Okay, here goes. I didn't want to end the story without adding this, and it just didn't fit into the main part of the story, so it's a quasi-epilogue/outtake.
Voting has now begun at the Twilight All Human Fanfiction Awards. Branded and Road Maps are both nominated and I would be honoured if someone felt so compelled to go vote for them. Please go check it out at www DOT twilightallhumanawards DOT webs DOT com/voting DOT htm
Again, thank you all so much for the love and support while writing both stories. I'm floored at the response, and I really can't put into words just how amazing you all make me feel.
Enough of my waxing pathetic. On to Bittersweet Symphony, the quasi-epilogue, and final installment of Road Maps.
Again, Stephenie Meyer owns it all. I just have a lot of wonderful friends, which is worth its weight in gold.
The plane landed at Halifax International Airport in a bank of fog. The late April day was starting off grey and damp, but according to the forecast, it would eventually burn off and clear up.
The weary travelers picked up their luggage and slowly headed toward the car rental counter. Edward loved his son, but cursed the amount of luggage and equipment required for traveling with an infant. He was glad he'd rented a large SUV because it looked like they were going to need it. Jacob had told them they were more than equipped to help, but Bella insisted on bringing their own things.
As soon as they packed up the vehicle, secured the baby in his seat, and programmed the GPS unit, they made a b-line to the nearest Tim Horton's where Edward bought himself a large double-double and a 20 pack of Timbits. Bella asked for an apple cider since she was still trying to stay away from caffeine.
"Hmph, one of these trips I'll get to have a coffee," she pouted.
"You're not missing out on anything," he tried to assure her.
"If it wasn't so damn good, then why is it the only thing you've been able to talk about since we hit Canadian airspace?"
Edward blushed. "Sorry, love."
She laughed as she sipped at her hot cider.
They arrived in Sackville two and a half hours later. They would have made it sooner, but Peanut had put up a fuss just outside of Truro, so they pulled over so Bella could feed him.
Jacob ran out of the house to greet them once they pulled in. "You made it!" he said, hugging Bella and fist-bumping Edward. He helped unload the SUV and carry their luggage into the house. He motioned for them to be quiet and pointed toward the living room where Leah dozed in a recliner, her baby bump so big it almost obscured her face.
"May I?" he asked quietly, holding his large dark hands out toward Peanut, who stretched his own arms toward him.
"Of course," Bella said, handing him over. "He might need to be changed. Let me know if he smells funky."
Jacob held the baby up to his face and smiled. "Boy, you're growing like a weed, aren't you, little buddy." He removed the knit cap from his head and gasped. "Holy crap, kiddo, what are they doing to your hair?"
"He has his father's hair, if you hadn't guessed," Edward said, sighing.
Nathan grasped Jacob's finger, gave it a squeeze, and smiled a toothless grin.
"Man, he's pretty strong for a little guy."
"Yeah, you really have to watch him around your hair; he loves to grab it."
"I can't wait to meet my boys."
"Boys?" Bella asked. "You're having boys?"
"Oh yeah, I figured Leah had told you. Poor girl's hanging on, but I think she's about ready to burst. It's really too bad she can't fully enjoy this weekend."
"I heard that! I'm going to party like it's 1998 and then I'm going to pop these puppies out and party like it's 1999!" Leah called out. "Come here and give me some love!"
Bella rushed over to hug her.
"I'm as big as a house," she lamented.
"You're beautiful, Leah. You make a stunning mother-to-be."
"Pfft, if stunning means bloated, swollen and queen of the cankles, then hand me my tiara."
"Cankles?" Edward asked Jacob.
"You don't know what cankles are? Dude! Cankles are what happens when a woman's ankles are swollen as large as her calves and you can't differentiate where one ends and the other begins...calf + ankle= cankle."
Leah lifted a leg and rotated her ankle. "Sir Edward, I give you a prime example of a cankle."
"How can you be a doctor and not know that term?"
"I must not be a very good doctor."
