Epilogue

365 Days Later….

Both of us were breathing unnecessarily heavily as I rolled atop my husband, dragging my tongue suggestively across his delectable lips.

"Again, my love?" Edward asked me, grinning cheekily, his eyes darkening.

"Of course," I murmured, tossing my hair over my shoulder as I leaned down to kiss his Adam's apple, and then lick the delicious hollow at the base of his throat. "Is there another way that you would like to celebrate our first anniversary?"

"Mmmmm," was his only response as he flipped me onto my back and proceeded to make love with me for the sixth time since nightfall, the clouded dawn illuminating the eastern windows of our cottage.

An hour later I curled against his side, burrowing my face against his chest as he kissed the top of my head. "Insatiable," I commented as he ran his fingers through my long tresses.

The vibrations of his deep chuckle against my cheek made me smile. "I'm not the only insatiable one, love," he reminded me slyly.

I turned my head so that I could see his face, my chin digging into his chest. "And you love it."

"Oh, I do," Edward agreed, leaning forward to kiss me. "Believe me, I do."

I sighed happily. "I felt such a thrill when you spoke those same words to me exactly a year ago last night."

"You mean 'I do?'" he asked.

"Yes. Those two simple words changed my life and brought us this amazing year."

"I remember the look in your eyes when you vowed the same words to me," he said softly, kissing my nose, then my forehead. "At the time, I thought that moment was the pinnacle of my happiness."

"And was it?" I asked curiously.

"Actually, no. Every day I've spent with you since our wedding has been the happiest day of my life," he stated quietly.

"Really?" I asked, wanting to hear him affirm once again what I already knew.

"Really."

"Well, I think that calls for more celebrating," I murmured as I kissed him, our passion growing again as hands began to wander and explore and our bodies melded gracefully into one again…and again….

Several hours later as we curled into each other's arms, sated for a few moments, our romantic anniversary interlude was interrupted by the chirp of Edward's cell…which he blatantly ignored.

"Are you going to check that?" I asked languidly, kissing the back of his hand as I clasped it in my own.

"No. Ten to one it's my pixie of a sister, wanting to celebrate our anniversary," he groaned, flipping me over quickly so that he was atop me in the most delicious of ways. "I'd rather continue celebrating our way."

I couldn't help laughing. Despite the way that our family complained about Rosalie and Emmett being difficult to live with during their first decade of married bliss, I knew that they considered Edward and me as far worse, a feat that brought a grin of pride to Edward's beautiful face despite all the teasing his brothers (and even Carlisle, from time to time) subjected him to.

Edward bent over me, his lips on mine once more as I hummed with pleasure. For all of Edward's Victorian sensibilities, since we became husband and wife our most pressing problem had been how to stop making love long enough to spend time with our family.

Our honeymoon had been incredible. After our emotional visit to the Forks cemetery to bid my parents goodbye, Edward spirited me away to a private Lear jet which took the quicker polar route to Great Britain. As much as we both wanted to consummate our vows during the flight—the inclusion on the jet of a bedroom with a rather comfortable-looking bed certainly did not help matters—we reluctantly decided that we didn't want our first time together to be in a fairly public place with a pilot, co-pilot, and two flight attendants all too aware of our activities.

So we settled onto a leather sofa in the luxury jet, talking, reading, holding hands, and kissing chastely on occasion, but our passion-darkened eyes belied the innocence of these seemingly-normal activities. Both of us had been extremely impatient to be alone, but somehow we managed to survive the long flight without spontaneously combusting. Quite the impressive feat, that.

The Lear jet landed on a private strip in Oxfordshire, north of London, where a black Rolls Royce with a uniformed driver waited to drive us through the charming university town of Oxford and then into the countryside. Taking a literary tour of England had long been a dream of mine, one that I had told Edward about when I was still human during those long days I spent recovering from Jacob's attack.

