I want to thank everyone for staying with this story and following it through to the end. it's like watching your babies grow up and leave the nest but it sure was fun getting them to this point.

i'm debating whether or not to do an epi. i always said this wasn't a story that ended with a marriage, but I do have some of it written so what the hell. depending on the response will decide if I post it or not.

if you like my writing, please feel free to follow my other stories also in progress, although they are both very different from this one though so beware.

you guys are the best. :)

and so is stephenie meyer for writing Twilight.


I love how your eyes close
Each time that you kiss me
And when I'm away from you
I love how you miss me
I love the way your kiss is always heavenly
But darling most of all
I love how you love me

I woke up the next morning at dawn, my stomach already fluttering in anticipation.

Today was the day. I had planned it to the tee.

Today I was going to ask Bella to marry me.

EPOV

I opened my suitcase and quietly took out the box containing Bella's antique engagement ring - the diamond I'd bought months ago. The day had finally come to present it to her and propose. I held it to the light and smiled. It was going to look great on her hand nestled between her smooth fingers.

Bella sighed in her sleep and adjusted her pillow. I froze in place until she'd settled back down.

We had an amazing night last night. Dinner was perfect, at a table near the wide open doors that led to the lake. It was private, just like I'd asked. A warm breeze moved our hair and brought in the sounds of summer from the outside; crickets and frogs and the rustling of leaves. Bella was glowing. Sitting across the table from me she was absolutely fucking glowing and I nearly got down on one knee right then and there before they'd even brought out the appetizers.

But Bella deserved better; she deserved the best of me. She'd waited so long. Our mutual brush with death made each day more precious than the next and today, this day, was going to be everything I hoped she'd been waiting for. Bella would wait for me forever, I know she would. I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at me. There's nowhere else she wants to be. I want that look to change from one of grateful anticipation to one of absolute certainty. After today she'll never have to wonder, even the tiniest fucking bit, if we'll always be together.

I put the ring back in the box and picked up the phone in the adjoining parlor.

"Hiking? Me? Are you sure about this?" Bella frowned. She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her private dressing chamber and surveyed her outdoorsy-est outfit – tight jeans, Sketchers, and a New York Dolls tank top.

"It'll be fine. There will be plenty of other hikers doing the 'squeeze and I've heard that once you get to the top, it's totally worth it."

"See, right there. It's called the 'squeeze. That can't possibly be a Bella Swan-approved activity. I sense impending doom." She gathered her hair in a ponytail and whipped an elastic band around it. She dug in her pockets and pulled out a bunch of bobby pins, moved her bangs around and slid them strategically in place.

"I called the front desk and they told me it's the one thing you have to make sure you do while you're here." I stood behind her and rested my chin on her shoulder. "If you get freaked out, we can climb down. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. Ya big chicken."

I opened the door so Bella could leave first. Surveying the room one last time in OCD-like fashion, I made sure I had everything. Wallet, phone, keys. Check. And the most important item of all in the pocket of my cargo shorts. I stuck my hand inside and touched the box for the millionth time. It was like having a tiny security blanket in my pocket. My stomach leapt. It won't be long now.

"Come on, Edward!" Bella whined from the hall. "Breakfast is only served for another hour and I'm starving!"

After Bella devoured her gluten-free pancakes and I finished my egg-white omelet, I picked up our trail passes from the front desk and we were on our way.

There were a variety of different hikes we could take; some guided, others not. I wanted the day to be as personal as possible and wasn't really into the idea of being led in a group, but I also thought it wise to have others around in the quite possible event that we lost our way or needed some kind of outdoorsy guidance. We decided on a hike through the rock scramble that would eventually take us up to what was referred to by the locals as the 'lemon squeeze'.

"Two point seven five miles round trip with some moderate to strenuous uphill sections," I recited from the guidebook. "Ever-changing angles of rock surfaces, increasing altitude, blablabla. ...I think we can handle it, what do you say?" I asked Bella with a grin. She squinted up at the mountains and chewed on her lip.

"I think I'll need to be airlifted out of there.

"Nonsense. ...Three hundred sixty degree views of the Hudson Valley at the summit," I read on. "It'll be great. Let's go." I took her hand and pulled her down the gravel path that led to the start of the trail.

"Maybe we could walk through the Victorian maze instead. Down that way...on flat ground," Bella suggested, dragging her feet like a willful puppy.

I stopped in my tracks and sighed, running my fingers through my hair. She wasn't going to make this easy on me. I should have known.

"Sure," I consented. "Yeah, alright, we can do the maze." I didn't want to argue with her. There was no reason – other than the fact that I was going to propose and in a maze was not where I wanted to do it – that under any other circumstances I'd be against getting lost in the woods with my girl. It wasn't in line with my timetable but I'd work around it. Bella kept me on my toes. It's what I loved and what I wanted.

We headed down the east side of the grounds, following the signs for the maze, until we arrived at a larger sign strung across the entrance of the massive hedges that read: Closed for minor renovations. I turned to Bella, whose face had suddenly contracted the fear of all that was holy, and brushed my thumb across the swell of her plump bottom lip.

"Please try the hike with me?" I asked sincerely.

"Ugh. You really wanna do it, don't you?" she sighed and pushed her black sunglasses to the top of her head. "Dammit. You're too damn sexy when you look at me like that. ...Alright, fine. But you're totally doing me doggy-style behind a rock at least once."

Fuck I loved this crass little girl.

...

