Here's a little peak into the future. It's all unbeta'd, so please excuse the errors.

Meet you at the bottom!

SM owns Twilight. I just make the characters watch the whales ;)

Epilogue

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"Ooohhh! Daddy! Look, look!"

"Hey, cool, look at that! You know what that is, Baby Girl?"

"A whale! A whale!"

"That's right! That's an orca."

"Oooca!"

His laugh still made Bella tingle all over.

"Orrrrca," he repeated.

"Ooorca." That was better.

"Good girl."

Bella sat on their picnic blanket watching Edward and their little one, Alexa, observing and pointing out the orca whales making their daily trek for food off the coast of Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island. They were currently enjoying an afternoon outside since the sun was out and uncharacteristically warmer than usual for an island summer.

Edward was showing the three-and-a-half-year-old how to hold his camera and look at the screen and the viewfinder for that perfect shot. Bella could hear her daughter's giggles ring through the trees and she smiled uncontrollably at the scene before her.

Five years ago, she wouldn't have been able to even get on the ferry to the island for this. But all that was now a distant memory. She was now able to pick up and go just about anywhere, whether by boat, seaplane, or airplane.

Bella's thoughts would still wander through her memories, longterm and recent, but the ones that caused her nightmares and grief were well compartmentalized as part of her, but not a shackled weight attached to her ankle.

Now, much better memories filled her, from her quiet wedding ceremony on the inn's grounds a few years ago, to Rose's wedding in Seattle to Emmett McCarty. She smiled as she thought of the moment Edward and her realized she was pregnant, and thought of the scary moments regarding Bella's emergency C-section when Alexa was born.

Edward had settled in nicely and pretty much became a bonafide Islander, setting up his free-lance nature photography business in East Sound.

The money Carlisle had passed along to Bella had been put to good use. Edward and her remodeled the inn, adding a few more rooms and a chef's kitchen for Rosie, who'd still take up residence in the summers- bringing Emmett along now. Some money had been set aside as a trust fund for Alexa, and Edward and her immediately hopped on a plane and traveled to Europe.

The house was now filled with laughter and love, just as Gran had always cultivated when she was alive.

Bella closed her eyes and inhaled the crisp air greedily, listening to her husband and daughter laughing and talking. It didn't get any better than that.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Edward was suddenly beside her, angling his mouth for a kiss on her neck, right under her ear where she liked it.

"I'm feeling great, although this one's feeling a little rambunctious at the moment," she said, placing her hand on the side of her swollen belly. Edward followed suit and placed his hand on the opposite side, feeling their son kick.

"Well, just a couple more weeks, right Alexa?" Edward turned to their little girl.

"Yeah! I'm the big sister!" She shouted, reddish-brown curls bouncing and swaying the in breeze.

Alexa's parents chuckled and sat looking out toward the water, a straight line of L-pod orcas swimming along- dorsal fins popping up and disappearing in perfect rhythm and water spouts spraying straight into the air.

"So beautiful," Bella mused out loud.

"I agree."

Bella turned towards Edward, realizing he wasn't really looking at the orcas at all. He was looking straight at her, an adoring smile plastered on his face.

Bella leaned in and pressed her lips to his, as they reveled in the peace and quiet the islands offered their little family.

FIN.

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A/N: PHEW! *wipes forehead* THAT didn't take long at all.

I want to thank every single one of my readers that stuck by this story and waited for the resolution. You have no idea what it means to me. Thanks.

To everyone who had a hand in this story, I thank you, and you know who you are.

I'm so happy about finishing this, and so excited to flip over to my ffn page and click that wonderful little button labeled "COMPLETE"

I'm writing a relay-fic with PrimaryColors. It's a lot of fun, light and fluffy, and it's UPSward, so you know it's gonna be good (link on my profile).

I'm also working on Teacher of the Year and am working on a brand new fic starting to post at the end of January. Keep me on author alert ;)