Epilogue:
The time following their first year of marriage seemed to pass in an instant. Bella and Carlisle spent as much time as they could with each other and their family. Bella chose to take an indefinite leave from work. To much of her surprise, she had really discovered she liked staying home with Gracie. She also spent time volunteering at Rose's school. She would read stories to the class as well as help the teachers out with things that they needed help with. She found her passion for cooking and baking. Once afraid to try out her culinary skills, Bella now owned the kitchen. She found it relaxing and soothing. She had her mishaps, but she learned from each one of them. She was so confident in her new found kitchen skills, she started to make big family dinners on Sundays for everyone in her life. Carlisle helped her in the kitchen as well as Rose. It was quality time they looked forward to each Sunday afternoon.
Carlisle continued to work at the practice. He loved it when his wife and infant daughter showed up with a surprise lunch for him. He was grateful to Emmett who would arrange their surprise meetings. It seemed that whenever he felt overwhelm to started to feel down, Bella knew when to show up and be with him. He also began to coach Rose's T ball team. It something that he never thought he would ever do. He actually enjoyed married life more than he'd ever imagine. Feeling how much he loved Bella had actually made him feel bad on several occasions. He began to think about how he treated Esme as well as his adult children in the past. He knew he wasn't the man he was then, but it still didn't make things right. His former self terrorized poor Esme and Edward. It was extreme guilt that he would have to deal with for the rest of his life.
Edward. He couldn't believe that he and Edward were as close as any father and son could be and it was because of Bella. She really did complete his life in every way.
Though they were extremely happy with how their lives were, still life was nothing less than a whirlwind of events in that first year. In February, both Carlisle and Bella attended Victoria's arraignment. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs as well as driving recklessly and causing bodily harm. She admitted to the charges. The judge sentenced her to six years in prison. Carlisle tried to bargain with the judge, telling him about Rose. He tried to talk the judge into a lesser sentence if Victoria was sent to rehab. The judge denied that request. Victoria asked Carlisle and Bella not to tell Rose that she was in jail.
Long before her court date, Rose had given hope that Victoria would return. Her sessions with Jasper were about to end since she made tremendous progress. She and Bella had a bond that couldn't have been stronger. Rose idolized Bella and often said she wanted to be just like her. Rose was also a huge help when it came to her sister. She helped feed and wanted to help change her. Her favorite thing to do with her was to lay with her on the floor and read to her. The sight always melted her parents' hearts.
March welcomed changes. Edward's house was finally completed. He moved out, which upset Rose greatly. As Edward pointed out, he was living less than two miles away and they would see him often. He kept his promise. He came to the house every Sunday for dinner, with Bree of course. Bree also had accepted Edward's offer and was going to move in with him once her less was up on her apartment.
Things were quiet until May. Alice became more moody than ever. Bella actually thought she might have been pregnant, but she was wrong. Two of her employees were caught stealing merchandise from the store. Because she was down two associates, she was working an average of sixty to seventy hours a week and planning a wedding. She also had a falling out with one of her bridesmaids. Alice never mentioned too much about what the argument was about to Bella, but she figured it was because Alice was trying to be controlling. Alice arrived at her childhood home to visit Bella. Once she opened the door, Alice broke down and cried in Bella's arms on the front steps of the house. Bella listened to Alice and promised to help out with whatever she could. Alice hugged Bella and apologized for treating her so rotten and not being completely supportive with things with Carlisle. Bella hugged her friend and told her that was all water under the bridge. As Alice wiped her eyes, she realized how great of a friend Bella was to her.
June held a long delayed honeymoon for Bella and Carlisle. He surprised her by completely planning the trip. As expected, Bella had a hard time leaving her now nine month old daughter, but she did. She and Carlisle left Rose and Gracie in the care of Edward and Bree. Carlisle was very excited about the trip to Paris. Other than making love every day, most times more than once, the most romantic jester that Carlisle thought of was a picnic dinner on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower. After dinner, they cuddled as they talked about the day's events. When they were least expecting it, the tower shone like diamonds. As they listened to the "oohs" and "awes" Carlisle kissed his wife and held her as close as humanly possible to him.
