I'm late posting this. I know. That's my fault. It's been a busy month. But here we are! Last Chapter!

There's a bit of time jump here, but it's not too bad.

I don't own Twilight, obviously. I edit my own stuff, but I'm human. I'm sure I've missed something, so if you see it, let me know.

Read on, and enjoy!

A Future So Bright . . .

When I was born, my mother said I was so calm and so easy to take care of, content in her arms and my father's even when I needed more than they could give me. Alice was the troublemaker when she came out of the womb, and she pretty much hasn't let up since.

I'm not exactly sure which of those descriptions I wanted to give to my own child, but of course, when that moment arrived, which it did about an hour ago, it's something completely different from what I was thinking.

I've been pacing outside the delivery room for nearly forty-five minutes, mostly because I was snapping at the doctor and the nurses and being a complete nuisance so much so that Bella had to literally push me out of the room. My mother stayed with her. Emmett and Rosalie are keeping an eye on the maternity floor, making sure everything is safe.

I'm about to take my phone out to check on them when the door to the delivery room opens and my mother steps out with a pink bundle in her arms. She smiles at me as she wears a pale pink set of scrubs and a yellow gauze apron.

"Edward, sweetheart," she says with a soft laugh. "It's a girl."

She steps in front of me a second later, showing me the little face peeking out from within the blanket and then nodding for me to take the baby she's holding. Instinct drives me to cradle her in my arms, and instantly, her slight weight overwhelms me. She opens her eyes as soon as I take her, gazing up at me but then knowing who I am.

She's beautiful with an auburn swath of hair over her forehead and a little dimple in her cheek. We won't know what color her eyes will be for a few months, but I hope they're brown — like Bella's.

Then I look at my mother. "Is Bella okay?"

"She's fine. Perfect, actually. They'll move her back to her room in a little while."

"Did you tell the doctor I was sorry?"

Gently, she touches my arm, comforting me needlessly. "There's nothing for you to apologize for," she says. "You're new at this. I told him you have a lot on your plate right now and that you would be just fine once you held your baby."

I nod, looking at my daughter and holding her a little closer, already used to the way she feels in my arms. I didn't think I would be okay with it so quickly, but now that I'm holding her, I can't take my eyes off her.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Emmett's voice booms through the small lobby, startling the baby just a little and causing me to shush him instantly.

"Shut up!" I hiss.

He makes a face and covers his mouth, moving to my side as Rosalie appears behind him with an equally bright smile on her face.

But I'm already peeved with them both. "What happened to checking the perimeter?" I ask, agitated.

Rosalie waves me off. "Please," she says. "With the guards downstairs. No one would dream of making a move on you here. Besides, Charlie is keeping an eye on everything from Home Base, and he'll call if there's a problem. Shouldn't we be more worried about you, Mr. Genius who got himself kicked out of the delivery room?"

Annoyed, I turn all of my attention back to my daughter who still gazing up at me like she knows me. I look at her and I know I will do whatever I need to make her safe and happy until the day that I die.

Bella isn't in recovery long, being moved back to her room within half an hour where the nurses help her into bed so she's comfortable from being in delivery for almost three hours. I was shoved out of the room at the tail end of that, and when I see her for the first time since, the only thing that crosses my mind is how beautiful she looks, despite her messy hair, splotchy face and red lips from pressing them together during the delivery.

She smiles when she sees me, reaching for me and taking my hands in hers the instant I'm close.

"I see you're calm," she says teasingly.

"I'm always calm," I reply a little defensively. Then I lean over her to kiss her gently. "I just can't handle anything happening to you — either of you. And I just want you safe. Little did I know how much of a difficult job it would be seven months ago."

Her smile morphs into a soft laugh, and just as she's about to say something, the door opens, allowing my mother and the nurses into the room while also pushing the crib carrying my and Bella's daughter.

"Guess who's hungry now?" my mother croons, moving closer with the crib and then gently lifting the small bundle in her arms to turn to me.

We move seamlessly as she lays my daughter in my arms, and slowly, I turn to Bella, waiting for her to wrap her arms under mine and hold our daughter in her arms. For just a few minutes, we sit there, watching her as she watches us.

"She's so beautiful," Bella whispers.

This prompts me forward, and I kiss Bella's forehead before whispering to her softly. "Just like her mother."

Our words are the last spoken before she sits up and proceeds to nurse our daughter with next to no help from the nurse or my mother. The room gets quiet, and my mother steps out to call Charlie while I stand at the window to our private room as it overlooks Lake Michigan. It's snowing outside already, and from what the weather reports said earlier, it might pick up and get worse before it stops. Christmas is in a week.

