Bella started breathing again once her eyes were open, and so did we. Her eyes flickered this way and that. I knew what she was seeing; I could remember how it had all looked after my own transformation. Everything would be different for her now: the way she saw things, what she heard – her sense of smell, especially. I did note with regret, however, that her mind was still silent. I could hear no thoughts from her.

Jasper worked on settling a calming presence upon everyone in the room. Whether Bella needed it or not, I couldn't be sure. She certainly didn't jump up or shriek as she looked around, but I wasn't sure she was yet aware of our presence. I squeezed her hand to try and get her attention.

Within a fraction of a second she hissed and spun away from me, landing near the wall. It was a shock to see her move like that, I had to confess. Although expected, it was difficult to disassociate Bella's clumsiness from this graceful woman before me.

I watched her warily as she straightened up where she stood, and noticed, with relief, reason return to her eyes. She must not have realized I had been so close to her. Now she did, and she regarded me quietly for a moment, indecipherable emotions flitting across her face.

I moved slowly around the table, taking care to do nothing that could disturb her. I wanted her to be aware of every movement I was taking so I didn't frighten her. This, after all, was the moment. The moment when she could reject me if she wanted to. The moment when I would find out how she would react to her new life. I kept my hand stretched out towards her, hoping against hope that she would reach out and take it.

Jasper cautioned me in his mind as soon as I started to move. Slowly, Edward. We don't want to frighten her.

Well, so far she hasn't tripped over anything, Emmett thought.

I wonder what it was like for her? Carlisle was already eager to question Bella about her experience during the transformation.

Alice was still trying to stop herself jumping up and down with glee. Don't worry, Edward. She's not going to bite.

"Bella?" I asked softly, drawing on Jasper's calm. "Bella, love? I'm sorry, I know it's disorienting. But you're all right. Everything is fine."

This assurance seemed to disturb her more than calm her. Her eyes grew restless, and they darted all over the room. I wished I knew what she was thinking. That would have helped me address whatever fears were uppermost in her mind. I hoped they weren't the very things I was afraid of.

In the moment she hesitated, I dared to reach out and touch her face. I hoped my touch might calm her mind, so that she could talk if she wanted to.

As my fingers stroked her cheek, I noticed the smooth texture and the comfortable temperature they were now. Touching her skin was a delight – especially since I didn't have to worry about hurting her. She was far stronger than me right now.

Her expression changed as my fingers moved across her skin, and an unmistakable light of desire came into her eyes.

As I drew breath to sigh my relief, she threw herself at me, twining her arms around my neck, and dragging my head down to her height. I felt my back and neck scream in protest at the force of it as Bella buried her head in my chest, nuzzling in with all her strength.

As much as I didn't want to, I pulled back. I was worried she was going to pull my head off. "Um … carefully, Bella. Ow."

She had looked terrified by my action until she heard my words. Then I saw enlightenment dawn on her face. She pulled her arms away and folded them behind her back. "Oops," she mouthed at me.

Her face was so comical I had to smile. "Don't panic, love," I told her, touching my fingers to her lips, which were still forming a horrified 'O'. "You're just a bit stronger than I am for the moment."

Her eyebrows pulled together in a worried frown, but they straightened out quickly as I stroked her cheek again. For a moment I was worried she would leap at me once more. Well, maybe worried was the wrong word. After all, the experience wouldn't be altogether unpleasant, and we could always reattach my head if it came off …

Taking a deep breath, Bella seemed to recollect herself, then, slowly and carefully, she reached her hand out to touch my cheek. Her eyes glinted with nothing but love.

I felt my frozen heart swell as she opened her mouth and spoke for the first time. Her voice was beautiful, so much more beautiful than it ever had been, but its beauty was outweighed by the beauty of her words. For with those three words, she swept away the last of my doubts.

"I love you," she said.

I smiled back at her, looking deep into her eyes. "As I love you," I replied. I was right. Or rather, she was right. She still loved me. She was still mine. She was not hating what she was now. She did not blame me for it. The only look she gave me now was one of love.

