This is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again. These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you. ~ Taylor Swift, Enchanted

BPOV

One year later

I groaned under my breath when the gentle fingers than had been running through my hair disappeared. An end to the caressing meant getting up and showering and packing and none of those things sounded appealing.

"Don't wanna get up," I mumbled into Edward's chest. I pressed a kiss to the warm skin right above his heart, wrapping an arm around his waist.

My eyes cracked open and I sighed at the sight in front of me. Rain pounded down the glass, but the view was unmistakable. Damp tan sand met a rough ocean water, waves crashing against the beach nearly matching the sound of the sporadic cracks of thunder.

"You don't have to. The weather's too rough, we won't be able to make it back for a couple more days." A moment later, his fingers were back to gently running through my hair.

I should have been upset that our plan had been changed, but I was entirely too comfortable to be mad. A couple more days stranded on the island with no one but Edward to keep me company was the farthest thing from torture.

The island would always be a happy, safe place for me. It might be where we went to regroup from bad shit happening, but it was also where we always picked ourselves back up again. It was a short visit this time, only a week, but it was a much-needed little vacation.

My show last year, almost to the day, had been more successful than I ever hoped for. There was a lot of freedom in finally showing the world the more personal parts of me, and a lot of relief in them not tearing me apart for it.

That show that I put my heart and soul into turned into a tour, albeit a smaller production because I wasn't putting on a four-hour show every night, that led to some of the best publicity I had ever received in my career.

I didn't really care about the articles or the rumors, but it was more than a little enjoyable to be able to read about myself and not have it make me nauseous.

Bella Cullen's reputation Revived Show Brought in More Viewers than Last Years' Super Bowl.

The People v. Isabella Cullen Gets Off to Abysmal Start Thanks to reputation Revived.

After Years of Men Dominating the Charts, Bella Cullen Put Female Pop Back on Top.

Bella Cullen Brought Back the Meaningful Pop Song.

Bella Cullen's reputation Revived Tour Gives Her The Highest Grossing US Tour Two Decades After She Last Had the Title.

Of course, there were still negative ones thrown in there, but they were easy to ignore.

I didn't have this constant need to defend myself anymore. I didn't feel like everyone that looked at me saw me as the girl crying on the witness stand because her husband was dead. It felt like, for the first time in years, people cared more about my career than my personal life. A personal life I was very excited to get back to.

Edward and I had been away from Chicago for a couple months. First, it was a string of shows I had overseas, then he had some business to take care of in Ireland so we stayed there for a couple of weeks. Now, after a week of time to ourselves on the island, we had been ready to fly out this afternoon.

As much as I missed Chicago and Aiden and normalcy, I wasn't going to complain about two more days here. It was a routine Edward and I had done many times, but it was always hard leaving the tranquility of the island. To me, there was nothing more comforting than knowing Edward and I were the only people for miles around.

"What will we do with ourselves for the next two days?" I asked Edward, lazily rolling over and situating myself on top of him.

"I thought you wanted to go back to sleep," he said, his voice huskier than it was just a minute ago.

"That was when I thought I had to get up to leave. The situation has changed."

There was quite the difference between having to get out of bed to travel for twelve hours, and getting out of bed to share a shower with my husband. Quite the difference.

I had a lot of surreal moments in my life. It was never normal, I never had the typical experiences most people had. Never graduated college, never spent summers back home with my parents, or had my father threaten a boyfriend because he thought I was too good for them. Typical things that some people took for granted.

But, here I was, standing on this private island in a luxurious shower with my husband kneeling at my feet, washing my legs more thoroughly than was necessary. I never said it often, because I knew Edward would fight me on it, but there was no doubt in my mind my life would have fallen apart a long time ago if I had never found him.

"Did you know I've been your wife longer than I haven't?" I asked when he stood up, soapy hands on my hips. We got married when I was twenty-two. I was now… much, much older than twenty-two.

"I've never thought about it like that," he said softly, his fingers pressing into my sides.

"I never would have… none of this would have happened if…"

"You would have had an equally impressive career without me constantly ruining your reputation."

I shrugged. "Maybe my career would have been okay," I relented, because that was something we'd already argued about a dozen times over. "But I wouldn't have been happy. No one else could have understood me like you do."

For a man who made a living intimidating and scaring the general public, he could be impossibly sweet. Only to me, but that was okay. He never looked at me like I was a basket case if I got lost in my own head, never looked down on me for the various pills I took for my anxiety.

He always brushed the topic off if I brought it up, but I never forgot any of the little things he did for me.

"You make yourself sound much more complicated than you really are," he sighed, pressing my back against the cold glass shower wall. "We've got two more days of solitude before we get back to reality, it's no time to dwell on what ifs."

"I wouldn't say I was dwelling… I was reminiscing."

Edward smiled down at me with a small shake of his head. With a soft kiss to my lips, all thoughts of what ifs and any lingering reminiscing were gone.

Dark…

As much as I loved the island, it was nice to see Chicago again. I kept my eyes on the familiar scenery as Edward drove us home from the small, private landing strip about half an hour away. The sun was just starting to set, a beautiful hazy pink orange filled the sky, when he pulled into the driveway.

"Edward!" I gasped when he practically pulled me out of the car and into his arms. He carried me bridal style up to the door. "What's with this?"

"Do I need an excuse to carry you thought the threshold?"
"Well, yes."

"My excuse," he said, while somehow managing to open the door with his arms full of me. "Is that I love you."

I smiled up at him from my odd angle in his arms, craning my neck to press a kiss to his cheek. Edward turned my chaste kiss to the kind that would make my knees buckle in about ten seconds if I were standing.

"You guys really have no self-control, do you?" Aiden's voice caused us both to freeze.

Edward had gotten us to the living room, probably in a haste to get upstairs. But, Aiden was standing there, Adeline by his side. Both looked nervous, which put me on edge.

My son, as much as I loved him, had absolutely no acting ability whatsoever. Every emotion was written on his face, more so when he thought he was hiding it.

"What'd you do?" I asked as Edward carefully set me on my feet. He pulled me in front of him, most likely to conceal the hardness that was currently pressed into my lower back.

"How do you know I did something?"

"Because when you try to act normal you show every emotion across your face. You get all red and splotchy and nervous. It's really quite upsetting that you learned nothing from me."

"Will you just… sit down and stop staring at me?"

Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the couch. I looked up at him and saw him frowning in the direction of Aiden and Adeline. He knew Aiden's tells as well as I did, and it was obvious something was going on.

"If you started using again…" Edward started, his voice deep and tense.

"I'm not."

"Pee in a cup before you leave."

"Fine."

The random drug testing still happened, though not as often as it once did. Aiden was continually a good sport about it, but I knew it had to get to him. Edward was adamant about it, though, especially with Aiden working more closely with him.

If it wasn't drugs… My eyes drifted between Aiden and Adeline as they stood across from us. Aiden had a hand tight around her waist.

"You eloped," I gasped. "Aiden Anthony Cullen I swear to God, if you got married without us I will – "

"I'm pregnant!"

It had to have been comical, the way Edward's head and mine snapped to Adeline.

"You're… pregnant?" I asked, though my brain was still having trouble comprehending the words.

"Yes. I just finished my first trimester. We didn't want to tell you over the phone. No one else knows."

I slumped back against the couch, staring at the two of them. Aiden had just turned twenty not that long ago. Adeline was a few years older, but they were still young. So young.

"I told you to have the sex talk with him like… seven years ago," I said to Edward, lightly smacking his arm beside me.

"I did. Cullen men are apparently very… fertile."

"Guys."

"Ew. Why would you say that?" I always found it very… clinical when the word fertile was used in relation to people.

"You had about six doctors tell you you'd never conceive naturally and you still ended up pregnant."

"Maybe that just means we… out-fucked their expectations."

"Ma!"

My head snapped back to Aiden. And Adeline. The expectant parents.

Fuck.

"Sorry. You're… pregnant?" I asked again, pointing between the two of them. It all sounded a bit like a prank. They both nodded. "Did you take a test? Sometimes they're wrong, you know. A doctor –"

"She took tests at home, and we've been to the doctor. Everyone is healthy and right on track."

