Epilogue

"Ramble On" by Led Zepplin

~Bella Cullen~

"Charlie! C'mon, we need to go!" I yelled up the stairs.

"Coming Momma!"

I grumbled under my breath. Our three year old was always getting preoccupied with something, she was likely in her room setting up her army people or putting a fort together to protect her army people.

She was her father's daughter in so many ways.

Ways that scared both Edward and me so much.

"Eric and Lucy are in the car. Where's Charlie?" Edward came back in the kitchen then as I was wiping down the counters and putting away the final things from breakfast.

"Where do you think?" I rolled my eyes.

Edward chuckled. "I'll get her."

I watched as his still fit form sped up the stairs. I couldn't wait to get on the road, to drop the kids off and have him all to myself.

It had been too long since we had been away, just the two of us.

Could we leave yet?

I looked at my watch as Edward and Charlie finally came in.

"Charlotte Marie, what on earth were you doing?" I asked as I finally ushered her out the door.

"Just getting ready." She motioned and it was then I noticed her outfit.

All camo.

All the time.

I had no idea whatsoever where it came from.

But I chuckled, because Charlie was the quirkiest of our three kids. She broke the mold in so many ways.

"Okay, let's go. Do you have your bag for Grandma and Grandpa's?"

"Yup." She turned to show me her backpack and then scampered out to the car.

"Do you have your bag?" I asked Edward.

"I'm not really planning on needing one." He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I was instantly hot and bothered but smirked at him.

"That could get a bit uncomfortable on the bike."

He stalked over to me and I took a step back, my butt meeting the fridge behind me.

"Liefje, I plan on keeping you completely occupied for the duration of your birthday." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my chin and I held my breath.

How could he still do that to me? I wasn't sure. But I was instantly a bundle of nerves even after all these years.

"Let's go." I finally breathed out and he laughed and then grabbed my hand.

We walked out of the townhouse, turning off the last of the lights, before climbing into our SUV.

Edward jumped behind the wheel as I strapped Charlie in and put a movie on for the kids. Eric was already listening to music and Lucy was on her pad. But eventually they would tire of it and tune in to the DVD that Charlie was watching.

Then I took a deep breath. I really couldn't wait to get away.

The last four years had been crazy busy, but in a good way. I felt like I could barely take a breath sometimes with all of the kids' activities, my work at the Guggenheim and Edward's schedule.

Though it was great to have him around more, his schedule wasn't nine to five. As he hoped when he started his private security firm, he was busier than he ever expected. It took some convincing, but eventually the others all joined along and they traded off taking the overnight work and the more extensive assignments as they all had families.

Now ELC Consulting* was the most sought after private security firm in the Northeast. They mainly focused on providing security for high profile clients. Due to their extensive military and intelligence backgrounds it was a natural fit. But they had their regular celebrities as well.

Most importantly, they could turn down any job that they thought might be too dangerous or too long, though they rarely did. Given their diverse and exceptional capabilities, not much was too dangerous for any of them.

"What are you thinking about over there?" Edward murmured as he merged us into the traffic heading out to the Hamptons.

"Just our busy, busy life." I smiled as I grabbed his hand.

He rubbed his finger over the back of my hand and turned his attention back to the road as I stared out the window.

Adding a third child so soon after everything that happened had been oddly a blessing in disguise. Though I never would have chosen the timing, just like with getting pregnant with Eric, getting pregnant with Charlotte made us reevaluate a few things. Edward had already been toying with the idea of starting his own security firm, but the flexibility it provided pushed him even more in that direction. It was also the impetus for my decision to leave the Met. I loved the Met, but I was ready to start a new chapter in my life and unfortunately, the Met held a lot of bad memories from the times during Edward's two missions.

I had needed something fresh and when I was approached by a long-time donor who I had worked with on several projects, I decided to make the change. It had worked out exceptionally well for all of us. I had more time with my kids, but I was still intellectually and professionally challenged.

