A/N: Ta-Da chapter two, read, enjoy, review!
When they entered through the doorway, there was a warm, delicious odour of gingerbread in the air. Rose came out from the kitchen in an apron, her long gold hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Gingerbread, Rose?" Jasper asked, confused that his sister was suddenly baking. She considered having to scoop the cookie dough out of the tube as baking.
"Emmett tried to make gingerbread cookies, I'm attempting to save them" she laughed, but Jasper thought it seemed a little forced.
There was a booming laugh from in the kitchen and Emmett came out wearing a frilly pink apron, "Rose is such a silly goose, I am a cookie making extraordinaire."
"Other than the fact you can't read a recipe." Rosalie retorted; her smile looking more real since her husband came into the room.
"Oh Rose, Emmett was never able to read." Alice said chortling "He never was the brightest crayon in the box."
"Excuse me missy, what big brother taught you all of your spelling words so you could win the first grade spelling bee."
Alice smirked, "Edward."
"You evil little pixie, you know it was me. Edward would never help you plan a revenge scheme!"
Jasper and Rosalie looked at each other then their significant others confused, "We must ask" Jasper cut in "What the hell?"
Emmett and Alice laughed. "When Alice was seven" Emmett began "there was this little asshole in her class, what was his name, Mark?"
"Mike" Alice said with distain, she knew how to carry a grudge.
"Anyway this Mike kid would always pull her hair, trip her up and tease her when he did better in a test,"
"Particularly spelling" Alice cut in as they walked into the kitchen and adjoining dining room.
"One day Alice came home, nearly in tears because there was a spelling bee in school and Mike kept saying how she's stupid and wouldn't win and blah blah blah"
"Very emotionally traumatizing at the time," Alice said, as they all took up their dinner and sat around the table.
Emmett nodded with a smile, "And I, being the caring older brother that I am, stayed up all night teaching my sister all of the spelling words that would be asked."
Alice let out a rueful laugh "No you never, you got tired a little over half way through and said 'just kick him between the legs.' Which of course I did, after I won"
The table broke out into uproarious laughter and Jasper saw Rosalie smile, the first real smile he had seen since seventeen days ago.
When the laughter subsided, Emmett started to talk again, "Jeez Jasper, take your sweater off, stay awhile."
"No thanks man, I'm a little chilly."
"Suit yourself, but I'm dying with the heat. Who put the thermostat up on cremate in here?" Emmett said, shrugging his shoulders and unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt.
Rosalie was looking appraisingly at Jasper, a small frown tugging at her lips, "Jasper you look awfully pale, do you feel alright?"
"I'm always pale Rose, just like you." Jasper said rolling his eyes. Jasper and Rosalie's skin tone was near translucent. It was always something that their friends liked to poke at.
"Sure Rose, if one of you were any paler, we wouldn't be able to see you." Emmett said with a mouth full of potatoes
"Sure bite me Emmett." Rosalie retorted sticking her tongue out, Jasper was glad to find her light hearted humour resurfacing.
"Sure just tell me where and I'd be happy to oblige."
Rose opened her mouth to respond with another snarky crack, but Alice cut in, "I can tell where this conversation is going to go and I beg of you, don't."
Rosalie sighed, "Fine, but Emmett, me and you will finish this conversation later"
"I sincerely hope so," he replied with a grin. She winked at him.
When they had finished eating, Jasper started to help Rosalie clear the plates away.
"Hey Em," Alice said suddenly "I found the funniest thing on youtube the other day."
"What was it?" he asked, grinning again, Emmett was a youtube fiend.
"Come upstairs, I'll show you."
"Okay!" They jumped out of their chairs and ran upstairs in excitement. But before Alice turned the corner, she looked at Jasper and mouthed now to him.
The duration of dinner Jasper had been nervously awaiting this moment, wanting to get it over with, but never wanting it to come. He looked over at his sister, the only person from his family that remained since their father died three years ago when they were twenty-three.
She was humming softly to herself as she filled up the sink to clean the pots. Her eyes were bright, alive again. Jasper felt that every time he had looked into them over the past seventeen days, they had been empty; it brought back the painful memories of after their mother died. He didn't like when his sister was hurting.
He didn't want to break her again. He was scared that telling her about the baby would ruin what had been accomplished tonight.
"I'll wash, you dry." Rosalie said, abruptly bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Sure thing Rosaline." He replied, using the pet name he had for her. It was name of the woman from Romeo and Juliet, who was Romeo's first love and always a favourite character of Rose's. Her reasoning was that she knows what she wants and it's not some dumbass like Romeo.
They stood there in silence for a moment. Jasper, taking deep breaths, was waiting for her to pass him a pot while she wiped one clean. He reached out his left hand to take it from her, and she looked down.
"Jazz, what happened to your hand?" she asked with shock in her tone.
"What? Nothing." Then he remembered, "Oh, just a paper cut," he took a deep breath "Listen Rose there's something I need to tell you."
He was about to continue but she cut him off, "Just a paper cut." She scoffed "Don't try to pull that bullshit with me, the band-aid is red with blood." Jasper looked down to find her to be right, the entire bandage that Alice had so lovingly put on only a few hours earlier was scarlet.
"I can see the symptoms." she whispered
"What the hell are you talking about Rose" Jasper said, they had both stopped doing the dishes now, facing each other the way they always did when they were about to fight.
"Jasper, it's just like when-"
"Stop." Jasper whispered menacingly, his eyes were on fire, his hands rolled into tight fists.
They stared into each others eyes. The only sound was Emmett's booming laughter from upstairs, neither seemed to be breathing the tense air.
"You can't ignore this Jasper." Rosalie said through barred teeth.
"Christ all mighty, Rosalie, get over yourself." Jasper said sharply, but as he looked at his sister his tone softened, "Don't do this to your self Rose."
"Do what?" she snapped. Her famous temper still strong.
"Worry needlessly like this, I just got you back." He replied softly, looking at her through his long tendrils.
"I haven't been anywhere." She retorted, her voice still sharp. But Jasper could see his sisters anger weaning.
"You've been a zombie for the past three weeks. Tonight is the first time that you actually smiled again, laughed again. Don't ruin that; don't go down that road again when nothing is wrong."
"But that's just the thing" she said, her anger faded now, her voice sincere. "I think there is something wrong, and I'll keep worrying about it until you prove that nothing is wrong."
"But there isn't anything wrong" Jasper repeated.
"Jazz, just please get a test or something, give me some peace of mind." Her voice was tired now.
"Rosalie," his teeth were grinding together now, in an attempt to stop from yelling "Nothing is wrong, nothing can be wrong."
"Nothing can be wrong" she repeated in a mocking tone "You sound like a child."
"You just don't understand, Rose" he said shaking his head.
"Then explain it to me. Explain why you're being so, so pigheaded!" Rosalie cried, her voice rising.
"Because Alice is pregnant!" he said loudly, but trailed off on the last word.
"She's what?" Rosalie whispered.
"Rose," he took her hand "Alice is pregnant."
She pulled her hand back from his fiercely "Then that's all the more reason to get tested."
***
A/N: Chapter three preview for all who review, oh and a thanks to my lovely cousin who beta'd this for me