Hey! Okay, so I know I said I'd have it by Christmas, but I'm only a few days late, and I'm even still in December!

Anyway, I just wanted to thank all of you, especially everyone who's stuck by me since the beginning. I've had a great time writing this, and I'm going to miss all of you dearly. It's weird to think that it was almost a year ago I started this story, and now I'm putting in the epilogue. Still, it'll feel good to finally put this story in the 'Complete' category. But, back to you guys. You have been an amazing support and writers block buster, and if I'm being honest, you guys are probably the only thing that kept me going at times when I was out of plot and out of patience. Your reviews, even when one worded, were extremely gratifying and appreciated. I know that through this whole process, a lot of you have had to put up with too-short chapters, some bad grammar here and there, the fact that I start each author's note about the same way (as I have just noticed), and promised update deadlines that were never made (much like this one), and I know that anyone less amazing would've quit on my a long time ago. So, from the very bottom depths of my heart, I'd just like to say, thank you.

As one final note on this chapter, I'd just like to say that I didn't check up on carnivals, where they're at, or what height you have to be to ride a Ferris Wheel. Everything of such included in this chapter is purely a product of my imagination.

And so, on with the chapter. I've had a lot of fun doing this, and I hope to see you all again soon. Until then, this is for you, all of you. Goodbye.


2 months later

Olympia, Washington

In the clear, black night sky, thousands upon thousands of stars twinkled like diamonds, as cliche as it sounds. I looked up at them, and remembered my childhood dream of becoming the first person to count them all. One, two, three, four . . .

All around me, the action was in full swing. Children laughed, mothers jostled babies on their hips, ride operators took tickets; I loved it, every minute of it. From behind me, I heard Alice laugh. "You're the only one who could be distracted by the sky in the middle of a carnival."

I turned to face her, "You're the only seventeen-year-old who had to be measured for the Ferris Wheel." She threw me the blackest look she could, but it was ruined a few moments later when she burst out laughing. "What?" I asked her as she tried to keep from falling down. I looked down, I didn't spill anything on my clothes. My black jeans and blue tank top were still in perfect condition, as was my black denim jacket that hung on my arm.

I looked at her in confusion, but all she could do was point behind me. I turned around to find Emmett and Jasper, and at first I still couldn't figure out what was funny. Then I looked at Emmett's face. The orange and black paint distracted me from everything else going on, and I could only stare at him with my mouth slightly agape.

"I told him it was stupid." Jasper muttered. Emmett threw him a dark look, then turned back to me with a huge grin on his face.

"So, what do you think, Bella?" he asked me.

"It's . . . it's . . . it's adorable, Emmett, I'm jealous. But, if I may ask, why a tiger?"

"I'm a tiger in the bedroom." His grin stretched even bigger.

"Oh, God! I'm going to be sick!"

"Emmett!"

"I could've lived my entire life happily without knowing that, Emmett!"

Emmett laughed, and slung his arm around Emmett's shoulders, "No you couldn't've, little brother! You better listen, too, because I'm gonna be giving you pointers some day!" At the look on Alice's face as he said that, he broke out in loud guffaws.

Alice walked up to Jasper, and I heard her whisper to him, "He better not be. You'll be in so much trouble, Jasper Ronald Cullen."

I couldn't help but chuckle, which of course caused Jasper and Alice to stare at me. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Um, nothing. It's just . . . I mean . . . You're middle name is Ronald? I just, I never would've thought."

Alice scowled, "Well, at least he doesn't have two middle names. Edward Anthony Masen? That's just weird, Bella."

I smiled sheepishly, "Touche. But, just for the record, it's not that weird. Lots of people have two middle names.

She smiled back, "Yeah . . . hey, Emmett, what's your middle name? I've known you for years, and I've never heard anyone say what it is."

Jasper thought for a minute, then looked puzzled. "Yeah, Emmett, what is your middle name?"

Emmett had a look of absolute fury on his face as he stared at the ground. For once, he wasn't even laughing or making a joke out of it. "It must never be spoken of." he mumbled.

"Okay . . .," then a thought occurred to me, "Hey, guys, where's Rosalie? Wasn't she with you two?"

Jasper grinned, "Yeah, she was, until Emmett did that. Now she's going to wander in the crowd for a little bit and come up, pretend to know you and Alice from somewhere, and pretend to be introduced to us."

I made a face to Emmett, "Harsh."

He simply shrugged, "She does this every time I do something stupid. I don't even have to practice anymore. Hey, speaking of missing people, where's old Eddie-kinz?"

"In a line for drinks."

"Oh, yes," Alice pretended to swoon, "he was so wonderful. 'Oh, my poor little Bella, you go over there and rest your head, and I'll wait on you.' How heroic he was!" She started to laugh at the agitated look on my face.