"You –" Edward started, but Aiden interrupted.

"I know you guys probably aren't happy, probably think this is just another way I've fucked up. It wasn't planned and I'm sorry I disappointed you again but I – we're – happy about it.

"I already had a ring to propose to her, I was just waiting for the right time. We're gonna wait to get married though, until after the baby comes. I bought a brownstone downtown that's getting renovated for us. It'll be closer to Adeline's office than living out here, at least for a while.

"I've been taking a full load this summer, so I can graduate early. And I – "

"Did you know your organs move?" I blurted out.

"W-what?" Adeline asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. As the baby grows your organs get pushed all over the place. Pregnancy is fucking weird."

Everyone was quiet, my words echoing throughout the room.

"You're… not mad?" Aiden asked quietly.

"You have a good plan," Edward said. "You're taking care of everyone you need to, taking responsibility for your actions."

"It's not just something I'm taking responsibility for. I love them."

Them. His baby. My baby was going to have a baby.

"Good," Edward said, standing from my side and giving Aiden one of those manly hugs where its mostly each of them slapping the others back. My eyes started to water when he gave Adeline a gentle hug.

I wasn't even sure if I had ever seen him hug Alice.

Aiden was suddenly kneeling in front of me, obstructing my view of Edward and Adeline.

"You okay, Ma?"

"You used to be my baby, you know. I let you push my organs around and then didn't sleep for about five years because of you. Now… you're all grown up and don't need me anymore and you're going to have your own baby and –"

"I still need you. Neither of us know the first thing about kids. You and Dad seem to know what to do, though."

"You're going to be a dad," I whispered, mostly to myself. My head was filled with images of him, still a little baby. Definitely not dad material.

"You're going to be a grandma," he said, with that same fucking smirk his father had.

"Oh, my God," I groaned. I stood, wrapping my arms as tight as I could around him. "I love you, and I'm happy for you, but if you call me a grandma again I will disown you."

Aiden squeezed me in a hug he seemed to need just as much as I did, and I could hear his quiet chuckle. Once he set me down I saw Adeline standing quietly behind him. Her eyes met mine, wide and a little nervous.

"Do your organs really move?"

"Oh, sweetheart," I sighed, rushing over to hug her. That wasn't my brightest moment. "They go back to normal… eventually."

"Oh…" she sighed, staring at her stomach. If I looked close enough, I could see just the smallest bump through her flowy sundress. "I've been doing a lot of research but it's all so overwhelming."

"It's all confusing and terrifying but also kind of amazing," I told her. My own pregnancy was kind of horrible, but I knew plenty of women who loved being pregnant.

"Do you want to see a picture?" she asked with a soft smile.

I nodded and immediately she had a blurry sonogram out of her purse. I'd always seen sonograms as blobs, even when it was my own, but that didn't stop a few tears from leaking out of the corner of my eyes.

Dark…

"Bella."

"Hmm," I sighed, turning away from the sound of Edward's voice.

"Bella."

When I was woken up in the middle of the night, nine times out of ten it was for sex. Nine times out of ten, I was all for it. Tonight, however, I had been asleep too long to enjoy the idea of moving at all right now.

"Bella."

"You can do whatever you want to me if I don't have to move," I sighed, rolling over and popping one eye open. Edward stood beside the bed, smirking down at me.

"As lovely as that invitation sounds, I need you to come downstairs."

"Why?"

"There's a small cut that needs attention."

My exhaustion was forgotten as I stumbled out of bed. It was dark in the room, but I frowned at Edward, patting his arms and torso, looking for sore spots.

"Not me," he sighed, pressing a kiss to my temple and pulling me downstairs. I tugged at the frayed seam of the t-shirt I was wearing, relieved I decided to pull on a pair of cotton shorts before getting in to bed earlier.

"I don't know what you're giggling at, Uncle Jasper. This shit hurts."

I froze on the last step, adrenaline suddenly shooting through my veins. "Aiden is the one hurt?" I gasped.

"It's the smallest scratch. I don't even think it needs stitches."

I rushed the rest of the way down the stairs, frowning at Aiden as he was sprawled on the couch. Emmett and Jasper were laughing quietly from the other side of the room.

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring the insensitive men and kneeling beside Aiden.

He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a long but shallow scratch along his bicep. Now, I understood the giggling.

"This… this is what you were complaining about?"

"I've never been hurt on the job before, Ma."

"How did you even get it?" I asked, grabbing the first aid kit Edward sat beside me and taking out some rubbing alcohol and a band-aid.

Aiden shrugged, and I looked up at Edward. "He bumped into a crate and the corner scratched him."

It took every ounce of willpower I had not to laugh. But, sometimes it was astounding how big of a baby a man could be. I cleaned the scratch, shaking my head when he hissed at the rubbing alcohol, and covered it in a band-aid.

"All good."

"You don't mind being around this stuff at all, do you?" Aiden asked, looking at me with a frown.

It was obvious he wasn't talking about the medical supplies. It was the reason behind the medical supplies. I shrugged. "I've gotten used to it."

"I'm scared to talk to Adeline about any of it. I know she knows what I do but…"

"You shouldn't be scared to talk to her. If you're going to have a baby together, if you're going to get married, you need to be able to talk about anything. Even uncomfortable stuff."

"I just… don't know how she'd react if I started telling her more about work."

I packed up the first aid kit and stood from my spot on the ground. "I always thought it was ho-"

It was probably the exhaustion that had me almost admitting to my son that his father being a criminal turned me on.

"I always thought it was something easily overlooked," I stuttered, hearing more snickering behind me. "Don't you two have wives to get home to?"

The truth was, I always thought there was something wrong in my brain that made me look past Edward and his job. The same something that gave me the instinct to get rid of Aro to get the boys out of jail. I always knew my mind was a little messed up.

"Yeah, yeah," Jasper sighed. "Come on, kid. I'll take you back downtown."

Once everyone was gone, I grabbed the first aid kit and made to quickly go back upstairs. A strong, tense arm shot out in front of the stairs before I could get up.

"You always surprise me, Isabella."

A shiver ran down my spine at his use of my full name. He only used it if he was mad at me, or if he was turned on in the best way possible.

"No one is more perfectly matched than you and I," he said, his voice so deep it was nearly a growl. His arm dropped, hands falling to my thighs and quickly lifting me so my legs wrapped around his waist. The kit fell from my hands and my arms wrapped around his neck.

It was something we'd done hundreds, thousands of times before, but it didn't stop a knot of excitement and adrenaline from forming in my stomach. Every time he touched me, every time his lips pressed against mine and his tongue fought its way against my own, it always left my nerves completely shot.

My fingers tensed against his shoulders as he walked up the stairs, my senses full of Edward. Once we were in our bedroom, the door slammed shut behind us, my back was nearly slammed against it.

"You've always had a thing about danger," Edward grunted, attacking my neck with nips and teases of his tongue.

"I…" I sighed, equally distracted by him and embarrassed to actually admit it. It was kind of an unspoken thing between us. He knew, of course, that it had been years since I was last uncomfortable with what he did. And there had been more instances than I could count where he would come home, obviously having just done something no one should ever do, where I'd let him have his wicked way with me and enjoy every second of it far too much.

Early on in our relationship I was ashamed to admit it, and Edward could probably tell because he never brought it up. As time went on it simply became an unspoken moment between the two of us, one that typically ended in a couple earthshattering orgasms.

"I have a thing about you and danger," I admitted, my breath coming at a gasp as Edward's teeth sank into my neck.

"What if I told you I spent the evening meeting with people who were going to distribute a dozen crates of cocaine around the city?"

After everything my family had been through, the thought of the drugs should have disgusted me, and it did. But, the thought of my husband standing around in the middle of the night ordering around a bunch of other men, all terrified to death of him… that caused the embarrassing whimper in the back of my throat.

Maybe it wasn't so much the dangerous aspect of him that got to me, but the power behind everything he did. He walked in a room and everyone stopped. He spoke and people listened because they were too scared not to. He commanded attention and respect and it was a big fucking turn on when that man came home to me.