"Jacob, hand me that baby and go get some drinks, please."
"She adds the please so she doesn't feel guilty for ordering me around all the time," Jacob muttered to Edward as they walked toward the kitchen.
"I heard that!"
"Yes, honey, you hear everything. I know."
"I don't know how he puts up with me; I've been such a bitch."
Bella laughed. "I've been there, honey. I think men are hardwired to put up with our crabbiness when we're carrying their children. Or, it could be that we have the two most patient men on the planet."
Leah fussed over Nathan, who was wriggling in her arms. "God, he's gorgeous, Bella. How's motherhood been?"
"Tiring, but so worth it. I can't even imagine my life without him; spit-ups and leaky, shitty, diapers included. He is a little behind on some milestones most babies his age have reached by this time, but the paediatrician said that it's normal for preemies. He's making good progress, though; he rolled over for the first time last week."
"I heard him say mama the other day," Edward said as he walked back into the room with some bottled water.
Bella snorted. "I missed it."
"He'll say it again, love. Did she tell you that he rolled over?"
"Yes! It's so exciting! I can't wait to watch our own babies do all that."
Bella put a blanket down on the floor so the baby could show off while they chatted.
"I'm sorry the place is such a mess and I hope the bed will be comfortable enough," Leah said.
"It'll be fine, Leah. Stop worrying."
"So, how is this thing going to work?" Edward asked.
"Well, if you're not too tired, the gang has asked that you pop by the rehearsal tonight, as well as the session tomorrow morning. The performance is tomorrow night at 7."
Edward shook his head. "I can't even believe this is happening. It boggles my mind that a full orchestra is performing the song I hummed to Bella during her nightmares. It makes no sense!"
"It's brilliant, Edward. Everyone is excited to meet you and are thrilled that you'll be playing the piano part."
Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "I haven't performed in front of an audience since I was twelve. What if I screw up?"
Bella ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to soothe him. "You're going to be wonderful. You've been practicing every chance that you get, not to mention you wrote the song, so there's no excuse—you know it better than anyone else does."
"I can't help but feel a little nervous."
"Edward, stop being such a Worryward! Now, what's new?" Leah asked.
"Not much, really. Things have been so quiet, so...so normal, there's really not a lot to report." Edward replied.
"Well," Bella said, hesitantly, "there was that thing with the money."
"Oh yeah, that," Edward said, suddenly very sullen.
"We told you about the business with Edward's biological father, right?"
They nodded. "Edward lost his voice for quite a while," Leah said.
"Yeah, I was whispering for a couple of months and I still lose my voice when I get tired or talk for too long."
"So, your sperm donor, he died, didn't he?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah, he did and it turns out he had a life insurance policy—a substantial one, and as his only living blood relative, it came to me."
"Well, that's good, right?"
"We didn't want it. I didn't want it. I couldn't justify taking it, so we created the Elizabeth Masen Fund."
"Was that your mother?"
"Yes."
"The Elizabeth Masen Fund is set up to help battered women and children get the money they need to get out of an abusive situation. It's still VERY new, we're still working out the kinks. It's become a wonderful family project, though. It's also helping fund Art Therapy groups for children who have endured horrendous abuse.
"There's a lot of good that can come of Ed Sr.'s money, which makes it all feel a little easier to deal with. Maybe in death he can do more good than he did when he was alive."
"That's great, guys. If there's anything we can do to help, please let us know."
"Well, actually, I was thinking that maybe we could divide the sales, if any, of the recording of the lullaby, between the Mount Allison University Faculty of Music and the Elizabeth Masen Fund."
"Wow, really? You'd give up your proceeds for us?" Leah said, choking up a little. "That's awesome, Edward. OW!" She said, doubling over.
"Are you okay?" Bella asked.
"Yeah," Leah panted. "The little devils are playing soccer with my kidneys."
"Football, honey, my babies don't play soccer, they play football."
Leah rolled her eyes before continuing. "So, other than all that, everything is good?"
