DISCLAIMER: All characters and story world belong to SM. All lyrical references and quotes are property of their original artist. No copyright infringement intended.

[Beta'd by: UnBeta'd]
Special thanks to: Ocdmess

Last chapter I asked what one song you felt defines "you" and my song would be: Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile. It's my favorite Nine Inch Nails song. Period.

No songs for this chapter, but I did listen to Matt Nathanson – "Come on Get Higher" while writing.

http:/ /www[dot]youtube[dot]com/user/BeautifullySacred

*Warning – Fluffy, fuzzy, gooey mush and junk.*

Chapter 30
EPOV - Epilogue

It was the week between Christmas and New Year's, and the family had come back together again. We were all at the Denali house for the holiday celebrations, and life felt normal for the first time in a very long time. Garrett and Kate had returned from Iceland and even helped us mix our new tracks while Emmett sat in on every practice with Rose by his side.

Tanya eventually returned as well, and found that staying busy helped to keep her mind off of Irina. She helped Kate with the decorations around the house, and even assisted us in the studio from time to time. She warmed up to Bella quickly and they became closer friends than I could have ever imagined. The loss of her sister definitely put things into a different perspective for Tanya.

Kate and Garrett tied the knot on New Year's Eve, and Alice handled all of the arrangements. It was a small ceremony that took place on the cliff that overlooked our house in Alaska – the same cliff I used to spend days at while I tortured myself with the memory of Bella. Rose played the music and Emmett set off the fireworks at midnight, welcoming the newlyweds into the New Year.

As we danced under the stars and let Rose play DJ, Garrett asked to dance with Bella. I gladly gave him her hand and sat down on the snow covered ground to watch from a distance. Jasper joined me midway through their dance and cleared his throat.

"So," he said quietly with his eyes fixed on our family.

"So?" I asked. Bella tossed her head back and laughed as Garrett grinned and pulled her closer, spinning her quickly. I smiled at the sight and turned my gaze to Jasper.

"So," he stated once more before looking at me. 'Why haven't you asked her yet?'

I sighed and looked back at Bella dancing. She was beautiful; her hair trailed behind her as she spun, and her laugh rang clear in the night as the lights from the fireworks lit up her face.

"I don't know. Waiting for the right time, I guess."

"Why?"

"Why what?" I asked.

"Why wait?" Jasper clarified as he glanced up at the fireworks above us.

A burst of green and red lit up the sky and the smoke clouds from the previous explosions glowed briefly before the colors died out and the embers fell to the ground.

"I want it to be the right moment, you know? What if she says no?" I asked quietly.

"She loves you," he said with a monotone voice.

I quirked a brow and glanced at him. "Is that a question?"

"No. Just stating the obvious. You love each other. You really think she will say no?"

I thought about it for a moment and sighed. I didn't want her to feel pressured. I was worried she didn't want the same things that I did.

Jasper rolled his eyes and a second later I was overwhelmed with an intense sense of love, passion, and loyalty. I gasped slightly as I leaned back and looked toward Bella with wide eyes.

'She has no doubt that she loves you and wants to be with you, but you shouldn't need me to show you that. So again, why wait?' he asked silently.

I watched Bella with her head resting on Garrett's shoulder as they slowed down for the next song and my heart swelled.

She does love me. I know that.

I was worried. I was concerned that she still might not trust me entirely; that she wouldn't have faith in my word; that she didn't believe that I would never leave her again. I didn't want to pressure her into forcing those feelings and then doubting anything. I was mostly worried about how she would react about leaving the family, however.

'Stop focusing on every detail, concern, and possibility and ask her to leave with you. For Christ sake, Edward, you deserve to be happy, too. You've lived in this darkness for decades and you finally find the light in your life and you're worried about smothering it? She's not going anywhere. She'll follow you to the end of the earth.'

I sighed once more and nodded slowly. He was right. I had no reason to continue waiting and making excuses. I wanted to get away from everything and focus on us for a while. I knew that the music meant a lot to her, but I felt like we hadn't taken the time to reconnect on a personal level – one that didn't involve music, my family, touring, and our friends. I was afraid that she wouldn't want to leave everyone and everything and go away with me. I was afraid that the life we were living was more important to her than our life together.

