So...happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you... happy birthday (on December 3rd) CullensTwiMistress (aka Missy) happy birthday to you...

So Missy wanted something ExB and EPIC! I hope this makes her happy...

Tissues might be needed...

"Dude…you're birthday is on Thanksgiving?" Jasper laughs as he swats my hand away from his controller.

I just can't beat him at this game without cheating.

"No you douche, my birthday just happens to fall on Thanksgiving this year. You know the actual date of the holiday changes each year." I snarl as he kills me yet again.

Asshole.

It is my birthday.

He could let me win for once.

"Edward! Can you go get the turkey out of the garage?" Mom shouts from the kitchen and I'm thankful for the distraction.

I hate losing.

And I was SO gonna lose.

"Sure Mom…is it in the freezer or…" I question as I open the garage door only to come face to face with…

"Gobble…gobble…gobble."

"MOM! There's a fucking turkey in here!" I scream and I feel her come up behind me in the open doorway.

"Um, yes Edward, that was why I asked you to get it. You do know how to pluck him, right?" She asks as she cowers behind me.

"What in the world possessed you to get a LIVE turkey?" I whisper-yell over my shoulder because the turkey is looking at me.

And it looks pissed.

The big bird suddenly cocks its head to the side and charges.

"AHHH!" Mom screams as I scramble backwards and slam the door shut.

We're both panting as I turn and glare at her.

"Maybe…this wasn't…such…a good…idea." She breathes and I'm like…

Ya' think?

"Can you go down to the Suresave and see if they have any turkeys left?" She says, as she pulls a wad of cash from her purse.

And I think I'll need every penny to get a turkey this late on Thanksgiving.

*()*()*

The lights are off when I pull into the lot, but I get out and bang on the door anyway.

There's no way I'm eating McDonalds for fucking Thanksgiving dinner.

"Please! I just need one thing!" I shout as I drop my head to the cold glass.

"Hi Edward." I hear a muffled voice say from behind the barrier.

I look up and…

"Bella." I sigh as I meet her dark eyes.

My crush…

My heart…

The only girl I've ever wanted…

But she's not mine.

And now she's so very, very broken.

She flips the lock and pushes the door open and I squeeze inside.

It's dark and quiet in the store.

It feels like we're the only people in the world.

"I need a turkey." I tell her quietly and she cringes.

"Did your wife burn it or something?" She says, her voice rough.

And I'm like?

"I'm not married."

She looks up at me surprised and I get my first good look at her.

She looks so different from the last time I saw her.

Four years ago when I left for college.

We had classes together from the time she moved to Forks in eighth grade.

She was my friend.

But I wanted more.

It wasn't until we were seventeen that I finally got up the balls to ask her out.

But I was too late.

She was already going with Sam Uley…

And then she was pregnant.

I watched her walk around the school senior year…

Her belly swollen and her eyes dark and sunken.

I hated it.

She should have been mine.

And then…

She was gone.

My dad delivered her baby.

A boy.

His name was Jacob.

And the only person there with her was her Dad.

Sam wasn't there but I knew he would come around sooner or later.

From what I heard she was happy with her little family.

Her son…

Her father…

And Sam.

So I left.

I went to Columbia and studied Music Theory but now I'm back here.

I missed my home.

And I'm standing next to the girl that still to this day owns my heart.

Meanwhile hers is shattered.

"I have one in the back I was saving…but you can have it." She says as she meets my eyes and I nearly gasp at the pain reflected back at me.

She turns and disappears into the dark store and I push my hands into my pockets and pull out my phone.

I text Jasper and get a response almost instantly.

Two years.

Her life was irrevocably changed two years ago.

And somehow she's still standing.

*()*()*

Bella comes back down the dimly lit aisle carrying a monster turkey.

"So what happened to yours then?" She pants as she struggles to lift the bird onto the counter.

"It was alive." I say and she turns and looks at me with a hint of a smile on her full lips.

But just as quick it's gone.

As if she won't allow herself to feel anything.

"No…really. My mom thought it would be nice to have a fresh bird. She apparently didn't take into consideration that we are not turkey farmers. It is still in the garage making a mess of Emmett's car."

She doesn't smile this time but it looks like she wants to.

"Well you take this one home and see what your mom can do with it." She says as she pats the frozen bird.

"Whose was this?" I ask and instantly feel like shit because her face falls even more if that's possible.

"No ones."

"Bella…will you…I mean…do you want to come to my house and have dinner with us?" I suggest and I can see her fighting.

She wants to.

But she won't.

"No thanks Edward. Have a nice Thanksgiving." She whispers as she shoves the bird at me and ushers me towards the door.

I hesitate in the open door, not letting her close it.

"Please…" I breathe and her eyes shine.

And for a moment I think I have her…

"No, I can't. I'm sorry."

Then the door slams shut and she disappears into the dark.

*()*()*

I can't eat anything.

All I can think about is her sitting in the dark.

All alone.

The dishes aren't even off the table and I'm up and making her a plate.

The Tupperware overflows with leftovers.

Thankfully, no one bothers me as I snag the keys off the counter and drive away.

The turkey is still squawking and scratching in the garage.

Someone is going to have to deal with it eventually.

But it ain't gonna be me.

*()*()*

Her house is easy to find.

I drove past it millions of times in high school…

Imagining it was me with her…

And not Sam.

The lights are all off but her old beat-up truck is sitting in the driveway.

I knock on the door, the food in my hands.

And I wait.

"Go away Edward." She yells and I can hear the absolute devastation in her voice.

