A/N: Thank you for all who followed/favorited this story. I know a lot of people read it, but don't review. Please let me know what you think of this story. I appreciate all the feedback. If you have comments about something; I want to know them too.
I enjoy writing this story, so it would be nice to know if you guys have as much fun reading it. Even criticism is welcomed, if it is constructive of course.
A very big thank you to Jezzeria, who made time to preread and beta this chapter. She is awesome.
Dooba's earlier given advice will be interwoven throughout the rest of the story.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
On with the story...
Edward squeezed me tighter. He hissed softly at Carlisle's statement. I felt strange and everything played over and over in my head. I wanted to go home to my daughter, how much time had passed? My neck hurt, Jasper's attack,… It was overwhelming and frightening.
Edward hissed again and gritted his teeth.
"Alice, take Jasper for a hunt. I don't want him near us. Why don't you all go for a hunt, everyone is thirsty." It wasn't a suggestion but more like a demand.
Carlisle and Emmett wanted to protest, but Edward cut them off, "go to the house, call the wolves from there and then leave. Take Rosalie with you. And Carlisle, make sure that Jacob and his pack are gone. I don't want them near us."
They both looked at me and then nodded at the demand. With a last look at me, they took off towards the house.
"Alice, leave, now! Jasper… This isn't over," he warned the remaining family members.
"I'm so sorry," Alice whispered before taking off with Jasper.
We stood in silence for a few seconds, listening to the others running away and the quietness that settled over the place. Edward lowered his mouth and softly kissed the bite mark on my neck making me whimper.
"I want Renesmee, I want to go but will the others be there?" I asked warily. I ached to see our daughter and hold her, to make sure she was okay. It'd been too long and the events that took place shook me up.
"Let's go. They will be there, they can't leave Renesmee alone but they will leave when we arrive. " he snarled.
I took off towards the house. Edward had trouble keeping up with me. When we neared the tree line at the edge of the lawn I stopped. I inhaled deeply and scanned the area. I smelled the stench of the wolves but didn't hear them. They must have listened and left. Edward stood beside me. I heard the hummingbird-like heartbeat of our daughter and a small smile played around my lips. When I inhaled again I noticed that there were still some family members present. I recognized the scent of Rosalie, centered around the beautiful scent of my daughter. A little bit to the left I picked Emmett's scent. Cautiously I made my way towards the porch. I hadn't forgotten what Emmett had done a few minutes earlier.
As I neared the steps, my daughter started to stretch her arms in my direction. I approached her while meeting Rosalie's eyes. She didn't look angry or disapproving. I had attacked her mate, so I was wary at first. But her eyes held no judgment. Without a word she carefully placed Renesmee in my arms. I held her close to my chest and kissed the top of her head. I inhaled deeply and the smell of Jacob was present; though it was vague, which surprised me.
"I changed her clothes, so that his scent wouldn't linger too much," Rosalie said softly.
Now that I observed my daughter more closely I noticed the difference in fabric. I noticed the moment I saw her when breaking through the tree line that something was different, but I didn't process what.
I met her eyes and nodded my appreciation. I hated that Jacob's stench mingled with my daughter's pure and sweet scent.
"Thank you, Rosalie," Edward acknowledged while he stepped behind me and put an arm around us, "Why don't you go hunt as well?"
"We'll be leaving; you have the house to yourselves. I didn't feed her, I guessed you wanted to do it. I hope you'll find some peace, Bella," Rosalie answered. A small smile played on my lips. It was the best I could do to show my thankfulness.
She nodded and moved passed us, towards the trees where Emmett was waiting. Together they disappeared. I turned and watched them until I couldn't see them anymore.
I shifted my attention back to the beautiful girl safely tucked in my arms. Her big brown eyes peered up at me.
"Let's move inside, It's passed lunchtime for our little one," Edward said while nudging us towards the kitchen.
