Edward's POV
"I'm gonna peek in on Lizzie," Bella said quietly as we got to the head of the stairs. "I'll be right in."
Nodding, I kissed her softly and then left her at Lizzie's door, making my way down the hall to our room.
We had a packed house, although at the moment, it was quiet—both in my head and out. All the humans—furry and not—were asleep, and the rest of my family was still out hunting. Carlisle and Esme were the last to go, having chosen to wait in the house with Lizzie while Bella and I were out, even though Jake and Seth were perfectly capable of hearing her from the room they were currently crashed out in on the second floor. Charlie and Sue were in the guest house out back, but when we'd walked past to get from the woods to the house, we'd heard their slow, steady heartbeats and even breathing, signaling they were still asleep as well.
I kicked off my shoes when I got into the room and padded on my sock feet into the bathroom. Stripping off my shirt, I tossed it in the hamper and had just reached down to the button on my jeans when I heard Bella come into the bathroom behind me. When she reached around to place her hands on mine, the lace of her bra rubbed against my skin as her breasts pressed to my back.
Turning around, the most gorgeous sight in the world came into view. Bella stood with a hand on her cocked hip, biting on her lower lip and peering up at me from under lowered lashes. She was naked except for the navy blue satin bra and panties, trimmed with black lace that contrasted beautifully with her pale skin.
"Mmm," I purred, tracing a single finger down one strap and around the edge of her bra. "This is new."
She grinned. "I bought it yesterday when Rose and Alice forced me out shopping."
Adult content edited after the tattletale threatened to rat me out. Check out the full story at FictionPad if you'd like.
Finally, Bella sighed. "I suppose we'd better get cleaned up. Lizzie will be up soon, and we have a party to get ready for. I can't leave Alice alone too long, or she'll go crazy."
I grinned, remembering Alice's visions of a princess-themed party for our daughter's first birthday. It'd looked like Emmett had gotten hold of Pepto-Bismol; the entire thing was pink.
"Yes, she will," I agreed with a laugh, reaching for the soap.
~*~*~FC~*~*~
Bella's POV
Edward kissed me one more time and then left the room to head downstairs. If Lizzie wasn't awake yet when I finished fixing my hair, I'd join him. Otherwise, I'd get her dressed and bring her down with me.
I'd just finished when I heard Lizzie's heartbeat and breathing pick up, and within seconds, she let out a whimper. I tossed my comb into the drawer, slid my phone into my pocket, and then walked down the hall to her room before she could work herself into a full-blown cry.
When she saw me open her door, her face lit up and she grinned at me. She was standing in the crib, holding onto the rail and doing a little bounce of excitement.
"Mommommommom," she chanted, holding her arms up for me. As I made my way across the room, she babbled the nonsense that was foreign to everyone, it seemed, except Rose.
"Good morning, Lizzie girl," I said, swooping her up. "Did you sleep well?"
"Dada!" She looked around the room, trying to find Edward, before turning back to me with a confused look on her face.
"Dada is downstairs. Come on, pretty girl. Let's get you changed and dressed, okay?"
"Dada!" she called again, whimpering and jutting out her lower lip.
I held in my laughter. She was a daddy's girl through and through. The adoration was a two-way street, though. She had him wrapped around her little finger.
"Yes, Dada," I said, nuzzling her neck and placing a gentle kiss on her sweet skin.
Lizzie continued babbling, calling out for not only Dada, but EmEm and Ose, as well, as I grabbed everything I'd need and took her to my room.
After wetting a soft washcloth in the bathroom sink, I laid her down on the bed between my legs and handed her the little stuffed bear she never went anywhere without—a gift from her Uncle Emmett. While she was occupied, I quickly changed the wet diaper and then gave her a good once-over with the washcloth. She'd had a bath the night before, so it was more just for form than anything.
Ready to be downstairs with everyone, she started squirming, making it hard for me to put on the "My First Birthday" onesie we'd bought a few days before.
"Nonononono!" she cried, trying once more to get down from the bed.
"Let's get dressed, baby, and then we can go see Daddy and eat breakfast, okay?"
Handing her back the bear, which she'd flung to the side, I successfully distracted her long enough to get not only the onesie on, but the matching leggings, socks, and shoes, as well. I didn't bother with putting a little bow in her hair; I knew it would just get pulled out before the party, and Alice would want to change her later anyway.
"All right, sweet girl," I said, scooping up the wet diaper with one hand and Lizzie with the other.
