Disclaimer: Still not mine.

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A/N: Was up all night writing, so if you find mistakes, I apologize and will fix them later, after I get some sleep. lol You guys have been amazing at leaving comments, and I appreciate it so very much! I hope you enjoy the chapter. If you do, please review?

Light and love,

~Spudz

P.S. To really 'get' the middle section of this chapter, be sure to read 'Reemergence'.

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Chapter 7

I shifted in my chair and resisted the urge to scowl. I was at Peter and Char's new place and I'd just finished telling them all about my date — at Char's insistence — and now her grin was so wide it was … disturbing. And no, the vamp teeth weren't the issue. I was rather used to seeing those.

No, it was definitely the look…

She was … smug and damn happy.

"Stop it," I groused while doing my damnedest not to laugh.

Her brows climbed, the damn shit-eating grin still in place. "Stop what?"

I glared, or at least, I tried to. Not sure I pulled it off. "Looking at me the way you're looking at me."

Pete, who was stretched out along the couch with an arm slung over his eyes, snorted. He'd been ignoring the whole conversation up until now, which seemed kind of odd now that I thought about it. He was usually one for being right in the middle of everything, but today, he seemed kinda ... surly.

Char crossed her arms as her grin narrowed into a smirk. "And just how'm I lookin' at ya, sugar?"

"Like you're a pig in shit. It's getting weird."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe I jus' think your buddin' little romance is cute."

"Budding … it was one date, Char."

Her tone was high and light as she waved, "I know, but—"

"He used the hill, didn't he?" Pete cut in.

'That came outta nowhere...' My brow scrunched. "Huh?"

Peter raised his arm just enough to eyeball me.

"To load the bike," he said like he hadn't just tossed out a comment from left field. "Ya said the truck was parked on a hill. He used the slant a' the hill. Backed the truck up, used the tail-gate as a ramp, and rolled the bike right on in."

"Yeah … he did."

Charlotte snorted at her mate. "Outta everything she told us, ya focus on that? How he loaded the damn bike?"

He tossed a hand, looking insulted. "It's how I would'a done it! If I was all weak and human, that is." His lip curled. "And 'scuse me if I don' particularly care to discuss my lil' demon bein' pawed at and slobbered on by some handsy male! It ain't right…" he groused.

My brows shot up and I scoffed a laugh. "I'm twenty-one, you realize?"

His eyes narrowed. "Don't matter. You're still just a baby, and frankly, I'm findin' it hard to stop myself from havin' a lil' come-ta-Jesus meetin' with the boy for takin' such liberties."

My eyes widened, because this was Pete and I knew he'd damn-well do it. "Please don't…"

"Peter Eustace Whitlock, don't cha dare," Charlotte warned.

My brows shot up again. 'Eustace?!' I mouthed to her. She shrugged.

He covered his eyes again and grumbled, "Some-damn-body needs ta straighten the boy out."

"But, all we did was ki—"

His hand sliced the air. "Ahhrgh!"

"But, we…"

"Na!"

"We only…"

"Hup!"

I shared a grin with Char, then puckered my lips and made kiss-kiss noises.

He stabbed a finger at me, giving me the 'Uncle Petey' stink eye. "Don't make me tan ya hide, missy. 'Cause I will." He splayed a hand on his chest, his voice now dripping pained indignation, "Even though, Lord knows, it'll hurt me more'n it will you." He pointed again, chiding, "Now show some respect for your Uncle Petey's feelings and quit'cha nonsense."

With my back straight, my hands in my lap, and lips pressed tightly to hold back laughter, I held his narrowed gaze to appease his ruffled feathers. When he finally nodded and eased his arm back over his eyes, Char and I busted up laughing. I could barely breathe.

"Damn women…" he grumbled.

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Cullen Home, Alaska

Carlisle POV

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"Carlisle, you wanted to see me?"

I looked up from my laptop screen and eased the lid of it shut. "Yes, Alice, please come in, have a seat."

The study door closed with a soft click and she crossed the room and perched on the chair in front of my desk. She remained silent and I knew she'd most likely had a vision of this, but respected my preference for normal conversation.

"Thank you, Alice."

Her answering smile was soft and sad, and I understood why. Although she and Jasper hadn't been mates, they had been the dearest of friends and companions of many years, and she still loved and missed him terribly. We all did, more with every day that passed.

"Have you seen anything lately? Anything new?"

