Epilogue

SIX MONTHS LATER, July 4th

Bella POV

"You've got three bottles of milk, and I just washed his favorite blanket, the yellow one, in case he spits up on the blue one you keep here. Oh, and his elephant—"

"Is right here," Rosalie interrupted and held up the blue plastic rattle in her hand, then shook it once as proof. C.J. reached for it happily from where he sat nestled in Rose's other arm.

"We're going to be fine. Go, have fun. Forget about diapers for a night. Lose a glass slipper or two. I won't tell."

"Rose, I told you. This isn't a date. We're just friends."

"Uh-huh. Just promise me you'll have fun."

"We will," I promised.

"You won't even turn into a pumpkin if you stay out past midnight, I swear," she grinned.

"Get out of here before she starts making more fairy godmother jokes!" I heard Emmett call from their living room.

"Goodnight, guys! I'll be back—"

"Whenever you're ready. Don't rush."

"Bye, sweet boy!" I kissed him on the forehead and walked back to the car. I'd been happy to see the truck back in the driveway almost a year ago, but I couldn't deny that the Guardian was a much safer mode of transportation for C.J.

I drove downtown where I had agreed to meet Jake for the annual Forks 4th of July Festival. It wasn't a date no matter how much Rosalie insisted that it was, but that didn't stop me from being irrationally nervous. Jake had been dropping by several times a week for months now and helping me out with C.J., and tonight was a much-needed break to get out of the house for a change. Jake came up with the idea, Charlie insisted that we go, and Rose demanding to babysit pretty much sealed the deal. So now here I was in this designer lace-trimmed white tank and light navy sweater that I had no recollection of buying that had mysteriously shown up in my closet this morning. My fairy godmother had tried to sneak in a pair of wedge-heeled sandals and a denim skirt, but I settled for my favorite old pair of flip flops and denim shorts from my days in Phoenix that miraculously still fit. I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness when I imagined the red heels or even more over the top accessories that Alice would have been trying to force me into. She and Rose were definitely sisters.

I circled the streets looking for parking, but every space was packed. On my third lap around the several block radius of the festival, I spotted a familiar silhouette on the dark sidewalk. I swear his teeth were glowing white when he smiled. I slowed and rolled down the window.

"Need some help there, Bells?" Jake asked.

"There's nowhere to park!" I shouted.

"There's a spot right up there," He pointed a few spaces ahead of where I had stopped. Great. A parallel spot. No way was I maneuvering this giant car into that space, especially not in the dark.

"Scoot over," he grinned. I started to argue, but decided against it when I spotted the growing line of headlights in my rearview mirror. I put the car in park and ran around to the passenger side.

Jake shut the door behind him and had the car parked about ten seconds later.

"I always was the better driver," he smirked.

"You have night vision. Totally unfair advantage."

We got out of the car and I grabbed the bag of blankets and snacks out of the backseat. When I joined him on the sidewalk under a streetlamp, I couldn't help but notice the way his tan skin stood out in contrast to the white shirt he was wearing. Jake never wore white.

"Want me to carry that?" he asked, oblivious to my staring.

"Nah, someone's got to protect the snacks. Is that a new shirt?"

He looked down at himself. "This? No, I just don't wear it much I guess. It doesn't really go with grease stains, and I swear C.J. sees white and thinks 'challenge accepted'." He laughed.

"Too true," I agreed. "It looks nice on you, though."

He smiled a funny smile, and I could tell I'd caught him off guard with the compliment. "Thanks, Bells. You look beautiful tonight, by the way."

We walked past a row of kiosks selling everything from hot dogs to glow in the dark bracelets to extra blankets and pre-packed picnic baskets and made our way into the growing crowd. I picked a spot on the edge where it was a little less crowded, and we laid out the blanket and the snacks, then sat to wait for the fireworks show.

"My dad used to take me to these when I was a little girl," I told him.

"I know, my parents brought us one year too. Charlie must have invited us all out."

"Oh, wow. I forgot all about that! We went and played on the swings, right?"

"Yeah, you guys did. You and my sisters, I mean. I got stuck sitting with our parents. I seem to remember some argument that I was too little to join." I took the crooked smile on his face to mean that he wasn't still holding a grudge about it.

"Right. Sorry about that," I said sheepishly, then placed my palm against his giant hand. His fingers were inches longer than my own. "I can't imagine anyone would use that same argument now."

