Christmas Dinner, Country Style

“I know what you want, Mom, and I understand how you feel,” she was saying when he leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek. “But I loved the Christmases at Gran-nan’s when I was a child. What is so wrong with carrying on that tradition with Nessie?”

Edward rolled his eyes. Of course, it was the same argument that Bella had been having with her mother, Renée, for the past three months, almost since their daughter was born. When Bella was pregnant, she announced that she wanted to re-join her father’s family’s tradition of the McCarty Family Christmas in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; something that Edward admitted looking forward to after hearing both Bella and Emmett’s stories about it. However, Renée seemed to have a vehement dislike for her ex-husband’s extended family, and had stopped Bella from going after she was twelve. Now she expected Bella to follow her wishes of bringing the baby down to Jacksonville for the holidays—Edward’s presence was desired, but not required—despite what Bella wanted. And Bella, who normally gave in to make others happy and considered her own feelings last, was clinging to the backbone she had grown when pregnant and was not giving in, something that Renée seemed to have trouble believing. So the arguments continued.

“Mom…Mom! I know you want to spend your granddaughter’s first Christmas with her; you don’t have to keep telling me. But…Mom…Mom! Surely it’s our decision, Edward’s and mine, as to where we spend Christmas with our daughter…”

Edward only listened with half an ear as he wrapped his arms around Bella for support. It was an old argument, and he had heard it many times before. Frankly, he was surprised that Bella hadn’t given in before now, but he was glad she was sticking to her guns. Too often had she put her own feelings last in the past.

Just then the baby cried, a frustrated sound that indicated she had been whimpering for a while, but was getting anxious at the lack of someone coming for her. “I’ll get her,” Edward said, dropping another kiss onto Bella’s cheek. He knew she would probably welcome the distraction and use it as an excuse to end the phone call, but he was very much a hands-on father, helping out with Nessie whenever he could, determined not to let Bella shoulder the ‘burden’ on her own. And, truthfully, he loved spending time with his daughter. She truly was a ‘Daddy’s Girl’.

“Hey there, what’s all this noise for?” he asked gently as he leaned over the crib in their bedroom. There was a perfectly good nursery next to the master bedroom, but as Nessie was not quite sleeping through the night yet, Bella preferred to have her sleeping in with them, and Edward hadn’t objected.

Renesmee Carlie Cullen blinked owlishly up at her father. Her cries quietened to whimpers as she regarded her father, but it was only for a moment. Edward’s face was not one she associated with food, and she was hungry, among other things, so her cries started up again.

“Hush now,” Edward said in the same, gentle tone, carefully picking her up out of her crib, discovering that she was wet. Continually chatting to her softly and gently, he carried her to the nursery where he quickly changed her diaper and dressed her in a new onsie. When he picked her back up and held her close, she immediately began rooting at his chest, a sure sign that she was hungry.

He chuckled. “Sorry, little one, but you have to wait till I get you to Mommy for dinner.”

Nessie gave a discontented little sound and screwed her face up, but didn’t actually cry. Nevertheless, Edward took this as a sign that cries were not far off, and went back downstairs to where Bella was waiting.

By this point, Bella was off the phone and sitting on the couch, a frustrated look on her beautiful face. “What’s the verdict?” he asked carefully.

Bella sighed, “Renée won’t budge, but Phil and I came up with a compromise.” She held her arms out for the baby, who began fussing as soon as she heard her mother’s voice. Deftly she unbuttoned her flannel shirt with one hand, holding Nessie in her other arm; and soon the baby was contentedly feeding.

“Compromise?” Edward raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not—Bella was too quick to appease others sometimes.

“We go to Gatlinburg for Christmas like we planned, but fly down to Jacksonville for New Year’s…if Phil can get the tickets.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Edward mused, sitting carefully next to Bella. “I wonder that we didn’t think of that before.”

His girlfriend gave an exasperated noise. “Probably because Renée refused to compromise, and she got my back up.”

“What’s her problem with us going to Gatlinburg anyway? The McCartys are your relatives; you have a right to visit them if you want to.”

“Renée has got it into her head that the family is trying to turn me against her. That was why she stopped me from going there for Christmases when I was younger. She reckons that if I take Renesmee there, Gran-nan will fill her head with lies about her the way she did mine.”

Edward frowned. “That doesn’t sound like your great grandmother; at least, not the sweet little old lady I met at Eric’s wedding.”

Bella snorted. “Don’t let Gran-nan hear you calling her that. She’s as feisty as they come. But I don’t know where Renée got that idea. Gran-nan’s never said anything to me about her, except to ask how she was. But Renée won’t believe me when I tell her that.”

“Renée won’t believe you when you tell her what?” Emmett asked, walking in. Then he groaned dramatically, covering his eyes with one hand. “You should warn people when you’re feeding the baby. Some of us don’t need to see that!”

“That’s what you get for barging in,” Edward said, dryly. “If you had knocked, you would have been warned.”

“Meh, why knock when I have a key?” Emmett brandished said key, which was attached to the crystal lotus key ring that Jasper had given Alice the Christmas before.

“And why do you have Alice’s keys?” Bella asked. “Better yet, why are you even here? I know you have a perfectly good home to go to.”

Emmett pretended to look wounded. “Don’t you want to see your favorite cousin?”

“Emmett…”

“All right, all right. I’m on my lonesome tonight, Rosie’s at a study group cramming for a final. When I called Alice, she said to come over for dinner, and gave me her keys after her class. She was going shopping with Esme, Jasper, and Libby, so she didn’t need them right then.”

“You didn’t call Alice in the hopes of scoring an invite to dinner, did you?” Edward’s tone was still dry. “It is supposed to be a family Christmas dinner before we fly out to Gatlinburg.”

“No, I didn’t call for an invite to dinner. That was just a perk.” Emmett grinned. “Gran-nan called me; she wanted to know whether Alice would be sleeping with Jasper—in same room, that is. I said yes, but then realized I should confirm it with Alice first. So I called Al.”

“And asked her in front of Esme,” Bella concluded.

“No, that was before she met up with Esme.”

“That’s all right, then.”

“But I did confirm it when I met up with them to get Al’s key, in front of Esme,” Emmett added.

Edward shook his head. “And you still got invited to dinner?”

Emmett shrugged again. “Esme’s cool. Besides, it’s no secret that Jazz practically lives here with her.”

“But I think Mom and Dad were pretending not to know that,” Edward shot back.

“Whatever,” Emmett shrugged yet again. “Let’s not argue over spilt milk. What’s done is done as Macduff said.”

“Actually, that was Lady Macbeth,” Bella interjected. “Em, close your eyes, I’m about to change breasts.”