I stood in the middle of the kitchen, cuddling my daughter. I watched him move around to put a bowl of baby oatmeal together. My mind was restless. The whole morning repeated over and over in my head. The bite mark on my shoulder stung. I trembled unconsciously at the memory of Jasper's teeth in my neck.
Renesmee must have noticed something was wrong.
Mommy?
Her voice sounded scared and immediately I willed the memories away. She was more important right know. Edward picked up on her thoughts as he abandoned what he was doing and walked over to me. He tilted my chin gently and peered into my eyes.
"I'm sorry for what happened back there, love. It shouldn't have come to that. I misjudged the whole situation. It's not the first time I misjudged a situation," he stated with a sorrowful expression.
I got the feeling that he meant more than only this day's events. I tilted my head, trying to see the meaning in his eyes.
"I'll explain later. For now, our little one needs reassurance," he answered. Then our daughter's stomach grumbled, "and some food it seems," he chuckled before pecking her on her forehead.
He went back to the counter and scooped everything into a small bowl and put a spoon in. I walked closer and seated on a barstool just like with breakfast. Again I held her while he fed her. The familiar scene playing out in front of me, settled my mind somewhat. I forced myself to stay in the present and not think about anything else than my husband feeding my daughter.
After she ate half the bowl she refused another bite, our cue that she had enough. Edward took her from me and just like this morning cradled her against his chest, rocking her slightly. After a few moments she started to yawn.
"I believe it's time for a nap," he cooed.
He stood up and looked at me. Careful not to drop her he balanced her on one arm and reached a hand out to me. I intertwined our fingers and softly squeezed his hand. He led us to our bedroom on the third floor. He nodded for me to get on the bed and I did, resting my back against the headboard. He gently laid her down with her head in my lap. He got on the bed and mirrored my position on her other side.
I very carefully laid my hand on her head. I was acutely aware of the strength I used when I moved my fingers slowly through her hair. When she shifted, I froze. Did I hurt her? Panicked I looked to Edward. He just smiled at mouthed I was doing fine. Still, I was very hesitant in continuing my ministrations.
Renesmee looked at me through her half closed eyes. Her hand reached up to my wrist. Her voice sounded very sleepy.
Mommy? Are you angry?
It pained me that she noticed that.
"I'm just a bit upset, sweetie, but not at you. Mommy was just a bit angry at someone else," I answered softly.
I love you mommy. You're not angry at Jake, mommy? He's nice.
What could I say to that? I couldn't answer that truthfully, right? It pained and frustrated me that she liked him so much. But, It wasn't her fault. I couldn't hold that against her or be upset with her. However, I couldn't just simply ignore my opinion about that ordeal. Renesmee's questions opened up another can of worms: the imprinting. Edward softly nudged my shoulder, probably sensing where my thoughts were going.
I had to think of our daughter right now, so I willed myself to bury those thoughts and focus on her. How could I answer this question? It's obvious she picked up on the tension between me and Jacob, so I couldn't lie about that. If I told her that he was one of the reasons I was upset it might hurt her. I looked at Edward for help. I couldn't deal with this! I couldn't control my emotions enough and couldn't lie or spin the story into a half truth that would appease our daughter.
Thankfully he took over.
"Mommy's just a bit upset because she doesn't understand a few things. She's not upset with you or anyone specific," he told her.
I bit my lip to keep from snorting. That last part was a serious lie. I was angry alright and that anger was most definitely directed more to some people than to others. Edward's eyes flashed to mine, giving me a silent warning. I had to really concentrate on not answering his warning with one of my own. Renesmee's soft sigh snapped me out of it though. When I looked down, I noticed her breathing deepened and she relaxed her muscles. I guessed she was asleep.
The fact that she didn't ask any more questions alerted me that she understood, actually understood Edward's response. How was that possible? She was a baby and yet she could understand logical explanations already. It showed how fast she grew. Her mental capability grew every hour it seemed. It reminded me of the first time I watched her sleep. I was scared then because we didn't know anything. We still didn't know anything… It frightened me.
