We spent two more days unpacking and getting settled in our new home, and then we flew down to Jacksonville to spend a week in the sun. Renée was thrilled to have us there, and though the house was definitely crowded, she refused to let us sleep at a hotel.

Both Renée and Phil had to work while we were there, so Edward, Lily and I would spend the day by the pool in the back yard, at the beach, or strolling around the streets of Jacksonville. In the evenings, we would barbecue on the patio or order take-out. It was a wonderful – and necessary – vacation.

I was sad to leave the sun when the plane took off from JAX, but also looking forward to be going home. I knew we would be returning to Florida soon enough.

Edward

Lily had a birthday party for her friends on her actual birthday, and then we celebrated with the family on Memorial Day weekend, when Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie flew in from New York. Charlie, Sue and Seth came down from Forks, and with Alice, Jasper, Angela, Ben and Jacob joining the party, the back yard became rather crowded.

We used our new barbecue for the first time, and made hamburgers and hot dogs. Bella had ordered a special cake, in the shape of Winnie the Pooh, from a local bakery.

Just like at Christmas, I hadn't been able to stick to Bella's orders to not buy Lily too many presents. Neither had Carlisle or Esme, as it turned out. She got a scooter, a bike, a trampoline that would take up most of the lawn that wasn't already occupied by the swing set, and tons of toys, movies, games and books.

"She's going to get spoiled." Bella complained halfheartedly when we went inside to get the cake.

"I don't actually think that's a problem, since Carlisle and Esme will keep spoiling her for years." I noted, and she laughed.

"You're probably right about that."

She held up the cake, and I lit the seven candles on it – six for Lily's age and one to grow on. When we came back into the garden, everyone started singing Happy Birthday.

"Make a whish baby." Bella said, putting the cake down on the table.

Lily scrunched her face up, thinking for a moment. Then she blew with all her might and the seven candles went out. Everybody clapped and cheered.

As the party started winding down, I found myself on the swing set with Emmett.

"I can't believe he'll be one next month." Emmett noted, watching Noah, who was toddling about the lawn, Rosalie following closely behind in case he lost his balance. "It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital."

"Time flies, bro." I stated, and he nodded solemnly.

"It sure does."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Listen." Emmett said quietly. "Rose has gotten a transfer to the Seattle office at work, so we'll be relocating here by the end of the summer. Don't tell mom though, I want it to be a surprise. Dad knows, and he's already managed to get his job in Forks back. They'll move into the old house permanently in July."

"That's great, Emm." Finally the whole family would be on the same side of the country again.

"Yeah." Emmett nodded. "We're actually looking at a place a couple of blocks from here tomorrow."

"What are you going to do for work?" I asked, and he shrugged, smiling.

"They always need football coaches at the schools, right?"

xxxxx

"Please don't be mad." Bella greeted me when I got home from playing at the club one night in June.

"Why would I be mad?" I asked suspiciously. She looked extremely guilty.

"Well, a couple of weeks ago, I might have taken the CD with your music and I might have sent it to a guy working for a film company in town." She admitted, eyes glued to the floor.

"You what?" I stared at her in disbelief. I wasn't angry, but surprised.

"I'm sorry!" She looked pleadingly at me. "It's just, you talk about wanting to compose, and not just write jingles and play at that club, and I saw this ad in the paper looking for composers for some low budget movie, and I thought, hey, it couldn't hurt, right? You have to start somewhere. And it's not like someone important's just going to walk into the club and discover you." She had to pause to catch her breath, and I hurried to reassure her.

"I'm not mad."

"Oh, thank God." She let out a sigh of relief.

"Why are you telling me this now, anyway?"

"Because you got a letter from the company today."

"What did it say?"

"I haven't opened it." She held out a manila envelope for me.

I took the letter and quickly ripped it open, pulling a single, folded piece of paper from the envelope.

"Dear Mr. Cullen, we are very impressed with your music, and would like to set up a meeting with you to discuss your involvement in..."

I didn't have a chance to read the rest, because Bella threw her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately.

