A/N Due to previous cliffhanger, I was almost positive you'd be dying to read the next chapter and therefore R&R to get it. But I waited you out this long, and still haven't gotten ANYTHING. So, if you have even the slightest desire to see this story continue, then I suggest pressing the pretty little review button so you get another chapter. Because I can easily write this up for myself and never let you know what happens.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the books that you recognize, ok people?

Chapter 5: The Truth

Everything happened at once. I felt myself lunge at Renesmee in slow motion. The other vampires rushed in front of Bella and Nessie. The wolves followed, covering their sides. Emmett pushed me back and I landed against a tree, leaving an imprint in it. Ryan jumped in front of me in a protective stance, growling at the Cullens and his pack, who were all so much bigger than him.

I snapped out of my hunting mode, denying my instincts. I was shaking from head to toe at my sudden outburst. What if Bella hadn't been there? I could have seriously hurt Renesmee- even have killed her. I was horrified, and pretty sure they could all see that twisted up on my face.

"Alright, everybody, let's just calm down," Carlisle took charge, though I could still hear the tension in his voice. All that had happened in the matter of a few seconds. Luckily that was enough for the father figure of the family to pull himself together. Some of the wolves were shaking just like me, but not for the same reasons. They were fighting themselves not to morph- I'd seen it before.

"I-I'm sorry," I struggled to get the words out. I was looking over Ryan's shoulder. His arms were spread out protectively, blocking the group from me. I didn't have time to wonder what he was thinking or why he was thinking it.

"It's ok, Leslie," Alice said from near the front of the crowd. "It's my fault- I should have seen this coming."

"It's no one's fault, Alice," Carlisle assured her. "Nothing happened. Everyone's okay."

"Except for Renesmee's scraped knee," Jacob mumbled.

"And Leslie being completely traumatized," Ryan added almost accusingly under his breath. I realized I was still shaking, and suddenly felt about to fall over. If I was still human, my heart would have been beating at a hundred miles a minute.

I struggled to calm myself and stay upright, which was a big task. I glanced up at Edward, wanting badly to know what everyone else was thinking now as he only could. (I also noted that Bella was watching my almost instinctive reaction and let out a small hiss.) He was staring at Ryan with a look of amazement and confusion. I pushed the werewolf's arm gently down out of my way, and he glanced back at me questioningly. I chose to ignore him.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized again softly. "I lost it. I guess I'm still not good at controlling myself around human blood. I knew something like this would happen if I stuck around." I shook my head quickly, feeling so stupid.

"I'm going to fix up Renesmee," Bella said, probably not wanting to hear my apology. She disappeared with her daughter into the house in a half-second.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Alice said quickly. "We were expecting something like this, so nothing bad happened, right? Not to say that I was doubting your ability to control yourself... But... but...I just mean..." For a change, she seemed to be at a loss for words. I felt sorry for her and myself, and really everyone else who was stupid enough to trust me enough to let me join this party.

"I told you," Rosalie huffed. Instantly after that, talk started up. I managed to glare at the blonde in my shocked state.

I hadn't realized Jasper had been using his calming ability until now. That's what had kept them so quiet. He was now directing it mostly towards me and Ryan, and I felt a little better. Ryan relaxed his defensive position.

"Guys, Nessie's going to be back anytime now," Jacob called all our attentions. "This is still her birthday party, and let's not forget that. She survived a meeting with the Volturi, I'm sure she won't be too badly shaken by this little incident. She's still really excited about it, so try to act natural and have fun, okay?"

I had almost forgotten the Volturi coming to Forks and immortal children stuff up until now. I still didn't know the full story, but I knew Jacob was right. The Volturi were horrifying, as probably all the vampires here knew... especially me.

I quickly blocked those thoughts from my mind to keep Edward from reading them. Instead I though of Renesmee and my gift to her. I was sure he'd find that suspicious... if he had been paying any attention. His stare was still fixed on Ryan, who stayed in front of me, but had since turned more blank.

"Alice..." I began.

"Yeah, Les?" she asked.

"I believe you were in the middle of retrieving my present."

"Oh, yeah, right," she chuckled. "Sorry." In a flash she was gone, and I went to join the back of the crowd. The group had moved back over by the presents table to wait for Nessie and Bella to return. They were between me and the front door, probably on purpose. Except for Ryan. He stayed about a foot to my right.

Alice came back with my present in the next three seconds, handing the dictionary-sized canvas to me. It was facing in my direction so no one else would see, and I quickly pulled it to my chest.

"Thanks, Alice."

