I don't own any of the canon characters, but just a reminder that Dan is MINE, all mine, I say. So to those of you who have indicated you are developing feelings for MY Dan, I might be prepared to share, but then again, maybe not. We'll just have to see if you review at the end and take it from there!!!!

Thanks to all the reviewers and for Lalina, Ady and whoever else out there is rec'ing my fic.

Thanks again to Sunfeathers and Sandy for all the support and hard work and to Grendel for being my...saviour in all things grammar and punctuation.

Now, sit down for this quick read…

It's not terribly long but I feel it has ended at the right place.

Let's see what you think…

Chapter 3 – Bon Voyage

"So, do you think you'll be able to get any sleep tonight?"

"I think I should be the one asking you that question."

"But I've not been the one stressing over the trip."

"I've not been stressing. I'm excited about it."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Really!"

As Bella looked around the room, she was amazed that Dan could find anything amongst the chaos there. There were piles of shirts, some folded, some not; jocks, shoes, his Ipod, his jeans, all strewn around the room. She couldn't tell what he was planning to take and what he wasn't.

"Doesn't seem that way to me."

"Then we're both lucky that it will be a cool, calm and collected head that's boarding that plane tomorrow won't it?"

"Cool, calm and collected you say?"

"That I do."

"Then please explain how you intend to fit your size 14 feet into my size 7 sneakers," Bella asked as she peered into his backpack.

"Oh, shit!"

"Mmm. Real cool, calm and collected I'd say," retorted Bella as she retrieved her sneakers before making her way out of his bedroom and back down the hall. She called over her should as she was walked, "While you're rechecking your bag, again love, you might want to see if you've packed my brown leather belt; it seems to be missing too!"

"Damn!"

******************

Bella was amazed at just how quickly the last few months had flown by.

Since the night that Dan had made his decision to travel, life as they knew it had become a whirlwind of activity. Bella had been busy with her usual end of school year commitments, and on top of that, she'd seemed to inherit two more part-time sons into the bargain.

Dan, Chris and their Aussie 'mate' Dean, had started arriving at Bella's house on average one night a week, to plan their Aussie adventure. For boys who'd decided that they just wanted to go with the flow, they seemed to be doing a lot of advanced planning. They had maps and brochures and looked up all sorts of interesting facts, figures and locations on the internet.

Dan and Chris really had no appreciation of just how large a country Australia actually was. Bella remembered the night when, in the midst of a few beers, sodas and a lot of laughter, they told Dean that they thought they could spend a day driving from Sydney to Melbourne and back in the hope of catching some kind of Aussie Rules football game on the Sunday afternoon. Dean had actually snorted his cola across the coffee table at that one.

"Man, it's a 1000 kilometre trip, ONE WAY!" he roared.

"What the hell's a kilometre?" replied Chris.

"There's 1.6 kilometres to the mile, mate," came Dean's exasperated reply. "You two had better start becoming bilingual soon or the Aussies will eat you Yanks alive! Your voices are bad enough…you'll stand out big time in a crowd of Aussies even if you know the lingo."

Dan and Chris looked at each other quizzically.

"What's wrong with our voices?" Chris asked, looking back towards Dean.

"Nothing, when you use them here, but over there, let's just say there's no hiding an American accent when you're in Australia. You look just like the rest of us until you open your mouths and then you lot stick out like a sore thumb. You've got to feel sorry for Canadians though. Most Aussies confuse them for Yanks. Doesn't do much for international relations, I must say."

Bella enjoyed having the boys under her roof one night a week. While she knew it meant the upcoming trip was a done deal, it gave her a chance to experience the joy they took in planning their great adventure. It also gave her the chance to watch Dan interact with his mates and she realised that no matter how grown up he seemed at times, there were still flashes of the boy she remembered left behind: the way his eyes lit up when plotting and planning mischief; the way his cheeky lopsided grin would creep across his face when the boys mentioned something a little risqué that they thought Bella didn't quite catch on to.

Dean would regularly regale them with stories of his home town and his uniquely Aussie adventures. Dan and Chris would listen to him, enthralled. They wanted to go surfing at Bondi Beach, travel to the Great Barrier Reef and watch a football game (even if they couldn't do it in Melbourne.) They were all so excited about their upcoming trip it would remind Bella of the same level of excitement that Dan used to display on Christmas Eve when he was a small child back in Forks.

Bella had spoken with Dean's mother on the phone. She was so very keen to have her son home that the idea of getting a package deal with two extra house guests didn't seem to faze her one bit. Bella was glad that video phones were still an item belonging to science fiction because Bella was sure that if Dean's mom could see Bella's house in the background while the boys were busy eating their way through her pantry and fridge, she would surely change her mind. Dean's mom seemed keen to assure Bella that they would be well and truly looked after while staying at Dean's family home. They apparently had a loft room above their garage, already fitted out with a couple of single beds and separate bathroom facilities which they had built a few years ago to accommodate visiting family and friends from interstate. It sounded great to both Dan and Chris, especially since they didn't have to pay a heap of money for accommodation for that stage of the trip at least.

