A/N: I don't own any part of Twilight. Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews from the last chapter. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. I hope you like this chapter just as much.

Chapter 55 - peanut butter sandwich and a large glass of milk

I took my time enjoying a hot steamy shower, it would've been even better if Bella had been with me but she was up, washed and dressed already before I woke up. She was excited to show me around Forks and to go visit Emily and baby Thomas. So excited that she dragged me out of bed and shuffled me into the bathroom with the promise of a hearty breakfast in the dining room when I was out and dressed.

When I stepped into our suite's small sitting room dressed in comfortable clothes ready for a day touring the sights of the tiny town of Forks, I found Bella wringing her hands and pacing. She looked a little flustered and I wondered if something was wrong.

"Are you okay love?"

She looked up a little panicked and definitely flushed, "Um... I... hmm." She looked down at her feet, blew out a breath and looked up again. I smiled at her, she was so cute when she was flustered.

"I... well, I went over to your cousin's room to invite him to join us for breakfast and I...," she covered her face in her hands, "I am so embarrassed."

Now I was nervous, "Was Caius rude to you Bella? Did he say something to you?" I could feel my anger rising. Caius said he was trying to change his life but maybe it was a trick. I was planning on marching over to his room to find out what he'd done to Bella when she ran to me putting her hand to my chest to stop me.

"No, no Edward. Caius didn't do anything... I just walked in his room. I mean I knocked and I thought I heard him say come in, so I walked in and...," she hid her hands in her face again. I tried to pull them down so I could talk with her but we were interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

I walked her to the comfy armchair and sat her down, "Just have a seat, love. I'll see who it is and then you can tell me what happened." I walked to the door but when I opened it I found Seth standing there in nothing but his trousers, he looked a little flushed himself. I raised an eyebrow at him and was going to ask him what the hell he was doing knocking on our door without his shirt or shoes at eight in the morning but he pushed past me to get to Bella. She jumped up and rushed towards him shaking her head and apologising.

They talked at once at each other and I just stood there trying to work out what the hell they were upset about.

"I'm so sorry Seth please forgive me ... and Caius! Oh please tell him I am so sorry for just barging in like that... I knocked and I was sure I heard you say to come in..." She grabbed his arms.

"Bella, I am so sorry to have given you a fright, we didn't hear the door." He looked over to me to explain as I clearly had confusion written all over my face, "Bella kind of walked in on us just as I was ..."

Bella gasped, "Oh no. You didn't say 'come in' you were saying ..."

"Cumming!" I shouted as I realised what happened. I started to laugh, I mean really laugh, like fall about laughing. Seth and Bella looked at me with shocked gaping fish faces and that only made me laugh more as they stared at me.

Then Bella giggled which started Seth laughing and soon all three of us were in hysterics which were brought to a sudden halt when my cousin cleared his throat standing at my door looking confused and embarrassed all at once.

The realisation hit me, the 'us' that Bella had walked in on was Seth and Caius, which meant that the person that had Seth cumming was Caius!

Fuck! Caius was gay.

I realised that I was standing staring at my cousin and that he was looking at me nervously waiting for my reaction. Shit. I needed to say something, but it was Bella who broke the ice. She walked around me and stood in front of Caius, "I'm so sorry Caius. I didn't mean to barge in on you. Please, please accept my apology."

He gave her a sad, small smile and then looked at me again sheepishly.

I had gathered my wits and was over the shock.

"Yeah... umm, actually Bella just wanted to invite you... well, both of you of course, to join us for breakfast."

Bella turned back to Caius, "Please join us. I feel awful about this morning. You must think I am so rude to just barge in on you like that."

Caius answered her but looked me right in the eye as he spoke, "I was a little more concerned what you might think of me after finding me... us..., well, realising that Seth and I were... together."

I was surprised but I didn't want him to think I was concerned about him being gay, that shit doesn't worry me. None of my fucking business really.

"Well, I was a little surprised that you were with Seth," I said to him. He looked a little disappointed at that.

"After all, you only just met him. Sleeping together on the first date! Pair of sluts!"

Seth burst out laughing, Caius grinned and Bella slapped my arm, "Don't be such a tease Edward."

"You two go make yourselves decent while I take my beautiful wife for a stroll around the lodge then we'll meet up in the dining room for breakfast," I was leading the two embarrassed but relieved men to the door.

