If I'm being totally honest, I procrastinated big time writing this epilogue. I'm sad to see this end. This story will continue (just through a different lens), but we have to wait for Embry to catch up a bit ;)

If you're interested in what happens between the last chapter and this one, make sure to sign up for alerts for my other story, The Beautiful and Damned. That's another reason I delayed in posting this – I wasn't sure how much to include/keep hidden. I think I finally found a good balance.

Also, I may be posting one more chapter here, but it will be a behind-the-scenes / Notes From the Author / inspiration. So if you get a notification for another chapter, don't get excited. Or you can, and we'll be excited together.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

Three Years Later

"I hope she'll be a fool – that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Renesmee

There are only a few people who actually knock on our front door – Charlie and Sue, and Billy and Tina. We have an open-door policy, anyway, but their generation doesn't seem to follow that rule.

So when I hear the door swing open, followed by light footsteps, I don't bother calling out.

I look up from the pile of laundry I'm folding when Claire pokes her head through our bedroom door. "Hey, Nessie. Where's Marie?"

I laugh. "She's down for her nap. It's good to see you, too."

I'm fairly certain that Marie is Claire's favorite person in the world besides Quil. Over her cousins, even. Although Levi and Lucas, Sam and Emily's younger son (the one I suspected when they came to visit Marie in the hospital), are still much adored, there's something to be said about having a living, breathing, being named after you.

Claire laughs nervously. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you, if that's okay."

"Of course," I say, moving aside the unfolded laundry and patting the mattress for her to take a seat.

Her eyes grow wide. "The couch is fine," she mumbles.

I stifle a laugh as I follow her to the living room. Even though it's a new bed, she still can't look past the trauma she suffered there.

"Is Jake here?" she asks a little too lightly to be casual.

"He's at the shop," I say, taking a seat on the couch and pulling my legs up underneath me.

"Is he coming home soon?"

She's acting suspicious, but I can't quite tell what she's getting at yet. "Not for another hour or so," I say.

"Okay, well, um…" Claire starts, pulling a throw pillow to her chest. "Quil and I have been dating for a while. It will be a year on Tuesday."

I smile. "I know. Congratulations, that's a big deal." A big deal for a seventeen-year-old, at least.

"And I was wondering…" she continues, and I see red start to creep onto her cheeks. I have to swallow my smile as she struggles with words. "Are you going to make me say it?" she asks. "We both know what I'm getting at."

I give her a look and a nod, and she sighs, asking, "How do you know you're… ready? For, um…" she ducks her chin, staring into her lap as she mumbles, "sex."

Hearing Claire say the word aloud makes me realize just how grown she really is, how she looks every bit of seventeen and then some.

Jake found it hilarious over the last few years, when Quil had done patrols, grumbling about all the attention Claire was receiving from boys. When Jake noticed that Quil's thoughts were starting to slip in that direction, too, he and Embry made a bet on how long he could hold out, since they'd done the same for Jake.

Quil managed to make it a month and a half past Claire's sixteenth birthday before he caved, asking her on a date while she sat at Emily's kitchen table, Lucas on her lap.

I start to tell her that I don't think she's ready at all. My mind flicks to the other girls. They were all around this age when they had sex for the first time.

And I guess, technically, so was I.

"Did you talk to your mom about this? Or Emily?" I finally ask.

She groans. "No. And I was hoping it could stay between us. Actually, what I really wanted… I was wondering if you could show me. What it was like your first time."

My cheeks flush. "No," I answer reflexively.

"Aw, Nessie, please? I just want to be prepared."

For a split second, I actually consider her plea. Would I do this for the other young girls in my life? Sadie, Harper or Alex? Would I do this for Marie?

Absolutely not.

"Claire, everybody has to experience it for their first time on their own. I don't think showing you is going to make a difference in the long run."

Claire sighs, nodding. "I knew you would say that."

"Are you going to the beach tomorrow?"

She nods. "Of course."

Embry had been wanting to adopt Sadie for years, practically since he imprinted on Bethany. Bethany took much more convincing than either Embry or Sadie – who started calling Embry 'Dad' as soon as Embry (Bethany) said she could. They tied the knot last fall, and Embry got to work on adopting Sadie as soon as he could.

They had to jump through some hoops with Sadie's biological father, though, which is why it took so long. I don't know the details – Embry was pretty close-lipped about it. But finally, just a week ago, things cleared up, and Embry decided that his new, official family deserved a big party to celebrate.

And if anyone knows how to throw a big party, it's wolves.

Everyone's already at the beach when Jake and I show up with Marie, and she wastes no time before running into the surf to play with the other children.

She towers over them, even Levi, the oldest. My heart aches and swells all at once.

Marie is growing fast; she looks closer to five than to three. The growth isn't as rapid as it had been with me, which I'm grateful for. But it's fast enough that it can attract attention if someone's paying enough of it.

