First and foremost, I want to sincerely apologize for the lateness. I NEVER take this long to publish a chapter BUT I have been receiving error messages instead of being able to upload. I have no idea and had sent about 300 emails to fanfiction support over these past couple weeks. I did a happy dance tonight when I tried and it worked :)

I've never done this before but I would like to dedicate this chapter to a certain reviewer who never got her chance at justice. You know who you are. This one's for you.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters and the awesomeness that is Twilight! I'm just subjecting them to my fun little schemes. I do own Jasper Cat. Literally. I have a 17 lb tabby named Jasper Cat. :)

Previously on Waiting for the End: He could feel her shooting daggers into his back as he walked away, the second the case was over, he would do the deed. Heading back over to the table, he yelled over the music. "I've got to get home. Bella didn't answer and I'm worried. Oh, and Carmen make sure someone drives your sister home, and while your at it, tell her to back the fuck off."

Chapter 36

Edward found his wife curled into a ball on their bed. She was facing away from him and he could tell from across the room that she was tense. "Bella? Baby, what's wrong?" Please don't let anything happen to them.

"They're awake and it hurts."

"Come here," he said, wrapping his arms around her as he laid down. The second his hand touched her stomach he could feel them moving. "Wow. Edward Jr. was never this active."

"I guess there's just less room with the two of them. I don't know how the heck I'm going to do this for the next three months. It's going to get worse."

"I know. Jasper said you weren't looking too great when he left."

"I'm just really tired but there's no way I can sleep like this right now."

"Bella, I really think you shouldn't take Livy on by yourself again until after the twins come. I just think you are wearing yourself out. Do you think we should call the hospital? Is it really bad?"

"It's bad but I don't want to call. I want to stay home and they aren't going to tell me anything except that they're active. Which we know. Boys will be boys."

"Alright, I have an idea. Come downstairs."

He helped her up and they headed to the entertainment room's chaise lounge. After he propped her up with pillows and a blanket, Edward knelt down and pulled her shirt up. He kissed her belly and ran his hands over it. "Boys, momma needs to sleep. Why don't we take it easy tonight." His soothing words, to her surprise, seemed to be calming her sons down. After a little while of gently talking to them, Edward walked over to the piano and sat down. The beautiful notes she heard him playing the night Jasper and Alice dropped Livy off months ago filled the room.

She put her head back and realized that the twins were no longer moving, just little twitches here and there—which she loved because she knew they were okay. Edward had managed to calm both of them down. Closing her eyes, she realized she would have to put her full appreciation aside until tomorrow, when she was awake enough to speak.

"I hate them," Bella said to her husband as they made their way to the court house Monday morning.

"I know but you can't hide behind long sleeves forever, baby."

"Well, I can't hide the ones on my face ever. People look at me and they see my scars, Edward. I know what they're thinking. They want to know what happened to 'the poor girl'. Now, I have to sit in front of a room full of people and actually point them out."

"Bella, you are beautiful. Scars or no scars. Whether it's from the glass or the stitches, it's no one's damn business when it comes to how you got them. People are curious. That's all. People always looked at you. You've always been beautiful. Try not to think about them. Besides, everyone here will know what they're from."

Bella sighed but didn't bother to argue. Playing with the button on her short-sleeved blazer, she looked down at her torn up arm. When all the bruising had finally gone away and the stitches were taken out, Bella realized she would have reminders of that night for the rest of her life. Everyday when she looked in the mirror they would be there. She could hear her sons already. "Mommy, why do you have those marks?"

Edward had tried everything he could to help her. They'd invested in every cream known to man...even went to a plastic surgeon, which Bella wanted to run out of as soon as the doctor began to explain the procedures. She was stuck with them. "Dammit!" She heard her husband mutter. Looking up from her nasty reminders, she saw a huge group of people lining the courthouse stairs, cameras ready.

"Is there another way in?"

"No. The metal detectors are on this side and we have to go through them. We really don't have a choice. When we get out, just stay beside me and don't say anything to anyone. You'll be alright."

