A/N: Sorry for the extreme delay in updating, to any of you who may have been waiting. (I hate waiting for updates!) I was suffering an extreme form of writer's block. Seems to be going around these days….

Everything happened within thirty seconds at the most, but time seemed to slow down as I watched it all unfold before me. It was as though I were a mere spectator and not a participant.

When Bella lunged, Jacob's body reacted automatically to the threat and started to shimmer, the beginning of his phase into wolf form. Instantly, however, he braced himself against it, willing himself to remain human, partly because he didn't want to hurt her, and partly because he seemed to recognize that in the circumstances he deserved her wrath, whether what had happened with Renesmee was within his control or not.

The wolf that was Leah growled in alarm, but Seth was closer. Without even a fraction of a second's thought for his own safety, he threw himself in between Bella and his pack leader, not making an attempt to attack her but simply blocking her from her target with his own body. Her stone shoulder collided with his massive, furry one, and bones cracked loudly before he fell to the lawn in pain.

Seth's interference had slowed Bella's advance on Jacob enough that Jacob was able to take a few stumbling steps backward in Leah's direction. She leapt forward and crouched into a defensive pose, lips curled back in a snarl. Bella ignored her, eyes still narrowed in anger, intent on Jacob.

"Grab her, Edward!" a voice shouted from behind me, mobilizing me from where I had frozen, shocked by the suddenness of Bella's attack. I shot out a hand and seized Bella's arm. She was just about to twist out of my grasp when two more pairs of hands clamped down on her, one pair on each of her arms. She thrashed against them, eyes still fixated on Jacob, but between the two of them, Jasper and Emmett were able to restrain her enough that I could step forward and circle my arms around her waist.

"Bella! Stop!" I muttered urgently in her ear. "That's your friend, your friend, Jacob. You'll regret it if you hurt him. You may not think so right now, but you will later. You know you will!" A not inconsequential part of me rebelled against speaking the words, sadistically hoping for the chance to enjoy the sight of Bella ridding me of Jacob Black once and for all. The dominant part, however, knew that what I said was true. She would never forgive herself, and I was motivated above all by the need to spare her that pain.

"Jacob! You need to get out of here!" Carlisle shouted. He had somehow materialized unnoticed behind Jasper and Emmett, and was crouching on the ground now in front of us and next to Seth, who remained in wolf form, whimpering and shaking in pain.

"Go, Jacob!" Jasper echoed, simultaneously emanating the largest wave of calm he could muster, hoping he could settle Bella down. "I don't know if we can hold her. Run!" Leah growled, seconding that sentiment.

"But...Ness—Renesmee..." Jacob breathed, his eyes wide as he watched Bella struggle against three of us, her face still contorted in uncharacteristic rage.

"She's with Rosalie. She's perfectly safe, Jacob!" Carlisle glanced up but quickly returned his attention to Seth. "Seth, you're going to have to phase back so I can set these bones before they heal. I can't do it with you in this form—I'm not a vet."

For God's sake, he's not going to leave! Jasper threw out another wave of calm, forcing himself to suppress his irritation with Jacob so that it didn't spill over and further inflame Bella's fury. "Let's get her in the house, Edward," he said out loud. "Emmett, help Carlisle with Seth."

"But Renesmee's in the house!" Jacob objected, stupidly earning himself a snarl from Bella and redoubled efforts to get out of our grasp. All three of us tightened our hold on her. Her newborn strength was enhanced by her strong emotions, requiring significant effort on our part to keep her from breaking free. It was astonishing that the snarling, thrashing creature in my arms was my Bella, fighting me with all she had so that she could tear apart her best friend.

I couldn't help but find Jacob's continued presumptuousness irritating. "She's not going to hurt Renesmee," I snapped, now working with my brothers to wrestle Bella toward the front door. "And if you would just leave, she'll calm down!"

Rosalie, however, tended to agree with Jacob. I'm taking Nessie out the back way, Edward, she thought, heading for the back door. We'll wait out in the yard until Bella settles down. Better safe than sorry.