I took her face between my hands, fighting to keep my movements slow so that I didn't startle her. She did not move or approach me, but nor did she back away. I touched my lips to hers gently.

Whoa! came a clear thought from Jasper's mind. He had just noticed Bella's reaction via her emotions. Desire rippled through her.

That was all I needed to hear. Gone were the days when I risked her life taking her in my arms. For the first time, I wrapped my arms tightly around her body, holding her to me without a worry about my strength. I kissed her fiercely, releasing the passion that I had been holding in for the past eighteen months.

She responded as I had hoped she would, pulling herself closer to me, although I could see she was struggling to remain gentle. Soon she had wrapped her leg around my hip. I grabbed the small of her back and pulled her more tightly against me, my other hand behind her head, allowing no distance between us.

Yes! crowed Alice in her thoughts. Jasper was noting our emotions with raised eyebrows.

Hm, she seems to be … adjusting well, Carlisle thought, with a smile.

Please, groaned Emmett. I want her to do some crazed newborn stuff, not this! He cleared his throat.

Bella broke off our kiss at the sound and stepped away from me, looking embarrassed. I wasn't having that; I stepped with her, keeping her close to my side. It was hard to keep the smile off my face now.

Bella took a deep breath and looked up at me, her expression accusing. "You've been holding out on me," she scolded.

I couldn't help but laugh at that, giddy with relief. "It was sort of necessary at the time," I reminded her. "Now it's your turn not to break me."

Jasper's thoughts were getting more tense by the second as he waited for Bella to snap. He was surprised when the frown that appeared on her face at my words turned into a laugh. Carlisle was laughing too. Emmett wasn't. He was still looking forward to some newborn madness, but I was too euphoric to worry about his thoughts.

Carlisle was growing a little impatient himself, but not for what Emmett was waiting for. He wanted to know about Bella's experience during the transformation. New information – it was one of the few things he craved.

He stepped forward – a nervous Jasper right behind him. Just watch her, Edward, he cautioned me as Carlisle moved towards Bella. But Carlisle wasn't worried. Neither was Alice, and I would have thought that Jasper might pay some attention to his wife's attitude. After all, she knew exactly what was about to happen. She was scanning ahead every few seconds, checking Bella's future out as much as possible. She was not concerned. Jasper's the edgiest one here, she thought.

I could see Bella taking in Carlisle's appearance with her strong new eyes. It was like she was seeing him for the first time.

"How do you feel, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Overwhelmed," she replied quickly. "There's so much …" She looked around again, her attention drawn to a million things at once.

We all knew how that felt. "Yes, it can be quite confusing," Carlisle agreed.

Bella nodded. "But I feel like me. Sort of. I didn't expect that."

That reassured me even more. Now I was being proved right. I squeezed her waist, trying to remember that I didn't need to do it lightly anymore. "I told you so."

Carlisle was impressed. It's hard to believe she's doing so well, he thought, before adding, "You are quite controlled. More so than I expected, even with the time you had to prepare yourself mentally for this."

Bella's eyes darted around the room again, not able to look at anything for more than a fraction of a second. "I'm not sure about that."

Carlisle nodded, taking her answer in, then asked his most urgent question. "It seems like we did something right with the morphine this time. Tell me, what do you remember of the transformation process?"

I watched Bella carefully, as I was far from believing, as Carlisle did, that it had been pain-free, and it would be just like Bella to try and keep the extent of her suffering hidden from me. I was determined to find her out.

She paused for a moment, and I feared the worst, but, when she spoke, her attention had been diverted elsewhere. "Everything was … very dim before. I remember the baby couldn't breathe …"

Her eyes shot up to mine in alarm, frightened for the life of our daughter.

"Renesmee is healthy and well," I assured her. As her features relaxed in relief, I questioned her further. "What do you remember after that?"

Her eyes were still skittering everywhere, although she seemed to be trying to keep her attention fixed on us. "It's hard to remember," she said, and she seemed genuinely unsure. "It was so dark before. And then … I opened my eyes and I could see everything."