Here, at home with me, he was mine. Knowing the powerful man that half of the city feared was my husband, my lover, that got my brain all kinds of fuzzy. Even after all this time together.

I dropped my legs from his waist, quickly unbuttoning his shirt with shaking fingers. Once the offending fabric was out of the way, I had free reign over the expanse of his chest. I kissed my way down the center, nails scratching along as I went. The way his abs tensed as my tongue slid softly along the soft skin right above his waistband gave me another surge of adrenaline.

"You taste so good," I mumbled against the delicious v at his hips.

"Stand up," he grunted, pulling me to my feet and pushing me until my knees gave out against the bed. Rough hands tugged my shorts down my legs. There was no hesitation as he slid two fingers inside me, curled at the perfect angle to make me squirm under him.

"You think it's any different for me?"

My brain was fuzzy and my hips started bucking against his fingers without my permission. His other hand rested on my lower abdomen, keeping me still while simultaneously using his thumb to rub my clit and increase my squirming.

"You like the danger, I know. You get wet at knowing the things I've done before I come home to you."

Fingers. In. Out. Squirm. Moan.

"For me… I know how many people fantasize about you. I watch you in a crowd of thousands, listen as they scream for you and know that you're coming home with me. Know that in a few hours after you get off of that stage you'll be in my bed, coming on my cock."

My back arched. My nails dug into Edward's forearms as he worked me over, eyes squeezed shut as his words tossed me over the edge.

My limbs were jello when Edward pulled me up, tearing my t-shirt over my head before I fell back against the bed. I watched Edward crudely lick the fingers that just brought me so much pleasure, then slowly remove his belt and open his slacks.

"It's not just – not just the danger," I sighed, my voice getting embarrassingly high pitched when warm lips closed around my nipple.

Edward moaned against me, his tongue working over one nipple while his fingers toyed with the other.

"It's you," I whimpered, burying my hands in his hair. "Your confidence, the power behind everything you do."

I squealed when he stood up quickly and flipped me over on to my stomach. Calloused hands kneaded my ass before one fell down against me in a soft slap. He situated me to his liking like I weighed nothing, his hands hard on my hips as he pulled me up.

Edward's groan as he slowly slid himself inside of me made my heartrate double. Nothing was more satisfying than making a strong man lose control over himself.

"I told you," he grunted, hands squeezing my hips in time with his sharp thrusts. "Perfectly matched."

My head fell to the bed, hands squeezing the sheets with his every move, working to keep myself from sliding too far up the bed.

I groaned when he stopped, flipping me over yet again. He stalked over me as I scooted myself up the bed. His eyes were liquid fire, green and smoldering when he climbed over me.

"I love you," I sighed, my body stretching out underneath him once he was finally back inside.

"Fuck, I love you."

I wrapped myself as closely around him as I possibly could. My nails dug into his back, probably leaving a mark but it was the least of my concern right now.

"You're this… enigma to everyone," he panted beside my ear, his teeth stopping to tug at my lobe. "People wonder if you did half of the things you're accused of, but only I know the truth."

His movements got faster, harder as he went on and I had to squeeze my eyes shut at the intensity of everything. "Only I know that underneath the sweetness is a dark side that rivals my own."

"But you love it," I whispered, impressed with my ability to comprehend what he was saying and respond.

I got my favorite cocky smirk back. "I live for the moments when I see that side of you."

It took all of my strength and focus to surprise him and get him on his back. He looked up at me, his hair completely disheveled and his eyes bright and full of mayhem. I let my head fall back as I rode him without another thought in my head, only our mutual pleasure on my mind.

Hands were rough, breaths came out in disjointed pants, and both of us were at the edge of what was going to be an overwhelming release. I didn't even remember the moment I let go, I just knew that it went on and on until I was panting into my husband's neck, his own breath in my ear.

"That," Edward sighed, still out of breath. "Was better than me doing whatever I wanted to you as long as you didn't have to move, wasn't it?"

I was still too blissfully exhausted to respond.

Dark…

"So, what's the occasion?" I asked, digging through my cup of ice cream for the chunks of cookie dough.

"Occasion?"

I held the spoon with a perfect ratio of ice cream and topping up for Edward. "It's not every night we go out to a romantic dinner, followed by ice cream and a walk around the city."

His hand tightened around my waist. "I need a specific occasion to take my wife on a date, now?"

"Well, no. Usually there's a reason behind it, though. Like you're buttering me up to tell me you did something bad." I dug through the ice cream again, getting myself the perfect bite.

"Oh, I don't need to butter you up anymore. Any illicit admissions are now going to be followed by some mind-blowing sex."

I sighed, looking down at my ice cream and feeling my cheeks start to burn. Ever since the night of Aiden's miniscule scratch, the same one where I inadvertently revealed a secret I hadn't been consciously keeping our entire relationship, Edward had taken to letting me know at every opportunity he remembered the night fondly.

"All jokes aside," he said with a sigh. "I realized we never really dated. Not in the traditional sense."

"We dated," I replied, surprisingly defensively. "That's what happened before we got engaged."

"We didn't, not when you really think about it."

My mind worked through a lifetime of memories with Edward. Meeting him for the first time, somehow convincing myself it wasn't stupid to go home with a man I had met twice. The calls and visits from him while I was on tour. Coming back to Chicago with him after our travels and my recovery.

There were dinners and nights together, but I supposed it was sort of like we went from strangers to life partners almost immediately. Our relationship was never traditional. He never picked me up at home for dinner and a movie. We never planned nights to sleep over or anything like that.

I couldn't even remember a discussion about whether I would move to Chicago with him. It was just… implied, I guessed.

"Huh."

Edward chuckled beside me, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I tossed out the empty ice cream cup as we approached the car, kissing Edward's cheek as he held the door open for me.

"So, does this mean I get candlelit dinners and ice cream on a regular basis now?" I asked once he was beside me, speeding down the freeway toward home.

"You can have whatever you'd like, my love."

We sat in comfortable silence on the drive home, but our bubble was broken when we pulled up to the house and Aiden's car was in the driveway.

"What do you think it is this time?" I asked Edward as he helped me out of the car.

This wasn't the first time we'd come home to find Aiden here. He seemed so calm and collected the night he told us about the baby, but that calmness quickly went out the window as things progressed. He definitely inherited his father's ability to be entirely too overprotective.

Whenever we had a family dinner Aiden would practically shadow Adeline wherever she went. He got her plate and refilled her water after every few sips. I was fairly certain a few weeks into it there had been a blow out where she told him he didn't need to do all of those things, because at dinner a couple nights ago she got up and filled her own water with a smile on her face.

Edward sighed, shaking his head as we entered the house. We were greeted by both Aiden and Adeline pacing the living room.

"Where the hell have you two been?"

"Watch yourself," Edward grunted. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong is in a few months we're going to have a baby! Be responsible for another human being. Do you know how fucking terrifying that it?"

I couldn't help but laugh. A full body, chortle.

"Mom – "

"We know all too well how fucking terrifying it is to realize you're about to have a child, Aiden," Edward sighed.

"Try finding out you're having a kid after thinking you could never get pregnant for ten years."

Aiden seemed to calm down a little bit, sitting on the arm of the chair Adeline had collapsed into. "Didn't you freak out? When you found out?"

"I don't think we freaked out," I said.

Edward snorted beside me. "You took fifty pregnancy tests."

I looked up at him and shrugged. "I thought the doctor might be wrong. That's not freaking out. That's… being practical."

I sighed, looking at the kids across from us. Adeline wasn't close with her mother, and her father was out of the picture. I didn't want to be overbearing or seem like I was overstepping my bounds, so I left them alone, checking in every couple of days to make sure everyone was healthy. Maybe I should have been more adamant about making sure they were both handling everything okay.

I took a seat on the coffee table across from them. "Becoming a parent is terrifying for everyone whether you're twenty or thirty, whether you were trying for it or not. It's the most daunting responsibility you'll ever have. Once you have a baby you're never going to go another day without worrying something is going to happen to them, or –"

"This isn't a great pep talk, Ma," Aiden sighed, eyes wide and full of a million different fears.

