Edward

I sat next to Bella in Dr. Katz's office. We both finally acknowledged that we had things to work on and well.

Bella insisted we work on them before we were married.

"Edward, how did it make you feel when you found out Bella was with another man?" Dr. Katz asked.

I tensed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"When you heard that James was staying with her, how did that make you feel?"

"Nothing happened, right?" I asked Bella.

"Nothing happened," she promised.

"It doesn't matter then," I said and fell back into the couch, annoyed she was even bringing it up.

"You're aware now that nothing happened, were you at the time?" Dr. Katz asked again.

"Bella has only ever been with me. Nothing else matters, she isn't a slut, Dr. Katz, so stop pushing the issue."

"So, what if she had been with someone else?"

"But she hasn't! Why are we even discussing this?" I snapped.

"Edward, do you love Bella only because she's only been with you?" Dr. Katz asked.

I decided I didn't like Dr. Katz anymore. "No, damn it, but it's nice that she's only been with me, but I would love her the same if she hadn't been. I mean, we were apart for seven years."

"Edward, were you with other women during that seven years?" Dr. Katz asked and I wanted to be swallowed by the couch.

"I…um…no." I decided no would be the best answer.

"What were you going to say, Edward? You changed your answer last minute."

"No one could compare to Bella, no one made me feel like her. It never got that far," I finally answered.

"But you tried to have other relationships?" Dr. Katz pushed.

"I was crushed. I was alone. It's called rebound! The woman I adored left me without a word, just poof, gone," I defended.

Bella leaned into my side. "Did you just say poof?" she whispered with a giggle.

Apparently, my adventures with other women didn't bother her in the least because she was teasing me about my vocabulary.

Her laugh lightened my mood. "Poof," I whispered in her ear and tickled her side.

She shook her head at me and whacked my hand. I looked up to see Dr. Katz smiling.

Yeah, I agreed that my girl was amazing and could change my grouchy mood in a heartbeat. Poof! Like a magician, she was magic.

"Edward, I would like to see you on your own, I believe you have some things you need to get out," Dr. Katz explained.

"On my own, without Bella?" I asked a little tense.

"Yes, she sees me alone; I think you could benefit greatly from it as well. Maybe we can work through those abandonment and control issues that you seem to have developed," Dr. Katz said smiling.

Why the hell was she smiling? Oh, yeah, because she was going to take more of my money. I was about to growl 'no' when I saw Bella's pleading look.

Damn it with the pout!

"Fine," I finally conceded.

I would have rather not talked about being pissed off at Bella with her in the room anyway. I wouldn't want to upset her, but Dr. Katz was right.

I had developed issues because of Bella's struggle with trust and the fact that she was a runner.

At least that was what Dr. Katz had described her as being.

I didn't want Bella to run anymore.

I hoped that marriage would cause her to stay put but I didn't know for sure.

One could only hope.

Bella

Our counseling had been going on for six months now. Things were getting difficult but I wasn't giving up.

I could tell when Edward was getting frustrated with Dr. Katz because he always came home from his sessions upset.

I sat waiting in our bedroom for him to come in. He slammed the door behind himself.

"This is fucked up, Bella, I'm not going back!" he shouted.

I just opened my arms to him and he stormed over and wrapped me in his arms roughly. "You're mine. I loved you when you had nothing. I loved you when you thought I were pregnant with Jake's baby, I loved you for seven fucking years when I thought you were gone, but this is getting to be too much," he cried, rocking me in his arms. "You never fucked James. I know that, but he's the one man I'm jealous of; he's the one man that pulls you from me. I hate sharing you! YOU. ARE. MINE!"

He pinned me roughly to the bed.

I knew he needed to claim me.

I ran my hands through his hair trying to calm him, showing him acceptance. "I am yours, Edward," I whispered, "Only yours."

"No, no, you're not, you visit him every weekend the way my mother attends fucking church, Bella, and I want it to stop. I want our lives to revolve around us and our family, not whether or not James is happy."

"I'll talk to Dr. Katz about it."

"NO! I want you to talk to me about it!"

"Edward, if I stop visiting he'll just come looking for me. That's dangerous, that's what happened in Florida, in New York, and it's what happened in Forks. He'll escape and come find me again, just like he always has. It's best if I work with Dr. Katz on reducing my visits. Maybe we can get it down to twice a month."