"I really don't think that's necessary, Rosalie," I muttered, but she was already out of the house. Jacob either saw or smelled Renesmee with Rosalie in the back yard and took off in that direction. Bella struggled against us to chase after him, but we managed to get her up the steps and into the living room.

The three of us forced her toward the couch. I sat first and pulled her down next to me so I could hold her while Emmett and Jasper kept their tight grip on each of her arms. Carlisle was behind us with Seth in human form in his arms. He placed Seth gently onto the couch next to us as Esme rushed forward with Carlisle's medical bag.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Seth protested weakly, but nevertheless submitted to Carlisle's examination. "Sheesh, Bella, you're like a rock or something now. It was like a boulder rolled down a mountain and plowed into me!" As always, Seth's demeanour remained upbeat. He wasn't the least bit angry or even annoyed at Bella, despite his injury at her hands. If anything, he was impressed by her new strength.

At the sound of his young voice, Bella's expression suddenly cleared. Instead of quivering with fury, she crumpled a little into the cushions of the couch. Her brow was no longer furrowed in anger, but now creased with worry and shame. "Oh, Seth! I'm so sorry! I--"

I exhaled with relief as I felt her body relax. Loosening my hold around her waist, I hugged her against me and interrupted her apology. "Love, it wasn't your fault. You're not in control of your emotions yet. I should have stayed closer to you so I could have caught you before you moved." I looked over at the teenager beside us. "I'm sorry, Seth."

He grunted with discomfort as Carlisle manipulated his shoulder. "It's no one's fault, man. Stuff happens. Jake knew Bella wasn't going to take the news lightly. The pack certainly didn't."

Bella shuddered, likely fighting to stay calm despite the reminder of what had set her over the edge in the first place. Emmett and Jasper were still holding her arms, and tightened their grip on her once again. "The pack knows?" she asked.

Seth chuckled. "Jake told them right away. He knew it would change everything."

"What do you mean?"

"It ended the feud, Bella," Carlisle said as he continued to work on Seth. "It's forbidden to harm the object of another wolf's imprinting."

Seth nodded. "Apparently it happened once, years and years ago, by accident. The pain of the loss was so great to the wolf involved that the whole pack suffered. No one wants to do that to another wolf, especially since it ends up with a fight to the death."

"A fight to the death?" Bella repeated.

Seth answered with a shrug of his good shoulder. "No choice in the matter is the way it was explained to me."

"So the other pack doesn't want to attack us anymore?"

"No, Bella," Carlisle shook his head. "Sam came and spoke to me while you were...unconscious. The truce is back in force."

"Sam was here?" She seemed incredulous, given the state matters with the wolves had been in when she had last been cognizant of them.

"Yes." Carlisle smiled slightly. "It was quite a show of faith, actually, especially since he had to speak to me directly, in his human form." He glanced at me meaningfully, his eyes full of pride. "Edward wasn't going to leave your side to provide translation services."

Bella placed a hand over mine where it was still settled around her waist, squeezing gently. She stared at her own perfectly pale fingers for a moment. "What about the part where none of you were supposed to...bite any humans?"

"Sam agreed that it was Jacob's prerogative as Ephraim Black's descendant to permit it," I murmured softly. Despite my feelings about Jacob, I had to acknowledge that his permission for me to change Bella had made matters much easier on my family. I would have done it anyway, but it would have meant we would have had to leave Forks immediately—and permanently.

"Does that mean that the packs are reunited again?" Bella asked.

"No," Seth shook his head, grimacing at the same time at something Carlisle was doing to his collar bone. "But Jacob and Sam found out something weird, though...as the two Alphas, they're able to communicate with each other if they want to, as long as they're in wolf form. They can hear each other's thoughts, but only thoughts they want to share. And it works over distance, too."

"Fascinating," Carlisle murmured absently. He could sit and talk about wolf pack dynamics all day. I, for one, couldn't have cared less.

The sound of the telephone ringing startled us all. Esme was closest, and quickly checked the caller I.D. Charlie.

"Just let it go to voice mail for now, Esme. We still need to come up with a plan," I said quietly. I knew that this was another topic that was going to be upsetting for Bella. It would have been nice to have been able to get her through one day as a vampire without problem after problem presenting itself.

