Edge and Belle

Epilogue (Edge): To Be Cherished

I'd been deployed multiple times before, but I'd never felt each day drag so slowly. I'd actually made my own calendar pages so I could cross the days off and show Piper and West whenever we FaceTimed so they'd know I was counting the days until I could return home, too.

There was so much to get back for. I had my Belle, West and Piper. I could picture their faces so clearly in front of me, and I wondered what they were doing all the time. How they were doing. If they were missing me as much as I missed them. After the first two hundred times I watched Belle's video telling me she loved me, I lost track of how often I hit that play button, but if it'd been a Tik-Tok video, I would have made it viral on my own.

Almost as often, I patted the engagement ring for Belle that I carried with me everywhere, like a talisman in my pocket. I'd bought it before I knew I was going to be filling in for Merle on his deployment, so I'd taken it with me to remind me of everything I had to look forward to when I returned home.

When I woke up, I patted my pocket. When I began work for the day, I patted my pocket. When I was getting ready for a flight, I patted my pocket. And when I was falling to sleep every night, I patted my pocket. That ring went everywhere I did, and I had big plans for how I was going to propose to Belle. It was going to be just the two of us in an intimate, romantic setting, complete with candles, rose petals and soft music, and I'd tell her about how much I loved her then I'd ask her to marry me. We'd have champagne on hand to toast our engagement, then we'd go home and tell the children...

But, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that shit because the second I returned home, the very second I saw my little family waiting for me with so many other families, all my plans went out the window. I fucking ran to them, hugged them all...then dropped to my knee right in front of Belle, pulled out the ring and asked her to please be my wife. Not even a candle or rose petal in sight.

Fortunately, she said yes and began crying so hard I had to pull her into my chest and hold her while Piper and West pressed close, and all around us, the other families were cheering and crying for us.

A few months later, West walked his mom down the aisle, then came to stand by my side, while Piper was by her mom's side. They stayed right there because Belle and I wanted them to have the best seats in the house while Belle and I recited our vows and made our promises to each other. After I was told to kiss my bride, Belle took my arm, holding her flowers, her free hand holding Piper's and my free hand holding West's. It was our first official walk as a family.

Then, a couple of months later during dinner, we were talking, and I brought up a subject to West and Piper that Belle and I had been talking about for a while.

"I want you two to think about something," I said seriously. "I'd like to adopt you both, so you'd have my last name and I'd officially be your dad."

"You're not our dad now?" Piper asked, eyes wide.

They'd both started calling me Dad right after Belle and I returned from our honeymoon. West and Piper had brought it up at dinner, the same day we'd picked them up from Landry and Phoebe's house. Their aunt and uncle had taken care of them while we were on our honeymoon. When we sat down to dinner that night, West brought it up and Piper provided support. It seemed a lot of important issues were discussed around the dinner table when you had a family, and that night I'd been humbled they both wanted to call me Dad.

"I am your dad," I hurried to reassure her before those sparkly eyes lost their sparkle. "But there are papers we would sign to make it legal and we could change your last names to mine if you want."

"West Camden," West said, trying it out loud.

"Pi-peeeeeerrrr Caaaaaaam-dennn," his sister added, announcing it like she was a football player taking the field.