AN: Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay in this post. My uncle is very sick and I havent been around much to write anything. I wrote this at 3am for you so it may not be the greatest and the editing is dreadful. Its very short too i know :( but just bare with me...I know you all will LOVE the next chapter. Thanks for all your support! Stay Tuned for sexiness!

Chapter 29

After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual "food" out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps. Miss Piggy

Bella's POV

All five of us piled into the car with ease. I was sandwiched in between Edward and Jasper since Alice refused to be seated in a confined area that may have messed up her outfit or hair. Honestly.

"I bet those girls wish they were me right now!" I said as we pulled away from the hotel. Alice snorted but Edward and Jasper seemed oblivious. Carlisle didn't even bother to get involved. I think he knew better.

"What do you mean Bells?" Edward asked. Sometimes he could be so dense.

"I mean they'd love to be sitting where I'm sitting, smushed between two very attractive, very fit, very charming men. You know I just simply adore doctors and architects..." I explained trying to hold back my giggles. Alice however couldn't contain herself and was laughing quite hard.

"Oh god. Are you two ever going to let this go? Or will we hear about it for the rest of our lives?" Jasper asked as he shook his head.

"Jasper don't be rude! Bella just complimented you on a pile of things. Thank her!" Alice demanded.

"Thank you Bella for calling me attractive, fit, and charming" he said immediately before sticking his tongue out at Alice behind her back. I giggled.

"You too Edward!" Alice exclaimed.

"Thank you Bella for calling me attractive..." he said as placed tiny kisses on my jaw line "and fit ...and charming..."

"Just tell me I'm going to have to watch this all night..." Jasper sighed as he rested his head against the window. "I'll jump out right now..." he laughed to himself.

"We'll behave right Edward?" I asked while I looked up at him. He stopped kissing me. "Right" he muttered. The last thing he wanted to do was to stop but what could you do? In no time we were pulling into the restaurant parking lot. Jasper hopped out of the car eagerly, once we had parked of course, and went to help Alice out of the front seat. Edward slid off the seat gracefully and waited outside of the car holding out his hand out to help me down. It was much warmer out now and the rain was starting to ease up. The clouds were starting to disappear and the sky lightened a bit. As we walked to the restaurant entrance I was struck by a sudden worry. I stopped walking abruptly. The Cullen's seemed to notice and turned around to face me.

"Toulouse!" I exclaimed. "We didn't feed him!". I knew Toulouse was in the hotel room but I had totally forgotten to feed him. Edward's surprise and that whole shower scheme really had me distracted. I was a terrible owner. Edward looked concerned too and grabbed the keys out of his fathers hand and began to walk back to the car. I followed suit.

"Kids!" Carlisle shouted after us. "You don't need to worry! I took care of everything". I felt so relieved. I hurried back to face Carlisle.

"Thank you!" I said as I hugged him. He seemed taken back by the embrace but eventually chuckled.

"It was my pleasure. I enjoyed spending some time with the little guy. He kept me company during that conference call. Then I got the hotel chef to make something up for him" he explained. I was so thankful that I didn't let Carlisle go.

"Bella, honey, you can let go now" he whispered to me and then laughed.

"Oh! Yeah...right. Sorry!" I said, embarrassed. "Let's eat already!" Carlisle said and then walked into the restaurant. We followed after him and waited to be seated. Edward was holding me close to him.

"We need to talk" he whispered in my ear. I looked at him confused.

"Why?" I whispered back. "Complications..." he said. I was still confused. The hostess was just starting to escort us to our table but Edward held me back.

"Are you guys coming?" Alice asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah. I just need a moment with Bella. We'll meet you at the table..." Edward said. Alice just smiled and followed Jasper and Carlisle to the table.

"What's going on?" I asked Edward as he pulled us away from a nearby crowd of people.

"Jasper has been asking me questions about our "shower""

"So has Alice..." I said, still not understanding where he was going with this. "I don't see the big deal..."

"The big deal may be that our stories won't complement each other. Jasper is dying for details and I'll have to give him something tonight when we get back. I'm sure Alice will talk to you about it too. If Jasper and Alice compare notes then we'll be screwed. We need to be consistent..." he explained. I hadn't even thought about that. Thank God he had or else we were doomed.

"You're right" I began "but we don't have time to discuss details now Edward... everyone is waiting for us. They're probably wondering what were doing..."

