Story Notes:

Disclaimer: First of all, I do not own Twilight, and no copyright infringement is intended. These characters belong to SM.

This is the sequel to Impending Doom, and it takes place four years later. There is a recap in the first chapter, so you don't have to read Impending Doom first, but I would recommend it.

This story will be all EPOV.

Warnings:

This story deals with depression, and will specifically deal with Post-Partum Depression in later chapters. If that is a sensitive topic for you, please don't read this.

Chapter Notes:

For anyone who read the teaser at the end of Impending Doom, please note that this chapter takes place about eight weeks prior to Alice's wedding. Alice's wedding will be in chapter three. There is also a lot of necessary recap from Impending Doom, so please be patient with that and enjoy!

Fighting Fate

Chapter 1- June

"Alice, please don't start with the binder," I grumbled, taking a sip of my coffee. "It's seven in the morning."

"Dammit, Edward. I'm getting married in eight short weeks and every minute counts!" she exclaimed, stamping her foot impatiently on the linoleum floor.

"At least let me finish my coffee," I said with a sigh.

"Fine," she sighed, flopping down next to me at the bar and flipping through her binder.

My little sister's wedding planning binder had become a source of contention in our house. Alice graduated from high school two weeks ago, and since then she had been a whirlwind of wedding planning, a stereotypical Bridezilla. My wife and I joked at first that we were going to steal the binder from her and bury it in the backyard, leaving clues for her to find it to keep her busy for a while so we could have some peace and quiet for a change.

Alice was thirteen years my junior. When she was fourteen she was caught in a tragic house fire that killed both of our parents. We had no aunts or uncles, and our grandparents had long passed. At twenty-seven years old, I left my life in Seattle and came to Forks to care for her.

It wasn't easy at first. Alice had been burned terribly in the fire, on her shoulders, neck and most of her back. She fell into a depression, leaving her friends behind as she mourned for the loss of her parents, and lamented the scars. As clueless as I was, I didn't realize how deeply the scars affected her until her English teacher, Bella, intervened and took her under her wing.

A year later, Bella became my wife and is still the love of my life. Things were not easy for us at first.

Bella's father was named Charlie, a great man who helped me get on my feet when I returned to Forks and took Alice in. During this time, Bella came back to Forks as well and reunited with her father and brother Emmett, after a twenty year forced separation.

Bella had been through a very hard time, suffering abuse for most of her life at the hands of her mother and the many boyfriends she brought into Bella's life. When Bella and I met, I knew it was fate that brought us together. Bella helped me get Alice to become human again, and I spent every waking moment of my life trying to make Bella happy. She deserved it; she was a beautiful person.

As soon as Alice noticed that my coffee cup was empty, she flipped open a page in the book. "Okay, so Darcy and I are working on the seating arrangements today," she explained, showing me a very detailed and color coded diagram. "I wanted to put you and Bella at a table with Charlie and Sue, of course. I'll seat Emmett and Rosalie there as well, but that's only six. Since we don't have any other family, and we need eight at the table, I was going to put Billy and Jacob Black there. They're friends of Charlie's."

"I know who they are, Alice, that's fine," I said. I failed to understand why seating arrangements were so important. I was still happy that four years ago, Bella and I decided to have a simple wedding on the cliffs of La Push, with no reception, just a nice dinner and a couple of drinks back at Charlie's house. It was simple and beautiful, and most importantly stress free.

Jasper's family was inordinately large. His mother, Darcy, was one of eleven children, and Alice insisted on inviting every single one of Jasper's more than 30 cousins. Alice's wedding would be no small event. I was glad to have Jasper's mother helping Alice with most of the wedding planning, although Darcy was often as hyper as Alice was. I knew Alice was sad that our mother and father weren't there to attend the wedding. Bella and I would make due to stand in for our parents, but I knew it wasn't the same. I tried very hard to be patient with her manic wedding planning, but it was difficult at times, especially when she was acting like a manic Drill Sergeant.

Jasper and Alice had been together since Alice was fourteen and Japser was fifteen. Jasper took a year off of school to wait for Alice to go to college. He worked full time and saved up for an apartment to rent near the University of Washington. Jasper and Alice insisted on getting married before college so that they could live together. The college didn't allow cohabitation of freshman unless they were married.

Alice and I argued about her getting married so young for hours after she told me. I didn't think that her and Jasper living together was a good enough reason to get married at eighteen. It was Bella who made me see reason though.

