Here's the last little bit. Thank you for reading! XOXO

Goodbye, Hello - Part Two

My first thought was of how tall Seth was. When I'd left he was nearly as tall as me, but now it was clear that he would tower over me. He was even taller than Edward, though his shoulders were broader.

"My shoulders are fine," Edward whispered teasingly and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Is he...like me?" I asked, wondering if Edward could smell any different than I could. All I could really sense was my brother.

"I don't think so," he murmured as he slipped away. Only our fingers were still laced together. "Go, he thinks I'm keeping you from him."

I gave Edward's hand a tight squeeze and slowly walked towards Seth. I wanted nothing more than to run and jump into his arms, but I didn't know how he would react or if I would hurt him.

"It's you? Really?" Seth asked once we were a few feet apart. I nodded and studied his face for a long moment. He had aged, that was obvious. His eyes were bright and there was a few days of scruff covering his face. My brother was so handsome, just like our father.

"It's me," I said quietly.

"You look the same," he replied as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"You don't."

"One of us had to grow up, Lee-Lee." The tone of his voice wrapped around my nickname caught me off guard. He was angry and at that moment...I didn't blame him.

"Seth..."

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right. I've been selfish and-" I could hardly get the words out before a sob built up in my throat and cut them off. Before I knew what was happening I was wrapped up in a warm embrace, held tightly against a beating heart.

"I've missed you so much," Seth said into my hair, his voice thick with emotion.

I nodded against his chest and wrapped my arms around him. Edward was right: Seth was no longer shifting. I wasn't sure how I knew, but somehow I did. The thought that my brother could lead a normal life made me feel more happiness than I had in a long time.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, but Seth pushed my shoulders back and shook his head, his dark eyes locked with mine.

"No. I understand, Leah. It took me a while, but I get it. I get wanting to choose your own destiny."

"Did you? Get to choose, I mean?"

He smiled and pulled me to him again. "Yeah, I did. It's a good one too."

"So is mine," I said quietly, but knew Edward could hear me because I heard him chuckle.

"I'm glad." Seth smiled down at me and caught a lock of my hair between his fingers. "Would you like to meet my family?"

"Can he come too?" I asked with a smile and gestured toward Edward, who was waiting patiently. "He's housebroken, I promise."

Seth laughed and Edward called out, "Not funny," in my direction.

"He can come. You can follow me," Seth told me before walking away. I made it back to Edward at a faster than human pace and threw myself into his arms.

"Let's go," he said before kissing me softly.

"You're sure?"

"Leah, you've spent plenty of time with my family. I think I can handle this. It's Christmas, after all."

I grinned, unable to contain my excitement. "Edward he has kids," I said with a sigh once we were in the car. "My brother is a dad."

Edward just smiled and squeezed my knee, no doubt thinking about the conversation we'd had so many years ago. We lived around children, they were our life, but I knew that they weren't for me. I knew that my body was different and I'd come to terms with that. I don't think Edward really ever did, though.

We followed Seth's pickup truck to a modest house outside of Forks. In the driveway was a small SUV and a police car: Seth's.

"Still keeping the peace?" I asked once we were standing in the front yard.

Seth shrugged. "I do what I can. Are you ready?" He held his hand out to me and I nodded.

"Do we, uh, need a cover story?" I asked before we got to the front door.

"I don't have any secrets from Angela," Seth replied glancing from me to Edward. Edward raised his eyebrows at me and then smiled.

"We should probably go in before the little ones explode with excitement, then," my husband said, so Seth quickly opened the door.

I stood back and watched as his children greeted him with smiles and kisses like he had been gone for days instead of just a few hours. Seth laughed with them before straightening himself out and turning to Edward and I.

"Who are you?" The little girl looked up at us with eyes like my mother's.

"I'm your Aunt Leah, and this is Uncle Edward," I told her as I held back tears. Beside me, Edward beamed.

"You're pretty," she replied and it took me a moment to realize she wasn't talking to me. Edward laughed and squeezed my shoulder. "I'm Ava. Do you want to see my new dollhouse?" She asked, holding out a tiny hand to Edward. He smiled and took it, letting her lead him away. "Your hands are cold," I heard her say as they disappeared around the corner.

"This is Sawyer," Seth introduced his son to me, who was the older of the two and a spitting image of Seth when he was younger. "And I think you might remember Angela."

I turned to see his wife, my sister-in-law, smiling widely at me. She was familiar- from a lifetime ago.

"I'm glad you finally made it home, Leah," her voice is soft and sweet, like Edward's.

"Me too," is all I managed to say.

I spent most of the afternoon with Seth and Angela, letting them fill me in on stories of everyone we used to know. Seth was right: he didn't have any secrets from Angela. I was right too: he didn't shift anymore.

"We killed him, you know? The tracker that was here," Seth told me while we were cleaning up the table from dinner. Edward appeared in the kitchen out of nowhere and his hands gripped my shoulders tightly.

"It was Dimitri? You're sure?" He asked softly and Seth nodded.

Edward exhaled and pressed a kiss to my hair.

"What does this mean?" I asked, glancing between Edward and Seth.

"It means we can come home, Leah." Edward smiled and it was like staring at the sun.

It was strange to think that this was our home, because for the last twenty years anywhere Edward had been was what I thought of as home. But now...now we stay and watch Seth's children grow. We could see our family whenever wanted.

"Why didn't Alice see?" I wondered out loud and Edward shrugged.

"Maybe it was the wolves. Or maybe it was your future, you know she can't see you."

I didn't think about it anymore. Well, I didn't really have time to. A moment later Sawyer burst into the kitchen and dragged Edward away while Edward grinned stupidly at us the whole time.

"He's good with them," Seth said before handing me a beer. His smile was tight and I caught the underlying message.

"He's very controlled, Seth. He doesn't...I wouldn't be with him if he did."

"I know, I know." My brother rolled his eyes and then laughed loudly. "Wait. Are you old enough to drink?"

I glared at him and then slugged him in the shoulder.

"Ow! I'm not like you anymore!" Seth whined and I heard Edward laugh from the other room.

"I will always be your big sister, Seth," I teased. Seth just gave me a non-committal shrug and led me to the back porch.

"You're happy, right?" He asked once we were outside. "With your choice?"

I took a deep breath, knowing that Edward could hear what we were saying and thinking.

"It's funny, actually. I never thought I would imprint like the others did. Being the only girl in the pack was hard, you know? I knew that I could never have kids, so I was pretty positive that it would never happen for me...but I was okay with that."

"What changed?"

"I don't know what imprinting feels like, Seth, but...but with Edward I feel like I belong. It's like we're tied together, like I was meant to find him that day."

Seth watched me for a long moment before he reached over and took my hand. He held it tightly, and I didn't need him to say anything. I knew he understood. He understood for the same reason that I understood why he no longer shifted. I knew it wasn't who he wanted to be; I'd always known it.

We were both dealt a fate that we never asked for, but we were strong enough to overcome it. In the end we had exactly what we wanted.

After the children went to bed and Uncle Edward promised to come back and play video games with Sawyer and dolls with Ava, we made our way to the home that Edward's family still kept in Forks- just in case.

It was clean and not lived it, but that was going to change, of that I was sure.

"Oh, you're sure, are you?" Edward smirked at me and I lifted an eyebrow at me.

"Well, technically you're dead so-" my words were cut off by his lips against mine and before I knew it I was on my back in a very familiar bed.

Edward was hovering over me, grinning widely as his body pressed against mine.

"You make me feel alive, though."

All I could do was smile.