Disclaimer: Alas, none of it belongs to me. :sigh:

A/N: Well, here it is. I hope you enjoyed the ride. A special thanks to everyone who reviewed throughout.

Enjoy!

Chapter 16: Heaven In Her Arms

EPOV

I watched the sky grow bright and then dark and then bright again. Over and over as Bella's willow tree stands just off the path near the shore of the lake. Its branches shroud the memory of our first meeting as if in a protective bell jar preserving our first encounter for all time.

Time.

That word has no meaning for me anymore. Time really is relative. I don't count the passing of hours, I count the memories. Each kiss. Each smile. Each word. Each touch. They play through my mind and I relive each moment, with blissful clarity, over and over again.

The seconds we spent under the willow, looking into each others eyes for the first time, with her hand touching my face, last for hours. Our first kiss lingers long in my mind. I treasure the moment I had before our lips met when I memorized every small detail of her face, her smell, her taste. The memories of her sleeping in our tangled sheets, and of our picnic on the carpet, replay on a loop again and again as I relive those moments of hope. Those memories are thick with it. They're full of hope and excitement for our future together. Living in the memories helps me to forget the pain of losing that future with her. I grieve for that the most. The loss of hope.

My eyes watch the sunrise again and again but everything stays the same. I'm still here, waiting. I can't go back to her, I know that now. I read her obituary. I know what it said. She lived a life of seclusion, like I will now. She never married, nor will I. She lived her life with just memories of our time together waiting for the day she would see me again. Now it's my turn to wait. So, I do.

Emmett?

He is here, in my room. I hear his voice booming over the replay in my mind. I'm sitting with Bella out on the lake and we are enjoying the stillness of the water and the quiet of the day. Emmett is there, though, in the background. He's talking softer now. I hear him say my name. I feel the world shift a moment and then come to rest again but on a different axis. The darkness I have been waiting for returns and I feel my lips pull up at the corners. It's different this time, though. It doesn't feel like it's crushing down on me as it closes in, instead it's freeing me and I feel lighter. I hear Emmett buzzing in the back of my mind but I can't make out the words. All I know is that the pain is gone. The grief is being lifted from me as the darkness finishes it's decent and I welcome it with a smile.

I open my eyes and the darkness is gone yet I still feel lighter than air. I can see Emmett now. Jasper is beside him. My friend is hunched over a prone figure lying in a bed holding their hand, clutching it to his chest. I barely have time to recognize that it's me in the rumpled brown suit that is lying there when the sun from the windows draws my attention. The light slowly grows in its brilliance, in a blinding display, but it doesn't pain my eyes to look at it. The light bathes the room in a glow and washes out all color and detail. The walls, the floor, the bed …it all fades from view. I look around and all I can see is the vastness of the light. I look down at my hands and they are there, whole and hearty looking. I now notice that my suit is no longer rumpled, in fact, it's complete with buttons buttoned and in a fresh pressed state. I notice with a smile that my bowler hat is on my head. My thoughts are flying in every direction as I finger the brim of my hat and smooth down my lapels trying to figure out what all this means …when I hear a musical giggle from behind me.

Bella.

I spin around and our eyes meet. She's here right in front of me. She is wearing a long white gown almost exactly like the one from the play and portrait; it almost seems as though the light it shining out from her. Her scent fills my head and her smile fills my heart. She reaches out a hand to me and I gladly walk closer to take it. She steps forward, closing the space between us and looks up at me. Her smile shines, her eyes sparkle and I can feel the love radiating from her as if it were a physical thing blanketing me in its warmth. I remove my bowler and bring it around to the small of her back so I can embrace her more fully. I lean down and we share a slow lingering kiss. No memory can compare to this, the real thing. I place a small flirty kiss on the tip of her nose and smile into her deep brown eyes once more. I sigh in utter contentment and brush the back of my fingers back and forth on her soft cheek. I'm finally where I belong.

"Edward?" she asks with mischief in her eyes.

"Yes, love?" I can't contain my smile.

"We really do need to find you a new suit," she says flashing the brightest of smiles and tugs on my lapels with a giggle.

I throw my head back and laugh so hard. I feel lighter than air, like my heart has wings after having been buried under that crushing weight for so long. This is heaven. Not this place, but this person. Heaven is now, holding her in my arms as we laugh and kiss and pull each other close. Together once again. Just me.

And Bella.

THE END

A/N: R&R! :o) Well, they got their HEA after all. I truely feel that Titanic 'stole' this ending from SIT. Anyone agree? LOL Hard to dismiss the similarities. A lot of people in the theaters were put out when Edward/Richard died of, basically, a broken heart. I debated on whether or not to change the ending so Edward and Bella could actually LIVE happily ever after but I decided to keep the story canon to the movie. I do still have the outline for the alternate ending. I'd be happy to write that up, too, if you guys would like it. :o) Just let me know in your reviews, OK?

The first of the sideshots is almost complete. It's elderly Bella's POV and it's a long one. I'm at just over six thousand words and I'm not done typing yet. That's the size of four of these lil' chapters. LOL What can I say, other than she has a lot of ground to cover? I hope to have it posted by Friday for you all to enjoy. Just another reminder to put me on author alert if you're interested. :o)

I made it to a whopping 105 reviews before this last chapter which tickles me pink because this is my first story and no one knows who I am. XD Plus, this story has made it onto 34 fav lists. Thanks so much for the support, everyone! And a special thanks to all my repeat reviewers, it was great seeing your names pop up again and again, and to bug2001, who managed to send some love every single chapter. ((HUGS)) to you all! :o)