She reminded me that she and I hadn't been together very long before we decided to get married, only a few months really. We both knew then that it was fate that brought us together, and the short courtship didn't matter, because we both knew in our hearts that we were meant to be together. She then pointed out that Alice and Jasper had been together for four years, and they were brought together by fate as well. Whether Alice got married at eighteen or eighty, it would undoubtedly be to Jasper. I could see it in Alice's eyes that there would never been anyone else for her, and Jasper felt the same about her.

Alice and Jasper had a few hurdles to get through when they first started the wedding planning process. Jasper told her in the beginning that he wanted a Civil War themed destination wedding, where he would dress as a soldier and she would be the Southern Belle. This resulted in Alice crying for two straight days with nothing Bella or Darcy could do to calm her down. Alice had shouted to him that the wedding was off, and Jasper had to grovel for days, but they were better now. My little sister was just a bit dramatic most of the time.

Instead of Jasper's destination wedding, they would have a large formal wedding courtesy of Alice's meager inheritance. The only thing that survived the fire that took our parents was a rare Aston Martin that I was able to sell for almost two hundred grand. I gave her half, and she put some away for tuition and decided to use the rest on her dream wedding. I tried to argue with her to invest it, but she wouldn't budge. Since I would do anything to make Alice happy, I eventually relented and supported her decision, knowing how important it was to her.

I was out for the summer as well. I waited two long years tending bar in the evenings at a local pub until a position teaching music finally opened up at Forks Middle School. I had a Master's degree in Music Education, and was thrilled to find a position where I could actually use my degree. I loved my students and truly missed them when school let out for the summer.

Alice took my free time to mean that I could be her personal assistant for wedding planning, but I had other things I wanted to accomplish with my free time, including fixing up our little house. There were plenty of repairs and maintenance that were long overdue, and I decided it would be a good way to fill the void while Bella was at work.

For the last week I hadn't gotten much done around the house. My poor Bella had been sick from Bronchitis for the last week, and I spent my time taking care of her, even though she resisted. I joked with her that only she had bad enough luck to contract bronchitis in the middle of June. She was an awful patient when she was sick, stubborn as ever, and she insisted on trying to go to work and taking care of herself despite how clearly awful she felt.

When Alice finally left to head to Jasper's house for more wedding planning, I got up to check on Bella. She decided to take off the last couple of days sick from work, which was very unlike her, giving me cause for worry. She still worked as an editor for a large publishing firm in Seattle. Her brother's wife was named Rosalie, and her father owned the publishing company. He allowed Bella to work from home instead of having to move to Seattle. Seattle was never an option for her. After twenty years separated from her father, she didn't want to stray too far from him.

I was surprised when I entered our bedroom to find that Bella wasn't in the bed. I heard the shower running, so I laid back and waited for her. When she finally emerged from the shower, she looked absolutely beautiful, as she always did. Her long chestnut hair curled naturally as it dried and her light blue silk robe left very little to the imagination. I unashamedly ogled her as she smiled and said "good morning."

"Mmm, good morning to you," I answered. "You look like you're feeling better." She had been so pale the last few days, constantly coughing and barely sleeping. She had taken a course of antibiotics though, and today the color was back in her cheeks, and life was back in her big brown doe eyes.

"Much better," she answered, a smile gracing her face. "Good as new."

She crawled over to me where I sat on the bed and kissed me. "I missed this," I murmured against her lips. She had a strict "no kissing" policy during her illness, which absolutely killed me. Even after four years of marriage, I couldn't get enough of her.

"Me too," she said back, barely breaking her rhythm as she continued exploring my mouth with hers. "Where's Alice?" she asked breaking away for a moment.

I slipped my hands beneath the bottom of her robe and cupped her ass as the kiss deepened again. "Gone," I gasped. "All day."

"Mmm, good," she murmured, slipping her robe off and letting it fall to the floor.

I groaned in appreciation. I couldn't get enough of Bella. If I had a choice, I would simply make love to Bella every day from sunrise to sunset. After we were both sated from our lovemaking, we just lied together quietly in post coital bliss until she finally stirred. "I have to go to work," she murmured.

"No," I argued playfully, wrapping my arm tighter around her. "Stay here with me."

"I'll just be in the garage," she laughed, wrestling away from my grip. Her home office was set up in our garage so she could get some privacy and quiet when Alice and I were home. "What's on your agenda today?" she asked me as she slipped on a pair of jeans.

"Oh, I have big plans," I said very seriously. "I'm going to power wash the house and mow the lawn."

"Ooh, fun," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "I wish I could join you, but I'm already behind as it is."

I kissed her again before she left the bedroom. "I'm glad you're feeling better," I said sincerely.

