Thanks as usual to naelany for the beta work. :)


When the email from the Dean's office appeared in Jasper's inbox Monday at lunch, he was a mix of anxiety and excitement as he clicked on the subject line to open it. He knew it was coming, but no one had really been able to give him an idea of when to expect the invitation to interview for the full-time tenure track position that he was currently filling only temporarily. Jasper stared at it for a few minutes, re-reading it several times before he finally replied. He set the appointment for his normal office hour on Thursday, more willing to skip dinner before therapy than to be late for a class if it went longer than the hour it was scheduled.

That left him with three days to put together a teaching demonstration and update his CV. He wasn't nervous about the interview per se; he'd always been good at projecting confidence even when he didn't feel it and pulling off a good interview. He was more concerned about all the things that were riding on the outcome of the interview.

He hadn't been kidding when he'd told Bella and Edward that he didn't need to work another day in his life if he didn't want to. Given his dad's line of work in the oil fields, he'd had a very generous life insurance policy, as did his mother, and Jasper had been the sole beneficiary of both. When his mama had passed, one of his comrades in the corps had recommended a broker that had helped Jasper get everything securely and lucratively invested. Jasper was a simple man with simple needs; he could happily live off the interest of his investments for years to come. But he also wanted to make sure that he could help contribute to whatever household they managed to establish, and inherent in that was taking care of his partners, financially, emotionally, and physically.

Jasper was aware that he could do all that without necessarily holding down a steady job, but he also knew that it wouldn't take long for him to go completely nuts without something to do. Of course, the idea of being a stay-at-home parent appealed, but Jasper quickly put that thought out of his head; they hadn't yet discussed the idea of kids with Bella, but he knew he it was just a matter of time until that conversation came up. He knew he didn't need to teach. He could write, or finally figure out a hobby, but if he was being honest with himself, he loved Forks Academy, more than he'd enjoyed any other school in the five years he'd been teaching, and he really didn't want to have to leave. Part of that, Jasper understood, was his relationship with Edward, Bella, and the rest of the family, but he also truly liked the atmosphere of the school, and the students made teaching (most of the time) enjoyable instead of a chore.

Realizing the thoughts were getting him nowhere, he gave himself a mental shake and started making notes on his notepad about what to do for the teaching demonstration part of the interview.

"You okay, Jas?" Bella called quietly from across their office, looking at him over the top of her laptop screen.

"Mmhm," he hummed, looking up with a small smile. "Just thinking."

"Okay, well, don't hurt yourself," she teased.

"Yes'm," Jasper replied cheekily, making Bella laugh softly.

He forced himself to focus on the lessons ahead for his last classes of the day, and used his prep-period to begin pulling together his ideas for the teaching demo; it was an activity he'd done many times before, but had to modify it slightly, given that his "class" would be a room full of board members without the benefit of lectures leading up to it.

After classes and his office hour (in which he spent the time going over materials with a student who'd had significant absences in the last several weeks that put him dangerously near failing), Jasper met up with the others for dinner.

"So, plans for the week?" Alice asked as everyone settled.

No one really had anything new, other than Jasper, who got a round of smiles from everyone when he announced he'd be having his interview on Thursday. Emmett, once again, saved Jasper from having to get into too many details by providing them all with the humorous story of his first interview with the Dean and Jasper shot him a thankful look. From there they all shared a variety of embarrassing stories about work and school until the staff chased them out of the dining hall.

Tuesday was pretty routine. The swim team pushed themselves fairly hard at practice; they had another meet at the end of the month and they were all determined to do better than the last one, though they'd come in a perfectly respectable second place. Most of the students were simply looking to better their individual times, but there was also a good sense of team camaraderie leading to the ultimate goal of taking the meet. Jasper managed to stay out of the pool for once, which meant he didn't need to shower after practice and he made it to dinner a few minutes earlier than normal.

Despite everyone being busy, Tuesday seemed to be the night during the week with the least amount of activities going on, and they lingered over their meals. Emmett and Rosalie sat close together as Rosalie filled them in on their final selections for cake and the reception menu; they weren't having a huge ceremony, but Rosalie wasn't about to ask Esme and Bella to cater, either. About 100 people had been invited, faculty and family, and some former co-workers of both Emmett and Rosalie's whom they'd kept in touch with over the years. Rose's one concession was allowing Alice to be her photographer, but insisting on having a back up since Alice was part of the ceremony as well.

When the dining hall staff eventually kicked them out, Jasper walked back to his dorm with Emmett. He left his door open for the students until quiet hours settled over the hall while he worked on the handouts he'd need for his teaching demonstration Thursday evening. He could hear Emmett through their opened conjoined doors, occasionally singing along to his music on his side of the suite.

When Jasper woke Wednesday morning he could feel the anxiety begin to creep up his spine, though his interview was more than 24 hours away. He quickly dressed for his workout and jogged across campus to the gym. The jog was his warm up and he worked on an elliptical machine, Edward appearing on the machine next to him about ten minutes into Jasper's workout. Jasper smiled at him, but they both had their iPods on, preventing conversation (not that they usually talked much during their gym time). When Edward was done he moved off to an empty space and worked with Emmett on some stretches while Jasper wrapped up his turn on the elliptical and moved into the other room to do a quick circuit of weight training.

Jasper tried to focus on his music and the rhythm of his repetitions to keep him from thinking too hard about what was looming on the horizon and it worked, to a degree. He lost himself in his workout until Edward tapped him on the shoulder to tell him that he was leaving with Emmett. Jasper kissed him quickly, then finished up his workout and jogged back across campus to his room.

He had to shower quickly, having taken a bit more time than normal in the gym. When he left for breakfast his hair was still damp. Jasper joined the others when he'd gotten his bowl of cereal and cup of coffee, and found his seat between Bella and Edward.

"You okay? You were kind of focused this morning," Edward said quietly.

"Yeah, just trying not to think too much," he answered, pouring the milk over his bowl of frosted corn flakes. "Too much going on in my head."

"Don't hurt yourself, okay?" Bella said softly on his other side. "It'll be fine, and you don't need to push so hard."

Jasper nodded. "I won't."

