A/N: Love to you all.. that's all I can say! *huggles*

To my wonderful team of ladies: Sandy, Nikki, Mandi & Dawn- thank you! Pixiekat... what can I say.. I love you so much!

Enjoy!

9 Months later

BPOV

I scanned the crowds looking for anything familiar. But with me being on the short side, it was hard to see much beyond a sea of heads. So I spent my time ducking and weaving around people, hoping for a glimpse of who I was looking for.

"Their plane just landed, Bella. They may not have even deplaned yet. Have some patience, babe." I could hear the amusement in his voice but I was too excited to reply with actual words. So I let my annoyance show in the only way I knew how, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I'm excited, Edward, sue me. I haven't seen them in ages." I turned away from him and resumed scanning people. Just as I was starting to look to my left I heard a voice I knew all too well.

"BELLA!" I pivoted toward the sound and when I saw my best friend all pretenses of behaving went out the window.

"ALICE!" I screamed back as I ran toward her. I swept her up in a hug because I was just a tad taller than her and I could.

"You're here!"

"I've missed you!'

"So happy to see you!'

Our words mixed and melded with each other's and we didn't give one shit. I pulled her into another hug, trying desperately to blink away tears. It had been one long year since I'd seen her last. With me moving permanently to North Carolina, getting a wonderful new job and Alice's many commissions, we could never get our schedules to match up. Even over the holidays we managed to miss each other by mere hours.

To say I was ecstatic to see her would be a huge understatement.

"Don't I get any hugs, suga?" drawled Jasper. Never letting Alice go, I spun to face her fiancé to see him and Edward watching us with bemused expressions.

"I guess," I sighed dramatically. Dropping my arm from around Alice I wrapped my arms around his neck only to have him spin me around.

"Glad to see you, Bella. You're looking good." He moved his lips closer to my ear and whispered, "He treatin' ya right? If not, I think I can take him."

I laughed and kissed his cheek. "Things are perfect, Jasper. He's perfect. Now put me down."

When my feet finally touched the ground, I slid over to Edward who was watching everything with rapt attention. Wanting him to know that I haven't forgotten him in my excitement, I twined our hands together and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Edward, you already know Alice and let me introduce you to her fiancé Jasper Whitlock. Jazz, this is Edward."

Before Edward could speak, Alice flew at him and wrapped him up in a hug.

"It's so good to see you again. You treating my girl right?'

Edward gave her an affectionate squeeze back. "Good to see you too Alice. Yes, I'm treating her good. Why don't you ask her if she's treating me good?"

"Because we'll always take her side," quipped Jasper as he held out his hand. "Nice to finally meet ya. With as much as Alice talks about you, I feel like I already know you."

Edward gripped the outstretched hand and nodded. "Good to meet you as well, Jasper. I feel the same way. Bella is always Alice and Jasper this or Alice and Jasper that." Both men chuckled.

"Okay, now that the pleasantries are over, let's get their luggage and head home," I commanded.

"Yes, dear," intoned Edward and Jasper at the same time.

I scrunched up my face in mock anger as I flipped them the bird. Alice and I linked arms as we stalked off toward baggage claim.

Less than an hour after we had gathered their bags we were pulling into the driveway of our house. We hadn't done mucht o the outside, as Marcus had the yard pretty well landscaped. I had added a few small flower beds, but that was about it. It was inside where we made the most changes.

"I can't wait to show you the inside and all that we've done," I said to Alice.

Of course the tour would have to wait, because as soon as the car was parked, Mike and Jake came running out screaming for Alice. They swooped her up in a giant hug, talking so rapidly it was even hard for me to keep up.

"That's Mike and Jake, Edward's friends. The tall, dark haired one is Jake, Mike is the blonde," I whispered to Jasper.

A smile broke out across his face. "Aah, nice to put faces to the names."

I grabbed his had to pull him over to the excited trio. "Let me introduce you." We walked over and I hip-checked Alice when she didn't notice we were standing next to her. "Excuse me ladies, but I have a wonderful man that I'd like to introduce. Jasper, this is Jake and Mike, guys, this is Jasper."

"Nice to meet you," exclaimed Jake who pulled Jasper in for a sudden hug. I giggled at Jasper's surprised reaction. "You are a cutie," Jake quipped when the hug ended. "You did good, Ali!" he winked at her and they both started laughing.

"Sorry about these two, they're nothing but trouble together," joked Mike. We all laughed because we knew how true his statement was. "Nice to meet you," he stated as he stuck out his hand to Jasper. They shook hands and I felt Edward slide up next to me.

"Okay, let's get everyone inside and situated," said Edward. With a chorus of agreements, everyone pitched in to grab luggage and filed into the house.

