Nessie's POV

I liked spending the night with Nana Esme. When Momma first told me I was going to her house, she told me it was just for the evening while she and Edward went out. I was a little bit jealous that they weren't taking me, but Nana Esme and Grand-dad Carlisle were lots of fun. When it started to get late, Momma sent Nana Esme a message and asked if she would mind if I spent the night, and they said it was good, so I went into the room that me and Haley used when we stayed overnight and found my pajamas.

After I brushed my teeth I came back out to the living room and sat down next to Nana Esme. She asked me to give her my brush and she started to comb out my hair for me.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her a few minutes later.

"Of course." She answered me and I thought for a minute before I asked.

"If Momma likes Edward… and Edward likes Momma… and Edward likes me… and I like Edward… and he's kind like a daddy to me…" I began and got confused. I stopped and started again.

"If we are all kinda like how a family's supposed to be… how come we don't live together?" I asked and waited for her to answer me. She kept brushing my hair and I couldn't see her face.

"I know that we've talked about this a little bit before Nessie… and as I explained to you before, relationships between adults can be a little bit difficult to understand." She began to tell me and I began to feel angry. That didn't answer my question.

"I know it seems easy… when someone likes someone, they should date, and then get married, live together… build a family…" she continued and I nodded, making it so that the brush pulled my hair a little bit.

"But adults need to make sure a lot of things are okay before they can take each step. In your Momma's case… she suffered a great deal of trauma, and it has taken her a long time to begin to recover from some of that. She is not ready to move to the next steps until she has recovered a little bit. Edward, although I know that he likes you and your Momma, is making sure that you are both okay… that is his primary concern right now. For him, that's the place where he is at… and that he needs to make sure is solid before anything else can happen. One day when they are ready, they might move in together, they might get married, or they might just be in each other's lives for a long time. It is a decision though, that they – and at one point in the future – you, will have to make together with them." She told me and I felt myself huff loudly. Momma hated it when I huffed… but I usually only did it because I didn't understand things or I was frustrated.

"Momma smiles a lot more now." I said, and Nana Esme finished putting a braid in my hair, asking me to give her the elastic on my wrist before she answered me.

"She does. And so do you." She said. It was true. I was happy a lot more now. But I got angry and frustrated a lot still too… like when it thundered and I had to stay in at recess… I liked playing in the rain.

Before I went to bed that night I went into Grand-Dad Carlisle's office and talked to him a little bit. I liked talking to him too. He always had lots of questions to ask me and he always listened to me tell him about all of the little things that other adults sometimes got bored with… like why I painted a bird yellow instead of orange… or how I found a spot in the tree at Grandpa's house that was perfect to see the whole yard… or why I liked the way the rain felt when I danced in it.

That night he told me about a clearing in the forest just a little way from their house with a stream going through it. He said he would take me there the next morning if it was okay with Momma, and maybe I could paint there. I said I'd like that a lot.

When I woke up the next morning I looked out the window and it was raining a little bit… not a lot, and there was no thunder… but it was wet, and the trees outside looked greener than they usually did. I was kinda grumpy though because if it kept raining, it would be too wet to take my paints outside.

After I brushed my teeth and got dressed, I went to the kitchen because I thought I heard Nana Esme in there… but she wasn't there and I smiled when I saw Momma mixing a big bowl of pancake batter.

"Good morning Nessie," She smiled at me when she saw me come in. I wasn't so grumpy anymore.

"Did you come early to get me?" I asked her while she continued to work through the kitchen. Before she answered me, she took a stack of plates down and told me to go set the table.

"Edward and I decided to come back here last night instead of me going back to Grandpa's house." She said when I came back to get the forks and knives.

"We thought that since its Saturday and Edward's off, and it's supposed to rain all day…" I couldn't help it. I huffed when she said that and she stopped talking to give me the look that she gave me whenever I huffed. "We thought that we would spend the day here… maybe watch a few movies… play a few board games." She finished and I tried not to be grumpy. I liked doing those things… but I still wanted to go outside and paint.

Momma didn't say much else and I finished helping her get breakfast ready. She had bacon in the oven, and there was a big bowl of strawberries that I washed for her. We worked together in the kitchen good… we had started to do it a lot a Grandpa's house. I liked watching Momma when she made dinner or breakfast… before she couldn't cook anything… but now she could cook lots of things, and everything always tasted really good – just like Nana Esme's cooking. Momma always seemed happy when she was in the kitchen too… not like silly happy… but calm happy. She was that kind of happy when she started writing too.