"But," I sighed. "Coming from someone who spent years convincing herself she didn't want a baby, I can pretty confidently tell you it's the most amazing thing that could happen to a person.

"Yeah, it's hard. Once you have the baby it'll be a good three to four years before you ever really sleep again. You'll blame yourself for every hardship your kid faces for the rest of their life," I said, barely keeping my voice from cracking as I remembered that horrible day when Edward kicked Aiden out of the house. "You two are going to be great parents, though. I see the way you both look at the sonograms, I've seen that adorable nursery you've got planned out. It's going to be hard, the hardest thing you'll ever do, but you'll be able to handle it. I promise."

Aiden sighed across from me, seemingly reassured. Adeline didn't look so sure, though.

"I didn't have great parents growing up. I mean… Aiden had you two. I know how much you've done for him," Adeline sighed. "What if I turn out to be like my mother? Flighty and selfish and – "

"My mother was avoidant and selfish my entire life, and my father was a sabotaging asshole," Edward said, leaning over the back of the couch behind me. "Bella's biological mother abandoned her when she was hours old, and her adoptive parents were manipulative and cruel."

I was more than a little thankful that he left anything about my biological father out of his little speech.

"You don't become your parents if you don't want to be."

Aiden looked reassured and relaxed, but Adeline still looked hesitant. I stood and held a hand out to her. "Come with me." When Aiden stood to follow us, I shooed him toward Edward. "Girls only."

I brought Adeline to my office, sitting her on the comfy couch before grabbing one of the many scrapbooks I had on the shelves.

"This was the first night we brought Aiden home," I said, pointing to the picture of Edward sitting in a rocking chair, shirtless with Aiden on his chest.

Adeline sighed, fingers tracing the photo over the page protector. "Aiden read that fathers sometimes have a harder time bonding with the baby than the mothers do. I think it freaked him out a little. Did you two…"

"Edward and Aiden bonded right away. I had to have a cesarean followed by an emergency surgery right after he was born. Edward was panicked and scared, and I'm pretty sure that little baby kept him from screaming at every doctor in the hospital. They've always had a special bond since."

We took our time going through the photos, laughing at Aiden's chubby cheeks and the crazy, uncontrollable hair that he'd had since he was a baby.

"It's intimidating and scary until you have your baby in your arms, then your instincts kick in and you'll do whatever you can for them."

"You're a good mom," Adeline sighed. "The way Aiden talks about you… I don't know how often he tells you, but he really does love and respect you and Edward."

I ignored the tug at my heart her words caused, focusing on Adeline. "You'll be a great mother," I told her, squeezing her hand. "I used to be an out of control twenty-year-old who trashed thirty-thousand-dollar hotel suites, and here we are now. You'll be wonderful."

Adeline gave me a soft, still unsure smile.

"How about once a week, as long as it works with your schedule, you come to lunch with Rose, Alice and I? Just to check in and ask any questions you have without any boys interrupting?"

It was different, being a mother. Of course I'd answer any questions Aiden had, but his body wasn't making an entire human being right now.

"I'd love that," she sighed, relief flooding her features. "Thank you, Bella."

Dark…

"Are you okay?" Edward's question caught me off guard. The parking lot of a hospital where our son's girlfriend was about to give birth to our grandchild didn't seem like the time to be worrying about myself.

"Um, sure."

"This is a big change that's about to happen. Sometimes change… gets to you."

I sighed, looking over at him, marveling at the fact that after all these years together he could still make me swoon. "It's not so much a big change for us as it is for Aiden. We just get to play with a cute baby."

"You know what I mean," he sighed, and I could practically see the effort he put in not to roll his eyes at me.

I smiled over at him from the passenger seat. "I know. But, I think I'm okay. If Emmett calls me grandma one more time I might snap his neck, but that's just collateral damage."

I was on board with the baby, fine with the fact that they weren't getting married for a while. What I wasn't okay with was family members thinking they now had free reign to call me a grandma. I had never been one of those women to obsess over her age or any sign of aging, but this was my limit apparently.

"He would deserve it," Edward mumbled as he got out of the car, coming around to open my door for me.

I leaned up on my toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "You know, if I could have, I would have had a couple more of your babies."

"A couple?" he asked, looking down at me with his brows raised. He squeezed my hand and started leading us through the parking lot and hospital.

"Yeah. You're cute with a baby. You and a little baby girl would have been… well, dangerous for the general population once she turned eighteen, I guess."

I hated being pregnant, but loved the end result completely. It was easy to fill my head with visions of Edward and I with Aiden and a couple siblings. It was probably for the best we never had a girl, though. God only knows the kind of torture any boy who came near her would face with Edward protecting her.

"One baby was more than a handful for us," Edward sighed.

"He was a little terror sometimes. Remember the phase where every shoe was too big or too small or it felt funny so he had to scream bloody murder until we took it off?"

Edward let out a mix of a groan and a laugh, opening the door to the maternity ward for me. "It's probably for the best we stuck with one."

As we waited, I thought about Edward's question. Change typically did throw me off, especially big changes like this. I never felt that same anxiety I would have expected, though. I knew Aiden and Adeline were feeling more than a little anxious. Maybe that helped me push my own worries aside.

Whatever it was that had me so calm, I was thankful for it. It would have been a lot harder to sit here for hours if I was a nervous wreck. Instead, I spent the time thinking about the newest Cullen we were about to get to meet. It was kind of amazing, thinking about how the family had grown.

First with Alec, then Jared and Maggie. That led to Delilah and Aiden a few months apart. Then Maggie married Connor, though he tended to avoid family functions like the plague. I wasn't sure if they ever wanted kids, but that was okay. It had been a while since we had something as big as this happen.

After hours of pacing and sitting and drinking stale coffee Aiden came out to the waiting room, lopsided grin on his face, and ushered us back to their room. It was a moment almost as surreal as seeing Aiden for the first time, seeing that little baby in Adeline's arms.

I froze for a second in the doorway, feeling a momentary panic surge through me. That fear of change that was ingrained in me started to creep up, then I felt a pair of hands squeeze my waist and gently push me forward. Not the time to freak out.

Except I was. Freaking out. Because somehow, I had gone from being completely alone and isolating myself from everyone I knew at sixteen to having everything anyone could want. Sometimes it felt like it happened in a blink of an eye, and sometimes it felt like it had been lifetimes ago that I was living in Forks.

But, now, my son had a look of absolute awe as he looked down at his own child and it was overwhelming as hell.

Edward started to gently nudge me inside, toward the tiny bundle resting in Adeline's arms.

"A girl?" I whispered, noticing the baby pink blanket wrapped around the newborn. They had decided they didn't want to know the sex, something about liking the surprise.

Adeline smiled up at me and nodded. "Do you want to hold her?"

"Oh, no. You should…" I didn't want to intrude. This was their moment with their daughter. Then I saw the tiny hands and little tuft of dark hair on her head and I couldn't help myself.

Adeline carefully transferred the baby to Aiden, who brought her over to me. I sat down on the couch in the corner before he placed her in my arms, Edward beside me.

I spent years terrified of babies; terrified of having one and terrified of the fact that I wanted one. There was something so phenomenal about holding a new, tiny human in your arms. Her miniature fingers wrapped around my pointer and I was a goner.

"Do you have a name?" I asked, smiling down at the little girl. Edwards hand appeared in my vision, his thumb gently smoothing over her forehead.

"Yeah."

I was distracted by the opening and closing of her mouth, waiting for his answer. "Well?"

"It's a pretty fuck- freaking awesome name."

I rolled my eyes, realizing he wasn't going to tell us until he had my complete attention.

"This," Aiden said, kneeling in front of us and gently petting the top of his daughter's head. "Is Ella Cullen."

"Ella," I sighed, holding my finger out for her to grab again. "That's beautiful."

Aiden sighed in front of me, but it was a frustrated one. "Don't you want to know what it stands for?"

"It's not just a cute name?" I asked. I was fairly certain it wasn't a family name, not that it had to be.

Aiden shook his head at me, but the smile was stuck on his face. "Ella. E for, you know, Edward. And the rest is you. Ella."

