A/N: SM owns Twilight. I own the madness in my head. I am so grateful to you all for your wonderful reviews. Sometimes it is hard when writing, you doubt your abilities and question your choices, but your reviews encourage and inspire me. *mwah* Thanks also to gooseonline for pre-reading and beta'ing my nonsense. Tissue alert... just sayin'

Chapter 41 ~ chocolate chip cookies

"Do you forgive me love?" I whispered into my sweet one's ear. She was mostly asleep and was snuggled into my arms with her fingers playing with the hairs on my chest while I ran my hands over her beautiful hair.

"Of course I do, I had a lovely time. It was so much fun to spend time with friends and family. The food was fabulous too, we'll have to go back there again." I leaned down and kissed her softly. She was almost asleep when she mumbled, "Thank you baby, that was the best birthday I have ever had."

Breakfast in the Hotel dining area the next morning was a loud and lively as we were joined by family and friends who I'd organised rooms for since the trip back to Seattle was a bit long after Bella's birthday dinner. Lil Bit was happily sitting on Emmett's knee giggling at his antics, next to them was Anthony and Seth who'd become fast friends after a slightly rocky start.

I was sitting on the other side of Anthony holding hands with my girl as we caught up with Leah and Rev J. We needed to make arrangements for our pre-wedding 'talk' and we were trying to lock down a time. Talking about the wedding and realising it was only this Friday I was overcome with a peaceful, contented feeling and I couldn't help but hug my Bella closer to me kissing her lovingly albeit chastely given our audience. The room quieted and watched us with a few 'awws' coming from some of the women in the room.

"Momma and Daddee kiss all the time," Lil Bit explained to Emmett.

"Oh do they?" he answered but he looked at me and waggled his eyebrows. Fucker.

Everyone at the table giggled at their conversation, "Wes but Momma wikes to cuddle Daddee wif no cloves on."

The whole table burst out laughing especially when Emmett spat his drink all over the table in shock at Lil Bit's innocent words. Bella of course turned beetroot red. I squeezed her tight around the waist as she hid her face in my chest letting her long hair hide her from the others. I knew Lil Bit catching us that morning in our room was going to come up sooner or later.

Esme, Rev J and Sam all shook their heads at me trying for disappointment but all holding back their grins. Vicky laughed so hysterically she turned almost as red as Bella.

"Are oo oh-kay Unca Emmy?" Lil Bit looked at the still choking, laughing Emmett with such concern he tried to get control back but failed and he burst out laughing again.

Rosie leaned across and took Elizabeth from his arms, "He's alright Lil Bit he's just very happy for your Daddy." That comment embarrassed Bella even more so she held me even tighter but it set Vicky and Em off for another round of hysterics.

Fucking family.

After breakfast everyone headed off except for Bob, Carol, Anthony and my family, who came up to Bella's and my suite to talk. The night before we'd broached the topic of Anthony, the wedding and the honeymoon in Paris. Watching him with Lil Bit and seeing his acceptance not only of me but also of Bella I felt confident that it was the right thing to do but I was worried that it would be too much too soon for him.

Esme and Carol had been chirping away with each other in the corner of the suite when they came over to join us they looked like co-conspirators and I knew they were up to something.

Carol spoke up first, "Edward, Bella... Esme and I have been talking and we have an idea which we hope you'll agree to."

Bella and I looked at each other curious to hear what these two had cooked up so we just looked back at them waiting for them to continue.

Esme joined in then, "Yes... well, Carol and I were talking about how you want Anthony to join you for the honeymoon just like Lil Bit and for this to be the beginning of your life as a family together. Which is very sweet dumpling... I am so proud of you... anyway i'm getting off track. So, Carol and I thought that if we joined you on the trip we could help you with the children."

Carol tagged in then, "Now before you say anything, we'd just be there to support and give you two love birds some alone time. You could spend the days with the children then Esme and I could look after them at night."

I went to speak but then Esme tagged in, "Really dumpling, we wouldn't cramp your style and it would give you a chance to spend time with Anthony, it would give me a chance to get to know him and Lil Bit better and Carol would there if Anthony got homesick. See it's perfect." She looked at Carol a little nervous and then looked back at us, "You don't have to answer straight away..."

Bella and I both jumped up and hugged the two women into a group hug, "Yes, Yes. the answer is yes." I almost shouted. This was perfect.

"You are both so wonderful - are you sure you can get away?" Bella asked them both.

They both assured us they'd be fine. I grabbed Bella into a hug, "This is so perfect sweet one. I can take you to all the lovely night spots and we can spend our days as a family. I need to make arrangements with the bookings and flights."

