Chapter 22: Birthdays

~Edward~

The house Bella and I lived in was bigger than four people needed, but when we found it, we agreed that the room was appropriate for times like these. Our family had gathered to help celebrate two birthdays, and everyone was planning to stay until both parties had been celebrated. When Bella suggested to Alice that we combine both birthdays, my sister wouldn't hear of it. Renesmee's party had already taken place, and my little girl was officially three years old. As she and Anthony slept, Bella and I were laying in our bed looking at the photo album Alice and Rosalie had presented us with pictures from when our daughter had been a newborn, right up to her birthday a few days ago.

"I can't believe how fast they grow," Bella said as she traced her finger over a photo of me resting in an old recliner with our four day old baby asleep against my chest. I recalled how Bella had tried to sneak up to get that picture, and had pretended not to notice while she took it.

"I remember thinking that all of it was a dream, that I had managed to somehow fall asleep, and that when I would wake up you wouldn't be my wife, and we wouldn't have her," I admitted. My wife snuggled closer to me, pressing a kiss against my cheek.

"I think I felt the same way, but some of those memories are still fuzzy," she said sadly.

To help Bella remember that particular day, I told her how she had been trying to sneak up on me. "I think you were very aware that I knew what you were about to do, and after the picture was taken I made room for you next to me, and we sat watching her sleep."

"She's not so peaceful now," Bella said ruefully.

"Renesmee has a lot to contend with," I reminded. Our one on one time with her had been paying off, and Renesmee talked a lot about how she felt when she got mad, or the way she felt when we let her hunt using her new ability. She'd admitted to me that it made her sad when her animals would go to sleep and want to get away, and there really wasn't a way to explain to her that her animals dying was just a part of life.

"I'm glad she's talking to us more, and that we are listening better to her," Bella said as she turned the page.

My hearing became more focused as I picked up on Anthony's sudden restless movements. Our son never stayed in the position he was in when we put him to bed. Most mornings, when we went in to get him up, he was on the opposite side of his crib, sometimes laying sideways so that his head as against the guard rail on one side while his legs hung through the bars of the rail on the other.

"Is he waking up?" Bella asked picking up on the same sounds.

We both waited, hearing more movements. His heart rate sped up and there was a thump before he started babbling. The rest of our family had gone out on an all night hunting expedition as well as explore the area around our home. I left Bella looking at the pictures making it to Anthony's room before he started to fuss.

"Da," he said as he stood up, no longer needing the bars as a crutch.

He didn't smell dirty, just wet. Before going to him, I got a diaper from his changing station. Anthony fussed when I laid him down in his crib, but stopped when I wound up the musical teddy bear Rosalie had gotten when he was born. Once he was in a dry diaper and his pajama bottoms were pulled back up, I rolled him on his stomach and rubbed his back. Anthony was hard pressed to go back to sleep if we got him out when he woke up like this, though sometimes even this method didn't really help much. One of the things Bella and I were working on was getting rid of his late afternoon nap hoping that he would have an easier time sleeping through the night.

"Ma...ma," Anthony said after a few minutes, lifting his head.

My wife was by our side in an instant, and Anthony was in her arms in another. After giving them both a kiss, I peered in on Renesmee. She was still wearing the faery wings Rosalie and Alice had gotten her for her birthday, having pitched a fit when we tried to get her to go to bed without them. Getting the wings had brought Lily back in to the equation, though nothing we had observed was anything other than just Renesmee pretending she had a little faery friend.

~Bella~

As I sat rocking my son, I couldn't help take in a few breaths, smelling his baby scent. I'd noticed that Renesmee was beginning to lose that now that she was older. Like Renesmee, Anthony liked to snuggle with his arms drawn in between his chest and my own, and he was almost asleep as I rocked him. Soon he would be a year old, and again I found myself wishing I could make time slow down. Anthony was a relatively quiet baby, unless Renesmee provoked him. He was beginning to fight back a little. I remembered clearly a few days ago when he had managed to push Renesmee back a little. In the end he had ended up with a small bump on his head when she hit him with the truck he had been playing with. Esme assured me that my children would end up loving one another when they were older, but times like that, I had my doubts.

Anthony's heart rate picked up and he lifted his head away from me. "Ba ba," he said rubbing his eyes.

"Daddy will get it for you."

