All normal disclaimers apply. Special thanks to the normal group of ladies that help keep us readable. Any mistakes you find are those of Nikky and I.

Epilogue – Where Heaven Leads

The last few days have been so busy. I don't think I've had a break to sit down. However, I wanted today to be perfect, so I was willing to forego my rest to make it that way. I really can't believe it's been a year to the day my life irrevocably changed.

I woke up that morning wrapped in Bella's arms. We had breakfast with her family. Jasper and Tanya joined us, too. After breakfast I took her back to my home and I told her everything about myself. I told her about my childhood and what happened to change everything. The best part was she believed every word I told her.

At the end of the day we were a couple. Since we both had time off, we spent it together as a couple. Much of the time her family joined us and even Tanya came along. I did find it a little strange that Tanya and I seemed to fall into a brother-sister relationship, but we're a lot closer like this.

"On New Year's Eve, I brought the Swan family, Rose and Jasper to my home. We all brought in the New Year together as a big family. The next day Esme, her husband Carlisle, and Emmett joined us for dinner.

I spent some time with Esme and we cleared the air. She told me everything that happened. She even said she's sure my father loved me; he just didn't know how to show me. Her only proof is that he made her my guardian before he died.

The days that followed flew by rather fast. Jasper got settled in his new home, and the buildings' apartments all got the much needed repairs and renovations done. He had also started to see Carlisle about his PTSD. I got one of my private detectives to look for Sky.

Rose had also moved into one of the empty apartments, and she really seems to be doing well. Bella had brought up a good point to me when I told her my story—she feared that Royce may try to get Rose. Bella feared he'd hurt Rose and blame her for my company pulling out of business with him. For that reason, and because I know what he'd done to Rose, I paid him another visit.

I was clear to tell him that she was now a member of my staff, and if I saw him anywhere near her, I would take him to the cleaners. I told him not even the rats would be his friend when I was done with him if he crossed me. I then went to Rose and Jasper to tell them everything that had happened. They both thought I was a little crazy, but when I told them some of their most personal information they seemed to believe me a little more. I then made Rose aware about both my meetings with Royce. She was a little worried, but she also seemed happy that someone believed her.

Going back to work was strange the first few days. Even more so when I openly kissed Bella when I had gone down to meet her at the front door. There was a lot of staff there who had seen this, so by first morning break, it was all over the building.

At lunch time, I walked out of my office to see her sitting there waiting for me. I introduced her to Alice, telling Alice to buzz me whenever Bella was there, whether I was on the phone, busy or not. Alice nodded at me in surprise knowing that was something I'd never asked or allowed when I was with Tanya.

I took Bella down to the employee cafeteria wanting people to get used to me being with her. The whole room went silent the first time we entered. Everyone's eyes went from Bella and I to Tanya who was already waiting there for us. They all seemed to watch intently as we walked to the table. I help Bella to sit down and it was rather silly, a few people actually gasped. That happened again when I left Bella with Tanya and went to get our food. And that's how the next big rumors started.

Supposedly, Bella was carrying a child for Tanya and me. Then we were having threesomes. Or there was Tanya was stupid and just took my cheating ways, even when I was throwing it in her face. Then of course, Bella was blackmailing Tanya and me. I even heard it said that I needed two women because I had a foot long dick and could last for an hour. There was a load more, but I had enough when it got to day three and held a press meeting. I told everyone that Tanya and I had parted ways, but have remained friends. I also declared my undying love for Bella, telling everyone how I wanted to marry her and was waiting for her to say yes. There was only one rumor after that—of course it was said that Bella was only after my money.

I never felt so angry in my life as when I saw how they slandered Bella and her family so harshly. They had written how Bella's mom was unfit and Bella left school to look after her younger brother. I was only halfway through the article when Rose called me to say that Bella was crying at her apartment. I went straight there to find not only an upset Bella, but an upset and guilty looking Renee. It took the rest of the day to calm them both down. Renee was feeling guilty for not being able to do much. After seeing the article, she believed that she was a bad mom. Bella was upset because of what was written, and also because of how upset Renee was. Of course, the being upset, led to Renee's pain increasing.