"You named her after us?" I whispered, looking back down at the little girl in my arms. She was beautiful, chubby cheeks and tiny baby fingers.

"Well, yeah."

It was a beautiful thing, someone caring about you enough to name their child after you. Alec's middle name was Edward, and Delilah's was Isabella. This was different, though, because as much as I hated the title grandma this was my granddaughter that was named after Edward and I.

"I know you guys went above and beyond what a typical parent does for a kid for me. I've put you guys through hell and you never turned your back on me. You didn't get mad when I told you we were having a baby before getting married. You guys… you're the best parents I could have asked for. Adeline agreed that we needed a piece of both of you in her name.

"We'll probably call her El for short, because Bella and Ella could get pretty confusing, but…"

I passed little Ella to Edward carefully, making sure she was situated before getting up and wrapping Aiden in a hug.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," I told him. "Both –" When I looked over at Adeline, she was peacefully sleeping in her bed.

"Thanks, Ma," he sighed, going over and tucking the blanket tighter around her.

I sat back down next to Edward, who seemed a little in love with the girl in his arms.

"You're not upset?" Aiden asked, the happiness and peace gone from his voice, replaced by a bit of nerves. "That it's a girl?"

I looked over at Edward in time to see him roll his eyes. "I'm not upset. Having a kid isn't about passing on the family legacy, not for us anymore at least."

After seeing Edward with Aiden as he grew up, it broke my heart a bit that he knew the only reason his parents had him was for the family name to continue. He was a wonderful father and I knew without a doubt if Aiden didn't want to work for him he wouldn't have forced him into the life. He never would have dreamed of pulling any of the crap Carlisle pulled on him.

He'd also reassured me a hundred times when I was pregnant that it was okay if we had a girl, so I understood where Aiden's worries came from. No matter the amount of reassurance, we were in a family that liked to keep the bloodline going strong.

"You could tell me right now you were done with the lifestyle and I wouldn't be mad," Edward told him.

"I know, I just… I'm supposed to have a successor, right?"

"There are a lot of Cullen's out there who could take over if need be," Edward said with a sigh. "I think we all know better than to count out a Cullen from the running just because she's a woman now, too."

I rolled my eyes, sitting down carefully next to Edward and Ella. He always talked like my time running the family wasn't a colossal fuck up.

Out of nowhere the little girl in Edward's arms started wailing. Aiden's eyes got wide and he looked at us in horror when Edward held her out to him.

"What are you doing?"

"She's your daughter. You need to help her… Dad," Edward said with a lopsided grin.

"Oh my God," Aiden muttered. Settling her in his arms and looking absolutely terrified about what the next eighteen years were going to bring him.

Dark…

The bar was nothing special. It was an Irish pub that looked like it had been here for decades, but that was it. Adeline didn't want a big bachelorette party, no strippers or clubs, which I was thankful for. Instead, she invited her closest friends out for some drinks at the bar she came to when she was in college.

I was late, which I hated, but as I approached the table I stopped by a column as I heard the topic of conversation.

"She doesn't intimidate you?" one of the girls asked.

"She's not scary, Chloe."

"She was on trial for murder."

"She was found not guilty on all charges," Adeline snapped. "Look, Bella, and Edward for that matter, have been better parents to me than my own ever were. They adore Ella so much. They watch her with ten minutes notice if something comes up without any hesitation. Don't be a jerk to her, okay?"

It was a situation I was awfully familiar with, friends questioning your choice of company when it came to becoming a Cullen. Adeline had never really talked about it with me, but I wondered if she had lost a friend or two when she started dating Aiden.

I let another minute or two go by, let their conversation drift to another topic other than me, before I sat down at the open seat.

"Sorry I'm late," I sighed. "Alice and Rose apologize, but they can't make it."

"Is everything okay?" Adeline asked, looking worried.

"Yes. Well, I think so. There was some issue with the flowers being an inch too tall for the centerpieces. I told them it wasn't a big deal and I got kicked out while they deal with the problem."

Those two had taken wedding planning to a whole other level this time around. Aiden and Adeline were a little more open to a slightly bigger wedding than Edward and I had. The wedding itself was going to be small and in our backyard, but the reception would be at one of Edward's hotels and have a much bigger crowd.

It had been about six months since Ella was born, and the wedding was a week away. Once the kids had Ella they realized how much they wanted to be married, too, so they didn't wait too long after her birth to start planning. Or, rather, ask Alice and Rose to start planning.

Adeline started to get up, grabbing at her phone on the table. "I should call about – "

"She's fine," I told her, smiling. Most of the family was divided amongst bachelor/bachelorette parties tonight, so baby duty had fallen on Uncle Ben. "Ben may seem intimidating, but he's a total softie with a baby."

"He doesn't seem like the softie type," Adeline sighed. It was nothing against Ben, she'd met him on numerous occasions. But every mother had a not-so-mild freak out when leaving her baby for at least the first year.

"Whose Ben?" one of the girls asked.

"He was my bodyguard since I was twenty," I sighed. Alistar was fine these days, but no one would compare to Ben. Ben let me vent to him without looking like I was distracting him from his job, and even managed to crack a smile once in a while. Something I had yet to see Alistar do. "He's done everything for me, from carrying me to an ambulance when I was shot to buying me a hundred pregnancy tests when I didn't believe the doctor."

It was nice having him back in town. He was married and happy and finally able to be more of a family friend than a family employee. I didn't see him as often as I used to, of course, but when I did it was nice. He'd been by my side nearly as long as Edward had and having him back was comforting.

I sipped on a water and listened to the girls as they talked amongst themselves. They were all young and confused about basically everything and trying their hardest to make a life for themselves. Adeline was a new mother who was stressed about leaving her little girl, who was also probably dealing with some pre-wedding jitters.

I stood, grabbing a few hundred-dollar bills out of my purse and tossing them on the table. "Okay, ladies, follow me."

"What?"

"This is your bachelorette party. You're all young and stressed and need more than a drink to unwind."

"Bella, we really don't need to do anything outrageous. Drinks are cheap and easy," Adeline sighed.

I noticed human behavior, my career relied on it. I saw how the girls ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, saw the tired eyes and listened to them complain about their bosses. It was Adeline's bachelorette party, but she didn't care about the attention all on her. I knew my plan wouldn't burst her bubble or anything. She just needed a little shove to relax while she had the time and opportunity.

We weren't far from one of my favorite shops in the city. It was one of those shops that had a security guard constantly outside of the door and looked down on anyone not already dressed appropriately enough for their tastes, which had a hundred things wrong with it, but they had great clothes.

I made a call as we walked, listening to the hushed whispers of the girls behind me. A few were obviously still skeptical of me, but I could hardly blame them. I had a lot of baggage that came with my name.

The night wasn't about me or their opinion on me, though. These were Adeline's closest friends, and I was going to give them a night to remember.

"Here we are," I told them, the group of girls stopping behind me.

The security guard nodded in my direction, holding the door open as we filed in. The women around me comically looked around the lavish store.

"What are we doing here?" one of the girls, Madeline I think, asked. I spent the short walk over listening to them talk and managed to catch most of their names. Madeline was the pretty blond with short hair and the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. There was Chloe was the red-head who was asking about me before I got to the bar, and there was Selena, Olivia, and Mia. That covered it, I think.

"We're shopping," I told them with a shrug.

"None of us can – "

"My treat, of course," I interrupted. I knew the prices here were ridiculous. I also knew that over the years Edward and I's combined net worth had easily crossed over into the billions. Even with the substantial charitable donations we made, we still had more money than anyone had a right to have.

"Mrs. Cullen, we can't spend your money," Selena with the beautiful black bob said.

"Yes, you can. Everyone can pick out one of everything for all I care."

"But…"

"But, nothing. You're all young and beautiful and most of you probably haven't had life kick you while you're down yet, but you're already working yourself too hard and stressed beyond belief. You all deserve a little spoiling."

Somewhere in the middle of the drinks my maternal instincts kicked in. Maybe it was the complaining about their jobs, but it made me want to give them all a special night.

