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Epilogue

Edward's POV 10 Years Later

I parked the Volvo Crossover, closed the garage door, and headed into the house. I tossed my keys into the bowl on the bar as I rolled my neck to try to dispel the soreness. It had been a long day. I looked at the clock on the microwave and saw that it was 3:25pm. My shift had ended over three hours ago. I was late. I heard noises coming from upstairs. I smiled, and moved to head up there.

I picked up the Power Ranger action figures from the dining room, the Hot Wheels cars left on the staircase, and the Legos lying in the middle of the upstairs hallway. I put them all in the playroom before deciding I needed to change before finding the boys. I was startled when she touched my shoulder. I wasn't expecting her to be right behind me. She giggled when I jumped but tried to hide it behind her hand.

"Hi sweetie," I said and kissed her forehead. Her blonde curls tickled my face. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"No worries," she said as she hugged me tightly. "The boys and I have had a great time." I followed her out of the room.

"Did you have any problems?" She rolled her eyes.

"Please, Edward. I knew how to handle you and Emmett from the time I met you. A three-year-old and five-year-old are nothing, especially since they're so much like they're mom." I smiled, happy that Ethan and Gavin were so much like Bella.

"Thanks again, Corrine. I don't know what I would do if you weren't spending the summer with Alice and Jasper. You've been a lifesaver with…with Bella gone." I frowned missing her terribly.

"Things will be okay," Corrine said quietly as she placed a hand on my forearm. I smiled sadly. Sometimes she seemed so much older than nineteen.

"I just miss her."

"So do the boys. They were asking about her today. Go see them. They've been asking to call you since noon. Tell them I'll see them tomorrow. I need to get back to Alice's."

"Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved as she bounded down the stairs.

I went to the master bedroom room to change into some clean clothes. I was ready to be out of these scrubs. I felt even sadder when I realized our room didn't smell like her anymore. I buried my face in her pillow and took a deep breath. Her scent was very faint. I tried to shake myself from this gloomy mood before leaving the room. The boys needed me to be strong. I made my way to Ethan's room where I heard them playing. I opened the door quietly and watched as Ethan showed his little brother how to swing a baseball bat.

Ethan had been begging to play baseball ever since he saw his Grandpa Phil's team play last year. His favorite thing to do now was watch baseball with his Pops, Charlie. He was finally old enough to be put in T-ball this year. I'd been working with him, teaching him the basics. Since Gavin had a case of hero worship for his older brother, he wanted to learn too. Ethan was very patient and kind to his brother. We really did have the perfect boys. Ethan moved Gavin's hand to show him how to choke up on the neck of the bat. He was astute for his age.

"Hi boys," I said as Gavin sat the bat down.

"Daddy!" they yelled excitedly and rushed at me. They hit my legs at full speed almost knocking me over. I laughed and picked them both up to hug. They hugged my neck tightly and my chest warmed at the gesture.

"Did you two have fun today with Corrine?" I kept them in my arms as I carried them downstairs.

"Lots of fun. We played Power Rangers," Ethan said excitedly.

"I build a bridge," Gavin chimed in obviously proud of himself. "Cori let me watch baseball," he said reverently.

I sat them down on barstools and pulled out an apple from the fruit basket, which was dangerously depleted. I loathed the thought of shopping. Maybe I could pay Corrine to do it for me. "I watched one of Grandpa Phil's old games. He was so good. I wanna be as good him." I cut the apple into pieces and pushed the plate to the boys.

"Eat your snack," I told them while pouring them some water. They both groaned.

"Can we have Cheetos?"

"Yeah. Pwease?" Gavin chimed in and stuck his bottom lip out it a pout. He was deadly with that pout, just like his mother. I grabbed the bag from the cabinet and shook five out for each of them.

"Don't tell your mother," I said sternly as they smiled wide and clapped.

"When mommy come home?" Gavin asked after he ate one of the puffs.

"I don't know, buddy. Soon I hope. You miss her?" He nodded. "Me too." I reached over and smoothed his hair down. He'd been unfortunate enough to inherit that from me. I heard the front door open and wondered what Corrine had forgotten this time. "What did you forget, Corrine?" I grabbed a napkin and reached across the bar to wipe cheese from Ethan's mouth.

