've ever wanted and you're getting it. And you're acting like a complete ass!"

"You don't know what I'm going through."

"Maybe I don't, but that doesn't mean you get to leave Bella alone in this. Not when what she's doing will bring you joy you never dared to hope."

"She's not alone," he mumbled.

"But she is! She's risking her life and you're pouting in a corner like a diva with a wounded ego."

"Rose," he warned.

"I'm not scared of you. I might not win, but I can give you a well deserved trashing. Don't tell me that if the roles were reversed that you wouldn't have done the same thing? Not if it meant giving Bella something she wishes."

He said nothing.

"You would, there is no point in denying it. Then why are you angry at her for something that you would've done yourself? Something that you've already done for her. You never learn, don't you?" She gave a short laugh devoid of any humor.

"Bella knows how dangerous this is. She's smart; you don't give her enough credit for it. So be by her side, because her survival doesn't mean the absence of heartbreak."

After their talk, Edward's mood did improve and I could see that, while the dread was his constant companion he was trying to be hopeful. I would always owe Rosalie for all that she'd done for me and for Renesmee.

As soon as the baby was in her arms, Rose started mumbling sweet nonsensical things at her and I was so happy to see how much my daughter was loved; not only by Rosalie, but by the rest of the family. Renesmee would always have an army behind her for protection.

Alice grabbed my elbow and steered me toward the back door. "Let's go, let's go," she trilled.

"I know it's the baby's room," I told Alice.

"It's not only that," she contradicted and I became fearful .

I realized that lots of things about me – like truly hating surprises, and not liking gifts in general much more – had not changed one bit. It was a relief and revelation to discover how much of my essential core traits had come with me into this new body.

I hadn't expected to be this much like my old self. I smiled widely

Alice tugged my elbow, and I couldn't stop smiling as I followed her into the purple night. Only Edward came with us.

"There's the enthusiasm I'm looking for," Alice murmured approvingly. Then she dropped my arm, made two lithe bounds, and leaped over the river.

"C'mon, Bella," she called from the other side

Edward jumped at the same time I did; it was every bit as fun as it had been this afternoon. Maybe a little bit more fun because the night changed everything into new, rich colors.

Alice took off with us on her heels, heading due north. It was easier to follow the sound of her feet whispering against the ground and the fresh path of her scent than it was to keep my eyes on her through the thick vegetation.

At no sign I could see, she whirled and dashed back to where I paused.

"Don't attack me," she warned, and sprang at me.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, squirming as she scrambled onto my back and wrapped her hands around my face. I felt the urge to throw her off, but I controlled it.

"Making sure you can't see."

"I could take care of that without the theatrics," Edward offered.

"You might let her cheat. Take her hand and lead her forward."

"Alice, I know where we are going."

"Don't ruin my fun."

"I thought this day was supposed to be about me."

"Don't bother, Bella. We're doing this my way."

I felt Edward's fingers weave through mine. "Just a few seconds more, Bella. Then she'll go annoy someone else." He pulled me forward. I kept up easily. I wasn't afraid of hitting a tree; the tree would be the only one getting hurt in that scenario.

"You might be a little more appreciative," Alice chided him. "This is as much for you as it is for her."

"True. Thank you again, Alice."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay." Alice's voice suddenly shot up with excitement. "Stop there. Turn her just a little to the right. Yes, like that. Okay. Are you ready?" she squeaked.

"I'm ready." There were new scents here, piquing my interest, increasing my curiosity. Scents that didn't belong in the deep woods. Honeysuckle. Smoke. Roses. Violets. Strawberries. Sawdust? Something metallic, too. The richness of deep earth, dug up and exposed. I leaned toward the mystery.

Alice hopped down from my back, releasing her grip on my eyes.

I stared into the violet dark. There, nestled behind our cottage was a large fenced garden.

It was a place taken out of a children's fairytale. Bushes upon bushes of flowers were visible through the fence, their scent enveloping the cool night air. New smaller trees had been planted: hawthorne, magnolia, white birch, ironwood. I could hear the quiet pour of water and wondered if hidden behind the door there was a fountain.

I curled my hand around the key I held, shocked that it had taken them less than half a day to create this small work of art.

"What do you think?" Alice's voice was soft now; it fit with the perfect quiet of the storybook scene.

I opened my mouth but said nothing.

"Esme thought we might like a place for Renesmee to play in while she grows up. Something that is safer than a whole forest," Edward murmured.

I continued staring, mouth gaping like a fish.