"Couldn't be better. Esme's wrist healed up nicely although she's still in physio; however, she's got most of her range of motion back. She and Carlisle are planning a big trip to Africa in the future as he's signed up for a rotation with Doctors Without Borders. She's going along to get inspired and to help out where she can.
"Alice and Jasper have finally set a wedding date. They're planning to do it next July, and have been hinting that they would like too rent your father's cottage for the honeymoon. Well, Jasper really does; Alice, however, has said that there's not enough shopping to be had at the beach, so she's pushing for Milan or Hong Kong."
Leah laughed. "I didn't get to spend much time with Alice, but I'm pretty certain that the Amherst Shopping Centre or Dieppe's Champlain Place won't satisfy her needs."
"Speaking of the cottage, are you guys joining us this summer?" Jacob asked.
"We certainly hope to work something out so we can spend at least a week with you guys sometime in August," Bella said.
"Yay!" Leah squealed, clapping her hands.
Nathan rolled over at the sound and began to wail. Edward scooped him up and began to hum to him. The baby quickly stopped fussing and amused himself with pulling on his father's hair.
"Since I don't feel like cooking, how would you guys like to head over to Joey's for dinner?"
"Mm...that sounds fantastic. I need to feed Peanut and try to get him to nap a bit first. Can everyone hold out that long?"
Jacob grabbed the phone. "I'll go make reservations; just to be sure we can get in. Be right back."
Leah got up to show Bella where they were going to be sleeping, and where she could feed the baby. They sat together on the bed and chatted while Peanut ate, then the three of them dozed off.
Edward and Jacob went upstairs to check on them and laughed when they spotted them asleep, sitting up against the headboard.
"Let's leave them for a while," Edward suggested.
It was a good call on Jacob's part to make the reservation at Joey's. The pizzeria/restaurant was packed. They were directed to a massive table set for ten.
"Uhm, are you sure this is our table? There are too many places set," Edward asked.
"We have some friends joining us. I hope you don't mind," Jacob said, winking at Leah.
They ordered drinks while they were waiting and just as the waitress was serving them, Bella heard a familiar voice. She jumped up and squealed. "Alice! Jasper! What are..."
She trailed off as Emmett, Rosalie, Lily, Carlisle, and Esme all filed into the restaurant behind Alice and Jasper.
Edward stood up, shock etched on his face. "How? What? Why?"
Leah took the baby from him so he could go hug his surprise.
"Leah got in touch with us with the details of the concert. This is an important moment in your life, son, you didn't think we'd miss it, did you?" Carlisle said, hugging him.
"I'm a little offended you didn't invite us yourself," Alice pouted.
"I didn't think you'd want to travel all this way for one song. I'm sorry," he said, hugging Alice. "I'm so happy you're all here."
Alice danced over to Leah. "May I have my nephew? He's gotten so big—ooh, and so have you! You should really let me do some shopping for you while I'm here."
The entire Cullen/Hale/Swan group groaned. "ALICE!"
"What? I just thought I'd give her a hand. I'm just being helpful. So, can we eat? I'm famished!"
Everyone sat down, ordered food and talked loudly. Edward looked around the table and smiled. Bella took his hand in hers and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Whatcha thinkin'?"
Edward let off a big, content sigh. "I'm thinkin' that I'm probably the most blessed man in the world right now."
"If that's true, then I'm the most blessed woman in the world."
Emmett was bouncing Lily on his lap while Jasper bounced Peanut beside them. The babies laughed and squealed happily while the grown-ups looked on in adoration. When they stopped bouncing, Emmett took Peanut from Jasper and held both babies. Peanut grabbed Lily's little fist and began sucking on it.
"Aww," everyone said.
Alice smiled. "Best friends already. They're lucky that they'll probably grow up together. I loved growing up with Edward; sure he used to drive me nuts for being perfect and banging on that piano, but I always knew I had someone to turn to."
Carlisle raised his glass of wine. "To family!"