She smiled and went back to her breakfast and the conversation she'd been having with Alice when Jasper had sat down, trying to figure out when they were going to go dress shopping for prom, and Rosalie got involved as they tried to decide if they were going to Seattle or Portland and if they should make a weekend out of it. It sounded like Rosalie and Bella were trying to convince Alice that Portland would be the better trip, and Jasper was surprised that it took some convincing. He would have thought that she would have jumped at the chance to get back down there so soon. They agreed to go in two weeks, since they had the next Sunday at the Cullens' for Mother's Day, and it was Bella's weekend on call.

As usual, Bella and Jasper walked together to their office, and Bella made herself a mug of tea in her Forks Academy mug, rather than the one Jasper and Edward had gotten her, and they split up for their morning classes.

Jasper's classes went fine and he ran out to get lunch for himself and Bella before going back to the office. They ate at their desks while working, which was nothing out of the ordinary; Jasper answered a few emails and saved a couple that had end-of-year procedures he'd want to call up again later.

His afternoon classes were no trouble, and during his office hours, he saw three students on his advising list that wanted help with course selection for the Fall semester, and he helped them out the best he could with the school's online catalogue and their needs.

After another lively dinner with the girls finalizing their shopping plans (and Alice demanding Jasper's measurements so she and Bella could shop for him as well), Jasper and Edward walked Bella to her car so she could go to her therapy appointment, and Jasper went back to his room after walking Edward home and sharing a long, lingering kiss behind his closed door.

Jasper occupied himself through the night by finalizing his presentation for the board and correcting homework. He listened to Edward's playlist in the background, having supplemented the piano music with other suggestions that Edward and Bella had both made over time.

He was quite honestly surprised that when he finally shut everything down for the night and got ready for bed, that sleep came easily, and he rested peacefully throughout the night, despite the growing tension in his body as his interview drew closer.

Thursday morning Jasper pushed himself just a bit harder than normal in the gym, trying to use exercise and the endorphins to dissolve the knot of anxiety and tension in his stomach. He wasn't worried about fucking things up for himself, but for Bella and Edward. He hardly touched his breakfast, but had milk instead of coffee, his stomach already feeling like a ball of churning acid, and he didn't have time to run out for antacids.

"Everything okay?" Edward asked quietly at Jasper's elbow.

Jasper nodded, poking at his food. "Anxious," he said with a shrug.

"It's going to be fine," Bella assured him with a smile. "You're going to be fine, and no matter what happens, we'll be there, okay?"

Jasper nodded again, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, finding that it didn't help much.

"Whatever happens, it's not going to change the fact that we love you," Edward murmured just loudly enough for Jasper to hear. "Just relax, and be yourself."

"I know," Jasper said quietly, finding a small smile for them.

Bella kissed his cheek quickly and Emmett took over the conversation, leaving Jasper to tear his toast into small pieces instead of eating it and drank his milk.

After breakfast, Bella walked with him to their office, her hand around his elbow, and he appreciated the quiet support and distraction as she chatted about one of the student performances from her Shakespeare class.

"Thank you, darlin'," Jasper said when they reached the office, kissing her softly behind the closed door.

"Anytime," she said with a bright smile, crossing to her desk and gathering her things for her first class of the day.

Jasper had wisely rearranged the schedule for the week so that he'd have things to focus on in classes, rather than letting the students do the review sessions for the exams he had scheduled for Friday. They still did review, but Jasper was bit more involved than the usual worksheets and such that he gave the students, doing a more interactive study where the students quizzed him, or they played a version of Jeopardy. By lunch, Jasper was much less anxious, having had fun with the students and getting his head out of the interview mindset and back into teaching.

Lunch was waiting for him on his desk when he got back after his morning classes. Someone had brought him a half of a turkey sandwich and a bowl of potato soup. Bella smiled at him over her laptop and went back to work, eating as she typed. Jasper focused on his messages and calendar during the half-hour break, trying to hang onto the calm he'd found while teaching, knowing that the anxiety was going to creep back in during his prep hour when he wouldn't have anything to focus on.

"Thanks for lunch, sweetheart," Jasper said, catching Bella at the door with a kiss on their way back out to their first afternoon class.

She shrugged off his thanks but smiled brightly and gave his hand a squeeze before she ducked out.

Jasper conducted one more review session before his prep, and after dropping his bag in his office he decided to go for a walk. The weather was clear for once, and he left his jacket in the office, but grabbed his iPod from his bag before he set out. He scrolled through his playlists until he found one called 'wandering' and strolled at an easy pace around campus. Jasper let hit thoughts wander, not really hanging onto anything in particular. He had about two months to come up with a wedding gift for Rosalie and Emmett, and less time to figure out something for Edward's birthday. He should probably get together with Bella to plan that one, since she'd had such a good idea for his. He knew that Rosalie's birthday was coming up soon, too, but didn't have an exact date for that.

He hadn't had to keep track of those kinds of things in so long, but he was starting to get better. Bella had found him a small calendar that he actually liked, from the same company that Edward used for his small notebooks. Jasper'd started plugging in dates and things, though it didn't actually start until June; anything before that was going on sticky notes on the first couple pages.

Jasper nodded at students who greeted him as he walking, just making a loop around campus. The music helped to keep him from thinking about much and before he knew it he was back at the Humanities building with only about 10 minutes before his next class. He made himself a cup of tea, still not feeling like he needed coffee, and gathered the review materials he'd prepared for his last two classes for the afternoon. While grading all the tests at once kind of sucked, it was nice to have a solid day of having all his classes in the same place, rather than having to keep track of how staggered they were.

Just like his morning classes, Jasper's afternoon classes provide a great distraction and before he knew it, Bella was giving him a soft kiss, telling him he was going to do fine, and handing him his messenger bag with the supplies he'd need for the teaching demo.

He crossed campus quickly, not wanting to be late. They were meeting in the conference room in the library, and Jasper hadn't set foot in the room since the Writer's conference; when he'd met with the board to discuss that event specifically, they'd used a vacant classroom. He wasn't sure why they couldn't do the same thing for his interview, but he steeled himself before pushing the doors open.

