Chapter 38

Some fun in the sun…

After much deliberation and planning, the six of us were headed for Cabo for six days and five nights of fun in the sun. "I'm so excited!" Alice chirped from the seat directly in front of me on the airplane and I groaned because it was not even six o'clock in the morning yet and she was already chipper and chatty.

"Great, Alice." I deadpanned as I laid my head on Edward's shoulder as we waited for the plane to take off so we could get our vacation started.

Rosalie laughed from behind me because she knew I was anything but a morning person. "Cheer up, Bells, it's going to be okay." She said patting me on the head.

I just grunted as I closed my eyes to try and block out all the noise and lights. "Nine hours in two different planes with an hour and a half layover does not make for a happy woman." I mumbled into Edward's shoulder as the flight attendant began her instructions on the intercom system about how to buckle our belts properly.

"I know, baby, you can nap on the flights. This one is a little over two hours so that should make up for having to get up so early a little bit. I love you." Edward whispered into my hair.

I nodded against his shoulder. "I love you, too."

"From now until forever."

I smiled as I looked up at him. "From now until forever."

After our layover in Charlotte, North Carolina we all settled in for the longest leg of the trip. It was over a five hour flight to get us to Cabo where we had an airport shuttle waiting to pick us up and take us to the Royal Solaris Hotel and Spa. "When do you want to have our wedding since the last one didn't work out?" I asked Edward about two hours into the flight when my tablet, phone, computer, and books stopped occupying my mind.

Edward shrugged as he sat his tablet on the tray in front of him. "I don't care, baby, do you have something in mind?" He asked as he grabbed my hand fiddling with my engagement ring that I could never imagine living without now that I had it.

I sighed. "The sooner the better, I think. Maybe the beach at La Push this summer while we are all home for the summer?"

"What about our trip to Ireland that we never cancelled? Remember that was supposed to be our big honeymoon adventure since you were in school back in November and I had work." He said reminding me of our impending trip coming up towards the end of May. We had booked a travelling tour of the British Isles spread out over thirty five days so we would be getting home five days before our annual Fourth of July celebration on the beach.

"How about we do it on the Fourth of July? We are scheduled to be a week before that so that will be plenty of time to get over the trip and get things set up. We can even invite Phil, Tarah, and Sarah to come spend the Fourth with us and celebrate our wedding with us." I suggested eagerly because it sounded so perfect because we would be able to watch fireworks explode in the sky after our intimate wedding. Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Edward smiled and nodded. "That sounds perfect, baby. Maybe mom can help with things while we are on our trip."

"Maybe. So it's set then? Fourth of July will be attempt number two?" I asked playfully.

"No attempt about it, baby. I can't wait to make you my wife and I don't know how I will feel if it doesn't happen this time. What's the worst that can happen? It rains on us?" He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

I nodded as I laid my head on his shoulder while wrapping my hands around his arm. "We've lived with rain most of our lives, it would only seem fitting for it to appear at our wedding too."

"True." He said as he leaned over kissing the top of my hair.

Alice peeked her head over the seat behind us poking me in the head to get my attention. "What's this I hear about a summer wedding while you are going to be travelling the land of the Irish?"

I giggled while Edward rolled his eyes. "You heard correctly, superwoman, planning it for the Fourth of July. Before the fireworks and bonfire." I told her as her eyes widen in excitement.

"Can I plan it since you will be so far away?" She asked eagerly.

I looked at Edward who shrugged. "I don't care, Alice, but please keep in mind that we want it simple and I will be wearing my dress that I have at home and nobody will be standing up with us." I reminded her of our plans for our first failed wedding.

She nodded. "I know, don't understand why, but I got it. Leave it in my very capable hands and it will be the day of your dreams." She said eagerly which caused both Edward and myself to groan in worry.

*~*~*~*J2FT1*~*~*~*

I collapsed on the bed once we were through the door of our suite in the hotel. "I'm so tired." I complained as Edward stacked our suitcases against the wall. Rose had tackled my suitcase again when she found out that all of mine and Edward's clothes had fit into one suitcase with no problem. I laughed when she tacked Edward's too while he just looked at her in shock. We both ended up with a large suitcase each that had a little room to pack whatever we bought here into it.

Edward crawled over me on his hands and knees until we were nose to nose. He rubbed his knows against mine as I couldn't help but smile at him. "Want to join me in a shower to wash the traveling grime off of us before we go exploring the grounds and beach?"

