This is it! Enjoy!

Epilogue

Lucy's POV

"I've never been to England before," Seth commented as the plane took off from the runway.

"Really?" I feigned astonishment, "You haven't lived! England is beautiful. All green rolling hills and fields..."

"And stinky polluted cities, just like everywhere else!" laughed Seth.

"Yes," I admitted, "But I prefer to keep away from those cities, and enjoy the green, quiet areas, despite the fact that I'm a Londoner."

"I guess that's why you like Forks so much," he smiled.

"Yep, so much forest, I love it! You don't mind staying there for a few years do you? And you know that we'll never really be able to live somewhere sunny, right?"

"Of course I do," Seth reassured me, "I've been around vampires for nearly five years. I know the consequences associated with them. Are you sure that you'll be able to go around in England?"

"Yes! England isn't green because we spray-painted it you know!" Seth chuckled appreciatively.

"We have loads of rain, and anyway, it's winter. It'll be overcast almost every day. We're not there for long anyway."

"Yeah, why was Carlisle so insistent that we join him?"

"Beats me, I don't even know where we are going, apart from Birmingham airport. He's not normally this cagey is he?"

"Nope. And he never keeps secrets. It's hard with Edward being around anyway, but Carlisle is a very open man."

"Well, whatever. I'm just glad that he booked first class for us," I said with a suggestive smile, "More privacy..."

Seth smiled in response, and leaned over slightly. I leaned too and our lips met halfway. His were scalding, and soft, and frankly, perfect. Because we were restricted by what we could do, with regards to our 'species', any physical contact with Seth was special, and I relished in all of it. However the kiss didn't last long, so instead I lifted the armrest separating us, and snuggled into his body, and we spent the rest of the flight like that, chatting about nothing. It was only in the last hour or so that Seth began to get sleepy, so I let him nod off, while contemplating why Carlisle would want me in particular to come to England. The place held no draw for me anymore. Instead, I preferred America, for its diversity and range of animals. I knew that there were very few in England, and I wished not to further deplete the numbers.

The plane touched down at a quarter past six, English time, and by the time we got through customs and collected our baggage, it was after seven. In the Arrivals lounge, I looked around for Carlisle's blond head, but I couldn't see it anywhere.

"There!" Seth cried, and pushed through the crowd to Carlisle, who was standing slightly apart with a large smile on his face. I followed in Seth's wake, feeling that occasionally there were benefits to having a boyfriend who was around a foot taller than you and, to those who didn't know him, seemed rather threatening. I knew he was a teddy bear on the inside, but strangers didn't and treated him with extreme caution.

"Lucy, Seth, you made it." Carlisle smiled, kissing me on the cheek, and shaking Seth's hand.

"Good to see you Carlisle," I said, "It's good to be back in England for a bit. They, at least, have a sensible accent!" I shot a glance at Seth who seemed to be ignoring my comment. We had had a play argument a couple of days before, where I had insulted the Americans, especially their misuse of words such as 'chips', and 'biscuits'. It had started when he asked me to get him some chips, which I gave him, straight from the freezer.

He'd looked at me weirdly, then said, "Er, Lucy, why have you given me a packet of fries?"

"You asked for chips," I'd replied innocently.

"Yeah potato chips, that you get in a shiny foil packet and are all crunchy. A snack."

I smacked my forehead in mock realization, "Oh, you mean crisps! Well, why didn't you say so?"

He chucked the chips back at me, and I'd gone back into the kitchen to grab him a couple of packets of crisps, and put the chips away.

When I came back in and had sat down next to him, he'd said "You do realize we are in America now, and we speak American. That means you have to understand what we are saying."

"You mean by the fact that you are wearing pants instead of trousers," I said, putting a heavy American accent on the word 'pants', "Whereas I am wearing pants and trousers." I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to reply.

He'd just rolled his eyes and turned back to the American football game he was watching. Which pretty much proved my point. Since then, as I hadn't felt the discussion was over, I'd brought up anti-American jibes as much as possible. Racist, I know, but it was fun. I didn't actually have anything against the Americans, just the way they claimed that they spoke English.

"So, doc, why did you haul us out here?" Seth brought me out of my reminiscences.

"Well, to be honest, Seth it doesn't really have anything to do with you. I have prepared a small surprise for Lucy, but as I knew you two didn't like to be separated, and England is Lucy's birthplace and everything, I thought I'd invite you out too, and while you're here, you can do some sightseeing and things."

"Get to know my beautiful country," I grinned, nudging him in the ribs, "Can we go and see Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford? I've always wanted to go there." I asked Carlisle eagerly.

"Of course. You can go tomorrow if you want. Your surprise isn't until Saturday, so you can do whatever you like until then. However, I wouldn't plan anything after that, if you ask me."

"Ok," I said, a bit mystified, but willing to go along with it.

