A/N: You guuuys, I'm really excited. The sequels and spinoffs to this series are staring to take shape! New characters are being born in my head. I'm sorry if my writing isn't so great right now, today I broke up with someone I love very much. So I'm a little sad even though it was the right choice. We're still friends, things are just different now. But now I'm also open to live my life and experience things! Love, Eli xx

Chapter Twenty - Shadows of Rain

Bella POV

Spending time getting to know my dad better and really letting him understand who I was could possibly have been the best gift I'd ever received, next to my little miracle baby. Every day we spent time together, rehashing old stories, telling him what really happened over the last years.

He was shocked, upset, and felt guilty for not realizing what had been happening under his nose for all that time. Generally, though, we worked towards building a solid relationship. We hunted together frequently, not because we needed it, but because it helped us bond and was a fun way to get along.

He got on thick as thieves with the rest of the family. I didn't trust his abilities yet to take Renesmee hunting, but they found other ways to hang out. He taught her things about human life that we didn't know, since we'd never experienced life as an adult human. Nessie, in turn, taught him about vampire things. He and Juliet got on unexpectedly well - for two completely unconnected people, they managed to find a ton of things in common.

He was still my dad. He still watched the game every time a team he liked was playing, still even went fishing at the lake just outside of town. Catch and release, of course. He still kept my husband on his toes.

I looked at my family and I couldn't be happier. I was so proud of my Renesmee, studying under Carlisle and thinking of her career rather than falling back on the fact that she was rich and immortal. I was proud of Jake, who always took care of Nessie. Lately he'd relaxed and stopped being the overbearing imprint. He let her, you know, take two steps by herself.

Juliet had gone from being a shy, closed-off, zero-confidence child to a strong, willful, confident woman. She became like the little sister I never had. She did kind of remind me of Renee at times, with her optimism and casual acceptance of everything.

Alice was bursting with joy at all times - something was obviously happening in her vision world. Jasper was simply drunk off the happy atmosphere, swaggering around and cracking jokes. I'd never seen him so comfortable, relaxed.

Rose seemed slightly forlorn and worried at times lately, but she just smiled if you asked her about it. She and Emmett spent a lot of time alone these days.

In November, Carlisle called a family meeting. We sat around the table, exchanging glances before Carlisle spoke.

"Recently, I've come into contact with a vampire named Tatiana," Carlisle said. "She is a good friend, who reached out to me through Nahuel. You see, Tatiana is interested in vampire genetics and biology. She knows of my… odd practice in being a doctor, and requested that I join her at a university to study genetic sciences."

Esme just smiled. She obviously already knew, seeing as Carlisle told her everything.

"Now, I'll have to resign at the hospital, and depending on where my schooling is to take place, I may have to move. You are welcome to come with me, but it is far from my intention to split or tear our family. I don't have to do this if there's anyone who opposes," Carlisle looked around the room.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we support you, Carlisle," Edward said, squeezing my hand. "But why are you so interested in studying our genetics?"

"Many reasons," Carlisle smiled fondly. "I want to make sure that Juliet and Renesmee are able to live their lives healthily and know how to help them if anything goes wrong. The vampire biology world is seriously lacking in enlightenment. I want to kickstart a medical vampire revolution - there's a lot we simply don't know and I'm intending to discover it."

"You can tell them the other reason, Carlisle," Rosalie said serenely from her seat. "I don't mind."

"Ah, yes. Well, if you're sure," Carlisle paused. "I can't make any promises but I'm also going to look into a way to make reproduction possible for vampires."

A shockwave went through the room, missing some of us who already knew. It hit me hard and my hand automatically flew to my stomach - just on reflex, like I did so much during my pregnancy and slightly after the birth.

Would I dare hope to ever have another child with my perfect Edward? Rosalie obviously believed it. Esme just seemed content.

"I have rough ideas and will work quite avidly with Tatiana," Carlisle continued. "This is also a matter near and dear to her, as she never had the chance to have a child as a human."

"Are we going to meet this Tatiana woman?" Charlie piped up.

"She's on her way here from South America," Carlisle told him before addressing the whole family. "We're going to look at schools and programs and then decide the housing situation."

"Where you go, we go," Jasper announced. The rest of us confirmed his statement.

"I'm proud of you, Dad," Juliet said. They shared a smile.

Over the next several days, school seemed to be taking a toll on the girls. They constantly came home complaining, begging to be homeschooled.

"It's just so monotonous," Renesmee shouted, slapping her hands over her eyes. "The teachers are flakes!"

"The student body is seriously lackluster," Juliet added. "We're only in public school to develop us socially but there is nothing to be gained with these people!"

"It's not so bad!" I laughed at them, pulling a brush through Nessie's hair. "Sit still, love."

"It is so bad," she sat down in front of me, allowing me to brush the tangles out of her hair.

"Your aunts and uncles have been going to school over and over again for decades," I reminded her. "They hardly complain."

