Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Stephenie Meyer created it all.

I've had multiple requests for the Outtakes, so here they are. I won't post as they come out, but every so often will combine them for those that chose not to receive as a review reply.

SOMP Outtakes

Carlisle POV – Chapter 1

"I don't care what he said; I'm here to see him!" a young voice argued vehemently.

The door swung open and hit the wall behind it so hard that it bounced back. Normally, I would have scolded the individual entering, but the words caught in my throat. The answer to my and Esme's prayers stormed through the door, her brown hair swirling. Edward stood frozen; we all were actually. Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs, I escorted Mrs. Brown out, shutting the door to keep the prying eyes away and turned to face my granddaughter.

God was good and gracious, there was no doubt. And, all I could hope was that Bella was near us and that my ultimate desire, that she would forgive us, might come to pass. Was it wrong that I also hoped she was single as well? For my son…my deep, dark, and brooding son would never be whole until she returned to him.

I looked up to see Esme gazing at the child as if she was a ghost. It was uncanny really how much she looked like her mother, but my son's eyes blazed from her face. She was a spitfire, and I was glad she was, for she'd just unknowingly thrown our life into chaos. I'd never been so glad to see destruction of our calm lives in all my life…

Emmett POV – Chapter 2

Bella, Oh God…

As I watched her and Edward's daughter glare at us, all I could think about was her mother. Where had she been? What had she done? It was all I could do not to grab the girl, throw her over my shoulder, and run with her…straight back to Bella. She looked healthy enough, and although I was not a guru of clothing, she appeared to be well taken care of.

I HADN'T DONE ENOUGH…

The thought echoed through my head taunting me with its simplicity. I hadn't been man enough to do more than I had, and for that, I was humiliated. Bella had been my little sister…the sister of my heart as much as Alice.

No matter what happened today, this shit would stop. If Bella would speak to me, I would make up to her for doing so little.

When Carlie made for the door, there was no other thought in my head than to stop her. I wanted to chuckle when she glared at me, but when she took me to the ground I wanted to weep, not in pain, but joy. Damn she was a gem…Bella on steroids…just what my family needed.

Alice POV – after hospital scene – Chapter 3 & 4

I waited as patiently as I could, but the nervous shaking of my leg was something I couldn't bring under control. Jazz would have teased me about the sign of my anxiety. Luckily he wasn't here to see it, or I would have faced his wrath. He was encouraging me to be patient, to wait until we could meet with Bella and her attorney, but I couldn't. This was too important…life changing.

I needed absolution.

As I waited, the knife scars along my stomach itched, attempting to draw me back into the darkness I'd once fought. I'd been so ashamed of them, but Jasper had changed it all. He adored me…and them as part of me. He told me that they and my eyes were the windows to my soul, road maps to the terror I'd survived. Pretty words, I'd once thought, coming from a tempting as sin man, but I'd finally determined over our years together that he meant them. Then as the long scar from delivering our last child joined them, I'd come to look at the horrific mess as almost the pictorial of the Alpha and Omega of my story…the beginning of everything that had torn our family apart, and the end of so many bright and beautiful things.

The first, being my ability to give Jasper anymore children. He was ecstatically happy with our two, and I was as well. But, just as the incident, that the scars represented, had wrecked destruction upon us initially, they had continued to tear my family apart over and over. I wanted to give Jasper more children, but the internal damage that had occurred along with the scarring had made that impossible. The doctor told Jasper so the day I'd almost died. Unwilling to make a decision for me, he'd done it himself. He'd walked into his doctor's office as soon as I was stable and signed up for the vasectomy that would insure I was never placed in danger again.

The second, being the destruction of the boy that had once been my bright and vivacious brother. That was the biggest loss in my opinion. I had a husband I loved beyond all measure, two beautiful children, a sister-in-law, two brothers, and a mother and father who loved me. There were only two people missing in my life. Edward and Bella…well, three… including Carlie. Edward had been missing since the day we both went crazy. He was still there sometimes in the man that haunted our houses during family occasions. Sometimes I would see him smile, and for just the barest moment it would be genuine. Generally it was around the babies, I realized, but it happened. I wanted him back, and I didn't want him to look at me and suffer. It hadn't been his fault, what had happened, but convincing him of that was nigh impossible.

