Thank you Fran for beta'ing. Thanks to Gabby and Mykaela for pre-reading.

16. [Epilogue]

Edward

I woke up with a pounding headache. I shot up, confused about where I was. My hands were sweaty as I clenched the comforter of my bed. My mind was muddled, confused by thoughts and actions of…I don't exactly know when. I don't remember when I went to sleep. My body ached, as if I had been hit by a truck. My eyes were bleary and sticky. They felt puffy, as though I'd been crying. My nose was raw.

I opened my eyes wider, stretching my arms above my head, hearing a multitude of pops as I moved for the first time. What had I done last night? Even at Ohio State, I wasn't the typical 'go on a bender' type.

My eyes cleared. I was in my bedroom, in Forks.

I was very perplexed.

Last time I remember being conscious…my family was sitting at Alice's bedside. The tubing and wires surrounded her, and a steady beeping monitored the flow of her heart. She looked peaceful, as if she were sleeping.

The horror of the reality set in; my chest ached, and my throat was dry.

Some Christmas.

Did I leave the hospital? Did I come home and get so drunk I couldn't remember what I did?

I got out of bed and stood for a moment, hearing more pops. How long had I been in bed? On the way across the room, I stopped to glance out the window over the backyard. Slowly, but surely the events of the last few days came back to me.

The horror of yesterday.

The joys of the prior days with Bella, Cocoa, and Alice.

I could feel another round of tears coming on, but the pounding of my headache stopped it.

The backyard was bright—a sleek, untouched blanket of snow layered the ground. Had it really snowed so much? There weren't any footprints, especially from our chase yesterday? Cocoa took off like a bat out of hell—there had to be something.

Where did Bella go? Did she leave the hospital too? Were she and Charlie celebrating Christmas together? Surely, they wouldn't be in the mood for merry festivities.

I was about to turn away from the window when something caught the corner of my eye.

Bella?

She was walking along the trail that would take you to the treehouse. I recognized her frame and her thick blue parka. Her long hair braided down her back, a light knit cap placed over her head.

Was she going to inspect the scene of the accident for herself?

I needed to catch her.

She would know what happened last night.

She had to.

I sighed, pulled my eyes away from her retreating form, and turned towards the dresser.

I changed quickly into jeans and a thermal sweater. I tossed a hat over my head and my jacket over my arm. I imagined I would be going back to the hospital after I was done talking to Bella. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to see the damage done to the treehouse for myself.

Where had she fallen through? Was it in the house or on the ladder? So many questions spun around my mind.

"Mom?" I called, sighing as I ran down the stairs.

No answer.

"Dad?" I called, "where are you?"

Did they stay over at the hospital?

I heard the television playing downstairs. It was muddled, but the obnoxious holiday music was followed by a soft giggle.

"They left, Edward. They went to Portland to go to a show and visit Aunt Tanya and Uncle Garrett." A familiar voice yelled back.

But it couldn't be.

Alice was seated in front of the television, bundled up with a thick blanket. A half-full bowl of popcorn sat next to her. She turned around to greet me as the Christmas movie she was engrossed in changed to a commercial break.

"Don't you remember? Man, did you drink after I went to bed last night? Seeing Bella must have really hit you hard, big bro." She chortled, taking a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth.

I stared at her, dazed. She…looked…fine. Better than fine

I rushed to her side, pulling her tightly to me. I closed my eyes and kissed the top of her spiky hair. I held her tightly until her movie came back on, and she forcefully tried to push me away, attempting to peer over my shoulder to watch the TV.

"Ugh, Edward, what has gotten into you? I'm trying to watch my movie, not get attacked by my older brother."

"Uh…Merry Christmas, Alice!" I said. This was it, right? It had to be a Christmas miracle.

"Um…you too…but you know Christmas isn't for another three days, right?" Alice said, scooting away from me, watching me cautiously. She shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth, looking at me with bewildered eyes.

"Do you remember any of it? The fall? Cocoa? The hospital?" I asked, frantic, running my eyes over her body. Was she injured?

