A/N t&a: Guys, this is so, so crazy to say but we're coming to a close—only the epilogue left. Honestly, from the bottom of our hearts thank you, thank you, thank you for going on this crazy, ridiculously fun journey with us. Your reviews, your tweets, your everything means so much to us both.

We don't own… blah, blah, you know this by now.

But I knew you were the star that shines for me
And I had already planned to set us free
And in the black of the night
I would ask you to be mine.
And then, with the rest of my days before me,
I broke down and fell asleep,
To your beating heart.
"Your Beating Heart" Brendan James

I've been rendered speechless a few times in my life. The first time was when I found out that my parents died. The second was when Savannah called and told me I had a son. The third… the third is this.

The third is sitting in this tiny chair with my brand new baby in my arms.

Actually, the third was watching aforementioned baby come out of Bella's body.

"You've got a big, strong mommy," I whisper and trace the tiniest nose I've ever seen in my life.

I look up at Bella who's still sleeping and I know she's tired but fuck, I really want her to wake up. I want that look on her face again. I want her to look at the baby, big brown eyes brimming with tears and love, and then I want her to look at me so we can share this mind fucking boggling awe together.

Bella's big brown eyes open up on this tiny face. "Hi, baby," I whisper and my heart squeezes when the tiniest hand reaches up towards me. "I'm your daddy. Mommy is over there sleeping. You tired her out but when she wakes up she's gonna be so happy to see you."

The baby wiggles a little bit and I smile, rubbing my thumb over tiny knuckles and soft, pudgy arms. "Your big brother is really excited to meet you," I continue. "He can't wait to play with you."

Bella shifts slightly in the hospital bed and I look up to see her rubbing her eyes. "Hi, mama," I say softly so that I won't frighten the baby.

She smiles tiredly at us and then holds her arms out. "I can't believe he's real. It's like the best dream I've ever had and if I wake up I'm going to be really, really pissed," she whispers with a hoarse voice.

I stand up, cradling the baby and walk over to the side of her bed. "It's the best dream," I say and place our baby in her arms before sitting down next to her. "And it's real." I smooth her hair back from her face. "I love you so much, Bella."

She grins at me with tears in her eyes. "I love you more. And I love this tiny one more than I thought possible."

"Finn's gonna shit himself when he finds out he's got a brother," I say and I realize that I'm smiling so much that my face hurts but I can't stop. Just like I can't stop touching him.

"We're going to have to name him before Finn meets him or else I might be persuaded into calling him Harry. I can't resist your son, or you."

I groan dramatically. "If we name him Harry he's going to be traumatized. All the kids are gonna call him Hairy, B."

She chuckles and brushes her lips over the baby's forehead. "I would rather not name him that. But we need to pick. What does he look like to you?"

"Perfect." I trace his ear. "He's so soft."

She leans over and kisses my shoulder. "You're not sad he's not your little princess?"

"Sad? Bella, are you crazy? We have a perfect baby. I counted his fingers and toes five times while you were sleeping. He's perfect. I don't care if he's a girl or a boy."

She gives me another huge smile and says, "Good cause I really kind of wanted a boy. I just didn't want to take sides." She kisses the baby again and cradles him to her chest.

"I was just messing around with Finn. So what are we naming the nugget, mama?"

She pushes back the blankets slightly and really looks at the baby. "I can't tell. He needs a really amazing name. Something strong and unique."

"Strong and unique." I hum and pretend to think. "Like Rocco?"

She turns her head to stare at me with wide eyes. "Absolutely not. A real name. Not something that sounds like a cartoon rock band."

I laugh and run my fingers through her hair. "Umm… what about Nick?"

She raises a brow. "Like the bartender I kissed at the convention?"

"Ugh." I pretend to gag. "Absolutely not." I give a dramatic shudder. "What about Cameron?"

"Cameron." She looks down at the baby and traces his features. "Are you a Cameron?"

"He looks like one." I trace his eyebrows.

"I like it," she says and then looks up at me. "Maybe Cameron Emmett?" Her voice is tentative and unsure.

"Like I'd say no. Emm took care of you when I was being a prick. Of course."

Just then the door opens and a nurse walks in. She smiles at us. "Good, you're up." After she looks Bella and the baby over she walks to the door. "The three of you have two very persistent visitors. If you're up to it I'll let them in."

I look at Bella because I'm not the one that pushed a baby out of my body a few hours ago. "Yes, of course," she says with a big smile.

Just then Emmett, Finn and Savannah walk into the room. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Finn asks excitedly.

"Hey, big guy," I say and lift him up into my arms. "You have a brand new baby brother." I grin when he whoops in victory. "You wanna meet him?"