I felt myself getting worked up I had to get up! Very carefully I angled our daughter so that she leaned against Edward. Without looking at him, I scooted from the bed and walked over to the window. I stared outside. It had started to rain, just like Edward predicted this morning as we took off- Immediately that train of thoughts lead to the whole event that took place the last couple of hours in that field.
Everything just assaulted me at once. I saw and felt myself reliving those hours. I felt Jasper's teeth bore into my skin. My hand reached up to trace the mark without breaking my staring outside. I heard and felt Edward move from the bed and make his way towards me. For a few seconds he just stood behind me without touching me. I was glad because I needed to think. Then he gently placed a kiss on the bite mark before wrapping his arms around my waist. He rested his head on my opposite shoulder.
"What are you thinking?" he asked softly.
"I.. I… Everything… Our daughter, Jacob, the family,… the past couple of hours," I whispered in response.
He tightened his hold for a moment but didn't say anything. I kept staring outside.
"It's raining, just like you said it would this morning."
I felt him nod against my shoulder, "when it's over, we'll go outside. Everything smells different after a downpour, refreshed."
I nodded, I would like that. For a moment my curiosity picked up, "it does? What does it smell like? Why?"
"I don't know how to describe it. It's just… You'll have to smell it yourself. After the rain, everything just seems more clean, the dust and dirt has washed from the leaves." His chest vibrated against my back as he answered me.
I got eager to experience that. I stared at the rain, listening as it hit the window. It was raining quite heavily yet the sound was a bit muted.
"Why does it sound like it's muted. Shouldn't the noise of the rain hitting the window be louder?"
He chuckled and turned me around so I was facing his chest. I looked up at his face and saw a smile on his lips. His arms still rested on my waist.
"We have double glass, which is fortunate. It would be annoying for our enhanced hearing otherwise," he answered with another chuckle.
It made sense so I nodded. A silence fell over us as we peered into each other's eyes. The playful mood disappeared and the room became loaded. As we watched each other, the silence was only broken by our daughter's soft breathing.
I listened to it, trying to keep myself calm. I tried to match my breathing with hers. All the previous turmoil came back to the forefront of my thoughts.
"Talk to me." Edward cupped my cheek, tracing the curve of my left cheekbone. I inhaled deeply, welcoming his and our daughter's scents. They were the only thing keeping me grounded. So many things whirled inside my head. I tried to organize everything, tried to make sense of everything separately. It seemed one big mess; the more I tried focusing on one thing, the more another thing would demand just as much attention. It all seemed so important. I wanted to blur out all my concerns at once at the same time.
I opened my mouth but couldn't form a understandable sentence, everything was jumbled together.
"Shh, I don't understand a thing you are saying. Breathe slowly, use Renesmee to guide you." He stared into my eyes, waiting for me to follow his advice.
I inhaled and exhaled a few times. After a couple of breathes I matched our daughter's slow and steady breathing.
"Okay, good. Now take your time, try to manage your thoughts. We are alone, nobody is in hearing distance and they will stay away for a while," he calmly motivated me. He was still stroking my cheekbone and I leaned into it for a moment.
The first thing that I could think of was our daughter. She was the most important thing in my existence and a lot of things resolved around her. Scared, I shared my concerns with Edward about her. He must have been scared too, right? She was his daughter as well; he must have seen how 'different' she was? I used the word 'different' by lack of a better word; it was in no way meant to be derogatory.
"Renesmee, she understood you, earlier, when you explained to her why I was upset. How… She's just a baby yet she is so developed mentally. And I swear she has grown in the hours that we were… in the forest today."
"She is definitely 'different'. I agree that it scares me too, love. I'm not going to hide that from you. We don't know what this all means." I was glad that he was honest with me.
"Carlisle wants to do some test," he added softly, gauging my reaction carefully.
