(Bella's POV)
A few hours later, Jasper and I were curled up together under the covers, my head on his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair.
He dropped a kiss on my forehead. "I love you, Bella."
I picked my head up off his chest to kiss his lips. "I love you too, Jazzy."
Our moment was shattered with Renesmee's shrill cry.
I made a move to get up but Jasper stopped me. "I'll go check on her."
He kissed me one last time before getting up to retrieve his clothes.
Renesmee stopped crying as soon as he stepped into her room, so I relaxed a little.
But what I heard next made me sit up straight in bed, completely baffled.
What I heard was a tiny soprano voice asking, "Daddy? Where's Mama?"
I threw the covers back and got dressed and raced to Renesmee's room all within one second.
"D-did she just talk?" I stuttered.
Nessa was standing up in her crib and when she saw me, she held her arms up over her head and smiled. "Mama!!!" She already looked like she was at least two years old, and sounded like she was about eight!
I walked over to her crib and picked her up at the same moment the whole entire family burst through the door, Alice with a video camera in hand.
"Say something for the camera, Nessa!" Alice directed.
Nessa laughed and said, "You're silly Auntie Alice."
Everyone clapped in response. Well, I just stood there in shock. It was like she'd been talking her whole short life. She just sounded so... I couldn't even think of a word to describe it. One minute she was crying to get our attention and the next she was... talking! My baby was fuckin' talking!
Jasper smiled at his daughter. "I can't believe you're talking, Nessa!"
She just giggled and said the first thing that popped into her head, which happened to be, "I'm hungry."
The rest of the family laughed too and Carlisle raced back to the house, returning with the donated blood.
But when he held the cup out to her, she took one whiff and then crinkled her nose up in disgust. "Bleh! I don't want icky blood. I want macaroni 'n' cheese!"
I looked down at Nessa and then at Jasper, who just shrugged.
"Well, I guess we'd better go shopping then."
I handed Nessa over to Rosalie, who handled her like a porcelain doll, like she would break at any given moment. "I'll be back in about half an hour," I said, already rushing out of the room so I could grab my car keys from the other house.
Jasper was quick to follow. "I'll come with you. I think it'll be good for Nessa to spend some more time with the rest of the family."
Jazz and I had to be really careful not to run into anyone from school at the grocery store. During the pregnancy, Alice had informed people that the family was moving to Los Angeles.
We were in and out in fifteen minutes, luckily running into no one.
On the way back, I finally voiced the question that had obviously been on everyone's minds since Nessa's last food request. "Why did she reject blood?"
Jasper glanced at me before turning back to the road. "She's acting a little more like a legendary vampire, though I doubt she'll be repelled by the sun. But that means she has a beating heart and eats human food, along with blood."
I sat back in the passenger seat, absorbing that information.
When we got back to the house (the mansion, not the cottage), I could hear laughter coming from inside.
When I pulled the door open, I was greeted by the site of Nessa sitting on Max's shoulders, while he zoomed around the entrance hall with his arms straight out, pretending to be an airplane.
"To the kitchen, Uncle Max!!!" Nessa ordered.
"Roger that!" Max replied, zooming into the kitchen.
I laughed and followed them with the bags of groceries, with Jasper not far behind.
Max was laughing as he picked Nessa off his shoulders and set her down on the kitchen counter. "Look who's back, Nessa!"
"Mama!" She said excitedly, reaching out for a hug.
I set my two bags down and picked her up and hugged her tight. "Did you miss me, hun?"
"Yeah, but Uncle Max played with me!"
"I can see that." I shifted Renesmee to one arm, supporting her on my hip and turned to Max. "Where's everyone else?"
"Everyone was cooing over her for about an hour but then Alice had a vision of her outfit totally clashing, or I'm assuming that's what it was, so of course she dragged Rose out with her and then Esme and Carlisle got called back to work."
"But what about Emmett?" Jasper asked, coming up behind me and kissing Nessa on the top of her head.
"Oh him? He's so afraid he'll hurt her that all he can do is kiss her on the forehead or wave." Max rolled his eyes as he explained (A/N: This was apparently my uncle's reaction when I was born. XD). "So, it was just me."
Nessa tugged on my shirt. "Mama, I'm still hungry."
"Oh right!" I handed her over to Jasper and got started on the mac 'n' cheese. Even after all my years of vampirism, I still haven't lost my cooking ability.
The mac 'n' cheese was ready in about ten minutes, and I quickly scooped some into a little plastic bowl and set it in front of Nessa, who was now seated at the counter.
She grinned up at me. "Thank you, Mama!"
