Chapter 21: Epilogue; a happy ending?

Bella POV

A.N. Well this is it, the last chapter. I really hope you guys like it. I took my time with it.

"There is, and always will be, only you." – Jacob Black.

I sat at my desk in front of the computer, my fingers impatiently drumming on the hard wood waiting on the inspiration to strike. I stared at the email, and three words immediately assaulted my vision;

How are you?

It was the monthly email from Alice. From they left forks we'd been emailing back and forth every month for the past five years, telling each other of every bit of enthralling news as it happened. Only the last few emails I'd sent had been dry, and lacked any sort of real information, and Alice had noticed.

Each email she sent she asked how I was followed by;

I hope things are still going well.

I had neglected to tell her that I was fine, physically, but things with Jacob weren't so good and my heart literally hurt. Instead all I gave was;

Yeah, everything is fine. How about you?

I knew it pissed her off to no end. Alice liked to be in thick of any gossip of any kind, but I just didn't have the strength to admit that Jacob and I had grown distant recently, and that I was slowly dying inside.

I looked at the clock and realised that it was much later in the afternoon than I thought. Five forty to be precise. Jacob would be home in twenty minutes. I needed to get this email sent off before he arrived. My deadline was up, I had to tell Alice everything, or she would be here within a split second. She had alluded to such in her last email, and I didn't want to upset the wolves by bringing them here. Things had gotten good for us since they left, and I wasn't about to change that.

So, swallowing my pride and my misery, I began typing the email.

Hey Alice,

It sounds like Africa was amazing, I am glad you and Jasper had such a good time. I would love to see some pictures if you have any?

I rolled my eyes at my own comment, of course she had pictures, Alice was the picture queen.

...Things aren't good for me at the minute, to be honest. I fine, physically at least, and my work life is going well, but, things between Jacob and I aren't, so much. We're at an impasse of sorts in our relationship, and we're drifting apart at the minute. There are things we need to work out, and we're not really getting anywhere. And I'm just scared.

I hope everyone else in the family is doing well.

Love, Bella.

I clicked send signed off. I wished it was enough to pacify her. A little information, but not too much in detail. I knew it wasn't enough. But she just wouldn't understand. I sighed and closed my eyes to relieve the tension building behind them, just then the door clicked open letting me know that Jacob was home. I looked at the clock, it was only a quarter too six, he was home early.

"Bella?" he called out immediately, needing to know that I was there, and that I was safe. As usual an overwhelming sadness washed over me, which had been happening the past six months. It was like my body was shutting down to protect itself from the pain that I had been feeling.

"I'm in the spare room, I'm coming now." I replied.

I arrived down the stairs within a minute and immediately walked to the kitchen where he always went straight after coming in from work. My sadness grew as I watched him look about for something to cook for our dinner.

"You're home early." I said in way of greeting. He turned and gave me a kiss on the cheek as he always did before he answered me.

"Yeah, pack meeting tonight," he replied then went back to rummaging in the cupboards. There was a look of concern on his face, and I could feel him begin to panic at my lack of reaction, but I refused to comfort him. For now.

"Oh," I replied uninterested, and I could see him tense up. He of course had noticed straight away when my mood had changed. And even though we talked, or argued a lot about the situation, I couldn't pull myself out of the funk that I was in.

"What would you like for dinner?" he asked gently as he tried to gauge my emotions.

"Here, I'll cook. You've been working hard all day." I replied and squeezed my way in between him and the cupboards. I could feel his heart rate increase at my proximity, as it always did, but again, my natural reactions to him had been quelled by my overwhelming sadness.

"Thank you," he whispered. Not too sure how to proceed.

"Why don't you go for a shower? Help you relax your sore muscles before dinner." I suggested, keeping my back to him as I talked.

"Sure," he said gently. He spun me round and leaned in and gave me a long tender kiss on my lips. I reacted immediately and pressed my body against him, I opened my mouth and let him deepen the kiss. He pulled away after a minute or two when I had started gasping for air. His chocolate eyes had darkened to an obsidian, telling of his hunger for me. But looking into my own meek brown eyes I could tell all he could see was my sadness reflecting in them. He sighed and pulled away, his loss overwhelming me even more. "Bells, what's going on?" he asked, and I could hear the fear in his voice. "You seem worse today. Sadder, the connection is practically at breaking point."

