Chapter Info

Title: Kiss the Bride

Number: 33/34

Warnings: Language

Author's Note: One more left. :) Which means most likely tomorrow will be the end. Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your reviews, thoughts, comments, and questions on this story!

Beachgirl25: Honestly? I haven't thought about that, but IF I do a sequel (jury's still out on that), then maybe I'll add that in. :) Thanks for the idea! And that's also a cool idea! Maybe I'll think on that one as well. :D Thanks for reading and commenting!

-Two Months Later-
-Abigail-

"You really need to stop moving or I might stick this bobby-pin in your eye."

The fact that that was the forth time her daughter had said that to her in the past ten minutes told Abigail that not only was she being annoyingly twitchy, but that she was incredibly nervous, which was an odd feeling for the vampire. The last two months had flown by and she wanted nothing more than to just get to the wedding so she could finally stop being nervous, but more important, finally be Abigail Cullen again. Already she was having Jasper help her get in contact with Jenks to get all of her identification changed around to Cullen so that she wouldn't have any problems when time came to the honeymoon and getting out of the country, not that he was telling her where they were going. He was being quite secretive with everyone except for Alice and Edward, and she knew that they only knew because Alice saw his decision and Edward saw her vision and Carlisle's thoughts. And as much as she bribed them, they wouldn't tell her a thing.

"I'm your mother, you should be on my side," she had complained to them, thinking that that would get her somewhere. That and promising to take them up to the Canadian wilderness where some of the best tasting animals were—if it were still the same now that it was fifty years later—but that still didn't get them, though she saw that Edward really wanted to, however one stomp on his foot from Alice had him changing his mind.

Now that the day was there, the day she would become Abigail Cullen again, she still didn't know where she and Carlisle were going, but the nerves over the ceremony hit her far too hard for her to focus on that night when they would be leaving for their honeymoon. Since Charlie now, more or less, knew about vampires, Alice had made the ceremony for one PM and it would be on the east side of the house to minimize the sun exposure. He might know, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with it or that he wanted to know, so it would make it easier for him if half of the guests didn't shimmer.

The guest list was small, but easy and straight forward. Besides the bride and groom, there were their children. First to go out would be Carlie with the flowers and the rings tied onto the basket. Jasper and Bella, as a groomsman and bridesmaid, would be second.. Next would be Emmett and Rosalie as another groomsman and bridesmaid, and at the end would be Alice and Edward as Alice was matron of honor and Edward was best man. Abigail and Charlie would be last while Carlisle would be at the front with Jacob waiting for the rest of them.

While Jacob, Charlie, and Carlie wouldn't have to worry about the sun, there were others that did: the Denalis—Kate, Tanya, Eleazar, and Carmen, who all agreed to join them, though they didn't fully understand Abigail's return; they knew her briefly before she died—and then half of the Egyptian coven—Tia and Benjamin, who agreed to only hunt in Seattle, nowhere closer. The rest of them would all be wolves and humans: Billy Black, Old Quil Ateara, Embry Call, Quil Ateara, Sam Uley, Emily Young, Leah Clearwater, Seth Clearwater, Sue Clearwater, Jared Cameron, and Paul Lahote. Alice wanted to invite all of the wolves and their families, but Abigail put her foot down and, of course, Carlisle agreed with her so only the ones they were closest with were invited. Unlike Edward and Bella's wedding, they had no problem in coming—except for Leah, was was dragged there by Seth and Sue—and they weren't sure if it was because they all grew up with Abigail, or because the tension between them and the Cullens no longer existed. They were teammates, for lack of a better term, and they all respected that.

But Abigail had no time to think about the others as Alice was currently glaring at her in the mirror while she got herself under control. Abigail rolled her eyes at Alice's hollow threat and just worked to still her entire body so that she didn't have to go to her fiance to have him try and remove a bobby-pin from her eye.

"Sorry," she mumbled, closing her eyes for good effort as Alice went back to piling her curls onto the back of her head.

"I swear, you're the twitchiest vampire I've ever met," Alice admonished.

Abigail scoffed. "I'm getting married today, of course I'm twitchy."

