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Epilogue: Father of the Bride

I sat in a chair in the corner of the room watching. Just watching. Where the last 18 years had gone, I wasn't sure, but it seemed like yesterday that she only reached my knee. I still remembered when she was tall enough to wrap her arms around my waist. When the top of her head finally reached the same height as my shoulder, I prayed the growing would stop. Lucky for me, it did. Now there she stood, a full-grown woman ready to marry some jerk-punk kid who would never be good enough for her. My hands balled into fists again as I watched Bella straighten the veil in our daughter's hair and then smile at her. Their smiles were the same – so similar – and I forced myself to take a deep breath.

Calling Seth a jerk-punk kid was a low blow, and even I knew that. There was nothing wrong with him. Not one thing. And I was certain of that, because I'd begged Charlie to run a background check on him when Makenna first brought him home to meet us. No speeding tickets, overdue library books, or illegitimate children – nothing I could hate him for.

Makenna met Seth during her junior year of college. He was in his last year, taking a couple of classes while he did his student teaching before he graduated. Yeah, Seth was a school teacher. And not just any school teacher, either. He was an elementary school teacher, teaching second grade in one of the poorer areas of Seattle. The school district was good, and they tried hard to make sure the kids got everything they needed, but Seth funded a lot of his teaching supplies himself with the money he made delivering pizzas at night. The kid worked two jobs while taking classes toward his Master's degree.

He was perfect. After meeting him, I was kind of jealous. The way Bella had smiled and laughed with him, and then giggled and snickered with Kenna while Seth was in the other room made me wonder if Bella wished she was 20 years younger, so she could go after him herself. Of course, she picked up on my moodiness right away, grinning and telling me how much she loved me and only me. That made me happier, but I still went to bed with a knot in my stomach that night. Even though Seth was sleeping in the extra bedroom in the basement and Kenna was upstairs in her old room, I knew what it was like to be young and in love. I had a feeling someone would be sneaking up or down the stairs once all the lights were out. I'd pulled my rifle out of the closet so I could stand guard, but Bella made me put it back and then lured me into bed by slowly stripping out of her clothes. I was a smart man. I wasn't saying no to that.

"Dad, what do you think?" Makenna asked me. Looking back at her, my heart sank. She wasn't my little girl anymore. I knew I wasn't her father – I wasn't Alec – but I was Dad, and that had always thrilled me. I didn't love her any less than my biological children. She was always meant to be mine, but she and Collin just came to me a little differently than her sisters or baby brother did.

"You're gorgeous," I softly said, trying not to let her or her mother see the tears that were quickly gathering in my eyes.

"Dad..." She really was beautiful, and it wasn't just the outside, either. She had a wonderful, sweet, loving soul, and it shined through for everyone around her to see.

I laughed. "Yeah, I know. I can't help it. You really do look amazing."

"Isn't she just the most beautiful bride you've ever seen?" Bella asked as she fussed with part of Kenna's dress.

"Yeah. Well, the second most beautiful bride. There was one other bride, a long time ago. She took my breath away."

Of course it was Bella, and she knew it was her. Bella glanced at me, tilting her head a bit and smiling. "You silly, wonderful man."

"Mom, they're ready to start," Collin said, poking his head in the door.

"Okay, honey. We'll be right out," Bella told him, then adjusted Makenna's veil. "I love you, Kenna. You're so beautiful, and Seth is a lucky, lucky man."

"Thanks, Mom," Makenna said with a sniffle.

Bella turned toward me, reaching for my hand and urging me out of my chair. She looked up at me with a smile. "I'll see you out there, okay? Don't keep me waiting, Mr. Cullen."

Lightly kissing her lips, I smiled back at her. "Never, Mrs. Cullen. I'll see you soon."

With that, Bella walked out the door to Collin, who would be walking her down the aisle to her seat in the front row. The wedding was taking place in the outdoor garden area of a local country club. We'd been living in Port Angeles for years, so there were a lot of people to invite. Not all of them would be at the wedding, but many of them would at least stop by the reception. Since Collin had graduated with a Bachelor's degree in architecture and was working for Black Construction, we now had a few locations in the area. With so many nearby business acquaintances, the guest list was much larger than I'd ever imagined it would be. Plus, Kenna was the first of our children to get married. Bella went all out, and I was happy to see her enjoying things so much. It was especially nice since our own wedding had been so low key and simple. At least, that's what I was told when it was happening.