I stopped at her door to drop the diaper in the Diaper Genie, and then we started making our way down the stairs. It seemed she was Miss Independent on her first birthday. When we reached the bottom, she started grunting and pointing to the floor, babbling something that I took to mean she wanted to get down. It seemed that more and more often, she wanted to walk whenever we'd let her, rather than be carried.
As soon as I set her on her feet and she heard voices in the living room, she took off. She wasn't fast yet, but she was anxious to see who was there, so with arms out to her sides to help keep her balance, she toddled off, calling out for Edward.
When Edward stepped around the corner of the living room, Lizzie went straight to him.
"Dada!" She continued talking, patting his cheeks as he brought her up and planted a noisy kiss on her cheek.
"Hey, Lizzie-girl," he said. "Good morning, sunshine. Happy birthday!"
"Buh buh buh!"
I laughed. "Yes, birthday. Come on, let's go see Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Sue, huh?"
My dad and Sue had flown in the night before, after Lizzie was already asleep, bringing Seth and Jake with them. Quil and Embry had wanted to come, but Claire had a cold, so Quil wanted to stay with her, and they were both needed at the rez since Jake and Seth weren't missing this for anything.
Charlie was sitting with Emmett, Jasper, Jake, and Seth in the living room, watching SportsCenter, which was talking about the Green Bay versus Seattle game later in the afternoon. Of course, my dad was claiming that his Seahawks were going to win, but Em and Jasper were adamant that their new hometown team, the Packers, would take it. Jake and Seth were quiet, but I knew they were trying not to take sides. They were more realistic about the Seahawks' chances than Charlie was.
All of it stopped when Edward and I walked in with Lizzie.
Charlie's face lit up in a grin, and he stood, holding out his arms. "Baby girl!"
Lizzie, who loved her Grandpa Charlie as much as he loved her, nearly threw herself out of Edward's arms and into his.
He carried her over to the couch, setting her on his lap as she talked to him. Even though he didn't understand any of it, he nodded and talked back in appropriate places, tickling her little belly until she giggled and squirmed in his arms.
"She gave you trouble?" Edward asked against my neck as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
I laughed softly. "No more than usual. She was anxious to see her daddy."
When I looked back, the smile on Edward's face could have lit up an entire city block.
"The feeling was mutual, I assure you," he said and then moved up beside me, taking my hand. "Come on, love. Come see what Alice has planned."
After a breakfast of Cream of Wheat, sliced banana, and milk, Lizzie went back to Grandpa Charlie, who bundled her up and took her out in the snow for a few minutes with her daddy and all of her uncles. Alice was in charge of decorations for the party—and I'd told her under no circumstances did I want the sunroom looking like a bag of cotton candy had exploded—while Rose was in charge of wrapping all the gifts, and Sue, Esme, and I were working on food for all the humans, as well as the birthday cakes.
By the time the cakes were all made and ready to decorate, Lizzie had eaten a snack and her lunch and was down for the count in her crib upstairs. She fought taking naps more and more, but in the end, the boys had worn her down, and it hadn't taken much to get her to lie down. Edward had read her a story, and her eyes had closed before he'd even finished the book.
Since Lizzie loved butterflies, we were doing a butterfly cake for everyone and a smaller version for Lizzie herself. The big one was made using a handful of cake pans, but the small one, I'd had to freehand from a small round cake. It had turned out okay, and once we'd gotten all the icing and pink edible glitter on, you could tell without trouble what it was. The bigger cake was slightly less work—no freehand carving since the cake itself was a background to the butterfly we made with icing, smooth and piped both—but it was beautiful when completed, matching the small version perfectly.
While Lizzie was napping, Emmett convinced all the men to go outside and have a huge snowball fight. Charlie protested that he was way out of his depth, but Edward, Jake, and Seth said they would all be on his team, and with Edward's mind-reading ability, he'd be fine. Every so often, I looked out the window, and it did indeed look like Charlie was fine. In fact, I hadn't seen him having that much fun in a long time. At one point, I looked out, and he and Edward were deep in conversation on the far side of the yard. I couldn't hear them from where I was, but I assumed they were talking strategy, because suddenly, Edward whipped around and nailed Emmett in the face with a snowball as he sneaked around a tree toward them. I shook my head and grinned before going back to work on the potatoes for dinner.
The guys were all in the living room watching the football game, while we finished last minute touches on dinner, when Lizzie woke up.
Edward called, "I'll get her."