Wasn't it poetic that I finally caved to the need to scratch just as the door opened, and I was pinned with a dark intense stare? How lady-like did I appear to her? Did it matter; she already thought the worst…

I'd barely sat down into the chair she pointed out when she barked out, "You have fifteen minutes."

"I promise not to overstay my welcome, Leah."

Alice POV – second half

She didn't even respond. There was no warmth or even a simple courteous response to help ease the tension. What had I expected?

"I…" my hands twisted in my lap, the scars blazing underneath the silk of my dress "…I need to know a few things and since you'd been kind enough to answer some of our questions, I wondered if you would help me." The words were said in a whoosh of breath, strangled and run together.

She stood immediately, and I thought that she would be dismissing me, but instead she went to stand beside the utilitarian window, looking out into the soft rain.

"Tell me why I should?" she asked surprising me, as if she was feeling me out.

"Honestly, you shouldn't," I admitted, my eyes focused on a picture she had on her desk. It was of Jacob, she, Seth, Samantha, Bella, and Carlie. They were at the beach and the whole group was laughing…but Bella…her eyes…were sad. The picture helped me refocus on why I was here. "There really is no reason for you to help, but I'm begging."

She turned and looked down at her watch. She was actually timing me…damnit.

"Sorry doesn't hack it with me, Alice Whitlock. Every criminal I've nailed has been sorry, most only because they got caught."

Yes, I could see that. "I'm not sorry, Leah." Her eyes blazed in rage at me before I could explain. "Wait…let me finish," I begged when she began striding to the door to throw me out. "Sorry isn't the right word. I'm devastated at what I did to Bella." This was so hard, because I didn't want Leah to think I was throwing out a pity party. "Some things…some things happened back then that Bella wasn't privy too. I never wanted her to know, but my weakness may have cost us everything." My eyes filled with tears, but I blinked furiously attempting not to cry in front of her.

Her face told me I was getting nowhere, and I started to panic.

The door flung open and Leah's eyes trained to the intruder. "Sir?"

"I'm sorry," a deep voice from my past spoke to her. "I didn't realize you were with a client."

I didn't want to turn around as the smoldering scars flamed and felt as if they were blistering me.

"No client. This is Alice Whitlock," Leah said neutrally, and I heard the man step to my side to introduce himself.

"I'm DA Holmes, please to meet you," he said, but then gasped. "Alice Cullen?" His eyes were probably as wide as mine. I could only nod as darkness threatened to overwhelm me. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Is it something to do with…"

"NO!" I spoke harshly, stopping his words. "Mrs. Black and I are mutual acquaintances."

"Your family?" he said softly, scanning my terrified face.

"They're fine, just fine." Something in my tone must have informed him that I didn't want to talk.

"Um…Leah, we have the briefing in five minutes," he said to her and turned back to stare at me.

"Mrs. Whitlock was just leaving," Leah informed him, looking down at the damn watch.

"I'll wait for you in the conference room then," he said, glancing down to see the wedding ring around my finger. He nodded as if the sight satisfied him.

When the door shut, I spun to Leah, gasping out. "Bella and I argued the last time I saw her. She fell…I don't to this day remember everything, but I might have pushed her…I believe I pushed her. She must have been pregnant then, was it what caused her blindness?" I strangled out knowing I had only a minute or two – only time for the hardest question.

She narrowed her eyes at me, but then blew out a deep breath. "No. She was almost eight months when she fell, big and uncoordinated." Contempt raced across her face. "Do you feel absolved now?"

Curious that she would choose that word considering I'd just thought it myself.

"No. My absolution will only come when Bella forgives me." I looked back to her to see her staring at me incredulously. "I needed to know so that I could plan accordingly. I have many amends to make to Bella Swan, but I needed to know if that was one of them. She wouldn't tell me, I suspect, and when the time hopefully comes that she allows me to speak with her…I wanted to be able to bath appropriately in my sins. For guilt isn't what I feel, because that is almost a given. What I am eaten up with is remorse, Leah. I regret that I allowed something to come between Bella and me and won't make that mistake again."