While the boys took the luggage downstairs, I looped my arm through Alice's arms; my excitement at having her here at last was threatening to bubble over. "Come on; let me show you what we did with the place."

I took her through the brighter and more inviting kitchen, then into the freshly painted dining and living rooms. "We just painted and added new furniture here, nothing major." With us still arm in arm, I steered her toward the stairs and to where most of the renovations had taken place.

As soon as we were out of earshot, Alice pounced on me. "How has Edward been doing living here?" There was real concern in her voice.

"Good now. The first couple months were rough, but we've worked through it. Now, I think it's a good thing we're here." I was so busy bringing her through the new bathroom and study that I didn't see the thoughtful look on Alice's face.

"You're really happy here, aren't you?" she asked.

I turned to look at her before I nodded my head. "I am, Alice." I smiled at her with the surety in my words. "It felt weird at first, but once we got settled and I found a job, everything just started to feel right. I truly believe that this is where I'm meant to be, we both are." I shrugged at her. I wasn't sure if I could put into words how much this place felt like home. It could be due to the fact I was with Edward, or maybe it was the happy memories attached to Wilmington. Whatever it was, I had long accepted it as a sign that it was meant to be.

As we finished touring the completely remodeled and refurbished master bedroom, Alice grabbed my hand. I whirled to face her and was greeted by a wide smile.

"I'm so proud of you, Bella. After Quil…" she paused to take a deep breath and to quell the slight quivering of her lower lip. "I thought I'd lost you to your pain. Seeing you with Edward, so happy and in love, that's all I've ever wanted for you." She engulfed me in a rather tight hug and I couldn't but help hug her back.

"Thank you, Alice. If it wasn't for your silly summer fling idea, I don't think I'd be standing here. You gave me the push I needed." We hugged again and that was how Edward found us a moment later.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but we were wondering when you were going to rejoin us."

Alice and I both laughed and separated although we kept our arms linked.

"We're fine, babe. Is Mike whining that he's hungry?"

Edward laughed, "Yes and he's threatened to start without us if I didn't find you two and bring you back."

With a shake of my head, I followed Edward back downstairs where there was a whirlwind of activity already in progress. Jake and Jasper had the grill fired up and food in bowls ready for lunch. Alice walked over to where Jasper was talking to Mike as he was keeping an eye on the grill, and I couldn't help but smile. There was a time when I thought I didn't deserve all the happiness that surrounded me. But being with Edward had never felt more right and I'd come to realize that Edward was my home. Wherever he would be, I'd be there too. I wasn't sure what the future held for us, but I was confident that our love could face any challenges that came our way.

EPOV

It was nice to be surrounded by our friends, celebrating the positive changes in our lives. Mike and Jake brought out their wedding pictures and we fawned over them. We could see the pure happiness in their eye even in the pictured. I remember feeling it in person, it made me long for my own perfect ending. Even Alice got a little teary-eyed as she flipped through them.

Looking at Bella, I hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

We spent the next few days just relaxing and hanging out. We went to the beach and surfed. It was funny watching Jasper try to learn how to surf. I had to hand it to him, he was determined to stay on the board from start to finish. Luckily for him, he managed to stay upright on his third day of learning. We celebrated that night with great seafood and drinks at the Tiki Hut restaurant where Bella and I had our first date.

It was the last full day that our friends would be with us and we decided to keep it low key day and head to the beach again. We got there early to scope out the best spot and had fun spending time together and talking. Wanting a little quiet time with Bella, I asked her to join me for a walk on the beach. She agreed with a smile as I helped her up. When she was busy slipping on her sandals I gave a quick wink to Jake who returned it with a thumbs up.

At first our walk was silent, just holding hands and enjoying the beautiful scenery around us.

"It was nice to have them here for a visit, Edward," stated Bella. She squeezed my hand in appreciation. "Thank you for suggesting they come."

I shrugged off her praise. Didn't she know I would do anything to make her smile? I knew she was missing Alice something fierce. It was in the way she acted after she spoke to her, happy, but with a touch of sadness.

"It was no biggie, babe. I wanted to see my friends just as much. I'm just glad Mike and Jake didn't scare Jasper off."

We both laughed as we thought about the other night when he walked in on them going at in their room. He bolted up the stairs like his pants were on fire and went straight outside to sit by the river. The three of us watched in wonder and when he didn't come back in after a few minutes Alice went outside while I went down stairs to see if I could figure out what happened. As I stepped off the last step, Jake and Mike were coming out of their room with messed hair and p Mike was still tucking his shirt in.

"Did he…?" I asked, unable to actually say the words, too amused that someone else was subjected to seeing their anal peep show.