Two long tables had been pushed together to allow seating for all twelve members of the board, plus the Dean and the head of the History department, Dr. Peters.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Whitlock," Dr. Harper greeted him.

"Dean Harper. Dr. Peters, Ladies and Gentlemen," Jasper said to the assembled Board. He could never remember all of their names. He set his bag down next to the empty chair with a new bottle of water. Underneath was a small scrap of paper in Esme's handwriting. relax it said, with a smiley face. Jasper couldn't help but grin as he took his seat, shifting just once to get comfortable before resting his arms along the arms of the chair, his hands at the edge of the table.

"Shall we get started?" The Dean asked, unbuttoning his jacket and taking the seat nearest Jasper's left.

Jasper nodded his agreement, and the dean deferred to one of the board members.

"Dr. Whitlock, can you tell me about your philosophy on teaching?" a mature woman asked, jumping right in.

Jasper took a deep breath and answered. They questions continued for half an hour, and while they weren't anything he hadn't heard before, he was still slightly anxious as he answered, patiently listening to follow up questions and managing not to fumble with the bottle of water that Esme had left when he opened it.

"Alright Dr. Whitlock, the floor is yours," Dr. Peters said when the questions had been answered.

Jasper pulled his demo materials from his bag. "I'd like you to get into groups of four, please," Jasper said. "Or, wait," he said counting. "Two groups of four and two groups of three, and once you're arranged I'll explain our next activity." While they arranged themselves, Jasper sorted through everything, wishing there was a blackboard or smart-system available, since it would make things so much easier, and wondering once again why they weren't doing this in a classroom where it would actually make sense.

"Alright," Jasper said, slipping easily into his classroom voice, commanding the attention of his 'students.' "We've been briefly discussing the Oregon Trail in the last week. As we discuss more over the course of the next month, we are going to do a bit of a role play activity along with it. Your groups are now your wagon trail," Jasper announced, and he was met with, instead of the mix of groans and cheers from his students, smiles and nods as his demonstration group began to understand the activity. "We will also be reading the short novel Patty Reed's Doll, about the Donner party's crossing into California."

"Each day for the next several weeks, we will spend 10-15 minutes of class on our travels. As a group you will need to make decisions that will essentially decide the fate of your train. You'll post your decision on a map, and at the beginning of each day, I'll give you the result of your decision. Questions?" he gathered the handouts he had ready and began to pass them around the table.

One of the board members raised his hand. "What if we die?"

"Depending where we are in the exercise you can get a re-boot," Jasper explained. "The rules are coming around. Also coming around is an information sheet y'all will need to get started today, since you haven't had the benefit of a week of lectures and discussion leading up to this activity," Jasper explained.

"What we're going to do today, is set up your wagons," Jasper continued, standing at the head of the table. "On the back of the list of rules is a list of all possible supplies. As a group, you need to determine how many people are in your train and what supplies you're taking. To keep things fair, everyone will be 'leaving' Independence Missouri on the same day. That background information is on the second handout. Questions?" he asked again.

"Alright. Get started. I'll be coming around to offer suggestions or answer questions. We'll take most of the class period today for this, or the remainder of the twenty minutes you've given me for this demonstration," Jasper said.

For the next fifteen minutes Jasper circled the conference tables. The groups had spread themselves out so they wouldn't directly be overheard by the others as they started strategizing and planning their travels. The group that the dean was in decided they'd be 'problem students' and supply their train with beer and prostitutes. Jasper tried to advise them, but they ignored him. Jasper let it go; in class, they'd quickly learn their lesson.

"Okay, class, that's all for today," Jasper said after keeping half an eye on the clock. The minutes had passed quickly and the Board members seemed to enjoy his activity.

"Thank you, Dr. Whitlock," the dean said. "I believe there are a few more questions?"

Jasper nodded and took his seat again.

"Is this an activity you've actually done in class?" one of the members asked.

Jasper nodded again. "Yes, though not here. It didn't fit within the curriculum for the third year students that I had this semester. It was very successful at St. Maria academy, my previous institution. The students enjoy the opportunity to 'live' the experience that they're learning about, and it seems like play time while they put that knowledge into practice."

"And how does it affect the student grades?" another asked.

"It's been my experience that students who engage in activities like this one, rather than just book memorization and lecture, score better overall on exams and are better prepared for college. I also tie in a paper on what they learned through the experience, while they read a fictional account as well as some primary source material," he explained. He then went a little off topic. "Students who get involved with their learning are more invested in the experience," he said. "When they get to play and be hands on, they enjoy it. Lectures aren't just boring for the students, either," he said. "They can be boring for the instructor as well, and a bored instructor doesn't engage the students," he concluded.

"Any other questions?" The dean asked after a moment of contemplative quiet. When no one answered he smiled at Jasper. "Thank you again, Dr. Whitlock. You're our last interview, and we should have a decision made when the rest of the faculty receive their offers next Monday. Enjoy your weekend."

"Thank you," Jasper said honestly. He gathered up the remains of his papers and shoved them into his bag, glancing again at the clock. He had time to grab a sandwich before he needed to leave for his therapy appointment. He shook a few hands on his way out and was overall very pleased with the way things had gone.

He made his way quickly to the dining hall and asked the young lady behind the sandwich line to just wrap his turkey and provolone in a napkin because he had to eat on the run. He grabbed a bottle of soda, his lack of caffeine for the day finally making itself known by the throbbing in his temples. Jasper also grabbed a banana off the fruit tray and made his way through to find the others to at least say hi.

"How'd it go?" Bella asked softly as he stood behind her and Edward, his hand curling around a lock of her hair.

"Good. I just wanted to say hi. I've got to run to therapy, then history club," he said. "I'll see you all tomorrow though." He tugged lightly on Bella's hair and gave the back of Edward's neck a light squeeze.

Everyone wished him a good night and he took off, eating the banana on the way to the car, then eating the sandwich as he drove across down. Riley greeted him with a cup of coffee and Jasper waited patiently for the five minutes he'd been early, finally finding the calm that had evaded him for most of the day.

