A/N: This is the last chapter before the epilogue. I still haven't gotten over my writer's block on this story completely but I worked hard on this chapter for you guys. I really hope you enjoy it and maybe check out my other stories. I have an Alice/Jasper fic going called "To Love Again" if you love Jalice (who doesn't?) then you should go check it out, I think you'll enjoy it. And I might have another Edward and Bella story coming soon so watch out for it. I'm having a contest of sorts and if you're desperate for the ending of this story you might want to check it out just read my authors note at the bottom! Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but an unhealthy obsession with the Cullen men. But at least I admit it.

Bella POV

"Tell me again what we're doing." Emmett asked over the top of his newspaper.

We were sitting across from each other in the local café, poring over the stack of newspapers we had scored every convenience store within a fifteen block radius for until our arms could carry no more.

"The name Cullen; I know that his little sister is getting married on New Year's eve and that it's going to be pretty extravagant."

"How would you spell that?" My brother asked around a mouthful of toast. I rolled my eyes before going back to scanning the wedding and engagement announcements for anything that might be related to him.

"Like it sounds Emmett." I mumbled when I saw he was still looking at me expectantly. He nodded his head and then turned his eyes to watch our waitress approach our table with yet another round of coffee for Emmett and my preferred chocolate milk.

Her smile was absolutely radiant as she set them down and Emmett smiled back, using his dimples –or as I liked to call them his 'lady catchers'- to his full advantage.
"Is there anything else I can get for you?" She asked sweetly, her eyes never leaving my brothers face.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head before my eyes caught the letter 'C' and 'U' next to each other. I sighed heavily when I realized it was the name 'Cumber'. This was beginning to seem like wasted effort. Maybe I was destined to never find him again. Maybe this was my punishment for being so stupid in my life. Maybe my fate had already been predetermined and I was meant to be alone with my baby for the rest of my life. What's that saying, Que Sera Sera right?

"No thank you." Emmett said, ignoring the way I had thrown the newspaper down on the table in an act of puerile outrage. "Unless of course you can help us find one out of fifty thousand or so weddings that seem to be happening this week."

"Hmm…are you guys wedding crashers or something?" She asked and Emmett let out a booming laugh. I was surprised she didn't jump out of her skin.

"I wish. I loved that movie." He chuckled and then took a drink of his coffee. "No, my sister here fell in love on the backseat of a Greyhound bus and now we're on a seemingly impossible mission to find the poor dude."

The waitress laughed; a beautiful haunting sound before her eyes settled on me, clearly examining my figure. "He's not the groom I hope."

"I asked the same thing!" Emmett laughed as I rolled my eyes for he had indeed asked the same thing when I first told him what we were doing with the magazines.

"Well, I haven't lived in town long so I don't know many people…when is the wedding?"

"New Year's eve." I replied quickly to cut off Emmett's overzealous answering. "His last name is Cullen."

The smile left her face and her plump lips pursed together as she turned her head to look over her shoulder at the clock behind her. "Can you wait here for twenty minutes?"

My interest was immediately piqued and I nodded in agreement before she turned on her heel and went back to the counter, helping her few customers there.

"What the hell was that about?" Emmett asked, perplexed and I shook my head.

I continued to scan through the rest of the announcements for the next twenty minutes and while Emmett pretended to help I knew that his eyes were focused on the blondie at the front of the café instead of the newspaper in front of him.

I ignored that as I raked over any and every word that began with a 'C' refusing to give up just yet.

I was so intent on my task that I didn't even see or feel the waitress slide in next to me until Emmett thumped the paper I had in front of my face with his fingers.

"My name is Rosalie Hale." She said as I turned to look at her. She smiled timidly and held out her hand which I took and shook lightly.

"Bella Swan, and this is my brother Emmett McCarty."

"It's nice to meet you." She smiled before adding with a look in Emmett's direction, "The both of you. And I think I can help."

I looked at her questioningly and she smiled before standing up and holding out her hand to me. I took it and let her pull me up from my seat on the bench.

"My step brother is getting married on New Year's eve; His fiancé's name is Alice. Alice Cullen." She explained as she led us to the front of the store and out the front door.

"I told you I had a good feeling about eating there." Emmett mumbled as we walked down the busy Seattle street towards the end of the block.

