Disclaimer: I wrote this story. But Stephenie Meyer came up with the characters in the first place, which is why the book Bella has brown hair, brown eyes and a heart-shaped face. Because, let's face it, that's what Ms M looks like.

Thanks as ever go to beta of all betas EMCxo and JAustenlover for her ninja pre-reading skills.

There is joint dedication for the chapter this week. Firstly of course for my daughter who got to ride shotgun in her granddad's armoured scout car today; and secondly for the lovely Lemonamour, plus her friends and family, who thought of us faceless people and kept us up to date while she had her unexpected medical down time. I have made her promise the next time she decides to frighten us all to shout "Boo!" at us instead.

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Say Hello, Wave Goodbye Chapter 9

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From the WavesFansLondon website: Dateline September 11, 2009 - OH-EM-DEE! NEW PICTURES! Hold onto your gussets girls! We have new pictures of Edward 'Dr Dan' Cullen all hot and sweaty in action at Mount Vesuvius earlier in the week. Seems they had been filming at the volcano, and doesn't he look as hot as lava! Co-star James Royce-King was also in top form, as you can see. There's still some mystery as to where Edward's spending the weekend, as girlfriend Rosalie Hale opted to take James shopping in Capri without him. Want to keep up with Waves 2 as it films? Follow our twitter feed for more...

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BPOV

At some point during the evening, a switch had flipped in my brain, turning me from Miss Prim and Proper to a complete strumpet. It might have been when I first saw Edward at the front door of Didi's house instead of some crotchety old housekeeper. It probably had happened by the time I was sitting across him as he fed me pizza and I positioned myself so I could feel his arousal against my back.

By the time he'd brushed my hair in the bath... well, everything that followed became inevitable.

As I lay there, feeling him inside me at long last, listening to his birthday wishes, I wanted the world to stop, right then. It was a perfect moment. When he started to move and his fingers touched my clit, the perfect moment expanded into a perfect hour, a perfect night.

He started off slowly, looking into my eyes and kissing me as his hand and his dick moved in rhythm together, gradually increasing in tempo until he was breathing, hot and wet, on my collarbone and I was beyond anything other than experiencing the spiralling wonder he was creating.

Within seconds of my falling into the most intense orgasm of my life, seeing stars and cramping the muscles in my toes, he began to come too, collapsing in a sweaty mess onto my chest and panting like a Grand National winner.

For several minutes it was all we could do to lie there and breathe, neither of us wanted to move, even if we'd had the energy.

His hair was dark with sweat. Where his chest and abs were touching mine, I could feel our skin sticking together, but I truly did not care.

It was easy to just lie there and flake out; just enjoy being together, alone, after so many near misses and international dateline misalignments. So we did. Not speaking, just existing. Edward eventually broke the bubble, reaching down to take off the condom before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed and poured two glasses of champagne, noticing for the first time that Alice had also left us a bottle of orange juice and some slices of strawberry on a plate next to the wine cooler. I splashed some of the orange juice in my glass to make a birthday Bucks Fizz.

Lying on the floor next to the bed was the beautiful silk and lace cami and boyshorts set just begging for me to try it on.

I pulled on the knickers and had just slipped the camisole over my shoulders and was finger-combing my hair when Edward came back into the room. He sauntered over to the bed, eyes fixed firmly on my chest. I gave him the non-oranged glass, and he took a sip.

"I'm not sure Alice actually bought that for you," he mused, opening a pack of cigarettes and offering me one. I nodded, and he put one in his mouth, lighting it and passing it over to me before lighting his own.

He sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed and I sat myself down on his legs, holding the ashtray. He was silent for a minute or two and I wondered if he was beginning to doze off.

Eventually he broke the silence. "This nightie thing feels very nice," he said, putting his chin on my shoulder.

I laughed lightly. "It should do, it's silk."

"I am sorry I didn't get you anything. I didn't know it was your birthday," he said. "Nobody told me."

I sighed. "Birthdays are a sore subject. Bad things seem to happen around them, so I don't really bother any more," I said. "My mum's more than likely to forget anyway; my dad works odd hours with the police and will probably have sent me a card and some cash."

"Alice only knew because it was on my CV. Somehow, I think telling her I didn't do birthdays wouldn't put her off buying me £200-worth of underwear."

He leaned across and kissed me on the neck. "I like birthdays," he protested. "I want to make yours special."

I pulled him in for a proper kiss, he tasted of toothpaste and cigarette smoke. "You already have," I answered simply.

