Mine: Sadness that this story is over! Happiness that the colder temperature equals electric blanket season! Plans for upcoming stories… Author alert me if interested! SM's work.

Not mine: SM's work

Four years later.

BPOV

"Manolo," I suggested.

"Yves," Edward piped in.

"Chanel."

"Mischka."

"Furstenburg!"

"You're hilarious, jerks!" Alice stuck out her tongue at us from her spot beside Jasper at the dinner table.

"I don't think you're giving me credit. If anything, my elevated taste in clothes should suggest that I have an elevated taste in names. Furstenburg," she said with a scrunched up face.

"I'm thinking Gunner if it's a boy," Jasper deadpanned.

"Honey….. what?" Alice asked, a tone of panic creeping into her voice.

"Gunner? Are you serious?"

"Calm down, baby," Jasper laughed, kissing her forehead.

"If I were you, I would've let that ride on for a while," Edward told Jasper with a wink.

"Gunner Hale! It has quite a ring…" I joked.

"It's not nice to play games with a pregnant woman, you three!" Alice's face was uncharacteristically reddening with each second.

"What if my blood pressure skyrockets? Wouldn't someone feel a little bit bad then?" she glared at Edward.

"Calm down, Al. You're going to be a great mom, we all know it," Edward reassured her with a smile.

"I like simple first names," she pouted.

"The middle name, however," I said knowingly. After four years I was an expert at picking up on what Alice wasn't saying.

"I hate you all!" she said, laughing despite herself.

"And just to think I came with a surprise for you. What a shame," she said as she pulled a thick scrapbook out of her purse.

"You'll spill. And on the upside, you won't have to worry about a diaper bag cramping your style, your purses are already big enough to fit everything. Including the baby!" Edward joked.

It was safe to say that every day I fell deeper in love with Edward. Each touch still set my skin ablaze, every glance made my cheeks redden with the same intensity as the first night at Firefly.

"Hah," she raised her eyebrows, clutching the book to her chest.

"I want to see, Alice!"

"I'd like to introduce you to baby Hale," she said with tears in her eyes as she opened up the scrapbook to reveal several sonogram pictures.

My eyes flitted to Edward's face, beaming with pride and happiness and his eyes watering slightly.

"Congratulations Al, Jasper!" he choked out, closely looking at the images of his niece or nephew in utero.

"When did you find out?" I asked.

"A little over a week ago," she responded.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but I wanted to see the expression on your face when we did!" she laughed.

"When can we expect the little bugger?"

"Nice, Edward. Six more months and you're an uncle!"

I watched Alice and Jasper hug each other, warmed even after so many years by their love. My friends as well as family, their happiness meant the world to me.

"I'm touched and impressed that you came all this way to tell us your news," Edward began. "But… you really took came all the way to Seattle just to see our facial expressions?"

A very wide and brilliant smile took over Alice's face.

"We may be looking at real estate," she squealed.

My attention slipped away from the e-mail I was typing and focused on the street below through the window in my office. It was dark out, but the streetlights on the steep and narrow roadway illuminated the area beautifully. I shivered and zipped my hoodie, refocusing on the email so I could make my way home.

Sarah,
Thanks for reaching out. The guys could do an in-station performance anytime from noon to 2:30 p.m. on the 20th, what time works best for you? Let me know if you need any promo copies of the album or tickets to the show.It was crazy how quickly life had changed.

Thanks for your support!

Bella Swan
Emerald Eyes Management

After Edward and I got back to New York from Washington after Jake's accident, life changed. For the better.

A week or so after we got back, Edward proposed to me at a concert at the Bowery Ball room. Using his ridiculous connections, he slipped away under the pretenses of getting us drinks at the bar and reappeared minutes later onstage with the lead singer, asking me to make him the happiest man in the world.

At that moment, when I screamed yes and kissed him with all my might onstage, I thought I couldn't be any happier. We decided to enjoy the engagement and not rush the wedding, but we both knew where it would be held- the only option as far as either of us were concerned- Central Park.

In the months following the concert, though, he proved me wrong.

"Let's move," he whispered into my hair late one night in bed as we were recovering and waiting for sleep.

