Chapter 5

Grace

Bella:

Victoria watched us carefully as she stood her ground, "Now, I understand you want to talk to me?"

Damien went to a guarded stance, despite his injuries, but I tried to stay calm since I was trying to attend to his wound, I gave her a curious look, "That depends on whether or not you want to listen."

She raised her chin, "I could just go now, and we'll see each other on opposite sides of the battle line. I thought you wanted to talk…my mistake."

She was about to turn and leave, but I called out, "Wait. I just wanted to talk because I wanted to clear up what happened before.'

She shrugged, "What's to clear up? I told James not to go after the two of you. I even told him it would be the death of him. He never listened to me, even before we met you."

I tried to finish dressing Damien's gashing wound before Victoria got hungry, and asked her, "So, do you know what your mate did to us?"

"Of course, I do. It would've been easier for me to seek vengeance on you, but I got curious as to why you'd want to deal with me at all. You do know this is all very stupid because I could kill you very easily."

I shook my head, "If you bite him, he'll be as strong as you, you know? Attack, and he might end up killing you, which would defeat the purpose of us trying to meet you."

She gave him a glance over, "He's an angel."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, "You said he's what?"

Victoria let out an exasperated sigh, "An angel. That's why he can take in venom without being turned. I know because I've met one before. That was a long time, ago, though. I never thought I'd see another one."

"How do you know about him?"

She walked over to him, and bit him, only for a moment because she seemed to have steam coming from her mouth. She pulled away quickly, as her burned mouth seemed to heal in seconds. "Tell your mate to relax, would you? I'm not here with hostile intent."

I rubbed his arm, and his tension seemed to subside for a moment, "How do you know about what's happening to him?"

She gave me a sly smile, "Now, that would be the million dollar question, wouldn't it? Alright, what would you give me for helping you save him?"

I turned to her, "Anything!"

He held my shoulder, "Bella, hold on."

"Protection from the wolves."

I threw my hands into the air, helplessly, "I wouldn't know how to do that."

She started walking away, "Lots of luck, then."

I called out to her, "I'll talk to Jacob. He would know who I could talk to."

She threw her head back, and laughed, "You do mean the wolf I just saved you from, right? In other words, you have nothing to offer, but you're willing to make a deal…for him, no less. I like you. You're a bit stupid, but you've got spirit."

Damien spoke up, "How do you know about angels?"

Victoria seemed to regard him coldly, "I told you. I've seen one before. Met one, even. Except, he wasn't as reserved as you. He was much more…rambunctious, and very hard to keep down. As to what you're missing, it's called your 'grace,' boy."

He looked puzzled, "Like Elvis?"

"No, stupid, your wings, your essence. It landed in this forest long ago. It's what gives those wolves their power to fight us, vampires. It's what gives this place such high defensive magic."

He looked down, his hand to his chin, eyes moving from side to side as if he were reading, "If I actually find it, it could help me with my condition. If I take it, though, the wolves will lose their magic."

She laughed at him, now, "One of them tries to kill you, and you're worried about taking their defenses? Their traits won't go away if you take back what's yours. Their defense mechanism is part of nature. You are nature, itself, the very source because you're beyond the universe. Didn't anyone ever talk to you about this?"

He looked up at her defensively, "No one ever told me anything. I was being tortured by the ones who found me."

She shot him a look, "You killed my mate! There's no reason I should have to deal with your stupid, human tantrums. You really have forgotten what it's like to be an angel, haven't you?"

He shrugged, "Well, that explains why everyone tells me I'm not human."

Her mouth curled up in a sneer, "You're beyond human, boy. Right now, you're very weak, even though you've shown great displays of power. It's wearing you out to do that without your wings. You'll have to find it, quickly."

She walked up to me, and rubbed my belly, "You're with child, and you've got venom in your system, don't you?"

I looked away, "When your mate bit me, it's what almost killed me."

She shook her head, "No. It's from your mate, since he's had it in his system. This child is a hybrid."

I looked at her, "Like how do you mean?"

"If I bite you now, you will not die. You'll become a hybrid, as well, like the child."

Damien looked at her, "Won't getting turned kill our child?"

Victoria again regarded him coldly, "This child is a hybrid of vampire, and angel, so no, it won't kill her. In fact, it's enhancing her even as we speak. Once she gives birth, she'll become full hybrid. She will have the look of a vampire, but be indistinguishable from human. Also, she won't be cold because her organs will still be functioning. She will be literally in that state forever."