Everyone raised their glasses. "Family!"
Edward and Leah arrived back from rehearsal shortly after ten that night. Too tired to talk, Leah went straight to her bedroom. Edward found Bella in bed working on her laptop. He sat beside her and gave her a kiss.
"How'd it go?"
"Phenomenal, Bella, absolutely phenomenal. I might have to quit medicine to become a concert pianist because it was truly incredible. Oh, love, I can't wait for you to hear it! Never in a million years did I ever think it would sound like this. It's even better than it sounded on the DVD Leah gave us at Christmas."
Bella cupped his face in her hands and smiled. "Your eyes are shining."
He blushed.
"If you ever decided that you wanted to pursue music full-time, I'd be okay with that."
He smiled. "Thanks. It's good to know." He yawned. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to turn in; we have to be at the auditorium again in the morning."
"I'm going to keep editing, if that's okay. I'm almost done."
"Really?" Edward said, standing to change into his pyjamas. "As in, almost-done-the-final-draft?"
"Yes! Thank God. As much as I have loved this project, I'll be glad to take a break. Of course there'll be more editing and I'm going to have to go to Montreal to proof the photobook, but I'm that much closer to almost being done."
"You're going to have to bring Peanut to Montreal, aren't you?"
Bella sighed. "One of the downfalls of breastfeeding; I'm not quite ready to leave him alone for a couple of days, not to mention I'm not all that keen on pumping," she rubbed her breasts ruefully.
"It's okay, I'll just have to survive without you two; all alone," he sighed melodramatically, giving her puppy dog eyes.
Bella swatted him with a pillow. "I thought you were going to bed."
"I am. Goodnight, little one," he said, kissing his sleeping son's head. "Goodnight, love," he said to Bella, kissing her on the lips.
"Mmm..." she moaned against his lips. "Why didn't we rent a hotel room? I feel like getting loud," she said, growling.
"Easy, tigress. I need my beauty sleep. Now, good night. I love you."
Bella and the rest of the family paced nervously in the lobby of Convocation Hall as streams of people passed by to enter the auditorium.
"If either one of the kids makes a stink, I'll bring them out," Rosalie offered as she balanced Lily on one hip.
"Thank you," Bella replied, shooting her a look of gratitude.
Jacob came out, smiling. "Okay everyone, your seats are ready."
They filed down to the front row, taking their seats. The lights dimmed and the sound of instruments being tuned one final time filled the air. A spotlight appeared on the stage and Leah waddled out. She waved to the front row and smiled before speaking.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Leah Clearwater and I would like to thank you for joining us this evening for what has been a real labour of love for all involved.
"Tonight is the public premier of a piece written by my friend, Edward Cullen. He kindly shared it with me over the summer and I instantly fell in love with it, as has everyone else involved in this project. As this is my final year in the music program, I chose to use this piece as the base of my thesis.
"We have taken this stunning piece of music from a piano-only composition Edward had in his head to this full, and if I might say so myself, rich, orchestral piece.
"So, please help me welcome the talented Edward Cullen as he performs his piece, Bella's Lullaby with full accompaniment by members of both the Mount Allison Symphonic Band and Chamber Orchestra."
The curtain lifted to show a shiny ensemble of instruments but the focal point was the beautiful, shiny, grand piano. Bella felt the air catch in her lungs when her husband took the stage, looking handsome as hell in his tuxedo. He hugged Leah, who was standing on the conductor's dais, before turning to smile toward Bella.
"Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard on making this little song with such a big meaning, into something truly breathtaking. I composed this song when I met my beautiful wife, Bella, when I was sixteen years old. She put a song in my heart the moment I met her and she still makes me want to sing every day. So, I'd like to dedicate this to Bella, our beautiful son, Nathan, and to the rest of my family, who are all here. I love you all.
"Sorry," he said, blushing, "I didn't mean to go on like that. So, here it is, Bella's Lullaby."
