Chapter 9

Revitalization

Renesmee:

I tried to stay with my parents as they watched over all the training, and Victoria would have me stay with her friend, Heidi, while she showed my parents the advancements she'd made with the scores of new people. I would ask Heidi if she'd want to play Hide and Seek, to which she'd usually agree. Once I went to hide, I would switch to my teen form, which she'd never seen. So, she would pass me in the hall, and even ask me if I had seen a little girl. It would take all my strength not to burst out laughing. Then I would wander until I found where they kept Alec. Usually, he was being guarded by one of the newer recruits. I would tell them I'm there to relieve them, and they would leave me to it. As soon as they left, I would walk up to Alec, look him over as I kept my mature form up. It took a lot of concentration to do so, but it was all I could do right now since I hadn't reached my full state of maturity.

He gave me a sneer, "What do you want, little girl?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and breathed deeply, "I hate it when you get all snotty like that, you know?"

He rolled his eyes, "It's all part of the act. I don't think your parents are going to let me go, either. They seem pretty dead-set on killing me if they can't use me."

I pulled close to him, "Don't say things like that. I'll talk to them."

He moved his head to take in my scent, "Don't. It would only get you in trouble, Ren. I don't think I could stand to have you in here with me like this."

I pulled back from him, "They wouldn't hurt me like that."

"Your mother is quite the warlord. I don't know if she would be willing to spare her daughter if she were consorting with the enemy."

I kissed him, deeply, and now I knew how my mother felt whenever she kissed my father, "You're not the enemy. I know that, now. You came to my rescue when you saw Laurent had taken me."

He looked at me sadly, "Laurent knew what I would do. That's why he was trying to get you directly to my superiors. I had been watching him rather closely, you know? I knew that he would tell them about the army your parents were building. I also saw you on the balcony of the Cullen mansion that day…"

"When my mother was talking to my Uncle Edward?"

I remembered that I had been standing there, and heard a growl, but then that turned to a yelp as I saw the cloaked figure emerge from the woods. He looked up at me, and at that moment, I saw everything my mother thought about when she would look at my father. I was still in such a young body, but my heart felt an ache I had never felt before. I saw him jump up to the balcony, putting his finger to his lips. I had reached up to touch his face then, and he reached to touch mine, as he had whispered, "I chased one of those wolves away. It seemed he was trying to gain a connection of some sort with you. Don't worry, I won't let him near you."

Then I turned to see my mother dismiss my uncle and motioned for him to leave. I went to my mother then, and we had a short talk, even as I knew Alec was watching me. I knew he had been watching over me for weeks, but I couldn't figure out how to tell my parents about him. It was only when he told me that Laurent might try to take me to the Volturi that I could conceive of some way to be with him.

I held him now, "I don't think my mom would hate what we have. I'll try to make her understand."

He looked around doubtfully, "I don't know how long it will be before they come for me. My sister must be extremely worried about me."

I pulled back to look at him, "Your sister did come for you. My mother and father fought them off."

He was surprised, "Did you lose anyone?"

"No, I was able to sing my song. It did just what you said it would. It weakened them, and Aro left with Caius."

He looked relieved, "Aro is alive then?"

My face must've darkened because he turned to kiss me, "No fair, you trying to calm me down when I want to be mad."

He shook his head, "Aro saved me and my sister. You have to find a way for your parents to reason with him. Caius is the one that's trying to wage bloody war."

I put my hands on his shoulders, "All of them want us dead, including Aro. I mean, how do you know Aro is really sincere about his loyalty to you and your sister?"

His eyes were solemn, "He needs us, Ren. I can't let that pass because he was there in our moment of need."

I put my forehead to his, "What happens when that is no longer true? What do you think will happen to you and your sister? He will toss you both aside, because that's the type of person he is."

His face darkened now, "Leave me alone, Ren."

"Alec-"

He looked like he did it with such effort, but he gave me his most hateful look, "I want you to go away, now! I don't want to see you, Ren!"

I hit him across the face, "Don't you dare do that to me, Alec! You hear me? I will not have you try to chase me away because of your loyalty for Aro." I started to walk away, and looked at him over my shoulder, "You should know that when my mother threw Jane at him, during their retreat, he knocked her away so he could escape. I want you to think about that before you turn me away."

