Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just decided it was time to shake things up a bit in her characters' world. And I wanted a bitchy Bella, so here we go!

Oh, and all of the references used in this story in relation to the advertising and marketing company and accounts are only used here for entertainment purposes; no copyright infringement intended.

Thank you to the ends of the earth - Angelicwish, Forever_Liz, and Barburella and Hez_Pixie. I couldn't have made it through this fic without you girls. I love you all. An extra big-ass boobie squish to Liz, who helped me work through this epi and get me out of my head. IFLY. And of course, all my love to Jennay, a RL forever friend who accepts me, fanfic and all.

Well, it's been a wild and wonderful ride, hasn't it? I appreciate all of the love you've given me and this fic. Please know I appreciate every review, tweet, rec and note of encouragement, even if I haven't managed to respond to them all. Now, without further ado, the Epilogue.

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Epilogue

BPOV

**Six years later **

Slowly backing the minivan out of the driveway, I kept one hand on the wheel while the other searched for a sippy cup that had rolled between the seats. When I couldn't find it right away, I pressed the brake to the floor and put the van in park. Dang sippy cups.

"Evie, please try to hang onto this, okay sweetie?" I pleaded as I handed the cup back to my four-year-old. Her little fingers wrapped around the plastic and mine as she grinned at me. Nathan giggled from his car seat, kicking his feet and talking gibberish.

"Yes, Momma," she said. With a sigh, I put the van back into gear and then headed to the small grocery store in town. Once I pulled into a parking space, I quickly unbuckled Evie and then put Nathan on my hip as I held her hand. We slowly made our way inside and I put them both in a shopping cart. Evie insisted on sitting in the cart so she could help me sort the groceries.

It was often difficult to fathom that six years had passed since that wonderful spring in Forks, which had followed the first Thanksgiving with Edward. And now I was at the grocery store in Forks, again, buying provisions for our annual family Thanksgiving dinner. Family. The word had a much heavier meaning now.

True to his word, Edward had surprised me the day he proposed. He couldn't have shocked me more, in fact. Because right after I told him I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him - and he told me he'd always known he would marry me - he made good on his declaration. And asked me to be his wife right there, in the meadow.

"Bella, will you let me do the proposing, though? Not that I don't appreciate your taking the bull by the horns, so to speak…" he had said.

"Maybe," I had answered, teasing him. "Only if you surprise me."

"Oh, don't worry, love. I will. I promise." And then he stood, pulling me with him, and kissed me fiercely. Then he got down on his knee right there and pulled a ring out of his shirt pocket, offering me his heart and everything he had. Just like that.

"Isabella Swan, I love you with everything that I am and everything that I have," he'd said, taking my hand in his. "Please do me the honor of becoming my wife."

"Yes," I'd managed, choking back tears. "Yes!"

Our wedding had been intimate and perfect - a simple evening ceremony followed by dinner, drinks and dancing at Robinswood House in Bellevue with 40 of our closest friends and family. Rose, Esme and Alice, along with Emmett, Carlisle and Jasper, had stood by us as witnesses. Edward and I had both agreed that we were too old (in our 30s) for groomsmen and bridesmaids. Candlelight brought needed warmth and light to the darkness of the fall night, but I wouldn't have noticed if it had been snowing. In front of me stood the man I was about to marry; everything was right in my world.

Soon after the wedding, Edward and I found and purchased a small house in Longview, which was halfway between our two offices. It took my husband a while to adjust to his longer commute, but he was a trooper. Work was crazy for both of us, and I missed Edward's presence, but he was doing well as the interim VP, and Esme said she felt certain he'd make an able vice president someday, if he decided to pursue it. Edward was still undecided on that aspect of his career, and I couldn't blame him for it. One boss in the family seemed like enough to us.

Edward and I had enjoyed our time as a married couple, despite the demands on us from our careers, but it was a joyous surprise when I discovered I was pregnant that January. Evie was born in September (a week after my birthday) and Nathan was born three years later. Surprisingly, motherhood had fit like a perfect kid leather glove; Edward was a wonderful, tender and patient father.

Evie had been blessed with her father's auburn and copper hair. I hadn't the heart to chop her beautiful curls again after her first haircut, so now they hung in springy banana curls down her back. But she had my eyes - her papa's eyes - and my pale skin. Nathan somehow had been graced with blonde hair and his father's green eyes. The two of them looked so different, but still there was an undeniable resemblance that made it clear they were siblings…and ours. Instinctively my finger touched the smooth white gold band that was nestled next to my engagement ring.

With you, I am home. I could almost feel the engraved words against my skin.