I rolled my eyes and ignored him as we kept walking toward a red brick building. Rosalie pulled out her keys and unlocked the front door, leading us into her apartment building. She checked the mail before we climbed the three stories to her front door and she let us in, throwing her stuff down on a table beside the door.

She gestured for us to sit down and we did while she went to what I could only assume was her bedroom and came back out wearing tight fitting jeans and a vintage t-shirt that looked made her look more like she belonged on the cover of Vogue than in dreary Seattle working at a café. Though I doubted she could look bad in anything.

"My step brother and I have always gotten along." She said as she fell down into one of the overstuffed arm chairs that sat across from us. "He's been there for me and he's a really great guy. I was horrible to him though. He said he was getting married and I guess I just got jealous. It wasn't fair of me and I've been a bitch about it."

She laughed dryly and then stood up abruptly going to the door to pull on a pair of converse sneakers and her coat.

"But now I can fix this. At least, I hope I can." She smiled at me as she opened the door to her apartment and held it there with a smile in my direction. "Come on Bella, let's go tell Edward you love him."

XxxxX

The drive to the tiny little town took a good hour and a half, maybe two, I stopped keeping track of the time when the green blurring past us began to make my stomach turn. Rosalie and Emmett hit it off great, both singing along to the rock songs that Rosalie had in her CD player. I had let him sit in front, knowing that I wouldn't be able to stretch out much if my giant of a big brother sat squished into the back of Rosalie's cherry red eco-sedan.

We drove straight through the town, not stopping at any of the small houses, until we passed the city limits and the buildings began to grow sparser and more scattered.

Rosalie slowed down to an almost crawl as we drove farther outside of the city limits until finally she flicked on her blinker and turned on to a gravel paved drive surrounded by trees. I sat up a little bit straighter and ran a hand through my wavy brown hair before pulling the coat Emmett had insisted he buy me, tighter together in front.

Emmett let out a low whistle suddenly and I looked up to meet the most magnificent house I had ever laid eyes on. It was set in a meadow, the trees that had surrounded the drive were contained and none encroached on the acre that held the house. And the house itself was entirely breathtaking.

It was a creamy white color and had to be three stories tall, its windows were open and inviting and I could see movement through the glass on the first floor. Rosalie parked the car and glanced back at me through her rearview mirror before shutting off the car and pulling the keys out with a glance toward Emmett. He nodded and both of them opened their doors at the same time. Emmett reached down and used the lever to push the seat forward, allowing me just enough space to squeeze myself through; if I didn't breathe.

Rosalie waited by our side of the car for us as Emmett picked me up out of the car and set me on my feet, making sure I was steady before letting me go. I took a deep, calming breath that didn't work as we walked up the stone path and right up to the front door.

My heart was pounding in my chest as it tried to decide if it should make a quick emergency exit through my nose. I watched in almost slow motion as Rosalie lifted her hand up to use the old fashioned doorbell and I opened my mouth to tell her to wait.

Nothing came out however and I tried to make my knees looser so I wouldn't pass out and ruin any chance I may have had at a semi graceful entrance.

The seconds passed agonizingly slow as I waited with bated breath for someone to answer the door. I almost just turned around and ran for it after ten seconds, though I knew that even if I could get away from Emmett's arms, I'd end up just falling flat on my face and that would be just as bad-if not worse- as fainting.

"Rosalie!" I jumped slightly as a sweet voice brought me out of my reverie. I turned my eyes upward without moving my head, to see a slight woman with caramel colored hair embracing Rosalie in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you dear. Please come in."

She smiled at Emmett and me as she let go of Rosalie and opened the door for us. I kept my hands clasped tightly on the edges of the coat and my hair over one shoulder, hiding my face from view.

The lady led us over to one of the all white couches that sat in the middle of the room in front of a television that was about the size of a small billboard. She sat down on one of the couches and Rosalie and Emmett did the same as I tried to figure out a way to sit down without letting go of my coat.

"Emmett, Bella, this is Esme. She's Alice and Edward's mother." Rosalie smiled and I tried to smile back though I felt like if I moved my mouth the pancake breakfast I had gobbled down this morning might try and make its reappearance. "Esme, this is Emmett McCarty and Bella Swan. They're here from Jacksonville."

Esme smiled up at us and reached out to shake our hands. I reluctantly let go of my coat with one hand and I saw Esme glance down quickly at my bulging stomach.

