Author's Note: Yes, this is the LAST body chapter before Edward's epilogue.

I hope all of my American readers have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and all of my foreign readers have a great rest of the week!


Chapter Fifty-One: "Daddy" Bella's POV

I woke up feeling stiff and a bit disoriented as I woke up, the sun pouring through the windows stinging my eyes. I realized that it wasn't early morning; the sun wasn't bright enough for that. A little confused, I looked at the digital alarm clock.

Five thirty PM.

I remembered waking up at four AM…had I really slept for over twelve hours?

I sat up, but the sudden movement made my head spin. I suddenly remembered everything that had happened, and the emptiness on my left hand grew to be the most prominent thing in my world.

Jacob and I were finished.

And Edward…

Well, Edward had stayed the night with me and promised to wait for me.

I nearly collapsed in relief at that memory, but suddenly a much more important thought came to me.

EJ and Abby. Where are they?

I flew out of bed, noticing I was still dressed in my jeans and t-shirt, and ran down the hall. "Abby?" I called. "EJ? Bugs? Where are you?"

They weren't in the nursery, living room, or kitchen. Panicking a little, I ran down the hallway.

The bathroom door was open, with the light on. I screeched to a stop at the door and peered inside.

"EJ!" the auburn-haired man laughed as he knelt by the bathtub. "Quit splashing me, love!"

I let out a breath of relief. Edward was bathing my children. Both EJ and Abby were in the bubbly water, letting out exuberant giggles. "Close your eyes," he warned Abby, tilting her head back so he could rinse her hair out.

"No, Daddy!" she laughed as he poured the warm water through her hair.

EJ splashed his sister, who retaliated quickly. Somehow Edward got soaked, but instead of flipping out like Jacob would, he just chuckled and splashed them back.

"Seriously, you guys," he grinned. "You're getting more water on me than you are on you."

"Daddy?" EJ asked him. "Num-nums at Nana's?"

"We'll eat dinner at Nana and Doc's if you let me get you clean, precious boy," Edward replied. "Abby, you're good to go. Come here, love."

He tried to pull her out of the water, but she was more interested in pouring some shampoo on her brother. "Ee-ay!" she cooed lovingly.

"You are so silly," Edward told her, tickling her sides. "Come here. You need to go wake your mama up, but let's get your brother clean."

Abby wrapped her arms around Edward's neck, completely soaking his shirt in soapy water. "I love oo, Daddy," she told him, pronouncing the words a tad better than her brother.

I had never seen a more joyful look on a man's face. "I love you, too, sweetie," he replied, kissing her cheeks.

"I lub oo!" EJ exclaimed, vying for Edward's attention with a big splash.

Edward laughed. "I love you, too, sweetie." He kissed EJ's wet hair.

I had seen enough. I couldn't bear to stay away from them. I went and sat next to the bathtub on the closed toilet lid.

"Mama!" EJ squealed, making Edward turn to face me in surprise.

"Hi, love!" he said happily, putting Abby back in the bathwater so he could talk to me. "Did we wake you up? We've been having fun…"

The sparkly look in his eyes was enough to convince me one-hundred percent that I had made the right choice. Edward not only loved my children, but he adored them, cherished them, lived for them. Jacob never cared for them. Edward loved my children, and as a mother, that was more important than if he loved me.

But I knew, of course, that Edward did love me. And adored me and cherished me and lived for me.

Thank God I felt the same way.

So the glint in his emerald eyes was the driving force behind my next action. I bent down and pulled his chin so his face was closer to me. When my lips pressed to his, it was a very full kiss. All of the emptiness I had felt in my last kiss with Jacob was gone. Now I felt passion and romance and adoration and pure love.

I moved away for just a second and whispered, "I've owed you a kiss since that day in your office, remember?"

Edward obviously felt the same current that was flowing through my veins, because he moved to his knees, his lips reclaiming mine. He tangled his fingers in my hair as his mouth moved sweetly and simultaneously with me. I wrapped my legs around his torso, holding him there as I conveyed every single emotion I felt through that kiss.

To be honest, I had forgotten about the rest of the world until water was thrown on us.

"Mama!" Abby said impatiently, making us freeze and turn our eyes to her. Our lips never stopped touching. "Daddy! Stop!"

EJ obviously agreed with her, because he gave us his own splash and glared at us. "Daddy," he whined. "My mama."

Edward and I started to laugh, and he softly laid his head against my chest. I kissed his beautiful hair. "Sorry," he apologized to my son—our son. "You can't share your mommy?"

EJ splashed water on us again.

"I think that's a sign that we need to get them out of the tub," I told Edward, stroking his cheeks with my fingers. "You said you're taking them to Nana and Doc's?"

He nodded. "Mom invited us over for dinner. I was going to wake you up and ask you if you wanted to go."

"I would love to go," I replied, staring down at him. I was still a bit in shock over all of these whirlwind events, but his face alone was comforting. "I guess I have some announcements to make, huh?

He smiled crookedly. "We don't have to tell anyone anything."

"Well, I have to say that I'm about to be a single woman again," I pointed out.

He gave me a humorless glare. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

I giggled and leaned my forehead against his. "I still need to wait…but you can still fight for me."

"Like this?" he asked me before peppering a kiss on my nose, and then on my eyelids.

I smiled in contentment. "Mmm," I nodded, pecking his lips again.

"Mama," Abby groaned. "Please."

"Are you learning manners, little girl?" I asked her in surprise. "Nana has really been working on you two, hasn't she?"

"Actually, that was me," Edward admitted.

I smiled at him. "You're such a good daddy."

He raised his eyebrows. "Am I a daddy?"

"Do you want to be?" I asked seriously.

"Daddy!" EJ nearly shouted.

Edward gave the bugs a sideways glance. "I think they've already made the decision for me."

I smiled. "It's settled, then. Daddy."

He returned my grin. "Alright, Mama."

Another big splash from the bathtub caught my attention. "Okay, okay," I told EJ and Abby. "Abs, you come with me while Daddy finishes bathing EJ. You have thoroughly soaked both Mommy and Daddy."

I lifted her out of the tub, wrapped her in a towel, and took her to the nursery. As I dried her off, diapered her, and dressed her, she played with my hair and babbled away. Apparently one day with Edward had made my daughter happy again.

"I love oo, Mama," she told me sweetly as I brushed her hair and tried to put a bow in it. I wasn't as good as Alice, Rose, and Esme at the girly stuff.

"I love you too, sweetheart," I replied, kissing her nose.

"I love Daddy," she added, sucking on her pinky.

I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face. "I love Daddy, too."

As Edward and I got ready to go to his parents' house, I reflected on what was surely going to be my future. Edward had already claimed us as his family. It would be a while before I would be ready to go public with our relationship. I would be holding back a lot as I licked my wounds left by Jacob. But I would be made happier…and my kids would be happy.

And the man I loved would be happy. Both of them would be happy, actually. We had all made a decision that benefitted each individual.

Life was, one day, going to be so much better. Edward and I would have to take baby steps to get there. But I knew that he would be patient with me and would love me no matter how long it took.

Finally, the battle scars were going to fade.

And my little family—Bella, Edward, EJ, and Abby—would be happy and healthy.

And truly, that was all that mattered. It would just take a while to get there.

But at least I didn't have to walk the road alone.


I'm about to post Edward's epilogue.

And about the sequel? You're not going to find out the poll results or the big announcement until the end of the epilogue. Sorry (evil grin).