I got to my feet and said a quiet thank you to Jasper before walking toward Garrett and Bella.

"May I steal her back now?" I asked Garrett with a smile.

He studied me briefly before putting her hand in mine. "She's all yours."

I nodded my head in thanks and wrapped my arm around Bella's waist, pulling her closer to me. She rested her head on my shoulder and we moved in a slow, steady rhythm. I kissed the top of her head gently and she looked up at me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said quietly with a faint smile and kissed her forehead.

The glow of the fireworks lit up the sky and the smell of the embers flooded my nose. I buried my face in Bella's soft hair and took in a deep breath as I gently moaned. She squeezed me tightly and moved her hands under my shirt and around my back to my hips. Her fingers traced the contours of my skin as we danced and I decided I wasn't going to worry or wait any longer.

I turned my head toward her ear and rested my cheek against hers. "Leave with me, Bella. Leave our family, friends and music behind for a while and let's just focus on our life together," I whispered.

Her feet stilled on the snow covered ground and she froze in my arms. She took a shaky breath before pulling back slightly to look into my eyes. "What did you say?" she asked in a low voice.

"We have eternity to write music and tour the world, but I don't want that to become what defines us. I've nearly lost you so many times, and I want to make sure that we focus on us – on being together – before we get lost in hobbies, passions and careers." I paused and tried to decipher the look on her face. She seemed shocked, perhaps even disappointed? I put a bit of distance between us and took her hands in mine, squeezing them gently. "Bella, I feel like I barely got to know you. I never knew you were interested in music or writing; I had no idea what you wanted to do with the rest of your human life, and now that it has been taken away, I feel like I truly don't know anything about you anymore, and I want to! I want to know everything there is to know about you, and not just a game of twenty questions regarding your favorite color or historical figure. I want—."

Her hand covered my mouth and I exhaled heavily as I stared into her eyes. Her lips slowly turned up into a sad smile and she shook her head. My heart grew heavy and I knew that I should have prepared myself better for rejection. I closed my eyes and slumped my shoulders.

"Of course I'll go with you," she whispered.

I repeated her words in my head once, twice, three times before opening my eyes and mumbling against the palm of her hand. She laughed quietly and moved her hand to my cheek.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I said, wait, what?" I repeated, this time more clearly.

She pressed her lips faintly to mine and smiled before speaking again. "I said okay."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes," she said with a laugh.

"You aren't upset? You don't hate me for asking you to leave your music and family behind?" I asked.

"No, why would I? I want what you want, I want to be with you, and you are absolutely right."

I watched as she smiled up at me, waiting for my reply. The word 'amazed' didn't do justice. I was constantly awestruck with how she put others before herself and how she managed to always surprise me when I was sure of something. I think that was part of what drew me to her in the first place. She never said or did what I expected, and just when I thought I had something figured out about her, she would change course, and I found myself utterly shocked or confused.

She kept me guessing. She made me feel alive.

She made me see a purpose in my once boring and repetitive life.

She was the foundation I had craved for nearly a century – the music bars to my notes, the bass to my treble – and I finally found her. I finally had something to hold onto.

I threw my arms around her, crushing her to my chest and taking in the scent of her hair. I never wanted to let her go again. The term forever had always been taken too lightly by humans, but my kind understood the meaning and took advantage of it. However, no one would ever be guaranteed forever, and I didn't want to lose sight of that truth – I didn't want to forget that I could lose this happiness, this bliss at any moment.

"Edward?" Bella asked with a chuckle. "Are you okay?"

I took another deep breath of her hair and held it in for a second before pulling away and nodding. "I couldn't be better," I whispered.

"You really thought I would say no?" she asked with a touch of concern to her voice.

"I couldn't be sure. I know how much the family and music means to you, and I didn't want to take you away from that."

She glanced toward our family spread out on the cliffside and enjoying their night, and as she scanned the festivities, a wide grin spread across her face. "I'll miss them, of course, but it's not forever. We've never really had time to be alone and just be ourselves; I'd like that."

I reached out and squeezed her hands in mine gently. She leaned back on her heels unexpectedly and tugged me toward her with a mischievous look. I pulled her arm up over her head and twirled her once before resting my hands on her hips and leading us toward our family. The rest of the night was filled with dancing and laughter as we celebrated a new year filled with new hope and possibilities.