Though I could still picture the look on Edward's face when I told him the news that I was pregnant. I'd thought he was crazy when he'd mentioned it the day after coming back from his mission. Then everything happened so quickly with the press conference, moving home and coming back out from witness protection that we simply forgot about preventing anything.

It all worked out in the end though. Charlotte—Charlie—was the final piece to our family. My pregnancy had been surprisingly easy and my delivery as well. I'd deserved it, as I told Edward, after everything that happened with Eric and Lucy.

But Charlie was different from the day she was born. With her bright red hair and blue eyes that somehow made its way through from the Cullen side, she had her own look and her own personality to go along with it. Named after my father, and to some extent Edward's friend Charles, we knew Charlie was unique from the beginning.

She started walking at seven months and running at eleven. She was talking at fourteen months and doing things that most toddlers couldn't do until they were four or five by the time she was two. When she started reading before age three and having nearly adult conversations we decided to have her tested.

Many people chalked it up to her being the third child and wanting to keep up with her older siblings. But Edward and I knew better, and that scared the hell out of all of us, because we knew what that meant.

Charlie was gifted, in the ways that Edward was, and perhaps in other ways as well. She had exceptional vision, acuity, quickness, and she was wicked smart. Her intelligence seemed nearly off the charts and her physical abilities were as well. Maybe it was because she was conceived after two months of pent up desire and in such intense circumstances—we weren't sure. But Charlie was definitely special.

As a baby, she was the absolute apple of Edward's eye. He was so attentive with her because he had missed so much with Lucy. But he was the one who noticed her special abilities first, and it scared the shit out of him.

Because on the one hand, she was his baby girl and he was her ultimate protector. But on the other hand, he knew just how gifted she was. He had a hard time squaring the two, just as he did with me when I joined their last mission.

"Are you ready for your birthday?" Edward smirked at me. He'd been teasing me about it for a while now.

"I'm fine." I shrugged. Though forty did seem a little daunting. "I'm always younger than you." I wiggled my fingers on his thigh and he squirmed.

"Don't start something you can't finish." He flashed his eyes at me. But I knew he wasn't mad. We both loved to get each other's blood boiling when we could.

Especially when we knew we would have time to follow through on it. Which unfortunately wasn't as often as it used to be now that we had three busy, and nosy kids.

"Are we there yet?" Eric grumbled from the back. He was always our impatient one, just like his late uncle according to Edward.

"Just another fifteen minutes." Edward called back and Eric put his headphones back on.

We chatted quietly about our plans for the weekend. We were so ready to get away as it had been a crazy summer. Though we'd done quite a few vacations as a family, Edward and I both had a hard time leaving our kids. We hadn't been away just the two of us in over a year. It was his idea that we take a long weekend and take the kids to the Hamptons to stay with his parents. We were dropping them off early on the Friday morning before Labor Day and would pick them up Monday afternoon.

Though it was a bit before my birthday, we were celebrating my fortieth birthday by renting a house all the way out on the point by Montauk. Though his parents' house was closer to East Hampton, we were going the rest of the way down the island, but on the bike.

I couldn't wait.

And as Edward suggested, I hadn't packed much but bikinis and a few sundresses that could fit in the pack on the bike. I truly didn't plan on wearing much the next few days.

Soon we were pulling into Carlisle and Esme's drive and we hoped it would be a quick drop off.

With a kiss on the cheek for each of us, Esme quickly ushered her grandkids inside by enticing them with the pool and eventually s'mores by the fire.

"So where are you staying?" Carlisle asked as Edward tossed him the keys to our car and quickly moved our packs.

"Out by Montauk. Though he won't tell me exactly where." I shrugged.

"Well have fun. We'll see you on Monday." He gave me a quick hug and I sighed. Carlisle was truly a second father to me.

Suddenly I heard the engine rev and I knew Edward was ready.

Hell yes.

"Have fun. Be careful." Carlisle gave Edward a look, he never liked his motorcycle either, but we both wore helmets.

With a wave we were off and on our way down the island.

"Kid free weekend." I murmured as Edward pulled out on the highway.

