.Gawd. I've ACTUALLY UPDATED!!!! WOWWOWWOWWOW!!!!!

Okay, congrats to The Kirei Onna and Jessluvsharry who guessed the song correctly (It was Easier To Run by Linkin Park). YAY YOU!! This time it is sort of easier... here's a clue, Emmett sings it. I dunno if that will help when you read it, but it might.

Disclaimer:If I've said it once, I've said it a million times (or at least eight) I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!

To the next chapter, ONWARDS!!

Birthday!

Carlisle

Everyone was incredibly excited. This would be the first real birthday in our family since the 1930's, and everyone was going out of their way to ensure that this would be the best first-birthday party ever. Alice especially was taking it to extremes. The house had been decorated with banners and balloons that would probably scare Bella half to death if they popped, but Alice was Alice, and she wouldn't listen.

We had been attempting to cook a birthday cake for the past hour, though why we were baking a cake when none of us could digest it, and Bella couldn't yet eat cake properly was beyond me. Esme suggested that we could give some to our 'neighbours' – they all lived at least two miles away - and say that we couldn't eat it all.

It was a mistake to allow Emmett and Jasper to help; within the first minute and a half, they had started a cake-mixture war, and the gooey, disgusting stuff was covering all of Esme's pristine surfaces. They had both been banned from the kitchen, and weren't allowed within ten feet of each other until this dratted cake was finished.

Absurdly enough, everyone was worried about what they had gotten Bella. It confused me slightly; Bella was one year old. As long as it was colourful, she would like it, I was sure.

But what did you get the spoilt little girl who had everything? I won't lie; we all adored Bella and loved spoiling her. It just made occasions like Birthdays and Christmas a lot more complicated.

Despite this, we had all managed to find something; Edward had compiled a CD of all the songs that made Bella sleepy when she wasn't tired. Some of them were songs that he had composed, whilst others were classics, and old favourites; Clair de Lune by Debussy, for example.

Alice and Rosalie had stocked up on clothes for the following year – not that they wouldn't buy more, regardless. They had bought different outfits for every occasion and every season, both traditional and modernised designs.

Jasper had found a beautifully illustrated book of Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tales; handwritten and possibly an original, though I wasn't sure. I think I should have liked to meet him; he clearly had a brilliant mind. Perhaps he would have been able to guess what I was.

Emmett had bought her a soft, mini-football. I think that he wanted the honour of being able to say 'I bought Bella's very first football' in case she grew up to become talented at the sport. He had to know that if he turned Bella into a tomboy then both Alice and Rosalie would kill him; most likely slowly and painfully.

Esme was giving her the most stunning little bracelet; one of the last things she still possessed from her human life. I was amazed; Esme loved that bracelet more than any of her other possessions. It was silver, and comprised of entwining Celtic knots, separated by amethysts. It was gorgeous, and in a way, I could understand why she wanted her new daughter to have such a treasured item.

And I? What could I offer her? The promise of a car on her sixteenth birthday? My vow that I would be the most caring and dedicated father this world has seen? These were not things a one-year-old could appreciate, so I had bought her DVD and Blu-Ray versions of all her favourite bedtime stories; Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and so on. I had also filmed everyone acting out the stories, for a little variety. Emmett would be furious with me; he often ended up playing a rather embarrassing character – he made a remarkable ugly stepsister. I think that perhaps he was missing his true calling, repeating high school rather than taking up an acting career.

The Denali's had been invited and were all very excited. They had bought a joint present, rather than try to find something individually. They hadn't told us what it was, preferring to keep it a secret. Alice knew, of course, but she was refusing to tell us; not even Edward knew, judging by the frustrated look that was permanently upon his face – or perhaps that was just the fact that he couldn't read Bella's mind. It was an enormous shock to us all when we first found out.

Flashback

Bella was sitting in front of the washing machine, watching the clothes on spin cycle as though her life depended on it. We were starting to worry about her; she had been sitting like that for almost an hour without moving. Was there something wrong?

"Edward, exactly what does Bella find so fascinating about the washing machine?" Rosalie asked eventually.

Edward opened his mouth to answer... and then shut it again. His brow furrowed, and a looked of deep concentration rested upon his face, carving ravines through the marble of his forehead.

"I... I don't know," he whispered, his eyes widening, his voice less than a breath as he tried to comprehend the impossible. Everyone was in shock. No one knew what to say or how to say it.

"You don't know?" I finally managed to ask. The look of confusion had now been replaced by one of frustration.

"No! I can't believe I never noticed before now!" He sounded furious with himself. What did this mean? Was there something wrong with Bella? With Edward? Was it possible that his gift was fading?

"I don't know, I don't know, I DON'T KNOW!" He answered his tone such that, had I been human, I would be trembling by now. Apparently, he could still hear me as clearly as before, so why not Bella?

Bella turned away from the washing machine for the first time in almost an hour. She smiled at us, and said "Edard?" Her soft voice rang with curiosity; she had heard his outburst, and wanted to know what was going on. We would always tell Bella everything, even though she probably couldn't understand; not that we had any way of knowing now.

Edward sighed, and scooped Bella up. She frowned and glanced towards the washing machine, before deciding that Edward was more important and focusing on him.

"Bella, we're curious as to why I can't read your mind. I can read everyone else's, and Alice and Jasper's talents work on you... you're a mystery, little Bella," he told her. She didn't understand a word of it, of course, but she nodded seriously. Edward watched her eyes carefully for a moment, before smiling and setting her down in front of the washing machine once more. Her head span in little circles as she watched the blur of colours that she found more entertaining than any child's TV program.

