Author's Note: I've decided to end Freesia Juliet on an optimistic note, so I've included this epilogue to tie the story together. Please read and review, everybody. Within the next few days the sequel, Ambrosia Awakenings, will begin!

Freesia Juliet

Part Three: Trust

Chapter Twenty-One: Epilogue: Moments

(Edward's Point of View)

The Eleventh of May

Port Elizabeth, South Africa

"Brandy? Cigar?" suggested Emmett with a snicker. Distractedly, I batted away the imaginary offerings away.

"Stop being stupid," commanded Rosalie coolly from her position in the wicker chair.

"Isn't that what the occasion demands?" complained her husband. "Tell them, Jasper! That's how they did it in 'the olden days'."

"The olden days?" repeated Jasper with mock horror. "I shouldn't know; I wasn't there. Ask Carlisle."

"You're all idiots," pointed out Alice with a frown. I laughed inwardly at her impatience. Bella had blocked Alice's "sight" again, so Alice had no more foresight than the rest of us did about this impossible miracle.

A baby.

My baby.

Our baby.

It makes one's head reel with the possibilities.

If anyone knew what to expect, it was Esme, because she was the only one of us to ever have her own child. But what would a vampire baby be like? Would it grow and age? What would it eat? We haven't found it to be in our best interests to ask Aro, Caius, or Maelus what growing up vampire was like, and Marcus has vanished. Lady Rebekkah, our kind hostess here in Port Elizabeth, has remained surprisingly secretive about the whole thing.

"Do you think it tastes good?" chuckled Bella lightly as she stirred the pot of bubbling red liquid. Spaghetti sauce. Ironic, but it was World Foods Week at the Academy for Exceptionally Bright Girls in Port Elizabeth, and Italian was Bella's best style.

"The first bunch seemed to like it," I said lovingly, my eyes transfixed by her swollen stomach. My daily miracle was to watch it expand as a precious life form grew.

"Ah, to be able to taste it," smiled Bella, placing a hand on her back as she surveyed her handiwork. Dozens of uniformed girls of Dutch, English, or African descent hustled themselves into the dining hall to enjoy a taste of the Mediterranean. Yesterday, Henri had tempted them with crepes for breakfast, quiche for dinner, and coq au vin for supper. Tonight, Rebekkah will take her turn, serving linguine for supper with Alice as her exuberant helper.

Poor Henri had never really recovered from the death of his mate eight months ago. Carlisle and Bella never did tell me what happened in that ambush at Alistair Castle, only that Colette and Lady Genevieve gave their lives to protect us.

How had we escaped Alistair Castle alive? Bella says thank Genevieve. I will forever be in the dark about that one. It is times like these that I wish I could read my wife's mind.

"Bells?"

"Hm?" she said pensively, her chocolate brown eyes glowing.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, feeling a little foolish.

"Baby names," she admitted with a short laugh.

"Really?" I said, raising an interested eyebrow. "What sort of names?"

She stuck out her tongue. "Not telling."

"Why?" I said with frustration. Neither Alice nor I had gotten the slightest hint as to what the name would be. Of course, I respected the fact that the decision was hers, but if she named him 'Jacob' I might be forced to disown him.

Or maybe it would be a her. Unfortunately, ultrasounds, or in fact any kind of wave or radiation, would not register in a vampire. (That's why Emmett called Bella the "Lead Cocoon.") We are entirely in the dark about the baby's gender.

"Not even a small clue?" I begged, turning the charm on full blast. It was what Bella still referred to as "dazzling."

She seemed to wilt under my penetrating gaze. "I've made a promise."

"To who?"

"To Genevieve."

"Oh. What about?"

"The name."

"Right," I deadpanned. "You made your resident ghost an oath."

"No, not an oath, a gift," she countered. "If it's a girl…she'll be named after Genevieve's mother."

My eyes widened. "We're going to name our baby after the grandmother of one of our enemies?"

Bella wrinkled her brow. "Don't think of it like that, Edward! And besides, Marcus is our ally now."

"Maelus isn't," I pointed out.

"If it is a girl, I'm naming her after an Etruscan queen. Think of it historically."

I gave in. "So what it the name?"

"Not telling."

