Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: This chapter was a bear, so extra thanks go out to my betas tiffanyanne3 and aecarlso, and my pre-readers KateTheGreat13 and GoSpikey this week. I was late, but they managed a super-fast turnaround so I could get this posted quickly.

This is the last chapter except for the epilogue, so I'll save the long mushy author's note for that one…

"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of our life by ourselves alone. We find it with another."

- Thomas Merton

Chapter 35 – Of Confessions and Commitments

~Bella~

I couldn't believe what was happening. One minute I was clicking away at my computer…and the next Edward was there, holding out my watch locket and asking me to go with him.

My locket.

My hand lifted to it, my thumb rubbing at the cool metal as I followed Edward to my bedroom window.

He turned to me, raising his arms toward me slightly before dropping them to his sides. "I need to…" he began hesitantly, his eyes asking for permission to touch me.

I just nodded, and Edward swept me into his arms, springing from the window and landing quietly on the damp ground. He shifted me onto his back.

"Where's your car?"

Edward glanced back at me briefly. "I was in a hurry."

I nodded again, locking my arms and legs around him as he began to run.

It was strange that, even after all this time, it felt almost normal to cling to Edward as he raced through the dark forest. The cool air swept across my cheeks, whipping my hair away from my face. Edward's breathing was steady…a deep rhythmic countermelody to the quiet cadence of his steps.

He seemed tentative around me…wary. He didn't speak, and despite the cacophony of questions rattling around my brain, I didn't either. Instead, I absorbed what little I'd learned when he stepped through my window and back into my life.

It had really happened. As insane as it sounded, I had really traveled through time. What I couldn't wrap my head around was what had happened since then…in the ninety-plus years since I vanished from Carlisle's front porch. My mind spun with possibilities, but at the core of each one was the growing awareness of a certain truth: they'd been lying to me. Carlisle. Edward. Maybe all of them.

I mean, I understood why. It was the same thing I dealt with when I was in 1918 – fear of destroying the timeline.

Still, I had to admit that it hurt.

Edward slowed as we neared his house, looming in the darkness, and I slid down his back, holding his shoulders until I regained my balance.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. It's just been a while," I explained. He nodded in understanding.

We walked side-by-side to the front door, arms brushing, but other than that Edward made no move to touch me. He was giving me time…giving me space.

I appreciated it, while at the same time, I felt bereft at the distance between us.

He pushed the front door open and stood back to allow me to enter first. I took a deep breath and stepped into the brightly lit interior.

When I walked through the door into the familiar living room, I felt my stomach erupt into butterflies. Carlisle stood across the room, and suddenly I was overwhelmed by all that had happened over the past few months. I saw him standing there, looking exactly as I remembered that day in the hospital – with compassion glowing in his eyes – and a choked cry burst through my lips. Without conscious thought I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck as I burst into tears.

"Thank you," I finally managed to sob out. No matter what else had happened, he had saved Edward...for me.

"Shhhh…" Carlisle's cold hands rubbed my back gently. "It's all right, Bella. It's okay."

After a moment, I gained control of my wildly swinging emotions and pulled back, looking up at him. He brushed a tear from my cheek with a soft smile, his eyes flickering between mine as if searching for something. Apparently he found it, because a soft smile finally lit his face.

"It's been a long time," he murmured.

I knew he wasn't talking about the time he and his family had been away from Forks. He'd finally seen, in my eyes, the memories that had been missing since he first met me. I was finally the Bella he remembered.

My lips curled in a watery smile. "Yeah. So…how've you been?" I joked wryly.

Carlisle laughed with a slight shrug. "Can't complain. You know, the usual – world wars, technological advances, birth of rock and roll…same old, same old."

I snickered, and suddenly became aware of the six pairs of eyes watching us warily.

"What?" I asked defensively. "It's been over ninety years. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Alice giggled and soon everyone else was chuckling as well.

"Come on. Sit down," Carlisle said quietly, grasping my elbow loosely as he led me to the couch. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

I snorted. "Yeah. A few." I sat down next to him, and Edward perched on the arm of the sofa on my other side. I didn't look at him. I didn't know why I was okay with Carlisle lying, but felt so betrayed by Edward. I knew, logically, that there were good reasons for the deception…but Edward leaving Forks had all but destroyed me. And to know he'd been hiding all of this from me since I'd known him? It was going to take some time to get over that. I supposed both Edward and Carlisle understood that, and that was why Carlisle was going to be the one to explain things.

So I sat gazing down at my hands as I toyed with my scar, wondering who was going to speak first.

"I'm not certain where to start." Carlisle admitted with a grimace. "I've imagined this conversation so many times over the years, but I've never managed to figure that out."

I sighed, leaning back and pushing my hair out of my face. "Well, let's start with the obvious questions first," I suggested. "It all really happened, right? I did actually go back in time?"

Carlisle smiled. "Evidently, yes."

"And we met in 1918?"

"Yes."

"And I worked with you at the hospital. I met and married Edward," I continued. "Oh! And Alice was there?" My eyes flashed to her smiling face. She nodded enthusiastically as Carlisle said again, "Yes."

"So…you've been…lying to me," I said slowly, trying to stifle the feelings of anger and betrayal twisting my stomach. I looked from Carlisle to Edward. "Both of you."

Edward's eyes widened in shock. "No!"

"Not Edward," Carlisle explained. "Just me."

The knot in my stomach untwisted just a little. "I don't understand."

"From what I can determine, it was the fever," Carlisle told me. "The fever caused amnesia. When Edward was transformed, his body healed, but his memory did not."

I turned to Edward, stunned. "You really don't remember?"

He shook his head sadly, and I felt my anger dissipate.

"But…I don't get it," I said, turning back to Carlisle. "Edward's a mind-reader. How did you keep this from him? Why did you?"

