A/N: The epilogue. There's not much to say without giving too much away but if you have time listen to the beautiful song: Little Wonders by Rob Thomas, it helped keep me inspired throughout this journey. It's a very heartwarming song and fits this chapter perfectly.

Thank you all again!

Special thank you to the amazing Mel Cee, who not only was my beta for this journey, but also an incredible friend. She puts in so much time and effort to help make this story what it is and truly cares about not only the story but me as an author and person. Love you, Mel! Thank you:)

Also I'm working on a new story, Swan Dive...it's gonna be good so put me on author alerts! Thank you and love you y'all!

I don't own Twilight or any music, just my plot...here we go.

One year later…

"A little to the left. No, your other left, Bella!" Edward chuckled, as Bella tried to steady her phone against the mailbox.

Bella stuck her tongue out at Edward, and then she snuck a peek inside the mailbox, looking for their first pieces of mail as the new tenants. It was only junk mail, addressed to "resident," but it was a start.

"Come on, baby! The timer is going to run out," Edward warned, beaming with pride at Bella.

Bella quickly jogged up the porch stairs and jumped in the photo right as the flash went off.

Their first photos as homeowners.

"The furniture should be delivered between ten and two," Bella informed him as she went to collect her phone from across the lawn.

"Which means it won't be delivered until four," Edward remarked. Waiting for home furnishings was not for the faint of heart.

Once she had made her way back up the steps, Bella started shuffling through the boxes that were scattered all over their front porch. They didn't have enough belongings to hire movers, so they'd loaded everything into Edward's new—well new to him—truck. Goodbye Range Rover, hello Ford Explorer.

After his car had been seized by the police, they hadn't been in a rush to purchase another vehicle with the proceeds from the sale of his apartment. Who needed a car in the city after all? But now that they had moved back out to Jersey, transportation was a must. It didn't matter to either of them that the car was more practical and cost-efficient than anything else. Neither one of them wanted to live an extravagant lifestyle. Been there, done that.

Their home was a charming colonial which consisted of three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, a fenced-in yard, and an unfinished basement that Edward said "he had plans for."

Not long after they had moved into Bella and Alice's apartment, they decided to start looking for a place of their own. Unfortunately, it proved to be not an easy task. They spent months looking for the perfect place, and everything was either out of their price range or needed a tremendous amount of work which would only cost them more money.

They were starting to give up hope when they found this one a little over two months ago. It didn't take them long to decide to put an offer down. The owner had three other offers above asking when Bella and Edward waltzed in the open house and met the owner, a little old lady, who had just lost her husband of forty years. Not being able to live on her own anymore, she was moving into an assisted housing development.

They got to talking, and when Bella and Edward shared a bit of their story—how they found their way back to one another despite the odds against them—the lady was moved to tears. She saw how in love they were, and they reminded her of how things had been with her late husband. She accepted their offer and wished them luck on their journey. She had more than enough money; she wasn't looking to be rich. Love was all that mattered in the end.

"Mrs. Swan, I can carry the packages inside," Edward admonished, walking up behind her and embracing her from behind while looking around the greenery their neighborhood offered. It was so nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of New York.

"Oh well, Mr. Swan, let me tell you that I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself," Bella joked and turned in his arms, handing him a box.

They'd gotten married three months ago at the courthouse, and instead of Bella taking Edward's last name of Masen or him going back to his birth name, he decided to take Bella's. Masen wasn't right for Edward, let alone Bella. He wanted them to start off their marriage right. A fresh start, completely untainted by all the terrible things from their pasts.

Bella also legally changed her name from Isabella to just Bella. Isabella only held bad memories. It was often used with disdain or disgust.

Bella Swan. Edward Swan. Mr. and Mrs. Swan. It suited them well.

They had kept things small, but all of their friends were there including Charlie, so they still had quite a crowd with them. Afterward, Carlisle and Esme threw them a beautiful luncheon to celebrate. It was a low-key affair, nothing fancy or snooty. Bella wore a simple white dress and her hair in a braid which Alice insisted on doing. Rosalie bought Bella a Tiffany Blue necklace for her something blue. And Charlotte gave Bella back her Velveteen Rabbit book that she'd found mixed in with her stuff when she was moving into Rosalie and Emmett's place.

The day was absolutely perfect for them. Just friends, family, and love. They'd earned the chance to make nothing but happy memories for a change.