A year ago, my life was so different from what it is now. A year ago, I was nothing but a tool being wielded by a man who wanted nothing more than to put me up and pull me out whenever he needed me. And I was good at it. I was so good at it that I might have done it for the rest of my life if Aro hadn't made the mistake of sending me to destroy the one thing he knew would cut my ties to him. He had wanted me to stay broken and disconnected, but Bella made me whole again.

Once our daughter has eaten and is laying back in her crib, Bella makes me sit down on the bed with her so we can talk.

"The nurses all want to know what we're going to name her," she says, holding my hands in hers and keeping me close. "I told them I would have to ask you, but I was thinking we could name her after Kate."

The mention of Kate brings me to attention instantly, and I'm taken by surprise even more than I was when Bella woke me up the night before yelling that she was having the baby. It's not that I wouldn't want it, and I honestly think Kate would be honored. But in seconds, I'm worried about Tanya and Irina. They're still coming to terms with the redistribution of Vladimir and Stefan's territory while also handling most of the European Division of Aro's old territory.

Would they be happy that Bella and I want to name our daughter after their sister?

"Edward," Bella says and immediately, I'm sitting back in front of her as she grasps onto my hands. "I know you loved her. And I know she died to save me and you. And for everything that was done to her by Aro, I don't think there would be any better way to honor her than by making sure her name and legacy continue. I'm not saying our daughter will be picking up a gun at sixteen and going off to make the world a safer place," she says with a little grin before becoming serious again, "but we can make sure our daughter has her strength and her family, and we can make sure she knows where she came from. And we can give Tanya and Irina the chance to be a part of her life if they want. She's alive because of them too."

I'm so surprised that I don't say anything for the next several seconds, knowing deep down that Bella has always been this wise but still wishing the last seven or eight months of her life hadn't made her more so because of me.

And then I'm even more in love with her than I thought possible, proud and envious that she could think of these things before me.

My kiss is so quick that she barely has time to react, but she responds by enfolding me in her arms and pulling me closer to her than I have been since we found out she was pregnant. The fact that we're sitting on a hospital bed after she's just given birth to our daughter only registers with me a little when the bed beneath her starts to move from one of us hitting the button to make it lean back more. But neither of us stops, allowing it to flatten so that I'm above Bella, and once I'm there, I lean back to cradle her head in my hands.

"I love you," I whisper to her. "So much. And I am so honored to be married to you and having children with you. Nothing could have made me any happier, and you are so much wiser and kinder than I ever could be, even though I'm trying to change that. I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to be the man you need me to be, and I will keep this world safe for you. Both of you."

Her smile comes easier and quicker than usual, and she doesn't have to say anything back, nodding and then kissing me a little more gently than I kissed her.

Bella and our daughter are both sleeping when I sit on the sofa to get a little rest myself, and no one bothers us for a long time until a sudden jolt from the cushion next to me makes me pop up without any warning.

"Bella!"

"Shush!"

My eyes adjust slowly to see Alice sitting on the sofa with me, and then I look at Bella, hoping I haven't woken her. Thankfully, she's still asleep, so I look at Alice.

"What the hell, little sister?" I ask, still sort of asleep as I lean back against the sofa.

"Sorry," she says even though she doesn't sound sorry at all. "You looked far too relaxed for me."

Annoyed, I lay my arm over my eyes. "I thought you were going to be on your honeymoon a little longer with Jasper," I say to her a little less than concerned than normal.

"Jasper was ready to come home," she says like it's nothing. "He was getting a little more paranoid than usual, and I told him we couldn't live in the Pacific Ocean no matter how amazing it was and how often we could walk around without any clothes on."

"Alice," I say, aggravated. "Too much."

She giggles but stops, sitting back and folding her arms over her chest.

This is when I uncover my eyes and look around the room. "Where is Jasper anyway?"

"Talking to Emmett. Not only is he extremely paranoid, but he also likes to make sure everyone else is too. I guess the only thing good about that is he's never wrong when he knows something's happening."

Her words bring me to attention because my father started talking the same way just before I went to train with Aro, and the relaxed look on her face scares me just enough to make me sit up.

"Why did you really come back?" I ask her.

"Most of it was nothing," she says shrugging. "Very normal for the area — prostitutes, drug dealers, petty criminals and the like. But there was something. A girl we met was part of it, and after we promised her she would be safe, she told us about a slave-smuggling ring that was being led by a man named Diego. Apparently, after Aro was killed, this man thought it would be a good idea to pick up where he left off, trading people, mostly women, to slave dealers for money and drugs under the table."

It doesn't take much on my part to understand what she's saying. In Europe, the human trafficking rate is a lot more outstanding than most people are willing to believe, and I know this because I was partially involved in some of Aro's dealings with the men controlling all of it there — not willingly, mind you.