He gave her a skeptical look, "So, you're not here to kill us?"

"I really did think you were the smart one of this pair. I guess I was wrong. No, I'm not her to kill you. I can't, in fact. The girl will have the child, and become a very powerful hybrid. I would not be stupid enough to make enemies with you two. You do need to go retrieve your grace, though. You must go to the center of this forest, and wherever you find a dense source of life, that's where it will be. The wolves will keep you from that area, though. They might feel that you're trying to take their magic from them. I would go with you, but I can't go near it. Nor can the Cullens. This journey is for you alone."

"I'll take Bella home, and search tonight, then."

"I'll escort her home. She'll be safe with me."

Damien gave her a wary look, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Victoria shook her head, "Read my thoughts. Go ahead."

He gave her a confused look, "I can't."

"Of course, you can. Try…"

He concentrated a moment, and fell to his knees, "What the hell did you do to me?"

She sighed with annoyance, as I held his shoulders, "Just focus, on her and I. It will help you bear it a little more."

He breathed hard for a moment, and managed to recover, "Ok. I got it. I'm only reading you, and Bella."

She clapped sarcastically, "Good for you, little one. You were hearing everyone's thoughts just now. That is, every person in the world. That's why it hit you so hard."

I looked at her, "How do you know all this?"

"I told you. I encountered an angel before. He had much the same troubles as this boy."

I got curious, "What happened to him?"

She turned away, "He had to return to heaven for some reason, or other."

"Will Damien have to go back, too?"

"There lies the big question. If he gets back his grace, he may well need to go, but who knows. He might decide to stay with you. He seems very attached to you. Not sure how his superiors will like that very much."

I looked at Damien, and held his arm, "You have to go get it. It's so you can get better."

He held me for a moment, "Even if I get my wings back, I'm not leaving you behind, ok? I'm with you, forever. I won't go anywhere without you, or our child."

I looked up at him, "Damn right you are. Stay safe out there."

He ran deep into the woods, and I could already hear the other wolves snarling as they gave chase.

I turned to Victoria, "How come you're helping us?"

"I choose the winning side. Besides, I get the feeling that if I tried to hunt you down, that would be the death of me. It's not what I'd want. Now, for the interesting part of this little experiment: take me to the Cullens."

I gave her a guarded look, and lead her to the Impala.

"He still uses cars? What a bore." She commented as she got in.

She opened the window quickly, "Goodness. You two have been consummating…a lot."

I blushed at that as I started the car, "That's sort of why I'm carrying right now."

She reached over and touch my belly, "It's a girl. Since she's part vampire, she'll be growing inside you at an accelerated rate. So, you'd better hurry to your friends. I don't really drive, so I wouldn't be able to help you if we get stuck in this."

She smiled a little, even if it was a little vicious, "You will be quite the hybrid when you give birth."

I tapped my fingers on the wheel as I drove, "Will it hurt?"

She smiled, like she was enjoying this too much, "Birth is always painful. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it, though. The child will need the same nutrients a human child needs, so in that respect you'll be fine. Since there is venom in both your systems, though, that will drain a lot out of you."

I let out a hard breath, "So, I'll have to go away to have the baby."

She looked to me, "No, you won't. As far as your friends and family are concerned, you'll have a healthy pregnancy, but you'll feel that draining feeling from the inside. That will be just as excruciating."

I was approaching the Cullens' mansion, wanting to know, "How do you know so much about this? I mean, about the labor."

She looked to me, "I helped someone in my coven give birth to a hybrid child. He was the father. Don't worry. She disappeared before the Volturi could get to her, with her child. She never told anyone where she went. I hope they're both safe, wherever they are."

I got out of the car, and felt my legs almost give. In moments, Victoria was next to me, and carrying me to the door of the mansion.

I could barely keep my eyes open, but I could hear what was going on.

It was Alice who answered, "How dare you come here?"

Victoria stared her down, "Your friend is starting to feel the accelerated growth of her child. So, unless you're going to carry her, yourself, you better let me in so I can get her to your medic."

Carlisle came out to meet her, "Bring her this way, to my med-lab."

I felt Victoria carry me to Carlisle's lab, and place me on the medical bed he had set up for now.

He was telling her, "I don't think we have the equipment that would be able to get her the nutrients she needs."

Victoria gave him a look, "Fool. The child needs nutrients like a human baby. Just prepare like you would for that. The child wants her mother to survive."

He asked, "You already know the gender of the child?"

