AN: I'd like to remind everyone that this story is rated M for mature content, heavy themes, and adult language.

As always, a review gets you a sneak peak of the next chapter.

Reminder: these aren't Stephenie Meyer's vampires

enjoy

singer

cullen home

forks, Washington

jasper

chapter three

I left Bella in the living room on the sofa while I drove to Seattle. I grabbed her driver's license out of her purse in her car on the way off the property to show the daycare at the university. Sam told me that Sue, who I guess was Charlie's new wife, took their twins and Bella's kid to daycare that morning for Bella. She had free child care since she was a student and for whatever reason, Bella couldn't take the three kids to the center this morning.

I planned on telling the day care that I was the kid, Juliette's uncle who was visiting from Dallas for the week and I would use Bella's license to convince them that Bella was okay with me picking her up. I also thought my gift would be helpful. I figured if I had a hard time getting the kid, I would just influence their emotions to trust me. I would make the kid excited and happy to see me so no one would know the difference. The hard part was figuring out when I would do it. While I have killed human adults, hell, I just did it, and vampires, I never killed a child. I didn't know if I was strong enough to do it no matter how much I tried to tell myself it was the right thing to do. I had the wolf pack on my side and that was pretty good verification that it needed to be done. I just didn't know if I could do it.

The drive to the university was faster than I expected. I wished I had driven slower. I sat in the parking lot and drummed on the steering wheel of my truck with my thumbs. I couldn't convenience myself to get out of the car and do what had to be done. I closed my eyes and stopped myself from breathing. I thought if I stopped all my habits humanity would drain from me and I would become the monster I knew I was. I waited until my mind was fully in terms with the act I was about to perform and went inside the day care office which was inside the student center. I wandered around like an idiot until a student asked if I was lost.

"That obvious?" I nervously laughed. Not because I looked like an idiot wondering around.

"A little bit," the girl laughed adjusting her flowered backpack on her shoulders. It looked so heavy, even for a vampire. I wondered if it was necessary to have such a heavy back pack and just how many miles she packed that thing around just today. "Need some help?"

"Please," I smiled at her.

"Where are you headed?"

"The daycare center," I said. She almost looked disappointed when I said that, like she knew she didn't have a chance with me because I had a kid and probably a wife or something. She really was quiet pretty with long blond hair and rich brown eyes. She had a nose ring that sparkled under the florescent lights, but I had too much going on right now. I couldn't be thrown off and couldn't afford any distractions. More importantly, I couldn't forget how just this morning my heart was beating for Bella Swan.

"You turn to pick up your baby?" She asked leading me through the student center.

"Oh, no, she's not mine," I replied. "I am her uncle."

"Oh, got you," she adjusted the strap of her backpack again.

"Heavy?" I chuckled.

"That obvious?" She teased.

"Would you like me to carry it for you?" I asked. I guess I couldn't let the monster completely take over and that was dangerous, incredibly dangerous.

"Oh, no, I'm okay," she smiled up at me.

"Are you sure?" Damn Jasper shut up. Stay focused.

"I'm sure. I'm done for today anyway. I won't have to carry once I show you where the daycare is."

"I appreciate you showing me. Sorry to keep you."

"Don't be," she smiled again. "Anyway, here we are."

"Thank you again," I said.

"Not a problem," she nods and took off. I wondered what it would be like to be a human and in college and I thought about just how much I missed by not being human which was a good thing because I was turning into a monster again. It's what I needed.

Inside the center, my mouth bubbles. Just like veal to a human, young blood is a delicacy to a vampire. I tried to not let myself feel bad about this. I had a job to do, but it didn't matter. I hated myself already.

You're a monster, Jasper, you can do this. You can do this. I thought to myself.

"May I help you?" A man steps over to me with a baby boy on his hip who reached for me. I tried not to lose focus.

You have a job to do. Protect your family. "Yes, I am here for Juliette."

"What's your name?" The man tilted his head.

"Jasper…Swan. Jasper Swan, I am Juliette's uncle." I lied using my gift to get him to feel comfortable around me. I needed the man to trust me, but it wasn't working.

"I haven't seen you around," he said.

"I live in Dallas," I lied again. "It's where I go to school." I was really impressed on how easy the lies came to me. At least that was getting simpler.

"Give me one second," he said and stepped into the closed off office. He was probably going to look up in Juliette's file that I was who I said I was. I started to panic. I knew I wouldn't be listed anywhere on there and I didn't know what lie I was going to use next. I guess it wasn't getting easier after all. I walked over to the man in the office.

"I'm not finding you listed anywhere on Juliette's emergency contacts, Jasper," the man said.

"I'm only here once every couple years to visit. Bella probably didn't think it was necessary to list me. My sister did give me her driver's license though," I handed it to him and leaned against the door frame to speak to him. "She had to take our half brother and sister to the doctor and couldn't be here to pick Juliette up and asked me to do it for her."

"Let me ask my manager," he said and stepped past me and came back with an older woman with short graying hair.

"We're sorry Mr. Swan, we can let Juliette go with you if you are not listed as a contact for her," the woman had incredibly high voice that hurt my ears.

"There must be something you can do," I said.

"It's not that we don't trust you, it's just we can't take any chances."

"I understand," I said. "Is there anything I can do? I can call Bella if you would like." I suggested, looking around the center for a little girl that looked like Bella or Edward.

"I suppose that would work."

"Let me text her and make sure she's not in with the doctor," I lied. I was really texting Charlotte. I needed a woman's voice to pretend to be Bella for me.

Char, I am going to call you in a second. Can you pretend to be Bella Swan when I give the phone to this lady. She won't let me take her kid without verifying I am Bella's brother and the kid will be safe with me. Security sure is tight around her. I'll call you again later tonight.