Carlisle stood and walked across the room, his hands in his pants pockets. "Well, at first I didn't know what had happened to you. After I took Edward out of Chicago, I came back to try and find you. I knew you'd want to know that he was all right, and I wanted to check on you as well. I found your locket at my home and tracked your scent to the hospital and the boarding house, but there was no sign of you. You'd just…vanished.

"I couldn't leave Edward alone for long, but I came back to Chicago several times over the next few days. I listened in on conversations at the boarding house, but nobody seemed to know where you'd gone. It took a while for me to put it together."

"How did you?" Alice asked, pulling Jasper to a large chair and perching on his lap. "I've been curious about that myself."

"I started thinking about what Bella had told me about Esme," he began, only to be interrupted by Alice.

"You told him about Esme?" she asked me, her mouth open in shock. "Weren't you scared of screwing things up? I mean, remember Amy Smart in The Butterfly Effect? One false move by Ashton Kutcher and Bam! Crack whore!"

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, relieved that someone finally understood my concerns.

"Awesome movie," Emmett added, "and Amy Smart was hot, even if she was a crack whore." Rose slapped him upside the head. "What?" he asked her. "I'm just saying."

Rosalie folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes, muttering something about men being idiots.

"Anyway…" Carlisle continued, sharing a confused look with Edward. "It wasn't so much what you said, Bella, but how you said it. When I asked about her eyes, you said, 'They were the same as yours when I met her.' You told me you 'never knew her maiden name' and 'Esme is the kindest person I know.'"

"Oh, that's so sweet, Bella," Esme said with a warm smile.

I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heat. "It's true."

Carlisle continued. "It hit me then that you'd talked about actually meeting Esme…about knowing her. I realized they weren't visions or premonitions that you were having, but that you'd actually been in the future…that, as impossible as it seemed, you actually were from the future.

"After that, it was only a short jump to conclude that you'd gone back," he said. "There was no sign of you. You'd vanished into thin air. It was the only thing that made any sense."

"And so, when you realized Edward had no memory of me, you decided to keep it from him?" I asked.

"It was a difficult decision," Carlisle admitted. "I didn't know what brought you back to 1918 in the first place. But I knew that I couldn't…I shouldn't share what I'd learned with anyone who could potentially alter the events that led you to that moment. If I did something to keep you from traveling back in time, then we'd never meet and I'd never have learned about my family. Perhaps it was selfish, but you yourself told me that our family was meant to be. I didn't feel I could put that in jeopardy.

"As for Edward. I could only imagine the truth would hurt him. I knew he would meet you someday. You told him that before you left the hospital," he pointed out.

"I'll see you in Biology. Don't kill me, okay?" I murmured, remembering. Emmett guffawed at that, and even Edward smiled.

"Yes," Carlisle replied. "I didn't fully know what you meant, but I understood that there would come a time when you'd meet again…or meet for the first time," he clarified. "I knew there was a chain of events that had to happen in the future for our past to happen the way it did."

I smirked. "Kind of screws with your mind, doesn't it?"

Carlisle chuckled. "It certainly does.

"So, taking all of that into consideration, I decided it would be better to keep the truth from Edward."

"I didn't know that was possible," I replied, "Well, except for me, that is."

"It was difficult," Carlisle admitted, "but, as a newborn, Edward's singular focus was on his thirst. If he caught an errant thought of you, he was easily distracted by the suggestion of hunting. Over time, I learned to control my thoughts around him, or rather focus my thoughts elsewhere. It wasn't so much not thinking about you, as it was trying to think about other things."

"And you never suspected?" I asked Edward.

He shook his head. "Not at the time. Now, of course, I remember specific instances where Carlisle's thoughts had drifted to you. It was always brief, though – he would quickly re-direct his concentration elsewhere, effectively blocking me."

"And over the years, Edward gained a greater control over his ability," Carlisle added. "He learned to tune out our thoughts to give us privacy. That made things a little easier, especially once I knew the time was drawing close that you two would meet."

"Alice," I said, glancing at her briefly.

Carlisle smiled. "Well, eventually, yes. Alice saw you coming, but I saw it long before she did."

"What do you mean?"

Carlisle looked a little smug. "Well, I had no idea how long it would be before we'd meet again. I didn't even know when you were born. I did, however, know where you lived."

"Ah, that's right." I nodded in understanding. "I told you I was from Forks when we first met."

"Yes," Carlisle narrowed his eyes. "If I recall correctly, and you know I do, I believe you were trying to tease me."

I smirked. "Maybe a little."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's dangerous to mess with a vampire?" He grinned.

I shrugged, but said nothing.

Carlisle continued. "So, I started keeping track of the little town of Forks, Washington, watching for the arrival of one Isabella Swan. We even moved here for a short time. Of course, we couldn't stay for very long. We had to keep moving, but I kept my eye on what was happening in Forks. Then, one day a little girl was born to the police chief and his young wife, and I knew we were getting close."

"I can't believe you were waiting all that time," I murmured.

"I saw you once, you know," Carlisle replied. "You were four years old and living in Phoenix. I was attending a medical convention and decided to check on you. You were playing on your front porch, and your mother had gone inside to fix your lunch. I couldn't resist getting a closer look."

"Typical," I muttered, thinking about how Carlisle had all but stalked Esme once he found her. Carlisle ignored me.

"I stepped out from the shadow of a large tree, and at that moment you looked up with these huge brown eyes," he said with a smile. "I said 'Hello', and you just gaped at me with your mouth wide open."

A memory tickled at the corner of my mind. "I thought you were an angel," I said, half to myself, remembering a beautiful man sparkling in the hot Phoenix sunshine.

Carlisle laughed. "Yes…well…that's what you told your mother. She wrote it off as your imagination, of course, but I decided it was probably not a good idea for you to see me again until the time was right. When that time came, and I knew you were nearing the right age, we moved back to Forks."

I turned to Alice. "And you didn't see any of this coming?"