"You married him before, though," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but I didn't have to impress anyone back then. But now I have you kids and the rest of them to worry about."

Alice sighed. "You have nobody to impress, Mother. Not even Carlisle. The only thing you have to do today—the only thing you're allowed to do today—is to smile and have fun and be happy. You and Dad deserve it."

Abigail slowly gave her a soft smile in the mirror, reaching up to hold her hand where it rested in her hair. "I am happy, darling," Abigail whispered. Alice smiled back and leaned down to kiss her cheek before beginning back on her hair. It didn't take too much longer to finish up, and Abigail didn't move a single muscle for the remainder of the time Alice needed her to, including putting on her makeup, which Abigail insisted on a simplistic look of just thin mascara and eyeliner, and some light pink lipgloss. Her nails were also painted, mostly in a lavender color, but the corners were peach to go with the color themes of the wedding. Every inch of it was perfect, curtesy of Alice and Rosalie. Bella focused on making sure that Carlie was dressed and ready to go by the time the rest of them had to get around, that way they didn't have to worry about struggling around her, and she could run around and play if she wanted to. Once Bella gave her the okay, she waved quickly to the other women before running out quickly, probably in search of Edward or Charlie.

"Done!" Alice squealed, stepping back and allowing everyone to look over her "masterpiece," as she had said multiple times. If Abigail could cry, she definitely would be. Venom tears gathered in hear eyes as she looked over her makeup and the curls piled on her head. Alice finished up her hair with a few baby's-breath in the back and went perfectly with her whole vintage style that she had going on with her dress and the other decor that Alice picked out. At least she didn't go completely overboard with everything, and it was as simple and as elegant as she had expected. Abigail had faith in her daughter, and Alice didn't disappoint in the least.

"Don't start, Mom, or I will," Rosalie said, waving a hand in front of her face. Rosalie and Bella both kept their long hair down, Rosalie curling hers and Bella clipping back on the sides. Alice kept hers in her usual quirky, pixie style, and Bella had braided Carlie's and wrapped it into a bun on the back of her head, however she waited to put the flower crown on until right before the ceremony.

"You can't cry," Alice admonished, gently pushing her out of the way to finish up her own makeup.

"That doesn't mean I can't get emotional," Rose snapped.

"But—"

"Girls," Abigail warned and both of the girls quickly quieted.

"You look beautiful," Bella said honestly and Abigail grinned, standing to hug her daughter-in-law, and then both of her daughters.

"Thank you," Abigail said softly.

"Just wait until the dress is on!" Alice exclaimed. "Carlisle won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

"Not like he tries to anyway," Rosalie said wryly, causing Abigail to giggle, and she was glad she could no longer blush. She felt so giddy, so happy and full of life. But really, she would be crazy if she didn't, given the fact she had another chance at forever. Most people didn't even have the one chance, but she was able to fall in love with the same man twice, and for some crazy reason, the universe thought it fitting to make him fall in love with her, too. What he didn't know is she didn't think she deserved him, but she also wasn't willing to give him up. She would be selfish with him and their lives, and she wouldn't regret a single moment of it.

"You three first and then me," Abigail insisted, earning an exasperated look from Alice. She shook her head, putting her foot down this time. "I have a lot more to wiggle in than you three. We'll get you guys settled and then work on me. Please, Alice, I've gotten married before, but I never got the chance to do so with my daughters. So let me enjoy this."

"We never got the chance to do that with you either," Alice mumbled, but with a look from Rose, she finally relented and first got out the garment bags with the peach dresses for Rosalie and Bella. Bella was slightly shorter than Rosalie, yet Rosalie's chest was a big larger, so they had to be positive about who got which dress. Luckily Alice made sure that Heather at the shop in Port Angeles labeled the bags so that they didn't get mixed up. Bella went first so she could run after Carlie if she needed to, but luckily the child was content wherever she was. Rosalie was next, and finally Alice was the last one, hopping in her spot once she had her heels safely on her feet.

