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As Carlisle had insisted, I spent the rest of the week at home. Edward stayed with me every day, helping me with homework, cooking for me or watching me cook, watching movies, going to the meadow…all in all it was pretty relaxing. In the afternoons, the others would come home and do their own thing…while still spending time together. Emmett played video games with Jasper or me, and Alice worked on the scrapbook I wasn't allowed to see, and Rosalie helped or tinkered with her car, sometimes dragging me along and having me help. I didn't spend much time alone with Rosalie, but it was always nice when we got the chance to do something together. She had the ability to get me to talk freely without seeming to judge or even become concerned…she just listened, calming me with her presence and self-assurance. Carlisle, when he was able to stay home, and Esme took turns cooking, which was, apparently something they enjoyed…and excelled at. I started to feel stronger, didn't feel the need to sleep as much during the day, and was able to keep my meals down without getting sick.

Little Carlie made herself at home, endearing herself to all of my new family except for Emmett who she merely tolerated, not yet able to forgive him for that first meeting. On Wednesday, Edward and I took her over to see Charlie who was immediately smitten with the little dog, pulling her into his lap and doting on her like he would a grandchild. The thought made me freeze before I quickly tried to dismiss it, hoping Edward hadn't seen me pause. I knew that Charlie would love grandchildren. 'It's impossible…' I thought a little sadly. I'd never thought of having children, but I could see the draw…could see myself having and loving a child of Edward's. 'What a loving family that baby would have…the best grandparents in the world, the most loving aunts, the most indulgent uncles…the most wonderful father…' I swallowed a little, smiling as Charlie pushed the little dog away gently when she went for his face. 'Vampires can't have children. Look at Rosalie.' For a second, I considered adoption. 'But Charlie would never see any of my grandchildren…Charlie is going to think I've gone off to college…and then what? Were they going to tell my father that I died in a terrible accident? How long do I have with him?'

I suppose Edward made an excuse for us to go, seeing my distress, and as soon as we were in the car and around the corner, the car was parked on the side of the road and his arms were around me. "What's wrong, Bella?" He asked softly, rubbing my back and letting Carlie crawl into the front seat. I shook my head. This was what I wanted…I couldn't let him know that this would bother me. "Love, what's wrong?" I wondered what my face must look like for him to be so worried and I fought to look normal.

"Nothing. Edward I'm fine." I tried to tell him, pushing away to look into his eyes. "What's the matter?"

"You're upset." He scolded me gently. "What happened?' I shook my head. I wouldn't give in on this…Edward was already reluctant enough to change me. We could talk about this after I was a permanent member of his family…I wished I could talk to Esme but I knew she couldn't shield her mind from Edward. Apparently seeing that I wasn't going to tell him, Edward sighed and kept an arm around me, driving us home. I was sure he spoke to Alice at some point, but she didn't give me up if she knew what was wrong, even though I'd resolved to speak to her. I couldn't imagine going to Rosalie over this…that would be too much for my oldest sister. But I would have to wait for Edward to go on a hunting trip.

Other than this new issue weighing on my mind, the week went by quickly and, for the most part, happily. I finished all of my homework on time, giving it to Esme each day to be graded. Carlisle took me into his study nearly every day and allowed me to help with his research, explaining to me the parts I didn't understand, and, with unending patience, teaching me the very basics when I couldn't quite grasp the concepts he was dealing with. Then, on Friday, as I sat in his office, flipping through one of his smaller biology texts to find some definitions he'd pointed me toward, he brought up the other subject weighing on my mind. "Do you still wish to go back to school on Monday?" He asked softly from his own desk. I hesitated, knowing that the rest of them didn't want me going back to school…that they were worried about my health if I were to return.

'But I can't hide forever. I'll be fine.' I nodded, looking up from the book to meet his eyes. He nodded slowly, his eyes thoughtful.

"You have improved greatly this week. You're nausea seems to be gone, and you've been eating better. So…why don't we try it a day at a time." The book was forgotten and I stared at him in surprise. I hadn't honestly expected him to let me go back. "You have my blessing to return to school on Monday. But if you start to feel ill, if you begin feeling anxious again, or if Jasper suspects that it would be in your best interests to stay home…" He held up a hand when I started to argue. "I will speak with Jasper about this. You know he wouldn't make that judgment lightly, knowing as he does what this means to you." I nodded a little reluctantly. "If any of these things occur, or if I believe it is negatively affecting your health, mental or physical, then you can continue studying at home and we'll revisit the issue after another week."