I smiled and went back to slicing the roast. It looked like we had enough food for all the adults in the house, but with the way Jake and Seth ate, I knew we'd have enough for dinner, as well as enough for roast beef sandwiches and stuff for their lunches tomorrow. We were keeping dinner pretty casual, since I didn't want Charlie and Sue to feel awkward eating in front of us. Charlie and the boys could eat in the living room, and Sue could either stay in there with them, or eat at the dining room table while I fed Lizzie, who was getting little bits of everything—roast chopped into small pieces, carrots cooked a little longer than everyone else's, and a little mashed potatoes.
Esme and I laid everything out buffet-style, and then I filled Lizzie's small plate while Esme went to tell Charlie, Jake, and Seth that dinner was ready.
To my surprise, rather than going back into the living room, everyone crowded around the table to eat...or to watch them eat. Charlie sat on the other side of Lizzie, paying attention to her as well as to the conversation around the table. Sue sat to his other side, talking with Esme, who'd taken the seat beside her. Conversation flowed easily, ranging from the latest happenings in Forks, to new construction at the school on the reservation, to some of the more interesting things Carlisle had seen at the hospital recently.
When everyone was finished eating, Alice held her hands out. "Give me the baby, and no one gets hurt," she ordered. "I'm gonna put her in her party clothes; isn't that right, sweetheart?" She held Lizzie close as the baby gripped her aunt's hair, tugging hard on the short strands as she babbled away.
They were still talking as Alice whisked her away upstairs.
"You guys can go on into the sunroom," I said, smiling. "I'll get this stuff put away and come in after."
"I'll help," Rose said, picking up some of the dishes from the table.
"Are you sure you don't n—" Sue started, but held her hands up and smiled when I just shot her a look. She was the guest, and she knew it.
Esme led her and the guys out of the room, leaving Edward behind with me in the dining room.
"I've got these, love," he said, pointing to the rest of the dishes. "You get the cakes ready."
I nodded, kissed him, and then walked ahead of him into the kitchen.
Rose had already gotten the cakes out of the refrigerator and had the candle in the shape of the number one beside the small one, along with the matches we'd bought at the store.
Smiling gratefully, I put the candle in the middle of the small butterfly cake, and then the three of us made our way into the sunroom. We were going to do presents first, since after she got into the cake, Lizzie would need a bath and then would probably go right to bed.
I walked into the room and was amazed at how great a job Alice had done. There were balloons and streamers with pretty paper butterflies hanging from them. Carlisle had lit the fireplace, so the room was nice and warm. I sat down on the floor near the presents from everyone, which were off to the side, with a spot for Lizzie in the center. Edward sat with me, leaving the couch nearest our spot for Charlie and Sue. Everyone else pulled up chairs from around the room or just sat down on the floor near us.
When Alice brought Lizzie in, I saw that she had indeed dressed her in another of the new outfits we'd bought a few days before. This time, it was a pink T-shirt with ruffles on the sleeves and a big, sparkly silver number one on the front, along with a pair of light gray leggings, matching pink socks, and her little sneakers. She looked adorable.
For twenty minutes, Lizzie opened present after present—from blocks to little musical instruments, to bath toys and a new baby doll. She was much more interested in the boxes than the toys, but I knew that would change the next day when the boxes were gone. Through it all, Charlie took pictures with a digital camera we'd handed him, laughing at and showing us a few of them.
When all the gifts had been opened, Edward, Rose, and I went back into the kitchen, leaving the others to get Lizzie ready for cake.
I struck a match and lit the candle, quickly picking up the small cake. Edward grabbed the larger cake, and with Rose walking backward down the short hall, we made our way back into the sunroom.
When we walked in, Lizzie was strapped into her high chair, banging her hands on the tray. Alice had put a new "Birthday Girl!" bib on over her clothes, although I had my doubts it would keep her clean.
When she saw us, my daughter's eyes lit up. "Mommommommom!" she cried, struggling to get out of the high chair.
Alice stood beside her, keeping her from escaping. "Look, Lizzie," she said, pointing to me. "Mommy's got some yummy cake for you."
We all knew Lizzie didn't really understand what was going on, but she watched intently as Edward put the big cake down on the little table in the room before coming over with me to stand beside the high chair.
I bent down so I was eye level and, keeping it out of her reach, showed Lizzie her little cake. We'd been practicing blowing, but it wasn't something she had down pat, so I wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do it. Still, I said, "Okay, Lizzie, blow out your candle!" I puckered up and sucked in a big breath like we'd practiced.
