A/N: I don't own any part of the Twilight universe, but you guys knew that already.

***Crying while typing*** We've reached the end of the road guys. It's really killing me to write this chapter. I cannot say thank you enough for all the incredible support you guys have shown me over the last several weeks. You have made me laugh, think, type faster than I thought possible and even cry a few times. Your kind words and support has made all the difference in the world to me and to the story.

Special thanks to my baby Tay for all her love and patience with me.

I plan on spending tomorrow answering each one of the reviews and PMs that you guys have sent me. It's important to me that you guys know how much I appreciate your input. So, I'll talk to a lot of you tomorrow.

You guys know what I'm looking for. One more time, scratch behind my ears and make me purr.

I love you guys.

Chapter 38-Temporary Goodbyes

BPOV

I glanced at the clock on the wall of the conference room behind the stage of Blood Lust and sighed loudly.

2:38am

I was going to have to become a vampire to keep up the schedule I'd had the last four days. Sleep, never very peaceful or restful, had become almost nonexistent in the last few days. I was thrilled as to the reasons why, but eventually it was going to catch up with me.

"JP, pass me the crab rolls."

"Um, that would be 'no'." He was being a shit, just to be one. I told myself not to take the bait, but…

"Come on, please. You don't even like them," I tried in my best pleading voice.

"Not a chance. And you're right, I don't like them, but I'm gonna eat every single one of them. You should have shared your eggs with me this morning," he further goaded.

Reluctantly, I placed my tray of fried rice and California rolls down beside me and launched myself across the small space that separated us. I landed on him where he sat on the couch opposite from me. Unfortunately, I didn't really stand a chance, even as I tickled him. He was squirming and laughing, but his left arm was locked around me holding me in place and he held the tray of crab and avocado that called to me in his right hand high above his head. No matter how I moved or where my fingers tickled, I couldn't reach the sushi.

"Bitch, you weigh like twelve pounds. No way are you getting it."

I heard the laughter from all sides as I tried to shove my knee into his stomach. Mercifully, Emmett came to my rescue. He rose off the couch where he sat between JP and Rose and walked around behind the sofa. He plucked the tray from his hands with no resistance at all.

"Give her the food. She needs it more than your tape worm infected ass." I looked up to smile at my brother only to gasp as he hooked his arm around my waist. He crossed the room in three long strides with me dangling, bent in half with my head even with my knees, from his hand. I could feel him laughing as we approached Edward, his legs stretched out in front of him as he leaned against the sofa that Jasper, Alice and Dimitri were sitting on.

"I think this belongs to you," he chuckled as he dropped me into Edward's outstretched arms. In one motion, he righted me and placed me back into his lap. I crossed my legs Indian style and settled back into the only seat I had any interest in occupying.

Emmett brought the tray to his face and inhaled deeply. I howled at the look of disgust on his face as he turned away from the Japanese rolls that I was now salivating for. With the look of horror still firmly in place, he faced Chip and Marcus, who were side by side in an overstuffed chair next to Alice's spot on the couch behind me.

"I thought EverClear was doing pretty good?"

"They are, why?" Chip looked confused by the question as he looked up at the towering figure of my teddy bear brother in law.

"Will you please explain to me then why they won't pay to have someone cook their food? Honestly, this shit is nasty even for human food." He finally handed me the tray and I immediately popped a whole piece into my mouth.

The chuckles rang out from all around the room. Even Carlisle shook his head with laughter.

"Thank you Emmett," I rasped out as I tried to chew the much too big slice.

"Just don't breath on me until after you've brushed your teeth please. That smells like ass of bear."

"You'd know wouldn't you," I retorted, earning another round of laughter. Dimitri and JP were completely at ease with the reference, but I noticed that Felix looked slightly concerned, even as he shook slightly with laughter

Edward's arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me further up his legs until my back touched his chest. The coolness of his body felt wonderful through the cotton of the tee shirt that I'd taken from his bag this afternoon. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and felt him brush my hair away from my right shoulder. His icy breath fanned across my neck as he leaned forward, his lips brushing my ear slightly.

"How's your hand? Still hurting?" His fingertips glided up and down my thighs, leaving goose bumps where he touched my bare skin, as he spoke. Rather than the shorts that Chip had packed for me to change into after the show, I'd put on the black boxer shorts that I'd literally stolen off his body an hour ago and every few strokes, he'd slip his hands just barely under the edge of the fabric.