Finn looks from my face to Bella and the baby a few times before nodding eagerly. "Don't talk too loud though, okay? We don't wanna scare him."

I walk over to the side of Bella's bed and set Finn down next to her. He looks at Bella and whispers, "He's sleeping."

She smiles at him. "Babies sleep a lot, they're growing all the time."

He nods wisely and then looks back down at the baby. "Hi," he whispers. "I'm your big broder. My name is Finn. Daddy likes to call me Huck. And Emmett likes to call me Mini. But my name is Finn. What's your name?"

Bella looks at me and nods for me to tell. "Guys," I say and look at Finn then Savannah and then finally Emmett. "This is Cameron Emmett."

Emmett's eyes widen as he looks between me and Bella. "Come again?" he says.

Bella nods. "We figured you wouldn't mind since it turned out to be a boy. And you won't be defiling him either way."

He grins and walks over to me. He wraps both arms around me and gives me a hard hug. "Congratulations man."

"Thanks."

Savannah is leaning over Bella cooing at the baby. "He's beautiful," she says to us. "I don't want to crowd you guys so I'm gonna go. But… congratulations."

We both thank her and Finn blows a distracted kiss at her. "Shadow," Emmett says and leans down to kiss her forehead. "Your baby is beautiful. Even more beautiful since he's named after me."

I roll my eyes. Bella laughs and shakes her head.

*pco*

Finn thinks that the baby monitor in Cameron's room only works if the baby's crying. He believes that it doesn't pick up big people voices. So every night he sneaks out of bed and into Cameron's room and sits next to the crib to talk to him.

"We hafta be quiet," Finn whispers. "We don't wanna wake up daddy and mommy."

He's also taken to calling Bella mommy. The first day he did it, she cried.

"So, guess what?" Finn whispers. Bella opens her eyes and gives me a lazy, indulgent smile. "I gotsed you a baseball for us to play together. But daddy sayed that you can't play baseball with me until you're bigger."

Bella rubs her cheek against my shoulder and tangles her feet with mine. "I'm gonna go interrupt in a second," I tell her. "But you're warm and I don't wanna get out of bed."

"I'll still be warm when you get back. Kiss my boys for me," she says sleepily.

"When this boy gets back do you think he can get a kiss?" I ask.

Her eyes are closed but she chuckles at me. "As many as you want, for as long as you want, til the story is over," she says groggily because she's half asleep.

"There is no over, mama." I kiss her forehead and slide out of the bed.

I walk into the next room taking care to make enough noise that I won't scare Finn or wake Cameron up. "Hey, buddy," I say and put my hand on top of his head, peeking in to look at the baby. "What're you doing up?"

"I wanted to tell my broder some stuff," he says with a shrug.

I lift him up into my arms and sit down in Bella's glider next to the crib. "What were you telling him?" I ask as Finn curls up in my chest.

"Just stuff about life." I hold back my laugh and start gliding us back and forth. "I think maybe he's scared of the dark too. So I wanted him to not be scared."

"That's nice of you, Huck." I rub his back through his flannel pajamas. "You like having a little brother?"

"I wish he could talk."

"He will soon."

"But how soon do you think?"

"Well, if he's anything like you, he'll probably be saying a few words by the summertime."

"I wish I could be with him all the time," Finn confesses softly. "I don't like it when I hafta leave him to go with mommy."

I kiss the top of his head even as my heart breaks a little bit for him. Because I wish he was always with us too. But he needs his mom and Savannah needs him. And the truth is, if not for her, Finn wouldn't be Finn. He'd be Finn minus Savannah. Meaning he'd have probably been toting a fro and eating the filling from McDonald apple pies as a one year old. Not that I was incompetent but I had no idea what the fuck to do with a baby.

"Your mom needs you too, kid."

He nods. "I know." He rubs my collarbone with soft fingers. "Daddy, do you think that when Cameron getsed bigger he's gonna like me?"

"Are you kidding, man? You're his brother. He's gonna like you best."

He nods and then yawns. "You about ready to go to bed?" I ask him.

"I don't wanna leave him by himself."

"He'll be okay. I promise." I stand up with Finn still in my arms and walk to the edge of the crib. "Night, Cam."

"Night, Cam," Finn echoes. "I love you."

*pco*

It's Sunday. It's 4:00. It's raining. Savannah just picked Finn up and the baby is sleeping. Bella needs to get out of that shower ten minutes ago.

I drop my head back on the sofa and close my eyes. It's been crazy. Good crazy but totally fucking crazy nonetheless.