When Edward finally shared his secret honeymoon plans once we landed in Britain, I had jumped up and down in joyous anticipation, Edward laughing at my very Alice-worthy reaction. After a short drive through the green rolling hills of the Cotswolds, the car came to a stop before a picket gate set into a three-foot stone wall surrounding a small stone cottage, very similar to the place that Esme had refurbished for us in Forks.

Edward grinned, his eyes soft, as I clapped my hands with excitement, especially when I popped out of the Rolls before the driver had time to open my door. My eyes huge as saucers, hands clasped together with joy, I stood before the gate, not sure if I were dreaming despite the fact that vampires cannot sleep. Edward's arms slid around my waist as he pulled me back against his broad chest. "Do you like it?" he asked shyly.

I couldn't take my eyes off the perfect stone cottage. Two stories tall with a multitude of windows looking out on the riotous country garden within the stone walls, the cottage was my every dream come true. Still speechless with delight, I nodded in response to his question. With a low chuckle, Edward bent forward, and with his index finger, he gently pushed my chin back into place so that my mouth was no longer gaping wide open with surprise.

"We are in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds," he remarked offhandedly. "I tried to find some place similar to what we were leaving behind so that we wouldn't be too homesick. I've rented this place for two months with the option of a third if we'd like to stay longer."

Two or three months HERE? Wow. Ecstatic didn't begin to express the emotions coursing through me. But my brilliant smile was all response Edward needed as he bent forward to kiss my neck.

"Sir, shall I take in your bags?" asked the driver…whose presence I had already forgotten. With a kiss on the top of my head, Edward handed me a large, old-fashioned key to unlock the front door before turning away to help the driver carry our bags into the cottage.

I practically skipped forward to open the green picket gate upon which was affixed the name "Twine Cottage." Stepping up the stone walkway to the off-white front door with four panes of glass, I inserted the key and opened the door, gingerly stepping inside. Edward and the driver followed me into the small lounge decorated in cream, brown, and deep rose; the drapes were off-white with dusky pink roses matching the area rug. The furnishings were simple but warm and welcoming; a fire burned in the small wood stove set into the painted brick fireplace while candles graced the narrow mantel. The white ceilings were striped by dark wooden beams in both the lounge and the kitchen which was long, narrow, and modern, with light oaken countertops and white walls, a table with two chairs at the foreground and a window in the back. It was definitely cozy…not that we'd be using it the kitchen much, if at all.

After Edward paid the driver, he took our bags from the lounge through the kitchen and up the narrow, winding staircase to the second floor which housed the bedroom and bath. The ceilings here were vaulted and were decorated in soft whites. I couldn't resist a quick peek into the bath which contained a huge claw-footed tub; fluffy white towels were hung on warming racks beneath the window. Beside a white pedestal sink, the wide window brightened the white-painted walls and tile floors. A very small glassed-in shower, definitely made for one (unfortunately), concealed the toilet in the corner, a convenience I no longer needed, thankfully.

Ducking out of the bathroom, I joined Edward in the cozy bedroom which was dominated by a white-covered bed tucked beneath the sloping ceiling. The white iron bedstead was situated in front of the paned window; the bedside table, dresser, and wardrobe were all painted off-white, as was the small fireplace against the right wall. Although it was a small room, it was definitely cozy and delightfully romantic.

"It isn't very roomy," Edward remarked, frowning as he set down our luggage. "I wanted something warm and intimate, but I don't want you to feel crowded. We can find another place if you like, Isabella; I—"

My index finger pressed to his lips interrupted Edward's anxiety-driven babbling as I reassured him. "It's perfect, Edward, really. We don't need much room, and this is just the kind of place I was hoping to stay; you know how luxury makes me uncomfortable." Leaning forward to kiss him gently, I murmured, "I love it."

"And I love you," he replied, his voice warm, his eyes darkening. Then his eyes flashed to the windows. "We'll have to draw the curtains during the day if it's sunny," he said, his brow creasing in concern. "We aren't completely isolated here, unfortunately."

"That's fine. We don't want the neighbors to see what we'll be up to anyway," I winked suggestively, causing Edward to swallow hard and his eyes to turn from dark gold to shimmering black in an instant.

