Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

Thanks to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for being my beta and Sara aka Nikki Black for pre-reading!

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It was nearing the end of August and it was hot as hell. It didn't help that I was nine months pregnant so I was my own personal furnace. I was lucky, though—aside from being extremely hot all the time, having to pee every five minutes, and not being able to sleep anymore—I'd had a really easy pregnancy.

I stood in front of our new home, staring in awe. It wasn't my first time seeing it. I'd been out here plenty of times over the last few months, but it was my first time seeing it complete, knowing that everything was ready for us inside. Edward has insisted on hiring a moving company that would also unpack everything for us. He didn't want anything to cause me stress, especially when I was so close to having the baby.

"You ready to go in, sugar?" Edward asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist; well, as much as he could.

"You all really outdid yourselves; it looks amazing, baby," I told him.

He kissed the top of my head, his hand rubbing slow circles on my swollen stomach. "Nothing but the best for my little family. Come on, let's go check out the inside so you can rearrange everything five hundred times and fold all the baby's clothes again."

"It's called nesting." I glared at him.

I took one step forward and all of a sudden felt a huge gush of water from between my legs. "Edward?"

"Bella? Did your… did your water just break?"

He stared at me and I just nodded.

"Holy fuck. Our bag is in the car, right? We have to get to the hospital!" He grabbed my hand and lead me to the car. All I could do was nod again. I was thankful that I had the forethought to put the bag in my car since I could hardly climb up into the truck without assistance while I wasn't in labor.

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It was August twenty-second at eleven-fifty at night when Harper Rose Cullen made her entrance into the world. There were no words to describe the way I felt as soon as I heard her cry. I was a mom. All those months of feeling her kick and squirm inside of me, it almost felt odd to be holding this tiny person outside of my body.

"She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Bella," Edward said as he stood beside me, running his fingers softly over her full head of copper hair.

"She really is. I kind of can't believe she's here and that we're responsible for this little life. It's kind of overwhelming."My eyes started to brim with tears.

"Hey, it's going to be fine, sugar. We're going to do just fine." He kissed me softly on the lips and gently lifted Harper from my arms. "Try and get some sleep now, baby. I got this." I gave him a small, exhausted smile, thankful that he was so confident in mine and his abilities. One of us had to be. It wasn't long before I felt myself drift off to sleep.

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As the weeks went on Edward, Harper, and myself slipped into a comfortable routine. All of the nerves and fears that I had those first moments after she was born slowly started to dissipate as I began to feel more comfortable in my role as a mother. The only setback I had was that I wasn't able to breastfeed. I just hadn't made enough milk, and at the end of the day, my baby needed to eat one way or another. That's not to say I didn't feel like a failure at first, but to see Edward holding her in the middle of the night, staring down at her while he fed her, kind of made it worth it.

All of my family and our friends had visited while we were in the hospital, or had come to the house once we got settled in, including Edward's aunt and uncle. That meant that Edward's parents knew about our marriage and the arrival of Harper, but still, there was no phone call, no sign of them or his sister reaching out. I'd never understood how the love for a child could have conditions.

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It was early one morning after Edward had already left the house to get started on his day that there was a knock at the door. It didn't happen often, but there were times when Edward would forget his keys, so I opened the door expecting him to have forgotten something. The last person I expected to see was Elizabeth Cullen.

"Mrs. Cullen?" I asked, confused.

"It's Isabella, correct?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. Now, may I ask what you're doing here? It's been a long time, Mrs. Cullen," I said coolly.

She sighed heavily. "It has been a long time. And, please, call me Elizabeth."

"Right. So, like I asked, Elizabeth, why the hell are you here?"

"You have every right to be angry with me. Carlisle told us about the wedding and the baby… and I just wanted to see my granddaughter one time. I've been a terrible mother and I understand if you won't even allow me that."

I was so focused on what was going on in front of me, that I didn't even hear him approach. "Three years, Elizabeth. You didn't speak to me for three years, and then there are the countless years that you and my father ridiculed and belittled me, and you think you have the right to show up on my doorstep and ask my wife to see our daughter?"

"Edward, I…" his mother began.

"No! I asked what gives you the right?" he yelled.

"There is nothing that gives me the right. All I can say is that I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I thought that your father was right; that we could get through to you with tough love, that we could force you to have the life we thought you deserved."

"I have a better life than what you thought I deserved. A wife that loves me, a beautiful little girl, a thriving business. I have everything I could ever want, Elizabeth."

"I know that now, Edward. I'll never be able to apologize enough for how I treated you," she said as her voice broke.

"You can see Harper for a moment, she's sleeping." He sighed and brushed passed his mother. "Is that okay with you, Bella?"

I nodded. "Whatever you want, Edward."

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"She's beautiful, Edward. She looks just like you when you were her age," Elizabeth said quietly.

Edward just nodded, but I could see the confusion and pain in his eyes.

"I just wanted to see her. I'll leave you all alone now." Elizabeth choked on her words.

"If you want to see her again, you can come back next week. But we have a lot to talk about, you hear me?" he said to his mother.

"I-I'd love that, Edward. I'll just let myself out." No sooner did we hear the front door click than Edward leaned his head on my shoulder as heavy sobs wracked his body.

"Why wasn't I good enough before, Bella?" His voice was thick with emotion.

"Oh, Edward. You've always been good enough, baby. Always," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair and trying to soothe him.

"I love you so much, Bella."

"I love you, too, Edward," I said, kissing the top of his head.

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Elizabeth visited every week to see Harper and to talk with Edward. Unfortunately, Edward's father and sister were still just as stubborn as ever and might never come around. Elizabeth said she couldn't live with herself if she had let it go much longer; it ate at her every day. Add in the fact that she had a grandchild, and she just knew the whole situation was wrong.

It was the middle of the night and Harper had woken up hungry. Edward offered to take care of her, and there wasn't any way I was saying no to that.

I was laying in bed trying to fall back asleep when I heard him over the baby monitor.

"You know Daddy loves you, right, baby girl? I know I've told you before, but I mean it, Harper. There is nothing you could ever do to stop me from loving you. My mom and dad, well, they didn't seem to care about me very much. My mom is trying to fix that now, which isn't so easy. But, baby girl, there are no words to describe what you and Mommy mean to me. I love you both so much."

Hearing his conversation with our daughter was just another of the million reasons why I loved that man so much.

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A/N: And there it is. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed writing this story. This has been so far, my favorite Edward and Bella to write and I'm so sad to see them go. I'll admit that I almost cried when I knew that it was ending. You guys have been great and I'm so thankful for all of the reviews and love that you give me!

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Epilogue Songs:

It Won't Be Like This For Long — Darius Rucker

The Cure – Lady Gaga