What Happens In Vegas

Disclaimer: As with all previous chapters of this story, Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I still own this one. No using it for your own ends or without my permission.

A/N: First, I want to thank all of you that have taken this journey with me. I feel such an accomplishment in actually finishing this and it makes me so proud that you all like it. Second, I want to thank lolafalana for being my very awesome beta and for making me a better writer every chance she gets. I am grateful for your help and friendship! Thank you Riss Usc-cam for pre-reading for me and making sure all my gobbledegook makes sense. You are a great friend too!

Epilogue

BPOV

Dear God but it was hot outside. Maybe it was just me, though, because Elizabeth did not seem to be nearly as uncomfortable as I was. Then again, little brown haired three year olds rarelycared about the heat.

Edward was due home any minute from his Saturday hours at the office and he couldn't get here soon enough. We had arranged a family barbeque for this afternoon and I was expecting Alice and Jasper to arrive with Alana any minute. Sure enough, just as I thought it, Alana came barreling into the house, looking for Elizabeth. They ran up to Elizabeth's room where I suspected they would be ensconced for the next hour.

Alice appeared with the baked beans she promised to bring and Jasper was toting the baby carrier. It pleased me to no end that our kids were so close in age; it also made our get togethers that much simpler.

Alana was born in March after putting Alice on bed rest for a month. Despite her best efforts, Alice hadn't been able to gain enough weight to satisfy her doctor and the weight that she did gain became difficult to bear on her small frame. Edward was on duty that day and ended up getting to attend the birth, much to both of their initial embarrassment. She was perfect, though, and did not have to stay in the NICU for even a night.

In June, Edward and I finally got to go on our honeymoon. He had planned a fantastic, all-inclusive vacation in Jamaica. We didn't do much but lounge on the beach, at the pool or in our room together, but we did have a great time. And a month later, when my period didn't come, we started preparing for the little Cullen we both wanted so much.

In the end, Alana's and Elizabeth's birthdays ended up being only a year and a week apart and we usually celebrated them with a single party. Carlisle and Esme never missed a single one and we found that they visited a lot more frequently when they really did have grandkids to spoil.

Today, though, I was seven months pregnant and more than a little irritated that Edward wasn't home yet. I really wasn't supposed to be on my feet as I was the one having complications this time around, but I still had to light the grill and cook the hamburgers.

Rose and Emmett even got to the party before Edward did and I was tempted to pass the cooking job off to one of the boys but Jasper had a tendency to burn them and Emmett's burgers usually tasted like the beer he spilled. Edward's grill was a complicated piece of machinery but it was the one he insisted upon for his birthday. I got it lit and was standing there flipping the burgers when Alana and Elizabeth ran past. I heard Edward's deep chuckle behind me and I spun to face him. He already had a beer in his hand and his tie was loosened.

"What's so funny?" I asked with a glare.

"Nothing, love. I'm just happy."

I raised my eyebrow and he sidled up behind me and wrapped his arms around my much expanded waist.

"Do you remember when we bought this house and I said that I could see us here with our kids?"

I nodded.

"This is exactly what I saw," he murmured, kissing my cheek. "I love you. How's my best wife and my little boy today?"

"I better be your only wife! And he is cranky today. I've had no peace at all!" I complained.

"Anthony Charles," he admonished, "you be nice to your mommy. She is the best mommy in the entire world." He rubbed my stomach for effect and took the grilling tools out of my hand.

"Go sit and enjoy. I'll take care of the rest."

"I love you," I said with relief and joined Rose and Alice in the lawn chairs we had set out for the occasion.

The conversation was centered on Rosalie and Emmett's upcoming nuptials. Their son, Jason, had just turned two, and was set to be their ring bearer. He was certainly a surprise to them but they had never wavered in their decision to wait to get married until they were ready. And once he was born, Rosalie decided that she wanted to wait until he could be a part of it. Now with only a few months to go, she was beyond ready.

True to his word, Edward served all the food and made sure that Elizabeth was set before he joined me at the picnic table. Emmett was complaining about all of the wedding preparations and I surveyed the scene around me.

All I saw was happiness. Our lives hadn't always been easy and Edward and I had experienced some really rough moments in the last year of his residency, especially since I was pregnant for almost all of it. But now, we were happier than we had ever been. Alice's fashion line had really taken off and she was able to work at home most of the time with both kids. I was the lead editor at the firm now and I supervised the work of everyone else. I still had my clients, like Alec and Heidi, but I no longer had to do the grunt work with our new authors. Edward had joined an established pediatric practice shortly after passing his medical boards and it was everything he wanted it to be.

I listened back in just in time to hear Emmett say, ". . . understand why it matters if we serve canapés or pie! It's a wedding, not a gala!"

Edward just smiled at me and Elizabeth, laid his hand on my stomach and smirked. "I told you, getting married in Vegas was much easier!"

The End

Yes, it is true. This is the final chapter. Thank you all so much for being with me every step of the way and thank you to everyone that has helped make me a better writer. There will still probably be an outtake or two from this story so watch the outtakes file. I will miss them but I have lots more to come.

That said, I will be posting a couple of one-shots here very soon and I will be starting a new story in the very near future. If you want to know when that goes up, put me on alert or follow me on Twitter (shasta53). I will post info there.