Carlisle is actually encouraged by her growth. He seems to think it means she'll wind up like me, immortal. Jake and I, however, try not to think about it. We focus on each day as it comes, focus on her laughter, mostly. It's the best sound.

Marie is smart, too. Not only can she read practically whatever book we set in front of her, but she can name any tool Jake quizzes her on. I think that's her second favorite game to play with her father.

Her favorite game, though, is star searching. Every time the clouds give way and the sky dries, just like Jake told me he did with his mom when he was young, Jake and I bundle up Marie and head to the beach. Rachel and the twins join us sometimes, but they're still a little young to understand the legends surrounding the constellations. But not Marie. Her favorite story, like Jake's, is the wolf.

I tangle my fingers with Jake's, and he pulls me along to greet the others.

Jared and a seven-month-pregnant Kim are here. That one, I will admit, took longer than I thought it would. It's a boy. Jared is glad that his son will finally tie up the score. Even counting Caleb, Levi, and Lucas, the girls had been leading by one until they found out.

It's an ever-changing score, because a few months ago, Rachel told me she and Paul have been thinking about having another baby, too. I sit next to them during the meal, and when I give her a pointed look and raised eyebrow, she just shakes her head, giving me a small smile.

I'm surprised when Leah and Adam show up. Caleb throws himself against Seth's legs, and Seth wastes no time in scooping him up and flipping him upside down. It elicits a shriek of laughter from Caleb, and Seth grins wide.

Leah hangs back, out of earshot of the others, and she motions for me to join her down the beach. I plop in the sand next to her.

"So, guess what?" Leah asks, stretching her feet out in front of her. Before I have a chance to guess, she opens her mouth again. "We're moving back."

I smile at her unabashed. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

She gives me a sly look before saying, "Bet you're not excited as excited as Mom. She can't wait to have all her grandchildren in the same zip code."

Leah's looking at me like I'm supposed to be getting something, and I think I am, too. I'm confused as to what she's telling me. It takes me a second longer than it should to break through the mental fog. I gasp, "You or Katie?"

"Katie, thank God." she chuckles. "Finally. I think Seth's been dogging her for years."

I look over to the others, where Katie is undoubtedly glowing from her place next to Seth. I remember when they'd visited in the hospital after Marie was born, how Seth had left begging for one of their own.

I share that with Leah, and she smiles. "Sounds about right, but you know Katie, she's a career woman. I brought some wine to celebrate," Leah says, "but since my other drinking buddy can't participate, do you want some?"

"Ew, no." The words tumble out as an instinct, and they surprise me.

Leah only laughs again. "What, are you pregnant, too?"

I don't answer, brow furrowing as I track dates quickly in my head. There's no possible way… right?

"Oh, come on, really?" she asks. "Well, thank God I'm moving back. Maybe I'll catch this one," she says sarcastically as she pours herself a glass. "This is our life from here on out, you know that? Babies and weddings. And funerals, for the rest of us, eventually."

I lift my hand to her cheek, to show her I'd been thinking the same thing as her, earlier. And how much displeasure her morbidity brings me.

Leah chuckles when I drop my hand. "Figured you missed that without me here. Has Marie shown any more… inclinations?"

I sigh. "No, it was just the one time."

Jake and I had been going back and forth all morning, about little things, this and that. The root of our frustration was space, or lack thereof. The cabin was no longer cozy, it was crowded. My thoughts were so jumbled that even when I tried to tell him that through a touch to his face, he'd misunderstood, thought I was saying I wanted to leave.

Mama doesn't want to leave, Marie had said exasperatedly, so you should just add on. More space. She didn't even look up from where she'd been playing. She'd presented the perfect solution, without even knowing what was going on, seemingly without knowing what her words even meant at the time. Jake and I had shared a look, raised our eyebrows, and called Carlisle right away.

Carlisle had been perplexed, but my dad actually had a pretty convincing theory. He suggested that it was a combination of both my powers and Jake's pseudo one – the ability to love people well. Marie could, in theory, sense the emotions behind people's desires and words, and quite literally tell you how to fix your problems. Tell you what you need, even when you don't know yourself.

She hasn't done it since.

I stare down the beach, where Jake is crouched next to Marie. Her hair is fluttering in the breeze behind her, and Jake is looking down at her with bright eyes and an animated expression.

My heart swells when, as if I'd called his name, he turns over his shoulder and looks at me. I smile, and his answering one staves off the bitter sea wind.

Jake

I'm just walking through the door from work when Nessie calls my name.

I find her in our bedroom. "Hey, gorgeous," I say, kissing her hair. "Where's Marie?"

"Rachel and Paul took her for a few hours," she says with a crooked smile.

"Oh, really?" I say, my voice gruff as I reach for her hips. Her smile twitches, shifts just a bit, and I can tell there's something hiding behind it. "Are you okay?"

"I'm thirsty," Nessie says softly.

Her eyes are hopeful, and I force myself to study her face. So she's thirsty. It doesn't happen that often, but it has happened before since she was little. At least once or twice.

At least once.

