Hey guys, long AN coming...

If there are any other writers reading this, I have a question. Do you guys ever feel like the more you progress through a story, the more you lose sight of your initial intention? Like the actual story you wanted to tell isn't what you're writing anymore? This is my first story in several years. I think I poured everything into this story, for better or for worse, into this story and honestly I have no clue what to do with it. If someone wants me to finish this I absolutely will. I think that the ending I have in mind for this story is a good one, it wraps up everything nicely, but I've also been thinking that I should rework this story into something more concise, more focused on what I actually intended. Like I said if you guys want me to continue this I %1000 will, but right now I'm feeling like this story became a little rudderless. I appreciate any feedback and advice. Thanks.

EPOV

"Sam," I greeted with a solemn nod. He was flanked by the pack in wolf form, but he remained in human form. It was his attempt at keeping the conversation civil.

He eyed me for a minute before turning his head to Jacob, "So this is where you've been the past week?"

Jake just shrugged, "I've been busy." Jacob was trying to figure out how to tell Sam about how to explain what he had seen with Renesmee, and how to explain the fact that Bella was expecting as an immortal. None of us had even stopped to consider that the pack would find out through Jacob's thoughts. But even with the proof in Jacob's thoughts, Sam didn't believe any of it. He believed the legends, to him we were like stone, cold and unchanging. Renesmee and Bella both defied that knowledge.

"And you couldn't have been bothered to let your pack know that you were okay, Billy's been worried sick."

"I had to figure some things out," he said nonchalantly.

"You imprinted on that-that thing?"

"I'd watch your next words very carefully," I growled. Bella would be listening in too, and even with her holding back she could very seriously hurt someone. I had years of restraint, but despite her calm disposition, she still was a newborn. I'm surprised she remained calm and cognizant enough to not attack Laurent. She only held back out of fear of hurting our little one. But insulting Renesmee was a good way to send Bella's temper skyrocketing.

"What is she? And what is that heartbeat coming from Bella?" Sam continued pushing.

"She's our daughter," Bella's voice rang from the front of the house.

I don't know why I expected her to listen considering she never did before, but we all watched as she made her way to us at a human pace, careful not to incite a defensive reaction from the wolves. She maintained a completely calm demeanor as we watched her.

"Your daughter?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Our daughter, mine and Edward's biological daughter," Bella continued.

"How is that even possible, you're-," Sam trailed off.

"Dead?" Bella finished for him. "We don't actually know, sometimes when we are enter this life we have talents that others don't, we have theories but that's about all we know."

Two of the wolves behind Sam started growling at this newfound information. They believed that she would be a danger to their tribe. One of them dared to think of her as an abomination.

"Watch yourself," I sneered, but Bella reached over and grabbed my arm which grounded me enough not be the catalyst to a fight with the wolves.

"They didn't say anything." Sam's eyebrows furrowed while he came to realization that his thoughts were being heard. I was usually more careful than to answer someone's thoughts, but no one would think about my daughter like that. She was as good and pure as her mother.

"She's been alive for months and she's never once hurt a human, or even thought of hurting a human. She's not even venomous. We've been here since she was born and she's never posed a threat to anyone," Bella defended.

"They can't hurt her, not even if they wished to," I told Bella. "A wolf's imprint can't be harmed, it's their most sacred law."

"You're having another one?" Sam asked.

"We have no reason to believe that their new mon-kid will be any different than Renesmee," Jake added. I had caught how he almost called our child a monster, of course he had said that before Bella had allowed it solely because she understood Jake's asinine sense of humor whereas I did not, but I felt a pang of irritation at Jake for saying that in front of the pack.

It took a minute before Sam backed down his animal instincts still clouding his judgement. It wasn't because he wanted to, but because he wouldn't wage a war against us that he wasn't certain he would win.

"We came once we saw that Jacob had shifted back. He didn't tell anyone where he was going and with the redhead making appearances, we wanted to make sure he was okay."

"I came to warn them, I didn't expect anything else," Jake promised.

Bella scoffed, and I fought back a smirk. She still wasn't thrilled about the whole imprint thing.