But no. That would be too easy, and we couldn't have that, I thought cynically.

"Who is it? Is it Charlie?" Bella demanded, turning to look at my face.

I hesitated but then nodded. "He called this morning, too. Esme talked to him and told him that you had relapsed and were too ill to speak to him."

She sighed. "He's still buying that story?"

Seth chuckled. "Yeah, you'd think that as chief of police he'd be suspicious by now and come to see for himself if the Cullens had killed you or something..." He let his voice trail off as he realized what he had just said, his eyes widening. "I mean...I..." He turned to me with an apologetic expression. Sorry, man. I didn't mean...

I waved him off. "It's okay, Seth." The bald truth of the fact that I had indeed ended Bella's human life still made something inside me ache, but there was no point in being annoyed at Seth for pointing out the reality of it. I wasn't sure that part of me wouldn't always feel guilty for it, but I was going to have to learn to live with it.

The telephone rang again. "Charlie again," Esme sighed as she glanced at the caller I.D.

Bella's perfect brow creased into a frown. "What am I going to do about Charlie and Renee?"

"We'll think of something, love." I tried to sound reassuring, but the truth was that there was no obvious solution that wouldn't involve her hurting her parents in some way. I knew she didn't want to simply disappear without an explanation. I could hardly contemplate the extent of the acting performance that would be required by me, my family and the wolf packs in order to pull off faking her death, much less the devastation to which it would subject Charlie and Renee.

Yet another thing to feel guilty about.

Bella sighed, but didn't pursue the topic any further. Instead, she cocked her head to one side, listening. "They still have Renesmee outside?"

I nodded. "An over-reaction, I think, but it's been difficult to reason with Rosalie and Jacob where Renesmee is concerned." At the moment, Jacob was wholly focused on protecting our daughter from her newborn vampire mother despite Rosalie's insistence that she didn't need the help and Leah's growled pleas that he take the opportunity to vacate.

"I can't believe he's still here," Bella murmured. Her expression told me that she was already feeling guilty for her behaviour. I wanted to tell her that he had deserved it, but doubted she would appreciate the sentiment.

"He never leaves," Seth told her. He lifted his arm as best he could, trying to cooperate with Carlisle's preparation of a splint.

"He doesn't?"

"The only time he's left Renesmee's side since she was born was when he had to go talk to Sam. It annoys the heck out of Leah, especially when he made us stay behind to watch over her while he went to see the other pack by himself." Seth shrugged again, but forgot to favour his injured shoulder. He winced at the extra pain he had just caused himself. "I think it's kinda cute."

I suppressed a growl. I supposed that I had to grudgingly acknowledge Jacob's devotion to Renesmee's safety even above his own, but I still found his presence irritating. I was still a little disappointed he had managed to escape the entire incident with Bella unscathed. However, the memory of her anger and his look of stunned surprise at her attack would keep me fighting a smile for weeks.

After all, I still owed him for kissing Bella. Twice.

I shook my head to clear the thought, leaning over instead to brush my lips over the side of Bella's neck. "Are you okay, love?" I whispered.

She sighed and nodded. "I think so."

Emmett and Jasper had already release their hold on her arms, but still stood nearby just in case. I kept my own arm around her waist, no longer restraining her but instead simply taking advantage of the opportunity to hold her body against mine. Something deep in my stomach flickered at the very clear memory of our kiss in the forest, just before we had returned from our hunting trip.

I chided myself for my selfishness, but still longed for later tonight, when I knew we would finally have some time alone. The thought made me squeeze her closer and rub my nose across her shoulder, inhaling her scent.

Bella shivered, and I silently rejoiced in my ability to distract her. Yes.

I couldn't wait for tonight.

Amused, I watched Bella fight to regain her focus by concentrating on Carlisle's work for a moment. "Seth, I'm..." she started to say, but I interrupted her again. I wouldn't have her apologizing for what had been a perfectly normal and expected response on her part, and was determined to alleviate her guilt.

"No, really, love, it was me," I insisted. "I should have known better how you would react."

