44

Bella lay on her surf board, feeling the warmth of the sun's rays on her skin. Her board sway gently with the motion of the ocean, soothing her into a restful peace of mind. It was her favorite time of day, when the world was just starting to wake and everything was new and fresh.

"You just gonna lay out here, or you gonna catch some waves?"

Bella let her head flop to the side, where she found Edward sitting on his own board, her favorite smirk on his lips. "Kind of thinking about just laying here."

"Whatever," he scoffed with a laugh, knowing her better than that. "Come on, Swan. We don't have much time."

Bella laughed and nodded, sitting up and following him deeper into the water. She watched and waited as he took his first set, a small wave. Too small for her, but perfect for him, considering he'd only just started to understand the basics of how to surf a few months ago. It wasn't for a lack of trying, either. He had spent much of the last year on the water with her, trying to learn. She hated to say it, but surfing was not his forte. But still, it had been important to her, so it became important to him.

Once he was down, she turned her board and started paddling to catch the next wave. She waited until just the right moment before she sprang up on her board, using her hips and arms to direct her board to go in the direction that she wanted. Just when the wave was starting to curl around her, she reached out, letting her fingers drag through the water, smiling at the freedom she felt right then.

She jumped off her board and swam back to shore, dragging it through the sand until she reached the bungalow. She leaned her board against the house and headed toward the outdoor shower, where Edward was rinsing off. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind, laying her head against his back.

Edward moaned, his hands covering hers. "How were your waves?"

"Bitchin," she snickered. "Yours?"

Pretty bitchin," he laughed, turning and facing her. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Biting the inside of her lip, she nodded. "I'm finally ready."

"You know I kind of love you."

"I kind of love you more," she replied.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'll let you believe that for now, but we both know the truth."

Bella laughed and then sighed. "It's about time, isn't it?"

Edward nodded.

"I'm ready."

—BDBH—

Bella stood in the middle of the living room, looking around the almost empty bungalow. Most of the furniture had been covered with white sheets, the pictures boxed up and stored away. The last year had been one of the most challenging years of her life. After finding out Emmett's trial had saved her life, cured from Kufs, given her a second chance, she expected her body to heal faster than it had.

For almost six months, she struggled to walk from one side of the room to the other without needing help. Her joints were stiff, her skin tender, and her muscles sore. Emmett told her it was the effects from the infusion mixed with the stem cells, a side effect he hadn't been expecting since Bella was the only person he'd been able to actually cure with his magic pill. Still, at least she was alive. She loved and laughed, cried and screamed, but she was alive. Eventually, her body did heal, mostly. Her bad knee was still her bad knee, and there were times when she fingers were still stiffer than she'd like, but again, she was alive.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Edward asked for the hundredth time over the last two months.

She looked at him, finding him leaning against the front door, his arms crossed and a smile on his lips. "I am. I'm just gonna miss this place, but I'm ready. I really am ready."

"Okay," he said, stretching his hand toward her. "Then let's go."

Bella reached down and picked up her camera bag before closing the distance between them and placing her hand in with his. He led her out of the house, pulling the door closed behind them and giving it a little jiggle to make sure it was locked. Taking a deep breath, they walked over and climbed into her jeep, her behind the wheel because even after a year, Edward could barely drive a stick.

An hour later, she pulled up in front of Kona International Airport, parking in the visitor's lot. She and Edward climbed out, grabbed their luggage from the backseat, and headed inside, finding Carlisle and Esme waiting for them with Jasper and Alice, who was cradling their four month old son against her chest. Though Alice had accepted Jasper's marriage proposal, she hadn't wanted to rush their wedding just because she was pregnant. They were planning a large wedding in six months, much to her mother's happiness. Momma Brandon hadn't been happy to learn that her daughter was pregnant, but she loved her daughter and accepted the southern gentleman with her own flare.

"Can I hold him?" Bella asked, reaching for baby Isaac.

"Of course," Alice giggled, laying the baby in her arms. Edward automatically wrapped his arm around her waist, placing his hand under Isaac to help support him. "Thought you weren't coming."

"Why wouldn't I be coming?" Bella asked, her voice shaking. "Peanut, I . . ."

"I know, you love me, Swan," Alice laughed, slipping Isaac back into her arms. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm gonna miss you, too," she cried, hugging her best friend before turning to Jasper. "You too, Cowboy. Not gonna be the same without you."

"Nah, it won't. It will be better," Jasper smirked, pulling Bella into his arms. "Promise that you'll keep him out of trouble, Swan."

"You know I can't make promises that I can't keep," she scoffed just as Edward said, "Like I ever get in trouble."

She and Jasper shared a look before bursting out laughing. She patted him on the arm. "Sure you don't, honey. Whatever you say."

"I don't!" he insisted with a shake of his head. "I'm am just an innocent man, who seems to find himself in the wrong place at the right time."

"Just make sure you're not holding a beer, or you might dump it on some poor, unsuspecting woman," she quipped, raising an eyebrow as she smiled.

"Yeah, whatever," he murmured, kissing the top of her head before he looked at Jasper. "Gonna miss you, Whitlock."

"I'm going to miss you, too," he said, leaning forward and giving Jasper a weird one-armed hug. "But you're ready for this."

"I hope so," he murmured, before swooping Alice away so they could have a private moment alone.

