A Few Years Later:

Shortly before Edward retired, and began touring with us, he was promoted, we were all very proud of him. He still heads in on certain days but he isn't gone as much as he was when Oliver and Jimena were little.

He eventually became an official member of the band, and we'd been touring off and on a few times a year. Now that the kids are older, Lauren and Tyler usually come over to stay with them while we tour since theyre the only ones who have a baby that isn't in school at this point.

We won for best song of the year for 'Every Time You Leave', a yea after the song came out. Two years later we won Artist of the year.

We even got invited to go to the Oscars, and later the Met Gala, and Golden Globes.

Sometime before the kids were old enough to realize what was going on Esme and Carlisle tried to make contact with us once more, but Edward still refuses to speak to them, and I couldn't agree more with him. As far as the children know, they only have one set of grandparents and they're my mother and Phil.

Though it's not like that made much effort to try to amend the damage they did not just to Edward but to Emmett as well.

After that final time it was like they disappeared off the face of the Earth. It was weird.

Our lives seemed to be full of love, and happiness. It almost felt like a dream to us. It felt too good to be true that we got everything we ever wanted.

I couldn't believe how far we'd come together. It was almost comical as I thought about how we were always at each other's throats.

It had been a few years, full of ups and downs but as Edward had said, we made it.

I was in my studio, playing with sounds when I realized the time. The kids were almost home.

I made my way up the stairs and into the living room, looking for my phone when I began to feel the room spin and the exhaustion go tenfold.

I sighed, closing my eyes as I lowered myself onto the couch, a wave of vertigo hit me and I groaned as I felt my legs begin to buckle under my weight.

I took a few breaths to keep calm as I shakingly raised my CGM to the back of my arm.

It began beeping erratically as I groaned.

As the feeling worsened, as my thoughts went to my kids.

Truth be told this type of thing hadn't happened in a long time. As I had stated before, the last pregnancy was harder than I thought. Riskier than any of my other pregnancies, and I ended up going into labor earlier than expected.

Not one of my kids suffered as much as Alexandra. Not Oliver, Jimena, Ethan, or Sophia. Alexandra was so tiny, she had to be placed in a incubator for a few weeks when she was born. She was born with diabetes, but with proper care she was able to live her life normally.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door of the house opening.

I tried to call them but realized I was too tired to do so.

"Bella?! Hey? Bella, sweetheart, can you hear me?" I heard him ask as I felt his body heat radiate toward mine.

"Sugar…." I managed, weakly.

"The glucose gel, where is it, baby?" He asked me.

"Pur-Purse." I breathed, trying to find the glucometer to silence it.

"Ethan, get me her bag." I heard him call, as he lifted me up, and slid in behind me and laid me down on his chest.

"I got it." I heard Oliver say.

Over the years I was worried that Oliver, Jimena, Ethan or Sophie would develop diabetes since we found out it was hereditary on my sperm donor's side. Fortunately for us, that wasn't the case. Though we did take precautions, and teach them healthy eating and living habits to reassure that they weren't affected, just in case.

I heard a rip and then felt the package of glucose gel being pushed between my lips.

I manage to take two gulps before turning my head away.

"Mom, you okay?" Ethan asked me, concerned.

I nodded weakly, sighing as the blurriness in my sight left, and the room managed to stay the same place. I closed my eyes and willed my both to relax as the gel slowly began to work.

I noticed Alexandra, Sophie, and Jimena walk into the room with a can of diet 7up, and a plate of the food I made before heading to the studio earlier.

"How long will it be for mom to begin feeling better?" I heard Jimena ask, concerned.

"Twenty minutes." I heard Edward say as he held me, pulling me closer to him.

"Mom?" I heard Alexandra call.

I frowned when I tried to respond, only managing a whimper.

It had been a while since this happened, yet, Edward still reacted the same way as the first time he saw it happen. I knew he hated when this happened, he was always making sure that I ate at the right time, and never skipped meals… Today just happened to be one that slipped through the cracks.

It took me a few more seconds to regain the ability to speak. But I did.

"Mom, can you hear us?" Sophia asked me.

I nodded with my eyes half closed. "Yes, I can, baby. How was school?" I asked her, in a whisper.

"It was good. Well, sort of, but don't worry about it, it's nothing I can't handle." She told me.

I frowned, feeling better now, as I slowly sat up, "What happened?" I asked her.

Jimena sighed as the girls exchanged looks as Oliver came into my view. "Jackson was using her… to meet you two." He told me.

I frowned as I exchanged looks with Edward, "Us? What for?" I asked.

"He's apparently a fan… he thought if he'd go out with Soph, that he could see you… or get concert tickets." Oliver said, as his jaw clenched and unclenched.