When they had returned from their trip, Felix had contacted Carlisle. The police found Royce in California. He was arrested for attempted murder. He was plotting to kill his drug dealer, who was really an undercover cop. When he was brought to the station, he was facing a laundry list of charges, including four counts of endangering a child under the age of five. Felix wanted to know if Carlisle wanted to press charges. Without hesitating, Carlisle told him yes. To celebrate, Carlisle and Bella took Rose out for a special dinner. They didn't give the child a reason why just the three of them were out celebrating. They were afraid of stirring memories she wanted to forget. Rose just loved the extra alone time she got to spend with her parents.
In July Alice and Jasper were married in a big, elaborate ceremony at a country club. As it turned out Jasper seemed to be related to half the state of Texas. Alice invited everyone she had ever met. Although the ceremony was beautiful and elegant, Bella was thankful for her quick wedding to Carlisle. She didn't think she would have been able to handle the stress of it all. After the reception, Alice and Jasper were off to honeymoon in Italy.
After the wedding, Carlisle, Bella, Rose and Gracie went back to Cape Cod. Carlisle had surprised his family and had actually bought the house they rented the previous year. Another added surprise, their entire family was coming to visit them. Some were staying in the house with them while other rented houses nearby. The best part of it all they were having professional photographer. Alice had coordinated with everyone about wearing the same clothes. The pictures were to be taken on the beach in back of their house.
Since the family was still vacationing in August, they wouldn't be home for Rose's birthday. Rose was more than ecstatic to celebrate her birthday in Boston with Jacob. She was a little disappointed that she didn't have her friends to celebrate with but her family more than made up for it. They went to the American Girl store outside of Boston and ate at the café where she had decided on another doll. Her time with Jacob and her family more than made up for the fact that she wasn't home for the special day.
Emmett planned a surprise party to celebrate Bella and Carlisle's birthdays. He and Riley had just purchased a house together and used the excuse that they wanted to show it off. Both the birthday boy and girl were surprised when they arrived. Carlisle also pulled out another surprise. He planned a weekend get away to a spa in Napa Valley for him and Bella. Although they both loved and cherished the time they spent as a family, alone time was always appreciated and they couldn't wait until the following weekend.
Gracie's first birthday was also in September. Again, the baby's loved ones gathered around to celebrate her birth. Bella also spent the morning reflecting on how the child almost wasn't there. It made Bella's stomach churn to think she almost went through with the abortion. Bella's heart held an amazing amount of love for the little girl and she couldn't imagine her life without the child. They bought Pea her own small cake to explore. She had fun smashing the cake into crumbs. However didn't like it when she placed her cake covered hands on her face. She broke out into tears when she had covered her face and hair. While their family snapped pictures and Carlisle rushed to clean her up, Bella smiled.
Thanksgiving was uneventful. Charlie again hosted the holiday dinner. Before Charlie broke into his once a year speech about family and giving thanks, Edward stood up and interrupted him. He began to speak about how the last year brought changes to his life. He also spoke about how happy he was in his life and getting fired from the hospital was the second best thing that had happened to him. The first was meeting Bree. He turned to Bree and declared his love for her in front of his family. He then got down on a knee and asked for her hand in marriage. She cried and said yes. Charlie pretended to be upset as he looked at the newly engaged couple. He said the Edward interrupted him and beat him to the chase. Charlie then looked at Sue and asked her to marry him. She nodded and said yes. To top off the wedding announcements, Alice beamed as she told everyone she was pregnant! It was most defiantly a holiday to remember.
In the beginning of December, Carlisle, Bella, Charlie and Edward flew to Boston and met Renee. They were anticipating Jacob's graduation. Charlie and Bella cheered loudly when his name was announced. After the ceremony and loads of pictures, Jacob introduced Vanessa to his family. He privately asked Edward if he could continue to stay in the condo. Not really wanting to sell it yet, Edward agreed. Then Jacob asked if it would be all right if Nessie move in with him. Edward laughed and said yes on one term; Jacob would have to be the one to tell Bella. Jacob agreed to speak to Bella about it at Christmas the following week and thanked Edward.
