A/N: I know! I know! I updated fast! And I have EmmaleeWrites05 to thank for that, my always rockin' friend and beta. This is set a few months in the future, about three I'd wager. Hopefully this chapter will give you some insight into why Jasper's been an ass... Please read the A/N at the bottom!

Disclaimer: Definitely not SM. I enjoy premarital sex too much. *laughs*

EPOV

"It's a boy!" The doctor with the ultrasound wand sounded elated, and I felt faint. Me… the father of a son…

"Oh my God," I whispered, and tears pricked in my eyes. It had never felt more real- up until this point, I'd never really thought of this baby as something genuine. Bella's belly got rounder and more pronounced, but it still didn't seem tangible. But now…

"I can't believe it," Bella whispered, grasping Emmett's hand in hers, squeezing it tight. He was brushing tears off of his face with the back of his hand, his tough-guy façade fading quickly as we listened to the little heartbeat thrum on the machine. The sound of our child's heartbeat.

I wished desperately that Jasper could be here too, but he was busy working on my father's case. Carlisle fucking hired him on sight when we went to our first-awkward-sweaty-palms visit to my parents house. The night had gone well, in that we didn't give even the barest hints that we were together, but now Jasper was working hard on a case that we all knew my father was actually guilty of committing.

Bella's hand snaked into mine, and she squeezed my hand. Her eyes were shining with tears, and she looked more blissful than I'd ever seen her in my entire life. She'd always been so sure that having this baby was the right thing. And right now, in this moment, I'd never been more sure of anything in my life. This was the moment I finally agreed with what she and Emmett had been saying the whole time.

I knew how Jasper felt on the subject, and I couldn't say I thought he was wrong. Was it really right to bring a child into this world when the parents weren't together, when the father was gay? But she stuck through it, and I never pushed her, and now… now I understood why.

"Edward, Emmett… that's our baby," she whispered, and the way she said our, it nearly made me weep from the tenderness. It was. It was our baby.

"Should I give you three a moment?" Doctor Banner asked, snapping off his gloves.

"Yes," Bella said breathily. She was about to lose it, but judging by the smile on her face, that wasn't going to be a bad thing. Emmett swallowed hard and nodded to the doctor. We were silent until he left the room and then all I could hear was Bella's sniffs. "It's a boy," she said, her voice watery but happy. "I can't believe it." She ran her hands over her belly and smiled. "Hey little fella," she said in this tiny little voice. "It's your mommy."

"And your-" Emmett stopped mid-sentence, looking over at me. "Your daddies."

Emmett was way cooler than I'd ever given him credit for. He'd quit the law firm in favor of a higher paying job he'd been offered at a construction company, so I rarely saw him, but we stayed in contact often. The four of us often had dinners together, trying to make mutual decisions for the baby and what we would do. I wanted to be in… my son's… life, and they were more than willing to work out arrangements for joint custody. It was strange, since we'd never been married or anything, but Jasper had the know-how to make it happen.

Things were good between us, but not. I could tell he wasn't exactly thrilled that Bella was keeping the baby, but he never once brought up abortion or adoption. I could see in his eyes that he thought it was a mistake, and while I understood his reasoning, I didn't agree. So the fact that he kept silent was good, because that was the last thing I wanted to fight with him about.

Carlisle's case left Jasper busy, as did Irena's. We were still working our asses off on that one, since the judge had thrown out half of the evidence we had, and now my father was doing everything in his power to not take the damn DNA test.

Life just sucks sometimes.

Except for right now.

"He's so little," Bella sighed, looking at the ultrasound screen in front of us, frozen in place. "He doesn't even look like a baby."

Emmett chuckled and leaned towards the screen, squinting a little. "Way to go Eddie," he quipped. It took me several beats to realize what he meant, and then my cheeks flamed beet red. Bella laughed and smacked his arm. "What?" he asked in that adorable grin of his. Totally inappropriate thought, I know, but those dimples are so cute.