I turned to my mother and to Carol, "I'll make all the arrangements and do all the bookings. I can't thank you enough. Anthony has a passport doesn't he?" It would so annoying if we'd sorted all this out but he couldn't go because of a stupid passport. I felt the bite of anger again that I knew so little of my son's life that I didn't even know if he had a passport.

"Yes, we took him with us when we went to Mexico last year."

"That's settled then."

I turned to find Alice measuring Anthony with tailor's tape, where she got that from I had no idea. "What are doing to my son, Alley Cat?"

"Measuring him for his wedding suit, silly."

She stood up and tousled Anthony's already tousled hair. He smiled at her like she was a curiosity. "If you want Anthony to be your ring bearer he needs a suit to match yours Edward." Alice spoke to me like I was an idiot for not realizing the need for matching suits!

"Yeah, Ed-ward, don't you know anything about weddings?" Emmett teased.

"Laugh it up Emmett, it'll be your turn next and it'll be my turn to laugh at you."

Rosalie blushed and Emmett squeezed her into a hug, "I can't wait Bro'." I knew it was true. He'd marry Rosalie in a heartbeat he was just going slow for her sake.

I went back to making arrangements for this week with Bob and Carol. They agreed to bring Anthony on Wednesday and they would all stay with Esme and Carlisle. Then all the women started to make arrangements for catching up on all the arrangements during the week and somehow the conversation turned to some bizarre discussion about me staying with my parents from Wednesday too for some sort of fucked up forced separation tradition. When the women started to rearrange my life I knew it was time to pack up and head home. I would talk to Bella about that separation bullshit on our way back to Seattle.

Saying goodbye to Anthony was hard, Lil Bit gave him a huge hug as did everyone in the family. I took him aside to sit with me for a few minutes while the others said their goodbyes and made arrangements for Wednesday.

I sat on the couch with Anthony on my lap, "Anthony, thank you for spending time with us the past few days. I know it has been a lot to take in but I want to tell you that I am very proud of the way you've coped with everything ... and everyone." I tilted my head to the family group all laughing and talking at once as they bustled with bags and farewell hugs. I rolled my eyes and Anthony chuckled as we watched the others for a few minutes.

He looked up to me and I knew he wanted to say something so I waited until he was ready, "Daddy, after the wedding and the holiday... will I ... will you...?"

"It's okay son, take your time, you can ask me anything."

He gave me a small smile and leaned in to whisper, "Will I come to live with you?"

I ran my hand through hair and blew out a breath, I wanted to say 'hell yes you'll live with me you, you are my son' but I was worried that he was asking because he didn't want to and wanted to stay with his grandparents. So I took a cleansing breath and tried to keep my voice calm, "Anthony, I would like that very much. You are my son and I want you to live with me but it is up to you. What do you want to do?"

He looked down to his fingers and then looked up to me with a smile, "I want to live with you, Momma and Elizabeth."

I was so relieved and happy, I hugged him to me, "Then you will live with us." I kissed the top of his head and he jumped down from my lap to run over to Carol and Bob telling them excitedly that he was going to live with his Daddy after our holiday. They looked at me with shock but then both smiled. Thank goodness I had their support. It was going to be so much easier for Anthony to make the transition with all his grandparents working together. I was so grateful to them for the care they'd take of my son. They loved him and nurtured him. I was determined to make them a part of our family and I know that my parents felt the same way. They were welcoming not just their grandson into their lives but his other grandparents too.

Lil Bit slept most of the trip home so we didn't bother to stop along the way. Bella and I took the opportunity to talk more about how things had gone with Anthony. We were both excited at the idea of him coming to live with us and we discussed setting up his room. We had another room which we could use for Anthony until we found a new house. Bella promised to look at some furniture this week to set up his room so it would be ready for when we got back from Paris.

"Bella, I don't really have to leave you on Wednesday do I?"

"Well, I don't think you should see me the day of the wedding, that's bad luck. That's just superstition I know but I don't want to tempt fate."

"Okay, well that means not sleeping in our bed on Thursday night but why do I have to go on Wednesday night too. I don't want to Bella." I pouted at her and she laughed at me.

"That was your mother's and sister's idea. I don't think it would hurt for you to stay with me on Wednesday night. But I think Emmett wants you to go out for your bucks night on Wednesday night anyway."

"Bucks Night! I'm not going to have a bucks night, those are for men who don't want to give up their freedom. That's not me, I can't wait to be married to you. I don't need a lap dance from a stranger when I have you... wait, that didn't sound right... not that I'm expecting a lap dance... I mean it would be nice..."

She reached across and kissed me hard. When she pulled away, "I had to stop you before you hurt yourself." We laughed and kissed some more, then she whispered, "By the way, I'd love to give you a lap dance."

