Disclaimer: This story is based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer in the Twilight Saga. I do not own any of these characters.

Garrett

1993

I pulled through the parking lot of the dance studio and stopped the car three spaces from the entrance. Bella's feet dangled from her car seat in the back as she looked around us. A moment after we'd stopped her eyes met mine in the rear view mirror.

"You excited, doll?" I asked, and she offered a soft grin.

"I don't know," there was a hint of a giggle in her voice and I flashed a smile in her direction. I stepped out of the car and made my way to her door, by the time I opened it she had already unbuckled herself and was sliding off her car seat. She scooted herself to the opening of the car - always the independent one - and I held her arm to stabilize her as she slid to the ground. She placed her hand in mine and we walked to the front door of the studio.

"Hello, welcome." A smiling receptionist greeted us as we walked through the door. Bella stepped behind me as I politely responded. We got a few things in order for Bella's class as other little girls began to arrive. After several minutes a tall brunette walked through in similar attire that they'd asked the little ones to come prepared in.

"Good afternoon ladies," the woman said as she looked from little girl to little girl. My gaze shifted to Bella and she sat very still at my side. "My name is Miss Lansing and I'll be your dance teacher, are we ready to go in?" Bella's eyes widened in panic and she looked to me in concern. She grabbed a fist full of the sleeve of my jacket and glanced back at the teacher.

When her eyes met mine again she leaned in and I bent over to put my ear closer to her. "Pops, I don't want to." She whispered. I met her eyes and stood up keeping a hold of her hand. Together we approached the teacher and as I lifted my eyes to meet hers I watched as she looked at me in wonder. I smirked kindly.

"Hey there, Miss Lansing," I drawled. "My little Bella is nervous about her first class and I was wondering if there was a way I could stick around to ease her nerves a bit?" I could feel the eyes of all the moms in the lobby and waited while Miss Lansing steadied herself to respond.

We do have an area for parents to watch. If you'd like to follow us to the studio I'd be happy to show you where to sit." Miss Lansing was blushing as I smiled back at her and shifted my attention back to Bella. Bella was frowning at her new teacher and I could see the stubborn line between her brows as she found my gaze.

"Would it make it better if pops hung out with you?" I asked.

She thought about it for a moment and glanced back at her teacher who still hadn't taken her eyes off of me. She let out a tiny huff and muttered a yes. Bella didn't release my hand as Miss Lansing lead the class back to the studio. The other moms in the lobby followed after Bella and I and when we were in Miss Lansing ushered the adults over to the parent seating.

I sat down on one of the end chairs so I wouldn't be stuck between the moms, and Bella's grip on my hand tightened. "It's not to late to leave pops." She whispered, eyes pleading. I couldn't help my smile.

"One class Bella, if you don't like we don't have to come back."

"I don't like it." She said sternly.

"You haven't tried it." Her lip jutted out and the crease in her brow deepened. "One class," I leaned in closer. "One class and after we'll go to the library and then go get ice cream." Bella's eyes narrowed.

"We were going to do that anyway." She scolded me. I laughed and shook my head.

"Just try." She huffed out another frustrated breath and finally let go and walked to side of the room.

Miss Lansing began their warm up and the mom sitting next to me leaned over. "How old is she?"

"Six," I responded without glancing over. My eyes were on Bella and her nearly comical lack of coordination as she attempted to follow the instructor's movements. The woman next to me made a couple more attempts at small talk but my eyes never left my little girl.

As it turned out she had been right to want to leave, not only was she not a huge fan of her instructor, but she was simply not very good at dancing. I knew she wasn't the most coordinated being, and part of me had hoped that enrolling her in dance lessons would help her master that. But after this lesson it was clear that this was not the approach to take.

After knocking into several of the other girls and landing on her butt a few times the class was finally over and she stomped back to me. She gave me a pointed look and I shrugged, "You don't like it." I said as she told me she didn't. "No worries, let's ride." I told her.

As I stood up Miss Lansing approached and I stopped to look at her. She looked nervously between Bella and myself and though it was a bit funny to watch her, I quickly put her out of her misery.

"I don't think dance is the right fit for Bella, thank you for the trial class." I told her. I could almost hear the sigh of relief from the other moms. Miss Lansing looked at me wide eyed and nodded. She seemed to be conflicted about the fact that I would not be returning. As I glanced down and Bella was frowning at her now former instructor. I met her eyes again, "It was a pleasure meeting you," I said stepping away and pulling Bella along with me.

I picked Bella up in the lobby and carried her out to the car. I was raining at this point but I didn't want to take the time to have her change out of the dance shoes. Buying them wasn't too much of a waste, if she wanted to she could use them for dress up while she still fit in them. Though after today I don't know how much interest she had in pretending or wanting to become a ballerina.

Once in the car we sped north toward the city. The Central Library in Seattle was Bella's favorite, though she was still working on her reading skills it was easy to see they were her passion so taking a trip to a large library was a treat. Being that she'd bulldozed through several little girls this afternoon, I felt that it deserved a special drive. I glanced to the back seat several times on the way into the city and Bella kept a determined look on her face the entire time.

"What's on your mind doll?" I asked her. Her eyes met mine in the rear view briefly and she looked away and out the window. Her little lips pursed together and just as I was going to urge a response, she met my eyes again.

"Do you ever wish we had a mommy?" She asked.

The panic set in instantly and I focused my attention on keeping my expression the same as I figured out how to respond. "Hmm, you mean if you had a mommy?" I asked, she nodded. "Sometimes, but do you remember what I told you about your mommy?"

She let out another little sigh, she was doing far too much of that for a six year old. "Yeah, she died." She said, looking back out the window. My gaze lingered on her sad face. The space in my chest where my heart once beat felt constricted. Truth being, I did feel guilty that she didn't had a mom to grow up with, but there was little room for me to do anything to remedy that situation. Dating was essentially off the table considering what I was, and I wouldn't be able to find a partner of my species until Bella was old enough to be turned. It was already risky my raising her, I couldn't let others of my kind know I was this closely involved with a human. This went beyond anything even Carlisle did working as a doctor. I was raising a human, and anyone of my species looking in from the outside would see this as a dangerous gateway to an immortal child.

I decided to be as honest with her as I could, she still wasn't old enough for me to feel comfortable explaining my secret, but I wanted to be as transparent as I could in everything else. "Your mommy died when you were very little, and yes sometimes I do wish that you could have a mommy to grow up with." I paused to catch her attention again in the mirror. "But no matter what I wish could happen, I know that you're a great kid and I'm lucky to have you. And I hope that I'm doing good being your pop and making you happy."

She smiled back at me in the mirror and melted my heart with another "I love you pops."

She didn't offer anything else on the drive but seemed to relax, and slowly I noticed her excitement grow the closer to the city we got.