Now it was the morning of New Years. After today Carlisle and Bella would no longer officially be newlyweds, however, they felt like it. Bella woke up Carlisle early in the morning by kissing him all over. They celebrated in the early morning light by sharing their love with one another. Bella wanted to remind him that they were one.
"I love you," Carlisle told her as he sat up and kissed her after their love making session was over.
"I love you to," Bella sat up and pulled Carlisle's shirt onto her body.
With a laugh he shook his head. "Some things never change. My clothing still looks better on you."
Bella shared his laughter. "That's a debate we'll discuss. I, um, have a gift for you."
"You mean this morning wasn't your gift?"
Shaking her head, Bella answered her husband. "No, not really."
"I'm afraid I won't have yours until later. Do you want to wait and we can exchange them together? Do you want me to get it now?"
Bella nodded her head. "That's all right I don't mind waiting. Let me just go and grab yours, it's in my closest."
Bella walked out of bed and into her walk in closet. She went to the shelf where she kept her shoes and pulled the gift wrapped box. She had no idea how this was going to go over but she would soon find out. She walked back to her bed. Carlisle was sitting with his back against the head board. "Here you go. I hope you like it because I can't take it back."
"I'm sure I will love it," Carlisle said as he kissed her. He swiftly opened the box. He traced a closed cherry wood double sided frame was sitting in tissue paper. He opened it. On one side a picture of their entire family sat in it. He saw the smiles from him and his beautiful wife, Rose holding Pea, Alice, Jasper, Edward, Bree, Charlie, Sue, Renee, Phil and Jacob. He smiled as he remembered the summer on Cape Cod. On the other side was an interesting picture. Carlisle cocked his head as he studied it. It took him a few moments to realize what he was looking at. It was an ultra sound. In the corner it was written Baby Boy Cullen. He looked at Bella with his mouth open. "What?"
"Congratulations daddy," she said sounding more like she was asking a question. "I know what you are thinking. I know that last year after your accident you questioned a lot of things about being a father. I remember the argument that evening clearly. I know that we didn't plan this and I know what you are going to say but-"
Acting like he didn't hear a word she said, Carlisle looked up again at Bella. "How did this happen?"
Bella tried to gauge his reaction. Her eye brows lifted as she answered his question. "Napa. Remember the flight we were on where my luggage was damaged? Remember my suitcase ripped and I basically lost the entire contents of my bag, including my birth control? Does any of this ring a bell?"
Carlisle nodded his head slowly. He couldn't believe it. They were always really careful. The pregnancy didn't disappoint him; it just took him by surprise. He was just shocked.
"As I was saying before you interrupted me, I know your fears, you have voiced them before. I respect them and I hear where you're coming from but-"
Again, Carlisle jumped in and interrupted her. "A baby? Are you sure?"
All the glee escaped from Bella. She swallowed as she nodded. "Yes, a baby."
"Who did you tell about this?"
Bella sighed. "No one. I wanted you to be the first to know. You have the right to know first. I've known since I was about a month. I'm sixteen weeks."
Carlisle nodded his head. "Are you sure? I mean, have you seen a doctor?"
Getting irritated, Bella answered him. "According to Bree I am sixteen weeks. This sonogram picture was taken two days ago when I went to see her for a follow up."
Raising an eyebrow Carlisle looked at Bella. "Bree is still your doctor?"
She nodded as she felt tears forming in her eyes. "Yes. I'm very comfortable around her. This isn't about her right now. It's about us. I thought you'd be happy about this."
"How long have you known?"
"I told you, since I was about four weeks."
"Four weeks and you didn't say anything to me? You're in your second trimester and didn't think I should know? Why would you keep this from me?"
"I didn't want to say anything in case I miscarried or the test was wrong. Then, when everything else came out to be fine, I thought of this way to tell you. I thought it would make a surprising anniversary present."
