Chapter 30 - Mended

I start awake.

Numbing warmth is invaded by stark cold. My spine arches when he passes a frozen hand there. I hiss and watch a red-nosed Masen crawl back into bed with icicled legs and fingers. His cold lips catch mine once, twice.

"Jesus. You're freezing."

"I had to clean out the truck. The snow would've hardened," he whispers. He finds a nook between my neck and shoulder, legs twined around mine.

It's past noon. The things we did all morning, then snoozed; unspeakable. The ice blue glow of a foggy day comes through the window bathing the ceiling. I stare at that.

"Lots of other things could harden." I giggle. He's shameless, naked. He emphasizes that thought by bucking against my thigh.

Then I remember as his hands wander.

"What day is it?" I ask. He's now comfortably melted beside me, seeking his hand's favorite resting place. My knees slightly part when he finds it, heat crawling up and over.

"Thursday?" he muses.

I think and think. The bed suddenly shakes with my silent laughter. He cracks an eyelid to look at me. "What?"

"Dr. Hot-Pant's day off." And my mother made sure to keep us away.

I laugh more at his confused face. That sneaky little bitch.

…

The steam wafts from behind the closed door as I push it open. I quietly tiptoe close and pull the curtain back a slit. Soap runs down his back from his hair and shoulders. His arms flex as he washes off his neck and chest to clean off… well, remnants of us. His eyelids are covered in soap. The stream washes it off but his eyes remain sealed. His hands… I don't see his hands anymore.

Lasagna's in the oven. Salad's in the fridge. The wine is uncorked and served.

There's time.

There's nothing else but time now.

This love inside me is like a shiny, new tin heart.

I step out of everything and step in behind him. My damp hair from my earlier shower grows wet once again. I plant a kiss between his shoulder blades, press my cheek there, and maybe reach around so I can find where his hands are occupied.

He tenses with the surprise but relaxes into me. He groans after the warm silence. I bite his shoulder and smooch it better.

I left the bed before the evening sunset. I had all of the ingredients and the wine waiting to be poured, the food seasoned and constructed.

Maybe I did secretly go shopping knowing a lazy day like this would occur, and he'd come find me. At the time, on aisle six at the grocery store, I told myself I was ridiculous, that I was still full of hope. I dropped the items in the cart and told myself it was for Mom.

Liar.

Flustered, I thank heavens I was right. Maybe he was right, too; I've always been a step ahead of him, knowing his every move.

I heard the shower soon after I was done in the kitchen and you couldn't even blame me for looking.

He hooks his slick fingers around mine. I can't help but bite on a grin behind him, feeling him fall to pieces.

He can't hold back. I'm pressed securely between his soapy torso and the wall for a hungry kiss. We grow desperate so quickly.

He blindly turns off the shower, picks me up and we land on my bed with the speed of this insatiable yearning.

It's overwhelming.

The motions we go through, touching or not, we combust and breathlessly devour the feeling like deprived beings. I close my eyes just for a moment to keep breathing. That ache is there when I open my eyes again, and he's watching, vein plump on his forehead, lips parted, him sheathed inside me.

He cups my face. "I want everything with you," he says panting.

I try not to grin like a love-sick, giddy fool. "What everything?" I whisper. He moves slowly making me breathless.

"A place. A kid. A college fund. Investments. Fucking, whatever you cooked just know."

I laugh.

He watches me. No humor in his gaze as he passes a hand over my collarbones. "Where is it?" he asks about that significant ring.

I shake my head.

"Not unless you intend to ask properly; one knee, recite poetry, everything," I tease. His lips part. I snap them shut with my fingertips. "And definitely not like this." I chuckle.

He pulls back, taking all the warmth away, and making us both hiss. I claw at him with arms and legs. "Don't you dare!"

He smirks. He comes right back just like he always has.

…

He hums. He cleans the cheese and tomato sauce off his fork. He sips on wine and watches me. I blush under his gaze, like he's shuffling through photographs captured in his mind—everything we've done.

"Thank Christ you didn't make it vegan," he says about dinner. I laugh, not expecting that. My pseudo raw-eating, vegan days have been scarce lately.

I shrug. "I've had this hankering for meat lately."

He rolls his eyes. "Vulgar, just like her mother."

I grow red, cackling. "What?"

"Oh, don't think I don't know what she says when I'm not there."

"She says nothing… too alarming."