She shook her head, "Stop asking stupid questions and get your equipment ready for her. I can see where the boy got that from now. He's been hanging around this coven too long."

Emmett came up now with Rosalie. She looked at Victoria uneasily, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Victoria shot her a haughty look, "Do you have medical training as well? If so, I suggest you help your coven leader."

Rosalie ignored her, and went to help Carlisle prepare the equipment for me. It was only after a few moments that I was somewhat comfortable, and my hand was now covered in gauze and tape as needles were resting inside the skin of my hand.

Alice came in now, "Bella, I can't see your future. You'll need to have Carlisle remove the child from you now, while it's still in the first stages."

Victoria shot her a look, "You'll end up killing them both. The child's growth is now already far past the fourth month human stage."

Alice snapped at her, "So, how the hell would you know so much about this?"

"Because I've done this before, stupid girl. Now leave her be so she can have her child in peace."

Emmett looked around, "Where's Damien? I'm surprised he's not here."

"He's on his own journey, to find his grace."

Emmett shrugged a bit, "Like Elvis?"

"No, you idiot. His wings. He's an angel. So, he's going to go get his wings."

Emmett was already leaving, "I'm going to help him, then."

"Don't be a fool. This is something he needs to do by himself. Your presence will simply cloud his vision. He needs to be completely focused. Besides, he's in wolf territory, and they will tear you apart."

"I've never been afraid of wolves."

"They'll jealously guard that area, since that's where their source of magic will be. By the way, um, Alice, the reason you can't see Bella's fate is because she's beyond you, now. Once she has their daughter, they will both be Hybrids of Vampire and Angel. She will have all your traits, and his. The child, more so."

I was simply watching all this, and thought about how much change had come about. I now could see the destiny that Alice had seen, but I didn't feel at all cheated out of what my fate would've been. In fact, I was convinced that I would be much stronger for what I was going through now.

I looked to Rosalie, "Damien will be fine. I believe he'll come back to me."

Rose took my hand, and smiled, "Of course he will. Get some rest."

Damien:

I ran through the woods, hearing the growling of several large wolves behind me as they gained. I could feel another voice guiding me, it was almost like a song of sorts, with no lyrics, but merely a sound that grew louder and louder as I came closer to the edge of the woods. I found myself standing off the edge of a cliff, but still felt the song call to me. I looked behind me, hearing the call from below.

I muttered to myself, "Oh what the hell." I threw myself into the cold black water below me.

As I hit the water, I could see nothing until I looked down. Far below me, deeper in the ocean still, the song called to me, louder now. I dove straight for the light. I found a small glass vile with silver endings to it. I took it into hand, and crushed it in my hand.

For a moment, I felt nothing, making me think, That wasn't hard.

Then I felt my entire body become warm, then hot, then burning like a small sun in this ocean, like a super nova. I also felt my head fill with so much, my memories of falling to earth, and being separated from my grace.

I had been found as a baby, and taken by soldiers. They ran experiment after experiment on me, to see what could kill me, but found nothing. They then decided to train me, and place me into a simulated class with other children. Yet, the other children were not like me, they were just copies made from my cells. When they realized this, they turned on me, and I had destroyed them. I felt spent after that, and they were able to restrain me again, and then erased my memory with some kind of virtual device that scrambled my mind, making it impossible to remember what I was, much less who.

I found myself in another base, secluded to a single room, and having my meals slid to me from a slot in the door. I read endlessly, and finally, I was told I could go into the outside world. I knew what they wanted me to do. They wanted to place me in the real world, and if faced with enough hostility, I would destroy everything. They wanted a weapon when they sent me to Charlie. Instead, I found Bella, and didn't want to destroy the world anymore.

I whispered that name to myself, "Bella." within an air bubble I had created for myself.

I rose from the water, my white wings untouched by moisture, my scars completely healed. I then flew over to the cliff where I was standing, and the wolves regarded me with such reverence that they all placed their heads to the ground. I could hear their thoughts, but it didn't matter. I knew where I wanted to go. I simply imagined myself to be wherever Bella was.

I found myself standing behind Rosalie, and Bella looked to me, smiling gratefully as I went over to take her other free hand. She was as happy to see me as I was to see her giving me her gorgeous smile.

"You made it."

I smirked, "Was there ever any doubt?" I then looked to Carlisle, "How's she doing?"

Victoria shook her head, "Silly boy, you need only read her thoughts. You two are, after all, linked. The symbiosis should be kicking in about now."