"Bella," I coaxed, wrapping my arms around her rounded form, "why won't you tell me? I'll let you name him after Charlie when it's a boy-"

"-If it's a boy-"

"Okay," I conceded, "if it's a boy, Edward Charles Cullen the Third."

"The third?" snickered Bella. "The first two were Masens."

"What's your point?" I protested. "I'm Edward Anthony Masen Jr."

"A.K.A. Edward Cullen the Second."

I paused. "I'm confused."

"So am I," Bella admitted. She made a small face. "I can't…name the baby after Charlie."

I kissed the top of her head and she shivered. "Why not?"

"Because then I'd see my father's disappointed face every time I looked at my baby!" she snapped.

"His 'disappointed face'?" I repeated, barely audible to even a vampire's sharp ears.

"On the last night I saw him," she confessed, "Charlie was so angry that I came in so late without even a phone call. He was worried sick, I think, and I could read the disappointment in his eyes." I brought her closer as she began to dry sob in my arms. "I didn't even tell him that I loved him, and he was just five minutes away from death!" She stiffened, shuddering. "Oh, God, Edward, I can't live like this," she swore in a harsh whisper.

"Human memories fade, Bells," I promised her as my heart broke for her.

She shook her head. "Not this. No, this will stay with me forever," she said vehemently.

"You've only been a vampire since August. Give it time, Bella," I begged.

"Okay, for you, Edward," she promised, and let me kiss her.

Then she doubled over with pain, surprise written across her face. "Oh. Wow."

"God damn," swore Emmett with extreme frustration. "It's been twenty-seven hours, Ed! How long does a baby take?"

"How the hell would I know?" I retorted with a grimace, digging my fingers into the plaster of the wall. We were in the nurse's office at the academy, because Bella and Carlisle were in the infirmary wing. None of us had felt it would be safe to have a supernatural infant in an unsuspecting maternity ward.

At that very moment, Carlisle peeked his head through the door. "Edward, will you come in here?" he suggested very casually. His face was cautiously distant, but Jasper read his emotions like an open book and betrayed them with a whoop of joy. Both of my idiot brothers began to prance around the room with explosive grins, dragging their wives behind them.

"Go meet my grandchild," ordered Esme.

"Good luck Edward," said Alice breathlessly.

"Thanks," I griped, nervously marching in toward my destiny.

The first thing I noticed was Bella's face. It was sallow, waxy, and sunken, but her eyes sparkled with sheer delight. She had a rough time of it, Carlisle explained in thought-speak. Pain medication and all the modern birthing conveniences do not work on us, so we basically had to go back to medieval style. Think ripping a piece of steel with your bare hands.

"Oh," I said softly, acknowledging his 'words.' "How do you feel, Bells?" I asked warily.

She laughed, and her laughter filled me with relief. "A werewolf sat on my chest and mocked me for twenty-some hours, and I couldn't get to him," she giggled breezily, "but then the endorphins kicked in. I'm glad we still have those."

My eyes traced the curve of her body down to a little bundled cocoon of white. "Hello," I greeted softly, sitting down on the bed. "Welcome to the world, ambrosia eyes," I whispered, looking into the face of love incarnate. The liquid-gold eyes stared curiously at me, decided I wasn't a threat to their narrow world, and blinked patiently, waiting to find out my role in their existence. My voice caught as I dared to ask, "What name have you chosen?"

Bella reclaimed her precious prize. "Lucinda Rae Cullen," she said firmly, as if daring me to question it.

My mind whirled as I processed it. "A good name," I consented, "if not a little old fashioned."

"I have old fashioned tastes," retorted my wife.

"That you do," I agreed. "So this is your gift to Genevieve?"

"It's an anglicizing of her mother's name," nodded Bella, "but we're going to call her Lucy."

"We are?" I asked softly. Another girl from another time with that name flickered through my mind for the briefest of moments. A human memory, long forgotten.

"Yes."

"And Rae?"

"Rosalie Alice Esme," she chuckled.

"Edward Emmett," added Jasper with a knowing grin as my whole family poured into the room. "Why don't Carlisle and I get our names in there too?"

"Rajec?" snorted Rose.

Alice silenced both of them. "Welcome to the family, Lucy Cullen."

The coppery blonde head bobbed up and down in agreement as she yawned loudly.

So this was how my daughter came to be. But this is far from the end…

Part three, Trust, fin.

THE END