"It's ancient history. Much like these sandwiches are about to be," he said. "Ham and cheese?"

"Of course. Your favorite."

"You're my favorite," he said. I'm pretty sure I blushed.

We ate in comfortable silence as the fireworks started and the sky was filled with bursts of blues and reds. Somewhere in the dark, a D.J. started a playlist with a mix of firework and summer-themed songs. When we were done eating, we both laid on our backs and looked up at the sky. Jake grabbed my hand, and I felt the butterflies fill my stomach. I couldn't remember the exact moment when holding his hand had started feeling like this, or when I began looking forward to those little moments, but there it was, that stupid giddy feeling that said I was letting my guard down. He squeezed, and I couldn't stop myself from thinking about another time he had squeezed my hand that felt like a lifetime ago. I wondered if he ever thought about that night, too.

"Look," he said. He sat up and motioned to the open grassy area behind us where the blankets tapered off and a few people had taken to dancing in the back.

I looked back at Jake, and he was grinning. Uh-oh. I knew what was coming as he started to stand and tug on my hand, slowly pulling me into a sitting position and urging me onto my feet.

"Oh no you don't."

"You owe me a dance," he reasoned.

"I owe you no such thing."

"You keep telling me you want me to have normal teenager experiences. Think of all the proms I've missed."

"Don't try to guilt trip me like that. Think of all the toes I'll step on," I countered.

He bent back down and whispered in my ear. "Then it's a good thing I have super-human feet."

In the same motion, he wrapped his arm around my waist and hoisted me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

"Put me down!" I choked out. I tried to sound serious, but my own laughter betrayed me.

"There." He set me down gently next to another dancing couple, the grass tickling the bottoms of my bare feet.

"Just one?" He pleaded. I looked up into his big brown puppy dog eyes and couldn't say no.

As an answer, I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his chest as some cheesy slow country song started. We didn't say a word while we danced, and I never looked up at him. For two-and-a-half minutes, I shut my mind off and just enjoyed his warmth and presence. No need to overthink. All too soon, the song was over, and the replacement was louder and faster and way outside of my dancing skill set.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked.

"Yeah, okay. Could you get my shoes first?" I asked. He looked down as if he was just noticing my bare feet, then back to our blanket yards away.

"Of course." But instead of going to get my shoes, he scooped me up and carried me back over to them.

I slipped them back on, and he held my hand and pulled me towards one of the walking trails. We watched the fireworks grow smaller in the distance.

As we turned the corner past a thick growth of trees, the small park came into view. There was a slide, an ancient merry-go-round, some swings, and a treehouse with monkey bars.

"How did you remember where this was?" I asked.

"I didn't," he admitted. "Maybe it's fate." He smiled, and something about him seemed oddly confident tonight.

"Swing with me?" I asked.

"Bella, I'm pretty sure I would break that swing. I'll push you, though."

We walked over to the swings and I put my feet out and let him push me like I was a kid again. I closed my eyes and felt the wind whipping past my face and the heat of his hand against my back, and I felt so safe and alive. I could hear the popping of the fireworks in the distance and the hum of insects in the trees, and everything felt so normal and real. He pushed me like that for what felt like forever. I never wanted any of it to end.

"Your turn," I finally said. "I insist."

"I'm too big," he protested.

"Just humor me."

He pulled the chains to a slow stop and I hopped out of the swing, trading places with him. He took a cautious seat and eyed the metal frame at the top as he let his weight settle. So far, so good.

"See? It's fine," I told him.

I gave his back a push, and he barely budged. We both chuckled at my obvious weakness. I pushed harder and got him moving a few times, but the momentum was laughable. I finally gave up and wrapped my arms loosely around his shoulders from behind instead as our laughter died down.

Even seated in the low swing, he was almost my height. I rested my chin on my arm over his right shoulder and closed my eyes, breathing in his familiar scent. It was weird being so close to him in this position, with him facing away from me. He slowly turned his face to the side to look at me, and without thinking, I kissed him. He froze, but only for a second. Then he was kissing me back. He loosened my arms from around his neck and guided me around to the front of the swing.

I found myself standing between his knees, his arms wrapped around my body as he kissed me feverishly. One hand grabbed the back of my thigh, followed by the other. He hoisted me onto his lap, and the frame of the swing set groaned in protest. It was enough to pull me back to my senses.

"Wait, Jake. Stop." I climbed back out of his lap and felt an instant chill as I separated myself from the warmth of his body. We were both practically panting. I took in my surroundings and was deeply embarrassed at my own behavior.