"It's not Corrine." I turned around to make sure my ears weren't playing tricks on me. There stood my beautiful wife looking disheveled, exhausted, and worried but undeniably happy.

"Mommy! Mommy!" the boys yelled as they jumped from their chairs and ran to her. She dropped down to her knees and was knocked over by the force of both of them hitting her at the same time. She laughed the whole time as they kissed all over her face. "We miss you, Mommy," Gavin said.

"I missed you boys so much. I didn't like being away from you that long." I could hear a slight tremor in her voice.

"Don't go that long again," Ethan said.

"Don't worry baby. I won't."

"Bella." She couldn't agree to that. She'd been on a book tour for the seventh installment of the Annie Levins series. It'd been three and a half weeks since she'd left, but it wasn't that long. It was relatively short in the book world. She would need to do these for each of her books. "Love, you have to do these tours. They're important for the publicity of the books."

"I missed you too, Edward," she snipped as she stood up. I grabbed her arms and pulled her to me for a long kiss that made sure there was no mistaking how much I had missed her. I could hear the boys giggle.

"I missed you from the second you walked out that door," I whispered in her ear as I gave her ass a squeeze. I pulled back to see her eyes misty. "What is it, love?" She sniffled and looked at the ceiling to try to control her tears. I guided her head into my neck to keep the boys from seeing. She hated crying in front of them. "Boys, why don't you go pick a movie? We'll all watch it in the den. Mom and I will get snacks together and meet you soon."

"Yay!" They yelled and ran into the other room. I felt Bella exhale heavily and let out a small sob that broke my heart.

"Baby, what is it?" I asked as I walked backwards to the bar. I sat down on a barstool and pulled her onto my lap.

"I'm sorry," she said brokenly. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize, love. Tell me what's going on. Talk to me." Ten years together and getting her to talk instead of bottling things up was still the biggest problem we had.

"I'm being stupid, that's all. I was really missing you and the boys last night, and Randall had me doing interviews until midnight, which meant it was past their bedtime and you were at work. I really needed to hear your voice, but I had to go to bed without it. I had a nightmare." Her tears came back. She couldn't hold them in. "You were angry with me for being gone so long. You took the boys and left. When I got home, I didn't know where you were or how to reach you. I woke up so scared.

"I told Randall that I needed to come home this morning. He was so angry. He hinted that…well, I just had to come home. I needed to be here with you and the boys."

"Oh, love." I pulled her into me and held her tight. "I would never do that to you. I could never get that angry with you, and I would most definitely never take the boys from you. I promise to never do that to you."

"I won't go again. I don't have to do book tours."

"Bella, look at me." I pulled back, framed her face with my hands, and waited for her to meet my eyes. "You will go on more book tours. They are important to your career. I knew before I married you, that these were inevitable. I have always supported you and will always support you. Don't let this nightmare scare you away. Things are going to be okay, Bella. I'm here for you. I'm your partner in this and everything else. I'm here to support you, not hurt you."

"Okay. I'm sorry." I leaned forward and kissed her slowly then wiped the tears from her eyes. "I missed you so much."

"You don't know how much I missed you. You came home at the perfect time too. Our bedroom doesn't smell like you anymore. I was going to sleep in the guestroom." Her eyes teared up again. "Don't cry, love. We have a movie to watch."

"Okay." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's get snacks together." She stood up and grabbed a bag of popcorn from the snack cabinet. "And don't think I didn't notice the Cheetos." I smiled sheepishly when she looked at me accusingly.

"He pouted," I said in defense of myself. "I only gave them five. I also gave them an apple. They ate something healthy." She shook her head.

"You're the doctor. You should be more conscious about our health than I should. Why am I always the one watching out for this stuff?" I pulled down a bowl for the popcorn and put their unfinished apple and Cheetos on a tray.

"Because you care about us, and it sounds like more of a mother's job to me. I think it's in your job description." I pressed her against the countertop and pinned her there with my hands on each side of her. I leaned forward to kiss up and down the column of her neck.

"I know for a fact it's in your job description." Her voice was becoming strained. "Don't start this now, babe. We've got little ones waiting on us." I groaned and pulled back. Ten years, two kids, and I still wanted her as if it was the first day I met her. The timer on the microwave sounded, and I poured the popcorn into the bowl.

"After you, my beautiful wife." She smiled and kissed me before walking to the den.