"Mom" I jumped again when a high, tinkling voice interrupted our introductions and we all turned to see a slight little girl fly down the stairs. She was nearly bouncing up and down as she made her way over to us and by the way she was approaching Esme I had to assume this was Alice.

"Yes dear."

"I can't find the wedding book and I don't remember if I told the caterers to be here at seven or eight. I just know it was early."

"It was eight honey and don't worry, I've already called them to confirm."

"Thank you so much…" She said as she bent to kiss the top of her mom's head. "Oh… Hi Rosalie! Jasper isn't here right now."

I couldn't help but notice the weary look in Alice's eyes as she said hello to her soon to be stepsister-in-law.

"Oh, that's okay. Actually, I'm not here for Jasper." She smiled and I could see the shock flash through both Esme and Alice's eyes before Rosalie turned to me and I felt the blush creep up my neck and spread across my cheeks, overheating them.

"Hi…" I muttered and I knew that Rosalie expected me to say it myself but at the moment I wasn't even sure if I could remember my own name.

"Hi. Who are you?" Alice asked and Esme reprimanded her quietly before turning her kind gray eyes on me.

"Bella dear, are you alright?"

"Bella?" Alice gasped and I looked up at the sound to see Alice's eyes as wide as dinner plates and her hands over her open mouth as she stared at me. "You're…you're Bella?"

I nodded my head and I once again saw her eyes flash to my stomach and I began to shrink under her gaze. Emmett stood up from where he had sat down beside Rosalie and put a protective arm around me.

"I'm…Is Edward here?" I stumbled and I saw a gleam in Alice's eyes before she shook her head slowly. "He isn't?"

"No…he…He went to find to you."

I stood there, speechless and I'm sure my mouth was hanging wide open. I didn't know what to say, or what to do. Should I be happy that he was trying to find me? Or should I be upset that I had missed him? It was confusing and apparently my baby thought so too as it gave a great heave on my back and I flinched slightly.

"Why don't you sit down?" Esme asked and I nodded, letting Emmett help lower me onto the plush sofa.

"Where did he go?" I asked after a minute and Alice came around the couch to sit beside me.

"Seattle, he was going to catch a flight there tonight and meet you back in Jacksonville. He said your brother had said he was taking you home." She looked up at Emmett and glared slightly making a small laugh escape my lips. Alice smiled at me before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a tiny silver cell phone and opening it up. "I'll call him."

I waited beside her as she sat with one of my hands in hers and the cell phone to her ear, waiting.

She sighed and hung up and I could only assume that he didn't answer. But she didn't give me time to ask as she pulled me up with her and made her way to the door.

"Where…"

"We're going to go get him. Let's go."

As we made our way to Seattle in one of the Cullen's many cars I could only hope that we would make it on time. And would Edward really get on a plane to go get me? After everything he had told me I couldn't help but let that gesture get to me, causing a stir of emotions within me.

Alice didn't stop or slow down as we flew toward Seattle, the time passing much faster than it had in the back of Rosalie's car. Before I knew it we were pulling in to the airport parking lot and Alice was all but pushing me out of the car and into the doors looking for the right gate.

My heart fell deep inside of my chest when I saw the flashing lights on the board that read 'Jacksonville'.

We were five minutes late.

"Dammit" Emmett cursed from behind me and I felt a hot tear fall down my cheek. Alice growled and started ranting about needing a faster car while Rosalie looked on from under Emmett's arm.

I wiped away the tear and let Alice embrace me as she promised me that she would get me back to Jacksonville as soon as possible, even if it meant she had to charter a private plane. I nodded my head against her shoulder, though I knew I would never let her charter a private plane for me, and let her just hold me. I needed it right then.

I don't know how long I stood there in Alice's arms. I felt Rosalie's hand on the small of my back as she rubbed soothing circles there and Emmett brushed his knuckles up and down my arm.

When my quite sobs had finally subsided to hiccups I let go of Alice and she did too, pushing me back slightly to look in my eyes with a sincere smile on her lips. "Don't worry Bella. It's not healthy for you or the baby."

I nodded my head and Rosalie came to stand beside Alice. "Let's go to the bathroom and you can wash your face okay?"

"Okay."

