Epilogue

*Ten Years Later*

…

"I'm so sorry I'm late," a regretful Irina said the moment I opened the door.

"Not a problem, come on in," I assured her. "Bree is so excited to be spending the evening with you."

"I'm fairly sure I'm far more excited than she is. I would have been here fifteen minutes ago if there wasn't so much traffic on the highway."

"Irina, you drove straight here from Seattle. I didn't expect you to be here right on the dot. We just really appreciate you taking time away from your busy college life to come watch Bree for the night."

"Are you kidding? I miss her so much. I told my boyfriend, Lawrence, that I fully plan to move back to Forks after graduation, just so I can see my little buddy more. If we're still together by then, he better be prepared to move with me. I don't do long distance relationships."

"Well, I'm sure your parents would be thrilled to have you back, but a lot can happen between now and then. You may decide to stay in Seattle," I told her.

"Don't bet on it. I hate the city," she disagreed.

"Well, cool then. I know Bree would love having you close again," I said just as I heard the pounding of feet racing down the stairs.

"Irina!" Bree yelled excitedly as she barreled towards us, followed closely by her dog, Leah. "I've missed you so much!"

My beautiful wife also followed our five-year-old down, but at a much slower pace.

"Irina," Bella said fondly when she finally reached her. "Leah, down!" she snapped, forced to pull the dog back from jumping on Irina before she had a chance to greet her properly. "We've all missed you so much. Thank you for coming all the way out here on such a short notice."

"I wouldn't miss it," Irina assured her.

"Are you ready?" I asked Bella.

She groaned. "I don't think there is such a thing as being fully ready for this."

"Hey, at least we get to schedule it out instead of having to wait for you to go into labor naturally," I said, choosing to focus on the positive.

"I suppose that is a good thing," she conceded.

"Good luck," Irina wished us. "And call me the moment he's here."

"Will do," I promised as we hugged Bree goodbye.

Bella was quiet on our drive to the hospital. Despite me working at that very same location, Bella still had issues with it. She didn't mind visiting me there; in fact, she got along with the entire staff of doctors quite well, but being a patient was another story.

"Everything will be great," I tried assuring her.

"Great for you. You don't have to push an extremely large body out of your vagina," she grumbled.

"I don't have a vagina, but if I did, I would probably still make you do the birthing. I'm not big on pain," I said like a smartass.

She glared at me but laughed despite herself.

"Doctor Cullen, we were wondering when you would get here," Maggie, the lobby receptionist, greeted us once we got inside. "Good evening, Mrs. Cullen. How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful," Bella said sarcastically.

Maggie smiled warmly. "I'll just send in the anesthesiologist right away. You're going to need it with this induction. I hear that is one big baby you're cooking in there."

"For sure," Bella agreed. "I'm not even attempting this one naturally after what happened with Bree. She wasn't even close to being this big."

Bree's birth was traumatic. She was over a week late and ended up getting stuck in the birth canal. Neither of us were really shocked by the complications; our life was never smooth. Bree's very existence was a surprise to us. Bella had been on birth control when we conceived her, but we couldn't have been more excited. However, her rocky birth had scared Bella into not wanting any more kids. We were both more than happy doting on our one and only child… until our next surprise pregnancy. And, of course, we couldn't have been happier to be expecting our second baby.

The pregnancy itself had gone without any issues, however we were currently at the hospital starting the induction process because, once again, the baby was late. Measuring at over nine pounds, Bella's OB thought it was best to get him out as soon as possible. Bella was understandably nervous about the birth…

"I think I'm going to let Rose take this one," she said, jokingly serious.

"You can't," I replied unconcerned. "She would kick the doctor in the face, and I have to work with that man."

Bella laughed. "She would too. In fact, I can feel her wanting to even before he gets in here. She kind of wants to punch you too."

"Me?" I feigned offense.

"Yeah. Your mom said you were a big baby at birth. This is your fault."

"Speaking of mom," I mumbled with slight irritation as my mother breezed into the room.