Before I could move toward him, Edward scooped me into his arms and laid me on the bed. Reaching over my head, he twitched the curtains shut before lowering himself upon me, his lips gently teasing mine as he kissed me almost shyly.

Edward raised his head for a moment to gaze into my eyes; his were warm pools of shining onyx, as if melted by the passion we shared. "Would you like to wait until tonight, Mrs. Cullen?" he asked me. "We could sightsee a bit since it's cloudy today. There's a church around the corner—"

With a knowing smile, I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him more firmly against me as I interrupted his rather adorable nervous babbling. "Mr. Cullen, in my non-expert opinion, we have waited entirely too long to consummate this marriage." I paused significantly to make my meaning perfectly clear. "I want to be yours. Now." It was both a growl and an order, bringing a smirk to Edward's beautiful face.

"As you wish," he quoted as he dipped his head down to capture my lips again. Edward's passionate kiss erased all thoughts of quotations from The Princess Bride. With our virtuous engagement, Tanya's drama on our wedding night, and then the long flight here, we had waited so long to become man and wife physically as well as in every other way that we just couldn't help ourselves….

My memories of our first time together brought a wicked smile to my face, and Edward smiled, too, as he bent over me to kiss me. "What has you smiling, my love?" he asked, scooping me onto his lap and holding me against his broad chest.

"I was just remembering our first time together on our honeymoon. I loved Twine Cottage, and the Cotswolds are so lovely."

Edward snickered, kissing down my throat as he commented, "What little we saw of the Cotswolds during our honeymoon, love. I'm not sure we left that bedroom for the first month." He laughed quietly. "Poor Alice had planned quite the literary itinerary for us…."

"Which we completely ignored," I added, grinning in remembrance. "Well, for the first month at least. We did make it to Haworth to see the home of the Brontës, to Stratford for all of the Shakespeare sites, to the Lake District to look up Wordsworth, Coleridge, Ruskin, and Beatrix Potter, to Newstead Abbey for Byron, and Chawton for Jane Austen, plus Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey…eventually."

"Only because we stayed an extra month," teased Edward, "and with nearly a week back in the bedroom between outings to continue our 'private activities.'"

"Of course," I murmured in a low voice, with a wink and a smirk.

"So is that how you wish to spend our anniversary, love? Just staying here in our cottage, swept up in our 'private activities'?" Edward asked, nuzzling my neck.

"Definitely."

For the remainder of the day and the following night, we deliberately ignored the many texts and calls emanating from our iPhones which we had set with the chorus of Ne-Yo's "She's a Monster" ringtone for Alice. We finally emerged from our love cocoon the following morning, and under typical English gray skies, sped the three miles to the impressive manor which now housed the Cullens.

After my love for England had become known to the family, Esme and Carlisle had decided to relocate all of us to Kent in southern England. The frequent fogs and typical gloomy British weather was ideal for our family, and Carlisle was delighted to return to his homeland. While he kept his medical license current with occasional shifts in the nearby ER, Carlisle decided to make a career change in this new location: pursuing his heritage as the son of an Anglican pastor, along with his love of faith and Britain itself, by being ordained an Anglican priest. Fortunately, Anglican priests, unlike the Catholic equivalent, could be married and have families. Thus, Carlisle pursued his pastoral studies in Canterbury, the seat of the Anglican Church. His avid study of human nature, his innate faithfulness and devotion, and his loving compassion made Carlisle an ideal candidate for the ministry, and after completing his studies in a few months, he was immediately offered a vicarage not far from Canterbury.

In addition to being the vicar's wife and all that position entailed, Esme had located a lovely manor home, Preston Court, that was begging for complete restoration, so she and Alice worked diligently, designing and restoring the large home to its former glory. The two of them enjoyed the process so much that they decided to start their own historical restoration business. Jasper's love of historical research and his financial acumen made him an invaluable silent partner in their firm.