"Thank God." He replied and I chuckled as I settled in.

It didn't take long for us to get to our destination.

In fact not long at all.

"I thought we were going to Montauk?"

"Nope." I could see his smile even behind his mask.

We pulled in the drive of a very pretty blue and white home. It wasn't large and architectural like his parents. But it wasn't small either.

It was very Hamptons in other ways instead. Slate blue siding, white shutters, a circular driveway and a brick pathway leading to the front door.

"Where are we Edward?" I started to get suspicious. We couldn't have been more than minutes away, maybe even walking distance from his parents.

"Our house."

I opened my mouth and then closed it again before my brain caught up.

"What do you mean by 'our'?" I pulled off my helmet and looked at him.

"Happy Birthday Liefje."

"Edward…" my eyes went wide. He knew I hated surprises…and gifts. Big gifts especially.

And this was a really fucking big gift.

I huffed out a sigh and he tried to contain his grin. But then he pulled me to him.

"Remember when I said, I was going to show you every day for the rest of our lives how thankful I am for you and how much I appreciate you?" He said, pushing my hair back and holding me with his gaze.

I just shook my head, speechless.

A house. He had to be kidding. But I knew he wasn't. Because he had made good on his promise the last few years. Not that he ever hadn't, but if anything he had been more attentive, more present and lavished us in ways that only he could.

"C'mon. I want to show you." He grabbed my hand.

We walked up the path and he pulled out keys to open the door. Once he opened it and we stepped in, I immediately noticed how light it was and how you could see all the way through to the ocean.

We had kicked around the idea of getting a place in the Hamptons, but I always felt like I couldn't justify doing it when we could just stay at his parents. Though I knew Edward, we, had plenty of money, I had a hard time shaking that budget conscious cop's kid from Brooklyn. But with all of the kids getting older and needing their space and the fact that Ben and Angela often came out too, it got a bit cramped at Carlisle and Esme's.

"I can't believe you did this." I finally said, shaking my head as I stepped in.

It was clearly older but completely updated and renovated. The small foyer gave way to a dining room on one side and a staircase leading up. To the left was a formal living room and to the back the kitchen and a huge family room and sitting room that was designed as a library. The kitchen was gleaming with white cabinets, counters and backsplash and the rest of the home was pale blues, grays and beiges that fit its oceanside location.

As we walked out onto the large deck I couldn't help but smile at the hot tub on one side. As we stepped out further, the deck stepped down to a large patio with the fenced pool on one side and a large fire pit on the other. Then straight out from there the beach and the ocean.

"So how close are we?" I asked as I turned on the patio.

"Half a mile down the beach."

"Walkable." I shook my head.

"Yup." He grinned.

"All right, show me the rest if you have to." I said in mock annoyance. But I had to admit, it was pretty spectacular.

Upstairs were five bedrooms: a master with a private bath, two bedrooms with a jack and jill and another two bedrooms that shared a bath.

"This way, I figured Charlie and Sue and Seth and Leah can come visit as well." He murmured as we looked out at the ocean off the second level of the deck. It was connected to the master.

He put his arms around me as he pulled me against him.

"I thought this way, we might be able to get a little more time away together as well." He whispered in my ear.

He knew he had me, damn conniving former agent that he was.

I wanted to put up a fight, but frankly I wanted him too much right then to care.

"What about all the furnishings? Are those ours as well?"

"Mom helped me pick out a lot of it, but we can replace whatever you don't like."

"Sounds like you've thought of everything." I retorted, wanting him to work for it a bit.

When he spun me around I looked up at his eyes, I saw the concern there.

"Bella…" He murmured, putting his hands on my face. "I want this to be ours. Not my parents place. Alice and Jasper can have that someday. But if you don't like it…"

"It's not that I don't like it. Edward it's beautiful, but do we really need it?"

"Liefje, I have more money than I will ever know what to do with. I want to be able to spend time with you and the kids, while we can. I want to give you the world because you are the world to me. Please let me do that."

And…I melted.