"Seth, I have booked you into a hotel for tonight, in Birmingham, so you don't have to sleep outside. It's quite a cheap hotel, though; I hope you don't mind." Carlisle said apologetically.

"Any place is good for me, thanks Carlisle!" Seth said enthusiastically.

"Where is he going to sleep for the rest of the week?" I asked confused, noticing that Carlisle had only said, 'for tonight'.

"We're going a bit closer to your 'surprise', Lucy. There is a delightful little B&B I have reserved for us for the rest of the time. It's actually near the Wyre Forest."

"Where's that?" I asked, mystified.

"Just south of Birmingham. It's quite close to Stratford too, though not terribly close."

"Whatever," I said, "As long as I'm with Seth." Seth grinned at me goofily, love written all over his face.

By this time, we'd reached Carlisle's car, and loaded the bags into the boot. Seth and I slid into the back and Carlisle set off, fast.

The next day, I had great fun going around all of Shakespeare's birthplace, and houses, of which he had a lot! I read all about his wife and children, and felt sorry for him when I heard about how he'd lost his son, Hamnet. It touched me more than most people, maybe, because I knew that my mum must have gone through the same thing as me, when I was taken.

Seth, however, wasn't as enchanted. In fact, he acted like a typical teenager and sulked and moped his way around, while I was rather excited by it all. Luckily, I found a way to cheer him up: the old fashioned sweet shop. He spent ages choosing which ones he wanted, as there was a very large selection. I think it also helped by the fact that he loved that they were all in separate jars.

"Honestly, anyone would think you've never seen a jar before," I grumbled, good-humouredly when we finally left, several bags of sweets stuffed into my handbag, and Seth's rucksack.

"We don't have shops like that in America!" he exclaimed indignantly, "It was so cool!" I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm, and carried on touring Stratford, now that he was appeased.

However, by the time Saturday came around, I was all tourist-ed out. There wasn't actually that much to see in this area of the country, but we'd been to the Black Country Museum, Worcester Cathedral, the Lea and Perrin's Worcester sauce factory, and Cadbury's. This was by far Seth's favourite, as they gave out free samples as you walked around, and as I couldn't eat it, Seth had indulged so much that he was nearly sick.

When Saturday dawned, I was nervous. I wasn't sure if I wanted this surprise or not. Carlisle had kept quiet about it; all I knew was that I had to feed the night before, which I done accordingly, but I didn't think it boded well for me.

Unfortunately, it was sunny outside, so I had to be invisible to get to Carlisle's car, and he had shield his head with a very large brimmed hat, and wear a long overcoat, which looked ridiculous with the weather. Once we were in the car, Carlisle told me the plan of action for the day.

"How are you feeling, Lucy?"

"Nervous; I still have no idea what you have planned."

"Good, that's what I was hoping for," he smiled.

"Really?"

"Of course. There's a reason why it's a surprise. Now, when we get there, I will tell you. You will need to become invisible, and go along the woodland track until you come to a clearing. There will be two paths out of it. If you will, please take the right one. Keep going along, until you come to the back of a house. Your surprise should be there."

"Okay," I said slowly, even more confused about the nature of this 'surprise'.

"If it's not there, wait, and it should turn up sooner or later."

"Right."

"Got it?"

"Of course, track until clearing, right track until back of house. Wait until surprise turns up. I think I can handle that."

"Great, well, we're here." Carlisle pulled to a stop, and just as he'd said, there was a small woodland track, right by the side of the road.

"Thanks Carlisle," I said, as I hopped out, "I think."

He laughed. "Thank me later, when you know what you've got. Oh, and Lucy?"

I looked at him.

"You'll be fine."

"Sure," I muttered, shut the car door, then set off. It didn't take long to get to the clearing, and just as Carlisle had said, there were two tracks off it. I duly took the right one, and it seemed even shorter that I came to the house. I looked round expectantly.

There was nothing there.

So, I wait, I thought to myself. To occupy myself, I spied on the back garden of the house; it was quite wild and unruly, as though it wasn't tended very often. But a perfect place for young children to play, I reflected sadly. It was the kind of garden that I would have loved to play in when I was younger; but having any patch of ground in the centre of London was almost impossible.

Suddenly, I heard a noise. There were people in the house! There were running footsteps, and the hissing of a kettle.

"Mum! I'm going to play in the garden, ok?"

"Sure, but be careful now. I don't want you hurting yourself." That voice was achingly familiar, but I couldn't remember when I'd heard it. It must have been one from my human life; if only I could remember...

"Ok!"

A little girl came running out of the house. She looked about nine, and also very familiar. In fact, she looked just like me...

I gasped. She was almost identical to me; she even had my green eyes, and crazy curly hair.

"Emily Lucy Porter, why on earth aren't you wearing any shoes? Come here and put some on at once!"

