Still not owning Twilight. Still loving your reviews. Enjoy!

Moving Along - BPOV

Emmett and I stood in the kitchen watching Kerry and Jake talk. We both felt a little left out, wanting to spend time visiting. Neither of us could be too upset because neither of us had ever seen him so… captured. Rosalie and Jasper came in to find us.

"So now you're the one peeking, Miss Bella?" Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and put his head on my shoulder.

"Caught! We're just surprised and curious." I leaned into him, loving the contact and feeling much better about Jake's connection with Kerry.

"I've never seen Kerry act like this. She's had boyfriends and crushes, but this is just so different. She wasn't shy with him at all." Rose just shook her head slowly and led Emmett out of the room.

"He'll come back in after a while and want to visit with you and he'll want to talk about Kerry. Give him time, Darlin'." We went to the "Romper Room" Alice… with everyone else. They were all talking about Jake and Kerry, comparing notes. After several games of pool everyone made their goodnights.

Saturday after breakfast, Rosalie took Jake to her garage to show him around, get a feel for what kind of work he enjoyed and to find out if they could work together. While they complimented each other in the garage, there was an underlying tension. They would get along, but they were not going to be friends. Jake chalked it up to being so quickly smitten by her little sister. Jake also spent time with Jasper; even so much as to ask Jasper to go for a walk with him. Neither would tell me about the conversation, but since they seemed unscathed, I assumed it went well.

At Sunday dinner, Jake announced that he would be taking the job with Rosalie and he would move into the house for a while, until he found a place of his own.

Jacob's dad, Billy called my cell phone after supper to find out if I really had managed to "steal both his babies." He wasn't too upset, but wanted to make sure I would take care of him. We caught up on what he and Charlie had bee doing – fishing, of course. Billy said he had several lady-friends who were coming around more now that he was 'all alone' and mentioned that several ladies were interested in Charlie. I really didn't need to know those details. Billy asked me not to tell Jake that he called me, didn't want Jake to think he was being checked on.

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As the weeks went by, we all developed comfortable routines. On family nights, we all stayed at the house. Jasper had to work late several nights a week; one of his cases was getting intense. On the nights he would be out really late, I stayed at the house. Those nights were always bad for his nightmares and he said he didn't want me to suffer because of it. I argued as best I could, but he held firm. When that boy makes up his mind, he is impossible to argue with.

Jake and Kerry found a small apartment close by. We left their room at the house set up so they'd have a place to stay when they wanted to. Jake had impressed Rosalie so much at work that their family time together was more comfortable. Because Jake could handle the running of the business as well as the actual mechanic work, Rosalie was able to spend time working on the cars she wanted to, taking personal care of her favorite clients. For that, she was grateful to Jake and it showed when they were at the house together.

----------- Making Plans-----------

It was the beginning of October, so we started planning where we would be spending our time for the holidays. The Cullen's always had a large Christmas party and asked that Rosalie, Kerry, and Jasper all come, too. Jasper agreed as long as we all went to his parents for Thanksgiving. His entire family gathered at their ranch and since he considered 'the gang' as his newest family members, everyone agreed.

Jasper wanted to invite my mom and Phil for Thanksgiving, but I assured him that making a special trip just to meet them would work better for me, and for him, in the long run. I don't think she'll be very happy with Jasper being a 'lawman' as she would say in her own snide way.

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I left school excited to get home for family night so we could make plans for Halloween. Jasper was actually going to be able to stay all night tonight. It seemed like forever since I'd spent time with him. The case he was working on stalled and had him very frustrated. I walked in expecting to get in the kitchen with Emmett, but found Jasper, Rosalie, and Jake speaking quietly in the living room. Jasper's back was to me, but I could tell by the intent looks of Rose and Jake's faces that this was not a social conversation. When they noticed me, Jake and Rose left the room and Jasper came to greet me.

"What's going on, Jazz?" I couldn't hide the apprehension in my voice.

"It's touchy, Darlin'. I need you to sit with me so I can tell you as much as I can, and I need you to let me get all the way through the story, and I need you to trust me. I know that I can trust you to never speak to anyone about this. More than anything, jobs and lives are at stake. Can you do that for me Bella?"

"You're freaking me out, Jasper, but I trust you." Please, please please, let everyone be okay!

"I've been talking with Rose for several weeks about a case I'm working on with the Austin police."

"Several weeks and I'm just hearing about it!" I shouted.

"So much for letting me get through the story…" Jasper smirked. Damn him for distracting me!

"Sorry… shutting up… please continue."

"Remember last month Rosalie and Jacob were talking about a man who came in offering cheap prices for parts; that he'd been in several times?" I nodded, not wanting to interrupt.

"The Austin PD has been trying to stop a large-scale operation in the area and the stolen auto parts scheme is a small piece of this larger problem. I've been working with a couple of undercover cops to help find the shops involved in purchasing the parts with the hope of finding the source. Rose's shop is not on the list of shops we've been investigating, so we're thinking that she's being approached by the group we're after. Since Jake started working there, we suspect they're seeing him as a way into Rose's shop because he's new. This also gives us and in, so we've been working on the details to get a sting set up. Rose has agreed to meet with my contact in the Austin PD to get the particulars. We were discussing the details. I'm meeting him this afternoon for drinks before dinner tonight and Rose has agreed to come in during our meeting to offer her garage." He held my hands and waited for me to get everything processed. My mind was spinning; so many different questions…

"So, weeks… you've been doing this for WEEKS and just now thought to tell me? Would you have told me at all if I hadn't seen you huddled up in the corner? What's going to happen to Jake? To Rose? They could get hurt…" my anger was starting to rise. How could he put our family in danger like this!

