A/N: Before we dive into the epilogue to this story, I'd like to thank you all for the massive response to this little story of mine. After being MIA for so long in FicsVille, it's been a heartwarming experience for me to be welcomed back in this way. I loved every moment of working on this story. I hope you have enjoyed reading it too.

I also must thank my muse who is one of the strongest human beings I've come in contact with through this amazing fandom. I hope I did justice to your own experience in this story you inspired. I love you … so much … and all without Gingerbread. ;)

A big hug with sloppy kisses goes to my beta and one of my closest friends in the fandom and in real life, Ashmerlin. I seriously lucked out when I met you. I love you beyond I can express with my erroneous words.

Now, shall we say a proper goodbye to the Cullen family? Just for clarification, this takes place one year after Edward's return from his tour of duty.

Chapter-13: BPOV

Christmas Morning, 2019

As I'm checking on the turkey and putting finishing touches on our very traditional first proper Christmas dinner, I feel two strong arms wrap around me from behind. Then a stubbly kiss is pressed on the side of my neck. "Merry Christmas, love," his slightly sleep-roughened voice whispers against my skin.

I suppress a giggle at the tickly feeling of his unshaven jaw against my skin and say solemnly, "Nice of you to join me, Sarge. I was under the impression you wanted to go halfsies on the Christmas prep this year since we didn't have much time to do that last time."

He chuckles, the vibrations reminding me of the wonderful things they did to my skin the night before. "What can I say, Mrs. Cullen? You wore me out." I can practically hear the cheeky smile in his voice.

Closing the oven door with a little extra bend in my hips, I turn to face him. "Was I too much for you, Soldier Man?" I tease.

His eyes narrow at my little maneuver. "I know what you're doing there," he says as he slips his hands past my hips to grab me and pull me flush to his body, letting me feel just how unexhausted he is after our previous night's activities.

He moves his head to kiss on my earlobe and whispers, "I'm so glad Lily sleeps a lot longer in the nights now. Or I wouldn't have been able to do ..."

I am about to respond to his ministrations in kind when the doorbell rings. He groans, muffling the sound against my shoulder, making me giggle. "Looks like we have our first round of guests already," I say delightedly even though a tiny part of me wishes we could spend a few more minutes in getting lost in each other.

With a happy smile, I push him to go and greet his sister; after all we have all the time in the world for each other.

Christmas dinner turns into a ruckus affair once Edward's old comrade Jacob arrives with his fiancée, Leah. Jacob, or Jake, as he insists we call him, went back for his second tour after Edward got stationed to the base here. Unfortunately, Jake had to be sent home after losing his leg in the line of duty.

Although Edward never tells me about the extent of danger he was in while on tour, deep down, I know how much he risked by going there to make sure the rest of the world slept in peace. Having lost my father to his job, everyday I appreciate having my husband come home to me.

As I am pulling out the fruitcake I made for dessert, Lily wobbles into the kitchen. She reaches for the plate of cookies I have hidden from her father's eyes for a late night snack and offers me a gummy smile.

"That's not for you, little lady," I admonish booping her on the nose to make her giggle. "That's for your daddy."

"Dadda," she repeats happily.

I nod. "Yes, wanna give that to Dadda now?"

She offers me another gummy smile and after picking up a cookie, ambles off in the general direction of the dining table.

Unfortunately, her little arm must get tired from carrying the cookie and instead of walking all the way to the head of the table where Edward is seated, she hands it to the person closest to the kitchen who happens to be Jacob Black.

"What's this, Ms. Lily?" Jacob says to her, happily accepting the treat. "A gingerbread cookie?"

"What?" Edward looks shell-shocked as he stares open-mouthed at the cookie in Jacob's hand.

Jacob grins at him, showing his teeth as he sits back in utter contentment. "Look at that, Sarge, your baby girl is giving me gingerbread."

Edward huffs. "Pipe down, Black. So she's a kind hostess. Helping her dad feed the guests."

Although Jacob smirks at him, he doesn't say anything else. I think I hear him mutter under his breath something that sound like, "Thought you didn't believe me, Sarge?" just as he's walking out the door, but I cannot be sure.

Once Rose and Emmett leave the house with a constantly prattling Evie, Edward and I pretty much collapse on the couch. He pats his tummy and grins at me. "That was quite a feast, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you."