"No problem!" the psychic vampire answered cheerily. "You know, you can come join me up near the front. I promise nothing will happen."

"That's ok," I rejected. "I'm much more comfortable back here, anyways. After the, you know..."

"That's fine, I guess..." Alice agreed disappointedly. "I suppose it would put everyone at ease if there was a bullet-proof wall of vampires, and angry wall of werewolves between you and Nessie."

Ryan growled at the mention of his packmates. Alice just looked from me to him once then giggled before leaving.

Bella and Edward were up with their daughter, watching her open the presents, while Carlisle and Esme stayed off closer to the table that was once full of presents. I was sure they were being polite to me- neutral- and not making up part of the blockade. Emmett was closer to the end with them, as well. I knew his strength would be necessary if I lost it again, but he seemed to like me a little more than some of the others. Rosalie seemed torn between her mate and being in the front line of defense. Alice and Jasper were closer to the middle, but off to the left.

The werewolves were forming around me. Ryan had moved closer, only inches away now, and two of the others –Quil and Embry, I recognized- had stayed a couple inches up from us and stood one on each side. Then Paul and Leah were in front of us farther, and closer together. For the most part, we were blocked in. Then Jacob was up with Renesmee, like he usually was, and Seth sat on the ground mid-way between Rosalie and Alice, just enjoying himself like Nessie was.

Most of the werewolves had gotten her toys that were somehow wolf-related, which Nessie liked. Then Jasper and Alice gifted her with one of those calming light things that were supposed to dance around your room in rainbow colors. The vampires all got a kick out of that. Rosalie presented her with an expensive-looking set of lotions and sparkly hairclips. Nessie found the hairclips pretty, but I'm not sure she knew entirely what to think about the lotions. Emmett didn't want to put his name on that gift, so instead he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, which was a coupon for a free piggy back ride, which excited Nessie, and didn't seem to appeal much to her mother.

When it came to Carlisle and Esme's turn, the family's mother figure had to run into the house. She was out again quickly with a stack of yellow-covered books. Nancy Drew- something I remembered faintly from my human life. After Nessie was done going through the whole pile, examining the covers, each with a newfound gleam of mystery coming to her eyes, Alice called on me.

"Neither of you two have gone yet," She smiled, referring to Ryan and I.

"Alice, I don't think..."

"What, couldn't manage to come up with a good enough present?" Emmett teased. I shot him a playful glare.

"You gave her a piece of paper with writing," I shot back. "Can't get much worse than that, can it?" He shrugged.

"Probably true."

I stepped forward slowly, feeling the werewolves and Rosalie stiffen as I did so, adjusting their position with mine. Ryan followed closely behind me, having been called up as well. I kept my eyes on Renesmee, managing a smile. I leaned down so I was her height, my dress being a nuisance again and puffing out around me as I did so.

"Here you are, Nessie," I said softly, handing the canvas out to her. I didn't dare breathe, being as close as I was. "Sorry it's nothing to unwrap."

The girl took the painting from my hands, turning it around so that she could see it. She gasped before a huge, beautiful smile spread across her face. I caught Edward's eyes widen slightly as he saw what was in her mind.

"Look," Nessie said to Bella, handing her my present before turning back to hug me. She thanked me in her own way, and I dared to breathe enough to talk.

"You're welcome," I replied in the same soft tone I'd used before. Her scent bugged me a little, since the blood on her knee was still relatively fresh, but it was easier since she also smelled like a vampire. At least she didn't seem to be scared of me, which made me feel a little better. Bella moved my present off to the side with the others, resting it neatly against the house for the others to see.

I had to back off so Ryan could give her his gift, but I didn't move too far off, noticing him watching how far I went. Nessie tore the flashy, shimmering, golden paper off the small box, then popped up the lid. She pulled it's contents out, putting the box carefully aside. In her small fist, she held up a pink flower on a golden chain that caught the light and sparkled in a way much similar to the wrapping paper that had previously covered it.

She turned and put it in her mother's hand, telling Bella something that was unseen by the rest of us- excluding her father. Renesmee turned back around, waiting. In one swift movement, the necklace was hanging at her chest. She hugged Ryan, thanking him like she'd thanked me.

"Aw, you're welcome, Nessie," He replied, smiling. "Glad you like it. And it even matches your dress!" I couldn't help but laugh at the excited girl, her happiness making me feel a little better.

Renesmee's parents and Jacob were the last to give her their presents. Knowing Bella, I was sure she'd insist that they share a present as not to go overboard with spending. I had found that she'd never liked Edward spending a lot of money on her and had tried to enforce that with her daughter. That's why she got a CD player with a small stack of various types of music to go with it. Then Edward threw in his own CD, which Bella didn't seem to happy with.