"I think he'll make it," Carlisle announced with a small smile. "It's healing already, and I think I got the bones back in place in time."

"Which ones did she break?" Emmett asked, a little too eagerly.

"His shoulder joint and his collarbone," Carlisle told him.

"Awesome," Emmett looked at Bella with a proud grin. I rolled my eyes, but again restrained a smile.

"Emmett," Esme scolded, and patted Seth's cheek gently. "Can I get you anything, dear? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Maybe just some water, please, Mrs. Cullen," Seth told her politely.

"Seth, I..." Bella began again, but I quickly spoke over her.

"I'm so sorry, Seth. I should have been closer."

Bella tried for a third time. "Seth, I—"

"Don't worry about it, Bella, I'm totally fine," Seth told her at the same time as I said, "Bella, love, no one is judging you. You're doing so well."

She looked unconvinced, especially when Seth winced at a movement Carlisle made in securing a brace to his injured arm. "Sorry, sorry!" she mumbled.

"Don't freak, Bella," Seth assured her, patting her knee with his good hand while I rubbed her other arm. "I'll be back to normal in half an hour. Anyone would have done the same, what with Jake and Ness—" he hesitated, shooting her a wary look. "I mean, at least you didn't bite me or anything. That would've sucked."

Carlisle smiled wryly. "It certainly would have. As I recall, vampire venom is quite poisonous to you wolves."

Bella buried her face in her hands again and shuddered. "I'm a bad person."

My back straightened at the very idea. "Of course you aren't. I should have—"

"Stop that," she interrupted with a sigh. I decided to hold my tongue to avoid aggravating her.

There was a moment of silence as we all watched Carlisle work. "Lucky thing Ness—Renesmee's not venomous. 'Cause she bites Jake all the time," Seth offered casually.

Bella dropped her hands in surprise. "She does?"

"Sure. Whenever he and Rose don't get dinner in her mouth fast enough. Rose thinks it's pretty hilarious."

Again, I fought the smile. I had to admit that I found that rather funny myself, despite my distaste at the idea that my daughter put her mouth on that dog's flesh. Who knew where it had been? What sort of ticks and fleas might want to live there?

"Well, Seth," Carlisle tightened the brace one last time, then stood up and stepped back from the couch. "I think that's as much as I can do. Try to not move for, oh, a few hours, I guess." He chuckled and put a comforting hand on Seth's head. "I wish treating humans were this instantaneously gratifying." He let his hand rest there a short moment. "Stay still," he added, then disappeared upstairs to his office.

"I can probably manage sitting still for a while," Seth murmured with a yawn. He carefully adjusted his position so that his head was against the back cushions, closed his eyes, and instantly fell asleep.

Bella watched him for a few seconds and then stood up, careful not to jostle the couch. I followed her toward the back windows and took her hand, silently taking in the scene outside.

Leah was still nearby, pacing back and forth along the riverbank, pausing every once in a while to look toward the house. Her thoughts alternated between concern for her brother, inside the vampires' den, and anger at Bella for causing the injury. Jacob's presence irritated me, but that woman was in a category all by herself. It was astonishing that someone so cantankerous was related to the gentle boy now asleep on our couch.

Although they had moved around to the front of the house and were now sitting together on the front steps, we could hear Jacob and Rosalie arguing over whose turn it was to feed Renesmee. They had a grudging sort of detente these days, tolerating each other because they were aware of Renesmee's affection for them both. For now, they were united in their agreement that they would keep Renesmee outside until they were satisfied Bella was a hundred percent calm.

"Do you want to see Renesmee, love?" I asked Bella, gently squeezing her hand. She appeared one hundred percent calm to me, and it was our judgment as Renesmee's parents that mattered. Everyone else was going to have to start accepting that. I had let it slide and let them take over far too much where Renesmee was concerned while I had been preoccupied by Bella's transformation, but now that she was back with me, it was time for us to take charge.

"In a bit," she murmured.

"You don't have to listen to them, you know. I think you're fine."

"I know, I think I am, too, but let's leave her with them for a while longer."