Makenna stood in front of the mirror, checking her hair and makeup one last time. She smiled when I moved to stand behind her.

"You sure about this? I know people that dig holes, and I have access to cement. No one ever has to know."

"Dad," she sighed.

"Fine. We don't have to kill him. We could just take off, get out of here, and never come back. I'm sure I can talk Mom into it."

"Daddy," she laughed. The word made my heart soar. She rarely used it for me, but when she did, I loved it. "I want to marry him. And I know you like him," she said with a smile.

"Yeah. I do. But you're my little girl, Kenna. You're always gonna be my little girl. Don't ever forget that."

She was quiet for a moment, looking down at her hand. On her wrist was a bracelet, and on one of the links was a locket that contained pictures of Alec and Jane. Bella and I had given them to Makenna and Emily when we got married, and had given a pocket watch to Collin that had the same pictures in the front and back covers. Alec and Jane were never off-the-table topics, and we'd spent a lot of time over the years talking about them.

"Thank you for being my daddy when you didn't have to," she whispered.

"Makenna, it was my honor."

Her sweet face turned up, and her teary eyes met mine. "You didn't have to take us on. You had Emily and your own life, and yet, you were always there for us, for me. You always treated me the same way you treated Emily, and then the same way you treated Charlotte and Riley. I love you so much, Dad. I'm so happy we have you."

She hugged me, and I couldn't stop the tears that slid down my cheeks. "Trust me, baby. The feeling's mutual. I don't know where Emily and I would be without you, Collin, and your mom. Thank you for letting me be your dad. You didn't have to, you know? You already had a great dad, and I thank the Lord every day that I get to call you mine."

"He's my father, and I'll always love him. He'll always be Daddy to me, because that's what I called him. But you... You're my Daddy. My real Daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too, Kenna. So much."

We were quiet for several seconds, just holding on to each other, and then I heard the music begin outside.

"You ready?" I asked, smiling when she nodded against my chest. "Last chance to run."

Her giggle was muffled against my suit jacket. "Not a chance. I got a man who's almost as good as my Daddy. I'm not letting him get away."

Her blue-gray eyes sparkled as she smiled up at me, and I carefully wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

Walking out the door with her hand tucked carefully into the crook of my elbow, I saw my other daughters lined up and waiting for their turn to walk down the long, petal-covered aisle. Charlotte had just turned seventeen and was giving me more gray hair than the three older kids combined had done. She had the same big brown eyes her mother had and the same dark brown wavy hair. I knew how lethal those were on boys, and I hadn't slept well since she started dating.

Charlotte started down the aisle in her pretty blue dress, and I turned my gaze to Emily, my oldest daughter. She'd just turned 26 and was working for a sports agency in Seattle. It hurt my heart when she went away to college, but she needed the freedom. That was the one trait she seemed to have inherited from Jane, a spirit that needed to be free and challenged and brave. As she grew up, I tried not to let that worry me about her. She wasn't Jane, and I knew she had half of me in her, too. She was level headed and smart, and maybe a little OCD about some things, but deep down, there was always that urge to fly, to run and soar and be free. I couldn't keep her from living her life to the fullest. Luckily she found her other half in Seattle, and for the time being, we still got to see her quite often.

Sam was a baseball player. He played for the Seattle Mariners, and while he wasn't a starter, he was talented and consistent. And he was a good guy who made Emily happy. She met him when he came in to meet his agent, and Emily happened to sit in on their meeting. She wasn't swept away that first time she saw him, but apparently, he was. He was relentless in his pursuit of her, and while I was a little angered by it at first, once the free ball game tickets and VIP passes started coming in, I shut my mouth and told her maybe she should give him a shot. She did, and things had been great between them ever since. She enjoyed traveling with him every now and then, and they seemed to have a good relationship. I didn't know when a proposal might be on its way, but with the way he looked at her, I knew it wouldn't be long.

"Don't let me fall, Dad," Kenna whispered as she stood next to me, watching her sisters slowly walk down the aisle.

"Not a chance," I said and then leaned over to kiss her head. The scratchy veil stuff was tucked into her hair, but I was able to get a kiss in without messing anything up.