I kept Bella in my sights at all times. My eyes were always ten steps ahead of her scanning for any possible sign of danger, any opportunity for her to slip into a crevice or lose her balance and stumble off the path. Keeping up with her was a challenge. Once she found her rhythm she was bounding from rock formation to rock formation, steadying herself on tree trunks and hanging limbs. She found a group of hikers that were taking the same route as us and she fell in step with them, following their movements. I watched her observe how they assessed each obstacle. If a rock appeared too slick with condensation, they avoided going right and went left through the mud instead. Her confidence was growing with each bend in the trail and I was glad to see her begin to trust herself without looking back to me each time for reassurance.

We came to a fork in the trail; one made of rubble that went straight down before it curved up, and the other a steep narrow path with very little traction.

Bella followed the rubbled path. I called out to stop her.

"That's not a good idea, Bella. If you fall forward, I won't be there to catch you. Let's go this way. That way if you slip, I'll be behind you."

"But this way's prettier," she protested, taking her first steps down the path.

This was going to be bad. I felt it in my gut. I let her go, but instead of following her, I jogged further up the path we had been following, jumped a boulder, cut through a dense cluster of bush whose bristles painfully slashed the skin on my legs, skidded unexpectedly down a portion of trail where the rock bed had come loose, and eventually managed to link up with the path Bella had chosen about fifty feet in front of her.

"Hey! Where'd you come from?" she called out, a big satisfied smile on her face. She was sweaty, her cheeks smudged with dirt and she picked up the pace to get to me faster.

"No! Bella! Slow down! Watch your step! There's nothing for you to hold onto!"

But it was too late. Her smile turned to panic and the rest was slow motion. Her arm reached out for something to brace against but there were no trees, the rock wall was out of reach. Her legs were unsteady, her equilibrium off balance and all I could do was watch as she slid.

"Edward!" she screeched, knowing she was in trouble. There was no time to answer. I dug my feet in the dirt and took off after her. The rocks slid out from under me and I went over on my ankle but I kept running through the pain. I made it to her just as her footing gave way. She fell into my arms with an ooomph and a cry.

"It's ok. You're ok. You're fine," I hushed, steadying her against my body.

"Shit shit shit, I told you I couldn't do it," she whimpered into my chest. "I told you'd I break my neck and die out here."

"You didn't break your neck and you aren't dead. You didn't even fall."

"Only cuz you were there to catch me. I can't do anything by myself."

"Bullshit," I rolled my eyes. "And it's my job to catch you. If I can't do that, well," I shrugged. "What else am I good for?"

A sexual innuendo was exactly what my pervy Bella needed to take her mind her near-fall. She lifted her head from my chest and looked at me through thick, black lashes. A sly grin curled the corner of her mouth and she tightened her fingers into fists at the hem of my shirt.

"How about we take it behind that wall and I'll help you think of something?" she suggested just like I knew she would.

Bella blew me in record time. Damn my girl was a pro. I didn't even have time to panic about being caught by hikers coming around the bend. In one swift motion she had my cock in her hand and was stroking me to completion. Then she sunk to her knees in the moist grass and I was in her mouth before I could tell her that it'd be just fine if she finished me with her hand. I moaned out loud and knocked the back of my head against the rock as she worked me. It didn't take long before I came hard down her throat with a grunt. Bella was wiping her mouth and had my limp cock tucked in and my shorts zipped up just as a pack of hikers walked up the trail.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly, the salty taste of my cum on her breath. "I feel better now." She kissed me on the tip of my nose and took my hand to lead me.

We continued our hike through the Shawangunk mountains which finally culminated in a passage through a deep crevice of stone wide enough for only one person to pass at a time. It was flat and there were other people around so I went first and Bella followed behind. At the end of the passage was a rope ladder that hung from a narrow opening on the rocky ledge high above. In order to reach the precipice, you had to climb the ladder and squeeze through the ever-tightening sliver of rock until you reached the top. Hopefully someone would already be up there to help pull you out, otherwise you'd need all of your upper body strength to hoist yourself through the opening. But when you did, your reward was the world at your feet and the panorama of a spectacular mountain range exploding on all sides.

"Are you ready?"

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" Bella replied in irritation as she stood at the foot of the rope ladder and looked up into the abyss. "You don't honestly think I'm going to make it up there alive?"

"You made it this far," I answered cheerily.

She gave me the stink eye and crossed her arms at her chest. "Barely," she grumbled watching as those behind us took hold of the ropes and began their ascent through the 'squeeze.

"See? They're all doing it and they're no better or more in shape than you are. And that girl's carrying a huge backpack. She'll probably get stuck at the top," I joked. "Come on, baby. We're almost there. I know you can do it. I'll go up first and pull you through."

Each hiker that walked by had a piece of advice to give as they shimmied up the ladder.

"One hand over the other, one foot at a time."

"I did it with a cast on once."

"My grandma did the 'squeeze last year."

"Mind over matter."

And so on and so on until I was nearly doubled over with laughter. Bella looked at me and her cheeks were red. She was trying to hold it in too.

"Ok, let's do this before I change my mind," she giggled.

"That's my girl," I murmured into her ear, licking her lobe til she moaned.

I took the first step and began to climb. The first few were shaky and the ladder bowed and creaked with the weight of the people that were clinging to it at various stages, but I got the hang of it quickly and could see the light at the top growing brighter.