Bella sighed and turned back to Carlisle, who was holding a weeping Esme in his arms. "Doc, I . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm awesome," Carlisle smirked before releasing Esme and wrapping his arms around her. "Gonna miss you, Swan. You've been such a pain in my ass, but I'm going to miss you. Don't be a stranger, okay? You need me, need any of us, you call and we're there, all right?"

Bella nodded. "I love you, Carlisle. And I can't thank you enough for bringing Em here, for saving my life. You're a pretty cool brother."

"You're a pretty cool sister," he whispered before kissing the top of her head and stepping away, leaving her and Esme alone.

Bella reached for Esme's hands, which she gave. Her sister, her beautiful sister. A year had given her a husband who loved her, someone who would never leave her like their mother had, like their father had, like Bella was.

"Essie," Bella whimpered, shaking her head as her tears sprinkled down her face. "I'm going to miss you the most. Who else is going to force smoothies down my throat all day?"

Esme laughed, releasing one of her hands and placing it on her belly. She'd just began to show, barely sixteen weeks along. "I'll text you every morning to have one."

Bella laughed, pulling Esme into her arms. "I love you, Essie. I love you so much. I know it's hard for you to let me go like this, but he needs me to do this for him now. He gave up everything for me, and now I guess it's my turn to sacrifice everything for him."

"I know," she cried, placing her hand on the back of Bella's head. "You'll be back, though, right? During the off season, and when the baby comes."

"Of course we will," Bella promised, leaning away, but bringing her hand up to Esme's face. "And I'll call you ten times a day and send you a ridiculous amount of emails, too. I need you to take care of Peanut and Cowboy for me, okay? And, um," she paused, biting the inside of her lip, "and Mom, too. All right?"

Bella's relationship with Renee was still tense, but she was trying, Renee was trying, and she had saved her life. It was just hard to understand how her mother could have just abandoned her, yet she came back, and she was there when Bella needed her the most.

Esme nodded. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too," she wept, hugging her again.

"Sweetheart, we have to go," Edward murmured, sliding his hand along her back. "Our flight leaves in twenty minutes."

"Yeah, okay," she whimpered, pulling away and bringing her hand up to Esme's face. "I'll call. Soon, okay?"

"Okay, have a safe flight, and Mason," she said, looking at him, "take care of my sister, or I'll shove my foot up your ass."

"I promise, Esme." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "And I love you, too."

Wrapping his arm around Bella, he pulled her backward, her looking at Carlisle and Esme, Jasper, Alice, and Isaac with tears in her eyes as they turned and headed through airport security. Once they were through, she stopped and looked back at them, giving them a wave before slipping her hand in with Edward's and following him down to their terminal. After a year, she and Edward were saying goodbye to Hawaii and would be joining the rest of PV for the next tournament, which just happened to be in Australia.

—BDBH—

Just over ten hours later, their flight landed in Sydney, Australia, and Edward and Bella gathered their bags and followed everyone off the plane, through the tunnel, and into the terminal, where she burst out laughing. There, standing just inside their gate was James and Laurent, Seth and Tanya, Rose and Emmett, Felix, and Tyler Crowley, Edward's new partner. This would be their first tournament together, and the network was already going on about them being the favorites to win.

Edward slipped his arm around her waist and led her over to where Seth and Tanya were standing with Emmett and Rose, who had married a month ago and were spending their honeymoon in true PV style. Every two months for the last year, Bella had undergone an MRI and EEG to make sure her brain function remained normal, and so far, it had. Bella was officially listed as in remission, and Emmett had started having success with other Kufs and MS patients.

"So, who's the favorites to win this thing?"

"Me and Crowley, of course," Edward snickered. "Ain't that right, Crowley?"

"Hell, yeah, Mason," Tyler crowed, giving Bella a wink.

Tyler, who had been saddled with a loser in Mike Newton, finally found someone to partner with, someone that would take his natural talent and use to their advantage. Letting Jasper go had been harder for Edward than Tyler letting Mike go, who ended up banned from PV for life and getting ten years of probation after his assault on Bella. But Jasper needed to take care of his family, and Tyler needed someone who believed in him. Together, Bella knew they would make themselves known as the team to beat.

"About damn time you got here, Swan!" Felix laughed, hurrying over and swooping her into a giant hug.

"Yeah, yeah, put me down, you jackass," she laughed, waiting until her feet were touching the ground before she pushed him away. "Have my contract?"

Felix laughed and hurried back to where his briefcase laid and pulled out a stack of papers that would name her as PV's official, and permanent photographer. Her photos had made it into every sports magazine in the county, which probably had more to do with her terminal illness than anything, but it had lifted Bella's status and made her one of the most sought after photographers in the business.

"It's your standard contract, of course. Just states that you'll cover as much of PV as you can, with exclusive rights to, you know, whoever you want for features."

"Hmm," she hummed, taking it and flipping through it. "I'll give it a read, and you know, let you know."

Felix laughed and shook his head. "Same ole Swan, huh? Okay, well, let's get going. We have history to make."

Bella shifted her attention to Edward, who slipped his hand in with hers, and together, they set off for another adventure, one where she wasn't dying, and he wasn't the typical volleyball player.

The End

Thank you for all of the amazing reviews! I have loved this story so much, and there was a time when I wasn't sure I would ever get to finish it, after a wicked case of writer's block plagued me for years. But I did, and it's officially marked as complete!