I felt my insides now screaming, and I looked to Bella, "Oh my god, babe. It must hurt so much."

She reached up to touch me, "It doesn't matter, as long as you're here."

I looked to Victoria, "You've had experience with this before, right?"

She nodded, "Your wife will be fine."

I shrugged a little, "We're not quite married yet."

"Stupid human laws don't apply to you. If you've chosen her as your mate, and she is carrying your child, as a matter of course, she's your wife."

I put Bella's hand to my mouth, and kissed it, "Well, that's true. Still, humans like their customs, and I did promise her an extravagant wedding."

She whispered to me, "After I graduate, of course."

I leaned over her, "Of course, princess."

She spoke up, "I'm going to be a hybrid; like you, and a vampire."

I kissed her forehead, "Then that would make you my Vampire Princess. Even better."

Esme came over to me, smiling, "Welcome back, Damien. I take it you're well now."

I nodded, "Yeah, I am. Carlisle, thanks for all your help."

Emmett looked at me, "Hey, that's why you were able to take her all over the place when you did the bam bam."

I looked away, and back to Bella, "You mind not being so casual about that? It's pretty disturbing."

Emmett chuckled, "Hey, just reporting what I saw. That was awesome, by the way. I wish we were angels now, so we could do that with our wives."

Alice crossed her arms, "We don't want anything from him, Emmett."

I looked at Bella for a moment, and she nodded.

I let go of Bella and approached Alice, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to handle the details for the wedding. If that's alright with you. Otherwise, we'll just go to one of the places in Seattle."

Alice seemed to drop her attitude thereby, "Really? Me? That's very tempting, so I'll have to think about it."

Jasper came up behind her, and kissed her, "Alice. Be nice."

Alice seemed to sigh at this, "Of course. I'll handle all the details. This will be like the biggest thing since the royal wedding in England."

I gave her a nervous laugh, "Thanks very much."

I went back to Bella, and she squeezed my hand, whispering, "See? I knew she'd see it our way."

I leaned over close, "I don't have any family, except you and Charlie. So, Alice might have a tough time with my half of the guests list."

Esme held my shoulders, "Why Damien, you can consider me your mother if you wish. I know we haven't been as supportive as we could've been, but I'd like to make that up to you, now."

I bowed my head, "Mrs. Cullen, it would be an honor to call you mother."

She smiled broadly, "Just mom is fine."

I looked back to her, "Thank you, mom."

She squeezed my shoulders, and Carlisle put his arm around her.

"We are sorry for all the trouble Edward has caused you."

I shook my head, "I'm hoping he'll drop whatever grudge he has, but I'm not holding my breath."

They walked out of the med lab, and Emmett came over to slap me on the back, but it didn't hurt this time. "It is going to be awesome to have you as a brother. I already considered Bella a sister. So, we get two sibs for the price of one. That is a sweet deal."

Jasper came over, "It'll be good to have another soldier in the family. We might be able to discuss tactics."

Victoria looked at all of us, "It's too early to celebrate. You're forgetting about the Volturi. They may yet want to come for her and the child."

I stood straight, squeezing Bella's hand with the usual care, "I won't let them touch my family. If it's a fight they want, I'll annihilate them all."

Victoria nodded, "You probably could too, with a thought, but they don't know that, yet."

Edward:

I sat in this terrible tavern filled with so many children who fancied themselves as lost souls, but they had never seen actual darkness, like I had. I saw her then, a young girl with a small frame, with long dark hair, straight. She wore a lot of eye make-up and a piercing on the corner of her brow. After watching her for an hour, I approached her, and she looked up at me with wonder, and excitement.

I spoke softly, "What's your name?"

She stammered, just like Bella would have in some other life, and looked down, "Rebecca Firestone, but just Becca is fine."

I smiled, "Yes, Becca. That's actually pretty perfect. Would you like to see the what the night has to offer, Becca?"

She leaned on me, and her scent was so intoxicating that I almost lost control, but I was able to bring myself to a calm state, as she whispered, "I'll go wherever you want to take me."

I pulled away from her for a moment, "You don't know who I am yet, how can you just offer yourself to me without knowing that?"

She hugged me from behind, "It doesn't matter. I can't be away from you because if you go away, I'll go crazy thinking about you. What should I call you?"

I smiled as she asked me that, and the name just rolled off my tongue, "Damien Summers. I'm actually a deputy with Forks PD, but I come here on weekends."

