Pipi 96, I got the strangest feeling from your review that you wanted a final chapter….so here you go. I hope everyone enjoys :)

My bedroom was still cold. Edward closed the window with an unreadable expression, then moved back to my side as I sat on the bed, pulling me to his side and watching me almost anxiously. He'd been a bit on edge all day and I wondered why…of course I was more than relieved to see him, but I couldn't figure out what had upset him…or scared him to be more accurate. It made sense for me to cling to him, keeping him in my sight almost every second, touching him whenever possible. But it didn't make sense for him to watch me, as though I were going to disappear at any second.

That morning we'd stayed in his bed for almost an hour after I'd woken up. I think he had sensed that I didn't want to let him go. The thought of being separated from him had made the hole in my chest reopen, the unbearable pain bringing tears to my eyes, so I had kept my hands tightly fisted in his shirt, ignoring the fact that I was freezing and that I was hungry and that I probably should call Charlie at some point, until Edward had moved us under the rest of the blankets, wrapping them around me while staying close, and had held me tighter. It had been obvious that he didn't want to move away from me either, but when my stomach had started growling, he'd broke the tension with a soft chuckle. "Hungry?"

"No." I had lied petulantly, and he'd laughed again, sitting up and pulling me with him. Honestly, I was a little embarrassed. I'd had a complete breakdown in front of Carlisle and Jasper and Alice…not to mention Rosalie who already disliked me. How was I supposed to face them now…what did it say about me when I fell apart because my boyfriend left? But that wasn't the truth of it…he was so much more than that, and if anyone would understand soul mates, it would be the three perfectly matched pairs that lived here. He'd taken my hand then and led me downstairs to the conveniently empty living room and we'd left, me claiming that I would fix something at home.

Now he kept his arm around me, tucking me against his side, which I didn't mind at all despite the cold. After a second, he pulled the comforter around us, wrapping me so that I could stay warm and still stay close to him. "I love you." He mumbled, looking into my eyes and touching my face with his palm. "I love you so much, Bella. You are my life."

Unsure of where this was coming from, and more than a little worried, I covered his cold hand with my own. "I love you too, Edward….what's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I felt my heart start to race and he reacted instantly, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"Shh, don't worry. Nothing's wrong. I just…I didn't mean to hurt you, Bella. I just wanted to protect you. But I wasn't…I won't leave you again, I swear. Not unless you want me to." I nodded, resting my head against him.

"I believe you." And I did…but I knew that it was going to hurt to be away from him at all for a while.

"C'mon." He spoke after a moment, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet, keeping me at his side. "Breakfast time for the human."

Edward fixed me breakfast, frying eggs and toasting bread and somehow managing to never more than a few feet from me. As I ate, he stayed close by my side, his arm wrapped around my back. "What happened?" I asked finally, looking up at him. "To make you come back? What did Alice say?" He looked at me hesitantly for a moment.

"She showed me what would have happened…what I'd be doing to you. I couldn't, Bella. I thought that you'd be able to move on….I thought you'd be able to live your life without me…"

"I couldn't." I guessed, my lips pulled into a sad smile.

"No…but neither could I." He touched my face tenderly. "I can't live without you now…you're my life." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him then, loosing myself in the feeling. He glanced away suddenly and I frowned at him, tilting my head.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He smiled and stayed beside me while I ate.

We spent most of the day at my house, the television playing a stream of old movies on a channel I didn't know we had, and he kept his arm around me, holding me as close as he could with the thick blanket in the way. Occasionally he would turn and kiss my cheek, my nose, my forehead…sometimes my lips. And I started feeling normal again…like things were going to be okay. The hole in my chest that had just started forming was sealing once more…I was safe with him. I was sure that victoria was going to come back for me…it just didn't make sense for her not to, but I wasn't about to bring that up.

At around five o'clock, Edward sat up, meeting my curious look with a smile. "C'mon. Let's head back to my house." I was a bit confused but nodded. I scribbled a note for Charlie who would be arriving home soon and who, thankfully, didn't know about anything that had happened…I would hate to have to explain any of this to him.

I went upstairs to shower quickly, and then changed into a blouse Alice had bought me at some point and the jeans she'd probably bought, since I didn't recognize them. I was towel drying my hair when Edward knocked on my door and I invited him in, not noticing that he came right up behind me and had his hands on the towel and gently began drying my hair. I laughed softly when he dropped the towel and placed his nose against my wet hair and inhaled deeply. "You smell so good." He mumbled, stroking my face with his thumb, and I touched his face, bringing my nose up to his neck and inhaling, letting my nose skim the cold skin there.

"You smell pretty good yourself." I could feel him laugh, the vibrations cutting off abruptly when my lips pressed against his neck. For just a second his breath quickened, and then he pulled away, framing my face in his hands.

"We really should go." He said a little ruefully, kissing my forehead once, then grabbing a brush and running it through my mostly dry hair. I grabbed a clip and pulled half of it up, then followed him out the door.

