Thanks for all the reviews, so nice to see the familiar names from my Renesmee trilogy. Really glad you liked the first chapter.

Ronnie: Yes I did edit the picture, I used Adobe Photoshop CS4

Edward Cullen

"Beth, it's time to go to bed sweetheart" I told my daughter as I entered her room. She was dressed in her pyjamas and sitting cross legged on her bed, Nessie was behind her, Beth's hair in her hands as she braided it. I smiled at my daughters, I was glad Nessie got to see Beth as a child, this was something I never thought I'd see. Nessie with a little sister, I had seen her with Chantelle but Beth was blood related to Nessie and it warmed my heart to see them so close after only one day together.

"Im nearly finished" Nessie said with a smile at me. I walked over to them and sat next to Beth.

"Can Nessie tell me a bed time story?" she asked me.

"Sure, if she has imagination enough to think of one you won't get bored of" I laughed. Beth was a lot like Nessie as a child, she was already bored of the story books in our house. I tended to just make one up in my head every night.

"Why don't you tell us one? Tell me more about your mermaid friends" Nessie said, she tucked the braid over Beth's shoulder and moved over to the head of the bed. Beth followed and got under the covers. Nessie and I were either side of her now.

"Well momma doesn't like me playing with them but daddy doesn't mind do you?" she asked. I shrugged.

"They would never hurt you, I think you need friends. If they're fish then they're fish"

"Are they the same as the one we met in La Push?" Nessie asked me.

"Yes" I replied, I knew what she was referring to.

"They can have legs, if they're on ground. I show them around the island, but they're not supposed to use their legs until they're 16" Beth said.

"What?" Nessie asked.

"I have 4 friends. 3 of them are 16 already but Lexi is only 10, shes not supposed to use her human legs. They're not allowed out of the sea until they're 16 but she does so she can play with me." Beth told her sister.

"Seriously?" Nessie gasped. When we first met mermaids nearly 70 years ago we only met one girl, My granddaughter, Nessie's oldest daughter, Sarah had seen her in the ocean when she was swimming with Nahuel, she had been perched on a rock when she met her again but never had human legs. She never even mentioned that she had legs so I knew Nessie was surprised hearing it now.

"Nina, Arya, Elle and Lexi. They're only allowed in the real world once they're 16. The transformation is really cool it's like a shimmer and then they have legs. It's awesome. They talk in their heads too, like you do and daddy." She wasn't making proper sense but I knew Nessie understood.

"That is kind of cool. Im glad you have friends Beth" Nessie smiled. "And if dad says they're ok, they must be" she laughed.

"Lexi doesn't understand much about the human world, it's like talking to an alien sometimes, the other girls have been into the human world so they understand things but it's funny with Lexi when she didn't know what shoes were. Nina said they don't have human lessons until they turn 15. So they're ready by the time they're 16. They also only have four letters in their name, they don't know any names with more letters, it's really funny but I have four letters so I fit in just fine"

"You have 9 letters" Nessie smiled

"Beth is only four" She frowned.

"Did they teach you how to swim?" Nessie asked changing the subject; she wasn't even going to start that argument with her.

"No daddy did. But im a lot stronger swimmer because I swim with them and the dolphins"

"You have quite a life here don't you?" Nessie smiled.

"I love it here"

"You don't know any different" she said and kissed Beth on the forehead.

"I think it's time to go to sleep now" I told my daughter. She frowned at me, the frown that made her look a lot like Bella.

"It's school tomorrow isn't it?" She asked me. I smiled at her.

"Only for a little bit, you get to meet Eddie tomorrow, I wouldn't want you to spend all day in school when he's here, it's not every day you get to meet your big brother" I told her, she smiled widely.

"Thanks daddy" she said with a yawn. "I guess I'll go to sleep now"

I kissed her forehead and tucked her under the covers. Nessie climbed off the bed and walked out the door with me.

"I love you princess" I told her.

"Love you too daddy and love you Nessie" she said but Nessie was already out the door. Nessie was smiling at me a few feet away.

"I thought I'd be jealous but im really not. I can see how much she loves you. Im glad someone else got to have my daddy after I grew up" Nessie told me. I smiled at her and pulled her into a quick hug as we walked to the living room. I kissed her forehead too.

"You'll always be my little girl. No matter how many more centuries we're alive and how many more children your mother and I have."

"Too right. Im the first born." She laughed as we reached the others sitting in the living room. Bella was smiling at us.

"I think I'll head to bed too, the jet lag is really getting to me" Nessie said pulling away from me.

"Alright" Bella said and hugged her daughter. "It's really good to see you again" she told her.

"You too momma" she returned her hug and pulled away. "Night daddy" she said then hugging me again.

