Holy moly. Can you ever forgive me for how long it's been since I updated?

For those of you who don't follow me on twitter, the main reason it's been so long since I've written is because the hubby and I are going to be having a baby soon! We found out we were expecting our little one at the beginning of November, and preparing for his arrival has really taken over our lives, which meant writing was pretty much the last thing on my mind. But with all this coronavirus craziness and this quarantine in place, all this free time has meant that I've finally had time to write, hence me finally getting this chapter out! I'm so sorry for the long wait!

After the baby gets here, I have a feeling writing is going to get exponentially harder. But know that I'm going to try my hardest to keep updating, and until then, I'm going to write as much as I can. Thank you in advance for your patience, and thank you to everyone who has stuck it out with me thus far. You guys rock!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Twilight series, only the OC's.

Chapter Seven

As much as Danielle had been dreading leaving Isle Esme, she was undeniably happy to see the familiar, gloomy skies and green landscapes of Washington again.

After traveling thousands of miles and being cramped on an airplane for far too many hours, Danielle was certainly feeling the struggles of jetlag, something which her immortal husband was immune to, lucky him. She was tired, a little achy, and desperately needed a shower, but when they finally pulled into the driveway of the Cullen house, she was so relieved to finally see home that all of her complaints were quickly forgotten. Danielle hopped out of the car the moment Jasper cut the engine, grinning widely as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of the surrounding forest.

"Do you smell that?" she asked.

"Smell what?" Jasper asked as he appeared by her side, giving her a curious look.

Danielle smiled up at him. "Home."

Jasper smiled and slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to press a kiss to her temple. "I'm happy to be back, too," he said, clearly able to feel how happy she was in that moment.

He started guiding her to the door, but Danielle broke free from his embrace and jogged ahead of him in her eagerness to see the family, which made him chuckle. She reached the door first and flung it open without bothering to knock or ring the bell, knowing fully well that any Cullen in the near vicinity would already be well aware that they had arrived. The familiar sights and smells of the house only put her further at ease as she stepped into the foyer, her smile widening even more.

"Luuucy!" she yelled out, putting on her best Ricky Ricardo impersonation. "We're hooome! Oof!"

Out of nowhere she was scooped up in a pair of impossibly strong, cold arms. At first she thought the vampire hugging her was Emmett, since he was usually the one invading her personal space and bombarding her with hugs when she least expected it. But then she caught a strong whiff of jasmine and realized it was actually Alice that was currently swinging her around in circles as if they were long lost friends reuniting after decades of being apart.

"I missed you so much!" Alice said when she finally put Danielle back on her feet. The vampire held her at arm's length to give her a once over, smiling broadly. "You look so happy – and so tan!"

Danielle laughed. "I missed you, too. And just about anyone would look tan compared to you, sis," she joked playfully.

"That may be true, but you still look marvelous," Alice insisted with a grin. "Hi, Jasper!" she said when he finally joined them inside, releasing Danielle so she could pull him into a quick hug.

"Good to see you, Alice," he said, patting her on the back and giving her a smile as they separated.

"So, how was it?" Alice asked, looking back and forth between them expectantly. "Was it just amazing?"

Danielle sighed happily as she looked up at Jasper, all the wonderful memories they had made on the island flashing through her mind. Judging by the happiness she could feel coming from him, she had to imagine he was thinking about the same thing. "Absolutely incredible," she said, sharing a warm smile with Jasper. "Everything I dreamed of and more," she confirmed with a nod.

Alice clapped her hands happily, which had Danielle and Jasper finally looking at her again. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that!" she gushed. "I want to know everything that you did! Start from the beginning and don't leave out any details!"

Before Danielle could say anything, however, someone else beat her to the punch. "Alice, give them some time to breathe!" a new voice interjected good-naturedly. "They've only just arrived!"

Danielle glanced upward to see that Carlisle and Esme were now standing at the top of the stairs, watching the reunion with happy smiles. Danielle grinned broadly, then released Alice's hand so that she could hurry upstairs to meet them, both Jasper and Alice trailing behind her. She hugged Carlisle first, who gave her a fatherly pat on the back, then Esme, who squeezed her for a long few moments in a comforting embrace.

"It is so good to see you," Esme said once they parted. "How was the honeymoon? Did you enjoy the island?"

"The island was absolutely perfect. Thank you again for gifting us with such a fantastic honeymoon. There are no words to express my gratitude," Danielle said with earnest.

Esme smiled, but still waved a dismissive hand. "You don't need to thank us. You're family now. What's ours is yours, including Isle Esme," she insisted.

Danielle beamed and shot a smile at Jasper. "Well, that's good to hear…because we are definitely entertaining the idea of going back someday," she admitted.

Carlisle chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Esme's shoulders. "Anytime you want to go there, you are more than welcome," he said with a nod.

"Thank you," Danielle said with a wide smile.

"Are you hungry? Have you eaten anything?" Esme asked in a motherly tone, wasting no time to start fussing over her, as she had grown accustomed to doing.

Danielle shrugged. "I had a little snack on the plane," she said. "I was actually hoping to grab a shower real quick, if y'all don't mind. Lord knows I could probably use one right now."

Danielle started to take a step that way, but was swiftly intercepted by Jasper, who turned her around to face the kitchen instead. "You only had some yogurt on the plane, which isn't enough. Go and eat something first, then you can shower," he suggested.

Danielle quirked a brow and started to ask why he was being so pushy, but her stomach decided to growl very loudly at that exact moment, which had all the vampires around her smiling knowingly. "Well, alright then," she conceded with a sheepish smile. "Food it is."

"Come on," Esme said with a smile, leaving Carlisle's embrace so she could loop an arm through hers. "I'll make you something to eat and you can tell us all about the trip."

She, Esme, and Alice started toward the kitchen, but Carlisle and Jasper didn't follow. "Why don't you all go on without us?" Carlisle suggested dropping a hand onto Jasper's shoulder. "I'd like to speak with Jasper for a moment, if you don't mind," he said, directing those last words toward Jasper.

"Of course," Jasper readily agreed.

He flashed Danielle a quick smile, then he and Carlisle headed into Carlisle's office. Danielle watched them go until the door shut, then she allowed Esme to gently tug her in the direction of the kitchen.

"So what did you and Jasper do? Where did you go?" Esme asked to grab her attention again. "I trust my son actually let you out of the house, yes?" she added with a teasing lift of her brow.