After I saw them out and shut our door I leaned against it and blew out a breath. Fuck. Caius was gay. Caius was gay with Seth. Caius was gay with Seth and Bella walked in on them. I wonder what they were doing when she walked in. I looked up at Bella who was sitting in the armchair grinning and shaking her head.

"Don't you dare ask me Edward, I am not telling you what I saw." Damn, she knew me too well.

"I stalked towards her reaching out my fingers threatening to tickle her, come on love, you can tell me I promise I won't say a thing."

She jumped up throwing her hands up in defence, "Don't you dare. I am not telling you. I am not scared of you."

"You really should not have said that," I lunged for her and she escaped into the bedroom. Big mistake! I shut the door, grabbed her and flew with her onto the bed to land with her under me all in one movement. She squealed and wriggled as I started to unbutton her blouse, "Edward! You told your cousin we were going to stroll around the Lodge."

"I lied."

She giggled, then I kissed her forcefully and her giggles were replaced with moans. Much better.

We made love and then showered enjoying Bella's favourite - shower sex. Then we dressed again and headed down to breakfast.

When we joined them at our table in the dining room it was our turn to be embarrassed when Seth and Caius looked at us with knowing looks.

"Sorry we took longer than planned," I said as casually as I could.

Seth cocked his eyebrow, "Bella isn't that a different blouse than you were wearing earlier? And Edward, you missed a button."

Caius snorted, Bella giggled and I just grinned from ear to ear. Observant fucker.

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast and some really delicious coffee while Bella and I shared with them our two different perspectives from the night before at the hospital. Seth was keen to head up to the hospital so he and Bella starting discussing our respective plans for the day.

I leaned over to Caius who was watching Seth like he was the one of Bella's chocolate croissants and he hadn't eaten in a week, "Penny for your thoughts cousin?"

He shook himself from staring at Seth to give me a shy kind of smile. It was still odd to see Caius without his trademark cocky arrogant demeanour. "I was just thinking about the Volturi family legend. I always thought it was a nonsense but now I don't know."

This caught Bella's attention, "What Volturi family legend?"

"Oh surely your Edward has told you this story?"

She looked at me with accusing but playful eyes, "No. He. Hasn't. Why don't you enlighten me?"

He looked to me for permission so I gestured for him to go right ahead while I sat back with my coffee and listened.

"Our family has a long history, little Bella. Our family blood line in Italy goes back hundreds and hundreds of years and every generation has one thing in common with the one before it. Long, loving marriages. Once we find our beloved, our mate, we are lost to our one true love for the rest of our lives.

"Once a member of the Volturi bloodline marries they remain married, devoted to their partners for the rest of their lives, even when parted by death as my father was from my dearest mother. They never remarry they remain faithful even then until they are reunited in the next life. Our family history is overflowing with stories of falling in love, marrying and remaining in love until death. I honestly didn't believe in it before but now..."

Bella's cute little eyebrows were wrinkled in confusion, "That's very romantic and quite dramatic but what about James? He is a Volturi and he not only is now divorced from his wife but he cheated on her with Edward's girlfriend."

Seth jumped on that little tidbit, "Really? That sounds so lurid."

"THAT is a story for another day," I smirked at Seth. I knew he wasn't prying he was just teasing. Bella looked a little embarrassed to have shared my private story without thinking and mouthed, 'Sorry'. I shook my head to let her know that it was okay.

Caius continued, "Yes well on the matter of James, once again I am surprised that Edward hasn't told you this? Our Uncle Aro and Aunt Sulpicia couldn't have children so they adopted James when he was only three months old. So you see the Volturi legend doesn't really apply to him as he isn't Volturi by blood."

"This is the best breakfast I've ever had," Seth joked, "it's like a soap opera crossed with Vampire diaries, all this talk of love everlasting and blood lines. I keep expecting one of you to bare your vampire teeth at me."

"You wish," Bella teased, slapping his arm.

"I didn't tell Bella because I always thought it was bullshit. But now when I think of how besotted my mother was about my father, about Aro with Sulpicia and Marcus with Didyme, and how I fell so hard for my sweet one, well maybe there is something in it."

Caius patted Bella's hand, "I can see I am going to have to give you all the stories from the Volturi side of the family! Edward has kept you in the dark long enough."

"Huh! What about you cousin, why are suddenly so convinced about the family legend?"

He blushed. He fucking blushed and grinned in Seth's direction, "No reason."