He smiles. "She'll marry me if you won't?"

Oh, for Christ's sake. He heard that part. I laugh for a good minute as I grab the dishes. He gets up and gets close, hip-bumps me to wash and dry the dishes himself, pans included. I stand back and gawk.

If he keeps this up, we'll never leave this apartment.

I see his coat on the living room floor from where I stand.

Speaking of apartments...

He watches as I go and rummage through the pockets. The keys jingle when I find them. I unlock my door and unlock his across the hall. I look back before I walk in. He's standing there wearing a grin and boxers, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. He swings it over his shoulder and follows.

I step in. I cover my mouth at the sight so I won't laugh.

An air mattress is on the floor, a lonely plate and cup sit by the sink, and luggage is splayed and open by the bathroom.

"This is so… sad," I say. I pick up a take-out container off an overflowed trashcan.

He shrugs, leaning a forearm against the threshold. "It did its job."

I pick up his pillow off the terribly made mattress and notice it's from the Loft. I hug it and bury my face in it.

Suddenly, this emotion takes over me.

We've wasted so much time, so many years. This is what we've simmered down to. Yet, it molded us into better people. It wouldn't have worked out at the end if he'd given in the day he hired me. I would've given my everything until there was nothing left of me.

I turn and walk straight into his arms, the cold pillow between us. He wraps himself around me and squeezes right back.

He's patient. He waits. He's buried in my hair.

"I don't want to waste time anymore."

He nods.

I sigh through a staggered breath and sniff back tears. I can't control them. It's everything I need to let go of that has built up. This sadness in me. But he passes his hand, wipes away tears with the towel, and makes it better. I push a laugh through my nose as he wipes each nostril. He pecks my eyelids, cheeks, lips and holds me together.

He's speechless when I begin to drag his luggage through my door.

Then he helps with the rest.

…

Rose is screaming when I step out of the elevator on the delivery floor. I can hear her. Her room is lit softly, but everything inside is hard to witness. Emmett is standing by with his hand crushed in her like a death grip. He's terrified.

Mom is flustered and trying to keep her comfortable and calm, but she's just making it worse. Rose yells at her to get away.

I stand by the trashcan and watch.

Maybe I should've stayed away, and waited this out.

I sneak up to Mom. She's better now. Still on the mend but out of the hospital, and dating the doctor casually for three weeks, on and off.

About the same time, Masen has been away.

I'm a mess. I miss him every waking moment as he had to leave abruptly. I cry now, just sporadically, because this fear in me settled, like fate will tear us apart somehow.

He told me on the phone the last time we spoke to cut it out. He doesn't get to call much. This silent communication between us for weeks is excruciating.

The last time he called I spilled out all of my anxieties through snot and tears. It was honest. I don't want to hold back anymore. He hung up worried. I tried to revert what I had done and assured him I was fine. I don't think it was convincing. I cringe every time I think of it.

He left me the truck to get through the snow and to work safely. That included getting Mom home from the hospital.

Him? He's on a photo shoot overseas. The photographer who had been scheduled was fired for leaking celebrity images taken in the studio to magazines. Some lover's quarrel between him and the creative director. The call came late at night to break the mandatory news while we were asleep.

It put an abrupt end to our snow day.

I held on to him for the little time we had left. He patiently waited for me to let go with whispered promises and love.

Nothing was left for me to do but steal his pillow and wait for him to come back.

"Before you know it," he said after kissing me the next morning. The cold, brisk wind rushed around us on our stoop. I held on to him with white-knuckled fists, as if the wind would take me away. I would've let it if drift me wherever he went.

I went back to work that Monday.

"Why the hell haven't they drugged her?" I ask Mom quietly. We stare at a writhing Rose. She heard what I said.

"Because God hates me!" she yells. Mom looks at me wide-eyed.

She whispers, "Too late. She's dilated eight centimeters before they had the chance.

"Oh shit."

"Yes, shit. She's gonna make us all pay," Mom says scared. I snort. Slap my mouth closed.

Mom hesitantly gets close with a cold towel for her head, but Rose grunts and grips it in the middle until every drop is wrung out through the contraction. She bats it away. I grab the towel and attempt to get closer.

"Yo, sis. What's up?" She looks up at me. I haven't seen her since we talked. She's sweaty, eyes bloodshot, and panting. I've never seen her this disheveled; with reason, of course.

