Chapter 2

A light blanket of snow had been leftover as Christmas Eve lead into Christmas morning. People were in and out of the house throughout the day. Masen, Leah and Cassandra stayed for most of the day, allowing their family to heavily spoil their daughter. Seth and Leah made their way over with Sue and Charlie a little after noon for lunch and the exchange of a few presents. Bella and Edward were back and forth to see Renesme and Jacob, then stayed for a little while at Billy's to assure he had plenty of company for the holiday. Kate and Garrett also made their way down to spend a few hours in the morning at the Cullens' house, then left later in the day with William, Madison, Emmett and Rosalie.

Christmas music had been playing on the radio for hours in the background of everything else that was going on. Holiday themed movies continued to pop up as people skimmed through the stations, and a parade that was currently being broadcasted from Seattle was the last thing someone had left on the television.

Nicole and Cassandra were both having the times of their lives, being handed forgotten gifts from someone at random times. Upon seeing Seth and Jacob munching on some brownies, Nicole decided to take it upon herself to take a bite of one, spitting it out almost immediately and making a disapproving face.

"Yuck!" she tossed what was the left of the brownie into the garbage pail that sat in the corner of the kitchen.

Alice laughed and looked at Jasper, "Wish I had my camera for the face she just made."

"How was the brownie Nic?" he asked his daughter with a wide smile.

"Great..." she told him sarcastically.

They both smiled and Jasper put an arm around Alice.

Esme and Sue were enjoying a laugh, talking in the kitchen while Sue sipped on a cup of coffee. Carlisle and Charlie stood in the wide open area that staggered between the kitchen and living room.

"How's he been doing?" Carlisle asked Charlie, referring to Masen.

"Very good," Charlie told him immediately, "I think he'll have a good career with the department."

Carlisle wondered to himself how long his family would continue to stay in the area, and how long Masen would be able to remain as a Forks police officer. For his son, another ten years would probably suffice, though for the rest of them, it wasn't so easy. He let the thought go for the moment.

"I'm glad he's adjusting."

"The good thing is, he always volunteers for the night shift," Charlie said, adding a smile.

Carlisle laughed, "One of the perks to not sleeping, I suppose."

"Speaking of not sleeping," Charlie said, looking at the cup of coffee in Sue's hand. He looked over at a clock that hung on the wall in the living room that read eight o'clock.

They both shared a quick laugh.

"Did you have to work today?" Carlisle asked him.

"Same shift as your boy," he told him, "If you had a CB radio in here you could have heard our conversations. It might have bored you to death, though."

"It's been quiet?"

Charlie nodded and gave a long reach to the table for a chocolate chip cookie, "For the most part. Had one incident of a plastic Santa Claus being stolen from someone's yard, but that's the extent of it." He paused for a moment, "I'll take it if that's the biggest crime."

"Yeah," Carlisle agreed with a nod.

Esme and Sue got up from the table, exchanged a few more sentences before Sue nudged Charlie, "Ready?"

He stretched his arms above his head, "Yep."

"You need to get some sleep," she told him, rubbing his back for a moment until he dropped his arms back down to his sides.

"Yeah, yeah.." he mumbled, "We'll see."

Sue looked at Esme with a grin as Charlie and Carlisle walked toward the living room ahead of them, "He'll be out within five minutes of laying down on the couch."

Esme laughed and joined her friend for a hug, "Merry Christmas. Be careful on the roads."

"We will," Sue said with a smile, "Merry Christmas to you, too. And thank you for everything."

They slid into the living room past Charlie and Carlisle, who were exchanging a handshake in the doorway.

Seth looked over at the two of them, "Hey, look up. You two are under the mistletoe."

Carlisle and Charlie glanced upward and heard everyone laugh. At the same time, they both abruptly stepped out from under it. Bella began to laugh at her father's face and continued to laugh as she met Edward's eyes.

"You're making me laugh harder, Bella," he said, reflecting off of her contagious giggle fit.

Charlie finally found Bella's stare and she stood up to give him a hug, still letting a few laughs trickle out of her. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too," he told her, "Did you like the gifts we got for you?"

She nodded, "They're perfect. Thanks. Did you like the stuff we got for you guys?"

"Well, let's see... two rows behind the Seattle Seahawks bench. I think it's, well, it's alright I guess." He gave her a smile and pulled her in for another tight hug, "Come around this week. Maybe we can, I don't know, see a movie."

"Okay," Bella nodded, "I will."

Charlie and Sue waved goodbye with Seth and Luciana close behind as they made their way home.

"Well," Alice said, "That was fun."

Masen stood up from the couch upon seeing Cassandra's big yawn, "We better take off too." He looked over at Leah, who re-entered the room from seeing off her mother. She nodded and looked around at everyone.

"Thanks for having us," Leah said, "And for all the gifts."

Esme rounded up a bunch of bags that held their gifts and Cassandra's. Carlisle helped, seeing as she was running out of hands to hold everything and the two of them walked out toward Masen's car. He popped the trunk and the two of them placed everything in securely before Carlisle slammed it shut.

"Bye Pop," Cassandra said, outstretching her arms to him.

Carlisle scooped her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Did you have a good Christmas?"

She nodded with a smile, then yawned again.

"Sounds like it's almost time for bed," he said to her.

Cassandra protested with a slight shake of her head, though continued to smile as he handed her off to Esme.

"Merry Christmas," she said to her granddaughter.

"Merry Christmas."

"What do you say?" Leah asked.

"Thank you." Her smiling, tired eyes wandered between Carlisle and Esme, as they both said "You're welcome," at the same time.

"Thanks guys," Masen said, giving them each a hug, "I love you."

"Love you," they said to him as Cassandra slid in the back and fastened her seatbelt.

Leah said her goodbyes, before getting into the front seat, waving as Masen started the car and took them back to the reservation.

Esme looked up into the brightly lit night sky that was scattered with stars and a half moon, "Well, this was a great Christmas."

Carlisle nodded, "Masen's birthday is coming up."

"He'd still be this big if he aged like a human," Esme said, holding her hand no higher than her hip to show how short their son should still be.

He pulled her to him for a hug and kissed her forehead.

"I'm not complaining," she went on.

"I know," he told her, then sighed.

"What's wrong?" Esme asked him.

He shook his head and felt her push away to read his expression, "Nothing," he gave her a genuine smile.

"You've been sighing a lot lately," she pointed out.

Carlisle shrugged, "I don't even realize I do it."

They stared at each other for a minute before Esme removed his hand from his pocket and took it in her own, "Should we go for a quick hunt?"

Carlisle looked into her eyes then nodded, "Yeah." He tightened his hand around hers and Esme leaned into give him a kiss. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath through his nose as he prolonged their interaction, stepping forward as he felt that she was about step back, feeling Esme smile in the midst of it.

"Did I mention I have one more gift to give you?" Esme teased when he finally pulled away.

It took a minute for Carlisle to realize what she meant, though it sunk it when she flashed him a flirty wink. He gave her a big smile and kissed her once more.

"I love you more every day, you know that?" he said casually.

Esme shook her head and started to lead them toward the trees, "Remind me again."

Carlisle kissed her a few more times quickly before they went off to have their dinner.