Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

A/N: lillyxtom, I haven't decided about Jasper and Bella having/not having a baby in this story yet. I'm still playing around with ideas in my head, but I promise that I will do whatever is best for the storyline.

Learning to Live Again

Chapter Twenty-Five: Lazy Sunday

I trudged downstairs with the kitchen in mind for my destination. Jasper had left for an early morning hunt before we met Charlie at my house. I had taken the opportunity to beg Alice to go to my house and steal some clothes for me to wear and was thankful that she had. I would definitely need to start keeping some clothes over here, because I had the feeling that there would be few nights where I would want to stay away from Jasper. And now that we were more intimate with each other, I didn't feel right staying at my house with Charlie two doors down.

I stopped when I reached the doorway of the Cullens' spacious kitchen. Either I was still halfway asleep or Emmett was standing over the stove, making me a rather large breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and sausage. I would not protest if it was the latter.

As if on cue, Emmett looked up at me and smiled. "I got you covered this morning, baby sister. All the trimmings made especially for you," he explained as he dumped some eggs onto an empty plate for me. I sat down at the countertop and watched as he piled on a few pancakes and sausage links as well.

"Thanks, big brother. I appreciate the thought," I answered as I took the plate and fork from his hands. "Did the others go hunting with Jasper?" I asked as I began to dig into the delicious breakfast that Emmett had prepared for me.

"Alice and Esme went along, but Carlisle had to go into the hospital. There was a car crash or something. Rosalie drug Edward out of the house to a movie to try and stop him from moping." It only took Emmett a minute to have all the dishes washed and put back onto their shelves. Esme had taught them all well. He joined me by sitting across from me at the counter.

"I'm glad that she did that for him," I said. "Although I don't know how Rosalie dragging anyone anywhere would improve their mood," I teased. Emmett chuckled at this.

"Hey, she actually likes you now." Emmett gave me a joking smile which I returned through a mouthful of pancakes. "Plus, I like hanging out with you, Bella. It was too close for comfort thinking that we wouldn't ever see you again. I didn't realize how attached I had become to my baby sister."

"I knew how attached I was to all of you. You're my family; you're where I belong," I stated the obvious with a shrug.

"Bella, you must be insane to want to belong to a family of predators." I had never heard Emmett speak about being a vampire in a negative way. I had always assumed that he felt the same similarities as the others; however, he had never expressed any feeling other than joy at what he was.

"Predators or not, I love you all."

At that moment, Jasper walked into the house with Alice and Esme close behind. They came right into the kitchen and Jasper walked up behind and wrapped his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder and we both made a little moaning noise to signal that we were content now that we were close to each other.

Alice made a little giggling sound from beside us. "That's so cute," she said. "You act like cats, purring once you're near each other. On the way home, the closer we got to the house, the fast Jasper would run."

I turned my head slightly to the side, smiling back to Jasper. He was now dropping kisses onto my neck, breathing in my scent as he did. His hands had moved to rest on my thighs and were softly stroking them. I felt my body relax and lean back against his chest, forgetting that we had company in the room until Esme cleared her throat.

Jasper and I both looked back at her with guilty expressions on our face. "Sorry, mom," he said with fake sincerity. Jasper- like me- could never feel sorrow or shame for how we expressed our love for each other, even if it was in public.

Esme just chuckled from behind us. "Don't worry, darlings. I understand how you feel. We all do," she stated. She came around the counter and hugged Emmett. "Thank you for cleaning up after yourself," she commended him as she ruffled his hair. Emmett smiled in response.

I have never loved my family more than right now. Alice was standing near Jasper and I, happy that we were together. Emmett was smiling at Esme and vice versa. Both of them were sharing the bond of a mother and son. Jasper was holding me tightly against him, wanting to be close to me. It was all so comfortable and relaxed. The perfect Sunday morning.

I had barely finished the food on my plate when Esme took it and walked over to the sink. Even in the smallest ways, they were always taking care of me. Jasper- having felt a surge of love coming from me- placed another kiss on my cheek and turned me to look at him.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded my head and he lifted me from the stool, holding me for a second before placing me on the ground. We waved our good-byes to the three vampires in the kitchen and headed to the garage. We decided not to take the motorcycle, feeling no need to further worry Charlie about my new boyfriend. We instead opted to use Jasper's other mode of transportation, his vintage Porsche.