She sat on the couch where Ethan immediately sat beside her, and Gavin crawled into her lap. Ethan handed over The Fox and the Hound. I smiled at the choice. He really was a creature of habit. I slid the DVD in and took my seat next to Bella. I put my arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head against my shoulder. She draped an arm around Ethan and stroked Gavin's hair slowly. Every time I saw her with them, my love for her grew. She was a perfect mother. I couldn't have found a better person to have children with. I remembered with a silent chuckle the day she told me she was pregnant.

*****

Bella walked into the living room of our Chicago apartment lost in thought. We lived in Seattle throughout my second year of Med School, before moving to Chicago where I would be for two years, as I had matched to Children's Memorial. We had already decided to move back to Seattle as soon as possible. It was home and always would be, but we still had a year to go in Illinois.

She sat down on the couch without looking at me. I turned the television off and pivoted to look at her. She didn't meet my eye or even move. She just sat there, staring at her lap. Something was wrong, and the longer she remained silent, the more I began to worry. I didn't know what it could be. Did something happen with the publisher? Did she get in a car accident? Was there a problem back home? I tried to stay quiet and give her time to start talking, but she sat there unseeing. Finally unable to take the silence, I spoke first.

"Bella?" I asked quietly. "Love, you're scaring me. Is something wrong?" She looked up at me, and I saw pure terror in her eyes. "What is it?" I placed my hands on her shoulders hoping the touch would get her to respond. She began breathing erratically; I could tell she was starting to have a panic attack. It'd been over a year since she'd had one. Something was definitely wrong. "Count your breaths, Bella." I placed her hand on my chest and waited for her to come back under control. "Now tell me what's bothering you. We can work this out. You're not alone. There's nothing to be scared of." Then she uttered the words that completely turned my world on its axis.

"I'm pregnant."

"P-pregnant?" I stuttered. She nodded. "Oh my god. Pregnant. We're pregnant? We're pregnant! Love, we're going to have a baby. Oh god, this is perfect. Oh, love, a baby." I could feel myself laughing in happiness. She was looking at me strangely. "What? What is it?"

"You're happy?" I frowned at that comment.

"Of course." I pulled her hands into mine.

"I've been taking my birth control. I don't know how this happened. Well, obviously I know how this happened, but it's not time. This wasn't supposed the be easy. I thought we'd have to plan. It was supposed to be difficult. We weren't even trying. We're not ready yet. We were going to wait a few years. We wanted to be in Seattle. It isn't time." I reached forward to gently hold her face in my hands.

"So, our plans were thrown a little off schedule. This is wonderful news, Bella. We're going to have a baby. Isn't that what you want? I thought you wanted children."

"I do," she rushed to assure me. "Of course I want to have kids with you, but…You're not mad?"

"No. I'm ecstatic. Aren't you?"

"Are we ready for this?"

"Of course we are. We're financially stable, we both want a child. We can do this." She sat there looking stunned for a moment.

"No we can't. I can't. I can't be a mother. What was I thinking? I don't know the first thing about babies. I can't be a mother. What if he gets sick? What if something happens? I have no clue what to do." I shushed her and rubbed her arms trying to calm her.

"You are going to be a magnificent mother. I don't know everything about babies either, but we'll learn. We'll be there with each other every step of the way. We'll learn together. You're not alone in this."

"A baby." I smiled.

"A baby." She smiled at me slowly. "A little baby with your nose and eyes and my hair." She laughed at the mental image.

"We're going to do this, huh?" I nodded. I watched as a tear slid down her cheek. "I love you, so much."

"I love you too." I bent down to talk to her stomach. "I love you too, little one." She laughed. "So, he, huh?" She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "We have to call Esme."

*****

We were only about thirty minutes into the movie when I looked over to see all my angels asleep. I picked up Gavin and carried him to his room. I tucked him in and repeated the process with Ethan. When they were safely in their beds, I went back to the living room and carried Bella to our room. I laid her on the bed, crawled in, and pulled her body flush against mine. She wriggled around until one leg was wedged between mine and her arm was securely around my waist. I watched her sleep for thirty minutes until she finally stirred. Her eyes opened slowly, and she smiled once her eyes focused on me.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep," she said on a yawn.

