A/N: Okay, so I know I told you all that there would be about three more chapters, but I don't really have enough ideas left inside of my brain to write two more chapters (and I don't want to just write two more chapters and have them be filled with nothingness, that's not cool). Plus, I know I'm a bad updater. I don't have a lot of time to sit down and write (I'm in grade 12 this year and it's quite a bit more work than my last two years of high school!), and I don't want you guys to have to wait another couple of months for this story to be finished. So, I choose to finish now. I apologize to those who are disappointed with me, I hope we can still be friends.

Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. Trading Spouses is also not mine.

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The Final Day:

The Cullen's Home

Linda awoke early the next morning. The dull light of a cloudy day was streaming through her window. It was gloomy, yet she knew there was some sun on her horizon. She was going home today. It was her final day in the small and gloomy and sunless and strange town she had called home for the last week. She knew she was making it sound bad in her own mind, it was obvious. This town wasn't really bad at all, it was nice, the people were nice, her family was nice, but something about them made her extremely uneasy. Maybe it was the clouds, she had never lived in such a place where the sun shone so seldom, it was bound to make her unsettled, right? Whatever the reason, it no longer mattered, Linda Walling was going home.

She arose from her bed with a smile on her face. She was excited to see her husband and her kids again. They weren't the perfect family, in no way as perfect as the one she was staying with, but she loved them. She missed the bickering and the fighting and the dinners in which no one waited for anyone else to finish. She was excited, but she knew she would miss this strange family she had come to love.

She quickly dressed, knowing she only had a few hours left with this exotic family, and made her way downstairs. Surprisingly, they were all sitting at the large antique dining table. Alice was standing beside the table, hiding most of it from view. She had the largest smile Linda had ever seen plastered on her face and was slightly vibrating. Edward looked slightly pained and Carlisle looked apologetic. Linda really didn't know what was going to happen next, after seeing the look on Alice's face, Linda knew that anything could happen.

"What's going on, Alice?" She asked suspiciously.

Alice looked as though she was about to burst before she squealed.

"It's your going away party!"

Alice stepped aside so Linda could see the elaborately decorated dining room. There were colourful streamers lining the walls and the edge of the table and small flowers were bunched at the corners. On the table was an elaborate breakfast fit for a five star hotel. And placed in the middle was a small, neat, blue wrapped package.

"Oh . . . wow. You guys really didn't need to do any of this for me . . ." She surprisingly said. Although she knew it was way too much to do for the step in mother of one week, she was happy they appreciated her enough to do a gesture like this.

"Oh, no, no, no, Linda! It was deserved. You did so much for us, we needed a way to repay you!" Alice replied, looking at Linda like she was crazy for saying such a thing. "Now sit right down and dig into he wonderful breakfast chef Edward made for you!"

Smiling, Linda sat down in front of the breakfast and feasted away. One large breakfast and a full belly later, Linda pushed back her chair and horrifically looked at the size of the meal she consumed.

"Well, that was incredible, Edward. You should seriously think about becoming a chef!"

Edward just smiled and nodded in response.

"Okay, okay, now open your gift!" Alice excitedly pushed the small box towards Linda.

Linda felt a little uncomfortable accepting a gift, she hadn't really deserved it, but, when she tried to protest Alice just waved her concerns off, saying something about how it really wasn't anything.

Linda took a deep breath before opening it. She knew it was going to be something expensive and extravagant, it was how this family operated. It was going to be something involving precious stones or gold or silver. It was going to be something Linda could never have dreamed of owning. She tugged on the small silver ribbon surrounding the blue wrapping.

She lifted the lid to reveal a tasteful, beaded necklace. It didn't look overly expensive or flashy, it wasn't silver or gold or some other expensive metal. There were no jewels, gems or precious stones. It was simple, and it defiantly was not Alice's style.

"I knew you wouldn't want something from a jewelry store, or anything. I picked it up at one of the weekend street markets in Seattle. I thought you would like that better."

Alice was defiantly right. Linda did like it better, it was something she could see herself wearing instead of sadly packing away.

"You were right, Alice. Thank you very much for this."

"Oh, it was nothing, really." Alice replied. "Just make sure you wear it every single day." She added in a very serious tone.

Linda awkwardly smiled before giving Alice a small 'thank you' hug. After giving everyone else a quiet thank you, she excused herself to her room to pack and do the one thing she was most nervous about; deciding how the $50, 000 was going to be spent.