“Argh!” Emmett dramatically covered his eyes with his hands again. “I did not need to know that!”

“Would you rather I switch Renesmee over in full view of you?”

“I’d rather not see it at all,” he retorted. “Don’t you have somewhere else to do that?”

“Emmett, this is my house,” mild exasperation crept into Bella’s tone.

“Whatever,” Emmett peeked through his fingers, and when he was satisfied that Bella was reasonably covered, he lowered his hands completely. “So what were you two talking about when I came in?” he asked. “Renée won’t believe what?”

“That Gran-nan’s not trying to turn me against her.” Bella replied.

Emmett snorted. “That’s not like Gran-nan. She’d never do that, she’s all about family. Even if she doesn’t like someone, she’d keep it to herself for the sake of family. So Renée’s still demanding you go down to Jacksonville for Christmas?”

“What do you think?”

“But you’re not, right?” Emmett looked between Bella and Edward. “You are coming to Gatlinburg?”

Edward nodded and explained about Phil’s compromise. “We won’t be missing any McCarty family New Year’s thing, will we?”

“Nah, you won’t be the only ones leaving. A lot of the cozzes do it to spend part of the hols with in-laws. Hell, if Phil can’t arrange tickets for you, Steve and Shelly will fly you out on the 30th. They always do a run for the stranded cozzes.”

“Cozzes?”

Bella smirked. “The collective term for all us cousins. It’s easier than naming us all or specifying if we’re once or twice removed or whatever.” She looked down. “Oh, looks like she’s finished.”

Edward stood. “Here, I’ll take her. That way you won’t accidentally flash Emmett when you do your shirt up.” He expertly took Nessie and held her to his shoulder, which was already covered with a towel—something they had very quickly learned was necessary as she sometimes spat up a little when he was burped. He was amused to see that Emmett had covered his eyes again, though this time without the vocal accompaniment. Carefully sitting back next to Bella, he continued to gently rub the baby’s back until she emitted a loud burp.

“Such a loud noise for such a little girl,” Bella cooed, stroking Nessie’s head. “That was worthy of your Uncle Emmett.”

“Hey!” Emmett lowered his hand and glared over at Bella. “I resemble that remark!”

“We know you do,” Bella responded dryly. Only the effect was somewhat lessened by the big yawn that punctuated her remark.

“Tired, love?” Edward asked solicitously.

She nodded, yawning again. “I didn’t get a chance to sleep this afternoon. First, I had to put the laundry on, and then the phone just kept ringing. First it was the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society looking for donations. Then Leah rang, looking for someone to talk to…”

“Leah?” Emmett interrupted. “I thought you two didn’t get along.”

Bella shrugged. “We didn’t when I first moved back to Forks. But things are better now.”

“So what changed?” Emmett wanted to know. “I know things were still awkward between you two at the wedding.”

“Edward and Leah were helping Seth move into your old room while Charlie and Sue were on their honeymoon. She came into the kitchen while I was fixing lunch and said she wanted to talk. Basically she realized that it was hard on Charlie and Sue, not to mention Seth, to watch us fight all the time. She knew I never had a problem with her as such, just her attitude, so she apologized and asked if we could start over. As stepsisters, we were family now, and should start getting along.”

Emmett snorted. “That sounds like Charlie.”

“Actually, it was Sue,” Edward put in, shifting Nessie from his shoulder into his arms. “Though I thought it was a bit harsh of Sue to include Bella in her chiding. Bella never started anything.”

“No, but there were times when I wasn’t as nice as I could have been—especially that incident at the bonfire last New Year’s.”

“Mm, I have a better memory of that bonfire,” Edward murmured in Bella’s ear.

So did Bella and it caused her to blush, much to Emmett’s amusement. She fought to stay on topic, knowing her cousin’s tendency to latch onto the barest hint of anything embarrassing for her. “Anyway, we talked some more when she and Seth came over after Renesmee was born—she’s actually rather into being an aunt—and we’ve been talking about once a week since. It’s still a little awkward at times, but she’s making an effort, and I’m more than willing to meet her halfway.”

“So what did Leah want?”

“Emily’s pregnant, and Sam’s apparently over the moon about it. Leah’s taking it really hard; she’s still not over what Sam did to her, and now this? She needs to get away from the Rez for a while, so I told her she could stay in my old room at the house. Charlie and Sue wouldn’t mind. I said I’d even go back to Forks after New Year’s to pack the rest of my stuff up, but she doesn’t want to put me out. She doesn’t like the idea of kicking me out of my room.”

“Even though you had practically moved into my place before we came over here,” Edward chuckled.

“Right. The only reason there’s still stuff in there was because Charlie wasn’t ready to think of his ‘baby girl’ moving in with her boyfriend—even though Edward and I had essentially been living together since February. Anyway, I told Leah we’d talk about it more over Christmas.”

“So she’s coming to Gatlinburg then?”

Bella nodded. “She was always planning on it. She may be a bit anti-social at times, but even she didn’t want to spend Christmas alone on the Rez while Charlie, Sue, and Seth were in Tennessee. She was surprised that the invitation included her, though.”

“You shouldn’t be. You know Gran-nan.”

She rolled her eyes before yawning again. “I didn’t say I was surprised, Emmett. I said Leah was. I told her not to be. I also said that Gran-nan probably already added her and Seth to the family tree, and warned her that Gran-nan will expect to be called ‘Gran-nan’…” Bella broke off to yawn yet again, this one so big that her jaw popped. “Excuse me.”

Edward shifted a hand to rub the back of her neck. “Love, why don’t you go upstairs and take a little nap now? Alice isn’t even home yet, so you have a little while before dinner.”

She tried to reply, but a yawn interrupted. “I think I will. You’ll be all right with Renesmee down here?”

“We’ll be fine. There’s still some expressed milk in the freezer if Nessie gets hungry.”

Bella smiled. “I know, don’t mind me.”

Edward kissed her softly. “Just get some sleep. I’ll get you when dinner is ready.”

Bella returned the kiss, pressed a gentle kiss on the baby’s head, and went up the stairs. Emmett shuddered when she was gone. “Expressed mill? Breast milk?”

Edward chuckled at his discomforted. “Don’t sound so shocked, Em, it’s natural, and better for Nessie than formula—Bella thinks so anyway, despite what some of the literature says.”

“I know,’ Emmett was still making a face. “But I don’t like thinking of Bells like that. Why have it expressed anyway? From what I saw,” another expressed shudder, “Nessie gets it from the source.”

“Normally, yes. Expressing it was Mom’s suggestion. It’s lets me take over some of the feedings to let Bella sleep—theoretically, anyway; Bella tends to wake quicker than I do, so it’s often a moot point. But it’s a good idea to have it on hand in any case; Nessie can get bad wind if Bella’s upset while feeding, and you know how hormonal she was a while back.”