To know this is happening somewhere else in the world by someone wanting to follow in Aro's footsteps means there will soon be someone who thinks they can take over the territory left open by Aro's death and start a new turf war. It means more people will die, and it means someone has to take control of this situation before it gets out of hand. And it sounds like that moment is very close.

Because I don't want Bella to hear us, I gesture for her to follow me out of the room, and once we're in the hallway, I have to look around to make sure we're alone before I speak again.

"Who was this girl?" I ask her. "And how much did you see?"

"Not much until we were traveling through the Philippines. That's when we found Bree. She had gotten away from Diego after he kidnaped her from a cruise with her parents. She's been on the run ever since. Jasper and I had to get her in a secure place before she would tell us about how he runs his business. And he's getting ready to move up into Asia in the next year. We have to help these people, Edward. We have a chance to actually make a difference now, and I think we should take it."

I really don't need to hear anymore. Everything that Alice has said has given me all the information I need to make a good decision. And if it were just me, I would literally jump into action, making a plan and getting a group together good enough to put a stop to this new problem arising in a part of the world where there really isn't a presence strong enough to help these people.

But it's not just me anymore.

Now I have Bella and our daughter to think about, and before I go off to do this, I have to talk to my wife. This decision can't be just mine. It has to be ours.

Alice sees how I hesitate, and instead of teasing me the way she usually does, she just sort of nods back to Bella's room.

"Go on," she says. "I'll tell Jasper. He'll get started putting a team together."

She steps forward then, puts her arms around me to give me a squeeze before leaving with a knowing smile on her face.

Either she knows something I don't, or maybe she knows Bella like I do.

When I step into Bella's room, I expect to find her asleep and that I'll need to wake her, but instead, she's awake and sort of smiling. Our daughter still sleeps in her tiny crib, and for the time being, it seems like the only thing that matters is me and Bella. And then I figure that Bella must have heard some of what Alice and I spoke about.

"How much did you hear?" I ask her.

"Something about a man named Diego and a slave-smuggling ring," she says nonchalantly. "And if you and Alice said something like you have to do something, then I agree. Even if I might not know a lot about that world. If you can do something to help people, then you have to do it. If I've learned anything the last seven months, it's that you have the chance to change the world you were a part of, so no one else gets hurt."

I take her hands in mine without thinking, leaning down until we're face to face and whispering so the silence of the room outside our voices will remain.

"And it's okay with you if I leave," I say. "It's okay if I'm out there saving the world when I should be here helping you raise our daughter."

Bella laughs gently, squeezing my hands. "Well, when you say it like that, can't you do both?"

I lift my eyes to meet hers, and she nods.

"You'll do both. You'll go out there and save the world. You'll help raise our daughter by making the world a safer place for her. And we'll both be waiting here for you when you come back. Because we love you, and there's nowhere else we would rather be than here where your home is."

"It may take a while to make the world safe," I tell her, being completely serious.

She smiles a little wider. "Well, nothing worth having is ever easy. Especially when it's such a big task. You're the only person I can think of with the ability to do that."

I have to glance back at our daughter's crib, knowing she's only just been born and that she'll need as many people around her to take care of her as can be spared. Then I know what I can promise her and Bella.

"I'll be home before she can even notice that I'm gone," I say, looking at Bella and leaning closer to kiss her forehead. She moves in to press her lips to mine, and we sit there for a minute kissing before I lean back again. "Katrina? Or just Kate?"

A deep breath passes her lips, and she shakes her head. "Katrina Cullen," she says a little reserved. "Maybe we can keep people from calling her Katie."

This makes me laugh, which is something I need more of if I'm going to be leaving soon to go make a difference in the world.

My mother comes back fully informed of the situation in the Pacific, and she easily agrees to stay with Bella while I leave the hospital and make my way back to our Home Base which is on the other side of the town.

Already, security has been increased, and when I arrived, Jacob and Sam both accompany me up to the main floor where I find Jasper talking to Charlie about our newest situation. When they see me, they both address me with a nod.

"Taking the reigns on this one?" Charlie asks with a measure of curiosity and surprise in his eyes that he tries to hide.

"Gonna try to," I say, and he bows his head. "Mom stayed with Bella while I came to get everything ready."

"Alice said she and the baby were both okay," he says.

I nod and move forward to take his shoulder. "They're both great. Let's see what we've got so we'll know who needs to go on this one."

He nods again, and Jasper clears his throat a little too loudly.

"I already called Tanya and Irina," he says. "They'll be here from New York in an hour, and Siobhan was here when I arrived. She saw all the specs and said she was in. I told her you would have to make sure her cover was still in place in Mexico before you agreed. She didn't have a problem with that."

He pauses, waiting for me to acknowledge all of what he's said, which I do easily, and then he looks at Charlie and then glances across the room not very discreetly.