It seemed somewhat superfluous to give a family with so much even more, but if she was being truthful with herself, she knew they deserved the money. They were a very wonderful family and having six teenagers no doubt cost them quite a bit of money. She just wasn't sure she knew the best way to allocate the funds, and she really did not want to disappoint the people who had been so hospitable to her. She sat down and thought long and hard before she finally came up with the combination she though was best. She could only hope that the Cullen family felt the same way.

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Final Day:

The Walling's Home

It was the final day. Esme lay in her bed, not sleeping, thinking about how much she would miss this quirky family. She had never had a family that was so painstakingly normal. They fought and they bickered and they did things they knew bothered each

other, but it was very obvious that they loved each other. It was something she had never really experienced before, and as horrible and annoying the bickering could get, a strange feeling of family came along with it. Although Emmett loved to pick apart Edward's patience, it was still somehow different. It was an interesting experience.

She had worked on writing her letter and alloted they money during the hours in which she did not sleep. She was confident in her choices, but there was a nagging voice in her mind saying that she could have done better, that there was something she left out.

When it was 7:26 am, Esme could not take the solitude of the small bedroom any longer. It was too quiet and too lonely. She knew that no one else would be awake yet, but the idea of being out in a communal space felt better than staying in private. She rose silently and made her way to the kitchen.

It was around 9:30 am when others started to emerge from their rooms. By that time, Esme had laid out a large breakfast, having decided to leave after having one last 'hurrah!'. Jim noticed the spread and stopped, eyes wide.

"Wow. You really didn't need to do this."

"Oh, don't think anything of it, I wanted to do it for you." Esme replied.

Jim just silently nodded, accepting Esme's words. He slowly moved toward the table and took a seat. He sat there awkwardly until Sandra came into the kitchen 15 minutes later. He had a similar, but slightly toned down reaction to Esme's work before taking a seat herself. She made the first move, taking one of the large cinnamon buns, picking off small pieces with her fingers. Jim's apprehension seemed to have dissolved as soon as Sandra began eating and he soon started, as well. Andy stumbled into the kitchen sometime around 11:30 am. He didn't seem surprised and he didn't make any comments, he just sat down at the table and began eating.

Esme smiled, enjoying the solitude among the family. She knew she would greatly miss them and she very much wished they would miss her, but she could see that they missed their mother. It was time that they made the switch to make everything right, to set everything back to normal. It had been a wonderful week for her, but she missed her family. It had been too long since she had seen Emmett and Jasper playing elaborate games, Bella curled up on the couch reading a book, Edward's intricate compositions or Rosalie and Alice planning new fashion designs and projects. She couldn't be more excited to be going home, and she knew that the other mother was feeling the exact same way.

-------------------------------------------- 4 HOURS LATER -----------------------------------------------

It was time to meet the woman who had lived with her family for the last week. Linda Walling couldn't deny the intense feeling of nervousness that was coursing through her. What if this woman was a total psycho? Who knows what could have happened during the last week. Her taxi pulled up to a very extravagant house that was, truthfully speaking, half the size of the Cullen household.

She climbed the few steps to the front door, took a few deep breaths, and walked through the beautifully decorated hallway until she came to a very large and open room. There were two antique armchairs in the centre, one was empty. In the other a very beautiful woman was seated. She had long, carmel hair, and was very slender. She was dressed impeccably well. It seemed only right that such a beautiful family would have a beautiful mother. It settled her nerves to see that, from the outside at least, she was normal. She stood to greet Linda.

"Hello, my name is Esme. It was so wonderful to meet your family."

"Linda, your family was absolutely lovely."

They sat in the large, comfortable armchairs and quickly discussed their experiences over the last week.

"Your family was just amazing," Linda began, "I don't think I've ever seen a family get along so well! They were absolutely wonderful. Alice gave me a makeover, Edward, Jasper and Emmett had a cooking lesson together, although that didn't turn out very well . . . and we did have one little run in with the flu the very first day."

"The flu?" Asked Esme, perplexed. Last time she checked, vampires didn't get sick.

"Oh yes, it was the very first night, I found Emmett throwing up and then Jasper, Edward Bella and Alice. They wouldn't accept any medicine or anything though . . . you should really rethink that medicine policy in your family. I think it would have helped if I could have given them something."

Esme just nodded, smiling. She had no idea what Linda was talking about. Was this woman crazy? Their family had no 'medicine policy', Carlisle was a doctor. What kind of family, in which the father was a surgeon, had a policy against medicine?