./.

When the time came to tell our family that we would be leaving for a while, everyone took it rather well. Well, everyone but Emmett.

"Come on, baby bro! We just got her back and now you're taking her off somewhere? We haven't even gotten a chance to have an arm wrestle championship or teach her chess so she can beat your ass!" Emmett protested.

Rosalie slapped the back of his head and rolled her eyes. "Would you quit being selfish? We go off by ourselves all the time, we just call them honeymoons. They deserve some time to themselves."

"But, babe!" he whined.

Rosalie quirked a brow and crossed her arms. Emmett sighed and dug his hands in his pockets before shrugging. "Fine, but when you two get back, she's mine for a month!"

"Bella is not a video game you take turns with," Esme scolded, and we all laughed.

Emmett sulked for a moment before he walked over and picked up Bella, squeezing her tightly. "I'll miss you, Bella Bear. Just give me a call if he starts his emo, mopey bullshit and I'll come straighten him out for you."

"Thanks, Em," she said with a smile.

Alice, Jasper, and Garrett had already known about our plan. It's kind of hard to hide feelings and decisions from three gifted and nosey vampires. Alice had bags full of clothes packed for Bella and I that Garrett helped pick out already loaded in the car. When we had finished loading the essentials and saying our goodbyes, we pulled away from the house and turned toward the highway.

We didn't know where we were headed, and that's the way we wanted it. We didn't buy or rent a cabin, and we didn't set a destination – we just took to the road with a few belongings, bags full of clothes and a sense of happiness and love that neither of us had encountered before we had met.

Perhaps we would find a place that inspired us and stay there a while, or maybe we would only stop for gas and a hunt, but either way we were together. If the mood struck, we would write or compose, and as we drove we would talk about life, love, and anything that felt important at the time.

The sadness and guilt that once consumed my heart was gone, and the weight on my shoulders had been lifted. Bella had shown me what life was meant to be and I nearly destroyed that.

Never again would I let anything come between us, including myself.

Never in the century that I had walked this earth did I imagine this being my life.

Never in the decades of my existence did I fathom a love so strong and pure.

And never in my life would I let her out of my arms again.

I reached over and threaded my fingers between hers and squeezed gently. She smiled as she pulled our hands up to her lips and kissed my knuckles before placing our hands over her heart.

Forever or not, we would make the best of it.

~Fin~

A/N: I owe all of you a huge thank you and massive hug for all of the love and support you've shown me over the past year. I started this fic one year and one month ago and to see it finally come to an end has definitely stirred a lot of emotions in me. Amongst the top of that list would be grateful, inspired and touched and it's honestly because of each of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you've shown and shared with me.

As a way to say thank you, I've put together a bunch of things that are available for you to download if you so chose. They are all listed over at my tumblr for Beautifully Sacred at: beautifullysacred(dot)tumblr(dot)com, as well as a link in my profile here on ffnet. I've included:

The Entire story & playlist in:
Word Document Format
PDF Format
Kindle Format

Music:
folder with all music files in mp3 format

Images:
Both Banners for the story
Images used in the story
Inspirational images used while writing

Extras:
A Garrett Character Development outtake in word document format
The creation of "Esme's Song" outtake in word document format
An alternate version to Chapter 20 "Harmony" in EPOV that was cut and re-written entirely.

As for the "Will there be a sequel" question, the answer is: Most likely not, however I'm not ruling it entirely out.

Last tidbits: Special thank you to Ocdmess, my best friend both in and outside of this fandom, IBDamon, one of the coolest and sweetest readers who has stuck with me since the beginning and become a good friend, Z for taking a chance on a little girl, her sadness and her dreams, and my beta, BlahBlahBlah for teaching me more than she will ever realize.

If you are into All Human Twilight Fanfic, check out my other WIP, "Memories Left Behind" or any of Ocdmess' amazing fics. If one shots are more your style, perhaps you'd like my cluster of music inspired oneshots, "First Impressions". I am working on a new fic, but I have no idea when I'll feel comfortable enough to post it, so stay tuned!

Thanks again! Love, ~Ailisraevyn