A/N: I promised ten chapters. I promised it to MYSELF, anyway. And so here it is: the final chapter. And it's twice as long as most of the rest of them. ;-)

Bella was nervous, Jasper had informed me. I envied him his ability to perceive past the façade she presented. He felt that, I know. That quick pulsation of jealousy. He offered me half a shrug. What else could he do?

We spent the rest of that momentous day together as a family. It was only near the end of it, as a late dusk started shading the sky, that Bella reminded us she had a job.

Rosalie rolled her eyes as Emmett grinned and said, "You know we're all jealous, right?"

"Jealous of working retail?"

"No, of you having a job!" Alice supplied with a smile of her own. "How do you manage to work with humans?"

Bella cocked her head. "How do you manage to go to high school with them, over and over?"

"Good point," Jasper conceded, rising and drawing Alice up against his side. The pair of them moved in synch – they always had. "And now, I sense that you're in the mood to be off, Bella. So I'll abscond with my wife and we'll leave you in peace."

On the walk back to Bella's apartment, I offered her my arm. I always wore long sleeves when I would be with her, now, because I loved the feel of her touch, even through a layer of fabric. With a smile, she took it, her fingers resting at the bend in my elbow as she absently played with the light fabric. I loved that she felt comfortable enough to go that far. Loved that she leaned lightly into me. I sighed.

"Edward," she murmured as we had meandered out of earshot of the house. "I remember us, too."

Yes! I wanted to laugh in delight. I wanted to whisk her into my arms and press enthusiastic kisses up and down her throat, inhaling her myriad fragrances. I wanted to – ridiculous as it might seem – break out singing John Denver's "Annie's Song." I wanted – Well, it didn't matter what I wanted. Not that evening. Instead of acting like a presumptuous buffoon, I restrained myself. "I'm so glad. I've never forgotten. What do you remember?"

"I remember how you saved my life from the van. And I remember the meadow..." She smiled up at me through her lashes, her eyes dark and her skin pale and – for a split second – she looked like Human Bella again. She stopped walking we stood, under darkening light, studying one another. I was hesitant to speak – I didn't want to ruin anything by any renewed declarations. After forty-seven endless seconds, she spoke again. "I – About Demetri."

I swallowed the surge of venom that all but spouted from its glands. "Yes?" I did not growl.

She kept her hands on my forearms. I didn't understand her reticence to touch me, but I had promised her not to try to touch her until she gave me permission, so I kept my word. "I didn't remember you, then. I hadn't spent time with anyone of our kind except Victoria and when they came, they were – very helpful. I guess, I guess we were friends." I nodded, my jaw still tight with worry and, yes, jealousy. "Demetri and Felix always wore gloves. To hide their skin, they said. But we got to be friends and, and Demetri wanted to – to, um." Her eyes fluttered up and down, darting with apparent discomfort. "Wanted for us to have sex."

"Just like that?" I gasped, sounding strangled. "What. The. Hell."

Bella blinked very solemnly and waited until I had mastered myself. "He said that, among our kind, sating our desires was really not a big concern. There were no adverse consequences, like disease. He and Felix –"

"Both of them?" I did growl that time.

All at once, Bella laughed. "No! No, they were just explaining things to me and wondered if I, you know, had had sex before." Then, she tossed her head a little. "You know, Edward, you're cute when you're angry."

No, I didn't want her to leave it there. "Jealous, Bella. Jealous." She seemed taken aback at my confession, but I started walking again and elucidating. "I told you, back in May, that I used to be your mate. You were human, but the signs were there. I didn't want to believe it. Couldn't. I couldn't imagine you having to become – become like me. Not for anything."

"But Edward," she said, catching up instantly and walking by my side. "How did you know? I mean, we touched..."

Almost, I abandoned my promise to grab her bare hand. Almost. "We did. You – made a profound impact on me, Isabella Swan. Never doubt that." I had to know. "Did Demetri...do likewise? On you? You said he wanted to test...?"

She threw her hands in front of her face and stalked ahead of me. In spite of my tension, I had to smile.

"He did, yes. He said he was drawn to me. That I affected him," she called softly over her shoulder. "So he kissed me, okay? And so did Felix." She kept walking, walking away from me as I stood, stilled in silent fury. Had they hurt her?

I fought past that reaction to ask her. She finally stopped and turned and shook her head. "No. But it was...awkward. And so when you said what you did to me in the store, it made me –"

I could only imagine. No memories of us. Of the van. Of the meadow... Nothing and here comes this strange vampire declaring mate-hood. My embarrassment was almost fully consuming, but it loosened my muscles and I flashed to join her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She smiled, then the smile grew into a broad grin which led to her laughter – a most wonderful, uplifting sound.

I think I would have enfolded her in my arms in the next moment. I ached to have her there, to feel the pressure of her body next to mine. I didn't give a damn if we were in the woods or on a street corner. I just wanted to feel her.