End Flashback

I smiled ruefully to myself. That's what I should have bought Bella; a small washing machine to go in her room. Still, no time for that now. The Denali's would be arriving any time soon, and we still needed to finish baking this cake!

*****

Edward

The doorbell rang, signifying the arrival of the Denali clan. Tanya walked in first, greeting everyone warmly. When she reached me, she embraced me a shade too eagerly and kissed both my cheeks. I pulled away as quickly as I could without seeming rude, and her thoughts took on a slightly more melancholy edge, but it didn't last long. Her feelings for me were anything but deep; she was just put out that I had refused her this long, and was continuing to resist her advances. Kate bumped fists with all the guys and hugged the girls; excluding Alice, who was upstairs, getting Bella ready. Irina stood, quiet and happy in the background. Carmen and Eleazer smiled and gave us a 'group hug'.

Emmett started singing at the top of his lungs – both mental and physical.

"Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)"

Everyone joined in laughing, and at first we didn't notice that Alice and Bella had appeared at the top of the stairs. Eventually, Alice cleared her throat, and everyone shut up, turning to see what fashion masterpiece Alice had managed to conjure up. Bella's hand was curled tightly around Alice's, and Alice scooped her up to come down the stairs; Heaven's knows Bella would do to herself if she tried to walk.

The soft white skirt of Bella's dress swirled around her as Alice set her down. I had never seen a more adorable child in over 100 years on this Earth. Bella's ivory skin looked like cream and roses as she smiled at everyone, little dimples peeping out at the corners of her mouth. Little white, buckled shoes encased her feet, and her locket swung on its chain as she rushed forward.

"KAY! ANYA! ARMEN! LEAZER! INA!" She squealed in a very Alice-like fashion – great, an Alice clone – before trying to run up to them. She tripped when she was halfway there, but Carmen rescued her, rushing forward before Bella could become acquainted with the floor.

They shot questioning looks at us as Bella attempted to call their names. Carlisle shrugged slightly. "She has difficulty pronouncing full names."

"Tell them what you got, tell them what you got!" Alice squealed. Kate smiled impishly.

"We got her what every little girl needs..." She started.

"YOU GOT HER A PONY!" Emmett yelled, sounding unreasonably excited. Everyone's eyebrows shot up their foreheads.

"No, Emmett, we did not get her a pony. We got her a... duh duh duhhhhh!" Eleazer vanished outside, and returned carrying a beautiful miniature vanity. The carvings around the mirror were simply stunning, intertwining roses and freesias, vines crawling up the legs. It was painted a faded cream colour, and seemed perfect for Bella.

"We thought that Bella ought to be able to see how beautiful she is every day." Carmen explained softly.

"It's perfect," Rosalie whispered. I saw in their minds the weeks of trial and error as they tried to create something that was ideal for Bella. Many previous designs had been scrapped. They wanted us to believe that they had bought it; they didn't want us to think any more or less of them for their efforts. I had practically been begged not to tell. Even now, they weren't wholly satisfied, but I agreed with Rosalie; it was perfect.

Emmett was the first to break the thoughtful silence. "Okay... Who wants cake?"

*****

Nobody believed us when we first told them that we had baked a cake specially. When we did eventually convince them, they had a hard time comprehending why. Though they loved Bella – far more than any human family could – they couldn't imagine what was wrong with a store-bought cake. Finally, we gave up trying to explain to them.

Carlisle lit the solitary candle that stood tall and proud in the centre of the cake. The light blue and pink frosting made me think of snow, for some absurd reason, and I wasn't the only one; Emmett was already considering throwing a handful at Jasper. Bella attempted to blow the candle out – Alice stood behind her and sneakily blew it out. She showed me her vision of Bella failing to blow it out, and crying for ten minutes; no one wanted that.

Esme cut a small portion of cake for Bella, keeping the knife well away from fragile human hands. Bella smiled, and pushed some of the cake into her mouth, while the rest smeared on her face. Everyone laughed, until Bella spoke.

"Emmy?" She inquired, her voice the very epitome of innocence. He unsuspectingly bent closer, until Bella smooshed a handful of cake into his face. He stood completely still for about three seconds, his mouth open, eyes blinking rapidly. Then a wicked grin curled the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, squirt, you're gonna get it now," he chuckled before wiping his face on Bella's – being careful to avoid the beautiful dress, as Alice would surely kill him if he ruined it. Jasper was laughing, affected as he was by the mirth of everyone else in the room; this made him a prime target in the eyes of Emmett, who had gathered another scoop of pink-and-blue disgustingness. Within minutes, a full-scale war was raging, and Alice, Rosalie, Esme and Irina slid out of the room with Bella; I could hear Alice's teeth grinding together as she surveyed the damage done to Bella's dress.

I didn't think we would have any cake to give to the neighbours at this rate.

*****

The Denali's left at around half past nine in the evening. All of the presents had been opened, there had been much laughter and embarrassment on Emmett's part, much squealing and 'aww'ing on the girl's part, and Bella had finally fallen asleep in Kate's arms, who had handed her to Esme with a slightly sad smile.

We finished cleaning up at ten minutes before midnight; with vampire speed. Really, Alice had to get her OTT tendency under control.

"So, what do you reckon? Best first birthday party ever?" Asked Alice. If I hadn't known better, I would have said that she was on a sugar rush; that was impossible, though.

"Uh-huh. AND, I got the whole thing taped," grinned Emmett. I wasn't sure I wanted to know where he had hidden the camera. Some things are better left unknown.

"What, so that Bella can see you be completely humiliated over and over again?" Jasper asked, grinning.

For once, Emmett was speechless.

Review, PLEASE! I will go down on my knees and beg if I must. :'( sniffle.