She looked to me in a quizzical manner, but I knew my time was up.

"Thank you," I said simply, not knowing what else to say and quickly made my way out the door.

Unable to speak when I saw Mr. Holmes standing in the doorway to the room beside Leah's; I gave him a jerky nod and all but ran out of the building. It was then I was faced with a horrible thought. Leah had access to my and my dad's files. As intuitive as she was, it would take little for her to uncover the evil that surrounded us.

Jacob POV – Chapter 6

I wanted to kill him, literally jerk his red hair out and then rip his head off his shoulders. What the hell was his game?

Bella never cried, and yet here she was sobbing in the backseat, her head resting against my wife. I heard her apologize to Leah, and then my rage knew no bounds. The last time she'd cried like this had been when I'd had to tell her about Charlie. I'd waited until after Carlie had been born, because honestly I'd been a wreck. Leah had had Seth by C-section, and although it had been stressful to stand beside her knowing the doctor was cutting her open, the delivery had gone smoothly, me holding Leah's hand and telling her how much I loved her as she breathed in the oxygen and stared deeply into my eyes.

With Bella, it had been very different. She'd sworn at me, called me all kinds of names, thrown stuff in my direction between pants, and generally scared the hell out of me. At one point, she'd even shrieked, "You'd better not be down there watching Jacob Black! That is a part of me you shouldn't see." Little did she know that I'd done everything I could to keep from seeing anything. But I would admit, I'd wanted to be there to catch the little bugger. I'd been hoping it was a girl. First because Leah and I had already had a boy, and secondly, because I couldn't stomach the damn name Bella had come up with for a boy…Edward Jacob Swan, EJ. What the fuck…

Carlie had owned me heart and soul from the moment the doctor handed me the squalling red-faced bundle of joy. I couldn't help but note that she'd come out screaming at me just like Bella had done most of our life. She already had adopted her mother's temperament when it came to dealing with me, but I could handle the screaming and strong arm tactics from Bella…I just couldn't handle her crying. It took me back to the emotions I'd felt when I'd taken the fully fed Carlie from her arms and then held her hand as I moved her fingers over Carlie's features, having to describe to her what her own child looked like. Call me selfish, but I'd wanted her to enjoy the first moments of her daughter's life before I destroyed her happiness. Then I explained why Charlie hadn't made it to the hospital.

Leah had been at home in La Push in a bed resting from Seth's delivery and my father an utter wreck at having lost his friend, so there hadn't been anyone there to help me with it. Leah was surrounded by our friends and family as they oohed and aahed over Seth. Although I'd been scolded for being irresponsible, and for becoming a dad at seventeen, at least our families had been nothing but supportive.

But Bella had no one but me and Leah. Her mother hadn't returned her calls once she realized that Bella had become a teenage pregnancy statistic. Hadn't spoken to her since. Edward Cullen and his family were second on my list of world's most horrible people. Renee Dwyer topped it, but only by a slight margin.

I'd been an obnoxious teenager, my most noteworthy accomplishment was having a best friend and wife I didn't deserve…was beneath. Within just a span of a couple of days, I'd been forced into the role of a man, responsible for my wife, son, daughter, and best friend. I was unworthy, had struggled to be enough, failed often, and had formed a stronger bond with my father as he and the elders help guide me through the chaos. In the end, my family had survived, prospered, and grown. I loved Leah with all my heart and soul, our bond deeper and stronger than I could ever imagine. My love for Bella only slightly foreshadowed by what I felt for my wife. I wanted her happiness, whatever it took, but I was wise enough to know that I didn't know all the depths of Bella's heart.

But back when she'd been faced with the loss of everything, I'd been unwilling to take Bella back to Forks to face the fallout. So, I'd taken her to the Rez and worked with a realtor to sell Charlie's house, having the guys to help me pack it up. With her permission to use the money we'd gotten from the house, we'd headed for Seattle and prayed for the best.

