DISCLAIMER: the wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the characters and world of Twilight.

Warning: Lemon curd, spread on a "lighter than air" lemon sponge. Lemons, light as a sprinkling of crisp curls of zest on top.

Music vibe: The Turtles - "Happy Together"

CHAPTER 80: EPILOGUE

LIAM POV

The journey up towards Hanover had passed pretty much without incident. In fact, it passed off much better than I had originally anticipated. Visions of a bloodied and wild-eyed wife, being hauled unceremoniously up the steps to the plane, had been at the forefront of my mind when we had landed in Dallas hours earlier.

In the event, the onward flight was mostly spent chilling, with my fabulous wife in my lap again as we cuddled and reconnected, relieved at having got the Dallas visit over and done with.

Yolanda had gone to Dallas in a state of flux, with mixed emotions churning within her as she battled internally with how she would deal with her old nemesis. I could see she was in turmoil during the flight from Seattle, but knew better than to interfere - this was her gig and I would follow her lead.

I had no idea whether she would run amok and rip her old partner to shreds or whether she would dig deep within herself and somehow spare his life. Her self control around Charlie had improved over recent weeks, but her tolerance of a human was still pretty limited. I had had to make good on my threat to subdue her with loving on more than occasion.

Watching and waiting, I was totally blown away that my beautiful wife had chosen not to go down the bloodthirsty route, because even as a vampire, that was not in her nature. Her taste for revenge ran to something more subtle and, on reflection, I reluctantly agreed it was more appropriate to leave Stuart wondering about when we might turn up on his doorstep again, and for that possible encounter to remind him, more forcefully than anything else, about what he had done to deserve it.

My wife had proved right, once again.

I suspected it would probably have damaged our relationship if I had not heeded her request and had gone on to maim or kill that sorry specimen of a human. It had taken some effort to rein in my anger, once I had my hands on him, but when Yolanda declared he was not worth bothering with, I acquiesced and bowed to her superior nature.

Yolanda had taught me a lesson in tactics - the bloody obvious was not always the best way. She was much further along the path of enlightenment than I was and her ability make a snap, but reasoned, decision at such a dangerous time was simply tremendous. I was simply awestruck at her intelligence and wise nature.

There was, however, no way I was going to thank that bastard for leaving my wife in the vicinity of vampires, since I had eventually realised that, if I had discovered Yolanda at her Dallas home in her frail state, there would have been no way I would have left her side without turning her into a vampire. Her fate had already been sealed once I discovered how poorly she was at the time of my visit. However, her rescue by vampires was a happy coincidence and probably made the preparation much easier for her: so I had much to thank the Cullens for.

After our visit to Yolanda's former home, we had hightailed it back to the airport and our waiting winged chariot. Once on board, the pilots had got on efficiently with hauling us out of there and into the air. Once airborne, I could see Yolanda expel air in the physical relief at leaving Dallas behind.

She shut her eyes and leaned her head back on the headrest, focusing inwardly for a while. She went deathly still and I waited patiently until she was ready to come back to me.

When she opened her eyes, I saw how she was still struggling for proper control, and so I whistled to the flight attendant, who promptly served up some warm blood.

Yolanda wordlessly grabbed the first bag and emptied it in record time. She took the second one offered and downed that too, almost panting in her efforts to suck it dry speedily. A third bag went the same way and then I could see calm gradually being restored to my wife, who breathed deeply and closed her eyes.

I touched her hand and leaned in to kiss her at that point. Her immediate response was to cover me in bloody kisses, grabbing my head and holding me to her for some deep tonguing, as if she was trying to drink in my essence.

It dawned on me belatedly that she was actually drinking in my scent and grounding herself to regain control.

However my wife wanted to kiss me was fine with me and I enjoyed being lavished with almost rabid bites, licks and sucking as she brought herself steadily under control she sought, with the assistance of the only resources to hand: blood and husband, in pretty equal measures.

Eventually, the feverish molestations subsided. I encouraged Yolanda to have a further bag of blood and she complied, with a rueful smile and an apologetic look.

When she had downed that bag and wiped her lips clean, I leaned across once more and took her face in my hands, looking into her eyes.

"Yolanda, my darling, I am SO proud of you, I can't tell you. You did brilliantly. I love you, adore you and right now, just want to shag you silly because you look so damned beautiful!"

Yolanda's answering smile lit up her face and hit me like baseball bat where my heart should have been. I was dazzled and hopelessly lost in her violet gaze.

