Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series!

Jasper's Point of View

Alice and I were putting our plan into action. We had to do everything we could for Edward.

I was better than Alice at hiding my thoughts from Edward. I could manipulate his feelings to make him more unsuspecting. This is why I had to be the one to carry out this phase of the plan.

"Hey Edward, do you want to go out hunting with me and Emmett tonight? You look a little…dehydrated."

Normally, he would have laughed at my use of the word. But ALB (After Leaving Bella), he didn't smile or laugh at all.

He just nodded and asked, "Why isn't anyone else coming?"

"Carlisle has to work, and Rosalie, Alice, and Esme just went hunting three days ago."

He still looked suspicious, but he let it go. We rounded up Emmett and took off into the woods.

"How far are we going?" He asked when we were running.

"Not too far. Everyone still wants to spend more time with you before you leave."

He nodded, looking guilty, before he slowed down slightly until he was behind me, letting me lead. An unusual gesture.

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Alice's Point of View

While Jasper was taking care of his phase of the plan, I had my own agenda. Edward would be furious with me for doing this, but it had to be done. For reasons previously explained.

I couldn't see any part of Bella's future right now, and I wondered why that was.

So I checked up on her early this morning, and was shocked by what I saw. I expected some of what I observed, but not all.

Bella was, of course, broken and hurt. I went to her room while she was asleep, and she was screaming. I had no idea what she was dreaming about, but I knew it couldn't be good.

But the part that really alarmed me was the person that came in the morning. He looked like he was from the La Push reservation.

Carlisle had told me about werewolves, and this boy fit the description perfectly. He was huge, he probably had a high temperature, and the smell! Ugh!

I think he smelled me too, because he was looking around with his eyes narrowed and nostrils flared.

I decided it was probably time for me to go. I carried out the first step of my plan and left, hoping that since the werewolf hadn't killed her yet, he had enough self-control to last through the day.

By the end of today, Bella and Edward would be together again.

My family would be whole again.

This had better work!

&&&&&

I decided I might need some more information to convince Edward that he needed to go back to Bella when my plan got to it's crucial point.

He could be so damn stubborn, and I wasn't going to let him ruin everything this time. I was taking all the precautions.

I was starting to love the fact that he could read my mind.

I went back to Bella's house and found that her truck was gone. And so was the werewolf.

Disturbed by the fact that she went off with him, I waited until noon, when I heard the police cruiser pull up in the driveway. Charlie was home for his lunch break.

I lingered in the tree I was hiding in until he had been inside for a few minutes. Then, I smoothed my expression, hopped out of the tree, and knocked on the door.

Damn it! I had forgotten to bring a car! Maybe he wouldn't notice that I clearly had no way of getting home…

I quickly called Rosalie and asked her to drive her car to Bella's house, leave it on the street in front of it, and run home. And to for God's sake keep quiet about it!

I think she agreed. I was interrupted, though, by Charlie opening the door and shock crossing his face. There was anger there, too, but I could tell it wasn't directed at me. He obviously was holding a grudge against Edward for leaving.

This would be something else I could use to convince Edward. Charlie had still blamed Edward for Bella's near-death incident when we had left. If Bella hadn't broken down, he probably wouldn't have cared too much. Or at all.

"Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something…" I pressed when he remained frozen.

He moved with a start. "Of course! Come on in," he smiled apologetically.

We went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He was eating a sandwich. "Can I get you anything?" He asked, jumping up again.

"No, thanks. I'm fine." I replied. He was obviously nervous about me being back, because he connected me to Edward. With good reason.

"So, you're probably wondering why I'm here…" I started.

He just waited.

"You see, I was wondering how Bella was doing. Um, Edward really didn't realize the consequences of his leaving…But I did. So I…was just wondering, is she doing all right? How bad was it, when we left?"

He seemed reluctant to talk; it sounded like this was hard for him. "She was catatonic in the first week. She just lay in bed, not moving, or eating. I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to be the one to hospitalize her, so I brought Renée up from Florida, to take her there. Maybe being somewhere new, somewhere that didn't remind her of him would help her.

"Before, when I would talk to her, she would seem unresponsive, like she couldn't hear me. But this time, when her mother and I told her where she was going, she threw her belongings all over the room, screaming that we couldn't make her go, that she wouldn't leave Forks. She started crying about it for the first time, and didn't return to her stationary behavior, so I let her stay."

"So she's better now?" I pressed, even though I knew the answer.

"No, I mean, her body's normal, she goes to work and school and did her homework. She ate and slept normally. But…she wasn't back to normal. It was like she had no emotion. She didn't talk to me unless I started the conversation, and even then she was unresponsive.

"She doesn't seem that bad, now, though…" I prompted.

"Yeah, her friend Jacob Black's helped her a lot. She's gotten better, there's finally some light in her eyes, and she talks to me more…"

"It's good that she's gotten better," I agreed, even though she didn't sound that much better when she was screaming in her sleep, or even when she was talking to this Jacob Black. She still looked like a mess.

Charlie faltered after he saw I wasn't going to argue on my brother's behalf. "I don't know if she'll ever completely get over it, though…Even with Jacob, she's still not normal, still never completely happy."

"I hope she gets better soon. I really do. I'm sure Edward does, too, even though he doesn't know how to show it."

His expression angered. "What are you talking about?"

"He still cares about her, even if he doesn't call or write. He just wants her to get on with her life."

"That's not what he told her." I could tell he was just barely holding back from shouting at me.

"What did he tell her?" I had been wondering this for a while. What had Edward said to make her not follow us, to leave us alone? I knew she wouldn't buy the 'I'm not good for you' crap, but I had no idea what else he would say.

"He told her he didn't love her." Charlie said quietly, scrutinizing my expression.

I tried to hide my reaction, and then failed. "What? What the hell was he thinking?"

"I have no idea, but whatever he was thinking, I'm pretty sure it wasn't centered on Bella's well-being."

I, on the other hand, was sure it was. But his idea of helping Bella was so wide off the mark that it turned out he was making it worse!

I just nodded at Charlie's assumption. "I think I should probably go now. Your lunch break's almost over. Thanks for talking to me, and I think Bella should be getting better soon…any time now."

He looked confused at my foreshadowing, and I hurriedly walked out the front door.

Fortunately, Rosalie's car was out there.

Unfortunately, Rosalie was sitting in the driver's seat.

"What are you two up to?" She asked as soon as I was in the passenger seat and we were going seventy down the road (past the speed limit, but slow for her).

"We were just talking about old times, you know, stuff that's happened." I replied vaguely.

"Not you and Charlie, I meant you and Jasper!" she yelled frustration, sensing I was avoiding the question.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Did Edward go hunting with Emmett and Jasper?" I asked, wondering if Jasper had gotten done with his phase of the plan.

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "I won't tell you unless you tell me what I want to know."

I thought she could keep it to herself, and she did vote against Edward…But the fewer people that knew, the better.

"You'll find out tonight." I replied, and as she glared at me, I pulled out my cell phone and called Esme. Yes, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper were out hunting together. Perfect.

As soon as we were under the cover of the trees, I hopped out of the still-moving car. "Thanks for the ride, Rosalie! See you later."

I heard her growl of frustration, and laughed. She wouldn't be mad for long. My whole family was going to be so happy with me after this.

…Except possibly Edward…

&&&&&

A/N: Alice is such a conniving genius! I try to make her sound that way, anyway.

Can anyone guess what Alice's scheme is before I put the next chapter up?