"Fuck you," she spits. We're both super eloquent. I nod and smile.

"You're gonna do great."

I place the cloth on her head. She lies back for the few minutes she has to rest, leaving Emmett's hand free to shake off before it starts over again on the next contraction. He's flustered, stressed, and ready to faint.

I pat him on the shoulder and smile. "Look at this. Blessings straight from heaven."

Rose screams. Partly at me, but mostly from the pain. Mom pulls me to sit by her and reprimands me.

I sigh and sit to stare at walls for a while. I think of Masen. I grow chills that crawl over skin he's touched. Mom notices my flushed cheeks when she looks at me. She asks, and I shake it off. Her narrow eyes aim right at me, and if she only knew the things we did on that Thursday she kept us away… well, she would probably be as giddy as me.

It was a day made for mending wounds.

Oh, who am I kidding? It was a day for trying every possible position on any given surface in our apartment.

He didn't pop the question, but then again we never pulled apart long enough to try. The most insatiably perverted couple you'll ever meet. Maybe Rose was right.

All I remember is my view of the stove where I was. My empty glass of wine a foot away from my tight fists around the edge of the island. The tiles cool to the touch against my cheek and bare chest. Just one swift pull of his boxers after pulling off my sweater, and that kitchen towel never did fall off his shoulder. I'm sure the neighbors got earfuls.

That was us.

Our snow day.

I shake off my reverie, try to breathe easily, and cover up a grin with a bite.

I look up. Mom is still staring. She's skeptical, because to her, a grin aimed at a screaming Rose, doesn't seem fitting. I stand to get coffee, or maybe ice water to pour it on me.

It's gonna be a long day.

…

Hours pass. Rose is still in labor… and still angry. I feel horrible for her. I tell her to save the anger for pushing. She throws a pink basin at me.

I mean, with the strength it took to throw it, I'm sure she still has some fire in her to push that fawn out.

We all tell her she can't give up. Then she's crying. She calls for Dad, and it just breaks my heart. Partly because it means she can't stand the sight of any of us anymore, but knowing he'll miss this makes me blink back tears myself.

Mom wipes at her eyes beside me. And then I'm crying because I see her crying. We look at one another.

I thank her. "For… everything," I finish saying.

"For what?" she says with a wistful grin and red eyes.

I smile. "For being Mom and also being Dad when he couldn't be." She sniffs back another round of tears.

Emmett sighs exasperatedly, mutters under his breath. "One woman at a time, please!" he shouts. "I need a nurse!" Rose, always under his attentive eyes. His love pouring out with every puff of her breaths.

I run out and get one. She runs in, lifts the hood and sees the baby is crowning. Unfortunately for me, I see it, and so does Emmett.

As I brace myself to catch a fainting man, who just so happens to fall over my lap, I think to myself there's no way in hell I'm ever having Masen's babies.

Then I cry some more.

Partly for Rose, but mostly because my brain just said, "Masen's babies," and not just "plain ole' babies" in general.

Ours.

Together.

Finally.

Mom looks terrified and now worried for both daughters, not just one.

So, I sit here. It's my job now. I hold onto a very large man, his head over my shoulder, as they cart Rose off with Mom in tow. They take her to wherever one takes a woman to push a human out from a vagina.

All I do is cry.

The door is open as they push Rose out of the room. Serrano appears behind it. He's standing in the hallway watching them cart her away.

My heart skips.

He sneaks in and closes the door. He stands there watching this unfold.

"What the… is he okay?" He points at a comatose Emmett. He sees my tears and walks over to me.

"Oh, God…" I sob.

Serrano is all wide eyes and patting me on my arm. "Everything will be fine," he assures.

I shake my head. "No, I mean, get him off me. He's heavy!" I yell.

He rushes to grab him. He grunts and grunts and then falls. Emmett is over him. I try to pull him off, but it's like lugging a dead, slippery, heavyweight champ.

We manage to roll him onto the floor. Serrano escapes from under him. I run to press the nurse's button by the bed.

I crouch and slap Emmett around a little.

Nothing.

"He's gonna miss the birth. Damn it."

"Maybe it's a good thing?" Serrano makes a face.

"No, no, no…" I argue. I hold Emmett's nose. It just makes him open his mouth.

"I don't think that's gonna do it. You're gonna kill him."

"Shut it, Serrano."