Every now and then Bella slapped my ass to let me know she was still behind me, or just because it was an excuse to slap my ass - one never knows with Bella. The walls grew closer together, the space for our bodies to fit grew smaller, tighter, until I thought there was a good possibility that I wasn't going to fit. I took shallow breaths of air. There wasn't room to turn my head to look back for Bella. I hoped she was still behind me. My palms were sweaty and my grip slipped from the ropes several times. The hiker in front of me had long reached the top and pulled himself through and the sound of silence all around me was deafening. Rivers of sweat poured down the sides of my face. I was literally wet and nearing a claustrophobic state when I felt the slightest movement of breeze through my arm hairs. And then a sliver of light. And then faint echo of sound. An arm thrust toward me through the opening, catching me off guard.

"Take my hand, man. I gotcha," came a friendly voice. I tentatively let go of the rope ladder and stuck my arm through the murkiness. Our hands clasped together and I felt an instant, sharp tug as I was pulled upwards. My knees scraped against the wall and in seconds I was up and out and the brightness was blinding, the wind whipping through my hair.

"Takes a few minutes for your eyes to adjust," said the gray-haired man in the Grateful Dead shirt who'd helped me.

"Thanks alot," I panted, wiping my brow and brushing the dirt off my legs.

"No problem, man. We can all use a helping hand once in awhile."

I crouched down in front of the opening and called down for Bella. "Baby, you almost there?" A waited through the longest second of my life until I heard her voice call back to me.

"I got dirt in my mouth from your boots!"

I threw my head back and laughed out loud. "Well you can kick my ass when you get up here." I reached into the abyss for her and my heart skipped a beat when I felt her hand take mine. I pulled her out with ease and she threw her arms around my neck.

"I missed you," she whispered dipping her head into my sweaty shoulder.

The view was breathtaking. It was all around us; too much for the eyes to take in at once. The mountain range rippled to the horizon on and on in curves and waves; and the sprawl of the valley below was every shade of green and lush with trees and fields dotted every so often with silos and farmhouses.

"It looks like a painting," Bella gasped. "It's not real. It's from a book."

I took Bella by her waist and sat her gently on the stone wall that lined the perimeter of the plateau. Her legs dangled and the breeze lifted and danced with strands of her hair. The sun was blindingly bright in the cloudless, blue sky, giving everything it touched a golden hue.

"It's so incredibly beautiful up here. It's where dreams are born," Bella said out loud to no one in particular. Her eyes were everywhere but on me, which was fine because the scene sprawled out before us was spectacular, but not fine because I was about to do my thing and I kinda needed her attention.

"Exactly," I began and put my hand on her warm forearm. "Isabella?" She turned to me, like she'd done a million times only this time she immediately recognized that something was different in my eyes. I quickly took her hand in mine to keep hold of the moment.

"Oh my god," she gasped and clapped her other hand over her mouth. "You called me Isabella."

Her eyes widened and I could feel her hand trembling inside mine. She knew what was coming and I chuckled in amazement. My heart was pounding and fresh beads of sweat were sprouting on my forehead and upper lip.

"I know I did, baby." I pushed her knees apart and settled in between them, leaning my weight against the stone wall she was sitting on.

"...That means..." she mumbled from behind her hand unable to verbalize the rest of her thought. Tears pooled in her eyes.

"Just let me get this out ok?" I smiled sweetly. I needed to do this before she came apart.

"Okay," I kissed her hand and sighed. "I didn't think I'd be so nervous. I always knew I'd do this. There's never been any doubt in my mind that you're the one for me. We were made to be together. Wherever we are, whatever we're doing, as long as I'm with you, I'm home. Even when we've been apart and things have been shitty, I always knew the only way I'd ever be complete, that the only way I'd only ever feel better was to be with you."

I took a steadying breath and continued. "I've practiced so many different ways to ask you this one simple question. I've rehearsed so many different things to say to you at this exact moment. But now that we're here, now that I have you in front of me, all I fucking want to do is tell you..."

I took a step back and got down on one knee, still holding her hand in mine and that's when the sobbing started. "Oh Edward..." she cried behind her hand, but I kept going.

"...I love you, Bella. Madly and with all that makes me a man. I promise I will do everything in my power to show you every day how much you mean to me. You are my life."

Without breaking eye contact, I lifted the ring out of my pocket and placed the box in the palm of my outstretched hand.

"Will you make me the luckiest man on earth, and agree to be my wife?"

I opened it so she could see the ring and then I wasn't sure what to do next besides wait for her answer. This is where my rehearsal in front of the mirror usually ended. Now the pressure- filled seconds began to tick. Should I have taken on a more official tone and said, In summation, Miss Swan, I would like to enter into a legally-binding agreement with you to become my spouse and power of attorney over my generous wealth and inheritance.

Bella stared at the ring with those wide, brown eyes of hers. If there was a way to kill someone with the power of a pause, she could do it.

"You didn't say please," she sob-hiccup-laughed, taking her hand away from her mouth to reveal her blotchy, tear-stained face.

"Of course I didn't," I chuckled, letting out a deep sigh. "How thoughtless of me." I cleared my throat and gave her my best heated stare.

"Please, Isabella, with a cherry on top...honor me. Marry me."

A tiny crowd of hikers had gathered at the light house behind me and were watching my curious attempt at a proposal unfold. They weren't close enough to be intrusive, but close enough for us to hear their conversation.

"Mm, if she doesn't marry him, I will, honey. That boy is fiiiiiine."

