GODS AND MONSTERS ↝ P. LAHOTE

[27]

"Meet Renesmee," Edward said proudly.

"She's growing fast," Paul noticed, and Lark nodded, taking in the size of the newborn baby.

While Renesmee couldn't have been more than eighteen hours old, she looked to be about three months, growing impossibly fast, especially for someone from a family that no longer ages. 

"She is," Edward confirmed. "Unfortunately, there's nothing to tell us how fast she'll grow, or if she'll ever stop. We'll just have to wait and see." Edward turned to Lark then. "Would you like to hold her?"

Lark nodded with a smile as Edward handed her the tiny bundle, holding the baby close in her arms. She'd expected Renesmee's skin to be ice cold like the rest of her family's, however she was warm to the touch, the same as any human baby would be.

"Hi there," Lark whispered down to the little girl while she slept. "I'm Lark. I'm a good friend of your mom and dad's. It's so nice to meet you."

Lark looked up at the others around her, seeing that Anastasia had crossed the room to stand near Emmett, who watched the girl with a big smile, much to Lark's surprise. While she knew Ana and Emmett had become close since Ana had first been turned, she hadn't been sure just how much. 

When she looked back down, she saw Renesmee's eyes had opened, and the baby watched her intently. She reached a hand up, resting it against Lark's cheek, and all of a sudden Lark's mind was filled with a flush of images and light.

At first Lark could only feel warmth before the images began to surge, and before she knew it she was watching as Bella smiled at her before taking her last breath. She saw the panic written on Jacob and Edward's faces as they raced to save her, and even a small glimpse of Rosalie, who watched her with an adoring grin. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but she knew she was watching them through the eyes of Renesmee.

Lark gasped in surprise as the images reached their end and she found herself once again in Carlisle's office. Jacob reached forward to take hold of the baby as Lark stumbled backwards a bit, trying to find her footing as Paul held her upright. As her breathing steadied, she blinked slowly in response, the images finally leaving her brain.

"What was that?" Lark asked warily, watching Renesmee again, though this time with a shocked expression.

"She's communicating with you." Carlisle explained calmly. "As she's still too young to speak, she talks to us by showing her memories."

"Whoa," Lark breathed softly, an awestruck smile crossing her face. "That's amazing." 

"It was a shock for us too, believe me." Anastasia assured her. "Come on," she offered, crossing back to the doorway. "I'll get you some water if you'd like to sit down."

Lark nodded, following Ana out of the room towards the kitchen. Paul hung behind with Jacob and the others, witnessing Renesmee's gift for himself, and Lark took a seat, a full glass of water instantly appearing on the table in front of her, as well as Anastasia in the seat next to her.

"Thanks," Lark said, raising the glass to her lips and taking a small sip. "So where's Bella?"

"They moved her into Edward's room before you arrived." Anastasia explained. "The change takes a few days, and with her being dead and all, they aren't sure how long it'll take her. She was also on morphine when it happened, which keeps her body as still as it is right now."

"So she did die," Lark noted. "Last night Paul said he swears he saw it happen through the window, but that if she was turning, he had to be wrong."

"Edward turned her just in time." she said. "If he'd waited any longer, Carlisle isn't sure it would've worked."

Lark's gaze briefly moved to the hallway, where Edward's bedroom door remained closed while the others stayed open, small rays of sunlight streaming into the hallway from the bedroom windows. She looked back at Anastasia then, gesturing back in the direction of where Emmett sat in Carlisle's office.

"So what's going on there?" Lark asked in an attempt to change the subject, unconsciously lowering her voice even though she knew they'd all still be able to hear her just the same. "With you and Emmett, I mean."

"You noticed?" she asked, and Lark nodded.

"It wasn't hard to see the way he looked at you." Lark said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But I thought he and Rose were together."

Ana's face fell softly for a moment, but she simply shrugged. "Things were starting to get weird between them shortly before I joined the family, from what I've heard." she explained. "They're still good friends, of course, they're family. But we live forever, and I guess you can only go so many years with someone before you get bored, right?"

In what seemed like a blink, Emmett had found his way into another one of the kitchen chairs next to Anastasia. "Talking about me, are you?" he asked with his usual grin, wrapping a marble arm around Ana's shoulders. 

Lark smiled at them as her gaze found its way back to where Paul still stood with Jacob and Edward, taking his turn to hold Renesmee while she attempted to communicate with him. Watching the scene before her gave her a moment of peace. After everything they'd been through in the past few weeks, it was finally calm. Bella and Anastasia had found their family with the Cullens, and the Pack's treaty was once again restored.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, they were able to just be themselves again, and simply live.