A nurse arrives and quickly puts something under his nose. He pops up like a drowning man. I yelp. He scrambles around like a fish on land.

"Rose!" He shouts. He gets to his feet and charges out of the room pushing everyone in sight. I see a few nurses point. He runs past the door the opposite way.

I slip to the floor panting. "Oh, my God. Oh, my crap. This has got to be the worst baby delivery in the history of baby deliveries."

Serrano laughs. I look at him. and start cackling, too.

We're out of breath in no time and rolling around. We're on the floor of a hospital room wheezing and letting out all of our frustrations.

Soon we sober enough to grow quiet. I stretch out and stand. He does, too. We gather the mess around us and, yes, we're avoiding each other. Tension carries us around the room. There's something he isn't saying, I can tell, and there sure as hell something I'm not.

It hangs on my necklace as we speak.

We decide to get a coffee. We drink that, stare out the hospital terrace at night. Still, we don't talk. We watch people come in and out, carrying on while this storm brews between us.

Back in the room, we click on the TV and stare at that until we get word of the baby. Mom appears an hour later.

"It's a girl," she says crying. I hug her and cry, too. I already love her. We wait for Rose to be pulled back into the room and hopefully the baby. I can't wait.

Mom gushes over how adorable she is. Her name is Mila. I take the distraction and 'oh' and 'ah' in the right places. Emmett ran in the delivery room and, apparently, fainted again. He was dragged to the corner while Rose's doctor guided her to push. Mom held her hand the entire time.

I laugh so hard I run to the bathroom before I pee on myself. The poor man. Men are weak despite their strength. Then, I think of Masen and what he would do if it were us. I grow lovesick inside. It always goes full circle in thoughts with him.

Mom dives into stories of Rose and me when we were born. Tears leak down my cheeks and I suddenly miss Dad again. I wonder if he would be proud of Masen, or even like him. What I wouldn't give to get words of encouragement from him right now.

I settle into silence, mind wandering—until it comes.

"I met someone," Serrano blurts suddenly.

He has his elbows over his knees, staring at his hands. We look over at him perched on a chair by the window. Mom looks at me. Her eyes wide.

"You, what?" I say too loud. I don't mean to, but it comes out. A nurse who just happens to be in the room sheepishly tells us to take it outside. So we do. I stand by the door in the hallway and wait for him. He takes his time.

"Where? When?" I ask when he walks out.

"Um, in Seattle. She… I've known her a while, or knew of her." He rubs his neck nervously. "We went to college together. We bumped into each other at a bar and…" He looks at me from under his lashes, afraid. "It just… happened."

I lean my back on a wall. I think. "Is she pretty?" I can't help asking.

He makes a sound as if she's a knockout, but catches himself. I watch him through narrowed eyes. He simply shrugs.

"So, you're telling me, all that time you were pushing me to be with you was all for nothing? You would've dropped me in a heartbeat?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Bella. I wasn't planning it. I always liked her; she finally gave me the time of day. I…"

"You told me to forget him so many times, you told me to move on, and this is how you treat me?"

He sighs. "I was wrong. When it comes to forgetting someone, it's easier said than done, all right? I see that now."

"Oh, look at that! He learned a damn lesson. Now he gets it!" I flail my arms. People walk by and look. I'm angry. Why am I angry? "The audacity!" I finish saying. Yes, that's what it is.

He closes his eyes. He's speechless, guilt-ridden.

"I never in my life would lie to you…" I begin to say, but my voice fades. I glance over his shoulder and do a double take. That's when I realize I'm a hypocrite. My stomach drops and my heart goes from zero to sixty.

Serrano grabs me by the arms and apologizes profusely. He pulls me close and cages me in a hard embrace. He presses kisses and his cheek onto mine as he begs for forgiveness.

I'm not listening now. I try to pull away.

Double doors open in another hallway to my left. Rose is being pushed on a gurney back to her room—at the same time as Masen is storming down the other hallway to my right. Serrano and I stand at the end of the two paths.

"Hey! Get your hands off her," Masen yells when he sees us. He rushes over the shiny floors and yanks Serrano by the shoulder. He slams him against the wall.

Emmett is standing by with a loopy-looking Rose who's half asleep under blankets. Her eyes crack open. The moment she hears the chaos she perks.

Mom rushes out of the room with her phone in hand wide-eyed.

Me? I'm hoping the ground would swallow me whole because I see that fist. The swing is fast and hard. No one sees it coming.