I moaned at the thought. Sexy minx. I kissed her and ran my hands into her hair. I had to pull away from her delicious mouth when her Bella's phone rang so I moved down to nibbling her neck.

"Hello Esme, is everything alright?... Really, that's surprising... oh dear... What are you going to do with all the orders? They're already paid for... okay, I'll call you back later."

Sounded like something had gone wrong with one their events, "Was that Ma? Is something wrong?"

"You know that secret celeb wedding she's been organising?" I nodded so she'd continue, "Apparently they eloped. Something about filming a new movie in Australia and so they didn't want to wait for the wedding or move the dates, so they decided to elope."

"Understandable. You know it's not too late for us to elope," I waggled my eyebrows at her and smirked. She slapped my arm, "Be serious, Esme would kill us both. Anyway, they told Esme she could do what she liked with all the orders and everything. Such a waste...Oh!"

She picked up the phone and dialled, "Esme... I've had an idea. Why don't we have a charity dinner, we could raise money for the Men's shed or for the children's after school learning program or the women's shelter, what do you think? I mean everything is already paid for... we could have a wedding theme... ooh, let's call it 'the wedding party' and everyone could wear wedding gear you know brides, grooms, bridesmaids, it would be great fun don't you think?"

I could hear Ma laughing on the phone and I knew I'd lost my girl to this conversation so I pulled out my laptop and took the opportunity to catch up on some work. Bella chirped away with Ma and Alice since she was traveling in my parents car. I felt sorry for Dad and Emmett, at least I could do some work but with both Alice and Esme in the car and Dad driving they had no escape.

By the time we reached home, Bella, Ma and Alice had planned the whole charity extravaganza which was pretty impressive actually and from the little detail I actually paid attention to in the car it all sounded like a lot of fun. Lil Bit was still asleep which was a good and a bad thing. It was a good thing because it meant we made good time and were back much earlier than we expected. It was a bad thing because she was never going to sleep that night and she'd probably end up cranky the next day. Although Lil Bit was generally a happy little thing she did sometimes get cranky if she didn't get enough sleep at night.

When we unloaded the car and took the sleepy little one upstairs I thanked Tyler for taking such good care of us for the past five days. He assured me he'd enjoyed the trip, especially since Zafrina was at Bella's birthday dinner.

Once I'd unpacked our bags, I put all Bella's gifts in the lounge room for Bella to sort out later, except for her earrings which I put in the safe we'd had installed in our walk in robe. With our dirty clothes all in the hamper and the luggage back in the storage cupboard I changed into jeans and a t-shirt. I also took the opportunity to take my shoes off, I loved being barefoot at home.

When I walked into the kitchen I was hit with the delicious smells that meant that Bella was cooking and my taste buds started doing a little happy dance. The food while we were away was nice but I have to admit to already being spoiled by my Bella's home cooking. She hated take away food and I doubt that Lil Bit has ever had Macca's or any other fast food. I imagine that will change when she goes to school and goes for play dates and such but for now while Bella had control of her diet Lil Bit had a pretty mature palette for a three year old.

"Something smells delicious," I said as I kissed Lil Bit on the top of the head and sat in the stool next to her perched at the end of the cooking counter.

"Momma makes Chicken Palm-a-sharna," Lil Bit informed me.

"That sounds delicious, is there anything we can do to help love?"

"Here, you two can spread the garlic butter on the bread before I wrap it up and pop it in the oven. Bella always kept some par-baked loaves in the freezer so she grabbed a couple of Baguettes which defrosted while she'd chopped some freshly chopped garlic mixed in with some butter. So I cut small slices into the half cooked bread and Lil Bit slopped some garlic butter into each section. The smell was amazing. I wrapped them in foil and Bella popped them in the oven.

"Let's lay the table my little love," I grabbed Lil Bit down from her stool and gave her the forks to take to the table. She placed one at each setting while I put out the rest of what we needed. I strapped Lil Bit into her booster and gave her the serviettes to fold. Bella plated up the Chicken Parmigiana with some steamed vegetables and placed the garlic bread in a basket. I poured a half cup of juice for Lil Bit, some grape juice for Bella and some Shiraz for me. Once we were settled and were about to eat Bella giggled, "We're quite settled into this family routine aren't we?"

She smiled at me, "It will be nice when Anthony is here with us too. I wonder what he likes to eat?" I laughed, "I guess we'll have to ask Carol and Bob, there's still a lot we don't know about him."

Bella's phone rang and she excused herself to answer, "Hello Bree, is that you? Are you alright? Oh... Oh no... I am sorry sweetie... yes, yes, of course, I'll tell Zafrina... When is the funeral? Of course we'll be there. Have you spoken to Rev J? ... Of course he's there with you... Take care Bree... I'm very sorry for your loss."