Speaking of Carlisle and Esme…

"Oh Esme called. She's ordering us dinner and having it delivered. Carlisle insists on us trying this new pizza place on Main Street. It's apparently the best in Jersey." Bella snorted out a laugh, as if pizza places weren't a dime a dozen in New Jersey or in the city for that matter. But she was just so thankful to have Esme and Carlisle as part of her makeshift family. They'd really stepped up in ways she never dreamed.

Once Carlisle was cleared of any wrongdoing, they spent more and more time getting to know each other better. They filled in as the stand-in parents they always needed. Carlisle was now taking a break from the business world. He and Esme were living off their savings until they came up with a better, healthier plan.

She had people who called to check on her and to talk about house stuff she was concerned about, and she had a handy "dad" figure who already spotted a leak in the upstairs bathroom. Lost in her reverie of gratitude for this change in her life, she let out a sigh of relief before she turned to look at her husband.

"It'll be a while until the pizza's here. Do you know what else we could do besides wait for the furniture?" Edward asked, with a Cheshire Cat smile.

"What?" Bella said, quirking an eyebrow in his direction.

"Christen the place!" Edward laughed, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

Bella giggled at his antics, a flush creeping up over her face as she remembered how they had said goodbye to their old apartment. The newlyweds were insatiable for each other. Especially now that they were armed with lots of birth control because while Bella was working on her pregnancy/baby fear, she was not ready to take that leap just yet.

Marriage and a house were the right steps toward building a solid future with one another. They were still in therapy, consistently working through any bumps that came their way. Talk of babies in the future had come up, but they had agreed there was no rush—it didn't mean they couldn't have fun "practicing."

Besides, their time had been filled with other pursuits for strengthening this new life they were building together. Edward had gone back to school to become certified as a guidance counselor. It was what he wanted to do from the start. Before his adopted parents had told him it wasn't a good enough dream. Before he had lost sight of what mattered. Before everything.

Having his eyes opened to everything going on around him had helped him regain focus, to rediscover something he was passionate about. He wanted to help kids, kids like Charlie, like Bella, like himself. Edward, of all people, knew how tough life could be. He knew how having just one person believe in you, to stand in your corner, could have a positive impact. Making a difference was important to him. He was focused on being that person for kids in need.

Everything else would wait for the right time. Much like their relationship. Right here, right now was all they could worry about. Time only ticked away.

Edward followed Bella into the house. He looked around in awe. It still shocked him that they owned it.

"Not bad for two foster kids, right?" Edward joked, patting Bella's ass as she climbed the stairs.

"Not at all." Bella chuckled, setting the box of art stuff in front of the guest bedroom door.

She had to get to work on some more pieces for an upcoming art show with Marcus. He wanted lots of new pieces and fast.

Edward took her hand in his, kissing her fingertips. "Did you ever think life would be like this?"

Bella looked into his green eyes that melted her every time. She nodded, suddenly an optimist, "Yes," she whispered, pulling him down the hall and into their bedroom.

Next stop: the kitchen.

All Hale the Kale's doors weren't yet open for Sunday brunch, so Rosalie had set up at one of the booths to conduct some business.

"So how long have you been doing this?" Rosalie interrogated, sitting down across from the prospective gentleman. "Give me one good reason why you deserve this?"

The guy's hands shook slightly underneath the table, and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead, as Rosalie gave him her most intimidating glare.

Interviews often went this way. She'd put on her game face and scare them shitless. You know what they say: "if you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen."

"Mrs. McCarty—errr–ma'am." He stammered, wiping more sweat falling from his head. Rosalie resisted the urge to laugh. Her glare turned menacing as he called her ma'am. "I just want to take your daughter to prom."

In this case, it wasn't the kitchen the interviewees couldn't handle but Rosalie's vetting process for Charlotte's prospective dates.

With her track record, who could blame Rosalie for being hesitant, at best.

"Rosie, his dad is a cop and this kid does community service for fun." Emmett spoke at last, finally being the voice of reason.

Rosalie leaned back in the booth, eying the twerp who wanted to take Charlie away from her, well at least for a night.

They were inching toward finalizing the adoption and working on a transition plan with Charlotte's caseworker. Rosalie was extremely protective of Charlotte and didn't want anything to go wrong, especially with all the positive changes Charlotte had made.

Speaking of…

"Mom!" A shriek came from the kitchen of All Hale the Kale.

Busted.