"Amazing." I can't believe it worked so well! Carlisle seemed satisfied that Bella was telling the truth. I watched her carefully, but she still seemed too distracted to be able to lie successfully. She had never been that good at it.

Carlisle was anxious for more details. "I want you to think – to tell me everything you remember."

Bella pulled a face, and for a moment I thought she was going to lie. Carlisle realized the real problem before I did. "Oh, I'm so sorry Bella. Of course your thirst must be very uncomfortable. This conversation can wait."

Yes, take her hunting. Please! Jasper thought anxiously.

No, no hunting yet, Emmett complained internally. She hasn't even attacked anyone.

As Carlisle mentioned it, Bella's hand flew to her throat. She winced a little, and I could see that she was, indeed, in need of a good hunting trip.

I was filled with delight that I could finally say these words. "Let's hunt, Bella." I tugged on her hand. Never again would I leave my wife out of anything I did. From now on, we would always be together.

Shock drove the pained expression from Bella's face for a moment. Her eyes widened in her panic. I smiled at her. I knew she was afraid of knowing what to do. I certainly had been on my first hunt. "It's quite easy, love. Instinctual. Don't worry, I'll show you." When I realized she was frozen to the spot, I grinned at her. "I was under the impression that you'd always wanted to see me hunt."

Her laugh rippled through the air again, as delicate as wind chimes. It would be a wonderful thing to get used to. "Shall we?" I said, reaching up to remove the hand that still lingered on her neck, and running my own fingers down it, hoping to soothe the burn. "I don't want you to be hurting."

"I'm fine," she told me, and I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes. She certainly hadn't changed that much. "I'm fine" was her favorite mantra. But then she looked up at me, determined. "Wait. First."

"Yes?" asked Carlisle. What's concerning her?

He had his own ideas, but I was pretty sure I knew what she wanted. I was right.

"I want to see her. Renesmee."

At the mention of our child, she dropped my hands and patted her belly, as if she was surprised that Renesmee was not still inside her. She looked distracted again.

She's going to snap, any second now, thought Jasper and Emmett at the same time, but with different accompanying emotions.

Alice had more important things on her mind. You'd better not let her ruin her dress when you hunt.

Carlisle looked at me. Do you think it's safe to dissuade her? She really can't see the baby yet. What if she insists?

I was pretty sure that Bella wouldn't want to do anything to endanger Renesmee, but I put it as gently as I could. "Bella, that's not really a good idea. She's half human, love. Her heart beats, and blood runs in her veins. Until your thirst is positively under control … you don't want to put her in danger, do you?"

She frowned again, and thought for a moment. Jasper was getting ready to pounce. So was Emmett. But the moment passed, and, although she looked distressed, she did not snap.

"Where is she?" she asked. "Is Rosalie with her?"

She's getting more thirsty by the moment, Edward, Jasper complained. Just feel her emotions! He would snap before Bella did, I was sure.

I ignored him for a moment, and answered Bella's question with a yes. I wondered what she would do when she discovered that not just Rosalie was looking after our daughter, but Jacob too, and that he had imprinted on her. Would she welcome that idea? Given her feelings for Jacob, she might not be too concerned. I would have to wait and see. I hoped she would get angry, on behalf of both of us. At least she had an excuse to lose control.

She was still distracted with thoughts of Renesmee, and Jasper's thoughts were so loud they were drowning out everyone else's. I tugged her hand again.

"Wait," she said, irritating Jasper still further with her hesitation. "What about Jacob? And Charlie? Tell me everything that I missed. How long was I … unconscious?"

That caught Jasper's attention. In fact, it caught everyone's. Even Alice was surprised by how well Bella was taking all this. She had seen Bella's calm in her visions, but to discuss this all so rationally …

Jasper frowned. How can she concentrate on anything other than her thirst?

Emmett was growing more disappointed. What kind of newborn is she? The placid kind? Typical!

Even Carlisle was amazed. She can think about all those things … He shot me a glance.