Her head turned toward the window and she stared out at the snow kissed trees that surrounded our home here in Alaska. She was very different now. She'd lost that spark, that ready smile, that vibrancy which had always seemed to crackle around her.

She'd changed so drastically because she blamed herself for what had happened, and I could identify with how she felt.

I blamed myself too.

If only I'd said the words that had been in my heart and on the tip of my tongue when his eyes — wild and desperate and searching — met mine that awful night. Perhaps then he wouldn't have run; would still be with us now, and our family would be whole.

But I had not said them.

And he had run.

My mind's perfect recall — a curse in this instance — saw it all clearly. In the chaos of the moment I'd gone to Bella. But it wasn't because I cared any more or less for one over the other, because I loved them both. Rather, it was the decades of conditioning as a physician which had overridden all else, and I'd done what any doctor would do; I'd seen to the bleeding patient.

I had reasoned, at that time, that I would have plenty of time to speak to him later.

I was tragically wrong.

Later never came.

Now Jasper was gone and so was Bella, and our family was grieving and broken, missing two vital members, because of that decision.

"As you know," Alice began, breaking me from my thoughts, "I lost all sight of him some days ago, but up to that point, he'd been doing fairly well; he'd been … adapting, finally."

I nodded. "Yes, and since Peter Whitlock's visit, we know why you lost sight, which is a bit of a relief, in more ways than one."

Her smile was more genuine now, though still a shadow of its former self. "Yes, to think all the time and resources we spent looking for her and she chugs into the very town he lives in and breaks down." Her eyes shined with venom and her chin trembled. "It's as though the greater forces are at work." Her voice cracked, "Hopefully to right my wrongs."

"Alice, please—"

She nodded and rubbed her brow. "I know, I know… I—I just can't help the way I see things … the way I feel. If only I could go back… Oh god, how desperately I wish I could go back."

"We cannot," I rasped past the lump in my own throat. "We can only ever move forward, and hope. And do our best to protect them and give them every opportunity to succeed."

She nodded and murmured, "Peter and Charlotte will hopefully help with that."

I frowned. "Charlotte seemed … rather reluctant."

"It's true, she didn't like the idea of keeping anything from Bella, but she won't subvert Peter's decisions."

I stared at the polished surface of my desk and nodded. "Good. I'm relieved to hear it."

Alice drew a sharp breath, her eyes distant for moments. Then she focused on me. "Jenks," she simply said a second before my alternate phone rang.

"Carl Collins."

"Mr. Collins, Jenks here. I thought you'd want to know right away. A Chief Charles Swan of the Forks, WA Police Department is running background on our mutual interest."

"Has he found anything besides the cover information?"

"No, Sir, he has not, and he shouldn't be able to."

"Good. As ever, I want this watched and handled with utmost care, do you understand? Use all resources available, sparing no expense. I cannot stress the importance that nothing be overlooked or left to chance. He mustn't find anything. Continue to use the phones provided for any contacts. Do you have need of anything?"

"No, Sir, we have all that we need.

Alice raised a hand and I nodded. "Jenks, hold a second, please."

"Tell him Chief Swan will contact the FBI after Air Force OSI refuses to cooperate. I don't see him getting anywhere with it, but—"

"Yes," I agreed, "It's best to be thorough."

"Exactly."

I put the phone back to my ear and relayed the information from Alice, along with another warning to be vigilant, then ended the call. I placed the phone back in the drawer and locked it, then rubbed my eyes.

"Are you certain Charlie won't get anywhere with this, Alice?"

I met her eyes and she held my gaze for a long moment, her pain and regret clear in the amber depths. "You know as well as I, my gift is not perfect. The disaster of Bella's birthday and the resulting repercussions certainly taught us that hard lesson."

I nodded and sighed. "Yes…"

"All I can say is that I'm as certain as I can be, and I will be watching."

I rocked back in my chair, feeling every one of my years in the moment. "I'm sorry, Alice. I have no right to pressure you."

Her smile was wan and a bit bitter. "No one places more pressure on me than me, Carlisle, so don't worry about it. I'm a big girl, I can handle it."

She leaned forward and grasped my hand while meeting my eyes. "I will do everything in my power to help fix this. I can't do it all, I know that, but everything I can do, I will. It's the least I can do for them … for all of us."

The muscles of my face pulled into a semblance of a smile with no emotion to support it. I was weary and heartsick over all of this, and was finding it harder and harder to pretend otherwise. But … we all felt that way, not just me, and we weren't done with any of this yet. Not even close.

