I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.

Epilogue

I opened the door after a long day at work, and wondered where everyone was since the house was dark and quiet. I went upstairs to search for Bella and could hear faint music coming from the bedroom at the end of the hall. Bella was inside in only her underwear, painting the baby's room.

I frowned because it wasn't good for her to be around paint fumes in her condition. "I told you not to paint the room, that I would do it."

"It wasn't me; our dads were here last week and did it for us," Bella explained, looking over her shoulder at me. "I'm just painting a mural now. The paint is non-toxic and low odor. Plus, I have both windows open with fans, one blowing in fresh air and the other on exhaust." She pointed at them.

"How did I not notice the room has been painted for a week?" I asked.

Bella smirked. "Because you're not observant."

"Ha ha. Did I also miss our daughter growing up and moving out?" I joked, although I was feeling guilty.

Bella laughed. "No. Jasper and Alice took her to the zoo then invited her to spend the night with them."

I felt even more guilty now. I was supposed to take Vanessa last weekend, but an emergency came up at work. She had been born while I was still in medical school, so there were a lot of times missed out helping Bella the first few years. She was our bronze haired and brown-eyed girl that had her mother's spirit. I didn't want to be so involved with work that I missed out on my kids' lives.

"Stop it, Ace." Bella sighed, placing down her brush.

"Stop what?" I asked, confused.

"I know that look on your face. You're feeling guilty and shouldn't. It's not your fault something went wrong with the trail. There was an important deadline coming up and it couldn't be put off. Nessa doesn't know you missed taking her to the zoo, because we held off telling her we were going so it would be a surprise."

"I just feel like I should be around more," I admitted.

"Trust me, I have proof right here you've been around," Bella teased, rubbing her bulging stomach. "He or she is kicking up a storm right now, want to feel?" She took a step toward me.

I took a step back. "I should go shower first."

She nodded in understanding. "I'll give you a five-minute head start then I'll join you. Might as well take advantage of our alone time."

"I'll see you in a few." I winked at her and hurried to our room.

The last few years have had their ups and downs. Thankfully, mostly ups. We'd only had one major fight since high school. Bella had taken a job as a model for some drawing classes. What I didn't know was that it meant the models posed in the nude. When I found out, I was pissed that she didn't tell me. She said she thought I had already known and wasn't trying to keep it a secret. Also, that it wasn't like it was porn, it was the beauty of the human body. When I insisted that she quit, she was stubborn and said that she needed the job to pay for art supplies and books. When I offered to pay her not to do it, she got offended. It led to us not speaking for several days. It got to the point where I was afraid that we'd broken up without realizing it.

One night, she showed up at my apartment, looking slightly disheveled, pissed, and with dry tear tracks on her face. She told me that she was walking back to her dorm when a guy from the drawing class she posed for accosted her. Bella said she was fine and was able to defend herself until campus security came, but it left her shook up. She apologized first for not considering it would upset me for taking the job. I, in turn, apologized for trying to be controlling. It was the first time that she spent the entire night in my arms. Both our fathers came together and made sure the university properly took care of the asshole that attacked Bella. He was removed from campus immediately then was sentenced to jail a few months later.

We were in our senior year when the Covid pandemic hit. Bella moved into my apartment, and we started living together. It only took a few minor adjustments for us to get used to the new arrangement. Bella had pretty much been spending more time in my apartment than her dorm room anyways. What we thought would only be a couple of weeks became months. Having not much to do outside the apartment, a shortage in condoms, and Bella unable to get her birth control shot updated resulted in Vanessa arriving into our lives in early 2021.

Outside of our apartment, others didn't fare as well as us. Unfortunately, Emmett had lost his grandmother and Jacob Black lost his father. Jacob joined Emmett and Rose with their new garage and opened a second location last year. Emmett and Rose now had two boys. Jacob was still living the single life last I knew.

Our own dads and my mother had gotten sick at different points. My father even had a short stay in the hospital but fortunately recovered. It did wake him and mom up to working less and spending more time with the family. Alice lost her job and fled L.A. since it was a hot spot and went back to Forks. She still worries today that her traveling was what brought it to Mom and Dad, even though she never felt sick herself. Jasper got stuck on his base for months, but thankfully, remained well. He was later sent to help at vaccination stations and decided to become an EMT when exiting the army. Jasper and Alice reconnected at our wedding and got married two years ago.

Once we found out that Bella was pregnant, we got married the summer in-between college and medical school. My mother was less than happy that it was a small backyard wedding. But due to the pandemic we had to keep it small. Bella's mother wasn't even in physical attendance. Alice held up her iPad and Facetimed Renée in, so she could be there virtually. Truthfully, pandemic or not, Bella never would've wanted a big wedding at the club, anyways.

Bella now works from home as an illustrator for children's books, and also, a book cover designer. She took a graphic design class in college and enjoyed it. That Christmas my parents gifted her an iMac, calling it an investment in her future. She surprisingly accepted it graciously. She fell in love with her current job and was very happy, since it allowed her to have plenty of time for Vanessa. She still painted and sold her works here and there, but she never really aspired to be a famous artist.

My first few years out of college I worked for a pharmaceutical company. I wasn't entirely happy at Volturi Corps., but it was a job. Last summer, I, along with two of my coworkers, Garrett and Benjamin, separated from them and formed our own company. We wanted to focus more on life saving drugs at affordable cost without looking to pocket huge sums of money. It was disgusting how some companies charged an arm and a leg for insulin or epi-pens. After celebrating our first FDA approval, Bella became pregnant with baby two.

"Can I join you?" Bella asked, standing outside the shower stall.

"Absolutely." I shifted over so she could have room.

Bella stepped under the spray, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. She was still as gorgeous as she was in high school. I chuckled as her skin was covered in flecks of paints. I grabbed the silly thing she called a loofa, poured body wash on it, and started to scrub her skin.

"So why were you painting naked?" I asked.

"I wasn't completely naked. Besides, it meant less laundry and it was hot in there," she said.

"It's only March," I commented.

"Are you really complaining? I know you're staring at my boobs again." She gazed up at me.

My eyes flicked down automatically, and she laughed before taking the loofa out my hands and tossed it at me.

"What are you going to do when they're old and saggy," Bella huffed, but her eyes still looked amused.

"Start staring at your ass?" I shrugged.

Her mouth dropped open and she smacked me jokingly. "What happened to my sweet Ace that blushed when being called out."

"You've corrupted him. I've got the brand right here." I pointed to my left shoulder where I had the wild Uno card tattooed with a B in the center. I had gotten it shortly after my eighteenth birthday. I thought it was a very fitting representation of Bella.

"True." She smirked, pressing up against me and wrapping her arms around my neck.

My cock throbbed against her thigh as she bit her lip and looked at me through her eyelashes.

"Do you know what I want?" she purred.

"It's either sex or a chocolate sundae with the works." I chuckled, knowing her pregnancy cravings all too well.

"Can't I have both?" She pouted playfully.

"Which one first?" I prayed it was the former.

"Can't it be both?" She gave me a mischievous grin.

I wrinkled my nose. "Last time it was very messy."

"Fine." She grumbled then giggled. "I choose you."

"I was hoping you'd say that." I leaned down to kiss her.

One thing I knew for sure, my life with Bella would never be perfect, but I loved it.

A/N: Thank you for joining me on this journey and all your reviews. I'm not what is up next, but I'm sure I will have something coming.

The End