A woman was standing at the back door, brandishing a pair of wellies at her daughter. She too was very familiar...

I gasped, even louder now. The girl was nearly at the end of the garden, and I could have sworn she shot a look at the patch of brambles where I was concealed before she ran back up to her mother.

I didn't care though; I was reeling. With the name and the face and the little girl, I'd fit all the pieces together. She looked like me, she had my name inverted; I was Lucy Emily Porter, and I knew who the woman was. My mother.

I sat back slightly, stunned. I was looking at my little sister. The one my mother was pregnant with when I was turned. All of a sudden, I wished Carlisle had given me a bit of warning; I was completely unprepared for this.

Before I knew it, Emily had her wellies on and was running back down the garden. She stopped when she was about a metre away from where I was sitting, and whispered loudly.

"Mr Carlisle, are you there?"

I gaped at her. How did she know Carlisle? I mean, it wasn't exactly a common name.

"Mr Carlisle," she whispered again, "Mr Carlisle. I know you're there. I heard you!"

I gathered my wits and softly called back, "It's not Carlisle, Emily. I'm a friend of his."

"Oh, ok, where is Mr Carlisle?"

"He's busy at the moment, but he will come and see you later, I promise."

"That's ok. Are you a ghost too?"

"A ghost?"

"Yes, like Mr Carlisle."

"Oh, right, um , yes, I am a ghost like Mr Carlisle."

"Ok, that's cool. Can I see you? Mr Carlisle always lets me see him."

"Um, sure." I became visible again, and cautiously stepped out, so that I wouldn't be seen by any members of the house.

"Mr Carlisle always stands there, so he isn't seen. He says that it's better that way." Emily said, pointing to a spot about three metres from where I was standing. I moved there, and I heard a small gasp as I did so.

"Oh my gosh, you're Lucy; you're my sister!" She ran to me and gave me a big hug. I now understood why Carlisle had called himself a ghost; I was dead to my family, so it would explain why I was here.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're actually here! You look exactly like your photos, but your eyes are the same colour as Mr Carlisle's! Is that because you're a ghost? You haven't aged, but then I guess if you're dead, you wouldn't! Is there a heaven? Why aren't you there yet?"

"Whoa, slow down little one! One question at a time! And hasn't Carlisle talked to you about heaven and things?"

"I'm not that little; you are only six years older than me! And no, because I didn't ask him. I didn't know him that well."

"You know me even less, yet you're asking me," I pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, you can raise one eyebrow! I've always wanted to be able to do that!" She attempted it, with rather amusing results; she made various facial expressions as she attempted to raise one eyebrow. I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Hey!" She frowned and pouted at me.

"Don't worry Emily; I used to do that before I learnt how. Anyway, as I asked before, how come you're asking me, but you didn't want to ask Carlisle?"

"Because you're my sister, duh!" she said, "Mr Carlisle isn't family, so he might lie to me, but you won't because you're my sister." I smiled at her childish naïveté.

"Well, yes there is a heaven, and I live there, but I'm allowed to visit you, because you are my family. Does that make sense?"

"Sort of. How come Mr Carlisle can visit me?"

"He was..." I fished for an idea, "...a messenger! If I just appeared, would you talk to me like this, or would you run away, screaming? Carlisle came so you wouldn't do anything like that."

"Oh, ok then." And all of a sudden, she was filling me in what had happened at school that week, who was friends with who and everything else. I listened, fascinated, and gratified to be included in her world, that she had just accepted me for being her sister, and not being scared. I talked to her more, and didn't realise how the time was slipping away, until her mother, my mother, called her in for dinner.

"Oh no!" she cried, upset that she had to go, "Lucy, will you come back tomorrow?"

She looked at me, anxiety etched on her face.

"Of course I will," I reassured her, now knowing why Carlisle had told me to keep every day after Saturday free. I wouldn't miss a single opportunity to not be with Emily.

"And every day after that, if I can." I promised. Her face lit up.

"Yay!"

"But remember, I'm your secret to keep. You can't tell anyone, because they might not believe you."

"I know that! Mr Carlisle told me," she said, a little crossly. She brightened up immediately however.

"See you tomorrow!" She ran off to the house.

"See you tomorrow indeed," I murmured, watching her go, determined to find more out about this young intelligent, cheeky girl, who, I hoped, had managed to fill part of the hole I had left in my family after my disappearance. I would come back every day of forever if I had to. I couldn't leave her now that I'd found her, that was for sure.

That's All Folks!

I just want to say a massive thank you to my Beta, HopingForLove, who has edited nearly every chapter since the beginning! I will forgive you for your slight lapse this week!

Also thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and alerted this story!

Please look out for my next story, and all human ExB story, called Desert Island!

For one final time, please review!

Layla x