Bella noticed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Carlisle replied. No, it's not wrong at all, just astounding. "Nothing has changed much, actually – you were only unaware for just over two days. It was very fast, as these things go. Edward did an excellent job." He gave me an approving smile. "Quite innovative – the venom injection straight to your heart was his idea. Jacob is still here, and Charlie still believes that you are sick. He thinks you're in Atlanta right now, undergoing tests at the CDC. We gave him a bad number, and he's frustrated. He's been speaking to Esme …"

He'll call while you're hunting, Alice informed me. Twice.

"I should call him …" Bella said, her voice trailing off. I didn't think that would help Charlie. She sounded too different. But I didn't dare mention it. Jasper was still monitoring her every breath, and he was concerned about her uncertainty at the moment. Now was not the time.

Then Bella's attention shifted again. "Hold on – Jacob is still here?"

Why isn't she begging to go hunting? Jasper whined.

Carlisle looked at me again. How is this possible? Bella was calmer than any newborn he'd ever encountered. Even Esme had been wilder than this.

"Bella," I said. "There's much to discuss, but we should take care of you first. You have to be in pain …"

She swallowed as I brought her attention back to her thirst, but still persisted. "But Jacob –"

"We have all the time in the world for explanations, love."

She nodded and finally consented. "Okay."

Jasper relaxed a little, only to be aggravated when Alice piped up. "Wait, wait, wait," she said, walking up to Bella. You're not taking her anywhere yet. "You promised I could be there the first time! What it you two run past something reflective?"

I glared at her. This was hardly the time, and Jasper agreed with me wholeheartedly. "Alice –"

"It will only take a second!" she told both of us. She could see Jasper's frustration, but she raced out of the room anyway.

I sighed.

My wife looked up at me, confused. "What is she talking about?"

Before I had the chance to answer Alice reappeared with the mirror from Rosalie's room. It was bigger than Alice's mirror. This one will give her the best effect, she told me.

Jasper, still nervous, especially now the love of his life was near the crazed newborn, stepped forward, holding Bella's eyes in his. She started as she looked at him, and Jasper felt her shock. I knew what she was seeing, and so did he. The condition of Jasper's skin, covered as it was with bite marks from the many vampire battles he had survived throughout his life, was practically invisible to a human, but would stand out in sharp relief to her eyes now. It would make him appear as a danger to her. She tensed, as if readying for a fight, but she did not attack.

She is quite controlled, Jasper thought, and he gave her a wry smile.

Alice ignored Bella's reaction to Jasper and drew her attention back to where she wanted it. "Edward gave me grief for not getting you to a mirror before the wedding. I'm not going to be chewed out again."

"Chewed out?" I had hardly done that!

"Maybe I'm overstating things," she admitted, adjusting the mirror so Bella could see herself full length in it.

"And maybe this has solely to do with your own voyeuristic gratification."

She winked at me. Don't be a spoil sport.

Bella paid no attention to us. She was busy looking at her reflection. Although I couldn't see any change in her face as she looked, Jasper was following the chain of her emotions with growing concern as they passed from surprise and pleasure to confusion, amazement, fear …

Bella kept her eyes on her form and opened her lips. "The eyes? How long?"

So that was what was disturbing her. That was understandable. I hurried to reassure her. "They'll darken up in a few months. Animal blood dilutes the color more quickly than a diet of human blood. They'll turn amber first, then gold."

"Months?" she echoed, her voice rising with concern.

Jasper stepped forward, alarmed, as he felt the force of her anxiety. This is it, he thought.

This doesn't look good, Carlisle mused.

Cool. Here we go.

Emmett grinned.

Alice was skimming through Bella's immediate future, and relaxed, as did I. A moment later, it happened in reality. Bella took a deep breath, and spoke, "No, I'm fine," she said, turning back to the mirror. "It's just … a lot to take in."

Amazing! Carlisle thought. I've never seen anything like this!

Damn. Emmett was disappointed.

How is she doing that? Jasper thought, glancing at me.

"I don't know," I replied.

