Chapter 38: "Come with me, there's a special place I want to show you."

A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind.

The song for this chapter is So Beautiful by Darren Hayes.

The next morning I woke up to a gentle knock on the door. As I opened my eyes, I saw the way I was wrapped around Bella, spooning her from behind. Clearly I could never get enough of her, even in my sleep.

"Edward?" My mom's voice was quiet, but she was obviously trying to wake us with her knocking.

"Yeah?" I called out quietly causing Bella to stir in my arms.

"Are you two sleepy heads getting up? Emmett will have eaten all the breakfast if you sleep any longer."

I chuckled. "Sure, we'll be out in a minute, Mom," I called out before I heard her footsteps fading as she walked away from the door.

Bella ground back into my body with a moan as she stirred awake.

"Jesus, that's one way to get me up in the morning!"

She laughed at my double meaning and added an extra wiggle to her movements.

"As much as I'd like to continue this, my whole family's on the other side of that door eating breakfast," I groaned.

"I know," she relented. "I should check on Ty too."

We were soon up and eating what food was left from my mom's breakfast feast. She was more than happy to keep the fresh eggs, bacon, toast and pancakes coming all morning. But between my dad and me, we finally persuaded her to sit down and enjoy the meal with the rest of us.

The girls were chatting away, planning a shopping trip to the nearby town. They wanted to show Bella the small independent shops that the town was well known for. This left Emmett and Jasper turning to me to work out what we wanted to do today.

"Don't worry boys, I have plans for us. And we'll need your help..." I turned to Tyler and Seth, who nodded enthusiastically. They didn't know what I needed them to do, but I'm pretty sure they were assuming anything was better than going shopping with the girls.

Everyone helped clear away breakfast while we chatted and laughed. This was what I loved, family and laughter. I looked over at Bella who was looking radiant while smiling at something Alice had whispered to her. We all agreed to dust off the family board games and open the new pack of cards we had brought as we hung around the cabin for the remainder of the morning.

After a light lunch my mom, Alice, Rosalie, and Bella set off for the shops while us boys stayed behind.

"Right...I need your help," I explained as they all listened. Their expressions turned from confused, to surprised, to happy as I told them what I needed them each to do.

Emmett and Jasper left for Mister Green's small hardware store to purchase a ton of fairy lights and a generator.

My dad called a restaurant in town, which we frequented when we stayed at the cabin. He made reservations and then phoned my mom and made plans to meet the girls there later. Then, he called the florist in town and ordered a few dozen bunches of poppies.

I kept Tyler and Seth busy while I made a few phone calls of my own until Emmett and Jasper were back. Then we could really get to work.

A few hours later, we left the cabin and drove to meet the girls at the restaurant. It wasn't fancy but the food was great. We'd known the owner for years, so we weren't surprised when he had reserved the best table for us. The table was out on the deck, where we could sit and enjoy our meal in the late afternoon sun.

Emmett teased the girls about the number of shopping bags he could see hidden under the table, but once Rosalie assured him there was something skimpy and lacy in one of the bags, he suddenly didn't mind so much.

Once we'd finished eating, I stood up and gestured for Bella to do the same.

"They'll watch Ty for us. Come with me, there's a special place I want to show you."

Bella looked over at Tyler. He was busy coloring on his activity sheet and looking over to Seth to see what words he'd spotted in the word search.

"Okay, do they have a car seat to bring him back in?" Bella questioned.

Bella was forever a mother. As much as I tried, it was clear it would take me a while before I instinctively thought of all of Tyler's needs.

"Err, good point."

"I'll come with you and get it now." Emmett stood and fished his keys out of his pocket as Bella nodded. She walked over to Tyler and spoke to him before kissing his forehead and thanking my parents for watching him.

"Go. Have fun." My dad insisted with a smile.

Once Bella was seated in my car, I passed Tyler's car seat over to Emmett, who was waiting by his car.

"Good luck, bro," he whispered, a genuine smile lighting up his face. "And don't fuck this up, yeah?"

"Thanks, I think!" I walked back to my car and Bella and I got underway.

I don't know where she was expecting to go, but she looked mildly surprised when we pulled up at the cabin.

"As wonderful as this place is, I've already seen it," she said as I turned the car engine off and she unclipped her seatbelt.

"Not all of it." I grinned widely at her.

Once out of the car, I took her hand and lead her around the side of the cabin. We climbed the small steps so we were standing on the back decking, but I didn't stop there.

"This way," I told her, leading her across the length of the decking and down the other side to a small patch of land. We kept walking while Bella cursed me playfully for making her walk the rough terrain in heels.

"Almost there," I assured her as we approached a small bridge over the river. It was a rickety, wooden, arched bridge with a small handrail. I took her hand and led the way over the calm water. It was just getting dark, which was perfect for what I had planned.

Once across the other side of the river I led her to a meadow and stopped by a tree.

"This is the tree I told you about. Where Emmett, Alice and I carved our initials." Bella spotted the markings in the wood and ran her fingers lightly over the indentations.

"I remember," she whispered.

"And over there is where my parents renewed their wedding vows." I pointed to a tree further away which had a low-lying branch forming a natural arch.

"Show me," she whispered.

As we approached, I ducked behind the tree and flicked a switch. The arch of the tree lit up with hundreds of clear fairy lights, sparkling in the dim evening sky. A few seconds later the nearby trees burst into life with similar strings of lights wound around the trunks and weaving into the branches. The poppies, Bella's favorite flower, were entwined in the lights and the trees, giving a yellowish, red glow to our surroundings.

Bella gasped, spun around, and turned in a full circle as she took in the lights.

When she turned back to me, I was down on one knee.

Her eyes widened, she gasped again and clapped her hands to her mouth in surprise.

I took a deep breath and composed myself. I'd been planning this for weeks and now the moment was here. In my mind there had been such a lead up to this exact minute. I'd thought about what to say and how to say it. I'd imagined it and rehearsed it over and over, but I hadn't been prepared for the way Bella would look.

She took my breath away. Her whole face was lit up by the hundreds of fairy lights and her eyes were already gleaming with unshed tears.

"Bella..." I started as she looked at me intently.

"The very first moment I saw you, I was intrigued and I wanted to get to know you. The first moment we spoke, I was attracted to you. And from the moment we kissed, I knew I'd always want you. You've changed my life, in the best way possible and I never want to go back. I want to continue to grow with you and Tyler. I want us to be a family and I want to add more children to our lives."

I took another deep breath.

"Bella...will you marry me?"

She gasped, nodded and flung herself towards me. I stood and caught her as she buried her head into my shoulder. I stroked her long hair while she mumbled into my chest.

"Is that a yes?" I asked with a smile as I withdrew from her and held her at arms length to look at her properly.

"Yes."

"Yes?" I questioned her lightheartedly, not quite believing this was happening. I held out a silver ring box, opening the lid to reveal a simple white gold diamond ring. It had one large diamond in the center, with two smaller diamonds on either side. "I love you so much, Bella." She held her hand out to me as I slipped the ring on her finger, just the way I'd imagined doing so many times.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, studying it up close.

"I'm glad you like it. I chose it because of the three diamonds. One for each of us. You, me and Tyler. You know I freaked out when I learned about Tyler, but now I can't imagine our lives without him. I love him. Even when he hogs the TV remote when his cartoons come on. Even when he uses the last of the milk for his cereal and doesn't tell us. And even when he knees me in balls, every damn time."

Bella laughed as I continued.

"Well, maybe not the balls thing. I want us to have more kids so those guys have a job to perform..."

Bella's lips landed on mine with such force that I needed to steady myself as my hands found her ass.

"I love you so much, Edward. So fucking much."

I smiled at her passion as I brushed her loose hair off her face. I picked a poppy from nearby and placed the stalk behind her ear, tucking it into her hair.

"How did you do all of this?" she asked, sounding amazed as she turned in my arms to take in the sight of the meadow lit up with hundreds of fairy lights. I have to say it did look great. We hadn't been able to see how the lights would look in the dark. So we just checked that they all worked and hoped they were bright enough to light up the meadow once it started to get dark.

"It's so amazing out here," Bella whispered.

"I had some help," I admitted as she nodded. "I know how much you liked the lights at Tanya's wedding."

"These are better," she told me as she turned back to me.

"Come on," I told her. "There's a couple more surprises yet!"

I led Bella back over the bridge and onto the cabin decking where I slipped my hand into hers and took a deep breath before opening the large sliding doors to the cabin's main room.

As expected, by me anyway, my family had gathered inside, opening bottles of wine and chatting. They turned to us as the door opened and my eyes immediately found Emmett's.

I gave him a thumbs up as he strode towards me.

"I knew it, bro. I said you'd be fine didn't I?" He bypassed my outstretched hand and went for a full on bear hug before turning to Bella and lifting her clear off the ground while my dad gave me a gentle hug.

Rosalie and Alice were squealing and demanding to see the ring, grabbing Bella's hand and cooing when they saw the three diamonds.

My mom was beaming as she congratulated us. "You and Tyler are already a part of our family, but I'm so glad Edward has made it official," she told Bella as I spotted Tyler running up to us.

"Hey, Mama. Uncle Emmett says Ewood wants to marriage you and we'd gonna be a family forever."

Bella nodded. "That right. How's that sound to you?"

Tyler looked from Bella to me as my heart leaped. I'd talked to Tyler about proposing to Bella but it was over a week ago, which I knew was a lifetime to him and I wasn't sure how much he'd understood anyway.

"Great. But Ewood says I gotsta wear a suit for the marriage."

Bella chuckled as Tyler wrinkled his nose and pulled a face at the mention of a suit.

I bent down and picked up Tyler, resting him on my hip.

"You'll look super handsome in a suit, Ty."

"Can I have a dinosaur tie?"

"We'll see," I answered with a chuckle before turning to Bella.

"Bella, Tyler wasn't the only one who I talked to about all of this. I went to see your Dad."

"You did?" She looked surprised but delighted as I nodded.

"Yeah. I wanted to do this right."

"What did he say?" She asked sounding intrigued as I grinned.

"Find out for yourself."

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion before she heard one of the bedroom doors open and saw her dad walking towards us.

"Dad?" Bella flung herself at him with more tears in her eyes as he held his only child.

"Hey, Bells. I wanted to congratulate you in person. I wouldn't miss this night for anything."

"Grandpa Charlie!" Tyler was wriggling in my arms now as I passed him over to Charlie, who hugged him tightly.

"Edward...I had no idea. About any of this." She still sounded surprised as I chuckled again.

"There's one more thing," I warned her.

"What else could you possibly have planned?"

I turned to Charlie and signaled to him with a nod. He put Tyler down, telling him to stay still while he walked back into the room he'd just appeared from.

"Tyler, you know I talked to you about marrying your mom?" I knelt down to talk to him properly as my family gathered around. They didn't know about the next surprise either.

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod.

"I told you how I asked your Grandad Charlie first, but I wanted your permission too."

Tyler nodded again. "You said you're gonna love Mama and me forever."

"Yep. Well, I gave your Mom a ring to show that I will love her forever and I wanted to give you something too."

Tyler looked surprised as I continued.

"I didn't think you'd want a ring!" I joked as Tyler's scrunched up face confirmed my thoughts were correct." I have a really special watch, from my grandpa, but you're a bit young for that. So, I had another idea. I talked to your grandpa and told him what I wanted to do and he helped me."

I was almost more nervous about Bella's reaction to this than the proposal. I was pretty sure she wouldn't mind what I was about to do, we had talked about it a lot but talking about it and actually doing it were two different things.

Bella was still looking at me in confusion as Charlie reappeared. Bella and Tyler turned to him and released identical gasps.

As Charlie approached his grandson, he held out what was in his arms.

"Awwww, look, Mama," Tyler squealed as Charlie showed him the small, black, squirming puppy he was holding.

I chanced a look sideways at Bella whose face was melting with love for the little puppy her son was now taking hold of.

"He's so adorable," she turned to me, her hands clasped to her face in what I hoped was a good reaction.

"You don't mind do you? I know we agreed to get a dog soon so..."

Bella grabbed my cheek and turned my head to hers before planting her lips on mine.

"Hey, hey there, sis, little eyes and all that," Emmett joked jovially as Bella parted from me and pulled a face at Emmett.

"I'm glad you're okay with this," I told Bella genuinely before turning back to Tyler.

"Because this is a really special puppy."

"Tyler, Edward's going to tell you something really special about this puppy so you have to listen," Charlie told him as Tyler finally lifted his eyes off the little dog.

I knelt down to Tyler's level and stroked the puppy's head as I spoke.

"Ty, this dog comes from Forks. Like your Mom and Dad."

At the mention of Jake, Tyler looked up to me and I knew I had his attention now.

"This dog didn't know your dad, he's too young. But, this dog's dad was best friends with your dad."

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked softly, calming down and becoming serious.

"Your dad had a dog when he was growing up..." I started to explain.

"Wolfie," Bella whispered the word softly, reverently as she knelt down and joined Tyler, the puppy, and me, on the floor of the cabin.

"Yeah. Your dad had a dog named Wolfie," I agreed, turning back to Tyler. "Wolfie recently had puppies and this dog is one of Wolfie's puppies. So his dad was your dad's dog."

Bella gasped when she realized the connection between Tyler's new dog and Jake.

"Really?" She asked me in disbelief.

"Yep," I assured her before turning back to Tyler. "He's a special little dog. You two can be best friends, just like both your dad and his dog were."

Tyler remained silent but brought the puppy closer to his face and hugged him so tightly Charlie had to warn him to be gentler.

Bella reached over and stroked the puppy's soft fur as I turned to her.

"I'm not sure he understands yet, but I'm sure he will when he gets older."

"I'll make sure he understands," Bella assured me. "Edward, this is so amazing..." She trailed off as she took a deep breath and furiously blinked back her tears.

"This way Tyler has a small part of Jake. And if either of you are missing him you have..." I turned to the dog as Tyler spoke.

"Rex."

I nodded. "Rex? Okay, I like it. You wanna call him Rex?"

Tyler nodded and Bella reached over, taking the puppy softly from Tyler.

"You have Rex." I finished.

"Hi, Rex," she whispered. "Edward...how did you do all of this?"

"When I visited your dad and talked to him about proposing to you, I mentioned that I was thinking of getting Ty something and I was thinking about a dog. He said Jake's dog had recently had puppies. We went to see Billy..."

"Whoa, you went to Billy's place?" Bella's gaze went rapidly from me to her dad as she spoke.

"Yeah," Charlie told her. "I think he's doing a lot better, Bells. Once I mentioned about Tyler having one of Wolfie's puppies he was really pleased that Ty will have a link to Jake."

"It's a really thoughtful idea," she agreed as I looked over to see my mom wiping her tears as she smiled at me.

"I'm so happy, Edward. Let's celebrate! And let's see this adorable puppy!" She exclaimed as Tyler proudly showed Rex to my parents while Emmett and Rosalie poured fancy drinks into posh glasses to toast to mine, Bella, Tyler, and Rex's future.

A/N: So, I hope you like that chapter, there is one left.

Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.

You can find me on Facebook (as Koala Lou) where I often post picture teasers for the new chapters.

Thanks also to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Thanks to SarcasticBimbo, EdwardsFirstKiss and CoppertopJ for giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own.