My baby boy smiled at me, "Da da," he said clapping his hands. His Dada, arrived with the bottle a couple of minutes later, and as Edward handed it to me, Anthony reached for his Daddy.

My husband knelt down, knowing our son's game, and Anthony laughed as his father kissed his fingers. He leaned out for Edward, though when my husband reached for him, Anthony leaned back against my chest, very pleased with his game. He did that a few more times before I was able to entice him to take his bottle, though even then he wanted to sit on my lap and watch his Daddy.

"He's a ham," I whispered as Anthony reached out a hand, touching Edward's lips when his daddy leaned in.

"He likes having both of us to entertain him," Edward pointed out when our son leaned back out, while still sucking on his bottle. In the end we carried him into our room and once he was settled in bed between us, he began to settle down, though still played a few more games before he finally conked out.

"Should we take him back to bed," Edward asked as I ran my fingers through Anthony's soft brown hair. It was getting long, but not yet long enough to have to cut it.

"I want to keep him with us," I said resting beside my son watching the soft features of his face as he slept. Edward nodded taking the bottle downstairs. When he came back he spooned up against my back and we both remained there looking after our little boy.

~*~

With Edward gone in to the nearest town to get a few things we needed for the kids, and his family still gone, I was on my own with Anthony and Renesmee. So far we had experienced a peaceful morning. In our family room, just off the kitchen, Renesmee was sitting on the floor playing with the Barbie Dolls Rosalie and Emmett had gotten for her. My daughter was content to play, and Anthony was content to sit on my lap and listen to a story. As I turned the page he put his hand on the back of the dog feeling the fur.

"What is that?" I asked kissing the top of his head.

"Oof," he answered.

"Momma, why him not say it's a doggy?"

I looked over at my little girl as she put her Barbie in the sports car Alice and Jasper had gotten for the doll.

"That's a lot for him to manage. He still has to learn his words like you did when you were little." Renesmee nodded once before she began to push the car. At that time, Anthony leaned his head back against me, reaching his hand up to hold on to my hair.

The next page had a picture of a duck in a pond, and the part he touched was smooth. "Can you say duck?" I asked as he continued to hold on to my hair. He patted the picture, but didn't say anything else.

After we finished the book, Anthony let go of my hair wanting down. Instead, I carried him into the kitchen, stepping over the baby gate I'd put up so that Renesmee could play in peace. Eventually she would have to learn to deal with her brother wanting to get at her toys, but we were having such a good morning, I didn't want to jinx it.

While I put away the dishes that were in the dishwasher, Anthony sat on the floor putting his blocks in the back of the dump truck his sister had hit him with the other day. He rolled it across the floor a few times before he stood up and hugged around my left leg. I lifted him above my head, and he laughed as I nibble on his stomach.

"Momma, will you play with me?" Renesmee asked from the gate.

"I'll have to let Anthony come with me," I warned.

"He come too," she agreed.

I got his truck and climbed back over the gate, helping dress the blond headed barbie in a gown while Anthony played with his truck.

When it came time to lay down for a nap, Renesmee asked if we could all rest in her room. I put a clean diaper on Anthony and laid him down in the bed next to his sister. "If he wants up, you need to let him do that," I reminded as she rested next to him. He laughed and rolled on to his stomach rubbing his face against the soft purple sheets.

"He's funny when him do that," Renesmee said resting on the other side.

Anthony lifted his head looking at her before he sat fully upright. He reached out and put his fingers on her lips, and Renesmee made a blubbery sound against them, causing him laugh more, and her in turn.

"Alright you two," I said when they continued to play. I reached out and turned Anthony back around, laying him on the mattress only to have him sit right back up.

"Sweetheart, this isn't going to work," I said knowing she really wanted it too.

"Make me sad if you go with him," Renesmee said, her happy demeanor changing as my baby realized that right now her brother wouldn't be able to stay in her bed.

"We can try again some other time, he's just used to being in his own bed."

"Me have books and look at them?"

It was a compromise, and after she picked her three I gathered my son in my arms and took him into his own room. Anthony realized what I was doing and began to cry. With him still against my left side, I closed the shades dimming the light of his room.

My son arched his back when I laid him down in his crib and was instantly on his feet reaching for me. Instead of getting him out I got his bear wound up before I laid him on his stomach. Anthony had a pretty big fit then, crying hard into the mattress, making me feel like the worst mother ever. If he would let me rock him to sleep, I'd be all for that, but he was too keyed up and that would never work.