Bella frowned and her eyes darted to me. "What question did I miss?"

"Jasper wonders how you're doing it," I said, grinning.

"Doing what?"

"Controlling your emotions, Bella," Jasper informed her. "I've never seen a newborn do that – stop an emotion in its tracks that way. You were upset, but when you saw our concern, you reined it in, regained power over yourself. I was prepared to help, but you didn't need it."

"Is that wrong?" she asked.

"No," he replied. I don't want to tell her that there's no way it can last, Jasper thought at me. She might not cope with it. Tell her, Edward, but try to be reassuring.

I stroked my hands down my wife's frozen form, hoping that she wouldn't find my words too disturbing. "It's very impressive, Bella, but we don't understand it. We don't know how long it can hold."

Bella thought about that for a moment, and I wished I could hear what she was thinking. Monitoring her emotions in Jasper's mind did help, but I would have preferred to know what she was going through directly. Then I could help her more.

She remained frozen, looking at herself in the mirror, but I didn't think she was seeing it anymore.

Alice was tired of conversations that distracted Bella from the response she was waiting for. "But what do you think?" she said, pointing to the reflection.

"I'm not sure," Bella replied hesitantly. Jasper could feel her fear rising again, and he settled a feeling of calm on the room.

Bella seemed to respond to it, and watched like a third party observer as she lifted her hand and touched her face. I sighed.

She raised an eyebrow at me in response. "Disappointed?"

I laughed. "Yes."

It was the wrong thing to say. The shock and upset was immediately plain on her face, and Jasper could feel it all the more. EDWARD! he shrieked at me in his thoughts.

Carlisle winced, and Emmett stepped forward in eager anticipation again. Alice did more than that. She snarled at me.

I paid them no attention, and took my wife into my arms, touching my lips to her cheek to reassure her. "I was rather hoping that I'd be able to hear your mind, now that it is more similar to my own. And here I am, as frustrated as ever, wondering what could possibly be going on inside your head."

Relief showed on her face, and in Jasper's senses.

"Oh well," she replied, sounding a bit smug. "I guess my brain will never work right. At least I'm pretty."

I wasn't going to let her get away with that. I put my lips to her ear. "Bella, you have never been merely pretty," I growled.

Edward, will you PLEASE take her hunting! Jasper was relieved to sense that Bella's emotions were under control again, but he wasn't counting on it lasting much longer.

"All right, all right," I said with a sigh.

"What?" Bella asked.

"You're making Jasper more edgy by the second," I replied. "He may relax a little when you've hunted."

Maybe, Jasper grumbled in his mind.

He did relax when Bella turned away from the mirror as if what she had seen had not affected her at all, although he couldn't believe that she was able to do it.

"Okay. Let's hunt," she told me.

How is this possible? was echoed in all the minds in the room.

I was just as amazed as everyone else. More than amazed; I was dumbfounded. What could be the reason for her calm and control? Would it last? I hoped so, but I couldn't be sure.

But then, this was Bella I was talking about, the woman who seemed to be able to do anything. The woman who was right about everything. Could she really have been right to this extent? Would she be the most controlled newborn we had ever seen? Well, she already was that, but hopefully it would mean that she would be able to see Renesmee when we returned, and would be no threat to our daughter's life. Could I believe that? I was starting to think anything was possible. Soon she would see our daughter, and we would all be together.

Our daughter. I had a family now. While I had always had one with Carlisle, Esme and my brothers and sisters, this was different. This was a family all of my own. My beautiful wife had given me an amazing child, and now that she was changed I would always have her by my side.

I didn't want to tell her about my worries for our daughter's life yet. She won't stop growing … But I knew that whatever came, whatever I would have to face, I wouldn't face it alone. I led her over to the window, ready to go with her anywhere, to never be separated from her again. Bella would be with me always now, my equal. My strong, beautiful, immortal wife.

What if he told you that you were the only reason he was put on this planet … and it was the truth? To find out more visit my author page on Facebook or follow me on twitter TheHeirNovel.