A/N: Part two and with this one the sun will be setting on these guys.
Thanks to Kimmie45 and StarryEyedWriter8, and everyone who read, and reviewed. Even all you lurky kind, and trolly McTrolls.
*smooch*

Vertigo

Epilogue Part 2.

Edward.

"Get over there right now and find out whether she's pregnant. Now, Tyler—take Bella with you!" I burst the moment I throw open his bedroom door.

He's lying on his bed looking green and seedy before immediately pulling his legs to the side and sitting up. "Dad, I..."

"Now!" I repeat myself, my voice rising. "It should be your first priority—Bella!" I call out to her, because god knows she'll hold the bitch down and force her to take a pregnancy test if need be.

She appears behind me a few moments later.

"What's going on?" she asks, sounding tired.

"Go with him," I instruct her, "and don't leave until she's taken a test in front of you."

"Go...?" she repeats blankly.

"To her house—whatever the hell her name is."

"Tania," Tyler says quietly.

"Right now?" She quirks an uncertain brow. "Honey..."

"Bella..." I sigh and rub my brow heavily. "I don't need to remind you why this is important."

"I know, but he's still pretty pukey," is her reasoning.

"Do you want me to call James?" I suggest. She opens her mouth to object just as Tyler snorts. "And you," I snap, turning back at him, "next time you've got a problem, come to me. I don't want to see you sulking around the house and feeling sorry for yourself again."

"Alright..." he mumbles, dragging himself to his feet and running both hands back through his hair.

"Are you okay to drive?" I ask him. "I can get—"

"I'm fine to drive—Christ!" Bella protests, cutting me off. She put her foot down over it years ago, and she's given me bloody high blood pressure ever since. She hasn't had an attack in years though. At least, not one that was the result of panic.

"Where does she live?" I put the question to Tyler.

"Glebe."

"Okay, get going," I order him.

"Come on, handsome. Caesar has spoken," Bella directs him as I huff.

"Bella—Jesus!"

"Oh, I'm only kidding." She waves her hand to dismiss me, flashing me a shrewd grin. "Tyler, let's go."

"Doing my bloody head in," I mutter, trudging back downstairs.

Bella follows with Tyler several paces behind her; he's moping, but it's obvious it's more from the physical state he's still in. I've warned him dozens of times about drinking too much, but he's a glutton for punishment. I was once too, though, and I'm surprised I'm still alive considering the benders Jake and I used to go on.

"Sam needs to go down for a nap at one," Bella reminds me, plucking her car keys off the hook by the entrance.

"Okay." I nod, and at the sound of the front door opening Sam comes bolting into the room with his hands held up.

"Sammy come?" he asks Bella, attaching himself to her leg.

"Daddy's going to take you to the park, Sammy," she promises him as I prise him off her.

He chucks a fit, and throwing him over my shoulder, I carry him in the opposite direction and out the back door. You can't reason with him, not at this age, and I know nothing will shut him up until I get him on the bloody slide.

The park is at the end of the street and the moment we're outside and heading in the direction, Sam's tears immediately stop. He loves coming here, and it's the best way to tire him out.

I let him explore the playground equipment and jump in the sandpit while I sit on the bench and watch him, but I'm too distracted. I'm restless, and I can't stop my knees from bouncing. I've never regretted having Tyler in my life, but it's still not something I want for him. The circumstances are completely different this time, and he's too young to be forced into fatherhood; especially with a girl who's only after money.

Forty minutes later I cave and text Bella: Everything okay?

It's Tyler who replies: She's heavying her old man. Mate she's scary sometimes.

I laugh out loud; scary she is.

Not long after, Sam starts rubbing his eyes and tugging on his ears, a sure sign he's tired, and hoisting him into my arms we head home. He doesn't protest.

Bella and Tyler arrive back just after I put him to sleep.

"Did she take it?" I ask her the moment they come through the door, and just as Bella turns the screen of her phone to me. It's cracked, but not enough to conceal the photo of the white pregnancy tester with the words "not pregnant" clearly written in the window. I realise the air from my lungs in relief before taking it from her. "What happened?"

"Sammy," is all she says. She sounds exhausted and she looks it too.