"Um…it sounds like you need to be in a hospital, Eduardo. What kind of weird stuff have you been doing at Ohio State?" Alice retorted, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What day is it?"

"Um...the 21st…" Alice said, eyes growing bigger.

A wave of happiness soared through his body. Had everything been a dream? A nightmare? A premonition of some sort?

I needed to talk to Bella.

"Alice…I have to go. Stay here. Don't leave. No running to any treehouses." I said, desperately.

"I don't even know where it is!" She called back, raising her arms in confusion as I ran out of the house.

It was as if my legs were on autopilot. They ran until I hit the edge of the yard and through the trees. As I moved, I heard the small tinkle of a bell rattle in the pocket of my jacket. With every crunch of the snow, another noise rang out.

As I continued past the second oak, I began to yell. I saw the narrow outline of her jacket in the distance. She was pacing back in forth, her hands clutched around a Thermos.

"Bella!"

She wasn't far ahead.

"Bella!"

She turned as I got closer. Her big brown eyes grew wide. It was as if she was waiting for something.

"Edw—" she started, but I cut her off by pressing her my lips against hers. She was startled by my kiss, holding still. As she registered what I was doing, she dropped her Thermos to the ground and threw her arms around my neck.

I felt her lips turn up into a smile as I moved against her. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her tightly to me. I craned my neck to pepper kisses along the side of her face, up her nose, and to her forehead.

I pressed my forehead against hers, staring into her eyes.

"I love you, Bella. I never stopped and I never will. And I'll spend every day making up for what I did…I was scared…I needed to protect you." I said.

Bella smiled and pulled me closer to her.

"I know." She whispered into my coat.

I kissed the top of her head.

"How much do you remember?" She asked.

I knit my brows together, pulling away from her, confused at her question.

"Remember what?" I asked.

She couldn't possibly mean…

"Cocoa?"

"Yes! And Santa and Alice…"

"Falling from the treehouse," I said, looking toward the horizon where the treehouse was located.

"Bella, I thought it was a dream. A nightmare, really." I said, shivering about the reality of the dream.

"No, it was real, just like Santa was real! After you left, he told me reminders possess a certain type of magic. Because we helped Cocoa, we got a wish. After your breakdown last night, I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't let it go on. I wasn't sure how it worked, so I wished for us to go back to the start. The start of winter break. The magic was in…" Bella trailed off, looking at me expectantly.

"The bell," I said, staring at her. I dug into my pocket, retrieving the silver trinket. in my pocket. I had no idea how it got there.

We both stared at it.

"That's it! That's how I know it worked! He said if I made a wish for someone else, I wouldn't know it worked until I saw that person with the bell." Bella exclaimed, falling back into the snow, laughing loudly.

"It worked?" I questioned dumbly.

"Is Alice all right?" She asked, looking up. Snow dangled from the loose strands of her hair.

"She's…perfect. Watching obnoxious Lifetime movies like any other day." I said, the realization hitting me.

My smile widened.

"Bella…you used your wish on me? Why?" I questioned as I sat down in the snow next to her.

"Edward, I love you. Of course, I used my wish for you. And Alice. You're my family. I wanted nothing more." Bella said earnestly, laying her head against the snow.

I laid my head back, laughing loudly as the wind picked up.

We stayed out in the snow for what could have been hours, kissing and loving one another before Bella rose, reaching her arm out to pull me up with her.

"Come on, let's get your classes sorted. It looks like I'm going to be seeing a lot more of you next semester."

I took her hand, smiling merrily at her.

"I guess so."

And in the distance, a ruffle of bushes and the ringing of bells sounded throughout the forest.

As we began our walk home, the sound of hoofs running farther into the trees, soon disappeared.

A/N: That's it! See, we knew Santa knew what Bella's deepest intentions were.

Thank you so much for reading along during your holiday festivities!

I hope you have a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

I have a facebook group "Mariescullen Fanfiction" where I will post teasers, story updates ,etc. If you like my writing, feel free to join for the future.

Thanks,

Sarah.