A/N... Here it is, the last chapter of Fate Interrupted. This fic came with a few stumbles along the way. There was one point where I was afraid I'd have to put it on hiatus, but luckily, I was able to push through.

There were a few canon points I wanted to touch on – a different approach to some of the same things we are used to seeing concerning Twilight – and I hope I got them right. According to JenRar, this needs a TISSUE WARNING. I may have agreed with her, but I tend to shed a tear or two when I complete a fic. But I thought I'd pass on the warning anyway.

~oOo~

Chapter 10: Epilogue

EPOV

"So wait!" Bella gushed, falling down on the bed on her stomach in front of me. "You believe that whole 'Grassy Knoll' thing from JFK's assassination? That it wasn't just Oswald?"

I grinned because she was absolutely adorable when she wanted to know something. I shrugged, saying simply, "I just never bought the 'magic bullet' scenario. I wanted to travel to D.C. the day after. You know, to hear Lyndon Johnson's thoughts at the White House, but Aro sent me to China for some shit."

"Damn!" Bella groaned, rolling over so that her head was in my lap. My fingers immediately sank into her hair as she mused, "How cool would it be to know?"

"It's not like I could tell anyone," I chuckled, "nor would they have believed me."

"Yeah, but still...just to know..." Her voice trailed off as she fiddled with the buttons of my shirt.

My sweet girl just couldn't hear enough history. Or really, my history and where I was when certain things happened – 9/11, JFK, MLK Jr., Pearl Harbor. She also couldn't hear enough about the monsters I'd sought out throughout my life – serial killers, abusers of women and children, cult leaders. The latter had led to a long explanation about Waco, Texas, and David Koresh.

The Branch Davidians just happened to go all to hell when I was down in the south investigating Maria for what seemed like the hundredth time. I'd heard mental rumblings of missing women and children, of family members who had lost contact, and of a man that thought he was a god. It would've been a sweet, sweet kill had I been able to get into the compound. I had no doubt that I would've succeeded, but the ATF attacked that very next day, and the aftermath had been devastating. Koresh had taken all his faithful followers with him. The evil bastard.

What had first started out as conversations that made me uncomfortable slowly became cathartic – a confession, of sorts. Revealing the dark corners of my past – the stalk, the hunt, the kill of evil humans – began to make me feel lighter, like I was no longer carrying the heaviest of loads. Bella's opinion meant everything to me, so when she didn't look at me like I was this hideous creature but merely moved on to the next and the next and the next, then I started to see a different aspect of it all. It was just...me. It was just what I'd done to survive. And Bella never batted an eye; she'd just kiss me, run her fingers through my hair, and smile the sweetest, most heartbreaking smile, only to ask another question.

I glanced around the room we'd been sharing for the last few months. It was decorated in calm blues, soothing greens, and natural woods. Esme had taken everything that she knew about Bella and me and meshed it into one single large room. Books, music, movies, and pictures lined the really big bookcase, surrounding a rather expensive stereo. The TV wasn't very big, at least in comparison to the one downstairs, but it was there when we just wanted to escape into something together. Light from a bright moon trickled in from the large windows, highlighting Bella's favorite place to read – the window seat. But the view outside was really beautiful. The peaks of the mountains could be seen barely peeking above the trees that encroached the backyard. In the daytime, the leaves were already starting to lose their green and drift into reds, oranges, and yellows. October was bringing the cooler weather of fall quickly.

My eyes fell to our school books tossed to the side. We were supposed to be studying, not that we really needed it, but we still needed to at least read the text for the test tomorrow, and we had a few papers due. How we'd gotten off Roosevelt and onto the assassination of JFK was a mystery, but it happened more times than not.

School was tedious, monotonous, and annoying, but walking around in town, shopping, going to movies, and doing things in the daytime that I hadn't done in decades was rewarding. It had taken some getting used to, a few skipped classes, but I was adjusting to this way of life. I found that I liked it, but I liked it because I wasn't going through it alone.

As if she could read my mind, small fingers pulled on my neck so that I was gazing down into warm, golden eyes. She was biting at her bottom lip as she smiled up at me, though I had no idea what she was thinking.

"What about Area 51?" she asked conspiratorially with a giggle.

Laughing, I tossed her to the head of the bed, bracing myself over her. "Enough, sweet girl," I chuckled, holding her down with my weight, not that she was really fighting me. "I don't know a single thing about aliens."

Bella squealed into laughter, writhing under my tickling fingers. Fuck, I lived for that sound. The look of pure happiness as her nose wrinkled, her head fell back to the pillows, and her fingers fought me was just everything to me. It radiated out of our room and into the rest of the house. Chuckles from the rest of the family met my ears, along with thoughts of just pure joy. They fed off of it, reveled in it. To me, it sounded like music, like a symphony perfected. It was trilling notes, grand crescendos, and dramatic pauses.

Grasping her wrists, I pinned them above her head with one hand while the other cupped her face. As I gazed down at her, a melody swirled around in my mind, making me nuzzle her nose with my own, up one side and down the other, as her laughter settled down. Her strong legs wrapped around my hips, holding me close and firm against her. Suddenly, I was rendered incoherent.

"You're so beautiful," I whispered, my brow furrowing at the honest truth of it...and at the fleeting notes that were running through my mind. I tried frantically to keep ahold of them, but they were gone just as quickly as they came. "We have homework, Bella," I chuckled, grazing my lips across hers.