We stood at the window quietly for some time, both of us lost in our thoughts. Emmett, Alice and Esme eventually slipped out to go hunting. Although he said nothing about it out loud, Jasper declined to join them, preferring instead to stay nearby in case I needed help with Bella again. He stood by the stairs watching us, lost in his own thoughts. He was finding Bella's control both fascinating and disturbing; he had never, among the dozens and dozens—if not hundreds—of newborns he had encountered in his long life, seen anyone who had come through the transformation as she had, fully aware, rational, not consumed by bloodlust. She even seemed more in control of her need for blood than he was, which disturbed him all the more. He felt like a failure in comparison. It was something I would need to discuss with him when we had a moment alone. I was concerned about him, but I also didn't want him to come to resent Bella.

It was Jasper who eventually broke the silence, having sensed that Bella was becoming tense. Since her mind remained silent to me, at times he was able to read her better than I was. "What's the matter, Bella?" he asked from his spot by the newel post, sending out a wave of calm at the same time. "No one is angry with you"—we all ignored the low snarl from Leah, still pacing down by the river—"or even surprised, really. Well, I suppose we are surprised. Surprised that you were able to snap out of it so quickly. You did well. Better than anyone expects of you."

I shot him a grateful glance, pleased that he would speak so encouragingly to Bella despite his own feelings about how well she was doing.

Bella's grasp on my hand tightened slightly. "I was thinking about Charlie, actually."

In mid-argument with Rosalie, Jacob suddenly fell silent at the mention of Charlie's name. He was concerned about Bella's father, too, and knew it was a significant issue for our family's future plans. I could hear his heart rate accelerate slightly with his anxiety.

"Ah," Jasper murmured.

"We really have to leave, don't we?" Bella asked. "For a while, at the very least. Pretend we're in Atlanta or something."

I stared at her, trying to get an idea of how she felt about that. She had known what she was getting into, but it clearly tore at her heartstrings to think of actually having to abandon her father.

Jasper noticed my concerned expression. It's the only way, Edward, he reminded me, answering her aloud at the same time. "Yes. It's the only way to protect your father."

She contemplated that for a moment. "I'm going to miss him so much. I'll miss everyone here."

Jacob's thoughts were a flurry, various scenarios for handling Charlie running through his mind, peppered by his anxiety at the idea that we would leave Forks—and take Renesmee with us. He wondered about coming with us and I almost snorted out loud. Over my dismembered body, I thought hotly, borrowing Rosalie's phrase.

But it was certainly interesting that his anxiety over the possibility of our departure was primarily focused on Renesmee and not on Bella.

Bella startled me when she was the one to snort aloud, almost as if she had been thinking the same thing I had. I highly doubted it, however. I raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, but she simply shook her head.

Suddenly there was movement on the front porch, and both Jacob and Rosalie stepped inside, Renesmee in Rosalie's arms. My dead heart lifted at the sight of my tiny daughter, buoyed too much by her presence even to find it annoying that Jasper had quickly darted to Bella's other side. At the same time, Carlisle came down the stairs with his measuring equipment.

"Must be six," I murmured.

"So?" Bella stared at the trio by the door.

"Time to measure Ness—er, Renesmee," Carlisle explained.

"Oh. You do this every day?"

"Four times a day," Carlisle gestured to Rosalie, indicating that she should bring Renesmee over to the couch.

Renesmee knew what was coming, and wasn't thrilled about it. She found this little ritual both boring and irritating. I couldn't help grinning at her impatience with it, which I found rather cute. Already, she could be petulant and stubborn just like her mother.

Already, she had me so wrapped around her little finger just like her mother that it was almost disgusting.

"Four times?" Bella repeated. "Every day? Why?"

Unfortunately, the reason for this ritual was anything but cute. In fact, it was extremely worrisome, the one blight on my sheer joy with every aspect of Renesmee's existence.

"She's still growing quickly," I murmured, trying to keep the stress out of my voice for Bella's sake. We didn't know what it meant yet, and I didn't want to worry Bella—especially not on her first day as a vampire. I squeezed her hand and wrapped my other arm around her waist. This time it wasn't to restrain her; it was because I selfishly needed to feel her in my arms to temper own my concern.