I looked over to her sleeping form. A feeling of anxiety overwhelmed me. What was wrong with our daughter? What did this all mean? Was she healthy? I felt like the first time I watch her sleep, the same thoughts and anxiety warred in my head. I wasn't happy with the idea of Carlisle doing tests on her. Firstly, I didn't trust him. The earlier events and his reactions to my first hunt put me on edge around him. Secondly, what kind of tests was he talking about? Would they harm Renesmee? I growled softly at that thought.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Edward drew my attention back to him.
"Will those tests hurt her?" I tried to keep my anger down at the prospect of Carlisle and him doing tests on our daughter.
"They wouldn't hurt her. Carlisle wouldn't dream of hurting her, neither would anyone of the family stand for it; I wouldn't stand for it." He willed me to believe him.
It was difficult but somehow I did.
"We will get to that later, okay? What else is on your mind?"
I mulled his question over. Jacob! The imprinting! At once my muscles tensed at I turned around spying the tree line. I focused on what I could hear, trying to hear if he was close by. Was he in the forest nearby, hiding in the forest? Was his 'pack' here? I growled again. Although I couldn't hear them, I was on edge. He had wormed his way into the family. He lingered around the house. He even got them so far that they left my daughter in his care while I burned!
As soon as I finished that line of thinking, my body started to tremble from anger. They had let him hold her, feed her, take care of her for hours and at night. My mind tried to wrap itself around that idea. It seemed too big to come to terms with. They had willingly given her to our enemies. The stench of them soiled her beautiful and unique scent. I gritted my teeth and glared at Edward.
He looked taken aback.
"Why did you allow Jacob to be involved with OUR daughter?!" I hissed lowly. In my rage I was still aware of our daughter sleeping on the bed.
His grip on me tightened a little.
"He imprinted on her-" I hissed, interrupting his lame attempt to explain the family's actions.
"You let her in his care, for hours! Even at night? Was there anyone from the family present?" My tone was venomous and quiet. His silence said it all.
For a moment my mind went blank. I simply couldn't comprehend it. He loosened his hold and hesitantly took my hands in his, intertwining our fingers.
"It was clearly a misjudgment we made. I can't apologize enough. We – I – thought at that time that it would be alright. I could hear what Jacob was thinking, and through Jasper's thoughts feel both his and our daughter's emotions. They were really platonic and pure; on both sides."
I heard what he said, but it didn't register all in my head. Different feelings reared up: anger, frustration, disbelief, doubt, betrayal. I stayed quiet.
"You have to believe me, Bella. If I had any doubt, even the slightest, I wouldn't have allowed it. I love our daughter and I love you so much. I wouldn't let anyone harm you," he stated firmly, peering into my eyes. Our eyes looked, gold anguished ones meeting black heated ones. My eyes must be black, with the rage I felt…
His exclamation stirred another topic that I willed down again. First priority was our daughter.
"Where was she at night?"
"She was with Jacob… somewhere…" He seemed hesitant to tell me where.
"Where did she sleep, Edward?" I bit.
"In a cottage at the edge of the property in the forest. It wasn't far. Rosalie and Emmett lingered around. Rosalie was very against the idea, which I guess you already knew. Leah and Seth lingered in the forest for the first few hours, and then Jacob sent them away."
I didn't know what to make of all this. I stepped out of his hold and went over to the bed. I sat down carefully as to not disturb the sleeping Renesmee. I sat and just watched her. I inhaled deeply, needing her beautiful scent. I held it and then slowly exhaled. Edward hadn't moved, just watched me in silence.
I stood and walked over to the window, watching the rain hitting the glass. Slowly I turned around to face him.
"I.. I don't know what to think of all this. I hate it. I don't like the imprint stuff. I don't like him hanging around her. I hate their stench. I hate that she likes him. I don't like the wolves so close, Edward, they put me on edge." I got more worked up as I spoke, my muscles tensing up again.
Edward stepped closer to me. He looked questionably at me before stepping right in front of me and embracing me, pulling me flush against his chest. His arms wrapped around my shoulders. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled, pressing a kiss on the top of my head.