As soon as they found a spot to park, Edward came around and opened her door. Taking her arm, right where the marks were—she knew he was trying to help her cover some of them up—they headed inside. Flashbulbs went off and she began to feel dizzy. "Isabella, how far along are you? Who's the father? Are you prepared to face Mr. Newton. Is your husband representing you?" The list went on and on. Her head was spinning. Thankfully, they made it to the door just in time for her to collapse on a bench.

"We've got to keep moving. Let's just get through the detectors and into the private room down the hall. Come on. Please, Bella," Edward pleaded with her, "They can still get pictures from here. Come on."

Slowly, she stood up and leaned into him. Somehow she made it through the detectors and soon found herself in a little room with deep red carpet and a cherry wood table with matching chairs. Rosalie, Collin, Tanya, and Esme were already waiting. Letting Edward lead her to a chair, she sat down and he pushed gently so her head was down as close to her knees as she could get without hurting the twins. "Deep breaths. You're okay."

"Is she alright?" Tanya asked like she was annoyed with her.

"Edward, can I talk to you in the hallway for a minute?" Collin asked, gesturing towards the door.

"I...yeah..." he finally stood up and followed him, reluctant to leave his wife.

Bella felt Esme begin to rub her back and kept breathing heavily. Rosalie got her some water. Before the guys came back in, Bella was able to speak again. Esme asked her little questions to try to take her mind off of things. When they got to the topic of the twins, Tanya got up and left the room. Which was more than fine with Bella.

"Hey, they're ready for us," Collin said, coming through the door as Edward came to Bella's side.

"Feeling better?"

"Much," Bella smiled at her husband before standing up slowly.

Bella wanted nothing more than the world to just open up and swallow her whole. Before the judge was even on the stand, they brought Mike in. He saw her and she immediately blanched. Feeling dumb, she tried to recover but he sent her a shit eating grin that made her want to vomit. With shaking hands, she took the stand once the judge was settled in and everyone was seated.

"Mrs. Cullen? Can you tell us what happened that night?" Collin began.

Bella went through the whole story, remembering all the tricks Collin and Edward had coached her with. Never say 'I don't remember'. Never second guess yourself when telling the story. Never let Mike intimidate you—Edward reminded her that he'd have to get through armed guards and Edward himself before he could get to her. Be sure to show the scars. The list went on and on. Bella did wonderfully, or at least she thought she did, she made it through with only three tissues worth of tears.

"Bella, you mentioned that you began to scream for your husband when you realized you wouldn't be able to save yourself. You mentioned he was nowhere nearby, that it was instinct. Does Mr. Cullen still protect you? Has he always?"

"Yeah. He's more worried about me than himself half the time."

"How did you feel when you found out he was seeing Miss Denali?"

Bella had been prepped for this question, "I was blaming myself. When we lost our son, we began to drift in separate directions. I had already asked for a divorce when it happened. There was no one to blame but me."

"It's pretty evident that you're expecting. For the record, to the best of your knowledge, who is the father?"

"Edward."

"Mr. Cullen?"

"Yes."

"No further questions."

Mike's lawyer stood up next. That's when things got nasty. "So your husband was sleeping with Miss Denali and you felt no contempt towards him?"

"I was asking him for a divorce at the time. He was able to do what he wanted."

"As long as you had his money?"

"No. Never. I don't care about the money. I wouldn't have wanted a penny."

"Is it true that you grew up without a lot of money? That your hometown is one of the poorer regions in Washington?"

"Money has nothing to do with this!"

"Answer the question, Mrs. Cullen."

"No. I wouldn't say we were poor. The reservation didn't have a lot of money but we weren't living on the reservation! My father is the police chief! My mother is married to a minor league baseball player. We weren't poor!"

"A little defensive, aren't we?"

"Objection!" Collin called out.

"Next question, counselor," the judge said gruffly.

"Mrs. Cullen, is it safe to say that you may have been a little suggestive in your decision to invite Mr. Newton into your home? At night? After a night of drinking when you knew no one else would be home?"

"I was trying to help a friend. She was sick and needed to get home. He and I were too drunk to drive. I asked if he wanted to stay but said he had to sleep on the couch."