"'Kay," she sighed, but she made no movement to get up or stop kissing me. In fact, the electricity between us kicked up, especially when she felt me grow hard against her stomach at the pull between us. "Edward..." Her voice was desperate, pleading.

"I know, love," I groaned, dropping my forehead to hers. "I feel it, too."

It was absolutely impossible to fight, that feeling of wanting to consume each other. It was a tidal wave of emotion, want, and need. It was like a giant magnet was slamming us together. The feeling made everything else around us insignificant, fading into the mundane background. And it happened all the time – school, the mall, the middle of the movie theater, even the hunt. Especially the hunt. More than once had we lost ourselves in an alleyway, a public restroom, a darkened forest, or even an abandoned teachers' lounge. We were powerless against it. It would be unnerving if it wasn't so fucking good and honest and pure.

"Edward, baby," she whimpered, capturing my lips in a searing kiss, only to pull away needlessly breathless. "Don't stop... Please?"

I shook my head, giving in completely because to back away from her now, despite who was in the house, what papers needed to be written, or just how close dawn was approaching, would physically tear me in two. It would wreck me to stop touching, kissing, grinding. I needed her more than air, more than blood.

I couldn't find it in me to be apologetic to the rest of the house when fingers ripped and tore at clothes, when skin finally met skin, and when the sigh of perfect contentment ghosted across my face when I sank as deeply as I could into my mate.

~oOo~

"You can't go to school, Edward," Alice stated, her eyes glazed over, but her vision stopped me short. "Not today...or tomorrow... In fact, you might as well stay out for the Thanksgiving holidays starting now."

I watched in awe as my own face turned from a blending-in student to a black-eyed predator. My prey seemed to be the substitute teacher at the front of the Social Studies classroom – a small, wisp of a man, wearing a sweater vest and glasses. But it was the oscillating fan at the doorway that caught my attention.

"He'll wreck you," Alice said, her eyes clear again. "His scent is too strong."

"Even with my shield?" Bella asked, linking our fingers together as we stood in the living room.

"I've tried every scenario, but eventually, Edward smells him. It's just too strong. And I'm not sure the sub is a decent fellow, so you'll just have to avoid school until next week when Mrs. Bryant returns," she explained, shrugging a shoulder.

"Hmm, better safe than sorry, son," Carlisle said from the staircase. He was leaning in his office doorway. "Don't take the chance. You and Bella can stay home. I'll call the school to excuse you both. And since you'll be home, I'd like to spend some time with you today."

"Okay," I agreed, looking back to Bella, who shrugged. "Guess we're not going." I grinned at the scoffs and groans from our siblings as they made their way out to the garage.

"Excellent. Bella can help me decorate," Esme gushed, beaming like she'd been handed the best of gifts.

"Apparently, Esme has volunteered our house for some Thanksgiving charity thing for the kids at the hospital," I muttered, grinning and ducking Esme's ruffle to my hair.

"The proceeds will bring Christmas to the long-term care patients," she finished with a huff, but she was proud that she was able to help in some way. "Bella, we'll need to hit a few stores first. And I'm thinking of using the real leaves from our own yard..."

I chuckled at Bella's shocked expression, but her mind was willing to give in to anything Esme asked for, so with quick kisses, they left Carlisle and me alone in the house.

Sitting down in the chair across from his desk, I looked up at him expectantly because he was blocking his thoughts from me. Instead, he was naming every bone in the human body in order from head to toe...in Latin.

"I hope you don't mind my stepping in, son," he started, leaning back in his desk chair. "It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to what Alice was predicting."

"No, it's fine," I said, shrugging a shoulder. "I trust you both."

"It's not the most ideal conditions, I know, but I wanted to know if school was going okay for you."

His thoughts were still blocked from me, and I respected that because everyone in the house had learned quickly that nothing around me was private. No matter how hard I tried to leave them to their own thoughts, I wasn't always successful, and Bella couldn't shield me every moment of the day. Pranks, surprises for mates, sexual fantasies, and even patient information all came to me. Whereas Alice saw decisions for a few of those things, I saw everything – whether I wanted to or not. The only one in the house that could avoid me was Bella, but she rarely did – a thought that made me smile.

"It's..." I paused, trying to figure out the best way to put it. "It works for what we want," I finally stated. "It helps with my control, especially knowing I'm not alone. It's harmless, really, but I do all right. If things get touchy, then Bella's shield helps, though just having her near me calms the minds in my head."

Carlisle nodded because he knew these things. "Are you comfortable, happy to be back with us, Edward?"

I frowned at the question. "Yes, of course." I opened my mouth to say something, only to snap it closed, but I blurted it out anyway. "I'm not leaving again, Carlisle. I could never. I would've come back..."

He stopped me, holding up a hand. "I know. I just want to make sure, son. That's all. This is quite the transition for you."

"It wouldn't be had I not made mistakes," I sighed, folding my arms across my chest. "This would've been my life all along."

"Maybe." He chuckled, and his thoughts crept through for just a moment, showing me a few flashes of the past decade or so. "You know what they say: hindsight is twenty-twenty. Perhaps things would've been the same, or they might've been completely different."

"The Butterfly Effect?" I snickered but nodded at his soft laugh. "Yeah, maybe."