She sighed deeply as she took in my scent, "It must be dangerous, being a cop."

I turned to embrace her, "More dangerous than you know."

Bella:

Victoria said that as long as I kept up appearances, no one would really suspect what I was to become. The growth of our child really was something to be marveled at as it took only days for me to come to full term. The New Year was still approaching, and I had yet to finish school. Damien was sitting next to me as we talked about names for the baby. Since Esme had agreed to act as his mother figure, I decide to include her name with the one combo I had thought of. We decided on Renesmee.

I looked over at him now, as he read me the book I had to read over winter break, and I took his shoulder. "I understand now why you don't want to do high school, again."

He gave me a chuckle, "It's painful to have to do this. I don't know how anyone can stand to do this over and over and over-"

I shushed him, putting my hand to his lips, "Smartass."

He winked, "You know I'm your hero."

I gave him a light tap on his chest, "And I'm your Vampire Princess, so it's all good."

He took my hand and kissed it, "You know it. Want me to get you something to eat?"

I shook my head, "Ask Rosalie if she can take over for you, so you can go eat, already."

"Don't worry about me, babe. I'm good as is. I'm still getting used to all this, so it's pretty weird for me."

I laughed, "I'm sure you'll handle it well, like everything else. You should know that by now."

He leaned over me, gently putting his forehead to mine, "I know because I have you to tell me."

Rosalie walked in just then, and smiled at Damien, "My turn. Go on and talk to Carlisle. He and Victoria are talking about how to handle the birth. You're the daddy so that's a meeting for you, too."

He flashed her a smile, "Thanks, Rosalie. How soon do they think she's going to deliver?"

She gave him a serious look, "They're projecting by tomorrow evening. So, Renesmee is going to be a New Year's baby."

Then she sat next to me, "So, yea. By tomorrow evening, you two will be proud parents to a baby girl."

Damien came over to me, and gave me a deep kiss before he left, and then he turned to Rosalie, "Take care of her for me."

Damien:

I went to go see Carlisle, and Victoria, who were already waiting for me. I sat down, and looked to both of them.

"So, the delivery is tomorrow, eh?"

"Listen, boy. This is not to be taken lightly. The birth is going to be very painful for her. Also, you will be required to deliver the child since all the blood might drive us into a blood lust. It almost happened to me when I was helping with a delivery."

"Victoria, I understand what this entails. I do have medical training, as well as knowledge on various other things."

"Damien, we may need to tell Chief Swan that Bella lost the child, and we helped you adopt."

I shook my head, "No, we've kept Charlie in the dark long enough. He deserves to know the truth."

"Be reasonable."

I looked to Carlisle, "Do you know how much it's killed me having to keep everything under my hat? He would have eventually figured it out if I weren't here, anyway."

Victoria shook her head, "That's not quite true, boy. Your wife's father is what we could call too logical. You figured us out quickly because you never ruled out possibilities. You seemed to look at things with a wider spectrum of analysis."

I looked at her, "Had you been watching me the whole time?"

She inclined her head, "Always. I was trying to discourage James from trying to deal with you. When we finally did, we tried to kill you because we knew you were too close to finding out what we were."

"So, you think someone might still come after him if he does know?"

"Unless they know he would cover for us."

I groaned at that, "Do you realize how stressful it is to doctor reports? I would hate to put him through any of that."

Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder, "It's for the best. I'm not sure how telling him the truth would help."

I put my hand to head, rubbing my temple, "There has to be some way to do this without putting him in danger."

"The Volturi would kill any outsider that knows about us, boy. You should know that. I saw it in your memories when I drank you."

"What if they're sure he'd be willing to keep the secret?"

She shook her head, "We can't tell him anything until we're sure they're no longer a threat."

"When would that be, Victoria? Tomorrow? The next day? We can't live our lives like this. Constantly wondering when the next threat will be."

She gave me a serious look, "Did you know that before I met James and Laurent, I had another coven? We were careless, and thought we were powerful, until the Volturi found us, and destroyed or repurposed everyone I ever knew, including my sister. Don't let that happen here. As long as your wife's father is in the dark, he's better off, for his own safety. You're a tactician, as well. You know this to be true. From what I've seen, you've usually tried to reduce the casualties to yourself. However, The Volturi will strike at everyone you know, because they can. Don't let your father-figure become a bystander in this. I'm with Carlisle about the adoption story. Besides, as long as Bella looks alive, he'll be none the wiser."

I let out a breath in frustration, "Fine. I got it. We'll wait."