“Okay, I get it. Can we drop the subject now, please?” Emmett begged.

Edward grinned, “You asked.”

“Well, I don’t need to know anymore!”

Chuckling, Edward changed the subject to something more generic… sports. Specifically football and hockey. They were still discussing Dartmouth’s chances when Alice and the others came home.

“Anyone here?” Jasper called softly from the kitchen.

“In here, Jazz,” Edward called back after glancing down at the baby. She was still awake, though barely.

Jasper came in, running his hand through his longish blond curls, and sat down in the other armchair with a sigh. “I really should know better than to go shopping with Alice,” he said.

Emmett burst into laughter, only remembering at the last minute to muffle it for the baby’s sake, and Edward grinned again. “But she needs you to carry all her bags for her,” he teased.

Jasper snorted. “Sometimes I think that’s the only reason she keeps me around,” he groused good-naturedly.

“I heard that,” Alice called from the kitchen, “Don’t be mean, Jasper.”

“Yes, dear,” he called back with a grin, brown eyes sparkling.

“Shh,” Edward cautioned out of habit, though the exchange hadn’t been loud and Nessie didn’t stir.

“Sorry,” Jasper responded, quieter. “Where’s Bella, anyway?”

“Taking a nap, she didn’t get a chance to earlier,” Edward replied. “You weren’t back yet, so I figured she had time before dinner.”

“You’re probably right,” Jasper said. “Alice was planning something pretty elaborate, given it’s a ‘holiday’ meal,” he made quotation marks with his fingers, “though she swears it won’t take long to cook.”

“Speaking of dinner,” Emmett began, “you’re lucky you weren’t here earlier. You would have got an eyeful.”

“Emmett,” Edward groaned in warning.

“What? Let me guess, Bella was feeding the baby?” Emmett nodded, and Jasper let out a quiet chuckle. “Dude, why do you think we come in through the kitchen? That way we give and get a warning so we don’t walk in on anything embarrassing. Not that it bothers Alice.”

“The back door, why didn’t I think of that?” Emmett muttered under the sound of Edward and Jasper’s quiet laughter. Even Renesmee gurgled as if in laughter.

Jasper immediately sobered. “We didn’t wake her, did we?”

“No,” Edward replied. “She’s not quite asleep. Besides, short of a real loud, sudden noise, she sleeps through anything. Convenient, when Emmett’s around,” he smirked in that gentleman’s direction. “I think she knows that her Nana is here and is waiting for her.”

As if on cue, Esme came in from the kitchen at that moment. “Where’s my granddaughter?” she cooed softly, making a beeline for Edward and the baby.

“Careful, Mom,” Edward said as he gently handed her over. “She’s almost asleep.”

“Pish,” Esme said, sitting down next to her son, baby in arms. “I nursed you and Libby all the time when you were babies. Alice, too, though she was older.”

“Is that why you’re a Mama’s boy?” Emmett asked with a grin. Edward stood gently, so as to not jostle his mother with the baby, but as soon as he was on his feet, he darted to Emmett and whacked him upside the head, hard.

“Edward!” Esme chided.

Edward looked at her apologetically, but Bella’s cell phone chirped before he could say anything. “Saved by the bell,” he muttered when he picked it up. The display read ‘Mom’, so he figured it was either Phil calling back with flight information (or lack thereof) or Renée wanting another go at Bella. He went into the study and closed the door behind him before answering it. “Hello.”

“Hey, Edward,” it was Phil. “Where’s Bella?”

“Taking a nap,” Edward replied shortly. He was beginning to get sick of the question, and it had only been asked twice!

“Fair enough. Did Bella tell you about the compromise I suggested?”

“Yeah, she did. It’s a wonder no one thought of it before. Were you able to get tickets?”

“Yeah, one-way from McGhee-Tyson in Knoxville, three pm on the 29th. I figured one-way because you’d likely have return tickets that you need to adjust.”

“We do, yeah. That was probably a good idea,” Mentally, Edward was quickly running through the rigmarole he’d have to go through to change the return departure point from Knoxville to Jacksonville. It promised to be a headache.

“One thing, Edward,” there was hesitation in Phil’s voice. “Bella said not to do this, she didn’t want me spending any more money than was necessary, but I made the tickets First Class. I thought that would be easier with the baby.”

Edward chuckled. “Bella will be furious with you. It’s a good idea, though. I did the same with our tickets, much to her disgust. But I never liked flying Coach in any case, and I refused to do that with Nessie. The added expense is worth it.”

That made Phil chuckle too. “I’ll leave you to explain that to her, then.”

“Yeah, and I’ll explain that you were the one who booked the tickets without any input from me,” Edward teased. “Speaking of which, do we pick up the tickets that day, or what?”

“Oh, yeah, they’ll be waiting for you at the counter. You just need the reference number, which is...” Phil rattled off the number, which Edward jotted down on a notepad.

“So the flight’s at three on the 29th,” Edward confirmed, writing that under the reference number.

“That’s right. It’s a direct flight, surprisingly, so you don’t have to worry about layovers. It gets in about 7:30 in the evening, and I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Edward protested. “We can easily get a cab.”

“You’ll be lucky to get one on short notice with a baby seat in it,” Phil pointed out. “You don’t have to worry about that with us—Renée went out and bought a top-of-the-line baby seat as an added incentive for you guys to come here rather than go to Tennessee.”

Edward shook his head. “That’s typical of Renée.”

”Yeah. Just so you know, she’s planning on ringing Bella later to express her dislike over this.”

“Duly noted. I’d better get on and try to change our tickets,” Edward grimaced. “That probably won’t be as easy as it sounds.”

“Probably not. I’ll leave you to it, then. See you later, Edward.”

“Bye, Phil.” Ending the call, Edward sat down and booted up his laptop, intending to at least attempt to fix the tickets online. It was only as he was logging in that he realized that he probably needed the tickets and flight information for reference. And said tickets were in their bedside table drawer… right next to where Bella was having a much-needed nap. He was loath to disturb her, but he wasn’t sure whether he’d make much headway without the information.

“Dude, do you always answer Bella’s phone?” Emmett asked. “Rosie would kill me if I did that.”

“Probably because she knows you too well,” Jasper said dryly. “Bella can trust Edward not to say anything stupid. Who was it, Edward?”

“Phil,” Edward replied. “He was able to get us one-way tickets from Knoxville to Jacksonville.”

Blank stares greeted him, and he realized that Emmett hadn’t said anything to the others about the compromise. He quickly explained, adding that he needed to change their return flight.