Alice just shrugged. "I can't really explain it. The only thing that makes sense is Carlisle was very careful not to make any choices that could affect either your or Edward's actions. He let things play out the way they were meant to be. I saw you coming into our lives, but I didn't see you with Edward until he made that choice. I didn't see us leaving Forks until Edward made that choice. I didn't see you in 1918 until you decided to go through with the ritual."

"Yes, the ritual," Carlisle repeated, his eyes taking on that give-me-some-new-knowledge gleam I'd come to recognize. "Alice told me about that, but I'd love to hear more when you have the time."

I shook my head slightly. "I don't really think it was the ritual, you know. Lots of people go through it, and I don't know of any others who have traveled through time. The more I think about it, the more I agree with Alice – that we were sent. We had to be willing to go…have a reason to go…but someone sent us back."

"Who? And why?" Emmett asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"As for the 'who', who knows?" I answered. "God? Fate? …Aliens?" Everyone laughed at that one. "But as for the why, I think I'm starting to understand."

"Because it had to happen," Jasper said quietly. He'd been listening in silence, but at his soft declaration, all eyes turned his way. "If she hadn't gone back in time, she wouldn't have convinced Carlisle to change Edward. Then Edward and Bella never would have met here, in this time."

My eyes narrowed as I tried to comprehend what he was saying. "So you're saying it always happened this way? I didn't change anything?"

"It's a big loop of events," Jasper explained, drawing a circle in the air with his finger. "You meet Edward, fall in love, he leaves to protect you, you go back in time." His finger continued to move in the air. "You meet Edward in the past, fall in love…again," he added with a smirk. "Convince Carlisle to change him so one day you can meet Edward, and the whole thing starts over again."

I turned to Carlisle. "But you told me Edward's mother convinced you to change him."

Carlisle shrugged a shoulder. "I lied. At the time, I couldn't tell you it was you. I did tell the truth about what you said, though."

My head was spinning. "But…but how do I know that that's what really happened? Maybe you only remember it that way because I really did change the past."

Everyone was silent for a long minute, and to my surprise, it was Rosalie who spoke up.

"You don't," she said flatly.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You don't know if you changed anything or not. You can't know," she explained. "But what does it matter? You're together now. What's important is where you go from here.

"The past is the past…well, usually anyway," Rose added. "The question is: now that this is all out in the open, what are you going to do about the future?"

x-x

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Alice's quiet voice cut through my scrambled thoughts. I'd needed a moment to absorb the night's revelations and had walked out into the back yard, staring blankly across the damp grass to the looming forest beyond and listening to the rushing of the river.

I turned to Alice with a wry smile. "I think that's a bit of an understatement."

"I know." She stood beside me, taking a deep breath. "It's strange for me too. To think Carlisle knew this was going to happen. It's weird being on this side of the premonitions, you know?"

I laughed slightly. "Yeah. I can imagine." Alice was probably the only other person who could really understand what I was going through. After all, she'd been through it too.

"Are you mad he didn't tell you?" I asked.

She smiled. "No. I get it. You?"

I sighed. "I get it too." I turned back to the forest. After a moment, I asked her quietly, "Do you miss it? Being human? Now that you know what it's like, that is."

I heard Alice chuckle lightly. "Honestly? A little. I mean, there were some things that I really loved. Sleeping was amazing," she said, a hint of awe in her voice.

"Don't forget eating," I teased.

"Oh yeah." She sighed dreamily. "Eating was fantastic. I really wanted to try it when I got back, you know? It just wasn't the same, though." I glanced at her to see her wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Chocolate chip cookies," she explained, and I nodded.

"But overall, I'm happy with my life the way it is. I have Jasper and my family. Still, I have to say I'm incredibly grateful for the memories.

"What about you?" she asked, leaning toward me, her voice a near-whisper. "Do you miss anything?"

I knew what she was asking. I'd left behind my husband, the man I loved and had hoped to build a future with. I'd come back to a man who didn't even remember that part of our lives. I felt a lot like I did when I first met Edward in 1918 – like I was betraying one love for another, one Edward for another – when in fact they were the same man. It was overwhelming. I flipped open my locket, still amazed at the thought that Carlisle had kept if for me all these years. I ran a finger lightly over the lock of hair tied by a faded yellow ribbon. A tiny remnant of the man I'd lost.

I blinked back tears as I answered Alice. "I fell in love with him all over again, Alice. And he doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember how we argued all of the time when we first met. He doesn't remember laughing together…falling in love…how he proposed to me and how I fought him on getting married. He doesn't remember dancing at our wedding…the little cottage where we lived. So yeah, I miss that. I miss the part of him that went through all of that with me."

Alice's cold arm went around my shoulders, squeezing gently. "He's still here, Bella. He's different, but he's still here, and he loves you…he loves you with all of his heart."

I leaned against her, closing my eyes, and we stood in silence for a moment until I heard a slight movement behind us.

"Bella?" Edward's voice cut through the darkness. Alice pulled away, flashing me a sympathetic smile before turning to walk back into the house. Edward nodded at her as he passed and came to stand beside me.

"How are you doing?" he asked. His hand twitched as if to reach out to me, but instead, he tucked them both in his pants pockets.

"I'm all right," I replied quietly. "How about you? I'm sure this is as much of a shock to you as it is to me."

Edward gazed across the yard. "I'm fine." He shifted uncomfortably. "I'll have to admit I was upset at first. I felt rather…manipulated."

"That's understandable."

He nodded. "But I suppose I can see now why Carlisle kept this from me…from all of us. And if the end result was to bring us back together…" His words trailed off as he turned to me with a soft smile. "Well, I can see his heart was in the right place…as usual.

"Speaking of Carlisle, he asked me to come and get you. He has something he wants to give you."

I nodded, but as I turned to go back inside, Edward grabbed my elbow to stop me.

"You're wrong, you know," he said with soft intensity. "I do remember, at least in a way."

I searched his face. "What do you mean?"

He reached up, tentatively stroking a hand down my cheek as his eyes followed the movement. "I may not remember the details…the conversations…the things that we did together. But a part of me remembered you…it always had, although I didn't realize it at the time.

