AN: Thank you so much for the feedback on last chapter. I'm always anxious, writing scenes like childbirth, that I have not personally lived through (not that I've lived through dating a movie star either but who has?). The feedback was so encouraging, and such a relief. It's not something I take lightly, and I wanted to make sure that I gave the proper respect to people giving birth, because they deserve so much respect! Alright, without further ado, read on for some Dadward!

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Epilogue: Edward

Tuesday, December 24

Oxford, England

"Darling, have you heard from Bella?"

I looked up at mom, shaking my head. "No, not in a few hours," I said glancing down at Pip. She was babbling to herself, stuffing her teddy bear into her mouth. I smiled at my little peanut, scooping her up. She giggled, wiggling in my arms until she could face me. She reached out, tugging at my hair and I chuckled, kissing her chubby little cheeks. She was so fucking perfect. "You ready to see mama?" I asked, cradling her to my chest. She gave me a gummy smile, though I was pretty sure she didn't understand me. I grinned back and she let out a little shriek, her legs straightening as she tried to push off a ground that wasn't beneath her. She'd figured out crawling a few weeks ago, and it had taken everything we had to keep her in any one place these days.

My phone beeped, and I shifted Pip in my arms, trying to fish it out of my pocket.

Mom reached out to me, holding her arms out, and I handed her Pip. "Come along, dear Pippa," mom said hugging her gently. "Let's go check in with great auntie Elizabeth," she offered. I smiled at her gratefully as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Bella had been gone all week, and though she'd had to do business trips and had taken time to leave before, I fucking missed her something fierce.

I checked my phone, disappointed when I saw it was an email from Jane. Why the woman was working on Christmas Eve was beyond me. I knew for a fact she'd gone home to Michigan to visit family. Though, from what she'd said about her family, it didn't seem like she enjoyed too much time with them.

I shoved my phone in my pocket, ignoring the email. I'd check it later.

We'd been in Oxford a few weeks now. We'd gotten to England near the beginning of December, and we'd been staying with my parents at my grandmother's home just outside the university. At first it had been all of us, but Bella had had to go down to London then on to Paris for the week for work. I'd played with the idea of tagging along, but I knew it rejuvenated Bella to travel on her own, especially now that she was always toting Pip around.

Bella had taken to motherhood exactly like I knew she would. She was amazing with Pip, and Pip absolutely adored her mother. Bella was so loving and patient and had been absolutely incredible with our daughter. It was harder and harder for me to not just blurt it out and beg Bella to marry me. Not that I thought being married would change much in our life. We were a family, and nothing would ever change that.

"Edward?"

I looked up at my cousin Liam and nodded to him. He offered me a drink and I accepted gratefully.

"Thanks," I told him, sipping the beer. He nodded.

"Dinner is on in about ten minutes," he said, motioning back to the kitchen. My aunt Elizabeth and her two kids Maggie and Liam had come over to my grandparent's house for Christmas dinner. My grandfather had passed when I was a teenager, but my grandmother Mary still lived in the family home in Oxford. We'd all come over to her house for Christmas eve.

"How have you been?" I asked, looking Liam over. I hadn't seen him in years, though we texted occasionally in a family group chat Maggie maintained. Liam nodded, looking at me.

"Fine. Just fine. Siobhan and I are moving in together next month," he paused, glancing at the doorway to the kitchen. "But, best not tell gran," he said rolling his eyes. I snorted. Grandma Mary was notoriously conservative. I'd been anxious about telling her that Bella and I weren't married, though we had Pip, but to my immense relief, the combined charm of Pip and Bella had been enough to sooth gran's fussing. She hadn't mentioned anything about marriage in front of Bella since our first discussion.

"I think Bella and I might have paved a road for you," I pointed out. He huffed.

"No, not likely," he glanced back at the doorway to the kitchen. "Gran expects a little out of the ordinary because you're Hollywood. She told me when I become famous, I can do things on my own schedule too." He rolled his eyes and I laughed, shaking my head.

"Sorry, man."

Liam grinned. He was a year older than me, and when we were kids, though we didn't see each other often, we'd been pretty good friends. It was nice to be able to spend some time with him again.

"It's alright. I fully intend on asking Siobhan to marry me in the next few weeks anyway." He shrugged and I smiled. I wish I could say the same about Bella. "Plus, Pippa is so cute, she's got gran pretty thoroughly distracted." He glanced at me. "Any chance you are all staying a few more months?"