“That’s a good idea,” Esme remarked. “I know that fighting with her mother has really been wearing on Bella. Maybe now things can settle and she can just enjoy Christmas.”

“Well, from what Phil just said, Renée’s not going to just back off. But it’s better than nothing.” Edward turned and headed up the stairs.

“Dude, I thought you were gonna let Bella take a nap,” Emmett commented.

Edward shot a withering look over his shoulder. “I need the tickets if I want to change our flight,” he pointed out. “And they’re upstairs.” He disappeared up the stairs without another word.

Emmett snorted. “Bet we don’t see him again before dinner.”

“Emmett!” Esme scolded.

He shot her a What did I say? look before turning to Jasper. “Am I right?”

Jasper smirked. “Well, Edward and Bella have been known to disappear upstairs and leave us with Nessie some afternoons. But on the other hand, if Bella was really tired, he wouldn’t disturb her.”

“I still say we won’t see him before dinner,” Emmett insisted.

Esme shook her head. “Tell you what, Emmett. I know how much you like betting on things. I bet you $20 that Edward will be back down in less than five minutes.”

“Done,” Emmett said promptly. “The easiest twenty bucks I’ve ever made.”

No sooner had he said that than they heard a door open and close upstairs. A moment later, Edward reappeared, and jogged back down the stairs. Esme smirked, but said nothing, merely holding her hand out for the money, expertly holding on to the baby in one arm. Emmett grumbled under his breath, but pulled his wallet from his back pocket and got the money out.

Edward stopped short at the sight of Emmett giving his mother a twenty-dollar bill. Then he shook his head. “I don’t want to know,” he said, heading straight for the study and closing the door behind him.

It was too much for Jasper. He burst into laughter, both at the disgruntled expression on Emmett’s face and the bemused one on Edward’s. And the smug smirk on Esme’s face certainly didn’t help.

Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Cullen chose that moment to emerge from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her jeans. “What did I miss?” Libby asked. “What’s so funny?”

That only served to make Jasper laugh harder, and even Esme got the giggles, though she was quieter about it, mindful of the sleeping baby in her arms. “Sorry,” Jasper wheezed when he was able to get himself under control. “Emmett just lost a bet to your mother.”

A grin spread over Libby’s face, her brown eyes twinkling with mirth. “Good one, Mom!” she crowed. “What was it on?”

“Never you mind,” her mother responded, shooting a quelling look to Emmett and Jasper, mutely warning then that her brother’s sex life was not something Libby needed to speculate about.

Libby saw her mother’s look and briefly scowled—she hated being left out of the joke; and as she was four years younger than her siblings, it was something all too common. But she also knew that her mother was immovable when she used that look, and she knew that both Jasper and Emmett knew it too. Knowing that she would get nothing more out of them, she changed the subject. “I’m sure it’s my turn to hold my niece,” she said.

“It might be,” Esme replied. “But she’s fast asleep, and I don’t think Bella or your brother would appreciate a cranky baby. Jasper, do they still keep the spare carry crib down here?”

“Yeah, but she made a complete mess of it the other day, and it’s still in the laundry. Hang on,” he disappeared through the kitchen, returning a few moments later, basket and bedding in hand. “The blankets are straight from the dryer, so they’re nice and warm despite the cold basket.” He set the basket down and started making the bed.

Alice emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. “Dinner’s going to take longer than I anticipated,” she said, sitting in the armchair that Jasper had vacated, smiling sweetly when he mock-growled at her. “About an hour or so. What have I missed?”

Edward moved quietly when he returned the tickets to the bedside table drawer, not wanting to disturb Bella. But when he glanced over at her, he found her brown eyes open, watching him as he stifled a yawn. “What’cha doin’?” she mumbled.

“I thought you were asleep. I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

She shook her head . “I’ve been half-awake for a while now, I just didn’t want to move. I sort of heard you before, at least, I think I did. Are you going to answer my question?”

“Sorry,” he sat on the edge of their bed. “Phil rang back. He was able to get us one-way tickets to Jacksonville on the 29th. So I spent the last twenty five minutes trying to change our return flight—ten minutes online, and fifteen trying to explain to a sales assistant why we were returning from Jacksonville rather than Knoxville. She couldn’t grasp that we didn’t need tickets to Jacksonville. But I finally got through to her. She couldn’t put us on a flight on the third like we planned, we leave on the fifth instead. It’s not like I’ll miss any classes, and you’ll enjoy the extra time with Renée.”

She snorted. “Maybe. If she still isn’t in a snit about us going to Gatlinburg. Did Phil say anything about her reaction to this plan?”

“Just that she was planning on ringing you later to express her dislike of it.” Edward leaned forward and kissed the junction of her neck and shoulder, nuzzling past the collar of her shirt. “I can talk to her if you like,” he murmured against her skin.

“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, Edward,” Bella said breathlessly, the reactions he was inducing robbing her statement of its weight. She gasped as he bit down lightly, his hand mobbing to slip the first button from its hole. “How long until dinner is ready?”

Another button slipped from its hole and Edward’s head moved down her body. “About half-an-hour, give or take,” he replied, his voice muffled as his face was nestled in the valley between her breasts. “Maybe forty minutes.”

“Good,” Bella moved her hands to the hem of his sweater. “Enough time for a quickie.”

He raised his head to look at her. “That’s not why I came up here.”

“Maybe not,” she pulled his sweater up as far as she could—to his armpits. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of it.”

Edward smirked, and finished removing his sweater. As soon as that article of clothing had been discarded, he gently grabbed her wrists and pushed them down into the bed, leaning over her, effectively trapping her. He bent his head to capture her lips in a kiss. “Maybe,” he said against her lips, “I just want to worship your beautiful body.” To demonstrate his point, he placed warm, open-mouthed kisses down the column of her neck, pausing occasionally to suck gently at her skin, though never hard enough to raise a mark. He released her hands so he could finish unbuttoning her shirt, running his hands up her warm body while he nuzzled his face into her cleavage, running his tongue along the edge of her nursing bra.

Bella took advantage of her freed hands and Edward’s distraction to sit up and push him over onto his back. She straddled him, shrugging off her shirt, leaving her clad only in bra and panties (her jeans having been discarded when she lay down to take her nap). “Fucking now,” she said briefly, punctuating her statement with a quick kiss to his lips. “Worshipping later tonight when we have more time.”

“Such a dirty mouth,” he muttered as he reached around her to unhook her bra.

“Mm, and you love it,” she responded, rotating her hips so that she pushed against his burgeoning erection.

