A/N - I don't own Twilight or any other brand name, but I do own copious amounts of play dough tubs, crayons and stuffed animals (do they breed in the night? I have no idea how we got so many!). Cheers!

Chapter 12 - Black Velvet Band (The Dubliners)

Thursday and Friday were a blur of activity. Edward had come to the office and loved the new digs. He was equally happy that I'd be setting up shop there during construction. Leia proved an excellent choice as she was not only thorough in her work, she out-foxed Victoria at every turn. I was particularly impressed because she was not intimidated when Victoria tried to pull rank. We'd made up the cover that Leia would be Edward's assistant so we could explain not only training her but also that she'd be set up in the reception area of that office, near to me while Victoria was supposedly working in the other office where the main office would move during construction.

I hoped and prayed Jacob's investigation would turn up something substantial so we could quit playing games and get rid of the guilty parties. As of 1 p.m. Friday I'd not heard from him, but he'd promised by close-of-business Friday he'd call whether he had a breakthrough or not.

Alice had called about new hires and we, once again discussed sources for what we'd need and agreed to try the fashion department at COD because it's a 2-year program verses the longer program at AI, a higher degree and these were entry-level jobs. She would be handling it and I was never so grateful for friends who not only know their stuff but can be trusted. She also mentioned hiring a new manager for the studio at the Mart. Alice has played that part a long time, but with the design work we're doing and our plans to extend beyond the three other studios we've got in New York, LA, and Miami, as well as her plans to expand her family, it is definitely time we got another manager for that as well. We'll get going on that, too, but first we needed to sort things out at HQ. She'd suggested promoting within for that one and I tend to agree, but we'd have to see how things would shake out after Jake's investigation. I thought Alice's right-hand woman, Angela, would be excellent for the new role and Alice agreed, we'd also agreed we could continue as-is for a while as we sorted other things out.

Emmett was stepping up already, he'd started researching accountant firms. After chatting with his mentor from DePaul followed by a long chat with yours truly he'd decided we ought to start an in-house accountancy department to keep things close to home. Since we were already adding our own legal department and switching things around. It's great we have so much space in this building, it seemed we were about to fill it! He's full of great ideas and despite having thought he wasn't qualified, he stepped into the new role and has filled it brilliantly. I think the best part was when he told me about calling his mom to tell her the good news. She'd flipped her lid and told her how proud she was of her 'baby boy.'

Rosalie found herself a great little house not far from my own and was awaiting the closing date, which was set for the end of next month. In the meantime she was planning to stay at my house and was planning to move out before Sue moved in Saturday. Her new home was right on the lake as well, a perk I was sure she'd enjoy. She'd also picked up a classic Corvette; a bright red 1977 Stingray with T-tops. It was nearly as curvacious as my bomb-shell friend! When I reminded her about the notorious Chicago winters, she said she'd handle that come fall. Rose is a gear-head so she'd have fun wrenching on a classic like that. I wondered what she'd get for her winter wheels.

The empty office had been painted Thursday and was now dry so the movers were working their magic. And since there was no way to get any real work done, Edward, Emmett and I had decided to take the kids to lunch at the Texas BBQ to chow down while I awaited Jake's call.

"Bella, guess what?" Seth asked me.

"What?" I replied with a big smile.

"Dad said we're gonna go see fireworks with you on your boat!" He was positively vibrating with energy and enthusiasm. I nodded. "I can't wait!"

"Well you're gonna have to wait another week, it's not until next weekend. But did he tell you we're also going to sleep overnight on the boat?"

He started to bounce in the booth as he nodded with a huge smile.

"Bewwa?" it was Emily's turn to speak up. "Can I sweep with you that night?"

I smiled. "We'll see, sweetie. I think you, Seth and your Daddy are going to be sleeping in my cabin, I'll probably bunk on the galley bench. It depends on who else is going to stay with us." She stuck out her adorable bottom lip and crossed her arms across her chest.

