Author's Note: Last official chapter (not counting the epilogue), thank you so much for reading; I can't tell you how much it means to me.

Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

Thirty Two

December 20th

At first, the only one picking Edward up from the airport was me. And then somehow, Alice decided she was going to come too and then Emmett said something about always being left out of everything which meant that Rose and David were going to be there as well. My car wasn't going to be nearly big enough, so Emmett volunteered to drive his giant SUV to the airport. I would have told Edward when I talked to him that morning, but none of this was decided until Alice showed up on my doorstep, ten minutes before I was due to leave. Rose decided to drive (she said Emmett drove like an old man) and she sped with the same lunatic frenzy that Alice did, only without the cursing.

She pulled into a spot in short term parking and we piled out. Emmett strapped something I didn't know the name of to his chest and Rose slipped David inside; she said that it was for when they were out, but that she'd caught Emmett wearing it with the baby around the house. She also said that just the day before she'd found Emmett asleep on the couch with it on, the baby asleep on his chest. He defended that it was the only way he could get David to sleep.

I saw Edward carrying his suitcase away from baggage claim once we were inside; he turned his head toward me even though I was still at least ten yards away from him. He smiled widely at me and then looked over toward the baggage carousel like he was looking for someone. I took a couple of steps forward and glanced in the direction he was looking, but I had no idea what he was searching for until I heard Alice. "Jasper!" She screamed and ran over to where he was waiting for his bag as if she hadn't just been in New York two weeks prior, granted it was for less than two full days to finalize some things for her new store. He swept her up like she weighed nothing and pressed his face into the crook of her neck.

I didn't realize Edward had crossed the distance between us until I felt his hands on me, "I missed you," he murmured before pulling me into him. I held on tightly and was suddenly so grateful that he was here, that he'd forgiven me, that he'd come into my life at all – that I started to cry. It dissipated quickly enough and I tried to hide it, but he could tell. He held my face and swept his thumbs underneath my eyes and I smiled to assure him that I wasn't crying out of anything but happiness. He kissed me softly in a way that was fit for public viewing and I realized then how much I wanted to be with him in private.

Alice was welded to Jasper's side as they came to meet us, looking happier than I'd ever seen her. She was almost bouncing with all the excess excitement of being surprised by Jasper; even I didn't know he was coming. "Hi, Edward!" She gave him a quick hug and then resumed her position. He took a much quieter step forward and hugged me; I couldn't be sure if it meant anything, but when he stepped back, he caught my gaze for a long moment and smiled before wrapping an arm around Alice.

Once everyone was finished saying hello, we managed to squeeze into Emmett's SUV; Rose was still at the wheel. She drove us straight back to their house which was good because mine was full of mostly empty boxes and Alice's condo was tiny. Edward and Jasper didn't seem to care much about looking out the window during the drive, which I didn't mind in the least, I liked being Edward's preoccupation. We left the suitcases in the car for when we'd have to leave and it wasn't until we stepped outside again that Edward actually looked around. "Wow, this is great spot you have here, Emmett."

Emmett grinned proudly and led everyone inside. Standing prominently in their high ceilinged living room was a huge, perfectly decorated Christmas tree that hadn't been there on Friday, the last time I'd been inside. There were also stockings set up; I counted seven of them and smiled. Apparently, Rose had made a few plans for Christmas. There were coordinated presents already piled under the tree that matched the gold, silver, and ice blue decorations and tree bulbs. The star at the top was a white starfish. "You guys go ahead and relax, I'm cooking," Emmett went into the kitchen and I immediately heard things clanging.

Alice looked at Rose, "I didn't know he cooked."

She lifted one side of her mouth in a smile as she sat in an oversized recliner with David, "he means barbecue. I only let him around things that burn when he's outside."

The rest of us took our places on the two full sized couches in the room; we asked about the boys' trip, Rose grilled them each in turn, but it was at a much lower level than I was expecting.

Hmm, I thought to myself as I relaxed into Edward's side, she must really like them.

New Year's Eve

Have you ever had someone ask you the question – when was the last time you were really happy? Well, my answer would be today; actually my answer is all the time. Sometimes I catch myself wondering if I'm in some alternate plane, and maybe there's another me living the lonely, sad life I was meant for. A me who's hopeful and optimistic trying to piece together the shreds of life I had left.

Yeah, I think weird things like that sometimes.

A full body shiver kept me from getting too sentimental; despite the extra blanket and the fire that Emmett was steadily growing, I was freezing. It had been his bright idea to toss me in the ocean as a "proper send-off." I failed at my attempt to take him down with me and now I had sand and other various forms of beach stuck to me. I sat on a towel and leaned back between Edward's legs; he was sitting in my vacated chair. I felt him tug on my wet hair.

"Got it," I could hear his satisfied smile. He leaned around to show me some sort of sea weed.

"Very nice." I stretched my legs out in front of me, bringing them closer to the fire. Rose passed me an open beer bottle with a lime inside with one hand, her other held a baby monitor up to her ear.

"Emmett listen, I think I heard something," she pushed it at his face.

"Baby, he's sleeping," he put it to his ear anyway. "We're like, less than forty feet from the house, he's fine."

"I'm going to go check on him." Rose jumped up and jogged over to her deck. It was the third time she'd checked on David since the six of us trooped out to the fire pits after she put him down. She wanted to hire a sitter, but Emmett said he wasn't going to pay for someone to eat their food and watch their flat screen for hours when we'd all be right outside.

Alice stood up from her spot on a large blanket, an even larger one wrapped around her shoulders; Jasper grinned. Edward said he had it on good authority they'd be married within the next year. Alice raised a beer bottle. "I want to make a toast!" I had a feeling she'd had just about enough to drink. We all raised our bottles. "To Bella and Edward, take care of each other…or I'll kick your asses!" She started raising her bottle to her lips, but stopped short. "And also…to me!"

We laughed and Jasper raised his bottle higher, "to Alice," he tugged on her hand to pull her back down. We echoed his toast. I heard him say something about cutting her off before taking a slow pull from his bottle.

I could feel Edward lean forward; he rested his elbows on his knees. "It's almost midnight," he murmured.

Rose ran back out from the beach and into Emmett's arms; they didn't wait to start kissing.

I turned and Edward was close enough to kiss me; I smiled and he looked at his watch. "One minute everybody," he called; I heard Alice cheer behind me. When I glanced over, I saw that she and Jasper weren't waiting anymore either. I looked up at Edward and he grinned. "Are you ready?"

I knew he wasn't just asking about midnight.

I smiled wider. "Absolutely."