Pulling her into my lap for some serious cuddles, I sat there contentedly like some daft dog, sometimes licking my mistress's face, happy to bask gloriously in her caresses and kisses as we got up close and personal, forcing the attendant to retire discreetly from our view.

We took the view that where we were sat was private enough and proceeded to make the most of our "alone" time, as Yolanda swiftly removed some clothing and pulled me to the floor, to straddle me and kiss me stupid again. We connected quickly and hotly as our combined need enveloped us repeatedly.

In that state of emotional, deeply-tender, glowing, tactile stupour, our journey continued and we landed near Hanover a few hours later, sated with blood and sex - a vampire's dream state!

Emmett and Rosalie were waiting for us at the hangar, as promised, and were all smiles when we joined them for the fairly short journey to the new property, where the rest of the family, apparently, eagerly awaited our arrival.

Yolanda let me regale them with the description of our visit, although Emmett seemed disappointed that we had not ripped Thing's lungs out through his nostrils or similarly trashed his body. Emmett had favoured leaving his body out for coyotes and suggested going back to make it so, until Yolanda begged him to stop with his threats. Her comment that she was ready to move on brought Emmett to heel and he merely roared with laughter, commenting that she had turned into a pussycat like Bella.

Rosalie smirked and smiled, observing that she wished Yolanda had done the deed wearing a wedding dress like she had when she brought vengeance down on the heads of her attackers. That comment had us all laughing then and we were all still tittering when the car turned into the gated driveway of the Cullen residence.

I kissed Yolanda's hand and looked out of the windows with interest at what would be our new home for the next year or two, or however long Yolanda wanted to stick around.

I was happy to be where she wanted to be and likewise would follow her to the ends of the Earth if she wanted to head out into the sunset, with me in tow.

As I snatched looks at Yolanda's face, observing her curiosity at our new environment, I thanked my lucky stars that a chance encounter all those years ago, at the studio, had led to this moment and brought this magical creature into my world and my heart.

Being Yolanda's mate was what I was born to be and my friend Jasper had been the catalyst for allowing me to stick around long enough to find the love of my existence. I owed Jasper a debt big time and perhaps even also to a few leprechauns and white magic.

I owed Yolanda a lot more and would spend eternity paying her back for the love with which she graced me.

Placing another tender kiss on my wife's cheek and squeezing her hand tightly, I snapped back to the here and now, as Emmett's assured driving brought us smoothly towards the new chapter in our lives.

With Yolanda by my side, I did not care what the future might throw at us. So long as we were together.

YOLANDA POV

For the umpteenth time in the day, I thanked the universe for bestowing me with the good fortune to have Liam at my side and in my world.

I was very glad to have seen the back of Dallas and would be very happy never to visit the place again.

Once I had fed, after boarding the plane, I was supremely happy to be nestled in Liam's lap, snuggling up and eventually tempting him into cutting loose to join the Mile High Club.

He literally plugged me into our reality and reinforced our fierce love for each other.

Even in our less than ideal location, our communing with each other was very special and that alone made the flight memorable. Even though we had not used the wedding gift for honeymoon purposes, we would still have a very good memory to take away from that flight. I was immensely grateful for Liam's spontaneity in going with the flow, when my body language made it plain that nothing but his total loving would do to sort me out. He came through in spectacular style and I had no doubt that my husband loved me as intensely as I loved him.

On landing at Hanover's local airport, Emmett and Rosalie were waiting for us, lounging against the hood of Liam's car, as he had predicted they would. With a smile and a wave, they welcomed us to our new location. After hugs and hellos, we settled in for the ride as Emmett took off in a wave of burned rubber, leaving Liam cursing under his breath at the abuse of his vehicle.

After Liam had finished telling the others about our side trip, I noticed him looking at me sideways from time to time on the journey, despite the fact his face was only inches from mine as we cuddled up on the back seat. He kept nuzzling my cheek and I could see that, at times, his mind was elsewhere, deep in thought. He zoned out like that for a short while and then when we made the turn into the road which Rosalie said the Cullen property was on, Liam came back into our time zone. He popped a kiss on my cheek and squeezed my hand tightly, lifting it to his lips with a wink.

I loved this man dearly and could not imagine an existence without him. He had worked his way under my skin and into my soul, so deeply embedded that we were inter-twined, two halves of the same whole.

Whatever had happened to me in the past was not important now. The only thing that mattered was what Liam and I would do together from here on in and the wonderful things that we would experience together in the many decades ahead.