"Goodnight" I told her and kissed her head again. "I love you princess" I told her with a wink. She giggled.

"Love you too daddy" she told me and turned to the spare room that her and Jacob were staying in. Jacob followed with a quick hug to Bella and a tap on my shoulder. I turned to Bella who was smiling at me.

"What?" I asked with a smile.

"Nothing. Im just really happy right now" Bella told me. I took a step towards her and she stood up from the couch. I took her in my arms to kiss her and she responded with eager anticipation.

The night was quick; before I knew it I could hear Beth climbing out of her bed and getting dressed. She was sleeping less and less, I knew as a moon pool child she didn't need the full 12 hours like a normal child but she was barely sleeping 7 now.

"Child number 3 is already up" Bella grumbled and moved in my arms.

"It was your idea to have her" I laughed.

"I know" she replied and climbed out the bed to get dressed. I watched her with my arms behind my head. "Get up. Eddie will be here any minute" She mumbled and left the room. I did as she said with a frown.

"Are you in a bad mood?" I asked her when I found her in the kitchen.

"No" she responded, she was cooking breakfast for Jacob and Nessie, I took the pan off her that she was cooking eggs in so I could adjust them to my personal recipe I knew Nessie loved.

"You are" I mumbled, she was being short with me and I had no idea why. "Was it something I did?" I asked. We had a perfectly normal night, we read a bit, she did her homework for her online course she was doing and we finished it off with a few hours in bed before we knew Beth would be waking up.

"Good morning momma" Beth chimed, "good morning daddy."

She walked over to the breakfast bar table and Bella handed her a bottle of blood.

"Good morning Elizabeth" Bella said. Beth frowned at her mother then looked over at me; I shook my head in response, hoping she understood not to say anything. She did. Beth took the cap off and started to drink the blood.

"What are you doing?" she asked us.

"It's called cooking Beth" I told her.

"Oh! This is the food humans eat? I remember this from our human study class" she said picking up an egg and tossing it in the air. She caught it easily.

"Yes." I told her and put the freshly cooked eggs on two plates, just in time for Nessie and Jacob's door to open.

"Good morning" Jacob grumbled. "I hate early mornings" he sighed.

"Er Jake?" Bella asked.

"Mhmm?" Jacob mumbled sitting on a stool next to Beth.

"Aren't you going to put clothes on?" She asked with a laugh. Jacob was just in shorts.

"No. Unlike you I can actually feel the heat of this place, combine that with my body heat and Nessie's I was sweating all night. I literally got out of bed in the middle of the night and lay on the floor for a bit" Jacob said grabbing a plate of eggs and a fork.

"Er Jake? Didn't you have your honeymoon here?" Bella asked. "You're acting like you've never stayed on one of these islands before."

"Yes Bella I did have my honeymoon here but honestly I didn't do much sleeping back then, the air con was on a lot higher when we were in the bedroom" Jacob said with a wink.

"Ugh I didn't need to hear that" Bella groaned turning to finish the pancakes.

"I didn't need the visual Jacob" I growled at him, he laughed.

"Sorry" he said and took a forkful of eggs and put them in his mouth.

"What are you scarring my little sister with now?" Nessie said coming into the room with a long white summer dress on. She looked beautiful.

"Nothing, he was just talking about your honeymoon" Beth said. Nessie blushed.

"Why?" she glared at Jacob. He laughed.

"Im just saying how much warmer it is when we sleep under the covers and with clothes on"

"Jacob" she scowled at him. Beth looked up at him innocently with a confused frown on her face.

"Why wouldn't you have clothes on in bed?"

"Yeah Jake. Why wouldn't you?" I asked him, prompting him to answer the 6 year old. He just shoved more eggs in his mouth.

"Ignore him sweetheart. Just don't listen to him." Nessie said, her hand going through Beth's hair.

"My hair is really curly today" Beth exclaimed.

"It is. I told you the braid would work" Nessie smiled and sat down next to her.

"Can I go on my run momma?" Beth said then, recapping her bottle.

"No sweetie. Your brother will be here any minute" Bella told her, Beth frowned.

"But I always go on my run"

"You can after; you can take Jacob with you. He needs to work off those eggs he's just eaten." Bella said. Jacob frowned at her; he looked down at his abs and patted them with his hand.

"Nope im good" he grinned at her. Bella rolled her eyes.

"I think Beth would love to see you as a wolf Jake" I told him

"Oh yes! Please run with me as a wolf!" Beth exclaimed. He sighed.

"I suppose" he answered just as I heard a speed boat reach the shore. I smiled at Beth; I knew she was excited to meet Eddie.

