A/N: I meant to make these all before Bella is a vampire stories...but that demon vamp child took over my mind and made me write this. I take no resposibility.

Christmas with the Cullens

"Esme, seven turkeys? Don't you think that might be a bit too much?" I asked I stared at the seven massive birds that lined the counter top.

"Well, I wasn't sure. With sixteen werewolves, plus their imprints, then Billy, Sue, and Charlie, I wanted to be safe. We can always send them home with the leftovers if we need to. Oh! My stuffing!" Esme hurried off to the stovetop to make sure her stuffing was not burning.

A moment later, Nessie entered the kitchen, twirling around in a sparkly red dress.

"Do you like it, Momma?" she asked, spinning around so I could see.

Nessie was now over a year old, but she appeared to be around seven. Her bronze ringlets rested just below her shoulders (We had finally decided to cut it after it reached her knees, despite Alice's protests.) The dress she wore was made out of red satin, and it had a thin layer of glitter that made her shimmer every time she moved. Her cheeks were flushed from excitement. The blush looked startling against her porcelain skin. As she danced around the kitchen, she looked like a living china doll.

"I think its lovely, darling," I told her.

Nessie beamed. "Rosie chose it for me. And look what Alice gave to me!"

She thrust her wrist toward me, showing me a delicate gold bracelet embedded with tiny diamonds. I rolled my eyes.

"You be careful with that, sweetie. You wouldn't want to lose it," I said. Not that it really mattered. It Nessie misplaced it, Alice would go out and buy her another one before anyone had a chance to look for it.

"I will, Momma," she promised, fingering the tiny diamonds.

"Oh, darn it," Esme's voice came from the other side of the kitchen. "I think I overcooked the stuffing. Nessie, dear, would you come taste it for me?"

Nessie turned to me, a pleading look in her eyes. She hated human food and only ate it when absolutely necessary. She grabbed my hand and showed me just how much she didn't want to eat grandma's stuffing.

"Now Nessie," I whispered, though I was sure Esme would still be able to hear me. "You know you're the only one who can taste human food. Can you please do it for Esme?"

She made a face, but proceeded to dance across the kitchen anyway. Just as she was about to taste the stuffing, Jacob bounded into the kitchen.

"Man, everything smells great!" he exclaimed, deeply inhaling the steamy air.

"Jakey!" Nessie shrieked, dashing across the kitchen and attaching herself to one of Jacob's legs.

He promptly scooped her up in his arms. "How's my Ness?"

She giggled. Despite her young age, she was completely enamored 'uncle' Jake. It all made me want to snatch Nessie out of Jacob's arms and banish them both to different sides of the universe. But I supposed there was nothing I could do to stop the inevitable.

Nessie leaned over and whispered something in Jacob's ear. Though she was trying to be quiet about it, Esme and I could clearly hear. "Jake, will you taste that dreadful stuffing for me? Esme wants to know if its burnt…"

Jacob grinned wolfishly. He scooped up a large spoonful of stuffing and shoved it into his mouth. Nessie made a face.

"Mmmm that's good!" Jacob exclaimed, taking another bite.

"Not too burnt?" Esme asked.

"Not that I can tell. And Esme, don't worry. Us wolves will eat just about anything."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"They're here!" Nessie exclaimed, jumping down from Jacob's arms and running to the front door. Jacob immediately followed.

"Its so nice to have a child in the house," Esme mumbled, more to herself than to me.

A moment later, Emmett entered the kitchen, clad in a red Santa suit that was stuffed with pillows around his middle.

I stifled a laugh, but couldn't hold it in. "Emmett! What in the world do you think you're doing?"

Emmett smiled. "Well last Christmas was sort of a waste, considering the Volturi crashed it. I thought I could liven up the party, especially for Nessie."

"You know Emmett, Nessie doesn't believe in Santa…" I trailed off, straightening his beard.

"Scandalous," Emmett pretended to be shocked. "Edward's doings, no doubt?"

"Emmett, Nessie was reading Shakespeare and Dickens by the time she was a few months old. She's a very intelligent child. I think she would've figured it out on her own."

"So you're saying there's a chance she might believe in Santa?"

I only rolled my eyes.