"There are only three months of school left." I reminded him quietly. He appeared at my side, kneeling beside me and putting an arm around me.

"I know, sweetheart. But you also have to remember that Lauren will be back in school. She was only suspended for a week, and although she's completed the counseling program, I doubt her attitude will be much changed. Besides, you will have plenty of chances to graduate from High School, should you choose to do so." His words were light, but it only brought back to mind the reason I was actually anxious to graduate in the ceremony, and he was immediately concerned. "What is it, Bella?" He asked. I shook my head, aware that Edward was listening. "You can tell me, sweetheart."

"I don't want to." I hoped he wouldn't catch my lie, but the hurt that flashed across his face was worse.

"Bella…"

"No. You said I didn't have to!" I snapped, crossing my arms and pulling away. He frowned, sitting back on his heels, and seemed about to reprimand me when Alice burst in through the door.

"Stop." She commanded. "Just…wait, Carlisle. Please." He seemed a little confused, but nodded. "It's all related, isn't it Bella? Wednesday and today?" I looked at her warily. "Edward is out with Jasper. They're going to the store or something…I made him leave. I know you don't want him to know." I sighed and nodded. "Emmett and Rosalie left too." Her voice was a little apologetic and it brought tears to my eyes. I didn't want to hurt my sister…I knew how much this topic would bother her. Alice knelt beside me on my other side, putting an arm around me. "Don't cry, Bella. It's okay." She assured me. "Rose isn't mad…she just…well it was better she wasn't here. Okay? You don't have to be upset." She rubbed my back a little and I felt a rush of embarrassment for overreacting.

"Sorry." I mumbled, hoping Carlisle wasn't angry.

He shook his head, taking my hand. "It's alright Bella. I understand that you're upset…I just don't understand why." Alice looked at me expectantly for a moment, and I finally gathered the courage to speak, looking only at the table.

"Wednesday we went to see Charlie…" I told him the whole story then, how seeing him with Carlie, as ridiculous as it sounded, had made me realize that my father would never have grandchildren…that he wouldn't even have me for much longer. As I explained though, neither Carlisle nor Alice seemed to think I was being ridiculous. "And now…he won't even see me graduate. I can't even give him that…" I bit my lip, closing my eyes as Carlisle put his arms around me.

"And you were worried that, should Edward find out what you were thinking, he would be reluctant to change you." He finished for me softly, and I nodded, glad that he'd spoken my fear aloud, as I didn't think I could. "Bella, as for having children or adopting, that is something you will have to speak to Edward about. Maybe not right now…I'll do my best to keep this from him until you wish to approach him. I'm sure that, were you to tell him that you wanted children, that he would be more than willing to adopt, and the rest of us would certainly support you both in that decision." He leaned back, cupping my face in his hands. "Now, the other matter is a bit more complicated. I know you recently reconciled with your father…and I know it is hard for you to leave him. I also know that despite those feelings, you still wish to join our family of undead monsters." I had to laugh at his teasing, but I shook my head.

"You're not monsters." I argued. He smiled a little, kissing my head.

"Regardless, because of the treaty, we will have to go away…very far away before we change you…too far for them to track us. Once we've broken the treaty, we can never come back, or lives will be lost. Their lives, most likely…there will be eight of us, all, at that point, very well trained. But I don't wish to kill any of the Quileute children if at all possible, and we did agree to the treaty. So we will stay away. However, Emmett, Jasper, Esme and I have spoken briefly about going to Sam and asking for an exception…Jacob Black did break the treaty as well by telling you about us, however indirectly, and we did not act against the pack for that." He smiled a little at the hope in my eyes. "Were he to grant it, we would be allowed to stay, and…well, it is a possibility that we could let your father see you without telling him anything…keep all the details a secret. That way, at least, we could leave him a way to communicate with you, and you could visit him whenever you wished." He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not telling you this to get your hopes up, sweetheart. I do not have much faith in Sam's willingness to compromise. But I want you to know that if seeing your father is this important to you, then we'll find a way for it to happen. Even if we have to kidnap him and ship him to the jungles of Brazil to live with us." He wrapped his arms around me then, accepting me when I threw myself into them.

