A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts.

Hitting 'Complete' on this one.

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. Some belong to Capra, Dickens, and a guy called Barenbaum.

All mistakes are mine.

OCE - Epilogue

Three Years Later

When we pushed the door, it groaned and creaked, one of those creaks which just gets louder with every, single movement.

Bella chuckled as I shut the door. She tapped the snow off her boots on the old floor, then removed her ivory knit hat and shook it off.

"It sounds like a haunted house. Do we really want to see the rest?"

"This is a great, quality door," I said, grinning and giving the door a good knock so she could hear the thickness of the wood. "It just needs some oil and some sanding, and it'll be as good as new. And sure, let's check out the rest of it. After all, if it's haunted, there's something to be said about Christmas ghosts."

"O-kay," Bella laughed.

I smiled in the semi-darkness, leading my wife by our intertwined hands. In every corner of the entry hall, dust motes danced like winter fairies. Already shortened by the season, in here, twilight was weakened all the more by its fight to filter in between the massively dirt-stained windows – like sand through a sieve. There were, however, plenty of windows, which once cleaned, would provide an unparalleled view of the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City's skyline right across it.

I sighed, smiling at the memory.

"What are you smiling about?" Bella asked, grinning up at me. "It's a mess!"

Chuckling, I brushed my lips to her forehead. "You haven't even seen the rest."

"Babe, look at the floors. I think they might be scuffed beyond repair. And look at the walls. That's wallpaper, Edward, and old wallpaper at that. And check out this layout; narrow hallways leading from one room to the next. It's…"

"Boxy?" I smirked.

"Yes," she chuckled. "That's exactly what it is. Boxy."

"Well, the realtor did warn us that the previous owners hadn't remodeled since about the 1950s."

"And it shows," Bella snorted, giving my hand a small tug. "Come on, babe. I would've loved to have lived on this block, but this house is just way too-"

"Hold on for a sec, Bella," I said. Standing in the center of the room, I turned in a slow circle, almost overwhelmed by so many visions dancing in my head. Stopping to face my wife, I swallowed and smiled.

"Let me ask you something. If you look beyond the dust, disrepair, and out-of-fashion layout, what do you see?"

For a moment, Bella's brow furrowed in confusion, but then, chuckling as if she'd humor me because she loved me, she turned in a slow circle as well.

"If I look beyond the dust motes, the disrepair, and the boxy layout, I see…" she stopped to face me, "I see a house that was once well-loved."

My grin grew. "The floors need to be replaced; you're right about that. But we can throw some nice area rugs over them until we find floors you'll absolutely love – the kind that are heated."

"Ooh, I would love those someday."

"And the wallpaper may be old, but we can strip it and paint as soon as possible. Maybe a nice gray."

"That's true," Bella murmured, looking at the walls. "And gray would look great here, with all these windows."

"The layout is…pretty boxy," I chuckled, "and I have a feeling upstairs may be the same, but eventually, we can perform a complete renovation, inside and out."

"That might take years," Bella said.

"Yeah, but that's fine. And take a look at that fireplace and mantle, love," I whispered. "You don't see fireplaces and mantles like that anymore. That's classic. I can picture us…I can picture us setting a comfortable, plush couch right in front of that fireplace…spending cold nights laughing, talking, and keeping one another warm."

"That does sound beautiful," my wife breathed.

I swallowed. "I can picture…a Christmas tree in that corner, packed with decorations on it and presents under it for our family, for our friends…for our children, and for kids who may not receive presents otherwise. I picture good, tasteful furniture filling all the rooms down here and upstairs, the kind we may not be able to buy all at once, but the kind you've always known how to pick out with care. I can…I can smell Christmas dinner cooking in a kitchen which may be too small right now, but which we'll eventually remodel to our taste. I can smell the roast pork," I grinned, inhaling deeply. "I can see myself shelling pecans in that kitchen with you, all of us drinking a couple of beers and your mom's coquito. I can hear Emmett's booming laughter filling the house, Alice's dirty mouth followed by her chuckled apologies-"

"You and I making love upstairs, in our bedroom."