I laughed and shook my head. "We'll be around, but in February I start filming in Wales. We're going to be there a few months, but I don't know how often we'll be able to make it over in that time."

He sighed dramatically and I chuckled. "It's alright. I'll handle gran," he said shaking his head. "What are you filming?"

I told him about work, and the film I had coming up. I was incredibly excited about it. It was going to push me, mentally as well as emotionally, but I loved the challenge of it.

Aunt Elizabeth popped her head into the sitting room where we were standing and motioned for us to come through the kitchen. "Supper is ready. Is Bella here?"

I shook my head, my heart drooping a little at the reminder.

"No, not yet."

Aunt Elizabeth nodded and motioned for us to follow her in through to the dining room.

Gran was seated at the head of the table, and my uncle Collin was seated at the other end. Mom and dad were already sitting down, mom trying to situate Pip in her highchair. My daughter was fussing about having to sit in the seat, and I moved over, picking her up gently. "I'll hold her," I told mom.

Pip babbled a few words to me, tugging again at my hair and I smiled, kissing her sticky cheek. I took a seat next to Maggie while Liam sat across the table next to Siobhan. There was one empty seat at the table for Bella, and I wished that she was here already. I missed the hell out of her.

Gran had my uncle say grace before we could start eating, and we all waited until she was served to help ourselves.

I pulled a couple of things on my plate and immediately Pip reached for them.

"Hold on, baby. I gotta cut it up for you," I whispered, trying to keep Pip from ripping the plate off the table. She reached again and I broke off the tip of a cooked carrot, offering it to her. She took it, shoving it into her mouth happily. I smiled at her, kissing the top of her head.

I focused mostly on Pip, grabbing my own bites when I could as everyone around me talked. It was pleasant, but without Bella there, my mind kept wandering from the table. My family wasn't complete, not yet.

"I heard you telling gran you're going to be working in Cardiff in a few months," Maggie said, nudging me with her arm. I glanced at her and nodded. Checking to make sure Pip was fully entertained by another nibble of soft carrot, I turned to my cousin.

"I am. We'll be out there about two months," I told her. Maggie nodded.

"Maybe I could come visit you one day," she glanced at Pip. "You know, I could baby sit, or something."

I frowned a little. Maggie was twenty-one, and in school in Dublin. She also knew we had a full-time nanny. I couldn't imagine why she'd want to come to Cardiff to babysit.

"We'd love to see you out there," I told her, trying to figure out why she'd want to come out. She nodded.

"So… who else is signed on for your movie?"

I tried to hide my smile, finally understanding. There was probably an actor that she liked that was cast with me. I leaned toward her, making sure Pip was balanced on my lap as I whispered, "Mags, tell me who it is you want to meet, and I'll introduce you."

She blushed, but smiled, looking pleased. "You're a much better family connection than Liam," she said after a moment. I laughed. Liam was an engineer, and a damn good one at that. It was definitely nothing to scoff at.

There was a soft noise and Pip started bouncing in my lap. I looked down at her, startled, but saw she was looking up at the door, and I turned to see Bella pulling off her scarf. "Hi, I'm so sorry I'm late!" she said, coming into the room. My entire body relaxed when I saw her. Fuck, I'd missed her so much.

"Mmm," Pip hummed. Bella was convinced she was trying to say mama, though we knew it was still too early for her to be forming words yet. Bella came to the table, greeting everyone with a bright smile. Her cheeks were red with the cold as she sat down next to me. Immediately Pip reached out to her, and Bella took her in her arms.

"Hello my Pip," Bella crooned, nuzzling Pip's cheeks. Pip bounced in her lap, clearly pleased. Bella looked up at me, beaming. I smiled, reaching out to her. Her hands were cold but I didn't care. I just needed to fucking touch her, and since I knew gran would likely draw the line at making out at the dinner table, this would do for now.

"You're back," I said, breathing easier. Bella smiled and squeezed my fingers.

"My train was running late because of the snow," she explained. Pip bounced harder in her lap and Bella laughed, turning her attention to our daughter. "What are you eating, sweetie?" she asked, glancing at the table. I handed Bella my plate and Bella nodded, grabbing another small slice of carrot and offering it to Pip.

"How was your trip, dear?" Mom asked. Bella looked up at her.