The bridal music started to play, and I took a deep breath, stepping forward onto the grass. We had to walk across the grass just a bit before we got to the official aisle, but once we did and everyone was turned around to see us, I heard gasps through the crowd. My girl really was the most beautiful bride ever. Well, except for her mother. But not many of the people watching us had seen Bella walk down the aisle to me, so they wouldn't know.

Seth smiled brightly from the end of the aisle. There was a structure built there with flowers and ribbons, and he was standing in front of it, waiting for my girl.

"Oh, Daddy. Look how handsome he is," Makenna said. She had started to walk a little faster than I thought she should, and I held her back a bit.

"Hold on now. He's not goin' anywhere. Give him a few minutes to look at you."

By the time we reached the first row and I saw my gorgeous wife standing in front of her chair, the music stopped and the minister began to speak. Then he asked the question I'd been dreading.

"Who gives this woman to be wed to this man?" he asked.

I squeezed Kenna's fingers with my hand. "Her mother and I." With that, she looked up at me, her eyes glossy and shining from the tears building there.

"I love you, Daddy," she said, then leaned up and kissed my cheek.

"I love you, too, Kenna."

Placing her hand in Seth's, I smiled at him. "Take care of my girl," I told him.

"I promise. I'll love her forever," he replied. And I knew they'd be okay.

I took my seat next to Bella, with Collin sitting on the other side of her. He had yet to find the love of his life, but he'd had a few girlfriends that Bella and I really liked. I knew it was only a matter of time before he found the one. He was smart, thoughtful, and very attentive. Plus, from what his sisters told me, he was pretty good-looking. I figured that probably didn't hurt his chances at catching some lucky girl's eye.

Next to him sat Riley, who was 15 but quickly approaching his 16th birthday. He couldn't wait and already had a car picked out. Much to his brother's dismay, he was taller than Collin by a few inches, and his once dark brown hair now had a lot of red in it. Bella said she just knew it would drive the girls crazy since it reminded her so much of my hair. Or at least of what my hair had been before Charlotte caused so much gray to start growing. His brown eyes had flecks of green and blue in them, and while most people would say they were hazel, I knew they were simply a perfect blend of me and Bella, just like the rest of him was. He was the best parts of both of us, and we were thankful to have him.

Thinking about how lucky I was to have found my one, I took Bella's hand in mine, watching as I wrapped my fingers around it. Her hand looked a little older than it had when we got married. Her skin was a little wrinklier. Her hair had some gray strands in it. Her face had a few more lines and creases. But her eyes... When I looked into her eyes, I could still see my Bella. The one I'd met on her 22nd birthday. The one I'd been in love with for the majority of my life. The mother of my children – all of my children. My Bella.

"What?" she whispered, looking so sweetly at me.

"My Bella," I said, leaning down to kiss her quickly as the minister began the ceremony.

The moment flew by, and soon enough, Makenna was married and we were enjoying the reception. The kids were all out dancing, making fools of themselves and having a wonderful time. Emmett was chasing around his two grandchildren, while Rosalie and Claire sat back and laughed. Jasper and Alice sat at a table with Charlie and Renee, talking and laughing and watching as their kids tried to keep up with mine on the dance floor. My parents were sitting at the table with me and Bella, watching and laughing along with us. Next to me sat Heidi. It had been a few years since Aro had passed away, and I knew how much she missed him and how anxiously she awaited her time to join him, Jane, and Alec. She lived in an assisted care facility close to us, and we saw her almost every day.

After dinner was finished and the cake had been cut, the toasts began. Some of them were funny, some were sweet, some were awkward, and a few bordered on inappropriate, but it was all in good fun. We laughed and wondered just how drunk some of the people had been when they stood up to speak. The last toast was one I wasn't expecting.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please," Collin said as he stood at the microphone near the wedding party table. Makenna was standing next to him with her arm around his waist. "There's someone here tonight that my sister and I would like to draw special attention to. Many of you know that when we were very young, something horrible happened to our family. Our father and our aunt were killed in a car accident. Neither of us really remember much from that time, but we know our dad loved us and that we loved him. The reason that we know that is because our mother has reminded us of that throughout our entire lives."