I groaned as I remembered the plan for the afternoon because despite our flight was a little over nine hours long it was only a little after one o'clock in the afternoon here in the beautiful Cabo. "Maybe that will wake me up some." I smirked at him as I reached up threading my fingers through his hair tugging his lips down to mine. "Maybe you can wake me up a little bit." I whispered when we broke apart breathlessly.

"I'll try my best." He said standing up while my hands were still gripped around his neck so he tugged me up with him.

"I think you are up for the job." I told him as I flashed him a coy smile as I pressed against his hard body.

He shocked me by bending down and tossing me over his shoulder as he made the trek to the bathroom. I was pleasantly surprised to find a steaming tub of bubbles covered with rose petals in the bathroom when he sat me on the vanity. "What is all of this?" I asked him as I tugged his shirt over his head.

"Just because." He said with a shrug of his shoulders as he returned the favor of removing my shirt.

A little over an hour later I was dressed in a strapless yellow sundress with my hair laying in a loose braid over my shoulder. Edward was dressed in a pair of khaki board shorts with a white button up shirt that he had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with only three buttons in the middle buttoned and untucked. "You look good enough to eat." I told him as I slipped my feet into my white flip flops.

He just laughed as he sat his sunglasses on top of his crazy disheveled hair. "I think you have that wrong, baby. You look absolutely delicious." He said as he pulled me into his arms.

"How about we just agree that we are a good looking couple?" I said as I fingered the tiny bit of chest hair that peeked through the opening at the top of his shirt.

"I think I can agree to that on one condition." He whispered as he swayed us gently side to side.

I quirked an eyebrow at him in curiosity. "Okay, what's the condition?"

"A kiss." He said with a wicked smile on his face.

"Really? Just a kiss? I think I can handle that I said threading my fingers through his hair as I stood on my tiptoes.

Just as my lips were about to meet his he placed his fingers over my lips stopping the kiss that was coming. I snapped my eyes open to look at curiously. "Not now." He whispered huskily.

I was immediately intrigued and pulled my head back a little so I could talk. "When?" I whispered as my insides quivered at the possibilities this game presented.

"I don't know but I will let you know when I want my payment. We got a deal?" He asked tugging me close again.

I nodded as I smiled widely. "Yes, can I kiss you now?"

He nodded and quickly sealed our lips together in a passionate kiss until a knock on our door caused us both to grown and pull apart. "I come bearing a present!" Rose sang from the other side of our hotel room door.

I quickly yanked open the door to reveal Rose in a beautiful purple floor length satin sundress with two tiny straps looping around her neck and holding the largest and most aromatic coffee I had seen in my entire life. "Oh!" I said as I snatched the cup from her hands immediately pulling it to my nose to inhale the fragrance the cup was emitting.

I slowly walked back into our hotel room while Edward and Rose laughed at me as I took a small sip of the decadent liquid, closing my eyes to savor the taste as it coated my taste buds. "This is so good." I whispered as I took another sip.

Rose nodded. "I had a cup, not nearly as large as yours, right before I came up here to get you guys." Emmett, Alice, and Jasper strolled through the door all looking like college co-eds instead of a married couple and parents of three children.

"Good, Bella?" Alice asked as she danced/walked to our window peering out at the expansive view of the ocean.

"Delicious. It will definitely improve my mood for the remainder of the day." I said winking at Edward because just a single sultry look from him usually improved my mood almost immediately and when that didn't work a touch did.

After spending a few minutes in the room coming up with a game plan while I devoured my cup of coffee, we all headed out to explore the grounds and surrounding area.

"This is so cool, so unlike in Washington or Rhode Island." I told Edward as we strolled arm in arm down the beach. Our feet sinking into the soft white sand as the water gently lapped over our feet. Emmett and Rose had sat down in a fairly vacant spot of the beach to call their girls and talk to them for a bit since they were missing them so much. Esme, Carlisle, and Charlie were staying at their house in Providence while we were away on vacation. We were all planning to celebrate Jacqui's first birthday this coming weekend after we get back in town. Rose had been planning it for weeks and had relayed the party details to Esme who said 'she would take care of it and for us to enjoy our vacation' which promptly shut Rose up.

Edward nodded. "Are you happy we came, despite the early hour departure?"

I nodded. "Extremely happy, especially after that cup of coffee." I told him as I nudged him playfully in the ribs.