"Really productive. I was able to meet with the team, as well as get in a ton of research," she shook her head, grinning. Mom beamed.

"I can't wait to hear more about it."

Bella nodded, rearranging Pip on her lap. "I can take her," I offered. Bella looked at me.

"No babe, eat. I'll feed her," she said, smiling at Pip. Pip tugged on her long hair.

Even though I couldn't have alone time with her yet, it felt like an immense weight had been lifted off me. Bella was back.

I served myself more food, eating quickly so that I could take Pip and let Bella eat. We could technically put Pip in her highchair, but I could tell Bella wanted time holding her.

"Maggie was telling me that she is going to come visit us in Cardiff," I told Bella, taking a large bite of prime rib. Fuck, it was good. Bella looked up at Maggie in surprise.

"That would be awesome," Bella said nodding. Maggie smiled, glancing at me a little before focusing on Bella again. "I'd love to spend more time with you," Bella told her. Maggie beamed, looking pleased.

"I as well," she said sipping her drink. Bella smiled as Pip started climbing up her. Bella resituated our daughter, dipping her finger in the mashed potatoes and offering it to Pip. Pip sucked on Bella's finger happily.

I continued eating as Siobhan, mom and Bella struck up a conversation about Bella's book. It had been released in the states today, and though Bella hadn't been there to do launch events, she'd filmed some promo events with Tanya for social media. I'd asked Bella if she wanted to go back to the states to take care of the promo work, but she'd made it work from here. I was glad. I wasn't about to spend Pip's first Christmas without Bella, and though I fully supported Bella's career, I would have been disappointed to have to spend Christmas at home without our family.

I finished eating and took Pip so that Bella could get her own plate. I could tell that Pip had missed Bella because she kept trying to crawl off my lap to get back to her. "Hold on, baby," I chuckled, scooping Pip up again. "Mama has to eat," I said gently. Pip made a frustrated sound as she tried again to get to Bella. Bella smiled, chewing her bite.

"She probably needs to nurse," Bella said gently. I nodded, understanding. Bella took Pip in her arms, getting up from the table. At home, she'd nurse Pip anywhere that was convenient. I tried to insist she'd be fine doing the same thing here, but Bella suspected it might push my gran a little too far to have a boob out at the dinner table. Bella was probably right, but I hated that she felt like she had to get up and leave to feed our daughter.

Bella took Pip into the living room and I sighed. Dad chuckled. "Go with her," he said nodding his head toward the door Bella had disappeared through. I looked at him. I was done with dinner, and everyone else was pretty much engaged in conversation. I nodded, excusing myself to follow Bella.

She was sitting in the living room, Pip lying on her side, playing with a lock of Bella's hair as she nursed. I smiled. No matter how many times Bella nursed Pip, I never got tired of seeing them like this. Bella and Pip had a bond that was so much deeper than I think anyone could know. I'd been slightly jealous at first, seeing how deeply they connected, but that had quickly faded away. Now, it just took my breath away to watch.

"Hey," I said gently. Bella looked up at me, smiling.

"Hey, babe."

I settled onto the sofa next to her and Pip's little feet kicked at my side. I grinned at my feisty daughter. "We missed you," I said gently, wrapping an arm around Bella's shoulders, she leaned into my side and Pip made a small sound of protest as Bella moved.

"I missed you too," she said softly. She glanced down at Pip. "I know there are times I'll have to be away. For work or whatever," she paused, shaking her head. "A week felt too long," she said looking up at me. I nodded, completely understanding.

"We'll figure it out," I promised her. We couldn't spend every moment together, and I think in reality, neither of us wanted to, but neither of us could deny that it was difficult being apart like we'd been this week.

Bella sighed again and nuzzled her head into my neck.

"I love you," she whispered. I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too, baby."

I could feel Bella starting to doze off, and at her breast, Pip's eyes grew heavy too. I smiled at my girls. At home, they fell asleep nursing all the time. Usually, I could leave them and let them rest, but I knew the family would be transitioning out into the sitting room soon, so I sat up, carefully pulling Pip from Bella's breast. Pip made a small protest but sighed, her eyes fluttering shut. Bella blinked, pulling her bra closed before rebuttoning her shirt. I carried Pip into the spare bedroom where we had been sleeping in, settling Pip into the small crib we had gotten her in England. I set her down, making sure the baby monitor was on before I headed back into the sitting room. Bella was combing her hair back from her eyes, blinking sleepily. I smiled, settling onto the sofa next to her. She glanced at me, smiling, as she turned and crawled into my lap. Had we not been on my gran's sofa, she probably would have straddled me, like she loved to do. Instead, she leaned into me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me deeply. Fuck, I missed her so much.

