I was confused as I pulled up in front of the main Cullen House after visiting Charlie. It was three weeks until Christmas and the front of the house now had a corral with eight large female reindeer and one smaller female milling about on the far end. They seemed skittish as they moved further from me as I approached the fence. I knew my vampiric scent would make them nervous so I just looked at them with curiosity before I headed inside to pick up my daughter.

            Nessie was inside the main house reading to Edward in the living room, I could hear her voice as she read to Edward with her childish delight coloring the words. In the kitchen I could hear and smell the scents of cookies being baked, both sugar and shortbread from the smells I could sense as well as a crock-pot full of mulled apple cider. I had no idea why, but my daughter adored apples almost as much as she liked blood, so we encouraged her to drink or eat as much human food as we could, because while she might like blood better, Carlisle said she needed the different nutrients to grow properly, especially calcium. Esme had taken to dissolving calcium supplements into her juice because Nessie would not drink milk or eat dairy of any kind.

            Closing my eyes I could hear the sounds of Christmas carols playing very softly in the kitchen, the sounds of my family all around the house. Alice and Jasper were out back trimming the branches of the tree that Emmett had dragged back this morning as he and Rose had come back from their hunting trip. Alice wasn't impressed with it and had decided it had potential if it was trimmed and pruned properly. Poor Jasper didn't even have time to consider running before Alice handed him the hand saw and dragged him outside.

            Emmett had thought that his duties would be done after returning with the tree, only to find out that he and Carlisle had been drafted to take the Christmas decorations out of storage. There were so many that it seemed they had to not only use his jeep but go out and hire a small moving van for the day to collect it all. When I had left Emmett had been trying to insist Edward help, but Nessie had turned her big brown eyes on him and said she wanted to spend some daddy-time with Edward today since I had to go out. Emmett had instantly melted insisting that he'd been joking and that she could have as much daddy-time as she wanted. I could hear them beginning to unpack the boxes in the dining room, sorting things into different piles based on what room the decorations were for.

            I took a quick peek into the living room and sigh with adoration at the picture before me. Edward had Nessie in his lap on the couch. The old-fashioned book of Christmas tales was almost as big as Nessie herself. At a year and 3 months she looked like a four year old. But the sight of my husband smiling and holding our daughter as she read "T'was the night before Christmas" was too adorable. I would have tears in my eyes if it had been possible, I could feel the sting as if I was about to cry but of course the tears didn't come. Edward's eyes flicked up at me and I gave him a smile and pressed my finger to my lips for him to not disturb her. He smiled adoringly at me before turning all his attention and his amber eyes back to the book in front of them both.

            Rose was by the mantel in the music room dressing it in some type of foliage swag with white twinkle lights threaded through it around the candleholders and brass mantel clock. The pictures that normally graced the shelf had been removed. In fact a lot of the lamps and accessories that made the house look like a stylish picture perfect house had been removed. It looked more like a moving day. I quickly moved into the kitchen and hugged Esme. "I can't believe how much stuff has been removed." I whispered softly. I knew if Nessie heard me she would interrupt daddy-time and Edward had been looking forward to it for a while.

            Jake's family was here this year for Christmas, even his sister and her family from Hawaii, and he had obligations that would keep him away for several days. As much as I love Jake and am glad he is so protective of our daughter, I resented how much he tried to override our time with her. In the beginning he'd invited himself on family excursions and hunting trips so often that we had only seen her alone when she was sleeping, and even then we sometimes heard him knocking on the door of the cabin before she awoke in the mornings. It got to the point where Edward had threatened to move without warning if he didn't back off. Jake had been terrified and had turned to me to change Edward's mind only for me to tell him not only was I in support of the idea, It had been MY idea. She was MY daughter, and if he wanted any chance of ever seeing her again in his lifetime he'd better learn some boundaries.

            It was Quil who had finally made Jake see some sense. He explained that while Claire's parents often didn't mind how much time he spent with her since they understood the situation, they were no different in their concerns for her. He was limited to only 2 days a week with the little girl and any other time that her parents needed a babysitter. As much as Jake had hated it we placed the same limits on him. Recently he'd been helping us to warn off a few nomads in the area so he'd been around more often. Nomads made him nervous and so we'd allowed him to check on her before and after patrols. Of course at the same time we made Nomads nervous and they tended to skirt our area or pass by us on the I-5 as far and fast as possible. This group had been one of the few who had no idea about what had happened the year before, but they had been informed and moved on very quickly when they were educated to the new facts of life in the Pacific Northwest and our 'Coven' in particular. Jake and his pack had shadowed them for a few days before we intervened and then followed them as far as Olympia as they made for the highway that lead to Montana.