"I was heroic, wasn't I?" Edward said, appearing with the drinks, "Heroic enough to get you one, too." He gave me mine first, then gave one to Alice. That's why he's always in charge of the drinks, he has the miraculous ability to never get them mixed up.

"Oh, you little gentleman!" she smirked at him. He simply rolled his eyes at her.

"What, you didn't get me anything!" Emmett cried out.

"Nothing but disownment papers, Emmett. By the way, what the hell is on your face?"

"I'm a tiger! Roar!"

"Down, kitty."

Edward and Alice, upon learning of my love for carnivals, had both insisted that we all go to one as soon as I was released from the hospital, as a celebration. I had said that it wasn't necessary, that I would be happy with just going out to dinner, but as per usual, my wishes were ignored.

They had searched for weeks to find one close by, and had finally found this one a month before. It was amazing, to be sure, but it required driving all the way to Olympia and I had felt guilty putting them through all of that. After expressing my concerns, I had been consoled with, "It's no problem, Belly-Bear.", "You deserve it, Bella.", "We do it because we love you, Bella.", "Anything for you, love." and Alice's ever wonderful comforting phrase, "Suck it up, we're going." She's charming.

Speaking of Alice, she and I had gotten really close over the past two months. I really do think of her now as my sister, and we do tons of things together, not without Rosalie, though. They're planning so many sleepovers and parties that I'm actually kind of dizzy from thinking about it all. But then again, that's just one of the side effects from hanging around Alice, you never stop moving. Rosalie's just the same, though not nearly as bad. I sometimes think she gets a little of her energy from being around Alice so much, and that makes me scared of what I'll be like in a few months or so.

Emmett and Jasper have stepped into the roles of 'big brothers' for me, and they are sometimes a welcome relief from Rosalie and Alice. With them, anytime I need a laugh I don't really have to be with them, I just have to be around them. Watching their banter is hilarious, and they get into arguments over the stupidest stuff.

Carlisle and Esme are great, Esme especially. She's definitely the mother I never had. I mean, don't get me wrong, my mom loves me like crazy, but she doesn't really have a motherly bone in her body, and Esme's like the perfect mom, so even though I feel guilty, I usually come to her instead of calling my real mom when I want to talk. Carlisle is like an safe haven from all the craziness of everyone else. He's always calm and collected, and sometimes I do hang around him a lot, because he's like a big shield against drama, Alice and Emmett's especially.

As for the rest of the Quiliates, I still talk to them, though not as much as before. Jacob and I are still really good friends, and despite who they used to hang out with, I feel really safe around all of them. Pete still bothers me sometimes, and I have to admit that I still look over my shoulder every once in a while and have to wonder if he's there. It's getting better though, and some day soon I know that I'll be able to go about my normal routine without even thinking of him.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist. I had missed what Emmett had just said, but Rosalie was smacking him on the back of the head and Edward's laughter was shaking me. I smiled, Edward. He had been especially protective of me ever since I had gotten out of the hospital, and he had been amazing while I was in it. He never left my side, and if I needed anything he got it or he made sure one of the nurses did. Because his dad was a doctor there, I guess he knew them well enough that they passed it off as his nervous behavior. When I had been unconscious, he had been losing his mind. Now that I was better, Emmett and Jasper felt free to laugh about it, and I heard some pretty funny stories about him that got more elaborate every time they were told. I tried not to laugh, but his silent glare at them as they rolled with laughter only made everything funnier. Besides, if I couldn't laugh about it, who could?

Coming back to the present, I inched Edward and I back away from the group. "Come on," I whispered to him, "lets go for a walk." We slipped away from them without their noticing, and decided to go out to the parking lot. There actually wasn't really a place to walk at the carnival, so we decided to just get in his car. He unlocked the doors, and as soon as we were inside I locked them again, because it just felt more private that way.

"What is this all about?" he smiled at me.

I smiled back, "I just missed you. I haven't really gotten any alone time with you for a while." This was true, through my hospital stay I hadn't really considered a room with monitors and an intercom private, and after I got home his family had been to worried about me to really let Edward and I just be with each other. I had missed this, this 'us' feeling. The feeling that we were the only two people in the world. And now that I had it back, I realized I had missed it more than I thought.

"I missed you, too." he reached over to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear, and his face began to relax even more. "I've been so worried about you lately, and I was worried about how you would do tonight, but once again you've proven to me that you're even more amazing then I thought."

I smiled, and leaned forward to lay my head on is shoulder, "I have help."

He kissed my head and took my hand, "That you do. I promise you, Bella, that as long as I live, you'll never want for anything."

I lifted my head off his shoulder to look at his face. "That sounded pretty serious."

He looked back with softness in his eyes, "I am pretty serious." He seemed to be deliberating on something then, thinking it over as he ran his fingers through a piece of my hair and stared at me. I couldn't help but look back at him, I was hypnotized by those big green orbs, bright even in total darkness. "Bella, I want you to marry me."

