***Thanks to all of you who checked out the chapter 24 outtake! You guys are great!

JPOV

I had just finished making the hotel reservations when Felix walked into the family room.

"Hey, Jasper," He said. "I hear you are bailing on our hunt tonight."

"Yes, I am spending the evening in an amazingly spacious hotel suite with my gorgeous girl." I couldn't have been happier to get Bella out of this house for a while and really connect with her. Plus I thought it would be a nice change of pace for her, too.

"You are a lucky man. Bella is hot if you don't mind me saying so."

"I kind of do mind you saying that about my pregnant wife."

"Oh, sorry man. I forgot about her being pregnant and all, but that just goes to show you how hot she really is. I mean to hardly notice she was pregnant." He was digging himself in a deeper hole. "Umm, yea, sorry."

"It's fine. I know she's hot." I could feel his comfort level wasn't where it usually was. I could sense he wanted to tell me something. He seemed on edge. "Something on your mine Felix?"

"Kind of, but I'm not exactly sure how to bring it up with us being friends and all." He was anxious.

"Well, we are friends so you can tell me anything. Did you decide the animal way of life isn't for you? It's totally understandable. It took me years to adjust."

"No, actually I like that lifestyle. The transition was much easier then I thought it would be and now I really don't have a desire to feed off of a human at all."

"Hmm, Alice must be proud."

His face lit up at the mere mention of her name. "Yea, she can't believe how fast I took to this. She is really impressed with me." I could feel his excitement, but then he quickly toned it down. I knew what he wanted to talk to me about.

"Felix?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Look I know about you and Alice. She told me everything about the two of you."

"Everything?" I questioned.

"Hell no." He cringed. "But about the years you spent together and how she let you go because of Bella and that was hard on her but she managed to get through it. She really loves you but I think she could move on."

"I certainly hope so. I want Alice to be as happy as I am." I told him.

"Really?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Well we have been spending so much time together over these past few days and I really enjoy her company but I haven't made a move."

"Why?" I was curious. Alice was definitely attracted to him and I could tell he liked her and they were spending all of that time together so why wouldn't he have tried anything.

"Because of you." He said and I felt his anxiety spike again.

"Me?" What did I have to do with it?

"We are friends and I wasn't sure if I could move in on your ex-mate. I didn't know if that was too weird. Because as much as I like her I could back off if that was what you wanted." He shoved his hands in his pockets, but I could feel that was not what he wanted.

"Um, Felix, I married my brother's ex-girlfriend, so if that wasn't too weird for me then you dating Alice would probably be okay with me."

"Huh? I hadn't thought of that. Did you ask Edward's permission?"

"No, apparently you are the better man."

"So, it's cool if I take Alice on a date?"

"I think it would be very cool."

"Do you think she will say yes?"

"Have you not been around her these past few days? I'm sure she is bursting over the fact that you haven't even tried to kiss her as I am sure she has seen it all in a vision."

"Is she able to see if we're going to, well, you know?"

"Yes, she will definitely know when you are going to do that?" I really didn't want to think about that. As open minded as I was even that would be too much for me.

"Is that weird that she will know before me?"

"You'll get used to it."

Alice came running down the steps and into the family room. I smiled at her.

"Oh, hell, you did ask Jasper's permission?" She moaned.

"Hey Alice." Felix said. "I was just telling Jasper that…"

"Save it Felix she already knows." I offered.

"Oh, are you mad?"

She giggled. "No, actually I think it's kind of cute. And yes I'd love to go on a date with you. I thought you would never ask."

"Do you know where we are going?" He asked.

"Yes, you'll think of it in a few minutes, but can I speak to Jazzy?" She asked.

"Sure, I'll meet you on the porch." He headed for the door. "Hey, Alice am I driving the Porsche today?" She tossed the keys in his direction.

"Yes, I saw that, too." She smiled at him.

"Sweet! I think I'm going to like this whole seeing the future thing." He said as he shut the door.