The boys had gone to a travel agent in town and had booked and paid for their return airfares to Sydney. They were flying out from Boston with a brief stop over in New York and booked a return flight for mid August so that they were able to secure three month tourist visas. Paying for their tickets was a bitter pill for the boys, and the first of many lessons that this touring holiday was going to put a major dent in their savings. For Dan, realising that spending nearly $1500 on airfares alone from his $5000 saving account, was a great life lesson. Going to the bank and getting that bank cheque for such a large amount of money was a whole new experience for him. Bella laughed as he left the bank with a look on his face like a little boy who had realized that his piggy bank was only half full.

The boys ended up deciding to travel to Australia with Dean immediately after completing their course work for their final semester. They didn't even plan to hang around for graduation.

This had disappointed Bella quite a bit initially because she had, for many years, longed for the moment when she would stand proudly by her son and watch him graduate from his combined communications, business and PR degree. She had tried to convince Dan that he would really regret not staying for the graduation ceremony itself but he really didn't seemed too fazed by it at all. He did, however, understand Bella's disappointment.

Dan compromised by organising a formal dinner at a swanky restaurant in town for Bella and Chris' family. He and Chris wore graduation caps and each made a speech thanking their families for their love and support during their college years. It didn't go un-noticed to Bella that both Chris' parents and his two sets of grandparents had been able to attend. Bella had asked Mike and Jess to come along with them to celebrate but their entire family had been struck down with some 24 hour bug that confined them all to barracks and so they'd had to pull out at the last minute.

Bella had been very disappointed that there weren't more people at the dinner to celebrate Dan's success, and despite Bella's attempts at hiding her feelings, Dan had picked up on his mother's sadness during the meal. When it had been Dan's turn to speak, he'd stood and raised his glass to his mother. He told everyone there that he was able to strive for his goals and chase his dreams because he'd had the support and love of the single, most important person in his life – his Mom. He'd then lifted her hand from the table and kissed the back of it, before leaning down to kiss her lovingly on the cheek. Bella had smiled wistfully at her son and had kissed him back, putting her hand on his cheek in a motherly gesture. The other men at the table had responded with a cheer, raising their drinks in turn and Chris' mother had cried. Then she'd promptly cuffed Chris across the back of his head with a spare wine list and asked him why he hadn't made such a wonderful tribute to her after all her years of unselfish devotion.

"Remind me to thank you for that later, mate," Chris threw at Dan while everyone laughed.

Dan winked at Chris and laughed and had raised his beer in a salute, before taking another swig.

* * * * *

D-Day had arrived: Departure Day.

Bella woke after a restless sleep and made her way to the kitchen to put on the coffee. Not surprisingly, Dan was already there, dressed, and he had the coffee on.

He walked over to her and gave her a tight squeeze, "Morning Mom."

"Morning, love, how did you sleep?"

"I didn't. Well not much anyways," he said as he turned his back to her and poured her a cup of coffee.

"Told you so."

"What about you?"

Bella took the steaming cup of coffee he offered her and moved away to sit at the small round kitchen table. "Ditto."

"Told you so."

"Since when did you become such a smart ass?" she questioned him, taking another sip.

"Since you provided me with a top notch education. You're only just beginning to appreciate my many and varied talents, Mom," he shot back, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Mmm," she replied, lost in thought.

Dan looked at his Mom and narrowed his eyes trying to read the complex hidden messages in that single sound.

"Are you sure you are up to driving us into Boston today? I'm sure Chris' parents could rearrange a couple of things…"

Dan was worried about Bella making the return trip on her own in the car. She was keeping up a brave face but for the first time ever, Dan knew, she was going to be truly left on her own.

"I've arranged to have the day off work Dan. What else would you have me do? Mope around the house for the rest of the day once you'd pulled away?"

"You'll do that anyway when you get back, won't you?" he asked with concern.

"Ha! That's what you'd like to think, isn't it? No. I've organised a huge hoop-la with all the girls and we're going to paint the town red. Do you know how long I've waited for you to be off on your own?" she threw back at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Dan pushed off from the bench where he had been sipping his coffee and crouched down beside his mother at the kitchen table, putting his arm across the back of her chair.

"Mom…," he started.

"No Dan. Don't. It's fine. It's going to be a great day. I'm fine. You're off on a fine adventure. You'll have a great time and things are just as they should be."

Dan looked at his mother as he replayed what she had just said in his head. There were too many "fines" and "greats" in that sentence, but he also knew that he would only upset her further by questioning things any more.

He swallowed the lump that had risen quite quickly in his throat and rose from his position, kissing her forehead as he went.