"You all look amazing," Abigail said happily and opened her arms. All three girls rushed to her and a Cullen family group hug commenced, Abigail squeezing her daughters carefully as they giggled. "I'm so happy you're all here this time. Don't misunderstand," She pulled back to look around at them, "I loved my first wedding. It was so perfect and intimate being just your father and I with the pastor. But having you three, and the boys—and of course Charlie and Jacob and all the rest—well, it makes up for the only thing our first wedding lacked: family."

All three of them looked rather emotional and Rosalie and Bella turned away, mumbling about finding their bouquets while Alice hugged her once more. But finally the small pixie girl took Abigail's hand and dragged her for her own garment bag that was tucked away behind the rest.

"Ready?" Alice asked, a happy grin on her face, and Abigail nodded excitedly. It took all three of the girls to help Abigail into her dress, but twenty minutes later, and it was on. As they expected, it fit perfectly just like it did the day she tried it on. And she truly was glad once again that she couldn't cry because she would seriously be smearing her makeup. Alice and Rosalie helped clip on her veil, which snapped in up under the curls that Alice had pinned up, that way it didn't disturb the baby's-breath. The veil was the only thing that Alice needed to alter; because it was so long, and Abigail didn't want a long train on either the dress or the veil, she took it up so it hung to just about the back of her knees. After that, her mother's diamond earrings were put on along with a simple silver chain, and she was completely finished.

"Wow," Rosalie breathed as she took a step back and looked Abigail over. Abigail grinned and spun gently in her spot, glad once again that she had heels; it made everything that much easier, like hugging her children and Charlie, or being able to kiss Carlisle.

"I feel like a princess," she admitted with a soft giggle.

Alice nodded quickly and brought out her phone, beginning to snap away pictures until Charlie came into the room and made her put it away.

"If I wind up on Face-gram or Insta-book whatever the hell you kids use these days, I'll hunt you down, Alice Cullen," he threatened and all of the girls burst into tinkling peals of laughter. He looked as if he was trying to stay mad, but wound up smiling as he first hugged Bella and then looked over Abigail. "You sure you're Abi? I don't recall you growin' up so much."

"I only grew up because of these heels," she said, lifting her leg to wave her foot at him, which caused him to snort in laughter and the girls to all start giggling again.

"Smartass," he muttered before he pulled her into one of his infamous Charlie hugs. She snuggled into him, just like always, and breathed in his comforting scent. She took a lot of comfort in that the past couple months, wishing she had more time with him, but for vampires, the years were so fleeting that in no time, he would be long gone and the rest of them would live on exactly the same as they were right then. But it was her wedding day and Abigail refused to dwell on that too much, taking Emmett's advice and living in the moment. She was dolled up in a beautiful gown, her hair and makeup perfect, her children and brother and extended family waiting for her, her quasi-father was going to give her away, and—secretly, most importantly—she would be walking down the aisle for the second time to her mate, the man of her dreams, the love of her life.

Silent heart fluttering, she pulled back from Charlie and put her hands on his arms.

"Are we ready?" she wondered, noting the time quickly from the clock that hung on the opposite wall.

"No," he grumbled, refusing to look at her and she smiled softly as she knew he didn't mean the ceremony wasn't ready. "But c'mon, you're going to anyway." Abigail grinned and held out her arm for him. "That's my line." She giggled and waited for him to do it instead, and she locked her palm in the crook of his elbow.

Together, they all made their way down to the great room where the boys were waiting. Edward took Alice's arm, Jasper took Bella's, and Emmett took Rosalie's. None of them seemed to want to take their eyes off their girls, and Abigail smiled at them adoringly as she gently guided Carlie out in front so she could begin. Since Edward was in the wedding party he couldn't be at the piano, so she made Alice set up a nice sound system that had a playlist of all her favorite songs—some original for the occasion, one was Bella's lullaby, a couple others were written before she died for the marriage of Rosalie and Emmett, and she also insisted he include Clair de Lune—during the ceremony and again during the reception.

