Home at Last

As a child, I had expected a great many things for my life, but my ranch was always the center of it all. It was the most important thing to me, and I could not even fathom the idea of anything ever changing that… and then I met Edward.

The ranch would always be important to me, but instead of it being the center of my life, it was only the backdrop. The center of my life was my family, and I finally knew what it meant to be truly happy and fulfilled. Of course, being constantly blissfully happy didn't stop me from almost hyperventilating by the thought of standing in front of a huge crowd of people to recite vows.

"Bella, breathe!" Rosalie demanded as I stood inside the house, waiting for the music to cue me to begin my march.

"I'm trying!" I hissed at her, and I honestly had to force myself to refrain from attacking her with my bouquet. I risked a peek out the window, and couldn't believe just how many people were sitting out there on our property, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"Don't over think it, Bella. You will fall down if you do," Alice warned me. "Its just one foot in front of the other."

"That's easy for you to say, you love wearing heels, and you're good at it," I grumbled.

"You will be fine…. Did you take some make-up off?" she just noticed.

"Just a smidge," I admitted.

"Bella!" she scolded me. "You know I think you're beautiful in your natural state, but today is supposed to be fancy. You did agree to wear whatever I wanted you to."

"I know, but there's so many people out there, and its hot, and I'm huge," I whined. "I would have just ended up sweating it off anyway," I said defensively. "Who are all those people anyway?"

"It's a wedding, Bella. There's always dozens of people nobody knows at these things," Rose said, completely unfazed. "You remember my wedding, right? Half of Carlisle's hospital staff was there, and all of Esme's friends from her various clubs and committees she was involved in. This is just a typical Cullen wedding."

My nerves spiked.

"She looks a little green," Alice said concerned.

"Snap out of it, Bella!" Rose insisted. "The ceremony is literally about to start."

"I know!" I shouted at her, and then I needed to apologize for my outburst. "I'm sorry… Its just all my pregnancy hormones," I tried assuring them. "Honestly, how fat do I look in this dress? White is definitely not my color right now."

"You don't look fat," Alice tried convincing me.

"Well…" Rose admitted. "Okay, not fat, but it's clear you're ready to pop. I just hope you make it through the vows without your water breaking. We really should have planned this for a few months later."

"Nonsense! We waited long enough. Besides, I know she's going to be absolutely fine. I have a sixth sense about this kind of thing." Alice said confidently. "Okay, lets stop with all the worries. How do I look?" she asked while twirling around to show off her hot pink ruffled gown.

"I'm still not sure about the color," Rose said honestly.

"It's a little late for that," I said with a laugh. "I actually love it. Its definitely you," I told Alice.

"Okay, the music is changing," Rose squealed. "Ready?" she asked me.

"As I'll ever be," I said honestly.

Rose went out first, and then I took a moment alone with Alice to tell her just how much I loved her, and how so incredibly proud and grateful I was for everything she had done. Everything good in my life was thanks to her in some way, so how could I ever deny her anything she could possibly want?... Including the ceremony exactly the way she had envisioned it.. even the less than thrilling aspects...

When it was my turn to walk down the aisle, I straightened out the white fabric of my dress for the umpteenth time, and then I wove my arm through Emmett's, and held on to him for dear life. "Don't let me fall," I begged him.

"Come on, now. You have my little nephew inside your belly. I'd never let you fall," he promised.

"You do not know it's a boy," I said evenly as he began leading me towards the altar.

"Its most certainly a boy," Em whispered to me as we walked. "You're huge. Only a boy could be that big."

"Shhh!" I hushed him, since people could already see us and he didn't seem to care. I smiled at the guests, and felt more like a parade float than anything. Perhaps I should have been waving and throwing flowers instead of just smiling.

Rather than letting my nerves spike while looking at the countless faces I didn't know, I decided to look forward at one of the most handsome grooms I had ever seen, smiling back at me. It was definitely a surreal moment as I realized the gravity of the situation. It had been a series of amazing and unbelievable events to get us to that point, and I knew it was nothing short of a miracle… dozens of tiny but monumental miracles. I suppose it was simply meant to be. One of the most incredible fairytales I had ever seen.

"You look beautiful," he said to me once I reached the end of the aisle.

I laughed at him as if he had just told a mildly funny joke. "Sure, I do. You are so sweet," I murmured back to him, before kissing him on the cheek.