"Okay, now tell me about my family, were they good? Did Sandra and Andy fight? What was Jim like to you?" Linda asked eagerly.

"Oh, your family was great. Of course Sandra and Andy fought, that's what siblings do, but they were just so nice and friendly. Jim was very nice, as well, he showed me his very impressive model plane collection. It was a very good week."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Linda replied, smiling, "This is for you family." She said, handing Esme a white envelope with a golden, wax seal.

Esme thanked her and handed her a letter in return. After one final, warm hug, they parted and went back home.

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The Cullen Household

The Cullen family was sitting silently in pristine living room, waiting for Esme to come home. They could all easily hear the large taxi pull off the highway and onto the long front drive. It was only minutes until she would come through the front door. Although many of them didn't show it, they had all missed Esme quite a bit. The silent anticipation grew as the taxi neared the large white house.

It was only seconds later that Esme pushed her way through the door, holding too many suitcases. She was immediately bombarded by Alice, the other six vampires stood back, smiling and waiting for their turn to greet Esme. Once they had all said their 'hellos' they sat in the comfortable living room. Esme opened the white envelope and read its contents aloud.

"Dear Cullen Family, I had such a wonderful time this past week. I am so glad that I was able to come to that small and rainy town and spend a week in your lives. I have decided to spent the money as followed:

$500.00 for Emmett, Edward and Jasper to take cooking lessons at a real institute,

$500.00 for Alice, Bella and Rosalie to take a skill course of their choice,

$2000.00 to each of the kids to spend whichever way they wish,

$13, 000.00 for the family to take a vacation wherever they please,

$3500.00 to each of the kids for post secondary studies,

$3000.00 to Esme to spend on whatever she wishes.

I wish you all a very wonderful and happy life. I hope that one day our paths may cross again. Love, Linda Walling."

Esme looked up and smiled. She was happy to be home to her family, and she could tell that they were happy to see her, as well. Other than Emmett, who was slightly heart broken that he had to take a real cooking class, none of them really cared how the money was to be spent. Esme set the letter to the side and just enjoyed being home with her family.

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The Walling Household

Jim was working on his planes, Sandra was reading a novel and Andy was sprawled on the couch watching T.V.. From the outside, it seemed the same as any old afternoon, each family member was minding their own business, doing their own thing. But from the inside it was obvious there was an above average amount of tension. Although no one was trying to show it, they were all very excited for their mother to come back home.

It was approximately 30 minutes later when they heard footsteps coming up the ragged stairs. Seconds later, the old door open to reveal a rather flustered Linda Walling. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair a mess of strands sticking out each and every way and she was carrying more suitcases than she could handle. She dropped them all at once and let our a big sigh. She was so happy to finally be home.

Sandra quickly rushed over to help her mother with her suitcases as Jim appeared from his model room and Andy shut off the T.V.. Soon everyone was happily greeting Linda, they had missed her more than they cared to show. After Linda had settled and her bags had been put away, she pulled out the letter Esme had given her, reading it to the family.

"Dear Walling family, It was so great to be able to spend the past week with your family, I enjoyed myself so much and I hope that you enjoyed yourselves, as well. I put a lot of thought into choosing how to spend the money and I hope that you agree with my choices:

$8000.00 to Sandra for university,

$8000.00 to Andy for university,

$20, 000.00 for the family to buy a second car,

$5500.00 for the family to take a vacation,

$500.00 for Jim to spend on model planes,

$8000.00 to pay any bills or debts.

I would like to thank you all for being so kind and hospitable to me for the past week, I wish you all the very best and I sincerely hope that we may one day meet again. Lots of love, Esme."

"Well," Jim said, "I am quite happy with that. She knew exactly what we all needed."

Sandra and Andy nodded in response. Although they both wished they could have gotten a little personal spending money, they were happy with what they got, and happy to have their mother back. It had been too long since they had seen her and it had felt weird to not have her puttering around the house like she always was. Esme was nice and all, but she wasn't their mother.

"I like the improvements to the house." Linda added looking around at all the new furniture and newly painted walls, "it's good to be home." She quietly added and sighed in contentment.

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A/N: Well, there you have it. The end of my story. It's been a nice run, everyone, and I'd like to thank everyone that read and enjoyed and reviewed my story, it really meant a lot to me to see the little alerts in my inbox. I don't know if I'll right any more stories, inspiration has to hit me like a train for me to be able to write, so only time will tell. I would like to thank you all one more time for the fabulous support.

Until next time,

tanis ann