"Don't you like it?" Alice's face fell. "I mean, I'm sure we could fix it up differently, if you want. Emmett was all for adding a giant slide and skateboard ramp, but Esme thought you would like it best if it kept up with the style of the house." Her voice started to climb, to go faster. "If she was wrong, we can get back to work. It won't take long to –"

"Shh!" I managed.

"It's beautiful," I said, my voice soft and filled with emotion.

Alice beamed. "You like it."

I shook my head.

"Love it?"

I nodded.

"I can't wait to tell Esme!"

"Why didn't she come?"

Alice's smile faded a little, twisted just off what it had been, like my question was hard to answer. "Oh, you know... they all remember how you are about presents. They didn't want to put you under too much pressure to like it."

"But of course I love it. How could I not?"

"They'll like that." She patted my arm. "Anyhoo, the other part of the gift is the baby's room, but I'll let Edward show you that. And... I guess that's everything."

"Aren't you going to come inside?"

She strolled casually a few feet back. "Edward knows his way around. I'll stop by... later. Call me before you get dressed in the morning." She threw me a doubtful look and then smiled. "Jazz wants to hunt. See you."

She shot off into the trees like the most graceful bullet.

"That was weird," I said when the sound of her flight had vanished completely. "Am I really that bad? They didn't have to stay away. Now I feel guilty. I didn't even thank her right. We should go back,tell Esme – "

"Bella,don't be silly. No one thinks you're that unreasonable."

"Then what – "

"Alone time is their third gift. Alice was trying to be subtle about it."

"Oh."

That was all it took to make the house disappear. We could have been anywhere. I didn't see the trees or the stones or the stars. It was just Edward.

"Let me show you what they've done," he said, pulling my hand. Was he oblivious to the fact that an electric current was pulsing through my body like adrenaline spiked blood?

Once again I felt oddly off balance, waiting for reactions my body wasn't capable of anymore. My heart should have been thundering like a steam engine about to hit us. Deafening. My cheeks should have been brilliant red.

For that matter, I ought to have been exhausted. This had been the longest day of my life.

I laughed out loud – just one quiet little laugh of shock – when I realized that this day would never end.

"Do I get to hear the joke?"

"It's not a very good one," I told him as he led the way to the little rounded door. "I was just thinking – today is the first and last day of forever. It's kind of hard to wrap my head around it. Even with all this extra room for wrapping." I laughed again.

He chuckled with me. He held his hand out toward the wrought iron door knob of the garden door, waiting for me to do the honors. I stuck the key in the lock and turned it.

"You're such a natural at this, Bella; I forget how very strange this all must be for you. I wish I could hear it." He ducked down and yanked me up into his arms so fast that I didn't see it coming – and that was really something.

"Hey!"

"Thresholds are part of my job description," he reminded me.

"This is not a threshold."

"Don't ruin my fun," he smiled. "But I'm curious. Tell me what you're thinking about right now."

He opened the gate – it fell back without a sound– and stepped through into the whimsical garden.

"Everything," I told him. "All at the same time, you know. Good things and things to worry about and things that are new. How I keep using too many superlatives in my head. Right now, I'm thinking that Esme is an artist. It's so perfect!"

A stone cobble way had been put down that went around the whole of the garden. It was illuminated by small soft garden lamps. Besides the new trees, rows of flowers were peppered around: colorful lupines, yarrow, violet monkswood, white and blue anemone, pink bottle brush, purple hyacinths, fragrant lavender and many many others. Near the magnolia trees long white benches sat on soft grass. The fountain turned out to be a small pond. I saw that a wrought iron swing had been laid close to the house; behind it there were bushes of raspberries and blackberries, rows of strawberries and blueberries. A small entrance had been made in the hollowed out trunk of a tree; a place big enough for Renesmee to hide all throughout her childhood. Besides the swing there was also a small slide.

"Did you know about this?"

"About how it would turn out, no."

"What do you think?"

"That I can't wait to bring Renesmee here. You?"

"The exact same thing. And more," I said, moving my lips to his neck.

He caught up to my mood in an instant, or maybe he'd already been there, and he was just trying to let me fully appreciate my birthday present, like a gentleman. He pulled my face to his with a sudden fierceness, a low moan in his throat. The sound sent the electric current running through my body into a near-frenzy, like I couldn't get close enough to him fast enough.

Our intimate time together had been the epitome of my human life. The very best of it. I'd pushed away the change, just to hold on to what I had with him for a little while longer. Because the physical part wasn't going to be the same ever again.

I should have guessed, after a day like today, that it would be better.

