So here is the epilogue! Not going to lie, it's really just to wrap up this portion of the story, so you guys aren't left hanging. For those who have been waiting the past few months for me to update, I'm sorry for the let down! I really didn't have more to add, I just needed to lead into the next portion. That being said, for all of my lovely readers and reviewers, thank you! I hope you've enjoyed the journey thus far, and will continue on with me despite my horrid posting schedule. Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to SUNFLOWER3759 for diligently editing this story! ALSO

NEW STORY NEWS: I'm thinking of posting a fluff/short chapter story while I work on Camp part II. It is a "pregnant Bella" story, but I was wondering, (seeing as I've never been pregnant) if any of my readers would want to shoot me a message about any of their pregnant experiences? I'm considering this so that it's more of an interactive story; so any funny, heart warming, (even embarrassing) etc. stories you have about your pregnancy/having children, let me know! I just might put it in the story (of course, edited to suit the characters), and I'll make sure to give you credit in my A/N. If you just want to share and not have it posted, I'd still love to hear it! **if there are a lot of responses, I probably can't include all **

That being said -Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.

The Expectations We Have

I kept my head against his chest, listening to the strong thrum of his heart. Lazily, I drew circles against his bare skin, eliciting an immediate response. He took in a sharp breath, but released it just as quickly. It was payback for when his hand had snuck underneath my hospital gown, and toyed with the dimples on my lower back. Thankfully, my reaction consisted of a gasp alone. Under any other circumstances, my heart would have exploded in my chest, but I was so drugged from the anesthesia that my body was barely able to regulate itself. Waking up from the surgery had felt surreal. For a moment, I had thought I was back in the forest, waiting for Edward to come back to me. When the white walls of the hospital room greeted me, I had been oddly comforted. My relief was multiplied once the doctor came in to go over the results of the transplant.

The surgery had been successful. Although the doctors had been hesitant to perform the transplant, the actual operation had been without complications. Alice was recuperating in the ICU, where they would monitor her vitals. Dr. Montgomery was optimistic about Alice's outcome, but warned us that organ rejection was still possible. I'd spent the next few hours with my cot next to hers, my head angled so that she would stay in my sight. Every time I closed my eyes, I feared I would wake up in the forest; lonely, and still lost.

I couldn't describe how I felt when I looked at her. Part of me worried for her health, and desperately wanted for her to get better. But I would be lying if I said that all of the old resentment had vanished. I had conditioned myself to feel disgust as soon as I set my gaze upon her and now … I was battling between the Bella who had entered the forest, and the Bella who had been rescued. I wondered how everything would change when she woke up, and how we would confront the conflict that had been brewing between us for years.

I'd woken up an hour ago to Edward dozing in a chair beside my bed. My eyes filled with tears as I looked at him, and overflowed as I remembered the promise I'd made. I spent a few minutes staring at him, remembering everything I could about the moment. Then, I allowed my mind to travel to the one time in the entire ordeal of being lost that I had felt at peace. I recalled the delicious memory of his lips against mine, and the way he had looked at me as if I was the only person who existed to him … as if I was his savior. Wanting desperately to have that intimacy again, I woke him up so he could come into my cot with me. I couldn't wait to feel Edward.

Wait, that didn't come out right.

"What are you blushing about?" Edward asked, his voice still thick with sleep.

I shook my head, refusing to talk.

"Come on, Bella," he chuckled, "Talk to me. I promise you don't sound stupid."

"Liar," I murmured, but even that word sounded slurred.

"You were heavily anesthetized, so the slurring is understandable," he said before teasing, "I bet you can't even say anesthetized."

I weakly slapped at his chest. I liked this. I liked this easiness that we had found between us. It was almost as if it was still the two of us relying on each other in the forest, ready to share and be everything with each other. But this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach had me clutching onto his hospital gown tightly. Would this relationship between Edward and me last? Or would we be as transient as the fires we had lit in the forest? I didn't know what I would do if we were extinguished again. But, I was all Edward had known for what he had thought to be the last few days of his life. Had he 'fallen in love' with me as a survival mechanism? After all, we wouldn't have been able to cooperate had we continued to dislike each other. Wondering if this would be the last time I had him all to myself, I wrapped my arms around his waist, and held him closer.

"Hey," Edward looked down at me with concern in his eyes, "You're shaking. Are you cold?"

I nodded, thankful for the lie as an excuse, "Hold me?"

He fixed the blanket over us, and secured his arm around my waist. My position was awkward given the cast on my foot, but if it meant that I could be in Edward's arms, I wouldn't complain. The shaking stopped, but my mind was still whirling. I thought of Renee and Charlie, and how my relationship with them would change. I thought of how Alice would react when she woke up. Of course I thought of Edward; that was a given. But I also thought of the gang, and how we would reconstruct our friendship. Mostly, I tried to pinpoint exactly what I'd lost, and what I'd gained at camp.

Like it? Love it? Wondering why you were waiting so long to get such a short chapter? Tell me about it! I'd love to hear!

~CH