The Last Stand

Hayley was pacing back and forth in front of me, nervously biting her lip. I was sitting down in one of the chairs in the room for her to get ready in, waiting to do her make-up. Alice was standing across the room, impatiently tapping her foot. “Hayley,” I interrupted, standing up and grabbing her arm to make her stop. She faced me, a panicked look in her blue eyes.

“Hmm?”

“Stop worrying,” I soothed. “Sit down and let Alice do your hair while I do your make-up.” She sat down, taking a deep breath, and glanced at the clock. Big mistake.

“I get married in an hour and half,” she whispered, trying to stand back up. Alice’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“Stay seated and face the front,” the pixie-like woman commanded in a stern voice. Hayley nodded and took some more deep breaths. I knelt down in front of her and proceeded to do her make-up while Alice was working on her hair.

When we finished, I helped her into her dress while Alice slipped on her shoes. “I’m getting married, I’m getting married,” she kept repeating over and over much like I did during my wedding.

“Yes, you are. To the love of your life,” I reminded her, fixing her veil. “There,” I smiled, looking her over. She looked beautiful. I glanced at the time; forty-five more minutes. “Alice, go get Leah, Rose, Ella, and Jordan.” She nodded, and hurried off to go get the other bridesmaids. I quickly got dressed and did my make-up. As I was finishing my lipstick, the girls trailed in, all in their dresses and with make-up on.

“Time to do your hair!” Alice cheered, sitting me down first. It took her about two minutes, and about ten to finish up everyone else’s. I looked in the mirror, fixing the top of my dress, and glanced at the clock again; it was time.

“Are you ready?” I questioned, looking at Hayley. She seemed more calm now that it was time, and nodded with a small smile.

“Yeah. I’m ready.” I smiled back.

“Then let’s go.”

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

After the wedding, Hayley and I had gotten changed into shorter dresses to move easier. I smoothed out the skirt of my green dress (Alice had said it brought out the green in my hazel eyes) and we walked out into the living room of the Cullen household. Just like with my wedding, the living room had been transformed into a makeshift dance floor.

A few minutes before we changed clothes, Hayley was pulled onto the dance floor by Carlisle for the father/daughter dance. The beginning of My Wish by Rascal Flatts started playing, and I watched the two sway to the music while holding Emalie in my arms.

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you wanna go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.
But more than anything, more than anything

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but you never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you live,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, more than anything

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish. Yeah, yeah.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish (my wish, for you).

This is my wish (my wish, for you)
I hope you know somebody loves you (my wish, for you).
May all your dreams stay big (my wish, for you)

When it finished, everyone clapped, and Carlisle kissed Hayley’s cheek before shaking Embry’s hand.

Fifteen minutes later, we were in the shorter dresses, and I was on the dance floor with my husband. “You know,” he started, lowering his voice so no one would over hear.

“Hmm?”

“Your bedroom is right upstairs.” A grin broke across my face and I looked up at him to see Paul with a grin matching mine.

“It’s your sister’s wedding, asshole,” I chuckled. “Show some respect.” He laughed and pulled me closer.

“I can’t believe we’re here,” he commented after a couple minutes of comfortable silence between us.

“You’re going to have to be more specific, honey.”

“Married, with a daughter,” he clarified.

“Are you happy?” I questioned, halting our dance. Our gazes locked; warm, dark chocolate meeting stunning hazel.

“I don’t think I could be happier,” he promised before leaning down to capture my mouth with his.

“Neither could I,” I whispered when we pulled away.

“Well, I guess I could,” he correct with a wicked grin. “If you popped out another one.” I rolled my eyes.

“Not for a another few years, darling.”

“Aw, why so long?” I shot him a dirty look.

“You aren’t the one that has to push the children out, Paul,” I commented dryly. “Besides, Emalie’s already a handful. Can you imagine running after another child right now?” He grimaced playfully.

“Good point.”

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

“Are you sure we packed enough?” Hayley worried her bottom lip as she handed Olivia to me at the airport. I rolled my eyes.

“Hayls, you packed plenty,” I sighed, remembering the six bags packed into the trunk Edward’s Volvo out in the parking lot that were for Olivia alone.

“If you need anything, you know how to reach me,” she said, giving me a huge hug and pressing a kiss to Olivia’s cheek. She gave Paul a hug as Embry wrapped his arms around me.

“Thank you for watching her for the week,” he said as he kissed the top of his daughter’s head. I smiled softly.

“Not a problem, Embry.”

“Final call for flight eighty-two boarding to Italy.”

“That’s you two,” Paul said, giving the two a light shove towards their gate.

“See you in a week!” I called with a wave as they handed their first class tickets to the woman at the gate. It was their wedding gift from the Cullen’s; an all expenses paid honeymoon to Italy. Lucky bastards.

After watching their plane take off, Paul, Olivia, and I walked back to the Volvo. While Paul was buckling her in the backseat, I was in the driver’s seat starting the car. Paul slid into the passenger seat a couple seconds later, and we were on our way back to Forks. “I like Port Angeles,” he commented, looking out the window. I shrugged.

“It’s not bad.” Every time I saw it, I flashed back to the Newborn army that my old best friends were helping lead.

“Dyls, did you like Miami?” Paul questioned. I nodded.

“Yeah. It was beautiful there.”

“Would you want to go back? As a family thing this time, of course,” he added with a smile. I grinned back at him.

“That would be amazing.”

An hour later, I was feeding Olivia while Rosalie was feeding Emalie. Renesmee was already eating by herself, and Emalie and Olivia was getting there. They already had some teeth!

“I really don’t like how fast she’s growing,” Bella commented lowly, watching Nessie. I nodded my agreement. Would we really even have time with our children? Were they going to age so quickly that they die within a couple decades? My heart clenched at the thought painfully. No. I wouldn’t allow that. I was going to have time with my child.

I had to.