Once relocated to Kent, Rosalie and Emmett had both fallen in love with the old Morgan cars manufactured in Britain, keeping themselves busy rebuilding and restoring older models. After all, the first Morgan three-wheeled prototype had been produced in England in 1909, and the whole process fascinated both Rose and Emmett who enjoyed working in the huge garage workshop that Esme and Alice designed for them on the manor grounds.

And of course, Esme had found us a stone cottage, slightly larger than Twine Cottage where we honeymooned, but within an easy three-mile run from the manor house. Named "Little Woodlands," the thatched cottage was edged by forest lands through which we could reach the manor house within a couple of minutes…as we were doing now. There was an extra bedroom that Edward and I used as a combination library/study.

And what were Edward and I doing? While the rest of the family was busy with restoration projects and/or ministry, Edward and I were attending The University of Kent at Canterbury where I focused on Medieval Literature and Edward decided to major in Theology. I frequently teased him about becoming Carlisle's curate, but Edward only smiled serenely; I had a feeling that Edward might indeed find himself assisting Carlisle in ministry within a year or two.

Edward's biggest regret about changing me when we did was that he had "stolen" my chance of motherhood. It took many, many long, somewhat angst-ridden conversations before Edward finally became convinced that motherhood simply wasn't that important to me. It may sound selfish, but after all I had been through during my own childhood, I couldn't stand the idea of deliberately bringing a child into this world. Actually, it had taken all year, but Edward was finally convinced that I meant what I said about motherhood and that I wasn't just trying to make him feel better with my views of having children.

And I was convinced, too…until three weeks ago.

On that day, Carlisle came home from an infrequent ER shift with an abashed look on his face…and a babyseat, including a baby, buckled securely into the backseat of his Mercedes.

Yes, he had brought home a human baby—a baby girl.

An hour previously, Carlisle had called us to request that the whole family meet at the manor that evening, and as we waited for his arrival in the gorgeously-restored parlor, we heard the rapid heartbeat emanating from the backseat of his car. As one, we raced out of the house and met him as he stopped the car at the front door.

Silent and frozen with anticipation, we all stood there aghast as Carlisle removed the carseat from its bottom half, revealing a sleeping newborn.

Before we could open our mouths to barrage him with questions, Carlisle suggested we all go inside the house and he would tell us everything.

Carlisle set the infant seat on the floor in the center of the room before settling into his usual leather chair. Holding up a hand in defense, he stated quietly, "Before you ask any questions or say anything, please allow me to tell you a story."

It always amazed me how Carlisle could command complete obedience seemingly without effort. So we all gathered curiously around the sleeping child as Carlisle told us the sad story.

A month ago, a young mother-to-be came to the ER with symptoms of a serious pregnancy-related complication: pre-eclampsia: a serious disorder causing very high blood pressure for the young mother that could endanger her life and the life of her child. She was alone in the world; only eighteen years old, her parents had thrown her out when she became pregnant, and the father of the child refused to acknowledge the child as his and rejected the request to take a paternity test. The young mother, Emma, had been living on the streets, occasionally in a homeless shelter from time to time, but the pregnancy was taking its toll on her. She was very thin and malnourished when she was brought into the ER unconscious after fainting in the street.

When I diagnosed pre-eclampsia, Carlisle continued, Emma became distraught. Although the baby was small due to malnutrition, the best choice was to deliver the baby immediately to save Emma from life-threatening complications. But Emma was afraid that her baby wouldn't survive if taken by C-section five weeks early, so she chose to postpone delivery for as long as possible in order to give the baby the best chance of survival.

Unfortunately, I was forced into releasing her when she insisted upon leaving the hospital against medical advice. I offered Emma medications that might help lower her blood pressure, but their use was controversial during pregnancy, so I doubted that she would take them once I informed her of the risks.

But I listened to her story and offered her several options, all of which she turned down, and then, after my shift was over, I took her to the parish where I gave her food from the kitchen pantry to keep her from starving. I wanted to bring her here, but she refused, but she did allow me to settle her on a sofa in an unused office. However, when I returned the next morning, she was gone.

