A/N: It has taken me far longer than I ever wanted to accomplish it, but here it is. The final installment of this story. I cannot thank everyone enough for the patience that has been extended toward me through the last few years, I am exceedingly grateful. Especially icrodriguez, who has been ever so sweet and kind as she waited eight years for this to be done. Thank you so very much, and I hope you enjoyed the result of your request from that auction all those years ago.

Again, I used a deleted scene from the original DVD release, very brief, but it's not even in the extended edition. Hope you all enjoy and take care!

The car ride was silent for several minutes, and I did not need the ability to read Bella's mind to know her thoughts were racing. The rapid pace of her heart told me everything I needed to know. She was nervous about something, and I was almost certain as to what it was.

Bella was as aware, if not more so, as my family was of my disdain in regard to the idea of her becoming one of us. Her perception behind the reason was far off base, yet as my own mind pondered exactly what it was that caused me to fight so hard against it, I found that it ran so much deeper than the change itself. The thought of spending an eternity with her at my side was selfishly appealing, but at what cost?

I could not deny that the memory I still held of the agony that accompanied the change was a significant deterrent. Just the thought of subjecting Bella to that experience made me feel every bit the monster I had always believed I was. How could I say I loved her as I did, and then take her life so brutally, and with it, strip away her beautiful soul as well? To damn her to that existence, just so I would never have to lose her.

Yet, those were disputable arguments, as I knew Bella would be quick to point out. I knew she did not agree with my belief that the price of immortality was the relinquishing of one's soul, and that three days was a small sacrifice to make in exchange for an eternity with the one you love. However, as much as she thought she was looking at the whole picture, she was not thinking of the long-term consequences, that were irrefutably permanent.

The intense thirst that accompanied the newborn phase may dissipate over time, but it was not something that ever disappeared. Even one lapse of control, resulting in the loss of a human life at her hands, was something that would haunt Bella forever, if it ever came to that. She would never forgive herself, as I had not for the lives I had ended—and her heart was so much purer than mine.

More than that, however, was the ultimate sacrifice she would have to make, needlessly, and again, without question—her parents, her friends, everyone and everything in her life outside of the seven of us…forever. The Volturi would not allow for anything but permanent separation from every aspect of her human life—there was no negotiation on that fact.

I only wished that Bella would at least understand that. Debate everything else as much as she liked, but simply open her eyes to the fact that nothing about becoming a vampire was simple, or even romantic. Her parents' hearts would be broken, her friends would be devastated. Indeed, we had all given up our previous lives when we were changed, but most of us would have lost everything anyway, as we were already at death's door when Carlisle came to us—we just would have had no recollection of such, as we would have perished otherwise.

I knew that someday, there was a chance that Bella would regret the pain she voluntarily caused Charlie and Renee, when there was always another option. She was just too blinded by her love for me to see everything as clearly as she should.

"I'll wait until after graduation to make it easier on Charlie," Bella's voice interrupted my thoughts, and I felt that painful tug inside me. She was unknowingly proving my point—she knew it was going to devastate Charlie to lose his daughter, especially after only just having her return to his life. She wished to spare him as much pain as she could but was failing to see that, no matter when it happened, the loss of a child would never be easier. Then, I felt the tension rise once again in the air around us. "Edward, I want you to be the one to do it."

I had no chance to respond or react at all, as a voice filled my mind that instantly sent my hackles up before I even caught sight of the source, standing in the middle of the road, right in my path.

It's a good thing I can see her in that car with you, Jacob Black snarled in his mind, his glare attempting to intimidate the closer we came, but falling short. Part of me wished that I could just keep driving, but I knew that Bella would never forgive me if I harmed him in any way, so I reluctantly shifted my foot to the brake at the last minute.

Meet me in the woods. Now.

Bella's eyes focused on Jacob as he disappeared into the trees, her heart picking up several beats as she stared after him.

"He wants to talk to me," I said blandly, before I pulled over to the side of the road so we could get out.

Bella hurried ahead of me into the woods, searching for Jacob, who was ridiculously making a show of jumping through the forest, when he had just followed the same path we had. What exactly is he trying to prove? I thought to myself as he came to a stop on the trunk of a fallen tree, looking down on us, while I remained a few paces back from Bella when she stepped forward to confront him.

The snarl present on his features as he spoke to her while glaring at me was unmistakable. "I see you're still alive for now."

Bella turned briefly to glance back at me, the same nervousness present in her eyes as that day in the school parking lot; though, the tension was entirely different and heightened. It was no longer just a rivalry between two guys over the same girl, so her trepidation was understandable, but she managed to speak to him openly. "I've been calling you."

"Couldn't drop by?" he asked snidely, again with his inner monologue directed solely at me.

"He thinks it's me keeping you away," I clarified for her, and I could admit that I took a small modicum of enjoyment in the annoyance it stirred in him, seething at me to stay out of his head. However, I regretted it almost immediately as Bella began shifting uncomfortably, clearly feeling caught between the two of us, and the animosity we shared.