Emmett and I hurried into the family room to join everyone else, leaving Esme to further perfect her cooking.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Emmett boomed as he entered the room. He stopped right in front of Nessie. "Would you like to tell Santa what you want for Christmas?"

Nessie dramatically rolled her eyes, and said quite matter-of-factly, "Santa isn't real."

Emmett gasped, and the entire room fell silent, as if their favorite television program had just come on.

"Children who don't believe in Santa don't get presents," stated Emmett.

Nessie faltered, looking at me for guidance (which I could give none of) and then sat down on Emmett's lap. He helped her up, and she abruptly gasped as she felt his cold skin.

"You're not Santa! You're a vampire!"

"Nessie, dear, didn't you know? Santa is a vampire. How else do you think I live for so long?" Emmett stated, and I had to admit it was quite a logical answer.

Nessie was still a bit hesitant, but I could slowly see her starting to believe him. "I suppose…"

Emmett's eyes twinkled. "Now, my dear child, what would you like for Christmas?"

"Well…" said Nessie thoughtfully. "I want the box set of all of Shakespeare's plays, Wuthering Heights (momma says that's quite a good book.)…" she trailed off, still thinking.

"Anything else?" prodded Emmett.

"Oh yes…a Barbie doll."

What a strange child I had.

"Well, I must be going now. I have quite a lot of packages to deliver tonight. I'll be back at your house later," he promised Nessie.

Emmett headed for the front door, "ho, ho, ho-ing" the whole way there.

"Aren't you going to go up the chimney?" asked Nessie.

Emmett laughed nervously. "Umm..well…the front door is easier?"

Nessie wasn't convinced.

Grumbling quietly to himself, Emmett crossed the family room to the massive fireplace, and without another word, he disappeared through the opening.

"Edward," I hissed, motioning to my husband. "How's he doing it?"

"He's climbing up the bricks," Edward marveled.

Wow.

"He really is Santa!" exclaimed Nessie.

A few minutes later, Emmett "joined" us.

"Emmett! Emmett!" Nessie shrieked. "You missed Santa! The for real Santa was here and guess what? He's really a vampire and he went right up the chimney!" Nessie paused to catch her breath.

"Darn! I missed Santa?" Emmett pretended to look dejected.

Nessie patted him reassuringly on the back. "Don't worry. He'll be back later."

The party ended hours later (with only minimal leftovers to be sent home with the werewolves).

"I supposed we should be getting Nessie up to bed now?" said Edward once everyone had left the house.

"Sounds like plan…wait. Where is Nessie?" I realized that I had lost track of her in the mayhem of goodbyes.

"Nessie!" I called into the emptiness of the house. "Nessie, love, where are you?"

Edward and I began to search the house, the living room, family room, kitchen, upstairs bedrooms…but she was nowhere to be found. After ten minutes, I was beginning to get a bit concerned.

"Now calm down Bella," Edward tried to soothe me. "She couldn't have gone far…"

Just then, we heard footsteps coming up from the basement. Sure enough, a moment later, Nessie appeared, holding a clear glass in her hand filled with…blood.

"Nessie!" I exclaimed. "What on earth do you think you're doing!? Where did you get that?!"

"Momma, calm down. I got it from Carlisle O- stash (a/n: because we all know he has one now ;D) It's for Santa." Nessie stated.

"But why—" the scent of the blood discontinued my thoughts. I concentrated on not breathing.

"Momma, Santa's a vampire! Why would he want a dreadful cup of milk when he can have this?" Nessie exasperated.

I was going to kill Emmett.

Nessie walked over to the fireplace slowly, trying not to spill the almost full glass. She placed it gently beside a tray off cookies. "Not that he'll want to eat them," explained Nessie. I just thought a glass of blood would look lonely. I explained it all in a note."

"Very thoughtful of you," I mumbled. "Now I think its about time you went up to bed."

"But I want to see Santa again!" whined Nessie.

"But Santa won't come unless you're in bed," I told her.

Nessie nodded, yawning. "I hope he likes O-"

"I'm sure he does…" I trailed off, scooping Nessie up in my arms.

"Merry Christmas, Momma…" whispered Nessie. "Oh, wait...is the Easter Bunny a vampire too?"