I woke up to the chirping of birds and Nessie's steady breathing. I'd had a horrible dream, but her still alive calmed me. A sudden epiphany smacked me in the face: it was New Year's day. So that's why Edward and Bella had wanted me to stay with Nessie. They'd wanted some alone time for the holiday. I chuckled to myself and gazed at my love, her chest heaving up and down.
   "Good morning, dog." Rosalie walked into the room, wearing a red leather jacket and a black mini skirt. She smirked at me and my messy hair. I blew air in her direction and laughed when she crumpled her nose in disgust at the added smell of dog.
   "Morning, Jake." Emmett slid down the banister and jumped off right before his feet hit the floor, doing a flip in the air then thudding onto the couch. I lurched off of the floor and gripped his shirt, tugging his face to mine.
   "Don't wake her up." my eyes were filled with fury, my words coming through my teeth. Emmett rose his arms in surrender and I released him, where he walked over to Rosalie and wrapped his arms around her waist. I sneered and went over to Nessie once more.
   She moaned groggily and rolled over, stretching her small little arms and legs out to the max. I smiled at her and watched her warm brown eyes open.
   "Hi Jakey," she whispered and touched my face, flooding images of Bella and Edward into my mind. "Why aren't I with them?" she sounded worried. I scooped her up and nuzzled her face into my chest, comforting her.
   "They wanted some alone time, honey." I placed my lips on her forehead. Rosalie growled, objecting yet again to what I'd been doing since the almost-fight with the Volturi.
   "Oh. When will they be coming back?" I still couldn't get over the sweetness of her voice, the angelic melody. My heart melted.
   "I don't know. How about we spend the day together?"
   She nodded eagerly and touched my face again, showing me all the things we could do. We could go hunting, or we could go to the park. Charlie flooded into my mind, but I shook my head automatically. I wanted to be the only person she spent the day with. I saw an image of the Olympic Mountains.
   "You want to go sledding?" I asked, eager. I'd been waiting for this since a fresh sheet of snow lay on the ground.
   "Yeah! Just you and me!" my heart swelled. I was going to be there at a pivotal moment in her life. I was going to be there, making the memories. I nodded very enthusiastically for a long time until Rosalie came up and hit me in the head.
   "You're acting like a retard." she growled.
   "Is somebody jealous?" I teased and turned around, Nessie still hanging on my neck.
   "No, but the parents might be pissed." she smirked at the thought of me getting beat up by Edward. Or Bella. Nessie looked up at me, worried that I might not get to take her to the mountain.
   "I'll ask them, and I'll bring Nessie. They can't say no to her." Rosalie glared at me as I sauntered out of the house.
   When we got under the cover of trees, I set Nessie down on the cool ground. I wasn't worried about her catching a cold, though; she had the same temperature as me. She looked away, knowing that I was going to throw my clothes off and change into a wolf. I chuckled to myself and let the warmth take over, tucking my clothing into my leg band.
   I yipped at her when the transformation was done. She turned around, got up, and toddled over towards me. She threw her arms around my face and snuggled into my fur, giggling. I licked her once then used my nose to lift her up onto my neck. She gripped her tiny hands into my fur.
   Once we reached the cottage, I knocked on the door with my nose, not bothering to change. Edward would just read my mind then answer. I heard a gasp, some rustling, then footsteps. I snickered, thinking of what they'd been doing before we came.
   "It's Jacob," Edward said to Bella. The door opened, and there he stood, shirtless and pale. I told him what I wanted to do with my thoughts.
   "Umm, I guess..." I asked him if he wanted to check with his wife.
   "I'd rather not. We have... stuff to do." he looked back anxiously down the hall. I snickered, nodded, then walked away. Nessie waved to her father until he was out of sight.
   "OK, cutie, get dressed." I said once I was human again and set Nessie back down in the living room. Emmett was watching a football game.
   "You know what you want to wear, sweetie?" Rosalie asked. Nessie shook her head and Rosalie led her upstairs to help her. I plopped down on the couch and watched the game for a little bit, listening to Rosalie, kindly, assist Nessie with dressing.
   "Do you guys own a sled?" I asked in a normal tone, knowing Rosalie would hear me.
   "No." so we'd have to buy one.
   Nessie pounded downstairs, dressed in a plaid parka and black pants. She hopped into my lap, nuzzling her face into my chest once more. I patted her silky hair and set her onto the ground so we could leave.
   "Bye, Rose." I said, meaning to annoy the blond vampire. She hissed at me and I ducked out, grabbing the keys for the Vanquish off of the hook. It had sort of become my unofficial car.
    As I hopped in, putting Nessie in her car seat—we’d bought seats for all of the cars—I remembered the day she was born. The day I’d gone to the park in this same exact car, trying spontaneously to imprint. Little did I know I would, on the very thing I hated on the very same day. Life is funny like that.
   "How far is the drive?" she asked. I could tell she didn’t want to speak, but since she was in the back she had to.
   "Not far. And even if it is, it will pay off. You'll have so much fun." I said and put the keys into the ignition. When the engine revved, Mozart started playing. Nessie clapped happily and I settled back for a drive
   "Can I pick out the color?" she asked when Newton's came into view.
   "Sure, honey."
    She smiled at me and clapped her hands, her hair glistening in the rare moment the sun popped out from the clouds. She glowed.
   She picked a chartreuse one with butterflies in it for her, and a bright red one for me. I paid quickly and threw the sleds in the backseat.
   "Kay, we're here." I pulled the car into the snow-covered parking lot, making sure not to get it too dirty from the mud underneath, in case anybody cared. Mozart stopped, and I pulled myself out of the car, managing to avoid hitting my head. I scooped Nessie out from the backseat and took the small handbag from her hands so she could grab and play with my hair. She sighed in content as I walked in a slow, steady rhythm, trying hard not to disturb her.
   "Isn't it pretty?" I asked, looking at the mountain range. She nodded and smiled at me, her hair glistening from the sun's impact on the snow. What would she look like when she was older, more beautiful? Would she look even better than she did now? I didn't think it was possible. She was already too beautiful for me to look at her for too long.
   "What?" she noticed me looking at her and cocked her head.
   "Nothing. Just thinking about you." I smiled.
   "I think about you a lot, too." she got up and hugged my leg. She was starting to reach my waist. Just a few more years and she would be mine. All mine.
   "Are we gonna sled, or are you gonna think about me some more?" she looked up at me, her brown eyes glistening with humor. I laughed, picked her up, and placed her in a  tree. She giggled and picked up a bunch of snow, forming it into a ball. She pulled her arm back, prepared to launch.
   "No, Nessie. Not a snowball!" I laughed, knowing she would still throw it. It hit my face with an audible splat, rough and wet. I slapped it off my face, grinning. I ran towards the tree and pushed Nessie off of the tree, only to catch her once more and kiss her forehead. She giggled again.
    "Are we going to sled?" she didn't sound impatient, even though her posture showed that she was. Her hands were on her hips, even though I was lifting her up into the air.
    "Yes, dear, you'll be sledding." she smiled, a foxy, sly, grin.
    That grin, somehow, showed me a glimpse of the future. It showed me what my Nessie was going to look like, how her eyes would crinkle and how her smile would raise her face. How her cheekbones would be high and regal. It showed me how happy I would be in the future, with my beautiful girl.
   "Anytime soon?" she laughed once more. I sighed, but had to chuckle along with her. I dragged the sleds from the backseat up onto the hilltop, Nessie on my back, whistling to herself.
   "Yes. How about now?" I asked after ten minutes of silence.
   "Took you long enough." and then she hopped on my back, surprising me on my sled. We slid down the hill, bursting with laughter.