Is this really happening? "You're thirsty," I repeat, pressing a gentle hand to her stomach. "Does that mean—"

"Yes," she says, producing her hand from behind her back. In her outstretched palm, is a little white stick with two pink lines.

I let out a breath, pure and uncontrollable joy coursing through my body.

There have been many moments in my life when I've craved to have Nessie's ability, if only to show her what she means to me. This is one of them. But I'm not that lucky, and I'm still not quite sure I could say enough.

But I can definitely kiss her senseless.

"Nessie," I breathe, crashing my lips to hers.

She laughs against my lips, wrapping her arms around my neck. I barely register a plastic clink as the test falls from her grasp to the hardwood. She molds her lips to mine, reaching up to grip my face, letting her emotions flow freely through to me.

"When did this even happen?" I mumble against her lips, sliding my hands down her sides and gripping her thighs to pull her up to my level.

She giggles, pulling away from my lips only to nuzzle her nose into the crook my neck. "I remember exactly when this happened," she says as she winds her legs around my waist.

It doesn't take long for me to remember once she starts to share the memory with me, but I let it play out, remembering it fondly, and with a smug grin.

"Oh yeah," I say. "I told you that was fun."

Nessie laughs loudly, throwing her head back. I take the opportunity to kiss her neck, leaving my nose pressed against her pulse point. Her heart's racing in her chest.

"You and Kim are pregnant at the same time," I realize.

"And Katie," she adds. Right. Nessie told me about that after the party on Saturday. "And who knows, maybe Rachel will join the fun, too. And Leah," she says.

Her offhand comment makes us both laugh – Leah expresses often how she doesn't want another child.

"You know what this means, right?" she asks.

I walk us toward the bed, laying her down gently. "A trip to Chicago?"

"Well, yes, but that's not what I was thinking."

I place a kiss on her shoulder, letting my hands run along her side uninhibited. "Steaming hot pregnant sex, where I go seven for seven?" I really wish I could show her my memory of that night, on our wedding night. How beautiful she'd been.

How beautiful I'm sure she'll be again, swollen with this baby.

"I'll certainly let you try, Jacob Black," she says.

A sigh escapes my mouth – I love hearing her say my name. I watch her eyes slide shut, listening to her heart struggle to beat evenly as I alternate between kissing her lips and her shoulders. "So what does this mean, Renesmee Black?"

She purrs at the use of her full name in return, and she doesn't bother opening her eyes as she says, "Marie was right about us needing more space."

Nessie and I call Carlisle – after a long, heated celebration, of course.

Rachel brings Marie back shortly before her bedtime, and Nessie tells Marie as she's getting ready for bed that we're taking a trip to Chicago tomorrow, the three of us.

The four of us, I correct silently.

Nessie's laying on the bed, instructing me what to pack for her.

"Mama, will you read this to me?" Marie calls from the bedroom doorway. She's holding a book of classic poetry – a gift from Alice at Christmas. Alice had said it'd be her favorite, and it is.

I chuckle, leaning down to scoop Marie up and place her in bed next to Nessie. "How come you always want Mama to read it, huh?" I say, tickling her side as I slide in beside them. "Why not Dad?"

Marie's giggles fill the air, and she settles comfortably in between us. "You do the sound effects, Daddy."

For a three-year-old who's going on five, Marie's vocabulary is still better than mine. That's all Nessie, I'm sure. "Sound effects. Of course poems need sound effects. Silly me."

Nessie opens the book to Marie's favorite. "This one?" When Marie's ringlets bob up and down fervently, Nessie lets out a soft giggle of her own before she begins. "Tiare Tahiti, by Rupert Brooke.

"Mamua, when our laughter ends, and hearts and bodies, brown as white, are dust about the doors of friends, or scent ablowing down the night, then, oh! Then, the wise agree, comes our immortality…"

I get distracted a few times, watching them. Nessie steals glances at Marie every so often to see if she's comprehending what she's hearing. And then Marie will giggle, saying something like, Keep going.

I, of course, am on sound effect duty, and I have to say, I've never heard a better impression of glittering moonlight.

"Snare in flowers, and kiss," Nessie says, pausing. With a quick shared look between us, Nessie and I both lean down to capture Marie's cheeks in a kiss.

Marie shrieks in laughter, and I hear Nessie's heart flutter at the sound.

"And call," Nessie continues, placing a hand on her stomach. "With lips that fade and human laughter," Nessie says as I tickle Marie's ribs to get her giggling again, "and faces individual."

I take a breath as I steal a glance at my two girls. I notice Nessie's lip beginning to tremble as she rubs her thumb across her stomach.

I wonder if this next baby will be another girl, happy and beautiful and smart and headstrong and kind, like her mother and sister.

Or maybe it'll be a boy, and we can pull ahead in that little game Embry's keeping tabs on.

Regardless, my heart swells alongside Nessie's, in time with it, and I pick up where she left off. "Well, this side of paradise, there's little comfort in the wise."