For a few minutes I rubbed his back, relieved when he finally began to calm down. Once he had quieted and was on his way to sleep, I went in to Renesmee's room finding her asleep among the three books she had been looking at. Downstairs I heard the door open and soft voices of my family returning from their hunt.

By the time I joined them, all the toys had been put away and Alice and Rosalie showed me some of the things they had ordered for Anthony's first birthday.

~Edward~

After Renesmee had her breakfast, I helped Bella pack her duffel bag and my brothers and I said goodbye to our wives. They were heading for Boston for a nights stay, leaving the men along with my son to fend for ourselves. A while later, after cleaning up in Renesmee's room, realizing at some point we needed to teach her to help out, I headed back downstairs. Emmett was in the den attempting to help Anthony throw the small basketball into the new hoop they had gotten him a few days ago. Alice called it a pre-birthday present, but either way my son was getting spoiled.

"Give it a toss," Emmett encouraged as Anthony stood just a little away looking at the small ball in his hands and then the basket. Anthony walked to the basket and put the ball through clapping his hands when it dropped to the floor.

My brother looked over at me as I walked in. "Maybe Renesmee can show him," he said as I sat down on the brown leather sofa a few feet away.

"He'll figure it out, won't you?" I asked as my baby turned around, smiling at me as he walked over. When Anthony was close enough, I lifted him up settling him on my lap. "So have you and Rosalie decided on anything?"

Emmett sighed as he stood up. "She can't make up her mind. The Island is a great place, but it's so far away from the stores she likes to go to," Emmett said shaking his head.

Anthony mimicked him, laughing as his uncle knelt down in front of us. "You are something else," Emmett told my son.

"Bo bo bo," Anthony answered reaching out past Emmett.

"Ball?"

I couldn't see my son's reaction, but it must have confirmed what Emmett asked. In a second Anthony had the ball, and leaned back in my arms as he began to chew on it.

As Emmett knelt down again, his thoughts were on a conversation he and Rosalie had about having children, and how she wished she would have known that were a possibility before she was changed. After that I tuned out his thoughts not liking to intrude. Emmett flipped on the TV as Anthony began to shift in my arms and when my son grunted, I stood ready to take him up to his room and change him once he had finished doing his business.

By evening all of the Cullen men were home. Carlisle had given Anthony a bath, and was in his room reading to him before bed while I sat across the table from Jasper waiting for him to make the move he had already planned in his mind. Emmett was in the den talking to Rosalie on the phone, and it was kind of nice just having time with them, alone.

"Jasper looked at me, growling a little before he made his move, which I countered, effectively ending another game of Chess.

"You could focus on something aside from my thoughts," he said. Before I could answer he stiffened and my own senses kicked in to everything, from the smells around me to the sounds and thoughts.

In a moment Emmett was with us, and we all three headed outside as Carlisle continued to keep Anthony occupied. Something wasn't right, but there was nothing to see, hear, smell or feel as we broke off and looked around the woods surrounding my house. We met back in the kitchen, all guarded.

"Did you feel anything?" I asked Jasper as Carlisle came downstairs. Anthony was fussing, though once I had him in my arms he settled down.

"Just a glimmer, but it wasn't a threat, I don't think," my brother answered.

Jasper's phone rang and he put it on speaker as he began talking to Alice.

"I saw you all looking around the house, but nothing was there," she said, sounding as confused and uneasy as we all felt. After all this time, were we going to be forced to move again? That was the first thought in my mind as Jasper explained to her what he had picked up and how none of us were able to find anything out of place.

Once he ended the conversation, Carlisle and my brothers went outside to patrol after checking every nook and cranny of our home, and I headed upstairs to get my son settled down and off to sleep.

Anthony had just finished his bottle and was close to sleep when I heard my phone vibrating from my bedroom. Without jostling him I made it there before it could ring twice laying Anthony on the bed as I settled next to him.

"Jacob called," Bella said as I answered. "He said they have been picking up an unusual scent, not one they recognize and it's only in spurts. He says they catch the scent like it's teasing them and then it's gone. What do you think this means?"

"I don't know," I answered not liking it. "Bella, I want you and Renesmee to come home. We need to figure this out."

