Author's note; There's a long note at the bottom.

Let's get to it!

~Epilogue Part 2~

Soon it's time to cut the cake; all six tiers of it!

The room fills with laughter as Rose takes great pleasure in smashing a piece in Emmett's face. It's a waste of perfectly good cake, in my opinion, but traditions are tradition. Besides, Emmett doesn't seem to mind; He's grinning from ear to ear. The two of them have had beaming smiles on their faces all day.

All the other wedding traditions follow; the first dance ... the throwing of the bouquet. I watch in amusement as all the single women gather around, trying not to look bothered as they take their places. Siobhan, one of Edward's cousins, who is recently single, is not shy about coming forward. She's determined to get her hands on that bouquet and elbows everyone out of the way to get the best spot.

Needless to say, she is absolutely delighted when she gets it.

After that, it's time to party, and a mix of classic and new songs blast from the speakers, and the dancefloor is full - packed with both young and old having a good time.

I don't know where the time goes. Between dancing with my girls and various members of the family, I need a break. My feet are killing me, so I return to our table.

The party is winding down, and the first round of guests have started to leave, wishing the happy couple all the best.

After we bid goodbye to Angela, it's not long until Rose is again in demand. This time it's Carlisle, who is desperate to spend some time with his new daughter-in-law. He comes over, requesting a dance, which leaves me alone but only for a minute or two because another one of my favorite men comes to join me at our table. Nanna is with him. Garrett spots her immediately and starts squirming in my arms, desperately reaching for her. Nanna beams, eagerly taking Garett from me.

"Where is that grandson of mine anyway? And what is he thinking, leaving you alone and looking so beautiful? Anyone could step in and sweep you off your feet," Gramps winks.

"He disappeared a while ago, and I've not seen him since. But enough about me - why aren't you dancing? I saw the two on the dance floor earlier."

"Ask your Nanna," Gramps grumbles.

"I'm too old for so much dancing. My feet are killing me," she moans. "And besides, I've got my favorite little man here to keep me company. But don't let that stop you two."

I stand, holding my arm out to Gramps, asking, "Shall we?"

Gramps hits me with a smile - that slightly lopsided one that all Cullen men seem to possess. We walk the short distance to the dance floor, where some generic tune is playing. Gramps has all the moves, and we are quickly swept up in the music. When the song comes to an end, a slower song begins, and Gramps is back to teasing.

"Are you sure you don't want to trade my grandson for an older, more experienced man?" he wiggles his eyebrow teasingly. I burst out laughing, gently prodding his shoulder playfully.

"Gramps, what would Nanna say?"

"I suppose there's that. Besides, I think this guy might have something to say about it."

And then I feel a familiar hand on my shoulder and a velvety voice whispers in my ear, "have to say about what?"

Edwards body presses against mine. I sigh— I fucking melt; I don't care how sickeningly sweet we are, and most importantly, Edward doesn't either. He may be a tough guy, but he's never afraid to show me his softer, loving side.

I turn around to face him and struggle not to stare.

"Hi," I said a little breathlessly. His lips quirk, clearly loving the effect he has on me; I swear he enjoys seeing me so flustered. His eyes danced over my face, briefly meeting mine before they focused on my lips.

When his head lowers, he nuzzles into my hair, his voice dropping to a low murmur that makes all the nerve endings in my body come alive.

"I've missed you."

He stares at me. I stare back. I feel hot and excited, all of which I'm sure is reflected on my face.

Then Gramps clears his throat, trying to sound annoyed.

"I take back what I said; you two are far worse than Esme and Carlisle ever were," he says in mock disgust.

Edward's eyes don't leave mine; his hands run up and down my arm, raising goosebumps on my skin. "I'm stealing my wife, back now."

"I'll allow it," I vaguely hear Gramps reply, but I'm too focused on Edward to notice.

"Dance with me, Mrs. Cullen?" he offers me his hand. I slip mine in his.

