Here it is! The epilogue! I hope you all enjoyed this story. I enjoyed writing it anyway! I'm going to start a new story soon, but I think I'll take a break to just read some fics for a while first.

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer – Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

"Maddie, Anthony, Marie! Get down here and give Mommy a kiss!" I called up the stairs to my kids. I could hear the little pitter-patter of feet as they got closer to the stairs. Marie came into sight first. She was our youngest child, and at just 2 years old, we could tell she was going to be a little genius. She had my big brown eyes, short brown hair and the longest black lashes that framed her eyes so beautifully. She came from the living room, running uncertainly on her little feet. I scooped her up in my arms before she fell over and gave her a big, loud kiss on her cheek. She giggled happily, kicking her little legs around. I kissed her nose.

Anthony came bounding down the stairs next, at 4 years old; he looked exactly like his father. He had bronze coloured hair that was just a mess on top of his head, and sparkling green eyes. He ran straight at me and attacked my legs, nearly knocking me over.

"Careful there, Squirt!" I told him, kneeling down to his level and pouting my lips. He leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss, then ran away to the TV room shouting "Bye bye Mommy!" as he went.

I laughed and watched as 6 year old Maddie came to a halt in front of me and grabbed my cheeks to press a loud kiss to my chin. She also then ran off to watch the TV with Anthony. Laughing again, I shook my head at Marie and tickled her belly.

"You're brother and sister are crazy." I stage whispered to her, making her giggle loudly.

"Hello, love." A velvet voice purred. I looked up to see Edward smiling at me, his hands in his pyjama pockets and his hair messy from just waking up. I grinned widely at him.

"Hey," I whispered, standing up and pressing my lips against his. Just as he was about to deepen it, Marie intervened.

"Mommy, Daddy. Dat's yucky!" She exclaimed, rubbing her little fists over her eyes.

"Oops, sorry Maddie." I grinned. I set her on the floor and she tottered of to the living room and joined Maddie and Anthony on the floor, all of their eyes glued to the screen. Tom and Jerry was playing.

Now that Edward was sure nobody was watching, he pressed his lips to mine more forcefully, threading his fingers into my hair and pushing me up against the door. He kissed me until I was breathless and then whispered "Happy Birthday, love." in my ear. After all these years, he could still make me melt into a pile of goo.

"Thank you." I smiled up at him, leaning up to press my lips softly to his once more. I broke off, grimacing.

"I have to go to work," I told him, sadly.

"No, no you don't! You can stay here, all day; with me and the kids. We could go for a picnic, take them to the park." He told me.

"Edward," I groaned. "Why are you doing this to me?" I shook my head.

"Please, Bella. Please?" He asked me, stroking my cheek.

I stared into his eyes for a moment, before I sighed, defeated.

"Fine," I said, smiling at his the way his face lit up, "I'll call James and see if he'll let me off for the day."

After the ordeal with Mike and Tanya, I'd gotten in touch with James about joining him at work. I shadowed him for a few weeks, watching what he did for a living, how he interacted with the children. It made me want to do it, so I was trained in child care. I got another degree and became a social worker a few years later. It's a hard job, watching children abandoned and unwanted by their parents. Maybe even worse, when you had to tell a parent that they weren't fit to look after their own child. Taking away someone's child is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I couldn't even think of someone taking Maddie, Anthony or Marie away. It was too painful.

But there was also a definite high to my job. When a little, family-less child finds someone to care for them, it's very fulfilling. Watching their faces light up like it's Christmas; It's the best part of my job.

There was a time, when I was about to quit. The job was so depressing and I didn't know if I could take any more of the pain ridden faces of the lonely children, until James told me something. He said – "You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened... or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on." It was a quote, from 'Tupac Shakur' but it really made me realize, if I quit, more children would be suffering the lives I could be preventing. It made me realize that quitting my job would do no good, it would just cause myself more hurt when i thought about the lives I could have made better.

Picking up the phone, I punched in James' number. It rang a few times before he picked up.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Hey, James. It's Bella."

"Oh, hey Gal! How are you doing?"

"I'm good thanks James," I laughed. "I was wondering if I could get today off work?" I asked sheepishly.

"Bella." He warned.

"I know, James, I know! But it's my birthday and Edward wants me to spend it with the family, and..." he cut me off.

"Bella, darling! You didn't tell me it was your birthday! Of course you can have the day off! Have fun with your love cake and 3 little love muffins!" He told me, happily. I laughed loudly, throwing my head back and clutched my sides as I gasped for air. Edward stood there watching me, trying to hold in his laughter at the sight of me.

Once I'd calmed down enough to speak, I said goodbye to James and thanked him again, and then went to wrap my arms around Edward's waist.