"NO! I want you to get it to none; I'm not sharing you with another man anymore, I don't care what his mental state. His coercion of your constant attention under the threat of violence is keeping your focus split when it should be on your children and our family. That's not right or fair, Bella, and it encourages him to keep doing it when you continually give in. Enough is enough."

I let out a sigh; I would talk to Dr. Katz to see if that was possible. I nodded my head in agreement to appease him.

At my next session with her, I talked to her about getting rid of some of the visits.

She surprised me when she told me that she thought it was totally possible for me to eliminate them all together.

She would basically use herself to take my place and gradually wean James off of my presence.

For Edward's sake, I hoped it would work.

That evening I sat watching Edward play catch with Anthony.

He was so involved with the children. He had just finished giving Elizabeth her piano lesson and was making sure Anthony was given proper attention as well.

He was a good father.

He looked up at me and smiled that perfect grin and I couldn't help but smile back. I had good news for him. He would be thrilled that I was willing to try and get James completely out of our lives.

I was ready, too, and I was more than willing, I was determined.

Edward

I took Anthony in to get him ready for bed. Elizabeth met us in the family room for story time. They both climbed on my lap as I read through 'Goodnight, Moon' for the millionth time.

Bella finally tapped on Elizabeth's shoulder and shooed her off to bed. I carried little Anthony in my arms. He was asleep. My perfect little boy was growing so fast.

I tucked him in and found Bella sitting in the library.

She smiled up at me and hurried across the room, wrapping her arms around me. I loved it when she was happy to see me.

"So, I have a few things I want to talk about," she said smiling at me.

"Okay, my few or your few," I asked teasing her.

"My few," she said with an eye roll pulling me to the chaise and pushing me down in it so she could sit in my lap.

"First, I have good news; Dr. Katz thinks she can help me get James to let me go permanently."

"You two are going to off him?" I asked teasing again.

"No," she whacked me. "She thinks she can transfer his need for me to her. I might finally be free of him, Edward; we can move if we want to and live happily ever after without fear of him showing up and trying to hurt us."

It was then I realized what a burden this had been for her most of her life. She had told me about what happened when they were kids and how she tried to help him, to save him, and wasn't able to do anything but comfort him after the fact.

That had been a lot to put on a little girl and she had been handling it alone for so many years.

She wanted out from under the responsibility of him just as much as I did.

I pulled her down into a kiss. "Thank you, baby, that is good news."

"And the other thing I was thinking about was since we seem to be getting things under control between us, I was hoping or well, wondering if you'd like to set a date for the wedding?"

"What? Yes, Love, I would love to set a date. How does tomorrow sound to you?" I asked smirking.

"Good," she said to my surprise. "But I think your sister would be pissed if we had it without her."

I was a little shocked by her answer. I was sure she would have said no.

I decided to try and push my luck. "This weekend then?" I asked hopefully.

She smiled and nodded yes. "Okay, how about we do it in the back yard? It's huge and beautiful this time of year. It'll save us the trouble of trying to book something and we can see if Jasper and Alice would be willing to stay with the kids while we go on our honeymoon."

"Mmm, honeymoon," I said smiling. I liked that. "Where are we going for the honeymoon?" I asked.

"That's your assignment. I'll do the wedding, you do the honeymoon," she said just as she leaned in kissing me.

I fought for domination; I wanted her now. To my disappointment, she pulled away.

"I said a few, Edward; so far we've only covered a couple of topics."

"Is this last one as nice as the first two?"

She shrugged. "It really depends on how you see it."

"Fine, you can't kill my mood so lay it on me," I said ready for the worst.

"I was wondering if I should stop taking my birth control pills."

"Stop taking them? Why?" I asked like a dumb bloke. Then it finally started to sink in. "You want another baby?" I asked excitedly.

"Well, that depends, do you? You're such a good dad and Anthony is growing up so fast. You missed so much of my pregnancies with both him and Elizabeth, I thought maybe, you know, we could have another baby if you wanted to so you could enjoy the full experience, but if you're set with just two kids, I understand. We've been blessed so much already, but I just thought…"

"Bella, do you want to have another baby?" I asked seriously.

She smiled at me. "Yes."

