Author's Note: Apologies again for the short preface, but – as promised – here is the first actual chapter! Chapter two is in the works. Soooo...I've rated this story "T" for now, but I'm curious about what you guys think. I had originally planned to make parts of this story for...ahh...mature audiences, then I changed my mind while I was writing the fluffy scene in this chapter. Is that a "T" scene? I figured it was still tame enough for a "T" rating. Anyway, thoughts?

Disclaimer: As always, the characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.

1. NEWS

When I first moved to Forks, Washington almost five years ago now, I never expected to come to have so much to lose. I came to Forks grudgingly, unwillingly; at the time, I was dreading the move. I had to leave the sun, the warmth, the brown of the desert, the palm trees, the dry weather, the glow of a big city, and my childlike, absent-minded mother. But in return, I got so much more. So much more than I ever would have expected, and now nothing could drag me away from the rain, the lush green of the forest, the fog, the cold weather, and the small town.

"What are you thinking about?" whispered a smooth-as-velvet voice in my ear. I turned my head slightly and smiled at Edward. His perfection never ceased to stun me, and I could see even more of that perfection now that I had the heightened vision of a vampire. To call him my husband just wouldn't be accurate. He was my husband legally, but he was also much more than that. Marriage implied something limited to a lifetime – hence, "till death do us part" – or until divorce; it was too transient. He was so much more than that: he was the love of my existence, the reason I was born. I needed him as I needed oxygen. But no, that's not quite right either considering vampires don't need to breathe. I needed him more than oxygen, more than blood, more than life.

"I was just…thinking about how happy I am that I came to Forks," I answered hesitantly. It wasn't quite the truth, but it wasn't necessarily a lie either.

Edward frowned, sensing that I wasn't telling him exactly what I was thinking. Admittedly, I had never been the best liar. I smiled, knowing how much it frustrated him that I was the only one whose thoughts he couldn't hear.

He rolled over on top of me then, pinning my arms to my sides. I wondered briefly if I was strong enough to extricate myself from his grip or if my newborn vampire strength had begun to subside. After all, my eyes had already begun to take on a warm ochre color. I gave up that thought without experimenting, realizing that I didn't want him to let go anyway.

He dipped his head and placed a kiss on the side of my neck, just below my jaw. "Will you tell me now?" he murmured.

I shook my head, grinning impishly, and he moved to kiss my throat, my collarbone, and my earlobe. They were soon hot, open-mouthed kisses that began just below my ear and wound their way down toward my chest.

"Keep that up if you want me to forget what I was thinking altogether," I breathed, my head spinning.

Edward chuckled against my skin, sending shivers up my spine. "I don't really mind. Was it terribly important?"

I blinked at him, still dizzy and lightheaded. "I don't remember," I admitted. I squirmed against his grip on my arms as his lips continued their work. He finally released my arms only to pull me upright and tug my tank top over my head and onto the floor. I wound my fingers through his hair, pulled his face toward me, and crushed his lips against mine.

We left our cottage, which had been a gift from Esme and Carlisle to give Edward and I some privacy, late in the morning. The skies were overcast, which was normal weather for Forks. When we got to our family's large house, it seemed to be a fairly routine morning. Renesmee was curled up on the sofa against Jacob as they watched television, Esme was reading, Carlisle was up in his study, and Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett were all in their respective rooms.

Esme looked up from her book and greeted us with a smile. Renesmee and Jacob both turned away from the television to say good morning as well. Renesmee giggled happily as she waved her little hand at us, and Jacob gazed down at her fondly. I still wasn't thrilled about my best friend, who was a werewolf, imprinting on my daughter, who was physically about six years old, but actually a year old. All in all though, I couldn't think of a better protector for my daughter; I trusted Jacob as much as – or more than – I trusted anyone else.

Suddenly Alice had skipped down the stairs, a gleeful smile on her childish, elf-like face. "Someone's coming."

Jacob looked up at her sharply, his brow furrowed with concern. "Who? When?"

Alice laughed her melodic, tinkling laugh. "No one dangerous as far as I can tell. Someone wants to join us."

By "join us," Alice meant that a vampire wanted to stay with the Cullens and adopt their "vegetarian" lifestyle. The label "vegetarian" was a joke amongst the Cullen family, and it simply meant that they didn't feed on humans.

Carlisle came downstairs then, having heard the news from upstairs. It was both a blessing and a curse for vampires to have such good hearing. At times it was useful for spreading news through the house, but it also gave no one any privacy. Then again, with Alice's visions of the future and Edward's ability to read minds, privacy was just a thing of the far distant past.

"Have you seen any danger?" Carlisle asked.

Alice shook her head, her short, spiky hair wagging in time. "Not yet anyway."

"When will he arrive?" Esme asked.

"In just a few days. It's hard to say exactly when," Alice replied, her brow furrowed in concentration. She shrugged.

"Are you sure he's not dangerous?" Jacob asked, eyes narrowed as he hugged Renesmee closer to his side.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Down boy. I can't say I'm completely sure; I never am. But I haven't seen any danger. Edward will just have to see when he arrives."

Jacob stood up from the couch and his six feet seven inches nearly reached the ceiling. "I've got to go tell the pack so there are no...accidents. I'll be back soon." He said the last part more to Renesmee than anyone else, as her face had taken on a stricken, almost panicked expression.

"Also, Charlie's coming over during his lunch break today," Alice added hesitantly. I immediately knew she was hiding something. My guess was confirmed when I felt Edward stiffen slightly at my side.