Bella hiccuped-laughed again and I grinned, nodding over my shoulder. "You heard the woman."

"Actually it was the guy who said it," Bella corrected in between sniffles.

I was still on bended knee with my heart in my hands.

"And?" This was about to get embarrassing.

She started crying again, softer this time, with not as much stuttered breathing. Her hands were still shaking when she cupped them under my jaw. She scooted forward on the wall and I was about to stand when she reached the edge and plopped down onto the ground and sat in the dirt in front of me. I was still on my knees with the ring in my hand, waiting for an answer. She took hold on my shoulders and pulled me to her so her back was flush against the stone.

"So that's what this trip was about?" she whispered against my lips. "Edward? You did all this - you brought me all this way so you could ask me to marry you?"

I nodded. There was nothing more to say. That's exactly why I brought her here.

"You're so amazing," she whimpered, her bottom lip quivering. "But you could have asked me in the parking lot of the train station and I would have said yes."

I nodded again and nuzzled my stubbly cheek into her hands. "Isn't this much more romantic?" I asked innocently. I kissed her palm and she inhaled slowly and exhaled.

"Yes."

I pulled my head back to see her better. "Yes? ...You mean, yes as in yes it's much more romantic or..."

She snaked her fingers around mine and pulled me in. We were nose to nose and I could smell her sweat.

"I mean yes as in, Yes, Edward Cullen. I will be your wife."

And it was my turn for my hands to shake and my throat to tighten. I pulled the ring off its cushion and slid it down Bella's slender finger. A perfect fit. She held it up and watched it glitter in the sunlight.

"Oh Edward," she cried, her words tripping out of mouth. "It's perfect. I love it. I love you." She launched her weight at me, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tight. I stood and pulled her up with me. I lifted her in my arms and she wrapped her legs around my waist and we stayed joined like that for minutes, hours, I'll never know how long and it didn't matter. There was the sound of faint clapping in the background but all I cared about was the feel of my girl in my arms and the smell of her hair and the salt of her tears and my ring on her finger and our future together.

"I'm so happy," I murmured into her hair, smoothing it as she clung to me. "You've made me so so happy, my Bella. You have no idea."

She cried into my shoulder and moved her lips across my neck. "I think I just might."

...

The climb down the mountain was a blur of sliding and kissing and holding and smiling and touching and stopping to make out on rocks and giggling and making plans for the future.

"Who should we call first?" Bella asked catching her breath, her arms snaked around my neck.

"Congratulations, man," said a passing hiker with dread-locks piled at the top of his head in a colorful bandanna. "I saw your proposal at the lighthouse. Right on." He held out his fist and I bumped mine into his knuckles.

"Thanks," I said politely.

"Yeah, she's hot. ...Sorry, miss," he corrected and spoke directly to Bella. "I just thought he should know that he's a lucky dude. You're a fine woman. No offense, bro."

"Uh, yeah. None taken, man. Thanks."

"Awesome ink," he said, pointing at the red ribbon on Bella's shoulder. She blushed and shook the hiker's hand and he grinned and took off down the cliffside.

"Ooookay. That was random," I said, sliding my hands through my sweaty hair.

"He was sweet," Bella gushed. "So anyway, my first thought is to call Alice cuz she'll pout if she doesn't hear before Emmett or Jazz."

"I think it should be your father."

"Fuck!" Bella twirled in place and stamped her foot in the dirt. "We haven't even thought about how we're going to break this to Charlie! You really should have done that thing guys do when they ask the father for permission first. Charlie would have eaten that shit up. It would have given him a giant Chief of Police power trip."

I stood with my arms folded and shook my head in endless amusement. Bella bit her lip ring between her teeth and squinted at me. "What are you finding so terrifically amusing this time, Mr. Cullen?" she accused, hands on hips.

"Only that I asked your father's permission the last time we were in Forks. Which was also when I bought your engagement ring." I couldn't help the satisfied smile that curled the corners of my mouth.

"You sneak!" She pushed her hands into my chest. "Both of you! He's known this whole time and never said anything!"

I chuckled and nodded.

"That means, you've been waiting to do this for months," she deduced sadly.

I took a deep breath and pulled her into my sweaty embrace. Kissing her hair I murmured, "So many times, baby. There were so many times when I wanted to ask you. I was planning on asking you the day be got back from Forks, but..."

"Jake tried to kill you," Bella finished.

"Yeah. Kinda put a damper on my proposal plans. Although I did consider asking you from my hospital bed, but I couldn't get down on one knee with the IV attached to my arm."

We were quiet for a moment on the mountainside and then Bella started to shake in my arms. I wasn't sure if she was ill or crying. Turns out she was neither. She was laughing.

"Oh god Edward, our lives have been so fucked up. Do you think we can do this?"

"Do what?"

"Be normal married people?"

"Normal? You? And me? Uh, no," I laughed. "But I don't want to be normal. Normal is boring, and I'm never bored when I'm with you. Promise me we'll never be normal."

...

The phone started to ring and immediately I pictured it disturbing some important high-level investigative reporting that Charlie was working on. My hands trembled in anticipation of hearing his irritation at my insensitivity on the other end.

"Swan," came the gruff, monotone voice and I cleared my throat.

"Hello, sir? I mean, Chief Swan? This is Edward Cullen."

"Hello Edward. Is everything alright? You sound out of breath."

"Yes, sir. Everything is fine. It's more than fine actually. I'll get to the point. ...Isabella, um, Bella's agreed to marry me, sir, and I wanted you to be the first to know."