Emmett spoke up then, "What, Emily you don't want me to stay with you guys?" He was mirroring her expression right down to puppy dog eyes. It was really fun to watch him with these two, he's such a big kid himself so it wasn't a stretch to see him behave like a 3 year old.

Her face split into a wide smile, "You're coming too, Emmie?" We all snickered as he nodded with a massive grin on his face. "YESSSS!" She actually did a fist pump. This kid was too cute.

"Rose and I are going to the Taste and then we'll meet you guys for the fireworks, or at least that's the plan," he said.

"That sounds like a great plan, they've got some great acts playing this year and you'll have fun with the beer garden and all the yummy food." He smiled and agreed. I turned to Edward, "Maybe we can explore it one afternoon, too." He looked really pleased. "Do you know if your parents are planning to join us?"

"Dad is really looking forward to it, he says it's always a great time."

"Your parents are so cool," Emmett said to Edward. "Charlie, too. They don't act like parents." We all laughed.

"Nah, they just don't act old!" I said. "They parent me plenty, but I need them so I don't mind." Edward nodded his agreement. "Esme sure seems to enjoy these stinkers," I added as I bonked Seth and Emily on their heads. They both insisted upon sitting next to me so I had them on either side of me.

"She always hinted that I should move out here, so she's very happy to finally have her grand babies home with her," Edward said. "Had I known what I was missing I'd have come long ago," he added tossing a very lustful look my way, making me blush.

"Well they're lucky to have such a cool grandma," I said and both kids nodded with huge grins on their faces. They both loved having their grandparents so close, I guess their isolation in New York had affected them more than Edward had originally thought, but they were adjusting very well and enjoying their new life. I was just thankful that life included me now.

"You guys," I turned to the kids to get their attention. "I'm gonna need your help the day of the fireworks," I said and they both perked up. "I'm gonna need your help steering the boat, you think you can manage that?" They both squealed and started bouncing again. Edward rolled his eyes as Emmett mocked clearing his ears with his fingers.

"Weawwy Bewwa?" Emily squealed again. I nodded.

"Oh cool!" Seth shouted. Both had barbecue sauce stuck to their cheeks from the ribs they had swiped from my plate. Next time I won't fall for their shenanigans when they insist upon ordering chicken fingers, not that they'll go to waste with Emmett sitting here. I swear he's a human vacuum!

"But you have to remember, if there's no wind or it's raining we'll have to make other plans." Their faces fell. "Don't worry guys, we WILL go sailing, soon, if it doesn't work out that day. I won't let you down." They both smiled and hugged me. Good thing I'd worn grubby clothes for moving day at work, they were a gooey mess! Edward groaned and offered me some wet naps. But he mouthed the words thank you to me. Like I could resist these kids? No way.

My cell phone started ringing in my pocket. I check the caller I.D. and am excited to see Jake's number. I mouthed the word Jake to the adults and quickly excused myself from the table and stepped outside where it's quieter.

"Hello?"

"Bella? Hi, it's Jacob Black."

"Hi Jake, how's it going?"

"Good, good. Listen, do you have a minute to talk in private?"

"Yeah, I'm good, shoot." He wanted to be sure Victoria wasn't listening. I'd stepped out back and sat in my car so I knew no one else would hear.

"I've been digging around. There's quite a paper trail on those three you mentioned. I'm not sure how wide this net spreads but for sure the contacts in your company are those three." I breath a shaky breath.

"What does that mean, what's the plan?"

"Well, I have enough material evidence to bring them in. The money traces to an account off-shore, as I'd suspected, but they all have some big purchases that can't really be explained without accounting for that money," Jake said.

"When will you do it?"

"Today."

"I don't know about the other two, but Victoria was eyeballs deep in our move at the office when I left a half hour ago."

"Great, thanks. I'll send someone over as soon as we hang up."

"Keep me posted, okay?"

"No worries."

"Thanks again for your help with this, Jake."