Startled out of my reverie, I looked at my wife, who'd come to stand by my side.

When she laughed at me, I picked her up in my arms and kissed her soundly, first hard then soft, the way she liked.

"Yes," I smiled against her soft lips. "Yes, I see and hear us making love upstairs in our bedroom. I bet you that, whatever it looks like now, we can turn it into a great room – and we can probably even fit a small, walk-in closet."

"Now that would be wonderful since you've always had a thing for nice clothing. You can take the boy out of Central Park West, but you can't take Central Park West out of- ouch!" She chortled hard when I bit her lip, giggling through the rest of our kisses.

When we pulled away, out of breath, her smile softened. "Seriously, Edward, every morning I wake up…amazed by the man you are: generous, thoughtful, caring, hard-working, and so full of love and compassion for everyone, not just for me or for our family. So opposite from the asshole I once thought you to be."

I scowled at her, making her laugh again, but then I shrugged. "Everything I am, I am because-"

"No," she said decisively, placing a finger on my lips. "No. Don't tell me again that everything you are, you are because of me, because that's simply not true, Edward. You made that Grand Gesture a few years ago, without trying to impress me with it. You quit Potter & Potter, despite their offer to make you a partner, so that you could take on disadvantaged clients on a pro bono basis. You've dedicated your career…and much of your resources-"

"They're our resources, Mrs. Cullen," I reminded her with a raised brow.

"Our resources," she conceded shyly, "to the creation of a nonprofit." She wrapped her arms around my neck and grinned impishly. "I'm just along for the wonderful ride."

When I slapped her ass, she laughed. "Emmett is right; you're too humble about this, Edward."

"Bella, stop." With a deep sigh, I set her feet back on the old floors and raked a guilty hand through my hair. "I have…a confession to make, and I probably should've made it earlier, but…"

I told her everything; all the events that occurred on that one Christmas Eve, three years earlier. I even told her how, when I returned to my apartment in the early hours of Christmas morning, I found Mike, the regular doorman, on duty.

"Merry Christmas, Mike!" I grinned, happier and fuller of Christmas cheer than I'd ever been in my life. "Where's George? I'd like to thank him, from the bottom of my overflowing heart," I chuckled, placing a palm on my chest, "for some advice he gave me last night. And I also have an envelope…" I patted my back pocket, searching for one of many ATM withdrawals I'd be conducting from then on.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Cullen!" Mike replied. "But who's George?"

"George," I exclaimed, "the older gentleman who was your replacement while you were on vacation last night."

Mike chuckled and gave me a slight frown. "Mr. Cullen, I haven't been on vacation for years; can't afford to," he shrugged, "what with having the family to support and all."

My brow furrowed. "But I…I spoke to him here last evening, and over the intercom a couple of times. He even came to my door with Little Tim."

Mike's frown deepened. "Who's Little Tim, sir?"

I held his gaze, but Mike didn't even blink. "Mr. Cullen…are you feeling-"

"Never mind, Mike," I smiled. Then, I pulled out the thick envelopes I had in my pocket and set them in Mike's hand. "Merry Christmas, Mike. There's the one I planned to give you when you returned, and…an extra one, so you and your fam can perhaps take a small vacation after all. Now, I think I'll go change. I've got to meet the most wonderful woman in the world in Brooklyn later today. We've got a busy day planned."

He gave me a bewildered look, and I grinned as I walked away.

I heard Mike's whoops and hollers as I reached the elevator. "Thank you, Mr. Cullen! Thank you! And Merry Christmas!"

Bella listened intently to my story. When it was done, she held my gaze. Then, she laughed.

"Come on, my love," she said soothingly as I pretend-scowled at her. Lifting herself on her tip-toes, she brushed her lips against mine. "It was a dream, babe; a beautiful dream, but just a dream."

"A dream, huh?" I smirked. "Then how do you explain my knowledge about this house and about everything else I know?"