“Indeed I do,” Edward placed his hands at her waist and rolled them back over, pressing himself into her warm center. “I love everything about you, Isabella Marie Swan,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “I love your eyes, your hair, your beautiful smile, your soft skin…” he was moving down her body as he spoke, pulling her loose bra off as he pressed a kiss to each of her breasts. He did not linger there, instead tracing a fiery line down her body to her softly rounded belly, not-quite flat yet after her pregnancy. “I love this beautiful body that bore our gorgeous baby girl,” he placed a gentle kiss on her belly before moving further down, his words taking on a decidedly different turn as he pulled her panties down. “I love the way you taste, especially when you’re hot and wet for me, like now,” he groaned as his fingered slipped into her wet core. Gently parting her lips further with his other hand, he placed a soft kiss to her mound before sucking on her clit, his fingers plunging in and out.

Bella bit her lip, trying to muffle the keening moan that threatened to emerge. Edward knew just what to do to set her body on fire. “Hey, fucking now, worshiping later, remember?” she gasped out.

Edward raised his head to give her a wicked grin. “But I have to make sure you’re ready for me, love.” His fingers continued moving within her as he moved back up to kiss her again. “You need to be nice and slick so my cock can plunge in and out when I fuck you senseless.”

Bella shuddered, his words coupled with the feeling of his fingers curling to find her g-spot brought her to the brink of orgasm. She only needed a little nudge to send her over the edge, and she got it when his thumb pressed against her clit just so. His head bent to forcefully cover her mouth with his own, muffling her scream as she came, jerking and clenching around his fingers. The kiss softened as she came down, his fingers slowing as she became almost too sensitive to endure it.

Feeling rather boneless, she snaked a hand between them to fist in his shirt. “You’re rather overdressed for fucking me senseless,” she murmured against his lips when they parted for air.

“So I am,” he agreed. “Think I should do something about it?”

“Well, if you want to fuck me senseless…” that was all Bella needed to say for Edward to move and begin doffing his clothes. She watched shamelessly for a moment before reaching over to pull a condom out of the bedside drawer. Theoretically, breastfeeding was supposed to work as contraception; but both Carlisle and Sue warned her that was not always the case. And as they were a doctor and an RN respectively, she took their word for it; and since she and Edward had no intention of expanding their little family until she at least had graduated college, the prophylactic was necessary.

Finished with his undressing, Edward stood next to the bed, watching her with a fond smile on his face and lust in his eyes. His shaft, now fully erect, jutted proudly out; and she rose on her knees with surprising grace, wrapping one hand around it, her other, the one holding the little foil packet, went around his neck to her. Their mouths met hungrily, their passion overriding any innate tenderness; Bella pumped her hand up and down his shaft, lubricated by the beads of pre-come that had gathered at the head. He groaned into her mouth, the sound more guttural than anything, and swept her into his arms. He lifted her up and gently straightened her legs out before laying her down and climbing on top of her.

“Nice move,” she murmured against his lips as he settled between her legs, his shaft, long and hard, pressed against her thigh.

“I try,” he responded, thrusting up against her, his shaft coming in contact with her wet heat, the head close to slipping into her. He ran his hand down her arm to the hand he knew held the condom. “I’m going to need this.”

“Really?” Suddenly she rolled them over so that she was straddling his thighs. “But I want to ride.”

“Bella,” he hissed as she expertly rolled the condom down his shaft. “I’m supposed to be fucking you senseless.”

“Really?” she asked again. “Where does it say that? Besides,” she continued as she positioned herself above him, “you can still fuck me senseless, I’ll just be the one on top.” With that, she sank down on his shaft, both letting out simultaneous hisses at the contact, and began moving, pressing her hands upon his chest for leverage.

Edward’s green eyes rolled back in his head. “I think, by definition, that would mean you would be the one fucking me senseless.”

“Whatever. Semantics.” She was finding it difficult to speak, his hand had snaked towards her center and had unerringly found her clit. “We can…oh…fuck each other senseless.”

Neither was capable of coherent speech after that, just moans, incoherent mutterings and the occasional utterance of a name. Bella’s pace started out slow but soon grew faster, especially when she moved her hands from Edward’s chest to the headboard for greater leverage. Edward found no fault with this shift in position— her breasts, ample from feeding Renesmee, were now dangling in his face, and he was free to take first one rosy tip, then the other, between his lips. This, in addition to the touch of his fingers on her clit and the feel of him, impossibly hard, sliding in and out of her, almost had her on sensory overload; and Bella had to sit back again to avoid coming apart then and there. Edward almost pouted when she moved out of his reach, and he moved his other hand to her hip to guide her movements. In retaliation, she flexed her kegel muscles, deliberately squeezing him long and hard.

“That’s it, Bella,” he hissed again. “Squeeze my cock. Clench your pussy tight around me.” His words prompted a gasp and an involuntary clenching from her, and he knew she was close. He moved his hand from her center to her other hip, holding her steady as he sat up suddenly, thrusting his hips upwards and striking her at a different angle. Her breath was coming in quick gasps now, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he took control beneath her. “That’s it baby,” he whispered in her ear, snaking his hand to her center again. “Come for me. Clench your pussy around my rock hard cock.”

Bella let out a strangled whimper then, her body starting to shudder as well as clench around him. He turned his head to capture her mouth with his, swallowing her cry in the kiss and muffling his own groan as the feeling of her clenching around his manhood threatened to trigger his own orgasm. Before her shudders had subsided, he had flipped them over so that she was lying on her back and he was able to pound into her. He thrust three times before the sensation became too much and he erupted, the residual quaking of her inner muscles milking him. Finished and sated, he slumped forward, catching his weight on his forearms to avoid squashing her, nuzzling into her neck when he felt her hands come up to soothingly stroke his neck and back. But all too soon he had to move, despite the tightening of her arms and little noise of protest.

“I have to take care of the condom, love,” he reminded her.

She grumbled, but let him go. “I liked it when I was pregnant and we didn’t have to bother with them.”

He did too, the feel of sliding in and out of her slick warmth with no barrier between them. “Well, we could always forego them and risk you falling pregnant again and delaying college further.”

She pulled a face. “No thanks. But as soon as Renesmee’s weaned, I’m going to look into an implant or something so we can forego the condoms.”

Edward smiled, leaning in to kiss her. “I look forward to it. Although, such contraceptive methods aren’t 100% fool proof.”

“Neither are condoms, if you’ll remember how we ended up with Renesmee.”

“True, although they have a higher success rate. But the only fool proof method of contraception is abstinence. We could try that, abstaining from sex until you graduate…”

Bella’s reaction to that statement was about what he expected. He had leaned back as he was talking, and she pushed him back further, tackling him so that he was flat on his back on the bed, with her sitting on his chest. “No more of that talk, mister,” she scolded, though the lightness of her voice and the sparkle in her brown eyes belied the harshness of her words. “Besides, I don’t think you could resist me for the next four-and-a-half years, and I know I won’t be able to resist you.”