Jasper had a good conversation with his therapist. He discussed some of the things that he'd talked about with Bella and Edward already, like their plans for the summer and fall, and how he was feeling about all the developments in their lives. They also talked about his desire for a family and what some of the repercussions could be, not only for them, but for their children and their extended family as well. Dr. Jones encouraged him to have the conversation about kids with Bella and Edward soon, to make sure that they were either on the same page, or willing to make adjustments for whatever future they wanted to have together. Kids weren't necessarily a deal breaker for Jasper; he loved Bella and Edward too much to walk away simply if she didn't want to (or couldn't have) kids.

At the end of the hour Jasper thanked her and said goodnight to Riley on his way out. Jasper knew he still had some issues to deal with, but they were working their way through everything, and Jasper had a feeling she thought that his current relationships would probably go further toward helping him deal with his past, so he went with it. He was glad that he'd given Dr. Jones a chance when he'd been so quick to dump her at the beginning of the semester, but he knew a large part of that was his unwillingness to open up when things had been so strained between himself and Edward while Edward was travelling those first few weeks.

Back on campus Jasper made it to the history club meeting just in time, as usual. When the meeting was over Jasper went back to his room and crashed onto his bed, taking just enough time to change and brush his teeth. He laid there for a long time before he slept, but he enjoyed the quiet chance to be alone with his thoughts, and when he did finally drift to sleep, it was peaceful and he slept through the night.

When Jasper joined the others at breakfast Friday morning, there was a discussion already going on about weekend plans. Edward caught Jasper up as he slid over the salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

"Emmett and Rosalie are going to Seattle for the weekend, and Alice is trying to talk Bella into something, but Bella's on call, so she's trying to say she needs to stay here. We don't have anything planned except dinner Saturday night and with Bella on call, we'll need to decide if we still want to stay over on Saturday or just come back here," Edward explained.

"I'm ion call/i, Alice," Bella said, exasperated. "And you two can just stay at the house. No need for us all to have to be miserable in our tiny beds, alone," she said with a slight pout.

"Ye-ah. I think we'll come back to campus," Jasper said slowly, "We can always keep you company," he suggested.

Bella's pout flipped into a smile and she nodded before turning back to her argument with Alice. Edward laughed quietly on Jasper's other side and Jasper just listened, amused, as Bella tried to fend off her best friend.

All of Jasper's students complained about having to take a test on Friday, but when he reminded them it meant there was no homework for the weekend they seemed to take it a little better. Jasper spent his classes reading or working on other lesson plans while they took their tests, and he piled everything into his bag at the end of the day, hoping to get some time over the weekend to get them all graded to hand back on Monday.

After dinner on Friday, Jasper walked Edward back to his building, since the girls were having some kind of hall party, girls only, leaving them to their own devices. Edward's suitemate was out, and one of the other faculty upstairs was on call for the night, so they were able to lock both doors and have a little bit of privacy.

Jasper reverently stripped Edward and took his time loving him. He'd kind of missed having time alone with Edward; as much as he loved Bella and spending time with both of them, the time he'd had with Edward alone was special to him, and Jasper put as much of that emotion into his actions as he could. While they were still intimately connected and cuddled together in the bed, Edward ran his fingers through Jasper's hair.

They didn't seem to need ay words, and Jasper was surprised to find that he didn't feel any guilt, either, for not including Bella in some way. Edward seemed to get what Jasper was trying to process and kissed him softly before detangling himself and stepping into a pair of discarded sweat pants before going into the bathroom. Jasper tossed the condom and borrowed a pair of Edward's sleep pants, and they spent the night together in the too-small bed, bringing back memories of some of their earliest days together.

Saturday night they gathered at the Cullens' for dinner. There was an undercurrent of tension between Esme and Carlisle, though Jasper couldn't really pinpoint it. They seemed as affectionate with each other as ever, if not more so, which was what confused him.

After dinner, since Rosalie and Emmett were already absent, Bella, Alice, Jasper, and Edward returned to campus. Jasper and Edward hung out with the girls watching movies and talking until an emergency called Bella away, and Jasper and Edward returned to their own rooms.

Monday morning brought a whole other kind of buzz to the campus. The faculty were all mostly aware that they'd be receiving their renewal offers sometime during the day, and those that were in residence seemed pretty anticipatory while at breakfast. Jasper tried not to think about it much as he walked Bella to their office and got ready for classes.

Edward was waiting outside their office when Jasper and Bella came from their respective ends of the building when their classes were over for lunch.

"Hey," Jasper greeted him as he unlocked the door and let them both go before him. "What's up?" Edward rarely sought them out for lunch, using the time to coordinate with Angela or run errands if he'd been off campus for therapy like he usually was on Monday mornings.

"I got my offer for next year," Edward said, flopping into the student chair at Bella's desk. Jasper couldn't decide if he looked defeated or exhausted; none of them had considered the possibility that he wouldn't get renewed for the next year.

"And?" Bella prompted, smoothing her skirt down as she sat in the executive chair behind her desk.

Edward sighed as Jasper dropped his bag at his desk and drug his extra chair over. "They want to give me a full time position," he said quietly.

Jasper's brow furrowed. He hadn't realized that Edward wasn't full time.

"Which means what, sweetheart?" Bella asked.

"I'd be directing all three of the upper level bands, plus teaching four classes. It's a full seven-course load, plus touring and teaching lessons." He sighed again.

"Why is this a bad thing?" Jasper asked, still confused.

"Do remember what February was like?" Edward asked, completely rhetorically. "It adds two classes to what I've had this semester and my schedule already put a big crimp in the amount of time we were able to spend together."

"And do you remember what I told you when you were first asked to take over for Dr. Anderson?" Jasper asked. "We'll deal with it. If you want it, do it. Look at the bright side; it'll mean you've got the same number of classes as me an' Bells," He suggested. "Do you want it?"

"I don't know," Edward admitted. "It means having to deal with some things in terms my physical therapy because I won't have as much flexibility in my schedule…" he started.

"But that's not supposed to be a forever thing, right?" Bella asked.

Edward shrugged. "We haven't put any kind of stop-date to it."