"No, but whatever Carlisle gave me earlier is messing with me. It might actually hurt, but I'm too stoned to care." I closed my eyes and concentrated on his fingers as they continued up and down my legs. "But if you keep doing that, we're going to have to go back to the dressing room."

"That's kind of the idea," he whispered against my hair. "As good as you look in my clothes; I like you even better out of them."

"Will you two stop! Damn Edward, let the girl eat," Alice giggled and lightly smacked the back of his head. "I swear you're acting like you're seventeen years old."

"I am, technically anyway."

Chip cleared his throat and I smiled sheepishly at him.

"So what's the plan? Are both of you going on the bus with us in the morning, or are you taking his car?" Once again, the master of diversion had completely derailed our less than publicly appropriate conversation.

"No, we'll be on the bus. Emmett and Rose are going to take the Volvo back to Oregon with them," Edward answered for me. I had no idea when they had discussed the details, and frankly I didn't much care, as long as we would be together.

Emmett clapped his hands together loudly and rubbed them together, looking an awful lot like Mr. Myagi from the Karate Kid movies. His grin was maniacal.

"World's largest ball of twine, here we come."

"Like hell. Don't even think about dragging me half way across the country to see every ridiculous tourist trap you can think of," Rosalie hissed at him. Her voice was ominous, but the look on her face told me that she would go just about anywhere he wanted her to.

"Um, can I ask a question without pissing any of you guys off? I'm not trying to be a dick, but I'm curious." Felix asked in an embarrassed tone of voice. He was looking at Edward as he spoke and Edward nodded his head, indicating for him to proceed.

"So, are we gonna need to keep…things…on the bus now for you? I mean, how does it work when you get hungry? Do we need to keep snacks for you, like we keep trail mix and jelly beans for us?" Felix, with all his tattoos and his waist length jet black hair looked like a little kid as he tried to ask Edward about his diet. It was so sweet and so unsettling at the same time.

"I think what my man here is saying is do we need to keep a refrigerator full of dead rabbits or mice so that you don't drain us in the middle of the night?" JP was highly amused at the conversation and by the look on his face he was going to drag this on as long as possible. He knew good and well what the answer to Felix's question was, but his evil sense of humor obviously couldn't pass up the opportunity to torture Edward a little.

"Jesus, JP, he's not a boa constrictor," Dimitri choked out, fried rice spewing out of his mouth in surprise of his ridiculous statement.

The laughter that exploded was too much not to get lost in. Everyone, vampire and human alike, was rolling and clutching their sides at JP's insane sense of humor. I was shocked to feel Edward laughing beneath me. He wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye as he looked at Felix.

"No, man, its fine. I don't actually get hungry; thirsty would be a better description. And when I need to, I'll just disappear for a few hours and hunt. So, no, no need to keep snacks for me. And the only one in danger of me draining them in the middle of the night is JP, unless he finds a new nickname for my wife."

Felix let a small, uncomfortable laugh as he nodded toward Edward. Jasper was still laughing under his breath. JP, however, was apparently not ready to let it drop.

"So answer this. Hypothetically, if we have a cat on the bus, like a mascot kind of thing, and we're driving through the desert and you're starving with no where to hunt…would you eat the cat?"

"Yeah, Eddie, would you eat the pussy?" Emmett laid his head in Rose's lap as he howled, whether at his own lame joke or JP's I wasn't be sure. Either way, I felt the blush creeping up the back of my neck at his crude words.

Chip and Marcus were holding on to each other as they tried to contain their laughter. I looked over my shoulder again and Edward was shaking his head, smiling.

EPOV

Good grief, how in the hell did we get into this conversation. The absurdity of it was laughable. I felt bad for Felix. He was the least comfortable around us and he was honestly asking a question. JP on the other hand, well, he was just trying to make me squirm. So I decided that the best course of action would be to not give him the satisfaction and just play along.

"Well, whose cat is it?" I tried to keep a straight face as I looked at him. Bella was laughing so hard her plate had slid out of her hand. I tightened my arm around her to keep her pulled against me and to keep her knee from dipping into the hideous green paste that she'd had on her plate.

"Bella's."