"We were all thinking the same thing. It just ticks me off because we've had such a nice calm," she growled.

"It may not be anything to worry over, but we need to careful."

Once we hung up and Anthony was asleep in his crib, I headed downstairs to talk to Carlisle and my brothers.

~*~

Even with our family being on added alert, the day came for Anthony's party. Alice had bought a little sailor outfit for him to wear, though when we tried putting the hat on his head, Anthony wouldn't have it. Regardless, Alice still got a picture of him, even though he was having a pretty big fit.

Renesmee had gotten to help wrap presents, and when it came time to open them she got to help which made it easier for her. We were all doing our best to enjoy this special day, but it was difficult not to be on alert. When it was nap time, Rosalie volunteered to read to Anthony, while Bella and I went in to settle Renesmee down.

"Momma, Lily say she not come back," our daughter informed us as her bottom lip drooped out.

"Why not?" Bella asked as she tucked a strand of our daughter's bronze curls behind her ear.

"Her afraid."

"Well you can tell her that she can come and see you, but she has to promise to let you take a nap first," Bella said. After that Renesmee fell into an easy sleep, though in the other room Rosalie was struggling with a fussing Anthony.

At the moment Bella was ready to go in to help out, Alice called for her, and that left me. Rosalie seemed relieved when I arrived, and once she had gone I looked at my son sitting in his crib scrubbing at his eyes. He was still wearing his sailor suit and I had a feeling it wasn't as comfortable to him as his onesie. He continued to fuss as I lifted him out of the crib, though settled down once he was resting on my lap as I got him undressed.

Once he was in the soft shirt and a dry diaper, Anthony didn't have any problem going to sleep. Bella arrived to help tuck him in and after we made sure Esme and Carlisle along with the rest of our family would watch the kids, my wife and I went on a walk.

"It feels like we spoiled his birthday," Bella said.

"I think it was a success for both of our children. Renesmee was a great helper," I said and my wife smiled and nodded.

"Do you feel anything out of place?"

For a moment we stopped walking and I focused on everything around us. It was a beautiful, warm, summer day, and there wasn't anything around that felt out of place, not even a little. Looking back at Bella I reached out and cupped my left hand against her cheek, "What do you think?"

My wife shut her eyes, putting her hand over mine as she took in a breath of air. For long moments she stood still taking in everything around us. When her eyes opened again she shook her head. "Nothing." After a moment we continued our walk, reflecting on our life with our children, and what would come next for us if everything remained as it was without any unseen intrusions.

"I think we should go to Esme's Island for the summer," Bella stated as we began to move through the trees and brush of the forest around us. "The last time we were there, I was still human. I want to go back now and see what it's like," Bella said as she ran ahead of me. The wind blew just enough for us to pick up on a strong musky scent. A bear was near by and my wife shot ahead of me. It wasn't often we encountered a bear so close to home, and by the time I reached her, Bella had taken it down and was feeding from it. Knowing she was safe, I sniffed the air smelling traces of a cat that had been there earlier.

Taking to the trees I made better time and tracked it down a mile and a half away from my wife. I brought down the cougar that had been resting in the branches below me and had him to the ground before he could make a sound. It was rare to see one so close to our home and his sweetened blood coated my burning throat. I knew Cougars, and for that matter wolves were repopulating, though they were still on the endangered species list, which was why we didn't hunt them in general. Once I'd finished I picked up on Bella's approached and by the time I had disposed of the carcass in some underbrush my wife was in my arms, our lips grazing as our hands made short work of our clothing. With her legs locked around my hips, I cupped my hands under her, moving within her as she matched me.

My focus was on her and bringing her the greatest pleasure, though the way Bella raked her fingers through my hair while rubbing her bare chest against my own was beginning to make me lose my focus, and not care about anything other than the moment at hand.

Long minutes later Bella stood in front of me brushing the dirt off of my shirt as she buttoned it back in to place. Her lips were fuller as a result of our kissing and once she finished with me, I helped her with the task of getting her dressed, occasionally kissing the skin my hands traveled over.

"I love you," she said as I pulled her back in my arms once she was dressed.

We shared one last lingering kiss before heading home to our children and our family.

~*~

AN: Alright, one chapter for Anthony and some more to come. So what did you think? I had a fun time writing him and having moments where Renesmee actually wasn't ready to hurt him. On to the next.

~Ella~