"Sorry, I guess I got carried away," he said. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

This was getting out of hand. I'd never even meant to kiss him. My body had acted separately from my brain.

"No, I mean we can't. Not here. Not anywhere. We just can't."

"Bells? What are you talking about? You kissed me, remember? I thought you wanted…I don't know. For a minute there, I thought you wanted…well, me," he admitted.

I didn't want to be having this conversation with him.

"It's not that I don't want…I just…I can't, okay?"

I took a few steps away, turned my back to him, and tried to compose myself.

"Bella, what just happened here? I thought we were having a great time tonight."

I walked over to the rusty old merry-go-round and sat at the edge. It felt like a safer distance from where Jake still sat in the swing. Over here, my brain worked better.

"We were. This was a perfect night, Jake."

"Then what's wrong? I don't get it."

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to give him the truth that he deserved.

"I'm scared, okay?" I took a deep breath, then continued. "I'm finally in a good place again. I feel like myself for the first time in a long time, and I don't want to mess that up. And I can't keep holding you back," I confessed. "I was supposed to let you go a long time ago."

Jacob looked confused. "Wait, holding me back? What is it that you think you're holding me back from, exactly?"

"I don't know, a life of your own? College? A girlfriend? Everything. The pack isn't holding you back anymore, but I still am."

He got out of the swing and walked towards me slowly. He sat next to me and picked up my hand in his. I couldn't look at him.

"Bella, I want you to listen to me. I'm exactly where I want to be. Everybody who has ever met me knows how ridiculously in love with you I am. It's the elephant in every room we've ever been in together. Don't try to tell me you don't know it, too."

I stared at my feet uncomfortably. It was exactly what a part of me wanted to hear, but I had to be stronger than that. For both of us.

"If I ask you a question, will you swear to tell me the truth?" He asked.

I nodded silently, and he took a deep breath before he continued.

"Do you have feelings for me?" He sounded both nervous and hopeful. It reminded me of the carefree version of Jake from that first day at First Beach so long ago.

"Yes," I whispered. He closed his eyes and a look of contentment crossed his face. I hated to bring him back down, but he still didn't get it. He was going to make me spell it out for him.

"Jake, it's not just me I have to worry about now. There's C.J. to think about."

"Are you saying you don't want me to be a part of his life?"

"No, no, of course I want you to be in his life, and in mine. I just…I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but I don't want us to get too attached to something that won't last. I can't be the Leah to some other Emily. Especially not with C.J. involved. Do you understand?"

I didn't think I had it in me to survive another heartbreak, not from the one person I had been able to count on through everything. The saddest part is it wouldn't be his fault at all. I knew that he loved me, and that if I let myself, I would love him too. We could be happy together, but there would always be that worry in the back of my mind that one day he'd walk into the grocery store and meet his soul mate. That one day I'd have to explain to C.J. how Jake could love us so much but that it still wasn't enough. The only way to stop it from happening was to make sure it never started to begin with.

His mouth finally dropped open in speechless understanding.

"I'm sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear, and it's not your fault, but it's true," I said.

"Bella, I'm so sorry, I had no idea…" his sentence trailed off. "There's something I need to tell you. I've been trying to wait for the right time, but maybe this is it. Hell, maybe it was weeks ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"Bells, I've already imprinted."

I gasped. Of all the sentences and all the words that could have come out of his mouth in that moment, I had never expected those. This couldn't be happening. I felt an instant sickness in the pit of my stomach that told me that I had been lying to myself. I was already past the point of keeping my distance so I wouldn't get hurt. This felt like I was suddenly on fire, and I didn't know if I was more angry or sad or jealous. Had he imprinted on some child, like Quil? Is that why he was here kissing me back when he was promised to someone else? I thought I might vomit.

"How could you not tell me?" I choked out. "Who…who…" I scrambled for the right words to complete the question that I did not want the answer to. "Who?" I said again, sounding every bit like a deranged owl.

"She's the love of my life." He smiled, and I felt a sudden urge to smack the look right off of his smug face. Only the memory of my crumpled fingers and a searing pain when I had punched him before stopped me from doing it again. I looked down at my fingers in memory, only to realize that I was still holding his hand. No, not just holding now, but squeezing, my knuckles even whiter against my pale skin.

"Bella, the person I imprinted on is you."

Jacob POV

Bella dropped my hand as soon as I spoke the words. Not exactly the way I'd imagined this moment happening.