I sighed and choked back my bubbling anxiety. I tried to calm myself down and force my emotions under control, but the imprint gave an almighty yank, as if it was about to snap, as I denied it the need to seek comfort in its partner. Jacobs eyes widened in fear, and he began to tremble. "Bells, please." he choked out.

"My old friend, Angela, from high school called today. She's just found out that she's pregnant and wanted to give me the good news." I whispered.

I could barely look into his eyes as the heartbreak and fear crept into them. His heart began to beat at a dangerous rate, and I began to panic.

"Jake, calm down." I said and rushed over to him. I placed my hands on either side of his face as he took deep breaths to calm himself.

"So, is this it then?" he asked slightly angry. "If I don't cave and give you baby, you're going to leave?"

"Jake, I never said that!" I shouted back at him.

"I can feel you pushing the imprint away Bella!"

"It's not intentional, Jacob, I am hurting inside, I am walking around with this physical pain, and I am just trying to make it better." I wept. "I just don't know how to deal with this emptiness. I am losing myself; it's consuming me, and I can't get out!" I began sobbing earnestly, and was immediately engulfed by Jacobs soothing heat, and instantly felt better. The imprint relaxed considerably, and I could feel Jacobs heartbeat return to a normal level.

"I know how much it's hurting you. It pains me to see you so heartbroken, and I know I'm the cause of that pain. You know the risks; our genetic makeups are just too different. I just don't want to do this, then end up losing the baby, and you. It would end me." he said, and I could feel his tears soaking my hair. I pulled away slightly so that I could look into his eyes that held such sorrow. I gently placed a kiss on his lips and forced myself to pull away. We needed to have this talk. It was the first time we could talk about it without arguing. I guess we were just too emotionally wrung out.

"I understand, I just don't think this yearning will ever go away, and I don't know what would happen to us if it doesn't."

"I can't lose you Bells; I won't lose you. I love you too much." he said emotionally.

"and I can't and won't lose you! I love you too, you know that." I replied earnestly, grabbing onto him as if he was going to walk away for good.

I could feel him waver, but he wouldn't give up just yet. "Bella, no matter what you're feeling now, it's going to be a million times worse if you lose the baby, and there's an eighty percent chance you will. I don't want to watch you suffer through that."

"I know the risks, but I know that I can do it, because I have you by my side. All I want to do is try."

"If we try, we try once Bella. A second time would put your life at risk. If it doesn't work, we move on and find something else to make us happy."

"Once is all I ask." I begged. "If it doesn't work, we still have each other. You do make me happy, every single day."

"Then we can try." he said finally. The joy that swept through me left me feeling breathless, Jacob smiled as the joy spread through to him.

"I love you." I said passionately, giving him a long hard kiss.

"I love you too." he replied with equal passion. He then scooped me up and carried me to our bedroom.

A few days later, I began to feel unwell, as if I had been hit with a serious cold. My head felt hot, and my body was achy. Jacob was extremely worried about it. We immediately consulted with Old Quil, who tried to reason with Jake that it could just be a coincidence, but I could tell that Jacob didn't believe him. Our fathers took a while to come around to the idea of it as well, they both agreed with Jacob that the risks were too great. Eventually they came around, even the pack were supportive.

As I had guessed, Alice wasn't satisfied with my response in the email, and she and the rest of the Cullen's decided to come for a visit. The pack wasn't too happy with the idea, only for the fact that they could bring back the threat of nomadic vampires, but they couldn't really stop them. After the help they gave us when Victoria attacked, and afterwards when Carlisle helped me when my head was cracked open, they were given a reprieve, and were able to stay if they wished. I was glad when they decided to leave, but now I was looking forward to them coming back.

It was on the day when the Cullen's decided to visit that I woke feeling worse than I had the last five days or so. My head was pounding, my temperature was up to ninety-eight and I was shaking with fever.

"Bella babe, we should stay at home today," Jacob said concerned as he handed me a glass of water and two paracetamols.

"No Jake, this is the only day they're visiting, please I can't miss it." I begged sitting up slowly.

"Bella, I am really worried, you're getting worse. It's starting to frighten me."

"I know, but I was thinking, maybe Carlisle knows something? He's been around for centuries, maybe he's seen this before. Was he around when the first imprint became pregnant?"