There was silence on the other end and I began to panic. Each second that ticked by was torture. What if he'd changed his mind about me after all that happened since I'd asked for Bella's hand? Had he heard about my questionable behavior in Forks during my last visit? My pounding of Mike Newton on high school grounds, the public humiliation and pummeling of Royce King in front of all his douchebag friends? If he gave me a chance, I'd explain it all; how they deserved it, how Mike Newton was selling shitty drugs laced with baby powder to high school kids and how Royce King used my sister for his personal punching bag. I'd make him understand that I would never let anything like that happen to his daughter. I would never treat Bella like anything other than a princess. I wasn't like that anymore. Bella had calmed me. She'd changed me for the better.

"Um...sir?" I croaked into the receiver and I finally heard a rustling sound on the other end.

"That's wonderful news, Edward. Really wonderful. About damn time you worked up the nerve to ask her."

I let out a grateful laugh. "You couldn't be more right about that, Chief Swan. Thank you, sir. I'm a lucky man. Well, let me put Bella on. She's practically clawing the phone out of my hand."

Bella stuck her tongue out at me and swiped my cell from my fingers squealing daddyyy! before she even got it to her ear. I'd never heard Bella refer to her father as daddy and I could only imagine what hearing those words did to Charlie's heartstrings. I sat on a fallen tree trunk and waited patiently. Eventually she returned to me with the phone in her hand and dried tear-stains on her cheeks.

"He said he'll come anywhere for the wedding. It doesn't matter where we have it or what we do, he said he'll be there," she cried.

"Of course he will," I said, gathering her in my arms. "You're his little girl. That will never change."

We called Renee next and I don't think I understood one word of the conversation that transpired between her and Bella. All it sounded like was a mish-mosh of shrieks and cries and garbled vowels. And when I got on the phone it wasn't much better. Renee was in quite a tizzy over the news and I did my best to keep up by saying things like, "Yes, Renee...I promise...I love you, too Renee...Yes of course I'll take care of her...Thank you...yes, I love you too..."

Alice and Jasper were elated at the news and Alice bitched Jasper out for knowing and not telling her. They both promised not to say a word until we'd told everyone ourselves and we made plans to go out for celebratory drinks once we got back to the city.

"Emmett's working double's this whole weekend so you could go away with Edward. Just be prepared for his shitty attitude when you call the club," Alice warned.

Since we weren't sure what mood we'd find him in, we decided to put Emmett on speaker. He picked up on the first ring.

"Bowery...yeah I fucking said I'd do it, I'm on the phone...yeah, hello, Bowery."

"Emmy? It's Bella and Edward!" Bella squealed.

"Fuck," he groaned. "What happened now? Do you need to be bailed out of some backwater jailhouse?"

"No-ah. Nothing happened. Jesus," Bella rolled her eyes. "Why is that the first thing everyone asks us when we call?"

"Because you two are like Indian Point. You could blow at any moment." I had to laugh at that one. Emmett knew us pretty well.

"So how's it going out there? You didn't fall headfirst off a cliff yet and it's been almost an entire day. I'd say that's a record."

"Ha," Bella snorted. "We are going headfirst into something though. ...We're getting married!"

"...We are? Aren't you supposed to ask me first? And where's my ring? What's Edward going to say about this?"

"Shut up, Emmett! I mean me and Edward are getting married?"

"Today?" he asked sarcastically and I could hear the tinge of laughter in his voice. He was fucking with Bella. He knew exactly what was going on and he wanted to torture her. My man-crush on Emmett was official. Well, it was official the night he saved me from bleeding to death on the pavement outside Bella's building but this marked a close second.

"No, not today, you big jerk! Edward asked me to marry him today and I said yes! Aren't you happy for us?"

Emmett paused and sighed and the noise in the background faded and when he spoke next he spoke clearly and quietly. "Yeah...I am. I really am. I mean it, Bella. Congratulations. ...Edward, congratulations, man. 'bout time."

"Thanks, Emmett," I beamed. "So I've been told."

"Emmy, are you crying? You sound funny."

"Me? I'm not fucking crying. I'm...I'm in the stockroom. Bad connection."

Bella put the phone to her chest and looked at me with her mouth hanging open. Oh my god I think he's CRYING, she mouthed and then put the receiver to her ear.

"I love you so much, Emmy. You'll always be my best guy."

"And you'll always be my pain in the ass."

"I know," she grinned, swaying in place. "Some things never change."

"Hey don't say anything to Rosalie," I interrupted. "I want to tell her before I call my parents."

Rosalie freaked out. I don't really know how else to describe it. She had just come from apartment hunting - yes, again - and was walking through midtown when we told her. If it had been anyone other than a tall, pretty, very well-dressed blonde girl jumping up in down in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral you would have thought they were an escaped mental patient.

"Did you call home yet?" she yelled over the honking of traffic and roar of pedestrians.

"No not yet."

"Oh my god you have to call them now! Mom will freak! And daddy..." she paused. "Daddy's going to be real happy, Edward. I know he will be. Bella! We're going to be sisters!"

"I know! I'm so excited!" Bella yelled back and it echoed all around us. "I've always wanted a sister!"

"Me too! I love my brother, he's my twin, we're two peas in a pod, but I'm sure he would have passed on hearing about my periods if he had the choice growing up. I love you both!"