Wet, half-gummed Cheerios hitting my face snapped me out of my daydream. Nathan peered at me with an impish grin as if he knew he'd caught his mommy red-handed. I removed a Cheerio from my coat lapel and handed it back to my son. He shoved it back in his mouth and showed me his only four teeth - two on top and two on the bottom.

"Evie, you're doing a great job of arranging the groceries for me," I remarked. Evie's face lit up as she explained that all of the green foods were together, all of the red foods were together, and so on. "That's very clever, sweetie."

"Bella?"

At the sound of his voice and the mention of my name, my head whipped around to find none other than Sam Uley – again. You've got to be shitting me. I chuckled to myself at the ridiculously slim odds that seemed to be in favor of us meeting. Okay, okay. Point taken.

"Hey, Sam!" I turned and smiled at the familiar face and bright grin.

"Oh my God, Bella!" was all Sam said as he approached me and my mini entourage. "Um…you…they…who's this?"

"Sam, this is Evie and this little bundle of energy is Nathan," I said by way of introductions. "Evie, say hi to Mr. Uley. He and Momma knew each other when they were little kids."

"Hi, Mister Ooey," Evie said slowly, concentrating on her enunciation to no avail. Nathan babbled with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, a line of drool falling onto his coat. Sam laughed and I couldn't help but join him.

"Well, Bella, you've been busy, haven't you?" he asked me with a wink. "They're beautiful. God, how long has it been? Five, six years? What are you up to?"

"It's been six, actually," I replied, before giving him a brief update, including our wedding and the kids' entrances into our lives. Sam told me that Embry and Leah were teenagers and proving to be every bit as challenging as they'd feared. Emily was doing well and had a local art gallery that was showing her work for the next month. And Quil, born two days after our first meeting in the grocery store, was in first grade and appeared to have his mother's artistic talents.

"So, you couldn't stay away after all, could you?" Sam commented. "I'm glad, Bella. You look…well. Motherhood suits you."

"Thanks, Sam," I said. "And no, I couldn't. I missed Charlie too much, and well, this place is home to me, too. It was great seeing you." Sam paused before pulling me into his arms and while the gesture surprised me, it felt comforting. After a few moments I stepped back and grasped his hand.

"Good seeing you too, Bella," he replied.

"You, Emily and the kids should come over for pie, if you're free, tomorrow," I offered. I knew Charlie would like to see them and I wanted to introduce Edward to the Uleys. Sam told me he'd speak to Emily about stopping by and I scribbled the house phone number on a scrap of paper for Sam.

"Well, in case I don't see you, have a Happy Thanksgiving, and please extend the sentiments to Charlie and your husband," he said. "Again, Bella, it was great to see you."

"You too, Sam, and Happy Thanksgiving." I waved and Evie said goodbye as he walked away from us and into the next aisle. "Okay, come on guys, Daddy and Papa are waiting for us. Evie, what else do we need?"

"Ummm…cranberries!" she cried, surveying the shopping cart's contents. After locating some cranberry sauce and ingredients for stuffing, we paid and made our way back home. Nathan thankfully fell asleep on the way home; he hadn't been sleeping well since we'd driven to Forks earlier in the week, so any napping - even in the car - was well-received. Evie, ever the well-behaved big sister, busied herself with picture books and remained quiet. As we turned the corner, I pulled out my cell phone and pressed send.

"Hello, love," the familiar velvet voice said. "How did they do at the store?"

"Hi, baby," I replied. "They were great, and you'll never guess who we ran into. I'll tell you when I get there, but I'm calling because Natey fell asleep. When I pull in, can you come out and get him, please?"

"Sure. ETA?"

"Thirty seconds. Love you. Bye." I hung up and dropped my phone into my purse without looking. Moments later I pulled into my father's driveway. Edward dashed out the front door, sans coat, and quietly opened the backseat door on Nathan's side. He blew a kiss to Evie and extracted our sleeping child from the car seat. Without waking him, Edward gathered him in one arm and grabbed two grocery bags with the other while I got Evie out of her seat. I gathered the remaining bag and our other belongings.

"Papa!" Evie cried, running into Charlie's arms as if they'd been parted for days instead of an hour. She peppered his face with kisses and ran her stubby fingers through his mustache while he twitched it for her. The two of them were quite the pair. While Edward was putting Nathan down, I unloaded the groceries and Evie reported to Charlie about our shopping expedition.

"Papa, I helped Momma shop and Nathan made a mess with his Cheeros," she said. "And we saw Mister Ooey, right Momma?" Charlie turned to me with an inquisitive look.

"We ran into Sam, Dad," I clarified. "He and I talked for a bit and I invited him, Emily and the kids over for pie tomorrow, if that's okay with you. Not sure if they'll actually come over, but…"

"That was nice of you, Bells," he said. "Of course they're welcome here. You know that."

