3. Seeing Is Believing

Jacob's warm, over-sized hand comes up to cover his wife's hand that is still over his cheek. He pulls Renesmee even closer and moves her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. They stay like that awhile before he pulls away and looks into her eyes.

"It's okay Ness… I'm okay with that. Look at these four beautiful, amazing children you have given me. We are so blessed to have them… lucky you were able to conceive and carry and safely birth them. It's more than I could have ever dared to wish for… especially after seeing what your mother went through… "

Jacob is out of breath as he carries on to Renesmee with an almost pleading tone. "I'm so proud of you Ness. Look at what you did… quadruplets! And the pain you endured… I'm so, so sorry, my love. If I could have taken every drop of pain from you and put it on me… I would have gladly. I'm just so relieved that the pain has finally passed. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, don't worry, I am so much better, my dear, and I know that you would have taken the pain from me if you could have. Thank you." She returns a smile to Jacob and her hand slips away from his face.

The room was still and quiet as Renesmee recovered. Eventually, the babies began to squirm and fuss and wanted to be near their mother. Jacob lifts his wife and slowly walks down the hall to her bedroom where there is a giant bed that she is placed on. Rose, Alice and Bella follow with the kids and each place them among Renesmee on the comfy bed. There are two babies on each side of Renesmee curled into their mom's side. They each hold on to their mother and make little mewing noises and soft, content whistling noises too. Renesmee smiles, whispers some loving words to them and gradually passes out.

"She is beat. I can't even see her dreams. She is out cold." Edward chuckles a bit, "The babies' dreams on the other hand… so colorful, so vibrant. They love their mom and dad dearly already and they love all of us too. It reminds me of when I first heard Renesmee's thoughts of love for us."

"Awe, that's so sweet… what precious darlings. We all love them too," whispers Alice.

"Well everyone, we have forever to adore my grandchildren… let's all leave them and my daughter to rest and bond," Bella says quietly as she ushers everyone through the door. Jacob sees that his family is safe and content and he leaves as well.

I awake with a start. I was dreaming of the Volturi finding out about my children… seeing Aro's eyes widen with lust and wanting… hearing him squeal with crazy delight, when he first views my young daughter through the eyes of a spy. What a horrible nightmare. We all must work extra hard to make sure my children remain a secret, at least until they are full-grown and can blend in.

My children! I have kids now and I sleepily look at each of them lying beside me… my handsome little devils and a sleeping beauty… here, safe with me and my family. A girl, oh my God, that's right! It seems like a foggy dream that I've had a baby daughter. She was so unexpected and such a wondrous surprise to us all. I look to my side to see her again because I'm suddenly afraid that I imagined her.

She is not here on either side of me but the boys are here, peacefully asleep. I can sense and smell that my family has not re-entered my bedroom since I fell asleep… So…

My stomach drops, my heart accelerates to inhuman speeds, my mouth goes dry and my eyes go blurry as I become really dizzy and panicked.

"Oh, no! Oh no, no, no, no!" I say to myself in a breathless voice that comes out in a harsh whisper. I did imagine her. I imagined this whole thing and now my heart is breaking so hard into a million pieces. I couldn't realize how much it would hurt to have my dream of a little girl shattered. I wish I had never imagined such a thing in the first place. My boys awaken and cry as they sense my heartache. I sit up and fall back down as vertigo and a lack of blood pressure to my brain causes me to experience this out-of-body feeling. I feel so lost and alone and soo sad without my daughter… my little Mourning Dove with curls and rose-blushed cheeks.

Wait. What if she is real? What if I didn't imagine her at all and the Vollturi has come here and snatched her from my side while I was in a deep sleep? The possibility hits me hard like the pain of burning.

My whole world is turned upside down. There are no words for my state of mind. I feel my eyes blur again and I suddenly lose my sight so I scream a long, blood-curdling screech.

In less than a second, my entire family bursts into my room yelling various questions of concern. Jacob's arms are around me in that second. I know it is him by his smell and warmth. I feel him breathing fast and heavily on my face but I can't really concentrate on what he's screaming at me.

I don't really hear all of their questions, I only scream my own words. "The Volturi! They have taken my daughter! Where did they take her? Help! Please, we must get her back!

Distantly, I can hear my father tell me that the Volturi didn't come and she is right here and that everything is okay. Maybe I am dreaming again and he is trying to wake me up from this horrible nightmare. The women though contradict his soothing words making me realize that this is really happening.

"Find her! Look under the covers!" My aunty Ali yells.

My mother screams, "Could she be hiding under the bed? Is she able to crawl off somewhere?!"

There is a flurry of top-speed activity as each of the vamps frantically flip through covers and sheets, rip down the drapes, overturn the furniture and search every nook and cranny.

"I can hear her right here! She's right here next to her mother! She's scared; she's crying that haunting cry… "

Emmett stops in front of Edward, grabs him by the shoulder and says, "Bro! What are you doin'?!"

Everyone stops abruptly. They don't understand why Edward has suddenly lost his mind. They all look questioningly to Edward, then at the bed, and then back to Edward. Renesmee is still crying and pleading.

"What the hell!" Jacob shouts as everyone else gasps.

Mourning Dove slowly starts to appear on the bed near her mother's side. She is crying and reaching for her mom who is lying a foot away from her.

Edward smiles his perfect smirk, lets out a small chuckle and shakes his head back and forth. "She was invisible."