"Jake, I was grounded. I couldn't leave the house," she explained, and his gaze left me to fall upon her. "I have to get back before my dad wakes up."

His intent stare at her was unnerving me—it was obvious how he felt about her, just by the look in his eyes, without needing to hear the lustful, and even anguished at points, thoughts in his mind. He had no comprehension of how much I wish I could "stay the hell out of his head," as he so "graciously" stated. I stepped forward, needing to break the moment, and I could feel Bella's eyes on me as she nervously watched our exchange.

"Jacob. I know you have something to say to me, but I want to say something to you first, if that's all right." His eyes narrowed on me. Like I care what you have to say, leech, he internally raged, yet I managed to maintain my calm for Bella's sake. "Thank you. Thank you for keeping Bella alive when I didn't."

It was not entirely a lie. I was, ironically enough, in his debt. I had left Bella broken, and he pieced her back together. If Jacob had not been there to pull her out of the water, my trip to Italy would not have been simply due to a misunderstanding of Alice's vision. Bella would be dead; I would not be listening to her heart beat mere feet behind me. Being indebted to him for anything was a notion that made my skin crawl, but if there was anything that garnered it, I was glad it was that.

"No. You didn't. And it wasn't for your benefit, trust me." Jacob's petulant words were wearing down my patience—his young age and the arrogance that accompanied it was showing through, even without the added supernatural aspect.

"I'm still grateful," I replied sincerely, despite the none-too-subtle lift of his chin. Remember that Bella is standing close enough to be harmed if this gets out of hand, I reminded myself as I attempted to keep my voice level, while simultaneously assuring that my following statement clearly delineated my stance. "But I'm here now. I'm not gonna leave her side until she orders me away."

"We'll see." His eyes gave me the once over, as if challenging me. I needed to get Bella away from there before the situation escalated any more. I turned toward her, intent on escorting her back to the car. However, he was not going to let us leave until he accomplished his goal, and he made a show of jumping down from the tree trunk to approach us. "Hey, my turn to talk. I'm here to remind you about a key point in the treaty."

I turned my head to look at him—as if I needed reminding, even if it had never been a consideration for any of us since the day we made the treaty with Ephraim Black, until Bella. It was not something that was ever far from my mind, especially while residing in Forks. "I haven't forgotten."

Bella looked between us in clear confusion, obviously having never been told the specifications of the treaty since her discovery of the wolves' existence. "What key point?"

Jacob's gaze never wavered from me, yet I could not tear my eyes away from Bella as he spoke, watching as his words processed within her. "If any of them bites a human, the truce is over."

"But if I choose it, it has nothing to do with you." As expected, her immediate response was one of defense, her heartrate beginning to accelerate more.

"No," he stated emphatically, stepping closer to her, and my restraint was on the verge of shattering. "No, I won't let you. You're not gonna be one of them, Bella."

"It's not up to you," Bella responded in a firm, but still soft tone, igniting the images in his mind of grabbing hold of her and running.

As if he would get very far, I internally sneered, feeling my jaw and lips tense.

Jacob's breaths began accelerating minimally with his mounting anxiety, gazing at her in desperation. "You know what we'll do to you. I won't have a choice."

Once again, he formed mental images, knowing the effect it would have on me. Bella encircled by a band of wolves—cornered, trapped, while I stood powerless to save her. Her wide, red eyes meeting mine in terror moments before she was ripped limb from limb in front of me. Although I knew it would never come to pass, that I would kill as many of them as I could before they even harmed a single hair on her head, those thoughts were enough to shake me and cause an unbearable ache in my chest. "Bella, please, come."

"Wait." Bella's voice halted my movements as I again tried desperately to usher her away. Then she turned toward me, her eyes pleading as she gazed into mine. "Is he gonna hurt me? Read his mind."

Even I had to admit that Jacob would never intentionally harm Bella physically, so I could not lie to her and say that he would. She saw that in my expression, it seemed, and turned away from me to approach him.

Listening to her words felt like a thousand daggers plunging into my heart, but I could not be angry with her for saying them. Of course, she loved him, even if it might not have been in the same way she felt for me. I could not have expected anything less after all they had faced together in my absence. Yet, those words were enough to send a surge of triumph through him, only to crash a moment later when she asserted that her choice, if given one, would not be him. I could not deny the selfish thrill it gave me that, despite all I had put her through and how much I did not deserve her love because of it, I would still be the one she chose.

However, I did not have the opportunity, or even the desire, to revel in that fact. His soft murmur of her name as she began to back away from him and return to me rang of disbelief and heartache. I knew that feeling all too well, having just experienced that agony of letting Bella go, and then believing that I had lost her permanently in death. His pain quickly transformed into anger, though, as his gaze fell on me again, and there was no more time to waste. He was a young wolf, and they were the most volatile. Bella was in danger, even if his aim was solely on me.