"We love you too, sis. Now watch where you're walking before a crazy cabbie takes you out," I chuckled and inwardly cringed knowing that she was probably wearing some crazy high heels that wouldn't help matters when she dodged oncoming traffic at an intersection.

Bella couldn't stop staring at the rock on her finger as we strolled back to the lodge. She held her hand up in front of her face and twirled her fingers in front of her eyes. The sun was setting low, throwing brilliant reds and oranges and yellows across the sky.

"Edward," Bella sighed. "You still haven't called your parents."

"It's a three hour time difference," I shrugged. "My dad's probably still at the hospital."

"You're avoiding."

"I am not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not. Come on, let's go up to the room." I flashed her my bedroom eyes and slid my hand across the meat of her hip.

She pulled away from me and pouted.

"Why don't you want to tell them?"

"I do want to tell them. Of course I do. They're my parents."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

How could I make her understand without insulting my family and without making her feel like crap?

How about starting on the right foot and telling her the truth...

"Bella, today has been perfect in every way. I asked you to marry me and you said yes and we called our friends and they were incredible and we called your parents and they were so happy."

I sat her down on the wooden bench with the expanse of the glistening lake behind us and dusk cooling our overheated skin and I held both of her dirty hands in my dirtier ones.

"My parents will be happy, too. Rosalie's right. They'll be ecstatic. ...But what if it's not the same? What if it's not the reaction you were hoping for? Renee set the bar pretty fucking high today and I don't think anyone can top that amount of enthusiasm. But the thing is, my beautiful fiance, you deserve that enthusiasm. I'm used to not getting it, it doesn't bother me, but I don't want anything to spoil this day for you."

Bella snort-laughed and pulled me down to sit next to her on the bench. "Is that what you're worried about? Seriously? Edward, I love you, but you're crazy."

"I'm trying to be profound," I mumbled like a hurt puppy.

"I know baby, and I don't mean to laugh, but you're selling your family short. They're amazing. Yeah they give really shitty first impressions, with the exception of Rosalie, but your father has changed. I see it, why can't you? That day in the hospital when he was standing outside your door with that skank-ho, and later that same day when he came to my apartment to bring me back to you - he was trying to be strong, but I could see through his weak mask. You were broken and he knew that I was the medicine you needed. It's a shame that's what it took to get him to see the error of his ways. Not even a heart-attack of his own could do that. But you...almost losing you...it put things in perspective for him. Shit, he's been back to visit us three times since you got out of the hospital and every time you make excuses and say it's because of business when you know damn well it's because of you."

I was silent, letting the truth of her words sink in. Bella was right - my father had been back to visit and each time he spent more time bugging me than he did at the medical conferences he was supposedly in town for. My mother was looking better too. She told me they'd started counseling and that my father was participating and opening up about the demons inside him. She said it was scary and they often left the session in tears but she could feel the fissures mending.

"Alright. You're right." I stood and dug my phone from my pocket. Bella stood too, her mouth slightly ajar like she'd been ready to argue with me but now had nothing to say since I had agreed with her. The line on the other end rang and rang and went to voicemail.

"You've reached Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Leave a message at the tone."

I did, asking him to call me back.

"See?" I sighed dejectedly, shoving my phone back in my pocket. "Voicemail. Typical."

"He'll call you back. ...What about your mom?" Bella pushed.

"Can we go upstairs first? I need to lie down for a minute." All the excitement of the afternoon had me ignoring the fact that I'd turned my ankle in a direction it wasn't physically designed to go when we were on the mountain and now that we were off the trail, the pulsing ache had set in and it was painful to put weight on it.

"My god, what happened?" Bella exclaimed, bending down to take a closer look. My ankle was swollen fat inside my sock and dark pink and hot to the touch.

"Nature happened," I winced. "She kicked my ass up there."

"Oh did she?" Bella asked sarcastically. "I didn't notice her kicking your ass, Mr. Watch me jump from this boulder to that one in a single bound."

"Just trying to impress my future fiance." I limped along leaning lightly on her shoulder for support.

"So this happened before the lemon squeeze and you didn't say anything?"

"I had more important things I wanted to say," I reminded her with a kiss.

We returned to our room slowly and one step at a time. The nurses station had some quality painkillers waiting for me on the bedside table and a note to call any time if I needed assistance or medical attention. The bedsheets were turned down and the lamplights were on the most muted setting, mimicking the final moments of the sun setting outside our windows. I sat on the bed and Bella helped me remove my Timberlands and socks. I took two painkillers and laid back on the mountain of pillows. Bella ran a bath and gave me a slow striptease in the doorway down to nothing but her thong and the ring on her finger. I propped up on my elbows and watched her from the tops of my eyes, my erection straining in my shorts. Bella took notice and strolled into the room, stopping just shy of the edge of the bed.

"How ya feeling, handsome?" she asked throatily. I reached out to cup her breasts in my hands but she stepped out of reach. "Oooh, dirty boy. Are you ready to join me in the tub?" She turned away to torture me with the full curves of her bare, sumptuous ass and began walking back into the bathroom. I slid out of bed and limped after her.

The bubbles were lush and filled the enormous claw-footed porcelain tub to the point that they spilled over as we sunk into them. I pulled Bella between my legs, making sure to tuck my erection against my inner thigh so it wouldn't jab her in the back.

"Thank you for doing this," I whispered into her wet hair. I pulled the elastic band out of her ponytail and fanned her dark locks over my shoulder.