We didn't speak for a few seconds. I tried to push the anger away, tried to rationalize it. Something just wouldn't give and I didn't know what bothered me more about the whole situation. Edward kissed my head again.
"I'm sorry, love," he whispered pained. I exhaled slowly. I hated hearing the pain in his voice. Everything inside my being wanted to alleviate that down-feeling, but I just couldn't. I couldn't give it my 'okay'. Instead I settled for a light tightening of my arms around his waist.
The room was again filled with silence. This time it lingered for a few minutes. We were both lost in thought. I processed his words, trying to remain calm and not let the anger and frustration rear up. No matter how many times I tried to rationalize it, I couldn't come up with a way to make my peace with it.
The topic wasn't dealt with, but I had to let it rest for now, other urging concerns took the upper hand in my mind. My body tensed slightly. a new onslaught of unresolved emotions coursing through it.
Edward sensed it and moved away so we could look into each other's eyes.
"Tell me," he urged me.
"You said you wouldn't let anyone harm us, yet today…" I trailed off. I touched my bite mark. It still burned.
His eyes looked pained again and a flash of anger washed over his face. I tensed automatically. My body preparing for… I don't know where for. It was instinctual. The anger on his face slowly ebbed away, however not completely.
"There is no excuse for what happened today! It wasn't supposed to happen," he hissed. We were interrupted by the rustling of the blanket. We both looked over and saw Renesmee stirring.
"Her dreams are picking up on the noise from us, come on, let's go to the hallway," Edward whispered.
Slowly we left the bedroom and pulled the door close behind us. We could still hear our daughter perfectly, but she would have more peace.
"They are my family, right? How could they attack me like that? Why didn't you do anything to stop them? They harmed me and you just LET them!" I was getting worked up by thinking about it. I felt trapped in that field and yet he didn't help me. He should have protected me. Isn't that what mates do? Or did he think they were right? Did he support them?
My mind froze. He was my husband, my mate, he should have prevented it. Unless… he thought they were right. Specific things flashed before my eyes:
"She needs this."
"She needs to learn her place."
"That's it! I've had it."
I growled at the memories before shifting my eyes to him. He let them say that. He let Jasper belittle me, let them taunt me. Why?
They had set this whole thing up for what? So they could 'handle' me together? They had followed me at my pace, which I disliked from the beginning and then led me to an open field. Edward had suggested it from the start. What was his reason? Did he know how it was going to go down? A series of low growls escaped my lips.
The others who were in the forest went all willingly. Was that their intention from the start? I replayed everyone's action again in my head. Carlisle deserved some credit, he seemed unhappy and refused to fight me. Yet, he was there. He is the head of the family, yet he stood by while his sons went at me. He could have stopped them. He should have stopped them! Was he that disappointed in me?
I gritted my teeth, feeling the anger boil in my muscles. Emmett. When he barreled to the trees with Alice, he seemed very eager to have a go at me. It took every bit of strength to stay standing. He is unbelievingly strong. And Alice, didn't she see it? She must have as she came and with Emmett in tow. She must have seen what would happen. Yet she did nothing. She went to Jasper, stating I would hurt him. He nearly tore my throat out and yet she didn't do anything to prevent it, to stop it.
The burning bite mark itched and unconsciously I placed my fingers over it. No matter what I did, the burning feeling didn't lessen. How could they do this to me? They were supposed to be my family! I didn't trust them. How could I? What would have happened if Jasper had a second more? Would he have torn my throat out? He would have killed me! And what about Renesmee? What would they do to her?
She was my daughter. What would they do if I wasn't around? I balked at the thought. My eyes burned with anger and frustration as I directed them at Edward. Did he even realize what almost happened? What his family almost did? I took a step back, making the distance between us bigger. My muscles were strained.