            Esme chuckled but kept her voice down to a barely heard whisper too. "Alice, do I need to say more?" She said with a smile that was warm and loving, as well as full of humour.

            "No, I completely understand." I said with a wink. "Is it always like this?"

            Esme's face fell slightly. "It's been a few years." I instantly felt bad; I knew that the last time they had probably celebrated like this was a few weeks before they met me. The next Christmas would have been in Ithaca and I knew Edward had left them already, and last year we had been waiting on the Volturi to come and kill us. She sighed before she brightened back up. "But I can't remember a Christmas we all looked forward to as much as this one!"

            I couldn't help but beam back a huge smile. "I imagine not. Children always make Christmas special somehow."

            "Very true." Esme said before moving over to the stove to remove more cookies and placing them expertly on the cooling rack before placing more cookies into the oven from a cooled cookie sheet. "I'm making some extras so Charlie can take them to Billy's. You know what those wolves are like. Poor Emily needs help feeding them all!" She said in answer to my expression of disbelief as I had seen the amount of cookie dough she had made and the numbers of completed cookie batches cooling.

            "Well that's good; because there is no way Nessie was going to eat all of them!"

            Emmett, Rose and Carlisle joined us in the kitchen. I motioned for them to follow me outside and we all moved out and closed the sliding glass door closed behind us. Nessie had great hearing but if we kept it down to a dull roar she wouldn't notice my voice intermixed, I hoped.

            "We have the decorations sorted out by room now." Emmett grumbled and Jasper and Alice walked towards the porch with the completed tree.

            I had to admit the tree looked 100% better and now had a beautiful shape to it. "Wow that looks festive Alice." I said with admiration.

            "I know." She chirped happily. "Jasper did a great job." She said as she snuggled into Jaspers arms. He just gave her an indulgent smile but rolled his eyes at us over her head.

            "How much longer is Edward going to hog the living room?" Emmett growled. "I want to get this over with so I can go back to having some fun."

            Rose glared at him. "Nessie and Edward can stay in there all day if they want to and you are not going to bug them for one single second, do you hear me?" She hissed at him.

            Emmett instantly looked contrite. "I didn't mean it like that; I just want to know how much longer we are going to have to wait?"

            I could tell Alice was looking because her eyes glazed over for a moment before she shrugged. "About 5 minutes." She said with a smile. "Nessie is going to finish the story and ask a few questions before she wants a cookie. When she enters the kitchen she'll know Bella is home."

            "What's she going to ask?" Rosie asked.

            Alice giggled. "If Santa will visit vampire homes or would he skip over our house because she's not human."

            I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing with everyone else. A small giggle escaped my lips anyway. "She's so smart that it's hard to fool her with anything. I'll be nice to have her believe for at least one Christmas." I smiled longingly. In many ways I often felt cheated by her accelerated growth. Here I'd be young forever, but my child would no longer be a child in less than six years.

            "HEY! We should take her to visit Santa at the mall!" Emmett exclaimed and almost began to bounce with excitement. Alice, Esme and Rose all turned to me with glowing hopeful eyes.

            I laughed. "Like I could keep Edward from taking her." Edward had been going on for weeks about wanting his daughter to have the whole Christmas experience. While he hadn't mentioned visiting Santa specifically, I knew he'd be bouncing with excitement once he knew it'd been considered.

            Carlisle smiled at the excitement. "Perhaps we should finish the outside display while we wait for Edward and Nessie."

            "What outside display?" I asked as I followed everyone around the front to the area with the reindeer.

            "We have a sleigh that sits in an open shed so the velvet seats are protected from the rain, but can be seen that sits in the reindeer enclosure." Carlisle explained. "Also there are the outdoor lights that hang from the house, and lights for the trees."

            "What's with the live reindeer anyway?" I asked. "They can't be all that happy being this close to us." The rest of them turned towards me with looks that suggested I had missed something.

            "Mommy!" Nessie yelled as she began running towards me from the kitchen. I stooped down to grab her and swing her up onto my hip.

            "Hi baby." I said as I gave her a tight hug. "Did you have a good time this afternoon?" I asked her as I smiled at Edward who was approaching me slower. His smile was very content and made my stomach flutter as always.