But we were in the woods. And it was dark. Out of the darkness, a red-haired fiend came all but flying.

"I knew I'd find you, you bitch!"

It was almost as Jasper had visualized it – Bella and her shielded mind set about their self-preservation. I leapt in, too, trying to use my superior speed to catch and trap Victoria. Bella tried, after her initial leap into the trees, to attack her nemesis. Brown hair met red, white fingers stretched, high voices roared with wordless violence.

And then the cavalry arrived, with Major Jasper Whitlock riding on point.

After emitting a high-pitched shriek, Victoria leapt up at a forty-two degree angle, rebounding off a heavy maple branch and trying to make her escape on foot after landing. But Alice saw where she'd land and was waiting and Jasper sent the fiery-headed female a flurry of devastating emotions. I saw them catalogued in his mind. Apathy, dread, sorrow, and a loss so deep and wide that seeing beyond it was too much for even a vampire's mind to manage.

Victoria cried out, wavering and was immediately pressed into the earth by Emmett's massive musculature. The rest of the family circled them, crouched low, rumbles loud in the night. Bella gripped my sleeve with one hand while her other smoothed her wind-and-fight ruffled hair.

"Did you want to say something to her before we tear her apart?" Emmett called.

"Yes!" My Bella, still gripping my shirtsleeve, crossed the space between us and my family. They were still on alert, but their stances relaxed somewhat. "What the hell, Victoria? Why me?"

"James!" the female spat, squirming under Emmett. "You had him killed."

"He bit me. He started my change! I didn't hurt him."

"No, that would have been me," Emmett told her, flicking her head with his finger. There was enough force that her face hit the dirt again.

"And me. And me!" Alice and Jasper said, their voices strangely light, all things considered.

Victoria kicked and Rosalie plopped on her feet. "Enough of that. Was James your mate?"

"Yes," Victoria whispered, her body stilling. "He was."

Esme grimaced and knelt near her head. "It's torture to be without him."

"Yes..."

"End it," Jasper directed. His mind was picturing an endless, lightless eternity without Alice and the despair he inadvertently shared with the rest of us was almost crippling.

"Don't have to tell me twice."

"But wait," Carlisle said, kneeling in the nomad's line of sight. "Victoria. It's been years and Bella wasn't responsible. Can you not let this vengeance go?"

The female whipped her head up, finding Jasper and glaring at him. "No. He's right. End it."

Emmett did. Almost dispassionately, he ripped Victoria's unresisting head from her body while Rosalie, after a glance at Bella, worked on the arms. Metallic tearing echoed in the forest and I winced, remembering that humans lived not far away.

"Let me," Bella murmured, hand outstretched. "Victoria, I'm sorry."

Carlisle looked away as the pieces of the malicious nomad were set aflame.

"I still have to go to work tonight," Bella said into the quiet of the evening. Purple smoke had dissipated to float on light summery currents of wind.

My family, who had lingered to see if any other surprises were coming out of the night, sighed as a group. "See you tomorrow, Bells?"

"Yeah, Emmett. And thank you. Thank you all so much." One by one, she approached each of them with a light embrace. Esme clutched her close, Jasper grinned over her head at me.

Patience, he reminded me. Walk her home, little brother.

I nodded at him as he released my Bella into Alice's embrace.

"See you soon! Have a good night at work." And no hunting. Bella, I mean. Edward, you should hunt. The family sent silent and vocal farewells and took off in pairs to return home. Fighting – for practice or for real – tended to lead to sex in our kind.

As if she had heard my psychic sibling, Bella smiled into my eyes. "You look thirsty, Edward."

"So do you," I said before I thought.

She rubbed a bit at her throat. "Yeah. Don't even need contacts, tonight."

"Let me walk you home?"

Her smile was shy. "Sure. Weren't we heading there?"

Before we were assaulted, yes. If she didn't want to reference it, I wouldn't either. "I do believe we were." And we had been talking about us, I wanted to add. I didn't.

She took my arm again, her steps slow. Reluctant, it seemed to me. "So are you okay? With the Demetri and Felix thing?"

Compared to the threat of a murderous rogue who had just tried to end my love's existence, the idea that Demetri had wanted to see if he were a mate to my Bella seemed very small. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Good," she said, as if checking something off on her own private list. "Okay. Oh, look, almost there. Will you come in?"

It was our established pattern as we learned more about each other in this new life she had and the memories I could share with her. I followed her into her apartment and waited, trying to be patient as she paced between the living area and the kitchenette. Back and forth, occasionally sliding me a thoughtful look.

"What is it?" I finally asked.

"I – would you do me a favor?"

"Of course." She had to ask?

A sort of wary relief flared over her features. In a flash, she tossed me her cell phone. "Would you call my father? Would you call Charlie?"

I almost dropped the small cell phone in surprise. "What? Call Chief Swan?"