Seth and Bella were laughing at something and didn't notice our conversation but I realised that my cousin was falling hard for Leah's brother. It really was all like a soap opera.

"Okay, enough gossip for one day. Bella wants to show me around Forks and then visit the baby, what are you two up to?"

"I was going to take Caius out to la Push to visit with my family and to show him where I am from, share a little of my family gossip. Then we'll make our way to the hospital too."

"Good deal. We can leave from there to head home to Seattle. I miss the children and want to get home before it gets too late."

Caius cleared his throat, "Actually Edward, Seth has invited me to stay for a few days and then he'll drive me home on his days' off. You'll be okay to drive by yourself won't you?"

"Sure, sure. So long as you don't mind being without your car?"

"That's fine. I can pick it up from you in a few days."

We said our goodbyes and headed back up to ours separate rooms. Bella and I decided to pack up our things and load them in the car so we could head straight off from the hospital. I went down to pay the account and gave them my banking details to pay for Caius' room after he checked out in a few days time.

We packed up the car and headed off with Bella bouncing in her seat excited to show me everything. It was only a small town but she had very fond memories mostly involving her parents as she didn't really have many friends of her own. She always seemed to have been alone.

We saw her schools and her family home, which she still owned but rented out. She showed me her dad's favourite fishing spots and her mother's favourite picnic spots. Everywhere we went she shared stories with me from her childhood. Finally we arrived at the cemetery and we looked for her parents' graves. She couldn't stand to come so soon after the accident and she hasn't been back to Forks since leaving with Lil Bit to relocate to Seattle.

Finally, we found the graves. Her mother's plot was in between Charles Swan and Phil Dwyer. Bella felt this was fitting since Renee was a loving wife to each of the wonderful men Bella had called father. She didn't think Charlie or Phil would mind. We stayed there sitting on the grass for the longest time. It was peaceful as Bella told me stories about each of her parents. She cried a little, laughed a little and then we just sat quietly with her wrapped in my arms. Bella had brought a can of Rainier beer for her dad, flowers for her mother and a Budweiser light for Phil. We opened the beers and poured them on the graves of the two men and Bella placed the flowers in a small vase on her mother's grave.

Bella gave me a tight squeeze and we left to go to the hospital to visit with Emily, Sam and Thomas.

When we arrived at the hospital the usual suspects were all still there with the addition of Caius and Seth. Seth had introduced Leah to Caius who was giving him the third degree. I had told Leah all about how Caius had, with my other cousin, tried to steal from me and my company. So she of course was very concerned about this new relationship with her sweet little brother Seth. Ah well, Caius would have to handle that situation himself - we reap what we sow I guess.

I went with Bella to the viewing room but Thomas wasn't there of course, he was in with his parents but Bella and I took the time to look at the babies. I held her against me with my hands wrapped lovingly around her baby bump, as we watched the small babies sleeping peacefully in their little beds on wheels.

I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "They are so small. I'm scared I won't know what to do when our time comes."

She nodded slowly, "It's funny, I didn't know anything when Mom had Elizabeth but the moment I held her in my arms just after she was born, I knew everything would be alright." She leaned her head back against my chest, "We'll be fine baby. You and I are going to love our junior so much."

I kissed the top of her head and we just watched the babies for a few more minutes. Bella sighed and turned in my arms, reached her arms up around my neck, "I love you Mr Cullen."

"I love you too Mrs Cullen, more than I believed possible."

She smiled and we kissed, soft slow kisses. After a glorious few minutes of kissing my wife, I pulled away slightly touching our foreheads together, "I miss our children love, let's go see the Uley family and then let's go home."

She nodded, took my hand and led us away from the baby nursery. We picked up a small soft wolf toy and flowers for Emily from the gift shop and then headed in to the family suite where the Uley family were staying and where all their friends and family had gathered.

Emily was sitting up with a smile so broad the scar on her face was barely visible. Sam was sitting on the chair next to them, he was watching his wife and child with a possessive but loving attention. She would barely move and Sam was up looking to give her whatever it was she needed. I could see myself in his place in just a few months and I couldn't wait.

We stayed for an hour, each of us holding Thomas before passing him along. He was so damn small. I was terrified and he started to fuss when he was in my arms. Leah patted my shoulder, "He can tell you are nervous that's why he's fussing. Babies need to feel secure and safe so you need to handle them with confidence."