The crowd clapped and cheered. Bella couldn't help but scowl when she overheard some girls making cat calls at her husband.
Edward sat at the piano, stretched his fingers, shook out his arms, poised his hands above the ebony and ivories, and nodded to Leah, who tapped her baton on the music stand. The other musicians raised their instruments, watched her count out the beats, then Edward began.
Nathan, who had been staring with much fascination at his fingers, suddenly sat up, looked at the stage, and began to bounce on his mother's lap. He probably knew the song better than the musicians did.
When the other musicians joined in, it was all Bella could do to contain herself. The feeling she was experiencing reminded her of the first time she and Edward had been to The Edge of the World, when they had grasped hands and ran toward the horizon. She felt uplifted, inspired, and blessed. She kissed the top of Nathan's head and smiled.
Esme, who was seated to her left, grasped her arm, and sighed. Bella looked over and saw tears rolling down her face.
The music filled the room and their souls with the love story she knew so well; it was their love story, fraught with joy, pain, tenderness, desperation, love, fear, and finally, peace.
She thought back to the first days, when this beautiful song was the only thing that could save her from the shadows and the monsters that lurked within. She felt Edward's arms around her as she fought her demons, his hand on her back when she was sick, his long adept fingers lovingly tracing the scars that marked her as broken and reclaiming them as something beautiful.
Then there was their miracle, the bronze-haired baby who babbled happily in her arms while his father played, and the family surrounding them. Never in a million years did she ever think she'd find a life beyond the pain of losing her parents and the abuse inflicted on her by James.
The sum of the many parts of her life were being performed on that stage. If someone were to ask her to describe the life she'd lived, she'd just play them this song. It said it all.
Edward was lost in the music. It was him and the piano, although he could feel that Bella was nearby. He wrangled with the forte, and drifted on the pianissimo. He rode the phrases high and low while he was enveloped in a symphonic bubble.
How had he, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen II, come from living the life of an abused child at the hands of his mother's killer, to playing a little song he used to hum for his beautiful wife and now his son, on a stage in front of hundreds of people.
When he played the final notes of the song, he took a deep breath and waited. There was a moment of heavy silence before the auditorium erupted in applause and cheering. Edward looked over to Leah who was wiping joyful tears from her face. He looked down in to the crowd and saw his family, clapping and screaming for him.
Taking a deep breath, he stood, gestured to the other musicians, bowing before he clapped for them. They were fantastic, talented, and he was thankful for the love and dedication they had shown to the song. They all stood and cheered as he walked over to Leah. He gave her a hug and felt her stiffen.
"What's wrong?" he whispered loudly over the din.
"I think my water just broke."
Yes, I am cruel and horrible and I ended the story there. This isn't a Jake and Leah story, it's a Bella and Edward story. We know they have twin boys. It doesn't really need to go any further. As I said, this is an epilogue/outtake and really, it doesn't have a real place. I just really needed for Edward to perform the lullaby. I wrote this chapter in a fit of selfishness. ;) I hope you're not all pissed off at me.
So, that's it. Maybe someday I'll pick this story up, and maybe I'll just leave it where it is, with B&E finally finding the peace and happiness they deserve and need.
I'm still taking requests for outtakes, so drop me a line and let me know. I started on the first one already, so those of you who don't have me on author alert, you might want to so you'll know when the Branded Outtakes story goes up. The first outtake is of what happens between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Branded.
Again, THANK YOU so much for making this experience well worth it. It was worth the long hours, the hand cramps, and the insanity. I NEVER thought the stories would get the reaction they have. As of tonight, August 2nd, 2009, there have been 129,129 hits, a total of 1324 reviews (between Branded, Road Maps and the RM Outtakes) and some wonderful new friendships.
Before I get all Sapward, I will end off by saying again, THANK YOU! It's breaking my heart to say goodbye to them, but I think it's time.
(and please go vote for Branded and Road Maps at www DOT twilightallhumanawards DOT webs DOT com/voting DOT htm if you're so inclined.)