As if to prove her point, Edward sat up suddenly, hands on her hips to shift her down without dislodging her. His arms wrapped around her waist as hers twined around his neck, their lips meeting for a hungry kiss. “You’re right,” he murmured against her mouth. “I wouldn’t be able to resist you. You, love, are seduction personified.”

Bella snorted, and tried to hide her head in his neck. Though she tried to be more gracious about compliments—even when she could not see them—over-the-top ones like this made her want to hide.

But Edward would not be deterred. “It’s true. Almost every day since I met you, you have tempted me with those beautiful brown eyes and slender curves. And the fact that you didn’t even know it and weren’t trying to seduce me only enticed me more.” To forestall further protestations on her part, he pressed his lips to her cheek, trailing them down her neck as she craned to accommodate him, still careful not to leave a mark.

However, they were interrupted a chirping coming from the bedside table before they could get carried away with round two. “What’s that?” Bella murmured.

“Sounds like your cell,” Edward replied, not lifting his face from her neck. “It’s probably Alice telling us that dinner’s about ready.”

The cell chirped again, and , groaning, Bella disentangled herself from Edward to reach over to where he had left it when he came in. “It is,” she reported, reading the text. “And she warns us that if we’re not down there in fifteen minutes, she’s sending Emmett after us.”

It was Edward’s turn to snort. “She would, too. We’d better get dressed.”

“Shower first,” Bella declared, carefully standing and grabbing her fluffy robe from where it was hanging by the bed.

“Are you sure we have the time? You know Alice will make good her threat if we’re late downstairs.”

“Shower first,” she repeated. “I’m not going down there smelling like sex. Not with your parents here.”

“You do realize that they’d have a pretty good idea what we were up to, especially since I didn’t go straight back down,” he pointed out.

“I’m still not going down there smelling like sex,” she insisted, and with that she disappeared into their attached bathroom. A moment later, Edward joined her.

“We’d save time if we showered together,” he said logically.

“True,” she agreed. “But only if we just shower and not get up to anything.”

He pouted. “But that’s no fun.”

“Maybe not, but as you pointed out, we don’t have time for it. So no shenanigans.”

Almost exactly fifteen minutes later, Edward and Bella appeared downstairs in the dining room, separated from the kitchen by swinging doors, the kind one would see on a saloon in old westerns. Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett were already seated, and Jasper was finishing setting the table. Libby and Alice were nowhere to be seem, presumably finishing up in the kitchen.

“Where’s Renesmee?” Bella asked, hovering around her chair as Edward sat down.

“Sleeping soundly in her little carry crib,” Esme replied, “Which is by the fire in the living room, but not so close that she would overheat.”

Even though she trusted her boyfriend’s mother implicitly, Bella still excused herself to check on the baby; leaving Edward to face Emmett and Jasper’s teasing alone. Teasing that he knew was coming, despite the presence of his parents.

“So Edward,” Emmett began with a shit-eating grin. “How was your little ‘nap’?” he made air quotes with his fingers.

“Emmett…” Esme warned.

“Dude, I thought you were going to let Bella sleep,” Jasper added. :And I mean actually sleep, not…”

“That’s enough, boys,” Carlisle said sternly, as though the ‘boys’ in question weren’t twenty-year-old young men wholly unrelated to him. “I have no wish to hear about my son’s sex life, nor do I need him to retaliate with details about my daughter’s.”

Both Edward and Jasper flushed—Edward at the allusion to his sex life, and Jasper at the thought that Alice’s father knew (or suspected) that he was sleeping with his daughter. Bella walked back in at that moment and looked between the three friends—the flushed faces of her boyfriend and friend and the giant grin on her cousin’s face did not bode well. “Do I want to know?”

“No,” Carlisle and Esme chorused before Emmett could say anything.

Bella shook her head. “I didn’t think so. I’m just going to see if Alice needs any help.”

“I don’t,” Alice called from the kitchen. “Just sit down there, Bella. Dinner will be out in a tick.”

Shrugging, the brunette did so. “Don’t say I didn’t offer.”

Almost as soon as she said that, Libby pushed through the swinging doors carrying two baskets of aromatic bread—one garlic, the other Italian herbs. “Appetisers to start with,” the fifteen-year-old said before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Emmett immediately reached for the herb bread basket, grabbing three of the thick slices. “Emmett, leave some for Libby and Alice,” Esme scolded.

“What?” Emmett looked around at the others, who had politely taken only one slice apiece. “Alice knew I was coming. She’s bound to have planned for it.”

Jasper shook his head. “That’s not the point, Em. It’s still polite to only take one at a time and wait until everyone is seated for more.”

Emmett just shrugged and Jasper rolled his brown eyes. Carlisle shook his head. “How does your great-grandmother feed your whole extended family?” he asked Bella. “I’d hate to attempt it if the others had appetites like Emmett’s.”

“You wouldn’t be attempting it, I would,” Esme retorted.

“Hey!” Emmett belatedly realized he had been insulted.

Bella giggled. “Not without a lot of help. I haven’t been back for Christmas since I was twelve, but I do remember that Aunts Katie, Hilda, and Jen would help with the cooking.”

“And Mom and Aunt Siobhan, and Aunt Corin and that generation of cozzes.” Emmett added.

“Didi, Heidi, Nettie,” Bella rattled off.

“Shelly, Hannah, Felicity,” Jasper finished, having met the family when he went the previous Christmas.

“Well, Pop originally envisioned running a ski lodge, so the place was built on those lines with a huge kitchen,” Emmett explained.

“But he died in World War II,” Bella added. “And eventually Gran-nan sold off the ski fields and outer lands, just keeping the area around the main house and some of the closer ‘guest’ cabins.” She grinned. “Gran-nan always envisioned large family gatherings and figured the extra room would come in handy. And she was right.”

“Besides,” Emmett continued as Libby and Alice brought the rest of dinner in. “The last few years, Mom and her generation have been kicking Gran-nan and the aunts out, saying they deserve the rest now.”

Bella snorted. “I can’t see Gran-nan just going along with that.”

“She doesn’t,” Emmett said dryly. “But you know how stubborn Mom is, not to mention Aunts Siobhan and Corin. Gran-nan eventually gives in, just not very graciously.”

“Alice, this looks wonderful,” Esme changed the subject to praise her stepdaughter, who had just emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of Shiraz in one hand, and a corkscrew in the other.

“Alcohol, Alice?” Carlisle said disapprovingly, eyeing the bottle in her hand.

“Relax, Dad,” she sighed. “It’s Christmas, essentially, and therefore a special occasion in which you would allow us one drink. Besides, one bottle isn’t going to go far among the seven of us.”