"Thank you." I whispered, my head resting under his chin. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to snap at you…"

"I understand, Bella. You need to work on using your words, sweetheart." He chided me gently. "If you needed to speak to me without Edward knowing of our discussion, you need only tell me. Now, you've still got three pages of definitions to go through." He grinned, squeezing my hand, then went to his desk, stopping to muss Alice's hair on his way. "I still don't know what we'd do without Alice."

"I am pretty useful." Alice reached down, putting an arm around my shoulders and kissing my cheek.

I jerked awake on Sunday morning, my dream fading as I felt my heartbeat start to calm, the nightmare almost instantly forgotten. Carlie crawled up into my arms, licking my face and making me laugh softly, pushing her away. Edward, whose arms had tightened around me, relaxed and laughed as well. "Good morning." He spoke quietly, kissing my hair. He was curled around me, his nose pressed against the back of my hair, and I wriggled in his arms, rolling over and kissing his cheek.

"Morning." He tightened his arms around me once more, stroking my back.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Mhm. What did you do all night?"

"This mostly." He chuckled. "I took Carlie our once or twice…she kept trying to wake you, but you didn't seem to notice. And she played with Jasper for a while." I nodded, stretching and accidentally pushing Carlie off the bed.

Laughing apologetically, I rolled over and reached down, stroking her head. "Sorry, girl." I threw my legs over the bed, a little surprised when Edward appeared in front of me, kneeling beside our dog and gathering her into his arms, laughing indulgently when she licked his chin.

"Dog's just like you, Bella. Spoiled brat." With Jasper's teasing came a thick blanket of loving fondness, so it was impossible to take offense. Sticking my tongue out at my brother who stood in the doorway, I smiled when he chuckled softly. "About time you got up."

"It's only eight!" I cried, glancing at the clock by my side of the bed. Jasper laughed, entering the room and appearing at my side, making Carlie jump and bark in excitement, already used to their quick movements. He took the dog from Edward, placing her in his lap and ruffling her fur.

"Yea. I know. We've all been up for hours." He grinned when I rolled my eyes. "Besides, it's back to waking up early tomorrow." His voice had grown a little more solemn and I started to worry, but he shook his head. "We'll all keep an eye on you." He promised simply. I nodded my thanks, leaning against him when he lifted an arm to drape around me. "So, I think Alice finally finished that scrapbook." I grinned, glancing over at Edward who chuckled, lifting me in his arms so quickly that I squeaked in surprise, then flashing us down to the living room, Jasper following with Carlie who gave Emmett a customary glare from her place in Jasper's arms.

"Oh, but it's fine if he does it!" He snapped, and I giggled into Edward's neck.

"Emmett, stop arguing with the dog." Rosalie scolded in a bored voice as she flipped through the channels on the TV too quickly for me to catch any of them. Edward sat me down as Alice appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, all of us grinning as Emmett rolled his eyes and glared at the dog that refused to warm to him.

"Bella! You're finally up. Come on, we have to look at your wedding scrapbook. Oh, first, the decorations Emmett picked out…" I glanced over at Emmett who stopped returning Carlie's glare to look up at me sheepishly.

"Yea…I tried." He shrugged. "Hope you like them." Stepping forward, I threw my arms around Emmett, laughing a little.

"Thank you, Emmett." I knew he had no interest in wedding decorations and that he could have been doing a lot better things with his time, but it meant a lot to me that he'd done it for me. I tried to pack all of that into my thanks and the hug I have him, and I suppose it got through because he hugged me back, his giant arms shielding me from the outside world.

"Hey, any time." He kissed my head, then leaned in against my ear. "I'm just kidding please don't make me work with Alice again she's scary." He whispered quickly, glancing at Alice with overacted nervousness, and I laughed aloud, looking him up and down and comparing him to tiny Alice who had her hands on her hips, not sure how my giant brother could find anyone scary.

"Oh shut up." Alice rolled her eyes, grabbing my arm. "Come on, Bella. Edward, you too. You guys get final approval of everything anyway." Edward nodded, dumping some food in a bowl for the dog, then followed us into the kitchen where Alice had a plate of food for me.

While Edward and I flipped through the scrapbook and I ate breakfast, Alice and Jasper left to hunt together. Because I was going back to school tomorrow, so was Edward, and he wanted to go ahead and hunt nearby. Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, and Esme were going to join him, and I would stay with Alice and Jasper after they returned. It was relatively painless, much to my surprise, to go through this almost frighteningly well organized and planned out wedding scrapbook, as the only thing I really had to do was tell him which decorations and colors I preferred. The invitations and announcements were a little more difficult, as I had no idea what kind of paper and font and colors I wanted…nor did I really care. Edward came to my rescue there, suggesting one or two and then going with my decisions.