"Time to get that little guy out!" she cheered before coming over to kiss Bella, and then me.

Since my father's death, and all the support Bella had given both my mother and me, Bella and she had gotten along far better than I would have ever expected. It was important to Bella to have a relationship with her, despite the shit she put us through early on.

"I want our kids to have extended family and grandparents," Bella had told me. "She may not be the best mother in the world, but compared to mine, she is a saint."

"Compared to your mother, Charles Manson is a saint," I retorted.

Bella's ability to forgive my mother, and support her the way that she had, was just one more example of her immeasurable strength and capacity to love.

It was Bella's request to have my mother in the delivery room that night, just as she had been when Bree was born.

"I'm going to get you some ice chips," my mom announced as Bella grimaced through a contraction.

"Oh, that one was really bad," Bella whimpered when the pain began to temporarily recede.

"Babe, just think; if this delivery goes bad, you will have more subject matter to write about, just like you did with Bree," I told her straight-faced.

Over the past several years, my career wasn't the only thing that had drastically changed. Unfortunately, Bella's bookstore couldn't survive the growing virtual culture, and she was forced to close the doors permanently. On the bright side, the book she co-wrote with Dr. Peters about DID, was a flying success. The popularity of it landed them a guest spot on the Doctor Oz show, as well a three-part documentary on Discovery. All of which lead to several other book deals. Bella was a bona fide writer, and she used her platform to become a mental health activist. She truly handled it all with so much grace and dignity, that I could do nothing but continue to be in awe of her every single day.

Her physical strength while enduring labor shimmered just as brightly as her emotional strength. After just a brief glare of irritation towards my not so funny attempts to crack jokes, she was back to holding my hand and laughing despite herself.

Kate and Garrett arrived at the hospital sometime later. They had swung by our place and checked on Irina and Bree, but they were far more worried about them than we were. Irina had proven herself to be a responsible fine young lady; we trusted her completely with our daughter.

With the room full of our loved ones, our baby boy, Anthony Carlisle Cullen, was born.

"Time to start writing a new lullaby?" Bella murmured as I held our son for the first time.

"I already have it playing in my mind," I assured her, instantly in love with that new little soul.

I had surprised Bella on our wedding day by playing the ballad I had written for her. I was fairly certain she fell in love with me even more than she already was because of it. When I held our daughter for the first time, she also inspired me to write her a soft and sweet little lullaby, and now with my son's arrival, I could hear his own song playing in my mind just as clearly.

I had actually composed several other songs between then and now, and even sold a few to some of the music industries heavyweights. It was a thrill the first time I heard one of my melodies on the radio, but the truth was, none of them topped my songs for my girls. My passion was my family, and I wanted to keep their songs just for them. My music was just a creative outlet and my own personal form of therapy. My career of choice had become a career of passion.

Discovering a newfound love for medicine was almost surreal given how much I loathed it before, but Bella had given me a new outlook on everything, and at the end of the day, I just wanted to help people. Knowing how scared and hurt she had been by a doctor, made me want to make sure that no one else ever experienced that again – at least not under my watch. To make a difference in people's lives and create a safe and compassionate atmosphere for everyone needing a doctor, had become my top professional priority. My father's hospital, and his legacy, were in good hands.

Bella often attributed her mental recovery to my presence in her life, but what she never fully comprehended was just how much she had saved me in return. Everything good inside of me – everything that I was proud of – was because of her. She made me want to be a better man, and I would be forever grateful for her… for all of her. All her broken pieces that molded together into one beautiful masterpiece.

Bree's innocence, Tanya's sense of wonder, Alice's zest for life, and Rosalie's fierceness, all combined to make the strongest, most amazing human I had ever known. Loving them had been my life's greatest adventure and blessing. Bella made my world so much more colorful than I ever imagined possible, and regardless of all the ups and downs along the way, I wouldn't have changed a single moment of it.

We will never be a perfect couple, but we will always love each other perfectly…

…

THE END