I left his cell, and told the guard to relieve me. I ran back to the area where Heidi was still searching for me, phasing back to my younger body. She did find me wandering in the halls.

"Renesmee, there you are! Don't wander off like that. Do you know how upset your parents would be if- Dear, are you crying?"

I shook my head as I reached up to wipe my eyes, "I couldn't find you. I thought I got lost. Can we play another game?"

She smiled, "Anything you like…except chess. I'm quite terrible at it."

I shrugged, "Can we play one of my puzzle games?"

She took my hand, and we went off to the recreation room.

Bella:

Damien and I were following Victoria and Riley as he showed us the various stages of training that everyone was undergoing. Another thing that did surprise me a bit was that when they thought we weren't looking, they reached for each other's hand, squeezed once, and went back to officer decorum when we turned to ask them any questions. Finally, I took Victoria aside as Damien talked with Riley about field-testing off base.

I put one hand on her shoulder, "Do you like him?"

She tried to look away, "That's irrelevant, Commander. We're trying to maintain a working army with the capability to fight our enemies."

I squeezed her shoulder now, "Do you like him, or not? Simple question."

She reached up to stroke her hand through her hair, "Yes, but I don't think it would be appropriate to display such."

I hugged her then, which made her gasp in surprise, and told her, "The main point of this army is to promote free will for other vampires, or hybrids. We're doing this so no one should fear what some elder group thinks. We love whom we love, you know? So, if you want to hold hands with Riley, go for it. I'm not going to go all ballistic over something like that. That would be dumb."

She did something I never thought I'd see her do. She giggled, "I guess you're right. It's just that you expect me to keep everyone ready. So, I thought you would see me getting emotional as a weakness."

I put one arm around her, "Emotions don't make us weak. We fight for those we love, and that gives us the strength to take down anyone that tries to hurt those we love."

She gave me a cat-like grin, "The way you took down Felix? That was rather impressive."

I burst into a grin when she said that, "Totally. Besides, I saw him hurt my guy the last time we met. I've been dying for payback since."

She giggled again, a very pleasant sound, "That, I believe."

The guys came back, both of them looking a little confused, Riley asked, "Is everything alright, Commander?"

I nodded, "Everything's great. Keep doing what you're doing." Then I leaned in to whisper, "She's crazy about you. Don't let her go."

Damien pulled me into an embrace, "Anything I should know about?"

I shook my head, "Just girl talk, baby. Do you want to go out there and do some field training with the rest of them?"

He shrugged, "I might be out of practice."

I shook my head at that, "Oh no. Then, we've got to get you out there for some kind of work out."

He leaned in to kiss my neck, "I thought that was your department."

I laughed, "It's my department out here, too. Let's go spar, already. I want to show you some new moves I've been thinking about." Now I was pulling him along as we went out to the training field.

As he let me pull him along, he gave me that smile of his, and he called out, "Hey, Bella, would you slow down?" I could tell he was just joking, though, because he was keeping pace, and took me into his arms to carry me. "Here. I'll be your chariot."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and giggled myself, "We're so lame."

He grinned, "Yeah, we are, but so what."

We rushed out to join everyone in their training.

We got into the car with Ren, just after finishing a particularly rigorous training session. Still the two of us felt exhilarated. I knew I would have school the next day, as would Jess, Angela, and Mike. I reminded them as I left, and as we got in the car, I put Ren in the back seat.

While he Damien was driving Ren scooted up so she could rest her head on my shoulder, "Mom, can I come back tomorrow?"

I shook my head, letting her know, "Aunt Esme is going to go over lessons with you, so grandma can sign off on them in the summer."

"I could stay with Victoria."

He inclined his head, "Ren, Victoria's busy with training everyone. She won't have time to really play with you."

She grumbled now, "What if I don't want to play?"

I turned to face her, "What's that mean, dear?"

She gave me a hard look that I'd never thought I'd see in my daughter's eyes, "I want to train, too, like you and daddy."

I touched her face, "Ren, honey, you won't have to worry about that stuff until you're older. If we're lucky, you might never have to worry about it."