"I'm not sure, but it wouldn't hurt to ask I suppose." He shrugged.

"So, we can go?" I asked.

"Yeah, we can go."

I smiled gave him a quick kiss and rushed to take a quick shower. It wasn't long before we were in the car on our way, the pack had been notified, but they weren't going to intervene unless Jake needed them to. I began to feel unwell again, and I could feel my temperature rise again.

"Bella baby, I'm really starting to get scared." Jacob said as he pulled up outside the Cullen's old mansion.

"It's going to be okay, Jacob. I promise." I smiled in reassurance, he returned it but barely.

We walked up the front door hand in hand, where everyone was all ready to greet us, it was Alice who bounded down the steps first giving me a hug. I was grateful for it, as her iciness brought the much-needed coolness.

"Oh, Bella, you're roasting. Are you okay?" she asked concerned. I nodded my head but stopped when it began to spin. Jacob gripped my hand tightly. Carlisle had come down, a look of deep concern on his face.

"I'm okay. It's just a fever." She tried to reassure them, but they weren't convinced. They went along with the pretense anyway and invited us in. I took a deep breath and followed them, hoping against hope that I would eventually begin to feel better.

It wasn't long after we'd arrived in the Cullen's old mansion before I'd really started to feel unwell. I could feel my temperature rising, and my body began to tremble. A strong wave of nausea hit me suddenly and I had to breathe deeply to swallow it down. I could hear the others talking but couldn't quite make out what they were saying as my senses began to dim. Were they talking to me?

"Bella?" Jacob questioned worriedly, his distorted face swam into view and my senses returned to normal.

"Is everything okay? " Carlisle questioned again. I couldn't answer though as the room had begun to spin.

I grabbed Jacob in order to steady myself and could just about hear Jacob explain to Carlisle that I had been feeling unwell for days, but that this was the worst that I had been.

My vision began to blur, and I could feel my heart hammer in my chest. Something really wasn't right. I could hear Jacob talking to me frantically, but my answer was cut short when a sharp pain shot through my stomach, followed by another, then another, until I was on my knees screaming in pain.

"Bella?" Jacobs panicked voice brought my vision into focus, I gasped but couldn't answer as another pain shot through my core. I began to panic as my vision went black, the room swam out of view and I lost consciousness.

XX

Jacob POV

My heart lurched in my chest as Bella lost consciousness, the imprint strained, and my wolf clawed deep within my chest as it began to panic. Ignoring the urge to phase I immediately scooped her up and followed Carlisle into one of the other rooms and laid her down on the chase lounge that was available and gripped her hand tightly in mine. Not failing to notice that her skin was raging hot. Carlisle checked her pulse, pupil responses, and felt her forehead with his hand.

"She's very feverish, and her pulse is racing. Edward, I need you to sneak into the hospital for some supplies. We need everything, bags of fluid, thermometer, hypodermic needles, try and get an observation machine. Rosalie, go with him, make sure you aren't seen."

They left immediately with no argument. I grabbed Bella's hand, and noticed it was roughly the same temperature as my own. I crouched down beside her and planted a kiss on her sweaty forehead.

"Jacob, do you know what's wrong with her! Has she been around anyone who's been sick lately?" he asked, and I noticed a slight tone of panic.

"No, nothing like that." I sighed taking a deep breath. "We started trying for a baby. I'm not sure, but she might be pregnant, and if she is then she's in real danger."

"What do you mean real danger?"

"She's having a very bad reaction to the pregnancy. For someone like Bella a pregnancy can be fatal. It's why I didn't want to try, but Bella wanted to so, so much. Wolf genes are extremely strong, and usually causes flu like illness in natives, during the implantation phase."

"But Bella's not a native." Carlisle sighed heavily as the realization hit him.

"There's very little in the legends," I continued, "very few documented cases. Most where the baby doesn't survive, because the body doesn't recognize the genes that are invading it, so it goes into overdrive trying to protect itself." I heard Edward and the others come back and prepared myself for an argument.

"So that's what's happening then? The body is trying to expel the fetus?"