"I just put him down. Go and join him," I urge her, pulling the inhaler from my pocket and placing it in her hands. She's still a terrible sleeper, and with Sam sick over the last week it's only been worse for her.

She flashes me a warm smile and stretches up to quickly kiss my jaw. "I think I will."

I watch as Bella pulls herself back upstairs and when she disappears from sight I grab Tyler's shoulder and turn him to me. "Jesus, Tyler, never ever sleep with a girl you're not sure about."

"I thought I was sure about her..." he mumbles, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"Bella didn't like her," I point out and he scoffs.

"I know."

"That's usually a good sign to be careful."

"Yeah." He half shrugs a shoulder.

I gauge him for a moment. He looks scared to death. Probably like I once did after the rumours about his mother started circulating. Rumours that turned out to be true. "You eaten?"

"Nah. I still feel pretty sick."

"Want KFC?"

He stares at me, suddenly horrified. "Dad..."

Rolling my eyes, I grab him again and shove him towards the door. "Come on..."

"You're a smart kid, mate. You don't want to ruin your life over a girl like that," I caution him after watching him munch apprehensively on a chip for a moment. I made sure to sit in a booth closest to the toilets just in case he has to make a run for it.

He looks up and sets his eyes on mine. "Like you ruined yours?"

"I didn't, but believe me, you don't want that kind of guilt if a kid ever rocks up on your doorstep." I smirk and he returns it.

"Yeah." He scoffs beneath his breath.

"You know what it's like to have a baby in the house. Imagine if he was your responsibility. Alone," I reiterate because after having Sam I found myself thankful I wasn't doing it as an eighteen year old.

He pales and nods his head in agreement. "I know. Shit..."

"So be careful."

"It's okay, I get my brains from Bella," he jokes and I laugh, taking a bite of my burger.

I give him a few minutes to start digging into his food before bringing up the subject he's clearly expecting. "So, you know..."

"I know," he echoes, his eyes on his half eaten burger.

"Why didn't you just ask?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he counters.

"You're a kid."

"I'm not anymore."

"Really?" I raise a brow.

"Dad, come on," he complains, shoving another chip in his mouth.

"Here's the thing. I'll pay for your university fees, and buy you a house when you want to move out, but the rest is up to you. That's what Pop told me. Okay...?"

"Okay." He nods.

"When you ease up on the binge drinking I'll buy you a car," I add, because I know that's what he's thinking.

"You promised to buy me one when I turned eighteen," he reminds me.

"Bella talked me out of it."

"Geez..." he mutters, sighing loudly.

"You know what she's been through."

"Yeah, I know," he eases off.

"You can't really blame her."

He nods again. "I know."

"You think I don't know she's been hiding the evidence from me every weekend when you come home pissed?" I put to him.

He only stares at me for a few moments, his mouth falling open in surprise. "How come you didn't get the shits with me?"

I shrug. "You're eighteen. What can I do? You'll learn your lesson eventually."

"Aiden's a pisshead, so I don't know..." he mumbles, snorting to himself.

"So was Jake, but I got sick and tired of puking in back alleys every Saturday night."

He grins as if he can empathise. "Did your Pop get you a car?"

"Yeah, but he wouldn't let me drive it on the weekends. He sent his driver to pick us up."

"You can send James to get me," he says slyly.

"Forget it," I state. "You can take the bus."

"You get him to pick up Bella," he points out.

"You know what happens if something triggers Bella's panic." I raise my eyebrows in emphasis, and he nods reluctantly.

"Yeah, I remember." His forehead knots. "She hasn't had an attack like that since, though."

"Because I make sure she's not on the road too often."

"What are you going to do when she's a doc and on call?"

"I'll worry about that when it happens. She still has six years," I mumble more or less to myself. Two years of an undergraduate course, four years in medical school, one year as an intern and another as a resident, and she still has another six of vocational training. I'm surprised she's not worn out, but then she very rarely is. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." He looks pretty perked up.

"You're staying in tonight, too."

"What?" he immediately protests.

"It's for making Bella clean up your mess this morning."

"I'm gonna tell her you know about it," he says breaking into a smirk.

"I'll tell her you call her 'the old lady' behind her back."

His expressions smooths out in alarm and he eyes me for a moment as if weighing it up. "Alright," he caves.

