Epilog
JPOV
One year after the wedding we were all living in northern Wisconsin. Even Charlie and Sue came along. We had each found our niche and lived as one big happy family on a huge track of land on the edge of a forest.
Bella, Edward, and Carlisle were all working at the local hospital. Edward worked as a surgeon, Bella as an OB/GYN and Carlisle ran the emergency room. Most people thought they were too good for the small town digs, but they were all so loved no one complained.
Rose and I opened a garage and custom shop. We fixed local cars, but we also built and customized high end vehicles that we shipped all over the world. It was funny, but we made good partners and actually came to enjoy each other's company.
Esme and Alice opened a small boutique in town, and also had an online design service. It was great, they could be creative and because most of their business was done via computer they had their anonymity.
Emmett took a job teaching gym at the local middle school. He had to be very careful not to expose himself and his physical prowess, but he had a ball spending time with the kids.
Jasper decided to open a small psychiatry practice and was a great counselor. He had feared being in a confined room with humans, but Nessie convinced him he was perfect for it, and she studied to be able to partner with him.
She was incredible. She trained and studied and was ready to work in eight months. They opened their offices and became highly respected.
Nessie and I were pretty content. We lived and loved and shared the warmth and joy of a wonderful family and amazing friends.
Two years, to the day, of our wedding Nessie came to me with a rather worried look on her face. "Jake, something's wrong."
"What is it?"
"Tell me what you feel," she said placing my hand against her stomach. Suddenly my mind was flooded with images of warmth and comfort. Rich reds and browns floated before my eyes. It was a very contented feeling.
"I'm not doing that, Jake," Ness said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," she said raising her hands off me, "that's not me."
Even without her hands on my skin the images continued to flow. My eyes grew large as I realized what this meant.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," she said smiling.
Luckily Nessie's pregnancy was nothing like Bella's. The baby grew at a normal rate and Ness never even had morning sickness. Bella watched everything to ensure that Ness' health was monitored, but in the end we were even able to view our son on ultrasound.
He was born normally, and he was strong and well. I worried that if he was so normal he might be subject to the frailties of humanity, but I should have known better. Anthony Andrew Black was after all our child.
He was six months the first time he phased. He was pitching a fit about something and just exploded into a baby wolf. What was funny was that he was able to communicate with us as we stroked his furry little head. We talked him down and he phased back.
His aging ceased when he was fifteen, although he looked to be about my age. He was smart and funny and had all the best qualities of us all. He had his mother's eyes and my coloring. He was the joy of all our lives. He was the best thing Ness ever did for me.
We share eternity, all of us together, and I have never forgotten what my father told us on our wedding day. "Treat each day as your last." I choose to be with my love every single day of eternity and I live to ensure we never have any regrets.