The lights were on downstairs when we arrived, the windows glowing in the dimming light as the clouds covered what little sun shone down. Edward parked in the garage and appeared at my door, pulling it open for me and helping me out, then wrapped me in his arms once more. "I don't feel I've apologized enough for my inexcusable behavior." He told me softly, brushing a thumb against my temple. "So I hoped that we could maybe try again?" I narrowed my eyes in confusion, but before I could ask, the door was thrown open and we were standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Happy birthday!" Blood pooled in my cheeks and I hid my face in Edward's arm while he laughed, an exasperated smile forcing its way onto my face.

"It's not my birthday." I scolded them half heartedly, but they only laughed. I was surprised to see even Rosalie smile in amusement.

"Well, you didn't really get to finish your party last time, and we got a new cake!" Emmett grinned, gesturing to an even larger cake than last time.

"What did you do with the old one?" I asked, impressed despite myself at the beautifully ornate

"Don't worry about that now!" Alice teased, ruffling my hair before I could pull away. "Come on! You have to open your presents."

I was seated on the couch between Alice and Edward, who, much to everyone's amusement and my embarrassment insisted on opening the wrapping paper for me. After receiving an expensive stereo from Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie, who I thanked despite not really able to tell the difference between it and my old stereo (Emmett promised to install it later…apparently he wanted to watch me open everything) and a CD of music composed and played by Edward (apparently Alice wanted to take me out shopping for y gift, something I was already nervous about) I was forced to eat delicious cake while they looked on.

The rest of the evening was spent much like a normal one at the Cullen house. Jasper played chess with me while Alice and Edward played the complicated version that Emmett and Jasper had made up, and Rosalie and Emmett watched from the sofa with Carlisle as Esme, who had their heads together, speaking in tones I could never hope to hear. Emmett disappeared briefly to install my stereo and then took his place by Rosalie once again, keeping an arm around her and speaking to her softly, his face serious.

I paid them little mind…I hadn't yet won a chess match against Jasper, and was resentful of the amusement he felt watching me try. He sighed and leaned back with exaggerated patience and I stuck my tongue out at him, making him laugh as I tried to figure out my next move. "If I might make a suggestion…"

"No you may not." I snapped, eyeing my bishop. He laughed again, and I paused for a second, exhaling when I was wrapped in fond affection. Looking back up at him in surprise, I met his soft eyes as he chuckled at me, then looked hastily back down at the board, finally making my move. He snorted and moved one piece.

"Check." He announced with a grin and I glared at the board, trying to figure a way out of it, then crossed my arms and flicked my king over, leaning back and glaring at him. "Hey, maybe some day." He patted my head condescendingly, laughing and moving easily out of the way when I kicked at him, more because it would have hurt me than because he worried it would have hurt him. He moved back to my side then, dropping on the sofa beside me, and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Wanna play again?"

I laughed then, unable to hold back my amusement at his eagerness, and shook my head. "No thanks. You've already beaten me four times. Doesn't that get boring for you?" He looked at me strangely then, his eyes holding some friendly mixture of something I couldn't identify, and he shook his head with a laugh.

"Not at all."

"Wanna play with us?" Emmett invited, gesturing to the line of chessboards and the many pieces, some of which I was pretty sure were not included in a normal chess set. "We've got room for two more players!" Having no idea how that would work, I shook my head, deciding to just watch, when a hand landed on my shoulder.

"Actually, I had something I need to give you." I looked at Carlisle in surprise as he sat next to me on the sofa, and noticed that everyone had paused what they were doing, and that even Rosalie seemed vaguely interested. I felt a moment's remorse that the girl still didn't like me, but it disappeared when Jasper's hand touched my back.

"You already gave me a present….thank you by the way. I can't wait to visit my mom." He smiled, reaching forward and hugging me when I put my arms around him.

"You're very welcome, Bella." Esme moved to sit on his other side and they faced me on the couch. "But this…well it isn't exactly a birthday gift." I tilted my head, trying to figure out what he would be giving me, but he only grinned. "Close your eyes." He told me, and I complied, then felt him take my hand, and something cold was placed in my palm. "Okay."

I opened my eyes and immediately felt them fill. I'd seen this little crest before…it was worn around Rosalie's and Alice's neck, on the cuffs of the boy's jackets, on rings and bracelets… "It's my family's." Carlisle told me as Edward came to take Jasper's place behind me. "Back in my day, all upstanding families had them." He grinned a little. "Granted, that was quiet a while ago. But I think it's still worth having. And you are certainly a member of our family." Edward took the necklace from my hand and, moving my hair aside, clasped it in the back, securing the silver chain around my throat, and I reached a hand up touching the emblem at the base of my neck in overwhelmed silence. Carlisle seemed to understand though, because he pulled me into his arms again, and Esme put a hand on my head.

"You are our daughter, Bella, a part of our family. We won't every leave you, sweetheart." He promised. And I knew that no matter what was decided, no matter how long I lived, that promise, that declaration to everyone in the room, would be kept.

The End

Thank you to everyone that read this story! I hope you all enjoyed, as I truly loved writing it. :)