Okay, here's the last Chapter. There will be an Epilogue though and I'll try to get it posted in a week. If not, I apologize in advance, but I want to finish it off properly. I hope you enjoy, as usual.

Chapter 35

EPOV

"Bella, please answer me," I said with a stiff voice. I was simply afraid she'd have fallen upon the sketches I've drawn of her and think I was some kind of pervert or something. Not that I'd blame her since I was drawing her while she slept and most people would find that creepy.

I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. She was afraid? The look on her face confirmed my thoughts. My shoulders slumped and my hands reached out for her arms. "Bella, I'm not angry at you, I just...I just want to know, that's all," I said with a more calming tone of voice.

"There was a pad in the drawer," she started strenuously and then spoke faster. "But I swear I only saw the sketches of me. I didn't look any further. I'm sorry, Edward, it was rude of me to have looked into your things." Tears started to form themselves in her eyes, which made me feel extremely guilty for the way I had reacted.

"And...you're not...angry? Or disgusted?" I asked her gently.

"Why would I be angry? I was looking into your stuff." Her eyebrows had formed a crease to express that she was now confused about what I was talking about.

"Well, the drawings are of you, Bella," I answered her.

"Ohhh, yeah." Her cheeks were starting to show some color. "They're really stunning, Edward." She threw herself into my arms after she'd said that and hugged me. "You made me look beautiful."

I caressed her back and exhaled now that I knew she wasn't angry about it. "I'm glad you like them and my sketches are nowhere near your actual beauty, my love." I backed up a little so that I could cup her face into my hands.

My lips were now pressed against her soft, sweet lips. I was so lucky to have someone like her and I could not get enough of her. Part of me was extremely anxious for her wounds to heal so that I could show her more of how much I loved her.

"You are so good to me, Bella." I connected our lips once more, but this time I slid my tongue between her lips to join hers. My heart started to pump harder and my pants were getting tighter by the minute, or I should say, by the second.

I was extremely happy I'd purchased a stable bed, because any other one would have collapsed by now with all of our lovemaking.

BPOV

The bed felt empty as I rolled over on to my back. I had been expecting my arm to land on Edward, but it landed on the cool sheets instead. "Edward?" I called out and twisted my neck to look at the alarm clock. It was past seven thirty, so he was already gone for work.

I tried to fall asleep again, but that would have been way too good to be true. So, I rolled over, swung my legs over the side of the bed and slipped my feet into the comfortable slippers Edward had purchased for me. He thought my feet were too cold one night when we went to bed and I'd tried to warm them up against his legs. He'd almost jumped three feet from the shock. I grinned at the thought.

My day went by pretty quickly, considering I didn't do much. All I did, really, was a little bit of laundry, the dishes and I finally finished my speech. It was a good thing I did finish it, because the funeral was tomorrow.

Edward walked into the door just as I set the pen down on the table. I had to re-write it from all the scratches I'd done, but now it was done and ready to go. Although, I wanted Edward to read it first and tell me what he thought. He did and he liked it.

We spent the night cuddling with each other while watching movies. It was nice. I was really glad he was not the type to mind just snuggling together, unlike most men who thought it was 'unmanly'. Morons. I smiled knowing I did have a great man at my side, whom I loved and he loved me in return.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked me.

"How the heck did you know I was smiling?" My back was against his chest, so he could not see my face.

He chuckled. "I saw your reflection in the television." I felt him shrug his shoulders, well that's what it felt like anyway. "So, are you going to tell me why you were smiling?"

"Because I'm happy to be with you," I answered him. He kissed the top of my head and squeezed me a little harder.

"Me too."

The next thing I knew, I was lying in Edward's bed with him at my side. I must have fallen asleep on the couch and he had carried me to bed, because I didn't remember walking here. The alarm clock indicated that it was only midnight, but I had to get up to go to the washroom. I moved discreetly so I wouldn't wake him up from his slumber since he looked like he was in a deep sleep and I would feel guilty ruining that for him.

As I washed my hands, a quick image of my mother swept into the mirror in front of me and I jumped. I looked away and then back at the mirror, but there was nothing. It was probably my imagination, I thought to myself.

After settling myself back down in bed, I couldn't stop thinking of that image of my mother. She'd looked peaceful. My eyes filled with tears and they fell down silently onto the pillow. I could feel a whimper coming on, but I did not want to wake Edward.