"God, I missed you," Bella sighed, her lips ghosting across my mouth and chin, and working their way down my throat. I groaned, my arms tightening around her.

"I missed you too," I murmured, kissing the shell of her ear. She shuddered in my arms and I sighed, kissing under her jaw before loosening my arms. She sagged against me a little, pulling away and resting her head on my shoulder.

"How were you?" she asked, her hand coming up and lightly scratching across my chest. I looked down at her.

"We were alright," I said after a moment. "Pip missed you, especially at bed time," I said, gently rubbing her back. She sighed. "I don't know that Pip understands the video calls yet," I said, feeling slightly amused. Bella snickered.

"Give her time. Kids figure that shit out quickly," she sighed. I nodded, kissing the top of her head.

"Are you hungry, baby?" I asked after a minute. Bella sighed.

"Yeah, I should finish eating while I can," she said pulling away from me. I nodded and we stood up, heading into the dining room. Everyone was still sitting around the table, though most of the dishes had been cleared. Bella's plate was still there, and it looked like someone had loaded it with more food. We sat down, and I settled the baby monitor next to me as Bella started eating.

"Is Pippa down?" Mom asked. I looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah. I think seeing Bella again wiped her out a bit," I said smiling softly. Bella grinned as she shoved another bite into her mouth. Mom smiled.

"I'm sure she was excited to see you again."

Bella swallowed her bite and sighed. "I was too. It's good to be back with my family," she said, reaching out and gently scratching my thigh. Mom beamed at her. We sat around the table chatting until Bella finished eating dinner, and when we were done, gran had us all move into the sitting room. I sat in a recliner and Bella crawled onto my lap, curling up against my chest as my arms wrapped around her. Gran looked up at us as we settled in, but thankfully she didn't look upset.

We all sat and chatted a while longer before Gran decided to turn in. Shortly after, aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Collin decided to head home as well. Their house was only about twenty minutes away, and they left, promising to be over in the morning for Christmas presents. Mom and dad turned when my aunt and uncle left, leaving Bella, Maggie, Liam, Siobhan, and me sitting around talking. Near eleven o'clock, Liam, Siobhan and Maggie finally headed out, leaving Bella and I sitting in the sitting room. I started to shift, thinking Bella would want to turn in, but she turned in my lap, surprising me. She straddled my hips, taking my face in her hands and I smiled, settling my hands around her hips.

"Hi," I whispered, smiling softly at her. She smiled back, her thumbs brushing up over my cheek bones.

"Hi," she whispered back. I watched her silently. I could see that there was something on her mind, but it looked like she was going to need a few minutes until she could voice it. Her eyes swept over every inch of my face, the love she had for me shining brightly in her gaze. I felt my heart swell looking at her.

Finally, Bella's eyes met mine, and the love and adoration I saw in her beautiful brown eyes took my breath away. "I have something I want to show you," she said gently. I frowned as she got up off my lap, heading out of the room. She came back a minute later, holding a book in her hands. I sat forward, eagerly.

Bella had been keeping most of the details about her book under wraps, even from me. I'd read some of it, and I couldn't wait to read more, but for some reason, she hadn't wanted to share it until it was published. It had bothered me at first—I'd definitely gone through some worrying thinking she didn't want to share part of herself with me, or that maybe she thought I wouldn't get it in some way. We'd talked about it a lot over the last year and Bella had finally gotten me to realize it wasn't about me. This was about her. She wanted the book to be a surprise, and I couldn't fault her for that.

She came toward me again, reaching out to brace herself on my shoulder as she settled back over my lap. My hands came back up around her hips, settling her into place. She smiled and handed me the book.

It was beautiful. I didn't know who had done the cover, but it was a gorgeous shot of Bella's silhouette in a landscape that looked like it might have been Scotland. There was a soft bookmark located just inside the cover and Bella reached up to finger it. I looked up at her curiously as I pulled the book open.

It was the dedication page, and I took a moment as I stared down at the words.

For Edward,

Loving you has been the greatest adventure of them all.