"Okay, what'd I miss?" Edward came down the stairs and immediately wrapped his arms around my waist before kissing me. We only broke our kiss when my father's throat-clearing and Evie's giggles reminded us of where we were. "Sorry. How's my best girl?"

Our daughter bounded off Charlie's lap and wrapped herself around Edward's legs with a ferocity that took us all by surprise. Once he'd steadied himself, my husband peeled the gregarious four-year-old off him and threw her up in the air. Evie loved it when Edward tossed her, and her wild giggles filled the kitchen. I looked from the two of them to my father, who stood on the other side of the kitchen table, watching them both. His eyes shone with unshed tears, his face a mixture of pure love and happiness.

This was a picture of my life, summarized by love, affection, laughter, smiles and happy tears. It was far from perfect, of course, but it was mine and I loved it without hesitation, without pang of regret or unfulfilled potential.

"Okay, who's up for a movie before dinner?" Edward asked, ushering Evie out of the kitchen. I mouthed, "I love you," to him as he went, my father behind him. Within minutes, the sounds of "The Little Mermaid" filled the living room and all was quiet. With the kitchen to myself, I put away groceries and began cutting potatoes and squash, combined all of the dried stuffing ingredients and started a pot on the stove in which to stew the cranberries.

Nathan awoke, and Edward went upstairs to retrieve him without me having to ask. With the kids in the living room, I finished the cranberry sauce and put the dishes in the refrigerator. Once everything was prepared, I gathered bread, milk, eggs and the skillet and made French Toast - an old Swan pre-Thanksgiving tradition.

This year, our friends were all beginning their own traditions, and I smiled as I thought of them, wondering what they were all doing at that moment. Rose and Emmett, married the summer before us, had three little rug rats, all under the age of four. This year - tired of trekking two to different states in the span of a weekend, and with Rose pregnant with their fourth - the McCartys had made the executive decision to have their own Thanksgiving.

As for Alice and Jasper's whereabouts, Edward and I weren't exactly sure. We'd last heard from them when they hit Illinois earlier in the week, one of many stops on their cross-country RVing adventure. Alice had sent us a text informing us that they were planning to stop at the Lincoln Presidential Museum and the captured leg of Santa Anna. Quite the experience.

Esme and Carlisle had also married - the only thing we were surprised about was that they waited so long - three years ago, and had recently adopted a little girl from China. The process had been extremely taxing to them (and all of us as well), but Anna had been worth every moment of it, Esme always said. They would all be joining us tomorrow for dinner.

"Dinner, everyone," I called from the kitchen, rousing the two grown men and Evie from their movie. As they entered the kitchen, Evie, of course, took immediate note of the menu. She squealed and jumped up and down, her bronze curls moving like coiled springs.

"Toast! I love toast, Momma!" she cried, scrambling into her booster seat. Edward put Nate in his highchair as I dished out helpings.

"This isn't just any toast, sweetheart," Edward said, taking his seat. "This is French toast. When you eat this, you turn into something French. Evie, can you think of something French?" I sat down and passed out toppings - sliced strawberries, bananas, syrup and whipped cream - waiting for Evie's answer. This, no doubt, was going to be interesting.

Our daughter furrowed her brow in deep concentration. Then my father offered "French fries" as a suggestion. Commenting that she didn't want to turn into a French fry, she resumed her deliberating as we hid our laughter behind napkins.

"Ooh – Fwench poodle!" she offered with a grin. Edward chuckled and told her that was a good answer. "What about you, Daddy?"

"Definitely a French kiss," he said quietly, grinning and winking at me. Charlie rolled his eyes and stuffed his mouth full of toast, while Evie, of course, demanded more information.

"Daddy, what's a Fwench kiss?"

"It's the kind of kiss that French people give each other," he said. "It's an extra special kind of kiss. It makes people who do it very happy."

"Have you ever given a Fwench lady one of those, Daddy?" Evie asked, quite intrigued. It took all of my willpower not to laugh at the two of them.

"No, but I've given a few to your Momma," he said slyly. Evie wrinkled her nose and giggled. "Someday…when you're very old, maybe someone will give you one." This time, I laughed at Edward's clear self-correction.

"No way! I don't want that kind or any kind of kiss, except for the kind you and Momma give me before bedtime," Evie stated with a nod. "Gwoss."

"Sounds good to me, sweetheart," Edward said, leaning over to kiss her head.

"I'll second that," my father chimed in.

The guys cleared the table for me and as Edward dropped the last of the dishes in the sink, he wrapped himself around me and began nibbling my neck. He always said there was something erotic about me doing the dishes; I was certain he was simply placating me, and teased him often for it.