We ended up lying face to face, neither of us wanting to sleep, but both of us so sated we had no choice.

It took a lot of effort for me to want to get up the next morning. I was altogether too comfortable wrapped around Edward and under the crisp white sheets, but the all-too-tempting smell of coffee brewing and bacon cooking made my stomach rumble.

Edward shifted beside me and tightened his grip across my chest, mumbling as he came to, asking sleepily if I could smell breakfast. I laughed softly and told him that yes, I could. I went to get out of bed, but he was too strong for me, hooking me around the waist and pulling me back towards his eager body.

Bacon and coffee were forgotten for another hour as we happily explored each other, first in the bed, then in the shower. I showed him the correct amount of shampoo needed to wash my hair and he gave me a knee-trembler to thank me - well, he said it was to thank him...

We were still dreamy-eyed when we finally emerged for breakfast to find Tia had laid on a feast, with crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and lethal coffee, plus fruit and bread, jam, Nutella and even some English marmalade.

Alice and Jasper were snuggled up together on a couch in the patio area, which was even more beautiful in the sunshine, with vines drooping with bunches of ripened black grapes growing up one wall and across a trellis.

Marcus was sitting on the floor in one corner, plucking idly at a guitar over his knees. He looked up and smiled at me. "Morning, Bella. Morning, Edward," he said, with a wink.

Edward walked over to him, did some kind of knuckle-bump thing, and they exchanged monosyllabic greetings before he came back to where I was and sat down to eat. There was an easygoing vibe between the five of us as Edward and I ate.

When we'd finished and were drinking coffee, Alice 'suggested' (or, more accurately, told us) what we should do for the day. It was generally agreed that the Forum was out, as it was wide open and public. All it would take was one fan with a Twitter account to call in the paps, and we'd have nowhere to run.

We all agreed we wanted to go to the Vatican. Alice talked us into visiting the Colosseum, saying that her friend Vincenzo would arrange lunch and then take us. She went off to talk to Tia and returned to tell us we would be picked up in half an hour.

She then looked me square in the eye and told me to come with her for some clothes. I knew better than to resist. After all, I'd brought a suit, thinking I was working, not an 'I am going sightseeing in the most romantic city in the world with Edward Cullen' ensemble.

Once in her room, she'd sat me down on a chaise longue and given me two different outfits. When I protested she said it was my birthday and I should think of it as her present.

One was an ABClothing original, a midnight blue cotton dress with spaghetti straps and a swinging skirt that stopped at the knee, a white cardigan with three-quarter-length sleeves and matching blue ballet pumps, which, Alice informed me was for the day; and cropped 7 For All Mankind jeans, Ralph Lauren canvas espadrilles and a beautiful scarlet DKNY cashmere sweater, for the evening, apparently.

I was now the owner of two outfits and one set of underwear which cost more than my entire wardrobe at home. I would never be able to walk through the doors of Primark or H&M again.

She informed me that my hair and make-up "would do for now" and I left her room in a huff, but with two bags of clothes and two new pairs of shoes.

I made my way back to our room, where I found Edward putting on a baseball cap and trying on sunglasses, looking effortlessly chic in black button fly Levis, a plain black t-shirt and an impeccable linen shirt with short sleeves, which set off his lovely arms.

Grumbling that it wasn't fair that he looked that good without the ministrations of the clothing munchkin, I put on the blue dress. I looked up to see he'd stopped messing with his hat and was staring at me with his mouth slightly open, and, if I was not much mistaken, the starting of a stiffy.

Showing astonishing restraint, I reminded him a car was coming in 10 minutes and we'd have to face the wrath of Alice if we were late or, even worse, managed to wrinkle her dress. He humphed a bit but eventually agreed.

We wandered back downstairs and waited in the foyer for the others, then headed outside when a new Volvo XC90 with tinted windows pulled up. We got into the back and it sped us through the city to the edge of the Vatican, where we piled back out again.

I was just about to slip my hand into Edward's, when Alice called me over. "I think it would be best if you kept the PDAs on the downlow for a while," she said as she fluffed about with my cardy and pulled my dress straight at the shoulders.

"You have to remember that someone could recognise Edward at any second and all it takes is one camera phone for you to become public interest number one."

She was, of course, right. I clenched my fists and shoved my hands in the pockets of the dress to stop them wandering, but it was absolute torture for me. I imagined it was for him too.

In the end I wandered round St Peter's with Marcus, who turned out to be quite the expert on Renaissance art, and Edward stayed back with Alice and Jasper.

