Finally... the moment you've all been waiting for...

(Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, Bella would be a lot stronger, Edward would be less dense and more reasonable, and the others would have more of a role because Edward and Alice aren't the only two in the family! And Jasper would make more of an attempt to befriend her instead of letting them walk all over him.)

Cat and Mouse

Chapter 14: Reasons why (The part where the truth comes out)

I took a seat on the couch, allowing Ari to crawl onto my lap. This was the first time Emmett, Alice and Esme saw her, and the first time Edward would truly meet her…. It's safe to say I was scared out of my mind. Victoria joined her mate, who sat to my left. Jasper sat to my right, glaring at Alice. I rolled my eyes and glanced at Esme, who had chosen the chair beside the TV for her resting space. Edward sat beside Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett on the opposite couch.

I sighed and ran a hand through Ari's short, cropped hair. It stood on top of her head, as though it was called to attention… for once, but it flopped back down when I lifted my hand. She purred softly and closed her eyes, content with the motion. Jasper snickered and Rosalie gave him a curious glance.

"Let me start," I sighed. "By saying that Jasper is being as ridiculous as the rest of you are."

"Hey!" He grumbled. James smirked.

"And that James was one step from getting his head chopped off had we been any later, so this plan worked perfectly."

"It's not through yet." Carlisle muttered. I glanced up to find him curled up beside his wife. Amusement gleamed in his eyes, tampered by equal amounts of rage and pity.

"No, I can't say it's over yet, old friend." I agreed.

"How do you know Carlisle?" Emmett demanded.

"My name is Isabella Marie Swan, that much I haven't lied about. I don't care to remember how old I am. Time is as important to me as it is to you."

"How is that possible? You're only 17."

"She wishes she were 17 again." Edward sneered.

"Yes, Edward, I do. If I knew half of what I know now, I would have gotten as far away from you as possible!" I hissed, tensing up only to be reminded of the child in my lap. He obviously didn't like that, because he snapped.

"And I still would have found you!" He snarled savagely. "You'll never get away from me!" He snarled.

"Edward?!" Alice and Rosalie gasped in shock and Emmett growled in surprise.

"Not a cold day in Hell, Masen." Jasper hissed.

"A freezing cold day it will be then, Whitlock. She's mine, and you have no right to keep her from me!"

"Enough!" Esme snarled before Jasper could reply. "Edward, shut your mouth and let Bella finish! She is not yours and she never will be! Until you realize that, this will be the last time you encounter either of them for at least 100 years!"

"Truth be told, Ms. Hale, I couldn't be seventeen if I tried. I was far too naïve then, and now I have a price to pay. But enough with me being all over-dramatic."

"As you have every right to be." Carlisle cut her off with his mutter. She flashed him a quick grin and snorted.

"You flatter me, Cullen, now quit stalling and let me tell the story. If you don't want to hear it then you can leave. That goes for you three as well." She nodded to Jasper, Esme and James. Jasper gave the door a longing look before rolling his eyes and leaning back against the couch.

"I'm not leaving and neither is Jasper. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can deal with that asshole." James sneered, jerking a thumb toward Edward.

"Okay, so I met Edward. I'm not going into detail but let's just say that I really should've seen it coming. We went on a few dates before I knew he was stalking me. It ended up being Carlisle who mentioned it. He though tit was weird and when I told him that I was dating Edward he basically told me to pack up and get the hell out of dodge. Mistake number one: At the time I thought I was in love with him. In a way I was and I guess you could say I still am, but at this stage, it's not because I want to be. Anyway, I completely ignored Carlisle's warning and I found out why he'd told me Edward's story before. It was less about keeping me from my happiness, as I'd thought it was, and more about the fact that the jackass sitting across from me now is the exact same jackass I fell in love with a hundred or so years ago. Temper and all, Eddie. You haven't changed a bit." She sneered. Edward let out a low growl.

"Stop calling me that!" He hissed.

"At least let me have my fun. This is your fault as it is." She sneered.

"I fell out of love just as quickly as I fell in with him because he started taking his problems out on me. It wasn't very pretty which is why I hid it all from Jasper and practically begged Carlisle to keep it a secret. He agreed only after I threatened to rip his head off. He knew I wasn't really going to but it showed him how desperate I was."

"They found out anyway, but I'd managed to keep it long enough. The temper part, not that I was dating him. As it was, Edward got all bitchy because he found out I was pregnant. Worst day ever. Let's keep it at that. They found me and Jasper goes all ballistic while James is too busy trying to keep me alive. I wake up a few days later to find James zonked out in the chair next to me and the first thing Jasper says is:

"What the hell were you thinking and why wouldn't you tell anyone?"

"You're smart-ass reply was somethin' like:

"I've been thinking for the past few minutes now, and I'm glad I specifically begged Carlisle not to tell you. You'd go all ballistic like you did just now. How long have I been out?"

"A few days. We are so talking when you wake up." He growled.

"Or we could just talk now and spare ourselves the wrath of your inevitable grudge?"

"Sleep." He ordered. Sometimes, I really hate his gift…

I woke up what felt like five minutes later to find that Jasper had replaced James at my side. I decided to focus on his even breathing and he decided to let me, since he knew I was still tired. I did a mental scan and realized that all I was still very much alive and completely healed.

Carlisle Cullen was a life-saver!

"As much as I do appreciate your praise," Carlisle chastised. "it wouldn't exist if you hadn't been so hardheaded."

"As it is, I was and you are so thank you."

"Of course." He nodded seriously before promptly ignoring me in favor of my wellbeing.

"Physically you should be alright in a matter of days. His temper tantrum hasn't affected your status at all, surprisingly." The doctor hesitated, but went on at a nod from Bella.

"To be honest you should be hanging on and the baby should be long dead. You got lucky." He growled. Jasper froze.

"Wait… WHAT?!"

Any questions, comments, crazy page-long rants about how stupid Edward is? Review.