She looked up at me, "What if you didn't have to train? What if the Volturi just gave up?"

I cleared my throat, "They won't. They want to see us fall, Ren."

Damien turned to look at me, "Bella, no."

I shot him a look, "She needs to hear this, baby. Our daughter needs to hear why we're doing this."

Renesmee pulled back to sit on her seat, arms crossed, "I know why you're doing it, mom. You're doing it so you can beat the Volturi, and then our group will be in charge, but it won't change things. It'll just mean that we're in charge instead of them."

I gave Ren a stern look, "Alright, Ren. I guess it's time you hear the truth. The Volturi want to kill us, and take you as one of their own. No more grandma and grandpa; no more chess; no more anything, because then you'll be one of them."

He was slowing now, "Bella, stop."

My eyes darted to him, "Don't stop the car. Keep driving."

He pulled over, and turned to me, "We can't put it to her like this. She's still trying to understand why we do what we do."

I stared hard at him, "Now who's trying to baby her? We have to make her understand, now, while she's still young."

"You're scaring the kid, Bella. She has to be able to make up her own mind, and you're not making easy for her."

"Hard is how things should be. You got along with dealing with the harsh realities at her age."

"Well, she's not me. You can't force that on her!"

She kicked the back of our seat, "Shut up! Shut up! I hate it when you fight about me! I hate the both of you!"

She got out of the car, and ran into the woods nearby.

We both got out of the car, and called for her for 5 minutes. I looked to him, "I told you to put the child locks on, but did you listen?"

"Now is not the time. Let's just go find her, ok?"

Out of the woods came Jacob, holding Renesmee. She was unconscious, and Damien took her into his own arms.

I went to check on her myself, as Damien stroked through her hair, "She'll be fine, I think."

Jacob looked at both of us, "Of course, she will be."

We both looked at him, and turned to take her to our car. Damien looked to me, and told me, "We'll talk to her when we got home, but you've got to calm down with her, you know?"

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Bella, please."

Jacob started to follow us now, and we turned to look at him. I asked, "What do you want?"

"Well, the thing is. You're holding Nessie, right now. She's also my responsibility, you know?"

Damien shook his head, "What are you talking about?"

Jacob gave him a smug look, and said, "She's mine, now. I imprinted on her."

Damien handed our daughter to me, and went up to Jacob, "Hold still."

He looked into Jacob's eyes, and Jacob seemed to be shivering and having a fit of seizures. After a few minutes, he growled at Damien, "How could you do that to me, you bastard?! You removed the imprint!"

"I don't care what kind of connection you think you have with her, but our daughter will be with the one she chooses. I will not have someone…mark her, and decided to try to own her. If you come near her, again, I'll do more than remove an imprint."

He turned around, and Jake went full wolf on him. Damien caught the massive paw this time, and kicked Jacob to a tree, making him hit it hard. He slid down to the base of the tree, whimpering and growling.

Jacob now got himself up on all fours, and came at Damien to charge him again, forcing Damien to spread his wings, which would've been like hitting so many steel spikes as the feathers seemed to protrude backward. Jacob gave a high-pitched howl and dropped back. Damien turned to face him, watching him limp back into the woods.

He came over to us, "Let's go home. We'll talk about everything there, ok?"

I nodded, and I carried Ren back to the car. Sitting in the back seat with her, and let Damien drive, as Ren slept leaning against me.

Damien:

The next morning, Ren woke up and I got to her room, she was playing a video game. I poked my head in, "Ren, turn that off, your mom and I need to talk to you, right now."

She looked up, and I could see some dread in her eyes, "Do I have to?"

I creased my eyebrows, "Now, young lady."

I went back to sit in bed with Bella, "How're we doing today?"

She looked up at me, reaching her arms out for me, and said, "I'm sorry, baby."

I took her into my arms, "It's ok, babe, really."

She pulled back, "No, that was not cool. I was being a total bitch. I said a lot of nasty things to you, and our daughter. That shouldn't happen."

I leaned my head aside pensively, "What parent knows exactly what to do, and when?"

She leaned her head on my shoulder, "You do, apparently. You're way better at this than I am."