"He?"

Bella gulped and said quietly, "Mike."

"Mr. Newton?"

"Yes!" Bella said, getting annoyed. "I wasn't being suggestive at all. I have scars from what he did to me! He beat me!"

"Is that not something that you enjoy? We found BDSM paraphernalia in you and your husband's bedroom closet. This isn't a matter of a little playfulness getting out of hand?"

Bella's entire face was turning red. Unable to meet the eyes of her brother-in-laws, she said, "No. It isn't. He raped me." Her entire body was beginning to shake and it felt like her chest was being pushed in. Her hand went instinctively to the twins, who were shifting around—like they knew something was wrong. She prayed for the panic to pass. It didn't.

Mike chose that minute to shift in his chair to look at Edward and the dam broke. Bella went into full panic mode and began trying to take deep breaths. They were more rapid then deep and she began to get dizzy. Holding onto the stand as if to ground herself, she could hear the lawyer asking her something. Finally, Collin's voice came through, too. Then the judge's. Before she knew what was happening, Collin was stepping up and taking her arm to help her down, he led her to her husband, and soon after, they were out of the court room and back in the small, red room. Kathy was right beside her and Edward, they were both talking quietly to her. "Bella, you've gotta keep breathing. Just put you head down and try to relax. The boys need you to relax."

Bella began to sob when she heard the concerned voice of her husband, "I should take her to the hospital..."

"Edward, the hospital isn't going to do anything for her. It's not medical. It's emotional. Give her time."

They sat in silence for awhile, letting Bella cry herself out until Collin came in. "They want to get started again. Miller is done with questions for her. The judge wants to bring in your mom and get things going. I'm going to head back in."

"Collin...I'm so sorry. I ruined everything..." Bella said, sniffling.

"Don't worry about it, honey. You did great. Now you can go home and relax. Do you want me to send your brother for her, Edward?"

"No. I'm taking her myself..."

"I'm not leaving. I want to stay. I need to know Mike's not going to get away with this," Bella interrupted them.

"Bella, you need..."

"I need to go back in there and be there for your mom. It's scary up there," she added.

"If that's what you want then we have to get in there now," Collin said.

Bella stood up, not even looking at her husband or her counselor and followed Collin out.

Esme's testimony went well and Bella found herself able to relax a bit more. She and the boys were both much calmer by the time she was finished. Tanya was next and Bella knew it wasn't going to be pretty. To her surprise, Bella took note that Tanya had more clothes on in court than Bella had seen on her the entire time she'd known her. The youngest Denali sister wore a black, short-sleeved button up dress shirt with a high necked green shirt underneath. The skirt she wore was also black and the outfit was finished off with high black stilettos. This bitch could make funeral garb look sexy.

"Miss Denali..."

"You can call me Tanya," Tanya said, resting her chin on the palm of her hands. Bella wanted to gag.

"Tanya," Collin said with a smile—he knew all about her. Even Collin wouldn't take on that batch of crazy. "Were you with Mr. Cullen on the night of the alleged assault?"

"Mmm," Tanya practically purred into the small microphone, looking directly at Bella, "it was amazing—like it always had been before Isabella came along—not something I would forget." That's when Bella knew, this was going to be even harder than having to be on the stand herself. Tanya had always been better at playing the game. Now, she was as pissed as ever. She was their chance of clearing Edward for good—and she fucking knew it. That didn't mean she wasn't going to mess with Bella the whole damn time.

"And he was with you the whole night until the next morning?"

"All night. I don't think either of us could forget that," she said, smiling this time...at Edward.

Bella was so focused on what Tanya was saying that she hadn't noticed Edward leaning towards her until he spoke, "Are you sure you can do this? They're going to show the video..." Bella had heard about the video caught by the security camera. She knew she'd see more than what she wanted. Collin had wanted her to see it before the trial so she was prepared but she'd refused. Now, she was wondering if she could do this.