Danielle laughed and nodded. "Don't worry, he did," she reassured. "There were definitely some lazy days where we just hung out on the beach and watched movies. But we also went snorkeling, adventured around the island, and took the boat out. We even spent a couple of nights on the mainland and went salsa dancing," she revealed.

Alice, who was walking on Danielle's other side, looped an arm through Danielle's free one. "You got Jasper to dance salsa?" she asked with an amused snort. "That must have been an amusing sight," she giggled.

Danielle shrugged sheepishly. "Neither of us was really good, but we got the hang of it eventually," she said. Suddenly she remembered that last dance they had shared, which had been so sensual that it had ended with them hurrying back to the boat to satisfy their hunger for each other. She had to clear her throat and ignore her heart, which had decided to pick up speed – they had definitely gotten the hang of things, that was for sure.

If either of the two vampires next to her noticed her increased heartbeat – which she was certain they had – they didn't say anything about it. Instead, Esme released her to go to the fridge, while Alice led her over to the counter.

"Well, I'm very glad you two had an enjoyable honeymoon, but I'm also very glad to have you home again," Esme said, flashing a smile over her shoulder. "It sure has been quiet here there past few weeks."

Danielle nodded, then glanced around curiously. It was unnaturally quiet in the house, actually, and it was at that point that she noticed someone in particular had not come to greet her and Jasper. "Where are Emmett and Rosalie?" she asked.

"They decided to have a little siesta in Africa," Alice answered. "It seems yours and Jasper's honeymoon inspired them to have another honeymoon of their own, even though they've had about a dozen of them already," she said with a slight roll of her eyes.

Danielle nodded in understanding, though she was a little disappointed that she would have to wait to see Emmett. She had really missed that annoying lug, though she thought it better not to tell him that – his ego was big enough already without her adding fuel to the fire. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about Emmett waking me up with all his racket for a while," she said with shrug.

Alice shared a quick look with Esme, who came to join them at the counter with all the ingredients to make a sandwich. Danielle noticed the look, but before she could think anything of it, Esme smiled widely. "Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can," she said. "I'm sure once he and Rosalie have returned he'll be back to pestering you every chance he gets."

Danielle just smiled fondly at the thought – she didn't so much mind Emmett's pestering anymore. It was actually rather endearing. "I'm sure he will be."

Esme just smiled and got to work on Danielle's sandwich.

Danielle glanced over her shoulder toward the closed door to Carlisle's office, which was still shut, and had to wonder what the two of them were talking about. After deciding that Jasper would likely tell her once they were alone, she turned back to Alice and Esme.

"I'm guessing Edward is off with Bella somewhere?" she asked knowingly, having noticed the absence of the other Cullen as well.

"Where else would he be?" Alice asked with a smirk.

Danielle nodded, unsurprised to hear that the two were still very much attached at the hip. "What have y'all been up to while we've been gone?" she then asked conversationally.

"Nothing as fun as spending two weeks in a tropical paradise," Alice answered with a sigh. "Just the usual routine, really. Though I have been helping your mom out at the bookstore."

Danielle raised her brows with interest. "Really?"

"Everyone was either gone or preoccupied, and I needed something to do. Your mom was shorthanded with you gone, so I thought I'd help out," Alice explained with a shrug. "It's been fun, actually. I really like hanging out with your mom," she added with a smile.

Danielle smiled. "I'm sure she likes having you around. She thinks very highly of you," she said, which made Alice beam.

"Speaking of your mother," Esme interjected. "Did you let her know that you and Jasper landed safely?"

Danielle nodded in confirmation. "I called her right after we landed," she said, which had Esme nodding in approval. "I asked if she wanted me and Jasper to come over for a visit, but she actually said no," Danielle then said, frowning thoughtfully as she remembered the brief conversation, where Lynne had demanded she stay at home for the rest of the day. "Usually she's jumping for joy at the thought us stopping by, but today she was practically ordering us not to. It was kinda weird, actually."

Esme and Alice shared another brief look. "It's probably just because she knows you're tired from your travels and she didn't want you to feel pressured to come over," Esme reasoned.

Danielle thought about it, then shrugged. "Yeah, probably." She forgot all about her mother in the next moment when Esme handed over her sandwich. "Thanks, Esme. This looks great," she said, perking up considerably.

"You're welcome, Dani," Esme said.

She was almost finished with the sandwich by the time Jasper and Carlisle finally emerged from the office and came to join them in the kitchen. Danielle gave Jasper a questioning look, silently asking if everything was alright, to which Jasper just smiled reassuringly and rubbed a gentle hand along her back.

"Did we miss anything?" he asked with raised brows.

"Just catching up," Alice answered. Then she smirked teasingly. "Any chance we can get a preview of those salsa moves?"

Jasper huffed, while Danielle giggled with Esme and Alice. "I think I embarrassed myself enough the first time, thank you very much. Don't expect any reenactments anytime soon," he said.

"I think you held your own pretty well, actually," Danielle said supportively. "I recall you having some serious moves, babe," she added, wagging her brows suggestively.

Jasper gave her a look that plainly said not to go into detail about those particular moves in front of his family, then quickly changed the subject. "Has your stomach stopped growling now?" he asked, raising a brow.

Danielle finished her last bite, then nodded. "Stomach is full and satisfied," she reported. "I hear that shower calling name now, and we should start unpacking the bags while I've still I've the energy to help you do it. We've got a mountain of laundry to get started on, and we may or may not have some gifts to distribute," she added, smiling conspiratorially at the Cullen's around her.

Alice perked up at once. "You brought presents?"

Danielle huffed disbelieving. "Don't even pretend like you don't already know, Miss I-can-see-the-future."

Alice grinned broadly, then pulled her in for a quick hug. "Thank you in advance for the vase. It's absolutely lovely!"

Danielle smiled at her, then raised her brows questioningly at Jasper. "Wanna bring in the bags?"

Jasper smiled and reached for her hand. "Actually, before I do that, there's somewhere I need to go first," he said, sharing a knowing look with his family.

Danielle frowned. They had just spent the past twenty-four hours flying through multiple countries and had only just gotten back home. Where could he possibly have to go so soon after returning? "Do you have some secret errand to run or something?"

Jasper shrugged a bit. "Something like that." He gave her hand a gentle tug. "And I need you to come with me for it."