Her words came out in an audio-blur as she came to stand in front of me, clinging to the front of my shirt. "I want him to know I'm okay. I want him not to worry or be sad. I know I can't see him the way I look now but maybe we could do something with a webcam. I want him to be able to call me but I don't know if he wants to because I've been gone so long. Mostly, I want him to know I'm okay."

I wanted to ask Alice if this was the right thing to do, but when it came to Bella, Alice's gift was hit or miss. Mostly, miss. "Why me? Why don't you call him?"

I expected some big explanation – I never knew what she was thinking, but had to guess. More hit than miss, usually, but this time, I missed. Bella's brow furrowed. "I'm afraid."

"Why me?" I asked again, my voice more tender. I wanted to know. I had to know why she would choose me to help her with this.

"Because I trust you, Edward. I told you – I remember... Almost everything. We only had a little bit of time, but I think I always trusted you."

I smiled a little, my free hand twitching to cup her face. "You did. You shouldn't have, but you did."

Her eyes glowed in the unlit room. The lack of artificial lighting mattered not at all for us; but still, she was shining for me. "I still do." With deliberate motions, she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and, with a look, asked for her phone back. She tossed it on the plain brown "furnished apartment" piece of furniture that would have fit in anywhere. Then, she held up one hand.

"What?"

"Please, Edward. Let's find out, okay? I – I loved you, when I was human, you know."

My breath caught in my throat as I inhaled. "I know."

"When I got my memories back, that love was nestled in the middle of them. I – I feel like I was in love with you anyway. Just falling in love with you again over the summer."

My mouth opened and I desperately drew air into my lungs. "Oh, Bella. I love you. I never stopped."

"I love you, too. Please, Edward," she whispered. "Please touch me."

It was all I had wanted for months. For years. With one hand, I met the one she still held up for me. The other I allowed to trace her face. Finally. My chest tightened with emotion. My body trembled. My skin sizzled with the surety of the bond I knew we had between us. "Bella..."

"Edward... Oh..."

And then my hands were in her hair and hers were around me and we connected on every possible point. I had seen this need in the minds of Carlisle and Esme, of Rosalie and Emmett. I had seen the images and rambling, unconscious descriptions in their thoughts before I could tune them out. But none of that prepared me for the overwhelming connection I felt to Isabella Marie Swan in a darkened apartment in Freeport, Maine.

Lips slid over skin. I moaned, drew back, afraid I had overstepped but she pulled me back by my own hair, covering my mouth with hers and adding her sounds to mine. More. I needed more. She whispered that she did, too, and our clothes were soon obliterated. The taste of her skin, the heightened awareness of every part of her consumed me. Curves and peaks and indentations and dimples. Scars she had, scars I had given her. I caressed them with my tongue as she tasted me likewise.

How long we were lost in one another before I found myself poised over her supple, supine form I couldn't have said – my awareness was entirely with her. "Bella..."

"Please, Edward..." Her smile was rich with promise. "Whatever it is..."

"May I?"

"You're my mate. I'm yours. Take me. Show me."

I did.

My phone vibrated some while later. A half of a moon shone through the louvered blinds on the apartment windows. I would have ignored my phone but its intrusion reminded Bella of something rather significant and she sat up.

"I have to call in sick to work!"

I pulled her back down to me. "I am afraid I shan't be able to let you go for at least a week. Except to hunt." The mental images of Bella on the hunt aroused me again but then I remembered she was not yet hunting animals. I grimaced and tried to hide it.

Still, she pulled herself away and reached for my phone, which was in a torn pocket of my trousers. "A message from Alice."

Called in sick. Pretended 2B Marie. U Owe Me.

Bella and I shared a chuckle. Until her eye chanced upon her phone, still on the sofa. "Charlie."

"I'll call him."

May, 2015 - Brazil

"Yeah, Dad. I'll definitely come see you when we're done. Edward's found this really interesting treatment and – yeah. Love you, too."

She tossed the phone and rejoined me in our little house. It wasn't really sturdy – but we'd broken more than one wall of the Cullen's house, not to mention cracking the basement floor. Bella and I decided a honeymoon was in order. One in the midst of plentiful game that tasted better than mule deer.

My love's golden eyes twinkled at me. "I don't think we can put it off any more, sweetheart."

Nuzzling the slope of her shoulder, I sighed. "I know. You know Emmett is going to be jealous that you hunted jaguar."

Her laugh still brought me immeasurable joy. I could have sworn that, for just a moment, my dead heart gave a thump.

She had brought me back to life.

E/N: And that's it!

This fic was a huge departure for me and I'll tell you why. You normally don't see any of my stories until I have outlined and plotted each step along the way. Granted, those steps might slide and glide occasionally, but I always know exactly how I'm ending it before I start posting.

With this one, I did not have a plan. My outline was the merest whiff of a whim. All I knew was that it would be an HEA for Edward and Bella.

So thank you for bearing with me. :) Thank you to everyone who read and added and reviewed and tweeted! :) It was kind of a wild ride for me! Thank you for your support.

~LJ