My family had a knack for expensive cars. I wondered if I would one day understand and feel the same way. When I was one of them, would I suddenly understand their appreciation for luxury items? I would hope that I wouldn't change too much from my human self, but I had no clue what living forever would do to me. The only thing I thought about when I looked into my future was Jasper. Everything else seemed unnecessary.

My thoughts had been so distracting that I didn't even notice we had arrived at my house until Jasper came around to my door and opened it for me. He helped me out of the car and we slowly walked up the porch and into my house. Charlie was- as I had expected- sitting at the kitchen table with his breakfast and newspaper. He didn't have to go into the station today.

He looked up from the sports section as Jasper and I walked into the room, hands entwined. Charlie noticed this and looked at me with a questioning stare, raising his eyebrows. My father and his facial expressions. Now I understood where I got mine from.

"Hi, dad," I said simply. I pulled Jasper into the kitchen with me and sat down across from Charlie at our new kitchen table. Jasper sat down next to me, placing the chair as close to mine as he could without Charlie noticing.

"Bella. Jasper."

"Good morning, Chief Swan," Jasper said politely. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Looks like you have something to tell me, though," he stated bluntly. Besides never hovering over me, I did also love that my father wasn't one for subtlety. Sometimes you just needed to get something off your chest, and he definitely understood this.

"You're right, dad. Jasper and I are together now, and he wanted to come over and introduce himself to you." I knew that if I gave Jasper credit for this thought, my dad would appreciate the thought.

"I don't know how I feel about this, Bella. It's only been a week since you and Edward broke up, and this can't be a good strain on the Cullen family," he reasoned. "How do Edward and Alice feel about it?"

"Alice is one of our biggest supporters, sir," Jasper answered him. "She just wants us both to be happy. Edward was upset at first, but he's fine now." Jasper didn't elaborate on Edward's feelings, understanding that this was part of the conversation I would need to have.

"Edward and I spent some time together yesterday, and he understands that I can't feel the same way for him as I used to. Not after how we ended things. He knows that Jasper has been with me since Edward left, supporting me and helping me through everything." I looked over to Jasper and smiled at him. He squeezed my hand with his own and I couldn't stop myself from leaning over and placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

Charlie said nothing while he processed this new information. I had to give my dad credit where it was deserved. He had adapted quite easily to having a teenage daughter. I know that I was more difficult than others, as well. I was never very open with my feelings, and I also hung out with vampires. I could get myself into trouble without knowing.

"Well, I'm glad that you told me about it, but I don't feel comfortable with you staying over at the Cullens' like you have been."

"Dad, I've been staying with Alice, not Jasper. You love Alice. And plus, their parents are there the entire time. They wouldn't want to leave us alone in the house overnight, either," I explained. Granted, they didn't really care what we did because they understood the depth of our love. My father wouldn't be able to grasp that. Not without knowing the truth about my other family.

"I'll think about it, Bella, but for no more overnights for now." It was hard to distinguish Charlie from his role of Police Chief or protective father. They both acted the same sometimes. "I promised Billy that I would go down to visit him today. There's a football game on in an hour. But I would like us all to sit down and have dinner together sometime. I want to get to know you, Jasper."

"Yes, sir. I'd like that, too," Jasper answered.

Charlie stood from the table and came around to kiss the top of my head. "I probably won't be home for dinner, Bells. See you later." Charlie grabbed his jacket and walked out of the house. Jasper and I sat still for a moment, listening to his car start and pull out of the driveway.

"That was easier than I had anticipated," he said, pulling me out of my chair and into his lap.

"Charlie's a pretty understanding guy," I explained to him. "He had to deal with all the Edward drama a few months ago, so he's probably just glad that I'm not with him anymore. He wants me to be with someone who will protect me when he can't."

"I will," Jasper promised. "But right now, there are a few other things that I would rather do to you," he said in a husky voice as he kissed me forcefully.

I responded with the same amount of need into the kiss and shrieked when Jasper's strong arms lifted me and carried me up the stairs to my bedroom. It looked like I was in for an afternoon of slow torture.