"Oh, that's easy," Jasper answered JP. "If its Bella's cat, he'd buy it a solid gold litter box and hire someone to feed the thing sardines all day long."

I chuckled as I nodded my head. That was probably true.

"Ok, Chip's then." He looked at me expectantly for the answer.

"No, I wouldn't eat Chip's cat. Now if the animal was deranged enough to be your's, then the thing is history."

Alice actually did roll of the couch she was sitting on with a thud. She lay beside Bella and me and clutched Bella's leg, nearly pulling her off my lap, as she laughed.

"Dude, that's harsh. First you won't let me eat anything, then you tell me you're gonna drain me and now you're gonna kill my cat? What have I done to piss you off?" His face was full of mock indignance, but his thoughts told me he was having a ball. There was a strange sort of brotherly tenor in his mind that made me very happy. He was an important part of Bella's life, and now mine, and I was glad that he seemed to have accepted me. It was a hundred and eighty degree turnaround from our first meeting.

It took a full ten minutes for the giggles and snorts to finally die out. The band was running on fumes at this point and I knew we were going to have to break up the party soon. The sound of hammers and power tools continued at a steady pace from the large room as the stage was dismantled. The crew worked with the precision of a surgeon as they systematically broke apart the ramps and instruments. It was obvious they were very practiced at their jobs and within the hour, the large room that had changed my life so dramatically would once again be just an empty space waiting for the next band to arrive.

I watched amused as Bella tried to sweep away the spilled contents of her plate. After just a couple of tries, she abandoned the plate and picked up the tray Emmett had claimed for her. I noticed as she moved the food around, apparently trying to pick out the piece she wanted, that she was humming.

The melody was something I'd never heard. It had an intriguing rhythm to it. She hummed the same notes over and over, each repetition changing just slightly, building on each pass.

"What is that, baby? I've never heard it."

She looked startled that anyone had heard her. Her eyes were wide for a second and then she smiled bashfully at me before kissing me quickly.

"I don't know. It's just been in my head for a couple of days."

I was amazed as the members of EverClear all turned their heads toward her. There was a look of utter concentration on their faces as they stared at her. JP put his plate down and folded his hands between his knees as he inched forward on the sofa cushion.

"Do it again," he said seriously and quietly. He looked at the floor, his brows pulled together as she hummed the notes a little more loudly. "Again."

I was dumbstruck as I realized what I was witnessing. A new song. There was a new song floating around in her frustratingly silent head. I closed my eyes as I listened to her repeat the melody. The room had gone silent. She repeated it three more times before she stopped. I opened my eyes and JP was staring at her, a huge grin on his face.

"That's good. We need to sit down tomorrow on the bus and work it out a little more. You can hear the bass line in your head, can't you?" He was all business as he spoke.

She nodded her head and chuckled slightly. It was fascinating to watch. The two of them seemed to be thinking in tandem. I could not wait to see where this went. As I replayed the tune in my memory, a very simple harmony began to mix with the original notes.

"How did you know that?" Emmett asked JP. "About the bass line?"

"When she hears a bass line, she wiggles her fingers. When she hears the piano of a song, she actually plays it on her lap. I know what to look for after four years. She's kind of an open book sometimes."

"That is so cool. What's the song about?" Emmett looked slightly awed as he looked at Bella, who was blushing with the attention that was now centered on her.

"I don't have any lyrics yet. Those usually come later."

The wicked smile that crossed JP's face instantly made me nervous. He sat back against the cushion and looked at the two of us very seriously, his finger pointed to us like a school teacher.

"Let's get one thing clear right now. I am not, repeat, not, putting out an entire album about Eddie's magic peen. Got it? I'll give you one sex song, two if it's really good. But that's it."

I actually fell over, taking Bella with me, laughing so hard. The roar of the room was almost as loud as when it had been filled with three thousand people. I could feel the heat radiating off Bella's body as she blushed furiously. Jasper did nothing to quell the laughter, instead opting to increase the out of control hysterics by giving in to his own hilarity.

"I promise…snort…no magic…no magic peen songs," Bella choked out as she rolled onto her back laughing. "I cannot believe you said that out loud." The tears poured from her eyes. Alice was convulsing she laughed so hard. Chip had laughed so violently at his words, his nose was running profusely and he couldn't control himself enough to stop it.