"So, you're all going to pick out whatever you want no matter the price."

I could see the resolve to be polite and not accept the gift start to fade as we all stared at each other. Adeline mouthed a quick thank you to me before they all scattered.

Two hours later we all left the shop in different outfits than we came in, myself included after they all ganged up on me and picked out a dress for me. A one shouldered dress covered in black sequins that reflected various other colors, asymmetrical hem cut mid-thigh, with an asymmetrical train that flowed to my ankles.

A couple men with cameras were waiting when we left. Paparazzi tended to flock to Chicago when I released new projects, and it took a while for them to filter away. These were just the last few lingering, probably hoping I would have some kind of scandal following the tour.

"Just ignore them. Follow me," I told the girls. We weren't far from our final destination.

The hotel lobby was extravagant, as expected. I checked in, gave them my credit card for the expenses, and had all of the girls following me like little ducklings up to the elevator.

"What are we doing here?"

"In my experience there's nothing better to blow off steam than exiling yourself in an expensive hotel suite and not caring about any of the consequences."

It was something Edward and I had done many times, though we never trashed the places as much as we did that first night in New York City.

There was a chorus of wows and gasps when we walked in. It wasn't the most expensive suite in the place, that was already taken, but it was nice as hell. I grabbed a room service menu while everyone looked around, ordering snacks and drinks for the night. Eventually we were all gathered around the large dining table, munching on fries and talking about nothing important.

"So, Bella, do you have any marriage advice for our bride-to-be?"

"Most people don't ask me for marriage advice," I replied honestly. I wasn't sure if anyone had ever asked me for it, really. Most people assumed Edward and I had a fake marriage or were together for the money or publicity.

"Really? You two have the most stable relationship I've ever seen," Adeline exclaimed, obviously feeling the effects of the drinks that had been ordered.

I just barely resisted the urge to snort. "Our relationship has always been stable, but our lives are so constantly fucked up that people assume we're always on the brink of divorce."

"You should have some good advice, then, seeing as you've been married about as long as we've been alive."

"Plus, I mean, my mom practically raised me on your music. You've got stories to tell and lessons to teach if your songs are any indication."

I felt my cheeks start to heat and I looked down at my hands on the table, nervously twirling my wedding rings around my finger. The rings on my left hand had grown over the years with anniversary bands and rings Edward brought home simply because he felt like I needed it. It was typically the only jewelry I had on my hands on a daily basis, but I knew my ring finger cost more than most peoples' homes.

I didn't think I had ever thought about Edward and I as a prime example for a stable, heathy marriage. We were obviously a perfect fit, but it was a lot of fucked up situations that made us a perfect fit. Ninety-nine percent of people would tell us we had an unhealthy dynamic if they knew everything. I probably depended on him too much and he was probably a little too possessive for most people's tastes.

We weren't perfect, but who the hell was?

"The whole 'don't go to be angry' thing is crap. I've gone to bed mad at him more times than I can count. Fighting is good, and sometimes it can't be resolved in an hour."

The girls nodded, looking far to eager for my mediocre advice. "Enjoy the little things, like meeting for lunch spontaneously or when he brings home flowers for no reason. It's also not only the man's job to do little things like that. Bring him lunch when he's busy, send him a coffee, do little things to show him that you're thinking of him, too."

I sighed, suddenly missing my husband I last saw only a few hours ago. "If you love someone enough, all of the hard patches you'll inevitably go through are worth it."

God knows Edward and I had been through more than our share of tough patches, but somehow, we always ended up together on the other side. Fuck whoever thought we had an unhealthy relationship.

"I need to find my own Edward," Mia sighed. "That Vogue article he wrote about you? If a man ever talked about me like that I'd marry him in a heartbeat."

That was exactly what I knew was going to happen when Edward decided he'd write that article. People saw the softer side of him and realized he wasn't a complete monster, at least where I was concerned.

"He is pretty great," I sighed.

I caught sight of a clock on the far wall, surprised it was already a little past midnight. I stood, pulling Adeline with me and into a hug. "You and Aiden have nothing to worry about. I can't wait until you're officially part of the family."

"Thank you, Bella," she whispered to me, pulling back and motioning to the room. "Thanks for everything. It was an amazing night."

There was a chorus of thank you's from everyone else, and I waved them off. "Enjoy the rest of your night, ladies. I have a husband to get home to," I said with a smile. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," I told them with a wink, grabbing my bag and leaving them to celebrate amongst themselves.

Alistar was outside of the door and followed me to the elevator. The last person I expected to see in the elevator as the doors opened was Edward, leaning gracefully against the back wall looking more handsome than any one man had the right to. Some men, somehow, got better looking with age. It was a little infuriating that the few marks of age he had made him look more distinguished than he already did.

"How did you know I was…" I started to ask, then remembered that the Presidential Suite, the only suite more expensive than the one I just came from, was the floor above us and had already been booked for the night. "You got the most expensive suite."

"Of course." He shrugged, pulling me in the elevator and tight into his arms. "I'm sorry you had to settle for second best, but I didn't know you'd be coming here. I thought you were going for drinks."

"We did, but she needed a more exciting bachelorette party."

"Ah," he sighed, not even trying to hide his eyes as they fell down my body. "I like your new dress."

"Thank you."

"You didn't happen to buy it so I could take it off of you, did you?"

I stared up at him, unblinking. "That was a horrible joke," I said, though a smile started creeping up on me. "If I had more willpower I would give you a definitive no as my answer."

Every once in a while, the opportunity would arise for him to make some awful pun with one of my lyrics. If it wasn't so cute it would be annoying.

"Ah, but we both have no willpower when it comes to the other," Edward said, making me gasp when my feet were lifted out from underneath me.

I didn't bother asking him to put me down or pointing out that he was making a scene as he carried me through the lobby. I wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling up at him and ignoring the few camera flashes that lit up the dark city as he carried me to the car.

Dark…

"Hey," I whispered to my sleeping husband. He had to be awake in a few minutes anyway, so I didn't feel too bad about waking him up. I leaned up over him, bopping his nose softly. "Edward."

He sighed, his eyes popping open. "Yes?"

I had been awake practically all night. At first, I was worried about tomorrow, today, and that something would go wrong and ruin Aiden and Adeline's moment. Then I realized that my twenty-year-old son was getting married which led to me realizing I had a twenty-year-old son and my mind started spiraling.

"Do you think we're old?"
"Old?"

"Yes. Do you think we're old? Should we start, I don't know, looking for plots in a cemetery or – "

"Where is this coming from?"

Of course, then I had to explain the long and confusing path my mind took to get there and Edward gave me his patented this woman is crazy but I love her anyway patient smile.

"We're not old," Edward said, pinching my side when I snorted. "Age wise, yes we're older than we once were, but we're not sitting around an old folks home arguing about different things because we can't hear each other."

"But, we're –"

"We're both more physically fit that a good portion of the population. I've always stood behind the fact that whatever regimen of creams you keep in that bathroom keep you looking about ten years younger than you actually are. We're both healthy and fit and that's more important than a number."

I sighed, sitting up against the headboard and pulling the comforter up to my chin. "How do you expect me to freak out about something when you're all logical?"

Edward situated himself, resting his head in my lap and pulling one of my hands from underneath the comforter and placing it in his hair, my cue to start playing with it. "Just because we've already lived about thirteen lifetimes worth of drama doesn't mean we need to start looking for plots in a cemetery."

"I guess you're right," I sighed. "So… you're telling me I shouldn't worry about everything, we're not dying in the near future, and I look ten years younger than I actually am?"

Edward paused for a moment, pretending to think through everything I said like he didn't already know. "Yes, I believe that's correct."

"Huh… Not worrying. What a concept," I shrugged, getting out of bed and heading for the shower.

An hour later we were both showered and presentable for the first portion of the day. Our house was about to be filled with workers and family and guests, but the wedding wasn't until four this afternoon. It seemed a bit silly to get completely ready at six in the morning, so I threw on an old tour shirt and some jeans.

Our backyard was where the ceremony and most of the workers would be for the day, all of the men would be getting ready with Aiden in the basement, far away from the women. I invited Adeline and her closest friends over to get ready here, so we'd be taking over Edward and I's ensuite on the other side of the house.