"And tell Aiden the next time I catch him perving on her I'm going to kick his arse."

He laughs. "You know he's had the hots for Bella since he was twelve?"

"So did I, but I'll still break his neck."

. . .

"I have a brilliant idea," Bella puts to me just before bed a week later; which usually means she wants me to do something I'm not going to like.

"What...?" I groan

She whacks me. "Shush, Mr Cynical. Alyssa Denali."

"Who?"

"Marcus' second daughter. Ally. She's Tyler's age. They might already know each other; she's pre Law at Sydney Uni."

"Baby, no kid wants to be set up by their mother," I attempt to rationalise with her.

"All we have to do is introduce them..." She deliberately clears her throat and breaks into a broad grin.

I only sigh and shake my head, but it's not a bad idea if we can get Tyler on board. Which I doubt. He has his own ideas about girls, and so far they haven't been his smartest choices.

Marcus is self-made; which means he isn't old money. He came from a middle class background and everything he has he's worked for. His kids would reflect that, and he's no doubt instilled them with the same work ethic. At the very least, they wouldn't see Tyler as a meal ticket.

"We'll see what happens," I relent. The three of us are going to his oldest daughter's wedding on the weekend, so it's possible the two of them might take a liking to each other. "Just don't make it obvious," I warn her.

"Of course I won't," she assures me, but the sly grin is already dominating her expression.

I expel an exasperated breath, but wrapping my arms around her waist, I draw her to me. "It's been three days..." I remind her, my voice deliberately dropping, and that's usually all the encouragement she needs.

Like it is tonight.

In the next moment she's tearing my shirt over my head and dragging me toward the bed. I'm eleven inches taller than her, so the first thing she usually does is pull me to the bed on our knees; at which point she then decides what position she wants to be in. I usually let her led because Christ knows she's still a hell of a lot better than me. Her energy blows my mind sometimes. She can come home from a twelve hour shift at the hospital, and still strap her heels on and drag me into the shower.

I'm on top this time; on top and partially to my side so I have access to her body, as well. I like being on top, but then so does she. Often times we fight over it; she will actually attempt to manhandle me into being beneath her. It's laughable considering how small she is, but I play along. I don't tell her how much it turns me on, but then I'd be naive to think she's not already aware of it. At the same time she likes me to get pretty rough with her as well, because while she has endless energy she knows she can't overpower me.

I go slowly, even as I fight my own body, but it's not something I want over too soon. Even if I end up feeling like I'm on the verge on an aneurysm.

My body begins to quake and lock up, and I'm just about the pull myself on my knees when the weight of a twenty-eight pound body jumping on me suddenly forces me into Bella.

A reflexive sounds bursts from me and I immediately stop.

"What...?" Bella asks confused, her voice soft and failing.

"Sam is on my back," I explain, attempting to catch my breath just as he wraps his arms around my neck and pulls himself further up to look over my shoulder.

"Hi, Mummy!"

"Erm...hi, cutie pie," she replies, fighting the obvious urge to laugh.

"I play, too?" he asks innocently, just as Bella loses that fight.

"Baby—don't!" I beg her, but she does anyway.

The sensation of her muscles jolting around me causes streaks of white light to flash behind my eyes before I drop my face to her neck and groan lowly.

Bella only continues to laugh as Sam pulls himself from me and proceeds to jump on the bed.

"Aren't you glad we had him?" she says, her laughter increasing while I all but collapse on top of her.

"It's never a dull moment anymore, that's for sure," I mumble against her skin as the air shoots from my nose in silent laughter.

It took her a lot longer than I thought it would to want a baby, but then in the beginning she saw one only as another person she could lose. Not long after we were married and moved into the house her anxiety levels started to peak. She started having nightmares again, only this time they were about me and Tyler dying. It got so bad I forced her off to Dr Jenks again.

She initially fought me on it, but I was adamant because while Bella can function on a couple of hours sleep a night, I can't. Plus, I was all over the place worrying about her. I couldn't focus and the lack of sleep wasn't helping.

After roughly six months in therapy her anxiety began to ease, but there was never any mention of babies from her. I wasn't too concerned, and we had a lot to make up for with Tyler. That was until everyone around us started having them.