"Drew kicked his ass." Ethan supplied, amused.

Alexandra laughed, "I bet that was funny." She snorted.

I looked at them, my frown deepening. "Isn't that Sophie's best friend?" I asked them.

Jimena sighed, and nodded, smirking, "They're a lot more than that now, apparently… anyway, that is a discussion for another time… I need to ask you two a few questions…" She told us.

Edward and I exchanged looks, " About what?" He asked, frowning.

"A friend of mine told me that you and dad committed fraud against the government… is that true?" She asked us.

Edward and I exchanged another look. "What exactly did your friend tell you?" I asked her.

"That you and dad got married to get money from the government and that dad did hard time because of it…" She told me.

I held back a laugh, as I felt Edward squeeze my hip and pull me closer to him. "No. Well, that's not exactly what happened but we did get married fast… and before I had a big career in music." I told her.

"Why?" She asked.

"How did you two meet?" Sophie asked, curiously.

"Did you love him?" Alexandra asked.

I smiled, "I was working as a waitress in Waylon's bar, when your dad and your tíos walked in one night…we could hardly stand each other when we first met." I told them with a fond smile.

"Wait… Tío Waylon had a bar…?!" Ethan asked surprised.

I watched their expressions change from curiosity to shock as our kids stared at us in shock.

"He did when your mother and I first met… he wasn't as old then…" Edward told them, chuckling at their disbelieving expressions.

"Well, he's old now…" Oliver quipped.

"Don't be mean." Sophie told him, with an eye roll.

"Yeah, Tío Waylon is awesome!" Alexandra said with a gaping smile.

"Did you two fall in love at first sight?" Jimena asked with a smile, interrupting their squabbling with a look.

I shook my head, holding back my laughter, and opening my mouth to reply only for Edward to snort, "No, we didn't. We got into an argument so bad, that your mom stormed off angrily. I think she would have hit me if she hadn't…." He told them, squeezing my side teasingly.

Alexandra frowned, not liking the answer.

Oliver raised his brow and leaned on the back of the couch, crossing one arm over the other as he did. He looked so much like his father, he even had the same mannerisms and same facial expressions. Though he has my talent for music. All of our kids do too. I'm very proud of them too.

Edward always teases me when Oliver argues with me because we always clash. It reminds me of when me and him got married, felt like it happened so long ago… Ethan does too but not as much as Oliver does.

"Wouldn't have…" I mumbled, flushing.

He snorted, "Yes, you would've…. But it's okay. We're in a different place now…" he told me, before he pressed the back of his lips to the back of my head.

Oliver rolled his eyes at us, "I can't imagine you two disliking or even hating each other." He told us, frowning at the thought.

Alexandra nodded in agreement, a frown still on her face.

I smiled at him fondly, "You may not be able to, but… that's what really happened… your dad thought I was a spoiled rich girl with feminist views of the world. Driving around in a— what was it?" I informed him amused as I reached up to move the bronze wisps of hair from his face, "A Lexus…" Edward supplied as he sat me up and began feeding me small bites of the food they served me.

I held back a chuckle as I remembered that year I leased a Lexus and drove us around in it just to annoy him.

I sighed, "I feel better… you don't have to do this…" I mumbled, trying to move away only for Edward to grab me by the hips and pull me. Shaking his head at me, "Not yet, it's only been ten minutes… don't forget what happened last time." He reminded me quietly.

"I feel better… honestly." I told him.

He rolled his eyes and shifted our positions so that I was practically on his lap. "Bella, the gel might have helped but you won't feel fully better until you've eaten. Now, stop arguing with me and eat, please." He told me, chastising.

I sigh, and open my mouth again when he offers me more food.

"Enough complaining, ma…." Jimena says, "Tell us more about how you met …" she adds with a smile.

Edward laughed as he leaned forward and kissed my bare shoulders. "Your Uncle Jake practically bit my head off when she stormed off… I was staying with him until our leave was over… so, he was really annoyed with me those few days." He told them.

She frowned as Sophia leaned in to whisper something into her ear. Alexandra looked over at them curiously, before Jimena leaned over and whispered in her ear causing them to smile. "Did you two get married to save mom's life?" She finally asked.

We shook our heads at them, "We did it… for other reasons too… but well, in a roundabout way yes. Yes, we did." Edward interrupted what I was going to say.

"Why?" Oliver asked, raising a brow at us.

I sighed, "Because I didn't have money to pay for my insulin, and the insurance I had back then was complete crap. I wouldn't have survived as long as I had if your father hadn't suggested it." I replied, honestly.

