Chapter 2 - Renovations...

The following day Edward and I sat down with Jake and talked about our idea.

"You will need to finish school," Edward told Jake. "No slacking, you have to be able to keep up with Nessie."

Jake was enthusiastic about the idea, although I think he had the same thoughts about living so close to vampires as we did about the werewolves.

"We also want to talk about you asking Leah to come over as well," I told him. I looked at Edward for support, "We know that Leah would be happy to get away for a while and we guess that Sam and the others will feel better about you moving to the other side of the country if you have another werewolf with you."

Jake nodded his head as he thought it over, "Leah could definitely do with having the space, and I know Sam is already concerned about me moving with you all when you take off."

So Jake called Leah and then he went to see Sam to talk about our idea. Sam wasn't happy about it, not that he didn't trust us anymore, but he was worried about Jake and Leah being so far away from the rest of the pack. Jake promised that we would visit a couple of times a year, which was easy as Edward and I intended to keep our cottage for visits with Charlie. Jake advised us that Leah was relieved to be able to get away from Forks and while she could probably think of better places to go, but as she had stuck close to Jake the last five months and had become good friends, she agreed that it was the best idea.

So two months later, this road trip was the first part of our move to New Hampshire. Edward, Nessie and I were going to live near Dartmouth; the rest of the family would live with Esme and Carlisle, one hour drive away.

Alice was tapping her foot on the ground as she watched Rachel give the three werewolves a final hug. She then moved to her canary yellow Porsche and Jasper got in along side. Edward slipped Nessie into her booster seat and fiddled with the DVD player he had installed for her when we planned our road trip. The cheery sounds of Finding Nemo surrounded us as we got into the car and watched Jake and the others get into the Mercedes. With a final wave to Rachel, we took off in concert, hitting the highway and speeding towards our final destination.

Three hours later we stopped so Jake and the others could use a gas station's bathroom and then were off again, Edward and I singing along to Mary Poppins with Nessie giggling in the back. Another stop a few hours later gave me the chance to give Nessie some of the blood we had packed for her in the car fridge and as Edward decided he couldn't listen to another musical, he and Alice swapped and I had the chance to drive Rosalie's car. Alice and I chatted about college and the holiday she and Jasper were planning to China, while Nessie, thankfully, listened to the Ipod Edward had given her for Christmas.

We made the small motel Edward had booked for us by early evening and we all gladly got out of our cars for the night. Nessie was already asleep in the back so Alice carried her into our room while I grabbed our suitcase. I put her to bed in her favourite nightie and when she woke up, she received a good night kiss from Jake, Edward and I before she would settle again.

Jake and the others headed out to get a pizza while Alice, Jasper, Edward and I played monopoly which set a routine for the next few days. Nessie slept through the night and woke up without encouragement the second day although she then insisted that she drive with Jake that day. Edward had rolled his eyes but finally agreed when I reminded him he could put anything he liked on the CD player. With a hug and a check to make sure Jake had put the booster seat in the car correctly, much to Jake's disgust, we drove on.

Four days on and a relatively smooth trip behind us, we were, according to the GPS only a short distance from our house and I was now really excited about seeing it. Edward was watching me and I beamed at the thought we were so close. It was early evening on the fourth day of our trip and Nessie was asleep already, coaxed to sleep by the smooth motor under the bonnet. I started looking around each bend in the windy road, until Edward slowed and drove up a long drive to give me the first glimpse of our new home.

The trees were thick as we came through the drive so we didn't have to worry about some passer-by seeing in. Finally the house came into full view and I sucked in a breath. It really was beautiful from the outside. It was built of wood and had a bright red roof and white walls. Large windows at the front were partially hidden by tall roses climbed the pillars holding up the verandah. The driveway circled in front of the house and Edward stopped the car right in front of the stairs leading to the front door. "Don't move," he said with a grin, and while I watched in puzzlement, he walked around the car and opened my door. He helped me out and before I knew what he was doing, he had caught me up in his arms, the way he did on our honeymoon and at our new cottage. I rolled my eyes at him, embarrassed to have everyone watching, Jake hooted at us as he got out of the car.

"Ignore the Philistine," Edward breathed, "I want to carry my beautiful wife across her new threshold."

I laughed and put my arms around his neck, "Come on, let's go then."

He ran up the stairs and managed to get the door open without dropping me and then gently deposited me inside the hallway.

He switched on some lights while I walked slowly along the hallway. The oak floorboards were beautifully polished, with my enhanced vampire eyesight I could see into the tightly woven grains in the honey coloured planks. Edward took my hand and we walked into the living area. The ceiling was high and made the room feel open although Esme had already looked at the plans and had decided to knock down some walls to create a large open space like the main house back in Forks.

We looked around the ground floor, Edward pointing out where we were going to put in the large windows across the back side of the house and then he pointed to the barn which was hidden by more trees.