We heard the door slam as someone rushed to the meeting room, and before us stood Jacob.

He saw her, and snarled, "What the hell is she doing here?"

I stood up to face off with him, "She's an ally."

"Don't be stupid, Damien. Do you remember what she's been doing? She's the serial you've been looking for."

"Well, it's not like I can announce that the perp is a vampire, now can I? Besides, she saved me from your temperamental ass."

He grabbed me by the shirt, "Where's Bella? What've you done with her?"

I reached up, and squeezed his wrist, "Alright. I'm only going to say this to you, once, because I'm really sick of all this jealousy crap, and it's starting to get really old. If you touch me again, I'm going to break your hand off. If you touch Bella, without her permission, I'll snap your neck. Very simple, no? She's not into you, or Cullen. So deal with that, and move on. If you're not here to help, then you're part of the problem. So leave now."

He tried to hit me with his other hand, "Bella's pregnant, or she was. What did you do with her?"

"I wouldn't hurt her. She's in med-lab."

He pulled himself away from me, and went to the med-lab.

Bella looked at him and her face drew in darkly, "What do you want, Jacob?"

He knelt by her, "What've they done to you? First that freak, Cullen, and now it's angel boy."

I grabbed his shoulder, "So, you know what I can do. Now leave."

He snarled over his shoulder, "I'm here for her."

Bella gave me a resigned look, to which I shrugged, "Ok, Jacob. You can stay, but if you raise so much as a finger or give him an obscene gesture, I'll have you thrown out, no exceptions."

He moved his head profusely, "Fine. Got it."

Edward:

I watched Becca as she slept. I had taken her home, and had helped her get into her room so her father wouldn't suspect she had been out. Unlike new Bella, she actually wanted me around, and relished it. She was a lot like my own Bella. I lay next to her, and took in her scent as she moved to and fro, reaching out to make sure I was there.

I ended up telling her my actual name after much thought. At first, I was thinking of drinking her blood, as long as it was after she told her parents about a certain young deputy who met her in a teen club. Yet, I could not bring myself to end her life, as she tried to make me her life. I figured, if I brought her back to the house, then Bella would do all she could to get my attention. She might even toss aside the Neanderthal, and I'd just hand Becca to him. It would be a fair trade, I thought.

Yet, I was reminded constantly of whom Bella had actually chosen. As Becca dozed off, she said his name, and it almost made me so furious I wanted to snap her neck, or drink her dry then and there. Then I remembered that I had given her that name in the first place, as my own.

I moved her to wake her, and she looked up at me with such a smile, "What is it, Damien?"

I shook my head, "That's just it. My name isn't Damien. It's Edward…I didn't give you my name before because I wasn't sure if you'd like me."

She smiled at me tiredly, "That's ridiculous. Of course, I like you, Edward."

I kissed her forehead, "Say that again, Becca."

She leaned against me, "I like you, Edward. Is that good enough?"

I held her to me, and felt satisfied as I watched her fall back asleep. I decided I would stay here, with her a while longer. Once I made her like me, then I would go back and show Bella that I had found someone much better. I whispered to her how much she meant to me.

She pulled her head up, and looked at me weirdly, "Who's Bella?"

I shook my head, "Who?"

She pulled away from me a bit, "Bella. You said that name as you whispered to me, just now. That's kinda lame. Why are you playing me?"

I took her in my arms, "She's someone who died, a long time ago. You remind me of her."

She sighed with relief, "Oooh, ok. I'm sorry, Edward. That was kinda weird, so I'm just being careful. Hope you understand." She cuddled up to me again, and lay her head against my chest. Fortunately, she didn't see the scowl that formed on my face as she almost turned me away. Yet, I decided I would stay with her a while longer.

Bella:

Renesmee came sooner than expected, on the morning of the first, instead of the evening. The birth left me winded, and after I had her, I felt my body change. I was stronger, as I felt my skin become vibrant, and super sensitive. My senses were so high, as I took in the sights and sounds of everything around me. Rosalie and Esme were attending to cleaning Renesmee as I looked to Damien. He was hunched over me, holding my hand.

"Bella, thank goodness. You were out for a moment, I thought-"

I was next to standing next to him in seconds, and he did a bit of a double take as he realized I wasn't in bed anymore. He turned around to see me, reaching up to touch my face, and letting his thumb fall across my lips. Moreover, my heart was beating fast and strong. My nerves felt like they were bursting with electricity.

"So, what do you think?"