“Um, Alice,” Emmett began slowly. “There are eight of us here,” he pointed out as if she couldn’t count.

“Um, Emmett,” Bella said in the same tone. “I can’t drink, not while I’m feeding Renesmee.”

“So, girls, what have you served us tonight?” Esme asked, taking it on herself to change the subject again.

“Well, we didn’t have time to do a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, so I decided on an Italian theme, as you can see,” Alice said. “We have a triple cheese lasagne and cheesy cannelloni.”

“And a couple of nice garden salads so Dad doesn’t have a conniption fir over all the carbohydrates,” Libby added, smiling sweetly at her father.

Carlisle just gave his younger daughter a look. However, instead of commenting, he merely bowed his head. Ever the son of an Anglican minister, he intended to lead the family in saying grace; and it was a familiar enough routine that the others followed suit. “Our Father, we are truly thankful for the bountiful feast that has been placed before us, and for the blessings that Thou hast given us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

“Amen,” echoed around the table. A beat later pandemonium ensured as dishes were passed around the table in different directions, resulting in a logjam when Emmett was presented with two dishes at once.

“Hey! I might have a healthy appetite, but even I can dish out two things at once.”

Edward and Jasper laughed as Esme and Libby waited patiently while Emmett helped himself first to the lasagne, and then the cannelloni. Then the dishes continued their way around the table, predictably ending up in front of the same person again, Edward this time. He sighed while Emmett burst into laughter.

“You can put the lasagne down, love, if no one else wants it,” he said to Bella, who was holding said dish. “Unlike Emmett, I can’t eat both.”

No one else did, so Bella duly put the dish down, looking over at her best friend. “Alice, you knew that there were only eight of us, even factoring in Emmett’s appetite. Why did you make so much?”

That lady shrugged. “Leftovers are always good, especially since we’re all leaving in a couple of days. We can have a ‘pick up’ meal of leftovers tomorrow night and not worry about groceries until we get back.”

“Fair enough,” Bella replied, biting back a giggle as there was yet another logjam of dishes, this time in front of Carlisle. It was the salad bowls in this case, and he merely gave a look at Jasper until that gentleman passed the second bowl over to Edward.

“We should have decided on a direction in which to pass the dishes and stuck to it,” Esme mused. “That’s what Lily Hale did at Thanksgiving. However do you manage it with everyone home for Christmas?”

“ ‘Allemande the platter to your right’.” Emmett, Jasper, and Bella chorused in unison, complete with hand movements. Carlisle, Edward, and Libby burst into laughter while Esme beamed. “Bing Crosby’s ‘Christmas Dinner, Country Style’! I’ve always loved that song.”

“So does Gran-nan,” Emmett said around a mouthful of lasagne, ignoring entreaties of ‘don’t talk with your mouth full.’ “She loves Bing Crosby, period, so we all know his Christmas songs. And to answer your other question, we don’t all sit down to dinner at once. We let the kids eat separately first—anyone under the age of sixteen.”

“There’s not that many left, though, surely,” Bella interjected.

“There were still a fair few last year,” Jasper said. “Don’t ask me to name them all, though.”

“Well, little Josh, of course, and now Seth,” Bella began counting off. “Maggie, Bree, Kevin, Gianna…”

“Nah, Bree and Kevin are sixteen now,” Emmett cut in. “They finally get to sit with the adults.”

“Oh, yeah,” Bella shook her head. “It’s easy to forget when you haven’t seen them all in a long time. So Seth, Josh, Maggie, Gianna, Jane and Alec, Fred, Lucy, Casey, Luca…”

“He prefers Luke,” Jasper cut in that time. “I remember that much.”

“Luke, then, Kristie, Mary, Blake, Jenny, and Sarah. Did I leave anyone out?” Bella looked at Emmett. “Out of the kids, I mean?”

Emmett shook his head, and Libby gaped. “How on earth did you remember all that?” she asked. “I thought you haven’t been back since you were twelve.”

“Not for Christmases, no,” Bella agreed. “But I have been to the odd wedding, like Eric and Senna’s last Easter. Besides, most of who I just named were born before I stopped going. Only Lucy and Sarah have been born since, and Eric’s two, Josh and Serena.”

“And Bella’s been maintaining a family tree book for Charlie for as long as we’ve known her,” Edward added dryly.

“Longer, actually,” Bella said. “I started it the summer Emmett moved to Forks, the year before you guys did.” She shrugged. “It makes it easier for Charlie to remember them all.”

“How many of you are there?” Libby wanted to know.

Emmett and Bella each did a mental tally. “48,” Emmett said.

“50,” Bella spoke up a beat later, “counting Leah and Seth, which Gran-nan will do.”

“Of course, that not counting all the husbands and wives,” Emmett added. “Not including the divorces, that’s another thirteen. So that’s 63.”

The Cullens’ collectively gaped and Bella giggled. “Of course, Renesmee and Serena are only babies, but it’s still a houseful or two.”

“Is that counting Edward, Alice, Jazz, and Rose?” Libby asked.

Emmett and Bella looked at each other. “No,” Bella replied. “So that’s at least 67, but I don’t know who else is bringing a partner.”

“Are Charlotte and Peter still together?” Jasper asked. He met them the previous Christmas when he was in Gatlinburg and Charlotte brought Peter home. As both Jasper and Peter were history buffs, the two got along famously.

Emmett shrugged. “As far as I know. They were together at Eric and Senna’s wedding, and I haven’t heard anything different through the family grapevine. Assuming they are, that’s 68. Gran-nan said that Benjamin, Garrett, and Victoria were all bringing partners, so that makes 71.”

“Not counting any sudden extras, which can sometimes happen,” Bella added dryly.

Esme shook her head. “Even with a big kitchen and multiple cooks, I don’t envy your relatives having to feed that many. Or house you all for that matter. However is it managed?”

“When Emmett said Pop had envisioned running a ski lodge, he wasn’t kidding,” Bella answered. “The main house is huge. Em’s immediate family lives there, with plenty of room for guests. It’s where Charlie and I have always stayed, along with the rest of Uncle George’s ‘mob’, as Gran-nan puts it.”

“Which makes sense, since Dad, Uncle Liam, and Aunt Corin grew up there,” Emmett added. “Also, some of Aunt Hilda’s ‘mob’ stay there during family gatherings. The rest of her lot stay in the ‘guest’ lodge, which has been her home since her divorce from Uncle Scott, along with Uncle Randall’s ‘mob’. Aunt Hilda’s house isn’t as big as the main house, but it’s still large.”

“And less than two minutes’ walk from the main house on the same property,” Bella finished. “So it’s still like we’re all staying together.”