We walked up the staircase to the second storey where we walked to our room. It was larger than our room at the cottage and overlooked the front yard. The oak floor continued here and at Esme's prompting a few weeks ago, we had agreed on a large rug which would cover part of the floor, in the same sand white of the tiles in our cottage bedroom.

I checked out the ensuite bathroom which was large but current an ugly brown. After pouring over piles of House and Garden and Vogue Living magazines back in Forks at Esme's request and Alice's delight, I had selected pale blue and white tiles and a large spa bath to suit. A few months ago, soaking wet and filthy after one of Emmett's impromptu and unavoidable snowball flights, I realised that while I didn't really need to shower as a vampire, I still enjoyed the relaxing sensation as much as I had when I was a human. Especially if the shower cubicle was big enough for two.

When I heard Edward muffle a chuckle, I went to investigate, only to find him in the next bedroom. "So Alice is going to have to work with a smaller space, but this should fit most of your wardrobe collection, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes at the waste of a perfectly good guest room but knew that she was determined for me to keep the collection.

"Alice," I'd groaned, a few weeks ago when she started telling me about the overhaul she had in mind, "I seriously don't need this many clothes. I am never going to wear them. Frankly, it is criminal to waste so much money on all those clothes."

"The only thing criminal is you wearing that cotton tee and those scruffy jeans," she responded with a frown. "Why don't you use the wardrobe better, you are a Cullen now, you are supposed to look the part."

I looked meaningfully at Edward and Emmett who were sitting on a nearby sofa watching football, wearing jeans and cotton shirts. "Well I can't do wonders with them," she responded, "but I do expect better from you, Bella."

I shook my head at the memory and walked out of the room. If Alice was going to waste time creating a new closet, she could do it on her own.

I took Edward's hand as we checked out the other two rooms on that floor, a guest room and Nessie's bedroom and then we flew upstairs to see the last two guest rooms. The six bedroom house was built for a large family, which suited us perfectly.

I became aware as we walked downstairs that the others hadn't joined us. I asked Edward where they were and he advised that the wolves had wanted to stretch and had taken off, and Alice and Jasper had staying with Nessie out the front.

"Hurry up you two," I heard Alice mutter as we got to the front door. I felt like ignoring her as I remembered the closet, but Edward gently squeezed my hand as if he could read my thoughts and we went to bring the family into our new house.

We finally had everything in from the cars and Renesmee settled in a make shift bed when we all heard the sound of a car turning onto the road near our house. "The family are here," Jasper said, turning to Alice.

"No," she and Edward said at the same time, "its Tanya, Kate and Garrett," Alice finished.

"Were we expecting them?" I asked Edward with a frown, trying to recall a conversation I might have forgotten.

"No, I think it is supposed to be a surprise." He concentrated as he listened in to their thoughts, "Carlisle's idea, apparently."

The car drove up the drive and we went to greet our extended family.

"So why exactly did you turn up uninvited?" Edward asked Tanya with a grin.

"Carlisle rang us to tell us that you were all moving over here and that you would be doing some restoration work. We decided after our hasty departure from Forks, that we should come and help."

Tanya and Kate, with the rest of their family, had left the night of the battle with the Volturi, very distressed at their loss. Their sister, Irina, had been killed by the Volturi in an attempt to get our side to break ranks and make it easy for them to take us all down. Edward had told me vampires feel the death of a family member very deeply and I could only imagine their pain as my stomach turned when I thought about losing one of mine. I smiled at Tanya, Kate and Garrett and told them we were delighted they had come and would be grateful for their help with the restoration.

The following morning saw the arrival of the rest of my family and I couldn't believe how much I had missed them all. Esme soon had everyone busy with a building task and I left Nessie in Jake's capable hands. With so many hands working, by early evening much of the preparation had been done, including Emmett's very careful wall extraction.

Rose and Edward had been in stitches as they told us all about the first time Emmett had decided to knock out a wall. "So, you should have seen him, holding up the ceiling after he had knocked out too much of the supporting wall. Edward and I had rushed out to a building supply place to get a beam to put up. Poor Esme walked in with some curtain samples to find Emmett on a ladder, holding up the ceiling, cursing that we weren't moving quickly enough," Rose told us with a chuckle.

"Well at least I was doing some work," Emmett retorted, "you were no help, just standing around offering advice."

"Mmm, advice that you elected not to take, as I recall, which lead to the disaster in the first place," Edward laughed.

Esme's plan was to get the main house finished first before we started work on Jake and Leah's apartment. Most of the tiles, windows, paint and other building supplies had been delivered and left in the barn before we arrived, but Esme needed to be onsite to finalise the apartment design, before we could start.

The following day, Tanya, Rose and I started painting upstairs, while Garrett helped Jasper, Emmett and Edward put in the new rear windows and plaster over the gaps left by Emmett's work. Alice was busy working on the closet and since I flatly refused to help, Kate assisted her to put in the shelving system she had ordered.