He smiled broadly, pulling me close, "I think my Vampire Princess is a knock out, that's what."

I found I could still blush, as the rest of the family entered to see me. They all regarded me with such wonder I thought I was dreaming. It didn't matter as there was only one person for me, no, make that two, who made me feel complete.

Rosalie walked over to Damien and me, handing us our daughter. Victoria was already quite taken with her, and said to me, "I never really saw happy children where I grew up."

We held our daughter between us, and kissed each other over her head as she reached up to us. "Looks like I can't call you baby anymore, since you're the daddy."

He winked, "True, but that bit will never get old for me."

I looked at him for a moment, "What'll we tell Charlie?"

He got serious, "About that, we'll have to tell him that you lost the baby, and the Cullens helped you find a child to adopt to ease your pain."

I shook my head, "He's never going to buy that. She looks like us, and she's even got my eyes, and your nose."

He listened to all this, and said, "I know, but right now, the less he knows, the better. I really wish we could tell him what was going on, but we have enemies."

"Well, this queen thinks we should take the fight to them, before they come here to us. I say we strike first, and strike hard."

"They may not see us coming, but we will be on their turf, babe."

I took a moment to consider that, "Well, we have to figure something out. We can't just stand here and wait for them to come for our daughter."

Victoria spoke up, "As exciting as it is to see you come into your own as Joan of Arc, I would like to caution you not to face the Volturi head on. If they overpower you, they will never let you go. Also, they will want to see how much they can take from you before destroying you."

I asked her, "Can they destroy me?"

"No, but they will enjoy trying, especially the one called Caius."

I took a moment to consider that, "Would it be possible to get information on them? Like set up some kind of database with their capabilities and limits?"

She looked between the two of us, "You're starting to sound like him."

I met her gaze evenly, "If we attack, or fight them, we have to fight smart, and attack smart. There's no room for error. If anything, we'd need to get ourselves organized before taking on something that big."

Rosalie came over to us, and took our daughter, "I don't think the baby should be listening to any of this."

Damien conceded, and let Rosalie handle the baby, "Thanks, Rosalie. We'll be going to the living room soon."

He looked to me, "We won't go pre-emptive strike on this. I don't think it's wise to charge in."

I met his eyes, "Well, I do. This is the only way we can be sure. We strike hard, and fast. We leave no survivors, and we can go on with our lives."

He tipped his head aside, "Suppose we miss someone, then what? They come here for a reprisal, and destroy everything we hold dear."

I gave him a stern look, "We can fight off one or two strays."

"What if it's not one or two strays?"

I conceded that, "Well, I suppose they're not foolish enough to just base themselves in one location. I'm guessing that place we saw might be a main base, but not their only one. It's very possible that they have satellite covens all over the world, and ingrained into our society."

We both turned to Victoria clapping as she approached us both, "My, my. You are made for this, Bella. I can see why he chose you."

Jacob interrupted, "Doesn't count if he made her like that. He trained her to be all gung-ho Amazon before she was turned."

Victoria gave him a mocking glare, "No, you stupid dog. She's always had this potential. She may have more yet, which we haven't seen."

Damien turned to me, "Full potential that won't be realized if we don't start taking account of all your abilities."

I turned to Victoria, "How do I start to develop those?"

"Just field testing. Go out there, and start hitting everything in your path, to see what comes out."

"Can I do everything Damien can do?"

He put his arm around me, "I'm pretty sure you could, considering you're a hybrid. I also think you'd be able to overpower an angel because you've got the traits of two magical beings."

I reached up to touch his face, "Would I be able to hurt you?"

"We don't know that, yet. I suppose we'll have to test it. We've got a lot of time before actually going out there to fight them."

My eyes met his, "So, you do agree it's a good idea."

"Easy, princess. We'll have to take stock of all of our resources, and everyone's capabilities. If we have a full mental listing of everyone's abilities, we'll be able to plan and attack accordingly, once faced with that situation."

I turned to face him, "When that Jane used her abilities on you, why didn't you fall?"

He thought about it a moment, "She can make one see fire, or whatever a person finds to be of absolute, and terrible pain."

"It didn't make you fall over in pain, though."

He shrugged, "It wouldn't. I'd been exposed to several types of torture when I was first found, and had it done to me repeatedly. Whatever Jane was trying to show didn't really bring me down because it wasn't as terrible as what I remembered from childhood."

I leaned against him, "God, I don't know why anyone would want to hurt you like that."