"Bella! I'm not going to let them get hurt. We're going to get undercover people in place, so Rose and Jake won't be involved, it will just be at their garage. That's all. We just need something to go on. We're at a loss right now. Please, Bella, I'm good at this. Really. I'm really good and that's why the police department has asked for my help." His eyes never left mine, almost willing me to calm and trust him.

"You know I trust you, Jasper. I do have a hard time trusting criminals, though." I tried to joke.

"Sweet Bella, I love you." He looked shocked, and blushed.

"You love me?" My blush and grin could not be stopped.

"Of course I do, silly Bella. You know I do." He rolled his eyes.

"It's just that you've never said it."

"Just because you haven't heard me, doesn't mean I haven't said it." He pulled me in for a wonderful kiss.

"I love you, too, Jasper." I whispered, kissing him back. "Wait, when have you said it?" I pulled back to see his face.

"The first time? In church, that very first Sunday. Since then, every day." He smiled, looking at our clasped hands.

"HA! I said it first!" I crowed triumphantly.

"I didn't know it was a competition, Darlin'." His eyes danced with humor. "So, when did you say it first?"

"The night you told me about Maria. The first night I was with you when you had a nightmare. I was able to calm you down and I told you then. And I say it every day, too." If there had been any doubt about the sincerity of his feelings, the look he gave me then would have erased it all. As it was, I was consumed with the love in his eyes. I was home, with Jasper, I would always be home.

"I wish I could stay, my sweet Bella, but I need to have this meeting. I will be home for supper. After supper, I will make love to you for the rest of the night, and I will tell you I love you until you ask me to stop." He stood, pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

"I'll count the seconds until you come back. And you are going to loose your voice before I ever ask you stop telling me that! I love you, Jasper. With all I am. Hurry back." He kissed me again and left for his meeting.

I went to find Emmett so we could start on supper. I didn't know how much Rosalie had told him, until I saw his face when he came into the kitchen. I pulled him into a hug and we just stood in the kitchen holding each other, silently sharing all our worries for the ones we love. Jake came in after a while, and held us both, whispering that everything would be alright, that he wouldn't let anything happen to Rose or Jasper. When Emmett smacked the back of Jake's head, he added with a chuckle that he would stay safe, too. Slowly we started to make supper in silence. We knew that we would have to cheer up before everyone else noticed, the fewer people involved, the better.

JPOV – Meeting

Bella took the whole situation better than I thought, really. I hadn't wanted to tell her at all, and probably wouldn't have but there was no way to keep it from her when she saw Rose and Jake's faces this afternoon. I didn't tell her, or Rose or Jake for that matter, why I am actually involved in this to begin with. There's no reason for the Austin PD to need the help of the Rangers in a theft-ring investigation, even one of the size of this one. Eventually, the Feds are going to get involved with that. I'm in because of a corruption investigation. Austin PD suspects the reason they are having such trouble getting info on this group is because someone in the PD is involved. They want me to help find out who, and how deep this goes. The contact that I have has been fairly straight forward, but I don't want Rose to walk in with me, just in case. She'll stand back and if she feels comfortable, she'll come over.

And then, of course, my mouth got in front of my brain and I blurted out "love". Not that I mind having said it, but that didn't seem like the best time to throw that out. Bella, my sweet, lovely Bella told me she loved me! I knew she did, with out hearing the words, I knew. She shows me in every movement, touch, look, but it feels wonderful to hear those words. It took the entire ride to the restaurant to focus on the task at hand and not Bella.

When I stepped out of the truck, I put everything else out of my mind. Focus.

I picked a table near the back so that my contact would have to face the door, so Rose could see him without getting to close.

He came in and we started discussing the case straight away, talking about what shops we knew were involved, dividing the list into those under pressure to buy and those willingly involved. We approach those under pressure to set up stings and the ones willingly involved we set up for surveillance. I started asking about the high-end shops not on the list. This was particularly important because Rose's shop had not been approached at all, and that seemed odd to me. Until I got a text from Rose. This was not part of the plan.

"J – that's the one who has been pressuring. What do you want me to do?"

Well. Fuck. Me! No wonder Rose's shop isn't on the list. I just found the fucking mole. All the alarms in my head started going off. FUCK! I'm slipping. How could I not have seen this? He's one slick sonofabitch to fool me. I'm glad I hadn't mentioned anything directly. And, this is way, way, too easy. I'm being set up. Now I'm worried about how much this guy knows about Rose and her connection to me.

"R - Go for a drive through the city. Don't go directly anywhere you would go normally and stay where it's busy. I'll call as soon as I can get away."

I was able to get the guy to talk about the shops not on the list and which ones he was planning to approach. Still no mention of Rose's. I'll have to call my chief tonight. I need to see him personally because now I don't know who to trust.