She wouldn't lie – she really didn't want to go anywhere unless it was to the shower or their bed. But Jasper gave her that look that always made it impossible to say no, and with a sigh of defeat, she had to accept that relaxation would have to wait just a little while longer.

"Okay," she agreed, before allowing him to start pulling her back out of the kitchen. "We'll see y'all soon, I guess?" she offered with a lame shrug.

All three Cullen's gave her warm smiles. "Take your time," Carlisle said.

With that, they headed back outside and back to the car, which she wasn't really looking forward to sitting in again. After all the sitting they had done since leaving Rio de Janiero, she was pretty sure her butt was going to be permanently numb. But she didn't complain and she did her best not to let Jasper feel how unenthusiastic she was about this errand they were going on. If he had wanted her to come then it must have been important, so she wasn't going to be a brat about it.

As Jasper backed out of the driveway and headed down the main road, Danielle looked over at him, her thoughts returning to whatever conversation he'd had with Carlisle. "So," she said, which had him looking at her. "What did you and Carlisle talk about?"

Jasper gave her an easy smile. "He just wanted to make sure that there were no…complications…while we were in Brazil," he said. "I assured him that everything was fine…and informed him that we owe him a new mattress," he added with a hint of a smirk.

Danielle blushed fiercely. It was no secret what had been going to happen between her and Jasper on Isle Esme – they were married now, after all. But the thought of her father-in-law having any knowledge of what she and Jasper got up to in the bedroom was still mortifying. "Oh lord," she groaned, hiding her face behind her hand.

Jasper, feeling her embarrassment, chuckled and reached for her hand so he could kiss her knuckles. "Don't be embarrassed. It wasn't as though Carlisle was asking for details. He just wanted to be sure everything was alright," he said to placate her. "He's very happy for us. And very relieved."

Danielle dropped her hand to give him a look. "Still. I can do without my father-in-law knowing about our sex life, thank you very much," she said, before sighing she shaking her head. "I wish he wouldn't worry about us so much," she said with a frown. "We haven't had any problems the entire time we've been a couple. I think it's pretty safe to say that we've got things under control."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "Yes, but he's Carlisle. The family is what is most important to him. He will always worry about all of us, including you," he explained.

Danielle had to smile at that, her previous embarrassment slowly fading away. She didn't view Carlisle as just her father-in-law. He was important to her. He had always treated her well, had always been supportive, and he had happily accepted her into his life, no questions asked. She saw him more and more like a father every day, and while she didn't want him to worry about her, she had to admit that it felt nice to know that he cared enough to worry.

Jasper suddenly turned off the road, pulling the car onto a dirt road that Danielle couldn't ever remember seeing the many times they had gone to and from the Cullen house. Thoughts of Carlisle vanished as she leaned forward in her seat, her brows pinching together unsurely as they followed the road deeper into the surrounding forest.

"I don't remember this road being here," she commented, looking at him with confusion.

"Hm. Very strange," Jasper responded aloofly.

Danielle pursed her lips, unsure what to make of his response. She gave him a scrutinizing look, which he ignored, then turned her eyes forward again as they drove along. The dirt road wound to the left, and as they rounded the bend, the trees thinned considerably and a house suddenly came into view. Jasper pulled into a paved driveway and cut the engine, his smile widening as they both eyed the house before them. It was a modest, one story brick house, with a small front porch, green shutters on the windows, and a visible chimney. Colorful flowers had been planted all around the house, giving it a warm, inviting feel, and some wind chimes had been hung by the front door, tinkling gently in the wind.

Danielle admired the pretty house for a moment, then looked at Jasper again. There was something about the proud look on his face that told her this was no random house. Suddenly feeling caught somewhere between excited and emotional, she squeezed his hand and gave him an earnest look.

"Jasper? Who lives here?" she asked.

Jasper gave her a lopsided smile and reached into his pocket. He took her hand and turned it palm up, before placing a silver key there. "As of today…we do."

It was what she had hoped to hear. A huge smile broke out over her face and she was certain he felt the happiness that exploded in her. He chuckled when she leaned over to kiss him hard on the lips, but before he even really had a chance to kiss her back, she was pulling away and quickly scrambling out of the car to get a better look at the house.

Danielle stepped into the front yard, where fresh grass had been planted, and stared up at the house – their house. She hadn't even seen the inside yet, but she loved it already. With the house key clutched tightly in her hand, she pressed it to her heart and felt her eyes welling with tears. Jasper had said that they wouldn't live with the family forever and that he had something in the works, but to actually see their own house with her own two eyes was blowing her away.

Jasper came up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist. "What do you think?" he asked.

Danielle smiled up at the house, then turned in his arms to rest her hands on his chest. "It's amazing."

Jasper seemed pleased, but she could still detect a small hint of nervousness in his amber eyes. "You haven't seen the inside yet," he reminded, as if he was worried she might feel differently once she saw the rest of the house.

Danielle freed herself from his arms and grabbed his hand. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, before promptly pulling him to the front door.

They went up to the porch, where there were two rocking chairs and a few more potted plants, then to the front door. Danielle unlocked the door with the key Jasper had given her and opened it, but before she could go inside or even really take a look around, Jasper stopped her with a hand on her arm. Curious, she looked back at him, only to have him smirk and sweep her up bridal style. Danielle giggled, but slid an arm around his neck regardless as she realized his intentions.

"Pretty sure we did the whole threshold thing at Isle Esme," she reminded.

"But this is our house. And I want to carry my lovely bride inside," he said.

Danielle nodded and grinned up at him like a lovesick fool as he carried her inside. Her attention shifted as he carried her into a large, open room and set her back down on her feet. While he closed the door behind them, Danielle began to explore, eyes greedily taking in the sights of their new house.

There were no dividing walls between the living room, kitchen, and dining area, which was why the room seemed so large. The kitchen was off to the right, only separated from the living room by a bar that had some barstools placed in front of it – it was equipped with all brand new, shiny appliances and everything was clean to sparkling. Continuing on to the dining area, which was set up in the far right corner, there was a pretty wooden table big enough to seat at least six people around it. Redirecting her attention to the living room, she saw two plush couches and a flat screen TV hanging above the fireplace, along with a coffee table and two end tables that had been decorated with vases already housing fresh, sweet smelling flowers. Almost the entire back wall was floor to ceiling windows, allowing a clear view of the surroundings outside and letting in plenty of natural light to illuminate the room.