"I thought it was your blood that called to me," he explained. "And it did, but there was more to it than that. I couldn't understand why I felt this undeniable draw to you…a grinding need to protect you, to have you near me. I guess now it makes a little more sense.

"I've always thought that once I became what I am, I lost what made me human…that I had no soul. But this…" He rubbed my upper arms gently, tracing his fingers down over the back of my hands. At the familiar pull, the recognizable electricity that shot through me at his touch, I turned my hands, lacing my fingers with his. His eyes were topaz, not green, yet they still swam with a passion and love that I knew. This was Edward…no matter what, he was my Edward.

"This makes me doubt my beliefs," Edward continued, "because part of me stayed connected to you over all of these years, even if I wasn't aware of it. It makes me wonder if maybe I do have a soul, after all. And if I do…I know it's yours."

Edward's beautiful face blurred in front of me, and I realized my eyes were full of tears. I blinked, forcing them down my cheeks, and Edward lifted his hands to cup my face, brushing the tears away with his thumbs. "Don't cry," he whispered.

"I missed you so much," I replied. "You left…and you almost broke me."

"I'm sorry," he choked out, emotion filling his face. "I'm so sorry, Bella."

"Don't do it again," I pleaded. "Please…promise you'll never leave me."

Edward smiled softly. "Bella, where would I go?"

I froze in shock, my eyes searching his for a glimmer of recognition. Did he remember?

Did it matter?

Rosalie was right. Regardless of what happened in the past, and what Edward did or didn't remember, we were here. We were together. We had hope.

We had a future.

"I love you, Edward."

His smile grew as his thumb brushed my lips. "I love you, too. With all that I am." He leaned down and kissed me, hard to soft…cold to warm…different from what I'd come to know, but still familiar and altogether devastating.

I reached up, twisting my fingers into his hair as he deepened the kiss, protecting me from his razor-sharp teeth, but still managing to steal my breath from my body. I whimpered, pressing closer to him…my body knowing what it wanted…what it craved.

Edward pulled back, his eyes nearly black. "So…we were married."

I nodded, still breathless.

"And did we…uh…" His gaze dropped to his feet. "Did we…you know?"

I smirked when I realized what he was getting at. "Consummate?" I asked wryly.

Edward nodded, but didn't look up.

I leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Repeatedly."

Edward's eyes shot up and I saw a flash of a familiar emotion in them.

Lust.

I giggled. Apparently, some things hadn't changed that much.

Edward cleared his throat. "That's…um…good to know," he said uncomfortably. "Well, we should get back inside. Carlisle really wanted to show you something."

I nodded, trailing a finger across his chest as I walked by and reveling just a little at his sharp intake of breath.

That's right, Edward. I might have learned a thing or two from being married to you. Watch out.

I walked back into the living room with Edward right behind me. Everyone was still there, and Carlisle held a small stack of books in his hand.

"Everything all right?" he asked, his eyes moving from me to Edward.

"Fine," I assured him, sitting back down on the couch as Edward sat next to me. Carlisle walked over and sat on the other side of me, holding out the books.

"I thought you might like to have these," he said.

I looked down at the two leather-bound volumes. One was smaller, thinner, with a darker cover. I opened it first, my mouth dropping open in shock when what I read on the title page registered.

My Life at Maggie's: Chicago in the Big War

By Alistair Jenkins

I gaped at Carlisle, but he only smiled in return. "I marked a chapter I thought you'd find particularly interesting," he said.

I flipped pages to a lavender ribbon, used as a bookmark, gasping when I saw the photograph.

"It's us," I whispered.

It was Maggie's back yard, the day before Edward and I left for Altoona. I remembered Alistair had been in a corner of the yard snapping photographs, but I'd thought he was taking pictures of flowers. I felt tears prick my eyes once again as I took in the familiar faces.

Edward leaned in, looking at the photograph. I swiped at my tears, then ran my fingers over the page.

"That's Jared and Liza," I told him. "They were schoolteachers and lived at the boarding house with me. I pointed to the other figures sitting at the table on the back porch. "That's Tom and Samantha. They were to be married the next summer. Samantha was one of your closest friends." I glanced at Edward, but he was just looking at the page in concentration, as if willing himself to remember. I pointed to Maggie, where she was bent over a low bush. "That's Maggie. She owned the boarding house. She was a good friend to me. I don't know if I could have survived without her."

"I loved Maggie," I heard Alice say. I nodded in response.

"I spoke to her after you left," Carlisle added, and I looked up in surprise. "I knew she would be worried, and once I figured out what had happened to you, I wanted to reassure her that you were all right."

"What did you tell her?" I asked.

Carlisle shrugged. "Not much. She already knew. She took one look at me and she said, 'Oh, Dr. Cullen. Why so glum? Bella's back where she belongs, you know.' Then she winked at me."

I laughed. "That's Maggie. She had a bit 'o the sight, you know," I said, mimicking her brogue.

"So I gathered," Carlisle replied.

Edward was still looking at the picture in the book. He reached out to touch the spot where we sat on the porch steps, Edward's fingers tangled in the ends of my hair, his lips pressed to my temple.

"It wasn't that I didn't believe it," he murmured. "It's just seeing this…" His words trailed off.

"I know," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "It makes it real."

He kissed my head softly. "Yeah."

"I want to see!" Alice demanded brightly, lightening the mood. I handed her Alistair's book.

"It's hard to imagine that creepy old Alistair was writing about all of us," she said, flipping through the pages.

I snorted. "I know. He was so secretive about his work. I half-thought he was writing some subversive manifesto."

With a glance at Carlisle, I turned my attention to the larger book, flipping open its leather cover. My eyes went back to Carlisle. "A scrapbook?"

Carlisle smiled. "You know I like to keep them. I thought you would appreciate knowing what happened to all of your friends."