As they all lined up, Abigail and Charlie hung back as the first song began to play and Carlie skipped out in between the two rows of seating, watching as Jacob smiled at her proudly and she dropped the petals that they had picked out that day in Port Angeles. Abigail felt like her dead heart was racing, her knees felt weak and wobbly, her breathing sporadic and unsteady, her palms sweaty. Of course, none of that really happened and she actually just stood there like a statue as, as soon as Carlie finished her little dance up the aisle, Jasper and Bella set out. But it still felt like that was happening, because she was marrying Carlisle today, taking her last name and replacing it with his, just like she should've done the moment they met. She never thought she would be this happy, this content, ever in her life. Without Carlisle, she was a mess. But she found her place, and that was at his side. It made sense; he completed her.

Jasper and Bella lined up on their rightful sides and Abigail stood on her toes to try and peak over at Carlisle, but Alice gave her a warning glance and Charlie gently tugged her down, chuckling into her ear.

"Give in a rest, kid. You'll see him in a few minutes."

"Not soon enough," she grumbled. Alice had forced them to spend the night apart, and it was sheer torture for her. It felt like she was being shredded into pieces each moment they were apart. But the guys all went to hunt and the girls had spa night—having hunted during the afternoon—and so Abigail forced herself to be pleasant and at least act as if she enjoyed herself. Which, truthfully, she did as she always enjoyed time with her daughters and granddaughter. But she still ached to see him, unable to calm down until she was at his side.

Without realizing it, only once Alice began to move did she notice, but Emmett and Rosalie were already in their spots, so Edward and Alice began their trek as well.

"We're next," she murmured, her grip tightening on Charlie's arm, but she was careful not to make it too tight; the last thing she wanted to do was break it just because she couldn't control her emotions.

Are they purposely going this slow just to mess with me? she thought, hearing Edward snicker softly as he moved into position at Carlisle's side. Once she saw that, she no longer breathed, hearing the song change over to the song Edward wrote for her. It was beautiful and hopeful, joyous and wondrous. It was perfect for this occasion, after all, they defied all odds by finding each other again. Their lives were full of happiness and hope, and a long long future.

"Don't let me fall, Dad," she murmured, unable to keep her eyes away as the group in the seating slowly stood and looked for the house. She heard Charlie's breath catch and felt him squeeze her fingers tighter.

"Never," he said quietly and slowly she looked at him, grinning with unshed venom tears in her eyes, and he began to lead her out of the house.

.x.x.x.x.

-Carlisle-

While he had never been one to be impatient or frustrated, it seemed to be building up inside Carlisle for the past twenty-four hours. It started when he tried to insist to Alice that, since they had already married once before, the traditional "the groom can't see the bride before the wedding because it's bad luck" argument was invalid. But she wouldn't hear of it, ever one for traditions Alice was, no matter how many times he told her that they didn't follow it the first time either. But she got Emmett and Jasper to drag him out the door, Edward following as "lookout," and off in the woods they went to hunt. It was torture, but he decided it wasn't nearly as bad as standing at the end of the aisle, watching his granddaughter and then children walk towards him, all the while waiting with baited breath for his bride to come to him.

When he heard Edward snicker, he gave him a questioning look, and his son just shook his head. Alice's look of warning might have had something to do with it, and together they arrived at their proper spots. Once they had, three things happened at one: Carlisle's breathing completely stopped, the music switched over to a new song, and the guests rose from their seats and turned to the end of the aisle in anticipation of Abigail's arrival.

"Calm down," Edward murmured to him, just loud enough for—hopefully—only him to hear. If any of the others did, they didn't indicate it. "She's almost here."

"I've been waiting fifty years, Edward," Carlisle murmured back. "I can't help it." His son didn't respond and Carlisle wasn't willing to look away from the end of the aisle to see the expression on his face.

He could hear them moving, soft words being spoken between Abigail and Charlie, their footsteps carrying them closer. He could tell the difference between Charlie's heavier footsteps in his dress shoes, and the muted clicking on Abigail's heels. My girl, always in heels, he thought with a small smile. It was endearing watching her try and make up for her height with cute high heels, and a big personality. It was one of the many incredible things that he loved about her. Even in 1776 when heels weren't really part of everyday wear, she still found ways to make herself taller, and so he wasn't surprised in the least that she added them to her outfit for the day. And he wasn't sure if he was more excited to see what beautiful gown she and the girls picked out, or to see her beautiful face as she neared him.

