A/N: This is it-the final chapter. There will be an epilogue posted in a couple of weeks, but here is where our hero and heroine's journey ends. It's been a long and tough ride, but I'm proud of not only what I've accomplished, but also how much I've learned. When I now read the first few chapters, it seems like a completely different person wrote them. And that is all because of the team at Project Team Beta, and specifically Thir13enth and StoryPainter, for kicking my writing into shape. There may have been whips and doggie treats involved.

Every reader has a different idea of how a story should end, but I've had this ending in my head for a very long time now, and after a couple of re-writes, it's short, but perfect in my eyes for these characters-these characters who I am going to miss terribly.

One last "what am I reading"? Sure... This week it's "Crimson Starlight" by wonderwoundedhearers.

I'll see you all very soon for the epilogue.

I watched from the doorway as Bella gazed out the window at the lightly falling snow. I desperately wanted to ease her pain and heartbreak, but she had strictly forbidden me from doing so. She believed that the only way to get over it was to feel the emotions and not ignore them. Her claim made me wonder if I'd been doing a disservice to my family all this time.

"Sweetheart?"

She didn't turn to look at me, but the way she flinched at my soft voice made it obvious she'd heard me.

"My family has arrived. They're outside watching Edward."

Her shoulders hunched as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Alice has asked if she can speak with you."

I heard her take in a deep, cleansing breath. "Okay," she whispered.

"You don't have to. Feel free to say 'no.'"

"It might help to talk to her, I guess."

Alice—being Alice—was in the hall, waiting, right as Bella accepted.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" I asked Bella, taking a cautious step closer to her.

"No."

I wanted to be able to comfort her but managed to steel myself and let her be. "Okay, I'll be outside. Call when you want me back."

She continued to just stare out the window.

I passed Alice in the doorway. "I'm sorry," she mouthed to me.

I just shrugged and wandered outside, settling on the top step of the cabin, my head in my hands. It wasn't Alice's fault that I hadn't had the courage to tell Bella our history. I really should have done it a week ago when she first found out I was a vampire. This was all my doing.

It took all my powers of concentration to not listen to what the girls were talking about in the bedroom. It was a private conversation, and as much as Alice was used to not having privacy in a family of vampires, Bella wouldn't appreciate my eavesdropping. Even then, a few phrases filtered through to my brain, and I knew from those that they weren't killing each other.

Esme sat down next to me and took one of my hands in both of hers. "Is it true? You're going to change her?"

"Apparently. She hasn't spoken to me since she made the decision, so I don't know why she isn't just running away from me, but she hasn't told me she's changed her mind yet." I shrugged.

"She's doing this because she loves you, Jasper. She's not going to leave you, even if she's mad at you right now."

I looked across the clearing at my brothers, sister and father. "This isn't how it was supposed to happen," I sighed. "I wanted it to be on our terms, and when she was absolutely ready."

"Jasper, none of us had a fairy tale induction into this world. We all suffered trauma and angst in our last human moments, and we turned out fine."

I sighed. "I suppose." I just wished she could be the exception to the rule.

"Bella will have something that not many have, though. She'll have someone she loves deeply changing her. She will wake up knowing how blessed she is to have you."

"Or cursed."

Esme tutted softly. "She might be angry, but she hasn't stopped loving you. I'm sure she wouldn't consider herself cursed."

"I guess."

She wrapped her arm around me, comforting me. "Will you come home with us?"

"I don't know. It will be up to Bella, but I think it will take a while for both of us to be comfortable around Edward. And even Alice. We might stay away for now."

I felt Esme nodding her head against my shoulder. I could sense she was disappointed at my decision, but she understood it.

The door opened, and Alice emerged. "She wants you, Jasper."

I stood and looked down at her. I didn't know what to say.

Alice smiled sadly. "I know. It's okay. We're going to all take Edward's pieces back home. We won't start reassembling him until I see that she's been fully transformed."

"Thank you," I said softly, my head hanging.

My hand on the doorknob, I looked at each of them in turn, my gaze ending with Carlisle.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I thought he was in control enough that having his limbs back would be okay. I see now that I was wrong." He sighed heavily. "I should have been stricter with him."

I nodded my acceptance of his apology—what else could I do but forgive him?—and entered the cabin. By the time I entered the bedroom, the family had all gone. Bella was sitting in the middle of the big bed, picking at the comforter.