I started to crawl out of the bed once more to go to the washroom release the pain. I felt a warm hand wrap itself around my arm, making my heart skip a beat with fright until I realized it was Edward. "Bella, come here, sweetheart."

He started tugging on my arm and I welcomed his gesture. He knew what I was going through, which was why he didn't have to ask me what was wrong, so I went by his side. His hand reached over behind him and I heard a soft noise, followed by him handing me some tissues. I blew my nose and he took the tissue from me after. I don't know what he did with it, nor did I care at the moment.

His hand started to brush my hair away from my face in a soothing way. It reminded me of when my mother would do that to comfort me. More tears started to fall.

Edward rolled onto his back and placed his arm under my head. I set my cheek down onto his chest and whispered, "Thank you."

He simply kissed the top of my head and within minutes, his heartbeat had slowed down and his breathing was regular; he'd fallen asleep.

I woke with a start as something moved below me: Edward. I knew he was trying not to wake me, but it was hard when someone was on top of you. "I'm sorry, Bella. Go back to sleep, my love, I'll see you tonight." He kissed me on the forehead and walked out of the bedroom.

Too tired to get out of bed, I decided to try to go back to sleep. I tossed and turned for awhile, but eventually I did fall asleep.

My body curled into a ball as I started to freeze. The cold earth beneath me didn't help, either. Earth? Why was I lying on the ground? I opened my eyes to see trees surrounding me.

It was either dawn or sunset, because the small spots of the sky that I could see were a mixture of colors. It was beautiful, but I was scared.

Why was I out here? Where was I?

I looked closer at my surroundings and then it hit me. Why was I here again? My eyes darted around the place looking for the person that had been haunting me before. A canteen came into sight and I reached out for it.

That man. The one with the green eyes. Where was he? Why had he run away from me?

I got up off the ground and took a swig from the canteen. The water was cool and refreshing. I tried to remember the direction I'd seen the man go toward, but it was impossible. So, I searched around for clues and fell upon a few broken branches and looked for any others around it.

My feet walked faster as my eyes fell upon a back pack. There was nothing in it except for food, but whose was it?

The predator came in mind once more. Where was he?

I woke with a start at the ring of the phone. The sheets were tangled all around me as I tried to reach for it. "Hello?" My voice was rough and dry, so I wasn't sure if the person understood me correctly.

"Bella? Were you still sleeping? It's almost noon. You have to get up and start preparing things for tonight." Alice.

I cleared my throat. "Can you repeat that in English, please? My brain isn't functioning a hundred percent at the moment."

"Just get up and I'll have my mom go pick you up in an hour, okay?"

"Fine," I replied. "Hey, how did you get Edward's number?" I asked, curiously.

"I have my connections."

"Spill it," I stated.

"Alright, I got it from Carlisle. Now get up and get ready. Talk to you later," she said and then hung up the phone.

I did as she said and when I sat down to eat breakfast or, brunch, I saw another of Edward's notes and smiled. He was so sweet.

Aunt Esme arrived a little earlier than expected, but I was ready anyway. There was one problem; I didn't have a key to lock the door. I looked around the area near the door and came across a key holder with some keys, obviously. I scrounged around for the right key and found one. We were finally able to leave.

We went to the funeral home and helped prepare for my mother's funeral later this evening. It was hard to believe this was all for my mother. There were a few tears here and there, but that was okay. Maybe if I let it out now, I'd be able to give my speech tonight. I could tell it affected Aunt Esme too, because her cheeks were streaked with tears. We hugged each other in comfort once everything was accomplished that could be for now and stepped back out.

"Let's go to Alice's and try on our dresses she left for us," she said with a smile. There was still sadness in her eyes though, so I reached out for her hand that was on the drive shift and squeezed it with mine. Nothing else was said until we arrived at Alice's place.

After we opened the door to Alice's, I looked around to make sure we wouldn't run into Jasper. I kept in mind that if I heard someone come in while we were trying on our dresses, that it could be him and not someone that was breaking-in and entering. I grinned at the memory of that day. It was just priceless.

Thankfully, the dresses were neither black nor old fashioned. Not that Alice would make something old style, but anyway. They were dark colors, yet the dresses weren't, how could I put this, depressing?