She watched as he walked out. I cleared my throat. "Well? Is he the one?"

She smiled at me. "I've seen things but I'm not totally convinced."

"Because of what happened between us?" I asked.

"That has a little to do with it." She admitted. "I thought you were it, but look how that turned out."

"Alice, you knew from the beginning that there was someone else for me we just didn't know it was Bella."

"I know but that took years to actually come about and I was always able to push that out of my head until we found Bella."

"Do you see something that makes you believe Felix isn't your destiny?" I felt bad because what happened between us was now causing her to doubt her future with Felix.

"Well, that's just it. I see him while he is here and then I see him leave to go back to Italy with Claudia." She stopped.

"You don't go back with him, do you?"

"No." I felt her disappointment.

"Alice, maybe you stay until Bella has the baby?"

"Maybe that's why I can't see the circumstances surrounding us in Italy."

"I thought you just said that you don't go to Italy." I was confused.

"I don't know if I do. I see myself with Felix and Claudia, but we are not in Forks and then there is always a fourth person with us but I can't see them. It's like I'm being blocked like with you, Bella and the baby." I felt her frustration.

"Sorry, Alice. I know how annoying it is for you not to be able to see what is going to happen, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing."

"Would you like it if you lost your power?"

"Sometimes." I smiled. "It would make my life so much easier."

"Anyway, what should I do?"

"Go on your date and see how it all plays out. You have nothing but time and it can't hurt to go and have some fun for now. Maybe you will be surprised?"

"You like Felix, don't you?" She asked.

"I do and I know he likes you."

"Nothing wrong with your gift." She gave me a mock dirty look.

I pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "I want you to be happy."

"Me too." She cuddled in closer to me. "I love you, Jazz."

"I love you too, baby. Now go be happy." I pushed her toward the door.

"You're so pushy, boy am I glad Bella got stuck with you." She laughed.

"Alice thanks for leading me to Bella."

"Anytime." She skipped out of the house and I could feel her excitement over spending the day with Felix. I wanted this for her because she deserved it.

EPOV

Last night had been a stressful one. I had just gotten Alice to begin talking to me again and now I had to deal with Rose's rage. I didn't blame her for her reaction and I knew she was going to be much harder on me than Alice was. While Alice did most of her fighting with me verbally Rose wasn't above physical violence. At least with Jasper I could defend myself, but I couldn't hit Rose. Maybe Emmett had calmed her down. They had been out all night and most of today. Carlisle said that I should keep my distance and give her the time she needed to process this, but I knew time wasn't what she needed. She needed to take her aggression out and I would just have to prepare myself for her attack.

The house was quiet. Jasper had taken Bella away for the evening to get her out of this craziness for a little while. Felix and Alice were on their first official date and probably would be gone most of the night. Carlisle and Esme had to meet with some of his colleagues at the hospital for a cocktail party. I knew Claudia was here because I could hear her heart beat, but we hadn't crossed paths all afternoon. I was kind of disappointed because I was becoming rather amused with her antics. I knew she always felt a certain satisfaction when she got me to crack a smile over something that she had suggested in her head. The girl was on overdrive all of the time and I wondered if she ever had a moment where she thought about something other than sex. Everyone needed a hobby I supposed. I laughed to myself as I walked into my bedroom.

As soon as I entered I sensed her. Well I guessed now would be as good a time as any to get this over with. I looked to the corner of the room and saw her standing there glaring at me and calling me every nasty name she could think of in her head. Alice had nothing on her when it came to the verbal assault.

"Rose, I know you are upset." I ducked at she began throwing my neatly categorized music collection one CD at a time at my head.

"You pig! What is wrong with you?"

"Stop throwing those at me and I will try to explain."