I could really appreciate him now – could properly see every beautiful line of his perfect face, of his long, flawless body with my strong new eyes, every angle and every plane of him. I could taste his pure, vivid scent on my tongue and feel the unbelievable silkiness of his marble skin under my sensitive fingertips.

My skin was so sensitive under his hands, too.

He was all new, a different person as our bodies tangled gracefully into one on the soft grass. No caution, no restraint. No fear – especially not that. We could live together – both active participants now. Finally equals.

Like our kisses before, every touch was more than I was used to. So much of himself he'd been holding back. Necessary at the time, but I couldn't believe how much I'd been missing.

I tried to keep in mind that I was stronger than he was, but it was hard to focus on anything with sensations so intense, pulling my attention to a million different places in my body every second; if I hurt him, he didn't complain.

A very, very small part of my head considered the interesting conundrum presented in this situation. I was never going to get tired, and neither was he. We didn't have to catch our breath or rest or eat or even use the bathroom; we had no more mundane human needs. He had the most beautiful, perfect body in the world and I had him all to myself, and it didn't feel like I was ever going to find a point where I would think, 'Now I've had enough for one day'. I was always going to want more. And the day was never going to end. So, in such a situation, how did we ever stop?

It didn't bother me at all that I had no answer.

I sort of noticed when dawn began to break; all the colors became brighter, stronger, I could hear forest animals begin to awaken. A lark started to sing somewhere close by.

"Do you miss it?" I asked him when her song was done.

It wasn't the first time we'd spoken, but we weren't exactly keeping up a conversation, either.

"Miss what?"

"All of it – the warmth, the soft skin, the tasty smell... I'm not losing anything at all, and I just wondered if it was a little bit sad for you that you were."

He laughed, low and gentle. "It would be hard to find someone less sad than I am now. Impossible, I'd venture. Not many people get every single thing they want, plus all the things they didn't think to ask for, on the same day."

"Are you avoiding the question?"

He pressed his hand against my face and I leaned into it. "You are warm," he told me.

It was true, in a sense. To me, his hand was warm. It wasn't the same as touching Renesmee's hot skin, but it was more comfortable. More natural.

Then he pulled his fingers very slowly down my face, lightly tracing from my jaw to my throat and then all the way down to my waist. My eyes rolled back into my head a little.

"You are soft."

His fingers were like satin against my skin, so I could see what he meant.

"And as for the scent, well, I couldn't say I missed that. Do you remember the scent of those hikers on our hunt?"

"I've been trying very hard not to."

"Imagine kissing that." My throat ripped into flames like pulling the cord on a hot-air balloon.

"Oh!"

"Precisely. So the answer is no. I am purely full of joy, because I am missing nothing. No one has more than I do now."

I was about to inform him of the one exception to his statement, but my lips were suddenly very busy.

After morning had truly come into its own I asked: "How long does this go on? I mean, Carlisle and Esme, Em and Rose, Alice and Jasper – they don't spend all day locked in their rooms. They're out in public, fully clothed, all the time. Does this...craving ever let up?" I twisted myself closer into him – quite an accomplishment, actually – to make it clear what I was talking about.

"That's difficult to say. Everyone is different and, well, so far you're the very most different of all. The average young vampire is too obsessed with thirst to notice much else for a while. That doesn't seem to apply to you. With the average vampire, though, after that first year, other needs make themselves known. Neither thirst nor any other desire really ever fades. It's simply a matter of learning to balance them, learning to prioritize and manage..."

"How long?"

He smiled, wrinkling his nose a little. "Rosalie and Emmett were the worst. It took a solid decade before I could stand to be within a five-mile radius of them. Even Carlisle and Esme had a difficult time stomaching it. They kicked the happy couple out eventually. Esme built them a house, too. It was grander than this one, but then, Esme knows what Rose likes, and she knows what you like."

"So, after ten years, then?" I was pretty sure that Rosalie and Emmett had nothing on us, but it might sound cocky if I went higher than a decade. "Everybody is normal again? Like they are now?"

Edward smiled again. "Well, I'm not sure what you mean by normal. You've seen my family going about life in a fairly human way, but you've been sleeping nights." He winked at me. "There's a tremendous amount of time left over when you don't have to sleep. It makes balancing your... interests quite easy. There's a reason why I'm the best musician in the family, why – besides Carlisle – I've read the most books, studied the most sciences, become fluent in the most languages... Emmett would have you believe that I'm such a know-it-all because of the mind reading, but the truth is that I've just had a lot of free time."

We laughed together, and the motion of our laughter did interesting things to the way our bodies were connected, effectively ending that conversation.