"It's okay. I like watching you sleep," I told her truthfully. Her cheeks tinged pink. I leaned forward and kissed her languidly. She arched into me, and I felt myself harden. It'd been too long.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I groaned at hearing our boys' excited yell. Bella pulled away and popped out of the bed.

"If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd sleep in toasters," I said as I pulled myself up. She snorted and swatted my shoulder before throwing the door open.

"Who wants to go see Aunt Rose and Uncle Em for dinner?" she asked excitedly. The boys cheered and jumped around the hallway. I grabbed my phone when we walked into the living room and called my brother. I figured I should warn him that they were about to be bombarded.

"Hello," my seven-year-old niece answered the phone.

"Hello Sadie," I answered back. "How are you, sweetie?"

"Uncle Edward," she said excitedly. "I'm good. I painted in school today. I made a house like Nana and Papa's. Daddy put it on the frigerator. Will you come see it?"

"I think I will."

"Yay!" She got quiet for a moment. "When will Aunt Bella be home? I want her to see it too."

"Well then you're in luck, because your Aunt Bella came home today." I had to pull the phone away from my ear when she squealed. Bella giggled when she heard it from across the room.

"Sissy! Sissy! Aunt Bella is home." I heard Annabelle yell as well. "Daddy! Uncle Edward and Aunt Bella are going to come over. They want to see the picture I painted in school today." I heard the phone being shuffled between hands.

"Hey, little brother," Emmett's voice greeted me. "Is it true? Is Bellaboo home?"

"Edward, can you help Ethan with the dishes? Gavin and I are going to get ready," Bella said.

"Sure, love." I focused back on my brother. "Yes, she's home. I was calling to let you know we were going to bombard you for dinner. Is that okay?" I began grabbing the dishes from the sink and handing them to Ethan so he could load the dishwasher.

"Of course it is. I can call Jasper and Ben too. We could make a pizza night out of it. Is everything okay, though? It's early for Bella to be back isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's alright. It's just that…" I didn't want to say anything to upset Ethan. "Little ears."

"Ah." Emmett understood. "We'll talk when you get here. What time should we expect you?"

"An hour? Does that work?"

"Sure. I'll call the others. See you soon."

When we pulled up to the house, I parked behind Alice and Jasper's white Lexus GX470. Angela and Ben's red Ford Winstar was parked behind Rosalie and Emmett's Lincoln Navigator. The whole gang was here. Once Bella and I stepped out of the Volvo, Ethan and Gavin took off running for the front door. I yelled at them to walk, they were their mother's sons after all, but they never heeded my warning.

"Bellaboo!" Emmett yelled when we walked inside. He scooped Bella up in a bear hug causing her to laugh. "It's good to see you, stranger." David and Dylan (Jasper and Alice's six-year-old twins), Jason (Angela and Ben's five-year-old), and Ethan ran through the living room and towards the stairs. "Don't run boys!" Emmett placed Bella back on her feet and took off after the boys.

"Welcome home!" Angela walked over with Mercedes on her hip and hugged Bella.

"Thank you," Bella said. "How's my little girl?" She held her hands out for Mercedes. The just barely one-year-old smiled and reached for her as well.

"Unc Ed!" I heard Jack say. I turned to see Mercedes' three-year-old brother running from the kitchen. I caught him as he launched himself at me.

"Hey buddy," I greeted him. "How are you?"

"Good. Can we play ball?" I chuckled. The boy loved baseball. He and Gavin got along well in that respect.

"Maybe in a few days, buddy. It's too late tonight." He pouted.

"Aunt Bella, will you come play with us?" I heard Sadie ask. Bella handed Mercedes back to her mom, knelt down, and faced Sadie.

"Come give me a hug, big girl," Bella said. Sadie smiled and jogged over to hug her neck. "How about I come over and play in a few days. That way you won't have to share me." Sadie nodded enthusiastically. "Where's your sister?"

"Annie's in my room." Annabelle was Emmett and Rosalie's other girl; she was four. "She's watching Jamie until I get back." Jamie was Alice and Jasper's two-year-old. None of us had been too shocked when they'd decided to name her after Jasper's sister.

It took us a long time to settle the kids at the table. After fifteen minutes of wrangling, we put their plates in front of them and took ours seats at the dining room table. Even though it was only pizza and beer, it was great to be back together again.