"Oh, you don't want me to throw these at you anymore?" She asked. "Well how about this?" She pulled her designer heel off of her foot at vampire speed and managed to nail me right in the cheek. While I did feel a slight sting the shoe got most of the damage; it lost its high heel part. That seemed to really annoy her. "Those were seven hundred dollar shoes you idiot!"

"You are the one who threw it at me." Before I could duck the other shoe clocked me just above my eye. The girl had an arm and I knew from that force I was going to have a temporary mark.

"Rose calm down." I held my hands up. "Let me explain."

"No you may be able to sell your bullshit to the rest of this family but I'm not buying it." She growled and crouched down.

"Damn it, Rose, I don't want to do this." I turned to walk away. I should have known better then to turn my back on a natural predator. She jumped on me and took me down. I flipped over on my back and she began pounding into my face.

"How could you do that to this family?" She hit me again. "Jasper? He loves her." She dug her fingernails into my cheeks but wasn't getting anywhere with that so she went back to punching. She wasn't hurting me at the moment so I continued to let her get it out. "What about Bella? You pig! You were supposed to love and protect her. Isn't that the whole reason you made us all leave Forks in the first place?"

"Yes, Rose and I do love her." She slapped me. Okay this was annoying now. I gently pushed her off of me and stood up. "Enough! I get that you are mad at me but continually hitting me isn't going to make you feel better. You can't physically hurt me that way."

"I could break your neck and dismember your sorry body. Do you know which appendage I want to start with?" She stood up and charged me again.

I stepped back. "Fine, kill me. Dismember me and throw my body in the fire. Alice will dance around the pyre."

She stopped mid-attack. "You have no idea what you did? You stand there all smug and self righteous and you keep saying how sorry you are but you don't get it. It was Bella, the love of your life and you treated her like an object."

"No, Rose, it wasn't like that."

"Shut up! You used her and didn't even have the decency to protect her." You were no better then him, but at least you didn't share her with your friends and you didn't leave her to die.

She was thinking about her past and what her fiancé had done to her all of those years ago. "Rose, I'm so…"

"If you value my sanity you will not say you are sorry." She growled as she grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I knew it was only going to take one snap and it would be off. She was certainly mad enough. She increased the pressure as I closed my eyes. I could feel my shoulder popping out of the socket but I didn't have the heart to stop her. "This is for Bella…"

"Rose, stop it!" Emmett yelled. "Jasper doesn't want this."

She looked up at him standing in the door way. "Go away. I won't tell Jasper you saw me rip his arm off and beat him with it!"

He walked toward us. "No, you'll regret it." He grabbed her wrist and applied enough pressure so that she would release my arm. "Maybe not today, but someday; think of Carlisle and Esme."

"Why Emmett?" She hissed as she let go of me. Emmett wrapped his arm around her waist. "It brought back all of that pain." She leaned into his chest.

"I know baby. I'm sorry."

She shot her head up toward me; her lips were pulled over her teeth and her eyes were black. She was one vicious vampire when she wanted to be. "You raped Bella and you will get yours. You don't deserve to be Cullen's father; at least have the decency to admit that and let Jasper raise him. Leave them alone. You've done enough."

Just then the three of us simultaneously looked in the doorway. Claudia was standing there and from her thoughts it was obvious that she had heard about Cullen. She just stared at me.

"That's right; you are staying in a house with a rapist. Feel safe?" Rose asked her.

"Rose," Emmett said. "I know you are upset but this isn't going to accomplish anything. Let's get out of here. Edward maybe you should try to stay out of Rose's way for the time being."

You are no longer my brother. Were the last words I heard her think as Emmett lead her out of the room.

"Why don't you go, too?" I said to Claudia.

She walked into the room and bent down and picked up Rose's broken shoe. "Jimmy Choo. You owe her a pretty expensive pair of shoes." She tossed it aside. "I'd be pissed too."

"I said you should go." I tried to work my shoulder back in place.

"Does that hurt?" She asked as she touched my arm. I pushed her hand away and backed up.

