Disclaimer: Everything in the Twilight realm, belongs to its master and creator, Stephenie Meyer--not me.

Chapter Twelve – Edward

Bella's Perspective

I think I had unconsciously been awaiting the call. I was away from the main house, sitting on the back porch of the summer kitchen with a fat volume of Kipling's works open in my lap. The porch was one of my favorite places to read. The view of the mountains was pleasant and there was something about the place that reminded me of the beloved cottage we had left behind in Forks.

I picked up the phone on the first ring.

"Mom?"

"Hey, Nessie. What's up?" I was still flipping through the pages in worn tome, trying to find a particular quote I vaguely recalled being fond of as a human.

"Uh, I'm not sure how to explain or where to start, but I really need your help."

I could hear the undercurrent in her tone. "Hmmm… could this have something, oh, I don't know, to do with Jake?"

"You might say that."

I nodded to myself. "I might."

Another long pause. I was going to have to be the direct one.

"So what exactly happened that you don't want your father to know about?"

"Well, we kind of, you know...?"

"Since I wasn't there, Nessie. I don't know." I paused momentarily, my brow furrowing. "You didn't sleep with him, did you?"

"No! Well—no—we just, well, Jake slowed things down."

Just the sort of thing a mother wants to hear from her teenage daughter.

I sighed. It wasn't like I hadn't been expecting something like this. The imprint. She'd been crazy about Jake since day one. Jacob was hers: first, her personal jungle gym, teething ring, and playmate and later, her favored confidant. Now that the hormones had kicked in full throttle, I supposed it was inevitable. And as much as I hated the idea of losing my daughter to anyone, I had long ago accepted that Jake might be the only one in the world who could love and care for her the way she deserved.

I still wasn't going to pretend that I was tickled about it.

"We need to talk, Nessie. Not on the phone, but I think I'll need to chat with your dad first. Tell Jake Edward will probably want to talk to him, but I think Jake probably had that figured out already, anyway."

"Hah, actually he's looking a little green right now."

"Eh, don't worry, he won't kill him," I paused, rethinking my statement. "But, Nessie, do keep the hormones under wraps, okay? Don't push your father any farther than necessary, okay? Baby steps."

"Sure, sure, yeah, mom, baby steps."

"Give me an hour. Then meet me in the sitting room in the carriage house."

"Will do. Thanks. I love you, mom."

"I love you, too."

Then the line clicked.

I went to find Edward.

He lay across our bed, sprawled out, his eyes closed with some new music playing in the background. It sounded vaguely Eastern European to me. I knew he heard me, but he did not move until I pressed into the mattress beside him. Then, he wrapped his arms tightly around me, pulling me against his marble chest and kissing me softly.

"How was the fourth reading of Kipling—since the first three readings were insufficient?" He smirked at me.

"It was fine, thank you."

"You know, I had assumed you would have stopped rereading classics once you changed, but instead you just seem to reread them faster and more frequently."

I stuck my tongue out at him, but instead of taking it as a jibe, he took it as an invitation and caught my tongue in his own mouth, kissing me deeply, pressing me against him.

I drew back. "Wait, Edward, we need to talk." He ignored me and kissed hungrily down my collar bone, and his fingers searched for and found the zipper at the back of my dress.

"Edward, I need—to talk—to—you—about Nessie," I gasped in between kisses.

He growled and attacked my mouth again, clearly determined to suppress any communication involving words.

One might have thought that after more than six years of marriage, we might have somehow gotten a hold on ourselves in this department, but it didn't seem to be happening. If anything, since Nessie left for school a few weeks before—I think we'd gotten much, much worse.

I gave in to his caresses at some point, forgetting my original goal entirely and losing myself in my husband.

My reason resurfaced only when I heard the front door of the carriage house slam, and I realized that Jacob and Renesmee had returned. My hour was already up.

Edward and I were already behind my mental shield, so I knew he had not heard their thoughts, but we could still hear the murmur of their whispering voices from the foyer. I pulled away from Edward, sitting up, looking him in the eyes.

He gave me a look that was both critical and curious. "Bella, why are you blocking me from your thoughts… as well as everyone else's?"

"I was trying to tell you—but then you interrupted me," I gave him a teasing smile. "I needed to talk to you about Nessie—and Jake."

His smiled tightened, and he sat up away from me. He eyed me warily.

"What about Nessie and Jacob?"

"Well, you remember how you once called Jacob your son?"

Edward was momentarily dazed. He blinked twice, and then his eyes cleared, and he reacted. He was off the bed, his clothes flung on, and he was racing to the door.

I barely stopped him. I was positive that if he hadn't been sidetracked by the fact that I was bare as the day I was born, I think he may have actually knocked us both through the door.

"Edward sit down." I pushed him away from the door. "Maybe I didn't phrase things in exactly the best way, but you knew this was going to happen. It was practically inevitable."

His face hardened, and he averted his eyes. "I'm going to snap both of his arms so he can't touch her."

My jaw fell open. This was actually worse than I had expected. Jake and Edward had gotten along so well over the past six years, especially after our confrontation with the Volturi. There was genuine camaraderie between them.

"I'm not sure Jake is the sole source of the problem, love. What do you think you're going to do, lock Renesmee in a tower, too?"

He didn't flinch. "That can be arranged."

"Edward, be reasonable." I cupped his face with both of my hands and stared deeply into his golden irises.

He stared back at me. "I am being reasonable. She's our daughter. She's existed for less than seven short years. It is too soon for her to give her heart to anyone. I won't let her go gallivanting off with that mutt."

"I think we can compromise with her on this."

"No, we won't. She's not even full-grown."

"Edward, I am not planning on giving her up anytime soon."

He was silent for a moment. "What exactly are you proposing?"

"Nessie just started her junior year at high school. She needs to graduate. Jake will understand that. He knows how hard she pushed to go. She will do her duty to her family and finish out her role there. Jake, meanwhile, will go back to Stanford when the holidays are up. I know he wants to earn his degree. If Renesmee wants to join him in two years, we can talk about it then—in two years."

Edward sighed. I saw the desolation creeping into his face. As much as he tended to over-think everything—he had never really thought this far ahead. I think he had been purposely avoiding it.

I ran my hands through his bronze strands. "Everything will work out fine, love."

"I'm not ready, Bella."

I laughed. "There are some things you can't be ready for."

He sighed, "Hearing human lust, hearing our family's passions… even hearing men's fantasies about you—those thoughts I swallow and bear, but hearing them from my daughter—or about my daughter… it is too much." He closed his eyes and hugged me against him.

"Jacob has always loved Nessie. That has not changed. We both know that he would not take advantage of her."

Edward cringed. "You forget I heard his fantasies about you once upon a time. I am certain he will take advantage of whatever—"

"Edward! You know perfectly well that it's not the same. I was older than Jake—Jake is very aware of how young Nessie is—he would do nothing that could hurt her. Moreover, Nessie has her own distinct personality. It is not the same."

He grimaced before suddenly brightening, "Can I crack a few of his fingers?"

"No, Edward."

"He does heal quite quickly."

"No."

"Can I scare them? Set curfews? Throw things? Set ridiculous rules?"

"Actually, I was kind of counting on it. Someone needs to play bad cop."

"You always like coming off as the sweet one."

"You do tell me I am sweet."

"Hmmm… you are sweet." He was trailing his hands down my exposed back, sending shivers down my spine.

"You are so easily distracted," I laughed.

He picked me up and carried me back to the bed. I supposed we would tend to our daughter later.