"That wasn't a cup, baby, that was more like a jug." He said tugging me deeper into the water until the water lapped at our knees.

"Edward! We don't have our swimsuits on!" I squealed as I felt the wave roll around our legs barely missing the hem of my dress and soaking the edge of his shorts.

We frolicked and played on the beach for what felt like hours after exploring the grounds of the hotel, we stayed out there until the sun dipped beyond the ocean's edge. "Hungry?" Edward asked as we walked hand in hand back towards the hotel.

I nodded just as my stomach grumbled to his spoken question. "Yes, and apparently my stomach is in agreement with that."

*~*~*~*J2FT1*~*~*~*

I groaned as I laid my head on the rim of the toilet in our hotel room as I limply reached up with my hand pulling the lever down to send the contents of my stomach swirling down the toilet along with any plans I had for the day. I had been staying pretty steadily in the bathroom since early this morning when the stomach cramps started waking me from my sleep. That was when the diarrhea started, I also realized that I was hot to the touch with fever. Edward stayed in the hotel room with me all day long as I moaned and groaned in the bathroom. He tried his best to keep my plied with Gatorade and crackers to keep me from becoming dehydrated. I had been vomiting pretty consistently for two hours now and apparently my body wasn't finished yet as I felt my stomach tighten yet again in preparation for expelling what little contents were left in there.

"Baby, will you please let me take you to the hospital?" Edward begged as he ran the cool washcloth across the back of my neck once I had finished heaving into the toilet.

I just groaned as I slumped against the toilet once more. "Okay." I finally croaked out hoarsely.

I cuddled into Edward's chest as he scooped my weak body off the floor of the bathroom. It was a long trip to the hospital because we had to stop every few minutes for me to heave into the bushes on the side of the road but we eventually made it. Once I was evaluated by the attending doctor I was immediately hooked up to IV fluids to prevent further dehydration. Then came the nurse with her computer on wheels and a barrage of questions.

"When was your last menstrual cycle?" the nurse asked quietly as Edward sat on the edge of my hospital bed running his fingers through my hair to soothe me the best he could.

"I have the Mirena IUD so I haven't had a period for a while." I explained quietly.

The nurse nodded. "Okay, well the absence of periods while using the Mirena is common but we will run a blood test just to make sure you're not pregnant."

I groaned and rolled my head on the pillow mumbling under my breath. Edward caught the side of my head to stop me from rolling it from side to side in frustration and irritation. "It will be okay, baby. We will take all of this a step at a time. If you are pregnant we will just deal with it but maybe you're not and the food you ate last night may have disagreed with you in some way. Let's not stress until we get the test results back." He said quietly as he looked me in the eye to transcend his calm and seriousness over to me.

"Okay." I told him softly as I placed my hand on top of his as he cupped the side of my head gently.

"Any symptoms besides nausea?"

I nodded. "Yes, diarrhea, fever, and my entire abdominal area is cramping and sore. I'm not sure if it's from all the vomiting or something else."

"Okay, do you have any food allergies?" The nurse asked as she tapped away on her computer.

"No ma'am, not that I know of." I croaked out to her.

She nodded as she tapped that into the computer. "Okay, sweetheart, I am going to get them to come draw a few vials of blood so that we can run some bloodwork on you. Is your stomach feeling a little better?"

I nodded because they had given me a tablet to subside the nausea after I had puked all over the lobby floor because I couldn't get to the trashcan quick enough. "Yes, ma'am."

She nodded as she slipped out of the opening in the curtain before pulling the two edges back together.

I lolled my head back on my pillow in frustration. "This is a great way to spend our vacation. Stuck in the hospital and possibly pregnant."

"It's okay, Bella. It may very well be food poisoning instead of pregnancy. You haven't felt nauseous at all in the past few weeks have you? Any other symptoms that would make you think you were pregnant?" He asked as he laid down behind me on the bed cuddling into me and wrapping his arm around my waist loosely.

I shook my head. "No. This is the first time I've felt sick like this since I was a teenager and got that stomach bug from Jasper."

He placed a kiss to the back of my head. "It's going to be okay, baby. Regardless of what those test results tell us."

The phlebotomist came and drew three vials of blood before disappearing around the curtain once again. Edward just held me gently as I dozed on and off in his arms.

"Ms. Swan?" I heard the doctor call my name dragging me from my sleep.