I looked up at her, tears gathering in my eyes. She smiled, kissing my cheek, and peppering kisses across to my nose and down finally to my lips. "I love you so much," she whispered against my skin. I groaned, kissing her deeper, missing her suddenly with a soul deep ache.

Bella pulled back, wiggling a little on top of my suddenly hard dick. She giggled, cupping my face and kissing me chastely.

"Baby, I can't even tell you what this means to me," I said softly, holding up her book. She smiled.

"Good. Maybe you are feeling a fraction of what you mean to me."

I huffed a laugh, shaking my head lightly. I was itching to read her book, to know the world from her perspective a little better, but right now, my desire for her was outweighing everything else.

"Any chance we can wheel Pip into my parent's room?" I asked softly. Bella grinned, kissing my bottom lip gently.

"Esme took her when she and Carlisle went to bed," she explained. Thank fucking god. I loved Pip more than life itself, but I would have been massively frustrated if she'd gotten in the way of time I needed to spend wrapped in and around Bella.

I shifted Bella, ready to pick her up off the sofa and carry her to our room, when she stopped me.

"Hold on, Babe. There is something else," she said gently. I frowned. What more could there be? She kept squirming on my lap, and I knew she was needing me as much as I needed her.

"What is it, baby?"

Bella looked at me, her eyes soft and warm and tender again. I felt my body relax a little, the urgency dying away as I fell into her gaze again. She licked her lips, and a small, anxious smile appeared on her face. "Will you marry me?"

My world stopped, my breathing going shallow as I stared at her, utterly stunned. "W-what?" I croaked.

Bella shifted on my lap, reaching into the pocket of her jeans. She pulled out a slim gold ring, shocking the hell out of me. She held it up, and I could see three stones, one purple, one green, and one blue set into the band. It was our birth stones, mine, Pip's, and Bella's. I looked up at her again, my eyes blurring with tears. "I love you so much, Edward," she said softly. "The last year and a half has been the craziest, most wonderful year of my life. Every moment with you has been so much more than I could have ever dared hope for. I want us to be a family in every possible way," she took a little breath and held the ring up again. "Will you marry me?"

Tears were burning my eyes as I reached out to her. "Yes, Bella, of course I'll marry you," I whispered, pressing a kiss to her lips. Her arms wound around my neck, and her body pressed flush against mine. I pulled back a bit, my hands cupping her face. "You're sure? Baby, I'm happy with you in my life, any way I can get you."

Bella nodded, kissing me sweetly. "I want to be your wife, Edward. I want forever with you, in every way." Her fingers sank into my hair and she sighed. "I want our daughter to know that true love does exist, and that marriage and commitment aren't things to fear or avoid." Bella smiled a little, kissing the corner of my mouth. "I want her to know that we love each other, no matter what. Unconditionally."

I smiled, swallowing past the lump in my throat. "I love you so much, Bella."

She smiled and kissed the corner of my mouth again, pulling back to offer me the ring. I looked down at it, smiling. It was simple, and the gems in it glittered beautifully in the low candlelight of the room.

"I know it's not traditional for a woman to propose, but whatever," she huffed. "Will you wear this?"

I smiled, shifting my hands so that she could settle the ring on my left hand. "Yeah, baby. Of course, I will. I don't care what is traditional, Bella. This is right for us, and I love you so much."

She smiled, settling the ring on my finger so that the gems faced upright. I stared down at them. She'd put my purple birthstone between her sapphire and Pip's emerald. I was surrounded by them, as I was in life, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I looked back up at Bella. Her face was glowing with warmth and I smiled, pulling her closer to me.

Sixteen months ago, this wild, beautiful, impossible woman had stumbled into my life and completely and utterly turned it upside down. Bella had changed so much about who I was and how I saw the world, and together, we'd worked hard to build a family and a life together. I never knew what I was missing until I had found my home in Bella. She was my all, my everything, and now she would be my wife.

I knew our whole lives couldn't be perfect, that we would have more trials and hardships to overcome, but one thing I knew with certainty is that we would face them head on, together.

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AN: Whew! That proposal was a long time coming! I know a lot of you wanted it to happen much sooner, but honestly, it was always going to Bella to pop the question. I know a few of you were antsy about them getting married (though fewer than I expected, which was fantastic. I hope most of you felt like marriage wasn't necessarily the focus for these two, which it wasn't for a long time).

Next post will be a few years in the future, and you'll get to see Dadward a bit more. Can't wait to share that with you all!