As soon as she and Charlie rounded the corner, appearing between the last rows of seating, he decided that it was both, though he admitted that he couldn't focus on the gown when he saw the wonder of her image. It was like a dream, and Carlisle knew if he could sleep, he would be convinced it was just that. There was no possible way this beautiful creature was really meant for him. You would figure he would get used to the concept after having nearly two hundred years with her before, but as he gazed upon her then—breath caught in her throat, undead heart flipping around in his chest, butterflies in his stomach—he still didn't even quite believe it then. Not as she passed all of their guests, not as she quickly accepted a hug from Emmett, which made everyone laugh. And not even as her hand was taken from Charlie's arm, the man's lips pressing against the top of it, as he handed it over to Carlisle. Charlie gave him a stern look and a single nod as he moved to take his seat next to Billy in the front row.

Carlisle finally let out a breath, watching as the smile on her face stretch even wider, venom tears shimmering in her beautiful eyes. With a strict diet of animal blood, her eyes had finally faded from crimson into the topaz that marked her a "vegetarian" vampire with the rest of her family. He would never forget the emerald of her human hues, but when he saw the ochre, he knew that everything would be perfect. Things were different and wouldn't go back to how they were in 1955; she was different, she had her old memories as well as some new ones, she had experiences before him that he wasn't apart of, and she wasn't the same as she was back then. But that didn't make him love her any less; in fact, he loved her even more, how much she's grown in the years that they had been apart.

.x.x.x.x.

-Abigail-

"Ready to do this thing?" Jacob asked, making Abigail roll her eyes as the guests laughed. Alice sighed dramatically behind her and Abigail giggled, knowing her daughter wanted everything to go exactly as planned, but was resigned enough to know that not everything could be exactly a hundred percent perfect, especially if Jacob was involved, he was a bit unpredictable. Came with being a wolf, she was sure, like the whole cocky and arrogant thing. That didn't mean he wasn't a good person, or that he wasn't happy for her, she could tell by the grin that lit up his face. It wasn't cocky or a condescending smirk, but genuine and that was the smile she loved to see on her brother's face.

However, she didn't spend much time looking at him as Carlisle had her full attention, her eyes flickering back to those familiar hues, so full of love and adoration and devotion that she could've fallen to her knees, but his hands in hers kept her standing, not willing to break from his gaze for one moment. They had forever, and she wasn't wasting one moment of it being away from him.

"Just start, Jacob," Alice hissed lightly, and the boy chuckled.

"Okay okay." He cleared his throat. "So I know there's a while bunch of official sh— Stuff," He corrected after a glare from Alice, "that I could say. But I don't know if all that stuff really counts here. Because all this? It isn't normal, it's not what you see in all those cheesy romances." He grinned. "It's so much better, and so much more enduring than all that. And they both deserve it. Carlisle's a good man, and Abigail is my sister, and they both deserve happiness, and more importantly, they deserve each other. I know Carlisle had something he wanted me to recite, so I'll do that and then let these crazy kids read their vows." From the pocket of his tux—the one Abigail insisted on buying no matter what Jacob said, and did so anyway despite his protest—he pulled a piece of paper that she could see Carlisle's neat, perfect scrawl on. She knew that moment that it was the exact reading that he had the pastor recite at their first wedding.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Abigail was right, and her heart filled with an aching love.

It was a passage from the Bible that had been read at almost every wedding that had ever occurred, however that didn't make it any less true or perfect for their relationship. It was how they worked, give just as much as they take, but both of them would give every drop of venom to keep the other safe and happy. Now that she was a vampire again, Abigail felt better about the dynamics of their relationship. No longer did Carlisle have to save her from psycho doctors or patch her up from falling in swimming holes. He didn't have to worry about her up and dying in something like a car accident or sickness. They were equal, they could protect each other.

Venom tears filled her eyes and she sniffed, squeezing his hands tighter as Jacob shoved the paper back in his pocket.