"No problem, I'll talk to you soon."

We said our goodbyes and I headed back in. Emmett was waiting in the hallway with Emily, Edward had taken Seth to the bathroom. I gave him a thumbs-up then took Emily by the hand and headed into the ladies' room to wash her hands and face. When we came back out Edward gave me a big smile and we all headed back to Charlie's to discuss the call.

When we walked in Charlie was in the living room watching yet another Cub's game. We said hello and headed to the dining room. I set the kids up with some play dough and cookie cutters then grabbed some lemonade and glasses for everyone.

"So?" Emmett said.

"They have enough to bring them in. Apparently the paper trail leads offshore and they haven't traced it yet, but there are some pretty big purchases they can't easily explain so Jake is bringing them in today!"

"That was quicker than I expected," Emmett said.

"Not nearly quick enough if you ask me. Jake was brief but he said Leia's lead really helped."

"Did he say anything else?" Edward asked, "Do we know when they'll pick them up?"

I shook my head no. "He said he'd keep me posted and I told him she had been at the office when we left for lunch, so I think it'll happen soon."

Emily and Seth started showing us their play dough creations, Seth's of course had reptiles, amphibians and dinosaurs, whereas Emily's were flowers, or so she said, they still looked like lumps of colored dough to me, her imagination made them spectacular. Where Seth's had details and even a plot as to what they were doing, Emily's were just squiggles. I got the rolling pin for her to try her hand at cutting out shapes with the cookie cutters, to "practice" for next time we make cookies. She was all grins at me after that.

Soon Rosalie rolled in with news of a certain arrest at work. "You should've seen it, Swan, it was great! The look on her face was priceless." She mimicked a really shocked and outraged face. We all laughed.

"Yeah well I hope they manage to keep her long enough to stop her tipping the others off before they're snagged, too!" I said.

"I bet they're already in custody. Didn't Jake let you know?" Rose countered.

"He mentioned they were planning to pick them up today, that was about it. Said they had some unexplainable big-ticket purchases. I wonder how solid the case can be with circumstantial evidence." I said.

"Don't worry too much, if nothing else they can get them on income-tax evasion, isn't that the Chicago Way?" Edward said, obviously referring to how they nabbed Al Capone in the end.

I raised my glass as a toast to his reference, "We'll make a Chicagoan outta you yet." He smiled.

"Uh-oh, soon she'll be forcing us to watch 'The Blues Brothers' again." Emmett said.

"Wait, you say that like it's a bad thing!" I said mocking outrage. "You KNOW you can't be a true Chicagoan without watching it!" Everyone laughed.

"Oh I wasn't complaining!" He said as he rolled his eyes.

"I haven't seen that movie in ages!" Rose said. "Not since you made me watch it when we came here on leave the first time!"

"Well I had to do the initiation, you're as good as close as I'm gonna get to having a sister, I had to make sure you got some Chicago in your blood!" I laughed. "I figured it's not in there through genes but we could make it happen by osmosis."

"For the record, I love that movie, I'll watch it with you any time," Edward said with a smile.

"Well it'll have to be sans kiddos, that was quite the shock to my system having grown up watching it on TBS, apparently they cut out the bad words. I had always wondered why The Penguin beat them in her office. One viewing on DVD answered that question, they had potty mouths!"

Everyone laughed. "Oh gosh that was funny, B was stunned. The look on her face was hysterical!" Rose said as she laughed.

"What, I was definitely stunned, they'd been so cool, they didn't need potty mouths."

"Oh that's rich, I've heard plenty of bombs come from your mouth missy," Edward pointed out.

"No doubt, it was just a shock to me, I guess it was just because I'd seen it so many times with that cut out."

"You're not the first, Swanee, a sergeant in my last office decided to start sharing his old favorites with his teenaged son, I think he was like 15. Anyway, he rented 'Airplane' and was stunned by all he forgot about that movie. And even more shocked by what he'd not seen because he'd been watching the edited-for-TV version for so many years."

