WOW ... seems like it is closing fast, but here we go two more regular chapters and then the epilogue.
All normal disclaimers still apply. Thanks to all the ladies we've mentioned who have helped to keep us readable. Special thanks to the few who have given us correct advice, and helped us.

Chapter: Thirty-Seven – Edward agrees to abstain
EPOV

I let out a long sigh as I walk into my home, so happy to be home. As much as I love my extended family, I'm glad it's just the four of us again.

I kick the door closed and frown when I don't hear it slam.

"Edward, you could hurt someone," Alice says walking in.

"Okay, Bella, you and Cassie need to come with me, it's time to find a dress," she says in a cheerful yell as she bounces and claps her hands.

"Alice, I was wanting some family time, alone," I say and Alice's head turns very slowly to me.

"You'll have that when you're married," she says rolling her eyes as she drags Bella and Cassie out of the house.

"Jasper and Emmett will be here in five to take you and Cullen to get your suits."

Before another word is spoken, she drives off, and I let out another sigh as I wait for Jasper to come.

The black Suburban pulls up and I see that my father, grandfather, Bella's father, Peter, Emmett, as well as Jasper are all there.

They all look my way, as I help Cullen get in and I take the seat next to him. "It takes all of you to help us get our suits?"

"Well, as I will be conducting the wedding, I will need something to stand out," my grandfather says with a smile.

I nod at him, already aware of my family's tradition, that the oldest male conducts the wedding service.

"Well, since we will be giving Bella away…"

I turn my head to Charlie who points between himself and Peter.

"…we will need a little something special."

"You both are giving her away?" I ask.

"Yes, it was Alice's idea. She pointed out that Bella and Hawk have a special relationship, and he has been there for her," Charlie trails off.

"And Charlie is her father. This way we both get to walk her—but hush—it's a surprise for her."

I smile and nod at them, agreeing it is a great surprise.

"And you two?" I ask pointing to Emmett and Jasper.

"Well, we're your best men, along with lil' bub."

I chuckle shaking my head at them.

"Me, I'm just here for the ride, and to keep an eye on you all."

I raise my eyebrow at my father.

"In other words, Alice has sent you along to make sure we pick the right suits?"

He smiles and chuckles a little saying nothing.

"Alice is Betty, right?" Charlie asks with a little frown.

I nod at him with a grin.

"Yes, she is."

"Do any of you have a list?" I chuckle, and all of us hand him a piece of paper with our list on it.

"So, Big C, is there a reason she does this?" Emmett asks.

"She's always done it. Even more after she met Aro and he started to call her Dolce Raggaza. I think it was just something for her brain to do. Also, she always used the nicknames on her computers, so it would be hard for people who weren't around all the time to know who it was that she was talking about. You need to memorize these and then destroy any and all lists you have."

We arrive at the tailor and walk in, then start to look at the mounting number of suits. As we try each of them on, my dad takes a picture sending it to Alice to get her thoughts on them, too.

In the end, my grandfather gets an old-fashioned suit that is a brown-gold color with sliver embroidery, and a white ascot with the Masen pin on it.

We all get the same style of suit, but Jasper and Emmett have a light, sliver-gray suit, with a dark-gray ascot. Peter and Charlie have the dark gray with a sliver-gray ascot. Finally, Cullen and I have black and the red ascot to match the dresses Rose and Alice will wear.

We all have the Masen pin with our own initial in it, even Charlie has one, turns out, my grandfather gave it to him years ago.

"So, Edward, what are we doing for your bachelor party?"

I roll my eyes at Emmett.

"Don't say no," Emmett whines, "we gotta have a party," he drags out the 'e' sound.

"Bachelor parties are for those who are sad about losing their single life, and I'm not sad. I'm happy that I have found the love of my life, and she wants to marry me."

Emmett rolls his eyes.

"Well, we can have a party for that then—the-all-time-romantic guy has found his other half at long last—party."

"Daddy, can we have one of these bachelor parties? I haven't been to a man party yet," Cullen says with a grin.

I rub my hand through Cullen's hair and ruffle it a little.

"We'll see," I say and he pouts at me.

"Please, Daddy?"

"Yeah, please, Daddy," the rest of them join in and pout at me and I sigh.

"Fine, but no S-T-R-I-P-P-E-R-S's," I say with a glare at the chuckling Emmett.

"What's a strippers, Dad?"

I look down at him, as the others laugh even more.

"Its ... well, it's a job some women do and well, they ..." I stutter out, much to the enjoyment of the others.

"I'll take you to go see the strippers when you're eighteen," Emmett says and gets slapped by Peter, Charlie, and my dad all at the same time.

"Hey, be nice, I'll let you all come, too," Emmett says and I laugh when Jasper punches him in the leg.