"Oh what only you're allowed to make the unwanted advances in this house?" She said as she took a step toward me and grabbed my arm. I winced. Rose managed to pull it out of the socket before Emmett stopped her and while it wouldn't hurt for very long I knew I needed to put it back in place. "Hold still." She warned as she popped my shoulder back where it belonged.

"Ouch!" I yelled.

"Baby." She teased.

"Thanks." I said. "Listen about what you overheard we were trying to keep that between the Cullen's. Carlisle thinks that it would be best if the Volturi were kept out of this." I didn't expect her to understand and she really had no reason to protect us but I thought I should mention it.

She looked around the room for a second and then plopped down on the sofa. "If I were Jasper I would have strung you up by your balls."

I shook my head. "And just when I didn't think you could be anymore crude."

"I think you like it." She smiled.

"Not really."

"I will keep your secret, but not for you."

"Of course, for Jasper." Must have been all of that southern charm that these women were so taken with.

"Yes, for Jasper. He is my friend and I wouldn't air his dirty laundry."

"I know exactly what you think about Jasper and it kind of makes me wonder what happened in Italy."

"The things you hear in my head are the same as you hear about you, Carlisle and Emmett." She defended herself.

"It's different with Jasper."

"Jasper is loyal to his wife and would never hurt her. Believe me I tried. He is a good man. I have slept with plenty of married men so I would know."

I rolled my eyes in disgust.

"Don't you dare judge me. People who live in glass houses and all."

"What makes Jasper so special?"

"He is my friend and he treats me better than any man ever has. As for what happened in Italy? Nothing did, but you knew that since you can't see it in our thoughts. I'm sure if you picked up the slightest bit of wrong doing on either of our parts you would have gone straight to Bella."

"You better believe I would have. But you are right, I have monitored both of your thoughts and Jasper would never betray Bella."

"Unlike you?"

"I made a mistake." I admitted.

"Well that's big of you to say considering you may have gotten your brother's wife pregnant with a rare male crossbreed. Aro would love this." She laughed.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be disloyal to Jasper."

"I wouldn't but just like you Aro has the gift to read minds and I can't promise that he won't pull it out of my head. I'm guessing that Carlisle is trying to resolve the situation since he is now analyzing my DNA."

"He isn't making much progress, I'm afraid."

"Well, I suppose when I leave here I can make Felix take me to Milan to see a runway show. I need a new wardrobe anyway."

"You would do that for Jasper? A man who would never leave his wife for you?"

"Yes, but not just for Jasper. I would do it for all of you. The majority of you," She shot me a look. "Have been very kind to me and I think the life you have created here is special. Do you have problems? Yes, but what family doesn't. Should you be on Jerry Springer? Most definitely." She laughed. "But, I wouldn't unleash the Volturi on you. If Aro got wind of this he'd probably drag Jasper back and use it as an excuse to keep him there."

"Why would he do that?"

"He is all about manipulation and who better than to help him with that?"

"He's that interested in Jasper?" I asked.

"He doesn't really confide in me, but I see things and yes, I would say that Aro isn't done with Jasper. As long as you all stay off of his radar then maybe he will let it go for another fifty years or so."

"You're not here to persuade Jasper to go are you?" It didn't seem like that was her plan, but that would destroy Bella and I couldn't let that happen.

"I have no interest in what the three of them do, and if I could find a way out I certainly would. I just told you that Jasper is the only man that has ever treated me with any respect so no, I am not here to lure him back. Am I being used as a decoy? Probably, but Jasper is smart and he won't play into Aro's hands." She said with so much certainty that I had to believe it.

"Thanks for helping me out." I pointed to my shoulder.

"No problem. Want to repay me?" She arched an eyebrow as she laughed. "Stay out of my head if you don't want to hear me."

"I try to block you but your thoughts seem to shout at me."

"That's probably because you like what I'm thinking." She smiled at me and patted for me to sit next to her. "Sit, I won't bit." But please feel free to bit me.