"Goodbye, Jacob," I said in as calm a tone as I could manage, trying to place myself between him and Bella as I felt the increase in the heat radiating off him.

"No, you don't speak for her!" he hissed and crossed the final line with me when he grabbed onto Bella's arm and pulled her toward him. No one would ever touch Bella in such a way, in my presence or otherwise.

I roughly shoved him away from her and watched as he transformed in mid-air, and my urgency increased. "Bella, get out of here."

I guided her away as far as I could before Jacob began charging toward us, snarling when he halted and assaulted me with his thoughts once again. That time, it was with every memory he had of Bella while I had been gone. Even with her shout for us to stop as I reared my arm back in defense, it continued, and I was frozen in my spot. Every moment she spent with him in La Push. Her giggle as he hugged her and swung her around. Each day she had spent with him in that garage, working on those motorcycles, and finally being able to smile effortlessly again. Then, her sad, drawn eyes, completely shutting down at the vaguest mention of me. The movie theater, the almost kiss in the truck when she'd pulled away, and the one in the kitchen, when she had not, until the ringing of the phone interrupted them.

I was completely frozen in my spot as Bella stepped between us, seeing through his eyes that there was a chance that she could have been happy, in time, without me. Yet, our thoughts were interrupted by her urgent words. "Stop! You can't hurt each other without hurting me."

Her statement affected us both, as we grasped the weight of it. Obviously, our individual strengths had the capability of causing her serious harm, particularly with her physically setting herself in the middle of our altercation—combined would be nothing short of lethal. More than that, as I had thought only a short time before in the car, if I followed through with tearing him to shreds as I wanted to, Bella would be crushed and would never forgive me. The same applied to him if anything happened to me at his hands. There would be no victor either way.

Fighting every instinct in our nature, we knew that we had to put Bella first. I watched as Jacob began to slump in defeat while holding her gaze, and then briefly glanced at me before turning to retreat.

You'll only ruin her life, was his departing message to me as Bella sadly called after him, gazing toward the trees even long after he had disappeared.

"He's right," I spoke my thoughts out loud, as my earlier musings combined with Jacob's departing one melded in my mind. "You shouldn't become what I am."

Bella turned to face me, clearly bracing herself for another argument. "I can't do this alone."

In that, I knew she was right. Regardless of how it came about, whether she was changed by me, Alice, or even Carlisle, she would not be able to manage alone. She would need my support and guidance, and that of my entire family, in order to overcome the trials she would face as a newborn.

"Then, please, just wait," I pleaded with her, my heart aching yet again, and she also appeared to deflate a little. The depth of which I loved, wanted, and needed Bella in my world was immeasurable, but it all came at a price—and almost entirely at her expense. I knew my existence in her life had already changed us both irrevocably, and there was no going back. Carlisle's words rang true; I had chosen not to live without her. Now, with the Volturi involved as well, there really was only the option to change her remaining, and she wanted me to do it, but I needed time. The events in the ballet studio still shook me. Yes, I had managed to stop, but how close I came to not being able to do so terrified me to the core. There was still a good chance that I would kill her. In addition to that, she was still so young, with so much she could experience as a human that would be stripped away the moment my teeth pierced her skin. "Just give me five years."

Five years, I thought as I began moving toward her. So much could be accomplished in that time. She could go to college, have her parents there to witness her obtaining her degree, as well as getting a little more time with them. Possibly even having the chance to allow them to see her get married. Even if she would still leave them in the end, the memories would be priceless, both for them and for her, but she shook her head as I came to a stop in front of her. "That's too long."

I gazed at her and sighed, running more scenarios through my head. She could still experience those things in a shorter period of time; it would just leave me less of an opportunity to prepare. "Then three?"

Bella stood her ground, giving me another shake of her head, though tad more subtle. She really was stubborn, and I told her as such. "What are you waiting for?"

There had to be some form of compromise between us. She wanted me to change her, that much was clear, while I still had my reservations. We both wanted to spend eternity together, whether it began that second or years in the future. So, what was I waiting for, aside from the confidence that I would not kill her? The answer what right in front of me, literally and figuratively—there was something I wanted as desperately what she was asking of me, though I knew she would have just as many reservations to give, but it was important to me.

I struggled to get the words out and tried several times to form the words, before giving a nervous chuckle, though I could not meet her eyes just yet. "I have one condition if you want me to do it myself."

Bella's heartrate picked up by a few beats as a tinge of hope appeared in her features. "What's the condition?"

My gaze finally met hers and held it intently. "And then forever."

"That's what I'm asking." Her eyes held so much emotion in that moment, and it was the first time I had seen that spark of happiness in them with my own since I had returned.

I did not want to break that, but the wheels had already been set in motion, and she stood there, anxiously awaiting for me to continue.

It's now or never, I thought before finally uttering the words burning at the tip of my tongue, eager to get out.

"Marry me, Bella."

Her face went blank, the gravity of what I had just said settling on her in a sudden thrust, and the only sound she uttered was a soft gasp.