"Sometimes," she whispered, "dreams can be extremely vivid, and when we wake, they can feel like we actually lived through them."

"It wasn't a dream, Bella, but that's not the main issue right now. The main issue is that I don't want to force you into this house just because it's where we lived before."

"Before? You mean in your dr-"

"Bella, what's that?"

"What's what?"

Out of my periphery, I saw her sweet, conciliatory smile, but my gaze had landed on the mantle over the fireplace. As I slowly made my way over, with my wife's curious gaze on me, my heart raced in my chest. With a shaking hand, I reached and stroked the glass box which rested over the mantle – a glass box that held a small, silver bell enclosed within it.

"What is that?" Bella asked, standing at my side now.

"It's a silver bell."

"A silver…? That wasn't there a few minutes ago. Wait a minute," she lifted her eyes to me, "you don't think it's the bell you saw in your dreams, do you?"

I didn't reply. Instead, with both hands, I carefully picked up the box while not daring to breathe. Then, with painstaking caution, I lifted the box higher.

"The bell doesn't have a clapper." Shutting my eyes, I exhaled in relief.

"But it looks like it has an inscription," Bella said.

My eyes popped open. Moving the box closer to me, I squinted and found that Bella was correct; small letters were etched around the bell's inner circumference.

"Ho. Lee…"

"What does it say, Edward?"

"Dear Edward and Bella," I read aloud, "never forget, you make your own futures through the present you lead. Merry Christmas and congrats on the house. G."

"G?" Bella said. "Who's…" With a sharp gasp, her eyes grew wide. "G, as in…George?"

We held one another's gazes.

The front door suddenly swung open, groaning in loud protest the entire way.

"Bella? Edward?"

Both Bella's and my eyes swiftly panned over to where my mother-in-law stood by the door, smiling at us. She held a heavily bundled, squirming, and adorably caramel-cheeked little princess cradled in her arms.

"I'm sorry, guys," Renee chuckled, "but she woke up, and she wanted her da-"

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Our twenty-one-month-old daughter, Lily Cullen, squirmed right out of her grandmother's arms. Toddling speedily on her two little legs, she sprinted straight into my waiting arms.

"Daddy! I missidd you!"

And my heart melted, just as it had every single day since she was born, nine months after Bella and I got married, which was six months after we got together on that One Christmas Eve. Turned out, neither one of us was of a mind to wait too much for anything.

"I missed you too, my little Lily," I said shakily, kissing her forehead, "so, so much."

She giggled those sweet giggles I'd first heard in a dream…vision…bout of insanity a few years earlier.

"What is that, Daddy?" she asked in her sweet, almost two-year-old voice.

I offered her the box and helped her support it in her tiny hands.

"Pretty!"

"It is pretty," my mother-in-law agreed from across the room. "What is it?"

It was my wife who answered. "It's a housewarming gift," she said, her beautiful, dark eyes on me, "from an old friend of Edward's, and a reminder that we make our own futures. And I think…I think I'd love to build our future in this house."

"Hold that carefully," I whispered softly to Lily. Then, with my free hand, I pulled Bella close. As the three of us formed a tight circle, I kissed my wife tenderly over Lily's head. Lily giggled, but Bella and I decided before our daughter's birth that we'd show our children exactly what it was to love them and one another.

"Me too," I said as a series of sighs escaped me.

Someday, if we lived a present which led us to it, our future would hold another little one within our circle. And who knew? Possibly another one beyond that one. Boys or girls? I didn't know that either. But, I kind of loved not knowing…while knowing Bella would always be by my side for the ride. Because one thing was for sure: my love for my family was instinctive; inborn on any dimension, on any plane, in dreams or in visions.

Lily placed her tiny, warm hand on my cheek and guided my eyes down to hers; eyes which were the same shade of green as mine.

"Daddy, this is home?"

I swallowed thickly and smiled. "Yes, Lily. Yes. This is home."

THE END

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