"Always"

He hits me with the smile I love before his hands graze my hips, then settle around my waist, drawing me close. Before I can object, we are moving in time to the rhythm of the music. I've lost count of the number of times I've danced with my husband but the feeling of being in his arms, it never gets old. We continue to dance to the next few songs, completely oblivious to those around us.

"Your gramps has some moves - maybe I married the wrong man?" I tease.

His eyes flash with panic for a moment before his usual cockiness returns.

"No, you didn't," he smirks; his head dips to place a light kiss on my lips.

We sway along to the next few songs. There are a few chaste kisses thrown in for good measure, and when the current song finishes, Edward pauses. I lift my head from his shoulder, and when our eyes meet, I'm slightly concerned to see he's wearing that strange, almost nervous expression he had earlier.

"Let's get out of here," he holds his hand out, and I slip mine into his as he leads me off the dancefloor.

"Edward, slow down. Where are we going," I laugh, struggling to keep up.

"You'll see," came his reply.

We get as far as the edge of the dancefloor before sanity prevails.

"Hold up; we can't just leave."

"A few moments can't hurt, right?" Edward urges.

"And what about our son?"

"Relax; Nanna has him. She's delighted to spend time with her great-grandson. You told me I need to share," he smirks, using my own words against me.

Oh, he's good.

Glancing around the room, I look for my son because I'm a mother first and foremost. I spot him straight away- he's fast asleep in Nanna's arms. She catches my eye, sending me a sly wink - telling me she's on to us.

Some things never change.

"Five minutes," I say sternly.

"Five minutes," Edward smirks, knowing full well there's no chance we'll stick to that.

"I mean it, Edward. You have five minutes."

I really don't.

He kisses me quickly, halting any more questions. When he pulls away, he sends me a slow, seductive smile before taking my hand in his and leading me across the room. We weave our way through the crowd to a set of doors that leads us outside. When we reach the terrace, all I can do is stare; the space has been transformed with fairy lights and candles. There's even a beautiful floral archway that leads through to the rest of the grounds. Edward leads me towards it. It's the perfect romantic setting to tell him our news. Shame he looks absolutely terrified. The air was filled with tension, and I don't why.

"Are you okay?"

"Bella ... I ..."

We both speak at the same time.

"You go first," I insist. I want to tell him our news, but something told me Edward had to get whatever he has to say out of the way first. He looks incredibly uncomfortable again, but I was slightly reassured when he reaches out, taking my hand in his caressing my palm while I look up at him, completely bewildered.

Edward is nervous, which in turn makes me anxious. I can't for the life of me understand why he's acting so strange.

"Calm down," I say, which is a joke. I'm terrified about whatever has brought this on.

"Whatever it is, we can deal with it. Just tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me."

"Fuck, this was so much easier the first time."

"First time?" I repeat, puzzled.

And then, Edward is silent for a moment before suddenly releasing my hand and taking a slight step away from me - a look of determination on his face.

I look at him in concern—alarmed by his unpredictable mood swings. He takes a deep, exaggerated breath before he starts digging around in his pockets. I feel my stomach flip and my heart pound when he drops down to one knee.

I gasp.

My hand flies to my mouth when I see what Edward is holding in his hands; a small jewelry box.

"Edward!"

His hands grasp mine, and I notice his are shaking slightly.

"Bear with me; I never asked you the first time. I want to ask you the right way this time," he winks … I smile … then laugh as the tears start gathering in my eyes.

Between the tears and the crazy smile on my face, I imagine I look a mess, but when Edward starts talking, none of those things matter anymore.

"Before we met, I had no plans to fall in love ... certainly no plans to get married. But that's because I hadn't met you. From the moment I saw you … the moment we spoke, I knew you were the one I'd been waiting to find."

I sniffle, but I hold back the tears, or at least try to.

"It's not always been easy - far from it, but I can't put into words how proud I am to call you my wife. I got lucky the day we met, and I will forever be grateful for you coming into my life and accepting me, my family … this life. I love you, Bella, and want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much."

The tears start falling as soon as Edward began speaking but now, they're practically a river of big fat ugly tears running down my cheeks.