There was a door on the left side of the room, which she could see led into a small half-bathroom, and a hallway that branched off to the left side of the house. Danielle smiled at Jasper, who was watching her inspect the house in patient silence, then started down the hallway. There was a room on the right side of the hallway, which looked to have already been set up as an office and library, and one more room down at the very end of the hallway, which she could only assume was their room.

She was correct. All of their bedroom furniture that had been in the Cullen house was there, already set up and waiting to be occupied. There was a huge window on the right, stretching floor to ceiling like the ones in the living room, a master bathroom on the left, and a walk in closet that seemed way bigger than necessary, which was already filled with all of their shoes and clothing.

Danielle inspected the closet, then joined Jasper back in the bedroom, unable to contain her grin. She understood now why Jasper hadn't wanted to go upstairs when they had gotten to the Cullen house, or why her mother had insisted she stay home – it was all so she could be surprised by the house.

"Well?" Jasper asked hopefully.

Danielle didn't answer at first. Instead, she walked up to him, placed her hands on either side of his neck, and gave him a long kiss. When she pulled away, she gave him a sappy smile. "This house is absolutely beautiful, Jazz. I love everything about it."

Jasper looked noticeably relieved. "I am very glad to hear that."

Danielle glanced around the room, still in awe of their new home. "How did you even find this place? I had no idea anyone else had ever lived out here."

Jasper smirked. "No one else has," he said, which made her frown with confusion. "We're still on the land Carlisle and Esme bought when they had the house built. After you and I started talking marriage, I knew we would need a place to call our own but I also wanted to stay somewhat close to the family. So I thought, what better place to build the house than here?"

Danielle gawked at him. "You built this place?"

"Not alone," Jasper confessed. "I wanted it to be perfect, so I enlisted the family for help. Carlisle, Emmett, and Edward helped me with the construction, Esme came up with the design and handled the gardening, and I had a lot of help with interior decoration from Alice and your mother," he explained. "Even Rosalie pitched in to help once or twice," he added with a smile.

Danielle couldn't decide what made her happier – that Jasper had gone to such lengths to build their house, or that their entire family had been part of the process. She started to feel emotional again and quickly kissed him to try to keep herself from turning into a big mess of sappy tears.

"Well, it is perfect," she said, her voice a little thicker than normal.

Jasper smiled warmly. "You really think so?"

Danielle nodded vigorously. "I love it. Thank you, Jazz. So much."

"You're welcome, darlin'."

He leaned down to give her a kiss, wrapping her up securely in his strong arms. Danielle melted into him, her heart thumping hard against her ribs, the taste of his lips just as intoxicating as it always was. But just as that fire she had become so familiar with started to simmer in her veins, he pulled away. It took all her effort not to groan with dissatisfaction.

"There's a big, fancy shower in there with your name on it. Why don't you shower and then relax? You've earned it after all this traveling," he suggested, though he still hadn't made any moves to actually let her go. "I can bring the luggage in and unpack."

Danielle looked up at Jasper, glanced at the bathroom, then looked at him again. With all the excitement, she wasn't feeling tired anymore. Not even a little bit. "You could do that," Danielle said, sliding her arms tighter around him. "But that fancy shower looks rather complicated. I think I may need someone to help me figure everything out." Danielle pressed a kiss to his jaw, which had his grip on her tightening. "Care to join me, Major Whitlock?"

Jasper smirked instantly, his eyes going dark. "Why, don't mind if I do darlin'."

Then, without warning, he tossed her over his shoulder like a caveman and carried a giggling Danielle straight into their new bathroom.

Danielle honestly had no idea where she was when she woke up the next morning.

She expected to wake up to bright sunlight on her face and soothing ocean waves outside the window, just as she had been the case every day for the past two weeks. But there was no sunlight, and there was definitely no ocean. In fact, there wasn't any sound at all except for the birds tweeting outside and the tick tick tick of a clock somewhere in the house.

When she finally opened her eyes, the room was dark. She thought maybe it was still nighttime until she saw the slivers of light peaking around the edges of the large curtains covering the massive bedroom window. For a second she stared at the window with furrowed brows, the jetlag and unfamiliar surroundings making her frown with confusion…but then she registered the piney scent of Jasper that clung to the bedsheets and then she remembered.

She was at home in her and Jasper's bed. Not the house they shared with the Cullen's, but their home, the one he had built for her.

Danielle smiled, feeling much more awake now, and rolled onto her back, stretching her arms above her head. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and saw that she had slept much later than she normally did – it was nearly eleven already. After stretching one last time and glancing at Jasper's side of the bed, which was empty, Danielle finally stood up and went to the window to pull the curtain open.

The window was huge, just like the ones in the living room, and gave her a spectacular view of the forest beyond. There were swaying trees and berry filled shrubberies as far as she could see, all the color of vibrant green thanks to the near constant rainy weather. Thankfully it wasn't raining at the moment, but the sky was still filled with grey clouds, making it look as though rain could come at any second. Danielle didn't even mind the gloominess.

Danielle turned away from the window, and after changing out of her pajamas and freshening up a bit in the bathroom, she ventured into the living room in search of Jasper. Seeing as their house was not overly big, it didn't take her very long to find him. He was in the kitchen, already dressed in jeans and a sweater, and appeared to have been waiting for her. Danielle smiled as she joined him in the kitchen and sidled up to his side to wrap her arms around his waist. Jasper immediately leaned down to give her a kiss.

"Morning, darlin'," he greeted, as usual.

"Morning." Danielle looked at the coffee pot, which Jasper had already gotten started for her. She took a deep inhale of the heavenly nectar bubbling away and smiled gratefully. "Thanks for starting the coffee."

"I know how much you love your caffeine," he said with a lopsided smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock. I was so tired by the time we went to bed, I think I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow," she said, before letting out a sigh. "This jetlag is a real bitch. You have no idea how jealous I am that you don't have to deal with it anymore."

Jasper reached up brush some hair away from her face, his other hand resting comfortably on her waist. "Someday, you won't have to deal with anymore, either," he reminded.

"And thank god for that," Danielle said wistfully.