I rubbed my hands down her back, "I'm figuring all this out, myself, just like you are. This is our first child, so we're going to make a lot of mistakes, and we're going to be either too lenient or too strict, but we can't forget that we're dealing with a girl that's got both of us inside her, and that means when we fight with her, it'll be like fighting ourselves, in some way. We just deal."

She pulled back, her eyes were watering, "I love you."

"I love you, too. You know that. Look, next time we have an argument, let's have it when we've got a babysitter for Ren, ok?"

She grinned as she wiped her eyes, "I don't know about that. We've been fighting a lot, lately. I'm getting worried about us."

I reached up to dry her eyes, "Don't. We're fighting like any other couple raising their first child. Happens, you know?"

She sighed deeply, reaching up to touch my face, "We promised each other, though, that we would support each other, no matter what."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we weren't going to have our own opinion on how to do the kid thing. Hey, we both bring something to the table, babe. We're not perfect, especially me."

She did snap at me, "What's that supposed to mean?"

I held her shoulder, "It means, I'm learning all this too. We're both on level one in this little adventure. It'll be awhile before we know what we're doing."

"I guess you're right. I'm so sorry for not agreeing with you all the time."

I kissed her then, bringing her into my arms, "If you did, I'd be worried. I didn't marry a robot. I married a vampire princess."

She sighed, "We're not married, yet."

"Details." I then pulled her into a full kiss, and we held each other like that for some time until we heard a small voice clear her throat. We both separated, and Bella patted one section of the bed for Ren to sit on.

Bella asked her, "Do you know why you're here?"

Ren looked around, "I dunno. Dad said you needed to talk to me."

I added, "We both do, Ren. Why did you run out of the car like that?"

She shrugged, "I didn't like to hear you arguing about me."

Bella told her, "That's just it, dear. We argue because we love you. Mommy realizes she was being mean, so I'm sorry about that."

I gave her a stern look, "You can't just jump out of the car, and run away into the woods, Ren. Who knows what's out there?"

She looked down, "Sorry, daddy. Mommy, you weren't being mean. You were telling me what's what. I get it."

I placed my hand on her shoulder, "So, here's the deal. You are grounded, young lady. That means, no chess, no game system for a week. You look at books only, and only if they're textbooks for your home school deal. Got it?"

She raised her head in protest, pouting, "Dad!"

Bella got in her face, "That's the deal, Renesmee Carlie Summers. Do you get me?"

Ren looked down, "Ok. Got it."

I gave her shoulder an affectionate shake, "Go get dressed, and we'll make you some breakfast."

She looked up, "Star-shaped pancakes?"

I shook my head, "Waffles."

"Dad!"

"Waffles or toast. Which will it be?"

She looked down, "Waffles."

Bella tapped her backside, "Go get dressed. Your aunt Esme is waiting to get to your lessons."

We got ourselves ready for our own destinations: Ren was going to the Cullen mansion once I dropped her off; Bella was going to school so she could get through her last few high school classes; and I would be going to the station to report for duty. Before I dropped off Bella, she gave me a deep kiss.

When we parted, "Ok, that should make you miss me."

I smiled, "I always miss you when you're away."

Ren kissed Bella on the cheek, "Bye, mom. See you when we get back."

Bella hugged her tightly, and kissed her forehead, "I'll see you, then. I miss you already."

Ren giggled, "Ok, mom. Got it."

I dropped Ren off, and Esme hugged her as she arrived. She sent Ren into the house, and grabbed my shoulder affectionately, "Hope you're doing well, Damien."

"Always, mom. Thank you for watching Ren for us."

"Oh please, darling, anytime." She smiled, and went into the house.

I sat there in the car, watching the area around the house a moment longer before actually taking off to the police station.

Bella:

I met up with Jessica, Angela and Mike when I got to school. We ended up sitting at a table close to the Cullens, although Alice was finding it very hard to talk to Jess or Angela. She was in fact, very uncomfortable. Edward was also sitting at the Cullen table with Becca, and they seemed to be getting along well enough. He wasn't looking over at me, so that was a relief. I was getting myself a salad when I found Alice standing next to me.

"Bella, I heard from Jasper that you dealt with the Volturi."

"They attacked us first. So, we defended ourselves. What else could we do?"