            Nessie nodded making her copper hair bounce. "Daddy and I spent the day together." She said before placing her hand on my face showing me her special time with Edward. It warmed my heart to see the love between them and the way she felted so loved and cared for by his attention.

            "That's great, baby." I said as I nuzzled her ear, making her giggle. "Guess what we're doing today."

            Nessie looked around and saw the tree and her smile brightened even more. "We're going to have a tree!"

            I laughed and nodded. "Yup and Uncle Emmett and Grandpa Carlisle have gotten the rest of the decorations for the house so if you're a good girl and help out, Daddy and I," I stopped for a second and looked around at everyone else's faces. I knew they would want to be there too so I smiled at them, "And everyone else too are going to take you to see Santa at the mall this week." Edward, who hadn't followed Nessie out, was instantly at my side behind Nessie's back. I'd be hard pressed to decide whose eyes were lit up more, Edward's or my daughters. I instantly decided that someone was going to have to research to see which Santa's in the area had a real beard, and which ones didn't. Unlike most children Nessie would notice. I saw Alice's eyes glaze over and she winked at me. She knew where to go and I smiled at her.

            "What are we standing around for then?" Nessie asked as she struggled to slip down. I let her go and she stood there looking like a mini-Alice for a second, giving me flashbacks to Wedding-Nazi Alice. "Let's get the house decorated so I can see Santa!"

            The next few hours were magical as we transformed the house from Esme's perfect home to a Christmas wonderland, filled with some of the most beautiful old-fashioned decorations that could never be replaced, and some modern looking but very elegant pieces. My favourite had to be the Victorian village display with a full model train set that had what looked at first like a Hogwarts Express around, but once I saw the side I could see the lettering which said "Christmas Express" with elves as the engineer, workers making presents and even a caboose driver. Making it had been Carlisle's pride and joy. I was hard to picture at first but after some thought I couldn't see any of the others taking the time to do something as big and elaborate, except Esme, and she didn't strike me a model train type girl.

            The tree itself was breathtaking in its decorated glory. The many decorations covered the span of the last 8 decades and even a few from before. The family shared stories of Christmases past with Nessie and I as they placed their ornaments on each branch.

            As the stories progressed I could see Nessie's enthusiasm start to diminish as did my own. I took her hand and placed it on my face to find out what she was thinking. She turned to me and looked unhappy. Daddy never seems happy in their stories momma. I looked up at Edward as his head snapped up from where he'd been about to unwrap a few more of Esme's delicate glass babbles.

            Edward came over and sat down on Nessie's other side and held her close. I looked over at him a little concerned. I had been feeling a little left out of their stories, but I had the knowledge that over time we'd have our own stories to share, but for her to pick up on his unhappiness before we'd entered his life, it was something we had not really discussed with her.

            "It wasn't that I was unhappy sweetheart." Edward said as he smiled at her. "It was that I was missing something, and I didn't know what it was back then."

            Nessie looked up at him with eyes on the verge of tears. "What were you missing Daddy?" She asked with the innocence only a child could have.

            Edward smiled lovingly at her and kissed her forehead. "You and your mother." He chuckled at her surprised, but joyous face. "Without you both I couldn't be as happy as I am now."

            "Are we really the only thing you were missing to be happy daddy?" She asked.

            Edward laughed and I couldn't help but join in. "Of course you were." He pulled her into his lap and placed his arm around me drawing me closer so we were in a family hug. "This will always be one of the happiest Christmases I'll ever have because we finally get to spend it together. I waited a long time for you and your mother to get here and join with us all."

            Nessie snuggled into both our shoulders. "Sorry we made you wait daddy." She said as she cried the few tears she had collected into our shirts.

            "It was worth it sweetheart." He whispered hoarsely as he stared into my eyes. I could see the love he had for us both engulf my whole being. Touching his face I shared with him my love and thoughts, now and forever my love. We'll never be apart again. Edward nodded softly and kissed me softly over Nessie's head. I few seconds after I heard I loud smack coming from outside that made me realise we'd been left alone inside to have our talk with Nessie.

            Edward chuckled. "Rose and Esme were a little upset with Emmett for his choice in stories." I smiled in understanding. Emmett had likely chosen the most morose Edward Christmas stories to get a rise out of Edward. Rose and Esme would have been the ones to take offence on Nessie's behalf. Emmett had likely tried to defend his choices leading to Rose smacking him in the back of the head.