"Umm… thanks…" I said awkwardly, shoving my fists in my pocket. Emmett was cool with being casual with me, but I still felt awkward, especially with comments like that. Lord help me if Jasper had been around. The man was pretty quiet but I had the distinct feeling he'd have made a comment or two. I wished he were here.

"We have to think of boy's names now," Bella said with a smile, rubbing her hands over her belly. I reached out without realizing it, the first time I'd ever touched her pregnant belly. She looked up at me with those dark brown eyes, new tears shimmering there, and she smiled.

"Yes we do," I said, my voice thick with emotion, realizing that baby was mine. And I was fucking excited. "We gotta get to shopping for a crib and stuff too."

Bella groaned. "Shopping?"

"Alice can take you," Emmett said with a smirk. "I'm sure she and Rose would love to take you around town."

That just made her groan even louder. "Not fair," she moaned. Emmett and I chuckled and she shot us the evil eye. "Go to hell," she growled, and we just laughed louder, knowing she wasn't serious.

* MASKS *

"Baby?" Jasper was sitting the middle of the leather couch, surrounded by files and loose papers and highlighted pages. He looked slumped over, like he'd fallen asleep, and as I cornered the couch, I saw that he had, his reading glasses slid far down his nose as he breathed through his mouth. I knelt before him and slid his glasses off his face just in case they fell off and he broke them. "Jasper?"

"Mmm," he moaned in his sleep. He didn't move otherwise, so I reached up and stroked his cheek.

"Baby, wake up," I said, a little bit louder now. "You gotta go to bed."

He moaned once more before one eye peeked open. He blinked twice as he took me in and then stretched as he sat up. "What time is it?" he asked through a yawn.

"Just ten," I said. I'd spent the evening with Emmett and Bella in their apartment. She'd moved in with him soon after she found out she was pregnant. I knew they weren't engaged, but she wore a heart pendant around her neck, and I knew it meant something more than something shiny. Their home was cozy and it always felt welcoming to me. She'd insisted on making dinner like always, and she made my favorite meal. I didn't deserve their kindness.

"Fuck," he groaned. "I've wasted all tonight."

"You need rest my love, you've been running yourself ragged. There are other people on Irena's case… Victoria."

He sighed. "I know. I was working on Carlisle's case, actually. It's… not looking good." He looked really regretful as he said it.

"Listen, he might be my dad, but don't censor yourself around me. I know just as well as you do that he's guilty."

Jasper snorted. "No kidding."

"Let's go to bed. You're not going to get anything done right now, you're too tired."

He nodded. "How did the appointment go?" We'd talked on the phone but I wanted to tell him in person.

"It's a boy." I felt that undeniable grin stretch across my face again.

"Really?" Jasper didn't sound as enthused as me and I felt a tiny slip of disappointment. "I guess I didn't realize they could tell this early."

"She's five months along," I reminded him. So much had changed in such a short amount of time…

"Oh yeah," he said, almost to himself. He turned back to me and gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Let's go to bed honey." He was quiet as we got undressed and brushed our teeth together. I knew he was tired, but I could feel like it was something more. We were great together, just as long as we didn't bring up the baby. I understood he was stressed out about it. I was sure that he felt… threatened? And I supposed I would have felt the same way if he was having a baby with an ex-girlfriend. But… it hurt more than I wanted to admit that he wasn't as excited as me. I needed something… anything… to reassure me that he was just as in this as I was. Not that it would change anything. But that affirmation. We were supposed to be on the same page, and the further along Bella was, the more distant he felt.

We barely spoke as we pulled our sleep shirts on, something we'd never done when we first got together. But even the sex was waning between us, between this and work. As we climbed into bed together, he spooned me from behind and whispered that he loved me. Tonight, however, I didn't quite feel like that was true.

BPOV

"Emmett," I moaned, my fingers threaded through his hair as best as I could. These pregnancy hormones were killing me, but thank God, he'd finally given in and was actually helping me out with it, in this case letting me ride his cock. "I'm so close baby."