I chatted quietly to Lil Bit and cut her chicken for her while we waited for Bella to come back to the table. Finally she came back and she'd clearly been crying. I stood up and took her into a close hug. She sobbed quietly for a few minutes.

"Oo sad momma?"

"Yes Elizabeth, I am sad. Our friend Bree had some sad news. Her momma died after being sick for a long time and I am very sad for her."

I look over and Lil Bit's bottom lip started to tremble and I knew she was about to cry, so I sat Bella down in her chair, untied Lil Bit from her booster and lifted her into her mother's arms.

Of course, this brought back sad memories for Bella, for me too for that matter. So we just sat for a little while. I brought some tissues over to the table, "When did it happen love?"

"Early this morning. Her mother took a turn for the worse last night so they rushed her to the hospital. Luckily they all had time to say goodbye before she passed quietly this morning."

I looked into my sweet ones eyes and I hated the sadness I saw there. I pushed the stray hair that had fallen on her face back behind her ear, "I know it sounds like a trite thing to say but at least her passing was peaceful." She nodded and gave me a small smile.

"Come now Lil Bit, let's have the rest of our dinner and then we'll think of something nice we can do for Bree and her family to help them through this sad time."

"Oh-kay momma. We make them cookies? Cookies always make me happy, chocolate chip cookies is my fave-rite."

I let out a laugh, such an innocent sweet thing to say.

Bella obviously agreed, "That's an excellent idea Lil Bit. We'll make them lots of yummy cookies."

We proceeded to eat our dinner but a sadness had come over us. Bella and I looked at each other and looked at our little girl as we both silently counted our blessings.

After dinner while I cleaned the kitchen, Bella set Lil Bit at the table to look through her own cookbook. Bella had a book she was putting together called 'Lil Bit's favourites'. It included recipes for all of Lil Bit's favourite foods. Bella started it when Lil Bit was a baby just started eating solids and then added to it as she got older. Mrs Cope was very grateful for it as she knew what she could make for Lil Bit that she knew she'd enjoy. There was a section in the book for cookies and Lil Bit was looking through it just the way Bella did when she was planning what to cook. She was so fucking cute I grabbed my phone from my pocket, took her photo to send to Ma, Alice, Rosalie and Leah.

'Lil Bit getting ready to bake looking just like her momma. photo to follow... Edward'

When Bella first showed me the book I suggested she should publish it as the recipes were fabulous and she had photos of Lil Bit enjoying the food right next to the recipes. It occurred to me that the photo I just took would make a great cover. Not that now was the time to mention it to Bella though. She was in the lounge room calling Zafrina, Rosalie and the other staff who knew Bree to share the sad news.

When she came back in she'd clearly been crying again but pulled herself together for Lil Bit. I sat down at the kitchen table with my laptop to do some work while my girls set about filling the kitchen with batch after batch of cookies. Bella was definitely trying to cook away her sadness.

Once they were finally satisfied they'd cooked enough and we'd enjoyed some milk and fresh baked cookies, I took Lil Bit off for her bath and story time. It was later than her normal bedtime but I wasn't surprised given her long sleep in the car. I read four of her story books, then I tucked her in and sang to her for almost half an hour. I didn't mind because it gave me a chance to practice the song I wanted to sing to Bella at the reception. I had arranged with my parents to use their piano to practice the song. I didn't play often any more but the song was pretty simple so I didn't think it would be too hard.

When I came back out to the kitchen I found Bella cleaning up after the cookie baking bonanza, she had them all wrapped in little gift bags tied in brightly coloured ribbon.

"Lil Bit can give these out after the funeral."

"That's a very sweet idea Isabella. You are a lovely kind person, do you know that? How are you feeling love? Are you okay?"

She wrapped her arms around me and leaned into my chest, "I'm sad of course, it is very sad news but it is part of life isn't it? People live, sometimes they get sick, sometimes there's an accident and sometimes they just grow old, but everyone dies eventually. I just feel sad for Bree and her family."

I held her close, realising how right she was that dying was part of living but it was still very sad.

"Zafrina and the staff from the catering team want to look after the wake for Bree. I think that's nice don't you?"

I nodded.

"So I spoke to Jacob and we're going to hold it in the hall next to the Church after the funeral and after the burial on Tuesday. He said we could have our pre-marriage counselling session that night if we wanted to go to his house for dinner with Leah and Seth. Is that okay with you baby?"

"That's perfect love... just perfect."

A/N: I am sorry this chapter was a little overdue. I hope it was worth the wait. Sad for Bree but sweet of Lil Bit to make her cookies, don't you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts... Love you all.