"Well, mission accomplished." Carlisle shook his head. He held onto both of Bella's hands as he raised his voice slightly. "Bella, I'll be seventy four when this baby is eighteen, seventy four!" He paused as he let go of her hands and brushed loose strains behind her ears. "Baby, you won't even be fifty yet!"
She swallowed again and stood up. She walked over to their window and looked at the snow that had fallen the previous night. She wrapped her arms around herself and started to cry. Carlisle tried to put his arms around her but she backed up. She waved her hands at him and backed away from him. "I really can't talk to you right now."
"Bella, wait."
She shook her head again. This time the tears were flowing freely. She held up her finger, waved it twice and then pointed at him. "No, I said I cannot talk to you right now. Please respect that and give me a little space. We'll talk, but I need time to take this all in. Right now there is nothing else I want to hear from you." With those words spoken, she picked up her robe and walked out of the room.
She walked downstairs into the kitchen to get water. After only a few sips, she ran to the bathroom and threw up. As she flushed the toilet and washed her face, she heard the garage door open. She peaked outside to see Carlisle leaving in his car. She took a deep breath and cried again.
When she finally pulled herself together, Bella ventured upstairs to see if the girls were awake. Rose was still fast asleep. The child was exhausted. She was allowed to stay up until midnight. She was so excited she couldn't sleep. She ended up in bed by two. Bella smiled at the memory of she, Rose and Carlisle playing Mario Brothers on the Wii all night. At one point Bella had injured herself trying to move the game controller to make the character jump. She peeked in and saw that the child was still asleep, she figured as much.
She wondered towards Gracie's room. As neared the room, she heard the child babbling. She heard the child say "dada" over and over again. That was her first word at ten months. Bella remembered clearly she was unloading the dishwasher as the child sat in a gated area in the kitchen. She babbled and all of a sudden a continuous "dada dada dada" came from the child's mouth. Bella was so excited she grabbed her phone and recorded it on her phone. He quickly downloaded it and sent it to Carlisle. He called when he had a free moment and was ecstatic. He actually cried. Bella reminded him that she knew Pea was a daddy's girl.
When Bella finally opened the door, the child's face lit up. She used the railing to stand up. While holding on she jumped.
"Good morning baby," Bella said taking the baby out of the crib. She brought her over to the changing table and began to change her diaper. She continued to talk to the child. Pea was filled with smiles in the morning and this morning was no exception. Bella lifted her off the table and sat with her in the chair. Pea snuggled with her and kissed her head. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Like she knew her mother was sad, Pea placed her head on Bella's shoulder. She brought a hand up to her mother's face and rubbed it.
Bella smiled. "Thanks honey," she told her daughter. She made a kiss face. The child did the same thing and gave her a kiss on her lips. Pea then placed her head again on her mother's shoulders. Bella held onto the child as she began to cry again. "I'm sorry Gracie; this is a rotten way to start a morning, let alone begin a new year." She shook her head. "Your daddy, he is so stubborn. I know that Edward says I am the stubborn one, but daddy has me beat by more than a mile. He is so unreasonable some times. You'll learn that about men sweetie when you are older. They are just impossible."
Gracie stared at Bella in the eyes during their entire talk. It seemed like she knew exactly what her mother was saying. Bella finally shook her head. She wiped her tears and looked up at her baby. "Enough about that. It's New Year's morning. Let's start breakfast, how about that?"
Bella stood up and held the child as they ventured down the stairs together. Bella placed her in her high chair and handed her a cup of milk. She worked on cutting up fruit for her as Gracie began to babble again.
While measuring out the ingredients for pancakes, Bella heard footsteps coming from the stairs. "Happy New Years mom!" Rose said excitedly.
"Happy New Year's baby. I'm making pancakes but would you like some fruit before?" Bella offered.
The child accepted and sat at the counter on the bar stool. She picked up her fork and stabbed her strawberry with it. Before chewing it, she looked at Bella. "Where is dad?"
I have no idea, that's a good question kiddo Bella thought to herself. "He had to go out this morning but he'll be back soon. Here, you can have the first batch of pancakes," Bella smiled.