"Bella is only the second non-native imprint of an alpha, so the legends are practically nonexistent. In most of the non-native cases, the woman hasn't been an imprint, and the wolf hasn't been an alpha, so the body just expelled the baby without any damage to the mother, but alpha genes are much stronger. In the only case that resembles Bella's and my situation, the imprint died before anything started really. It's why I didn't want to try; I was too scared, but Bella pleaded with me to try at least once."

"Well the answer is obvious isn't it?" Edward said. "Carlisle, take the baby out."

"No." I growled ferociously. So much so that the others closed in to protect Edward.

"You'd rather it kills her?" he snarled back.

"It's not your choice!" I yelled.

"Jacob, if it's what's best..." Carlisle began.

"No! This is Bella's dream, and I will not take it away from her. Especially without her knowledge." I growled casing Edward to back up slightly. I heard the wolves howl in the distance, answering my silent call. "May I also remind you that any attempt to forcefully remove that baby will violate the treaty."

"That doesn't matter when Bella's life is at stake!" Edward snarled.

"Do you think I want this? To see her like this! I can't do it unless it's necessary, it will break her heart. I refused her for so long, and I could see it break her heart each time I did. We consulted with old Quil, who told us as much of the history as he could, but I kept telling her no. Eventually, the look of despair that showed on her face each time she saw a child, broke me down. I could feel her begin to pull away. So, I agreed. I may not have been on board from the start but that is my child also, and I already love it more than I can even say. I will not let anyone harm it; I will die protecting them both."

"There will be no need Jacob, we'll try to save them both, won't we Carlisle." Esme said chirping in, and I was grateful for the support from one other person.

"Of course, we will." Carlisle said and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Right now, her body temperature is at one hundred and eight. Which isn't good for her body. We'll set up fluids, but I think we're going to need to do something drastic to get her temperature down."

"Anything." I said, "we have to try."

"Okay then we need a bed, I think the one we'd gotten for Bella is still upstairs, bring it down, grab a tarp from the garage and put it down on the bed, then we need ice, bags and bags of ice. I'm going to try to force her body temperature to lower. If we can do that then she may survive, but be prepared, her body may succeed in expelling the fetus." Carlisle ordered the others. I nodded my head and watched the others get to work. "Does the legends say anything about what happens once the pregnancy passes first stage of implantation?"

"Well, Bella will be the only non-native to make it that far if it does, but for natives, the pregnancy goes to full term and with no more complications."

"How long has it been?" Carlisle asked.

"Five days, or so."

"That may be why she lost consciousness then, she's at the final stage of implantation. But be prepared, she may still spontaneously abort." he replied. I nodded in understanding.

Dad and Charlie arrived within an hour of Bella losing consciousness, both wore worried expressions that matched my own.

"What happened?" Charlie asked in a sheepish whisper, his eyes roamed over his daughter's appearance, taking in the bags and bags of ice that surrounded her small frame. Alice and Esme came in about every ten minutes to change the ice bags over.

"We think she's pregnant, but we need to wait until the pregnancy has taken to be able to tell. Her body seems to be fighting the baby hard, she lost consciousness after her temperature spiked to one hundred and eight, and she experienced some intense pain."

"So, it's harming her, like we feared?" My dad asked. I nodded my head solemnly.

"Maybe not." Carlisle said entering the room. "She's a strong one our Bella, her temperature is already coming down, albeit very slowly, and all her observations are good."

"Do you know when she'll wake?" I asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, not I wasn't around when the first imprint died, and I have nothing to go on except for a normal pregnancy, which if she's on day six, then she'll only be out for a day, two at most." I sighed heavily and nodded my head. Carlisle nodded two and left us alone.

"You look tired, son. The pack is outside, why don't you go and get some air? We'll watch her for you." My dad said, I smiled and nodded placing a tender kiss on Bella's head, noticing that it was still far too warm.

I choked back my fear and rushed outside where I gulped in the fresh air. It wasn't long before the pack members surrounded me.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asked.

"Sort of, she's fighting hard, but so is her body. There's a chance she could still abort."

"We believe in her." Paul said, and the pack murmured in agreement. "Our Bella is strong, she's going to get through this, both her and the baby."

"I really hope so" I sighed. "She could be out for a few days though." I supplied.

"Then this is where we'll be, all of us for the next few days. We'll take it in turns. Work out a Rota between us." Sam said.

"Thanks guys," I smiled in appreciation.

