I FINALLY UPDATED!! WHOOP WHOOP! First things first, PLEASE PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THESE AND ACTUALLY BOTHER TO READ MY OTHER STORIES!! I'm getting rather upset. Thank you to everyone who already has, by the way.

Thank you, also to my friend Ellen, who actually listened to me for once, and read my story. You're the best!

Can you guess what Bella's first word will be? NO CHEATING!

Disclaimer: Do you guys honestly think I'm Stephenie Meyer? *Questions sanity*

Speak

Alice

Today was the day! I still couldn't see what it would be – Bella hadn't decided yet. But I knew that it would happen today!

Jasper was going insane. I had already told everyone, and they were just as excited as I. No one would leave the room for more than a few seconds, lest they miss it. We were all waiting with baited breath as Bella played happily on the floor, pausing every so often to smile up at us. I would never get over how beautiful and innocent that smile was. Were I human, I would probably be hyperventilating into a brown paper bag by now.

Today was the day Bella would say her first word!!

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Edward

Alice had warned us of this a few weeks previous, and everyone had been frantic. Over the past couple of weeks, I had heard my family's names repeated more than I had in a century of life; including times when I had heard our names in films, books, on the internet and radio.

Personally, I told Bella as many words as possible. I would walk around the house with her, naming various objects, and I would often read her a story at night as she was going to sleep. My reasoning was that the wider a vocabulary Bella possessed, the more likely she was to say something – anything! Perhaps it did not work that way, but I was hoping.

Alice was trying to persuade Bella to say 'Alice' or 'shopping' or 'clothes'. Rose was trying for 'pretty' or 'Rose' – preferably both in the same sentence. Jasper was hoping for 'Jasper', 'Jazz' or 'book'. Carlisle and Esme wanted 'Mama' or 'Dada'. Emmett wanted 'I am a very annoying baby who loves Emmett more than Edward' but he wasn't praying too hard. I just wanted her to say something.

As it happened, Bella's first word was something that no-one had tried to teach her.

*****

Bella was playing with her little stuffed lamb, while I held her toy lion; she favoured those two animals. Alice suddenly jerked up from where she was sitting – that in itself was a rare occurrence: Alice was graceful in everything she did. I searched her mind for some hidden threat, a danger I may have overlooked, and found only a feverish anxiety.

She breezed back into the room a couple of seconds later, triumphantly holding up a camcorder. I now understood her frantic thoughts – she wanted to capture the moment on film, though really it was pointless, as we were all vampires, and our memories of this day would be crystal clear for as long as we liv… existed. I resolved to ask her later.

"I want to be able to show other people!" Alice cried, anticipating my question. Bella opened her mouth. We all froze and leant forward, though with our hearing, it wasn't really necessary.

"A… A…" she started. Alice's thoughts were somewhere near ecstasy, presuming that Bella was going to say her name.

"Achoo!" Bella sneezed rather delicately. Nobody moved, still waiting for something to be said. I sighed, and got up to go find a tissue – it was apparent that nobody else was going to. I was just turning to leave when I heard a shrill, wind-chime voice cry,

"Edard!" Was that… Had she… Could it… Was Bella's first word my name? A slightly altered version of my name, admittedly, but still... Apparently, Bella had trouble pronouncing 'w'. I spun around and raced back to her side.

"Edard," she said again, looking distinctly pleased with herself. I swept her up into my arms, whirling her around, and whispering in her ear.

"Who's my special girl? You're so clever, Bellsy, aren't you? Well done!" My family were all so proud of her… they didn't even mind that much that it was my name, not theirs', which had been spoken.

Esme was already on the phone to the Denali's, excitedly sharing the news of Bella's achievement. I didn't care. I rested my forehead on Bella's and we smiled at one another like we were the only two in the room.

In a few weeks, Bella had managed to master versions of everyone's names.

Alice became Ali.

Emmett was Emmy; something he was considerably less than pleased about.

Jasper was renamed Asper.

Rose was Ro, or just Rose, depending on how alert Bella was at the time.

Carlisle and Esme were ecstatic when Bella said 'Mama' and 'Dada' for the first time.

And I was – of course – Edard.

Bella also began to talk in her sleep. It first happened in the car coming home, after Alice dragged us all on yet another shopping trip – Bella appeared to be as intolerant of them as I – and Bella had fallen asleep in the car. She was just stating to snore, when she said, clear as a bell, "Edard".

My heart had swelled with indescribable pride and joy and I turned to praise her again – but her eyes were shut, and she looked fast asleep. She gurgled again, softly, and whispered "Ro". I realised that she wasn't talking to me, but about me.

We arrived home, carefully carrying Bella inside so that she wouldn't wake. Emmett had immediately dashed upstairs, and came down with the camcorder, claiming that he was going to use this as blackmail for years to come.

She also gradually started to learn other words, and Carlisle said that her rate of progression was astounding. By the time was ten months, she could say – as well as our names – 'book', 'pretty', 'flower', and 'baa'. Her lamb and her lion were still her favourite toys, and she liked it when one of us would hold the lion and growl, while she held her little sheep and bleated.

The lion and the lamb. The little, lost lamb being cared for by a pride of lions.

Not an everyday occurrence, I'll grant you.