~TTOO~

I smile, when Bella and my princess arrive home smiling happily at me. "You look like you had a good time?"

"Yeah, we did."

I grin and lean forward kissing her lips.

"Come on you two, it's time for bed," I say and wink at Bella, as I lead the sleepy kids up to bed.

I'm glad that we all went out to eat tonight; the kids are so tired. We don't even get through the second page of the chapter we're on, when Cullen and Cassie are fast asleep.

I take a hold of Bella's hand, and lead her back to our bedroom.

"I was thinking," she says as I kiss and undress her.

"About what, my love?"

"I think we should abstain 'til the wedding night."

I pull back and narrow my eyes at her.

"Well, you know the whole don't-have-sex-until-the-wedding-night. You've gone seven years before, so two weeks will be nothing – a cake walk, right?"

I open and close my mouth a few times, and I'm sure I look like a fish. At the end, I just pout at her.

"If that's what you want, love," I say kissing her along her neck as I push her to our bed.

"Did you find a dress?" I ask moving the covers down and getting into bed.

"Yes, I really couldn't believe it," she says with a large smile on her face.

"It was my mom's dress, well, the one she wore. It has a long history, but I'm going to wait to tell you all about it."

I grin a little, thinking back on how Alice seemed so pleased, when the suits we chose were a little more old fashioned.

"Did you have fun with Alice?" I ask, knowing that people either love or hate her, and sadly, most people tend to hate her, and think she's pushy.

"Yeah, she gets a little strange and OCD on some things, but we worked it out. We came to a compromise on the things I felt were important, and the ones I really could care less about, I let her choose. You know, like what the flowers were or what was on the damn tables, design of the dinner plates, that kind of stuff. I got my way on the things that meant the most and the rest I let her have her way."

I nod and kiss her lips.

"You know she means well. I think Alice tends to get the short-end-of-the-stick at times. She's always been so overly protected. Being a female of the Masen line can do that to you. It's easy for her to use throwing herself into projects to live out her dreams of being wild and free."

Bella gives me a nod.

"I know and she's fine. I really like her and she's organizing a party for me on the day before the wedding. She said it's more to help us girls relax and get pampered. Cassie's coming, too, and she told me the boys will be here with you."

"Yes, Emmett said something about that," I say with a groan.

"I love you, Stark," she says chuckling at my sad face.

"Love you, too, Albatross."

I pull her to me, hugging her as close as I can, before falling asleep horny, but content.

Chapter: Thirty-Seven – Bella wears the dress
BPOV

The morning goes by with Stark and I having breakfast, and then dropping the kids off at school. When we arrive at the office, I'm surprised to see my father standing at the door.

"Hey, baby girl, I thought with him being back at work, and the kiddos at school, we could spend the day together?"

I can hear the faint plead in his voice. I look away from him to Stark, who winks and grins at me.

"Spend the day with your dad, Albatross, and I'll see you at dinner."

He gropes my ass slyly, as he gives my father a head nod.

"So, what do you want to do?" I ask as my father looks at Stark's back.

"Dad?" I say, when he doesn't reply to me.

"Oh, I think you're a little old for hide and seek? So, how about we just stroll along the Cedar River Park and talk?"

I nod at him and we hop into the waiting car and drive the short distance. We walk for a few minutes along the walkway, before I hear him clear his throat.

"So ..." he trails off a little, "you're getting married," he says with a chuckle.

"That's the plan."

"Is he ... is he good to you? I mean, I spent some time with him—I knew him a little when he was younger—but is he good to you?"

"Yeah, he is, really," I say looking right at my dad.

"He knows me—almost as if he can read my mind—he knows when I'm feeling down. He knows what to say to make me feel better and feel safe. I don't feel like I'm a freak or I have to hide a part of me from him. When he touches my hand, it sends tingles all over me. He never lets a day go by without telling me he loves me, and how important to him I am."

"Ah, so you're really, really in love then. Darn, I was all set to help you run away."

I tilt my head and he just chuckles shrugging his shoulders at me.

"You know what's strange?" he asks.

I shake my head and he sits down on a bench that looks over the Cedar River.

"When you were—what, like three or four—not sure which; anyway, your mom and Esme had a secret-not-so-secret-get-together. I always knew she was meeting up with Esme, and I didn't mind; just worried for her safety. Anyway, Edward was there and when she came home that day, she started to say how she just knew you two would get married in the future. I rolled my eyes at her and reminded her that you were three almost four and he was eleven years older at fifteen. She just laughed at me, telling me she just knew it, because you two were so perfect together."

"Really?" I ask a little stunned and he nods at me.

"I think she just wanted to be a part of the Masen family, she loved Esme dearly. She would be so proud of you, and you're such a beautiful young woman."