"What was all the laughter about then?" He chuckled, sending me into a new round of laughter.

"He said 'Have fun with your love cake and your three little love muffins!'" I laughed loudly again, leaning on his chest for support.

"Bella, that really wasn't all that funny." He chuckled, despite what he said.

"It was, you just have no sense of humor." And I ran in to the living room before he could say anything back.

I plonked myself down on the floor next to Anthony and he climbed into my lap.

"I thought you were going Mommy." He said, his wide eyes looking innocently up at me.

"I was sweetie, but Uncle James said I could stay at home with you today so we could do something special for my birthday!" I told him.

Maddie clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Can we have a party please, Mommy?" She asked me. You could tell that Alice was her Aunt.

"Well, Daddy thought that we could go to the park and have a picnic, and then you can play on the swings and slide!" I offered.

"Yeah!" Anthony and Maddie screamed, jumping up. Marie took Anthony's place in my lap and began playing with my hair.

"Hmm, I believe that we should start making a picnic." Edward muttered from behind me, making me jump. When did he gain the ability to move like a cat?

"Yup," I announced, jumping up and placing Marie on the floor. Edward followed me into the kitchen and I got out the bread from the bread bin and some butter and sliced ham from the fridge.

"You want ham as well as the kids?" I asked Edward, who was sat on a stool next to the kitchen island.

"Um, do we have any tuna?" He asked. I walked over to the fridge and opened it, looking at its contents.

"No, we don't." I told him.

"Oh, beef spread?" He asked.

"Yep." I told him, pulling the pot out of its place in the fridge and closing the door. I walked back over to the counter and buttered a few slices of bread and slipped in some ham for the kids. I put them in a separate container.

"Do you want butter?" I asked him.

"No, thank you." I put the butter back in the fridge and went back to work. Butter with beef spread sandwiches is disgusting. I spread some of the spread onto some bread, cut the two sandwiches in half and put them in another container. I grabbed a selection of crisps from the cupboard and popped them in a picnic basket along with the sandwich filled containers. I grabbed 3 cans of soda from the fridge and put them in there as well.

"Do you want soda or water?" I asked him, whirling round to face him.

"Water please, love." He smiled.

I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and put them in there as well an ice cooler. I closed the lid of the basket and sighed, smoothing out my hair with my hands.

"I should probably get the kids dressed." I said; walking in the direction they were. Edward stopped me by grabbing my waist and pulling me toward him.

"I'll do that, you get yourself dressed. It's your birthday. Relax, love." He told me, before kissing me softly and going to get the kids dressed.

I shook my head and walked up the stairs, went into our bedroom and walked straight to the closet. Looking outside, it was a sunny day, so I put on a pair of blue denim shorts and a white t-shirt with the words 'I want to lay you down on a bed of roses' on, with a picture of a rose and a few treble clefs.

Edward had bought it me on Valentine's Day a few years ago, it was my favorite shirt. I grabbed my designer sunglasses that Alice had bought me for my birthday off of the dresser and slipped them on top of head. Slipping on some sandals, I walked across the hall to see how Edward was doing. He was just trying to persuade Marie that she couldn't wear her princess dress that we bought her for Maddie's fancy dress birthday party last year. I leaned against the doorjamb, watching them with awed eyes. I loved the way they interacted with each other.

"Mommy?" Anthony asked, patting my leg. I looked down at him and kneeled to see him better.

"Yes, honey?" I asked him.

"I can't find the shirt that I want to wear." He told me, his bottom lip quivering. The sight broke my heart.

"Aww, it's okay honey, don't cry. I'll come and help you look for it." I told him, standing up and grabbing his hand.

"Thank you, mommy." He told me as we walked to his room. Once inside we started the search.

"Which one did you say you wanted to wear?" I asked.

"The one that you bought me for Christmas with a football on." He said, looking under his bed.

"This one?" I asked, picking it up off of the rocking chair in the corner and holding it up.

"Yes! Thanks mom!" He said pulling off his pajama top and slipping the new shirt on.

"You should really tidy this room you know." I told him.

"Yeah, I will mommy." He told me, distracted by his shoes. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head and left his room.

I was a little suspicious of Edward at the moment. He usually went all out with birthday presents and romantic gestures. I'd asked him not to get me anything, but I asked him that every year and he never listened. So what was so different this year? I wasn't going to say anything though. I'd really rather not have anything.

I walked into Maddie's room and saw her slipping on her shoes; she looked up and smiled when she saw me. I smiled back.

"You okay there?"

"Yes thanks, Mommy." I smiled again and left. Edward and I never brought up that I wasn't her real mother. It didn't bother us, and we planned on telling her once she was old enough to understand. 6 wasn't really an age that someone could get a grip on that.