Last night Emma returned to the ER in active labor, a dangerous development in a patient with high blood pressure. As often happens with eclampsia, her blood pressure spiked dangerously during delivery, causing a stroke. We had to take the baby via emergency C-section to save its life, but Emma didn't survive. The stroke was too severe, and she was declared brain dead this afternoon.

Carlisle's voice broke as he spoke those horrible words, "brain dead"; Esme silently took his hand and squeezed it sympathetically as he took a deep breath; he seemed strangely nervous and tentative as he spoke.

However, Social Services has no foster parents prepared to take a newborn, so I submitted an emergency application for foster care so that I could bring her home tonight and talk to you all about the baby's future.

We all exchanged shocked glances when Carlisle mentioned this last part. How could we be involved in this baby's life? How could we keep this human child safe in a family of vampires?

Carlisle's eyes showed the extent of his heartbreak and guilt as he told us Emma's tragic tale, and none of us missed the way his voice faltered when he spoke of her death. Gazing at each of us significantly in turn, Carlisle stated softly, "I know that it makes no logical sense, but I believe that this baby girl belongs with us."

"With a family of vampires?" Rosalie practically shrieked. "Have you gone insane, Carlisle?"

At this point, Rosalie was pretty much speaking for all of us; the only person not looking at Carlisle as if he were a prime candidate for Bedlam was Esme…who seemed both shocked and…oddly expectant.

"Perhaps I am insane," Carlisle smiled grimly. "What do the rest of you think?"

Edward and I looked at each other, completely gobsmacked by the fact that Carlisle had brought a newborn baby home with him.

"How will we care for her?" Esme asked, bewildered but supportive.

"The hospital sent me home with diapers, formula, and blankets while we decide," he answered quietly. "If we don't take her, she'll be transferred to London and put into the system there."

We all frowned at that option; we knew how overburdened the social services in London were. A tiny, delicate baby who would need round-the-clock care didn't seem to have much of a chance there.

Carlisle turned to Alice. "Can you see anything about her future with us?" he asked, and we all noticed the barely-suppressed hope in his tone.

Alice frowned, closing her eyes and concentrating. "Carlisle, decide that we're not keeping her; I need to see what happens to her if we don't become involved," she ordered in a soft voice.

Carlisle's expression became pained; obviously he had already become attached to the child, just as he had become attached to her mother.

But Alice grimaced, and we all noticed. "What was that, Alice?" Edward asked, his voice taut with concern. "Was that…the baby?"

"Yes," she replied, her voice choked with emotion. "She will be placed with a large family who takes her in just for the money they receive each month from the government. They will ignore her when she's an infant, and they will be unkind to her as she grows up," she stated sadly.

"'Unkind' is far too kind a word for how they will treat her, according to your vision," snapped Edward, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Verbal abuse will always be part of her life, and physical abuse from time to time."

Every member of our family exchanged guilty looks; everyone was sickened by Alice's vision.

"What if we keep her?" Esme asked breathlessly, hope in her eyes.

Alice's face suddenly lit up, and Edward turned to stare at her. "Wow," was all he said, a small smile twitching his lips.

Alice clapped her hands. "Yes!" she exclaimed. Turning to the rest of us and grinning from ear to ear, she exclaimed, "In the vision of the baby's future I just saw, she's about thirteen years old, and we're moving to Canada with her. She's definitely a member of our family and is laughing as Rose kisses her on the forehead."

"Is she still human?" Jasper asked tentatively.

"Of course she is!" Alice exclaimed. "We all are raising a human child! I've seen it as clearly as anything!"

Edward spoke up quietly but firmly, "What about her safety? Our bloodlust? The Romanians? There are so many dangers ahead if she remains with us."

I finally spoke up, taking Edward's hand and speaking in a low voice, "That's true, Edward. But there are always dangers no matter what we do: if the baby's in the foster system, or if Emma had lived to raise her daughter, or if we take the baby in to raise ourselves. We know that there are no guarantees in life, especially in childhood." It took all of my concentration to keep the bitterness from my voice as I continued. "But with our abilities and as a loving family, I'm sure that we can give this little one exactly what she needs to grow up happy, well, and strong. After all, you all took me in, and I can't imagine having a happier year than I've had with all of you."