I looked over the crowd again, and needed to swallow hard to keep the contents of my stomach from coming up through my throat. My fear of public speaking had hit an all time high, and the anxiety of it was really messing with my head. Then again, I think I'd do just about anything for Alice.

"Come on, girl," I mumbled as my mare appeared at the end of the aisle, holding a flower basket in her mouth.

Thankfully, being the well trained girl she was, there were no issues whatsoever, and everyone Oooh'd and Ahhh'd, and even giggled with delight as the horse made its way down the aisle.

"Good girl!" I told her, before taking my tuxedo clad - three year old - Edward mini clone, off of her back. "You did so good, baby!" I said to him while peppering his face with kisses.

Rose grabbed the horse's reins and pulled her to the bridesmaids side, and Emmett came and stole my son from me, so he could stand with the groomsmen. Of course, not before tossing him way too high in the air, making him squeal with delight. It always gave me a heart attack when he did that, but I allowed it because of how much he loved it, and I knew Emmett would never drop him.

Finally, the sweet sound of the wedding march scratched off, and suddenly Bruno Mars's song: 'Marry You', began to play. Everyone stood to watch the bride make her entrance, and there wasn't a dry eye out there, or even a mouth that wasn't smiling. Alice and Edward came dancing out of the house, and by dancing, I mean they were straight up boogying to the music.

Everyone started laughing and clapping along, and many people started dancing to the beat as well.

Their so called 'walk' down the aisle, was only supposed to last two verses, but everyone was having so much fun with it, the DJ let the entire song play and everyone just kept dancing. As Alice reached Jasper, she began mouthing the words, and forced him to dance with her. Jasper was in no way a dancer, but he did it, because it was practically impossible not to when it came to Alice. I would have thought my sweet, but very reserved, and somewhat shy cousin would be embarrassed about dancing in that way, in front of all those people, but Jasper didn't have a care in the world. It was obvious that to him, there was nobody standing there except Alice. I loved the way he loved her, and I was so grateful they grew in love the way they did.

Edward left his mother's side to dance with me for the remainder of the song, but when it finished, he went back to her and I took my place in front of them as the reluctant, but loving matron of honor, slash officiant.

"Um…. On behalf of Alice and Jasper, I want to thank everyone for being here to celebrate this beautiful chapter in their lives with them," I announced with a shaky voice. I took a deep breath, and then I looked at Edward, who smiled and winked at me. Somehow I found the strength I needed in him, and used it to steady myself.

"Traditionally, this is the time when the minister, or me in this case, would to ask who gives the bride away to be married, but clearly this isn't a traditional wedding," I announced, which garnered a few laughs from the audience. "Alice requested this line to be altered as - 'Who gives this bride their love and support to be married?'"

"I do," Edward spoke up.

"We do as well," Carlisle and Esme added from where they were standing in the front row.

"As do we," Emmett and Rose both chimed in together.

"I give you my love and support as well," I murmured to her emotionally.

Alice smiled widely at me, and then she kissed Edward on the cheek and whispered her love for him, before he patted Jasper on the back, and then took his place as the best man besides him.

Thankfully, my public speaking nerves calmed, and I was able to get through the rest of the ceremony with a strong steady voice. When I was finally able to pronounce them "Husband and Wife," I was relieved and grateful I had done it. It was such an honor, and I knew I'd always look back on it fondly.

The ceremony had been amazing and a ton of fun, which was exactly what Alice had wanted, but the reception was an absolute blast! Every moment of it was a great time for everyone - The music, the food, even the toasts were incredible….

"Edward, get up here!" Emmett said into the microphone.

"Oh, I guess we are doing this now," Edward mumbled, before kissing me quickly, and then getting up to join him.

"Daddy wait!" our son cried to him. So he scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder, causing him to get a belly laugh, and he carried him that way to meet Em on the stage.

"My man!" I heard Emmett say to him with a fist bump. Of course he had taught a three year old fist bumps; I expected nothing less from him. "You got it?" he then asked Edward quietly, despite the fact the mic was on so we could all hear it.

"Yes," Edward replied with slight annoyance. He had already asked him if he had it several times in the last half hour alone.