"I knew you could do it!" She exclaimed when she pulled away a moment later.

"It's all thanks to you." I replied. "For believing in me."

"I know it's just a small movie, and they probably won't pay you very much, but it's a way in, right?" Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." I wrapped her in my arms, overwhelmed with love and gratitude. "For everything."

"Come on." She pulled back, taking my hand. "Lily's been asleep for hours, I know the perfect way to celebrate."

As she led me up the stairs to our bedroom, I contemplated the changes that had occurred in my life in the last year. I had gone from having noting – a boring job, an unwelcoming apartment, the occasional date with friends of my sisters – to having absolutely everything – a wonderful girlfriend, an amazing daughter, a home I actually couldn't wait to go home to, and now the opportunity of a lifetime to do the exact thing I had always wanted to do.

Life really couldn't get much better than this.


Epilogue

A Fairytale Ending

Two years later

I woke up early, and after making sure that Edward was still sound asleep, snuck into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

As I opened the laundry bag to dig out the box I had buried there the previous day, a ray of sunlight caught in the two rings on my left hand. As always, the sight of the engagement ring and the wedding band made me smile.

Edward had proposed on New Years Eve a year and a half earlier, and the previous summer, we had gotten married. It had been a relatively small ceremony, at the beach in La Push on an unusually sunny day, with only our family and closest friends present.

We hadn't had a honeymoon in the traditional sense; just the two of us somewhere romantic. Instead, we'd taken Lily to Disney World – a trip she still talked about, almost a year later. Alice and Jasper had gone with us, so Edward and I had gotten some alone time at least…

I shrugged off the pleasant memories and returned to the present, my fingers closing around a paper box under the pile of clothes in the laundry basket.

I read the instructions carefully; even if I was pretty sure I remembered what I was suppose to do, I didn't want to mess anything up.

I had suspected that something was up for almost a week, and when my little 'friend' had failed to make an appearance a few days earlier, I had been certain I was right. But I had still waited until today to confirm – or disprove – my intuition.

We had started discussing having another child a couple of months ago, and I had stopped taking my birth control. I could see that Edward was very disappointed when nothing happened the first month, or the month after that, even though I had tried to tell him that it would probably take some time before my body adjusted to the change. That was one reason why I was now taking a pregnancy test at five thirty in the morning, locked in our bathroom. I didn't want him to be even more disappointed if it turned out to be nothing.

The other reason was that today was a special day.

I waited impatiently as the time ticked by, looking at my watch so often it seemed like it was hardly passing at all. But finally, the two minutes were up, and I anxiously peeked in the tiny window. A smile spread on my face when I saw the little plus sign.

Quickly, I put the test back in the box and tiptoed downstairs, where I got some gift-wrap and made a present of it. Then I quietly went back upstairs, and crawled into bed to wait. I was too anxious to actually go back to sleep, so I just lay there, watching Edward as he slept. I never got tired of staring at his face – even after all this time, he took my breath away.

At half past seven, I was getting impatient, and when I heard Lily's door open and then her footsteps down the stairs half an hour later, I decided that it was time for Edward to wake up.

I snuggled in closer, wrapping an arm around him and running my lips along the edge of his jaw. The stubble tickled, and I giggled a little. I felt him shift next to me.

"Morning." I mumbled in his ear. "Happy birthday."

"Mmm, and a happy birthday it is." He murmured back, finding my lips for a kiss. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me even closer, and it was very, very tempting to let him continue... But I was on a mission.

"I have a present for you." I said, pulling away a little.

"I like this present." He replied, reaching for me again. I slipped out of his grasp and grabbed the box from my bedside table.

"Happy birthday."

He took the gift, sighed, and ripped the paper off. His eyes widened when he took in the box in his hand.

"What's this?"

"Well, you might want to look inside."

He opened the box and pulled the plastic stick out.

"Does that… is it positive?" He looked up at me, and I nodded. "We're having a baby?"

"That is usually the end result, yes."

I barely had time to react before he had pulled me into a bone crushing hug, his face buried against my hair.

"Best birthday ever."

The End