Rose nodded. She thanked Bella but still looked at her. "Mom, can I ask you something? You have to tell me the truth."
"Sure honey."
"I mean it mommy, there are no secrets, right?"
"Right."
Rose played with her food before looking at Bella standing in at the counter by the stove. She was cutting up a pancake for Gracie. "Were you and daddy arguing this morning?"
"Why?"
"Well, I could hear daddy saying something and he sounded angry. Then I thought I heard you yell at him and you sounded like you were crying and then your bedroom door slammed and now he's gone. Did you two have a fight?"
Bella sighed. She didn't want to have this conversation with Rose. "Well honey, daddy and I were talking about a few things and we didn't agree with each other. He was angry, which made me sad. We both are taking time right now."
Rose nodded her head and then began to cry. "Are you going to get a divorce?"
"Divorce?"
"Yes. My friend Juliet's mom and dad used to yell at each other and now they don't live together any more. Juliet misses her dad. If you get a divorce where will I live? I love daddy, but I've all ready lost one mommy and I don't want to lose you too. Were you fighting about me?" Rose asked as tears rolled down her chin.
Bella placed a few pieces of pancake on Gracie's tray. She walked over to Rose and held her. "No baby, we aren't getting a divorce. We were fighting about grown up stuff, that's all. It had nothing to do with you. No one is moving out so you don't have to pack your bags, all right?"
Rose held onto her mother tightly. "You and daddy never argue, it scared me."
"You have nothing to be afraid of, I promise. Have I ever lied to you?'
"No."
"And I'm not going to start now. Now, why don't you eat your breakfast and then you'll get to wear the dress you picked out for Edward's lunch today."
Rose nodded and began to eat her breakfast. Bella finished one more batch and sat down with the girls and made small talk with Rose as they all ate their breakfast. It was over an hour since Carlisle left the house and Bella hadn't heard from him. She was still angry with him but now she was on the verge of being pissed.
Rose was allowed to watch one television show while Bella cleanup the kitchen and Gracie. Before removing Gracie from her high chair, Bella picked up her pink Blackberry and called Carlisle's phone. There was no answer. She left a message for him to call her back.
Almost an hour after breakfast, Bella managed to get Rose and Gracie ready to go to Edward's all by herself. She tried Carlisle one more time before they prepared to leave for Edward's but he still didn't answer his call. She finally just told him to meet her at Edward's house.
Once the Cullen girls were about to load into Bella's car to leave, the garage door opened. Rose looked at Bella. "Are you still upset with daddy?"
Bella offered a sad smile. "Oh yes sweetie, yes I am. Knowing that we upset you before, we'll go upstairs when we talk and I promise we will try not to yell, okay? I'll put Pea in the gated area. Will you watch her for me?" After Rose had nodded, Bella smiled. She walked over to the television and turned on the American Girl movie for her and walked back onto the kitchen where she waited for the garage door to open. When it did, Carlisle had bags in his hand.
He placed the bags on the floor and closed the door. He was about to say something when Bella interrupted him.
"If we are going to talk then we need to go upstairs, now. We also need to lower or voices. It seems someone over heard us disagreeing this morning. We are ready to go to Edward's. Do you want to talk or do you want to leave?" Bella asked with her hands folded.
"I would like to talk to you if you're okay with that." Carlisle truthfully answered.
"Then follow me upstairs." She poked her head into the living room and smiled at Rose, who had joined her sister in the gated play area. Bella smiled at the children. "We'll be down in a few minutes, okay?"
Rose nodded as both Carlisle walked nervously upstairs to their room. He carried the bags closely with him. Once upstairs, she gently closed the door. She sat on the chair while Carlisle sat on the bed. Neither one of them said anything; they just stared at one another. Finally, Bella couldn't just sit there anymore.
"Well this is productive."
Carlisle sighed. "I don't know what I can say to you without you being mad at me. What can I do to make you not angry with me anymore?"
"It's about our baby Carlisle. You looked repulsed when I told you I am pregnant."
"I wasn't repulsed, I was surprised, and that's all. It wasn't something I ever expected that's all."