"Thanks," she said, flashing me her beautiful smile, before she disappeared and left me to my own devices.

The morning hours passed quickly as I worked on the house. I finished a little before lunch, and as I contemplated what I would do for the rest of the day, I heard a short whoop of a siren. I looked up to see my father-in-law's cruiser in front of my house, and he was signaling my attention.

"Hey son," he greeted, as I reached out to shake his hand. "How's my girl feeling?"

I fought a smile as I thought about just how well Bella was feeling this morning. "She's good, sir. She's back to work. She's just in the garage if you want to say hi."

"I'll do that," he said. "I uh, brought you guys something." He opened up the back door of the cruiser, and I was startled when a massive dog jumped out of the back seat. Charlie held the leash firmly as I looked it over.

"Who's this?"

"We found her up near the Rez. I checked in with the shelter and nobody's reported her missing. Figured with Alice leaving in a couple months, your house might feel empty."

"She's beautiful," I agreed, reaching out to stroke the dog's head. "And big. What kind is she?"

"A Saint Bernard mix, I think. If you take her up to the vet they can probably tell you how old she is, but she seems to be in good health. She's got a good temperament too. Bella will probably love her."

I smiled as I imagined the joy in Bella's face when Charlie presented her with the dog. I really hoped that she would like it, because I think I fell in love the moment I looked into the dog's eyes.

Just then the front door opened and Bella stepped out into the rare sunny day. She squinted her eyes a little as she looked down the path at us, and her face lit up in a smile. "Hey, Daddy!" she called. "What've you got there?"

"Your new roommate if you'll have her," Charlie said, offering Bella the leash. She took it gratefully and bent down to pet the dog.

"Really?" she exclaimed. "She's so pretty."

I laughed when the dog's gigantic tongue popped out and licked her face. The dog probably weighed more than Bella did, and the two of them together were quite a sight.

"Really, kid. She's all yours. She just needs a name."

"Athena," Bella said immediately. I raised my eyebrows in surprise of the quick decision.

"I always thought that if I ever got a dog I would name her Athena. She's the goddess of wisdom," she explained proudly. Patting the dog on the head, she said, "And you look like a real smart girl, don't you?"

It warmed my heart to see Bella so excited. My poor wife had been through so much pain and suffering throughout her life, I wanted nothing more than to make her happy every day. I knew Charlie wanted the same for her too. I couldn't help but notice the satisfied smile on his face as he took in Bella's jubilant expression.

While Bella had made a lot of progress over the last few years with adjusting to and finally living her life, she still suffered from a severe anxiety disorder, which was so severe at times she needed to be medicated. She had problems going out in crowds, worried about things that other people wouldn't necessarily be worried about, and every now and then had panic attacks for seemingly no reason. Her symptoms were much better, almost nonexistent, but every now and then I caught of hint of a deep sadness in her eyes that I just wanted to take away.

Charlie joined us for lunch and we laughed and played with Athena. It was still fairly early in the day, so I called the local vet to see if they could squeeze us in for an appointment. Bella was dying to come with us, saying she'd finish up her work later, and together we made our way to the vet.

I laughed as Bella tried to drag the dog out of the car towards the vet. Bella was pulling with all her might on the leash, but Athena was stubbornly holding her ground. I eventually made Bella let me take over, afraid that she would hurt herself if she kept trying to force the dog. For whatever the reason, Athena did not want to go inside the office.

After a quick checkup, the vet agreed with Charlie that the dog was probably a Saint Bernard mutt, and made a best guess that she was between two and three years old. She weighed one hundred and sixty five pounds, which made Bella's jaw drop comically.

After the appointment I dropped Bella at home and went to get the essentials to take care of the Athena. Priority one would be to give her a bath. She resisted, but I eventually got her cleaned in the backyard with a hose and some brute strength.

When Bella finally emerged from the office, we sat on the floor and played with Athena until it was time for bed. Bella and I always agreed that having children probably wasn't-or at least shouldn't be- in the cards for us. While Bella was better in regards to her anxiety and emotional state, I worried that the hormones of pregnancy would cause her to relapse. Bella was more worried about passing on her mother's genes to any children we might have. Renee, Bella's mother, was still an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital about two hours from our home. Bella never went to visit her and never wanted to.

Bella and I had talked about adoption and fostering children, but with Alice around we never took the steps necessary. With Alice leaving soon for college though, Athena seemed to be exactly the thing we needed to fill the coming void in our household, at least for now.

Okay, I'm biting my nails wondering what you are all thinking right now. Please review and let me know! Thanks!