"What else, Alice?" I prodded.

She hesitated again and sent a quick glance to Edward.

"Renee would like to visit. She hasn't seen you since the wedding, I believe," Edward supplied.

My stomach gave a small, but violent lurch, and I sank down on the couch beside Renesmee.

Renee. My mom.

I had always known that I couldn't put it off forever, that she wasn't always going to be satisfied with phone calls. Charlie already knew as much as he needed to – that the Cullens were not human, that I was also no longer human, that Jacob could turn into a wolf, and that Renesmee was somehow mine and Edward's even though she looked to be about six years old. That was all he needed to know, all he wanted to know.

But my mom still knew nothing. And despite her absent-minded, flighty, almost flaky nature, she was very perceptive. She had a childlike mind, but her insight was usually spot on. There would be no hiding anything from her if she came to visit. But I couldn't just tell her everything, because that could put her in danger. The Volturi, the royal family of the vampire world in a manner of speaking, were very strict about enforcing one of the only rules of their world: humans must not know.

I knew as a human, and the Volturi had nearly killed me for it. Alice saved me by showing Aro that I fully intended to become a vampire and that she was willing to change me herself if she had to.

I frowned. "I don't...it's probably not a good idea for her to visit now. I mean, we don't know when this...new vampire's coming, and we don't even know if he's safe yet. I don't want my mom to visit if it could be dangerous."

Carlisle nodded. "That seems like the safest plan for now."

"Charlie's pulling into the driveway. You should let him know; he's already thinking about it anyway," Edward said, sitting in the armchair near the couch.

Sure enough, Charlie's cruiser pulled up in front of the house, and I hurried to open the door.

"Hey Bells," he greeted, hugging me briefly. He surveyed my face for a few moments, and I knew my appearance still unnerved him, my beautiful, flawless face, the new grace with which I moved, and my warm golden eyes. I wondered again for the hundredth time whether he knew exactly what the Cullens were – what I was – or if he still had no idea and didn't want to know.

"Let's sit down, dad," I said after he had greeted everyone else in the room.

"Sure, okay." He sat beside Renesmee on the couch, and I perched on the arm of the chair Edward was sitting in.

Alice, Esme, and Carlisle were seated at the dining table nearby, well within even a human's hearing range.

"So..." Charlie began, fiddling with the sleeve of Renesmee's dress.

"Mom wants to visit," I finished for him, jumping right into it.

"Yes." Charlie seemed relieved to not be the bearer of bad news. "What should we do?"

"I'm...not sure," I replied hesitantly. "I think...I'll call her and tell her that it's not a good idea right now."

"She might notice the change. Your...voice, that is," Charlie pointed out.

I frowned. That was true; my voice had changed a lot. It was smooth, elegant, melodic now. She might not even believe it was really me. "Should I explain some things to her?"

"You might have to. You could try to lie and tell her you've been taking singing lessons or something, but you know your mother can usually tell when you're lying," Charlie pointed out.

"Maybe you could speak to her first. To...prepare her," Edward offered.

"And tell her what exactly? I don't know the full story myself. And what'll I do if she loses it? What if she doesn't take it well, storms over here anyway, sees for herself, and...exposes whatever it is you are to the FBI or something? You would all...they'd arrest you, and experiment and run tests and – what?" Charlie broke off abruptly when he saw all of us exchange amused glances.

Edward grinned. "They'd have a hard time catching us even if Renee did alert the authorities."

"But we would be forced to leave," Carlisle added more seriously.

"Do you think mom will take it well?" I asked hopefully. I had to admit that Charlie had taken everything extraordinarily well so far. After all, Jacob had phased right before his eyes, his daughter had a strange, ethereal appearance nowadays, she lived in a house full of beings less than human, and she somehow had a daughter that was six years old though she had only been born a year ago after a month-long gestation period. I had to give credit where credit was due.

Charlie thought for a few moments. "I...don't know for sure. I think she'd be...okay after a while, but I don't know if she'd settle for the need-to-know basis like I do."

"What if we told her it was too dangerous for her to know more than she needs to?" I asked.

"Is it really dangerous for her to know everything?"

The vampires in the room shared a knowing look.

"Yes, it could potentially put her in danger," Carlisle answered for us.

"I'll just...I'll call her. We'll talk and see how it goes," I said finally.

Charlie nodded, slapping his hands on his knees before getting to his feet. "Well okay, good luck, Bells. I have to get back to work."

"Thanks for stopping by, dad," I said, giving him a hug at the front door. I hesitated slightly. "You know I love you dad, but maybe...you shouldn't stop by again until next week."

Charlie frowned. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Well...we're expecting a visitor in a few days, but we're not sure...how safe he is yet. I think it'd make us all feel a lot better if you gave us some time to figure him out before you stop by again," I explained.

His eyes widened, and I wondered if he was only realizing just now how much danger he was in everyday by associating with the Cullens. It was situations like this that made me rethink having the best of both worlds. I thought it would be great to live in the world of vampires and werewolves, but still be able to visit the world of normalcy, to still be able to see Charlie and Renee. But I always wondered if I was only putting my parents in unnecessary danger. I always wondered if it wouldn't be better to just leave them alone.

"Well, just let me know when," Charlie said finally.

"Sure dad."

He gave a final nod goodbye towards the others in the room and strode down the walkway to his waiting cruiser. When I turned away from the door, Edward was right in front of me holding out his cell phone.

I pouted at him. "Can't it wait?" This wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to.

He gave me his crooked little grin, and I knew there was no use resisting.