Game. Set. Match.

I shook my head at him, unable to hide the smile taking over my face.

"So can we keep it?" He asked, smirking at me, seeing that I was giving in.

"I guess… but you might have to make it up to me." I said as I kissed his chin. "Multiple times."

"Oh I think I can handle that." He chuckled as his lips met my neck.

Before I could register it, we were through the doors and my back hit the bed. It took him no time at all to strip me out of my clothes. We'd gotten pretty quick at that, trying to sneak in sex with three kids and work and everything else.

I was spread out before him, his eyes almost black as he took me in.

"What?" I asked, wondering why he'd paused.

"Nothing, I'm just a lucky son of a bitch."

"Touché Mr. Cullen." I chuckled and curled my leg around his back, pulling him in. He still looked amazing, ripped muscles, tatted up chest and back. God he was sex on legs.

My hands brought the rest of him to me as our lips met. I tried to slow down, to enjoy it, but I just wanted him so bad.

He was right there, rubbing against me as I shifted my hips. His hands spread up and down my body, covering my tits until he took my nipple in his mouth.

"Fuck." I muttered.

"I know." He rumbled. "Liefje I promise I will take my time with you later, but God I need to be inside you right this second."

"No argument here." I replied as he sunk in.

"Yes." He hissed, stilling for a second to catch his breath.

"Please Edward." I lifted my hips, pulling him deeper as his hands worked me over. We were both riled up from the car ride and earlier, I knew it was going to be quick.

As a parent, I appreciated quick.

Soon he had me flipped around, feet on the floor, hands on the bed as I leaned over it.

"God you were killing me in the car, on the bike, I've wanted fuck you since we left the house." He growled in my ear as his body covered my back, his lips attaching to my neck, sucking, tasting me.

"Yes." I cried out as he hit right there and I fisted the comforter. "Harder."

"Christ Liefje, how does this always get better?"

"I know, I know…" I couldn't speak, I couldn't think. I was so close.

"Right there."

"Yes." His fingers met the rest of him.

"Oh God." I cried out, shuddering and Edward followed soon after. Then we collapsed on the bed.

"Mmmm." Edward lay beside me and pulled me to him. "I think I love this this house already."

I laughed as he brushed my hair over my shoulder and kissed along my neck. Then I hummed and leaned back into him. We never had time to just lay together anymore, to enjoy the afterglow. The cool breeze from the ocean swept over us as Edward told me more about the house.

Friends of his parents were moving to Florida and they got it for a deal because it had been in pretty rough shape. So he bought it six months ago, hoping to have it ready sooner, but then having it ready for my birthday. He'd let Esme and Alice run with it and completely remodeled the home to fit my, our, style. It didn't have a pool or a fire pit before and he'd had all of that put in, including the gate around the pool in case we had little kids over.

He'd thought of everything. I loved that he had even thought of my family.

We'd all grown closer over the last few years, realizing just how short life could be. My father had recently informed the NYPD that he would be retiring at the end of the year. He and Sue were hoping to do some traveling, something he never had the chance to do in his younger years.

Leah had remarried and was doing well in her job at Reycon. She managed an entire team and was thriving both professionally and personally.

Seth and Senna married a year ago. Once he joined ELC he finally had a more normal schedule so that they could see one another. She had also settled into a job at one of the large modeling agencies in the City. They were enjoying newlywed life and being free from many of the demons of their pasts as well.

As were all of our friends and family, Rose and Emmett and their boys were thriving, as were Garrett and Kate and their two kids, and Alice and Jasper and the girls. We were blessed beyond words with the friends and family we were surrounded with.

After a shower and Edward following through on his promise to make it up to me, we decided to go for a ride on the bike all the way down the island.

I put on my black leather pants and a black tank top—the only non-pool attire I'd brought and hopped on the back.

"Goddamn." Edward muttered as I put my arms around him.

"What?" I asked.

"You. Those pants. Are you trying to kill me?" He grumbled.

I laughed, knowing what he thought of these from our first anniversary.