The guys milled about chatting for a few minutes before heading back into the tree line to keep an eye out.

"So, she's going to be oaky?" Edward said appearing suddenly.

"Carlisle thinks so." I shrugged.

"But you're not so sure."

"Bella having a baby is the most dangerous thing she could ever do. Our genetic codes, technically aren't compatible."

"Yet, she wanted one." He said frowning. "I don't remember Bella ever being baby crazy, or even wanting one."

"You guys talked about that stuff?" I asked, unable to keep the lump from sticking in my throat.

"Well no, I talked, Bella listened, barely." He explained, and I couldn't help snorting.

"Yeah, Bella didn't want kids, not in the beginning anyway…"

"So, what changed her mind?"

"Well, with you and your family moving away, you took the threat of nomadic vampires with you. So, we were able to stop phasing on a regular basis, we still phased to keep a look out every once and a while, but things were good. So, we all started settling down, getting married, and having children, being around babies all the time started to make Bella broody. But I refused. I had explained to her early on, in the marriage, the complications she faced in having a baby and she accepted that it wouldn't be possible. Yet, with each baby that came along her yearning grew, until it consumed her. She begged and begged, and I could feel her begin to pull away. I feared losing her, so I caved."

"I probably would've done the same, if I was in your position." Edward mused.

"I just want to give her the world."

"No matter the cost" he added in agreement.

"Yeah, to be honest I have always dreamed of being a father, but I gave up that dream when I married Bella, as I knew it would be too dangerous, but maybe I was just being too cowardly."

"I understand, that's how I lost her." He began and I looked at him quizzically. "I can blame you all I want, but I know it was me really. I was so terrified of losing her, of hurting her, that I forcefully removed myself from the picture, it was that action that ruined things for us. Not the fact that you imprinted on her."

"To be fair, I was always going to imprint on her, whether you two were together or not."

"Yeah, but maybe she would've stayed with me?" he said thoughtfully.

"If you hadn't have left her before we imprinted, I would've broken the imprint bond."

"Really?" he asked shocked.

"Of course, it would've caused her so much pain having to choose between us. I wouldn't have put her through that. No matter how much pain it caused me."

"So, you would've forcefully removed yourself from the equation, forcing her to choose me. Just like I done…"

"Hmph, I guess were not so different, you and me."

"Not when it comes to Bella."

"You still love her, don't you?"

"I will always love her. I will always have hope that one day she'll come back to me again." I glared at him. He smiled slightly. "However remote that notion is." He added.

"The pack are going to be around for a few days, they want to make sure that Bella will be okay," I said.

"Carlisle already assumed as much. It seems there are a lot of people who want to make sure Bella will be okay." He replied, I patted him on the shoulder sympathetically and went back into Bella.

I was surprised to find that the bags of ice that were keeping Bella cool were gone. "Her temperature has come down to a safe enough level where we can give her paracetamol to control it." Carlisle said answering my unspoken question.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked

"It's looking really good right now. She's fighting back. I'm going to draw some blood to test, now that her temperature is down it may be a sign that the pregnancy has been successful. Talk to her, she may be at a conscious enough level to hear what you're saying." He left after drawing the blood leaving just us in the room.

"I could do with some fresh air." My dad announced. "Wheel me out old man?" he said to Charlie, laughing at the look Charlie shot him.

I settled down in the seat beside Bella's bed and grabbed her hand, relieved to find that she was a lot cooler than earlier.

"Bella love, Carlisle says you can hear me, and I really hope you can. I am so sorry for what I have put you through these last few months. I was just too afraid to lose you. It was selfish of me to stop us from having a child just because I didn't want to live without you. Especially when I would love nothing more than for us to have a family. I have always wanted a family with you. But I saw what my dad went through when he lost my mum, I lived it, and the thought of being in that situation myself terrified me to my very core, so much so that it over took my desire to be a family.

I guess what I am trying to say is, that I am sorry that I let my fear rule my head and my heart. We worked so hard to get ourselves out of that state of mind where we were both too terrified to live, in fear of losing each other, and I just threw that all away because I am a coward." I sighed I wished that she was awake, but her eyes fluttered yet didn't open.

