**A/N: I am sorry that it is taking so long to update my story. School has started back, and I am busier than a cat covered in poo! I will be doing my writing mostly on the weekends, and I will do my best to do a couple of chapters each time. Thanks so much for reading…don't stop. I have amazing stuff planned!

**All characters are © Stephenie Meyer!

Chapter 5

"Forgiveness and Bliss"

Bella flipped open her phone and dialed Carlisle first. Then, she dialed Edward. Finally, with a steadying breath, she called the one person she dreaded calling more than anyone else…Charlie.

While waiting for the cavalry to arrive, Bella gazed at her precious hare-brained mother with a lump forming in her throat. Renee was still passed out cold on the sofa, her skin as pale white as Bella's.

What now, Renee? Bella thought while sweeping her mom's hair from her eyes gently. She had tried so hard to shield her mother from her new life. Humans were forbidden to know vampires existed. Charlie only knew enough to not ask questions. It worked for him because he didn't want to know. But Bella knew Renee would not be satisfied until she knew the whole story. After all of their efforts to protect her, Renee would die after all.

Bella turned as she heard the sound of Edward's footsteps on the lawn outside. He was at her side in an instant, eyeing Renee cautiously.

"She came to surprise me for my birthday. Oh, Edward, what are we going to do?" The desperation in Bella's voice was trumped only by the panic in her eyes.

"The first thing we are going to do is come up with a believable explanation for the change in your appearance," Carlisle replied confidently as he strolled quietly into the room. He kissed Bella's forehead before turning to Renee and checking her pulse and lifting her eyelids to check for eye movement. Edward rubbed Bella's neck, soothing her frayed nerves.

At that moment, the rest of the Cullen family arrived having already heard the news of Renee's unexpected arrival. With a sheepish expression, Alice hugged Bella tightly.

"I am so sorry, sister. I totally saw it coming, but we had no cell phone service on top of Mt. Makushin. We rushed right home to help out any way we can."

Bella could already feel Jasper's calming presence in the room. She wasn't nearly as panicked as before.

"By the way, Renee will wake up in exactly three minutes and seventeen seconds. But, she will faint again when she catches sight of Nessie," Alice informed with an apologetic expression.

Every pair of Cullen eyes turned to look down upon Renesmee, a silent question forming in their minds.

Renesmee patted Bella on the thigh and stretched her arms out hugging her mama tightly as Bella picked her up and squeezed her in return.

Renesmee looked sadly into Bella's eyes and pleaded, "I don't want to hide from Grandma Renee any more. Please let me stay. I promise I won't show her any of our secrets."

Bella's heart melted as her daughter looked longingly around at Renee lying on the sofa. Bella had loved her own grandmother dearly and never wanted to deprive Renesmee of such a special relationship.

"Carlisle, what do you think? Should we continue to hide Renesmee from Renee?" Though Edward had directed the question at Carlisle it was Charlie who answered. He had entered the room unnoticed while everyone stressed over Renesmee's plea.

"No. It is time she knew the truth…at least the version you all chose to share with her, that is." Charlie's voice left no room for discussion. He looked at Bella sternly, and she turned to Edward with resignation.

"Dad's right. She deserves to know her grandchild and…OUR version of the truth. Will she accept it Alice?"

Alice squeezed her eyes shut for a split second and opened one with a wink at Renesmee.

"She will be upset that you did not trust her with the truth sooner, but she'll love Nessie!" Nessie squealed in delight as Alice tweaked her playfully on the nose.

All heads turned as a low moan was heard from the woman on the couch. Renee sat up slowly with Esme's help and swept the room slowly with her eyes stopping as she caught sight of Bella holding Renesmee in her arms. Charlie walked over to Renee and helped her stand with one arm around her waist.

"Hello, Renee. Meet your granddaughter… Miss Renesmee Cullen."

Renee cocked her head to one side and shot Charlie a bewildered expression before turning an accusing eye on Edward and Bella.

"You…how…when?" Renee took one halting step towards Bella before her knees buckled. Emmett, who was standing closest to Charlie, stepped quickly behind her and cushioned her fall, lifting her effortlessly into his arms and placing her back on the sofa.

Carlisle once again checked Renee's pulse and turned to Alice before asking with an amused tone, "How long do we have, Alice?"

"About four minutes, I think. I'm getting cloudy because…"

"Because someone let the dogs out," Rosalie completed Alice's sentence for her as Jacob and Seth walked in the front door.

Renesmee clamored down from Bella's arms and ran into Jacob's, touching her hand lightly to his cheek, filling him in on the situation before he could even ask.

"Seth and I will take Nessie out back to swing for awhile. You guys just come get us when you're ready to introduce her to Renee…er, again."

Bella mouthed a fervent Thank you before Jacob threw a giggling Renesmee over his shoulder and yanked on Seth's shirt to prompt him out the door.

It took almost the full four minutes for Carlisle to explain the story he had concocted to the family. It was decided that everyone except Bella and Edward would quietly make their exits just before Renee awakened for the second time. Carlisle thought no audience would make it easier for Renee as Bella relayed the story of the last year of her life to her mother.

Now, as Renee stirred awake with a gasp, her eyes popped open and searched around the room for Bella. Bella knelt beside her mother and looked into her eyes with all the love she could muster, careful not to touch her – though she longed to kiss her cheek like she used to as a little girl.

Renee began to lift herself into a seated position, but Bella pulled the blanket Esme had draped over her earlier back up across her shoulders and said soothingly, "Mom, just lie there for a few more minutes. Do you want some water?"