I think Alice was really great at what she did now, especially when it came to the point of designing dresses for occasions like this. Like I said, the dresses weren't depressing, but they weren't flashy, either.

The dark purple, almost eggplant colored, dress was calling out to me, so I picked it up and went to try it on. It fit just right. Leave it to Alice. She must have a mannequin of me somewhere.

There were wide straps on the shoulders and the front of the dress was looped in an oval style, where it was just low enough to wear a necklace, but not too low to show cleavage. It slid down my front comfortably and angled out from the waist, A-line style, down to my calves. I preferred this style since I wasn't comfortable with tight fitting or short dresses. It was very uncomfortable when you always had to make sure you didn't bend down a certain way, or make sure it was pulled down low enough when you were sitting down. Ugh, it was just too much for me and I was thankful Alice had thought of what I would be at ease in for this occasion.

Aunt Esme came out looking beautiful. Her dress had spaghetti straps and covered more of her chest than mine did, but it showed a little more of her curves. Her dress went down to the knees and from the hips, there were layer of material in different lengths. The teal blue from the dress brought out the colors in her eyes.

Neither of us had to worry about shoes, because Alice had already thought of that dilemma. She really knew me, because she'd obviously figured I'd pick the purple dress since the shoes fit me. In the end, it was also more my style than aunt Esme's. At least I was able to walk with them since the heels weren't high. I was already clumsy enough without having to add on to it.

Both of us were satisfied with our dresses and changed back to what we had on before. Like I said, I'm a klutz, so my best bet for now was to take it off to make sure it stayed in one piece, or even one color.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard of aunt Esme's car, I noticed that it was already four o'clock. Edward was finished with his shift at work, so he'd be back soon. I started to relax knowing that I'd be with him shortly. He was only a phone call away, but I wanted to grab a few things from my place first.

After I was dropped off at Edward's, I told aunt Esme I'd see her later at the funeral home. I knocked at the door even though I had a key. Maybe he would feel like I was invading his territory or something if I'd just walk in.

"Bella, why are you knocking? You never have to knock here, my love." He wrapped me in his arms and kissed me. "I missed you today," he whispered to me while our faces were inches away from each other.

Both of us ate a snack before getting ready since the refreshments weren't for another couple of hours at least. When Edward walked by the washroom, I could see his reflection in the mirror. My jaw dropped at what I saw, even though it was just for a few seconds. I followed him into the kitchen to examine him up and down. The pants were midnight blue and fit him very well, I must say. With that he was wearing a light blue chemise, but I couldn't see his front since I was looking at his behind, which was a sight for sore eyes. He started turning his head and I skittered off back to the washroom as he looked at me with mischievous eyes.

We were finished within an hour and ready to go. It was still a little early, but Edward suggested we go so that I could confirm that everything was ready and to start welcoming people as they arrived. It was not something I had been looking forward to, because I knew I'd have people crying in my arms. I sure hoped dad would be there to help me with that part.

I smiled as we turned into the parking lot of the funeral home, because I could see my father's cruiser. I exhaled deeply and relaxed a little bit. For now, anyway.

The gentleman that he was, Edward walked over to the passenger's side and helped me out of the car. I was so grateful to have him with me at such a hard time like this; I knew he'd gone through the exact situation and anguish I was going through at the moment. He presented his arm for me to slip my hand in, which I did, and he guided me toward the doors.

We caught up with my dad and I threw myself into his arms. "Alright, it's good to see you too, Bells," he said and kissed me on the forehead. "Thank you for coming, Edward," he said as he held out his hand for a shake, even though I was still holding on to him. I found it great that they were now getting along, unlike what I'd heard from the past. Things really do change for the better sometimes.

The three of us walked into the area where aunt Esme and I had prepared things earlier for the gathering, but this time I really took in what it looked like for the first time. It really was breath taking. Alice was good with designing clothing, while her mother was good with interior decorating. I guess it's like the saying: Like mother, like daughter.

There were lilacs, which were my mother's favourite flower, placed around the room. She had also placed a few decorations here and there, but not too many since it was a funeral and not a celebration. The scent they created reminded me of my mother's perfume. In the front, on a special stand, was her urn, which I hadn't seen earlier, and on the right side of it there was a picture of my mother smiling. It was almost like she was looking right at me.