I could see the tension in his face at our enforced separation. We were both as miserable only a few feet apart as we had been when we were thousands of miles away from each other.

After we'd seen the tourist sights in the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel (which was smaller than I'd imagined it) and a whole lot of gold and silver objets d'art in the museums, we re-grouped and got back into the Volvo.

Alice told the driver where to go and we headed for Vincenzo's brother's restaurant, where he hid us away in our own room. We refueled on wafer-thin pizzas with simple tomato and cheese toppings, and drank red wine decanted from a small barrel. It was bliss.

After we'd eaten, Vincenzo arrived to take us to the Colosseum. I vaguely remembered him from college. He'd been a friend of Alice's, not mine.

He was very pleased to meet us, hugging Alice and me like we were long-lost sisters, swooning appropriately at Edward (and earning himself the evil eye from me in the process). It was lucky that he was as waspish and camp as he was or I'd have got very cross with him very quickly.

As it was I ended up linked at the elbow with him on one side and Marcus the other. He showed us the dick scratched on one of the back walls of the Colosseum. It apparently had pointed the punters in the direction of the nearest brothel, which left us all in gales of laughter.

As we emerged from the front of the building, a flash of white caught my eye and I realised we were watching a bride and groom being photographed in front of a giant arch beside the Colosseum. I looked back at Edward, who was instinctively turning away from the camera with a forlorn, lost look on his face. He looked up at me and gave me a tiny grin.

I knew how hard this was for him, but I also knew it would not last forever. It couldn't last forever. It mustn't last forever.

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EPOV

I was in hell. My own personal hell. I was so close to her but so far away at the same time. I wanted to be the one to tell her interesting things I knew about the Renaissance, and to gasp at the opulence of the jewels in the Vatican's museum, but I couldn't.

Things improved at lunchtime when Alice's friend's brother put us in a private room to eat and we got some time together again. When we saw the bride and groom at the Colosseum it put me back in a black mood, which was only improved when we were in the car and finally headed to the palazzo again.

Before heading off for the night, Marcus invited us to his gig, saying we could hang out backstage if we didn't want to risk the crowds. I was unsure, but Alice persuaded us to go, playing the "it's Bella's birthday" card, and promising us a special treat afterwards.

I still felt guilty that I'd not been able to get Bella some kind of present, but she assured me that spending time with her was enough. I decided it wasn't enough, I would come up with a proper gift when I had time. In the meantime, we had a couple of hours to waste, and I couldn't think of a better way of spending them than alone with Bella.

There were some strawberries left over from the morning, so I took them up to the room and fed them to Bella one at a time, kissing away any stray juice. We finished the champagne and had slow, gentle sex.

I was beginning to think of her as my own personal brand of Prozac - without her I didn't seem to be truly happy.

Eventually we ran out of time again. Bella changed into her second Alice outfit, a pair of short jeans and a red top which clung to her curves and showed a sliver of belly when she lifted her arms up, and some red shoes with high heels and a sort of cord at the sides.

Again I wondered who Alice chose these clothes for; for Bella to wear or for me to watch Bella wear. I had never really been interested in clothes before but everything about Bella was fascinating to me.

Tia fed the four of us royally with dishes of antipasto followed by grilled fish and salad, with lashings of local red wine. We were soon on our way to the Olympic Stadium to see Marcus's gig. Alice stopped the car at the main entrance and got out with Bella, telling Jasper and me to get out around the back and that we'd meet up soon.

Much as I hated the cloak-and-dagger stuff, I had to admit that it was going to protect Bella from the worst of the press. I wanted to keep her from paps asking her about her sex life to get a reaction and kids whipping out their phones in the queue for the toilet in the pub.

Jasper and I were let in backstage and a roadie found Marcus for us. We sat in a green room with beer and I had a smoke while we waited.

Jasper broke the silence. "It's good to see you happy," he said suddenly. "She's good for you."

I smiled back at him, feeling a bit sappy. "Yes, she is, and it's all thanks to you, Alice and Marcus. I don't think I've had the chance to thank you all properly. You've been great to me and I don't really deserve it."

I clinked my Peroni bottle with his and took a swig. "So, you and Alice, then? She's a force of nature isn't she?"

He snorted with laughter. "You could say that," he answered. "But I don't think I should..."