He gripped my hips tighter as he thrust into me, and he groaned my name as he ground his hips against mine, rubbing my clit against his hipbone. I think I saw stars. "Baby, cum for me," he groaned, now squeezing my ass. "I need you to cum for me."

For the third time that night, my pussy clenched down, and I was falling apart, grabbing his shoulders, something to tie me down to this earth as my orgasm shattered through me. "FUCK!" I screamed, and seconds later he was groaning my name and cumming hard inside me.

"Christ, Bella," he moaned as I kept him deep inside me even as he softened, needing that contact, that intimacy. He'd finally given in, let me make love to him two weeks after our fateful meeting with Edward and Jasper in the park, and every time we were together, it felt more and more insanely good. I couldn't believe we hadn't been doing it since day one, but knowing that he loved me and wasn't going anywhere just made it that much better.

His hands moved from my hips to my belly. "Hope I didn't rock ya in there too much," he said with a small smirk. It showed off his dimples, and it made my heart pang. Someday, we'd have a baby that would have those same dimples. I just knew it.

"Just don't bang him in the head," I joked, just before Emmett's eyes widened and I felt a very distinct kick.

"Whoa," he breathed. The baby had been kicked for awhile now, but it still felt weird when it happened.

"You woke him up," I giggled, resting my hands over his. I felt this sense of peace and serenity as I did. Like this was just meant to be, regardless of circumstance.

Emmett started talking to the baby now, which should have seemed inappropriate considering he was still inside me, but it felt so right, this part of our little family, connecting.

"I love you," I whispered, to the baby as much as Emmett. "So much."

Emmett pulled me down to him, gingerly holding me to not squish Baby Boy between us, and kissed my forehead. "I love you two too," he said, and my heart melted.

"Do you think Edward was happy?" I said, playing with the hair on his chest. Not enough to gross me out, just enough to make me feel like I was with a man.

"The guy was practically crying, Bella," he reminded me. "He was happy."

"Jasper probably isn't," I said with just a touch of bitterness in my voice.

"Aww, screw him," Emmett scoffed. "If he doesn't want to be happy for us, then whatever. If Edward can't see what a pain in the ass he is, then we certainly can't help any."

"I just thought he cared," I said in a much smaller voice. I really didn't want him to hate me, just because I knew he probably wanted me to abort it. Too late, buddy…

"I think he does and that's why he's being an ass," Emmett said wisely. "Doesn't want to get attached for some reason."

"I wonder why," I said, resting my cheek against his pec. I nearly swooned, he still had that effect on me. Good God he was built…

Emmett yawned then. "Dunno… just ignore him."

I nodded but still felt uneasy. I wanted us to be a family. I knew it was a tall order, that Charlie would throw a fit… it was hard enough explaining that I wasn't with Edward but I was keeping the baby- he had no idea about Emmett and Jasper; things were far too complicated as is, and my dad was a black and white kinda guy. There was no way he'd understand this. Hell, he was mad that I wasn't a virgin anymore. Definitely not explaining Emmett and Jasper to him now.

"Get some sleep baby," Emmett said, nuzzling my neck as he yawned again. Typical guy, fell right asleep after sex. At least he liked to cuddle. The man enjoyed physical contact more than I did most of the time, not that I was complaining or anything.

"'Kay," I said, his yawning contagious. I drifted off to sleep, still naked and warm at Emmett's side, wrapping my arms around this man and drifting off into an uneasy sleep. Don't hate me Jasper, was the last thing I remember thinking before slipping into sleep.

JPOV

Peter scowled at me, mouth drawn tight as he stared at me. "Don't you think you've done enough?" he growled. I jerked back, afraid of his reaction to me. He looked strange, like he was hunched over something, or trying to protect something I couldn't see. Something small. Something human.

Charlotte drifted over to me, in a floaty white dress appropriate for Halloween or a séance. "We didn't mean to," she said softly, stroking my cheek. "It was an experiment, we were drunk…"

"I don't care!" I shouted, but she didn't flinch. I wanted her to flinch. I wanted her to feel the anguish I was feeling now. Her face remained stoic, superior… sympathetic.