Jasper smiled, pecked her lips once more, then released her to go to the fridge. "You must be hungry. Do you want breakfast or lunch?" he asked, eyeing the contents of the fridge. It was already fully stocked, which meant someone in the family had done it while they had been on their honeymoon. Danielle would guess Esme was the one to thank for that.

"Bacon and eggs would hit the spot," she answered. "But I can make it," she added, moving to grab some pans from their designated cabinet.

As soon as she had the pans in hand, Jasper took them from her. "Let me," he insisted.

Danielle quirked a brow, but still smiled at his determination. "You don't have to keep spoiling me, you know. The honeymoon is over."

Jasper gave her a lopsided smile. "I want to spoil you," he said matter-of-factly. He then moved closer to wrap his arms around her again, his amber eyes holding hers intently. "And how could the honeymoon ever be over when I love you more and more with every day?"

Danielle wasn't even ashamed to admit how hard she swooned, and she thought it pretty safe to say that Jasper felt every bit of it. "You're such a romantic, Mr. Hale," she said, leaning a little closer.

"You just bring it out of me, Mrs. Hale," he said in return, before kissing her again.

She would have happily stood around kissing him all day, but the coffee maker began to ding, signaling that it was ready for consumption. Danielle reluctantly pulled her lips from his and glanced at the awaiting caffeine. "Well, I hate to ruin the moment while we're being all sappy and stuff, but…coffee," she said bluntly.

Jasper chuckled and let her go. While she fetched a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup, he quickly got a few strips of bacon cooking in one pan, and some scrambled eggs cooking in the other. With her mug in hand, she hopped up onto the counter next to the stove to watch him work. The first sip of coffee she took nearly made her sing – Jasper had made it exactly as she liked it. Bless him.

"Good?" Jasper asked, as if he had sensed her joy over her drink.

"Perfect," Danielle confirmed with a nod.

Jasper nodded with satisfaction, then shifted his attention back to the eggs as he pushed them around in the pan. "Your mother called this morning," he said conversationally. "She wanted to come over for breakfast, but I told her to hold off so you could catch up on your rest."

Danielle raised her brows and gave him an impressed look. "I'm amazed you were able to convince her not to come over. She's not usually easily deterred."

Jasper smirked. "Oh, I'm more than aware. And she's still coming over, just not when she wanted to," he revealed. "She'll be here this afternoon, even if she has to break in to see you. And that's a direct quote."

Danielle snorted with amusement into her coffee. "Duly noted," she said, taking another drink. "What did you do while I slept?"

"I went back to the house for a bit to catch up with the family and pack up a few more things that I hadn't had a chance to move over here yet," Jasper revealed. "Edward dropped by for a while, too," he added.

Danielle gave him an exaggerated look of shock. "Whoa. You mean Edward actually managed to detach himself from Bella's hip for longer than five minutes?" she asked dramatically.

Jasper smirked with amusement, but still gave her a look. "I wouldn't make fun of him too much, darlin'. You and I aren't much better than they are."

Well, he had a point there. She and Jasper were just as guilty, seeing as anything they did was usually done together. "True," she said, taking another drink. "How is he?"

"He's well. He just wanted to check in since he knew we had returned," Jasper said, before lifting his gaze to hers. "He also invited me to go on a hunt with him. Just the two of us," he told her.

Danielle titled her head curiously. "Why just the two of you?"

Jasper pressed his lips together and gave her a look. "I think he wants to talk about how things went on our honeymoon," he corrected.

Danielle sighed heavily and turned her eyes up to the ceiling. "Why is this family so interested in our sex life?" she asked helplessly.

"A vampire and a human coming together the way we have is not exactly common, Danielle," Jasper reminded her. "It has happened, of course, but usually under more… sinister circumstances," he said with a slight cringe. "You cannot blame them for being curious, especially Edward. He and Bella will likely find themselves in this same situation someday. It only makes sense that he would seek advice from someone who has already experienced it."

When he put it that way, it certainly made a lot of sense. Edward was just as – if not more so – nervous about physical intimacy as Jasper had once been. Of course he would want advice for the future, since it was looking more and more likely that he and Bella would someday end up just as she and Jasper had. He would want to know what he might be in store for once he and Bella finally took that step together.

"Well, alright," she said. "But don't go into detail. And for the love of everything holy, tell him not to read your mind when you have your gossip session. He doesn't need to see what we get up to behind closed doors," she said with a small shudder.

Jasper smirked. "I'll make sure he keeps his nose out of my thoughts," he promised. "What you look like in the throes of passion is for me, and only me, to know," he said, giving her a once over that verged on leering.

Danielle smirked and nudged him with her knee. "Mind out of the gutter, hubby," she teased, even though she didn't mind a single bit.

"No promises," Jasper said with a saucy wink.

A momentary wave of heat swept through her, which she was pretty sure was Jasper's doing. She took another drink of coffee to try to distract herself from it. "So when is this bro date supposed to happen?" she asked to change the topic.

"We'll leave tomorrow night," Jasper answered.

Danielle couldn't help but frown at the thought of him leaving so soon, even though they had practically spent every moment of every day for the past two weeks together. "And how long will you be gone for?"

"Two, maybe three days. I'm in need of a good, long hunt," Jasper said. "The little ones I did in Brazil were enough to get me by, but an extended hunt benefits me much more."

Danielle nodded. "Okay." Then she looked around at their new, beautiful house, which would feel rather empty without him around. "What will I do for entertainment while I'm here all by my lonesome?" she wondered aloud.

"I'm sure Alice will be more than happy to keep you company," Jasper said. "Or you could have Bella over. Edward said she's missed you greatly."

Danielle perked at the mention of Bella. "That's a good idea, actually. We can have ourselves a little girl's night while you two are gone!" Then she pursed her lips as she realized that Edward might not be the only one with questions about her and Jasper's, ahem, physical relationship. "I guess I should prepare myself for Bella to ask about the honeymoon activities, too," she mused aloud. "Though she's kind of awkward when it comes to stuff like this. She may be too chicken to actually ask," she added with a snort.

"If she does ask, the same rule applies. No details," Jasper said matter-of-factly.

"Even if I did want to go into detail, which I don't, I'm pretty sure Bella would literally die of embarrassment," Danielle said with a laugh, already able to see her friend's mortified face in her mind. "Though it certainly would have been funny to see her reaction when I bragged about how well-endowed you are," she couldn't help but add with a devilish smile, just to see what his reaction would be.