The appetizers had been narrowed down, thanks to Jasper's faithfully detailed notes and photography (I'm pretty sure he'd also taken a few photos of random people in the restaurants and I'd taken a couple of pictures of the pigeons outside just to mess with Alice, but if she was upset she never dignified us with a scolding) and he and Rosalie, with Esme's help, had looked at cakes and given me a few options. I had no idea what kind of cake I wanted, nor did it really matter, so we went with a classic; a white cake with pretty decorations that were pretty much pointless but looked nice.

The wedding would be held at the Cullen home, probably outside, although Alice would be watching the weather. My family would be setting things up, since setting up chairs and tables would be nothing to them, and Alice and Rosalie were going to send out invitations. The guest list was the final thing we had to settle on, and Edward and I went through the relatively short list. Of course my father was invited, along with a couple of people from school, namely Angela and Ben, who I hadn't seen in a while now. I mentioned that I missed Angela and Edward suggested calling her later if I wanted to tell her about the wedding before sending out her invitation. Of course I would see her at school, but apparently protocol dictated that wedding invitations must be mailed. Rolling my eyes when he told me that, after I'd suggested just taking it to Charlie's house, I'd nodded in mock thoughtfulness. "Alright, then we'd better mail one to Esme and Carlisle while we're at it. And of course Emmett and Jasper…or should we just mail a separate invitation to everyone at the house? Give the mail man something to do." He'd laughed, pulling me into his lap.

"No, I believe we can just hand them out...slip them under their doors if we want to be a little more formal about it." He kissed me on the nose then, which led to a little more distraction, and it was a few minutes before we got back to the invitations.

"The Denali coven?" I asked, looking at him in surprise. He looked at me cautiously.

"Yes…is that alright?" I'd heard a little about these vampires, though not much. They were vegetarians. The Cullens had once lived with them. Other than that, I knew nearly nothing.

"I suppose…"

"They're like family to us." He explained. "We wanted them to meet you…"

I could understand that…I would probably live near these people at some point in my future, and it would be nice to be introduced, despite my nervousness at actually meeting them. Plus, they probably all missed the people they considered family. "Of course…I was just surprised. I'd love to meet them." He nodded, and then frowned at something on the list. Sighing, he drew my attention as he took my hand.

"Bella….I really would feel more comfortable if we didn't invite Jacob Black." He seemed as if he was making some sort of terrible confession, and my eyes widened in surprise as I glanced down at the list. What had Alice been thinking? Maybe she just wanted to watch Emmett and Jasper have another go at him…

"I have no idea why she put him on the guest list. He's one of the last people I want at our wedding." After the way he'd treated me at the beach that day, I certainly didn't count him as a friend, even if I did occasionally miss the guy he'd been when I'd first moved to Forks. I hadn't spoken to Jacob in months, and had no plans to. I took a pen, crossing out his name, which had a question mark beside it. "But I did want to invite Seth if that's okay…" He nodded, obviously relieved. We'd both been fond of the youngest werewolf.

"Of course. I think she has Seth on the list…and Leah of course…" He grimaced a little. "I guess we can't invite one without the other." I laughed a little, unable to help feeling a little sorry for prickly Leah.

After we finished the guest list, including a few people from town that Carlisle or Esme knew, we were pretty much done. "Now Alice just has to make all of this happen."

Jasper sat in an overstuffed chair in the library, skimming a text from Carlisle's collection. Alice sat in a chair at his side, but judging from her emotions she was certainly not paying attention to the fashion magazine in her hands. Grinning a little when she placed the magazine back on the table, he continued skimming the book, pretending not to notice when she stood, approaching his chair. Bella was somewhere in the house amusing herself, obviously giving them some private time, which he truly began to appreciate when she climbed onto his lap, pushing the book out of the way. "Hey." She murmured in his ear, bringing a hand up to touch his scarred face.

"Hello." He chuckled, his amusement cutting off when she wrapped her legs around him, bringing her mouth to his. Taking a second to listen and make sure Bella wouldn't walk in on them any time soon, he gave in easily, dropping the book on the table and putting his hands on her hips, pulling her closer.