Lizzie watched me and then tried imitating what I was doing, but when she blew, she just spit everywhere. I grinned and blew the candle out myself.
Everyone clapped, prompting Lizzie to clap, too, and then we sang "Happy Birthday" as she looked, wide-eyed, around the room. It was a weird mix of voices—the vampires all had good voices, perfected by the change, but the wolves and humans were...interesting—but by the end, Lizzie was babbling along loudly, grinning.
I took the candle out and then set the cake down on her tray, backing away a little so Rose could get in close with the camera. I saw a flash and realized Charlie was snapping pictures of Lizzie as she poked a finger into the purple and pink icing. I knew he'd gotten a great one when she stuck her finger in her mouth to taste this new thing and her eyes lit up. He continued taking them as Lizzie threw both hands down on the cake, sending crumbs everywhere.
For several minutes, we all just laughed as Lizzie shoveled cake into her mouth by the fistful. She was covered in icing and pink edible glitter, and there was as much of the stuff on the plastic sheet Alice had put under the high chair as there was on her face and hands. She even had some in her hair.
As she continued to play and eat, Esme cut up the bigger cake, serving large pieces to Jake and Seth and smaller pieces to Charlie and Sue. I realized as I watched her serve them that the cake was way too big, but maybe by the time they left in a couple of days, it would all be gone.
When Lizzie's eyes began drooping, I handed the remains of her cake off to Edward and then set about cleaning her off well enough to get her upstairs without smearing icing and crumbs everywhere.
"Say good night, pretty girl," I told her, holding her out to get kisses from everyone but Edward, who went upstairs with us.
Rather than give her a full bath, we decided to just clean her up with a washcloth again. She was crashing quickly, and there was no point in putting her in the tub if she was going to fall asleep in the middle of it. Once she was as clean as she was going to get, Edward handed me a diaper and her butterfly pajamas. I pulled them on, and then we walked quietly into her room. I tried laying her in her crib, but she protested, pointing to her bookcase and babbling.
"Booboobooboo!"
"You want a story, birthday girl?" Edward asked, moving over to the shelf of books.
Lizzie stuck her thumb in her mouth and curled into my chest as I sat down in one of the rocking chairs across from her crib.
Edward picked up "Time for Bed," one of our favorite books to read at night, and settled in to the chair beside me. In his velvet-smooth voice, he read about darkness falling all over the house, about the little cat, sheep, bee, and all the other animals getting ready for bed.
By the time he read, "The stars on high are shining bright. Sweet dreams, my darling, sleep well...good night!" Lizzie was snoring softly in my arms. Her thumb had fallen out, and she was the picture of innocence and purity as dreams took her away.
I started to get up, but Edward stopped me with a hand on my arm. He took her carefully from me, laid her in the crib, and covered her up. She never once stirred.
When he turned back around, I started to get up again, but he shook his head. I tilted my head in question, but instead of responding, he got down on one knee in front of my chair. It only took moments for me to realize what he was doing, and that made my breath catch.
"Isabella Swan, I promise to love you every moment of forever. I want to be your husband—" he looked over at Lizzie, smiling softly "—and Lizzie's father for the rest of time more than anything I've ever wanted in my entire existence. Would you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"
He held out a gorgeous gold and diamond ring, and I knew without him saying anything that it had to have been his mother's. It looked like an antique, and if I knew him, he'd have wanted to use his mother's ring instead of buying me something new.
I blinked back the sting of venomous tears that would never fall, and for a split second, I remembered everything that had led us here, to this point in time. I looked down at my sleeping daughter, hearing in my head her calling for her "Dada" and remembering the way she looked at him—the same way he always looked at the two of us, like we were the center of his world. When I looked back at Edward, I'd never been more sure of anything.
I couldn't stop the grin that split my face when I whispered my answer.
"Yes."
"Yes?" Edward verified, his eyes going wide.
"Edward, I love you. Lizzie loves you. There's no one in the world that holds a candle to how much you love us. Why wouldn't I—"
The rest of my words were muffled as he pulled me into his arms, pressing his lips to mine as he slid the ring onto my left hand.
As we kissed, our daughter in the crib beside us and our family two floors below, I realized life had a funny way of coming full circle. Douglas Adams said it best in his fantasy detective novel, "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul." He wrote, "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was exactly where I needed to be.
~*~FC~*~
A/N: Edward's proposal-minus the line about Lizzie-is direct from Eclipse, the movie, not the book.