"Okay, so you can work that out with Jane and Dr. Card. What's the other thing?" Jasper asked, knowing that there had to be something else that was holding Edward back.

"If I take it, it's mine for as long as I want it so long as I complete at least my MA in four years," Edward answered flatly.

"Okay," Bella said slowly. "What's the problem?" She asked, clearly confused about why that would be something to hold Edward back.

"How the hell am I supposed to teach full time and get another degree?" He asked, anger and frustration seeping into his tone. "I mean, I get the situation, they can't have someone with just a BA practically running the performance side of the department, but with all the classes, too?" He sighed again and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"When do you need to accept the offer?" Jasper asked.

"I have until next Monday, at noon," Edward answered. "Why?"

"This weekend, we'll go to your parents' house, take over the dining room table, and sort it out. We'll find the programs in the area, see what works, and figure out if we can make it work for you, okay?" Jasper said. "Bella and I have done this already, so we can help you sort through all the information, and we're going to be there on Sunday for Mother's day anyway, right, so we may as well stay the whole weekend and see what we can do."

Edward nodded, sighing again.

"Hey," Bella said, rising and shifting to sit on Edward's lap. "This is a good thing!" she said with a smile. "Haven't you wanted this?"

"Yeah, kinda, I guess," Edward said, wrapping one arm around her back to steady her. "I mean, eventually, sure, but I didn't think it'd happen this way or this soon. I really didn't think that they'd ever offer me anything permanent before I had an advanced degree, and I wasn't really to start thinking about going back to school on my own just yet. And it's just going to take up so much time, when we already have to plan ahead for what we can get, especially if I'm having to study on top of everything else."

Bella looked up at Jasper, a question in her eyes. He shook his head; he hadn't gotten anything with an offer yet. "But honey, we both have full time loads, too. And maybe it's time to really consider our living situation for next year," she said. "It won't seem so bad, maybe, if we can be home together, every night, in our own bed." Bella lightly combed through his hair with her fingertips.

Jasper watched as Edward leaned into her touch. "Yeah," Edward agreed. Jasper glanced at the clock over the door.

"We should probably go grab lunch," he said softly. "We'll have time to talk about this later, okay?" He ran a hand down Edward's arm and twined their fingers together. "We don't need to make any decisions right now."

"Yes, I'm hungry," Bella said, responding to Jasper's first statement. She rose, kissing Edward lightly from across the desk as she gathered her i.d. card. "We can talk after dinner?" she asked as Jasper lightly tugged Edward from his chair.

Edward nodded. "I don't have anything planned but the usual."

"Okay," Jasper agreed, kissing Edward softly. "Come on, let's go feed our girl," he said lightly, giving Edward's hand a squeeze before letting them proceed him out of the office.

They grabbed something to go from the cafeteria, half their lunch period already gone. Jasper wolfed down his sandwich and Bella quickly ate her wrap, while Edward carried a couple pieces of pizza back to his office. Jasper made it to his next class just as the bell rang, to the general amusement of his students.

When he got back to his office for his free-hour there was still nothing from the Dean's office. Jasper knew he'd get an email no matter what the board had decided; he'd either get a "thanks for your service" letter or the offer for the permanent position. As his prep-period drew on, Jasper fought to not force his email program to 'send and receive' every minute as a feeling of dread shivered down his spine. As the bell sounded, ending the hour, Jasper took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to find the well of calm that he knew existed deep within him, and kept up a mental mantra of 'they love me, the job doesn't matter, they love me, the job doesn't matter,' as he gathered the materials for his next two classes.

His students kept him sufficiently distracted throughout the afternoon before his office hour by asking thoughtful questions and engaging in the discussion topic for the day. When he'd left the office, he made sure to bring all of his materials, knowing he'd obsess over his email during the passing period if we returned to his office. His final class was giving presentations that forced him to focus on the accuracy of their information and the quality of their presentation.

Jasper gathered his things when the classroom emptied, and he methodically erased the board and closed down the smart-system in the room that a few students had used for their presentations. He made his way back up to his office, and found another couple of students lingering outside, waiting for their turn for advising.

"Come on in," Jasper invited, unlocking the door, finding Bella's side of the room vacant. "Help yourself to something to drink," he said, waving toward the coffee machine and the small stack of paper cups next to it; he and Bella had stocked up when the advising season had started right after spring break. "Who's first?" He settled at his desk and wiggled the mouse to wake his computer back up, inputting his password as one of the students took the seat at his desk and went through her bag for her papers.

Jasper minimized his email program without looking at it, and focused on helping the student pick classes for the fall. It wasn't something he'd done much of in the past; all his previous postings had been seriously temporary and he'd rarely been assigned anyone to directly mentor. He understood that at Forks, he had taken over Dr. Palmer's advisees as well as everything else.

When he'd helped both students, he went through his list and noted those he hadn't seen yet, and popped back into his email to send out a reminder.

His breath left in a quiet 'whoosh' and his pointer hovered over the subject line "Forks Academy: Fall 2010" from the Dean's office. He took a deep breath and clicked.

Dear Dr. Whitlock,

On behalf of the Governing Board of Forks Academy I would like to formally extend an invitation for you to join the full time faculty of the history department at Forks Academy.

That was as far as Jasper read before his eyes closed with another soft exhalation. Everything was going to be fine. He'd done it. For the first time in his adult life, Jasper Whitlock knew he was going to be okay. He had a home and a family. While the job wouldn't have necessarily changed that, it did make things immensely easier for himself and his partners.

He jumped slightly at the feel of hands on his shoulders, and felt Bella's lips on the top of his head in quiet apology as she read over his shoulder, the message still open on his screen. "I told you everything would be okay," she said softly, leaning forward slightly and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek against his temple.

Jasper covered her hands with his own and felt himself relax slightly; he hadn't heard her come in. "Yeah," he acknowledged, hearing a hoarse edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.

"Hey," Bella said quietly, withdrawing her arms and gently turning his chair. She perched on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck again. "We're okay," she promised. "I'm renewed with my full load, you've been offered a full load," she said, which was more than Jasper knew at the moment. "And Edward's got his, if we can convince him that it's not the end of the world," she said with a wry smile.