After that, the topic steered to New Year’s plans. “So, Jasper,” are you still planning of joining Alice when she visits Phyllis in New York?” Esme asked.

“Yeah,” Jasper grimaced.

Alice giggled. “Way to sound enthusiastic about visiting my mom, Jazz.”

There were snickers around the table, but Jasper just rolled his eyes. “You know it’s not about seeing Phyllis, darlin’,” he said, kissing the side of her face. “You know I like her. I’m just not looking forward to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.”

The snickers turned into good-natured laughs. Jasper’s aversion to crowds was well known. “It’s a wonder you can stand going to Gatlinburg, if the numbers Bella and Emmett gave are accurate,” Carlisle commented.

“That’s different,” Jasper insisted. “I can escape to my room there if it gets too much.”

“Or when Maria gets on your nerves,” Emmett added slyly.

“Maria?” Alice’s dark brown eyes narrowed as if in suspicion, though there was still a twinkle in them, and her tone was light. “This is the first I’ve heard about any Maria.”

“Maria?” Bella’s brow furrowed. “As in Shelly and Steve’s Maria? Isn’t she only seventeen?”

Jasper groaned and buried his head in his hands. Emmett laughed. “Yeah, but she was sixteen last year, and she got the biggest crush on Jasper when he turned up. According to Bree, he was ‘the one’ for her, and nothing was going to change her mind. It was rather amusing, at first.”

“No it wasn’t,” came Jasper’s voice, muffled by his hands. “It was annoying! She wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“I must admit, it became annoying for everyone else after a while,” Emmett added. “So much so that she was relegated to the kids table for Christmas dinner, despite being sixteen. She did not like that.”

Jasper lowered his hands. “Please tell me that she’ll be sitting with the kids again this year,” he begged hopefully.

“Sorry, Jazz,” Emmett laughed again. “But she made a fuss about it last year. She’d pitch a fit if she had to sit with the kids again at seventeen. So would Bree and Kevin if they couldn’t finally sit with the adults because Maria’s still with the kids. Bree especially.”

The house phone rang then, and Edward excused himself to answer it. A moment later he returned, holding the portable handset out to Bella. “It’s for you,” he said unnecessarily. “It’s your great-grandmother.”

Bella pushed her chair back, wiping her mouth and hands on her napkin. “Hi, Gran-nan,” she said when she took the phone. “How are you?”

When Bella finally got off the phone, everyone else had finished with dinner and had gathered in the living room with their desserts—ice cream sundaes, using up whatever perishables were left in the fridge and freezer. She had down in the only seat left—Edward’s lap. He just sighed good-naturedly and wrapped an arm around her to steady her, holding his spoon to her mouth with the other. “What did she want?” he asked.

“Mm,” she replied around the spoon, placing her hand on his to pull it out. “For one thing, she wanted me to remind you—again—to call her ‘Gran-nan’ like everyone else.”

Emmett and Jasper burst into soft laughter. “Pay up,” Emmett said to him, holding his hand out. “I told you she’d call you on that.”

Edward rolled his green eyes. “I can’t exactly get my wallet out at the moment,” he said. “Remind me later. What else did she want, love? In doubt she called you just for that.”

Bella laughed. “No, she wanted to know whether Renesmee’s personalized tree ball could just read ‘Nessie’. I told her no, and spelled the name for her.”

“Oh, your family does that too?” Esme gushed. She had given Bella and Edward pictures of the balls she had made for Bella and Renesmee for their tree.

“Yeah, Aunt Katie was the one who started it, she loves Days Of Our Lives too. Of course, with the size of the extended family, all the personalized balls take up practically the whole tree.”

“Did Gran-nan say anything else?” Emmett asked.

“Yeah, she wanted to remind Jasper that Maria was looking forward to seeing him again…”

Jasper groaned, making Emmett burst into laughter loud enough to warrant a warning about the sleeping baby—who did not stir. However, Bella wasn’t finished.

“She also said that Maria’s been warned to behave herself or else she’ll be sitting at the kids table while Bree and Kevin sit with the adults.”

When it was clear that Bella didn’t have anything else to add, Libby started bouncing up and down, ala Alice. “Present time, present time,” she chanted.

This elicited another round of soft laughter. “How old are you?” Jasper teased. Libby merely poked her tongue out at him.

As Bella was comfortably ensconced on Edward’s lap and showed no inclination of moving, it fell upon Alice to distribute the gifts that were under the tree. They were only exchanging the gifts to and from the visiting Cullens, but that was still a fair few, especially when the wrapping started to fly. The gifts ranged from the practical—sleeper sets for Renesmee to grow into; sweaters for Alice, Bella, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett (with a wrapped parcel for the missing Rosalie); a guitar case and guitar picks for Jasper; a watch for Edward—to the fun, but less practical.

“Um, Libby,” Edward looked at his beaming baby sister. “Don’t you think that Nessie is still a bit young for something like this?”

‘This’ was an ‘Animal Alley Elephant Rocker’—essentially a baby rocking horse-type thing, with a lilac plush elephant for a seat. Bella, who had unwrapped the gift, was looking at it with a mixture of amusement and bemusement.

“What?” Libby asked with a laugh. She was extremely happy with the gift she had received from her brother and sister-in-law (as she called Bella)—two butterfly charms for her charm bracelet, and two books from Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles’ series: The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. “It was cute, I couldn’t resist it! Besides, it’s ‘Animal Alley’ so it goes with the plush dog that Mom and Dad got her. And it’s not like Nessie’s sleeping with stuffed animals yet, so my gift isn’t the only impractical one. So there!” the fifteen-year-old finished her statement by poking her tongue out at her brother.

Edward rolled his eyes. “Very mature,” he muttered.

Bella laughed. “Now, now, children, no fighting, it’s Christmas.” She laughed again when both Cullen siblings poked their tongues out at her. “It really is cute, Libby, and I’m sure it will keep into; Nessie is ready for it. Thank you.”

Just then, a tinny ‘Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer’ sounded, and everyone tuned to Emmett. “Why is everyone looking at me?” he complained even as he pulled his cell phone out.

“Because you’re the only one who would have that ringtone,” Jasper shot back

Emmett didn’t bother with a reply, he focussed on answering his call. The conversation was brief. “That was Rosie,” he reported—unnecessarily, the fact that he answered the call with a ‘Hey, Babe’ gave that away. “She’s home now, so I’m going to love you’s and leave you’s. Merry Christmas, Mrs C.” he leaned over and gave Esme a hug, shook Carlisle’s hand, and tousled Libby’s hair, easily dodging her attempt to swat at him. “Happy New Year, and all that. And Edward?”

“Mm?”