            Nessie pulled back to look at us both. "Since Uncle Emmett was trying to be mean, does that mean he'll get coal for Christmas?" Edward couldn't help but laugh harder than I'd seen in a while. "I'm sure he will sweetheart." Nessie smiled and got down and walked towards the door to go get everyone else.

            She opened the door and stared at Emmett and put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You'd deserve it too Uncle Emmett. You're always being mean to Daddy."

            Emmett laughed. "That's because you're daddy is a…"

            I didn't see Edward move but I was a second too late to stop Emmett myself. Edward had him down on the ground and holding him down. "You will not say that to my daughter. Do you hear me?" He said with quiet anger. "What the hell were you thinking?"

            Emmett looked contrite. "Sorry I wasn't thinking."

            Edward got up and looked disgusted with him as he brushed off his pants. "For god's sake Emmett, she's only one."

            Nessie still looked mad as I looked down at her. "Don't worry honey. I'm sure Emmett will be on his best behaviour from now until Christmas."

            Nessie shook her head. "I don't think he should come to see Santa with us. What if Santa thinks we are all as mean as Uncle Emmett?" She asked with wide eyes.

            I could see all the family laughing behind their hands to hide their amusement as much as possible, poor Jasper looked like he was about to fall over from all the mirth. Emmett looked devastated. He knew Nessie was likely to only believe for this one year.

            "Don't worry Nessie. Remember Santa keeps a list of the naughty and nice people so he'll know it's only Emmett that is naughty." I promised her.

            "Oh." She said looking very serious. "Well in that case I guess he can come." She looked over at Esme. "Can I have some more cookies?" everybody finally had a chance to let their laughter out as Esme took her inside.

            Alice was giggling so hard she was the first to fall and I soon joined her. "That was priceless." We all agreed, even Emmett when he stopped pouting.

            It was several days before we got the chance to take Nessie to the mall to see Santa. The experience was much different than I could remember as a child. The line for Santa wasn't as long as I had been expecting, which was good considering how excited the adults were. Seven overly excited vampires, plus a nervous hybrid, an overprotective mother-hen werewolf, a human in a wheelchair and another two with him, and one apprehensive mother vampire equals a whole bunch of very scared and startled humans. Alice had warned us that if we all got in line with Nessie the people working would be too frightened and ruin the experience for my daughter. Luckily Jake and Billy had only been invited after we had started to leave. Nessie had wanted him along and so we had called ahead. It goes to show how good relations are now; we had met them in front of their house so we could travel in a caravan since Jake wasn't sure where the mall in Olympia was. Charlie and Sue had met us at our house, but switched from Dad's cruiser to Jake's car so they could visit during the trip.

            The people around us shielded away. Parents not already in line decided to shop a little more or go eat before getting in line so no one followed Edward and Nessie into the line. Alice had said it would have been a bit smoother if Charlie had taken Nessie but Edward wasn't going to allow anyone but him and me to do it. To help make things easier I had agreed to wait outside with everyone else but I promised Nessie I would stand by the exit so she could see me. I let the others talk while I watched both my little girl and her father thread their way through the line towards the front. When they were nearly to the front I moved so Nessie could see me and waved to her. Edward's face was brighter than I could ever remember seeing as he placed his little girl on the lap of Santa but he quickly backed away so he wouldn't make Santa nervous. With my hearing I could hear Nessie talking.

            "Hi Santa," she said shyly.

            "Hello Renesme." Santa replied. "You have a very unique name."

            Nessie nodded. "Yeah, everyone calls me Nessie though."

            "Is that because you're a little monster?" Santa winked. I sucked in a breath and looked at Edward but he was relaxed and smiling still.

            Nessie's eyes widened. "NO! I've been very good." She said quickly, almost too quickly for a human. "Jake started calling me that while momma was still recovering from my birth and now everyone calls me that."

            Santa just chuckled. "Well you have been on my nice list all year." Nessie relaxed and smiled at the old man. "So what would you like for Christmas this year my dear?"

            Nessie's face scrunched up. "I don't know. Aunt Alice always buys everything I could ever need before I even know I need it." All of my family started laughing except Charlie, Sue and Billy. I saw Jake bend down to explain to Billy who also began to laugh.

            "Is there nothing you want for Christmas?" Santa asked slightly perplexed by her answer.