"Anything for you, " she sighed, nestling her back against the slickness of my chest. The water lapped under her chin and the aromatherapy bubbles piled around us in spongy mountains. The heat and mint and eucalyptus soaked into my skin and weary muscles. Steam beaded on my lips and forehead and I held my future wife in my wet arms.

"I can't wait to be Mrs. Edward Cullen," Bella sighed as if reading my mind. "I used to wonder if the day would ever come for us."

I ran my hands over her breasts and down her torso to rest in the concave of her stomach just below her belly button. "Not me," I said in the hollow at the back of her ear. "...You've always been Mrs. Cullen to me."

BPOV

I stood alone in front of the floor length mirror in my private dressing room wrapped in nothing but a thick off-white towel. My hair was damp and gathered off my neck in a clip. No make-up. No face art. Just me.

One by one I had taken out the small silver ring in my bottom lip, and the tiny stud in my eyebrow. I slid the dainty silver barbell out of my tongue and the small hoop in the cartilage of my right ear. I held them in the palm of my hand and looked at my reflection. All that remained were the tiny diamond studs in my earlobes that my mom had given me for my sixteenth birthday and the engagement ring on my finger that Edward gave me that afternoon. And I was still me. I was more me than I ever had been.

There was a knock on the door and Edward stuck his handsome head in.

"May I come in?"

"Sure," I smiled, placing the tiny items in my make-up bag. He walked towards me wearing only PJ bottoms and nothing else – his tight torso and defined abs still sporting a few beads of water from our bath earlier. His hair was damp and mussed and everywhere, just the way I like it. And holy shit, that's right. I'm marrying him.

He held out his cell phone.

"Someone would like to speak to you."

"Uhhh," I raised my eyebrows and reached hesitantly.

"It's ok," he mouthed. I took the phone, he kissed the top of my damp head and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Hu-hullo?" I stuttered, putting the phone to my ear.

"Good evening, Isabella."

Holy shit.

It was Carlisle. He'd called back and he wanted to speak to me.

Instantly shaky in the knees, I lowered myself onto the plush chaise lounge. I should probably be sitting for this one.

"Good evening, sir. I mean, Dr. Cullen. Sir." Oh this was convo was off to a greeeat start, I thought, rolling my eyes.

"Please, my dear. We've advanced far beyond these overly polite greetings, haven't we?" he asked with a chuckle. "You needn't address me in the same manner you did the day we met. After all, I shall soon be able to call you my daughter, which changes the nature of our relationship immensely, don't you think?"

"I, uh,-"

"Although I already consider you a part of my family."

My mouth hung wide. I was speechless. I told Edward his father had changed, which he had, but I was still nervous around him, even on the phone with him, uncomfortable in my own skin, itchy and wanting more than anything for him to like me. Dr. Cullen had a presence about him; unnervingly handsome and brilliant and, fuck it all he made Edward. That in itself caused the intimidation factor to skyrocket.

"And as a member of my family," he continued, oblivious to the fact that he had me quaking in my towel. "You are no longer to call me Dr. Cullen or Sir. How you choose to address me is up to you, but those two are out of the question. Are we in agreement?"

"Yes," I answered quickly.

"Good. Now on to more important things, which include me putting you on speakerphone so my wife will stop bobbing in front of me like George Foreman."

At that moment Edward walked back into the room and I was saddened that his immaculate bod was now covered by a lightweight button down and dark jeans. He was barefoot though, which always gets my ovaries in a bunch. Edward's feet are sexxxy delicious.

He kissed me on my lips with just enough tongue and just enough breath to speed my heart before the other line clicked over and his parents voices were in my ear.

"They have me on speaker," I mouthed, pointing at the phone. Edward nodded and sat next to me on the lounge.

"Isabella?" Carlisle called out from the other end of the phone. "Can you hear me? We're in my study which is much like being in a tin can."

"No, it's ok, I can hear you," I said a little louder than how I'd been speaking before. Edward's long fingers were playing with the hem of my towel.

"Isabella, darling! It's Esme!"

"Hi, Esme!" I chirped. It was so nice to hear her voice; always friendly, always inviting. Edward's fingers were now traveling up the part in the towel where it crosses at the center of my body.

"Carlisle and I are busting, absolutely busting at the seams over the news of you and Edward's engagement! We couldn't be more thrilled to announce it to the rest of our family and to Carlisle's co-workers and associates. We insist on throwing a party either in Forks or New York and your parents must come – both of them and don't you dare mention cost, young lady!"

"Yes, ma'am," I giggled as Edward reached the point where I had the towel knotted near my armpit. He tugged once to loosen it and twice to slip his hand inside. I whore-moaned as the terry-cloth fell away and Edward's hand found my bare breast. His face was serious as he watched his fingers manipulate and harden my nipple until I could barely form a coherent sentence.

"Bella? Are you there? ...Maybe we've lost the connection. This damn study..." Carlisle mumbled.

"I'm still here!" I blurted out as Edward pushed me back on the chaise and tossed the towel to the floor leaving me completely nude underneath him. He began kissing down my neck, pushing my legs apart and settling in between them. I was already wet and he knew it because his fingers were at my slit and pushing inside. I hissed and threw my head to the side, pinning the phone between my ear and the pillow of the chaise. My hands were in his hair as he tongued and nibbled my erect nipples and slipped a second finger inside me.

"Well we just wanted to say congratulations again, dear, and we'll see you soon. Is Edward there?" his mother asked. I jerked my head up and our eyes met. His burned with need and desire. He shook his head 'no' and went back to my breast.