Soon we were on the highway and speeding our way down the island with the wind in our hair. It was early evening, and we planned to park the bike and get some food in Montauk. But for now we were just enjoying the warm end of summer breeze, the views of the beautiful homes and the ocean as we sped along.

Once we parked the bike, I hopped off and put my helmet away. Then I tipped my head over fluffing up my hair.

Edward was watching me and I gave him a smile as he had a funny look on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing it's just…"

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You're so damn beautiful it hurts to look at you sometimes." He said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.

"Thanks." I murmured, I could feel my cheeks heating at his compliment.

"Let's grab dinner to go and then…I want to take you somewhere." Edward said quietly.

"Okay." I shrugged, wondering about his change in demeanor.

We grabbed a couple of beers and sandwiches at a beachside bar and grill. Then we walked hand in hand down the beach until we found a spot near a rock with a great view of the sunset.

"Is this it?" I asked.

He nodded as he tossed out the blanket that he had tucked into the pack on the bike. We sat down to eat and watch the sun dip in the horizon.

I leaned back into him, sipping my beer and just enjoying the view and the feel of his arms around me. We shared each other's sandwiches and just ate in quiet contentment for a few minutes until I finally asked.

"So what did you want to show me?" I turned so I could look at him.

He finished his sandwich and his beer and peered back.

"C'mere." He pulled me up and we walked around the rock to the other side where I saw something scratched in it.

ECC

EAC

"Is that?" I looked closer, making out the initials.

"Yeah, Eric and me." He shrugged.

He had long ago made peace with his brother's death, but it was still touching when he shared something like this with me. I knew it must have been special for him to bring me here.

"When did you do it?" I asked as I squeezed his hand.

"He was 18, I was 17." He looked up, likely lost in the memory.

But there was more, I could tell. Edward was, as Emmett told me years ago, the most complicated man I had ever met. And if anyone knew that, I did. So there was a reason for him bringing me to this place.

"It means a lot to you." I finally whispered, pulling him back.

His eyes met mine and he looked at me, really looked at me, as he sometimes did. It was like he was undoing a puzzle and then putting it all back together in his head.

Then he pulled me to him and put his arms around me as his eyes danced across my face.

"I remember…" He started, but paused for a moment.

"Yeah?"

"This was one of his favorite spots. He would come here when he needed to think or talk. And he wasn't always the most emotional about girls, but he had just broken up with a girl he really liked. Actually she broke up with him." He closed his eyes thinking for a moment, but I waited for him to continue.

"We drove all the way down here to get away and somehow ended up out here skipping rocks as he vented. Though he wasn't always the most sentimental we got to talking about what we wanted in a woman, in a partner, in life, though we were just teenagers." A small smile graced his face as he was lost in the memory.

I studied him as he thought for a moment, waiting for what came next. He glanced at the horizon and then back at me.

"I wish he could have had what we have. I wish he could have met you. Because when I told him what I wanted that night, it doesn't even compare."

Tears welled in my eyes and my heart pounded in my chest.

"Edward." I whispered. Just pulling him closer to me so that there wasn't even a millimeter between us.

"I'd told him that I wanted someone strong and independent. Someone who was kind but could still have fun and not be too serious. I didn't want a clingy girl, but I wanted a girl who was there for me all the same. And obviously someone hot." He chuckled, thinking back on his teenage self almost thirty years later.

"But I found more than that." He murmured.

I shook my head, not knowing what to say.

"You know that Led Zeppelin song, Ramble On?" He said then, taking in me in what I thought was an entirely new direction.

"Yeah?" I shook my head at him, unsure where he was going with this.

"Well it's kind of fitting; like us, like me."

I thought about the words for a moment and then peered back at him.

"You've gone around the world to find your girl?" I knew the song but I was a bit puzzled by his reference.

He smiled and tipped my head up with his fingertips. "I rambled on all over the world, never wanting to stay, never being tied to anyone, for over ten years. Not knowing it, but looking for the queen of my dreams." He murmured.