"Okay great." Em turned to the crowd. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Emmett Cullen, brother of the bride. And this is my nephew, Edward Cullen, and his little man, Charlie Cullen. We just wanted to thank everyone for coming tonight, and sharing in this magical occasion with us. Our family has been through… so much. We've had the lowest of lows, and we have also been blessed with so many highs that I still can't believe some of its real. Alice, in particular, has just completely blossomed in these past few years, and its because of Edward here, and because of Jasper." He paused, and then looked at his sister. "I don't think I'd be cool with anyone else for you but Jazz, because I know nobody else could ever love you the way he does… the way you deserve. Jasper, please come up here. Edward and I have something to give you."

Jasper looked surprised, and quite frankly, a little scared as he approached them on the stage.

"We have a strange but amazing family dynamic," Emmett announced. "Us three men… well, four including little man there… we are best friends, and brothers, and a few other things that starts to sound weird, but what it all sums up to is that we are family, and we love each other like crazy."

Edward and Jasper both nodded in agreement, and they shared a brief group hug before Emmett got to his point. "When I heard you were planning to ask my sister to marry you…" Emmett had to pause because he was suddenly overcome with emotions. "You came and talked to Edward and me, both individually, and we decided… right then and there, we needed to get this for you. We didn't even know back then that you were going super untraditional and taking her last name instead of the other way around, but… either way, this is for you," he said, and then Edward handed Jasper their gift.

"Aww, man… this is awesome. Thank you," Jasper said, getting choked up as well.

"What is it?" little Charlie spoke up.

"It's the Cullen Crest," Emmett explained, loud enough so everyone could hear.

"Oh, it's just like mine!" Charlie said excitedly. "And daddy's, and yours, and Papa has one on his ring."

"That's right," Emmett told him, and then he looked at the crowd again. "All Cullen men have been wearing this crest for hundreds of years. Usually it's just men in the bloodline, but… family isn't just about blood, and Jasper is now officially a Cullen… or at least he will be when his legal name change goes through."

"Thanks guys. This means a lot to me," Jasper said sincerely.

We were all a little surprised when they had told us Jasper would be the one changing his last name, but then again, tradition aside, it made more sense that way. Jasper never had any pride for his family name, in fact, he absolutely loathed the father who gave it to him. Alice, on the other hand, didn't want to give up being a Cullen, especially after Edward had legally changed his name just over three years prior. So now we were all Cullens, and it was absolutely perfect.

"So here's to the newest Mister and Misses Cullen!" Emmett said while holding up his glass of champagne. "You've officially been branded," he told Jasper after tying the cuff into place. "There's no escaping us now."

"I don't need to escape. I'm right where I want to be," Jasper told him confidently.

A few other people gave toasts as well, and then more dancing ensued. Charlie wanted to dance, so I got my first ever mother-son dance. It was the sweetest thing ever and completely melted my heart, but I suppose I wasn't a very good dance partner with my giant belly and two left feet, so he quickly ran off to dance with Alice. I used his distraction to search out my second favorite dance partner, and I found him chatting with Carlisle.

"Hey, there you are," I said while hugging him from behind.

"Done with the dance already?" Edward asked me. "I was getting ready to cut in."

"I don't know. My last partner had some killer moves. Do you think you can compete with that?"

"Pfft, I taught him everything he knows," Edward said playfully.

"Bella, I just want to tell you what an amazing job you did today," Carlisle said to me before Edward had a chance to pull me away to the dance floor.

"Was it really okay?" I asked, still unsure. "I was so nervous."

"You handled it beautifully," he assured me.

"How are you feeling about all of it?" I asked hesitantly, knowing he missed his only opportunity to walk his daughter down the aisle. It happened exactly the way Alice had wanted it, since Edward was still the single most important person in the world to her and she didn't want anyone else to do it, but I was still curious how it made him feel, as her father, to not get the chance.

Carlisle smiled. "I feel nothing but gratitude and happiness just to be here," he said sincerely. "I never thought this would be possible for her, so… I'm just in awe of everything."

The music changed, and then Esme approached us with a suddenly exhausted looking Charlie. "I think he's just about done for the night."

"I see that. Did you kiss Alma goodnight?" I asked him. Alice had decided she wanted to be called "Alma" right after Charlie was born, as a way to combine Alice and grandma. I thought was really sweet, and Charlie loved calling her that as well. In fact, he had developed little nicknames for just about everyone in our family, and each and every one of them would light up whenever they heard him calling them.