Renee shook her head slowly first to the left and then to the right as she reached out hesitantly and touched her hand to Bella's cheek. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and spilled over, gliding down her cheeks.

"My baby…what happened to my baby girl?"

Bella hung her head in defeat, unsure if she could actually lie to her mother while looking her straight in the face. Edward sat down in the floor next to Bella and took her hand.

"It has been very painful for Bella to keep her illness from you, Renee. She has agonized many hours over whether or not to tell you the full truth." Edward draped his arm around Bella and squeezed her shoulders, reassuring her and bolstering her confidence.

Renee lifted Bella's face with one finger and looked searchingly into her eyes.

"Isabella, honey, I am your mother. There is nothing you can't tell me. I am not as fragile a human being as you seem to think. Please, tell me what's going on."

Bella almost laughed out loud at Renee's choice of words. Fragile human… if only she knew how true those words really were…

"I contracted a very rare disease while we were in South America. The disease is so rare even Carlisle knows very little about it. I ran such a high fever for so long that my memory of life before the illness has become kind of sketchy. By the time we got home from our honeymoon and I realized I was pregnant the disease had completely altered my skin color and the color of my eyes. We thought the worst was over until my pregnancy began to accelerate rapidly. Carlisle thinks that the disease triggered some kind of genetic mutation that caused Renesmee to grow at almost ten times the rate of a normal baby. She was the size of a three month old on the day she was born. Carlisle has charted her growth rate up to this point meticulously, and he believes she is going to be full grown within seven years. We just pray that her growth rate will slow at that point and allow her to live a long healthy life."

Renee sat silently – eyeing Bella with round tear-filled doe eyes – for so long that Bella began to worry that her mother had not believed her story. Finally, Renee sat up and shoved the blanket to the side angrily.

"I am so angry with you two that I can hardly see straight! First, YOU – pointing to Edward – keep me in the dark about an illness my only daughter almost died from… and then YOU – pointing at Bella – deprive me of the joy of witnessing the birth of my first grandchild!"

Bella and Edward both stood and backed away as Renee jumped up and began pacing back and forth in front of the sofa.

"I told Phil that something wasn't right…that you were hiding something from me, but he assured me that you would never do something like that…YOU were the responsible one! Isabella, I know I have always been a little flighty…okay, maybe a lot flighty…but I would never have shut you out of my life in such a way! Do you have any idea how much you have hurt me?"

Edward opened his mouth to rebut, but Bella covered his mouth with her hand and shook her head "no" vehemently. She then turned to her mother and took her gently by the shoulders.

"Mom, I am so sorry that I have hurt you. I was only trying to protect you…I love you so much! Please…will you forgive me?"

Bella's voice broke and her eyes stung, but no tears would come. She knew she would be crying now if she still had the ability.

Renee reached out and pulled Bella into her arms.

"Honey, please don't cry! Of course I forgive you. I know your intentions were good. I'm just glad everything's out in the open now, and there is no more reason to hide anything."

Bella looked over Renee's shoulder at Edward and they shared a knowing glance before Edward cleared his throat and asked, "So, would you like to meet your granddaughter now?"

Renee reached out and pulled Edward into a group hug with herself and Bella and replied joyously, "I thought you'd never ask!"


Bella sighed, content to remain in the crook of Edward's arm as they sat on the sofa in front of the ornate fireplace in the living room of their little cottage. Renesmee had long since given up her fight with sleep and was down for the night.

Edward nudged Bella's ear with his nose and took in the sweet fragrance of her hair, smiling happily.

"I'd love to be able to read your thoughts right now, Love."

Bella chuckled and turned into his nudge, planting a kiss on his mouth.

"Would you now?" Bella wrinkled her nose and rubbed it against Edward's playfully.

Edward's eyes shimmered as he swept one arm under Bella's rear and scooped her into his lap.

"You're not going to let me in tonight, are you?" Edward kissed her so deeply Bella swore her toes would curl. She wrapped both of her arms around his neck and nuzzled her nose against his cool granite skin, slowly making her way up to his ear, stopping to grab the bottom lobe between her teeth and hold it there for a second as Edward shuttered and gasped. Bella took his face in both her hands and kissed him so deeply she hoped his toes would curl before gazing into his rich ocher eyes.

"Blissful happiness…I can't imagine life getting any better. That's what I'm thinking."

Although her birthday had gotten off to a rocky start, it had ended on a perfect note. Esme had made a huge dinner for everyone…Bella grinned as she pictured Esme shooing Renee out of the kitchen during clean-up so she wouldn't discover all of the food hidden inside of the napkins the Cullen clan had left behind!

Jacob and Seth had eaten more than their fair share, and Quil and Embry had taken care of the rest.

Even Sue had accompanied Charlie to dinner…mainly interested in sizing up the ex-wife. She was still miffed about the handling of the situation with Leah, but she understood why it had to be done. Leah had finally contacted her and let her know she was okay and would be staying in Alaska for awhile.

As usual, Alice had been right. Renee – Grammy, as Renesmee had dubbed her cleverly – had fallen head over heels in love with the little bundle of giggles and curls.

Renee had climbed into her rental car headed for the airport with a promise to return at Christmas with lots of gifts much to Renesmee's delight and Bella's chagrin. Esme had excitedly vowed to discover the perfect duck recipe for the occasion and Charlie had offered to let Renee and Phil stay in the guest bedroom during their visit.

Now, for the first time since arriving in Forks over three years ago, Bella was at peace…blissfully happy that her entire family could now be a part of her life without the threat of eminent death hanging like a dark cloud over their heads because some forbidden secret had been revealed. Finally, after all the struggles she had been through to arrive at this place… in this time…life was truly perfect.