Once they were calm and Rose and Jasper sat with them, I went to pick up Joshua, who was having a bad day at school. It turned out some of the teachers—yes, that's right, not kids, but teachers—were talking about Bella and his mom. Apparently, he started yelling at them as he defended his family. When they told me he was suspended for a week, I just smiled at them saying that was fine. I went on to inform them I would be contacting my team of attorneys, and I requested the names of the teachers involved. I made sure they were aware that I would be dealing with this personally.

When I arrived back to the apartment with Joshua, I asked Bella and her family to move in with me. I told them that I had more than enough room, and I could give them a floor of their own. I knew by the look on Bella's face she was going to say no.

Thankfully, after that day, things seemed to calm down. Everyone seemed to slowly accept that Bella and I were in love and were a couple. It was our third month together that a few things all happened at once.

It all started with the private detectives I had hired, found Sky. Sadly, her biological father was a deadbeat druggy that led Jasper's ex-wife to becoming one, too. Almost two years ago their parental rights were removed. I was a little happy to find that Sky was still in foster care and not adopted. I got the best family lawyer in the state on the case. It took only two weeks for a court to grant Jasper temporary custody of her. Jasper couldn't stop smiling when she was handed to him. I sent him out with my card and Alice so little Sky could get clothes.

The other thing that happened was Emmett and Rose started dating. They had formed a real good friendship over those first three months, and I knew Emmett adored the ground Rose walked on.

Another thing was Bella and I made love for the first time and it was amazing. I still remember it as if it was yesterday; I had taken her out to the theater. I brought her back to my place to spend the night. Our actions mirrored, and neither of us was able to keep our hands off the other. I swear I would've continued being a complete gentleman, but when I kissed her and she panted "make love to me," instantly my restraint snapped.

I lifted her to my bed and slowly removed her clothing and made sure to pay attention to every inch of her skin. I brought her pleasure repeatedly with my hands and mouth, before breaking through her barrier and holding her close, kissing away her tears. I hated most that I had to hurt her to join us like that, but I've never felt as complete in my entire life as I did right then and there.

After that we seemed to be even closer and more in love. I asked her again to move in with me and this time she said yes. It took a week to get them all moved in.

Emmett now gives Joshua a ride to and from school as he chose to remain in the school he was at.

Renee started working for me, and me being the ingenious guy I am, I asked Esme if she would be a sort of personal assistant to her. I explained to Bella that Esme had a nursing degree that went unused because at first, she couldn't find a job, but then my father hired her. When she was fired, she got a job in the hospital where she met Carlisle, but when my father died, she left her job to look after me. When I stopped talking to her, when I went to college, she went back to nursing. If anything happened to Renee, Esme would be able to deal with it.
Bella seemed to be even happier when Renee and Esme got along really well. Rose and Emmett were happy, and it turned out Alice and Jasper hit it off real well and started to date. The only thing that seemed to be missing was Garrett, Alec, and Jane. Tanya always seemed to be happy for everyone, but I could see it as much as Bella could that she was feeling lonely.

It was three months ago when Joshua started to talk about his new friends, a boy and his younger sister. They came for a sleepover.

"Edward." I look up at Bella as she burst into my office. Her face goes pale when she sees that I am in middle of a meeting. "I'm sorry," I chuckle shake my head.

"No, come in, love," I say waving her over to me. Bella bites her lip and slowly moves across the room to me. When she's near enough, I pull her onto my lap.

"Edward," Bella shrieks as her face becomes hot and red.

"Hush, love, just tell me what's wrong."

"You need to come upstairs; I think I'm losing my mind."

I look at her confused.

"Joshua's friends are here and their names are Alec and Jane, they ... they ..." Bella stops, swallows and just looks at me.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry, but this meeting will have to come to a close. Talk to Alice and arrange another time please. I walk out with Bella and head up to where Joshua is, and my mouth drops open seeing Jane and Alec sitting there chatting away to him.

"Oh," I say stopping.

"It's them, isn't it, I'm right, right? I swear this is so weird to think about what was a dream and what was real."

"It's them, have you asked about the parents?"