We all laughed, "Oh man I'd have loved to see that kid's face when they flash the titties at the beginning!" Leave it to Emmett! I smacked his arm and gestured toward the kids sitting there. His face was priceless when he'd realized what he said! His eyes bugged out and he slapped his hand over his mouth. We all laughed again because it was obvious the kids weren't listening ... this time.

"Dude, little pictures have big ears!" Edward said. "And I'd rather not have my daughter refer to her anatomy as titties!" We all laughed again.

"Well there's a lot more than that in that movie and well the kid got an education!" Rose said.

"Oh I love when Mrs. Cleaver starts talking Jive!" Edward was laughing hard again.

"'Johnny what d'ya make of this?' 'I could make a broach ... I could make a pterodactyl!'" Emmett said putting on an effeminate voice for the last part.

Rose and I both blurted out, "To the tower, Rapunzel!" and gestured wildly, then cackled like witches.

"'Hey Johnny, how 'bout some coffee?' 'No thanks!'" Edward said doing a perfect imitation of both characters. It was nice to see him goofing around with friends.

"That's when I developed my drinking problem." I said and on it went, quoting more goofy movies as the afternoon turned to evening as we all laughed together.

"Am I the only one who's starving?" I asked later. I wasn't alone so I suggested we order Chinese and everyone loved that idea. Emmett and Rose even went to pick it up. This was her last night living here and I was going to miss having her here.

We had ordered a ton of food so Edward called his parents to see if they wanted to join us and we were pleased they'd agreed. I love last-minute gatherings, they always seem so much happier, like you couldn't manage to have that much fun if you plan ahead.

Emily, Seth and Edward helped me clear the table, wipe it then set it with plates, napkins and glasses. I was excited to use the special chopsticks I'd bought a while back at Chinatown. I'd gotten so many that there was enough for my home as well as Charlies. They're lacquered in bright colors and black - a very cool look. Emily squealed happily when she saw them and I was pleased to have someone else appreciate them. We also brought out some forks for those who are less adventurous and spoons for dishing out the food.

Esme and Charlie came in with a bottle of wine just before Emmett and Rose returned with their arms loaded down. They'd stopped for some beer as well so they truly were a welcome sight! Hey, I'm no drunk, but after this busy week, I was grateful to have a happy hour! Charlie had heard the commotion and came in from the living room with a smile. The evenings tended to be a bit more difficult for him, I hoped he would be okay with all this commotion. It truly was a surprise to see how far along he'd been, I'd missed so many signs and since he lived alone we were very lucky nothing serious had happened. Thank God Edward had found him that day. I just hope the new medicine will kick in, Carlisle said it takes a month or so before you see results and we were only a week into taking it. Wow, this week seemed to last a year, it was so busy.

I was shaken from my thoughts when Emmett started opening containers and passing them around the table. Everything smelled so good and I'd barely eaten at lunch from nerves and the kids poaching my ribs, not that I minded.

Once again I found myself with Seth on one side and Emily on the other, having staked their claims upon me. Emily was having a hard time with her chopsticks but refused to give in so I put a rubber band on one end so she could have a little help. Seth managed a little better but looked a little longingly at her rig so I put one on his too. He smiled and thanked me. I noticed Edward watching us from across the table, his smile was very sweet. Esme looked very pleased as well. Carlisle and Charlie talked fishing and Seth perked up asking questions.

I wasn't surprised to see Emmett and Rosalie in their own little bubble at the far end of the table. There was a definite connection there, not that it was surprising, both were extremely great catches - intelligent, hard-working and definitely gorgeous. Rose caught me peeking and smirked at me then shrugged her shoulders. That's what I love about her, where Alice would be all up in my business and quickly making her business mine, Rose and I were content to share a little here and there but not nag each other. I wouldn't trade either friend for anything, both were exactly what I needed.

Conversation flowed along with wine and beer, it was a great ending to a really crazy week.