"Thank you, I love you, Dad. I have missed you so much," I say hugging him to me.

"I love you, too, baby girl, and we've got the rest of our lives to make up for those missing years. Come on, there's a small festival going on in Czech Village, let's go and have some fun."

I chuckle at him, when he wiggles his eyebrows at me.

My dad and I spend the morning and some of the afternoon going store-to-store and walking around the different booths. When it's time for school to let out, the driver takes us to pick up the kids from school.

I see Candice and she's as talkative as always, and she surprises me with a hug of congratulations on the upcoming wedding. My dad gives me a funny look, and I assure him I've checked Candice out and she's good. The kids come running out and we take them for non-raisin-filled ice cream, before heading home. At home, my father helps me and the kids start to make his favorite supper.

"Wow, that's amazing, Grandpa Charlie," the kids say as my dad spins the pizza crust dough on his finger.

"Hey, love," Stark says kissing my cheek and then kissing the kids each on their head.

"Sir," he says with a smile to my dad.

"Kid, you're going to be marrying my daughter, I think you can call me Charlie or Dad," he says. It almost came out as a resigned sigh, but I could tell he meant it.

"Okay, Dad it is then," Stark says happily and he places his hand on the base of my back, edging it down to my bottom.

"Well, Son," Charlie deadpans back and raises his right eyebrow, "karma is a B, please remember that."

Stark looks to me and frowns, and I roll my eyes at him and stand on my tip-toes to speak in his ear.

"I think he's saying to stop touching my ass in front of him, and remember that you, too, have a daughter, and you could very well find yourself in his shoes someday."

Stark moves his hand quickly back up and does a curt nod at my dad.

"Well-played, Dad."

My dad grins as he turns to the kids. "Okay, kiddos, let's get this banana and chocolate pizza made, so we can get it in the oven."

"Banana and chocolate pizza?" Stark questions.

"Wait until you see the one already in the oven," I whisper back.

~TTOO~

I smile as I look in the mirror seeing myself in my mother's wedding dress, which was also Molly's wedding dress. The dress has been in Molly's family for years, but she let my mother wear it, so my mom could have her close to her during her wedding. This dress has been altered, so that it fits me as if it was made for me. It's white and fitted to meet each and every curve of my body. The back is completely lace, with a long line of small pearl buttons that start at the base of my neck and go all the way to the base of my spine. The dress has been hand-stitched and has many beads, pearls and lace appliqués all over the fluted bottom. The arms on the dress are all lace and have their own stitching and details to match the bottom. "You look amazing," I hear Molly gasp from behind me.

"Thanks, Molly," I say turning to her.

"You know you can call me Mom, right?" she whispers in my ear, as she hugs me, "but Molly's good, too."

She winks, before she helps me fix the back of my dress.

I clear my throat and take a deep breath.

"Thanks, for everything, Mm-mom." Molly quickly put her fingers to my eyes stopping the tears before they can fall. She gives me a quick hug and I look around the room.

Topspin and Betty, my bridesmaids, are both in stunning red dresses that fit their bodies like a second skin. The dresses are both low cut, and the backs of them are a red lace like the back of my dress.

Cassie is in a white, princess dress that has a puffed-out skirt full of red rose petals. She looks adorable with her princess tiara on her head.

"I really love all of you guys, you know that, right?" I say to the room of females that have become my friends and my family over the last few months.

"Oh God, don't you go and make us all start crying before we get out there," Topspin says as she jumps up giving me a hug. We are soon joined by the rest of the family.

"Right, girls, no more crying, suck it up, as they say, and let's get this party started," Cinna says from the doorway.

I watch as Peabody and Betty wave to me, before walking into the room where my Stark is waiting for me. Next to walk into the other room is Topspin and Hercules. Then I watch as Cullen and Cassie go through the door after giving me a smile. The doors close and I let out a breath and move to them and wait for them to open when it's time for me.

"There's still time, if you want to leave, Twinkle Toes."

I look to my left seeing Hawk standing there with his arm out for me to take.

"He's right, baby girl, we could take on Stark's men while you run, no problem," my dad says from my right side with his arm out.

"What?" They both chuckle at my stunned face.

"Your last gift from Alice was to have us both walk you down the aisle, but we could run away instead," my father says.

I shake my head taking both their arms, understanding now why Betty insisted I needed to not carry a bouquet – just two simple white roses rimmed in red.

"Nah, I'm not afraid of anything, not even marriage, besides, I kind of love him."

They both chuckle and give me a kiss on the cheek at their side.

"We were afraid that you'd say that," they say together as the door opens.

I smile as I look up and take my first step toward my future.

A/N: So next chapter is the wedding. What are your thoughts?