"I won't. Let me in." I demand.

"No! Please...just leave me alone!" She screams, her voice breaking and I set the container down on the porch and try the knob.

I'm not too surprised to find it open.

It's obvious she doesn't care about much anymore…

Especially not her safety.

The house is dark but I follow the sounds of her ragged breathing.

I find her huddled in a corner of the kitchen.

The fridge is still covered with scribbled crayon and finger paint pictures and my heart breaks a little more.

"Bella…" I whisper and she snaps her head up and meets my eyes.

"It should have been you."

"What?" I ask as I sit down across from her.

"I've loved three people in my life." She says and I'm so surprised at her change of topic I say nothing.

"I loved my son. I loved him from the moment I found out I was pregnant. It was one time, did you know that? Sam got me drunk and we did it and then…bam…Jake. And he never touched me again. But I was okay with that, because I had my little boy."

I sit…speechless.

I didn't know Sam did that to her.

I didn't know.

"I loved my Dad. He could have been so angry when I told him I was pregnant but he wasn't. He supported me and loved us both…so much."

I'm waiting…

Because I know she said she loved three people…

"And I loved you." She breathes as she looks up at me, her eyes so damn empty.

"I loved you from the moment I saw you when I walking into that Biology lab in eighth grade. I loved you when you made fun of my slap bracelets and told me I was going to cut myself…and then took me to the nurse when I did. I loved you when you stood up for me in front of Jessica and Lauren when they made fun of me for getting pregnant. And I even loved you when you left." She whispers and I have no words.

She loved me.

Loved.

"Bella…" I start to say but she keeps talking.

"I used to lay in bed at night after I got Jake to sleep and imagine it was you, that you were Jake's Daddy. You would have sung to him and rocked him. You would have helped me change his diapers and taught him to walk. And maybe…just maybe, you would have been with them when…when…" She says, her breath coming faster and I scoot across the floor and pull her into my arms.

"They said it was instantaneous. That they didn't feel a thing. One minute, they're driving down the 101, heading to a baseball game in Seattle and the next they're under a tractor trailer. The only people in the world who loved me, were gone in an instant. My child. My father…I didn't even have anything to bury." She cries into my chest and I hold her tight.

Even though she's pushing me away…

I hold her tight.

"I'm here Bella." I whisper into her hair. "I'm here now."

*()*()*

ONE YEAR LATER

"Dude, I thought your birthday was on Thanksgiving." Jasper asks as he hands me the controller.

I ignore him.

Asshole.

I hate playing this game.

I always lose.

"Edward! Can you get the turkey from the garage?" Mom calls and I hand the controller to Emmett so he can play while I help.

"It's dead this year, right?" I yell before I open the garage and I hear her giggle.

Little does she know that her harebrained idea to get a live turkey changed my life.

I will always love that turkey.

I yank open the door with my arm out…

Just in case.

But instead of finding a turkey.

I find my wife.

She's sitting on top of my dad's workbench that he never uses.

She's wearing a black dress and a frilly white apron.

She looks good enough to eat.

"I thought you had an appointment this morning?" I ask as I walk across the cement floor.

"I did…I'm done." She whispers, grabbing onto my shirt when I get close enough and pulling me towards her.

It has been a long and painful journey.

But we're finally someplace good.

She went to therapy three times a week at the beginning.

She felt guilty that she lived and they didn't.

She felt guilty that she wanted to make a life with me while theirs were over.

But she wanted it so bad.

And two months ago she finally accepted my proposal.

And we were married that same day.

We moved into her Dad's house.

We kept those pictures on the fridge.

Because even though Jake is gone…

He's still with her.

And I made a promise to her that I would help her keep him alive.

So every night before we go to bed she tells me a story about him.

How he used to take his diaper off and smear poop all over the walls.

How he couldn't say the word…fork...so he said fuck instead.

How he was the sweetest little thing when he woke up in the morning.

How he loved her more than anyone else in the world.

And I eat up every one of her words…

I want to know him to.

I already love him.

"Bella?" I ask as she reaches her hand down my pants and fists my cock.

Did I mention the sex?

She is…

Ah-mazing.

I can't get enough of her.

And she seems pretty attached to me as well.

"I need you." She whispers against my lips seconds before she pushes her tongue into my mouth.

She tastes so good.

Like sunshine and honey and everything perfect.

Her hands strip me of my pants and she hooks her feet behind my ass, pulling me into her.

Panties?

Who needs panties?

"Fuck yes!" She cries as she leans her head back against the cinderblock wall.

I put my hands under her ass so she doesn't get splinters and just go to town.

My lips find her throat.

And her cheeks.

And finally her succulent mouth.

And I feast.

"Edward…Edward…so close." She pants and I bend my knees just a little so I can hit that one spot that never fails to…

"YES!"

Success.

I keep pounding into her as she cums around me and then…

"Oh yes…yes Bella!" I moan as I pour myself into her.

Her head falls to my shoulder and I hold her close.

God I love her.

"I'm pregnant." She whispers and I nearly drop her as I pull away and look at her.

Her eyes are wet but so very happy.

"Really?" I breathe because she told me she was on the pill.

She didn't want to have any more kids.

And as much as it broke my heart to know I would never hold a little piece of us in my arms, I accepted it.

Because having her was more important.

"But…but…" I stammer and she reaches up to wipe a tear I didn't know had fallen off my cheek.

"I know what I said…but I changed my mind." She says and I pull her against me and just…

Thank God for that turkey.

Happy Birthday Missy!