Serrano's head jerks to the side, right in the sucker.

"Masen!" I yell. Rose yells from her bed, too. More than surprised to see him.

He keeps Serrano from doubling over with a hand on his shoulder, his eyes on him. He pats him once before letting go.

I pull Masen away and step between them. I'm mortified.

Serrano holds his face. "Fuck!" He spits blood from around his teeth.

I push a hand against Masen's chest. He cups it there with his and hangs on. The gesture just about floods my stomach with butterflies. This balm soothes my heart just at the sight of him. I stupidly sigh and hold on tight.

He's here.

"No, no. Misunderstanding," I explain to him. "He was just telling me about his new girlfriend." I nod.

"What?" Rose.

They attempt to push her through the threshold of her room, but she holds onto both sides of the door. "Serrano? You bastard!" she yells.

Masen shrugs his shoulders to straighten his jacket. "You owed me one." He glares at him from over my head.

Serrano is furious and flushed. "Fuck you. If I didn't have to use my hands to work this weekend, I'd break your face, you piece of shit!" He stupidly shows him his hands. If shit wasn't so heavy, I'd laugh at that.

"I'll be here if you change your mind." Masen challenges.

The other attempts to take a step. I turn to keep him away.

"Outside." Serrano nods toward the doors. He balls his fists.

"Not a good idea, all right? And you know it," I say to him through my teeth. Masen will shred him.

"What the fuck is going on?" he hisses at me, staggering back a step or two. He touches his lips, blood on his fingertips. I try not to crack a grin.

Oh, you know, just my man arriving on time.

No, I definitely crack a grin.

I shrug. "You never called. Things happened. Clearly." I wave a hand at him. He rolls his eyes. "I mean, I kind of want to hit you, too. This worked out nicely." I nod. He glares.

"Real fucking funny." He shakes me off.

Masen reaches over and grabs my hand. He pulls me back against him. Everyone notices.

I look up at him until I get his attention. Like a switch, his eyes soften, his brows knit.

"You're here," I whisper.

"I had to come."

I shake my head. "Something wrong? Are you all right?" I pat him down. All in one piece.

"We had that one amazing day together, all alone, you and me. I didn't get the chance to ask."

I look around. Everyone is staring. Rose's mouth drops. Mom covers hers.

"Maybe we should…" I point toward the exit. My heart pounding with all the attention.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I messed up. I came when I had the chance. I don't want you to think I'm holding back. I'm not. It's been killing me knowing you've been upset. I'm..." He idly grazes my left hand spread against his chest. Then my neck. When he doesn't find what he's looking for, he looks anguished. "Where's the ring?" he asks.

"What ring?" Rose says loud.

"Wait, what?" Serrano.

Mom holds her heart and holds up her phone close to my face. Emmett is too busy holding his head from all the skull to floor contact he had today.

Fuck, fuck, fuck me some more.

"You're getting married?" Serrano grows angry. "You would never lie to me, right?" he sneers.

I shake my head. "No, I'm not." I look at Masen. He's crushed. "I mean, yes… or, I don't know!" I flail.

"Excuse me?" Rose's voice goes an octave higher. She fights with the nurse at her side who's just as interested in watching this circus act.

I ignore her. "We'll talk about it later, okay?" I tell Masen.

He shakes his head. "No. I don't care who knows." His eyes catch the gleaming ring around my neck peeking through my button up. He grabs it and tugs on the chain until it gives. I fight with him to get it back.

A tug of war.

He wins.

"Such a hypocrite." Serrano laughs.

"You had it on this entire time, and you never told me?" Mom.

I look at her. I'm speechless like a gaping fish finding air.

Masen kneels on one knee.

I lose all my breath.

A harmony of "oh my God" echoes down the hallways. People look and get closer. Nurses. Patients. I see a janitor with a broom in hand on his toes looking over heads.

Jesus.

"Um, so this is Rose's day. Let's not ruin it, m'kay?" I say through my teeth. I smile down at him like a person on the brink of a breakdown.

He shakes his head. He pulls at my hands hard. "Look at me," he says firmly. Something in his voice makes me blink down at him.

He's serious. His eyes piercing and bright. His pupils dilated. I focus on those, all of him. He's gentle, strong, and gorgeous. His hair is neat in waves with trimmed peppered hair on his jaw. I do take him in—as well as his scent I love so much.