You can think anything you want about your life, try to plan it, try to make it perfect. The thing is, you'll never know what to expect in between Point A and Point B. People happen. Life happens. Things change. For better or for worse, they change. And then suddenly you realize that even if the Point B isn't exactly what you envisioned, it's actually better. More exhausting, yes. Louder, totally. But it's amazing.

Bella comes out of the bedroom wearing my sweater and a pair of socks—her favorite outfit when we're just chilling at home. She peaks into Cam's room before coming back out and walking over to me.

I hold my hands out to her and she places hers in mine. "Quiet," I whisper with a grin. "Finally." I tug her down so that she's straddling my lap and put my hands on her thighs. "Cam's still sleeping?"

"Yeah," she says with a sleepy smile. "I think Finn wore him out with his game of peek-a-boo." She places her cheek on my shoulder and relaxes her body entirely against mine.

I stroke her damp hair and then her back lazily. "And how are you doing?"

"I feel a little like a cartoon character stuck in an action movie, but it's really kind of incredible."

I chuckle slightly just because imagining Bella's face on Tweety Bird is equal parts funny and adorable. "It's a little crazy right now," I say and rub my cheek against her hair. "But not too crazy? You're happy?"

She sighs softly. "So happy. Gag other people with my happiness, happy."

And I sigh in relief. Not that I doubted that she was happy but as much as we prepared, this situation is still overwhelming. And her happiness means every fucking thing to me. "Good. Me too. Even if I sometimes want to throw you in the car and drive to a deserted parking lot for a few hours," I say and slide my hands down and over her ass.

She laughs against my throat. "You think baby monitors work that far away? If so, I'm game."

"Don't tease me," I say with a groan because we're not allowed to have sex for six to eight weeks after the baby's born. "How much time do we have left anyway?"

"At least two weeks. Unless you wanna bribe the doctor, which seems like a bad idea considering he's in charge of my "down there" health."

I scoff in protest. "I'm the only one in charge of your "down there" anything." I slide my hands up under the back of her sweater and stroke the soft, warm skin there.

She hums and presses her lips to my neck. "Fair enough. You can have exclusive access and rights as long as you take the 3 A.M. wake up."

"Oh, ha-ha-ha," I say sarcastically and roll us over so that she's lying beneath me. "I already have exclusive access." I press my lips to her earlobe and grind my hips against hers. "And I'll take any 3 A.M. wake up." She wraps her legs around my waist and arches her back towards me. "Christ, I want you so fucking badly."

"I feel the same way," she whispers and grabs the back of my shirt. "Missed you being this close without tiny bodies between us."

And then Cam's little cries sound through the baby monitor. I drop my head to her chest and groan. Bella laughs and runs her hands up and down my back. "Maybe he'll go back to sleep if we ignore him. That's how I trained Walt, you know."

She laughs and wiggles out from under me. Before she gets to his door she looks over her shoulder at me. "I'm hoping Cam will have a few more manners than Walter."

"I really hope," I say as I stand to follow her, "that you're not implying that my son won't like boobs when he's older."

She giggles and reaches down to lift him from his crib. "All I can ask is that he gets permission before grabbing them." I watch as she hugs his chubby little body to her chest and feel my heart expand the way it does every time I see them like that.

She walks back out into the living room and sits on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her, cradling him in her arms. I reach for the camera that we always have out and snap a picture of her when she isn't looking. "You have no idea how amazing you look like that."

Her cheeks flush slightly and she gives me a shy smile. "It's the baby. He makes everyone look good. And besides, you're a bit biased."

I scroll through the camera before sitting down next to her, holding it up so that she can see a picture of me with Cam from a few days ago. "That doesn't make me want to have sex with myself." And then I scroll forward to her picture. "This makes me want you a million times more than I already do."

"If looking at a picture of you with your son doesn't convince you that you're one sexy daddy, then I cannot vouch for your sanity."

"Well, listen," I begin and rub Cam's soft little foot with my thumb. "I never said I wasn't sexy. I'd just rather have sex with you."

She laughs and Cam makes a happy little gurgling sound at the noise. "Well, that's a very good thing. You'd be an awful waste if you were a hermaphrodite."

I roll my eyes. "You wouldn't want me?" I ask and tug Cam from her arms, holding him up in front of me. "You hear that, Cam? Your mama wouldn't want me if I were a hermaphrodite." I turn Cam slightly to face her. "Does that mean you won't want daddy if he got fat, too?" I ask in a pretend baby voice.

She swats at me. "Stop being ridiculous. I'd always want you. You're like my upside down magnet. Somehow we'd always find our way back to each other."

I grin and pull Cam to my chest before leaning over and giving her a kiss. "Ditto, baby. Ditto."