Jake was at least modest enough to blush in embarrassment. But not Mike, he had a cat ate the canary look on his face. He shrugged at me as if to say what 'was the big deal?'

"It's not my fault he walked into a closed room without knocking," he drawled as walked upstairs.

I looked back at Jake, who just smiled and walked away.

"Poor Jasper! He couldn't look them in the face the rest of the day," chuckled Bella.

I laughed along with her.

We continued our walk in silence until we came upon the same place we went parasailing for the first time. I took a deep breath before I pulled us to a stop.

"What's up Edward?"

I nodded over at the shack. "Wanna go? You know, for old time's sake?"

She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "We probably shouldn't. We have our friends here. We can come back tomorrow."

"Ooh, come on Bella," I chided her. "They'll be fine. Here, let me text them." I whipped out my phone and shot a quick text to Jake. A few short moments later, he replied. I turned my phone over so she could see it.

Have fun. Will see u when u get back

"See, they're okay with it. Please, Bella?" I pouted and gave her my best puppy dog eyes. "Please, for me?" I implored her.

She rolled her eyes as she gave me a little nudge. "Fine! But you're not allowed to use those eyes on me for at least six months," she scolded.

I let out a little whoop of joy and this time it was me that was pulling Bella toward the staging area. Her only response was to laugh at my antics. In short order, we had the disclaimers signed and Bella was off to get harnessed. With her distracted, I took some time to send another text with one simple word…

NOW!

As I was busy being harnessed I couldn't help but feel the same butterflies I felt the last time we did this. While back then I was feeling anxious and scared out of my wits, this time I had an entirely different set of emotions. I was excited, nervous and yes, a little scared for a whole different reason. But all I had to do was think of the reason about why I was here and my nerves settled and a sense of calm spread over me.

As the assistants were checking the cables and ropes that we'd be attached to, the pilot gave me a little wink and I winked back. He handed me something balled up as we shook hands and I quickly secured the chain around my neck.

With a few last minute adjustments we at last gave the pilot a thumbs up and he gunned the boat. Bella let out a little screech as her parachute lost its slack and jerked her forward. We ran as fast as we could, but before long, the chutes opened fully and we were airborne. We both let out a little scream of delight and surprise before we settled into the ride.

It was a beautiful day to be up airborne. The sun was warm and glinted off the water. The huge smile on Bella's face told me that she was enjoying herself just as much as I'd hoped. I took the time as we flew over the ocean to let everything soak in. I wanted this day and this moment to be imprinted in my memories forever.

As the pilot turned to head over toward where we'd left our friends, I took a deep breath, it was do or die time. As we drew closer I tugged on the rope that connected the two of us to get Bella's attention. When she turned to face me, I was almost struck stupid by the happiness that radiated off her. I gave myself an internal shake and concentrated on what I needed to do next.

In the distance I could see our spot on the beach closing in. Taking a deep breath, I motioned her to look at where we were headed. She turned to look, squinting her eyes, but when she couldn't see it yet she looked back at me with a puzzled expression. I made the motion of a dolphin jumping up and down and pointed back to where I wanted her to look.

"Watch!" I shouted. I wasn't sure if she heard me, but she dutifully turned her head. I held my breath as we got closer. I knew the second she could see the flickering lights, her head moved forward as she strained her eyes to decipher what she was seeing. It wasn't long before we were on top of where our friends waited and I worried that she hadn't registered what she was seeing. But when her hands flew up to her mouth, I knew she could read the message in the sand that I had our friends create while we were gone:

MARRY ME BELLA

She whipped her head around to look at me, unshed tears in her eyes and I held out the ring that was on the chain around my neck. Once more, I mouthed the words she read so she would have no doubt that it was me who planned this whole thing.

She nodded her head yes and I just barely made out her scream yes over the roar of the wind. She blew me kisses over and over and I sent my own back to her. I signaled the pilot that we were done and he brought us down, not too far from where our friends waited.

As I came up from the water, Bella pulled me into her arms.

"Yes, Edward, I'll marry you."

I slide the ring on her finger, chain and all and kissed her like I'd never kissed her before. When breathing became necessary, I rested my forehead against hers.

"I'll spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you've made me."

"Anything but mine," she whispered against my lips.

I nodded. "Anything but mine."

A/N: Aww... *sniff* She said yes.. like there was any doubt... Check the facebook group tomorrow for some wonderful pictures my beta, Pixiekat, picked out! The second epi will post on Thursday and then I'll mark this complete. There will be at least 3 outtakes/futuretakes.. just not sure when they will post... Soo.. leave me some love.. please? See ya on Thursday!