When the pancakes were almost ready, Edward and Nana Esme came in. They both thanked Momma for making breakfast and then we all sat down to eat. Even Grand-Dad Carlisle. It was really good and when I finished all of my food and looked out the window I was happier again when I saw that the raining stopped.

"Bella, I was speaking with Nessie last night, and I was telling her about the little clearing with the stream just north of the house…" Grand-Dad Carlisle had sat back in his chair and I tried not to jump up and down… Momma said that her and Edward wanted to spend time with me watching movies and playing games… but I really wanted to go out and paint. "I had mentioned last night that perhaps she and I could take a walk out there this morning with her easel and paints, and perhaps she could spend a little time painting." He smiled at me and I saw him wink his eye.

"Please Momma!" I couldn't help it. I had to ask her.

"The rain appears to have cleared up now, and I thought maybe an hour or two would give her a little bit of time to get a good start?" He finished asking her and I saw her look at Edward. The looked like they were talking with their eyes.

"I think that's fine… it's a beautiful spot from what I remember." Momma answered and I did jump up this time… going over to her and hugging her tightly.

"Thank you!" I said and I turned around, running out of the room and to the guest room where my paints and my art set were.

I had a really good time with Grand-Dad Carlisle that morning. We went out to the clearing and he was right… it was so pretty, and there were little blue flowers all over the side of the stream. After we walked there and I explored the clearing a little bit, he helped me set up the metal easel and my canvas and I started to draw first. Then I started to paint.

We were gone for a little while longer than we thought we would be. But we checked in with Momma and she said it was okay. Then we started to feel more raindrops and so we packed everything up and started to walk home. But Grand-Dad Carlisle took a picture from where I had been painting so that I could finish it later.

On the way back, we talked some more. I liked to hear his stories about Edward and Emmett and Alice when they were little… it was funny to imagine them like kids.

When we got back to the house I put all of my stuff away, but I didn't hear anybody anywhere so I went looking for Momma and Edward. Edward's car was in the driveway so I knew that they had to be there somewhere.

When I went upstairs to go to Edward's room, I jumped when I heard a really loud bang of thunder. It was starting to storm now and we had gotten back just in time. I started to run, because I wasn't scared of thunder… but I didn't like being alone when it thundered either. When I got to Edward's room way upstairs, I pushed the door open and stopped when I saw them on the bed together.

They were just lying there together… Momma's eyes were closed and her mouth was open a little bit, so I knew that she was sleeping. But Edward was awake and he lifted his head up when he heard me come in.

It was weird.

Me and Momma used to snuggle all of the time… but I was the only one that she usually snuggled with. I knew that her and Edward kissed and hugged sometimes, and they liked to hold hands… but it was weird seeing Momma sleeping on his bed beside him. I wasn't mad about it though. They looked happy together.

"Hey Ness." Edward whispered and he moved a little bit, his arm coming out from behind Momma so that he could sit up.

"Did you have a good time painting?" He whisper-asked right before another loud bang of thunder went off.

"Yes, it was really pretty." I said and I watched him as he stood up. He covered Momma with a blanket and then came towards me.

"She still has a lot of nightmares… and then she stays awake after them so she doesn't sleep very much. She's happier though when she's awake… and she's really happy when she spends time with you." I told him after he closed the door and we started walking downstairs.

Edward didn't really say anything, and we went into the kitchen first so that he could make coffee (I had a glass of milk), and then we went down to the basement where there were lots of games and some toys from when Edward was a kid.

After that, we just had a quiet day. Momma didn't sleep very long and she came down in the middle of mine and Edward's game of Clue. She watched us finish our game and then we all went upstairs to make lunch together. After lunch, we played more games and then we all sat down and watched a movie together… Momma and Edward snuggled on the couch, and I laid on the floor with my sketchbook. I was only half watching the movie… I had an idea that I wanted to draw.

It was quiet and it was nice.

I liked that we all spent the day together. I felt like we were a family – like what I thought a family should feel like anyways.

After that day, we started to spend a lot more days like that… Edward had already spent a lot of time at Grandpa's house with me and Momma… and sometimes me and Momma had spent days with him.

But now it felt different. Him and Momma were different together… they seemed… normal.

Me and Momma were different too… I could feel it.

Maybe things happened faster than Nana Esme told me after all… maybe one day soon, we would be a real family.