But before we'd been able to do that, I'd had to hold my best friend and have her sob against me in grief. I'd wanted to howl at the unfairness in life. She'd lost everything. Everything but the sweet child who'd I cradled in my arms, for surely I was the least of things to consider. She'd cried almost non-stop for three days, and I'd taken her home to LaPush while I accomplished getting everything settled. I'd left her and Leah in bed, the babies with them. I'd heard how she'd done nothing but attempt to be normal…and failed miserably. Charlie had been cremated, so we'd avoided a spectacle of a funeral.

I'd prayed to God every night to make me the man I needed to be. Later, I was to realize perhaps that hadn't been wise, because he'd answered by sending me challenges to refine me.

The first couple of weeks, we'd done as well as we could, living in a weekly hotels. Then, I'd finally found a basement for rent, and bargained with the elderly lady above us. She'd gawked at the troop I'd brought with me, and for several moments, I'd thought she'd turn us away. But, I'd won her over. It had taken a lot of free labor, blood sweat and tears, and luck. The babies had really been the key…that and her admiration for the blind mother who cradled two babies as Leah was accepted into and attended school and I found a job.

Mrs. Slagle tricked me into telling her our story, and like an idiot, I had. The next thing I knew, she'd gotten me a job at Home Depot that only worked in the evening and some weekends, and an application to University of Washington had been forced on me. We were later to find out she'd been a high school counselor, who'd worked with high risk youth. We were her retirement project.

"Jacob, there is no reason for you not to take advantage of the Native American scholarships like Leah. You're smart, even if you attempt to look like a big lug."

I still remember how she'd smacked me upside the head when I'd laughed at her. My "can't because I have to help with Bella" earned another one.

"My adoptive grandbabies will rest in my and Bella's capable hands."

Within months, a miracle had occurred. It would seem that Charlie's small savings account wasn't the only thing that he'd left to take care of Bella. The look on our faces when the lawyer had informed us of the million dollar life insurance policy was imprinted on my mind. Being the unselfish woman she was, Bella had immediately stated it was "our" money, and it had meant the world to us all. Even though we now had two houses that provided our needs, Leah and I had both obtained undergraduate and graduate/law degrees, and savings accounts that would allow the kids to go to school…we were still the three lost kids to Mrs. Slagle. She still saw her grandbabies almost weekly and stood in place for my and Bella's mothers.

But Bella…no matter what…no matter the shit we'd been handed…she'd never cried. Yet, one hour in his presence and she was a mess.

And Carlie…dear God what was I going to do. She was my baby, MY baby. I'd stayed up with her when she had colic, walked the floors with her when she teethed, taken care of she and Seth when they had all the normal rounds of childhood diseases. It had been me she'd first come to with questions about her father, about God, about why the man who'd killed her grandfather had been drinking and driving…why her father had died in the war and why God would have allowed it all to happen.

I'd been through hell for Carlie and Bella and would do it again without hesitation. I was a possessive, Alpha male, and sometimes stupidly, I thought to the incident of just a few days ago, protected my family. As I caught Leah's shocked eyes in the rear view mirror I swore – if he hurt Bella, I'd kill him, literally jerk his red hair out and then rip his head off his shoulders.

(dedicated to my own Ms. Slagle who took a lost kid and told her that the world was her's to grab…all I needed to do was focus through the chaos and know God would take care of the rest)

Seth POV – Chapter 7

As I left Aunt Bella and Carlie's house, I heard my dad in the garage and knew he was probably tinkering with something on the Jeep, so I went to join him. I figured he needed someone to growl at after the meeting. Aunt Bella hadn't look worse for wear so I was hoping that maybe things had gone well between us and the Cullens. Honestly, I didn't know what the fuss was all about. Carlie could handle them, and I knew where her loyalty lay, so if they went outside her boundaries, she'd shut them down quick enough. She was too much like her mother, Aunt Bella, who was one of the strongest women I knew. The Cullens were in for a shock if they thought either one of them would roll over for them.