Jasper immediately looked at her with shock, which made her giggle so hard that she had to set her coffee down. "Oh, your face is priceless right now!"

Jasper growled playfully, and suddenly he was in her personal space and tickling her sides without mercy. Danielle shrieked with laughter and tried to fight him off, but it was useless – he was too strong and too quick. Jasper finally stopped tickling her after a few moments, but he remained standing between her legs while she caught her breath, looking satisfied with his successful tickle attack.

"That was uncalled for," Danielle said, pointing a finger at him.

"That's what you get for being such a wicked minx, darlin'," he shot back, his hands sliding down from her waist to rest on her hips.

Danielle slid her arms around his neck and wiggled her eyebrows. "You know you like it," she accused suggestively.

Jasper smirked as he leaned even closer. "Guilty as charged," he said, before capturing her lips in a kiss.

It would have been extremely easy to get carried away, especially so when his mouth traveled down to her neck and locked on a spot that always made her toes curl. Just as she was tangling her fingers into his hair and tilting her head back to give him better access, there was a loud POP and hot grease from the bacon pan splashed onto her skin, which abruptly pulled her from the haze of lust.

"Ow!" she said with a jump.

Jasper immediately pulled back, his expression caught somewhere between concerned and horrified. She felt a strong, distinct jolt of fear from him. "What happened?"

Danielle frowned unhappily as she wiped at her arm. "The damn bacon grease popped out of the pan and hit my arm!" she complained. "It was really hot!"

Jasper instantly looked relieved. He moved to shut off the burners the pans were on, but then he braced his hands on the edges of the stove top and closed his eyes, letting his head drop a little. His reaction made her frown with worry and confusion and had her sliding off the countertop to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked unsurely. "What's wrong?"

Jasper kept his eyes closed, his brows furrowed together. "That scared me, Danielle. I thought…I thought I wasn't careful enough. I thought I had accidently hurt you."

Danielle gave him a look of understanding and raised her hand to his face to try to make him look at her. When he did, he still looked a little shaken up. "It's okay, Jazz. Really. You didn't do anything wrong," she said to reassure him.

He took a breath to center himself, then looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. It's just…I still worry. I still have that fear lingering in the back of my mind that someday I might be too careless and…hurt you," he admitted.

Danielle frowned at hearing that. "I thought we had moved past that by now," she said gently.

Jasper shook his head. "I will never move past that fear," he said. "As long as you are still human, as long as there is a chance I could hurt you when I least expect it, there is a part of me will always be afraid, Danielle," he told her seriously.

Danielle sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist to hug him, her lips pressing a kiss to his shoulder through the fabric of his shirt. She understood his fears, of course, but she hadn't realized that they still bothered him as much as they apparently did. With how comfortable they were, with how easy things felt now, she had thought that all of those fears and insecurities he had carried when they had first gotten together had subsided. It seemed like maybe she had been wrong, and it also seemed he was much better at hiding his concerns from her than she had realized.

"I won't tell you not to be afraid. If the roles were reversed, I'd be just as scared, too," she said gently. "But I trust you with my life, and I always feel safe with you. You never do anything wrong, Jasper. You have no reason to doubt yourself." She paused to lift a hand to his face and run gentle fingers over his cheek. "There will come a day where I'll be like you, and then you won't have to worry about anything anymore. But until then, we'll be careful, just like we always have. Okay? Everything will be fine, I promise."

Jasper finally smiled a bit and straightened up so he could wrap his arms around her shoulders and kiss her on the forehead. "How do you always know just what to say to make me feel better?" he mumbled into her hair.

Danielle smiled and shrugged, her own arms winding around his waist. "I'm just good like that," she said, which made him smirk. "Now. You've made me a very delicious looking breakfast here, and I'm kind of starving," she said, hoping the subject change would get his mind off things. "So how about we forget these last few minutes even happened and you have breakfast with me?"

Jasper immediately nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Danielle grinned, leaned up to kiss him, then finally moved away from him so she could grab her food. By the time she was done eating, Jasper's momentary freak out was forgotten and Jasper was back to being his happy, charming self.

That afternoon, Lynne dropped by just as she had promised to do. The moment she stepped inside she pulled Danielle into a hug that lasted for nearly five minutes straight, which Danielle didn't mind at all. She always missed her mother whenever they were apart for extended periods of time, so to be back in her arms and smelling the familiar scent of her favorite perfume made her immediately feel like everything was right in the world again.

Lynne stayed until well into the evening. They chatted nonstop and Danielle made sure to show her all the pictures that she and Jasper had taken in Brazil, minus a few that were only for her and Jasper to see. Come dinnertime, Lynne insisted on helping Danielle in the kitchen while Jasper just stood by and let them handle the food, watching with interest as they prepared a big dish of Lynne's famous homemade enchiladas. They ate at the new table – Jasper put on a spectacular performance as he obediently finished a whole plate of food – and then retired to the front porch to enjoy some fresh air. When Lynne left around nine, Danielle hugged her tightly and promised she would come back to work at the bookshop now that the honeymoon was finished and things were settling down again. Lynne was overjoyed to hear it, and after hugging Jasper goodbye, she finally left.

Jasper left to go hunting in Wyoming with Edward the next evening. He seemed hesitant to leave her alone in their house and tried to convince her to stay with the Cullen's until he came back, but Danielle insisted that she would be fine on her own. To placate himself, he made sure that she had Carlisle's number programmed into her speed dial and then commanded her to call him if trouble of any kind came along – the Cullen house was so close, help would arrive in a matter of seconds if anything went wrong. Danielle agreed to the plan and reassured him that everything would be fine while he was gone. Then, with the time they had left, she promptly pushed him onto the bed and made sure to give him a very steamy memory to take with him on his trip.

Girl's night was scheduled for the next evening. The plan was nothing extravagant, since Danielle was still a little jet lagged from her trip and wasn't up for anything too adventurous – Bella and Alice were going to come over and they were all just going to hang out, eat junk food, and watch girly movies. Then Bella was going to sleep over, while Alice would likely return to the Cullen house, since she wouldn't have much to do once they were asleep.

"Bum, bah-dum. Bum, bum, bah-dum. Bum, bah-dum duuumm…why do you build me up? Buttercup baby just to let me down? And mess me around?"