"Jacob Black, that is the least funny joke you've ever told. It's downright cruel," she said.
Of course she wouldn't believe me. Why should she? Our imprint defied so much of what little we thought we knew about how imprints worked.

"I'm dead serious, Bells. I swear."

I'd never forget the look on her face in that moment. It was a mixture of fear and anger and vulnerability, but underneath it all was an unmistakable hope. I wanted to kiss away every fear she'd ever had. I wanted to give her a lifetime of happiness to make up for every ounce of pain she had known up until this moment.

"What are you saying? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and the best explanation I can come up with—"

"Wait, you've had a lot of time to think about it? When did this happen, Jake? "

"The day the Volturi came," I admitted.

She looked dumbfounded. I could see her adding up the time in her head. "Nine months. You imprinted on me NINE MONTHS ago? Why didn't you tell me? And why…I mean how? I thought it only happens the first time you see someone after you shift, and that was years ago. This doesn't even make sense."

"I have some ideas, but I don't know anything for sure except that it happened. This is real."

I paused to think of how to best explain my theory to her. The explanation I'd thought up in my head that seemed to fit best. The only one that made any of the insanity that had been the past three years of our lives make any sense at all.

"Listen, we only know what we know about imprinting from learning about what has happened in the past. Each person's relationship is different, but they all follow a similar pattern, you know? Boy shifts, boy lays eyes on girl, boy imprints on girl. Then he fills whatever role she needs in her life at the time. Friend. Caretaker. Lover. Hell, even sperm donor if the situation calls for it, I suppose."

She cracked a small smile at that.

"And what's the ultimate point of imprinting, according to what we've been told, at least? Do you remember?" I asked.

"To find the most viable mate," she answered.

"Right. Bottom line? Reproduction. Carrying on the wolf genes with the strongest offspring."

She looked like a lightbulb went off in her head. "Jake, are you saying that because we had C.J., we somehow forced this to happen?"

"No, no. The timing doesn't line up with that or else I would've imprinted that night…" But I hadn't. And I suspected it was because Bella hadn't been ready then. It wasn't what she needed from me at the time.

"What I'm saying is that by the time I shifted, when an imprint should have happened, you had already decided on another path for yourself. Think about it. The first time I laid eyes on you after I changed, you were already so deeply in love with Edward. Nature would have never allowed me to imprint on someone who had plans to become a vampire. What good would it serve the wolf line for the alpha to imprint on a girl whose future plans included spending eternity as my mortal enemy? No offense. Bells, what I'm saying is that it was always supposed to be this way. Edward just got in the way for a little while."

She was hanging on my every word now, fully focused on trying to understand this bomb I'd dropped. I continued.

"The day you ran back to me after deciding you couldn't go through with it, when Sam ordered me not to see you, I had this crazy feeling that when I finally managed to open my eyes that it would happen then."

"I'm so sorry, Jake," Bella whispered.

It was weird admitting all of this stuff to her, but she needed to hear it. We'd already spent too long being blind to the truth.

"But then you asked me to help you and Edward, and I realized you were still set on that same path. Nothing had really changed. I think the reason it finally happened when the Volturi came is that was the moment when you truly let that future go. That was the moment you chose to live."

She wordlessly wrapped her arms around me, and it felt like she was coming home. I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of rightness. I could only hope that after all of this time, we were finally feeling the same things. We sat like that for a while just holding each other.

"Bella, please say something. Tell me what you're thinking."

She pulled back just enough to look at me but left our arms intertwined between us where we sat.

"I'm thinking how completely selfish I've been and how hard it must have been for you all this time. And you still stuck by me every step of the way. I don't deserve you, Jacob Black."

"Forget about what you think you deserve for just a moment and tell me one thing. Right now, what do you want? What are you feeling?"

"I want you." She kissed me on the cheek. "I'm really sorry it took me this long to see it. Jake, I'm kind of in love with you already in case you hadn't noticed."

Damn, those words felt good to hear. Really, really good.

"The whole imprint thing isn't freaking you out?" I asked.

"Honestly, I feel so relieved. When I thought you were telling me you had imprinted on someone else, I was ready to go after her. It felt like you were mine and someone was taking you away from me."

"Yours. I could get used to sound of that. Nobody's ever going to take me away from you, Bella. I promise. Also, jealous Bella is kind of hot."