Aunt Bella had been blind all my and Carlie's life, but never allowed it to be a hindrance. The only fight I'd ever been involved in was when a boy at school had commented about her. Carlie had overheard and come to me upset. I'd made sure to catch him off school grounds so that I didn't get suspended, and then I'd beaten some sense in him. Dad had, of course, found out because the guy was a team member of mine, and we'd both had to run extra laps for discipline. Tom and I had come out friends through the ordeal…his respect of my "skillz" forging the bond. I was the quiet one on the team and had for a long time been a source of much speculation. My one and only fight had shown them that I could take anyone down; and therefore, I'd been left alone afterward. I was grateful to all of Dad's friends who'd taught me to fight over the years. They'd had to do it enough…dealing with the racism that Native Americans often faced. My guess was that it was similar to what Grandpa and Aunt Bella dealt with.

People didn't understand why, with the money she'd earned from her books, Aunt Bella didn't just have the surgery to see if her eye sight could be restored. In a way, I understood, because I'd heard her talking to Grandpa about it. People saw her and my grandfather as disabled, and the way they said the word "disabled" made it sound like a curse. Neither Grandpa nor Aunt Bella saw their life as limited, they saw them as rich and fulfilling. Sure, I was certain that if given the chance, Grandpa would change the effects that Diabetes had ravaged on his body, but it wasn't in the cards for him.

I knew that Aunt Bella had also looked into the possibility of surgery. It was sorta a secret she and I shared. I'd inadvertently overheard a conversation she had with a doctor years ago…not long after she'd gotten her royalty from her first book. I'd been home sick and Aunt Bella had been taking care of me. Finally forcing myself up to go take a shower, her words had stopped me at the top of the stairs.

I only heard half of her conversation, but even at nine years of age, I'd known the person on the other end had given her bad news.

"So not now, but maybe in the future when the techniques have been refined more? No…no, thank you…that is helpful to know. Yes, I'll keep your name and number. You know how to contact me as well. Thank you."

I'd crept back to my room thinking that I'd gone undetected, but when Aunt Bella climbed the stairs, my lunch in hand, she'd busted my bubble.

"Seth, what you heard, that's between us, right?"

"Sure, Aunt Bella."

It had been our secret for this many years, and I wondered if she'd ever considered the surgery again, but I'd never asked…didn't feel I could or should.

"Son of a…" my dad cursed just as I stepped into the garage. He stopped short of the full statement, knowing my mom would ring his neck.

"Wanna hit on the bag instead of taking out your anger on the Jeep?" I proposed and chuckled when he stuck his head out to the side of the hood to spear me with a glare. Then, his eyes warmed seeing me. Moving toward the shelves, I pulled the gloves down.

My dad was a good man. Most kids my age looked up to sports heros or rock stars, desired to be like them, but not me. I worshiped the ground my parents and Aunt walked on. I wanted to be just like them. Aro had already informed me he would get me through law school, and he wasn't just promising a local university. Ivy twined all over the names he threw out, but I was quick to tell him what I wanted to do with the degree and after he sniffed his nose at my "self-sacrificing aspirations" he'd still pledged his help. I was marrying his granddaughter after all…at least in his mind.

"You want offense or defense," my dad asked. I knew he needed to punish something, so I choose to be the punching bag.

He grunted as his powerful blows to the punching bag threatened to knock me off my feet. Six and a half foot of pent up anger focused on the bag I attempted to hold still. In the end, sweat poured off the both of us before he was through. It was then he sat down on the bench against the wall and I followed.

"Seth, I know I don't tell you it often enough, but I couldn't have been blessed with a finer son. I love you," he said softly, and I nudged my shoulder to his.

"Same, Pops!" To which he snarled and I grinned.

"Impudent pup!" he mocked threatened, with no heat.

"Your impudent pup," I threw back to which he threw his arm across my shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yup!" He turned and grinned at me. "Just needed to let a little aggression out. Poor Jeep was taking it all before you came."

"Is it going to be okay?" I asked looking over to the victim. Dad was a good mechanic when he wasn't angry. Angry…made his work questionable.