I tightened my grip around Edward's arm, fighting the urge to run to the front and weep. He must have realized what I wanted to do, because he squeezed my arm between his and his ribs, keeping me by his side. His other hand covered my secured hand for comfort, leading me to grip his bicep with my somewhat free hand. I was really anxious to get the stupid cast removed.

I inhaled the soothing incense deeply, which helped calm me. I knew she was here with me somehow, even if it was no more than in my heart.

After I'd exhaled that soothing breath, Phil, Alice and Esme came up behind me, not saying a word for the moment. I turned around and thanked them for helping me with everything, while Phil was the one thanking me. He apologized for having acted reckless and had not realized what he was doing. Not being able to continue our conversation due to people walking in, I figured we could let it end there.

"Just don't do it again," I finished off as we walked toward the entrance.

Phil stood on my right side at the doorway, while my father was on my left side; Aunt Esme was by his side, followed by Alice. I could feel Edward's presence behind me, which helped me breathe more easily.

There were a lot of people I didn't know that were there, but most of them I did know. My eyes started to fill with liquid as I saw Carlisle standing in front of me. His eyes said it all and he reached down to hug me soothingly. As he backed away, I saw him nod toward his son and then continued toward my father.

My body stiffened and the tears ceased as the last person I was expecting came into view. What the hell was she doing here? I no longer felt Edward's presence behind me, so I tried to find what strength I did have to prevent myself from attacking her. But that would just not do. Anger flared inside of me and I was about to spring forward and hit her, but before I could, I felt a pair of stern hands holding me in place. "The nerve," I said through clenched teeth.

"Bells, what's the matter?" I heard my father ask quietly. I was too flushed to reply without screaming, so I kept my mouth shut.

Within seconds, or minutes to me, I saw someone take her away from my line of sight, but my eyes were only focused on her until I heard a deep voice behind me.

"Edward's taking her outside and Rose won't let her back in, so you can relax now. Can I let you go now or do I need to keep a hold on you?" I should have recognized that grip: Emmett.

I dropped my shoulders, even though they didn't budge with Emmett still holding me in place, and I exhaled. "Okay, I'm fine now." I didn't really have the energy to burn and she wasn't worth it.

His hands slowly loosened from my arms and then they were off of me. "You mind explaining to me what that was all about, Bella?"

"I'll tell you later, Dad," I replied to him and tried to keep up with the flow of people still coming through.

Angela was next in line to give her condolences. My mood changed quickly as she came up to me with sadness in her eyes. Neither of us spoke with words, but her arms wrapped themselves around me and she squeezed lightly. "I'll miss her," she whispered to me and the both of us cried together in memory of my mother. She had been so good to my mother when she cared for her and I was thankful she had been there for her.

We let go of each other and I watched her go toward my father, not paying attention to who was in front of me next. The word, "Darlin'," with a southern accent, made me turn my head to see Jasper. He was all dressed up compared to what I'd seen him wearing before, but there was still that cowboy style to him.

He bent down to hug me gently and kissed me on the cheek, after he'd taken his hat off, of course, which had released his hair. "Jasper?" Emmett bellowed behind me. "Well I'll be."

"Ugh, guys, could you take this elsewhere?" my father asked.

"Right, sorry Chief," Emmett said.

With his hat back on his head now, Jasper tipped the front of it with his fingers toward my father and said, "My apologies, Sir. You're right." He held out his hand. "I'd like to give you my condolences." My father took his offer and shook his hand, but I could see the question in his eyes as he wondered who he was. He'd find out soon enough once he reached Alice, I was pretty sure of that.

I felt Edward's presence behind me once more and I heard him whisk Emmett away to the back of the line. That was mean, I thought to myself, yet I couldn't exactly let him barge-in in front of everyone. There weren't many people left anyway, but I was already feeling exhausted and was anxious to be done with the welcoming. There hadn't been that many once I thought about it, but it seemed like there had been a hundred.

The last two, of course, were Emmett and Rose. He scooped me up in his arms and squeezed me. "Emmett…I…can't…breathe…" I huffed.

"Oh, sorry," he said and put me back down.

Rose was shaking her head and said, "He never learns." She finished with a punch to his bicep and for the first time since I'd been standing there, I grinned. Was I supposed to feel guilty? No, my mother told me to have fun, right?