I nod dumbly. I watch his lips moving. "Rose has taken enough days from us. This one is ours," he utters.

He looks back at the gurney. Rose is leaning on an elbow watching. Her mouth gawks. She flips a palm up in question.

"I'll never be sorry I fell for your sister. I know our history. We were friends, but it ended there. I never wanted more from you but for your acceptance."

People gasp, mom included. I glance at her from under my lashes. She points at her phone and mouths, "Kate." I roll my eyes.

"I need your understanding," he continues. "I've always wanted her at my side, and you can't make me feel guilty for that. Not anymore."

"Then be a man. Be there. Care," she says hard.

"Let me," he says right back, this fire in his voice. "You never gave me a chance."

Emmett lays a hand on her shoulder. She falls back on her pillow.

Masen turns to me. Determined, he says, "Marry me, Bella. Be with me. Be my wife."

Without a thought, I say, "No." The entire crowd murmurs. I think I hear that broomstick drop.

"Bella!" Mom reprimands. I lift a hand towards her.

I look at him—at this beautiful man I've grown to love so deeply. This man looking up at me with the expression I've always wanted to see from him.

Love. Crushing love.

And who's also completely and utterly clueless. I remind him. "You forget one part… a very important one."

He looks down, confused, racking his brain. He turns the ring around in his fingers. I nudge his jaw so he'll look at me. "Say the words again… the ones we say every day. It goes with the ring." I plead for him to understand.

This bright spark of realization crosses his eyes. He sighs. His head dips over our joined hands. He kisses mine. He looks up, and his grin is brief, he shakes his head.

"I love you. I love you, Bella. I love you more than anyone." This faint smirk plays over his lips. "I've been in love with you since the very first click of the shutter at my doting subject. I always hoped for this moment. Marry me, Bella?"

"That's better," I whisper. Emotion taking me. "Yes… of course, I will." I smile at him.

The crowd erupts. A cacophony of applause fills the place. I laugh. He slips on the ring with the chain still attached. He kisses my hands, my stomach, and makes his way to my lips. I hang on for dear life—this new one of ours.

When he hugs me close, I get a peek at Rose over his shoulder. She's smiling. She wipes at tears with her blanket and rolls her eyes.

She would be happy for me. I knew she would. All she ever wanted was for me to be okay ever since Dad died. She planned for me to go to New York. She did everything possible to make this happen, just not exactly on her daughter's birthday… or in front of the entire hospital staff.

Mom is jumping up and down where she is. I can hear Kate's squeal over the speaker. "Roll the credits! This Hallmark movie has ended!" She screams. I push the phone towards Mom and push her into the room. So embarrassing all of this.

Everyone is in the room safe and sound, including a grumpy Serrano, thank God. I pulled him in by the arm. They're all a ball of chatter and excitement as they bring in the baby right after. I keep Masen at the door hidden behind the curtain surrounding Rose's bed. I push him against it.

"Why do you insist on bringing so much attention to me?" I ask. Each word enunciated as I shake him by the ears. He chuckles. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my lips.

"You're worth the attention."

I sigh. I fidget with the collar on his shirt. "You came all this way."

His fingers run down my neck. "I didn't exactly plan it like this, but I promised myself the moment I saw you, I would." He points a thumb over his shoulder. "Grand gesture."

I bite on my lip. I can't contain this happiness. He pulls on it with that thumb and kisses me.

My knees kind of buckle. I ravish him before anyone notices. I pull away to breathe. His forehead against mine.

"You worried me... on the phone. I had to come."

I sigh. "I know, I'm sorry. I swear I was fine. I just missed you."

He shakes his head. "No, I had to finish this the right way. It's what I wanted. Just let me, all right?"

I watch him, his brows knit, his conviction. I nod. "All right." Then I hold back a smile.

"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" he asks.

"Nope."

He groans.

The crowd behind us is purposely noisy. Mom is probably bursting with questions. Serrano glares from a split in the curtain, disgusted. "Still sucking face," he announces. I flip him off. He makes me roll my eyes; he makes Masen grin because he has not an ounce of shame.

Someone shoves the baby into Serrano's arms from out of view. He softens, coos, and gushes. I chuckle. Yeah, I think we'll be fine.

Then it reminds me...

"Just don't pull out photos of my tits and show them around next. I'm officially out of business." I say to Masen.