"Bella?"

She looked up at me. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." I slowly moved toward her until I was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Alice was nice. She explained a lot to me. Maybe one day we'll be able to be friends—you know, compare notes about you—but not quite today."

I groaned as I considered the implications of the two of them gossiping about me. "Okay, yeah, maybe I don't want the two of you to be friends."

She giggled, and the sound warmed my cold heart.

"Are we okay?"

She looked up at me, and even through her anguish I could feel the love that emanated from her the second she saw my face. "Yeah. I get it. You didn't know how to tell me. It's just the idea of you being married before me that stings, really. And I know that's silly—I knew you weren't exactly celibate before me. You'd made that clear. Just, a wife is so much more than a lover." She gave me a watery smile. "You and me, though? We'll be fine."

I nodded. I understood her completely. Because if she had been with someone before me, I wouldn't want to ever cross paths with them. "We can wait to change you if you still want. It doesn't have to be right now." I hesitated. "Or… ever. Just say the word and I'll get him back here. He'll be ashes before he knows what's coming."

She crawled over to me and pulled my hands into her own tiny ones. "No. It was selfish of me to not think of the consequences of my decision to wait, but I see them now. I wanted some more time with my dad and to go through those expected human rites of passage. But eventually, I will be changed, right?"

I nodded hesitantly. That was what I hoped would happen.

"Nobody should have to die just because I want to put off the inevitable," she concluded. "Especially not your brother. I know enough to know he's not a bad person, that me being human is driving him crazy. This isn't his fault, and he certainly shouldn't be sentenced to death because of it."

"Are you absolutely certain, sweetheart?" I whispered, and let my head fall down to rest in her lap.

"I'm sure." Her fingers found their way into my hair, and she tugged gently. "Look at me."

I slowly raised my eyes to her beautiful face, serene even after the horror of the last few hours.

"This is the right thing to do. I know it is." She cupped my face in her hands and kissed me chastely. "For everyone."

"It's going to hurt," I warned her. "The worst pain you've felt multiplied by one hundred."

"I know," she said with a sad smile. "But you'll be right here by my side every step of the way."

"I promise."

She pulled me closer to her and kissed me again, letting the kiss become more passionate this time. I could feel love and acceptance coming from her, and my chest ached knowing that I was going to hurt her. Every cell in my body rebelled against the idea of causing her pain.

I had her on her back in the middle of the bed before I even realized, my tongue exploring her mouth, and she moaned softly against me. I cradled her body and moved her up so her head was resting on the pillows. My hand found its way to sneak under the hem of her shirt, but she quickly batted it away.

"Not now. We'll have plenty of time for that when I'm like you," she told me breathily when she pulled away for air.

She angled her neck up to kiss me again, peppering my face with her pecks. As she did so, I barely noticed that she had gathered her hair in her fist and pulled it all to one side of her head.

I froze, realizing she was exposing her neck to me.

"Are you absolutely sure you want this right now, sweetheart?"

She nodded emphatically. "Positive. No use in waiting." She held my head in her hands and locked eyes with me. "Today is the start of our forever."

"I don't want to live forever," I muttered, and explained myself when she looked confused. "I don't want to live forever. I don't even want to live a thousand years. I only want to make sure I live one day longer than you—because all I want to do is look after you for your entire life."

She smiled up at me, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Well, you better get started on making me immortal then, because I have no intention of allowing you to die."

"I love you beyond comprehension, Bella." I leaned in and kissed her with all the passion I could muster. This was going to be the last kiss she had as a human, and I was going to make it good. I could feel her lips molding against my stone ones. She was so delicate – like a feather.

I was lost in the bliss of her tongue against mine when I felt determination sweep through her, mixed with a tiny amount of fear. She broke our kiss when she turned her head to the side, and I kissed down her chin and onto her neck. Her artery throbbed beneath my lips, and I wished I could weep, knowing that it was the last time I would feel it.

Over and over I kissed her pulse point, breathing in her beautiful scent. I knew I was procrastinating.

"It's time, Jasper," Bella whispered. "I love you."

With thoughts of how far we had come in such a short amount of time, I bit down.

And my perfect girl—my Sufletul Pereche, the other half of my soul—stiffened as she stifled a scream.