We were still laughing when Bella and Alice appeared at the door. I couldn't help but stare at her as she walked over to me; at how her toes poked through the front of her shoes, how her hair fell around her face, how her eyes sparkled when she laughed at some joke Alice made. What actually freaked me out about it was how easy it was to stare and just how much better I felt when she was around.

Marcus popped in to say hi, but was soon called away to get ready for the show, leaving the four of us to our own devices. I was happy just to sit and watch Bella, but Alice had other ideas, and dragged her off to watch some of the show.

Jasper and I followed on, not really interested in the type of music, but the production and hard work the crew put into the show was fascinating. We stood in the wings for a few minutes but the level of squealing was too much for us, even over the noise of the band.

The show finished around 11pm, by which time we were back in the green room with some hangers-on and other friends and family of band members. Bella and I were back to being apart again. When Marcus came into the room it hurt to see her hug him.

A couple of girls had made their way over to where Alice, Jasper and I were sitting, trying to make small-talk, giggling loudly at our jokes and leaning in to listen to Jasper and me. A stern look from Alice sent them packing. "I don't know how you do that from all the way down there, munchkin," I said and she punched me on the arm.

We stayed at the after-party for about an hour, until Alice started to stage-yawn and declared it was time to go. To my surprise there were two cars waiting; the Volvo we'd used earlier and the Beamer we had driven up from Sorrento.

"This is your surprise," Alice informed me. "You and Bella can have some time to yourself. I have told the driver where to go first then the rest is up to you." With a wink and a kiss she ushered us into the BMW before heading to the other car.

Bella laid down on the back seat of the car with her head in my lap, looking up at me. "This has been a good birthday after all," she said. "I could get used to this kind of thing."

I laughed and cupped her face in my hand. "I already am used to it, I don't want it to change," I said.

The car came to a halt and the driver leaned back with an envelope in his hand, which I took. Inside was four 1 euro coins and a note.

"Two coins each, one for a return and one for a wish" was written on the note. It was signed by Alice, Jasper and Marcus.

As I stepped out of the car I could see what the note meant. Silently, I turned Bella around to see where we were. She grinned and took one of the coins from me before heading across the street and turning to wait for me.

In front of us was the Trevi Fountain, brightly lit but almost deserted after midnight. The floodlights created shadowy areas where nobody would be able to see us. Not that there were that many people around to see us. That magical minx Alice had struck gold again.

Just to be sure I wasn't spotted, I pulled down my cap and pulled up my collar, grabbed Bella by the hand and headed for a shadowy area off to the side of the fountain.

"The first one's to make sure you return to Rome," Bella said. "The second one is to make a wish with. I found it in a guidebook."

We turned our backs on the fountain and tossed the first two coins over our shoulders. "There's no way I am not coming back," I muttered.

Making sure we were well hidden, I pulled in for a quick kiss. "Now to make a wish," I said. After a count of three, the remaining two coins were gone.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her away into a quiet alley off the square but still close enough to hear the water. I moved in for a kiss, which rapidly heated up.

She squeaked as her back hit one of the walls, but her hands didn't untangle themselves from my hair and she definitely returned the passion.

Only when a car drove past, flooding the alleyway with light did I realise what we were doing and where we were. I pulled myself together and put my arms around her.

"I've got my wish, right here," I said, then took her back to the car and back to our bed.

From the WavesFansLondon website: Dateline Saturday, September 13 - DOCTOR'S DOWNTIME MYSTERY SOLVED! We have tracked down our missing Doctor - Edward 'Dr Dan' Cullen has sneaked away to Rome for some quality time with his friends. He was spotted at the Vatican city with Waves staffers Alice Brandon and stuntman Jasper Whitlock, as well as musician buddy Marcus Lee and his girlfriend. Edward and Marcus famously performed together in the US over the summer. Could this be Marcus' Brown Eyed Girl? For more from the Waves 2 set and cast, follow our twitter feed...

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A/N Thanks for bearing with me this week and apologies for not updating sooner. As many of you know I posted a one-shot story last week, which is nothing to do with this story, but was a special treat for SunnySnark. It's at www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/6162676/1/

An AH rec is www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5838394/1/The_Ride by Aylah50 (includes grunge, what's not to adore)

An AU rec is www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5356178/1/Dark_Possession by lambcullen (very alt, very dark, I love it)

Thanks for your recs with your last reviews I have a great list for holiday reading. I am sorry again to be such a failure at replies but I do read them all, I promise!

I will be away on holiday this week so I am not sure when I will update. I might just choose to go and see Toy Story 3 instead...

AFMxx