"Yeah, they don't have a mom or remember her, and their dad's name is Garrett. He's not working and they're staying at the Blue hotel." Bella grimaces her distaste, not that I blame her. The Blue hotel costs twenty-five dollars per night, but it's full of working girls and drug users and pushers. It's not the streets, but it's not the best or safest of places for kids.

"I have a number for him." Bella hands me her cell and I walk out of the room with it.

After a few rings he picks up and I ask to meet him right away.

"Hello, Garrett," I say as I sit next across from him.

"Hi ... what's this about?"

I smile at him hoping to put him at ease. "I would like to offer you a job. It comes with a home—rent free—for three years."

Garrett just looks at me. "Why would you do that?"

"We have a mutual friend."

He looks at me confused. "Tanya," I say and first he smiles, but his face drops a little. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Garrett sighs and tells me how Tanya had the miscarriage and it was a few days later he went to see her, but got arrested for speeding on his bicycle. I questioned him about the bicycle, and he chuckled. He confirmed he later found out that Tanya's father paid the police off. By the time he was let go Tanya had already left, it took him almost a month to find her.

He left a note with her roommate and when she didn't contact him a few days later, he went to see her and she was having coffee with me. It took a little while to work it out, but we found there was some miscommunication. Tanya's roommate didn't pass on the message and when Garrett saw her with me he thought she had moved on.

He got blindingly drunk and met a woman named Kate, who seemed to look a lot like Tanya. They had a short affair which he ended because he wanted to win Tanya back. However, Kate was already pregnant. Having lost a child before, he couldn't bear to give it up and walk away. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to rub it in Tanya's face.

They had Alec and stayed together as friends only; they never became a true couple. It was almost two years later when again they got drunk and had sex. This was the first time since they ended their relationship, but again Kate fell pregnant. This time the birth was a lot harder and it turned out Kate had some medical problems of which he wasn't aware. Two hours after giving birth she passed away. Since then it's just been the three of them. We sat and talked into the early hours of the morning. It was clear that he still loved Tanya very much. Tanya was his first love and the love of his life. Where he cared for Kate, it was just like what Tanya and I had, they were just there for each other. I dropped him off at Bella's old apartment and told him that I would come back tomorrow.

The next morning I took Tanya with me asking her to help my new friend. When I brought her to the apartment, it only took mere seconds for them to be in each other's arms.

I spent the day with Bella, Joshua, Alec, and Jane. It was quite late when Tanya called to say they wanted to talk to the kids. Turns out, Tanya asked him to move in with her, and she was now going to ask the kids. Both kids loved the idea and it helped that they knew her after spending time with Tanya last night.

The weeks seem to pass quickly after that and Tanya fell almost right away into being the kids' mom. There was never a push or pull on either side; they just came together like they were meant to be.

All of that led us up today, Christmas Eve. It's also the day I am marrying Bella.

I walk outside to see that Tanya, Rose, and Alice have done a great job at making the place look magical. We are in what was my family home. The house is located in the middle of a meadow, a really beautiful place. Garrett made the bench seating for our guests, they look like tree trunks. And last there are the snow machines that have given the place a nice coat of snow.

I take my place at the front as the music starts to play. I look down the aisle seeing two people who helped change my life walking toward me, Rose and Jasper. When they get to me Rose gives me a smile and a wink. I know it's because she's truly happy.

Next down is the person who has been my friend the longest, Tanya and Garrett.

Tanya pulls me in for a hug. "You look great, remember I love you."

I chuckle hearing her sniffles.

"You can chuckle all you want, just remember that you need to give me away next month."

I bob my head at her and she moves to stand beside Rose.

Next are the kids—Joshua with Jane and Alec is with Sky. I watch Alice throw her headset at some girl before Emmett walks her down. I take a deep breath and look back as Renee very slowly walks down with Bella. As soon as she gets to me, both Bella and I keep a hold of Renee who is sobbing happy tears. After she says her bit, I help her to her seat next to Esme and Carlisle.

I can feel my smile as the service goes on when I'm told I can kiss my wife. I pull her to me kissing her hard on the lips.

"I love you," I say as I pull back.

"I love you, too."