Charlie nodded to answer my question, and then yawned.

"Okay, say goodnight to Papa and Mimi, too."

"Oh, I was planning to take him inside myself," Esme offered. "You should stay and dance. Enjoy yourselves before that baby comes."

"Esme, it's your daughter's wedding. I can't ask you to do that," I told her.

"You didn't ask me, and the wedding is over anyway, so I'm not going to miss anything. I'm actually pretty tired myself."

"Okay then, if you really don't mind."

"I don't mind one bit. Give Daddy and Mommy a kiss goodnight," Esme said to Charlie. After he kissed us, Esme looked at her husband. "I'll probably fall asleep in there with him. Just come wake me up when you're ready to leave."

"Okay, see you in a bit," he told her.

Much to Edward's relief, Esme and Carlisle did not move onto the ranch with the rest of us after Carlisle's life saving surgery. However, they did move to a much smaller property nearby. It was definitely a win-win situation; they were close enough that we saw them often, but still far enough to make sure Alice felt like she could have her space and independence from her parents, which was important to her after being treated like a child by them for so long.

Carlisle's health drastically improved since receiving Edward's kidney. They both had recovered from their surgeries quickly, and Carlisle was given a new lease on life, while Edward was given the chance to bond with a paternal figure for the first time in his life. The donation was just the beginning of their relationship, and they soon grew so close to the point that you couldn't even tell they didn't known each other all along. When we went out anywhere, or met anyone new while we were with them, people always assumed Carlisle was Edward's father due to how alike they were. Most of the time they wouldn't bother correcting them unless they got to know them better.

As predicted, Alice forgave her father fairly easily. She was far too happy, and far too grateful for everything she did have, to waste time by holding any grudges or having feelings of ill will towards anyone. She forgave, but she didn't forget it, and despite enjoying their occasional company, she had no interest in being as close to either of her parents as she was to the rest of us.

Emmett, on the other hand, needed much more convincing before he was willing to move past everything that his father did. After the surgery, he didn't want to visit Carlisle, and couldn't comprehend why Edward would. He hated the idea of Carlisle going anywhere near Edward socially, or the ranch. However, after several months of his bitterness every time Edward did visit Carlisle, Edward finally asked him – "If Alice and I can both forgive him for what he did to us, why can't you?"

Emmett started making an effort to at least tolerate his father after that. It had been a slow, ongoing process, but after a little more than three years, Emmett had finally gotten to the point where he was beginning to enjoy his father's company again.

Since neither Alice, nor Emmett wanted their parents around them constantly, Carlisle had decided to use his retirement as a fill-in for whenever the local hospital and clinic needed coverage, and he would also do pro bono home visits to anyone who needed a doctor and couldn't get out easily. Esme picked up a part time job at a nearby floral shop, and she also volunteered at the library, which helped her pass the time. They both seemed happy with where their lives currently were, and any amount of time they got with the family was special to them.

As much as Alice wanted to live her own life, she still had a hard time being away from Edward. She did eventually agree that the apartment was close enough, so that's where she and Jasper planned on staying indefinitely. Emmett's and Rosalie's newly built home turned out wonderfully, and only added to the already beautiful scenery of the ranch.

Every one of our family members cherished our son from the moment he was born. He was Edward's mini me, and he had a fiery personality to match the copper tones of his wild hair. Like Edward, he carried Aro's mother's green eyes, but also like Edward, there was absolutely nothing else about him that even closely resembled that horrible man.

Of all our family members, little Charlie was the closest to his Alma. Alice had said from the moment he was born, just how much he looked like Edward did as a baby. She would spend hours just rocking and cooing at him, and she truly saw his life as her second chance - Her way to get back a part of what she lost when Edward was taken from her.

In the beginning, however, Alice was a little possessive and over-protective of Charlie whenever her parents would come to visit. She particularly didn't want Carlisle to get too close to him. He understood it - we all did. As much as Edward wanted our son to have all the love and family he could get, he told Carlisle and Esme that Alice needed to be comfortable with them being around Charlie in order for them to be. Again, they understood, and they patiently waited for her to be able to relax enough to let them spend some real time with him.

Thankfully, she eventually learned to trust that her father was never going to do anything to separate her from the baby, the way he had separated her from Edward, and she finally allowed them to be active members of Charlie's family.