"What about Bella?" he asked, and my gazed snapped to his.

"What about her?"

"Have you talked to her about what happened on that battle field?" he asked, his face filled with concern.

"She hasn't been able to do it again," I told him, shaking my head a little. "She's gained more control over her shield, but that... She's convinced that disappearing thing was a one-time occurrence. No matter how much I've pushed her, or Jasper's pushed her, she hasn't been able to recreate it." I sighed, looking up at him. "My theory is that her fear of something happening to the two of us was too much for her to contain. You and I mean too much to her."

I smiled at the warm expression that came over his face, not to mention his thoughts that turned to meeting her for the first time. I couldn't help but chuckle at him.

He laughed, shrugging a shoulder, and said, "She loves so effortlessly. I worried about that part of her personality coming through her change, but it did – stronger, I believe."

"She does. It's beautiful, really," I sighed, rolling my eyes when he laughed at me.

"Did Alice ruin your proposal?" he asked, switching gears slightly.

"No," I said through a barking laugh. "Well, yeah, but not really. I mean, we'd already discussed it, Bella and me, but it wasn't...official. Maybe that's why Alice thought she could blurt it out."

"Are you still planning to ask her?" he asked, and I nodded in answer. "When?"

"Soon. Why?" My brow wrinkled at this line of questioning because he was already back to guarding his thoughts.

"Because I have something for you," he said softly, opening the middle drawer of his desk. He pulled out a small, black silk bag and set it in front of me at the edge of the desk. "I had to send for this. Some of your things I was able to hold on to, but others, I had safely stored. This was one of them."

Reaching up, I took the bag, giving him one last glance. He was nervous, I could tell, because he sat forward, tenting his fingers in front of his face. I opened the bag, tipping it over onto my hand. My breath caught as diamonds – familiar diamonds – gleamed in the lights from over head. My hand shook as I took in my mother's ring that I hadn't set eyes on in over a hundred years because I hadn't been able to stomach looking at it. It had been too much of my past to see with new eyes back then.

Swallowing a lump that had formed in my throat, I simply asked, "How?"

"When you left, you didn't take much with you," he started to explain. "You'd asked me to watch over it, so after a few moves, I worried it would get lost in the shuffle – or worst-case scenario, get left behind in an emergency. Esme placed it in a safety deposit box in Chicago, along with some items that she wanted to hold onto. When we moved here, I made arrangements for those things to be sent to me."

I rubbed a thumb across the band, remembering it on my mother's finger. It would be considered antique by today's standards but still very beautiful and very intricate. I imagined it on Bella's hand, and my breath caught at just how perfect it would be.

"I know you wanted it back then, Edward, but you couldn't look at it. I thought maybe you'd want to at least have the option of passing it on." His voice was soft, compassionate.

Something deep inside of me unwound, unraveling like tight cords had been around my chest, and it made my breath hitch. "Thank you," I whispered, blinking up at him. "You didn't have to..."

"You're my son, Edward...in all but blood. I would've done it even if you hadn't asked me," he said firmly yet softly. "It's important that you remember where you came from."

I nodded, unable to speak for a moment, so I busied myself with one last gaze and touch of the ring, only to store it back in its bag.

"You didn't want this life," he sighed, looking forlorn as his eyes focused on the top of his desk, "but I couldn't not do what Elizabeth asked of me."

"I want it now, Carlisle," I all but yelled, wincing at my rudeness. "Had you not changed me...there would be no Bella..." God, it was really that fucking simple. I saw it all now. "She was worth all of it. I'll never be able to thank you for having faith...when I didn't."

He smiled, and we stood up at the same time. I tucked the little silken bag into my jeans pocket at the same time he squeezed my shoulder.

Waiting until I finally looked back at him, he said, "You never have to thank me, Edward. I changed you because I wanted to. I changed Bella because my entire family would've fallen apart without her. Seeing you two together is thank you enough. Understand?"

His eyes were fierce, his voice almost harsh, and I knew he meant every word. He was telling me that he never wanted to hear it. He didn't want thanks; he merely wanted us to flourish. He wanted his family complete, whole, and surrounding him every day because it was the one thing he regretted out of his immortality – the ability to have children.

"Yes, Father," I whispered with a nod.

He smiled, squeezed my shoulder one more time, and sighed, rolling his eyes. "Okay, so why don't you help me gather up some leaves for Esme's wreaths. Help me out, will you?"

Grinning, I nodded, smacking his chest with the back of my hand. "Yeah, yeah...I saw in her mind what she wanted. Let's go."

He sagged in relief as we walked down stairs. "Thank God, because I wasn't sure what the hell she was going on about." Just before we stepped out the back door, he stopped me. "Oh! And when you do ask Bella...come see me. I know the perfect place for the honeymoon."

Chuckling, I rubbed the outside of my jeans pocket just to make sure the ring was still there. "Yes, sir."

~oOo~

BPOV

"I really fucking hate gym," I growled low, falling into my chair at the lunch table. "Hate. It."

"Right. The uniforms are ugly, and the locker room stinks," Alice agreed, but stopped when I rolled my eyes her way. "What?"

"Hilary Dean again?" Rose asked, smirking from across the table and playing with a candy cane. They were everywhere since it was the first day back from Thanksgiving break.