"Okay, no," Nessie shook her head. "Mom, seriously, once I'm finished, I'm not coming back. That's it. You guys can go, there's no way in hell I'm ever going back."

"I second that statement," Juliet raised a hand. I just laughed and put the brush on Nessie's bedside table.

"Teenagers," I kissed the top of my daughter's head and left the room. Edward was waiting in the hall with a crooked grin on his face.

"It's hard the first two times," he told me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Remember when she was begging us to be allowed into school?"

I nodded with my head pressed against his chest. "Where did the time go, Edward?"

"In the blink of an eye, you'll be a hundred and nineteen years old," Edward kissed my forehead. "Remembering when Juliet just joined us and our Carlisle went off to school, and Nessie was throwing fits over her own education."

"And I'll wonder where the time went."

"Yes, exactly. But there is no use in standing here worrying over the time passing," he dropped his voice low. "That's how the time escapes you. I can think of a better way for us to spend this time."

I definitely caught his drift.

Juliet POV

"So, what's been going on with Harper?" I asked, taking a long sip of my coffee. Lewis and I were sitting inside a warm cafe that we used to visit together all the time before things changed.

"He's determined to defame you," Lewis rolled his eyes. "He's been spouting slander to everyone who'll listen. You're lucky, though, a lot of people don't believe what he's saying. It's gotten to the point that everyone just says he's a crazy, lying, jealous ex. You've actually got some fans."

"Weird," I looked down at the table. I never meant for any of this to happen. It hurt deeply that Harper hated me so much, after all the good times we'd had together. I wish I could have explained the imprint to him.

"Hey," Lewis said softly. "Listen, don't worry about it. The three of us were never gonna stay together forever. That Seth kid is really something special."

"He really is," I smiled into my drink. "I miss you, Lewis."

"Miss you too," Lewis grinned crookedly.

"You wanna come over tomorrow, hang out with us after school?" I asked. "Seth and Jake have some pa- er, some cousins and friends coming over so it'll just be us and Nessie."

"I'd like that," Lewis said. "I'm sorta drifting away from Harper. I love him, but he's just a bully now."

"Think he'll spill your secrets if he realizes you've ditched him?" I asked, my heart squeezing. There were things about Lewis that only Harper and I knew.

"That's just a risk I have to take," Lewis said grimly.

Renesmee POV

"Tatiana will be here on Saturday," Carlisle said. "She just had to finish up with Nahuel and his sisters."

"Lewis is coming over tomorrow," Juliet reminded everyone. "So best behaviour, please!"

She threw a deliberate look at Emmett, who just batted his eyelashes.

"Oh, and some of the pack is coming tomorrow," Jake announced. "We'll mostly hang out in the woods or something."

"Yeah, there's some new members," Seth looked at Jacob. "Including girls."

"What?" I gasped. "Wait, explain! Seth, explain!"

Seth laughed as I bounced on the couch, tugging his sweater.

"Okay, there's twin girls named Stella and Fiona Tanner," Seth explained. "We didn't think they were gonna phase, but they did not too long ago. Leah's over the moon, actually. She's mentoring them."

"That's great!" Juliet grinned. "I'm glad Leah's not alone."

"Yeah, me too," Seth looked down at his lap. A dent formed between his brows. Juliet's face softened and she reached out, putting her hand in his. It was such a simple, silent gesture, one that I'd seen my older family members do a million times. I wish I could have taken a picture. They didn't need to speak words, they just had to simply touch one another and that spoke for them.

I realized with a flutter that Jake and I were like that.

Juliet POV

Nights like these were my favorite ones. The rain beat down relentlessly on the roof, but I was warm. Snuggled up in my bed, Seth's limbs loosely entangled with my own. His strong, slow heartbeat contrasted my own hummingbird tempo, creating a song with the rain and our soft breathing.

"I never thought I'd get this," Seth murmured against my hair. I opened my eyes.

"Get what?" I whispered back.

"Both of us, immortal," he told me. "But you're warm. You still blush all the time, your heart beats. And I don't have to worry about leaving Jake and Nessie while we age."

"Can you believe that just a few months ago I was faced with choosing your love or immortality?"

"And now you have both."

"I still sleep, though not as much as I used to," I smiled into his skin. Nessie and I both slept, on average, five hours a night. She told me that as she got older, she needed less sleep.

We breathed into silence for a while before I spoke again.

"I've been thinking about Erica lately," I told him. His lashes brushed my neck as he blinked, sending tiny lightning bolts shooting across my skin.

"Yes?"

"Just wondering how she is, that's all."

"I hope she's doing okay," Seth said earnestly. "But if she's anything like you, she must be alright."

"Thanks, Seth," I smiled, watching the shadows of the rain, cast by the moonlight, sliding down the wall. I wanted to think something poetic about how it looked, and then say it to Seth, but honestly it just looked cool.

"Babe, the rain looks really cool," I whispered. He was quiet for a moment.

"It really does."