Alice and Rosalie showed up around eight, ignoring me and getting straight to work on decorating. They were making it a perfect day for Adeline and Aiden, and I made a mental note to do something nice for them once the craziness was over. Maybe we'd take a girls' trip or have an extended spa weekend somewhere.

Adeline and her friends were due to be here any minute, but I ventured to the designated boy zone to make sure everything was going okay. Alice, God love her, even had a boy zone sign taped to the hall door.

I peeked my head in the door of the basement where I knew most of them were hiding out until they had to get ready. "Everything going okay?"

So far it was only Aiden, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper here. Aiden and Adeline each only had one person standing up with them. Aiden chose Edward to stand by his side, and Adeline had Selena, who I found out was the friend she practically lived with when she was sixteen and scared of her father.

Only a few of their closest friends would be at the ceremony, so I knew a few more boys would be added to the mix soon.

"Going great, g-ma!" Emmett shouted at me from the miniature fridge we had in the little kitchenette down here, walking distance from my movie room.

Edward appeared beside him, somehow bending Emmett's beefy arm at a completely unnatural angle, making the soda in his hand fall and erupt everywhere.

"Clean that up," Edward sighed, winking in my direction.

"You made me drop it!"

"Don't be a bitch about it, Emmett," Edward sighed.

I tuned out the rest of their argument, looking toward Aiden who was sitting in a chair, a little off to himself.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, smirking up at me. "I expected to feel nervous or scared or something, but I'm ready."

I could see the excitement bouncing off of him. He was smiling and confident and there wasn't a trace of pre-wedding jitters at all.

"Good," I smiled, leaning down to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "Let me know if you need anything. Or need me to separate your father and Emmett."

"Nah, I think Dad could take him."

I made it back upstairs just as the doorbell rang. Waiting for me were the same girls I spent Adeline's bachelorette party with. This time, they were all smiles when they saw me. Not a nervous glance in sight.

"Come in," I said with a smile.

"Your house is… extraordinary, Bella," Olivia said, walking past me and into the foyer with everyone else.

"Thank you. I've got champagne and fruit upstairs."

Again, the girls followed me like little ducklings and we ended up in the spacious ensuite that didn't feel at all cramped with seven people, plus baby Ella in Adeline's arms.

"Bella, this is too much," Adeline sighed, looking at the display I had set up.

Our ensuite was bigger than the first floor of the house I grew up in. There was plenty of room to set up the makeup chairs in front of the nearly wall-length mirror. There were a few bottles of champagne scattered along the counter in buckets of ice, flutes in front of each chair. There were robes on the back of each chair embroidered with each girl's name on them.

I ignored Adeline's half-hearted objection and carefully took little Ella from her arms. She was in a cute little onsie covered in butterflies, because no six-month-old could be trusted in the same outfit for more than an hour or two.

I squeezed her as tight to me as I dared without hurting her. She was the sweetest baby I had ever met, constantly looking for attention in whatever form she could get. She still had the cutest little chubby cheeks and a few more strands of dark hair on top of her head than when she was born.

I rocked her with me while the girls found all of their hidden treats, smiling when she smiled up at me. I was actually a little bummed Aiden and Adeline were waiting until next summer to go on their honeymoon, but I would take whatever baby time I could get.

My bubble with Ella was popped when Edward showed up.

"I've been sent to retrieve little Miss Ella," he said, smirking down at her.

"Fine," I sighed. I knew it would be impossible to keep her up here, especially once everyone started getting ready. The men would be much less distracted.

I handed her off to Edward, helping him put the baby bag Adeline brought with her over his shoulder. After a quick kiss he was gone.

"Holy shit," Mia muttered once he was gone.

I looked back with a frown.

"I've never seen him in person," she said, her cheeks heating up just a smidge. "Let's just say I totally get the song Gorgeous now."

"Oh, he is hot," Olive sighed. "Is he fantastic in bed? He looks like he'd be – "

"Olivia!" Adeline screeched.

"You know, you're not the first person to say that," I said, sitting down in my own chair and grabbing a strawberry.

"So… is he?"

I grabbed the plate of fruit and held it out for her, ignoring her question. "Have a strawberry, Olive."

She shook her head at me, smirking. "Lucky bitch."

I shrugged and smiled to myself, because I was a lucky bitch.

I got myself ready while the few makeup artists I had booked got the rest of the women ready. I'd spent more than enough time in makeup chairs to know how to do my own better than the average person.

Within an hour I had my simple makeup done, hair braided and hanging over my shoulder, and my dress in place. It was a simple, full length blush dress with a slightly ruffled V-neck and slit up the flowy skirt.

"I should go check on everything," I sighed, fastening the necklaces Edward gave me on our wedding night around my neck and pulling out the small jewelry box I had hidden behind my own. "I do have something for you, first."

"Bella, really, you don't have to –"

"It's something I've given all of the Cullen women. It started with just Rose, Alice, and I. Then Maggie got one, and Delilah when she was old enough. Ella will get one eventually," I said, smiling at the thought of getting her one, one day.

I handed Adeline the box and she shook her head at the sight of the ring. It had gold, silver, and rose gold bands intertwined, all encrusted with diamonds. It was a bonding symbol of sorts.

"It's not always easy being the wife of a Cullen, but it's also nice to remember you're not alone."

Adeline sighed, standing from her chair and wrapping her arms around me. "Thank you, Bella."

Our start had been rocky, but Adeline was a good fit for the family and for Aiden. It would have been too easy if she had a job that didn't contradict everything the family did, but that was a problem easily solved once she started working with Jenks.

"Of course," I told her. "Good luck."

I waved goodbye to everyone and made my way to the backyard. The ceremony was family and close friends, so there was only a small gathering of chairs in front of a beautiful flower-covered arch.

Alice glared at me when she saw me. I was under strict orders that I wasn't to help move a single vase or a chair. I was to simply be the mother of the groom, so I backed away with a smile and headed back down to where the men were getting ready.

"How's it going down here?" I asked, smiling over at Ella who was situated in Emmett's lap. She wasn't my focus for today, no matter how cute she was.

I walked over to Aiden where he stood beside Edward, attempting to tie a bowtie. I swatted his hands away and made quick work of the knot.

"No cold feet?" I asked him, even though I already knew the answer. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen him this relaxed.

"No. Not at all. Did either of you have cold feet when you got married?"

"No," Edward replied immediately, his eyes burning into me. "Smartest thing I ever did was marry you."

"I was more worried about tripping down the aisle than the actual marriage."

Aiden sighed, eyes darting between Edward and I quickly. Before I could ask what was wrong he held a hand up. "I know I was kind of a handful of a kid, especially when I got older. And I know I – "

"Stop," I snapped. "No more I know I fucked up speeches. No more I know you're disappointed crap. You don't need to keep apologizing for being human."

It was a speech we'd heard a dozen times. He thought he was a disappointment because of his struggles or because he had a kid before getting married. It didn't matter how many times we told him it wasn't a big deal, there was always a twinge of guilt on his face when he talked to us about it.

"You've never been a disappointment to either of us," Edward said, his voice strong and firm.

"I guess I just wanted to say thanks, then. For everything."

"You don't need to thank us for taking care of you. It was kind of our job," I sighed. This turn the conversation had taken was putting me close to my first round of tears for the day.

"There's taking care of me and then there's throwing yourself in rehab for a month to save my reputation. You guys are the best parents I could have asked for, and I haven't told you that enough."

It was like it was yesterday that I was sitting in the movie room panicking because I had no idea how to be a mother. Or crying in the nursery because I was sure I was going to fuck up any child that had the unfortunate luck of being mine.

Somehow, standing here on his wedding day made every hardship we'd ever gone through worth it. Aiden was radiating happiness and his daughter was giggling in Emmett's lap behind him. His fiancée was upstairs blissfully happy about getting married.

I wasn't sure how it happened, but we kind of nailed the whole parenting thing. For the most part.

"Shit," I hissed, looking over at Edward. "We did it."

Both men raised their eyebrows at me.