"Abi, why don't you go first," Jacob suggested, nodding to her as he interrupted her thoughts. Faintly she glanced at him, seeing the way he was grinning at her making her chest flutter, and she nodded quickly. Since her vampiric memory was second to none, she didn't need to have the physical piece of paper with her. She memorized it all the moment after she wrote down the words, though she re-wrote it countless times until it fit absolutely perfectly. But, even so, it didn't seem like enough.

"It seems like I met you a very long time ago," she started, a twinkle in her eyes causing a small laugh amongst the vampires and Jacob; none of the wolves knew the truth behind Abigail and Carlisle as it wasn't relevant. "There are no words that can express what I feel for you, Carlisle, and yet 'love' seems to be the most simple, and the most complex. It means so much to so many different people, but to me it means that you're my everything. You're the reason I exist." She paused. "More than once." A wink, another laughter, the wolves and Charlie confused, but of course they didn't say a word. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you, if I didn't remember what I had without you. I never realized how lost I felt before you, and you found that girl, and showed her what it was meant to truly be loved. I promise you, Carlisle, to always be with you, and to never ever leave you again."

Abigail heard her daughters softly sobbing tearless cries behind her and normally she would be all over the comforting, but she couldn't. She couldn't look away, not from that look on his face. Devotion, love, adoration...it was the very look he gave her every time he gazed at her.

"Carlisle," Jacob murmured, his normally jovial voice mellow and she could hear him choke a little, and promised herself to threaten him with blackmail for that later.

"I promised myself to you many, many times, Abigail. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a woman to complete me the way you do. There will never be another woman that frustrates me or annoys me, or fills my heart with such joy. Because without you, there is no me. When I had lost you, I fell apart. But I'll never let that happen again. I vow to you to protect you and love you unconditionally. You're my everything, Abigail."

Venom tears swelled in her eyes and everybody seemed to be sniffling, though the boys behind Carlisle stared directly at the ground and refused to acknowledge that that's what was going on. Jacob cleared his throat a couple times, and she risked a peak over at her brother who shook himself and gave her a grin, showing her that he wasn't going to let her see that, but it didn't matter because she heard it, and it warmed her to know that her brother cared that much for her to get emotional.

"Carlie, can I have the rings, princess?" he wondered, smiling down at the girl adoringly. She skipped forward and placed them both in Jacob's large palms, who thanked her softly afterwards. He gave Abigail's to Carlisle and Carlisle's to Abigail. "So," he started, "you made your vows before everyone and God. The question is: do you, Abi, take Carlisle to be your husband?"

She nodded and eagerly pushed the ring onto his fingers, causing a chuckle to ripple through the crowd. "I do," she whispered.

"And Carlisle, do you take Abi to be your wife?"

He was a bit more gentle, but nonetheless excited as he pushed her ring on, the color matching her engagement ring. Both of them were older, of the time period they first met, and they had searched far and wide for them, finally paying a great deal to a museum in Georgia for them. But they were perfect for them, just what they needed, and it bound them together in ways that nobody would ever understand. The others vampires and wolves might have an idea of mating, but that didn't mean they understood the bond or the devotion that Abigail and Carlisle had for one another.

"So, by the power of Washington and the internet, you two are husband and wife." Jacob smirked. "Carlisle, you can kiss the bride." Abi rolled her eyes, but grinned at Carlisle; her lover, her mate, her husband. His large hands came up to cup her face, her own resting on his waist as they leaned in together, perfectly in synch. It was beautiful and magical, even those moments before they kissed. But once they did? Oh, it was like the first time all over again. Sparks, fireworks, the pounding her—undead—heart, her knees turning to jelly. But Carlisle kept her up, his hands holding her and keeping her steady, always ready to pick her back up whenever she needed, just like he always did and always would.

Cheers sounded around them and still they didn't stop, not until they were both truly breathless, which was a feat considering neither of them needed to breathe. Both were grinning when they pulled back, unable to take their eyes off each other, as they leaned their foreheads together and took each other's hands.

"I love you, Carlisle Cullen," she whispered.

His smile grew wider. "I love you, too, Abigail Cullen."