A pissed-off Charlotte came storming across the empty dining room. She had got up from their brunch just to grab more rolls from the kitchen and her soon-to-be adoptive mother was giving her prom date the third degree.

"Charlie, I had nothing to do with it," Emmett pleaded, raising his hands, wanting mercy.

Charlotte gave him a pointed look and then turned to Rosalie, crossing her arms in an almost identical manner to how Rosalie does when she scolds her staff. The scared shitless boy quickly excused him under the guise of needing to use the bathroom.

Rosalie watched Charlie and pursed her lips in an effort to keep a straight face. "Char?" she responded, looking innocently at the girl who stole her heart. Charlie huffed and glared at her. "What?" Rosalie gasped, incredulously at Charlotte's attitude.

"Don't 'what' me! You're going to scare him away!" Charlotte whined, sitting next to Rosalie in the booth, slouching like she was already done with this conversation.

"Char, my love–" Rosalie started, but she was quickly cut off by a hostile Charlie.

"Oh come on, don't use your Char magic." Charlie huffed again. She was weak to the nickname that was given to her after she started her new school.

"Mom, I know what you were doing. Poor Ben isn't like Tyler. He's a decent guy. I'm making better choices. I'm surrounding myself with good people. You don't need to worry, but I need you to trust me," she pleaded, looking to Emmett for support.

"She's right, Rosie. Charlie's done incredible with all these new transitions. I mean, fuck, she has a 3.9 GPA. I don't think I had more than a 3.0."

Crack. Rosalie smacked the back of his head for swearing in front of Charlotte. For the umpteenth time, of course.

"I do trust you. It's everyone else I don't trust." Rosalie frowned, a little upset over the thought that Charlie didn't believe she trusted her. She'd have to prove it to her.

Charlotte sensed Rosalie's discomfort and leaned in to give the only mother she'd ever known a bear hug which resembled Emmett's. Sometimes it was easy to forget they weren't blood related.

"Benjamin!" Rosalie called, knowing he was hiding behind one of the pillars.

The scrawny boy poked his head out sheepishly, and he gave her a small wave.

Rosalie couldn't help but roll her eyes, which caused Charlie to nudge her. That girl was always keeping her in check. Rosalie and Emmett exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing: how did they get so damn lucky?

They weren't the only ones who had gotten lucky—Charlie finally found where she was wanted. Where she belonged. She couldn't be happier about it.

Ben creeped back to the table, sliding in next to Charlie, doing everything in his power to avoid Rosalie's scrutinizing gaze.

"Hey, Benny boy! Want a job at a food truck? Old McCarty's Farm is booming. I think it might give this place a run for its money, if you know what I mean?" Emmett boomed, laughing at his own banter.

Crack!

Some things never changed.

"Oh he's beautiful, Jasper! Can you believe we did this? I'm so happy!" Alice beamed, looking up at Jasper, holding the baby in her arms.

"You did all the work. I was just your trusty sidekick, babe," Jasper said smoothly as if the last few hours of tears and screaming didn't happen.

Like all had been forgotten, Alice gave him a doe-eyed look. She was weak for Doctor McKitty. Alice leaned in to kiss Jasper's always willing lips.

"Ugh, you guys are disgusting!" Maria whined, holding one of the baby kittens they'd rescued from a sewer. "Aren't they disgusting, Mudpie?" She cooed to the little baby in her arms.

No babies were in store for Alice and Jasper, unless they were of the fur baby variety. As it was, they had their hands full with Maria and their zoo of animals.

Well, maybe it wasn't a zoo as much as an animal rescue league called Maria's Liberty Rescue.

It was founded by Jasper in lieu of an engagement ring to Alice, who apparently was vehemently against fine jewelry, but seeing as she was elbow deep in litter boxes on the daily, who could blame her?

Alice had parted ways with All Hale the Kale to give her animals and all animals in need the time they so desperately deserved. She spent her days doing what she loved with who she loved. In his free time away from the hospital, Jasper helped Alice with more difficult rescues, being her rock in any storm.

Jasper and Alice knew they were each other's endgame but had no official plans to tie the knot just yet. When they did, there was no doubt Caius would be walking Alice down the aisle. But for now, they were building steps in the bathroom for Caius's old butt to use the litter box comfortably.