"Yes," I hissed. "Is there some sort of high school requirement to enroll sexually-promiscuous, extremely spoiled, narcissistic, rich bitches with friends just as shallow and mean as their Alpha leader?"

Emmett snorted into a laugh, his head falling back. Jasper's gaze traveled slowly across the lunch room, but his lazy, crooked smile was never going to be hidden.

"You spent way too much time with Jake in Forks before your change." Rose chuckled, shaking her head. "But it does seem that there is one at every school," she mused.

"I'd just really, really like to kick the soccer ball straight at her face...on a rainy day...with mud...maybe worms...with my real strength," I grumped, folding my arms across my chest as my siblings cracked up again. "She's so fucking mean to everyone that isn't sitting at that table," I pointed out. "Oh, and here...there's this, too."

The doors opened to the lunch room, and in walked Edward. He'd stopped off at our locker to trade out books for the next class, telling me to go on ahead. Hilary and her friends all went silent and ogled him as he walked by, despite how he rolled his eyes at them, ignoring them completely as he made his way to our table.

Faces scowled when a sweet kiss was dropped to my forehead before he sat down. It was no secret that most of the girls sitting at the table had crushes on Edward, Emmett, and Jasper – like they were a fucking boy band or some shit.

"Who'd she pick on today, love?" he asked with a sigh but a rather amused smile on his face.

"Poor little Janie Cooper," I murmured, pointing to the girl that was sitting with a few friends, though she was looking rather distraught. "Something about her sneakers and her hair cut. I don't fucking get it. She accused her of liking girls."

"There's a Lauren Mallory at every school, isn't there?" Alice asked with a giggle, laughing harder when I flipped her off.

"Bella," Edward chided with a chuckle, taking my bird-flipping hand into his and linking our fingers together. "Who's Lauren Mallory?"

"When Bella first moved to Forks," Rose started, chuckling when I scoffed, "Lauren hated her. Every boy in school was drooling over the new girl, and Lauren and her friend Jessica were jealous of the attention. They gave her hell the first few weeks."

I tsked, rolling my eyes, but leaned into another kiss from Edward to my head. It was true, though. Until Alice and I became friends, Lauren had made it her life's mission to make me miserable. Lauren hated me even more once all of the Cullens befriended me, but she was too chicken to act on it after that.

"My poor, sweet girl," he crooned in my ear. "Want to know what Hilary really thinks?"

My eyes narrowed on him, and I switched to thoughts. If you spout how many sexual positions she's imagined you in, Edward Cullen, you're in a heap of trouble.

He huffed a laughed but shook his head. "There is that, but no...that wasn't what I was going to say."

"Are there real thoughts inside that head of hers?" I asked, smirking when our siblings chuckled. "I mean, besides the fact that she wants a Porsche for Christmas?"

Edward pretended to think about it and shrugged. "Sort of? I mean, she's like a clear, shallow puddle on the street. You can see straight down to the dirty and ugly." He grinned when my eyebrows shot up. "She's extremely jealous of this table. The whole table. She used to be a part of the envied group – she was wanted – but now, everyone around her talks about us, how...umm, exclusive we seem to be. We've...how do I put it? Stolen her thunder. And it doesn't help that we intimidate her to the point of silence. That's never happened to her before." He shook his head at the whispers that still made it to our ears, and I could only imagine what the thoughts consisted of. "So with everyone we're nice to, she has to point out their...shortcomings." He paused for a moment, his nose wrinkling. "Oh, and Janie does like girls. She has a crush on Rose," he stated out of the blue, gesturing to our sister.

"Oh, damn," I muttered but glanced over at Jasper and Emmett, who were practically howling with laughter.

"Dude, where the fuck have you been?" Emmett guffawed, shaking his head. "You totally make this shit worth coming to school."

"Exactly," Jasper chuckled. "It's far more entertaining."

Edward waved them off, rolling his eyes. "I have to listen occasionally. I have to make sure they only see the facade we're giving them."

Alice nodded like she understood, which she probably did. What used to lay on her shoulders alone now rested on the both of them. It seemed easier, though I couldn't imagine the things they saw in the minds of teens, not to mention a few teachers.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. As we fought the crowd leaving the lunchroom, I sighed contentedly, thinking Emmett was right; this experience was far better with Edward with us. He fit in perfectly, but he had become my sounding board, my secret keeper, and my best friend, right along with being the love of my existence. The family split up as we made it to the courtyard, but Edward wrapped a loving arm around me, bending to my ear.

"Love you, sweet girl," he whispered. "Skip the last class with me," he all but commanded, shooting me a sexy wink when I spun my gaze up to his.

Giggling, I asked, "Love you, too. Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here," he stated, still wearing that smug, crooked grin.

I stood up on my toes, kissed his lips, and nodded. "Yeah."

Something was different with Edward. I'd noticed in the last few days that he was more relaxed, not as easily rattled at school, by our siblings, or even with his own struggling diet. Well, he thought he was struggling; the rest of us were in awe that he maintained as well as he did. I supposed it went back to what Rose had said – that once he focused on something, he was pretty damn determined to perfect it.

"Good," he murmured against my mouth, his arm tightening around my waist. "I want you all to myself," he admitted.