Jake and Ness were first; they named him after me. Edward Anthony Black, and if Tyler looks like me, he's Jake's clone.

The money I gave them after Pop's Neutral Bay house sold helped Jake start his business and buy them a house in Chatswood, on the upper North Shore. While his parents have technically cut him off and have nothing to do with him and his family, Jake's happier than I've ever seen him. Still, I wish he'd stop feeling obligated to pay me back all the bloody time.

The next were Alice and Jasper; twins. Two girls; not identical. One is a dark-haired version of her father, making her look freakishly like Bella, and the other is Alice all over.

The last was Emmett and Rose; they had three in quick succession. It wasn't Rose's idea but Emmett was determined to get a son. He finally came after two girls, but Emmett had to pay heavily for Rose's "push presents". They hire a nanny while Emmett's business is booming, but they fight a lot. All the damn time, and it's usually me and Bella who have to hear about it. Rose wants to live according to their income bracket, which is a lot more than their middle class lifestyle, but Emmett won't budge. He bribes her with designer labels to keep her happy, but I know it pisses him off.

Rose is Rose, though, and he knew what she was like when he married her.

With six babies and toddlers constantly around us it was inevitable Bella would eventually get clucky. She told Ness first before I knew anything about it, and that's when she and Jake invited us to their house for dinner.

"Jake and I have spoken about it," Ness spoke up half way through dessert, "and we'd really like to help you guys have a baby,"

"Oh my god—no!" Bella immediately exclaimed horrified, beating me to it and shaking her head adamantly. "I can't ask you to do that."

"Bella. I want to," Ness assured her, "and Jake is completely on board—aren't you babe?" She turned to him; he only smiled, placed his hand over hers and nodded. "What you done for us..."

That's when I broke in. "Jesus, you don't owe me anything. That's not why I helped you."

"I know it wasn't, mate, but you really have no idea how much you changed our lives," Jake replied; he was serious, and he very rarely is. "We want to do something for you guys in return."

There was no talking sense into either of them, and that's where it all began.

I got Alec to set it all up. With Ness being a surrogate there were a lot of legalities involved, plus he put us in touch with the best fertility specialist in the city.

Bella had to have her egg production stimulated and that meant injecting herself with hormones every morning. She tried to get me to do it, but I have no stomach for that kind of thing. At the same time, Ness had to get her body ready to receive a foreign pregnancy and needed to be injected as well. Jake poked her and took the piss out of me for being such a pussy about it, but they were bloody giddy about doing this for us and I couldn't stand it.

The next step was retrieving Bella's eggs. She was put under for the procedure while I was sent to jerk off into a cup to have them fertilised. That was all that was required of me; I was basically a fifth wheel in it all.

The first month failed, but the second attempt stuck. Two embryos were implanted into Ness and one took.

We were having a baby.

Bella went with Ness to every one of her OBGYN appointments, while Jake and I came for the scans. At nineteen weeks we found out we were having a boy. Bella cried. I mean, she really cried, while I began to feel like I was getting a second chance; to experience everything with this baby that I missed out on with Tyler. It all happened pretty fast that I never really stopped to process it, but after we found out his gender, I started counting down the weeks with Bella. I was thirty four, Bella was thirty two, and we were more than ready.

Tyler was almost sixteen and at first Bella was worried he might start to feel as if he was being replaced, but he was pretty excited about it. Up until that point he'd been an only child, and he confessed to us that he always wanted a brother.

There was never any dispute over what we were calling him. Sam. Sam Charlie Cullen, after both of Bella's brothers.

We spent way too much money preparing for him. He had more clothes than he could possibly wear, and while Bella has always been pretty blasé about designer labels, it went completely out the window for him. She had to have the best pram, the best cot, the best car seat; the best everything.

Tyler and I painted his room, and Bella hired an artist to paint a jungle-themed mural on his wall. The kid was spoiled before he was even born.

Ness was three days overdue when we got the phone call she was in labour; at two in the morning. Bella dragged me out of the house before I was barely awake, but after a complication-free pregnancy, that's when everything turned to shit. We almost lost them both.

For the first couple of hours everything was pretty straightforward. When we arrived Ness was three centimetres dilated and in early labour. By five centimetres she got an epidural. I told the obstetrician I was paying for I didn't want her to feel a thing, and Jake was in complete agreement.