"I want you to know that if I had known, I would've warned you about them."

I shook my head, "Alice, don't even worry about it. I think we did more harm to them, than they did to us."

"I still can't believe that you were able to repel the Volturi."

"It was a small group, and they probably thought that would be enough."

"How'd you turn the tide?"

"Renesmee is a songstress. She was able to break the spell on a few of them, and turned them on themselves."

"Well, I guess, if you like, we can have her sing something at the wedding."

I shook my head, "That might be a little too much pressure for her. Besides, I was hoping you could tell me how far along the planning's gone."

"Well, it's still in the planning stages, so it'll be a while. You still want to get married after graduation, though, right?"

"Definitely. Thanks, Alice."

"I think you should know…Edward's happier with Becca. So, he has moved on to better things."

I made a slight smile, "Well, that's great for him. Congrats to him, really." I moved to go back to the table, just as she took hold of my wrist.

She gave me a serious look, "That should've been your destiny, Bella. You left that behind for getting knocked up at a young age, and now have a daughter who might just end up betraying you."

I turned to her, "My daughter-What about Ren? What's this got to do with her, anyway?"

She let me go, "No, forget it. I've said too much. By the way, the Volturi will not forgive what you'd done. I'm pretty sure they're trying to plan when to strike next, and you won't be ready the next time."

I grabbed her shoulder, "Hey, Alice. Not so cryptic. Just tell me what's going on, already."

She gave me a bit of a vicious smile, "Now, where would the fun in that be?"

I moved my hand down to her arm, and grabbed her, "Ok, smart girl. Let's just get this over with." I looked around, and gave Jasper a gesture that I would need to have a private talk with Alice to which he inclined his head in approval.

After taking her to an empty classroom, I told her, "Sit down, now."

She glared at me, "How dare you-"

"Just have a seat, Alice. Please?"

She threw herself onto one of the desks, and crossed her arms, "What are you going to tell me? You expect my help with your little army?"

"Actually, Alice, that's just it. I don't. When my fiancé asked you to attend to the wedding details, that was meant to be a courtesy, a gesture of good will. I was hoping that would have you forget about all this destiny nonsense."

"I saw the perfect future for you, Bella. You threw it all away for that stupid, stupid boy who is so beneath you, it makes me sick."

"Then, don't worry about the wedding. I will ask my mother and father to help with something small. That's what he wanted anyway."

"Fine! Do what he wants. I don't want to have to see you throw your life away with him, the way you have been already."

"Alice, where is all this coming from, anyway? I thought you were a friend."

"If you had married Edward, I would be your sister. This man is leading you down a dark path, Bella. He's leading you to a fight you can't win, and once he's done destroying you, and making you like him, what would be the point?"

I slammed my hand on the table of her desk, "That's just it, Alice. This isn't his doing, or his decision. This is my doing. This is my will. I need you to understand that, and move on. There is no pairing with Edward and me. There is no destiny for us that must come to pass. We're here, now. Let it go at that."

She reached up and put her palm to my forehead, showing me the memory she had saved for me to see. I had seen it once before, and even now, seeing my other self in that reality, it made me sick. I waited patiently until she was done conveying the whole memory to me. She stood up now, and took my shoulder.

"It's not too late, Bella. There's still time."

I walked away from her, "Goodbye, Alice. I really wish we could've been friends, even if we weren't sisters. If this is how it has to be, then good luck with all your issues."

"Your daughter will betray you for a member of the Volturi. I wanted to let it happen so you could see it for yourself. Now, I have to tell you, because I know you won't change your mind about your current path, and when she does, Bella, I will be there to laugh as the Volturi drag you away, after killing your man. None of us will lift a finger to stop it from happening, because you're dangerous, Bella. You're a danger to us, to everyone around you."

I sped back to her, and grabbed her hard, "What's wrong with you, Alice? I don't get it! Why are you so psycho?"

Jasper came in, holding a woman, keeping his hand on her mouth, "This is Chelsea. She's a mood enhancement agent for the Volturi. She's also been in communication with Alice for a while now. I hadn't realized it until I suddenly felt that she wasn't responding to any of the calming waves I sent towards her. She's made Alice into an unwitting agent for the enemy."