I ripped her clothes off and was inside of her, pinning her against the bookshelves. "Fuck, baby, I want that, too," I groaned pounding into her.

This time I would be there for all of it.

I would miss nothing.

Bella

The weather was beautiful today with a soft, cool breeze, perfect for an outdoor wedding. The back yard was all set up for our twilight ceremony and looked amazing. The trees were strung full with fairy lights, casting a soft warm glow across the few rows of white beribboned chairs.

Alice and Esme had worked miracles on such short notice. I could hear the caterers in the kitchen getting ready for the reception dinner and the food smelled delicious.

We opted for an understated but savory menu, and the aromas wafting throughout the house had my stomach growling.

Edward's mother and sister were flustered by our short notice and insistence on having a small wedding but they still couldn't hide their excitement for us.

I was so relieved when Edward stepped in and insisted that they concede and do everything my way, being it was my wedding, not theirs.

My dad was thrilled and would mumble 'it's about time' to anyone who passed him.

I could honestly say I truly loved Edward and wanted to be married to him now. We had worked hard to understand our issues and each other and had come to a level of trust and love we had never before achieved.

My mother ran around trying to fill the house with something smelly to bless our union. She had told me what it was but I was too nervous to listen.

I really didn't care as long as the windows stayed open and nothing was left lying about. I just didn't want to trip and fall on my face.

I heard the music start and my father offered me his arm so he could walk me down the aisle.

He looked very handsome in his tailored Armani suit, the new haircut that Alice had insisted on, and no moustache. That was the weirdest thing to see. He'd had it my whole life, but shaving it off made him look twenty years younger, as it was starting to grey.

Charlie was a tall, fairly fit and well built guy for forty eight and the European cut suit just showcased that. I even caught my mother eyeing him and licking her lips. Yes, he was still striking and I was so proud that he was my daddy.

I laughed to myself remembering him trying to talk Alice out of making him do 'the woman thing' by having a 'day at the spa' appointment. I never thought I would see the day when Charlie Swan would step foot in a spa, but between Alice and Esme, all the men had submitted upon penalty of severe pouting and the threat of having their personal spaces redecorated with floral patterned upholstery and copious amounts of frilly lace.

He didn't know that I knew how much he actually enjoyed it and had booked another session in two weeks in Port Angeles for another massage, skin treatment and a trim on his hair. I decided to keep my mouth shut and let him keep his masculinity unchallenged.

As we stepped down onto the back lawn, I looked across the yard to my Love and smiled, as he was grinning so widely it looked like it would hurt. He was so handsome and I suddenly choked up a little as the realization hit me that I'd almost ran away from all of this.

Dr. Katz had helped me realize that I had transferred my trust issues and my need to escape my perceived failures with Jamie to my relationship with Edward.

These issues were magnified when I lost my memory and my fear of losing myself was terror over Jamie coming back and injuring me again, causing me more memory loss.

The trauma from that combined with Jamie's threats and the attack on Edward and Elizabeth further fueled my fears and my need to run.

I was trying to not only protect myself, but my family from my failures as well as from Jamie.

I also ran because I didn't feel worthy of my successes, or Edward's love. That had kept me from agreeing to marriage sooner and made me feel like I deserved to be thought of as a lesser human being. Adding in a nasty case of hormonal imbalance and post-partum depression after Anthony was born had sealed the deal, sending me spiraling into a deep, dark place and it took me having to actively deal head on with Jamie to save Elizabeth and myself that started me pulling myself out of it.

I heard a little clapping to my right and saw Dr. Katz calming Jamie down. He truly looked excited to see me getting married and for that I was relieved.

Jake and Kate were sitting on the other side of Jamie and were keeping an inconspicuously close eye on him as well. Jake winked at me, pulling Kate's left hand up to his lips, kissing her engagement ring and I smiled back at him.

They had fit together beautifully from the moment they met and were getting married in a few months themselves.

I couldn't be happier for my dear friend.

The rest of the wedding was elegantly simple and beautiful. As Edward recited his vows to me, he promised me he would always follow me, always find me, and always love me.

Edward's green eyes sparkled with tears as I promised to always leave him a trail, always want him to look for me and to make sure he always knew he was the only man who owned my heart.

We had finally found our way home.