Edward was about to say something, but approaching footsteps interrupted us. I focused my attention briefly on our daughter: she was still sleeping, safely on the bed. After that confirmation I didn't think anymore as I ran down the flights of stairs and on the porch at the back of the house. The foul stench aggravated me. The stench was dulled somehow though. Still, it made me gag. My breathing picked up as I saw a silver colored wolf broke through the tree line. I bared my teeth, growling at the intruder.
"Leave!" I snarled.
The wolf tensed. The hairs on his neck stood on end. I crouched down. I heard a movement behind me and then Edward stood next to me. He put an hand on my upper arm. I wanted to shrug it off but he was persistent.
"It wasn't wise to come, Paul. You could have called. Tell Sam that we are grateful for his help," he stated formally.
The wolf, Paul, bowed his head slowly to show he understood then he leveled his eyes on Edward. Edward gritted his teeth.
"That is not of your concern. It is dully noted. Now leave," he snapped.
Paul's big wolf eyes gave me one last glance and then he turned around and disappeared between the trees. His stench disappeared almost immediately. It was then that I noticed it was still raining. I didn't know that scents could be so dulled by rain. My musings stopped when I heard Renesmee's heartbeat pick up. I ran without a thought towards the house, made my way to the stairs and was next to the bed in a flash. It was only then that I realized I was dripping wet. It didn't matter, I had to see why my daughter's heartbeat picked up.
"She just has an intense dream, a good one. She isn't in danger," Edward's voice floated from the doorway. I tore my eyes away from our sleeping daughter to him. I gave him a small smile, nodding. He nodded back before disappearing. I heard some shuffling and he was back, making his way towards me with a mop.
"You left a trail of water, I cleaned it up," he said simply with a crooked smile on his lips.
I took a step back, resting against his chest.
"What are you thinking, love?"
"What did Paul want? What did he say that made you angry?" I asked apprehensive.
I sighed, making me frown and on alert. I turned around. He grabbed my hand and led the way towards the hall way.
"He came to tell that Sam and the guys have arrived on the field and are doing what they can to make it seem as natural as possible."
He wasn't telling me everything, I felt it. The mention of Sam made my antsy too. I looked into his eyes, silently urging him to continue.
"He also said that Sam wasn't too pleased with it."
I balled my fists, feeling my arms tense. I gritted my teeth. I kept completely still, waiting for him to say anything. He seemed unhappy and worried. He was thinking hard about something and then pinched the bridge of his nose. It did nothing to sooth me.
I couldn't question him further as I heard the blanket stir. Renesmee's breathing pattern indicated she was waking up. I swirled and went into the bedroom. Two half sleepy eyes looked at me.
"Hi, sweetie," I cooed.
"Why don't you go put on some fresh clothes, while I take care of our daughter's needs?" Edward asked warmly.
I had to admit that holding our daughter with damp clothes wouldn't be healthy so I nodded and went to the dresser in the corner of the room. I stood with my back to him and our daughter. I had to concentrate to open the drawers in search of clothes. I heard Edward speaking fondly to our daughter and then he picked her up and left the room.
I exhaled and forced my attention on my task. I heard a slight crack and immediately lessened my strength. After a total of sixteen minutes I had completed the task of putting on fresh clothes. As I picked up the damp clothes, I looked at the dresser. It had two new cracks in the knobs and one drawer hung a bit askew. I didn't want to try to correct it. It would most likely break completely from its hinges.
I walked towards the bathroom and threw my clothes in the open hamper. Carefully I closed the lid and Concentrated on finding my husband and our daughter. I located them immediately. The noise of the television and her heartbeat situated in the living room, drew me to them.
As I walked in the room I halted. The sight before me was so touching: Edward sat on the couch with Renesmee on his lap. He had a smile on his lips while she giggled at something on the screen. Edward turned his head and nodded. I made my way over to them. For now, everything could wait. My mind was still reeling from all what happened, but right now, I wanted to absorb the moment of peace.
Renesmee turned her head when she heard me enter the room. I walked over towards the couch and settled down next to them.