She must have missed what was said because they were turning on the screen to present the piece of evidence that would show Edward Cullen was nowhere near the scene when it happened. At first, there was just a shot of the parking lot with already abandoned cars. A few seconds later, Tanya's vehicle would pull into a spot and two people would get out. Bella watched the real-life drama unfold on the screen. The beautiful blonde, her flawless tall dark and handsome lover, kissing as soon as they pulled in. For a moment, Bella wondered if they'd even make it out of the car.

Her stomach was churning and as much as she wasn't angry with him, she had to let go of her husband's hand. It was the same hand that worked its way to the middle of the blonde's thighs as she got out of the car and the sexy man leaned her against the hood. It went on with the heavy making out for awhile and the camera switched to a different view—obviously another camera placed on the outside of Tanya's townhouse.

Now, the man had the woman against the door as he kissed her neck and she worked her fingers through his hair. Those should have been my fingers. Soon, Bella could see the woman bringing her leg up and wrapping it around the man's waist as he lifted her up. Finally, to Bella's relief, the man took the keys from the woman and opened her door, carrying her inside.

The lights didn't come back on in the room but Collin spoke to the judge quietly. Bella finally got the courage to look up at her husband's lover and saw that Tanya was staring directly at her as she wore the biggest fucking Cheshire cat smile Bella had ever seen. Turning towards Edward, it was clear he was feeling uncomfortable. He wouldn't make eye contact with Bella...wouldn't even look at her. Collin addressed the room, "That was the last time Mr. Cullen was caught on camera until close to lunchtime the next day. We have video of him leaving but will show it at a later time."

He sat down and the judge asked Miller if he had any questions for Tanya but he just shook his head and replied, "No questions, your honor."

Even Bella knew this was a good thing. If the defense had nothing to add it was because they knew it was pointless to argue the points that were made. She should have been doing a dance around the place, instead, she just wanted to vomit. Seeing Edward with Tanya had been harder than she'd ever expected. The judge announced that they would wrap things up the next day with Kathy's testimony since it was becoming late. As soon as the announcement was made, Bella stood and walked straight to the back, not waiting for Edward.

Finding an unlocked, private room, Bella snuck inside and closed the door before letting the tears fall. It had all been laid out on the screen in color—of course it couldn't be a cheap black and white camera. Tanya and her flawless skin, her perfect hair, her sexy clothes, her c-cup boobs, and the sex appeal that just seemed to pour off of her...all on the tv for everyone to see. Bella looked down at herself. She was six months pregnant and looked about eight. Her boobs were know where near as perfect as Tanya's. Then she thought of the scars lining the whole half of her body. This is what her husband had to look at. Bella would never be in his league.

Edward looked around frantically for his wife. He tried to get her to watch the damn thing before the trial even started but Bella, being Bella, was as stubborn as a horse. Now, the place was crawling with reporters and he had no clue where she was. Just when he got his phone to call her, he saw Tanya and Carmen walking down the long corridor towards him. "That went well. I think they will definitely believe we were together that night."

She said it sweetly but Edward knew her words were laced with acid. He'd seen the way she'd looked at his wife from the stand and would never forget it. That just made what he had to do so much easier. "Why don't we go somewhere where we can talk? Jazz! Hey, why don't you come with Tanya and I? Emmett, I need you to go look for Bells."

Emmett left and he led Tanya, Jasper and Carmen towards the private room they'd met in that morning. He turned towards Tanya as soon as the door was closed. "Your involvement in this case is over. You need to stay the hell away from Bella and I both. Don't think I don't appreciate what you've done for me today but I can't hurt my wife any more than I already have. We're having twins. Two little boys. If you can't see that there is no future for us, that is really, really sad. We had some fun, Tan. That was all it ever was to me. Fun. You were a good lay...not the best...but not bad..."

He stopped, knowing he'd gone too far. In all honesty, he was ashamed of himself for what he did. He was ashamed that a roomful of people and his wife just witnessed what happened between Tanya and him. The truth was, he was taking it out on her and he knew it really wasn't fair. This wasn't him, even as a lawyer he'd never cut people down like this. He would possibly never know if apologizing would fix it because Tanya just shook her head, tears running down her face, as she turned and walked back out the door. Carmen shook her head as well and followed her out.

"Ouch, man," Jasper said, with a showy wince.