He burst out laughing at my question. "Yeah, I was just checking the oil and the stick fell. I'll get Samantha out here with her little arms to retrieve it."

I grinned knowing that would "go over well with my mom." The last time Sam had crawled under the Jeep with dad; she'd reappeared two hours later extremely happy to have learned something, but covered in oil. Unfortunately, my dad hadn't paid attention to what she was wearing, and it had ruined one of her best outfits.

"Is Aunt Bella going to be okay?" I asked the question I was really wanting an answer to.

"She will be son, she will be."

He said the words as if they were a sacred oath, and I knew that if my dad had set forth to make sure Aunt Bella was okay…nothing short of God would make it any different.

Aro POV – Chapter 8

Closing off the phone, I reached over to the briefcase I'd carried and picked up the sealed missive that Carlisle had slid across the table to me. The envelope was addressed to Bella Swan in decidedly feminine script. As my brothers had often said, I was a nosy Mother Fucker and knowing that a probable key to this whole mystery resided in my hands, sealed against me, was killing me.

I'd just obtained Isabella's agreement to accompany us to the family retreat for the weekend, so I was determined I'd get her to open it then. She'd given me permission to negotiate on her behalf before we'd met, so when she left with Jacob and Leah, I'd taken the liberty to use that right.

As the driver turned onto the busy highway, smoothly transitioning into the traffic on our journey home, I pondered the fiasco before me.

There was a mystery to this whole event, something I hadn't puzzled together yet, and perhaps acquiescing a little to their demands would allow me to assess their reactions. For I knew my daughter, she would handle them. Her comment about being gone when Edward came to pick up Carlie was exactly what I'd expected. Isabella Swan may be the biological daughter of Charlie Swan…a man I'd learned was trustworthy and without compare…but she was the daughter of my heart. Over the past few years, I'd schooled her on how to handle controversial situations, and she'd absorbed the knowledge like a sponge. I'd seen her handle the men she'd "dated" with ease, keeping the knowledge a secret from Jacob and my granddaughter. She'd never found a man worthy of their consideration, so therefore, none of them had made it past the first round of dinners or movies.

But, I'd never seen her act the way she did around Edward "Anthony" Cullen.

Speaking of Edward, the man looked horrible. Even worse than when I'd first met the Cullens so many years before, and that was saying something. Then, he'd been shell-shocked, broken by the events that had torn his family apart, full of guilt for things beyond his control, but still he'd retained enough fire to withstand the legal chaos that had ensued. Personally, and with some degree of support, I'd thought he would come over the witness stand several times to murder the filth that glared at him.

However, his appearance before me this day had been the impetus for me to look into this situation in more depth, instead of just immediately writing the Cullens off. He looked like a wraith, a dead man walking.

Honestly, I hadn't kept up with Carlisle's son other than the newspaper articles that sometimes crossed my desk. Carlisle had been an entirely different story. I respected the man…immensely. He and his bride had been through hell, between the fiasco for which they'd retained my services, Alice's recovery, and Edward's path toward destruction in the years that followed. I'd already deduced that my Isabella had been the impetus for that self destructive behavior, because my precious grandchild had been conceived during the year they'd fled from Seattle. Edward had been a demon when they returned, and quite honestly, I'd thought that Carlisle and Esme would lose the boy during the years that followed. Even I'd breathed a sigh of relief the day I visited their house to be welcomed by an emaciated twenty one year old…clean for the first time in years.

I knew from Carlisle that Edward had gone on to medical school and to work selflessly heading up the charitable side of their corporation. I knew that he was a brilliant surgeon, like his father, but that he chose to spend his time working pro-bono in the emergency room. I knew that he loved his family immensely.

But…what I also knew that changed everything…my loyalty to the Cullens…and my respect for the Edward that had risen from the ashes of the past…was that he'd hurt my daughter, and possibly even threatened my granddaughter. And that…that changed everything for me. He'd just become the Velathri Enemy #1 until he proved that he could be a friend again.

Tapping the envelope against my lips, I knew the answer most likely lay within it, but I loved my daughter too much to break her trust. It would remain unopened until she gave me permission to plunder it's secrets.