It was a long night, Bella's temperature stayed down, but she still didn't wake. Carlisle kept telling me things were good, although I didn't quite believe him. I barely slept. Being in a house full of vampires, with my imprint lying unconscious had me on high alert the whole night. The next morning, she pretty much the same, Bella was still stable, but still not awake. I began to lose it.

"Bella please, wake up baby, don't leave me. I can't lose you." I choked back the sob that was trying to escape, and kissed her head, which was reassuringly cool.

"You're not going to lose me." Bella rasped, I let out an audible gasp and lifted my head in disbelief only to be met by her beautiful chocolate orbs.

"Bella, you're awake." I gasped and leaned forward to kiss her. "You scared me, honey."

"What happened?" she asked confused.

"You collapsed, you experienced severe pain in your abdomen, and your temperature skyrocketed to one hundred and eight."

"...but, why?" she began then not really remembering, but after a few seconds she gasped as the realisation hit her. "The baby? What happened?" she asked fearfully.

"We think things went well, your body fought hard against it, but it seems you fought even harder. There has been no bleeding, so Carlisle thinks that's a good sign."

"When will we know?"

"Right now," Carlisle said as he entered the room. "Good to see you awake Bella, you gave us all quite a fright."

"Sorry, thanks for saving me, again."

"No thanks needed Bella, honestly." He smiled, and she smiled in return. "Well Bella, you fought really hard, and it paid off, congratulations guys, you're going to be parents."

"Really?" Bella cried, unable to contain her joy.

"Really, congratulations." He said then discreetly slipped out of the room.

"You done it babe," I said giving her a long hard kiss.

"I can't believe I done it," she cried.

"I can." I said. "You're my amazing, stubborn, strong wife and I am so grateful for you, and for the chance to be a father."

"You're really happy about this?" she asked with trepidation.

"Of course, I am, and I am so sorry that I made you think that I wasn't. I love you."

"I love you too." She replied, and this time she leaned in for the kiss.

Edward Pov

I listened outside as Jacob talked to Bella, my heart bursting with relief when she awoke, and relayed the news that Carlisle gave them, to the wolves, and Billy and Charlie.

"She did it, Bella is going to have a baby." I said. I was met by loud ruckus cheering and quickly made my exit. I looked back only once, hoping that my love would change her mind and run after me, it was never going to happen of course, but I would never give up hope. "I love you Bella, now, and always." I whispered before disappearing into the night.

After saying our goodbyes once again we headed back to our new home in Alaska. Alice received by weekly updates on the development of Bella's pregnancy, which was going great. Bella was healthy and so was the baby, which I was glad for. I would never want any harm to come to her or her child, no matter who she bore it with.

And it was 9 months on, on March the 15th, exactly six years after Jacob imprinted on my Bella that my family got the news, they were all waiting on, and I was dreading.

"Guys, the baby is here!" she called, and we all surrounded her at the computer within a second. "Ready? Meet baby Sarah Olivia Black. Born at 16:08, weighing a tiny 5lbs 8oz."

"She's beautiful." Rosalie cooed.

"She looks like Bella." I replied.

"Does it say anything else?" Esme asked excitedly.

"Just that the birth was normal, Bella did exceptionally well, no spikes in temperature occurred, and that so as to have her own identity, they've decided to use a nickname for the baby and will call her Liv."

I smiled and made my way out of the room but didn't get far before Carlisle caught up with me.

"Are you okay, son?" he asked. I smiled slightly.

"Yes, I am actually, I am happy for her, I genuinely am."

"She achieved what you wanted for her all along."

"How do you mean?" I asked slightly confused.

"Well, you always wanted her to live a normal life, and even though she married a wolf, this is as normal as it can get for her."

"Yeah, I guess she did." I replied smiling to myself. Carlisle patted me on the shoulder who then went and re-joined his wife.

Carlisle was right, even though she wasn't with me, this is what I had wanted for her from the very moment I had laid eyes on her, a normal, healthy, human life. And she had it, and suddenly I was no longer angry about it, I couldn't be. Bella was living, and that's all my heart truly desired.

A.N. Well guys, I have finally completed this story, after six long years. I hoped it ended in the way everyone wanted it too. I have been toying around with a sequel for about a year right now, but it is far out there, like way OOC, and I am not sure if it's the right way to go. But anyway, let me know what you thought of the ending. Massive thanks to all those who have read and took the time to review and stuck with me to the end. You guys rock.