"Jasper, we don't want you to go," Peter said in a cool, level voice. He still looked upset but he was moving towards me now. "You can be with us, the three of us. But you have to accept this…"

"I can't," I sobbed. There was an ache in my throat, in my heart. I wanted the tears to come out but they wouldn't, so I was wracked with empty cries that made my entire body heave. "Don't make me go away."

Charlotte was now wrapped around Peter. "He loves you, you know."

"NO! He couldn't!"

Peter stared at me. "I did. Now I don't think I can…"

"Don't make me go… don't ask me to stay…" I didn't know what I wanted- I was torn. Afraid. I couldn't leave him. My body refused to let me. But it would kill me to stay.

And then I looked up and they were gone. I was in my childhood bedroom in Texas, and Rosalie was stroking my hair like she did when we were kids. "They're gone Jasper, you can move on now," she said. And then she wasn't Rosalie anymore, she was Edward.

"Stay with us, Jasper, we can be a family…"

"How?" The sobs took over again. "You can't promise me that!"

They stood before me, in a line, Bella between them both. Edward's hand reached out to me. "Be with us Jasper. I love you."

"I can't-"

A hard shove knocked me out of my dream. "Jasper, you're crying… wake up!"

Edward was hovering over me, concern filling his eyes. "What?" I asked sleepily, realizing that indeed my cheeks were streaked with tears. This wasn't the first time I'd had this dream, but it was the first time I'd actually cried.

Fuck.

"Are you OK baby?" Edward wiped the tears away with the back of his fingers.

"No, I'm not," I admitted. "I'm really not."

"Tell me," he pleaded, his eyes dark in the dim light, barely shining through the curtains. "Jasper, don't keep me out."

This also wasn't the first time we'd had this conversation. He knew something was up, but I'd never wanted to tell him. But as I stared into his eyes, the man that I loved with my heart and soul, I knew I had to tell him. How badly this was all scaring me.

I took a deep breath. "You know about Peter, right?"

He winced. Yeah, we'd had that conversation before, and he knew ninety percent of what had gone down and how much heartache I still felt. But he didn't know this one last detail.

"He… well he…" I gulped and prayed this wouldn't go bad. "He had a love child too."

"A… a what?"

OK, so it was three am. I had to give him some credit, I supposed. "Like what you and Bella are going through… child outta wedlock… accidental pregnancy."

His mouth fell open in an "ohh" and he nodded. "That's why."

"That's why what?"

"Why you've been… off."

I wilted into the bed. "Kinda. Yeah."

"Were you together when it happened."

An arrow lanced through my heart. "Yeah. He was my best friend growing up, and she was the third musketeer kinda. We spent all of our time together, she was the best. When Peter and I got together, it got weird between us but we still hung out. Then one day, they come to me and she's pregnant and they want me to be a part of it. And I left. Couldn't handle it. They're married now." I finished softly, staring at the ceiling. "It hurt bad. Really bad."

"Wow," he said softly. "Wow."

"Yeah."

We were quiet for a long time, and he was so quiet that I thought he'd drifted off to sleep. "Please don't leave me," he finally whispered.

"I don't think I can," I whispered back. My heart was tied to his now. Without him, I was pretty sure I'd die.

"I won't leave my son."

My heart squeezed in my chest. "I'd never ask you to."

"Can you handle that? Me being a father? I didn't cheat on you baby. It's not the same circumstances. I want you. But I want this baby too."

I took a deep, cleansing sigh. It took me a long time, laying there in bed, trying to get my head straight and wrapped around if this was reality or still a dream, and how much deep thinking I should really being doing at this hour… then I looked over at him. My universe. My soul. And I knew I could do this. I knew it wasn't the same, he wasn't the same and in that moment, I knew my answer.

"Yes."

A/N: Guess what you get when you review? An outtake! So leave me some love and you get a nice look at what happened in the park. -HR79