My heart warmed at the thought that Carlisle had spent the time to put together such a precious memento. "I can't believe you did this," I said, my words trembling a bit with emotion.

Carlisle shrugged off my gratitude, reaching over to turn a page.

I looked down at a yellowed newspaper clipping. At the top was a photograph of an older woman I realized was Maggie, standing next to a tall, balding man with glasses perched on his nose. Both were smiling widely and Maggie had her arm looped through the man's elbow. I read the caption below.

Mr. & Mrs. Henry Oleson celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary.

"Henry?" I turned to Carlisle in surprise. "Henry came back?"

Carlisle nodded. "Not long after you left, he took ill with the influenza. When Maggie heard, she was the first to his bedside. She nursed him back to health and once he recovered, he begged her forgiveness and asked that she take him back. They had forty-two years together before he passed."

I turned the page, seeing the obituaries for Henry, then one dated a year later for Maggie. I wiped an errant tear.

"They're all gone," I said softly.

Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It has been ninety years, Bella," he reminded me.

"Not for me." I felt Edward squeeze me gently, and turned another page.

I smiled, seeing Tom and Samantha's wedding announcement from the Tribune. Samantha was glorious, of course, glowing in white lace. Tom stood tall and proud in his suit, a wide smile on his handsome face. I glanced through the other clippings – birth announcements, articles that Tom wrote for the Tribune, a photograph of Samantha's graduating class from the nursing school.

"Tom eventually became an editor at the Tribune," Carlisle told me. "Samantha worked at Cook County until they started a family. He and Samantha had five children, fourteen grandchildren, and twenty-three great grandchildren. Many of them went into the medical field or into journalism. In fact, their great-granddaughter Abby became an anchor at CNN."

I thought for a moment. "You mean Abby McClayne?"

Carlisle nodded.

I grinned. "Tom would have been so proud."

My grin fell as I came across an obituary for Jared Johannes, dated November, 1918.

"He died in the outbreak," Carlisle said somberly. "It was very quick."

"Poor Liza," I murmured, my heart aching for her loss. I turned the page, stopping at a newspaper photograph of Liza standing next to a man I didn't recognize and a little boy.

"Liza left Chicago after Jared died," Carlisle explained. "She moved to Tennessee to be near her family and start fresh. While she was there, she met a widower and remarried in 1920."

I read the caption, then, in shock, quickly read the brief marriage announcement before staring blankly again at the caption.

Mr. & Mrs. Emmett McCarty, Sr., with Emmett McCarty, Jr.

My eyes rose slowly to see Emmett watching me with a wide grin.

"No way!" I exclaimed.

"Way!" he said with a laugh.

"Liza was your…"

"…Stepmother," he finished. "Actually, the only mother I remember. Small world, huh?"

I shook my head at the coincidence. Actually, I wasn't entirely sure I believed in coincidence any longer.

"Now hold on a second!" Alice exclaimed from where she sat on Jasper's lap. She looked genuinely appalled and held up Alistair's book, thumping a hand against its cover.

"He writes about everyone at the boarding house except me!" she complained loudly. "I know I wasn't there for very long, but I don't even get a sentence? Not even a 'Miss Swan's lovely and engaging cousin came to visit?' What is up with that?"

We all gaped at Alice's outburst before breaking out in laughter.

"What?" she asked in a hurt voice. "It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request." Jasper pulled her into a hug, setting the book on a side table.

I turned another page in the scrapbook and smiled at the collection of photos and clippings. Carlisle had kept painstaking records of the women I worked with at the hospital and some of those I knew from the Chicago Women's Association. A large newspaper photo from the suffrage rally caught my eye. Eleanor and I were standing in the crowd listening to the speaker. I could even make out Carlisle's profile.

"You marched in a suffrage rally?" Edward asked admiringly. "Impressive."

I choked slightly and Carlisle covered a smirk.

"Yeah, well, you didn't think so at the time," I told him.

"Really?" Edward looked shocked, then he nodded slightly. "I'd imagine it would be kind of dangerous. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Carlisle laughed and I elbowed him lightly.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked.

"Not a thing," I replied, patting his arm lightly before turning back to Carlisle. "What happened to Eleanor?"

"She never re-married," Carlisle told me. "But she lived her life her way. She died at eighty-seven years old, and her funeral was standing room only."

I fought a wave of sadness. After a moment, I asked wryly, "All men?"

Carlisle chuckled. "Well, mostly…yes."

"Were you there?"

Carlisle's smile fell slightly. "Yes. She was a dear friend…a wonderful woman."

My eyes flashed to Esme as I recalled what I'd learned about Carlisle's relationship with Eleanor. I leaned closer to Carlisle, speaking between my clenched teeth. "Does Esme know about…you know?" I asked, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

"Esme knows everything," Esme replied with a smile and a slight wink. Everyone else just looked confused at the exchange.

"When Edward left us in 1927, I had some doubts about the conclusions I'd come to," Carlisle explained. "I told Esme everything about my life in Chicago. Everything," he emphasized to me. "I needed to have some reassurance that I was doing the right thing. Esme gave me that."

Esme crossed the room, perching on the arm of the couch next to her husband. He took her hand, pressing it to his lips.

"Carlisle knew Edward would come back eventually," she told me. "He knew it was a risk to tell me what was happening, but he helped me learn to focus my thoughts as well, so Edward wouldn't read the truth from me. It was actually a little easier for me, since I'd never met you in person."

I glanced at Carlisle archly, asking Esme, "Did he tell you how he stalked you for months?"

Esme laughed. "Well, he put it a little differently. He said he was watching out for me, but yes, he told me."

I shook my head. "I thought for sure he was going to step in before it was time and do something crazy."

Neither Carlisle nor Esme spoke for a moment, and I noticed Carlisle shifting uncomfortably. Esme watched him with a knowing smile.

"Did I miss something?" I asked.

Carlisle's eyes shot to Esme, who just nodded slightly. "I think you should tell her."