I told Jasper, "Ask her if Alice is telling the truth about my daughter."

Jasper held the woman's arm behind her back, "Well? Answer the question."

Chelsea shook her head, "I can't tell, for some reason."

I turned to Jasper, "Why would Alice be affected if she had some of Damien's blood?"

He shook his head, "That's just it, Bella. When Damien offered it, Alice refused, and said she would not accept anything from him until he became just an associate, or acquaintance."

I grabbed Alice by her shoulder, "Why would you let them do this to you?"

She tried to shake me off, "Why do you think? If you didn't want to take the destiny I saw for you, why should I accept anything from the man responsible for your misdirection?"

Jessica came in, "Then maybe you'd be willing to take some blood from me." As she said this, she cut her wrist, and showed it to Alice, who was trying to turn away. She could not resist, however, and sped out of my hands and to drink from Jessica. She drank deeply, and found herself calming after a while. She swept her eyes at all of us.

"Bella? Jaz? What's going on? What's that woman from the Volturi doing here?"

Jasper grinned, "She was just leaving. Now, listen to me, you little sycophant: If asked, your report will be that you found nothing, and there is no further development of the army. You will believe this to be the truth. Understand?"

The woman nodded furiously, and Jasper released her, "It is understood, and shall be as you wish." She sped off.

Alice looked at him for a moment, "How did you do that?"

"Let's just say it's one of my newer gifts. Are you still at odds with Bella?"

She looked puzzled, "What? Bella, are we still arguing for some reason?"

I shrugged, "You know, I don't remember. Let's go back and join the others."

Jess walked next to me, "I'm sorry I had to force her to do that."

"Don't worry about it, Jess. You saved us the trouble of having to confine her. I want you to take comfort in that."

She put her arm around me, "Do you know what she was talking about Ren for?"

"I wish I knew. I don't think there's anything that my daughter would be hiding from me."

She gave me a shy look, "Want me to find out?"

Damien:

When I got to the station, Charlie was talking with someone from the city. He was asking about the disappearances from the year before. Charlie waved me over.

"Damien, I want you to meet Adam Westchester. He's a PD from Seattle. He wanted to ask your progress on the cases."

I shook Adam's hand, "I'm Damien Summers. It was an animal attack that killed the missing hikers. I wish I could tell you more, but that's all I've been able to piece together."

He patted my shoulder, "Gotcha. Is there any good place to eat around here? My ward was wondering if there are some good pizza places."

I shrugged, "I could give you a print out with a list of the local eateries, but that's all I could really spare."

He smiled, "You know, that just might be enough. Mind catching dinner with me, later?"

I smiled politely, "I really can't. I have a wife and child waiting for me at home."

"Whoa, really? Aren't you like 18 or so?"

"Your point being?"

"Hey, easy. It's a simple question. The thing is, my ward wanted to meet you, since I showed her your picture. So, she wants your autograph."

"Sure. That, I can do. Anything else?"

"I'd be glad to meet your wife and kid, if that's ok. I miss my family since a while back now."

"Are they living far away?"

He shook his head, "Not living at all, actually. They died in a car accident."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, no. I'm over it. I just was hoping to get to know a few people here."

"Tell you what. I would be much obliged. Just let me call my wife, and let her know I'll be bringing guests over. Would that be alright, Charlie?"

"Of course, anything to welcome a newcomer. We'll have dinner at 7 sharp, so be there, then. Bella's always glad to meet some of Damien's friends."

"Awesome, awesome. Can I look at some of the files you have for the past year's cases?"

"I'll get them for you right away, Adam."

It would be safe to say, that Adam struck me as a pretty good guy. Also, I could tell he was not lying about his family. It made trusting him that much easier, but even so, I still did not want to let my guard down. It's not that I was deeply paranoid, or anything, but I always wanted to make sure I covered my bases when it came to new people.

Bella:

When Damien picked me up, he was already with Renesmee, and that made things easier. Jess was already sitting in the back, so Ren didn't mind sitting back there, either. They made small talk as I asked Damien about his day.

"It was alright. We have a new guy working the missing persons cases from earlier in the year. I might be able to throw him off if I can convince him that nothing is happening. It's still going to be hard. Also, he wanted to drop by for dinner with us: You, Ren, Charlie, and me. He's also bringing his ward. Apparently, she thinks I'm famous or something because she wants my autograph."

