First of all – this is it. I know that it's taken me a ridiculous amount of time to post the finale & epilogue. I am sincerely sorry; however, Real Life does tend to kick my ass from time to time. I work 80 hour weeks, sleep about 3 hours a day if possible and then try to spend some time with my family. My few guilty pleasures have taken a back seat, this being one of them.

There will be an epilogue posted tomorrow – it is already written but I wanted to post this final chapter first to alleviate any confusion from a double posting. I had originally planned to extend to a sequel but I'm not sure anymore because I want to focus on my other two fics first. (Emmett's Undoing & Becoming Bella.)

That being said – if there is a sequel, it won't be coming for a long time. Sorry.

Thank you all so much for your patience, support and encouraging words. This was my first Twilight fic – and really my first serious fic – and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The next story I will be tackling is Emmett's Undoing – it's going to be short and sweet, just to finish it out. Then I'm hoping to spend a great amount of time devoted to Becoming Bella as there have been mountains of ideas pop into my head for this story. I'm working on creating a blog to post the characters, outfits, rooms, songs, etc. that go along with the story as well. I'm really trying here and would appreciate any and all support. I'll be updating my profile with more information on that as it progresses – and as I hopefully have more free time.

Hope you like the ending.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes and general plot ideas that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

Learning to Live Again

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Beginning of Our Future

Bella POV

I finally let the tears fall as I clutched onto Edward's shoulders. His speed – mixed with the new blurriness that my tears were providing me - wasn't exactly helping with my nausea but what could I do? I had no control over my life anymore, no control at all. I was either falling in love with a vampire or running from a blood-thirsty one. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever find a happy medium here somewhere. I had seen normal, functional relationships on television, so I was pretty sure it wasn't only a myth. Don't get me wrong – I am completely in love with Jasper. And we are happy together. It's just that the couples on television never had to worry about all of this shit!

I didn't even notice that Edward had stopped running until I felt Rosalie stroking my hair. I blinked, clearing my eyes of tears, and took in my surroundings. I was lying on mine and Jasper's bed, my head in Rosalie's lap. Edward was sitting at the edge of the bed watching me with a worried expression on his face.

"You're furrowing your eyebrows, Edward," I whispered.

"I can't help that I worry about you, Bella," he replied.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"Everyone is fine, sweetheart. The dogs have a few bumps and bruises, but they heal quickly," Rosalie reassured me. "You should worry about yourself – you're the one without special powers."

"You know that I'm alright. Otherwise you would smell the blood," I grunted out. Now was not the time to be treated as a child. "Where's Jasper?" Tears started falling again; I was lonely without him. As trying and dysfunctional as my life was, he was the one constant. I knew that at the end of the day, if I had Jasper next to me then all would be well.

"He and Jacob are taking care of Victoria," Edward answered. I heard Rose hiss under her breath, her distaste for Victoria obvious. Right there with you, sister.

"You just left him there?"

"Bella, Jasper is the most skilled fighter in our family. Add the help of Jacob and I'm sure that they're fine. Plus, I couldn't deny him the opportunity to protect you," he said softly. "It's what I would want."

"Well, what I want is for you to go get him and drag his ass back to me! Now!" I sat up and looked Edward directly in the eye. I don't know why I was being so nasty to him. I was just so scared that Jasper would get hurt and not return to me. "Please."

He was out the window without a sound.

"Still doing whatever you ask," Rosalie murmured with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes as I sat up on the bed. "It never ceases to amaze me how you manage to have all of the guys wrapped around your little finger."

"Oh, shut up, Rose. It's not like they wouldn't do anything for you either," I said with a sigh as I leaned against the headboard and situated myself amongst our pillows. I wasn't ready to joke yet; I just needed to see Jasper and feel him next to me. I needed to know that this was all behind us now and that we could move on with our future.

"It will get better, won't it?" I barely recognized my own voice. It was full of fear and naivety; I sounded like a child.

"I think it will be better according to your standards, yes," Rosalie answered. At least she was honest with me. "I've told you before that I don't agree with your decision to become a vampire; however, you can't seem to stop falling in love with them. It's in your best benefit to at least have super-strength," she paused with a shrug. "And plus – you can go balls out in fucking Jasper. I know that you're excited by that idea."

We both shook with chuckles. Of course Rosalie would be the one to make me laugh at a time like this. I admit that I was put off by her blunt nature when we first met, but now I was comforted by it. With so many secrets and hidden agendas surrounding our family all the time, the truth was a light in the darkness.