I looked over to Bella and saw her smiling, tears running down her cheeks. Knowing she was listening closely to their words, I quietly slid my hand onto her thigh and wrapped my fingers around her hand that rested there. Gently, she squeezed my fingers with hers, and I relaxed just a bit.

"Our mom is like an angel here on earth, and we don't know where we'd be without her. We're grateful every day that we have her with us." Collin looked at Makenna, and she smiled up at him. "But we know that our mom wouldn't be who she is without someone else. Someone who's been by her side since before either of us were born. Someone who loved her from afar for years and years and never wanted anything more than for her to be happy. Someone who has loved both of us since we were born and has treated us as though we were his own. Someone that picked up our mom and helped put our family back together. Someone who stepped into the role left by our father and made our lives incredible and perfect in every way."

I continued watching Bella as I listened to the words my son was saying. Her tears began falling faster and heavier, and suddenly, realization hit me. It wasn't her they were talking about.

"That someone is our dad, Edward Cullen."

People all around us started clapping, and I glanced around, trying to figure out why. I hadn't done anything heroic or out of the ordinary. I had simply fallen in love with a woman and her two children, and built a life with them for me and my daughter. That didn't seem like such a huge thing to me, especially considering all the happiness and joy they'd brought into my life over the years.

"Dad, will you and Mom come up here?" Collin asked. When I looked up I saw Emily, Charlotte, and Riley standing behind them, and all of them were smiling at me.

Slowly, I stood from my chair, pulling Bella up with me, and we walked between the tables until we reached our children.

"Dad, we want to say thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for taking us in and loving us when you didn't have to. Thank you for showing us what love is supposed to be. You never treated us any differently than the other kids, and you were always willing to talk to us about our dad whenever we had questions. Thank you for being the best dad we could have ever asked for. You showed us what it means to love someone, to give your all for someone else, and how to be happy. The way you love Mom is something we've all learned from and that we'll always be grateful for. We love you, and we want to thank you for being our Daddy," Makenna said.

There were no words, and I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Makenna and Collin – my two wonderful children – not even caring that I was sobbing like a baby. Then I felt Bella's arms around me and soon Emily's, Charlotte's, and Riley's, too. I could hear clapping from behind us, but I was too busy loving my family; my perfect children and their angel mother. I would forever be thankful to have shared my life with them, no matter what the cost had been.

Later that night, after the party was over and Makenna and Seth had left for the bed and breakfast they were staying in, Bella and I returned home. I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Charlotte and Riley had gone with Collin, Emily, and Sam to get breakfast at IHOP. It was something the kids always liked to do when they were all home together, and Bella and I usually enjoyed the alone time it gave us. If we'd thought being sneaky about sex with little kids in the house was tough, we'd learned it was nearly impossible with teenagers around.

"My feet are killing me," Bella said as she sat down on the edge of our bed and slipped off the heels she'd been wearing all night. Watching her slide her stocking-clad feet across the carpet was kind of a turn on, especially when she started making little moaning sounds.

"I can't believe she's married," I mumbled, trying to get my mind off the way my wife's skirt was getting higher and higher on her thighs as her feet moved back and forth. If I backed up a little, I was certain I'd be able to see right up her dress, especially since her legs were falling farther apart with each pass of her feet.

"Yeah. It was a beautiful wedding," Bella replied, then moved her hands to her blouse so that she could unbutton it.

I stood still, just watching as she slowly undid each button and pulled the fabric from out of her skirt. It was almost slow motion when she pulled the shirt open and exposed her bra to me while she slid the shirt down her arms and then tossed it on the floor. My eyes were zeroed in on her boobs and the red lace that was covering them.

"Why, Mr. Cullen," Bella asked, and I could hear the lust dripping from her words. "Do you see something you like?"

I nodded, swallowing down the lump in my throat. "Oh, yeah."

"Well," she said as she stood from the bed and unzipped her skirt. "It seems we're all alone in this big house. Whatever will we do with ourselves?" Her skirt dropped to the floor, followed quickly by the slip she was wearing underneath it. My heart began to pound as I watched her standing there in nothing but her bra, panties, and thigh-high stockings. The grin on her face made it clear that she wasn't nearly as tired as she had claimed to be, and I hoped I wasn't too old to keep up with her.