Once the last class signaled, we found ourselves in the car just driving. Edward stated that he promised the others that we'd be back at the end of the school day, but he only wanted out for a while. Despite the dreary day, we ended up at a local park just outside of the preserve, making out on a bench. It was deep, soulful kisses and heavy, gripping hands, but nothing more than that. And I loved every second of it because with that came declarations of unending love, purrs of happiness, and rumbling sexy compliments of how beautiful he thought I was.

By the time we pulled back into the school, I'd forgotten just how cranky I'd been at stupid school girls. My skin was still tingling from his touch all over, my lips still tasted of him, and I was pretty sure that if I were still human, my neck would have been covered in hickeys. But I felt calmer, loved, and distracted.

Edward chuckled, picking up my hand and kissing the inside of my wrist. "Good, then my job here is done."

Grinning over at him, I was pretty damn sure that I fell in love with him all over again.

Two days later, we found ourselves trapped at home on a sunny day. The family was restless but otherwise keeping to their own rooms. Even poor Carlisle was stuck home because Alice said he couldn't risk being seen getting from his car to the hospital. The sun was too bright bouncing off the newly-fallen snow.

Esme and I were in the living room with the Christmas tree the boys had just cut that morning while out destroying each other in a snowball fight, and a sound I'd never heard came wafting in from the back of the house. It was Edward's piano.

Esme gasped, locking eyes with me, her hand over her mouth. I could see that if she could shed tears, they'd have been coursing down her cheeks. It seemed the two of us were afraid to breathe in order not to dispel the magic of the moment. What started as tentative scales and nervous notes eventually billowed out into the most stunning melodies and chords I'd ever heard.

"I have to see that," I said, but my voice barely made a sound. We both glanced up when Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett quietly peeked over the railing from upstairs. It was Alice my eyes fell to because she was wearing the sweetest, most-secretive smile I'd ever seen.

"We're going hunting," she stated softly. "All of us," she reiterated, giving Esme a pointed look.

They filed out the front door quietly with Carlisle not far behind them, but Esme gripped my hand, tugging me toward the source of the music. A classical song that I couldn't have named blended into a song that didn't sound familiar at all, but Esme recognized it. Her intake of breath, her trembling chin, and her shaky hand in mine told me that Edward was playing just for her.

Leaning in the doorway of the library, I wasn't sure I'd ever seen anything so damned beautiful. I'd seen Edward dressed up, completely unclothed, and seen him fight enemies like an avenging angel, but never was his face that stunning. Every bit of his hundred years faded away from the hard edge of his eyes and the tension in his shoulders – something that had slowly started to ebb away but could still be seen occasionally. It left him relaxed, appearing so very young and sweet...and quite vulnerable, if I were to be honest. His hair stuck up in a million different directions, telling me that he'd stressed the hell out before he sat down to play. He was in dark jeans, a black t-shirt, but his bare feet pressed the pedals underneath the piano.

Edward tensed when the last note of the song echoed through the room because Esme rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him. She spoke quickly and quietly to him, most likely using her thoughts to communicate to him more than anything, and he only nodded. The only words I caught were, "Thank you," and "I love you."

She silently said one more thing to him, dropping a kiss to the top of his messy head, and he murmured, "Yes, of course," as a slow, tentative smile crept up his face.

As Esme passed me to leave, she giggled, shooting me a wink. "If you can get him to do it, he plays Christmas carols beautifully," she teased, casting a glance over her shoulder before walking out the front door.

He huffed a small laugh but merely shook his head. What I'd noticed was that he hadn't met my eyes yet, but I'd also shielded my thoughts from him. It seemed we were both nervous, but why, I wasn't quite sure. For me, I knew what his playing meant. He'd finally found his niche, his place, his comfort level, and that meant the world to me.

"You made her very happy, Edward," I said softly, not moving from my spot at the door.

He smiled, nodding, finally meeting my gaze, and the blazing warmth in their amber depths was breathtaking. "It's been too long," he sighed, again nodding a little. "It's been calling to me, but I just wasn't... I don't know..."

"Ready?" I provided, tilting my head at him.

His silence was my answer, but his long fingers slid over the keys, not pressing, not making a sound. It was like they were remembering how to touch, the feel of ivory, and the positions they were supposed to be in. I'd always thought his hands were pretty, but I could see now that they were made for the instrument in front of him.

"When I left home," he started almost in a whisper, "I avoided music for a little while. I was too...wrapped up in my own ego. But around the end of the thirties, there was a really popular song that came out of a movie. It was everywhere. I couldn't avoid it if I tried. It was the first time in a long time I thought about crawling back to Carlisle and Esme, just simply to play it – not for her, but for myself. The words, the music, and the emotions from the original singer were so poignant for me."

My curiosity got the better of me, and I blurted out, "What was it?"

He grinned, and it was so pretty and full of patience, patting the space next to him on the bench. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, love. Sit with me?"

I moved instantly, plopping down next to him. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head, inhaling my hair deeply before turning back to the piano. The flourish, the chords with which he started was unrecognizable to me until he started the actual song. My mouth fell open when "Over the Rainbow" met my ears. He was right; I did know it. I knew it because I'd watched the movie over and over. It was one of my favorites. My eyes burned every time with how much emotion Judy Garland put into the song, but there was more coming from Edward, and I finally understood what he'd been holding back.

He'd never wanted this life, but he'd accepted his fate, and he'd searched the world over for something that he'd never thought he'd have. Edward, at some point, had given up, but underlying the tough exterior that he'd had to manifest, there had always been a speck of hope. And it all came through his playing with a feeling of such longing. What was amazing to me was that he hadn't sat down to the piano in over eighty years, but every note was flawless, perfect.