"Move where?" I laughed, trying to imagine a more magical place than Edward's apartment. Well, after we had subleased my apartment and I had moved my stuff in, I guess it was officially our apartment.

"Forks. You miss your dad. I saw how happy you were when we were back. I think I could really like it, too."

I sat in silence, mentally making a pro and con list.

"Bella?" he asked. "Say something."

"We don't need to retrace my path," I told him.

"How about we find our own?"

**

It had been a little over three years since we had moved to Issaquah, a beautiful suburb only a little outside of Seattle. I didn't realize how much I needed mountains and green grass in my life until we left New York. I sometimes missed the city, but we decided to keep Edward's apartment and could visit whenever work allowed.

I steered my car into our driveway, stomach jumping in excitement as I saw a light on in the window of Edward's office.

I couldn't get out of my car quickly enough, slamming the door and running up the steps so I could be with him.

He opened the door right as I jammed the key in the lock, grabbing me into his arms.

"Twelve hours a day is far too long to be away from you," he moaned as he peppered my neck with kisses.

He was right.

"How was your day, babe?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair as he backed us into our house.

"Fantastic!" he replied, looking ecstatic. "My private lesson students are getting better by the week. Mid-term performances are almost over for the juniors and seniors, and most of the kids have done really well. Even the kids who try to be troublemakers are amusing."

"I can't wait for the recital next week!" I smiled, popping a no-bake cookie I had made the previous night into my mouth.

"Ah , ah!" he protested.

"I made dinner! Let's eat and you can tell me about your day," He told me, pulling me into the dining room.

"We're finalizing Sean's band's tour this week… a few more stations got back to us today about on-air performances, so everything's really coming together. This is really good!" I gushed as I tried to speak around my mouthful of spaghetti, laughing at my failure.

"Oh! Jacob says hi," I remembered suddenly. "He's heading out for a book tour. He stopped in today to get some paperwork and hang out a little bit. His new chair is quite snazzy!"

"Did he go with the Invacare model?" Edward asked, chewing his garlic bread.

I couldn't imagine the Edward I met four years ago nomming on garlic bread as he talked to me about Jacob.

"Yep! And after a few customizations, he's gonna be stealing ladies' hearts across the United States with his hot wheelchair and bound-to-be-a-bestseller book."

Jacob's life had drastically changed after his accident.

Most obviously, he was confined to a wheelchair. But, most excitingly, he came out of his coma a different man.

He began to speak to schools in the Forks and Portland areas about the decisions he had made and their repercussions on his life, but more importantly about what life after his accident had taught him. Quite a bit of buzz was generated, and he segued it into a book deal. Or, I guess I should say we segued it into a book deal; Jacob was my first client at Emerald Eyes Management.

"Do you ever look back and wonder how this happened?" Edward asked me, linking his fingers with mine after we cleared the dishes and headed to our bedroom.

"Every day. But I try not to ask questions, I try to just be happy that it did."

I knew without a doubt we'd made the right decision.

The world was perfect in that moment. I rested my head on Edward's shoulder in our bed as he sighed contentedly, the air filled with the sweet fragrance of the swaying trees outside of our opened window. I burrowed into his shoulder, eyes drifting shut as the sound of crickets coaxed us both into a blissful sleep.


Author's Note:

Wow! What a journey. Did the ending surprise you? Make you happy?

I'm super sad that the story is over, but I feel like maybe there's more to tell... Maybe outtakes (Proposal? Wedding?) and futuretakes (...maybe un bambino for Edward and Bella?). I'm going to open it up to reader suggestions- let me know what you want to see, and I'll do my best to post a O/S of the requested scene.

Thank you SO MUCH for everyone who has supported this story. Inside-the-disarray, eliseshaw- you two in particular are awesome. CullenGirl08, Edlovesme- I've loved your reviews since the beginning. Pretty much, you're making me beyond stoked by simply reading this story.

I'm probably taking a little bit of a break from fan-fic- full-time work is more intense than I anticipated, plus my move-in date for my first apartment with my fiance is next week (so excited!) However, I do have several story ideas and even a few chapters in the works at the moment. If you're interested in reading the outtakes and future material, please author alert me to stay up-to-date.

Thank you, again :)