She reached out to me and Edward released his hold on her. I held my breath as I saw her trying to crawl. She tried to control her body and get on her hands and knees. She couldn't hold her balance though and she fell on his lap. He picked her up and placed her on my lap. She nestled herself close to my stomach and looked up.
"Hey, did you have a good nap?" I asked her softly.
She nodded her head while smiling at me. I bowed my head forwards and pecked her nose. She turned around and leaned against me while she focused back on the television screen. I cast a look and saw some cartoon was on. It was a white rabbit with a simple dress on and it was walking in a forest. Suddenly a little dog came on the screen and they started walking together. It was a simple cartoon, very simplistically drawn. I knew it was a child's cartoon.
I rested my head on Edward's shoulder and he kissed the top of my head. One of his hands rested on Renesmee's arm while his other hand came around my shoulder and rested close to the bite mark. He rubbed soothing circles on my shoulder blade, noticing I tensed up slightly. Then he traced the bite mark whispering in my ear that I was okay.
And for a moment, I was. I concentrated on the present. The rain hitting the windows, the noises coming from the television, Renesmee's heartbeat, Edward's breathing. For a few minutes everything seemed fine.
A musical interlude drew my attention back to the screen and I saw the credits of the cartoon rolling on the screen, signaling that it was done. Immediately after that another child's cartoon began. This time it was a white cat with a red t-shirt with a yellow button in the middle. It was again very basically drawn.
"It's a baby's channel. It's non-stop of these cartoons. It's safe for our daughter to watch," Edward whispered. I nodded, glad that such channel existed.
For the next fifteen minutes we sat in silence, enjoying Renesmee's giddiness at watching the cartoons. After the cartoon with the white cat, it was a cartoon about a little bee. It were all quite happy tales with lighthearted subjects. Edward had approved the contents of the channel so I wasn't too suspicious.
When the credits for that cartoon were rolling on the screen, Edward turned off the television.
"What do you say we have some fun?"
His tone was childlike and giddy. Renesmee drank it all up and clapped her hands. Then she placed her hand on mine.
Play mommy.
"You want to play? Okay, let's play," I smiled. Edward knelt down in front of us and made a funny face making her giggle. Then he planted a raspberry on her belly . This made her squirm from giggling. I made sure she wouldn't slip from my lap though. He planted a few more raspberries all over her: her belly, her nose, her cheek and her hand.
He changed the game when he sat down on the floor, crossing his legs and held his hands in front of his eyes. Suddenly with a excited voice he dropped his hands and said
"Peekaboo!"
Renesmee giggled and waved her arms. I felt a smile tug my lips upwards. Edward met my eyes, smiling back. He did the peekaboo game a few times. Renesmee seemed to never get tired of it though.
He reached his hand up a ruffled her hair, before planting a kiss on her cute crinkled nose. He invited me to sit on the floor as well. So I monitored my movements while I shifted my body. Edward kept a close eye. I was a little scared. I could hurt her so easily. I did the change of position in slow motion, keeping a very close eye on my strength and her reactions. She didn't seem to find discomfort.
I exhaled in relief once I finally settled on the floor with her in my lap. Edward leaned over and kissed my lips briefly.
Suddenly his mood changed and he became tense. He halted his movements and listened carefully. I didn't understand what caused the change in his demeanor. It made me slightly panicky. What was wrong? I listened, trying to see if there was someone approaching, but didn't hear anything. I looked back at Edward, scared.
"Edward, what's wrong?"
I had to remind myself not to squeeze my daughter too hard in my panicked state of mind.
He met my eyes, his held different emotions: wariness, resolve, uncertainty. He closed his eyes briefly and looked at me. He opened his mouth to answer me, right as Renesmee put her hand against my hand again.
Thirsty, mommy.
"She's thirsty," he said at the same time.
Let me know what you think? Hit that review button
A/n: the cartoons mentioned in this chapter are Miffy, Musti and Maya the bee. In my opinion these are suitable cartoons for babies/small children. I know I enjoyed them when I was little:-)