"Bella, you never got the wedding of your dreams the first time around ... you never even got a proper proposal, and while I wouldn't change anything that has led us to where we are now … Well, almost nothing." He pauses, a brief flash of pain flickers across his face, and I know he's thinking back to Marcus and James.

"I want us to renew our vows so you can have the wedding you missed. However big or small … whatever you want, I'll make it happen. I just want to make you happy…"

Edward pauses, taking a deep breath before saying, "Isabella Cullen, will you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife ... again."

He opens the box and holds it towards me to reveal the most stunning ring I've ever seen; it looks like platinum with a full circle of stunning round diamonds.

"I know you love your wedding ring, but this is an eternity ring, a symbol of everlasting love and commitment."

Oh, Edward.

I don't know how long I stay silent because Edward has to prompt me.

"You still haven't answered me, you know? Are you going to marry me again?" He asks, smiling.

Tears of pure joy roll down my cheeks, and it takes me all of two seconds to reply.

"Yes ... of course, I'll marry you."

The next few moments are all a blur, and before I realize it, the ring is on my finger, and Edward's lips are on mine. His lips caress mine, taking his time to increase the pleasure before his tongue slides between my lips. I could feel his love for me in every touch ... every embrace. When we pull apart, I don't realize I'm crying again until my sight becomes blurry, and Edward reaches out to brush the tears away from my eyes.

"You don't know how happy ... how relieved I am to hear you say that."

"How could you be nervous—we're already married!"

And then it hits me.

"Is this why you've been acting so strange? You thought I'd turn you down?"

"That was part of it—I didn't want to mess it up," he admits.

And then I'm the one who reaches for him first. I grab the back of his neck, pulling him down to my lips. Straight away, I feel my body responding, and however much I'm enjoying celebrating our plans to renew our vows, we need to slow this down. Edward's had his moment; now it's my turn to hopefully make him as happy as he's made me.

"How soon do you want to do this?" I giggle; I fucking giggle. I'm giddy … high on love and happiness.

"I don't care as long as I get to see you in that dress you didn't wear the first time around," Edward winks.

"Okay..."

"Or not … You can pick a new dress, or even wear the one you wore the first time. It's your choice." He's trying not to look disappointed, but I can see through him.

"Edward, I would love to wear the dress you got me."

I have to bite my lips to keep the smile off my face from giving myself away. "But in that case, we might need to make it a short engagement ... albeit not as short as the last one. We have a little more time than that."

Edward looked even more confused.

"What do you mean? What am I missing?" he asks.

"Soon, that dress won't fit me."

"What? why not?"

Seriously?

For an intelligent man, sometimes my husband really does miss the obvious.

Taking his hand in mine, I place our hands on my stomach. I keep my eyes on him, wanting to memorize the expression on his face when he realizes what I'm telling him. The fact that he missed this the first time around makes me more determined to memorize every detail of his expression.

It takes all of five-second for everything to click into place.

"You're pregnant ... again!"

Tears gather in my eyes; I can only nod back, hoping Edward is as excited as I am about the new addition to our family.

He's speechless, and then the next thing I know, I'm against his chest as he whispers words of love in my ear. When he pulls back, there are tears in his eyes too.

"I can't believe we're going to have another baby."

"You're pleased," I ask, even though it's unnecessary. Edward's smile tells me he's delighted.

"Let me show you how happy I am."

He kisses me again until I'm breathless.

"You scared me back then. I thought something was wrong."

"I was nervous ... It's pretty soon. I know we've discussed having more children, but we've never put a date on it ..." My voice trails off.

"Have we not? Because if I remember correctly, I've been pretty clear on wanting more children … we both do, right?"

"Yes, but not so soon … Is it too soon?" I worry.

"No … We need to get started if we want that soccer team we plan on having."

"You're happy?"

Now I'm the one relieved. Though I don't know why I was so nervous. Edward is delighted by my news, and he tells me so.