I blinked open my eyes slowly as I nudged Edward. "Edward, wake up. The doctor's here." I told him as I patted his hand gently.

"I'm sorry to disturb your sleep but I have your blood work back and wanted to discuss it with you so we can discuss a treatment plan." He said as he leaned against the shelf at the back of the curtained off area.

I nodded as I felt Edward wake up and become alert again. "Okay, what were the results?" I croaked in my sore throat freshly woken up voice.

"Well, I don't know if it's good news or bad news but you are not pregnant. Your electrolytes are a bit low but I am certain that is from the diarrhea and vomiting you have been experiencing in the past several hours. Judging by your symptoms you described and what we have witnessed I believe you have a severe case of food poisoning." He explained slowly.

I groaned and nodded. "Okay, can that be treated back at the hotel we're staying at?" I asked quietly.

"I want to keep you overnight to get some more fluids in you because you were badly dehydrated when you came in here. We will keep giving you anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea medications throughout the night along with ibuprofen to keep your fever down. When we stop those medicines in the morning we will see how you respond and you should be clear to go back to your hotel tomorrow evening."

I nodded. "Okay." I told him accepting that this was how my spring break was going to be spent. The only time I had actually been able to enjoy our time in Cabo was that first day and night we were here along with the next day. It was our second morning here that all of this had started and we were set to go home in just three more days. "Some vacation." I mumbled sullenly.

"I am sorry, Ms. Swan but your health is of the utmost importance. They will transport you up to a room shortly so you can get some rest." He said taking his leave.

"Thanks, Doctor Morales." Edward and I both called to him as he pulled the curtains back together.

I felt horrible about ruining Edward's vacation just because I happened to get a bad case of food poisoning. "This really sucks." I told Edward quietly.

He nodded. "It does, but like the doctor said your health is of the utmost importance not our vacation."

"I know, babe, but we've barely been able to enjoy our time here. We've been here for three days so far and we spent all day today stuck in the hotel room and now the hospital." I complained angrily.

He rolled me over so that I was lying flat on the bed while he was propped on his side looking down at me. "The place and situation doesn't matter to me, Isabella. You were sick and it is my job and prerogative as your future husband and love of your life to see that you are taken care of. I don't care if we spend our entire vacation here in this hospital, as long as when you leave here you are all better."

I blinked away the tears at his sweet proclamation. "Okay, I love you and you are the love of my life."

"I know." He said cockily as he rolled off the edge of the bed gliding lithely to his feet just as two men in blue scrubs walked through the curtain.

"We are here to transport you to your private room." The tall skinny one said.

*~*~*~*J2FT1*~*~*~*

"I am so glad to be going home." I said as we all walked through the airport to our waiting lounge. I ended up spending two nights in the hospital because as soon as the anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhea medicine wore off it started up again. Edward and I spend our last day on the island slowly exploring the street vendors' downtown walking hand-in-hand as we explored the trinkets in each little shop. I was told to take it easy for several days but I could handle light exercise while my body recuperated from the food poisoning.

Emmett threw an arm around my shoulder as he tugged me close to his side in a comforting hug. "I'm just glad you are okay, Baby B. You had us all worried but I am with you on ready to get home. I miss my girls, but don't tell anybody that. I have an image to protect." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

I nudged him in the ribs shoving him off of me. "Image, my ass." I told him as he walked back over to Rosalie with a pout on his face. Charlie picked us up at the airport since it was a little after midnight when we landed back in Providence.

"How are you feeling, baby girl?" he asked wrapping me up in his arms while Edward retrieved our two suitcases off the conveyer belt.

I nodded against my dad's chest. "Better. I haven't had any symptoms since leaving the hospital." I told him softly.

"Okay, I was worried sick about you when they made you stay longer in the hospital." He explained huskily.

"We were too, dad, but I'm okay now. I haven't had any medicine since yesterday morning and none of the symptoms have returned, thankfully." I explained as everyone slowly gathered around us with all of their luggage. We had all met at Rose and Emmett's house the morning of our departure driving their SUV to the airport which Charlie took home when he arrived later that day so all of our vehicles were parked there waiting on us.

"Hi Chief." Edward said tiredly. He was just as worn out from our stay in the hospital and my illness as I was.

Charlie let me go briefly pulling Edward into a man-hug. "Hi son, thanks for taking such good care of her." I heard him tell Edward.

"My pleasure, sir." Edward said as he shot me a heart wrenching smile.