            Nessie's face scrunched in concentration, but then brightened. "A car I can drive."

            Edward burst out laughing at the look on my face. I know it had to be a look of horror at the idea of what Rose could do to one of those little mini cars I had seen for young children. Santa looked quickly to Edward who nodded and Santa looked back down at her. "Well I am sure that can be arranged my dear." He said with a chuckle. The elf called there attention and they took the picture of Nessie and Santa before Edward took her and lead her to where I was waiting.

            In a voice too low for Nessie to hear I hissed at him. "Rose does NOT get to increase the speed beyond 50 miles per hour." Edward had wisely nodded before we collected the picture and as a group went to the photo center to make copies for everyone, before we separated and began Christmas shopping. Charlie, Sue, Billy and Jake took Nessie home to Charlie's for a visit while Edward and I got her a car at Toy R' Us along with other gifts.

            The days until Christmas were quiet and peaceful. The house looked beautiful and I often found myself lost looking at the lights of the tree and the fire in the fireplace, nestled in Edwards's arms contently. Christmas Eve was much the same, the family around the tree sharing in the glow of the Christmas atmosphere. Emmett had turned the radio on to listen to the "Santa Updates" and the carols as we past he time together. Nessie had made no complaints about going to sleep as long as the adults cleared out of the living room so Santa could visit. We had all laughed and agreed to go out hunting while Jake watched over her at the cottage while she slept. Of course we didn't. Instead we spent the time putting the extra gifts out, putting her toys together at human speed (while Rose made sure the guys followed the directions), feeding the reindeer, and preparing her Christmas morning breakfast.

            The morning started off with a bang, literally. Emmett couldn't wait for Nessie to wake up and had let one of the fireworks go off outside her bedroom while Edward and I had been distracted in our own room. Needless to say I had not been pleased, but Nessie's enthusiasm won me over and we all gathered in the living room.

            Most of the presents under the tree were for Nessie. She got everything from clothes, shoes, 'little girl make-up kits' and such from her aunts and grandma, including a child sized vanity. From the boys she got toys, books and a fishing pole from Grandpa Charlie. But the biggest gifts were from Edward and I. She got her car from 'Santa' or course but Edward and I had also bought tickets to go to Disneyland. Alice would have to help plan the actual dates as Edward and I had to be careful, but it would be our first 'family' holiday with out the extended family. Nessie was very happy with her haul.

            I was at a bit of a loss as the afternoon past. Normally during Christmas Day I spent all my time in the kitchen cooking, but now I was watching the holiday movies with the rest of them, debating the merits of one version of Miracle on 34th Street over another version. Esme noticed my distraction.

            "What's wrong Bella?" she asked softly, trying not to attract the attention of everyone else.

            I gave her a small bashful smile. "Sorry but it's new not to spend all day in the kitchen cooking." I explained.

            Edward looked down to me as I was still snuggled into his shoulder. "Christmas dinner doesn't require cooking love, but we are still having it."

            "What?" I said completely surprised. "Are we all going hunting later?"

            Edward looked puzzled. "No, why would we."

            "But you just said…"

            Edward looked surprised as the others laughed. "I guess I never explained, but I thought you'd have figured it out by now."

            "What are you…?"

            "Oh come on Bella." Emmett laughed loudly. "Sing with me "I ate Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen…" The rest were laughing and starting to join in. Edward was trying hard not to laugh too but was failing miserably.

            "Oh my God!" I said slightly horrified.

            "Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen but do you recall the most tasty reindeer of all?" The rest sang. Even Nessie was laughing and singing along. Edward gave up and laughed loudly before joining in.

            By the end of the song I had to laugh too. The poor reindeer out front were going to be our dinner and from what Carlisle had said they had done the reindeer display for years.

            "Ok fine, fine, I get the joke but I have one question." I said slightly curious.

            "What's that love?" Edward asked.

            I looked around and Alice laughed as she caught on to what I was going to ask. Edward smirked but let me ask anyway. "How many do you normally get and who ate the extra ones?"

            "Emmett!" Everyone chimed in. "And we normally only got 8 because Alice insisted, but this year we needed one for Nessie to Rudolph joined them this year." Edward explained.

            I laughed. "Well at least it's a tradition I can understand, I guess." I still shook my head because I hadn't caught on sooner. "So when's dinner?" I asked with a huge smile.

            Merry Christmas everyone