The muscles of his forearms rippled as he played, his eyes were closed, and long, beautiful eyelashes rested against his cheeks. And for the first time since he'd come into my life, I didn't see the intriguing immortal from the picture on Carlisle's desk. I saw the man – the handsome, yet imperfect man – that had made mistakes, owned them, and stolen my heart the very second we first touched on that rooftop in New York.

And my heart just about exploded with the love I felt for him.

Letting out a shuddering breath, I gazed down at my lap when the song was over. I had no words. None. Instead, I let my mind show him how it made me feel – a little heartbroken for him, fighting to kiss him senseless, and a touch overwhelmed.

A gentle hand caressed the side of my face, tilting my face up to his. With just a brush of his lips across mine, he said, "I have one more I want to play for you." He waited until I nodded before he turned his attention back to the piano.

~oOo~

EPOV

"Okay," she whispered, looking needlessly nervous.

If anyone should've been nervous, it was me. Attempting to play a song I'd only created in my mind after not touching my piano in decades made me feel anxious. Not to mention the decision I'd finally come to. It was why Alice had corralled the entire family out the door, I was damned certain. She'd seen my decision, though she'd hidden the outcome from me.

Placing my fingers back on the keys, I played the notes that had swirled into my mind when we'd been in our room. I'd thought hope was lost when they faded, but they'd slowly come back stronger, louder, more defined. They came swirling into my head with every one of Bella's smiles, every laugh, every snarky remark aimed at our siblings, and every loving hug she gave to our parents. But mostly, the melody solidified when she touched me, kissed me, told me she loved me, and held me close.

Whereas "Over the Rainbow" spoke of wishes and dreams of a life that I never thought I'd have, Bella's song was the counter to that. It was every dream come true. It was freedom, love, happiness, and the completion of my soul. It sang of my change – my real change – of how I went from Edward Masen, killer and member of the Volturi guard, to Edward Cullen, son of Carlisle, a member of a real family, and mate to the most amazing and beautiful woman I'd ever had the honor of meeting.

The song started awkward, just like Bella and I had – two immortal seventeen-year-olds that felt everything all at once. It moved into something sensual, almost erotic, with a touch of struggle in the middle, only to end light, happy, free. I wasn't sure it was finished because there was a future left to be seen – a very, very long future. And I honestly couldn't wait for it. I couldn't decide whether to add to it or just simply write a new one for every major moment. But that was the beautiful part... I had all the time in the world to decide.

When the song was over, I gazed down at Bella only to slip from the bench to kneel in front of her.

"That was us, wasn't it?" she asked softly, almost in a whisper as her fingers traced my eyebrows, nose, and jaw.

Turning my head a little, I kissed her fingers as my hands rubbed her thighs lightly over her jeans. "Yes."

"It doesn't sound finished," she pointed out, smiling down at me.

"It's not." I chuckled softly at just how close she'd come to reading my mind. "There's a lot more left to add..." I reached into my pocket, pulling out the little black silk bag that Carlisle had given me weeks ago. "And I want to start with this."

Holding Bella's hand from underneath, I tipped the ring out into her palm. Her quick intake of breath caused my eyes to lock on hers, but she was smiling, nipping at that bottom lip.

"Marry me, Bella," I whispered, wrapping her fingers around the ring and bringing her hand to my lips. "I want to tie myself to you in every way possible – mortal, immortal, forever."

I wanted to beg her, but I didn't have to. Her mouth was silent, yet her mind was screaming yes. It made me smile so wide that I thought my face would crack with the power of it.

"Out loud, sweet girl. Say it."

"Yes, yes, yes," she laughed, leaning in to kiss my lips roughly. "The answer was always yes, Edward."

Cupping her face, I kissed her, still barely containing my smile, but I finally pulled back in order to open up her hand. "This was my mother's," I said softly, slipping it onto her finger. "Carlisle saved it for me."

"Oh, God, it's really beautiful, baby," she gushed, her voice barely audible. Bella's thoughts vanished, but her face wore a mischievous smile. "One condition, Edward. I'll marry you on one condition."

My eyebrows rose up, and I froze, trying my damnedest to read her mind, but she'd shielded it from me. "What's that?"

"Never, ever stop playing again," she ordered, pointing to my piano.

I barked a laugh, my relief almost palpable. Scooping her up off the bench, I cradled her in my arms to carry her up the stairs because I couldn't stop from wanting her, and I damn well was going to take advantage of an empty house. I needed her more than ever. She was my dream come true, my gift from God, and my second chance at what should've been.

Leaning down, I pressed my lips to hers. "If you want, my Bella, I'll play for you every day. Forever."

~oOo~

Sixty years later...

Two heavy heartbeats. I heard them in tandem just up ahead. I'd been searching for a specific scent since we'd been in the Pacific Northwest, and I'd finally found it. Mountain lions. At least two, if I was hearing correctly.

"Race you!" Bella giggled softly, taking off into the wet, green forest.