Renesmee had a great time playing with all the broken pieces of plaster; she was in full destruction mode by the time I went to stop her from covering everything around her with fine dust particles. Jake thought it was hilarious until I got Esme to find him a job, stripping back the peeling paint from the outside of the barn.

That night, I left Nessie in the care of Kate and Tanya and went with the others on a hunting trip. My eyes were now as black as Edward's; we hadn't hunted for five days and were due. Just as everyone had promised me, my eyes were gradually loosing the scary blood filled nightmare that had greeted me on as a newborn, but they had yet to turn the same deep topaz colour I loved to see on my Edward after he had hunted. I hoped that soon I would be able to do away with the contact lenses Alice kept ready for the public me and that this would be the last stage of my transformation.

By the time we were ready to start on the apartment, our house stood renewed and Edward and I couldn't have been more delighted. Since we were leaving our furniture back at the cottage, with the exception of the giant bed Edward had bought for me while I was still human, the grand piano which stood in the house back in Forks, the stereo and his CD collection, we had no furniture to speak of. So on an appropriately cloudy day, Edward, Esme, Alice and I drove into town to visit the furniture stores.

Usually when Alice, or anyone for that matter, mentioned shopping to me, I tried as many excuses as possible to avoid the torture. Today, however, I realised that I was quite excited about selecting the furniture that would fill our new home. We were also ordering furniture for the apartment. Edward caught my enthusiasm with a smile and we headed into the first store. Edward had made me promise not to look at the price tag of anything and I decided to go along with the plan, knowing that it would make Esme happy.

After three hours of discussing wood stains, fabric swatches, colour samples and a variety of other important issues however, my enthusiasm was starting to wain. Edward grinned at my expression when Alice suggested the name of the next store we should hit and he kindly asked Esme and Alice if they would mind going on their own. "We trust your judgement," he told them while I enthusiastically nodded my head. I would likely kill the next interior decorator who starting talking about swatches, so in order to keep my perfect vegetarian record, I needed to get out of there.

Alice looked disappointed but Esme smiled and assure us that they could manage. As we walked back to the car, Edward asked me, "Would you like to take a walk about Dartmouth?" His face had taken on the glow he got when he was really excited about something.

"Sure," I agreed when I saw his expression. We drove to the beautiful campus and looked around - actually we ran around the expansive grounds, with me trying to keep up with Edward's incredible speed. "So what do you think?" he asked me later as we walked hand in hand through the main complex.

"It is an amazing college," I told him with a grin, "I am sure I will enjoy my first college experience here."

"We'll try Harvard next time," Edward mused as we looked into the library, "I was there forty years ago, so there won't be any problem returning now."

"Let's just wait until I get through my first time around," I begged.

When we drove up the driveway that afternoon, Nessie came sprinting out of the front of the house to greet us and I swept her up in my arms as she ran towards me. She held her palm to my cheek and gave me a visual list of everything that I had missed during the day, Edward listening to her every word. "So come on, let me show you what we have done," she finished and wriggled out of my arms. She ran ahead around the side of the house towards the barn. We followed her with a shared smile at her enthusiasm, although our smile turned to surprise as we saw how much work had been accomplished today.

After the early work Jake and the other wolves had done on the exterior, we could now see the first coat of paint shining wetly on the walls. The colour we had selected was a dark brown, which would help hide the barn amongst the line of trees. Renesmee had run back to me and had started towing me by the hand, indicating that we weren't moving quickly enough for her, as we walked to the doors which housed the garage. The floor above our heads which had needed repair had obviously been the builder's first focus; I could see new floorboards now in place. A new staircase from the bottom of the garage had been installed and we followed our daughter upstairs to see that not only was the floor repaired, but a plasterboard ceiling and walls now existed.

Esme had designed the apartment with three large bedrooms and a study, so there would always be a guest room available for any of Jake's friends wanting to come and visit or check on us. The main bedroom, which would be Jake's, was the largest and had a huge window over looking the backyard between the barn and our house. Esme had included a large ensuite bathroom and it made me think about Jake's little house back on the Reservation. This apartment would be around twice as big as the little house that he shared with Billy, but then with Leah around, both of them would probably want lots of space.

We followed the sound of voices until we found Jake, Jasper and Seth laying waterproof plasterboard in what would become the main bathroom."The others have gone hunting," Jasper informed us of the rest of the family. "Do you want to help?"

Edward volunteered while I decided to take Renesmee back to the house. She needed some dinner and was already looking tired after the excitement of the day. I read a book to her, in the bedroom that would be her own when we returned, as I watched her eye lids droop wearily, until she fell asleep. I stayed with her until I heard movement downstairs, watching my beautiful daughter's dreams while I held her hand to my cheek.

... stay tuned for more, coming soon... thanks for reading, please review!