When I passed Edward's room again, he was trying to get Marie in some jeans that she didn't want to wear.

"Everything okay in here?" I asked, leaning against the doorjamb again, crossing one ankle of the other and crossing my arms.

"NO! Mommy! Tell Daddy that I'm not wearing jeans!" She shouted.

"Marie! Stop shouting and do what your Daddy tells you too!" I told her, sternly.

"But I don't want too!" She whined.

"Marie Esme Cullen, do what your Daddy tells you to or we are all staying at home." I told her with the 'mom' look that made her quickly put on the jeans that Edward was holding out for her.

"Was that so hard?" I asked her.

"No," She mumbled.

"What do you have to say to your daddy?" I asked her.

"Sorry, Daddy." She told him, looking at her feet.

"It's okay, baby." He told her, gathering her up in his arms. She hugged him back tightly, and then walked past me and down the stairs.

"Thanks Bella, you know, normally, I can be quite an authoritive person, but that one just will not listen to me!" He said walking over to me, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

"It's okay, honey. She's just going through her terrible twos at the moment, she'll get over it."

"Mhmmm." He murmured, his nose tracing the curve of my jaw.

I inhaled a shaky breath and my hands went limp against his chest.

"Edward," I breathed.

"Yes?" He breathed.

"We've got to go." I managed to stutter out as he move his hands from my waist, to the small of my back, further down until he reached my ass and grabbed.

"Mommy!" Anthony shouted from downstairs.

Edward chuckled, and removed his hands, bringing them to my face.

"We'll finish this later. We'll let the kids sleep at Carlisle and Esme's tonight." He whispered huskily in my ear.

"Okay, sounds good." I stuttered.

He chuckled and whispered, "Happy birthday." Once more before he left and went to get changed.

I stood there for a few seconds, shaking my head and trying to clear my head. Anthony called me name again so I ran down the stairs shouting "I'm coming!" and followed the sound of his voice into the living room. I walked through the threshold and paused, my mouth hanging open.

"What did you do, Anthony?" I asked, shocked.

"Don't you like it?" He asked sadly, his bottom lip quivering again.

"No, honey! Of course I like it! I love it." I went over and picked him up, hugging him, careful not to stand on any of the Lego on the floor.

He'd used his entire collection of Lego to write:

'HAPPIE BIRFDAY MOMYY' on the floor. Tears began to well in my eyes at the way he'd spelt it and just the thought he'd put behind it. He was an incredibly sweet little 4 year old.

"And I love you." I whispered, kissing his cheek.

"I love you too mommy." He told me.

"Okay! Everybody ready to roll?" Edward called from the doorway.

"Yeah," I called. I walked out of the living room, still carrying Anthony and leaving his gift on the floor. Edward was holding the picnic basket in his left hand, and was holding Marie in his right arm. Maddie slipped her hand into my free one. I walked out of the door first, Edward followed me, flipping off the lights and grabbing his keys, locking the door and then pressing the button that unlocked the car. I opened the back door and Maddie climbed in to the middle seat, and I strapped Anthony into his booster seat while Edward did the same with Marie.

I closed the door and walked round to the passenger seat and climbed in, pulling on my seatbelt before turning round and helping Maddie put hers on, Edward got in the driver's side and started the ignition and reversing out of the parking space in front of our house. It's a short drive to the park, so once we found a parking spot and walked onto the big field, it had only been about 20 minutes.

Edward pulled a big blanket out of the basket and laid it out on the floor and we all sat down. He set the basket in the middle of us all and I opened and sighed when I saw two perfectly wrapped presents in there. I didn't even bother to complain to him about it, I knew it wouldn't change anything. I pulled out the biggest first and read the label dangling off it. It said 'From Maddie, Anthony and Marie.' It was written in Edward's perfect scroll. I opened it to find a new set of pajama's fall out, the ones I'd been wanting for quite a while. I thanked them and went for the second one. It was smaller and harder. I opened it to find a velvet box inside. Edward took it off me and opened it. There were two gorgeous, silver, diamond encrusted earrings inside. I gasped.

"Edward, they're beautiful!" I told him earnestly.

"Do you really like them?" He asked, grinning widely.

"Yes, I really do. I love them." I smiled, closing the box and carefully placing the presents back in the basket.

"Thank you, now, who's hungry?" I asked.

A chorus of me's irrupted around the little circle.

My life was pretty damn prefect at the moment. I had an amazing husband, 3 gorgeous children and a loving, caring selection on friends and family.

Did it get any better than this?

I looked around as Edward convinced Marie that the ham wasn't alive, Anthony making funny faces at Maddie as she laughed loudly and I knew my answer.

No, it didn't.

The End.

There we go. Finished. Thank you all so much for the reviews and the support.