Our conversation didn't get to delve any deeper, because the person I needed most in the world jumped through our bedroom window. Our eyes met instantly and I couldn't stop the relieved sob from escaping my throat. I was engulfed by his arms instantly – and relieved to be so. I didn't notice Rosalie quietly extract herself from our bedroom, because I was too distracted by Jasper's smirk lighting up his face as he slid into the bed next to me and pulled me flush against his hard body. It was comforting to know that my presence could calm him and vice versa.

I don't know how long we stayed holding each other; I'm sure it only seemed like a moment to him. I vaguely heard noises from downstairs – our family returning home, talking about the days events and how lucky we were to have no casualties and no interfering Volturi members. The noises all combined into one; it was as if I was underwater, hearing sounds from the surface. Jasper and I were in our own bubble – our own world.

"I almost lost you today, darling," he finally said, whispering into my hair as he placed a gentle kiss atop my head. He pulled me further into his arms, cradling me against his chest and laid against the headboard of our bed.

"Same goes for you," I replied as I breathed in his scent and wrapped my arms around his waist. I frowned as he chuckled. "I'm serious, Jasper. I know that you're strong and powerful and smart, but something could have happened to you as well." I turned my head to look up at him.

"You worry too much about me, Bella. I can handle the fighting; what I can't handle is if you were hurt or – worse." He leaned down and pulled into a long, deep kiss. We explored each other's mouths, needing to feel connected to each other once again.

I reveled in the feel of his tongue against mine. The stress of the day was wearing thin on me, and I needed his support – his touch. Jasper needed the closeness, too. I had been with him enough times to know the signs. I let him gently nudge me back to lie on our bed as he moved positioning to hover over me, placing his leg in between mine and pressing up against me. He had been with me enough times to know that this was my favorite position, him nestled on top of me as close as he could get.

His kisses moved from my mouth, down to neck with soft nips along the way. Of course, this caused me to moan like the sexually-hyper-aware teenager that I am and grind my hips against his. I could feel his smirk against my collarbone as he continued his trail downward. Smug bastard. Oh, but how I loved him. My hands clutched at his waist before moving to his back and then pushing underneath his pants. I pulled him flush against me and chuckled when I heard his soft growl.

"Something wrong, darling?" I teased. I knew that I was antagonizing him, but like Rosalie had said earlier – I really did enjoy going balls out with Jasper, especially now. I couldn't get close enough to him after today.

Jasper mock glared at me before dipping his head back down to my collarbone. Our clothes were quickly thrown haphazardly around the room until he was naked above me and I was more than ready for him. Then – in a completely uncharacteristic move – he stopped. Jasper stared at me for a good minute before I tried to thrust my hips up toward him, wanting to make love to my amazing partner. But he moved his back slightly, avoiding contact.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not feeling rejected by him but more confused than anything else.

"You're beautiful," he whispered as he gently swept a strand of hair off my forehead with his hand. "It never ceases to amaze me how much I completely love you – and after such a short time of really being with you." I beamed up at him as he leaned down to place a gentle, innocent kiss on my lips. He continued speaking, in a whisper. I would almost think he was nervous if I didn't know him so well. "I know that you're not one for labels and that we've already decided to spent the rest of eternity together, but…"

He paused, and then I did believe that he was nervous and unsure of himself. Ironic, considering his hard-on was waving proudly in between our naked bodies. I moved my hand up to cup his cheek, making him keep eye contact with me. "What are you trying to say, baby? You know that you can tell me anything."

"I know," he whispered back to me. He brushed his lips across mine again before continuing. "Marry me, Bella." And then he sunk into me, making me gasp and shiver. Instead of waiting for an answer, Jasper made love to me slowly. I was slightly distracted; however, I gave myself over to his movements. How could I ever deny Jasper anything he wanted? Whether it be sex or marriage, if he wanted it then he would have it. I would give – happily. Once we were both sated and I was exhausted, we spoke again.

"Jasper… I would love nothing more than to be yours forever. Of course I'll marry you," I whispered against his neck, curling myself around his body more. We both shook with happy chuckles.

"I don't have a ring, darlin'. I wasn't really expecting to propose to you today – while we were making love. I should've made it more special for you, but I just had to go with how I was feeling," he shrugged.

"It was perfect for me, Jasper. Just like you are perfect for me. And you know that I don't care about rings, but if you want to get me one then I'd be happy to wear it for everyone to see."

"Forever," Jasper stated, pulling me until I was lying on top of him and clinging to him like the lifeline that he was.

"Forever," I promised back before moving to sit astride him, initiating another slow and sweet round of love-making.