"I don't have time to justify this. I have to find Bella. Jazz, I have to get her home and settled down. Tell Alice I love her and give Livy a kiss for us. I'll see you tomorrow." Edward walked out of the room and bumped into Kathy. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there. Have you seen Bella?"

"No. I want to talk to you real quick, though. It'll only take a second."

"Emmett, I'm not mad at him...I just need some time to think. I really, really just want to go home and take a nice, long bath."

"Well, let's find him and then he can take you. He was going to talk to Tanya..."

"What?" Bella asked, furiously looking around for him. She began to walk faster and saw him at he end of the hall talking to Kathy. She approached them, unable to decide if she wanted to bawl or just simply smack him. Seconds later, she decided to just yell at him when she heard Kathy speak. "...you haven't been coming! Edward, I haven't seen you in months! I'm pretty sure Bella still thinks you are coming..."

"What? Edward! You haven't been going?" Bella demanded, walking right up to them.

"Bella..."

"No. I'm not the only one with problems here, okay? You've been lying to me this whole damn time! How could you?"

"I had a lot..."

"No. Don't." Bella said, too angry to stand there and listen to him, "Emmett, I need you to take me home. Now."

Edward didn't come home that night until after midnight. Bella was curled up in the window with a book, just like when they were first married. "You look like hell," she said bluntly, looking up at him.

"I feel like it, too. What a coincidence."

"You're drunk."

"You're smart."

"Edward, just go to bed. I can't deal with this right now." Bella sat up slowly and set her book beside her. To her surprise, Edward came and sat on the couch a couple feet away.

"What if I said that Jacob wants to see you?"

"I'd say that you're still not seeing Tanya."

"I'm not talking about Tanya. Would you talk to Jacob if the opportunity presented itself?"

"I guess so..."

"Good. I'm going to bed."

Bella watched with a confused look as he made his way upstairs. She couldn't believe he'd come home drunk and bring up Jake. She reminded herself that she was exhausted and didn't have time to deal with this drama bullshit. Getting comfortable with a blanket, Bella curled up on the couch and fell into a deep, deep sleep.

All morning, neither of them had said a word to each other. Edward had woken her up and made breakfast but had yet to say anything about the night before. When they got to court, it was just as bad as the previous day and he'd helped her into the building again—it was the most contact they'd had since the day before. Court was short that day. Kathy was the last one to speak and they showed the ten second clip of him leaving Tanya's. The hardest part that day was when they showed pictures taken of her face, arms, and ribs the night she was brought into the hospital. The judge dismissed everyone until four o'clock later that day when the jury would make their decision. Edward led Bella out and they drove back home. Plopping down on the couch next to her, Edward took her hand. "I'm sorry, Bella. I never should have drank like that last night. I shouldn't have come home like that..."

"I'm sorry, too. It was really hard seeing you with her and I just over reacted about the counseling issue. I still wish you'd at least told me you'd quit going."

"I was just really caught up with work..."

"Where did you go?"

"When?"

"Natalia told me it was scheduled that you left for the appointments. Where did you go?"

"Oh," Edward looked down and answered, "Edward Jr.'s grave. It helps me clear my head, believe it or not."

"I haven't been there," Bella said, feeling ashamed.

"Since?" Edward asked, confused.

"We buried him," Bella answer with gravel in her voice.

"I...what?"

"I just haven't been able to do it. It's too real then. I never wanted to go by myself."

"I'm here now, Bella. You aren't having to do anything by yourself. Not anymore. Why don't we go together? We have a couple hours. Let's get some lunch and I'll drive us there."

"I don't know..."

"It'll be okay, baby. Let's go eat."

An hour later, they walked up to the white marble head stone with a lamb carved into the top. Bella fell to her knees in front of it as Edward stood back and gave her some space to grieve. "I miss you, my sweet little boy. Momma loves you. Why was he taken from us? Why so soon?"

"I don't know, Bells. God must have had more important plans for him."

"I miss him."

"I know."

"It's not fair!"

"I know."