"I don't know. What did you have in mind?" I asked, trying to play along. A devious smirk replaced the grin that had been on her face, and she bit her teeth into her lower lip and took a step toward me.

"Maybe I should just show you."

She stalked toward me. There was no other way to put it. She was like a lioness on the prowl, hunting her prey. I was just glad that prey was me. When she finally reached me – which seemed like hours even though it was only about six or seven steps – her hands grabbed onto my belt.

"I think I'll start with this," she said as she began to undo it. Her eyes stayed focused on mine as her fingers worked to unbuckle my belt, then undo the button and zipper on my pants. As I got older, my body had begun to change. One of the things I hated most was that without a belt, my pants were constantly falling down. Fat moving from your butt to your gut wasn't a good look, in my opinion, but maybe that was just because it had happened to me. Bella didn't seem to care, and she still grabbed my backside every chance she got, swearing it was just as sexy as it had been the first time she grabbed it. No matter what she said, I knew I wasn't a spring chicken anymore and I hated it.

Once my pants were on the floor, pooling around my feet, her fingers moved to my shirt. She quickly undid each button, then pushed my collar apart and slid the shirt down my arms before tossing it on the chair a few feet away. I stood before her in my undershirt and boxer briefs, wondering what she was going to do next.

"Too many shirts, baby," she said, then grabbed the bottom hem of my white undershirt and lifted it up. I felt her kisses along my chest as the shirt rose higher and higher before finally passing over my head. I pulled out one arm, then the other, and then dropped it on the floor. Bella's hands were splayed out on my chest as she kissed my skin and let her tongue glide along the goose bumps that were quickly forming.

Before I even realized it, Bella had dropped to her knees in front of me and was pulling down my boxer briefs. My cock was hard and yearning, and once the elastic band passed over my pelvic bone, it sprung out in search of her.

"Someone's eager," she whispered, licking her lips and looking up at me. I watched as her tongue once again peeked out and licked along the silky flesh of my length. After making two more long, slow passes from base to tip, her lips opened and I watched as she slid the head of my dick into her mouth.

"Ugh," I groaned as she sucked me in. Her mouth was warm and wet, and the pebbled surface of her tongue pressed against my skin as she moved up and down my cock. My hands immediately moved to her head, grabbing at her hair and holding on as she began to work me over.

Oral sex was one thing that had only gotten better as the years had passed. When Bella and I were first together, she was uncertain about it and definitely didn't have much experience. I knew it worried her that I might be turned off by her lack of expertise, but she was wrong. I loved the fact that I'd been the one to teach her about blowjobs and that everything she did was because she knew I liked it. I'd always enjoyed oral sex, and it was something I'd missed as Jane and I drifted farther and farther apart in our marriage. There was just something so intimate about it, something so personal about trusting another person enough to let them touch you that way, to let them affect your body like that. Why Alec never liked it, I didn't know, but I was glad he didn't. And I was glad I was reaping the benefits of Bella's skills.

"Oh, Bella," I sighed as she started to suck on the head of my cock. Her hand was wrapped around my shaft, sliding up and down as she kept the tip of me in her mouth and let her tongue flick over the slit. I knew I was dripping with pre-cum by that point but she swallowed every bit of it, moaning and sighing as she did. When her mouth let go with a pop, I tilted her head up so that I could see her eyes again. Looking down at her as she knelt in front of me nearly took my breath away. Her chest was heaving from excitement, and I could see her nipples poking through the fabric of her bra.

"Get up," I ordered, then watched as she quickly stood in front of me. "I wanna make love to you slow and soft and so good, but the things you do to me..." I leaned down and kissed her hard and deep. Our tongues moved together in our wet and sloppy kiss as my hands reached around her and undid her bra. Once it was laying on the floor, my hands grabbed her boobs and squeezed them, my thumbs rubbing over her nipples that were hard and aching for me.

"Oh, baby," she moaned when my mouth moved to her neck and I pulled her closer to me. Her hands pushed into my hair and I could feel her fingers on my scalp, scratching and tugging at me.

"What do you want?" I grunted into her ear, then sucked her earlobe into my mouth.

"You. Just you," she said in a breathy voice.