I watched Bella watch Renesmee, and had a feeling that I knew what she was seeing. With her newly heightened senses, she would have noticed that even over the past hour, Renesmee had grown ever so slightly. She was just a little bit longer, her baby fat just a little less noticeable, her hair just slightly lower down her shoulders.

She had to realize, as we had from the first hours of Renesmee's life, that our daughter was growing—and therefore aging—at an alarming rate.

As if on cue, Bella drew in a shocked breath, clearly having worked through the implications of what she was seeing. "What do we do?" she whispered.

Reflexively, my arms tightened around her. At the same time, however, I felt just a fleeting moment of relief—I had been living with this alone, apart from our family, of course, for the past few days. It was somehow slightly more tolerable to think that I could now share this burden with my daughter's mother.

Unfortunately, there was only one honest answer I could give her to her question. "I don't know."

"It's slowing," Jacob insisted, through clenched teeth. His brow was furrowed with concern as he watched Carlisle with the measuring tape.

"We'll need several more days of measurements to track the trend, Jacob," Carlisle said. "I can't make any promises."

"Yesterday she grew two inches. Today it's less."

"By a thirty-second of an inch, if my measurements are perfect," Carlisle murmured.

"Be perfect, Doc," Jacob said, his tone almost threatening. Rosalie glared at him. Watch it, dog.

"You know I'll do my best," Carlisle replied, but I knew his assurance was for my benefit—and Bella's—rather than Jacob's.

Jacob merely sighed. "Guess that's all I can ask."

How magnanimous of you, I thought, irritated yet again. Bella seemed to echo the sentiment, for I felt her stiffen slightly at my side.

Renesmee had had enough of this activity, and started to squirm in Rosalie's arms. She turned her head and found us across the room. Mommy. Daddy. She reached toward Rosalie impatiently, and Rosalie leaned forward so Renesmee could place a palm on her cheek. The message was clear: she wanted Bella.

Rosalie sighed.

"What does she want?" Jacob demanded, taking a half step forward. I clenched my teeth to restrain the urge to tell him to shut the hell up. While on some level I could appreciate his concern for Renesmee's well-being, he really was infringing on our provenance as her parents—especially Bella's, when Bella had had so little time with her.

"Bella, of course," Rosalie replied, and turned her eyes to Bella. "How are you?"

"Worried," Bella replied, and I knew she didn't mean that she was worried about her own ability to remain in control. I squeezed her, hoping to reassure her.

"We all are," Rosalie said. "But that's not what I meant."

"I'm in control," Bella told her, and I, for one, believed her. I was completely confident that my wife would know herself well enough not to chance Renesmee's safety.

Rosalie wasn't entirely convinced, but was smart enough to see from the look on my face that she had no choice but to hand Renesmee over. I hope you're sure, Edward, she thought unnecessarily.

Both Jacob and Rosalie tensed noticeably when Bella took Renesmee in her arms, the little girl reaching for her mother just as her mother reached for her. I felt a surge of warmth where my heart used to beat at the sight of them together, Renesmee's joy radiating from her beautiful features with a blinding smile. Mommy! Her chocolate brown eyes were so much like Bella's had been. I silently thanked the powers that be for preserving that part of her in this way. I would never have Bella human again, but I'd been given a mirror image of so many of her best physical features, subtly mixed with my own. I could feel myself beaming with pride and happiness.

Everyone in the room watched as Renesmee immediately placed her palm on Bella's cheek. Bella gasped a little at the images that filled her mind from Renesmee's, causing Jasper to start a little at a sound he momentarily interpreted as distress. Bella's sense of wonderment at what she was seeing, however, allowed him to relax—if only slightly.

I watched along with Bella as Renesmee told her mother about her day and all of the things she had seen. It wasn't lost on me that I was privileged to be able to share this with them both. More often than not over the decades I had taken my ability for more of a curse than a gift, but there was no doubt in this moment that it was a gift of the profoundest proportions. Our little nuclear family was bound together, isolated in a room full of people by our ability to share this moment amongst the three of us and no one else.