I introduced my new friends to my family, including Jasper. Well, to my dad and Phil since I was positive Esme had already met him. We headed over to the front row seats and listened to the preacher talk. I had asked him to keep it short, because, in my opinion, sometimes they said thinks that weren't related or necessary.

My time came up to speak. Edward knew I was nervous because he'd been holding my hand beside me, so he had felt me shaking. There had been a few drops down my cheeks, but nothing dramatic, so I should be alright to go up there in front of everyone.

The preacher looked toward me, as if to say, "We're waiting." So, I stood up and secretly thanked Alice for not getting me high heels, because my legs were wobbly, but they took me there slowly and I got there without falling. I reached in my handbag for the folded sheet with the speech I'd written when I reached the stand.

As I spoke, my voice wasn't very stable, but I was able to talk about all of our greatest times together and a couple of the times I'd been angry at her for the stupidest reasons. One was from her not letting me get a pony and the other was because she made me wear a frilly dress at her wedding with Phil. Even now, I scrunched up my nose and noticed Alice did also, just by thinking about it, but Phil grinned.

"She had asked me that if she could start over and have not done some of the things she had done wrong, would she have had to suffer like she did? Well, Mom, it's over now. You aren't suffering and you will have a chance to start over where you are." I fumbled around in my handbag again and took another paper out. "I have a poem here that I wrote. It's nothing like Shakespeare, but I hope you like it, Mom." I took a deep breath and let it out.

Tears stream down my face as I say, "I'm afraid that when you leave,

I shall only grieve."

She takes my hand, "Don't cry my child,

for it'll only drive you wild."

"I don't want you to go,

for I shall miss you so."

"Have no fear," she says to me,

"for in your heart I'll always be."

I hang my head in sorrow,

as I think about the morrow.

"Keep your face with my favourite smiles,

for you still have many miles."

I look at her and say,

"I will think of you everyday."

She weakly squeezes my hand. "I want you now to say goodbye,

without a tear in your eye."

"Mother, you have always been the best,

and I will now leave you to rest."

"I love you and I will miss you, Mom." My eyes filled with tears and my legs were feeling weak. I felt a strong pair of arms catch me as I started to fall and then I could barely hear the preacher as he started to speak again.

No one else got up to speak, so it was time for refreshments and I needed something to drink. Edward helped me to the other room and walked me over to the table with drinks since I had asked him to. I grabbed a juice so the sugar could help me gain some energy.

After I drank the juice, I was stable enough to walk on my own, but Edward stayed by my side. Everyone mingled and spoke about their memories with my mother. Some were pretty funny and made me smirk.

I spotted Jasper and Emmett speaking to each other a little further away and Alice was walking toward Edward and me. "Hi," she said, simply. I could tell there was more though.

"What is it, Alice?" I sighed.

She looked up at Edward. "Um...I'd like to apologize for my childish behaviour. Bella told me what really happened and, well, I was out of line. I'm sorry and I'd like to thank you for taking care of her."

He nodded his head and replied to her. "Thank you for apologizing and I'm glad you were there for her too."

I hugged Alice for having apologized since I knew it wasn't easy for her. They didn't exactly start talking right away, but they no longer shot darts at each other, which was a start.

We met up with Emmett, Jasper and Rose and started to talk. I listened to the people surrounding us and smiled as I realized that everyone was talking about happy moments or funny things, so it was a good ambiance that was around. I relaxed.

My father came up to me and I knew he was getting ready to leave. "Dad, can you take mom's ashes with you? Do you mind? She wanted to be buried beside Gran. I was thinking of going down to Forks this weekend and doing that, but no outdoor funeral, okay?"

"I'm with you there, Bells. I'll bring her with me, no need to worry. I love you baby girl, now get some sleep so you can come home to me in good shape. You got that? You'll need your strength to shovel," he said with a grin and I mimicked his reaction.

I hugged him goodbye and Edward joined us to say bye also. From there, others started to depart and I was getting anxious to leave myself, but someone had to stay to clean up. In the end, it was Edward, Emmett, Rose, Alice, Jasper, aunt Esme, Carlisle and myself that stayed. It was all cleaned up pretty quickly with the eight of us working together.

We were all tired from the day and set off in different directions. When Edward and I arrived at his place, we quickly showered and got ready for bed. He did have to work the next day and I was dead beat.

I felt Edward's hand gently rubbing my back and I was out like a light.

Please leave me your thoughts, seriously...