Alice was Charlie's "Alma", and he was her "Lee-Bear". I honestly loved few things more than watching the two of them play together. She was the one who always took care of him while I worked with my patients, and she was also the one who single handedly taught him to ride a horse from the moment he was able to walk. For three years old, he was already completely comfortable, and knew just how to keep in control of our highly trained and extremely gentle animals. He would even help Jasper with all their care, simply because he loved them almost as much as Alice did.

Alice, Jasper, and Charlie's mutual affections for our horses, was what gave Alice the idea to have the mare be the so called "flower girl" for her wedding, and of course, Charlie was the ring bearer...

"So… can I ask you something?" Edward asked hesitantly, as we were enjoying a slow dance after Esme took Charlie to bed.

"You can ask me anything," I said to him lovingly.

"Is this… the same dress you wore to our wedding?"

I giggled. "Why, because it looks like a big white tent on me, just like my wedding dress did?"

"It doesn't look anything like a tent," he argued. "You look beautiful, as always…. But, it is the same dress, right? I mean, why would you need to buy a new white maternity dress? And why the heck are you and Rose both wearing white anyway?"

"Um, no, it is not the same dress. Alice would never let me wear the same dress twice, and it is white because she wanted her hot pink gown to stand out. You should know better than to question anything your mother does anymore. Just be happy she didn't make you guys wear purple the way she had originally planned."

"So, do you regret not having a big wedding like this for us?" he asked sweetly.

"Actually, I was just thinking just how grateful I am we eloped."

"Really? You don't miss getting the chance to pick out a dress, and table decorations, and all that other stuff?"

"Not even a little," I said honestly. "But speaking of our wedding, I'm a little offended you don't remember what my dress looked like. It was just the two if us, it's not like there were a ton of other women's dresses there to distract you," I said playfully.

"I am never distracted by other women's anything," he said like the romantic, dutiful, husband he was. "And even though I can't remember what you were wearing, I know I'll never forget how you looked," he said, making me swoon…. almost.

"You stole that line from a chick flick, didn't you?" I said, knowing it sounded familiar.

He smiled crookedly at me. "Is 'Father of the Bride' a chick flick?"

"Uh… duh."

"Okay, yeah, that line was sort of like what a character said in that movie, but it just popped into my head right now because it's absolutely true. You were stunning on our wedding day, just like you're stunning now, and I'm sorry to say, I won't remember either dress."

"Stunning, and fat… both times," I corrected him.

"Stunning, and beautiful," he said while kissing my neck, and then he left a trail of kisses as he continued lying to me. "And sexy, and gorgeous, and super fine, and hot as hell, and sexy…"

"You already said sexy," I told him with a smile.

"Well, that's because it's so true it needed to be said twice."

I laughed at him. "Sure, I'm sexy… to a whale."

"I may just have a sperm whale in my pants," he said, making me stare at him for a moment, before I busted out with laughter.

"You better watch yourself with lines like that. You know how horny I get while I'm pregnant."

"While you're pregnant? Babe, you are always horny."

"That's true," I conceded. "You know, my doc did say a lot of sex could bring on labor… and I'm so ready for this baby to come out."

"If sex brought on labor, you would have had that baby a long time ago," he pointed out.

"But it wasn't ready a long time ago. He or she should be ready now though."

"Do you think anyone would notice if we disappeared?" he asked seductively.

"You know Alice will hunt you down until she finds you."

"We better make it a quick one then," he said before dragging me off to a dark secluded area of the property.

Luckily, we finished our quickie before Alice even noticed our absence, and we were satisfied enough to get us through the rest of the party.

When the last guest finally left, our immediate family, including Carlisle, all gathered together in the living room to reminisce and tell stories about that day's amazing event. Esme had somehow managed to stay awake, and she too joined us as well.

"Bella was so nervous to speak in front of everyone, I seriously thought she was going to lose her lunch," Rose told everyone.

"Since when do you have stage fright?" Emmett asked me.

"I don't know. It wasn't just the speaking, did you see those monster heels Alice made me wear? I'm thirty nine weeks pregnant! I was so sure I was going to fall flat on my face and end up giving the baby brain damage or something."

"Hey, those heels are amazing!" Alice said defensively. "And they made your dress. Without them the dress was just too plain."