Grinning, I shook my head only to tear off after her. It wasn't like I couldn't catch her. I was still faster than she was, but watching her run was even better than the thrill of winning any race against her. We found the large cats just inside a clearing, and Bella tackled one while I stalked the other. We'd startled them, but they hardly had time to react. The smooth, sweet warmth flooded my throat. It had been so very long since we'd fed on the lions we loved so much. At one point, their population had dwindled so we couldn't feed on them, but in the last twenty years, the west coast had bloomed with almost an overabundance.

We'd hunted black panthers in South America, tigers in Siberia, cheetahs in Africa, and even grizzlies in Alaska, but nothing beat the mountain lion. We always seemed to come back to those. However, this was the first time we'd be staying...and the first time we were near her old home.

Carlisle wanted the safety of the weather that Forks provided and had figured we'd allowed enough time to pass since Bella had lived here, so the plan to move from a small town just outside of Toronto had been formed. At first, my sweet wife was nervous, but eventually, it had turned into excitement. She couldn't wait to show me everything. Considering I hadn't seen the area in about a hundred and fifty years, I was really looking forward to it, as well. The weather alone offered us a tremendous amount of freedom in the daytime, not to mention the Cullen house was probably Esme's best work. We were safe there because even the wolves had died out, though our presence would probably bring about a few changes.

Watching Bella carefully hide her kill, I leaned against a tree. After sixty years of marriage, my mate still took my breath away most days. The summer after I'd proposed, we'd gotten married in a small wedding with only our family in attendance. Carlisle had performed the ceremony, and my beautiful girl had looked stunning in a simple white dress with small flowers woven into her hair. We hadn't wanted anything big, just something that we could say was ours and ours alone. And it had been perfect.

The honeymoon, however, was just as perfect. Carlisle had offered us the use of Isle Esme – an entire island all to ourselves just off the coast of Brazil. Without the eyes of humans or family around us, we'd hardly ever dressed. In the day, we'd swum and hunted and played. At night, we'd wrapped around each other with a tenacity that I could barely comprehend, much less explain. We'd stayed there for two months before we were needed back for our junior year of high school back in New Hampshire.

Officially, Bella became Isabella Marie Masen-Cullen, though she usually just used Cullen unless we were in a school setting, and then she used Swan. What the humans knew didn't matter to us; it was what we knew that was important. And we'd were about to test that theory again soon because we were all starting over at Forks High after several years of doing different things.

We'd all graduated high school several times, but I'd followed in Carlisle's footsteps and attended medical school. As rewarding as that sometimes was, I found I needed a change after only a few years. What was a calling for Carlisle ended up merely being a test of control for myself. We'd all separated throughout the years off and on – though, never really very far – to live as adult couples, but our time ran out at the last place. People had started to wonder about our youth. They'd wondered about the doctor that always seemed so young and about newlywed couples that hadn't started families. After five years in Canada, it had been time to move on.

Bella walked to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, breaking me out of my memories.

"What do you want, sweet girl?" I chuckled because by now, I knew every little idiosyncrasy about her – every nuance, every smile, every gesture, even without reading her mind. And her snuggling up to me meant she wanted something. "Tell me," I said, my hands unable not to pull her closer by her waist, only to slip down to her bottom.

"I want to show you," she whispered, brushing her lips across mine with barely a touch.

"Lead the way, love."

I remembered the area from when I'd first been there, but everything had changed so much since the early twenties. Even Bella said things were different. Forks was a little bigger, though still small in comparison to the surrounding larger cities, like Port Angeles, Olympia, and Seattle.

She led me through the forest, coming out just inside a small working class neighborhood. She sighed, her eyes far away as she took in a two-story house just on the other side of a group of trees. It was comfortable, white with green trim and a tree that scaled up to the second floor, and I knew from her memories that it was her old house – the house she called home up until Carlisle changed her.

Her mind was open to me, and I smiled at the fuzzy picture of a man that shared her same eyes, a man with a thick mustache and a police uniform. Charlie. It was a man that looked at his daughter with a love that was almost breathtaking.

"My house," she sighed, and I linked my fingers with hers. "My room was on the second floor," she stated, pointing up to the window.

She was quiet for a moment, even though her mind was reliving a few happy memories. I let her have the silence. We both thrived on it. And she'd done the same for me when we had taken a trip to Chicago several years after we were married. I'd wanted to not only show her, but I'd wanted to see my old home.

"Come," she finally said, tugging my hand.

She showed me the hardware store where she'd worked, though it was now a convenience store. We took a long way around, but we caught a glimpse of the school we were about to attend – the same school that she'd attended over seventy years prior. I was thinking we were about to head back home when she stopped in front of me.

"I want to show you one more place."

"Whatever you want, love," I conceded, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, "but why are you now closed to me?" I'd felt her shield fall over her thoughts and the little gush of air that had pushed softly out at me.

She wrinkled her nose adorably and shook her head. "I'll explain when we get there."

Using the endless woods, we tracked back around the house and out several miles from the highway. The sun peeked out from behind some low clouds, revealing a clearing up ahead, and Bella stopped in order to walk at a human pace out of the line of trees surrounding us.

To say it was pretty would've been an understatement. The little area was enclosed by trees, wild purple and yellow flowers grew in large random patches, and tall grasses swayed in the breeze. The place was so very...Bella.

"God, it looks exactly the same," she whispered, her brow furrowing, and still, her mind was closed to me. She stepped slowly away from me, gazing around the same way I was, the sun glinting off our skin. "I used to come here right after my change," she started, reaching down to pick a bright yellow flower. "It was the only place Jasper would let me go alone."