I gasped, and waited a moment to make sure I had heard him correctly. "But I'm only sixteen," I protested. I was, but not for long. A few days would make me seventeen.

He smile grew wider as he chuckled. "Perhaps I should rephrase. I want to marry you someday. I know we can't right now, but I want to in the future. Someday, I'm going to really ask you to marry me, Bella, and when I do, I want you to say yes."

"I will." I whispered, because I knew I would. I couldn't live without him, and marriage would only solidify that. I was scared of marriage, but only of marriage in general. Once I really thought about it, marriage to Edward didn't seem nearly so scarey. Actually, it seemed . . . kind of exciting.

He smiled, and leaned down to kiss me. His fingers slid into my hair, being careful of the stitches I still had there. My head was a lot better, and the only pain I really had left of it was the minor headaches every once in a while and the pain I got when someone touched it, and Carlisle said that both should go away soon. It was just a tiny gash, and by the time it's done healing, you shouldn't even be able to tell it's there if you're looking through my hair. After a few minutes, we both pulled away for air, and my head went back to it's spot on his shoulder.

"Just think about it, Bella." he said after a few minutes. "You, an English professor at some big college, me, probably still in college. Getting married, probably renting until I get out of school. Then I'll be a surgeon, and everything will be perfect."

I smiled, and scooted closer to him. I had to admit, the picture of our life he painted did sound perfect.

Suddenly, his phone started ringing. We both jumped, and laughed at our own stupidity. "I wonder who that might be." he grinned at me.

He took his phone out and looked at the screen, then he put it to his ear. "Alice." He answered. "Oh, we're just taking a walk. . . I don't know where, but I do know how to get back. . . . What do you mean, 'what kind of an answer is that? That's the answer you're going to get. . . We'll come back when we're ready. . . Yes, I know this was for Bella, and now it's Bella's idea to take a walk. . . . Wha- No, I will not tell her that, that's just rude!" I laughed, and he rolled his eyes at whatever Alice had said. "We'll be back soon, don't worry. . . I know, I know. . . . Yes, Alice, I know! . . . Well, be that way. . . Fine. . . Goodbye to you, too." He then hung up, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What does the warden say?" I asked him.

He smiled at some thought he had, "It seems she's very angry at us for disappearing. Very angry."

I giggled, "I think she can last for a few more minutes." I carefully climbed over the console and into his lap. "I'm not done with you yet."

We did take a few more minutes, about fifteen, actually. Then, when we finally climbed out of the car, we circled around the carnival for a little bit before entering at a direction totally opposite the parking lot.

"There you are!" Alice exclaimed when she finally saw us. "Where in the world have you two been?"

"Oh, we've just been walking around." I answered.

She huffed at us, exasperated, but then perked up in time to say, "We want to go on the Ferris Wheel. Are you guys in?"

"Sure," I said.

As we were waiting in line, I waited until they were distracted before I turned to Edward. "Do you think they know?"

"Not likely," he answered, "they would've said something by now. Besides, even if they did know where we were, they'd never imagine what we were really doing in there."

I made a face. I'd hate to think of the twisted and elaborate things Emmett's mind could come up with.

"Don't ever tell them!"

"Believe me, I won't." he laughed.

It was our turn then, and we all climbed up into our cars. Alice, once again, had to bear the ticket master measuring her just to be sure. We all laughed, and she glared. After her four-foot-nine frame barely passed through, Edward and I got in our car.

We slowly crawled up to the top, and my hold on Edward's arm got tighter and tighter. This was the part that scared me the most, when we're just sitting here, looking down on all the rides below and realizing just how high up we really are. I was glad Edward let me cling to him, I would've been losing my mind otherwise.

"It's beautiful up here." I murmured.

"It really is . . . Mrs. Cullen." he said through his smile.

I laughed, "I'm not Mrs. Cullen yet, Edward.

He laughed along with me, "I know, but you will be, someday."

"Are you really sure you want me that long? For forever?"

In answer, he leaned down and kissed me. It would've been perfect, but it was cut short by Emmett's shout of "I can see my house from here!" and Jasper's groan of embarassment.

He grinned, "I'm sure I'll want you around that long, I'm just not sure if you'll willingly stay that long with brother-in-laws like those. I mean, after all, you can escape. I can't, and I can only imagine how tempting the offer would be."

I rested my head on his shoulder, "I think I'll manage. . . Somehow."

He leaned down to kiss me again, and I easily got dizzy in it. It was soft and sweet, gentle and caring, smooth and loving. Exactly how I'd always imagined kisses should be. As fireworks exploded in the night sky, I felt what I knew I would never stop feeling as long as I had Edward beside me: loved. When we were both out of breath, he pulled away, only to bring his lips to my ear and whisper in it one word that allowed me, even though temporarily, to just sit there knowing that my world was perfect.

"Forever."