"Oh, my God…you are such a fool," Emmett cackled as he leaned his giant head over on JP's shoulder and clasped his arm around his back. "I am so going to miss you." He chuckled a couple more times before he looked over at Bella, who was still rolling on the floor. "Hey, I've got the title for you're song. 'Love Bites'!" He fell over into a heap as he laughed.

"Naw, man. Judas Priest and Def Leopard already did that," JP answered as seriously as possible. Emmett shook his head and waved JP toward him. He leaned over and whispered in his ear and I was sure I knew what he was telling him. JP's eyes got wider with every word and he looked in astonishment between Bella and me. "That is seriously fucking twisted Bitch."

My poor Bella hid her face in her hands, which of course only drew attention to the bandage around her hand. I wanted to be sympathetic and not laugh, but with Jasper all but unhinged with laughter, it was impossible.

Carlisle was the first to regain any semblance of composure. He stood from his seat beside my mother and looked around at the chaos. He smiled to himself before he nudged Jasper with his foot. Esme stood beside him, shoulders still heaving.

"Kids, we really should let them get some sleep. And we have a flight to catch tomorrow. Alice, we will not wait for you to get packed, if you miss the flight, you're on your own." The room instantly grew quiet as we all realized that it was time to say goodbye.

"Aw, dad, five more minutes," JP whined to him, which sent Emmett into yet another round of giggles.

My father crossed the room and offered his hand to Chip. "Good luck, I think you're going to need it."

Chip took his hand as he pulled himself out of the chair and the two men embraced. Marcus quickly followed suit and hugged Esme.

"You have no idea," Chip retorted.

"Where are you guys headed from here?"

"Well, we have two days in Daytona, two in Miami then we head west. They have several shows in Texas where they'll meet up with another band for a ten day run. We have a video to shoot and a couple of interviews. Then on to Vegas, LA, San Francisco and they'll finish up in Seattle on Halloween."

"That's quite a full schedule. You're going to need more than luck." Carlisle fished in his pocket and drew a small business card out. He handed it to Chip and clasped his hand on his shoulder. "You have my cell number, but if I am unavailable and you need anything, just call this number. Anything we can help with; transportation, lodging, vehicles…whatever you might need, just let us know and it's yours."

I knew the card was for Pacific Northwest Trust even before I saw the small rectangle in Chip's mind. Carlisle had essentially just given Chip a blank check for whatever they might need to make the remainder of the tour as easy as possible.

"Thank you Carlisle, that's very nice." He kissed Esme on both cheeks before he turned to face Alice, who had at least pulled herself together enough to sit up.

She stood immediately and embraced Chip tightly. They rocked back and forth slightly before they leaned back and looked at each other.

"You sure I can't tempt you?" Chip asked her.

"Not immediately, but I won't stay away long. I promise. Rose and I have a little excursion planned next week in New York, but I may catch up with you after that. Take care of them for me." She looked down at Bella, who was sitting on the arm of the couch watching the scene, tears quietly streaming down her eyes.

Chip and Alice reached their arms out toward her at the same time and folded her into their embrace.

"Alice, I just got you back. I don't want to let go yet," she sniffled.

"Bella, I'm not letting you go. I'll talk to you everyday and I will see you very soon, I promise." My sister kissed her and then released her to my parents, who stood on either side of her and completely surrounded her with their hugs. She leaned her head against Esme's shoulder and Carlisle leaned forward and placed his head on the top of her head.

"Take care of yourself, sweetheart. We love you and we'll talk to you very soon," my mother whispered. Bella just nodded her head, never opening her eyes.

"Will you guys come to Seattle for the last show?"

"We wouldn't miss it," my father answered.

She inhaled once very deeply and then broke away from the hug. Wiping her eyes, she walked back over to me, nestling herself into my arms.

"So who are you guys hooking up with in Texas? Anyone we might know," Emmett asked. His voice was calm, but he was dreading the goodbye that was nearing.

"EMD. They're on the same label. Pretty good, but they can be a pain in the ass. Especially…" JP's voice broke off as he looked to Bella. She had stiffened immediately upon hearing the name of the band. JP's mind threw an image of a man with very long brown hair on stage thrashing around.

"Oh, no. We aren't spending two weeks with them are we?" Felix groaned. I noticed that Dimitri didn't look any more pleased than the rest of them.