Jasper laughed softly and buried his nose in her hair, wrapping his arms around her. "I know," he said. "Just…for the first time, in a really long time, things have turned out the way I've wanted them to," he confessed quietly. "I have friends, a family, and two gorgeous generous people that make me smile and make me happy. I have a job that I love in a community that seems accepting, and I'm really truly happy."

Bella beamed at him. "I'm glad you're happy, sweetheart," she said before kissing him tenderly. "Come on," she said softly. "Pack up and let's get to dinner."

Jasper kissed her again quickly then shifted her off his lap so he could unhook his computer and get everything into his messenger bag. Bella went across to her side of the office and packed a few things up into her bag, and they met at the door. Jasper locked the door behind them.

Bella wrapped her hand around Jasper's elbow as they walked to the dining hall. Once they arrived they went through the serving lines on their own and made their way to the rest of the group.

"So?" Emmett asked expectantly as Bella took the seat next to Edward, leaving Jasper between her and Rosalie at the round table.

"What?" Jasper asked, toying with him.

"Dude, you know what? I got my renewal offer, five classes plus football in the fall, full load in the spring. Rosie got re-upped with her full load," he said with a bright grin. "And the housing provision was removed since the dean already knew we'd be moving off campus at the end of the year and not coming back."

"I got mine," Alice acknowledged. "Four and four again, which is what I want, so I'm happy. It leaves me time to work on my own stuff, too. I'm still on campus and they've tentatively allowed me the full suite again, depending on circumstances."

"Yeah, we haven't figured anything out for sure about housing yet for next year," Bella responded. "I'm full load again as well, seven and seven," she announced, toying with her glass of water.

"Edward?" Emmett prompted after a moment. "Come on, bro, don't leave us hanging," he practically begged.

Jasper reached his arm around Bella to Edward's shoulder, knowing the man was still twisted up about his offer.

Edward sighed. "They've offered me the full time Director of Bands position. Four classes, three bands," he said softly. He continued before Alice's bright smile could erupt into something louder. "There's a catch, thought. I have to complete at least my Master's in the next four years."

"Pft," Emmett scoffed. "That's it? Man, you know that's no problem."

Edward just stared down his brother. Jasper squeezed his shoulder; he could tell the other man was still slightly on edge with everything.

"Did you work while you were in graduate school, Em?" Bella asked.

"Nope, didn't need to," he said. "I TA'ed of course, but I didn't have another job," Emmett answered. "Oh," he said a bit softer, the metaphorical light bulb going off. "Still, four years while working full time isn't impossible."

"I know," Edward sighed. "It just seems like such a huge decision."

"What's the alternative?" Rosalie asked. "If you don't accept their terms, then what?"

"I'd have the job for next year while they searched for a replacement, at which time my position would be 're-evaluated according to the needs of the students and institution,'" he said, and Jasper could hear the quotation marks in his voice. "We're going to look at things this weekend," Edward said and Jasper squeezed his shoulder again and reclaimed his hand so he could eat. "We'll try to figure out if it's feasible, and what we want."

"Well, we've all done it, too, so let us know if there's any questions," Rose added. "What about you, Jasper?"

He knew he was the wildcard of the bunch. He grinned. "Full time, full load," he answered simply.

Emmett let out a whoop that had other people I the dining hall turning to look at their table. "We get to keep you?"

"Christ, Emmett, he's not a puppy," Rosalie said with a roll of her eyes, but she was smiling. "That's good news, Jasper. I'm happy for all of you," she said sincerely.

"Decisions to make, then?" Alice asked.

Bella nodded. "As soon as we know we'll let you know," she said, and Alice had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. They all had a good laugh and the conversation moved on to other things.

After dinner, Bella and Edward walked with Jasper and Emmett back to Jasper's room. Emmett gave them privacy, closing their adjoining doors while they piled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and bodies, the dim light of sunshine outside supplemented by Jasper's reading lamp.

"I want a house," Bella announced into the quiet semi-darkness.

"Okay," Edward answered slowly.

"I mean it," Bella said firmly. "I know it hasn't been that long, really, but I don't know that I can do this for another year," she said, her tone a bit softer. "We spend so much time apart, and it's not fair. I'm tired of giving up something I want in order to be professional or supportive. I want a house. I want a place we can call home, where we can have dinner together, every night. Where we can cuddle on the couch and be free to be affectionate together. I want to be able to go to bed with you both every night," she stressed.

"I may not have had that terrible of a life," she continued after a heartbeat, and Jasper could feel her hand tracing random patterns on his thigh. "But it feels like forever since I've had a home. Your parents have given me that, Edward," she said, turning her head toward him. "But I'm tired of feeling like we're invading every time we go over for the weekend."

"What about our responsibilities here?" Jasper interjected. "Can all three of us bail on our in-residence status?"

"Is that even our problem?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, sweetheart, I think it is," Jasper responded quietly. "Are they expecting us to stay in residence? I didn't even read that whole letter this afternoon," he said.

"I don't know," Edward answered. "We can ask mom, if we need to. But I think maybe Bella's right here; it's time for us to do something we want to do, and the administration can figure it out. I'm sure there are people in the community that could fill our roles, if not actual faculty who might agree."

Jasper closed his eyes. "If that's what we want, then I'm okay with it. I just hate thinking that we're going to leave people in a lurch."

"Honey, for a long time, your life has been travelling from one place to another, not getting attached, and just doing what people asked of you," Bella said softly. "Isn't it time that you do something you want, not something that you have to do?" she asked gently.

"Yeah. I just…" Jasper sighed. He wasn't sure what he had to say wasn't going to be hurtful, but…he took a deep breath. "How can we be sure this is the right thing? Or the right time? I love you both, but how do we know this is going to work? What if six, nine, twelve months from now we-"

Edward cut him off. "Baby, stop."

Jasper closed his mouth, feeling fingers in his hair.

"Nothing's certain in life," Edward continued quietly. "We simply go along and make the best of it. But we can't make decisions based on the what-ifs. We can only do what we think is right for us right now and deal with things as they happen."