I chuckled, "Well, what can I say? I'm dating a celebrity."

Ren moved up to talk to me, "Mom, can I go with Jess to try on some dresses?"

Damien was saying, "Ren, grounded means-"

I interrupted, "Of course, you can, Ren. Have fun."

Damien looked over at me, raising his brow, "Well, alright, Ren. Have fun, but remember to do the homework that Aunt Esme assigned you."

"Ok, daddy." She kissed his cheek, and went back to talking with Jess.

He turned to me, "You mind telling me what's going on?"

"I'll explain it all later, promise."

"Fine. How was your day?"

"The Volturi sent someone to manipulate Alice. She was getting really nasty, too, when she talked to me."

"What'd she say?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about later."

He shrugged, "Alright, that's fine. I guess we'll talk about it, later."

I rubbed his arm, "You're not mad, are you?"

He looked over at me, "Of course not. I'm just a little surprised, is all, but I guess you have your reasons, so we'll just talk later."

"Thanks for understanding, baby."

"It's cool. Jessica, would you like to join us for dinner?"

"At Charlie's house?"

"That would be where we are at the moment, yes."

"Sure. I'd be happy too. So much for not inviting vampires into your home, huh?"

I looked back, "That's only in the more traditional vampire lore, Jess."

She giggled nervously, "Right, right."

When we got home, Charlie had already bought a ready-made roast chicken for dinner. He'd also set up the table for 6 people. I brought over a chair so Jess could sit next to Ren. After convince Ren to help Charlie with pouring the salads into a bowl, I pulled Jessica aside.

"So, what did you guys talk about?"

"She asked me if I knew what guys liked in a girl?"

I chewed on that, "What would that mean?"

She gave me a helpless look, "I think your daughter is starting to get curious about boys, Bella. I mean, it's common, but not for girls so young."

I shook my head, "She can shift her physical age back and forth. I think in her mind though, she still thinks she's 8 years of age."

"Not from what I heard her saying."

"Meaning?"

She turned a little red, "Bella, I think Renesmee's got a boyfriend."

I called out, "Renesmee Carlie Summers, you come here this instant."

Jess was trying to wave her hands downward, "Bella, you have to calm down, right now. She told me all this in confidence, so…"

Ren walked into the hall where we were, "What is it, mom?"

"Is there something I should know about? Or someone?"

She shook her head, "Not that I can think of, and no one I'll tell Aunt Jess about now, or anytime." She was about to walk out, when I held her shoulder, asking Jess to excuse us. Jess left, giving Ren a very sorry look, even mouthing it. I could tell Ren was infuriated with her, though.

"What's with that scowl, young lady?" I demanded as she showed Jess a nasty sneer.

"She told you, didn't she?"

"Your aunt Jess is worried about you. She told me you had a boyfriend. Is that true?"

"Well, not in that sense of the word."

"Ren. I'm going to treat you like an adult, because I think you know better. Your father thinks that you're still an 8-year-old girl, but I know better, myself, now. Now, he wants to believe you still want to be a kid, but from what Jess is saying, I can tell you're tired of being 8. So, out with it, who's the guy?"

"Mom!"

"Out with it, dear. I'm not fooled at all, now. You know well enough to tell me what's on your mind. So, spill."

She looked down, but when she looked up, she stared hard at me, "It's Alec, ok? Alec of the Volturi, but it doesn't matter because you wouldn't let me be with him in the first place."

I looked over my shoulder, and was about to call Damien over when I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and I saw Renesmee standing before me as a 15-year-old girl, and she was demanding, "Mom, don't tell dad. He'll just want to hurt Alec."

"Ren, do you know how dangerous he is?"

"He's not, mom. He's exactly the way dad was when you met him."

I shook my head, "Dear, you are sorely mistaken."

"Mom, you can't fool me. I've seen yours and dad's memories. When you first met him, you didn't know who he was, but grandpa gave you time to get to know each other. Give me time so I can get to know Alec."

"How well have you gotten to know him, Ren?"

"Mom, I can't."

"Ren!"