"We have two hours before anyone gets back." She whispered in his ear…or…well he supposed it was still whispering when her tongue was…his attention was quickly diverted from the question when her hands began to undo the buttons on his shirt, her lips against his jaw. Using his gift, he surrounded her with love and desire as he reached down, his hand slipping under her blouse, inching up her stomach, when suddenly she stiffened, her eyes widening as she gasped. Pulling his hand back, he caught her hands in one of his and lifted a hesitant hand to her face before realizing that she was having a vision. Sighing softly, he put a hand around her back to make sure she didn't fall.

"Bella." Jasper jumped when his wife gasped out the girl's name. "Bella? No….no!" He started in surprise at the pained, panicked sound, catching her as she put her head in her hands, her expression vacant as she knelt in his lap.

"Alice? What is it?"

"No…" She seemed to jolt back into awareness and turned to Jasper. She cried out, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes full of tears she couldn't shed. "Jasper, where is she!" She gripped his hand, her voice pleading. "Jasper!" He jerked out of his daze; standing and gently placing her back on the chair, and then ran out the door, following his senses. Her smell was throughout the house but it was stronger in places she frequented, as opposed to his bedroom and Emmett's where she almost never went, but it wasn't fresh anywhere nearby. 'She's not in the house…where is she?! Why did Alice and I think this was a good idea? We should have kept her in our sight at all times! The da*n girl's always getting in trouble!'

He took a deep breath, shaking his head. 'Stop. Calm down. I can't help her if I can't stop panicking. She's around here somewhere…think.' She wasn't in the house, so he ran out the front door, looking around anxiously. "Bella!" He shouted, listening for her heartbeat, for her breathing. Anything. "Bella!" He raised his voice, letting the frantic edge creep in. "Where are you?!" He caught it then…her heartbeat and her unique scent, and raced toward them, his breath catching when he found her slumped under a tree in the sun by Esme's garden, a book on the ground where it had obviously fallen from her loose fingers. "Bella!" 'What could have happened…there's no blood…' He knelt beside her, touching her face anxiously, shaking her shoulder, then jumping when she jolted awake, her eyes wide at his sudden proximity as she shrank back, his skin covered in rainbows from his own as the sun shone down on them.

Blinking quickly and looking around, she tried to catch her breath. "Jasper? What's wrong?" She asked in a worried voice.

"Are you alright?" He demanded, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "Are you hurt?" He looked around as well, senses and gift on high alert, although all he could feel were confusion and worry from Bella.

"I…I fell asleep. Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you…" She was starting to look a little frightened so he tried to calm himself, pushing Alice's desperate pleas…her haunted look and her frantic emotions, out of his mind.

"No…Alice had a vision...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He released her shoulder when he realized he'd been squeezing it too tightly and caught her wince. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He touched her arm gently then pulled away when she nodded. "Here." He started to stand, offering her a hand, then pulled her to her feet after she retrieved her book. "Let's go talk to Alice." He led her inside, his relief so strong that he knew he was projecting, and they went into the living room where Alice waited anxiously, throwing her arms around Bella as soon as she spotted the girl.

"Alice, what happened?" The girl asked in surprise, returning the hug hesitantly.

"You were hurt." She explained, her arms tight around her sister, and Jasper watched, anxious to hear what the vision was about. "You couldn't breathe…Carlisle had you upstairs…it was bad." She bit her lip, rocking them back and forth slightly, and Jasper put a hand on both of their shoulders.

"Why don't we sit down, Alice…and then you can tell us from the beginning." She nodded, releasing Bella but keeping her hand, and they all sat on one of the sofas, Bella in the middle as she turned to face Alice, and Jasper kept a hand on her back, monitoring her emotions closely as he listened.

"You were in the back of the car with Jasper…you were holding her, Jazz, but she was crying, and she couldn't breathe. Carlisle was scared…you carried her upstairs when you got home. Then he had a needle…said something about your lungs, Bella. He put a mask on your face…Jasper was trying to keep you calm. Edward and Emmett ran in…you blacked out and Emmett was yelling. That's all I saw…" Alice bit her lip, touching their sister's hand. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine…are you okay?" Bella tried to force humor into her voice, and Alice nodded a little, swallowing hard.

"Fine." She choked out, forcing a smile, but Jasper didn't believe her for a second. Pulling out his cellphone, he dialed their father.

Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed it