EPILOGUE

It was like an age-old classic

The first time you saw me

The story started when you said, "Hello"

In a crowded room a few short years ago

And sometimes, there's no proof you just know

You're always gonna be mine

~ Taylor Swift, Timeless (Taylor's Version)

BPOV

He didn't notice us at first.

I stood outside his office, Izzy resting comfortably in my arms as we waited for his rehearsal to finish up. She perked up as soon as she noticed him, giggling and squirming with her tiny little hands reaching out toward her father.

At one of her higher pitched squeals, Edward's head snapped up from where he had paused down the hall, taking a moment to talk to Angela–the newly appointed head writer of the show. She sent me a wink from down the hall as Edward immediately abandoned their conversation.

"My girls," he beamed, scooping up the wiggling six-month-old from my arms and peppering kisses all over her face. Once she was safely wrapped in his arms, he pressed his lips to the top of my head. "What are you two doing here?"

I playfully frowned up at him, eyes drifting to the Happy Birthday sign hanging above his doorway. "I was under the impression it was a Cullen child tradition to take their parent out to lunch for their birthday."

Edward sighed, pushing his office door open and ushering me inside.

Despite my best efforts, I knew he was less than excited about his birthday this year. More so than usual. He had gotten grumpier and grumpier about it since the first year I knew him, and I knew it all seemed to stem from his dread of finally turning forty.

Me and my twenty-seven-year-old self probably weren't the best ones to help soothe over the blow, but it didn't mean I wasn't going to try. So, Izzy and I packed up lunch and decided to surprise him.

Lucy was taking some summer courses, flourishing in her nursing program at UCLA and eager to speed through them. She had a test this afternoon so she and Edward had their usual birthday lunch over the weekend. Masen was doing an internship up at school so he came down for the early weekend lunch as well.

Which left little miss Izzy responsible for the day of lunch.

"I have to say, I was surprised even on your time off you managed to still get that sign up," Edward said, nodding up to the birthday sign as he walked underneath it into his office.

I smiled over at him. "I have a standing deal with Nick."

He was the morning janitor, had been since I first started working with Edward. One of the most polite and kind men I had ever met, and never hesitated when I asked him to put the sign up the first time. He refused my attempt to pay him for it, so I constantly made sure his yearly bonus from the show included a little extra.

"And do you have a standing deal with every employee in the theater?"

I shrugged, sitting down on the couch beside him and Izzy. I might have made sure Angela and a few other people around took over birthday duty at the theater this year. "I couldn't have the place in shambles without me."

Edward smiled over at me. "I know I might be slightly biased, but I do prefer your services over Alistair or Ben."

I snorted. "That's because my services include a hell of a lot more than what they do."

Edward let out a loud laugh, one Izzy replicated as she grabbed for his face. "I was talking in a strictly professional sense."

I raised a brow at him.

He gave me that lopsided smirk.

"All jokes aside, he brings me shit that I couldn't care less about. Both of them do."

"That's probably because they're more nervous about making a decision on your behalf than I am."

I liked to think I knew the man fairly well by this point, considering we were married with a child. I knew what opportunities he would want and which ones he would roll his eyes at. To the point where half of what was brought to the table never cluttered his desk.

His lips brushed against my cheek. "I do miss you," he said softly. "Working with you."

I let my head fall to his shoulder. It had been floating around in the back of my mind lately. Probably because I had somehow gotten good at the whole mom thing. I knew how to change diapers and feed her, knew when she was overtired or what each cry meant she needed. It wasn't always easy, but every day wasn't the terrifying unknown I thought it was going to be before she was born.

And even as she grew out of that newborn stage to six months now, I had two different voices in my head telling me what I wanted.

I missed my job. I worked my ass off to get it, and while there were plenty of people who would say otherwise, it was true. And I loved what I did, despite the stress and hours.

But then I looked down at my daughter's tiny little face with those puffy cheeks and chubby hands and didn't want to miss a moment with her. And didn't know how I would trust someone else to watch her for the time I needed to be away from her to work.

I shook my head, clearing the thoughts for another time. I knew I would, at the very least, take the full year I had planned. Which left me with six more months.

"We brought you lunch," I said, nodding toward his desk. It was a simple lunch, some sandwiches from a deli down the street. But the thought of it being the first of many lunches the two of them would have together on his birthday made me happy.

I had a few ulterior motives for the visit, the main one being Edward getting to see Izzy before I dropped her off with Carlisle and Esme for the evening.

I was getting better at letting her out of my sight. I only hesitated for a few minutes at the door this time.

I had enough time once I got home to straighten up the house, take the dogs on a quick walk, and spend an outrageous amount of time getting myself ready for the evening. It was amazing how luxurious a thirty minute shower with no interruptions was these days.

I took the time to not only blow dry but also curl my hair and pulled on a dress I had been saving for a special occasion. Having Alice in your life meant there was never a shortage of moments when she appeared at the door with a garment bag because she saw a dress she thought you'd like and that was that.

This particular one had shown up right after I found out I was pregnant and I never had an opportunity to wear it before the nausea and morning sickness then subsequent pregnant belly popped out.

It was black and lacy and fitted enough that I had a moment of doubt that I would be able to squeeze myself into it given the fact that my chest was still a good cup size bigger than usual, but eventually managed just fine.

I was fastening the first pair of diamond earrings Edward ever gave me into my ears when I heard the garage go up. And was waiting in place by the door as soon as he walked in.

He froze in place, eyes unashamedly looking me up and down.

"You have two choices," I started. "One is leaving now to make our reservation at an outrageously expensive but amazing restaurant followed by an evening of those extra services you were talking about earlier."

His lips twitched with a smile and his eyes finally made their way back to mine. "And option two?"

"Option two is ditching the fancy dinner, going straight to the extra services, and ordering a pizza. Eventually."

"Iz?"

"Your parents."

"Option two."

.M.

I nibbled on my pizza crust, eying him from across the bed. He was sprawled out on the other side, pizza box between us, and a pair of loose sweatpants around his hips he begrudgingly put on to answer the door for the pizza.

A kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered to life in my stomach as a nearly identical memory hit me. It was a different room, a different house, a different lifetime ago it seemed, but it was a moment on the twentieth of June a mere five years ago that completely changed the trajectory of my life. When I looked across the bed at him, discarded pizza box between us, and realized I loved him.

In that moment, I thought I was screwed. So royally fucked because there was no possible future for us. He had been, legally, married to another woman at the time. I was his employee. Those kinds of stories never ended well.

Except ours did. Kind of perfectly, if you took out the angry ex-wife and tabloids and homicidal step-sibling.

Even with all of that shit, if I had known about what it would take to keep him back then, I would have agreed to it all in a heartbeat.

Because somehow, from the moment I met him, he had this ability to make everything better. I still didn't know how he did it. But when he was there, nothing seemed as awful or overwhelming or impossible as it did when I was alone.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?" he hummed from his spot at the end of the bed, eyes lazily sliding open to look at me.

"I know you don't love celebrating your birthday, but it's a big day for me," I admitted. "I would be… a lost cause without you."

His face softened. He let the pizza box fall to the ground with a soft thud and got back in bed beside me.

I curled myself up against him, taking a deep, calming breath of him in as I rested myself against his shoulder. "I love you."

Three simple words I once thought I'd never be able to say to anyone.

Warm fingers tilted my chin up. His eyes were soft as he said, "You're the best thing to ever happen to me."

.M.

Violet McCarty was just as annoyingly beautiful as her mother. Coupled with the dimples she inherited from her father, she would be a force to be reckoned with one day.

Sitting on the floor of my living room, Rosalie by my side and our daughters rolling around and playing together between us was quite a surreal moment.

Izzy was rolling. Violet was closer to that newborn stage still. But there was no doubt in my mind the two would be double trouble one day.

"When do you go back to work?" Rose asked eventually.

I sighed, head falling back against the couch. My year was coming dangerously close to being over, and I had gone back and forth on the subject a hundred times with myself. I knew Edward would be fine either way. He might not love Alistair but I knew he'd agree in an instant if I said I wanted to stay home longer. Just as instantaneously as he would smile and tell me he was glad I was going back to work because he knew how much I loved it.

An annoyingly supportive man, that one. Because it gave me zero help when making the decision for myself.

"I don't know," I mumbled.

"I know," Rose said hesitantly. "Which is why I wanted to talk to you about something."

I frowned over at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yes. Of course. Everything is great. But, Emmett and I decided I was going to stay home with Vi. Long term. Probably at least until she's in elementary school."

"Really?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. I love what I do, and PT has been a fun thing to get into, but I don't have that same passion for it I used to. Not since she was born. Emmett can run the gym and clinic just fine. Loves it, really."

I nodded, smiling over at the woman who not one year ago plopped herself down in my office on the verge of a panic attack because she might be pregnant. "That's amazing."

"And I thought I could watch Izzy for you while you're at work," she added.

"What?"

"You love your job, Bella. I watched you work yourself ragged in college to get it. I know you want to go back. And if I'm staying home with Vi, there's no reason Iz can't keep us company, too."

I was shaking my head before she finished. "I can't ask you to do that, Rose. Taking care of two kids all day–"

"You didn't ask. I offered."

I rolled my lips, mind going in a bit of a tailspin.

"I know how hard it would be for you to trust her with anyone else," Rose added softly. "And you know I wouldn't let anything happen to that girl."

I did know. There were probably less than ten people in the world I would ever be able to leave my daughter with and not have to think twice about it. Trust wasn't something I was able to hand out easily, especially where her safety was concerned.

The thought of hiring a nanny–no matter how many references she had or interviews we did–made me nauseous.

"Would… would you at least let us pay you?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Edward paid for Emmett and I to go back to college–"

"That was a long time ago."

Rose sighed, gently shoving me with her shoulder. "If it would make you feel better."

I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her until I was confident enough I could pull away without crying.

.M.

The halls were familiar. Comforting. They brought up hundreds of happy memories as I would cherish for my entire life. From my first time nervously walking through the theater, dreading meeting the man I had been saddled with as my first client, to that equally nerve wracking walk into work after getting back from our first trip to New York together that changed everything.

My fingertips brushed against the pale blue wall as I walked slowly toward his dressing room. My heels clicked on the tile, echoing softly through the empty hall. The halls were always almost eerily empty while he filmed.

I set my bag down on the floor by the couch that had since been updated from the first time I sat there. It was a soft, black leather now. I wandered over to the counter, picking up the various photos he had stashed there for the few measly minutes he sat in a makeup chair and allowed the bare minimum to get put on his face. Mostly powder because of the cameras.

All of the photos were of our family. There were pictures of us on our wedding day–both of them, though only one that was blatantly obvious to be our 'official' wedding day. My first ultrasound with that tiny little dot that turned into our daughter was still there, along with a photo of us on our babymoon. There were probably half a dozen pictures of Izzy, some of just her and some with all of us. There were photos of Masen and Lucy graduating high school and a few of them as they moved into their college dorms for the first time.

I carefully set the frames back in their original places.

It was almost impossible to remember the girl I had been when I walked into this room the first time. I was angry and hostile and scared and lonely. Emotionally, I was barely scraping by day by day and had no plans on changing any of that.

Then, he walked through the door and nothing was ever the same again.

None of it had been easy. Half of the shit we'd been through should have ended any hope for a future for us. But there was no future of mine without him in it, not one that was worth living, at least.

I had realized it nearly instantly, as soon as I met him. That Edward had a way of making everything better. Even if he didn't solve whatever problem I had, just being near him made my life better. Made me want to move on from my own demons that had been holding me back for so long so I could enjoy every second I had the privilege of being near him.

At the time, I thought I had to savor it. Never thought I'd one day be in a picture frame on the counter, smiling up at him as he took a photo of me holding our newborn daughter the day we brought her home from the hospital.

I turned and sat down on the couch, crossing my legs and straightening the skit of my dress over my legs.

It was the first time I had worn anything business-like in over a year.

The door swung open lightly, a few voices floating in. Mostly words like good show or other errant compliments being thrown at him as he walked in.

I watched him toss his mic pack to someone out in the hall. He didn't miss a beat, even as I saw the surprise flash on his face when he saw me sitting there.

Edward leaned against the counter, the photos of our life together shining in the overhead light as he grinned over at me. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, his tone much more playful than the first time.

I stood and took a few short steps over to him, smiling as I reached up to press my lips to my favorite spot underneath his jaw.

THE END

A/N: I don't really know what to say here. These two are so so so important to me. I love them and this series with my whole heart. Thank you to every single person who took the time to read, review, and be there for these two throughout the journey.

I miss them already.