"Well you're very welcome," I replied and kissed her forehead. "Want something to drink, Nessa?" I asked, leaning on the counter.
"Milk!" she requested immediately.
I could hear Jasper chuckle as he got the milk out of the fridge and poured in into a glass, before setting it in front of Nessa.
He wrapped his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder as Renesmee dug into her lunch. She said through a mouthful, "This is good!" My vampire hearing was the only way I even understood her.
I laughed. "Don't talk with your mouth full, sweetie."
She swallowed and then repeated her comment.
Max plopped down next to her at the counter and said, "You know what I used to put in my mac 'n' cheese?"
"What, Uncle Max?" Nessa asked, using both hands to pick up her glass of milk and take a sip. She spilled a little in the process and I rushed to get a napkin.
I wiped off her mouth and new shirt as Max answered, "Ketchup." (A/N: That's the shit by the way. XD)
"Ewww!" Nessa exclaimed. "That's gross!" But she giggled as she said it.
He just laughed.
The squeal of tires and the crunch of gravel could be heard moments later, indicating that Alice and Rose were back.
"We're home!" Alice screamed out unnecessarily.
"Auntie Alice! Auntie Rose!" Nessa squealed, abandoning her food and rushing to the front door.
I followed close behind and saw her jump into Alice's arms first. And then after Alice put her down, she rushed over to Rose, who picked her up and spun her around before hugging her.
Once Nessa was back on the ground, she bounced on the balls of her feet and asked, "What'd you get me???"
"It's a surprise, Nessa." Alice told her. And then she noticed her stained shirt. "Well, actually, lemme show you now."
She rummaged around in the back and pulled out the cutest toddler shirt ever! It had the Social Distortion skeleton logo and said, "Mommy's Little Monster".
"C'mon, let's get you changed," Rose said, offering her hand to Nessa.
Renesmee took Rose's hand and pulled her to the nearest bathroom. I laughed at the sight of the two, due to the fact that Rose had to bend down significantly in order for Nessa to take her hand in the first place.
They were back in a few minutes, Nessa wearing her new, stain free shirt and a pair of jeans. "Look mama!" She announced, standing in front of me and holding her arms out to the side to give me a clear view of her shirt.
"You look fabulous!" I told her, scooping her up in my arms and kissing her cheek. "Now let's go show daddy and Uncle Max."
"Look daddy!" She crowed when we got to the kitchen.
I set her down so she could show Jasper her new shirt.
He started laughing, and I knew why. Jazz was wearing a shirt with the exact same logo on it, minus the "Mommy's Little Monster" part.
He picked our daughter up and told her, "That's gotta be the coolest shirt I've ever seen."
"Auntie Alice and Auntie Rose gots it for me," she said happily.
"Well I hope you said thank you to them."
She turned her head to look at Alice and Rose and said, "Thank you!"
They laughed. "You're welcome, Nessa," Rose said.
Esme and Carlisle were home before long (around eight) and as soon as they were, Alice suggested, "We should have another movie night! You pick, Nessa!" She didn't even wait for the rest of us to answer. She just grabbed Nessa's hand (who was just a bit confused) and led her to the living room, to where we keep the extensive library of DVDs.
"I wanna watch this one!" Nessa crowed within three seconds.
The rest of the family just looked at each other, shrugged, and went into the living room.
Alice had a knowing little smirk on her face. "Look what movie she picked."
Jasper and I looked at the same time. It was The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Alice took charge of setting up the movie while I asked Nessa, "Want popcorn, hun?"
She nodded excitedly, already having plopped herself right in front of the TV on a giant pillow. Max was lying on his stomach next to her.
I laughed and went into the kitchen to make a small bowl of popcorn.
By the time I got back, everyone had situated themselves in their usual spots, Emmett and Rose on the loveseat, Carlisle and Esme on the couch, Max and Alice (and now Nessa) on the floor, and Jasper on the small couch, waiting for me to join him.
I set the popcorn in front of my daughter before joining my husband on the couch, snuggling up next to him.
He smiled and wrapped his arm around me securely. "I love you," he whispered in my ear.
I stretched up a little to kiss his nose. "And I love you."
Alice turned around to glare at us and I just rolled my eyes and mouthed, "Sorry."
She shook her head and turned back to the TV. She pressed play on the remote and the movie began.
Nessa was fully engaged in the movie, leaning forward with her blanket clutched close (Alice had gotten it from the cottage for her earlier). She watched with absolute fascination as the story of Jack Skellington unfolded on the big screen TV.
When she saw Zero the ghost dog, she pointed and said excitedly, "Look! It's my doggie!" But then she went right back to watching the movie in silence.