We sign the papers and Bella pulls me into one of the rooms. "I wanted to give you this tonight, but I can't wait any longer." Bella passes me a small box. Taking it in my hand, I open it and my mouth drops open when I see what's inside.

"Really?" I ask and she nods.

"When did you ..."

I stop talking and she smiles at me. "This morning, I only thought that I could be a few days ago, but kind of put it off. Rose made me take the test."

I grin. "I'm going to be a daddy?"

Bella nods with a huge smile on her face and I pull her to me.

"We still need it confirmed by a doctor ..."

I smile and interrupt her by kissing her.

"Alice said I could use her appointment on the twenty-seventh ..."

I kiss her again, stopping her from talking.

I pull back and look her in the eyes. "I fucking love you so much," I say as she wipes my tears away.

I start to kiss her lips again, and this time my hands wander all over her body. A knock on the door puts a stop to our foreplay.

"Eddie, can you dance with me please?" I chuckle hearing Sky pleading from outside the door.

"Yes, I was just coming," I shout. "If she was a few minutes later you would be the one coming, while screaming my name."

Bella swats me playfully and I kiss the deep blush of her cheek—that will never get old. I shake my head and hold Bella's hand walking out.

The night goes by with my family—my really big family—chatting over dinner. There is only one table with everyone sitting at it. At eight that night, we pass out the kids' gifts before putting them to bed, and then at midnight we pass out the gifts to the adults and set up the Santa stuff for the morning. When we are all done, I pull Bella to the room we are sleeping in.

"I'm going to make love to you all night," I say in her ear and she hums.

"Sounds good to me," she moans back to me as I nip her neck.

So I do just that.

The next morning we all wake up and get ready, heading out leaving the kids playing with Renee and Esme and head to the streets and Where Heaven Leads. Give out gifts to the people who are having a hard time. With the help of my company, Where Heaven Leads has become one of the biggest places that help anyone who needs it.

Two Years Later~

I look across at my wife as she smiles at the kids while wearing her Mrs. Claus costume. I see Esme walking around with Carlisle beside her, each holding one of our children. Yeah, my sweet wife was pregnant on our wedding day … with twins. Our sons are eighteen months old now, and quite the powerhouses of energy. Rose is waddling around—eight months along—handing out gifts and Emmett is hovering over her like she might pop any minute. Alice and Jasper are happy and doing well—they married two months ago and have legally adopted Sky—they make quite a lovely family. Joshua and Alec are helping Jane pass out all of the muffins the center is handing out, while Tanya and Garrett pass out cider. Renee is sitting and making sure each person that checks in is given one of the donated gift cards. She's still in a lot of pain, but Esme has helped hook her up with a good doctor. After the new year, she is having surgery to help fix her spine injury to lessen her pain.

I watch as Rose shoos Emmett away, and he walks to check on Bella. Before I know it he gives Bella a helping hand, and she waddles over to me and he moves off to help with the cider. Bella sure didn't need any padding to make her round this year—she's currently seven months along with our daughter. I smile at her and hug her close once she gets to me.

I can't help but think how lucky I truly am. Not because I have money or nice things, but because I have an amazing wife, and a great family. All of whom stand by each other and give the gift of love freely to the people they meet. It doesn't matter to us if that person has the same beliefs or ideas as us, only that they are another person that will grow and smile with a little love in their heart.

A/N: Well first off, we are both sorry this is so tardy, and that we have not yet done the review replies. We have been hard at work getting a few other things done as well as this. Please forgive us for not doing them yet, and we hope you enjoyed this tale.

We have another story coming out this month it will be starting within a week or so. The story is written for MooAh, she won it in a raffle. It will post quickly, and be split up over about 10 or so chapters. The name of the new story is Raising the Steaks – yes steaks is a play on words sort of thing, so it is misspelled on purpose. There is a wonderful banner for it made by Deebelle1, who ironically named the story as well as the bar and grill in the story. This story will be completed before it starts to post.

We are currently posting a story we wrote for facebook, on two different group pages on facebook:
TeamAllTwilight & AndTAT Fan Fiction
–or–
Secluded Wings

The next WIP we will be doing after Raising the Steaks will start sometime around the end of February, if all goes well.

Thanks everyone, Nikky and Kasi~