Bella stayed with her, but Jake and I were in and out of the room. I didn't want to see anything, and Jake was too on edge. He was worried about her, and I was more comfortable keeping him distracted.

We were six hours into it, and Jake and I were coming back up to the labour ward after grabbing coffee when we walked into complete chaos.

Alarms were going off everywhere and nurses and doctors were all running in the one direction; to Ness's room.

That's when Bella emerged from behind the door; she was crying, she was wheezing, and she was so pale she looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

"Baby—what happened!?" I blurted, reaching out to her and feeling as if my heart had suddenly stalled.

She all but collapsed into my arms and clung to me as her entire body shook.

"Is Ness okay!?" Jake practically shouted as I grabbed Bella's inhaler, but she only pushed it away.

"The placenta detached. Ness is bleeding and his...his oxygen has been cut off," she explained in barely a whisper and that's when Jake ran into the room.

"It'll be okay, baby," I promised her, pulling her further against me, but I barely believed it myself, and I was suddenly scared to death.

After everything she's lost, I couldn't believe the universe would be cruel enough to take our baby from her too. I couldn't.

Not ten seconds later Ness was being wheeled out along with a dozen staff. The sense of urgency was palpable; the bed was covered in blood, Ness was barely conscious, and every doctor and nurse in the vicinity were all shouting out medical terms I didn't understand. But Bella did, and in response she pressed herself further to my chest. I held her to me with one arm while in the other I attempted to grab hold of Jake. A nurse was holding him back, explaining that he couldn't follow, and he looked like he was coming apart.

"Jesus Christ—they won't tell me anything!" he burst, pushing both hands back through his hair.

"Come sit down, mate," I urged him quietly, grabbing his shirt and tugging him toward the row of chairs by the nurse's station.

I could barely look at him. The guilt that it was my child who was putting Ness' life in danger was tearing me apart. He didn't speak; none of us did. Jake sat stony while he struggled to keep his emotions under control, while Bella only clutched my hand as hers trembled. It must have only been ten minutes when we heard, but it felt like an hour.

"It was a close call, but everything went well. They're both fine," the obstetrician informed us with a relaxed smile, and for one moment I couldn't comprehend it. All I could think about was the contrast between him and the doctor who once told me Bella might die.

Bella burst into tears; so did Jake. So did I, for that matter.

While one nurse ushered Jake to recovery to wait for Ness, another accompanied me and Bella to the neo-natal unit. After his traumatic birth, they wanted to keep an eye on the baby for observation.

They brought him up a few minutes after, and the nurse let Bella and I hold him before he was placed in the humidicrib.

He was tiny, half an ounce under seven pounds, with a headful of dark hair. He was the perfect blend of both me and Bella. He had Bella's eyes, the shape of them, and while they were blue I instinctively knew they'd eventually turn brown. I could see Tyler in him, too. All I have from Tyler at this age are photos Alec had given me, but it was still obvious they had the same shaped face, the same nose, and chin.

"He's beautiful," Bella whispered cradling him in her arms, and attempting to inhale back her tears while I hastily dried them—and my own. Then leaning down she planted her lips gently to his face.

Her emotions were completely frayed, but at the same time, her expression was familiar. It took me a few moments, when I realised it was the same unfathomable look she had in her eyes the day Tyler came to us.

. . .

"Dad, help me..." Tyler complains, trudging downstairs with a navy tie twisted in his hand.

"Come here," I say with a smirk, taking it from him.

"Tell me why I have to go to this thing again?" He sighs, while I loop the tie beneath the collar of his shirt and began to thread it.

"Because you were invited."

"I don't know anyone."

"Well introduce yourself and you will—there." I tug his tie straight and nudge him.

He scoffs like the smart arse he's pretty good at being. "I didn't go to a posh school like you and Mum did, remember? How the hell would I know how to do one of these things up?" He attempts to loosen it.

"I wore a clip-on," I admit, breaking into a small smile. It's not often he'll refer to Bella as "Mum", but when he does it's usually subconscious and I don't bring it to his attention. "Where's your jacket?"

"In the kitchen."

"You boys ready?" Bella says, walking into the lounge room as both Tyler and I turn toward her.

