(Epilogue)

Bella's in the kitchen, handing out red popsicles to a group of kids that pull at her dress with their sticky hands. She's smiling and looks happy.

"Any of those left for me?" I ask, leaning in to give her a kiss. She tastes of strawberries.

"Nope," she says, handing the last one away and reaching for me for another kiss. This one for longer but still at a PG rating.

"You look nice," she says, running her hands over my shirt, across my chest and around my waist until she's holding me.

"I tried," I say. "Wouldn't want to give my mother anything else to complain about."

She shushes me, looking over her shoulder for the women in question since we're standing in her kitchen, the garden party for Elsie's baptism in full swing outside.

It's taken me awhile to get to this stage, to be comfortable coming here, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still treading on thin ice around her. We haven't had a real conversation yet, but Alice tells her everything I've been doing so we've reached a stalemate. I'm allowed in the house, but I get the sense I'm not really wanted. It's more in what's unsaid, the occasional snide comment. I should get a fucking medal for keeping my mouth shut around her. It is what it is.

Music and the smell of burgers drift in through the open doors and my stomach rumbles, so I pull Bella outside into the sunshine, sliding on my shades.

Jasper comes over to say hi, slapping me on the back and offering to get me a drink.

"What you got?" I ask as Jasper lists out all the soda they have. These situations aren't easy. There's really nothing better than a cold beer and a summer BBQ. The first taste to quench your thirst, the condensation on the bottle cool against your hand. I'd be a liar if I pretended I didn't want one. Crave one.

"I'll have a Coke," Bella replies. "You want the same, E?"

I nod, grateful to her. I've told her she doesn't need to stop drinking when she's around me and she does have a drink occasionally, but not at times like this. Times where it feels I'm missing out. I appreciate her more than ever for that.

We stand around making small talk with the guests and taking turns to hold the baby-of- the-moment. Bella melts around her and I can't get the smile off my face as I watch her.

My mother is also happier than I've ever seen her, surrounded by her close friends as she sits on the swing, Elsie cradled in her arms. We even chat a little and it doesn't take her long to warm up to Bella, sharing stories about cooking and her family, reaching over to give Bella a hug when she talks about her Dad. I leave them to it and seek out Riley and Jasper, enjoying the banter and chat about the gym and general small talk that people used to find hard around me.

The afternoon passes quickly with food and chatter and cake. It's easy for once to be around people and as night falls, I feel more relaxed in company than I have in a long time.

"I'll take those in for you," Bella offers, taking the empty serving dishes from my Mom as she starts to clear up. "You should relax. You've done enough today and Edward will help me, won't you."

Mom looks dubious but gestures at the house, lit up in the early evening. "Thank you. Just put them in the kitchen, Edward will show you around."

"Great. Come on then, Edward." Bella smirks, as I lead the way across the lawn into the house.

She finds some space on the counter top which is covered with half eaten food, empty glasses and cake, laying them down. "You gonna show me around then?" She reaches for my hand with a small smile on her lips that drives me crazy.

"What do you want to see?" I ask, pulling her closer and finding the warmth of her neck with my lips. She laughs and pulls away, tugging my hand toward the stairs.

"Let's go and see your old bedroom."

"I'm pretty sure my Mom's turned it into a craft room." I glance over my shoulder as we head up the stairs, not entirely sure this is what my Mom meant but pretty sure she wouldn't be happy finding me anywhere other than her designated guest receiving areas.

Bella pauses at the top of the landing looking over the framed pictures. "You were cute," she says, hoving by one of the four of us skiing in Colorado. I'm probably only 14 but I'm almost as tall as my dad. "You look like him," she says, and leans into me. I wrap my arm around her, my attention being drawn to memories I'd not thought about for years. It's nice, I realize, that they are still here. That there are happy times my mom can remember that haven't been overshadowed by everything recently. I'm happy she hasn't ripped these down out of her sight. I stroke my fingers over the soft fabric of her dress, across her waist and down across her hip. She twists out of my grasp again and heads down the hallway, pointing into the first room. "Yours?"

I shake my head. She carries on to the next one and when I nod, opens the door.

"Wow, you weren't kidding." She stands on the threshold in awe at the set up, which I have to admit is impressive. Drawers and drawers of colourful bits of crap for who knows what and a huge desk and comfy chair in the window, my old bed gone. "This is an actual dream." She spins around taking it all in, picking up bits and settling them back down carefully, running her fingers through ribbons of every colour before she ends up in front of a large bookshelf that almost takes up a whole wall.