"I didn't spend any money- promise," he assured his mate, making her relax a little more.

Jacob gave his present last- a charm bracelet which matched the one on Bella's wrist, with a wolf charm that was noticeably darker than her mother's. Nessie seemed to be exceptionally excited about this.

"I'll have to get you a charm now, too, I suppose," he sighed, pretending to be exasperated at Jacob. Nessie laughed, being taken into the werewolf's arms so she could hug him too.

Almost too quickly after that, cleaning commenced and the werewolves departed. I wasn't quite sure where Emmett dragged all the garbage off to, just that it was too big to fit in their trashcan.

Then we were all settled back into the living room and Renesmee was asleep on Bella's lap, still in her new dress. Jacob was sitting beside them, looking half-asleep himself, watching over the little girl.

Alice and I were standing off to the side, near the door.

"Why is Jacob always around Nessie?" I asked Alice quietly. "He seems really attached to her. It's almost like... well, it's kinda weird and..."

"Creepy?" Alice asked, matching my tone. I nodded slightly. She giggled. "I can see why you'd think that. In truth, it's a werewolf thing. It's called imprinting." She glanced over to see my reaction. I was frozen in place, fascinated by this wolfy connection thing.

"It's kind of like love at first sight, but not necessarily," Alice began, looking thoughtful. "It's kind of hard to explain. But basically it's a bond formed to last eternity. The werewolf who's imprinted will do anything for the object of their imprinting. Their ultimate goal in life becomes whatever she wants. For awhile they won't ever want to leave her, but according to Jacob it becomes better over time. Bella once explained it as Jacob had told her as being it's no longer anything else that holds you to earth- it's her."

"Wow, that's..." I was mostly at a loss for words. "Amazing."

"Interesting, definitely," Alice agreed. "Though no one's quite figured out why they do that, yet. Jacob's and Quil's fathers both have a theory, but nothing's been proven or disapproved yet."

"I think it's time to get Renesmee home," Bella announced loud enough for all of us to hear without waking Nessie. Jake stood up.

"That means it's time for me to get going, too," he yawned, stretching. Edward broke off from Jasper and Carlisle in the corner of the room. They had been having their own little discussion the whole time that had escaped my notice. Esme was participating from the end of the couch. Emmett and Rosalie stood nearby, listening in. Rosalie added something at Carlisle. Emmett patted Edward on the back as he passed.

"Good luck," he smirked.

"Leslie, I need to talk to you for a minute," Edward said calmly, ignoring his brother. I looked over at him questioningly, but his face revealed nothing. I wondered what could be so serious that he was taking me away from all the others just to tell me. And the whole family had been in on the conversation, which made me a little nervous.

Edward hurried upstairs, and I followed right after him. We stood in a room that was covered in a thin layer of dust and obviously for show. I figured it must have been Edward's, since him and Bella had a cottage out in the woods now.

"What's going on? Why is everyone all worked up about something? Why'd you have to bring me up here just to tell me something?" I demanded. Edward remained calm.

"Don't worry, Leslie, everything's fine," he tried to reassure me. "You have nothing to worry about."

I realized he was waiting until I had regained my cool to tell me. That knowledge only freaked me out further, but I was also dying of curiosity, so I had to make an effort to relax.

I took a couple deep breaths, listening to the rhythms of the only two beating hearts in the house downstairs. I stood perfectly still, looking up at Edward. He waited a couple seconds to see if I was going to freak out again, and took the chance to read my thoughts. In the back of my mind, they were swimming with all sorts of things and wouldn't shut up.

"Alright, I suppose this is going to be as calm as you'll get," Edward sighed.

"Well, sorry," I retorted. "The rest of the house is in on some big secret involving me that you can't tell me unless you take me away from the rest of them. In my mind, that's usually reason for a bit of panic."

"Alright, you win," Edward chuckled. He took a deep breath before continuing. "You might want to brace yourself for this. It's weird, even for us vampires."

"Just tell me, please," I begged. There were a few seconds of pause that seemed to last a lifetime. I heard dead silence coming from downstairs. Not even a heartbeat- Bella and Jacob had left along with Renesmee.

"Ryan," Edward breathed, "has imprinted on you."

A/N What truth were you expecting? Sorry to those of you who I ruined this for in the last chapter. I've gone back and fixed that since. If anyone didn't read the old version of last chapter, did you see this coming? (My stupid obviousness...) Don't forget to R&R or I swear I will stop this story from coming up here.