She made a move to punch me playfully in the arm like old times, but I reached out and caught it before she could make contact. Instead, I pulled her hand gently around my shoulder into an embrace, and I kissed her. She kissed me back without hesitation, and I had to rein myself in and remember where we were once again.

"I think maybe a change of scenery would be good," I suggested.

"You're probably right." Bella giggled, and it just made me want her more.

"I have an idea. But it's going to require you to trust me."

"I already do, Jake. More than anyone else."

"Okay then. Are you up for a little field trip?" She nodded.

I helped her stand up from the merry-go-round and led her towards the woods instead of back towards the foot path. She looked confused, but she let me continue to lead her without asking any questions. I felt in my pocket to make sure it was still there. It was.

I stopped a few yards into the woods where the trees began to thicken and pulled my shirt over my head.

"Um, Jake? Really? In the woods? That's not exactly what I had in mind…" Bella spoke up.

I laughed at where her mind had taken things. Can't say it didn't excite me to know that her mind was on that level, though. I was right there with her.

"Relax, it's not what you think." I reached into my pocket and handed her the key. "Hold onto this for me, okay?" She nodded and slipped it into her purse. "Keep back a few feet."

I took a step more behind a tree, then gave Bella a wink and a grin before turning my back to her and removing the rest of my clothes. I had the decency to keep myself hidden behind the tree, but she could've easily peeked if she wanted to. Damn, I hope she wanted to.

"Hold onto these too?" I asked, then tossed my clothes behind me in her general direction. She laughed and I assume picked them up.

"Remember to hold on tight," I told her. And then I shifted.

I heard her gasp, but when I turned she was holding my clothes like I'd asked. I came closer to her and she wound her hand into the fur at the back of my neck and scratched behind my ears. I lowered myself to the ground and let her climb onto my back, then stayed still until I was sure she had a good grip.

"I'm ready," she said.

My mind was racing the whole way there. I'd never expected to use that key I'd kept tucked in my wallet, and I certainly hadn't expected Bella to kiss me like that. This whole night felt surreal, and I could feel the adrenaline pumping at an all-time-high as the endorphins from the run coursed through my veins combined with the feeling of knowing that Bella finally knew about the imprint. Not only did she know, she welcomed it. For the first time in a long time, I felt like everything was going to work out.

Fireworks popped in the distance somewhere above the thick canopy of trees as we ran through the night, and I wondered if she could tell where I was taking her as we started getting closer. She must have figured it out by now, but then again we were running through the forest and staying away from the main roads, and she had only been here once before. She would figure it out soon enough if she hadn't already.

I kept a safe distance from the edge of the cliff, slowing my pace as we drew near. Finally, we broke through the tree line and into the familiar clearing. The dark cabin stood just as we had left it so many months ago against a backdrop of a million stars. I was dying to ask Bella what she was thinking. She climbed wordlessly down from my back and held out my clothes in an awkward unsure motion. I took them in my mouth and dressed quickly in the shadows behind the house.

When I went back to her, she was staring at me and holding up the key I had handed her.

"Jake, why do you have this?" she asked.

"I'm not sure you're going to like the answer," I hedged. Her brows raised in confusion.

"Rose gave it to me. From Edward."

"From Edward? Wait, Rose knows? About the imprint?"

"No, I don't think so. He left an envelope with the Cullens before he left. Said it was for me and that I'd know what to do with it. Rose said she had every intention of destroying whatever it was and not bothering me with it, but when she opened it up and it was just a key inside, she changed her mind."

"How did you know the key was for the cabin?" She asked.

"Actually, I don't. It's been in my wallet for months and I kept meaning to try it, but I never wanted to come back here alone. But what else could it be for? I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Bells. If it's too weird for you, we can just leave."

She smiled slightly and took a step towards me, and I took the key from her outstretched hand.

"No, I don't want to leave."

We walked silently to the front door, and my heart pounded with some of the same apprehension I'd felt the first time we'd entered this place. So much had happened since our time here. I pressed the key into the lock, and it slid in without resistance. A quick turn of my wrist, and the door swung open before us.

It looked exactly the same as it had the last time we were here. The giant couch. The fireplace. The open bedroom door with just a glimpse of the bed within. And Edward had led us here. Again. This was too fucking weird. The bastard was finally gone, and yet it still felt like he was trying to pull the strings. Maybe it had been a mistake to come.

"Jake, look."