He sucks his teeth. "That's too bad. We're ready to open the next expedition in Boston. I just got the news."

"Oh, fuck me." I groan against his chest.

"Oh, I will. Three weeks of torture? Just you wait." That smirk I love so much plays at his lips.

Giddy.

Again.

…

His promise fulfilled before he left again to finish his trip. Sadly, he still had a few cities to visit. He kissed me hard at the airport, and I watched him go wanting to jump the security line and make a run for him. I knew I wouldn't even make the jump with these short legs, let alone reach him.

The day he came back, he used the extra key to my apartment. I didn't know he still had it. I wondered if I would see him in New York, but there he was. The keys dangled from his fingers.

He dropped it on the coffee table by a duffle bag. I watched him step into my dark room, lit by the kitchen light, and strip off his clothes. He slipped under the sheets. Not a word was uttered but for his lips and hands finding me tucked warmly in bed. Like a dream, he didn't let go until the sun was up.

I never imagined we'd go through the same routine even after we married. That lovely day happened in Rose's backyard.

There were flowers in my hair, matching petals pinned to his tailored suit. The memory of Mila in a flower dress, gurgling and eating up his cheek while we danced is still vivid. His new best girl. Me, a little jealous; only getting her pudgy legs to kiss.

Sam came, and the look he gave Mom when he met her… oh, damn. Masen and I instantly shared a wide-eyed look, turned to suppressed grins. The rest of the night was spent watching the chase of both the doctor and Sam trying to charm her in all ways possible.

We were in stitches. Even Rose would give us a side-eye from across the table to share her disbelief. Kate, with a newly added weight of a rock on her finger, hid under the table to laugh it off, as John and Serrano looked on perplexed. It definitely brought extra joy on our day.

Beyond that day, my Locals grew strong, while Masen's successful career required long trips away. I didn't mind. Where he went, I followed if he asked—just like I told him I would that day at the subway station. I have seen so much of the world traveling with him. The stories we told.

Life with Edward Masen, my love, and my pain, is perfect now.

Well… okay, it's not.

It's extraordinary, exciting, yet fucking chaotic.

My words, not his.

Those, I'll keep to myself.

…

The End.

…

A/N: Epilogue for this? Thinking about it. Let me know what you wanted resolved.

Thanks so much for making this fic experience for me one to remember. I would love a show of hands if you feel differently about these characters than, let's say, ten chapters ago. No? Maybe I don't want to know lolol. But, I guess I kept you guessing. No doubt, it was always going to be a happy ending. The real couple didn't have one, but I was able to manipulate this world to get them together above all struggles and their flaws.

I think this will be the first story I show my sisters, as in, really pass it over and let them read it. It's torture but I'll stomach it and anticipate their reactions. Who knows? Theirs might be just like yours, hah.

Please keep an eye out for an expanded one-shot from the We love Mobward contest winner. My Mobward is a crazy, robe wearing son of a gun, ready to make Bella's life a living, mediocre hell. I'll be posting the written one-shot along with the second chapter soon. Lots have asked. The title: Is this the worst time to kiss you? Probably should re think that title but wtvs. I'll figure that out later. Check out his deranged selfie in a robe on my facebook page: Mujer N Gonzo.

You can also read my action/romance fic while you wait: Ruthless and Ivory. Not so polished, but it will sure as fuck keep you on your polished toes, more than this fic ever did. Touch it, give it a try, and get ready to burn from it. It's not your average fic. Don't believe me? Read the reviews. Enjoy while it lasts on the shelf.

Special thanks to my pnfbb for her plot twisting poking stick she pokes me with. She makes all things beige better. And always, to the rest of the crew: Vantastic and J. Love you for making me write.

To Iris for your brilliant beta fixes while going through life shit and still keeping on point. And to fantastic Fran for jumping in once in a while when "Your grammar sucks. Die" came in too hard early on and anxiety hit (Be nice to authors, folks. There's no fee at the door. Open-bar. Free words).

Aren't you glad this is over?! :-D Onward, readers. You are now free to breathe! Come back later for more, tho.

Fran wanted to leave some words, so I'll leave you with that — Pay It Forward will be featuring fics in four different categories on their new blog: For rookies, Encore seasoned authors, Classix oldies, and overlooked fics that need some love. If you want to participate or learn more, contact Fran.

PUERTO RICOOOOOOOO, I LOVE YOU!