I laugh. "I had to look up most of the recipes on the internet so it could've easily been a disaster. You got lucky."

He picks my hand up in his and brings it to his lips. "I'm the luckiest man in the planet, baby. Do you know it's the first real Christmas I've had since my parents passed away? With my own family?"

I place my hand on his cheek and smile up at him. "It was the same for me, Edward. After my dad ... " I shake my head. "Nothing was the same again."

He's silent for a moment before he lifts his eyes to mine. "Bella? Do you want to go to Florida?"

My eyebrows pull together in confusion. "Are you being transferred?"

Shaking his head, he says, "No, no, I just … I just think you should have a chat with your mother. She deserves to know how much she hurt you growing up. I want you to have the chance to let her know that despite everything she put you through, you've grown into his amazing person."

A wistful smile comes to my face as I squeeze his hand. "I get where you're coming from, Edward, but you know what? I don't want to. I have made my peace with whatever happened in my past. Yes, she was a horrible mother, and yes, she deserves to be ashamed of her deeds, but I don't want her to even breathe the same air as my Lily."

He opens his mouth to speak, but I soldier on. "Yes, she used to be a part of my family, but not anymore, Edward. You and Lily are my family now. You are everything I need."

His arms come to wrap me in a hug as he presses a kiss to my temple. "The feeling is mutual, baby."

Needing to dispel the despondent mood around us, I ask, "What happened with the gingerbread cookie, by the way?"

His face darkens and his lips pull together in an adorable little pout as he tells me about some myth how gingerbread cookies can make someone fall in love with them. "And my daughter isn't allowed to give cookies to anyone but her Dadda until she's 40!" he finishes with a grumble.

I can't help but giggle. "Who told you that ridiculous story anyway?"

"Black," he grouches. "He brought a package of cookies for Leah and you can see where that landed him!"

Laughing at the absurdity of the situation, I tell him, "Just so you know, Leah has always had a thing for Jacob. She told me so when I first met her. She was just stringing him along to make him do crazy love-sick stuff like that." As I say that, my mind goes back to the day Edward had come back home from his tour.

"Wait a minute!" I grab his hand and narrow my eyes at him. "You brought me gingerbread cookies when you got home."

"I did?"

When I don't respond to his horrible attempt at denial, he smiles sheepishly, the tips of his ears turning red. "I uh ..."

"Yes?" I prompt him.

"You never told me you loved me the whole time I was away and I just stupidly thought that it couldn't hurt to try this."

When he finishes, his eyes are downcast and the blush starts to spread to his cheeks, and my heart just swells with the love I feel for this man.

"They worked too, you know ..." he starts to say defiantly when I thread my fingers through the hair at the back of his head and pull his lips to mine.

I kiss him hard, pouring out every ounce of love my fragile heart can hold, and then I kiss him slow, letting him know that I cherish his love for me.

As I start to pull back from him, he holds my face in his hands and drops butterfly kisses all over my face. Then he grins at me. "See? Gingerbread magic, baby!"

Laughing at the excited gleam in his eyes, I take his hand and pull him to the kitchen with me, leading him straight to where the tray filled with the fabled Gingerbread cookies rests. "I wonder what would this many cookies bring me then?"

Chuckling, he picks me up in his arms and kisses me softly. "A lifetime worth of Gingerbread love," he responds and then carries to off to our room where he proceeds to express his love for me again and again.

The End

A/N: And that's a wrap, everyone.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. Please share your thoughts with me and leave a review?

A quick note about a future venture: I am currently reworking one of my very first fics, Change My Mind. It was flagged as having MA content so I had to take it down from FFn (the MA version is still available of STARS, Fictionpad and Wattpad … for now). I decided to completely rework the story and turn it into a drabble/flash fic. Hopefully, the reworked version will start posting on New Year's Day. Meanwhile, feel free to read the original version on other outlets. Also, my original fiction stories are posted on Wattpad so if you are looking for something to read, you can check those out (I'm TwiAddictAnne everywhere). To those of you looking for book recs to read in this holiday season, you can check out my book reviews on my wordpress blog ScribblerAlliance.

That's all for now.

See you soon with a new story.

Till then, stay healthy and happy.

Lots of love,

Ann