He kissed the top of my head, "It's ok. Really."

I gave him a pensive look, "We'll start asking around about what the Volturi can do, and take it from there. Carlisle, think you can get word out about our inquiries without alerting them?"

He looked over at us, "Sounds reasonable enough. I have many friends that would be willing to help us if it came to a fight."

I nodded, "Great, we'll start there. Subtle inquiries."

He wrapped his arms around both my shoulders, "Told you you'd make a great queen."

I turned back to kiss him, and looked at Victoria, "So, this should be enough for now, don't you think?"

Victoria gave me a clever smile, "You don't need to ask me anything. You're doing pretty well all by yourself."

I reached up to touch his arms, "Not all by myself. I had help."

"So humble, princess." He leaned his head on my shoulder.

I looked around, "Meeting adjourned. We have to go back to Charlie's right now, with school starting up again in a few days, he'll want us back soon."

He turned me to face him, "Did you bring my car, or would you want to run home?"

I smiled, "As much as I'd love to race you home, I think driving home might help our cover a little better."

He turned to Carlisle, "Do you have that baby seat I asked you to get?"

He nodded, and we smiled as we looked at his car from the balcony, or rather, our car, now.

Jacob came up to talk to us as Rosalie handed us our daughter. Damien glanced over as he saw Jasper come out and give Jacob massive blow to the head, knocking him out.

"Is he ok?"

Victoria rushed over with Emmett as they dragged the unconscious Jacob away, she told me, "You'd better go home, now."

Edward:

I decided that the best thing to do at school was to make sure I was seen with Becca, so that everyone could see I had found a mate. Yet when I saw Bella again, she was more beautiful than I remember. She was more brilliant than she had been when I saw her in Alice's vision. She was also much more powerful, and strong. She walked into the cafeteria with a more determined pace, her head up, and hair bouncing on her shoulders. She saw me with Becca, and looked away. She sat with her friends, as I found a table for myself and Becca while my siblings sat together, watching me with suspicion and curiosity. I took Becca's hand, and walked over to them.

"Hi everyone, this is Becca. She's a junior here."

Rosalie stood up first, and hugged me, "Edward, I'm so proud of you. This is exactly what you needed. A fresh start."

The rest of them stood up, regarding Becca with a bit of wonder, but they remained polite, and in fact welcoming.

Still I noticed that Bella wasn't coming over to talk to them, "Are you all giving Bella and Damien the silent treatment?"

Alice looked at me, "It's best not to ask about Bella. She's got a lot on her mind, so we're giving her some space."

I swept my eyes at them, "Did Damien actually die?"

They didn't say anything, even Emmett was silent, "It doesn't matter, dude. You already have your mate. So, that's good news right there."

Becca spoke up, "That tall girl with the brown hair, that's Bella?"

They all looked at her, as she turned to me, "Hadn't you told me she was dead?"

Bella came up behind me just then, "Who's dead, now?"

I turned to face her, trying to say something, but even as I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

She turned her attention to Becca, "I'm Bella, his sister. I was in a car accident a few years back, and dropped into a coma for a while. So, it was like I was dead. The family had been urged a long time to pull the plug, but I woke up a few days ago. It's good to see you again, brother."

I still found myself unable to say much. She had just covered for me, but I started to wonder what the catch was.

I finally extended my hand to shake hers, "Bella, I'm sorry about Damien. I know how much he meant to you."

She smiled at that, "He's out of his coma, too. It's like we've been given back our life. Enjoy yours, Edward. You deserve it." She walked away, just then. Just like that, I knew I had lost her, forever. I squeezed Becca's hand.

She looked up at me, "Wow, your sister's a knockout. You never told me I looked a little like her."

"I hadn't even thought about it, to tell you the truth." I lied, but I believed it.

She leaned on my shoulder, "Well, I'm glad she's got everything together for herself now. She seems like she's a little older than you, for some reason. Is that weird?"

I shook my head, "No, I guess not. My older sis is a bit mature for her age. Even when we were kids." I realized now, she was out of my reach. I accepted it, and the vision Alice showed me began to fade from my memory.

Continued….

Phew, there's chapter 5. I suppose that this wasn't what ya'll expect, but I had to break away from Twilight at some point. I've been wanting to introduce a few new concepts to this world for a while. Also, once I start the next chapter, you'll see a lot more of "Queen Bella" and Damien, still analytical and not sick anymore. Haha. If ya'll could please leave me some feedback on these chars, and their relationships.