"What am I missing?" I asked the room at large. It was Dimitri that answered me.

"EMD are very talented. Hard core musicians. But their lead singer, Sebastian, is an enormous ass. Thinks the world is his for the taking." He cut his eyes at Bella as he continued. "And he is fixated on your wife."

Fury burned through me as I heard the words. Bella's hand gently rubbed back and forth across my forearm wrapped around her. She leaned her head against my shoulder and whispered "yours" into my neck. She knew me well.

"Sounds like someone I need to have a chat with," Emmett huffed. He was no more thrilled with the prospect of someone else chasing after Bella than I was. I gave him a small nod in thanks for the sentiment.

"Sebastian's odd. Honestly, he's the kind of guy you think about going postal when he gets fired from his job." It was the most serious I'd ever seen JP, except for his tirade at me the first night. The warning bells in my head were ringing furiously.

"Just slap the shit out of him and show him your wedding ring," Rose suggested as she grasped Bella's hand. She leaned over and gave us both a quick kiss on the cheek and then walked back to Emmett. She didn't want to say the word "goodbye" to her new sister.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now, so no point in worrying about it. You guys have got to get some sleep. We roll out at noon. Has everyone got all their shit from the dressing rooms?" Chip had gone into full work mode again. Everyone in the room was now standing and making their way down the hallway toward the rear entrance of the club where the bus was waiting.

Bella was leaning heavily into my side, my arm wrapped around her shoulders. I didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. Her face gave it all away. It broke my heart to see her so unhappy and I wished that I could take the pain away.

"It's okay, love. We'll see everyone soon. Probably sooner than we'd like."

"I know. I just wish we had a few more days. After everything that's happened, I just don't want to let go. I feel like if we leave Atlanta, the clock will strike midnight and the coach will turn back into a pumpkin."

I stopped and turned to face her. Her tears ran down her cheeks in a steady stream. I wiped them away with my thumbs and I felt the muscles in her jaw relax lightly.

"Baby, they are your family too. They aren't going to disappear. And neither am I. It's you and me forever."

She smiled a quick smile and leaned into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and swayed us back and forth, almost as if we were dancing to music that existed only for us.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she grinned up at me. "We better get going or Chip will have our asses."

As she turned and took a step toward the door, I grabbed her rear with both hands. The startled squeak she let out was betrayed by the rapid acceleration of her heart. She leaned back into me, arching her back slightly.

"The only one that can have your ass is me. And I fully intend to have it again before we leave the great state of Georgia." I bent my head and ran the tip of my tongue along the outside edge of her ear.

"Now! Your holding us up," Chip yelled from outside.

"I'm really starting to not like him," I huffed.

We stepped out into the alleyway, hand in hand, to see our family and Chip waiting for us. Before anyone had the chance to speak, JP stuck his head out of the open door of the bus.

"We have several empty seats in here. Anyone want to come with us?" He was smiling like an insane clown as he looked at us and wagged his eyebrow up and down.

To my horror, Emmett and Jasper both grinned like fools. They each looked at their wives, silently begging permission to go play. Alice simply laughed and kissed Jasper on the cheek. Rose glared menacingly at Emmett and then cut her eyes at the bus.

"Do not make me regret this Emmett Cullen. If I get one single report of you acting like an ass, you will have to answer to me. Do you understand?"

"I'll behave, I promise Rosie." He kissed her very quickly and turned to face Bella and me. The leer on his face was more than slightly concerning. He scooped Bella up into his arms and flew to the open door, her shrieking and laughing with every step.

Jasper and I followed, leaving the remainder of our family in the dark street with Chip, who was shaking his head.

"God help us all. EverClear has been revamped."

Chapter Notes: I would love to hear any ideas you have for the sequel (if I use it, you will of course get full credit as co-author). I have the outline done, but if there are any specific things you'd like to see happen, send me a PM. I think it would be fun to make the story kind of interactive. You guys suggest scenes or interactions that you'd like to see and then I give it to you. Almost like you guys are building the story. I also need 4-5 songs to finish out the story. If you guys have any suggestion, I'd love to hear them.

If you don't have me set to Favorite Author, go ahead and do so. You guys know I write like I'm possessed when the ideas start to flow, so I don't think I'll be gone more than a couple of weeks.

Big giant hugs and kisses to all of you guys. See you soon.

Kelly