"We've kissed a couple of times, but mom, it was all innocent. He doesn't even know about the sex stuff, yet."

This time I did call Damien, "Baby, get over here right now."

That made him walk over to us, swiftly, "Everything ok?"

I looked to Ren, "Go ahead. Tell your father what you told me, now."

"Mom!"

"Ren, tell him now!"

"I'm dating a guy from the Volturi."

Damien simply chuckled, "No, you're not, Ren. I just chased a wolf away from you, today. So, no, you're not dating a member of the Volturi."

"Dad, I love him. He's a lot like you, and he did save me from Laurent, before."

"Young lady, this conversation is over."

"No, it's not, dad! You can't tell me what to do! I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"Ren, you are literally only a number of months old. Now in my book, that would make you an infant, still. I've tried to help you get up to a level where you'd be able to understand things at your own pace."

"Dad, I'm not a little girl, anymore."

I hadn't seen my fiancé lose his temper with anyone until now, "Yes, you are! I am your father, and you will not be dating until you are of proper age. That means you will revert to your 8 year form, and we will continue, business as usual. Do you understand me?"

"Dad!"

"I'm not joking here, Renesmee. This is serious. This is-"

"Romeo and Juliet? Because this isn't about me being too young to date! This is about him being a Volturi, who I know both you and mom hate! Now, I want to be with him! If you won't let me, we'll just leave!"

He reached up to stroke his temples, "All right. What has he told you that has you convinced that he cares?"

"It's how he kissed me, dad! It's how you kiss mom."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. This isn't an argument I should be having with my young daughter of-"

"I'm mentally 15, dad. I only stayed at 8 because you wanted me to!"

He held her shoulders, "I wanted you to be what you wanted for yourself. Ren, don't rush this because you think we're trying to get you ready for the big world. That will take time. You are a very gifted young girl, and you have yet to realize that potential that is in you. Now, I know I'm not a perfect father, by any means, but the gift you have isn't for you to just go back and forth from age to age. It's a defense mechanism to keep you from getting taken away. Once you actually reach 15 through natural progression, then we'll talk about all these problems."

"You got to do stuff when you were my age, dad."

"That's because I didn't have anybody. Then, I met your mom, and she turned my life around."

"That's how Alec feels about me, dad."

He shook his head, "You don't know that, though, Honey. How do you know he's not trying to trick you?"

"-because he's Volturi scum. Is that what you were going to say?"

"This conversation is over. You're not dating Alec of the Volturi. You are my 8-year-old daughter who still likes chess, and video games."

"Well, you grounded me from all that, didn't you?"

"Fine! I'll unground you, if you give me time to wrap my head around this. I do want you to talk to your mother about your time with him, and that means everything, Ren. Everything!" He walked outside, exasperated.

I turned to face our daughter, as she whispered, "Montague and Capulet."

I shook my head at that, "No. Don't you dare put it that way! Ren, do you hear me?"

"How else am I supposed to put it, mom?"

"Your father's right. We're both going to need time to wrap our heads around this, but in the mean-time, you do not have a boyfriend. Is that understood?"

"Mom-"

"Renesmee!"

"Yes, mom." She reverted to her 8-year-old form.

Charlie walked in, "Hey, the guests are here. Everything ok?"

I sighed, "Yeah, sorry. I think Damien just had a Dad moment."

He whistled, "Yeah, I think I could tell. Something I should know about?"

I shrugged, "We'll get through it, as we always do."

Continued…

Well, there's that chapter done. Trust me, I am going somewhere with this. I do believe there are some characters I haven't covered. Feel free to let me know, and I'll see what's in the outline. Meanwhile, I would like some feedback to let me know how I'm doing with this fic. I realize it's been going on a while. There's a lot of twists and turns, and it seems that Damien and Bella are put in over their heads, more and more. I'd like to hear what you think of their little journey, not just as characters, but as lovers, and as parents. I'd like to hear what you all think of the evolution of the story. Btw, I did not have them actually beat the Volturi. If anything, it was like a "Check" on the chessboard. So there will be some type of confrontation some time. This particular story might be more than 10 chapters, unlike the last one. It's just that, wow, there's so much stuff to work with now. Later