"I think I'll just stand here, thanks."

"Don't you get tired of being in such control?"

"My lack of control is what got me into this mess with Jasper and Bella in the first place."

"How did that happen?" She asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. Some strange vampire urge I guess."

"You acted on impulse. It happens. Was it right? No, but you made a mistake and you are trying to rectify it."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Because it's just your personality to make everything perfect and you want everything perfect for Bella. You would do anything to make that happen even if it means letting Jasper raise your son."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know more then you think. You are a stuck up snob who wouldn't give a girl like me a second look. You judge a book by its cover and that's a shame because you are missing out on a whole world. Bella belongs to Jasper and you know that. It's time to move on."

"And what if I can't?" Why was I even discussing this with her?

"Then it will be your loss and you will continue living a lonely eternity." And that sucks trust me.

"You don't seem lonely." I said.

"You don't know anything about me." She repeated my words back to me.

No, I really didn't. She had been teasing me all week with her racy thoughts that I never looked past that to really see her. Obviously, Jasper saw someone worth getting to know and Bella seemed to like her too, so maybe I could try.

"Fair enough." I said.

"You never answered my question." She said.

"Which was?" I asked.

"About repaying me for fixing your shoulder."

"Umm…well what did you have in mind?" I wasn't sure I liked where this was going.

"Oh, get over yourself. Yes, you are hot, but I want a ride in the Vanquish." We can talk about riding other things later.

"The Vanquish." I reminded her as I headed toward the window.

"Where are you going?" She asked horrified.

"To the garage. It's right outside."

"I don't think so." She was hesitant.

I pulled her up off the couch. "Surely you can jump out of a window." I said as I led her to it.

"Just because I can doesn't mean that I do. It's not ladylike."

"Are you serious? Nothing that comes out of your mouth is ladylike."

"Yea, I'll take the stairs and meet you in the garage." She tried to walk away but I grabbed her arm and slung her on my back.

"If you want a ride then we go this way." I told her.

"Put me down!" She screamed. "I don't want to do this!"

"Sure you do." I said as I jumped out the window and gracefully hit the ground.

She screamed the entire way down, but once we landed she was giggling. That was fun! She thought.

"Like that?" I asked as I took off running into the forest. "Let's try this."

She tightened her grip on my neck and pushed herself closer to me. "I don't want to fall or hit a tree." She screamed. Please don't hit a tree! She kept thinking over and over again.

I smiled smugly. Like I would hit a tree? But then again I didn't have to tell her that. We ran for a few minutes and then I returned us to the garage. She was still laughing when we stopped. Finally, she did have other thoughts that didn't involve sex.

"That was very invigorating. I've seen the other vampires run like that, but I've never done it." She really enjoyed it.

"Can't you run fast?" I asked. I was curious to know what Cullen would be able to do.

"Fast yes, but not like you. I'm only half, remember?" She said as she shook out her hair. I looked questioningly at her. "What? I must be a mess."

"You look fine." I cleared my throat. "Still want that ride?"

Oh, yea I still want that ride.

"In the car?" I clarified.

"That's what I meant. Can I drive?"

"No." I opened the door for her at the passenger side. "Get in."

She pushed her back against my chest before sliding into the car. "I like to go fast." She said.

"I'll bet you do." I slammed the door shut and moved at vampire speed to get in my seat. "Fast enough for you?" I said as I started the engine.

"I can see the possibilities."

***Come on … she's not so bad! Lol

***Just so you all know I am leaving for vacation on Sunday and won't be back until next Sunday. Yes, that means no posts from me in over a week. Sorry, but I will miss you all! I plan to write a few chapters while I am away. If you get bored you could always read chapter 24 again!

***Be back soon! Next chapter is Jasper and Bella's hotel romp … Hot Jasper anyone?

***Thanks to all of you for sticking with me while I build this story! I'm having a blast and I hope you are too!