#Belward – Epilogue

"What's on your schedule for today?" Bella asked as she sat at the kitchen island next to Edward who was reading a script.

Edward put down his script and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't have anything planned. Why? What's up?"

Bella took a sip of orange juice and said, "I'm going to have lunch with Sunny. She's back from visiting her foster family in LA, so we're having a 'Good Luck NYU Sophomore' lunch."

"You girls make up all kinds of silly reasons to get together. Why not just see each other because you want to see each other?" Edward asked with a chuckle.

"Because it's more fun and it gives us an excuse to eat cake," Bella said with a nod of certainty.

"Sweetheart, I think the bowling ball you're trying to smuggle in your dress is excuse enough to eat cake," Edward said as he reached over and rubbed his hand over Bella's swollen belly. At 32 weeks, she still had a ways to go, but her tummy was finally nice and round, which Edward found adorable.

"Just because I'm the size of two people doesn't mean I have to eat like two people," Bella said. When she felt their daughter start to move, she moved Edward's hand to where he could also feel the soft bumps. "Your little nudger is going to be a soccer player."

"Have you thought any more about what you want to name her?" Edward asked. Alice had been designing a new children's line and wanted to name it after her new niece, but they hadn't come up with a name that they liked yet.

"What about Reneesme? It's a combination of our mom's names," Bella said as she looked at her orange juice. She knew that if she made eye contact with Edward she would laugh, so she kept focus on the pulp in her juice.

"Uh," Edward cleared his throat. "Are you being facetious? I want to say the right thing. I know you've been a little more sensitive lately, and I don't want to hurt your feelings or offend you."

Bella looked up and saw the straight fear on Edward's face. Laughing, she put her hand on his cheek. "Silly man. I'm just joking. I would never name our child something so ridiculous."

"What do you mean? You don't want to go all Hollywood and name our kid something like Hufflepuff?" Edward asked. "It's cute. We could call her Puffy."

"You can't call a girl Puffy, Edward," Bella laughed. "And you sure as hell cannot call her Huffy either."

"I don't know," Edward said. He still had his hand on Bella's stomach and was rubbing the spot where he could feel part of his daughter's body as it pressed up against Bella's belly. "I swear she knows I'm here. That's why she's lying right here. She knows Daddy is rubbing her back."

Bella smiled and felt tears prick her eyes. Blinking quickly, she started to sniffle.

Looking up quickly, Edward said, "What happened? What did I say? I'm sorry. I was wrong. I didn't mean it. Why are you crying?"

Bella laughed and leaned forward to hug her husband. "You didn't say anything wrong. You said everything right."

When Edward's phone rang, he reached over to answer. "I'm off today. Go away."

"Fuck you," Embry responded. "I can't just call a brother because I miss the sound of his voice? What the fuck man?"

"I saw you less than 12 hours ago. What do you want?" Edward closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on the cool counter top. All he wanted to do was nothing. He'd done everyone's bidding all week, and now that he'd finally reached Friday, he wanted it all to himself.

"Well, I was hanging out with Kate and Garrett discussing your upcoming schedule after Midnight Sun is born-"

"Who the hell is Midnight Sun?!" Edward said rolling his forehead back and forth on the counter.

"Your kid. I named her. You're welcome," Embry said matter-of-factly. Pushing on, he continued, "When we were meeting, something came through. I'm the lucky one that won the Rock-Paper-Scissors to call you with the information. Lucky me."

Groaning, Edward pushed his head further into the table. "What? Come on! I don't want to adult today. I really, really, really don't want to have to adult today. I want to stay the fuck home in my pajamas and eat Bacon Mac and Cheese Potato Chips all day. It's pre-season, man!"

"I want Bacon Mac and Cheese Potato Chips. Save me some," Embry said feeling his mouth water. "I can be there in twenty minutes. I'll even bring you some of that disgusting Cherry Coke."

"No. You coming here means I have to adult. I'm protesting. Stay away from me today," Edward whined.

"If I do that, I can't tell you that the Oscar nominations came in and both you and Bella are up for Oscars again this. Apparently the Academy loves the movie that you made together," Embry said with a smile in his voice. "Now can I have some chips?"

#####

"The nominees for Best Actor in a Motion Picture are…"

Edward sat in his seat and felt Esme's hand tighten in his. Looking over, he caught her eye and smiled. While he was sad that Bella couldn't be there with him, he could not have chosen a better stand-in than his mom. Even if he didn't win, he wanted to share this moment with her. She'd been there to support him through the good times and the bad times, and she was his biggest fan always.

Earlier in the evening, the nominations were read for the Best Screenplay category that Bella was up for, and in a way, Edward was kind of relieved that she didn't win. He would have been sad if she won but wasn't there to accept it. They'd been texting all evening, and he knew that she wasn't sad. She hadn't expected to win, and she was already working on the sequel. She said that there was something about pregnancy that kept her inspired.

"The winner in the Best Actor in a Motion Picture category is…Edward Cullen!"

His legs wouldn't move. Edward looked at Esme who was pulling him into the tightest hug. After hugging her back, she pushed him to his feet. As if on auto pilot, he made his way to the stage, he hugged his director and producer for the movie.

After shaking hands with the presenters, Edward ran his hands through his hair. Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath, and said, "Wow. I can't believe this. This has by far been the best two months of my life. There are moments in life that you can't script and these last couple of months are a testament to that. I want to thank my amazing wife Bella. She couldn't be here tonight because she's at home caring for our daughter, Hope. Every day, I want to be a better man for the two of you. I want to thank my parents and my family for always believing in me, even when I didn't. Thank you to Garrett and Kate Denali for seeing what other people couldn't and taking a chance on a kid with stupid hair. To my sidekick and partner in crime, Embry, you are my ride or die bro, and I do love you man! To everyone who touched this movie, thank you. To all of the fans who have stood by me, there are no words that can describe what your support means to me. Thank you. It's not enough, but thank you."

#####The End#####

A/N: Thank you everyone for your extreme patience and support of this story. To all of you who've kept reading through all of these chapters, offered kind words and constructive criticism, and stuck with me even when RL got in the way - THANK YOU.