I follow his gaze and find Emmett lingering around Rosalie's desk where she tracks all the incoming messages. It doesn't take any effort on my part to read Jasper's signals and the way Emmett keeps glancing at me pretty much confirms it.

"And?" I say to Jasper.

"Emmett and I want to come," he says. I open my mouth to argue, but he stops me. "I already talked to Alice, and Rosalie understands if it's you. Honestly, she was getting a little annoyed at all the small ops. She wants Emmett to be with you. And after Bogota, I think it's pretty obvious that you have a lot of people loyal to you. You should take advantage of it."

I have to think about everything he's saying, especially because Jasper and Emmett are the closest things I have to brothers now. Having them along will mean I'll need to be knowledgeable of their whereabouts too, not just mine or the girls.

"So what's it gonna be, Cullen?" Emmett roars from across the room. "About ready for a new gig or what?"

I laugh just once at Emmett and his musical puns, mentally thinking this new operation could mean he putting himself in actual danger and knowing that he wouldn't really have it any other way.

"You know," I say to the both of them, "if you come with me, we'll have next to zero communications with either one of your wives. And we could be gone for an immeasurable amount of time. Do your significant others really understand that?"

"Will it be any different than Mexico?" Rosalie asks just as loudly as Emmett did.

She has a point. Our Mexico job was one of the most lengthy endeavors we ever did, and if this job is the same way, it'll be just a difficult to stay in contact.

Slowly, I give in.

"All right," I say. "Call the jet. When Tanya and Irina get here, we'll met them on the tarmac and do the prep on the way to Los Angeles. We're going to be in deep cover, and we'll need a good cover in place to protect us while we're there. I'll make that Emmett's job. And I'll talk to Siobhan. She still on the training floor?"

Jasper nods, and I do too, glancing back at Emmett and then leaving to find her.

The training floor is two levels down the from the main hub, and when I get there, Siobhan is sparring with a man twice her size. Since her capture, Siobhan has been working on her hand-to-hand combat skills, and from the quickness of her moves with her sparring partner, I can see that she never intends to get captured ever again. Now that she's working as an attache to the Mexico branch of our newest extension office, we've had to work hard to secure her cover so that never happens.

Siobhan is able to take this guy down with a lot less effort than normal, and I wait until she's finished to clear my throat and make her aware of me.

"Geez, Cullen," she says, "if I'd known I would get the personal treatment, I would have told Jasper to give me a heads-up."

"You know I need you with Lucy in Mexico," I tell her without commenting on her remark.

"Yeah, I know, but this is bigger than Mexico. The Mexicans are middle men with South America, and we already have every centimeter of the border under surveillance. I've called Lucy, and she says a slave-smuggling ring in the Pacific is more important than slowing down the cocaine runs a few Mexicans are doing every month. Plus, I sent an anonymous tip to Border Patrol. They'll be looking for anything suspicious for the next month, and if our friends try to make a new run, they'll at least get their pictures taken."

Impressed, I fold my arms over my chest. "I've only known about this problem for probably an hour. Exactly how were you able to get all of that done before I got here, and then come down here like you never left?"

"Well, Cullen, if I told you, then I would most likely have to kill you. It's a woman thing," she says with a shrug. "And I told her that you owed me for a couple of things, and you're the only family I really have other than Maggie. I'm going, and we're going to take down that bastard together, because that's the right thing to do. And we do the right thing now. We help people."

I laugh softly then, bowing my head. "Well, I can't argue with any of that. We're going to be gone for a little while. Is Maggie doing to be okay with that?"

"She knows the job, Cullen. And if we're making the world a safer place, I think she'll agree that it's a necessary evil to be apart right now so we can be together after that."

I nod then, agreeing. "All right. We're leaving in an hour when Tanya and Irina arrive. Be ready to leave."

I don't ask, leaning in and kissing her forehead and then leaving the training floor to get ready myself.

The pilot calls from the tarmac when Irina and Tanya arrive, and Siobhan finds me before we collect Emmett and Jasper to take a detail to the jet that's waiting to fly us to Los Angeles.

It's the first time I've gathered a group of people skilled enough to do exactly what I said we could do - make the world a safer place for my daughter and her mother. It isn't just for them though. It's for my mother and Alice, Rosalie and Charlie, Renee and every person who has ever been a victim of their circumstances.

They all deserve a safe world to live in, and with this job, and probably the one after it and after that, that is exactly what I intend to give them.

The End

I know! Kind of like flying off into the sunset, right?

It's not too much, is it? We started out on a mission to kill somebody, and now we're ending on a mission to go save some people. I like it, and I hope you do too.

Like I said, this is the end. There won't be a sequel even though I guess it seems like there could be. I like ending on a high note.

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I've loved writing this story, and I've loved seeing all of your thoughts on it.

That's all for now. Later!