With a heavy sigh, Carlisle finally admitted, "I might have intervened…just a little."

"What did you do?" I watched him with wide eyes as he glanced at Esme again.

"When Esme left her husband, he didn't take it well," he began, slowly. "He set out to find her. I told you he was abusive. He would have dragged her back to Ohio and I knew he would have hurt her. I couldn't let that happen."

"Oh my God, Carlisle!" I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. "You killed him?"

"What?" Carlisle exclaimed. "No! Of course not!"

"Well, what did you do?" I asked.

Carlisle squirmed. I didn't recall ever seeing Carlisle squirm before. "I might have…frightened him a bit."

"Oh God," I moaned, my hand covering my face.

"It wasn't anything, really," he said hurriedly. "I just…uh…"

"What?"

"Tell her, Carlisle," Esme urged, her lips twitching.

"Uh…"

"Carlisle?"

"Fine!" he growled. "I snuck into his house in the middle of the night, carried him to the top of Cantwell Cliffs, and dangled him over the edge by his feet. I told him if he didn't leave Esme alone I was going to drop him and leave his broken body for the wolves to feed on."

Every eye in the room was staring at Carlisle. He, however, became extremely interested in the toes of his shoes.

"Wow, Carlisle," Emmett finally said. "I didn't know you had it in you."

A hysterical giggle burst from my mouth, and before long we were all laughing.

Even Carlisle.

x-x

It was almost three in the morning by the time Edward carried me back through my bedroom window. I was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and collapsed into the bed. Edward started to leave, but I asked him to stay, needing to feel his arms around me. He agreed with a gentle smile, wrapping me in my quilt and holding me gently as I drifted off to sleep.

He was gone when Charlie knocked on my door to wake me the next morning, but I knew he wasn't far away. I showered and dressed quickly, and he pulled into the driveway shortly after Charlie left for work. He held the door for me as always, and it was eerily familiar how easily we got back into our old routine.

School was…well… school. Pretty much the same as I remembered it. I did feel a wave of emotion when I saw my friends the first time, and had to fight the urge to pull them all into tight hugs – even Mike Newton, which was weird.

Edward and I spent just about every moment together. We talked a lot about my time in 1918 as I filled in the blanks for him. I told him about our life together, our wedding…even how we pretty much couldn't stand each other when we first met.

"It sounds like I was an ass," he'd said gruffly as we were sitting at my kitchen table after school, pretending to study.

I smiled at him teasingly. "You kind of were. I loved you anyway, though," I said with a light kiss on his cheek.

"Carlisle said he couldn't stand me," he added.

"Oh God, you hated each other," I replied with a laugh. "I didn't know how you guys would ever learn to get along."

Edward's lips quirked, but he seemed distracted. He looked away as if considering his next words carefully. "You two were…close," he said finally.

I searched his face, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. "Yes," I answered simply.

He swallowed, and I knew he was going to ask a question that had been eating at him for a while. "How close?"

His eyes finally returned to mine and I saw the insecurity swimming in their golden depths. I reached out to take his hand. "Edward…" I began.

"It's not that I would blame you," he interrupted. "I left you, then when you finally found me again, I was a complete jerk to you. And Carlisle is one of the best men I know…"

This time it was me who interrupted. "Edward. No. Don't even think that," I said. "Yes, Carlisle and I were friends. He helped me so much and we did become close friends, but that's all.

"You know as much as I do that Carlisle was meant for Esme. Just as you were meant for me," I added, and his eyes softened.

I didn't mention the fact that Carlisle had once thought he loved me. It didn't matter. I never truly believed he did anyway…and I thought Carlisle would have been the first to agree.

Over the next few days Edward seemed a little distracted, but I wasn't really worried. It wasn't the quiet, detached distraction of the days before he left me. Instead, he was particularly attentive to me, but seemed like he was trying to solve a problem. I'd catch him watching me closely, his eyes narrowed as he concentrated.

I wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but the occasional hot glances I'd catch him shooting my way made me tremble and yearn for something…something I'd always wanted with him, but hadn't really known I was missing until I'd been married.

Yeah. I wanted Edward. Badly.

He knew. If what was happening every night in my bedroom was an indication, he definitely knew. We would lie on my bed, limbs entangled, lips caressing as we groped each other desperately. He'd pull back eventually, of course, but I got the feeling that the reason had to do more with the fact that Charlie was just down the hall than anything else.

Then it was Friday. And it appeared Edward had made a decision of some sort.

When he picked me up for school, he had a look of determination on his face that made me shiver. He pulled me to him, pressing my back against the Volvo as he devoured me in a heated kiss, his hands first grasping my ass briefly, then trailing up to stroke my breast through my sweater.

I gasped and Edward pulled back with a smirk, opening the car door for me and helping me inside.

The day progressed like that – lingering glances in the hallways…erotic touches under the lunch table…hot, stolen kisses behind the gym.

I got the sneaking suspicion Edward was seducing me.

Didn't he know I was a sure thing?

Still, I felt strangely nervous when he dropped me off at my house, reminding me Alice would pick me up at seven for a sleepover at their house. Charlie was still pretty firmly on the anti-Edward bandwagon. When he'd heard the Cullens were back in town, he'd started to forbid me to see him, but that had been short-lived.

I reminded him I was eighteen, an adult, and could live elsewhere if he couldn't live with Edward being in my life. He'd given in grumpily, telling me he just wanted me to be happy before kissing me lightly on the head.

I showered and dressed carefully, choosing a pair of dark jeans and a new red blouse I bought with Alice before my birthday. She showed up promptly at seven, greeting Charlie with a smile before hurrying me out the door.

"What the hell is going on?" I hissed, as soon as the door closed.

Alice smiled knowingly. "You're about to become a very happy girl. That's what's going on."

We got into Alice's car and I turned to her. "You don't mean what I think you mean, do you?"

Alice's smile only grew. "Oh, I think I mean exactly what you think I mean."