"Jake, you need to come back," Sam started.

"We can't go back to Forks, everyone thinks I'm dead, remember? I'm pretty sure some of you attended my funeral. Charlie thinks I'm dead. And I'm not letting Renesmee go anywhere without me."

"Maybe we could just tell Charlie?" Jake offered. He was thinking about how beneficial this would be to him, we could all return home like Bella wanted to, he could go back home and keep Renesmee close to him at all times. All he had to do was tell Charlie about this world.

"You know we can't, Jacob," Bella reminded him.

But I could see in Jake's thoughts that he was formulating different ways of putting his plan into action. I knew we couldn't allow him to tell Charlie the truth about us, though couldn't deny that I had thought extensively about if there was some way to bring Charlie back into Bella's life, I didn't want her to live with this guilt and remorse for the rest of eternity.

We separated tersely, with nothing decided, and Sam teetering on the edge of instinct and logic.

BPOV

"Give you my wild, give you a child..." I had just added a small part to that line, but it felt so meaningful. I would give Edward all of the best parts of me, but could it outweigh all the trouble I brought.

"What did Laurent say to you?"

I looked up to meet Edward's confused expression, his arms were crossed as he watched me intently.

"What makes you say that?"

"I'd like to think I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you, Bella." Edward's lips were slightly pursed and his eyes slightly narrowed, like he was challenging me not to tell him the truth. Both Jake and Renesmee were asleep both exhausted from today's events, their light snores coming from their respective rooms.

Was the truth really better than some half-baked lie? I didn't like it when Edward felt that he couldn't be honest with me even if he felt he was protecting me, and I at least owed him honestly.

"Having an existential crisis," I laughed acerbically. I wasn't even sure what I was contemplating, I pushed the shield out of my head for 17 seconds, the longest I had ever managed to do, just long enough to give Edward a glimpse at my racing thoughts and about what Laurent had said to me. He tensed as soon as he got the gist of my thoughts.

"And do you believe him?" He asked through gritted teeth. He was angry? He knew the answer to the question having just seen my thoughts.

"I think he made some very good points," I whispered.

"Bullshit," he mumbled.

"What?" I couldn't have heard him correctly. He rarely used profanity and never something so...modern. It was so unlike Edward that I almost didn't believe that he had said it.

"I said it's bullshit," he repeated, his voice hard. He stood straight up and started pacing the room while alternating pinching his nose and raking his hand through his hair. "Why are you always so ready to leave me- us? We have a child that needs you as much as I do, and what you think you being gone would help the situation. How?"

"Have you ever taken a step back and realized just how many problems I brought into your life? A new problem at every turn, Edward. It's a fair point. You two, three now, will never know a peaceful life with me. For one reason or another. Are you really ready to jump over every hurdle and fight every battle that I bring forth?"

"I never had anything to fight for before I met you, so yes I would fight ever day of my life. Because I had nothing, absolutely nothing. Not an ounce of joy before you. We are a team, partners, do you recall that? You don't get to decide when I'm done, you don't get to give up for the both of us," he yelled with exasperation. It was a good thing we had soundproofed the rooms. We could still hear Renesmee, but she couldn't hear us.

I remained silent, chewing on my lip and mulling over Edward's words.

He took a deep breath and kneeled in front of me, "You aren't a human anymore, my love. There isn't a countdown on your life, you're not on borrowed time. I know this is hard, but there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. If you need faith in that, I have more than enough for the two of us."

"I love you so much," I said, pulling Edward into an embrace.

"As I love you," he replied, with my head tucked underneath his neck.

Jake was out early the next morning. He left mumbling something about pack business. Considering he had been MIA for over a week now, I didn't even stop to question it. As Jake walked out of the door, Edward's eyes narrowed at him. It looked like he was trying to nonverbally warn him, which then prompted an onslaught of questions racking through my brain.

"What was that?" I asked as soon as Jake was out of hearing range.

"Nothing, he just has some ludicrous ideas. That's all."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, love. Renesmee should be waking soon," he replied, very obviously changing the subject. I could feel that there was something that the two of them weren't telling me.