And in the end, when all was finally said and done and the dust clears…? Only the fates themselves knew if any of us would be left standing.

I didn't give voice to any of that, though. Instead, I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. "We will all do what we must, dear Alice. And we'll be fine, our family will be whole and fine again one day. You'll see."

Her gaze was heavy, searching, and I knew she saw through my bravado, but she only smiled and nodded. "I pray you're right, Carlisle."

She stood and quietly left and when the door clicked shut, I dropped my head in my hands and muttered, "So do I, Alice. Dear God in Heaven, so do I."

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"Zeke! No!"

I was sitting in the park reading under my favorite tree when that shout was my only warning. A mere second later, I was knocked ass over tea kettle by a muscle-bound life support system for a tongue.

A tongue that, it seemed, was determined to bathe every inch of my face.

I didn't know whether to screech or laugh, so I wound up doing both while fruitlessly trying to fend him off. "Ack! Oh god! Mercy!"

I heard the metallic click of a leash clip and then the big lug was sitting on his haunches three feet away, practically vibrating with enthusiasm as he stared at me. Then he woofed. Blasted goof-ball dog.

Next thing I knew, Jason was knelt next to me, gently running a cool, wet cloth over my face. "God, I'm so sorry, Bella. I don't know what got into him. He ain't never done that before."

I laughed and stilled his hands on my cheeks while looking into his concerned eyes. "Jason, it's okay, just breathe. I'm fine, I swear."

His lips twitched with a suppressed smile as his eyes darted to my hair. Then he was reaching. "You have…" He started plucking leaves and twigs from my head while his eyes sparkled with mirth. Then our eyes met and we both broke down in laughter.

"Oh god, my hair… I bet I look a mess!"

He was biting his lip now as he said, "Not … that bad."

I scoffed a laugh. "Lies!"

Then I swatted his shoulder as he laughed again. When he'd gained some control, he dropped down next to me and bumped my shoulder while grinning. "Nah, really though, I think it's kinda cute. Very … natural … outdoorsy even."

I shoved him and he fell over laughing as I tried to get the rest of the leaves and stuff out of my hair. It was a mess. I could feel it. Zeke had done a real number on me and it was sticking up every which way.

Then Jason got up and knelt behind me to gently run his long fingers through my hair. When he finally got the last of the debris, he kept going, his fingers carding the strands and dragging over my scalp. Dear god, it felt like a little piece of heaven.

Tipping my head back, I leaned into his touch as my eyes seemed to close of their own accord. "Oh god, your fingers are magic. Mmmmm…" I felt his movements freeze for a second, then he kept going.

Without conscious thought, I leaned back against his chest and tilted my head to one side. You remember that whole purring, rubbing cat thing I mentioned before? Yeah, pretty much… "Please don't stop…" I breathed.

He didn't. And then, just moments later, I felt his warm lips against the skin of my neck, just under my ear. "Jason…" I whispered, as his parted lips gently sucked and nipped a slow, tingling path to my shoulder.

I never knew kisses to the neck could be so erotic, never once thought they'd be so very arousing.

I was wrong.

So wrong…

"Jason?"

"Hmm?"

"If you… Oh sweet baby jesus… If you don't stop now…"

"Mmm Hmm?"

"Oh God. If … if you don't stop…"

His teeth gently nipped tender skin as he mumbled, "What sugar? Tell me…" Then he used those long fingers to gently turn my head and capture my lips.

I twisted around to face him and buried a hand in his hair, then moaned into the kiss, loving the feel and taste of him as his tongue stroked against mine; savoring the moments his breath became mine and my breath became his.

He was warm and soft, forward yet gentle, and before I knew it, my head was spinning and it was too much … too much … and yet, not enough.

With a delicious shiver, I breathed into him on the barest whispers, "Fuck…"

His grip tightened on my hip, his fingers digging in as he groaned, long and low…

The sound of a car horn jolted us and rudely brought us back to reality. We were in a public park, in the broad light of day, in full view of the population, small though it may be.

We were kneeling, our foreheads touching and hearts racing as we panted, still trying to come down. When our breathing finally slowed, we opened our eyes and laughed. "You're a very bad influence, sugar," he teased.

I place a soft kiss on his lips and whispered, "Not sorry, Whitlock. Not even a little."

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Review please?

Light and love,

~Spudz