I let them lead me to the bathroom and then wiped my face with a couple of damp paper towels. I watched in complete horror as Alice pulled a makeup bag out of her huge purse and pulled out various kinds of makeup while Rosalie pulled my hair back and started braiding it for me.

"You guys I don't need this…"

"It will make you feel better I promise." Alice insisted as she attacked my face with a sponge covered with base.

I didn't argue anymore with them, instead letting them have their fun. I was too depressed to fight it.

Twenty minutes and a new face later I was walking out of the bathroom between Rose and Alice who were talking animatedly about what kind of jet they should charter to send me back to Jacksonville and who should pilot it. They were arguing between Dennis Quaid and John Travolta when they stopped abruptly.

"Bella?"

My head shot up and my breath caught in my throat as I saw Emmett standing there, his arms crossed over his chest as his lips were pulled up into a small smile.

"Look who I found sulking around outside." He said proudly and before I could stop myself I launched myself across the two feet separating us and into Edward's arms.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered into my hair. "I wanted to find you. I wanted to come get you, but I couldn't get on the plane. I just couldn't do it."

"It's okay." I assured him quietly but he shook his head and opened his mouth to argue with me.

I didn't let him say anything else as I used his shoulders for leverage and lifted myself up on my tiptoes to press my lips on to his. He stayed perfectly still at first and I really hoped he wouldn't pull away this time and let me fall.

I didn't have to worry however as I felt his arms come up to wrap around my waist, pulling me as close to him as he could with my baby in the way. His lips worked fervently with mine and one of his hands came up to entangle in my hair, not letting me escape though I never wanted to.

He pulled away only when we were both gasping for breath and though I knew we were in a crowded airport it seemed like the whole world had fallen away.

"I love you." I whispered as he traced my nose with his own and then leaned his forehead against mine, looking me in the eyes. "I couldn't say it on the bus because…well I don't know why. But I do. I fell in love with you and it's stupid and irresponsible but I did."

"I'm sorry."

"Edward it doesn't matter to me that you didn't get on the plane. I never wanted you to get over your fears and I understand why you can't. I'm actually glad that you didn't…Alice was talking about getting John Travolta to fly me back to Florida."

He laughed lightly and then placed a kiss on my forehead. "I'm glad too."

He pulled me close to him and I leaned my head over to lay it against his chest listening to his heartbeat.

He jumped slightly and pulled away and I felt the loss of contact in my bones again, burning and aching for his touch.

"Did you feel that?" He asked, his green eyes wide. His hand hovered over my belly and I knew he was talking about the way my unborn child reacted to him.

"I always do. It's like…it's like it knows who you are. Like it likes your voice." I smiled as I reached out and took his hand, laying it over my belly as the baby assaulted me with a round of kicks that I knew was just for Edward.

"Amazing." He breathed and I watched as he kneeled down in front of me and lifted up the hem of the sweater Emmett had made me buy. "Hey little one. How about you and your mom come with me? Do you like that idea?"

I laughed as the baby kicked again and Edward kissed the skin of my baby bump.

"I think he agrees with me."

"He?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course it's a boy. Only a boy could kick like that."

I laughed and let him pull me into his arms, noting Alice and Rosalie's glares at his back. I'm sure he'd get an earful of that later. But for now, I wasn't about to let go of him, and I knew I never would.

"I love you too." He whispered into my ear as we walked hand in hand out the front doors of the airport and back to Alice's car.

I knew it was fast. I knew I hardly knew him. But I also knew that love doesn't care how long you know each other or how much you know about each other. Love may make you patient but it isn't patient itself. And love is something you should hold on to with both hands as tight as you can; not because it will run away, but because when you fall, you should do it together.

And that's exactly what we did.

A/N: Before I tell you the usual, review for a sneak peek..yada yada stuff I always do, I thought I'd let you guys in on a little challenge I'm having. If you are old enough to read it; Jandco and withthevampsofcourse are having a culleny christmas contest. Filled with lemons galore. I love it. Anyway, one of my dearest readers Jamie (mischeif_maker1, go check her out) wrote an amazing story with her partner in crime and ever since I have been yearning for a picture of Emmett in a Santa suit.
So... to the first person that can make and/or find me a picture of Kellan Lutz in a Santa suit, I will reward them with the next unposted chapter of whichever story they may choose. So of course, review for a sneak peek and then get your photoshop on cause I want that picture!
besos!