"Because you were a newborn," I surmised.

"Yeah," she said, huffing a soft laugh. "Alice would look to make sure my coming here was fine. Jasper would guide me about halfway, and then I'd stay out here for hours. It was my escape from the world of mates, bloodlust, and grief over Charlie. I'd read, mostly, but really, I'd daydream."

I smiled, reaching for her hand. "About...?" I urged, though I thought I could guess the answer.

"You," she giggled. "It was all so new."

I found a soft spot in the grass and sat down, pulling her to my lap. "That newborn time can be really overwhelming," I agreed with her, caressing her beautiful face with the backs of my fingers.

"That, and I just tried over and over to make sense of waiting for you." She sighed, though a small smile graced her features. "I think I covered every scenario of how we'd meet," she giggled, shaking her head.

"Oh, you have to tell me," I laughed, cupping her face and kissing her lips. "Please?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "Oh, let's see... There was the one where you just wandered up in here while hunting. Um, then there was the perfect...you just came home daydream. And I think my favorite was meeting on the street... You know, where you didn't know who I was, but you fell in love with me anyway."

"That's kinda how it happened, my sweet, beautiful girl," I told her, grinning at her soft laughter.

"I know!" she giggled, shaking her head. "I love that."

"Me, too," I sighed, kissing her again, only I couldn't stop myself for a few minutes. She was happy and sweet and wrapped around me, smelling like flowers and sunshine and our hunt. I slowed the kiss down, just wanting to savor our time together, pulling back to gaze at warm, honey eyes. "Thank you," I whispered simply.

She hummed a response, scanning the meadow again. "This was the one place I could be myself," she murmured. "I could feel whatever I was feeling without bothering Jasper. I could rage, cry, or just sit in silence. I could leave the rest of them in peace – at least for a little while. And I've wanted to bring you here for so long..."

"Now that you've got me here, what do you plan to do with me?" I asked, unable to keep my lips from her soft skin.

Her giggle was a mixture of surprise and complete naughtiness, and I fucking loved that sound.

"I thought about that, too, you know," she purred, cupping my face and grinning at me. Her tongue dragged slowly and sensually across her bottom lip.

I chuckled darkly. "Do tell, my sexy girl..."

Finding myself flat on my back with a beautiful brunette looming over me, I welcomed her fiery kisses, her grinding hips, and her fingers weaving into my hair. My girl wasn't going to tell me; she was going to show me – both mentally and physically.

While her fantasies prior to meeting me were mostly generic, what she really wanted was to be taken by her mate, her husband in what she considered to be her secret meadow. I was only too happy to oblige because I didn't think I could ever get enough of her – learning about her, reveling in everything she said or did, or learning new ways to bring her pleasure, not to mention the old ones.

I remembered that when I first started hunting Bella for the Volturi, my opinion on hearing the same mind for the rest of eternity sounded like a chore, something to dread, but I found that to be far from the truth. Each thought, each loving mental caress, and each strong opinion was something to cherish. And I had...every second of it.

Clothes were tossed to the wayside, soft laughs turned into moans for more, and finally, my body pressed hers into the tall, soft grasses underneath us. I saw in her mind that what used to be a place to escape for solace for her was now going to be our escape from the family, school, sunny days, and small-town life.

I also saw that this was the place that Bella had come from. It would've been the place where our paths should've crossed had fate not taken a different path, and for that, I was almost overwhelmed with my love for her. It was strange to think of what might have been. Our paths now were forever woven. As I placed a long, slow kiss to my mark on her, I thanked God, Fate, or even just Bella herself for my life now because I was eternally grateful, no matter how we'd gotten to here, our forever.

~oOo~

A/N... I'm always so stupidly emotional at the end of a fic. It takes me forever to write it, just as long to edit it, and then I hesitate to post it. **shrugs** It's like empty nest syndrome or something. LOL

I really just wanted to bring some things completely home – the meadow, Elizabeth's ring, school, Forks, even Edward going to med school. However, in order to do the meadow...the real Forks meadow...I had to skip ahead many, many years. I hadn't thought of doing any outtakes for this, but if there's something you'd like to see, let me know.

Oh...and if you're really curious... hunt down the Judy Garland version of "Over the Rainbow." The movie version. The words and the emotion will tell you why it hit Edward so very hard. It speaks of wishes of another life, of something unfathomable. I sobbed when I downloaded it, because it fit him so damn well.

I need to thank JenRar for this one, because she was a huge cheerleader when it came to Fateward. Although, I'm not so sure she's become biased at this point in our relationship. LOL Love you with a sickness, Jen. I also need to thank GooberLou and inkedupmom for pre-reading this. They're complete opposites in their opinions. Always. I love that. :) Love you both. And last, but not least...MedusaInNY for all the work she's done for me over the years on more than just my blog. Mwah!

Mostly, though, I need to thank you guys. The readers. This wasn't a popular fic, but I noticed who came along for the ride. I saw names that have been with me for a very long time. And I can't thank you enough. Since the completion of this and Coming Home, I know some of you are wondering what's next. Right now...nothing. Have I got an outline I'm working on? Yes. Will I say what it is? No. ;) Just give me some down time. I'll be back for sure.

Okay, leave Fateward some love for the last time. Until next time... Mooches, Deb. :)