Carlisle gave me a grateful look, "Thank you, Isabella."

"But you had to become a vampire!" Rosalie almost shrieked; Jasper actually covered his ears in response to her piercing voice. "We can't be responsible for the baby becoming one, too!"

I sighed. "My circumstances were bizarre, Rosalie. We were dealing with the Quileutes and other threats at the time."

"Very true," Esme mused, her expression thoughtful; I saw that she was seriously considering keeping the child. "And if she remains human, we won't be guilty of creating an immortal child…which as we know demands the death penalty. If she is human, she will have to know our secret eventually, but if we live quietly, I think we can all be safe."

Carlisle hugged his mate and kissed her. "That's exactly what I think as well," he said.

From her torn expression, I could tell that Rosalie was trying to suppress the hope she was feeling, as was Emmett as he watched his wife's face. Alice was ecstatic, but Jasper was tentative at best since he struggled with bloodlust more than the rest of us.

I glanced at Edward; his jaw was set and he seemed a million miles away, adrift on his thoughts. Gently taking his hand in mine, I kissed his strong fingers, one by one, and he smiled at me, his eyes becoming tranquil as he took in my expression.

I felt…hopeful and excited, too. Despite the fact that I had convinced myself and Edward that motherhood didn't matter to me, with the arrival of this child, I knew that I had been wrong. I wanted this child as part of our family.

I squeezed Edward's hand in silent communication, and he pressed mine in return, smiling beautifully as my decision became clear in my eyes.

Alice jumped up and down like the hyper pixie she was. "We've all made our decisions!" she cried.

"Shall we take a formal vote then?" Carlisle asked, despite the fact that the result was obvious since Alice was grinning like the proverbial cat after eating the canary. "Majority rules or unanimous?"

I spoke up. "I think we need to be unanimous—we can't allow this child to splinter our family."

Carlisle thought quietly for a moment, then smiled. "Unanimous it is," he said.

We all nodded.

"All who do not want the baby to remain with us, raise your hand." My eyes scanned the room, but not a single hand was raised. I couldn't suppress the joy building in my heart at the thought of helping to raise this little one.

"All who wish the baby to remain?" Carlisle continued.

Everyone nodded as hands were raised by all of the rest of the family…except for Rosalie.

"Rose?" Carlisle asked, puzzled.

"I abstain," she replied softly. "I can't vote 'stay,' but I can't vote 'go,' either. I want her to stay, so badly, but I don't know that we are the best choice for a child, especially with the danger that this decision will put our family in."

"Will you agree with the rest of us to keep her, or are your objections strong enough to let her go?" Carlisle asked.

Rosalie shook her head. "No, my objections will not bring discord to the family; I'm okay with her staying unless we feel the need to revisit this decision later on," she stated softly.

"Fair enough," Carlisle replied, wrapping an arm around Rose's shoulders and kissing the top of her head before continuing, "We'll need to be approved as a foster family first thing. Emmett, will you and Jasper unload the baby's things from the trunk of the car? Edward, will you help me with the foster care paperwork while Esme and the girls work on clearing a room for the baby and take care of her for a bit?"

"What about a name?" Esme asked. "What shall we call her?"

"I think we should name her for her mother, Emma," Edward stated, and we all quickly agreed.

"Could we use the middle name Renée? For my mother?" I asked quietly.

Carlisle smiled widely at my suggestion, his eyes warm as he looked at me, both of us remembering the gentle, joyous soul that was Renée Swan.

"Any objections?" he asked. When silence met his question, Carlisle pronounced, "Her name is Emma Renée Cullen."