Renesmee played through the scene of Bella's attack on Jacob with perfect clarity, her perspective from the safety of the house allowing us both to see it as if it were a movie. Renesmee wasn't exactly upset by what she had seen, but she was glad that Seth had intervened and saved Jacob. It was quite clear that she didn't want him hurt. Somehow she felt that he was hers.

Bella groaned at the realization. "Oh, wonderful. Perfect."

My smile fell slightly as my shoulders stiffened. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, either. "It's just because he tastes better than the rest of us," I muttered.

"I told you she likes me, too," Jacob said, somehow sensing what we were talking about. His gaze was still fixed on Renesmee, watching for the slightest sign of distress.

Renesmee continued with other memories of the day. Rosalie gently brushing her hair, singing some kind of nursery rhyme. Carlisle and his measuring tape.

"It looks like she's going to give you a rundown of everything you missed," I murmured in Bella's ear, drawing closer to her side. Jasper's eyes darted in my direction as he wondered if I'd sensed some need for us to intervene. He realized quickly that I had simply craved her proximity.

Unfortunately, Renesmee's next thought was of her dinner: a cup of human blood.

Not a good image to put in the mind of a newborn vampire holding a half-human child against her chest.

I panicked. My breath caught in my throat, and Bella barely had time to wrinkle her nose before I snatched Renesmee from her. Jasper moved just as quickly and pinned her arms behind her back.

Bella's eyes were wide as she stared at me, taken aback by what had just happened. "What did I do?"

Daddy! Renesmee squirmed in my arms, annoyed that I had interrupted. I looked over at Jasper and then back at Bella's confused face.

"But she was remembering being thirsty," I muttered, frowning. "She was remembering the taste of human blood."

Bella simply looked back at me, still not understanding my reaction. "Yes. And?"

We stared at each other for a moment longer before it dawned on me: she didn't know why I had reacted that way because she hadn't been remotely tempted by the image from Renesmee's mind. I merely assumed she had.

I let out a short laugh and shook my head incredulously. "And nothing at all, it seems. The overreaction is mine this time. Jazz, let her go."

As soon as she was free of Jasper's grasp, Bella reached for Renesmee again. I handed her back without hesitation.

It was Jasper who now appeared distressed. He was utterly baffled by the idea that a clear memory of the taste of human blood had barely registered with Bella, a newborn of less than a day old. It was incomprehensible to him. His thoughts were a jumble of confusion and self-recrimination.

"I can't understand," he managed to say. "I can't bear this." I'm sorry, Edward. He turned on his heel and walked straight out the back door, disappearing across the yard and over the river into the forest.

Renesmee put her hand on Bella's neck, replaying the scene of her uncle's departure back, questioning what just happened.

"He'll be back," I said, for both her benefit and Bella's. "He just needs a moment alone to readjust his perspective on life." It wasn't appropriate for me to be the least bit amused by Jasper's distress, but I had to fight to keep the grin of sheer pride and delight off my face. I had been fully prepared for it to take months—if not years—for Bella to return to any semblance of her former self, to continue the agonized waiting I had experienced during her transformation.

It appeared that we would have none of it.

"Is he mad at me?" Bella asked quietly.

My eyes widened. "No. Why would he be?"

"What's the matter with him, then?"

"He's upset with himself, not you, Bella. He's worrying about...self-fulfilling prophecy, I suppose you could say."

Carlisle hadn't expected that explanation. "How so?" he asked.

I tried to summarize the path of Jasper's thoughts as he ran through the trees. "He's wondering if the newborn madness is really as difficult as we've always thought, or if, with the right focus and attitude, anyone could do as well as Bella. Even now—perhaps he only has such difficulty because he believes it's natural and unavoidable. Maybe if he expected more of himself, he would rise to those expectations." I paused when Jasper had eventually put enough distance between himself and the house that he was out of my range. "You're making him question a lot of deep-rooted assumptions, Bella."

"But that's unfair," Carlisle said. He had been working at a different theory. "Everyone is different; everyone has their own challenges. Perhaps what Bella is doing goes beyond the natural. Maybe this is her gift, so to speak."