I turned to see what Bella was pointing at and noticed for the first time a piece of paper on a small end table next to the door. The white envelope she thrust into my hand held a faint trace of the sickly sweet scent of the Cullens. I turned it over and saw "Jacob" printed across the front in a thin, slanted script.

I ripped it open in one solid motion, and the familiar scent burned my nose as I roughly drew out the paper from within.

Jacob,

I have promised my family that I will not try to contact Bella and further complicate her life with pointless pleas or apologies. I must admit, my weak and selfish nature longs to prostrate myself at her feet and beg her forgiveness. Had I not seen her future for myself in your mind, perhaps I would be foolish enough to try.

I am not writing to ask your forgiveness or to give my permission; I know that it is my place to do neither. I wish only to say that to live an eternity without Bella is to be damned to a miserable existence, a fitting sentence that I will accept. But to live an eternity knowing that I had in turn damned Bella to a miserable existence would be altogether unbearable. Seeing your imprint and knowing the safety and happiness that you will provide for her is my only solace in a world void of her presence.

I am truly sorry.

Edward Cullen

The words on the paper sobered any drive I had to rush Bella into the bedroom.

"What does it say?" She asked.

"In summary? Dear Jacob, I'm an asshole—and other things you already knew."

She followed me to the sofa and I passed the paper wordlessly into her hands.

"You don't have to read it if you don't want to, but if nothing else, you might consider it proof of the imprint if you still have any doubts."

She grabbed my hand and squeezed as she began to read the letter. I sat in utter silence as she absorbed the words on the page. A single tear streaked down her cheek and landed on the page, turning the word "forgiveness" into a blurry mess. At last, she folded the paper back into the envelope and passed it back to me.

"It's nothing I didn't already know," she said. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry, I know you didn't bring me here so I could cry," she said sheepishly.

"Bella, honey, you have nothing to be sorry for. Are you okay?"

She waited a moment before answering.

"Yeah, I think I really am."

"We can leave if you want. I didn't expect there to be a letter. I didn't bring you up here to make you talk about…him," I offered. "The bastard's gone but I'd swear he's trying to haunt us."

She looked up at me and smiled. "It's okay, you can say his name. He can't hurt me anymore."

"Oh and Jake? There's something you should know about me by now," Bella started. There was an odd look of mischief in her eyes, and she suddenly stood and tugged lightly on my hand.

I stood and followed her lead. "Yeah? What's that?"

"If vampires and werewolves can't scare me away, I'm sure as hell not afraid of some ghost."

I followed close behind and let her lead me through the bedroom door, counting my blessings and resisting the urge to tell her she was the hottest ghostbuster I'd ever seen.

Bella POV

I was filled with a new determination and confidence that felt foreign after so many years of pain and worry, but I wasn't going to be anchored down by my past any longer. I wordlessly went to the bed and began stripping it of pillows and tossing them onto the floor. The sense of deja vu was stronger than ever, but instead of climbing into the bed, I yanked the plush white duvet back and started dragging it behind me. It was heavier than I expected.

Jacob laughed. "I'd be happy to help, but do you care to explain what you're doing?" He asked.

"The stars are so beautiful here. We left our picnic blanket back in Forks, so I'm improvising."

"Let me help," Jacob offered. He grabbed the other end of the giant duvet, and together we carried it unceremoniously out of the house and into the back yard. We spread it over the thick grass facing the mountains, a truly breathtaking view. After we got it settled, Jacob ran back into the house.

"Be right back!" he called.

He came back out with an armload of pillows and added them to the "head" of the blanket, creating a makeshift bed under the stars. He took my hand and pulled me down next to him, and we lay side by side in silence for a while just looking up at the night sky.

After a while, I finally turned to face him.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?"

"For never giving up on me, even when everything in the world was telling you to move on and forget about me," I explained. "I would have deserved it."

"Never." He brought my hand to his lips and gently kissed my knuckles.

I inched closer, looking down on him as he lay back against the pillows, and I wondered how there was ever a time I could have put someone else before him, myself included. Jacob Black was so inherently good, so perfect. He deserved so much better, and I would spend the rest of my life loving him with all of my heart.

I leaned down and kissed him on the mouth, and he opened his in response, his tongue sweeping across my lower lip. He let go of my hands and grasped me by the hips to pull me on top of him as if I weighed nothing at all. As we kissed, his hands roamed everywhere. They traveled from my hips, up my waist, to my breasts, and landed in my hair. He tugged the hem of my shirt, and I broke the kiss long enough to sit up and pull it over my head. I tossed it aside and began to pull on Jake's. It was only fair.