"Are they here?" Beth asked.

"Yes" I said and walked around the kitchen counter. "Stay here Beth, like yesterday" I told her. Bella took Beth in her arms.

"But im not dressed right" I heard Beth moan.

"You're fine" Bella reassured her just as I stepped out of the house. I ran over to the dock to meet my son and his wife.

"Dad!" Eddie shouted when he saw me, he quickly tied the boat to the dock and leapt out, he ran up the dock to greet me. We collided into a hug just as Chloe climbed out of the boat. She lifted the bags out quickly and ran over to us. Eddie pulled away so I could hug Chloe. Eddie went to get their bags and Chloe and I pulled away so we could start walking.

"Really good to see you dad" Eddie smiled at me.

"Missed you too" I told him with a grin.

"I can't wait to see Nessie, it feels like forever" Chloe sighed wistfully.

"So what's new?" Eddie asked me as we reached the house.

"Oh you'll see" I smiled at him, careful not to give it away in my head. I opened the door and Beth came running towards us.

I can truly say I didn't expect what happened next. Eddie dropped the bags immediately and lifted Beth into his arms and into a hug. They held each other tightly as if they were old friends reuniting.

"Eddie this is-" I went to explain but he cut me off.

"I know who she is" he told me, holding his sister tightly. "I knew the second we got on the island there was another moon pool child here. The second I saw her I knew she was my sister" he explained. She pulled back and they gave each other a kiss as if they had known each other all along. Beth smiled at her brother.

"Shes beautiful" Chloe said now she had finally got to see her. Beth then reached towards Chloe like she did with Jacob the day before. Chloe was shocked.

"It's ok, take her, she only wants to say hello" Eddie smiled at his wife and handed Beth over. Chloe carefully took Beth from his arms and held her on her hip. Beth smiled at Chloe and hugged her neck.

"Im so glad I get to meet you" Beth said. It was Chloe that pulled away and put Beth on the floor. She was smiling widely.

"You're definitely a Cullen aren't you? Look at you" Chloe said with an adoring smile, she tucked Beth's hair over her shoulder and stroked her cheek. "If you had dark hair and brown eyes I'd say you were Eddie." she laughed. Beth smiled at her in response and took Eddie's hand. They had an immediate connection; Eddie and Beth were already like a well-oiled machine. It was incredible to watch and to see how their minds thought. Eddie knew her straight away, he didn't even question before he hugged her the way he'd hug Nessie. "What's your name?" Chloe asked her.

"Beth" she answered her.

"For Bethany?" Chloe asked.

"No Elizabeth" Beth told her.

"Oh! Wow, I wouldn't have guessed, that's a beautiful name" Chloe smiled at her.

"Elizabeth Esther" Bella added.

"Aw!" Chloe exclaimed. "That's perfect; she wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Esther"

"Exactly" Eddie smiled and kissed the top of Beth's head.

Chloe and Eddie then went over to greet Bella, Nessie and Jacob.

Beth was perched on Eddie's hip when he hugged Nessie. All three of them hugged each other, and I looked over to Bella to see her smiling proudly at them, I pulled her into my side. Whatever bad mood she was in before had evaporated. I knew how much she wanted to see this moment, all our children together and I smiled at how much they loved each other. I turned to smile at my wife at my side; she wrapped her arms around my waist and sighed slightly. I could see how fiercely and irrevocably she loved all three of them. I kissed her forehead, trying to contain my own emotion, I felt so unbelievably blessed at this moment, a beautiful wife and three amazing children. I never knew meeting Bella we ever had hope of having 1 child, never mind 3.

I looked over to smile at Chloe who had her cell phone out taking a picture of them hugging.

"So what is your ability?" Chloe asked when Beth pulled away from her siblings.

"What?" Beth asked.

"Shes probably a shield like me and my mom" Eddie said as he put her down.

"I'm a what?" Beth asked.

"We haven't had a chance to see if she has an ability" Bella told him.

"Oh she does, there's no doubt about it. It's just shes been so wrapped up in cotton wool she hasn't had a chance to see her own power" Eddie said, he knelt in front of her.

"We need Zio" Chloe said.

"He can't leave Italy" Eddie sighed. "I could try to find out" He placed his hands on the side of her face. "Esther is better at doing this than me"

Eddie closed his eyes. I sighed in frustration that I couldn't see what he was doing in his head. I could only see Beth's.

I didn't really know what Eddie was doing so it shocked me when Beth let out a scream and Eddie got thrown back. I saw in her head he actually used part of his shield to shock her, it wasn't a lot, nothing that would really hurt her, it was just enough to get a reaction out of her.

"Eddie!" Chloe yelled and ran over to him.