She's wearing red, her hair is up, but the heels, her body, those breasts... Christ...

She stops in her tracks to stare at us both, while I do the same with her. "I am going to be the envy of every woman in the room tonight. How handsome do you two look?" Placing her palms to my chest he stretches up to kiss me.

"It's not fair to the bride to look this beautiful," I murmur against her earlobe.

"You're such a charmer, handsome," she says wryly, grabbing my chin, before glancing at Tyler. "Where's your Jacket, sweetie?"

Tyler groans and shuffles out of the room grumbling to himself while Bella's smirk broadens.

"I spoke to Marcus," she lowers her voice in confidence, "and he is totally on board with introducing Ally and Tyler tonight."

"Just introduce them," I say, shaking my head and grabbing her hand. "Tyler, hurry up!" I call out to him.

"Coming," he sulks from two rooms away.

"Come on, Mr Pouty Pants!" Bella adds, practically laughing.

"Sammy okay?" I put to her.

"Yeah, he and Ness are watching Finding Nemo in his room. He'll barely miss us," she assures me, squeezing my hand.

Ness is a master at keeping him distracted when we're going out.

We made Jake and Ness Sam's Godparents, but Ness and Sam will always share a bond, and she's always the first to put her hand up to babysit him. A week after he was born I got Alec to deposit five million dollars into their account, telling Jake that his wife almost dying to give me and Bella a baby meant we were now indebted to them.

We are, and I don't know how the hell we ever lived without him.

When Sam was eighteen months old they added baby number two to their family; a girl this time. Thankfully they didn't name her after Bella. She's only two months old and currently upstairs with Ness and Sam. Jake already has plans of hitching the two of them up when they're older, but right now Sam thinks she's an alien.

"Okay, well let's get going before he comes back downstairs," I say, pulling her towards the front door as Tyler yanks his arms begrudgingly into his suit jacket.

Bella discreetly points out Ally to me as she walks down the aisle. She's one of the bridesmaids, blond and pretty enough, but then I always had a thing for brunettes. Tyler on the other hand, snuck his phone out at the beginning of the ceremony, and barely looks up from it.

As soon as I get the chance I rip it from his hands and shove it in the pocket of my jacket. He only tsks and pouts until the service is over, but he's completely oblivious to the several girls in the church who have noticed him. None of them are Ally, though.

The reception is being held in a room on the pier overlooking Walsh Bay, on the west side under the Harbour Bridge. And barely half an hour into it, three girls have asked Tyler to dance. He's over it already.

"Good thing he's graduated high school or he might have had his own Slut Pack chasing after him," Bella leans over and murmurs against my ear.

Closing my eyes, I groan only half beneath my breath. "Please don't remind me..." Those girls made my life hell.

She laughs lightly, just as Tyler returns from the third round and throws himself into the chair beside her with a loud huff.

"Please save me, Bella," he begs her while I'm forced to clear my throat in an effort to suppress the all-out grin.

"Okay, handsome, let's go," she says, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the dance floor.

I watch them dance together, Tyler with his hand wrapped around Bella's waist and towering over her like I do, when Bella suddenly pauses and stretches up to speak something into his ear.

Tyler nods, when my devious wife suddenly taps the shoulder of the girl dancing solo beside them—who just happens to be Marcus' daughter Ally—transferring Tyler to her. Tyler appears to oblige her, but he has his back to me, so I can't see his expression.

Bella immediately makes her way back over to me, a huge smile lighting up on her face.

"You do realise I'm a genius, don't you," she says, completely impressed with herself as she takes the chair beside me at the table we were placed at.

"I never doubted it," I say wryly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "How did you manage it?"

"I told him I needed my inhaler," she says, turning to glance back over to him. "Christ, look at him! He's blushing."

I look up and follow her gaze to my son who's suddenly fumbling over his feet while he smiles down at Ally like she's royalty. And by the looks of her she's as equally taken by him.

"Awww..." Bella mumbles softly, visibly moved and placing both palms over her heart.

I laugh shortly through my nose, before leaning down to her and pressing my lips briefly to her temple. "You do realise," I imitate her, "that's how I first smiled at you."

A/N: "So long and goodnight. We love you." - Freddie Mercury.