It's full of books and manuals on making every possible craft item you could think of. I really don't know where she finds the time.

"Hey, look at this," Bella says, picking up a glass award that I recognize instantly. "It's yours." She puts it back and picks up others, there's lots of them. "They're all yours."

"Most likely to become president?" She scrunches up her nose, waving one of the cheap plastic ones at me. She sets it down and picks another one up, quirking an eyebrow. "Prom King? Please tell me there's a picture of you in a tux."

I shrug and lean up against the desk watching her make her way along the shelf, handling awards for football, running, writing and everything in between. "Probably somewhere, but I'm not showing you. My tux was green."

"Are you kidding? Why?" She laughs and shakes her head, putting another trophy down and pulling out a huge album.

"Hey! We thought it was cool at the time."

"Somehow though I know you would have looked good, even in green." She flips open the first page. "Can I look in here?"

I wave her ahead though she's already looking.

I love her when she is like this. Light and full of curiosity, laughter. I'd let her gut me and drag my entrails out for investigation if it would make her smile as much.

"Hey, look at this," she calls over, turning the pages slowly. I walk over and stand beside her as she points at the newspaper cuttings, covering every page. "Look here and here. These are recent? From the past few years."

I see small articles and larger pieces—those are older when I had more head space and freedom to write what I wanted. Even though the newer ones are unimportant, boring pieces, they're all there, neatly cut out and pasted into the book. My name is under every byline. "She's always collected my work."

"Yeah, and looks like she never stopped." She reaches for me then, standing on tiptoes, kissing me gently. "See even if you thought she didn't care… she did."

"She didn't act that way."

"Maybe not toward you but this tells a different story."

I grip her around the waist and walk her backwards until I can lift her up onto the desk, finding my spot between her thighs. "Maybe," I say, as I lean down to kiss her again. Moving from her lips, across her cheek and down to her shoulder.

"Maybe?" she repeats, her voice a whisper as she shivers under my touch. I pull her hips forward and she lets out a quiet moan, wrapping her legs around me. I continue my trail across her collar bone, hands sliding under the edge of her skirt, slowly up her thighs as there's a burst of laughter from the garden.

"You know what she really would care about?" I ask, pulling back a little, her cheeks are flushed, her lips red.

"What?"

"People having sex on her crafting table."

Bella throws her head back and laughs. "Edward Cullen."

"What?"

She jabs me with a finger and tightens her legs around me. "Just you wait until we get home."

"Oh, really?" I nip at her neck and she squirms out of the way, laughing as I grab onto her hand before she can leave the room. "We're leaving now though, right?"

"Immediately," she says seriously, giving me a look before she disappears around the corner that makes me want to chase her down and bring her right back to defile all the pom-poms and embroidery and knitting and whatever the hell else is all over the desk. I have to give myself a moment before I can follow.

I walk over to the bookshelf and put the album back away, feeling for the first time in a long while the warmth that comes from knowing that someone still loves you. I may not deserve all of the love people are willing to give me, but being reminded of it again is worth everything I've been through to get here.

Bella

I smooth my hand down the white silk, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. It's a simple dress but it's beautiful. I feel beautiful in it.

Angela fusses with my hair, tucking a piece behind my ear, the curls she put into it earlier have dropped out into waves. "Are you ready?" she asks, taking my hand and squeezing it. "You look amazing. He'll be blown away."

I check out my reflection again in the mirror. My cheeks are pink, my lips matching. A surge of adrenaline rushes through me and tears start to gather. I tip my head back and fan my face. "Almost. I'm almost ready."

"Ok, we can take a minute but everyone is waiting in the court."

I grab a tissue and use it to soak up the escaping tears before screwing it up and throwing it in the trash can. "Ok lets go."

She hands me my bouquet of soft-pink sweet peas and ivory roses gathered from Esme's garden, and gives me a hug. "Your Dad would be bursting with pride if he could see you know."

"Don't." I flap her away, the thought of my Dad bringing the tears back in a furious rush of sadness. "I'll ruin my makeup."

"No, don't do that," she says, running a finger carefully under her own eyes. She is the only other person here today who knew Charlie and who understands the chunk of my heart that is missing now that he is gone. "Come on. Let's get out of here quickly." She holds open the door and we walk out into the foyer, my heels tap out my approach on the mosaic floor.

I never imagined it like this.