We listened as Bella told us stories of some of the more exuberant fans. I remembered the first book tour I'd gone on with her. Some of the readers had shocked me with how much knowledge they had of Bella. The first Annie Levins book was on the Best Sellers list for three weeks. We hadn't expected the second one to be so anticipated, but it was. Her popularity grew with each one. The last one, the seventh, had been on the Best Sellers list for 14 weeks and still looked strong.

"So what's next for Annie?" Angela asked. "She's overcome her past. She's become well known in her career. She found her true love, and they've had two boys." Angela looked at Ethan and Gavin pointedly. "Where does she go from here?" I smirked. From the first chapter I'd read, I'd seen so much of Bella in her character.

"She's just about done," Bella said. "She's done what she needed to do. She's stable, loved, and happy. There's not much more to do but enjoy her life."

"Then what are you going to do with her in the rest of the books?" She bit her bottom lip and looked at me hesitantly.

"I'm only planning on doing one more Annie book."

"Well, it can't be all fluff. People want some kind of arc," Emmett said impatiently. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, she's got one more adventure," Bella kind of whispered. We all looked on expectedly. She started wringing her hands. I reached over and gripped them. I tried to keep my face neutral. She was trying to tell me something, and from the way she was acting, it made me feel nervous.

"What is it, love?" I asked her softly.

"Another kid." I squeezed her hand until she looked at me.

"Are you…" She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth again and nodded almost imperceptibly. I heard Rosalie, Alice, and Angela squeal. The guys were congratulating me. The kids were begging to be let in on the secret. I heard it all, but I could only focus on Bella. "Really? We're going to have another baby?" She nodded. I felt the smile bloom on my face, and her face relaxed.

"Another baby," she said almost awed. It's how I felt. I leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too." There were no more words. We were secure enough, relied enough in those words that no more were needed. I reached forward and wiped the glistening tear that trailed down her cheek. "Are you okay?" She smiled tenderly.

"As perfect as can be."

Sadie Cullen (Em and Rose)-7

David and Dylan Whitlock-6

Jason Cheney-5

Ethan Cullen (Edward and Bella)-5

Annabelle Cullen (Em and Rose)-4

Gavin Cullen (Edward and Bella)-3

Jack Cheney-2

Jamie Whitlock-2

Mercedes Cheney-1

Baby Cullen (Edward and Bella)-seven months to go

AN: Well, it's over. Wow. That's weird to say. I try not to do long Author Notes, but please bear with me. :) Pictures of the cars and kids on the blog. Link is on my author page. Also on my author page is a poll about Whirlwind. Please vote. I want your opinion.

I will be posting another story. I'm taking a few weeks off, but I will be back. I hope you chose to join me. Place me on author alert so you don't miss it. Here's a summary of my upcoming project:

Whirlwind by aspire2write

Best friends Bella and Alice thought they had everything. Living the good life in Dallas, Texas, they were successful, funloving, and ready to face the world. Now if only their love lives would cooperate! Alice is tired of being alone and Bella has given up on finding Mr. Right and settled for Mr. Right Now. What happens when a force of nature shakes their very foundation and pushes them to examine their lackluster love lives. So what if they didn't have the fairytale......nobody said they couldn't create their own fireworks and happy endings.

Major thanks to TwilightDramaTeach. She's been an amazing beta, especially the times when I'd IM her ready to throw something down the drain. She's talked me off a few metaphorical cliffs. Another big thanks to yankee13. I don't know how many times she read through some of the chapters helping me with all the EMT/paramedic/medical stuff. Thank you.

Dreampills-I'm not sure I ever told you this, but I love your penname. You've been a huge part of this story. I've loved getting to know you through our frequent, funny, and sometimes random messages.

Kitasky123-She was my first reviewer, on the first day I posted, and never missed a chapter. I can't believe you've stuck around this long. Haha TwilightyellowipodCullen-you were also with me from the first day. Thanks for sticking around.

Others I want to thank-iole01, bammers, taste-the-figgin-rainbow, imbrtvll, campcathryn, ashleyyyblackberryyy, RebeccaMCullen, TwilightAddict1430, Flora73, starlight90, Kerry hale, bluebanana94, mugglemom. You guys hold a special place in my heart.

Everyone that reviewed-I really do appreciate. There are too many to name.