"We raised a full functioning adult. And didn't completely fuck him up. Which, you know, I was pretty sure was going to happen like ninety percent of the time."

I got nearly identical lopsided smirks from both of them.

"Wow," I sighed. "We raised you from the moment you were born to… now. Happy, about to get married, functioning member of society… Huh."

Life was kind of crazy when you sat back and thought about it.

I looked over at Edward, who had the familiar she's crazy but I love her smile on his face. "I need a drink."

Two hours later my son was married. And so blissfully happy it was amazing.

The reception was downtown and had significantly more people attending than the wedding; more friends of both Aiden and Adeline, as well as a few family friends. We watched them cut the cake, carefully covering each other's faces in icing. Edward squeezed my hand when I started crying as they had their first dance as husband and wife.

The entire day had been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but a good one. Mostly. I was physically and mentally exhausted by the time Edward pulled me to my feet to dance.

"Why did you run?"

"Hmm?" I sighed, resting my head peacefully against his chest. I was never big on dancing, but with Edward it was kind of heavenly.

"That first night. We were dancing and I told you I felt… something for you and you ran."

I pulled back, staring up at him. "I ran because in an hour you were able to see through every carefully built wall I had put up around myself. I like that about you now, though. Love it, really."

I loved that he knew what I was feeling, sometimes before I knew myself. He never let me close in on myself if he could help it, always made sure I never because the same girl I was when we met.

"Marry me."

I frowned up at him, completely lost. "What?"

"Marry me."

"We're already married."

Edward rolled his eyes playfully. "I know. Marry me again."

"But… why?"

I was never interested in a giant wedding or anything like that, and I didn't think Edward was either. Having another wedding sounded like a lot of work.

"Because we've been through hell and back since our wedding. Because I want an excuse to spoil you without you complaining about me needing a reason to. Because I love calling you my wife. Because – "

"I get it," I laughed. "You have a lot of reasons. But a wedding is a lot of work and – "

"We don't need a wedding. I don't give a shit about proving to other people how much I love you. We can be in Vegas in four hours, a little wedding chapel in five."

My mind was spinning. Of all the scenarios I planned for today, running off to Vegas and renewing our vows definitely wasn't one of them.

"This morning you thought we were old and needed to find a cemetery plot. What's a better fuck you to that then running off to Vegas? I'm sure I could find an ungodly expensive hotel suite for – "

"Okay."

"Okay?"
"Yeah," I smiled. I didn't care about the hotel suite or the aging freak out I had this morning. I'd marry Edward a hundred times over if he asked me.

Edward pulled me closer, kissing me quickly but it felt like he put everything he had into that kiss. "You go say goodbye to Aiden and Adeline, I need to find Emmett and Jasper."

We separated quickly, and I found Aiden and Adeline sitting at a table of their friends.

"Your dad and I are going to head out," I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You sure? It's still early," he said with a frown. Then he looked at his watch and realized it was nearly eleven, and the reception had been going on for hours past the scheduled time. "Oh."

"We might be out of town for a few days. Maybe longer, I'm not really sure."

"Where are you going? Is everything okay – "

"Everything's fine. Your wedding seems to have inspired him." I got frowns from everyone around the table who was now listening in. "We're off to Vegas, apparently."

"Really?" Adeline asked with a loopy smile. She had definitely had more than a few drinks.

"Lucky bitch," Olive muttered, who was a few people down from her at the table. I winked at her.

"You'll be okay?" I asked both of them.

"Yeah, we're good," Aiden said with a smile, standing and wrapping me in a tight hug.

"I meant what I said earlier. You're the best mom I could have ever asked for."

It was instantaneous, the tears that threatened to fall down my cheeks. I pulled away, taking a deep breath to keep myself from really losing it. "Don't make me cry."

Aiden laughed as I gave Adeline a hug. When I went to find Edward, Alice and Rosalie found me first.

"What's going on? Edward came over and stole our husbands."

"Oh, he probably just needed to tell them some work stuff before we left town."

"Where are you going?" Alice asked, her voice all squeaky.

A warm hand wrapped around my waist and my smile was instant. "We're getting married," I sighed, a second before Edward impatiently started pulling me out of the reception.

Dark…

It was nearly five in the morning by the time we left the little chapel, officially husband and wife for the second time. We hadn't had to wait because Edward gave the five couples in line each a wad of cash to let us go in front of them. My husband was many things, but patient wasn't one of them.

Somehow, he got a jewelry store to open at five in the morning, just for us. He sent me in to find another ring, but I told him I wanted him to choose. I loved all of the jewelry he constantly brought home to me, but I didn't need it. It was hard to spend thousands on something covered in diamonds and it not be beautiful, and I liked the idea of wearing something he picked out specifically for me.

It was pretty fucking adorable watching him choose. He walked around the store at least a dozen times choosing the perfect thing. Of course, we walked out of there with a beautiful diamond encrusted band.

"I'm going to have to start exchanging some of them, I think," I told Edward as we left, admiring my new addition to my left hand. "I have more diamond than finger."

"You could put some on your right hand," Edward suggested, smiling down at me.

I was distracted by my sparkling finger when Edward's hand pulled me to a stop. "Do you trust me?"

"Do I trust –"

I looked up and realized we were in front of a tattoo parlor. One that claimed to be open twenty-four hours a day.

"I trust you," I whispered.

Then, half an hour later, we walked out with matching tattoos on the back of our shoulder's. Edward kept it a secret as the man, who was more muscular than Emmett, etched whatever he had chosen into my skin. It had been years since I last got a tattoo, and I forgot about the intense sting.

But, I couldn't help but smile at what he had chosen for both of us.

Big reputation.

It was an ode to an old song of mine, but it meant more than that.

By anyone else's standards, we should have fallen apart a long time ago. Edward should have gotten tired of me or I should have been spending my life in prison. We came from worlds that should have made us like oil and water. Edward had his reputation of being, well, Edward. And I had the reputation of being an absolute mess, a handful in the best circumstances.

We survived, though. Despite the stares and comments, the prying parents and the matching reputations to be too much to handle.

I wasn't tired, despite being up for twenty-four hours, when we got to the lavish hotel suite. It was gorgeous, but I had more important things to focus on.

"I can't believe we did it," I told Edward as we stood in an elegant foyer.

"Got married again?" he asked, wrapping his hands low around my waist and pulling me indecently close to him.

"No. Just… survived. Together."

"Once I had you, there was no turning back for me," he whispered, his lips ghosting down to my neck and making my whole-body tingle. "I would have destroyed the entire fucking city if I had to, in order to keep you."

His intensity made my cheeks flush. It was a wonderful kind of love we had, one not many people understood. It was intense and chaotic and dangerous. The kind of love that started wars and got people in more trouble than anyone could imagine.

It was marvelous, though, because our intensity was equally matched. Edward, obviously, would have had no problem destroying anybody to get his way. It took me a while to come to terms with that side of myself, even after the trial, but I was just as unconcerned with the consequences as he was, as long as I had him.

Being the people who would move mountains for each other, the ones who were so recklessly in love that nothing else mattered… that was a reputation worth having.

The End

A/N: so… that's it. I've got a reputation outtake in the works, hopefully to be posted in a week or two. And I might attempt to write Edward's Vogue article as an outtake for this, but don't hold me to that. It'll probably come… eventually.

Now, on to the sappy stuff.

I never thought this random story idea I got would turn into what it did, or that anyone would want to read it, but I'm so happy I bit the bullet and posted it. You guys who review, whether it's every chapter or once in a while, you absolutely make my day. I can't thank you all enough for reading and motivating me to keep writing and (hopefully) keep getting better along the way.

I'm going to miss these characters so so so much, but I have to keep reminding myself that I have a lot of other ideas, too. I do have another story or five in mind, and you all know how impatient I am to see your reactions so I'm sure you can expect that pretty soon. You can always check my twitter for any updates – fragilefanfic.

I hope whenever you hear a Halsey or Taylor Swift song these two pop in your mind, because I don't know if I'll ever be able to listen to them without it happening to me.

Until next time… thanks for everything. Love you all.