"I couldn't be happier, Bella … well, unless you were to tell me there's more than one baby in there." His one hand rests on my belly, the other lightly strokes my cheek. "Twins run in my family, don't you know," he winks.

"Twins!"

Hell, no!

"Slow down. It's way too soon to be finding that out." I push his shoulders playfully. "According to the test, I'm about five weeks pregnant."

I can see his mind ticking ... then he smiles.

"So you think ..." his voice trails off as his smile turns into a smirk.

I'm blushing, seriously blushing.

"The bachelor/bachelorette party?"

I nod, then poke his stomach. He catches my hands in his, intertwining our fingers.

"Let's go say our goodbyes to the bride and groom. We have some celebrating to do tonight." He winks; I know that smirk; I blush knowing what Edward has planned, and I can't wait.

He ushers me back inside to where the rest of the family are gathered.

Looking around the room, I spot Esme and Carlisle in the far corner whispering sweet nothings to one another. Nanna and Gramps are bickering at the table while our son is wide awake playing with his toys. Alice and Jasper are beside them, gazing adoringly at their baby, who's sleeping peacefully in his proud father's arms. Finally, my eyes are drawn towards the bride and groom, who only have eyes for each other as they slow dance together like they're the only ones in the room.

Suddenly seeing everyone together hits me how much everything has changed.

Had it been only two years ago I was drawn into this crazy wonderful world? Back then, I could never have predicted we would end up here. Not just with Edward - the whole family. Every one of them has been so good to me ... so accepting ... so wonderful. They've made me feel like a valued member of this family.

Before the Cullens, I was alone. My friends were my family, but it wasn't the same as this fiercely loyal ... protective family I am now a part of. I now have a family ... a purpose ...

My heart feels so full in moments like these. Surrounded by family—by the people I love and adore.

I think back to what Rose asked me earlier. Honestly, it feels like everything that happened— every good decision, every bad one, has led me to my family. This was the life I was meant to have but never dared dream possible. I have everything I could ever want and more, and I couldn't imagine a life without either Edward or our gorgeous perfect, precious baby.

I'm blessed.

The future may be uncertain, but I know whatever life throws our way, we can get through it. We've not just come full circle, but the circle is expanding ... growing as it would no doubt over the next fifty or sixty years if we're lucky.

There are no guarantees; life is short, time is precious, and it goes by much too quickly. Sometimes, the world is an uncertain, cruel place. The last two years have taught me a lot; we had drama, loss, and heartbreak, but most importantly, love and family at the heart of everything. And with my family around, we deal with all of it, and I wouldn't have it any other way…

Edward once said he forced me into our marriage. But the truth is, it took a little madness ... a little desperation … and an unbreakable connection to present the right opportunity for us to create the life we have.

And what a wonderful life it is.

There was never any entrapment at play; it was all fate, destiny, and most importantly … love.

THE END

Author's note; And that's a wrap! I can't believe this story is over—that this one-shot turned into this beast! I can't tell you how bittersweet it is to mark it complete.

Bear with me; this will be long, but I hope you'll read until the end.

Now to the hardest part - to say thank you to all you wonderful people who have indulged me and made this story so much fun to write. This story is by no means perfect. I love to write, but it doesn't come easy or even natural to me, but I'm extremely proud of how it turned out.

You've been so kind in your reviews and messages and constructive criticisms. I can't thank you enough for encouraging me to keep going, keep writing! It makes a big difference, believe me.

What's next? Well, after weekly posts since June, I have so much reading to catch up on. I have some ideas, but who knows what will come of them. When I have something concrete, I'll post the new information on the FB page; it All Started with Twilight.

Finally - I think this story should end with the unsung hero of the fanfiction world- my wonderful beta, Fran. I can't put into words how fantastic and patient she is with me. I'm hard work! I mix up my tense - constantly. I stress too much … I overthink everything. Yet Fran never makes me feel like an idiot or a burden. She's only ever encouraging ... so supportive... and a great source of ideas when I hit a wall, or I'm a little lost and doubting myself. It's been a privilege and honor having you on board. Thank you so much :) xx