Everyone got to work. Alice and I whisked upstairs to consider the room situation. Each couple in the manor house had a suite of rooms: a bedroom, a bathroom with Jacuzzi tub, and a sitting room. While Esme and Rose went to tend little Emma, Alice and I cleared the room between Carlisle and Esme's rooms and Emmett and Rosalie's rooms, deciding that its proximity to the others' room made it the best place for the nursery. We quickly moved the few pieces of dusty furniture from the room, and after a quick rummage through the incredible attics of the manor, we found a beautifully carved antique wooden cradle, a matching child's wardrobe and dresser, and a rocking chair. After cleaning the furniture, we arranged the nursery furniture just so while Alice decided to paint the walls a pale lavender with white crown molding and placing deeper purple curtains at the windows.

A few hours later Edward opened the door to the nursery to find me contentedly rocking the baby after feeding her a bottle of foul-smelling formula. I don't know how babies could drink that disgusting stuff, but Emma took it down eagerly, her large blue eyes sleepily fixed on my face as she sucked the bottle dry. After burping her (another disagreeable piece of business), Emma had fallen asleep in my arms, and I was reluctant to place her in the cradle. Holding her brought such serene joy that I didn't want to let her go.

Edward's eyes were soft as he watched me with Emma, a smile curving his lips as he seated himself on a sofa we had brought from another room and placed next to the rocking chair. Alice had plans to start painting and decorating tomorrow; she was on her laptop ordering everything online via overnight delivery so that she could get Emma's nursery in shape as soon as possible.

"What are you thinking?" I asked him, noting his contented expression as he leaned forward to cradle Emma's head in his hand for a moment.

So much closer to me now, Edward gazed into my eyes for another long moment. "Just this morning I was thinking that I couldn't be any happier," Edward replied quietly. "But seeing you with Emma in your arms has made me happier than I could ever imagine."

I smiled back at him. "Here, why don't you hold her?"

We changed places, Edward taking Emma from me and sitting in the rocker, the gentle motion obviously soothing to the infant.

"What are you thinking, Isabella?" he asked with a gentle smile, his golden eyes so beautiful.

"Actually, I was thinking the same as you. I thought I was so happy, that our lives were complete…until Carlisle brought Emma into our lives just a few hours ago. And seeing you with her makes me happier and more content than I ever believed was possible."

Edward reached his free hand toward me, and I grasped it in mine as I sat beside him. As we both bent over to kiss Emma's downy head, Edward's touch and his peaceful expression were all I needed to be absolutely, perfectly, completely happy.

Once I had been pinned down by my life, unable to move, to grow, to thrive; in those dark days, I had yearned for freedom and for love above all else.

And now I could flutter freely; in this moment, joy and light were all I saw in our future as I leaned over Emma to kiss my husband, my heart overflowing with gratitude.

.

~~The End~~

A/N: That's it.

Sorry for the lateness of the epilogue: my husband had surgery Friday out of state, and all three of my teen boys are sick. I've been absolutely exhausted—perhaps I'm getting sick, too. And I have a HUGE editing deadline tomorrow that I need to wrap up for a project (a non-traditional grammar book for homeschooling families) started in July.

Thank you to ALL of you who have read and reviewed throughout the past 17 months that I've been writing Pinned but Fluttering. I wouldn't have continued without your wonderful commentary and encouragement. Thank you!

Although I left a few loose threads (Billy, Seth, the Romanians, Emma's future) in case I want to come back to write a sequel, at this point I don't really see myself writing a continuation of PbF.

I have some ideas for some one-shots and shorter stories, but I'm taking the rest of January off from writing as I have two online classes (a grammar class and a literary analysis class on The Importance of Being Earnest) to teach concurrently, something I've never attempted before, plus my high school writing class is finishing their semester this month (and thus I have a lot of make-up essays to grade!). So I'll be a bit scarce around here for a bit, but as I've been posting weekly or twice-weekly chapters for two years straight, a wee vacation is in order. ;)

Images to go along with the honeymoon at Twine Cottage, plus images of the Cullen's manor house and B&E's cottage in Kent are posted on my blog (remove spaces): : / / cassandra lowery . blog spot 2013/01/

Thank you again for everything—love and a blessed and healthy 2013 to you all!

Much love,

Cassandra :D

xxxooo