"But," I stammered, "Edward's always said it was too dangerous."

Alice glanced at me as she backed out of the driveway. "He's been spending a lot of time talking to Carlisle. I think perhaps those concerns have been alleviated."

I dropped my head into my hands. "He talked to Carlisle about us having sex?" I mumbled through my fingers. "How humiliating."

Alice patted my knee lightly. "Don't be embarrassed, Bella. I think Carlisle was able to give Edward some really useful advice."

"I may never think about sex again," I muttered.

"Look," she said, turning into her driveway. "You and Edward love each other. You want to be together. Edward went to Carlisle because he's the only one who actually knows anything about this sort of thing. Esme told me about Eleanor, by the way. Who knew Carlisle was such a bad boy?"

Alice snickered briefly before she continued. "Anyway, Carlisle was able to help Edward feel comfortable about the idea and make him realize that he could do this without killing you."

I grimaced slightly, and Alice shrugged. "What? It's true. So now, the path's been cleared. Edward's willing. You'll be alone in the house all night. Isn't this what you want?"

We pulled to a stop and I stared at the light glowing in Edward's bedroom window.

Was this what I wanted?

Before I even finished thinking the question, I knew the answer. Absolutely.

I smiled at Alice, opening the door. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Alice grinned. "Not too early."

I nodded. "Thanks, Alice. For everything." I leaned over to hug her tightly before getting out of the car.

I took a deep breath, walking toward the house as I heard Alice drive away. I raised my hand to knock, but the door opened before I could. Edward stood there smiling in a white button-down shirt and a pair of dark jeans. He was beautiful. He was amazing.

He was mine.

He raised a hand to run it through his hair nervously. "You look beautiful," he said, stepping back so I could enter.

"Thank you," I replied quietly, shrugging out of my jacket when Edward reached for it.

"So…uh…are you hungry?" he asked, waving absently toward the kitchen. "Thirsty?"

"No," I smiled. "You?"

Edward chuckled. "No. I'm fine."

I stepped toward him, lifting a hand tentatively to his chest. "Maybe I'll have something later," I said.

Edward swallowed thickly. "Okay. Should we…uh…we could go to my room and listen to music…or read…or something…" His words trailed off.

"Okay."

I followed him upstairs, trying not to stare at the huge bed that now dominated the room. The wrought iron frame twisted in metal vines up four tall posts, accented here and there with cast metal roses. The iron formed a latticework overhead, with leaves and roses creating an almost bowery effect. The bedding was a slightly lighter shade than the golden carpet, with piles of fluffy pillows leaning against the headboard.

It was massive.

It was intimidating.

All of a sudden, I was stricken with paralyzing nerves.

"You…you got a bed," I squeaked.

Edward cleared his throat, flipping through some CDs and avoiding my eyes. "Yes, well. I thought you might want to…sleep…or something."

Just as quickly as they'd arrived, my nerves disappeared. I realized, hearing Edward's shaky voice, that he was even more scared than I was. After all, for all intents and purposes, Edward was a virgin. That meant it was up to me to comfort him for a change. It was up to me to show him how incredible this could be.

I crossed the room, taking his hand from the CD shelf. "Come here," I urged him.

He followed me hesitantly as I sat down on the bed, pulling him down with me. I reached up to touch his face gently. "I love you, Edward."

His eyes fluttered closed briefly. "I love you," he replied.

I leaned in to kiss him softly, peppering his lips…his cheeks…his forehead with easy brushes. His hands went around my waist, pulling me closer as he kissed me back finally, his lips parting mine with a sigh.

He pulled back, looking into my eyes. "I thought I could do this. God knows I want to, but I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me."

"You'll tell me, right?"

I smiled at him, pulling his face closer to mine. "Don't be afraid," I murmured. "We belong together."

At that, he shifted me onto his lap, then rolled me onto the bed. He hovered over me, balanced on his elbows.

He slowly, painstakingly began to unbutton my blouse, pressing a light kiss to my skin each time a little more was revealed. I sat up and he slid it from my shoulders, his eyes washing over my bared flesh lovingly. I could never get tired of Edward looking at me like that. It was like his eyes physically caressed me, sending tingles through my body.

His hands swept up my arms, looping under my bra straps and sliding them down. I reached behind me to unhook it and he pulled it away, dropping it on the floor. He pressed me back down on the bed, reaching for the button of my jeans, and in a few minutes, I lay naked across the bed, Edward devouring me with his gaze.

"Edward," I whimpered. "Please…"

He leaned down, kissing the valley between my breasts softly as his fingers caressed my skin, trailing up my waist and cupping my breast before he pressed his cold lips to my nipple. His icy breath shocked my hot flesh and I gasped at the sensation, reaching for his shirt and fumbling with the buttons.

He pulled away, and I groaned in protest, but Edward just chuckled lightly. Before I knew what was happening, he was standing naked between my knees, looking down at me in possessive yearning. He reached under me to pull down the covers, and I shifted to the middle of the bed as he slid in next to me.

Then, his hands were everywhere…stroking…touching…sliding along my skin. His lips at my neck…my breast…my stomach. It was a whirlwind of aching tension, building around me, inside of me. I reached for Edward, clinging to his marble back, my hands gliding down to cup his perfect behind as he moaned in my ear. When I reached between us to grab his erection, hoping he still liked it the way he used to, I was pleasantly rewarded.

Edward shuddered, my name forced out of his mouth on a loud groan. I smiled in victory.

And when he tentatively slipped his icy fingers between my legs, I encouraged him with kisses and uncontrollable whimpers. Finally, he pulled back, reaching to the bedside table and rolling on a condom. I smiled slightly, grateful that I never had to see another pessary.

"To protect you from the venom," Edward explained in a raspy voice.

I nodded in appreciation. God knows we didn't need any little half-vampire teeth babies running around, if such a thing was even possible.

He came over me again. "Remember, tell me if it hurts. Please, Bella."