"So what do you want for breakfast then?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Oh. Well. Breakfast. I'll do that," said Bella, rising quickly from the table herself.

"No, Mom. Let me. You go and shower and I'll get it organised. We can't have you making me late for the plane now, can we? We all know how long it takes you to get yourself organised."

Bella stared at her son with mock horror showing on her face. "That's a bit rich coming from you," she replied as she had a thought. "How are you going to get through customs with all that hair product you use? They might think you're starting to establish some kind of illegal export business in the stuff. And tell me," she said, trying to level him with her glare, "have you packed my blow-dryer?"

"No, Mom," he said rolling his eyes.

"So how are you going to be able to get your 'just rolled out of bed look' just right while you are away?"

"I'll just have to learn to go with the real thing."

"My goodness," she said as she mocked him for the second time that morning. "How ever will you cope?"

"That," he said, while he pushed her gently out of the kitchen, "will have to remain to be seen. Besides, blow dryers aren't that expensive. I can always buy one there if the need becomes too great."

An hour later, Dan loaded his gear into the car as Bella sat and waited patiently in the driver's seat. He then folded himself into the front seat of her little Honda and looked across at her.

"All set?" she asked.

"Yep, all done."

"Have you forgotten anything?"

"Ye of little faith," he scoffed at her before Bella started to back out the driveway.

Bella was laughing so hard that it hurt when two minutes later she pulled back into the driveway and watched as Dan sprinted from the car and up the steps to unlock the front door before disappearing inside. What modern man, on the face of the planet, hasn't forgotten his mobile phone and charger at least once each day? God help him in Australia, she thought to herself.

As they drove over to Chris' place to pick up Chris and Dean, Bella and Dan chatted about the process of getting through the maze at the airport.

"You really don't need to come in with us, Mom. It'll be fine just to drop us and get on your way again. You do have the drive home after all."

"You're that keen to get rid of me, are you? What? Do you think I will embarrass you at the airport? Be all teary and what not?"

"It's just really not necessary, Mom," he replied, avoiding answering her directly. "Besides, I'll text you when we get through customs and are sitting in the lounge waiting to board. I'm not expecting there to be any problems."

"But you are forgetting about all that hair product you have stashed away back there," she said as she nodded her head backwards at the trunk of the car.

"Yeah, well, I did take a bit of it out," he replied sheepishly giving his mother a sideways glance.

Bella just smiled in response.

With Dan, Chris and Dean, and all their backpacks piled into her little car, Bella set off for the airport. She didn't need to be too involved in the conversation at all as the three of them chatted amicably, their excitement and volume increasing the closer they got to the airport. Occasionally, Dan would look at her sideways as she drove them along. He was really trying to gauge how she was going to cope with his extended absence. Bella pretended not to notice his scrutiny.

As agreed, Bella didn't go into the airport when they arrived. She pulled up to the drop off zone, grabbed her digital camera, lifted the trunk release lever and then got out of the car. She walked around to the trunk and waited as the boys got out their bags. They were laughing and joking with each other, all eager for their adventure to begin. She got them to stand together on the kerb, and took a quick photo of the three of them, all while the parking patrol officer stood nearby, watching closely that she didn't overstay her time limit.

"Mom, you should have taken that photo on your new phone."

"Yes. Well I'm a little short on time," Bella replied, inclining her head over towards the parking officer, "and this is a quicker option for me until I learn how on earth to work that new fangled thing you call a phone."

Dan had bought his mother a new Iphone as a going away present. He thought it would make it easier for her to get his quick emails and tweets rather than having to log on to a computer all the time. Bella however, wasn't so sure how to work this new technology and it was hidden safely in her handbag for the time being.

Chris and Dean each gave Bella a quick hug and peck on the cheek before grabbing their bags and readying themselves to move off inside. Dan lagged behind. He gave his mom and tight hug and told her he loved her. Bella pulled back to cradle his face in her hands as she looked him in the eye.

"I love you too, Dan," she said as smiled at him sharing a moment, just the two of them. "Now go," she said as she swatted him on the shoulder, "enjoy your adventure. I'll be here waiting for you when you get back."

With that, Dan picked up his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. He joined his mates as Bella made her way back to the driver's door. They all waved as she got in and with only the briefest of glances back at the boys, she pulled out into the traffic. The parking patrol officer watched her go.

So did the boys and then they all walked into the terminal and to the adventure that lay beyond.

So, there you go. Dan is off on his adventure. It's shorted than I had originally planned, but seemed to want to finish there. The next chapter will pick up when Dan and his mates arrive in Sydney.

Any guess as to who you think he will meet? Bet ya I will surprise you with that little story line.

Come on, you know you want to leave me a review, even if it's just to speculate... go on … hit the button…please? I am not above grovelling if it means you'll show me some added review counts