Almost a year had passed since Alice regained full custody of Maria. Alice couldn't have been happier, getting her daughter back and gaining a partner in life. Alice's parents were in court the day the judge made their ruling, and they cried seeing how much of Alice's life they'd stripped away by keeping Maria from her. Overcome with regrets, they told her they understood if she never wanted to speak to them again. But Alice was Alice, and she reassured them that she would never take their granddaughter away from them.

If she did that, she'd only be stooping to their level. Alice had no interest in repeating the same old mistakes. Clarity was a wondrous thing. So were second chances. Every day was a new opportunity to shine.

Bella stomped up the stairs of their house, huffing with every step she took.

"Bella, will you please talk to me?" Edward followed behind her, hot on her tracks. He wasn't going to let her run away from this. Not after all the progress they'd made.

"No, Edward. I can't believe this." Bella sobbed, almost closing the door to the upstairs bathroom before Edward got there, but he sprinted up the steps before she did, sticking his foot in the door.

Bella sat on the toilet, crying into her hands. Edward kneeled before her, hating to see how upset she was.

"Bella, these things take time. We can't rush it. We keep trying and eventually–" Edward reasoned, but he was quickly cut off by a now hysterical Bella.

"There is no eventually, Edward. It either happens or it doesn't. I should have known this won't be easy. Nothing in my life is," Bella spat. She really didn't mean those words. She was grateful for everything she had been through because it led her to the right now. Except right now was her crying about getting her period after being two days late.

Edward rubbed up and down her arms, at a loss on how to make it better. Every month, it was the same rollercoaster.

Tears streamed down her red cheeks. "What if all the times I said how I didn't want to be pregnant, God listened and now isn't going to give us a baby?" she whispered, terrified that this was even going through her head.

Ever since they started trying four months ago, every negative pregnancy test only reminded her of how much she once didn't want the alternative.

After five years of being back together, and with a hell of a lot of therapy and tears, they'd finally made the decision to bring a baby into the world. A little piece of her and Edward. Bella could practically imagine the little boy with crazy hair and green eyes. It was all she thought about.

"Bella, it will happen. It's just going to take time. Jasper said–" Edward started, but Bella grabbed his hand that was on her arm.

"You told Jasper?!" Bella shrieked, annoyed that Edward shared their struggles with someone other than Phil.

Edward nodded. "I wanted to help. Please don't be mad. I also have been speaking to Phil about it during my sessions, and he said adoption would be good to consider and could really benefit us in our healing."

Bella sat and listened, and soon she apologized for her rash behavior. She couldn't help it. Once she overcame her fear of pregnancy and death, baby fever kicked in. Even though Bella wasn't fearful of having a child anymore, she still wanted to be smart and have provisions set up in case she and Edward were to pass away. She also wanted to vet her doctors and ensure no malpractice cases were associated with them.

"Maybe I can call some of the caseworkers I work with?" Edward implored, proud of his contacts and the children he had helped so far.

Two years ago, he became a guidance counselor in their school district and was thrilled to be living his dream. Both professionally and personally.

Bella nodded. "Fine." She paused for a minute, thinking. "But we can still try, right?"

Edward stood from the bathroom floor and pulled her with him, leading her out into the hall. "Yes, baby. Try, try, try again. You know how much I love trying. I'm good at trying," Edward boasted, pressing Bella against the wall outside the bathroom.

Bella grabbed his neck and kissed him with such fervor and passion, he was stunned, but it didn't take long for him to catch up.

"You little brats! Get your asses in here or no cartoons until Christmas!" It was July.

Two children, no older than five years old, ran to their foster mother. "Sorry, ma'am," they said in sync.

"Now we have people coming to visit today, so no funny business, you hear." The middle-aged woman grabbed the little girl's chin, which made the young boy tense and cringe slightly.

All he wanted to do was protect her. They were each other's best friends. They had been with each other for as long they could remember.

"Yes, ma'am," they sputtered, making their way to the kitchen to sweep up the crumbs from lunch.

Edward and Bella stood on the doorstep, hand in hand. Bella looked back to see the gentleman accompanying them, messing around with paperwork in his truck. Bella rolled her eyes and shuffled from one leg to another, too nervous to stand still.

"Would this be a terrible time to tell you I was pregnant?" Bella blurted, looking up at Edward, who suddenly was gaping like a fish.

After a minute, she waved a hand in front of his face, and next thing she knew, he was spinning her around. He quickly set her down. "Oh shit, I didn't hurt the baby, did I?" He gasped, checking Bella up and down to make sure she was okay.