I slid my body back down his thighs to give him just enough room to pull the shirt over his head without getting up, giving me a full view of his painfully stretched khaki shorts. For a moment, I wished they were his usual athletic variety that would be easier to remove. He tossed his shirt away, pulled me forward, and bucked his hips up under me, simultaneously reaching into his back pocket and creating a sensation that I instantly needed more of.

He pulled out his wallet and grinned. "I have to admit, the key isn't the only thing I've kept on me just in case." He winked at me as he pulled out the condom, and I couldn't help but blush.

"Jacob Black, always holding out hope," I laughed. "And right now, I'm so very, very glad."

I eyed the foil package in his hand and realized that oddly enough, this was the first time I'd ever used one. I lifted myself up onto my knees and reached for the button at his waist, instantly missing our contact as I dragged his zipper down. I paused and looked up at him from that position, eyeing every inch of his delicious abs all the way up to his beautiful face that was beaming back down at me. My heart hurt just looking at him.

"I love you," I said. "So much."

He leaned forward and placed his hand against my cheek. "I love you too, Bells. Forever and always. I'm yours."

He kissed me then, and as he lay back down, he swiftly slid his shorts down his thighs and kicked them off into the night.

This time when we connected, there was no hesitation, no worry, no restraint. As he rocked into me, I felt a love and a fullness I had never known. Not just internally, but like every part of me was filled and whole and right. There was nothing in the world more perfect than this feeling and this moment and us.

We spent hours rolling around and utterly destroying the duvet, taking turns exploring each other, shattering into oblivion, and thirsting for more and more and more. I would never get enough of Jacob Black, my sun, my moon, and my stars. My everything.

I awoke hours later in a tangled mess of limbs under a sun that was just beginning to rise. My body was sore, but I couldn't stop grinning. When Jake opened his eyes, he smiled back at me.

"I was dreaming of you," he said. "But then I woke up and realized that real life was even better."

I traced a finger down his bicep.

"I want to wake up like this every morning," I told him. "I don't want to pretend to take things slowly for Charlie or act like it's anything other than it is. You're my soulmate."

"Then let's not pretend," he agreed.

He kissed me quickly on the lips, then extracted himself and stood up from our makeshift bed. I took in everything around me. The sunrise, the grass stains covering the blanket, the feathers strewn across the grass from where it had ripped, and all 6'7" of his tanned, bare body. He walked a few feet away and retrieved his wallet from where he had tossed it during the night after we'd exhausted his supply of condoms and our energy.

He picked it up, then came back to the blanket and scooped me up into his arms. He spun once, looking around as he did, then set me on my feet and looked over his shoulder as if confirming my view.

"There's just one more thing I've been carrying just in case," he said.

And then he knelt in front of me and held up a ring. I could feel the tears prickling behind my eyes and my body shaking in anticipation.

"Isabella Swan, will you marry me?"

I launched myself at him and threw my arms around his neck, and we both tumbled backwards into the grass in a comical naked heap.

"Yes!"

He interrupted my barrage of kisses all over his face and held out the ring I had all but forgotten in my excitement and burst of emotion. The diamond was modest, but it twinkled almost magically in the sunrise. I thought briefly of a pale body sparkling inhumanly in the sunlit space of a meadow. It felt like a lifetime ago, a nightmare I'd grown too old to be afraid of, a childhood habit I'd broken for good. The band was a solid platinum, just wide enough to hold some sort of engraving, but I didn't recognize the letters that adorned the inside of the band.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"It's Quileute for 'I am yours and you are mine'."

"It's perfect, Jake."

I put my hand behind his neck and pulled him down to kiss him through my tears.

"So what do we do next?" I asked after we broke the kiss. I never wanted this morning to end, but we couldn't just stand here naked all day.

Jake grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "We've got a lot of things to talk about, and a lot of explaining to do. But first, let's go home to our son."

A/N: If you have made it this far, thank you so much for reading! If you've been reading since I began posting chapters back in 2015, you can have all the awards of patience and my sincerest apologies for taking ~5 years to finally finish this crazy story. I hope you've enjoyed it and I really appreciate all of the reviews.

P.S. There is a small piece of a second epilogue brewing in my head, but for all intents and purposes, I'm marking this one complete. Maybe in a year or 12 ;-) (I'm looking at you, Stephenie Meyer!)