I smiled against her skin, then lowered my hands to her waist and spun her around. Putting my mouth back against her ear, I panted into it, "I'm gonna fuck you so hard, baby." We walked closer to the bed as I sucked on the skin just under her ear, and she cried out. When we reached the edge of the mattress, I pushed her chest down onto the comforter, then reached for her panties and yanked them down her legs. She stood before me in nothing but her thigh-high stockings, and as I watched her breathing hard and fast, I grabbed my cock and stroked it a few times before lining it up to her pussy.

"You ready?" I asked. When she whimpered just a bit, I pushed into her, not stopping until I was completely sheathed by her wet center. She was so hot, and sliding in felt so good, that I quickly pulled out and then slammed back in.

"Oh, fuck yes!" she yelled out. My hands grabbed onto her hips, and I began a steady rhythm of pushing in and pulling out. In and out, over and over, until she was a quivering mess. Her hands had grabbed onto the comforter on the bed, and the way she was gripping it so tightly was turning the skin on her fingers white and red.

"That's it," I said, pumping harder and faster into her. Her hair was hanging over her shoulder and her head was turned so that she could see us in the mirror on one of the bedroom walls. "You like it when I fuck you like this, don't you, baby?"

"Oh, yes! Please! Harder!" she called out, and I did as she asked. I always loved it when I got to be slow and tender with her. When I got to kiss every inch of her body. When I got to taste her and worship her. But I liked it hard and fast and loud, too. I liked any way I could have My Bella, and I loved anything she would let me do to her.

"Come on, baby. Come for me," I groaned out as I continued to thrust my cock hard and fast into her pussy.

"Oh yeah! Baby, I'm close! Ohhh, Edward..."

I could feel her beginning to tighten around me, and I pushed even faster. My fingers dug into the flesh of her hips as I pulled her against me over and over until I began to lose my grip on reality and things started to get fuzzy. I could feel my orgasm building in my gut, and as I pushed harder and faster, it grew hotter and hotter until finally I couldn't contain it anymore.

"Fuck, Bella!" I yelled as I began to cum inside of her.

"Ohhhhh!" she cried out as her body clamped down on my dick. I pumped a few more times, filling her with all I had, before finally stilling deep inside of her. Pulling out and pushing back in another couple of times drained me of every drop of cum I had, and when I finally felt her muscles starting to relax around me, I leaned over her body and pressed my chest to her back.

"I love you, baby," I said, softly kissing along her spine as I worked my way toward her neck.

"Edward... Oh, I love you, too." Her voice was quiet and spent, and I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. We both stood up a little straighter, or as straight as we could with me still inside of her. Feeling her naked body against me was something I knew I would never tire of, something I never wanted to let end. She would always be the only one for me.

She always had been the only one for me. I just hadn't known it at first.

Once we were cleaned up and had pajamas on, we slid into bed next to each other. Bella curled up against my side, then lay her head and hand on my chest.

"I hope Kenna's as happy as we are," she softly said.

I smiled. "I think she will be. And if she's not, I told her I know people who dig holes and how I have access to cement. No one would ever miss Seth."

"You did not!" she said, looking up at me with a smile on her face.

"Of course I did. A daddy's gotta do what a daddy's gotta do to make his little girl happy."

The smile she wore changed, shifting into something more meaningful and loving. "You're the best daddy she could have ever hoped for. Thank you for taking us all, for loving us and making our lives so wonderful."

I kissed her forehead, her nose, and then finally her sweet, beautiful lips. "It was my pleasure," I told her. "Thank you for letting me. I'll always be grateful that you did." I reached up and pushed a lock of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. "I know things didn't start out like they should have, and they were far from perfect, but I wouldn't change any of it. Ever."

Her eyes glistened with tears. "Me, either. Not one moment."

As she lay her head back down and settled against me, I held her close and felt her breathing change once she was finally asleep. Staring up at the ceiling, I smiled.

"Thank you, Alec. Thank you for giving me my life. And thank you, Jane. Thank you for Emily and for bringing me to Bella. I'll always be grateful."

Then I closed my eyes and held onto my bride, my girl, My Bella. She was my life, the life that didn't really even begin until after Jane died.

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A/N:

Thank you for sharing these two with me. They lived in my head for a long, long time and I'm happy to finally have their story written down.

beegurl13