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Epilogue

10 Years Later…

"Bella…Bella," Edward's voice resonated from somewhere far away. "Bella, wake up. We're here." My eyes fluttered open and I noticed that the cab we were in had, indeed, stopped.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Edward said with a smile.

"Hey," I said, with said sleepy smile, as I climbed out of the cab behind Edward. I stretched and attempted to properly wake up as Edward paid the driver and took our bags from the trunk. We had taken the red eye flight from Washington to Boston, and the early morning wake up had worn me out, which was surprising given that I had learned to live on very little sleep in the past year. Nevertheless, the jetlag made it feel like three hours earlier than the clock indicated. Once we had retrieved everything from the cab we made our way into the hotel to check in.

"Well," Edward said as we walked, "hopefully they will let us check in since we have a few hours before we have to be at the school."

"It would be nice to have some down time," I said.

"You mean you want to finish your nap?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. Or something like that," I said with a gleam in my eye that I knew would have Edward doing everything in his power to get us checked in. My suspicions were proven correct when Edward all but ran to the reception desk. I hung back and settled on one of the couches in the lobby. I looked at Edward as he stood in line to check in and smiled. We had been through so much in our years together, but I still found myself more in more in love with him every day.

As he moved forward in the line I started thinking back on what we had been through over the past ten years. First, just surviving what had happened. Then being able to function properly in the aftermath. Finally, convincing our high school principal that a bullying policy needed to be put into place and strongly enforced, followed by the bittersweet satisfaction of watching the zero tolerance policy be put into place in our school. To show how serious he was, the principal expelled Eric and Tyler and suspended the teachers who neglected to help Mike.

It may have been partly due to the media sensation of the school shooting, but what Edward and I did to get the zero tolerance bullying policy in place made it on the news, and shortly after that we were approached about talking to other schools about what we had been through. At first, Edward and I were very hesitant. But after a few sessions with Kate we decided to do it, because we were determined to prevent what happened to us from happing to anyone else.

At first it was a little terrifying, talking to all those kids who were essentially our peers. But we started doing it so often that it became second nature, and we knew we had somehow made a difference. The pace was hectic throughout our college years, but we slowed down after grad school to make time for our wedding and the start of our careers.

Edward and I both work at the hospital. He is a physical therapist and I am a psychiatrist. We both enjoy using what we have been through and what we have learned to help people in similar situations, and sometimes we even get to work together when we have a patient who needs both of our help.

Our school assembly appearances, as much as we both value them, slowed down even more a year ago when our son was born. Brayden Charles Cullen is a mini Edward. They share the same eye and hair color, and seeing them together warms my heart in ways I never knew were possible. Our son is our whole world, and because of that we only do three or four school talks a years so we don't miss out on time with him. When we do go out of town for a talk, Edward's parents and my dad take turns watching him; this time it was Charlie's turn.

I looked up and saw Edward had made it to the front of the line. I pulled out my phone to check the time and noticed the date. It was coming up on the anniversary of the shooting. Edward and I had already made plans to stop at the cemetery on the on the way home from the airport, because we visited Angela every year around the anniversary. It will always make me melancholy to think of the joyous occasions I have experienced that she will never have the chance to.

"We are all checked in," Edward said, pulling me from my thoughts and into the present.

"Good. Let's check out the room," I said as I grabbed his hand.

One short elevator ride later we were standing outside of our room. Edward slid the key in the door and we were no sooner over the threshold when I reached up and brought his lips to mine. Once the door had shut, our bags dropped to the floor and Edward started backing me in the direction of the bed. I plunged my fingers into Edward's hair as I felt my legs hit the side of the bed. I fell willingly onto the bed as he leaned to hover over me, and I made quick work of the buttons on Edward's shirt as he pulled my t-shirt over my head. Edward's warm lips found my neck and I groaned in pleasure. His lips moved down as he flicked open my bra, and his warm tongue swirled around my nipple. I moaned loudly and managed to push his pants and boxers down with my feet. One he was free of the offending garments, he rid me of the rest of my clothes.

Feeling the intensity of our love surround us, I took him in without hesitation. Edward's lips found mine again and we swallowed each other's moans as we joined together. I wrapped my legs around the height of his waist and took him deeper as he started a frantic pace.

"Oh God, Edward," I panted as he reached down and rubbed my swollen, throbbing clit.

"Let go, Love," Edward groaned.

Edward's words shattered me, and I took him along as I went over the edge. We rode the high, and when we came down Edward kept his arms around me and held me close. As my breathing calmed and my eyes slipped shut I thought about how far Edward and I had come over the years. Our lives changed in an instant, but together we fought back and reclaimed our lives.

And our happily ever after.

AN: Thank you so much to my beta Jenn for her awesome work on this story! Thanks also to: Ellaryne, debslmac, Iluvecookies, jmeec316, jansails, jaspee, lynard69, Mireads, whilewewereyetsinners and the guest reviewer who reviewed the last chapter it means a lot.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read and review my story, it means the world to me. This story took the longest out of all my stories to write. It was a hard subject and I kept getting writers block, but all of your words of encouragement kept me going! You guys rock!