"I know that deep down you're worried that we're going to leave," Bella added, and she shifted so Jasper could see her face. "I have the same fear, that someday I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream," she confessed quietly. "But one of the things I'm learning is that I can't go through life expecting the worst of everything and everyone, though I've got good reasons to, given what's happened in my life. And I don't want to live that way," she said, her voice firmer but her tone still soft. "Things may not always be good. We're probably going to fight, a lot, since we've never truly lived together. But we're not going to run away. I love you, Jasper, and I love Edward, and we're in this all together," she said.

"I know," Jasper whispered. He felt arms circle him and squeeze. "It just seems so…."

"Permanent?" Edward suggested.

Jasper nodded.

"But isn't that the point?" Bella asked, and Jasper could feel fingers combing through his hair again. He could only assume it was Bella, but he wasn't sure. "We can't keep living the lives of transients, staying in the dorms until we're old enough to retire. I don't want to. We can't be Peter Pan, refusing to grow up and holding onto our college and high school days by surrounding ourselves with high school students all the time. As good as the food is, I'm tired of it. I miss cooking. I'd like to be able to have an adult conversation over a glass of wine without having to worry about being on call or interrupted by a student. I'm twenty-seven, Jazzy. I want to live an adult life," she said quietly.

"I want to be able to lay around in bed on a Sunday morning, or walk around in pajamas with coffee, and be able to sleep with you, literally and metaphorically, whenever I want," Edward continued. "We've already wasted so much time, Jasper. I don't want to waste anymore, not when we've got the challenge my position to deal with, too."

Jasper knew he was being a bit selfish in his fears and anxieties. "I know. It's just a lot to accept, for me, anyway. I've got a permanent job, a family, partners. A year ago I was having a phone interview with the dean and had three others lined up for various parts of the country. All of this is still a little scary," he admitted.

"But we're right here with you," Bella said quietly.

"I know," Jasper said back, reaching for and squeezing the hand on his thigh.

"So, a house?" Edward asked a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Sounds like," Jasper answered.

Bella lightly smacked them both.

The tension broke and they laughed quietly, shifting around a bit to exchange kisses and tender touches. They remained cuddled together for a little while until Bella declared she needed to get back to her room to finish prep for the next day and Edward offered to walk her home. Jasper showed them out, kissing them each before they opened the door.

When they were gone, Jasper settled at his table and booted his computer back up. He logged into his financials, having sent everything off to the accountant to do taxes only a month previous, but wanting to check on things. He had assets available for whenever they actually got around to purchasing the house; he knew they'd need to have another conversation about money at some point.

After checking his email Jasper changed for bed and read until sleep claimed him, late into the night.

The rest of the week passed in a general blur. End of year-itis was settling into the students hard, and Jasper had to pull out of lot of tricks to keep them focused as they headed into the last four weeks before finals. His upper level classes were starting to get excited for prom, and some of the younger students were much more excited to get to go home for the summer holidays.

Though spring had firmly settled on Forks and daylight savings time had taken place, it wasn't really distinguishable in Forks, other than the negligible amounts of additional daylight in the evenings. The temperature didn't warm all that much, though the rain seemed to fall less frequently. On the rare sunny days, the students hauled blankets out onto the lawns to study or socialize.

By Friday, Jasper was ready to get off campus for the two days they planned to spend at the Cullens'. His dorm room had started to feel slightly confining with the promise of an honest-to-god home in the near future. He was also very much ready to let the on-call faculty member deal with the restless students who could smell the end of the year the way animals could smell fear or a predator.

After classes, Jasper returned to his room to pack a bag for the weekend; he, Bella, and Edward were going out for dinner in Port Angeles before crashing at Esme and Carlisle's for the weekend. He met his lovers at Edward's car, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as they left the school in the rearview mirror.

Bella laughed and looked over her shoulder. "Ready for the weekend?"

Jasper nodded. "Oh yeah. The last month or so of the year is just rough."

Edward met his gaze in the review mirror and smiled sympathetically. "It all seems to rush up on your at once, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Jasper answered, settling into the backseat for the drive. "And there's just too much. Review for finals, prom, Day on the Green. I may as well just discount the last week of classes," he groused. He didn't even mention all the 'ceremonies' that happened as students were inducted into honor societies and clubs had end of year parties. No wonder he couldn't seem to get his classes to focus lately.

"It'll get easier, as you get to really know the students and community a bit better," Bella responded. "And once the students, especially the younger ones, realize they can't take advantage of you because you'll be back next year."

"And the year after and the year after," Edward intoned with a smile.

"Yeah, I know," Jasper answered. He was trying not to fall into the same trap the students were; they were looking so forward to the end of the year that they were practically unable to concentrate on anything else. He was maintaining control of his classroom, but sometimes only just, and he wanted to spend at least part of the weekend trying to find ways to modify his upcoming lessons to try to keep their attention. "What do you do for the last few weeks?" he asked them. He was tempted to assign all his classes a last minute in depth research project that they could work on in class that would be one part review and one part busy work. They could teach each other to prep for their finals.

"I give the theory class a practice AP exam," Edward said. "In music history they spend the last few weeks preparing a presentation about their favorite composer or musical movement."

"Projects and presentations," Bella agreed. "And a lot of group work."

"Pretty much what I was thinking about," Jasper said. "I'm trying to think if I can pull off a huge interactive project this close to the end of the term without distracting from the need to review for finals."

"What did you have in mind?" Bella asked.

He tugged on a loose piece of her hair that had fallen over the seat. Jasper told them about the activity he'd done for his teaching demonstration. "I'd want to do maybe a scaled down version of it, but I think we could do it."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Edward said.

"It really does. You could always coordinate with one of the other teachers, too. What years do you have?" Bella asked. With that they kind of schemed about an extended project for two classes that could extend over both their history and English classes.

They were still plotting, trying to put together an actual assignment when Edward pulled into the parking lot at the Italian restaurant where Jasper had taken Bella back before Valentine's Day.