Simple and small. All the grandeur I'd dreamed of as a little girl now seems unnecessary. Guest lists, table plans and bridal showers, extravagant meals and expensive decor—it didn't feel right. It isn't us.

Everything we have has been fought for hard. Ugly at times, even painful. But I have never felt something so powerful for another human being. That is all that matters. Everything else is irrelevant.

Edward. I think of him, standing, waiting for me and the need to see him takes my breath away. I nod to Ange that I'm ready and I'm vaguely aware of music playing as the doors open.

Then all I see is him.

I walk toward him, my oldest friend by my side. I don't notice the happy faces turned toward me, the registrars voice, the courtroom, my attention drawn to Edward like a needle pulling to true north.

"Hey," he says, taking my hands and leaning to kiss me on the cheek. "You look ..." He shakes his head and swallows, looking down at our hands, unable to find the words. He doesn't need to say anything. I see it written all over him.

He straightens up and smiles as I squeeze his fingers, overwhelmed with love for him as the ceremony words float around my head hardly making any sense. Edwards eyes are creased with happiness. All his rough edges, smoothed a little by a smart suit, hair gel and a clean shave. He's so handsome, the whole courtroom will be swooning the same as me. Then he smirks as he notices my eyes travelling the length of him, cocking his head a little, catching me. And our flame flickers.

The day we met was one of the worst days of my life. How could I have known that a chance encounter with Edward would have changed the trajectory of everything I thought I knew. Did I want to die that day? I'm not sure. I don't think I could have answered that then, either. All I wanted was for it all to stop. The pain and loneliness. A sadness I'd not been able to shake since my Dad died. It clung to me like tar, making it difficult to move, to breathe, impossible to get off. I'd thought that what I had with Sam was enough to keep me moving forward but then he too became another burden and soon all that happened was I collapsed.

I didn't fall over, faint, cry out. It was inside me, the fragile confidence I'd built with shards of memories and splinters of flimsy love, tumbled down leaving me empty.

But then there was him.

I couldn't have known about his own demons when I felt that small tug from deep inside me. Something that kept drawing me to him. That wouldn't let me forget. Maybe I saw something of me in him and him in me. We both threw ourselves into mending each other. Filling all our cracks with desire and desperation. It didn't work and only broke me again to have to keep my distance from him. To pull back, both of us licking our wounds. A necessity.

I found myself hovering around his edges like a ghost. Getting glimpses of him at the gym, gleaning titbits about him from Alice. I couldn't break the bond between us. And neither could he.

We need each other. But we also need to be capable of understanding our limits. Understanding our weaknesses. And then not letting them win.

And we did. We do.

We're here in front of a small group of our friends and family and I'm bursting with love for this man. I see it reflected in him. I've seen his scars and he's seen mine. And as he slides a ring onto my finger and I slide one onto his, it's another layer to the bond we've chosen. Another string that ties us together, a promise to each other.

To love, in sickness and in health.

Forever until death. And more.

Edward leans down to kiss me, pulling me closer with an arm around my waist and tipping me back like I'd always imagined, just like the movies.

I love you, I tell him.

I love you, he replies.

The court erupts into applause and a few wolf whistles when our kiss goes on for longer than is polite.

I don't ever want to stop.

And later when everyone has gone home, happy, full and some a little bit drunk. Edward finds me on the balcony of our hotel. A cool breeze ruffles my hair as he wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. The lights of Seattle are stars around us, the sky full of them too.

"You've never let go of me."

"What do you mean?" He leaves a kiss on my shoulder, the warmth of it sends a shiver down my body and he pulls me closer.

"Since that day on the bridge. You never let me go."

"I couldn't."

"I know that now."

"I won't, Bella. Ever."

I spin around in his arms and find his lips. We kiss for a long time under the watching moon. Then he leads me inside, slowly removing my dress, the pins in my hair. Taking his time to press his lips to my bare skin.

He tells me he loves me again and again, with his lips, his body, his whispered words. And I let every single one into my heart.

He will not let go of me.

Even if I fall.

(The End)

AN: So that's its, folks! I'm sad to say goodbye to these two but will now be able to spend time with Milk Teeth B&E who I've been neglecting. I couldn't have finished this story without my gang of cheerleaders who've always dropped everything to help me - Choc, Kim, Cat & Meg. You are the best. And to all of you who've read this to the end (even with my terrible update schedule) - Thank you. Thank you. You make it all worthwhile. Hopefully see you over on another one of my fics soon.

Sparrow xx