"I know. I just wanted to let you know about all this. We'll have to come up with something when we get back to the hotel tonight. We'll have some time to ourselves before we all go to bed so just start thinking about details..." he said with a wink.

"I will. Now lets get back to your family before they think we've snuck off" I giggled. Edward grabbed my hand and walked me to our table. I once again sat beside Jasper. Edward and Alice sat directly across from us while Carlisle sat at the head of the table.

"Everything alright?" Carlisle asked as soon as we were comfortably seated.

"For sure. I just wanted to complement Bella on how beautiful she looks tonight" Edward said. I blushed.

"You can thank Alice for all of this..." I said as I looked down at myself.

"Well an artist can only be as good as her canvas..." Alice laughed. I blushed even more.

"Thanks" I muttered as I continued to look down into my lap. I was never very good with complements.

"Can I order for us all?" Carlisle asked breaking the awkward silence once the waitress arrived. I had no objections to Carlisle ordering; he always knew what was best. Taking a glance and the menu one more time he pointed to something and spoke very faintly to the waitress. She nodded and then scurried off. Moments later drinks arrived for us all. I took a sip and noticed that Carlisle was smiling at us.

"Shall I make a toast?" he asked the group. Jasper and Edward hit their glasses with their spoons. Alice and I cheered. Everyone else in the restaurant probably thought we were nuts but we didn't care. Carlisle lifted his glass and cleared his throat.

"To my wonderful children..." he started "which includes you, Bella and Jasper. This upcoming year is going to hold many great things. I know for a fact that all of you will do amazing things with your lives and I have never been so proud. I wish you all the success in the world and never forget that your family is always here to support and encourage you. I love you all very much and I hope that you enjoy this year to its fullest extent. Cheers!" he exclaimed as he held his glass higher and then took a sip. I could have been mistaken, but I thought I saw Carlisle eyes mist over. This was probably hard for him. Edward was his last child to leave home and soon Alice and Jasper would have their own lives too. I reached over to place my hand on Carlisle's. I was truly touched by his speech, especially since he included me as one of his children. I felt the need to say something.

"May I say something too?" I asked as I lifted my glass. All eyes were on me now. "I just want to thank all of you for accepting me the way you have. You are the greatest people I have ever met and I am thankful for every day that I have got to spend with you. I've come to love all of you and I'm going to miss you very much. Like Juliet said "parting is such sweet sorrow...": we're all heading in our own directions but I know that we'll always be there for each other no matter how far apart we actually are. Here's to great memories and a hope for many many more..." I said as I sipped my drink. Everyone clapped after my speech and people were beginning to stare. Oh how I loved awkward moments...

After a good half hour a huge tray of sushi was delivered to our table. We chatted and reminisced while we ate. We were laughing so hard I points I don't think any of us could breathe. I only wished Esme, Emmett, Rose, and the twins were there to join in the fun. Soon afterwards it was time to leave the restaurant. We walked outside to discover the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was cool and the skies were so clear you could probably see every star. I heard Carlisle suggesting a walk along the waterfront to Jasper and Alice, who were walking in front of Edward and I. Suddenly I had an idea...I was feeling a tad bit naughty.

"Follow my lead!" I hissed to Edward.

"What?" Edward asked quietly. I just winked at him. I prayed everything fell into place like I wanted.

"How about a walk before we head back to the hotel?" Carlisle asked me and Edward.

"Sure!" Edward said. So much for following my lead.

"Actually guys I'm not feeling all too great. I think I'll head back to the hotel..." I said.

"Oh no. We'll all head back to the hotel then" Carlisle said.

"No no! Don't worry about me. I think I'm just tired. You, Alice and Jasper should go and enjoy your walk. Edward will take me back. I don't want to ruin your night..."

"Are you sure Bells?" I heard Jasper ask

"Of course I am. You guys go and have fun!"

"Well... call us if you have any problems kids. You can drive back and we'll catch a cab later on. You get some rest Bella..." Carlisle said.

"I will" I said with a smile. Alice gave me a quick hug and Jasper waved as they walked towards the main street and disappered around the corner.

"Bella are you really not well? Maybe Carlisle should have come with us..." Edward said, looking rather worried.

"I'm not sick you dork! I was all part of my plan..." I began to explain.

"What? What are we doing then?" Edward asked

"We are heading back to the hotel..."

"Oh". Edward had cut me off prematurely. He seemed disappointed but I knew he'd like what I had to say next

"... to take a shower" I added "...together..."