"Did you see how drunk cousin Garrett was?" Emmett asked Carlisle. "Daum! That man must have drank half the tequila there."

"Yes, and I did ask him to slow it down. The bartender started only giving him soda, and he didn't even notice the difference. I made sure an Uber was here to take him home."

"He was plastered because he didn't know how to handle his newfound affections for Kate," Rose said with a laugh. "He fell in love with her right there on the dance floor."

"My sister, Kate?" Edward asked surprised.

"Yep."

Edward shrugged. "Well, her divorce just finalized. Maybe I could set them up."

"Um, Garrett is your second cousin… or something like that," I reminded him. "You don't need to set him up with your sister."

"They're not related to each other," Edward rebutted, clearly seeing nothing wrong with it.

"Don't you think we have enough weird family connections around here?" I asked.

"Eh, nothing wrong with a little family bonding."

"Sure makes holidays easier," Emmett agreed.

"Hey, I just want to thank everyone again, for everything you guys have all done," Jasper spoke up. "This is the best family anyone could ever ask for… and for awhile there, I thought my chances at having a family were over. I want you all to know how grateful I am to you all for being so welcoming."

Emmett laughed at him. "You've sort of been in our family since Bella and her dad first moved in with us when we were all kids."

"I know, but you know what I mean."

"We love you, bro. Couldn't have asked for a better guy for my sister," Emmett added.

"Can I call you, dad?" Edward teased him.

"Sure you can, but only if I can call you 'little man' like you call Charlie."

Edward pretended to consider it. "Maybe we should just stick to our first names."

"Well, I want to thank everyone as well," Alice announced. "This was the best day of my life, and I'm so glad everyone was here to share it with us. Now, if you don't mind, we are going upstairs to kiss Lee-Bear on the head, before we go home," she said while grabbing Jasper's hand, and pulling him towards the stairs. They came down a couple minutes later, and then Alice kissed Edward's forehead, before kissing my cheek and rubbing my belly. "We are off to go do the things newlyweds do," she said unashamedly, and then they left.

Emmett and Rose decided to head to their house for the night as well, which just left us with Carlisle and Esme. We figured they'd follow them out, but they surprised us by hanging back.

"Before we go, I just wanted to say thank you," Carlisle told Edward sincerely.

"Uh… I had nothing to do with any of this today. I just basically did whatever I was told."

"You had everything to do with it," Carlisle corrected him. "Without you, none of this would have been even remotely possible. You saved our family in every way, and I just want you to know how grateful I am to you… for absolutely everything. I know I've thanked you for all that before…"

"Only about seven hundred times," Edward grumbled.

"But I will keep thanking you for the rest of my days. You didn't have to come looking for Alice. You didn't have to stay and fix our family, and you certainly didn't have to help me when I was sick, but… you did, and you're just the best person I know. You were right…. back before the transplant, when you told me life was worth fighting for, you were right because nothing could be more true. These past few years have been incredible, and its all because of you."

"Are you dying again?" Edward asked confused.

Carlisle smiled at him. "No, weddings just make me feel nostalgic… especially this one, considering how far Alice has come since you returned to her. I love you, son. I'm never going to stop telling you that."

"I love you, too," Edward replied.

Carlisle and Esme each took a turn kissing Edward lovingly on the forehead, and then they kissed me goodnight as well, before finally heading for the door.

"You'll call us if anything happens with that baby, right?" Esme asked me as she was walking out.

"Of course."

"No matter what time it is, we want to know," she reiterated.

"I promise," I assured her.

She stroked my face, and then left and closed the door behind her.

"Thank God!" Edward said full of humorous relief. "I was beginning to think they were never going to leave."

I giggled. "Well, now that we're alone… except for the sleeping toddler upstairs, that is…. what should we do with ourselves?" I asked suggestively.

"How... in the world… are you still horny after such a long exhausting day like this one? Nine months pregnant, none the less," he asked as he slowly began disrobing me, one article of clothing at a time.

I smiled at him full of eager anticipation. "I always have energy for you."

"I'm learning that about you."

"You're still learning It? After four years together?" I asked surprised.

"I just keep waiting for that libido of yours to slow down… Having babies hasn't done it yet, I may have to wait for menopause."

I laughed at him again. "Don't count on it."

I actually was pretty tired, so after making love only more time that evening, I quickly drifted off to sleep… for a few hours anyway.