"I'm glad you did it. Whether what everyone was saying is true or not… Without him suggesting it, for whatever reasons it was, you wouldn't be here… neither would we. So, it's a good thing that things happened the way they did." Ethan told us.

The four of them exchanged a look before nodding in unison before turning to us.

"Did you two ever have a big wedding or did you just go to the county to tie the knot?" Jimena asked.

I bit back a smirk, "County first, then big vow renewal. We have the picture hanging in the dining room. Both of them, actually." I told them.

They all got up and disappeared for a few minutes.

"Should we really be telling them about this? I mean, not that I mind, but things like this could make or break your career." He whispered to me.

By this time I had finished a good portion of the food on the plate and was leaning back on his chest.

"I worked hard to get to where I am. If someone wants to break me they'll have to do a lot more than look into our past." I told him as our kids walked back into the room.

He smiles and kisses my cheek, before sighed and leaning back. "We should tell them everything.i" He whispered.

"Not until they're ready." I mumbled back.

As they all walked in, Oliver made his way over. "Tell us this… did you two fall in love before you had me?" He asked.

I looked down before nodding, "When you father first left, it was hard on both of us, because we were so new at this, but we fell in love via emails, video calls, and just normal calls. I found that I liked getting to know him like this…" I told them as he laughed and kissed my hair.

"So, how did you get pregnant with me, if dad was away?" Oliver asked, confused.

"Bud, she was already pregnant. She got pregnant with you on our wedding night." Edward explained, causing Oliver's green eyes to widen and his confused expression to turn into one of disgust.

"Right…. Okay, that's enough questions. Let's go do our homework." He told them.

"But I want to hear more about them falling in love." Alexandra told them, pouting.

"We can hear more about that later. Come on, shortstuff. You said you needed help with your math homework. Let's go eat and I'll help you with that." Oliver said as he pulled her to her feet and led them all away.

We laughed as we watched them leave.

"He is so responsible." Edward said amused.

I nodded, sighing for a second and sitting up fully. "He's amazing." I said as I dropped my legs over the side of the couch.

"You're amazing." Edward told me.

I smiled at him, "I know." I replied, with a smile as he leaned forward and kissed me.

"Ew! Gross!" Alexandra called from the kitchen doorway.

"Alexa, come on!" Ethan said, with a laugh.

We turned to look at them, before looking at each other amused. "Don't look at me, that's all you." I told him.

"Oh, sure. Blame me for them being eavesdroppers." He grumbled playfully.

"Now, who else would I blame?" I asked amused.

"Alright, that's enough kissing! Come spend time with your lovable children!" Jimena called.

"Lovable?!" I called back, as Edward helped me up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked to the kitchen.

"Mom!" They complained.

"Alright, jeez. So, grumpy… I wonder who they got that from…" I mumbled, causing Edward to snort.

"Oh honey, that's one thing I won't argue about." He told me, kissing my hair.

"Good. Because you'd lose." I told him as we walked into the kitchen.

"Don't I know it." He mumbled as I elbowed him, and stepped away.

"So, who's ready to eat?" I asked.

"Me!" They answered in unison.

"Great. Let's get to it so we can walk Eden and Milo." I said, smiling fondly at them as they laid on the ground next to the table.

It had been a few years since we lost Peaches to stomach cancer. We didn't want to get another dog, because we all felt the pain and loss of her being put to sleep so she no longer suffered.

But Eden was given to us by Emmett and Rose, and Milo was given to us by Jacob and Tanya.

Eden was a chocolate lab , and Milo was a German shepherd. They were both a year old and had been trained as well.

"Can we stop for ice cream?" Alexandra asked.

I looked over at Edward, who shrugged as he turned back to speak to Oliver about something.

"Sure. But homework first, ice cream, later." I told her as I set the plate down.

She nodded as she dug into the food immediately.

It took them an hour and a half to do their homework before we got into the SUV and drove to the park.

As I watched the kids run around with the two dogs, I felt Edward wrap an arm around my shoulders.

"We did go, huh?" He whispered, as I nodded.

"Ever wonder what would have happened if we had parted ways?" I asked quietly.

"No, because I think we were meant to be. Since that first day our paths crossed, we're somehow connected." He told me.

"I'd like to think that if we split, we would've found each other eventually." I told him as Milo jumped up to catch the frisbee.

"I do too." He whispered.

"Good. So, you up for ice cream?" I asked amused.

"Definitely. Let's go." He told me as he placed his forefinger and thumb in his mouth and whistled.

All our kids and the two dogs made their way towards the car wordlessly.

"I've got to learn how to do that." I mumbled to myself.

"Took years of practice, my love." Edward teased, causing us both to laugh as we made our to the SUV.

The End.