"Um, no Esme, he's in the bathroom," I gasped as Edward thumbed circles over my clit.

"Funny that's where he said you were. ...Alright then, give him our love and you as well." I don't know if she was finished talking but I said kluvubye and hung up as quickly as I could. I flung the phone to the carpeted floor and found the top button of Edward's shirt and began undoing them as he kissed his way back up my torso.

"Mmfuck you taste so good," he mumbled against my throat, lifting off me and resting on his knees so I could get to the rest of his buttons. I tossed his shirt to the floor and attacked his chest with my teeth and nails. He withdrew his fingers from my wetness and unbuckled his belt. We were both breathing heavily, panting, wanting, ravenous; our first sex as an engaged couple was going to be on the chaise lounge in the vanity room of my dressing chamber. How tacky and posh at the same time.

Edward pushed his jeans over his ass and down and off and his boxers went with them and he was sprung free and rock hard. He spread my knees apart and laid his perfect body out over me. He worshiped me with his mouth and hands. I was squirming, soaked, begging for him to be inside me and with a sharp thrust he was and I was filled with his warmth and pressure. I cried out and he hissed each time he pulled out and thrusted back in. It was pervy, awkward, borderline uncomfortable sex on a chair that was way not long enough for Edward's way long legs and body, and the "pillow" it came with was not very "pillowy" at all, yet something about the way Edward made it comfortable for me, the way he held the back of my head in his palm to support my neck while he moved in me, the lusted love-filled look of devotion in his dark green eyes as he poured into me, the feeling of his hot sweaty skin sliding against mine and the effort it must have taken for him to brace his weight and keep from crushing me; dear God I loved him more in that one moment of lovemaking than is possible to convey in words. Edward Cullen is my dream realized and alive and he loves me.

When it was over, and he had made me come twice just on egotistical principle, he picked me up and switched positions with me so I could rest on his body and he took the uncomfy spot against the back of the chair. I didn't want him to clean me off like I knew he would try to do with a warm washcloth and soap between my legs. I wanted to be dirty and sticky and smell like him and if I licked my skin I wanted to taste like him. I wanted to be bound to him.

"I want to get a tattoo," he said suddenly, the tepid air around us filling with the sound of his beautiful voice. I lifted my head from its spot on Edward's damp chest and gave him my knitted brow look of confusion.

"You do? It really fucking hurts, yknow."

"Yeah," he sighed, stroking my back with his skillful fingers. "I know. But I want one."

"Of what?"

"Well, I was thinking we could get one together. At the same time."

"You want me to get a tattoo with you?"

Hmm, interesting. I'm listening.

He smiled and nodded. "Cuz I'm going to be scared shitless and having you there will make me feel stupid for crying but it will make me feel better overall because you'll be there with me." He was rambling and it was so cute I thought I'd implode. I stroked the side of his face with my hand.

"...And I was thinking that we could get...well, I was hoping that you might get..." He was blushing pink from the heat of his post-orgasmic state and the embarrassment of what he wanted to ask me.

"Just tell me, Edward," I said softly, moving up his body to kiss his mouth. "I'm sure I'll love it if you thought of it."

"The Cullen crest. My family crest. I was hoping you'd get that...on you. Like, my mark or something. I dunno," he shrugged, blushing even harder. My breathing hitched. Edward's mark was already carved in my heart. Putting it on my skin seemed like the natural thing to do...and the fact that he asked me, that he wanted it there, that it would brand me his for everyone to see, it would make him proud of his family and that I was now an official part of it, I belonged in the crest, too. Tears fell from my eyes.

"Of course I'll get your mark on me," I whispered against his lips.

"And I want yours on me," he fluttered his lips against mine and I tingled all over.

"I don't have a family crest...unless they make divorce crests," I snerked. He rubbed my shoulders and I had a feeling his legs were falling asleep from my weight on them but he'd never say anything.

"I was thinking of..." and there was the blush again in his already rosy cheeks reddened by the bright sun.

"Stop blushing, it's turning me on," I moaned low, grinding my pelvic bone into his.

"Mmm, this is why what I'm thinking of is perfect," he growled, shifting his growing erection so it pressed into my inner thigh.

"Do share."

"A swan," he said simply. "They're fascinating creatures. They mate for life. They can also be homosexual or transgender, which is hot. They are a symbol of inspiration found throughout literary history. A good woman is a rare bird, as rare on earth as a black swan. ...Your Swan song will call to me even when you're a Cullen."

My heart pounded in my chest - I knew Edward could feel it on his - and the tears streamed down my face as I nodded yes, yes to all of it.

"I think that's the most beautiful thing you have ever said to me," I gushed kissing him like mad with my palms flat against his cheeks.

"Wait til you hear my vows," he mumbled into my mouth with a grin.

In one swoop he picked me up and carried me into the bedroom where we would spend the rest of the night ordering room service and watching movies and making love and laughing and talking about everything and anything that had happened to us so far in our crazy life together and all the craziness that awaited us. No topic was off-limits - old lovers, mistakes, regrets - none if that stuff mattered. It was just him and me, Bella and Edward, girl and boy, soon-to-be man and wife, and nothing would break our bond. People had tried and failed to pull us apart but we always found our way back together. We were permanent - he was the upside to my downtown and I was never going to let him go.


Thanks again for reading. Please give me your final reviews and let me know what you think of the ending xoxo