"But the way you were talking, you sounded like you didn't want him. I'm not getting an abortion; he's not going anywhere until he is born."
"Abortion? You thought I wanted you to get an abortion?" He paused as he watched Bella nod her head. "Isabella, I thought you knew me better than that." He paused again and walked closer to the chair. He bent down on his knees and held her hands. "This baby is part of both of us. We created this child, our son out of love. There is no way I would want you to get rid of him."
"But you acted like-"
Carlisle smiled again. "I was in shock, that's all honey. I am fifty five years old. I thought Pea was it for us and children. I don't feel old now, but I can't imagine me throwing a ball with him being in my seventies. It scares me. It scares me to think that I might-"
Bella interrupted and waved held her hand at him. "Please don't. I know what you are going to say and you promised me not to say it again. So you're happy with me and him?" Bella asked looking down at her stomach.
Carlisle rubbed her stomach ever so softly. He lifted her blouse and saw her small rounded stomach. He placed gentle kisses all over it. "I love you and him so much, of course I am happy." He froze for a second before he started talking to the little bump. "And what will you call you little man? We'll have to think of something good." Carlisle pulled Bella's blouse down once more and kissed her belly again but this time through her shirt. He removed his lips from her belly and found her lips. "I love you so much and I am sorry I made you so upset. I never intended to do that. I was a complete jerk."
Bella cried as she wrapped her arms around Carlisle's neck and pulled him close. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that, and yes you were a jerk."
Carlisle smiled as "I want conditions though."
"Conditions?"
"Yes. Please tell me you'll consider a cesarean section. I know when Pea was born you didn't have the easiest time and I want to make sure you don't have to endure that again."
Bella nodded. "I'll talk to Bree about it but that seems reasonable. Anything else?"
"Yea, I think I want a vasectomy. Bella, I am thrilled to no end that we are having a baby, but I want no more. I don't want to be sixty and just having another baby. It isn't fair to you or the children. If you want more child we could adopt maybe an older child or-"
"Shhh. Our family was perfect with the four of us before, now it is just going to be better and stronger. We don't need any more. I agree with you on that." She stopped to kiss him before looking at him curiously. "By the way, where were you all this time this morning?"
Carlisle laughed. "Well, I left to go to the gym. After I was done, I ran to that little mall around the corner and began to walk around. I ended up buying something, for him."
"You did?"
He nodded. "Yes. Ready to see it?" Bella nodded as he reached into the bag and pulled out a soft baby blue blanket fluffy blanket. He also pulled out assorted clothes. "I couldn't resist. I hope you're not mad that I started shopping for him without you."
Bella chuckled. "Mad? No way! I'm the one who thought you wanted me to get an abortion, remember? I think you are sweet."
"Oh, and that leads me to this," he said reaching into the other bag to pull out a bag that read, Tiffany & Co on it. Inside was a small box. She opened it and saw a beautiful band.
'It's platinum, diamonds and garnet. Garnet isn't really a popular stone; however, it is our anniversary stone so I had it costumed made for you." He said placing the ring back onto her hand. "It isn't as good as your gift though."
She kissed him once more. "Thank you. Now we must go. We're late going to Edward's."
That evening, Carlisle, Bella, Rose and even Pea are piled in Carlisle and Bella's king size bed to watch a movie. Carlisle was lying with his back on the head board. He sat next to Bella with his arm resting on her belly while Pea was fast asleep on his stomach. Rose laid between her parents. She was fighting a battle with sleep it looked like sleep was winning. As the movie ended, Carlisle shifted to put Pea between he and Rose. He leaned over and stole another kiss from his wife's lips. He looked at her longingly as he had done so many times in the past. Both of them thought there was no other place they'd rather be.
"Good night little man," he whispered so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping children between them as he continued to rub Bella's belly. He stared at his wife before a smile appeared on his eyes. "Good night baby."
"'Night babe." She paused for a moment and looked at him and rubbed his face. "By the way, happy anniversary."
Carlisle leaned over his children and pressed his lips to Bella's. "Happy anniversary love."