"And I found you. You're the queen of my dreams."

My breath caught in my throat and the tears started to spill over this time, but he continued.

"Remember that first night we really spent together, in Alice's kitchen." I nodded not sure I could speak anyhow.

"That was it for me. I remember thinking, 'how could she have so much in common with me'. You knocked me off my axis. You brought me into the light. How I'd described my perfect girl to Eric, she was you. Yet you are so much better, so much more than I could have imagined. Like I told you before I left for Spain, I loved you before forever." He paused for a moment.

"Yet even that idea, that light that drew me out, doesn't even come close to what I found. But somewhere in my subconscious—even though I was drowning in my grief and vengeance—it was that idea. That part of me was pulling me back. I think that part of me was being pulled to you."

The tears were just streaming down my face now and I didn't even care. I just kissed him, threading my fingers in his hair as he did the same and deepened the kiss.

Finally when we pulled back, out of breath, his green eyes were almost black with want. But they still shone tenderly as he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I wasn't whole until I found you. I wasn't living until you walked into my life."

"Thank you. I love you so much, but I don't think I have told you enough just how much you have brought me back. I feel like I owe it to him to live a good life, to enjoy and relish in the things that he never had the chance to have. And you've made that happen." He stated as his lips met mine again and he crushed me to him.

His strong arms surrounded me and he pulled me into him with a fierceness I hadn't felt since after his mission. I loved him with every fiber of my being and I wanted to show him, tell him, just that as well.

I wrapped my arms around him and held him as tight as possible as I whispered in his ear.

"I love you Edward Cullen. And I will never stop. You're more than I could have ever imagined as well, as a partner, as a father, as a best friend. I'm pretty sure you knocked me off my axis that day at Gray's and again at the Met…my Apollo." I turned and smiled at him through my tears and he smiled back lovingly as he brushed them away.

Suddenly a dog barked near us on the beach, breaking us out of our bubble. The moment passing, but one I would remember forever, just as the others.

The first time I saw him at Gray's. Our meeting at the Met. At the Apollo Theater. At the hospital after I was kidnapped. On our wedding day. At the helipad. When I saw him after we emerged from the water and after the takedown. When I told him I was pregnant with all three of our kids and every moment in between.

He was my earth that grounded me, but he was also my fire that made me burn, and my wind that made me fly.

And I was ready to fly.

"What do you say we go back to our house and get in that hot tub and you can continue making it up to me?" I said lowly as he traced his fingers down my face.

"Now that sounds amazing." He said and kissed me hard, one more time for good measure.

I would remember this birthday forever. But I was ready to get on with living.

And I knew he felt the same.

He spun around and I laughed at his hurriedness and his turn to more lighthearted behavior. He rushed us back to the bike and we packed up and I straddled the back. My legs were around his as my arms wrapped tightly around his stomach as he revved the engine.

Soon we were pulling back on the highway and coasting to our destination. The sun now low in the sky and the wind whipping past us.

Ready to move on with our night, with our life, with living, together.

*&^%$#

~The End~

*ELC- Named after the kids- Eric/Luciana/Charlotte

A/N: I really don't know what to say about the end of this one. I had a very clear vision of having them ride off into the sunset, and so they did. But I think it also had to have some Zeppelin, it had to come back to his brother a bit, and it had to show just how complex this whole story has been including their love for one another, and all that they have been through. I hope it did. It was very hard to say to good-bye to them.

Thank you for reading, thank you for those who have reviewed, and thank you for being a part of this ride that has been almost ten years in the making.

As for whether this will be published (Covert Redemption- possibly split into two parts and The Last Mission). It will. It will. I just need to take time and reevaluate how to do it. But frankly it's on my resolution list. So, hopefully, it will happen soon.

Until then, there may be more one-shots or other stories. We'll see what hits me out of the blue. But I do have a couple of other ideas I've been kicking around for a while.

jamesandginge on twitter

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A. Jameson on Amazon and Smashwords.

Thank you all so much for reading and for your wonderful reviews.

~AMJ