I reached up to touch his beautiful face, all sharp angles in the heat of love and lust. My conquering angel.

"It's okay, Edward," I told him.

Slowly…ever so slowly…he entered me. For a moment I wondered if my body was still a virgin, but thankfully, I didn't feel the pain of a ruptured maidenhead.

Only the all-consuming pleasure of being joined with Edward again…finally.

I wrapped my legs around his hips as he began to gently thrust into me, his eyes clenched shut as he struggled to maintain control. I arched against him as I felt the telltale tightening of my muscles pointing to my nearing release.

"Edward," I cried out, and he stopped abruptly.

"Are you all right?" he asked through gritted teeth, concern in his eyes.

I writhed against him. "Oh, God yes, I'm fine…don't stop," I pleaded.

"Thank God," he muttered as he gripped the headboard and began to plunge more forcefully. I felt the peak just out of my reach…growing closer with each thrust…building as the sounds of our heavy breaths and murmured endearments filled the room.

Then, without warning, Edward shifted his hips and my orgasm ripped through me in devastating waves of pleasure. I threw my head back against the pillow at the shocking jolts that twisted every muscle…purged every nerve…with Edward's name on my lips. I vaguely registered a sound of splintering wood and screeching metal before Edward shuddered above me, his face twisted into a gasp of pleasure that touched my heart. Finally, he relaxed, easing next to me and pulling me snugly into his arms. We lay there entangled, as our breathing returned to normal.

"Now I understand," Edward said quietly, stroking my arm as he pressed a soft kiss on my shoulder. "I know why I could never be with another. Why the mere thought was abhorrent to me.

"All this time, I've been waiting for you," he said, rolling onto his back and pulling me against his side. "I've been waiting for you to come back to me."

He stroked my hair and I pondered that for a moment. "Can I ask you something?" I murmured.

"Anything."

"Don't get me wrong," I said, trailing my fingers over his chest, "I'm not complaining. But you've always seemed reluctant to be with me this way. Why the change of heart?"

Edward chuckled lightly. "Well, in the first place, we're already married. Technically, although it's been a while, we've already done this a few times."

I smirked against his skin. "More than a few."

Edward laughed again. "I'd like to hear more about that," he joked. "My other concern was your safety, of course, but once I learned it was physically possible, and Carlisle told me how to protect you, well, that was that."

I hummed lightly, kissing his chest. "Well, I'm glad you decided to give it a try."

Edward pulled me more fully on top of him. "So am I. In fact, I think we should try again…very soon."

I propped up on my elbows, taking in the dented headboard and splintered wood. "I don't know if your bed could take it."

Edward glanced up at the damage, then turned back to me with a devilish grin. "Totally worth it."

I leaned down to kiss him. "You know, if I were like you, you wouldn't have to worry so much about breaking me."

Edward lifted a hand to touch my cheek, then ran his fingers through my hair, his gaze steady on mine. "I'd considered that."

"And since we're already married…'til death do us part and all…" I prodded.

He tugged me down until he could trace his lips along my neck. "You do have a point," he murmured.

"We could be together all the time," I said breathlessly as he licked my collarbone. "I'd have a lot more stamina."

"Mmmm…stamina," he whispered against my skin. "Stamina is good."

"I want to be with you forever, Edward."

He pulled back, cupping my face in his hands as he studied me closely. He nodded finally. "Forever," he agreed.

"Really?" I stared at him in shock as the corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin.

"I want to be with you forever, too," he admitted. "Maybe it's selfish of me, but fifty or sixty years is just not enough."

In a flash, he rolled us over. One second, I was on top of him, the next, he was over me, his face serious.

"It's not easy, Bella," he warned me. "You won't age, but everyone around you will. One by one you'll lose the people you love."

"Not all of them," I corrected, brushing his hair away from his forehead.

He smiled softly, "No, not all. But many…Charlie…Renee…your friends at school."

I thought about the people I'd lost already…Maggie, Samantha and Tom, Liza and Jared. My heart broke a little bit, but I knew it wasn't enough for me to give up Edward.

I looked up at him, hoping he'd see all the love I had for him shining in my eyes. "I know it will be difficult. I know I'm giving some things up – big things, important things…" My thoughts drifted briefly to the children we'd never have and I fought a rush of sadness. I would mourn them in private, when Edward wasn't watching me so closely.

"But Edward, no choice is without consequences," I pointed out. "And to have you…to have forever with you? It is worth any consequence…any sacrifice. This – us – this is what I am here for. I know that now."

Edward searched my eyes, then leaned down to kiss me softly…adoringly. "So I guess it's you and me then."

I smiled up at him, nodding in agreement, my heart full of joy and hope. Somehow, through it all, we'd survived…our love had survived. A vampire and a human from two different centuries.

Go figure.

It was an unlikely love story, but we'd made it to the end. No, I corrected, this was only the beginning. Despite deadly chases, life-threatening desires, deadly diseases, and nearly a century passing, we'd made it.

Beyond all expectations. Beyond all obstructions.

Beyond time.

As Edward took me again, loving me desperately…completely, I found myself whispering a quiet thanks to whoever had sent me back to find him.

Because past, present or future, Edward was now mine.

Forever.

A/N: Only the epilogue is left… I'll get it posted as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I have posted a new one-shot, my entry for The Cherry Exchange Contest. It's called Sex Tips & Star Trek. Edward's a popular sex therapist and Bella's his best friend and producer. Neither one knows the other's a virgin, but when they go on a business trip to New York some secrets are bound to come out. Oh, and did I mention they're both Trekkies? If you'd like to read it, it's here: www . fanfiction . net/s/6467116/1/Sex_Tips_Star_Trek and you can read all the Cherry Exchange entries here: www . fanfiction . net/u/2530160/The_Cherry_Exchange

One more thing: Beyond Time has been nominated for a Rare Gem Award in the category Most Original Storyline/Precious Stone. More info can be found here: thesparkleteerawards . blogspot . com/

Voting begins November 18th.