I hadn't thought of it that way before. "That's an interesting theory, and quite plausible. Have you ever seen an equivalent to self-control as a talent? Do you really think that's a gift, or just a product of all her preparation?" After all, unlike the rest of us, Bella had deliberately chosen this life long ago. She had been told over and over again what to expect, and hadn't been taken by surprise by the transformation the way the rest of us had.

Carlisle shrugged. "It's slightly similar to what Siobhan has always been able to do, though she wouldn't call it a gift."

"Siobhan, your friend in that Irish coven?" Rosalie asked. "I wasn't aware that she did anything special. I thought it was Maggie who was talented in that bunch."

"Yes, Siobhan thinks the same. But she has this way of deciding her goals and then almost...willing them into reality. She considers it good planning, but I've always wondered if it was something more. When she included Maggie, for instance. Liam was very territorial, but Siobhan wanted it to work out, so it did."

"An extreme form of positive thinking?" I mused.

"Positive thinking with the twist of being able to convert those thoughts into being," Carlisle nodded.

Rosalie thought that over for a moment. "Isn't that kind of what Jasper does, in a way? He conjures up an emotion and then causes others to feel the same way."

"As opposed to what Alice can do," I said. "She can see a version of reality, but she can't force it to turn out that way—or a different way."

Now this was a topic that was fascinating. For Carlisle it was largely an academic interest, but for me it was quite personal. I had spent many, many hours over the past ninety years contemplating the reasons some vampires awoke from transformation with a gift—or in my case, what I so often considered a curse—and some did not, and why the gifts manifested themselves in the way they did. The idea that Bella also had some sort of gift we could not immediately identify was just as worthy of detailed exploration.

With a furtive glance at Bella and Renesmee to ensure they were okay, I settled into an armchair to continue the discussion with Carlisle and Rosalie. Doubtless Bella would appreciate a few moments with her child anyway that didn't involve everyone in the room on tenterhooks, waiting for her to make a mistake.

Jacob watched them for a while and then listened to us for a while but eventually settled onto the sofa next to Seth, his thoughts clouded by fatigue. He was contemplating joining his pack mate in a nap. It didn't take long before his head was lolled back beside Seth's, his mouth open in a soft snore.

Bella drifted over toward the rear windows, gazing at Renesmee while the child continued to tell her mother all about her day. I kept one eye on them, monitoring what Renesmee was thinking so I could intervene if necessary. Our little girl's mind was focused on every day matters, the birds she had seen with Jacob, the baby formula she hated but Carlisle kept insisting that she try and drink, the times she had sat with me at Bella's bedside during her transformation. Bella watched it all with interest and delight, occasionally cooing in shared wonderment or asking a question in a soft voice.

After a while, the tenor of Renesmee's thoughts started to change. I recognized it as the beginnings of sleep and glanced at the window: it was already pitch dark outside. I hadn't realized how late it had gotten…nearly midnight. Bella watched with fascination as Renesmee started to dream, her young mind full of disjointed images of the things and people she knew.

Suddenly, I heard another mind, travelling at great speed through the forest.

It's time it's time it's time it's time!

It was Alice, giddy with anticipation, Esme, Emmett and Jasper in tow behind her.

I felt my face break into a wide smile. I knew exactly what Alice was so excited about and was rather excited about it myself—if for an entirely different reason. "Finally," I breathed, and Bella glanced at me curiously.

I said nothing, but simply waited as Alice and the others closed the distance between themselves and the back door.

You better not have told her anything, Edward! You promised me I could! Alice was warning as she skipped into the living room. She pranced directly to Bella's side, a brass key with a large pink satin bow around it clutched in her hand. With a grin she held it out to Bella. Bella shifted Renesmee's weight to one arm and extended her free hand for the key.

"Happy birthday!" Alice squealed as she dropped it into Bella's open palm.

Bella frowned and rolled her eyes. "No one starts counting on the actual day of birth," she said. "Your first birthday is at the year mark, Alice."

Alice's smile didn't waver. "We're not celebrating your vampire birthday. Yet. It's September thirteenth, Bella. Happy nineteenth birthday!"