Bella waved him off, and soon they heard a voice from the other side of the door. "You worthless little—"

Edward and Bella exchanged a knowing look, and Bella picked at her fingers just thinking of what those poor children must have had to endure.

"Go, I'll distract him," Edward instructed, knowing he would want to do the same. He looked back at the caseworker, Waylon, who was overwhelmed by his caseload. Too many kids, not enough homes. It was the name of the game.

Bella knocked once to give whoever was the wicked foster parent a little notice before she turned the doorknob. Of course it was open.

The house was small and dated, much like the homes Bella knew all too well from her own youth. But it was clean, no doubt because of the kids' chores. There were no colorful toys or anything that indicated that children lived there.

Bella sighed and bumped into a little boy with curly hair, steadying with her hands on his shoulders. He had dimples in both cheeks, a gap-toothed smile, and he was just plain adorable. She tore her gaze away from the boy and then spotted a little girl in pigtails and a too-small dress, who was collecting crumbs with a dustpan.

"Bree, I told you I'd do it," the little boy scolded as he reached for the dustpan filled with crumbs.

"No, Eric. I can do it!" She pulled the dustpan away from him.

He tightened his grip and leaned back with force. Crumbs flew everywhere.

"You fuck–" The woman came out from the hallway to see the commotion. Not realizing Bella was standing there, she was about to backhand the little girl.

"Stop!" Bella bellowed, revealing herself as Edward and Waylon made their way inside.

The woman smirked slightly, but she relented when she saw the caseworker with them. She mumbled something in the direction of the children toward the effect of "you're gonna get it."

Bella cringed, remembering hearing those words more than once. Edward made eye contact with her, and they had a silent conversation. Bella nodded as they finished, happy to see they were on the same page.

She crouched down to the level of the two small children. "How do you guys feel about grilled cheese? I've been told it's my speciality." Her tone was soft and she spoke evenly, not wanting them to be frightened.

Edward started talking to Waylon about paperwork and the specific needs of both children. Adopting two children was tougher than one, but Edward and Bella were more than hopeful that this would be another little wonder they would be blessed with.

Fate brought them back together when it was nearly impossible. Fate gave them a child when five years ago, the notion couldn't even be considered. They knew this would be one more obstacle. One more gift of fate granted to them. Well, technically two.

"We love grilled cheese!" they said simultaneously, jumping up and down with the prospect of being adopted. Bella and Edward looked at one another and were overcome with the similarities of their childhood.

There were hugs and promises of the future exchanged. These small moments were what made life worth living. Nothing else mattered. All the trials and tribulations they went through were all worth it. All the regrets, the doubts, the fights—the darkness had a way of blocking out all the little glimmers of light. Well, it did if they let it. Now, they'd learned to always let the light win.

The hardest part was over. They would only remember the struggle in order to learn and do better.

For their family.

They finally had a family.

"Hand me that paintbrush, Bree," Bella asked her daughter, reaching down to grab the slimmer paintbrush from her hand.

"Mom, should you be up on the ladder right now?" Eric asked, holding the wooden rails tighter. "I mean you're pretty big."

Edward stifled a chuckle from the doorway, watching this exchange. If Eric hadn't scolded Bella, he was just about to jump in.

"Big? Really, kid? I'm eight months pregnant." Bella pouted at Eric's bluntness.

"Eight and a half, baby," Edward corrected, laughing and helping Bella step down from the ladder. "No more, Bella. The mural is stunning, just like you." Edward put his hand on her tummy to feel his daughter kick.

Bella had been working on a mural of The Velveteen Rabbit for the baby's nursery since she found out she was pregnant.

She had been itching to paint since taking her sabbatical to help Eric and Bree adjust to adopted life. This gave her the perfect opportunity.

"Vanessa's been a soccer player today!" Bree commented, informing Edward.

They were naming their daughter Vanessa because it meant butterfly or rebirth. All of their growth transformed them into the people they were today. Vanessa was a product of that so no name was better suited.

Bella and Edward navigated life after foster care differently, and their choices almost tore them apart for good. They would never be the same. Nobody would ever know what it was like, but they knew. They also knew what life was like without the other, and under no circumstance would they end up back there.

Life would always be messy. But in that mess, you needed to find the real. Pretending and faking got you nowhere. If you couldn't be who you really were, who could you be?

Real wonders. Real life. Real love.

A/N: THE END! What a journey! Life is made up of the small moments, let's do our best to enjoy them...