We were about to embark on the next phase of our lives: I wondered what the future would bring and could not help but be excited about it.

The world was our oyster. Eternity was ours.

NARRATOR POV

The years passed happily for Liam and Yolanda. They lived at the Cullen property in Hanover for the duration of Edward, Bella and Jacob's undergraduate time at college there and elected to take a view on future arrangements when that first period of time was over.

Liam, Jasper, Edward and Emmett all lent a hand in supervising Yolanda and Bella's encounters with humans.

Bella proved far better at the acclimatisation than Yolanda did, much to the latter's chagrin. Jasper concentrated on assisting with Bella, but Emmett proved Liam's best ally of all in that he became the target of Yolanda's energy-channelling and aggressive reactions.

Jasper, Edward and Liam stood back and watched, often belly-laughing, as Emmett's uncanny ability to goad Yolanda into a temper ultimately resulted in a better control of her feral side. Humans being on the menu took second place to wanting to beat Emmett to death as she chased him over half of New England.

Emmett assumed, by default, the role of team coach where the training of vampires was concerned, mentored by Jasper in the nuances of newborn aggression and thought processes. Yolanda and Bella were nowhere near as wild as Jasper's previous students, but there were still common elements which he had learned over decades to watch out for.

After being inducted into the joys of American football, Yolanda proved quite a useful team member. Her petite size and speed enabled her to elude Emmett on the field, when he wasn't trying to bring Rosalie down in a flying tackle. On a signal from Rosalie, she would often knock him on his backside with her power, for the hell of it, much to the amusement of Carlisle and Esme when they were watching. This was often followed by some name-calling by Emmett and the wish that he had never found Yolanda in the woods in the first place. Those comments were often followed by bearhugs by the pair, who enjoyed each other's company in reality and never held a grudge.

When Alice, Yolanda and Nessie teamed up, there was more mayhem as they brought their gymnastic abilities to the fore and literally cartwheeled around their opponents in any physical games. It took a long while for the others to work out a counter-strategy. Even Edward was challenged at times.

The Cullens' family from Denali came to visit, as did others friends from other parts of the world. Yolanda's vampire world was opened up further for her as she learned of the existence of other beings from other cultures. The various special powers that many of them exhibited were fascinating to her and her own talents were equally cause for comment.

In time, Yolanda learned to control her sexual aura and only let it loose upon special request, which was more frequent than the complaints about it indicated. Liam never complained, though, and enjoyed taking his wife to great heights of pleasure time and again.

Meanwhile, Yolanda would have fun with her extra power now and then, particularly if the boys wound her up. Nobody was immune to her "charms" when she set her mind to it.

Edward and Bella's graduation in English Literature was a cause for celebration and the prize for the top marked dissertation went to Bella in her final year. Emmett and Jasper ribbed Edward mercilessly about this, and even Carlisle smiled indulgently at his sons' antics. Edward was as proud as punch of his young wife and consequently took his own teasing in good part.

Jacob's own graduation brought an influx of Quileutes to Hanover to watch his ceremony. Even Leah turned up to participate, steering a wide berth around her vampire companions. As a sideline, Jacob and Rosalie had opened a car shop, specialising in converting engines of ordinary cars into hot rod versions for college boys with more money than sense. There were now many cars racing around the roads of New England with hidden talents beneath their understated hoods. Jacob proudly displayed his qualification certificate on the wall of his workshop and his father virtually did a jig in his wheelchair at the time of the graduation, proud of his son being the first in that side of the family to graduate from college.

By the time of the graduation ceremonies, Nessie had grown into a tall and lithe beauty, matching Rosalie for looks. With her colouring, she turned heads when out in the human world, but being home-schooled, she mixed less frequently than she might have otherwise with humans. However, when she did so, usually on Alice and Rosalie's shopping trips, she invited interest, even from a talent scout from a modelling agency on one occasion. She might not have had the height of a runway model, but there was something about her looks which was intriguing to humans.

Her intellect and musicianship had blossomed under the care of her extended family - it was obvious she could be anything she chose to be, if she had wanted a career. However, her focus was entirely on Jacob and how much time they could spend together. He was still being incredibly patient, waiting for her to be old enough to formally enter a courtship with her.

Rosalie occupied most of Jacob's free time and kept him out of trouble. Nessie was the only one who could push Rosalie aside for time with "her Jacob", as he was known. Rosalie's indulgence of her niece brought out a softer side of her nature and she was also proud "den mother" where Jacob was concerned, despite their continued light-hearted bickering.