After a long time of silence, Edward cleared his throat. "I need to talk you about something. Well, a few things actually. I'm glad we're here because I think these are decisions for the whole family to make," he gave a small smile and touched the lamb.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking these past couple of weeks and just last night, Uncle Pete called me. Aunt Liz wants to move to North Carolina. So, they're leaving and selling the house. I...I've been thinking about this a lot and you have to tell me if you think this is a bad idea but I've already mentioned it to Trenton."

"Just say it!" Bella playfully smacked his arm as he sat down cross legged beside her.

"I want to buy the house from them. I want to move to Forks. Bella, I need to get the hell out of this damn city."

Bella stared at him in shock. "Edward..."

"I know the house is cheaper than what we'll be able to sell ours for. You've seen the place, it's huge. It's even safer than what we have now. The yard is huge. The boys will have plenty of room to play. You'll be close to your family..."

"What about yours?" Bella wondered, knowing Esme was going to cry when she found out Edward even considered leaving.

"I've mentioned it to dad. He says they'll come visit regularly and we are more than welcome anytime back at their place. Bella, we don't have to decide today but I just wanted to let you know... I put in my resignation notice with Hale Law."

"What?" Bella gasped, "You love your job! You're just going to walk away?"

"I've been thinking about it for awhile now. I can open a small practice in Forks. We have the more than enough money to get started."

"You'd really move to little, old Forks?"

"Yeah. I think it's in the best interest of you and the kids. We'll just have to visit a lot."

"Edward, I'd love to! I love it there!"

"Alright, then. I don't want to jump into this, though. Let's wait until we hear what the jury has to say and then we can call and talk to Uncle Pete. We can go down there in a few days, check it out, visit with your dad for a little bit."

"Sounds good. We better get going. We're going to be late. Oh, and I notice Natalia wasn't there this morning. It was strange."

"That's another thing we need to talk about but it's kind of a...um...well, you'll find out tonight. Which, just letting you know, we're having dinner tonight at our place with a couple people. I have food ordered so we don't have to cook. Also, before we get to the court house, I just want you to know that no matter what is decided, he will never get anywhere near you again."

Everyone seemed to show up for the conclusion of this whole ordeal. Edward's entire family showed up—minus baby Livy—who was staying with Tyler, who Alice was calling every five minutes. After the judge got everyone to quiet down, he asked the jury to stand and began to ask, "On the count of Assault With a Deadly Weapon, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty."

"On the count of Rape in the First Degree, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty."

"On the account of Attempted Homicide, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty."

"Mr. Newton, you are sentenced..."

Bella was so relieved, she nearly fell over from exhaustion. Edward was practically holding her up. They'd won. After months and months of living in fear, Mike was being put away for a long, long time. Bella about jumped out of her skin when Mike was lead past her and he yelled, "I'm not going to be put away forever! You better watch that rich ass husband of yours!"

Edward pulled her further away from Mike and held her still from behind since the first row of seats was behind her. "It's over, Bella. We freaking won. He's not going to hurt you or anyone else. Not anymore."

The rest of the day was a blur. Everyone, including the judge, congratulated her—even though he ignored her husband completely. To her surprise, Charlie and Billy had even driven up from Forks. They had been sitting in the back, wanting to surprise her...it worked. This must have been who's coming for dinner. While she talked to them, Edward mingled with his family and co-workers. Natalia still didn't make an appearance. While her dad asked about the twins, Bella looked around for Edward and found him on his cell phone.

A little bit later he came over and said, "We should be getting home. Charlie, Billy, would you like to join us for dinner? We have a special guest coming." So these two aren't the mystery guests... With a curious look, Bella followed them out of the courthouse, praying she wouldn't have to step foot inside this place for a long, long time.

The end is near for Waiting for the End. I have a lot of planning and contemplating to do before I write a second part to this story. There is another story that is screaming to be written, also a Twilight fanfic, so I'm going to begin that when this ends. It will give me time to decide how to do part 2 of this one. I'm not sure how long the new story will be but I think you'll like it :) So, with that said, this story probably has about two chapters and an epilogue left. I know, I know, I feel a little teary-eyed myself ;) Until next time, LP xoxoxoxo