AN: Here we go! Thanks so much to firstillusion for sticking with me all this time and to all my wonderful readers and reviewers. You people are seriously amazing.

Disclaimer: Characters to SMeyer, I'm just playing around.

Epilogue

EPOV

The months after Bella rejoined my family were some of the happiest I could remember, and I could remember more than I cared to.

We went North first, to meet Tanya's clan. I was apprehensive at first about Tanya and Bella meeting, but Tanya took to her like a mother hen to her chick. Once Tanya found out about her past, she was determined to teach Bella everything she knew about the male species and how to bring them to their knees.

Of course, I didn't know about these lessons until many months later when said student decided to test them out on me. Not to say I wasn't a willing participant. I still loved her as much as any creature could love another, though I was still unsure of her affection towards me.

I knew she cared about me, of course, but she was very reluctant to let anyone get close or earn her trust. With good reason. I tried not to pressure her, and watched my every word and action around her. I let her take the reins every time, and it seemed to pay off. There were times when she would take control by initiating small things like hunting trips or a movie or game.

So when she suggested going for a walk one evening, I thought nothing of it. We'd taken to walk along the snow banks to watch the stars fall at twilight; it was a very peaceful time for the both of us. I had no voices in my head, and she didn't have overanxious family members hanging around, watching her every move to determine if she was alright or not.

We started walking to our normal place, a lake overlooked by a sheer cliff. We climbed to the top of the cliff and sat, watching the night fall. I sat a respectful distance from her, still wary of her aversion to touch.

She scooted closer to me, and after hesitating a moment, pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on my shoulder.

I stiffened in surprise. She had not really instigated any physical touch since that day in Rochester. She looked up at me through her long lashes.

"Is this okay?" she whispered.

"Of course." I shifted my weight so she could rest comfortably against me.

We stayed in that position for a short time before she shifted again, this time, curling into me so she was facing me, resting one hand on my chest, playing with the buttons on my shirt.

I started feeling… not uncomfortable, but… anticipatory. I glanced down at her, and she had that glint in her eye that she got when she was determined to do something.

Her eyes flicked up to mine, and she smiled shyly. My lips could not help but smile back in response.

"Still okay?"

"More than okay," I leaned down to breath in her ear. She shivered and bit her lip as I leaned back, grinning.

She watched her hand for a moment. The sun was setting lower and lower, and the bright moonlight reflected off her marble skin, making her almost glow.

Then, her hand began to move again, slowly upward, until it reached the skin of my neck. My breath hitched as her fingertips brushed against my jaw line.

"Bella," I breathed.

"Shhh," her fingers continued their exploration, up and down, tortuously slow. Then, rested on my bottom lip.

"Edward," she said softly, "I don't think I've ever really thanked you for what you've done for me."

"Bella," I started to protest, but she held one finger to my lips and shook her head.

"Let me say this. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to you for being so patient with me. James hurt me. And I was still hurt from… from before." She looked down, and I placed two fingers under her chin and nudged her back up.

"Don't hide your eyes from me, please." I smiled gently and she returned the gesture.

"I needed time to heal. And I know I'm not all the way healed yet, but you've taken me back, broken pieces and all. You haven't tried to force the pieces together; you've let me work on things my own way." She laid her palm against my cheek. "And Edward, I love you. I didn't think it was possible, but I do, I love you. And I need you to know that."

iI/i didn't think it was possible. I stared back at her, uncomprehending for the briefest of moments before I realized I had not responded.

"Bella, I have loved you for so long, I don't know how I existed without you. While you were gone, I was empty, a shell, and from the moment I got you back, I have been nothing but…." I searched for an adequate word and could find none. "There are no words to describe how I feel. You are my reason for being."

Her eyes shined and her smile was brighter than any sun. "I'd like to kiss you now," she managed to say in a shy voice.

"I'd like that very much," I laughed and leaned closer to her. She was just so perfectly Bella.

She giggled and closed the distance, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her lips to mine.

Her touch was smooth and tender, and, try as I might, I could not think of any time I had ever been happier. Then I stopped trying, and lost myself in her.

We never needed to stop to catch our breaths, but we knew at some time we would need to return to our family eventually. Dawn was creeping up on us when Bella pulled away for the last time and laughed.

"I never thought I would use what Tanya was trying to teach me," she grinned, "But now I couldn't be more grateful that she forced her knowledge on me."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of 'knowledge,' pray tell?"

"She told me that I just needed to get you alone, talk to you, and keep close, and you wouldn't be able to stay away." She glanced down, and had she been human, I knew she would have been bright red.

"What did I say about keeping your eyes from me?" I rebuked softly and titled her face back towards mine.

She smiled and continued. "She was right, though. I didn't believe her. And I don't think without her support I would have been able to tell you these things tonight."

I kissed her forehead lightly. "Remind me to thank her. I'm glad you did. I have been wanting to tell you that I love you so badly. And to hear you say it… honestly, Bella, I don't think I could possibly be happier."

"I love you, Edward."

Grinning, I stood and took her by the hand. "And I love you. More than anything. Now let's get back before they send a search party out for us."

AN: And that's it! That's all she wrote! This is the end of Love Is Watching Someone Die. I hope you liked it. Seriously, thank you guys SO much for sticking with me. It's been almost a year since I posted the first chapter with the intent on it being just an open-ended one-shot.

If you like what I write, be sure to put me on author alert, I'm working on my next fic, which is an All-Human thing, and I'm excited for it. I'm writing it for the Twilight Big Bang, which you can find out more about on livejournal. I'm also still writing with the Twilight T00bs, so you'll get the occaisional one-shot from me.

Again, thank you all so much! I can't believe the amount of watchers and reviews this story received. Y'all know how to make my day. Hearts for you!