"Talk about defensive ability" Eddie gasped.

Beth stood there shocked, she started crying immediately. Nessie went to pick her up but she shook her head.

"Daddy" she cried, turning and reaching for me, I picked her up and held her in my arms.

"It's ok" I assured her with a hug.

"I didn't mean to do that" She cried to me, she thought she was in trouble.

"I know you didn't, you're not in trouble sweetheart." I told her as I took her over to Eddie as he stood up.

"Sorry Beth, I couldn't tell you what I was doing or I wouldn't get a reaction out of you. I thought you were going to have a shield or something. I had no idea that would happen" he told her, she had her head on my shoulder; she tilted it so she could see his face in front of us.

"Im sorry I hurt you" she said quietly.

"You didn't. At least now we know" he said with a smile.

"I want to go on my run now" Beth said lifting her head to look at me. she had had enough and she just wanted to clear her head.

"Maybe you should take Eddie and Nessie with you" I mentioned.

"Yeah, just the 3 of you" Bella smiled at them.

"Ok" Beth said softly. I placed her on her feet and she took Eddie's hand before walking over to Nessie to take hers. She then started to pull them towards the back door. Bella, Chloe, Jacob and I followed them to the door and watched them walk in the sand away from us. Both Bella and Chloe took a picture as Nessie and Eddie swung Beth high in the air by her arms. I could hear her giggle as they lifted her. Beth was laughing as if nothing had happened. They started running then, still hand in hand out of our sight.

"She's amazing" Chloe said to us. "And she looks so much like Eddie"

"I think she looks like Holly as a child" Jacob mused.

"Yeah I can see that" I said to him.

"How is Holly?" Jacob asked then, turning to Chloe.

"Good, shes still in England and still love sick" Chloe said with a smile.

"Hope he's treating her well."

"Of course he is, he's a saint. I couldn't have asked for anyone better after what shes been through."

"Im sure one more boyfriend and Eddie would have had a seizure. She was quick to fall that one" Jacob laughed as we walked to the living room.

"Tell me about it" Chloe laughed. "Avia is just as quick. Shes not settled yet. Im getting worried"

"Don't be. I was over 100 before I found Bella. Not everyone gets to meet their mate in one life time. Most of you and your children were lucky." I told her.

"Yeah Izzy took a good few years to find who she wanted to stay with" Jacob said.

"And she doesn't even have the privilege of knowing if he's her mate. No such thing for an immortal human" I mentioned.

"Nope, it has been a while though; he's the father of her children." Jacob said. "If this isn't the one I'll be surprised."

"Being a hybrid they can be together forever" Bella said. "I hope they last too. I always worry about her and Avia"

I was fully engrossed in the conversation when I heard Nessie calling out in her mind. She was running along the beach with Eddie and Beth, except Eddie had a child in his arms. I realised it was Lexi, Beth's mermaid friend. As they reached the house Eddie laid her on the couch.

"Shes got legs" Bella frowned. "But shes asleep"

"Is she dead?" Beth asked, she had hold of Nessie's hand.

"No shes not" Chloe said, feeling Lexi's pulse. Chloe was a paediatric doctor and had been for nearly a hundred years now.

"Where is her tail?" Beth asked.

"I don't know sweetheart. I thought she could only have legs when she was awake" I told her.

"That's what Elle said yeah" Beth frowned. It was only a second before Lexi's eyes opened and a fountain of water came out from her mouth. She was spluttering and coughing as Chloe held her up and patted her back.

"Lexi are you ok?" Beth asked.

"Beth" she gasped. "I've been banished" she cried.

"What are you talking about Lexi?" she asked.

"They took away my tail. They said I have to live the rest of my life as a human" she cried.

"Why?" Beth gasped.

"Because I broke the rules and used my legs before I was 16" she said as she sobbed uncontrollably. Chloe hugged her, I could see how confused she was but she hugged the child anyway. Lexi was only 10 physically; Chloe didn't know she was a mermaid.

"What about your sisters?" Beth asked.

"I don't know. I don't know where they are" she cried harder into Chloe's tshirt. "I don't know what to do now. I don't understand your world. What am I supposed to do?"

We all looked at her helplessly, Bella and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to let her live with us, to raise her as our own daughter but I knew it wouldn't be enough for her. This was a little girl that had been shunned by everything she knew, she would be so completely lost being here.

I couldn't believe anyone would do this to a child. Where were her parents? I couldn't even begin to understand the world that lived in the ocean, it was completely out of our jurisdiction, we were rulers of this world but not theirs, they had their own law and their own leaders. We were helpless in our power. The best we could do was help her live in the human world.

There had to be something we could do for her. I just didn't know what.