"Mmmm, you smell delicious," he murmured against my neck before gently sucking on the skin there.

"Yeah…like maple syrup?" I said sarcastically. "I dabbed a bit behind my ears before dinner. Thought it would drive you crazy."

"Baby, you drive me crazy - just you. No syrup - or anything fancier, for that matter - needed," he said softly, licking a small, wet trail up to my earlobe with the tip of his tongue. I rolled my eyes as my body burst into flames, his obvious erection pressed against my ass. Edward never failed to set me afire. All my sex-addled brain could process now was how long it would take to run upstairs and get Edward's clothes off before anyone would notice. Give me five minutes. That's all I need.

Nathan's babbling from his highchair brought us both crashing back to earth, and with a sigh, I turned and kissed my husband. He laughed, knowing exactly what I was thinking, and kissed me back before stepping away from me to extract Nate from his chair.

"Foiled again, eh, Mrs. Cullen?" he joked, balancing Nate in one arm.

"Next time, Mr. Cullen," I replied, winking at him. "When I get you alone later, you'd better prepare yourself."

"Warning read, loud and clear," he said with a ridiculously devilish grin. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Edward collected Evie - much to her chagrin - and got both kids ready for bed, before settling them back in the living room with Charlie to watch the rest of The Little Mermaid. After cleaning up the kitchen in the peaceful silence - my father and Edward had cooking duty with Carlisle on Thanksgiving - I poured myself a cup of wine and sat at the table for a moment. It would be so nice to see Carlisle, Esme and Anna tomorrow, and immediately my heartbeat quickened and my stomach fluttered at the idea of having more happy noise in the Swan house. I laughed aloud at my own amazement at our family. We'd come so far. So much had changed.

Who would have ever known that, on the day Edward walked into that office and my life, things would never be the same? I'd been content with my life - at least I'd thought so - but there had been so much more - so many more experiences that I'd been pushing away out of fear. For all of the planning I'd done, my life had been so hollow before Edward. An imitation of a happy life, and a poor one at that. Even from that first day, Edward had revived me, in so many ways. He challenged me, infuriated me, and brought the best (and the worst) out in me. But most importantly, he'd forced me to look inward for the first time, and to reconcile the fragments of myself that I saw there. Edward had given me the tools and the strength to put myself back together.

After refilling my wine glass, I shut off the kitchen lights and walked into the living room. The light of the television flickered against the walls and cast soft light upon the faces of my loved ones. I wished I had a camera.

Charlie was in the recliner with Evie on his lap, her entire body limp with deep slumber against his. My father was snoring quietly, his mouth agape, with a small but unmistakable smile etched in his features. Evie's peaceful face mirrored his and as I leaned over to kiss her forehead, I heard soft snores coming from her as well. She's her papa's girl. Without hesitation, I reached out and skimmed the sleeve of her yellow duckie fleece pajamas, my fingers ghosting over her little ones.

I put my wine glass on the mantle and turned to the couch, where my husband and Nathan were sleeping soundly. Edward was sitting on the end of the sofa, his head lolled at an odd angle, using the armrest to cushion his arm as he cradled the sleeping infant against his chest. Nate's leg and arm hung beyond the confines of Edward's embrace, one pant leg of his rocket ship pajamas scrunched up to his knee. But I knew there was no danger of Edward losing his grip on our son. His large hand was resting against Nathan's heart, as if keeping watch even in sleep.

Dear eyes, good night,

In golden light

The stars around you gleam;

On you I Press

With soft caress

A little lovely dream.

Unwilling to let one second of this precious picture pass me by, I quickly grabbed a blanket from the couch and arranged it over Evie and Charlie, before turning back to the other two and arranging another throw over them. As I dipped to kiss Edward's lips, he woke, mumbling incoherent things with his eyes still closed. I shushed him and then his lips seemed to awaken as he returned the gesture.

"Go back to sleep, love," I said. Quickly, his breathing became steady once more and I ran my fingers through his messy, copper hair before standing again. Taking my wine glass from its perch, I smiled at the people sleeping contentedly before me. The room, despite being quiet save for the sounds of breathing, burst at the seams with the raucous joy of life and love. Or maybe it was me bursting; I couldn't tell the difference now.

Chuckling softly to myself, I raised my wine glass and said, "Well, here's to strategy."

A/N: Okay, so big, HUGE ridiculous love to all of you who've followed, commented on, reviewed, tweeted about and loved this fic! It's been great and part of me is sad to see this end. The poem excerpt from this chapter is from "Cradle Song" by Sarojini Naidu. No copyright infringement intended – only flattery.

If you'd like to check out E and B's wedding venue, go here: .com/the-properties/robinswood-house/ and thank you all!