At three thirty the next morning, I woke up and felt the strong urge to need to stretch, so I got up, and there went my water.

"Edward, wake up!" I told hold him, a little more aggressively than I had intended.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, confused from being still mostly asleep.

"My water just broke."

"Seriously?" he asked unsure.

"Yes! Why would I wake you up just to joke about that?"

"Are you horny again? Because I wouldn't put it past you," he teased me.

"Just get the bags!" I said, in one of the few rare occasions that I wasn't in the mood for his jokes.

As Edward got our bags, I text Emmett who promised to be sleeping with his phone until the baby arrived. He came quickly to stay with Charlie, and Rose decided she wanted to head over the hospital right away with us.

Alice had wanted us to inform her the moment I went into labor as well, but with it being her wedding night, and the probability of the baby not actually coming for hours, we decided to just text her from the hospital. Of course, she must have heard our car engine starting, because before Edward could even put the car into reverse, Alice came barreling down the stairs of the apartment.

"You're leaving without me?" she shouted at Edward through the driver's window.

"Its your wedding night. We were going to call you as soon as she got closer," he said defensively.

"I told you to wake me up the moment she went into labor," she said while smacking him playfully.

"Okay, okay, get into the car then!" he told her in a rush.

"Bella, I don't mean to pressure you or anything, but if you have this baby before seven A.M. this morning, I win the baby-bet jackpot," Rose mentioned as we were heading into the hospital. I didn't respond to her except to just glare.

"Or you could just have it when it's ready," she said meekly.

Rose had also texted Esme, so she met us at the hospital a little while later, and Carlisle came with her, because he certainly still felt the need to attend all hospital visits by any members of our family; he even helped the staff out by doing some rounds as I labored.

Once again, we had no idea what our baby's gender was, because it too refused to show us anything on the ultrasounds, but we were okay with that - It did make the birth a little more exciting.

Three hours later, it was time to push. Esme and Rose left the room to give us a little more privacy, just as they had done when Charlie was born. Those first few moments were reserved for Edward and me… and Alice of course.

Thirty minutes of pushing went by like they were hours, but then our little girl entered the world in all her beautiful screaming glory.

We ended up naming her after our mothers - Elizabeth Renée Cullen. Elizabeth was Alice's middle name, and Renée was my mother's first name. Lizzy, for short, had big yummy chubby cheeks, and a full head of dark curls. She was absolutely perfect, just like her big brother.

When Emmett brought Charlie to the hospital to meet his new baby sister, I finally understood why Esme cried so much. I was absolutely bawling as I watched Charlie kissing Lizzy and telling her how much he loved her. It was just another perfect moment of our perfect lives.

And our lives really were perfect. I never thought it was possible to be as happy as our entire family seemed to be. We really didn't ever have anything to be upset or sad about. None of us even seemed to have bad days anymore. Each and every one of us had seen pain, and heartache, and immeasurable grief, so I suppose we had all earned our happily ever afters.

There would always be a part of me that wondered what would have happened between Edward and me if he had been raised a Cullen like he should have been, but it was just something fun to think about, because we refused to live our lives in regrets or what ifs.

Carlisle was right in saying Edward brought the family together, because before him, we were all just separate lonely entities that had no idea just how far from home we actually were. It wasn't until Edward found his way to the ranch, were we finally whole as a family for the first time. He had taken the long road home to us, but only with his presence were we all finally truly home at last...

…

***A/N: I didn't expect for the end of this story to come just yet, but as I was writing this chapter, it just sort of came together naturally. I hope all your questions were answered, and you enjoyed this insane crazy plot in its entirety. Thank you so much for staying with me and leaving wonderful feedback in the form of reviews. They are all fully appreciated!

*P.S. If you enjoyed this story, you might want to check out the companion piece "The Long Road Back to You". This Bella may be okay not dwelling on the "what if", but I certainly did.. Its not a sequel, but more like an alternate version. What would have happened if Carlisle made a different decision? Would it have fixed everything, or create a whole other slew of issues? What would have been the state of Edward and Bella's relationship if they were raised together? Again, it' not a sequel or an outtake or even a backstory. It' an alternate version.

*Please leave me a few words about your thoughts on this ending, and I'd really like to know if anyone would be interested in that alternate story line.

Thanks again!