"But I'm not confident, I'm terrified, he's so small what if I hurt him?"

She chuckled, "You won't hurt him. Just be careful of his neck and his head, the bones in his head are soft to help him get through the birthing canal but it takes a while before they harden."

I look at her wide-eyed, was that supposed to be comforting? Fuck!

"Bella love, why don't you take him again... please."

She reached out and took him so naturally that he settled immediately he was in her arms. I looked at her in wonder. How did she do that?

"I've had practice baby, don't forget I looked after Lil Bit when she was born to help my mother."

I nodded, but I was still impressed. I hope I'm not too scared to hold junior when he comes along. How the fuck does Sam manage? He's huge! What about Emmett? He's going to have two and they'll probably be small because there's two in one womb. How will my bear of a brother manage with soft boned heads and fragile necks?

"Shh, baby. I can see you are getting worked up," Bella was holding Thomas in one arm and rubbing my bicep with her other hand.

"Bella use two hands for the baby!" I practically shouted at her and the baby started to stir.

"Okay, I think we should head off. Here Sam, come and take Thomas," Bella cooed.

I was freaking out and she knew it. Sam came and very gently took his son making his way back to his chair, he sat with Thomas placed on his chest. Okay, he's fine. Emmett will be fine. I'll be fine.

I blew out a breath.

"You okay now baby?" Bella smiled at me. She wasn't teasing, she knew I was really worried. "This is so new to me, I have a son but I've never had a baby."

She nodded. "Let's talk on the drive home. I want to go and get our babies from your parents' house."

We said our goodbyes to everyone including my cousin Caius and headed for the car. As we drove towards home we talked about bringing Anthony and Elizabeth back to see baby Thomas. We both agreed it would be good for them to see a baby and talk about our junior.

We didn't get to talk much after that because my sweet little baby momma drifted off to sleep. I reached in the back and grabbed the travel rug and threw it over her.

It was a pretty slow drive home, given I was the only driver and I drove 10 miles under the speed limit the whole way. I loved speed but I had precious cargo in the car. I was starting to realise just how fragile they were and how careful I needed to be with them.

Bella slept the whole way even when I stopped to get petrol and picked up a coffee at the drive through. Amazing. It was good though because it gave me time to think. I was already a father and a husband, I had no problems adjusting to these changes in my life. I could certainly adjust to having a small baby in my life. I would just have to do some research and work this whole thing out.

When I stopped to get coffee I called home and spoke with Elizabeth, Anthony and my parents. I realised we didn't have any car seats in Caius' car so I suggested we all stay at my parents tonight and organise Tyler to pick us up in the morning. He'd be back from his leave and the cars would be ready to be picked up.

Lil Bit told me all about their stay with my parents and Anthony was relieved to hear we were coming to get them. Esme whispered to me that Ant was concerned that we wouldn't come back. I told them to go to bed and we'd be there when they woke up.

When we arrived it was quite late and the house was mostly in darkness. Dad came out to the drive way and signalled that he'd grab our bags. Esme was at the door in her pyjamas and robe holding the door open for us. I lifted my girl out of the car and we silently made our way through the dark quiet house. Esme pulled the covers back from the bed in my old room and I laid Isabella down. I slipped off her shoes and pulled the covers over her. I kissed her head and tip toed out of the room.

"Are you hungry dumpling? Can I get you anything?" Esme offered hospitality but she looked tired and it was late.

"Honestly Ma, I think I'll grab a sandwich and a glass of milk, then I'm going to hit the hay too. You go to bed, I'll be fine."

She kissed my cheek and headed off to bed. Dad gave me a wave and followed her upstairs.

I made myself a peanut butter sandwich, sat at the kitchen table and poured myself a large glass of milk. I saw a small movement in the corner of my eye.

"Do you want a glass of milk too Anthony?"

I turned and there he was standing in his favourite dinosaur pyjamas in the shadow of the doorway. He giggled and ran to me. I lifted him up, sat him on my lap and handed him half of my sandwich.

He leaned against my chest and ate his sandwich, "I missed you Daddy. I was worried you wouldn't come back." He almost whispered the last part.

I kissed the top of his head, "I'll always come back Ant, you don't ever have to worry about that."

A/N: Well, Caius and Seth! A few of you lovelies saw that one coming. What did you think of Bella walking in the new lovers? I thought that was funny. And what about Edward's reaction to holding the baby? Such a sweet man.