-Jazz

Sounds good.

Char

"Looks like she's free," I told the man and the woman with the annoying voice; she pushed her glasses up her nose. I called Charlotte's number.

"Hey, Bella. I'm at the daycare center they just wanted to make sure Juliette is safe with me. Can you talk to this lady?" I ask into the phone.

"Sure," Char giggled. I prayed she'd focus. Charlotte was an overly playful person. I didn't want her blowing our cover, but sure enough, Char came through for me and the lady got Juliette for me. The rest of my plan worked as I hoped. I used my gift to make the kid excited to see me and all was well.

Until we got to my truck.

"What are you doing here?" I sigh at Sam. He was leaning against my truck. Just the thought of that flea bag touching my baby was enough to get the venom in my veins bubbling and boiling. As hard as I tried to remain civil, this was pushing every one of my buttons and I hated it.

"I was just making sure you had everything under control."

"Translated: you wanted to make sure I know how to uphold a promise."

"Hey, I'm just making sure you are the monster you claim to be."

I scoff, "and what happed to trusting me?"

"Again, just making sure you can take care of this."

"If I said I've got it taken care of then I've got it taken care of." I glare, my patience running way past thin.

"Alright, alright," Sam ran off and transformed as soon as he hit the tree line.

"Who was that?" The little girl- Juliette- asks as I pick her up and lift her into the truck.

"Oh, he's a friend of your mom's." I reply, ashamed I have to lie to this girl. I shake my head trying to snap myself out of it. I was on a job that had to be done in order to save my family. I couldn't get week now, no one ever said it was easy to be a monster.

"Are you okay?" She asks with such care in her green eyes it made them sparkle.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I just blanked or something. Come on, let's get you to your mother," I say, realizing I don't have a car seat. I mean, I know she's too old for a car seat, but I thought kids her age or under some weight were supposed to have some sort of car seat. I try to stop myself from caring about the safety of this child. As Sam and I both knew, I need to complete the job. I just couldn't admit to myself that I knew I couldn't do it. I knew that and so did Sam.

So, I buckle her into the middle of the bench seat in the back of the truck and promise I would drive extra carefully for her sake. I would have to figure out what I was going to do on the drive back to Forks. I knew nothing about children, except from what I remember from Bree Anne and that wasn't a whole lot, but I knew I couldn't ignore my feelings for Bella…the way her blood tasted…how her lips felt on mine…how human she made me feel again…

"Where are we going?" Juliette asks, pulling my mind free of the tangled mess that resided there.

"Huh? What, sorry," I shook my head again.

"I asked where we were going," she laughs at me.

"Oh, uh, some place special. Your mom used to love it there. I think you will too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's where me and your father…grew up…"

"My dad?"

"Yeah," I quietly say and am thankful she didn't press. I didn't know how much Bella had told her about Edward and I didn't want to be the one to explain it to her.

I watch her in the review mirror, at a stop light, she plugs an old iPod into headphones bigger than her own head and start mouthing along to the lyrics of the music. At the next light, I smile back at her. She really was a little Bella mini- me with her jeans with butterflies stitched on the legs and a flannel over her little band T-shirt. She even had black converse just like her mother. The only indication the child was Edward's were those eyes of hers. Then again, I never knew Edward when he had his human eye color, but something deep in my soul knew she wasn't lying. Plus, I knew Edward and what he capable of and this was right in his wheelhouse.

I couldn't help but smile at just how sweet Juliette really was and my mind went back to wrestling the impending questions that fought for attention. Could I really keep a hybrid child safe at my house in Texas? I could trust Peter and Charolette to keep a secret, but did I want to impose that kind of threat on them? Of course not. If the Volturi ever found about that, it would be curtains for all of us and no matinee show tomorrow, but I knew I couldn't kill this incredible child. That was out of the question. I guess I could always find a safe place to 'raise' Bella correctly in the vampire ways and make sure Juliette knew the same rules applied to her and when they were capable of taking care of themselves, I'd let them go their own ways. That would be the safest for everyone involved. Then again, I just got my life back and I loved every second of it. I didn't know how much I truly owed this kid and I wondered if it would make me a horrible selfish person to just send the two on their way without another thought, but I knew I couldn't do that either. All I knew was that I was truly in the middle of a cluster fuck and I didn't know how to get out.

When we finally make it back to the Cullen house, the smell of fresh human blood is strong. It makes my lip curl and I snarl under my breath. My instinct is telling me to hunt, but my heart is preventing it. I can only conclude Bella went out for a hunt of her own. She woke much faster than I expected. Transformations were never this fast. They usually took at least 12 hours to complete and I had only been gone a few hours, I was guessing based on the fact the sun was setting fast. I guessed it could have been closer to 8 hours after I was done dealing with the pack, the school, and driving to and from Seattle. It was amazing to see how fast time went by. I guess humanity showed us that where it's easy to get lost in time when your heart doesn't beat.

I turned around and tapped Juliette on the knee, it looked like she'd started watching a movie or something while we were driving on her iPod. She pulled her headphones off and draped them around her neck.

"Hey, were here, but wait here for a couple minutes okay?" I ask.

"Okay," she says. I was really glad this kid didn't pester me for answers. I left the cabin light on and went into the house.

"Bella? Bella?" I call. "Are you in here?" And like the clouds split and heaven lost an angel, she floats down the stairs. Her beautiful brown waves bounce at her shoulder blades and her eyes, vibrant and rich fill my heart with passion and love that I haven't felt in years and I cant help but stare and admire with the beauty that is my singer.