The hostess seated them in a round booth in the corner, and they were able to sit close together with Bella in between Jasper and Edward. Bella ordered a glass of wine and an order of mozzarella sticks without hesitation while they reviewed the menu and it made Jasper more than happy to see that she was finally comfortable to just order what she wanted without consulting either of them first. Jasper had an iced tea and Edward had water and they munched on breadsticks and Bella's fried cheese while they waited for their entrees.

"So. House hunting?" Edward asked.

"Rosalie gave me the name of their realtor," Bella said, setting down her wine glass after taking a sip. "Maybe we should start there?"

"We should probably put together a list of things we want," Jasper added. "Also…" he trailed off.

"What, babe?" Bella prompted.

"Kids," Edward answered softly, picking up on Jasper's train of thought. "Jasper and I have already talked about it some," he said.

"We just haven't," Jasper continued. "It's not something we need to think about right away, but it may factor into what we want for a house.

She took one of their hands in each of hers. "I would absolutely love to have a family with you someday," she said quietly, a soft smile on her face. "I'm not saying I'm ready to go off birth control right now, and there's probably going to be a lot of things we'll need to deal with, in terms of legality and things when we get that far," she said thoughtfully. "But you're right. I'm thinking four bedrooms, minimum."

"Four?" Jasper clarified.

"Mmhm." She nodded. "Master, study, guest, and possible nursery." She ticked them off on her fingers. "We're going to need some place to work; we'll still have our offices on campus, but we'll need a place at home where we can keep our messes contained."

"Good point," Edward said. "I'd like a big patio. We need somewhere to put that fuckawesome chair Jasper got me that we haven't been able to use much lately," he said with a grin.

Jasper chuckled. "Okay."

"What do you want, Jazzy?" Bella asked, shifting a bit closer to his side.

He shrugged one shoulder. He hadn't put much thought into it. "A kitchen that you'll be happy to bake in. A space where we can set up video games to entertain Emmett and the kids that he and Rosalie will have. Room for Edward's piano. A dining room table big enough for the family. A bed big enough for us to share. A whirlpool bathtub in the master bath. Maybe a hot tub on the patio. Room for Bella's crafts." He was mostly just thinking aloud.

Bella kissed his jaw. "I think we can manage all of that," she said softly. Jasper felt Edward's hand on his neck and saw his answering smile as their server brought by their food.

"Let's put together a formal list tomorrow and I'll get it to the realtor," Bella said, unwrapping her silverware and going after her mushroom ravioli with gusto. "When do we want to have something purchased?"

"By August or January," Edward answered. "If we still want to go away this summer, that gives us some time, or we can always stay with mom and dad. But if we don't find anything by the time school starts…"

"We may be back on campus for a semester," Jasper finished, cutting off a bite of his chicken parmesan.

"We'll manage," Bella said, their little voice of reason. Jasper nodded and kissed her head.

"You know," Edward said thoughtfully, twirling fettuccine on the spoon with his fork. "We should probably see about contacting a lawyer at some point."

"What for, sweetheart?" Bella asked.

"Well. As much as it sucks to think about, there are things we should plan for. We are all aware that accidents happen," he said dryly. "Medical proxy is one thing we're going to need to set up for each other. Not to mention life insurance. Buying a house is just part of starting a life together. What about money? We've all got separate money beyond our paychecks from school. What if we do have kids?" he asked, his voice taking on a worried edge. "There's only two biological parents, so what about the one of us that doesn't father the child. What would his rights be? What happens to the other two if something happens to one of us?"

"Shh, baby," Bella soothed him, laying down her silverware and cupping his face lightly. "We'll figure it out. Let's add that to the list of things to look into this weekend, okay?"

Edward nodded. She kissed him softly and he calmed a bit.

"So, what's the plan for Sunday?" Jasper asked, not so gently changing the subject. Bella blinked at him then giggled, but Edward gave him a soft look, thanks in his eyes.

"Well, you boys will be on brunch duty," Bella answered. "Rose, Alice, and I are making dinner. Well, Rose and I," she clarified. "Esme gets to sleep in and do whatever else she wants, which is generally fussing over all of us fussing over her," she said lightly.

"Has she always been that way?" Jasper asked.

Edward nodded. "After me, she couldn't have kids. They tried, but there were complications and she ended up having a hysterectomy a couple years after I was born," he explained. "Since then, she's always been willing to give a bit of home to whomever she could. When we were younger, she was really active in PTA and sports and music boosters, always helping out with those that didn't have what they needed. It wasn't really until we went to college that she started bringing home 'strays' as dad used to call them," he said lightly, his eyes sparkling. "Friends of mine or Em's from school, faculty at the Academy, whatever. She didn't go to work there until after we were out of the house, when dad took the job to be home more often, rather than at the hospital. I think that if she'd been able she'd have had at least two more kids," Edward said fondly. "We were never sure why they didn't adopt or foster," he said with a shrug.

"I'm glad she found me," Jasper said honestly, and not for the first time.

"Me too," Edward and Bella said together.

When they finished their meals, they ordered a dessert to share and Edward and Jasper had coffee while Bella had a dessert wine. The drive home was a bit quieter as they were all stuffed and content, but they still talked as Edward navigated their way home.

The house was dark when they arrived, which wasn't unusual for a Friday night. Dinner had taken longer than they'd expected, and with an hour drive on each end, it was pretty late. Someone had left the porch and foyer light on for them, and Bella led them easily through the house while Jasper shouldered their bags and Edward turned off the lights.

They made their way upstairs quietly, though Jasper and Edward couldn't help but chuckle when Bella tripped over the top step and stumbled forward (though Jasper tried to soften it by wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his chest to her back as they walked the last few feet to the bedroom). They were all familiar enough with the space that Bella didn't turn the lights on as they entered, Jasper still draped over her back. He pressed his lips to the back of her neck before releasing her and dropping their bags in the customary place against the wall.


end note: Yes, Jasper's activity in the teaching demo is roughly based off the video game "Oregon Trail," which I have fond memories of from elementary school, and an activity that I did in junior high where we role played about lives in Feudal Japan.

http://en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/The_Oregon_Trail_(video_game)

http://www(dot)amazon(dot)com/Patty-Reeds-Doll-Story-Donner/dp/0961735724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270345007&sr=8-1