Another three years passed, surprisingly with no changes to the living arrangements, until Nessie reached adulthood.

It was at that time that a radical change in the Cullen / Cunningham dynamic took place.

Upon Nessie's attaining of age, in her special circumstances, she professed the desire to settle down with Jacob. In turn, he confessed his wish to return to Forks and the Quileute lands. Whilst his and Rosalie's workshop had been a success, he wanted to transplant his talents back to his home territory and take Nessie with him.

It was a very difficult time for the Cullens as they prepared for a splitting up of the family.

Edward and Bella were heartbroken at letting Nessie go, but realised pragmatically that they would have to. Jacob was adamant about the move and indicated that his father had sacrificed enough, living on his own in less than happy health, and it was time for Jacob to make the change again.

It was at this time that Liam and Yolanda decided it was also the right occasion for them to move on.

They opted to head north to Liam's home in Ontario, taking an enthusiastic Rosalie and Emmett with them, to get settled up there and to ease the transition. Rosalie would need a new interest for a while, so she and Emmett would stay for a few weeks and then re-join the family or take off on some travels – they had yet to decide what they would do.

The remaining Cullens elected to move on as well, downing the Hanover house and having Carlisle quit his job at the nearby hospital.

With Alice bemoaning the lack of shopping amenities in the area, except for forays into Boston, the decision was made to head to Chicago, so that the Cullen men could take up new positions, in medicine and lecturing.

Esme was excited at the prospect of living in a favourite house again and Carlisle was relishing the prospect of a new challenge. Jasper had decided that he would like to lecture at night classes on American history and Alice was already making plans with Esme for the transformation of the next property they would tackle, over and above the one they would be living in.

Moving to Chicago would also be a chance for Edward to re-connect with his past and to show Bella some of his family's history. Their thinking was it would distract them from the absence of Nessie in their daily lives.

So the day arrived when Liam and Yolanda were due to head north. They opted to go first, leaving Esme and Carlisle to adapt to their absence ahead of their own move. Esme and Carlisle hoped it would be less of a wrench, but it actually turned out to be much harder than anticipated, as the Cunninghams had blended so well with the family.

It was both a sad and exciting prospect. The actual day of departure was fraught with emotion and the farewells took their toll, taking much longer than anyone anticipated.

Emmett and Rosalie were looking forward to living in a different environment for a while and racking up some new adventures. Yolanda was curious about Liam's own life away from the Cullen environment and ready to start creating her own memories as Liam's wife in their first home together, even though they were no longer newlyweds.

With the wonders of modern technology, the Cullens and Cunninghams could keep in touch readily and frequently, sharing tales of adventures and calamities, challenges and celebrations, tribulations and triumphs, and naturally, with Alice leading the way, planning their next get-together.

The years together had bonded them all and all knew they would answer any call for help at any time. The Volturi were never far from anyone's minds and Carlisle considered that it was only a matter of time before a re-visit by Aro and/or his minions.

Carlisle and Esme reflected on the events of the past few years and the extremely tight extended family unit which had developed around them. They allowed themselves a moment's pride in building a successful living environment, where human blood-letting could be held at bay, and unity, strong bonds and ethical living were prized above all else.

Carlisle's style of vampirehood had a lot going for it.

***

Who could have known that a chance encounter in the woods would lead to new vibrant colour being woven into the tapestry of the Cullen lives? The Cunninghams added warmth and laughter, and a touch of Celtic magic, into the lives of already mythical creatures.

In turn, those mythical creatures transformed and shaped the life of a very special human, who was given a second chance at life and a second chance at love, with a very special vampire, suited to her in every way.

None of them would have had it any other way.

Who knows what magic lies around the corner for any of us?

***

Thank you to everybody who has followed the story to its conclusion. It has been quite a journey and you have been brilliant supporters.

As somebody who has been lucky enough to unexpectedly encounter her own special miracle recently, I can attest to the fact that middle-aged romance is every bit as sweet and intense as it was at 18!

Thank you to all my wonderful writer-friends - CONTENT1, CORVIDCOCCINELLE, ELISESHAW, LATUACANTANTE83, RIAMARIA, TOTTEACHER, VENOMADDICT - for your staunch support. Your patience, love, support, and laughter have meant the world to me and I have treasured all our exchanges and hope we will continue to keep in touch.

Above all, my thanks to Yolanda (and, by default, Liam) for being generous enough to lend me her persona to take liberties with and send on a variety of adventures. Yobabe, you are beyond cool! I love you dearly!