She had a reaction to every mishap that happened throughout the movie, whether it be a laugh, a scream, or a comment like, "Aww. Poor Jack."
She was so smart. Even at her young age, she was comprehending everything (except a few minor details, which she asked about) perfectly.
And then Oogie Boogie appeared on scream and she let out a scream and jumped into Max's lap (who had moved so he was sitting earlier).
"Shhh. Nessa, it's just a movie," he said soothingly.
"But he's scary, Uncle Max!" She said, hiding her face in his shirt. She seemed more like the little kid she was at that moment.
"How would you feel if I told you Jack gets rid of him?"
"Shhh! Don't give it away!" Nessa scolded him, looking adorable as she did so.
"I'm sorry, Nessa."
"It's okay. Just don't say anything else." She kept her face buried in his shirt for a few more seconds, but her curiosity got the better of her and she peeked back at the screen before turning around in Max's lap so she could finish watching the movie.
As the fight with Jack and Oogie Boogie took place, she would tense up every now and then but then Max would whisper, "It's just a movie," and she'd calm down.
She breathed out a huge sigh of relief when Oogie Boogie's last bug got squished by Sandy Claws. "Phew! That was close!"
I smiled up at Jasper, who was looking at his daughter lovingly. "She's so smart!" I whispered.
"She really is," he muttered back.
Nessa turned around to shush us. "I'm watchin' the movie!"
It was already nine thirty once the movie ended so I stood up and said, "C'mon Nessa. Time for bed."
She turned to look at me from her place in Max's lap and said, "But I'm not sleepy yet, Mama!"
I sighed. "Fine. You can stay up 'til ten, but no later. And you have to get ready for bed right now."
She leaped up and hugged my knees. "Thank you, Mama!"
"Okay, now go with Auntie Rose and get your PJ's on."
Rose picked Nessa up and carried her upstairs, Alice close behind.
They came downstairs a few minutes later with Nessa wearing a new pair of pajamas (Nightmare Before Christmas ones too) and Jack Skellington slippers.
"Look Mama!" She said, pointing at her feet.
I took her from Rose's arms. "They look awesome, sweetheart! Did you say thank you?"
She nodded proudly. "Yes I did!"
I carried her back into the living room, where the boys were busy watching Mythbusters.
"Daddy! Look!" Nessa said, causing Jasper to look up at see her pointing to her feet. She was in love with those slippers.
Of course Jasper loved the slippers, and wished her owned a pair. But they didn't have his size anyway.
Nessa sat on his lap, admiring her new slippers while the Mythbusters blew stuff up. I let the episode come to a close before I said, "Okay Nessa, time for bed. Say goodnight to everyone."
She pouted for a little bit but eventually hopped off of Jasper's lap and stared saying goodnight.
She walked up to Max first and gave him a hug around the neck. "Night night, Uncle Max!"
"Night Nessa," he said, hugging her back.
She went to Carlisle and Esme next. "Night Gramma, night Grampa!"
They both gave her goodnight kisses before she moved on to Emmett.
He froze when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "You don't have to be afraid of hurting me Uncle Emmett."
He wrapped his arm around her awkwardly, and patted her back. "Thanks Nessa. Goodnight."
Finally she said goodnight to Rose and Alice and then we were on our way home.
This time we decided to run, and Nessa actually loved the speed, which was good.
When we got back to the cottage, I carried Nessa to her room, deep in thought. I had been asking myself the same question ever since Nessa opened up her mouth and talked.
"Mama?" Nessa asked, touching my face gently to break me from my trance. "Whatcha thinkin' about so hard?"
"Well, I'm just wondering, how'd you learn how to talk so fast? I mean, one minute you were crying for Daddy, and the next, you were... talking."
Nessa scrunched up her face, as if in deep thought, or as if she were trying to remember something.
Eventually she just shrugged. "I dunno. One minute I just opened my mouth and words came out."
I laughed at her explanation as I set her down in her crib.
"Night night, Mama! I love you" She said, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek.
"Goodnight sweetie. I love you too," I replied, kissing her forehead.
"Tell Daddy I said I love him." She laid down in her crib and I tucked her in.
"I will, honey. Sweet dreams."
A/N: Sorry for the semi-long wait, but this chapter took a little editing before I was completely satisfied with it. It's still not perfect, but I was like, screw it, I'm just gonna post it. So, yeah, this was kind of a filler, but I just wanted to expand a little on Nessa's relationship with the rest of the family. =] Hope you guys like it!
Oh, and dedications to whoever can tell me why the "Mommy's Little Monster" bit is funny!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (except Max, and my version of Renesmee. XD) or The Nightmare Before Christmas. =[