Danielle sang loudly with the radio as she danced around her new kitchen and organized the snacks she and Bella would be eating. It was, admittedly, a little weird to have the house all to herself, simply because she was so used to always having someone around, whether that be Jasper, her mother, or one of the many Cullen's. She kind of liked it, though. She could dance around like an idiot and do as she pleased without anyone – namely Emmett – around to laugh at her for it. She missed Jasper, of course, but having a little time all to herself was definitely nice.

"Baby, baby, try to find, hey hey hey! A little time, and I'll make you happy, hey hey hey! I'll be home, I'll be beside the phone waiting for yoooou! Oooh, oooh – mother of pearl!"

Danielle froze with her hand of her chest, her heart jumping underneath her ribs. She had just pulled off a particularly impressive twirl when she realized she was no longer alone in her house. Alice was standing in the now open back door, having appeared virtually out of nowhere, and though this was something Danielle probably should have been used to by now, it had still taken her by surprise nonetheless.

"Good lord, Alice!" she said once she recovered from her shock. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," the vampire said with a bright smile as she stepped further inside and closed the door behind her. "I knocked before coming in, but the music was so loud you didn't hear," she explained. "You have quite the singing voice, by the way," she added with an amused smirk.

She knew Alice was teasing her, because it was common knowledge by now that Danielle was horribly tone deaf. She gave the vampire a dry look, which made Alice laugh, then reached for the little remote that went to the stereo system to turn the music down. Once it wasn't so loud, she looked at Alice, who had eased into one of the barstools on the other side of the counter.

"First you scare me, then you mock me? You're starting to turn into Emmett," Danielle accused with a quirked brow.

Alice looked affronted. "Oh, now that's just downright rude."

Danielle finally laughed, which had Alice cracking a smile again. "You're a little early," Danielle said as she resumed moving snacks from their packages to serving bowls. "Bella won't be here for another twenty minutes."

Alice shrugged. "I was bored," she said simply. She turned to glance around at the living room and smiled, before looking at Danielle with raised brows. "How do you like the house?" she asked enthusiastically.

Danielle couldn't contain her grin. "It's so great," she gushed. "Jasper had mentioned we would move somewhere else before we got married, but I didn't think he would build me a house from scratch. He really went above and beyond."

"He was certainly a man on a mission," Alice said with a nod. "I've never seen him so bossy." She then sat straighter and put on a stern expression. "'Put that there!' 'Hang this here!' 'Don't do it like that, do it like this!'" Alice impersonated, putting on a horribly fake southern drawl in an attempt to sound like Jasper. While Danielle giggled, Alice relaxed in her seat again and gave her a smile. "He wanted everything to be perfect, and he wasn't going to let up until it was."

Danielle was even more touched by how determined Jasper had been to get everything right. "Well, it is perfect," she said with a nod. "And I'm super grateful that everyone helped out. Thank you for that, Alice. It means a lot," she said sincerely.

"Are you kidding? As insufferable as Jasper was while we were putting this place together, helping him decorate was still a dream come true! Besides, I'd do anything for my favorite sister," the vampire said without missing a beat.

Danielle smiled wider, but still gave her a warning look. "I wouldn't let Rosalie hear you say that." She didn't think the beautiful vampire would appreciate being demoted to second favorite in favor of a human, even if they were technically family now.

Alice waved a dismissive hand. "I'm not afraid of her," she said simply.

"Wish I could say the same," Danielle muttered. Even though she had spent a lot more time around Rosalie, even though things had slowly started to get friendlier between them, Danielle could admit there was a part of her that was still very intimidated by her new sister-in-law.

Alice smirked, then nodded to the food Danielle was setting up. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Sure. You wanna go put these bowls on the coffee table while I get the pizza in the oven?" Danielle asked.

Alice nodded, then grabbed the bowls of snacks and took them into the living room. While she did that, Danielle went to the fridge to retrieve the frozen pizza she had picked up, since she hadn't been sure any delivery places would have been able to find her new, isolated home. She had just put the pizza in the oven when she heard her cell phone vibrate to indicate that she had received a new text message. When she grabbed her phone and saw that Jasper had been the one to send her a message, she smiled.

Everything is well here in Wyoming. Have fun with Alice and Bella. I love you.

Danielle quickly typed a message back, telling him to have fun hunting and that she loved him too, then set the phone aside again as Alice rejoined her.

"What are you smiling about?" the vampire asked with a knowing look. "Is Jasper sending you love notes?"

"He was just checking in," Danielle said with a shrug.

Alice nodded, then tilted her head curiously. "Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Are you and Jasper thinking about leaving Forks?" Alice inquired, which had Danielle looking at her in surprise. "I had a vision earlier today, and in that vision the two of you were going off by yourselves, though I'm not sure why," she revealed, her expression thoughtful. "It got me wondering if maybe you two were planning something?"

Danielle thought back to the many times she and Jasper had talked about leaving Forks and shrugged. "I won't lie. We've tossed around the idea of getting out of Forks for a while," she admitted. "We still have a year until we delve into college, so there's no time like the present to travel. And, well…the rumors that have been making the rounds since we got engaged really bother Jasper, to the point that he just wanted to get away from it all," Danielle said with a frown.

"I see," Alice said, nodding slowly. "Well, this may be selfish of me, but I hope you don't go. What will I do if you two aren't around?" she asked with a pout.

"You've still got Bella, remember?" Danielle pointed out.

"True," Alice said with a nod. "But I still want you to stay."

Danielle smiled and reached over to pat her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry. Now that we're back with the family, now that we've got this house, I can't really see us going anywhere anytime soon. I think we'll be staying put, at least for a while."

Alice nodded with satisfaction, looking very pleased to hear it. "Good."

Bella arrived about ten minutes later, and seeing as it was the first time Danielle had seen her since the wedding, she was not even ashamed to admit that she was ridiculously excited to see her. As soon as she opened the door and saw Bella standing there with an overnight bag hanging from her shoulder, Danielle launched herself at her friend and squeezed her in a tight hug. Bella made a sound of surprise, but then laughed and hugged back just as tight.

"Holy crap, I missed you," Danielle said as she pulled away to smile at her friend.

"I missed you, too," Bella said with a grin. She looked Danielle over and smirked widely. "Wow, look at you. I had no idea you could actually tan," she teased.

Danielle laughed and shoved Bella's shoulder playfully. "You're just jealous because you look like Casper's twin."

Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me," she said dryly. "Hey, Alice!" she greeted when she spotted the vampire.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice said back with a chipper wave.

Danielle motioned Bella further inside and closed the door. Bella walked into the living room, looking around the room with curious eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. "Wow, this place looks great," she complimented, stepping in further when Danielle motioned her inside. "I dropped by a couple of times while they were working on it, but I never got to see the finished product. They did a really good job."

"They?" Danielle asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You mean Jasper didn't recruit you to help out, too?"

Bella shrugged. "He tried, but all I was allowed to do was keep Alice company whenever she went shopping. Edward wouldn't let me do anything else. He was afraid I'd lose an appendage if I tried to do anything with any power tools," she said with a sheepish smile.

Danielle snorted in amusement, then shrugged a shoulder. "Well, given your track record, I don't think I'd trust you with a power tool, either."

"Thanks for the confidence, Dani," Bella said with a laugh. She looked around again, then raised her brows questioningly. "You gonna give me a tour, or what?"

Danielle nodded enthusiastically, grabbed Bella's hand, then quickly began showing her around the house. Alice happily joined them, making sure to point out parts of the house she had helped with that she was particularly proud of. It wasn't a very long tour, and when it was finished Bella had nothing but complimentary things to say. Danielle assured her she would pass the kind words on to Jasper, took Bella's overnight bag and plopped it on the bed, then pulled her back into the living room so they could get girl's night underway.

It was nice to hang out with just Alice and Bella for a change, and the three of them had way too much fun together. Though they chose three movies to marathon, they didn't really pay attention to any of them in the end. Instead, they talked up a storm and giggled long into the night like a bunch of pre-teens at a slumber party, only stopping once in a while to comment on the movies they weren't really watching anyway. At some point Alice convinced them to play beauty shop and they ended up giving each other manicures and pedicures, which Alice was far better at doing than either of them. Between all the food Danielle and Bella ate and the primping supplies that got strewn about, the living room was a little bit of a mess once it was all said and done. The three of them got everything back in order easily enough, though, and then it looked like nothing had happened at all.

It was past midnight by the time they called it a night. After hugging Alice goodbye and inviting her back over for breakfast the next morning, Danielle and Bella retreated into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Once they had changed their clothes and washed their faces, they climbed into bed next to one another. Danielle decided to sleep on Jasper's side, mostly so she would be surrounded by his scent when she slept, but also partly because she didn't really like the thought of anyone else sleeping there, even if it was only Bella.

Danielle sent a quick message to Jasper to let him know that she and Bella were going to bed. He replied quickly, telling her that he and Edward had made camp somewhere in the mountains and would be taking it easy for the rest of the night. Once they had exchanged 'goodnight's and 'I love you's, Danielle set her phone back on the nightstand and got comfortable.

"The guys are settled in for the night, too," she said as she turned to face Bella.

"Yeah, that's what Edward just said," she said, motioning to her own phone, which was in her hand.

Bella sent a few more messages, then set her phone on the nightstand and turned toward Danielle, propping her head up on her elbow. A few moments of silence passed between them, where Bella gnawed on her lip, looking as though she had something on her mind but was unsure whether she should actually say it or not. She began to fiddle with the sheets, her eyes turning downward for a moment, before she finally met Danielle's gaze again.

"So, I didn't wanna ask while Alice was here, because I thought it would be weird to talk about it in front of her. But…how was the wedding night?" she asked. "Did everything go…okay?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Bella was asking about. Danielle had been expecting it, so she wasn't taken by surprise. "Yeah. Everything was great," she said with a smile. "More than great, actually."

Bella smiled a bit. "So it's possible, then?" she asked, her voice tinged with what sounded like hope. "For humans and vampires to be together like that?"

"Of course," Danielle reassured. "I mean…we have to be careful. Really careful. And Jasper has started hunting more as a precaution," she explained. "But I don't think us having sex is really any different than two humans doing it," she concluded with a shrug.

Bella nodded in understanding and turned onto her back to look up at the ceiling, her fingers tapping against her stomach as she mulled over what Danielle had said. "Edward is still afraid to be physical," she admitted, glancing at Danielle. "He won't do anything more than kiss me, and even with that I can tell he's majorly holding back. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm trying to rush that part of our relationship," she clarified. "But I feel like going further with him at any point in time isn't even an option," she said with a disappointed shake of her head. "I think he's too scared."

"Well, it sounds like he wanted to go hunting with Jasper to talk about our honeymoon, so he must at least be considering it," Danielle pointed out.

Bella flushed a little at that. "He certainly doesn't act like he wants to. Even though I've told him time and again that I trust him, he still doesn't trust himself. He's always so careful, so on guard. He treats me like I'm a piece of glass or something." Bella sighed. "I guess it'll get better eventually, right? I mean, look at how far you and Jasper have come."

Danielle frowned a bit as she thought back to what had happened with Jasper the other day. "It does get easier, yes…but you wanna know the truth?" Bella looked at her curiously. "Jasper is still afraid, too," she revealed, so her friend would know she was not alone.

Bella immediately looked confused. "But…you guys are married now. And you've done, well…everything," she said, sounding a little flabbergasted. "How can he still be afraid after all of that?"

Danielle shrugged. "Being married doesn't make his fear magically go away. Just the other day he thought he had hurt me when we were barely even doing anything, and it really freaked him out." Danielle sighed. "At the end of the day, we're still human, Bella," she said. "And as long as we remain human, Jasper and Edward will always be worried. It just kinda comes with the territory."

Bella nodded as she thought that one over. After a few moments, she looked at Danielle again and propped herself up on her elbow once more, her eyebrows creasing together thoughtfully. "I've been meaning to ask…have you finally come to a decision?" she asked. "You know, about whether you want to become a vampire or not?"

Danielle didn't answer at first. The only one who knew, with complete certainty, that she had made a decision was Edward, and that was only because he had seen it in Jasper's mind before the wedding. She and Jasper had not told the rest of the family yet, which left her doubting whether she should say anything now. But this was Bella, one of her very best friends. Bella wouldn't tell anyone else if Danielle asked her not to.

"Yes," Danielle finally said. "I made a decision…but you have to promise not to say anything to anyone yet."

Bella nodded at once. "I won't. I promise."

Danielle relaxed, then smiled a bit. "I'm gonna do it," she revealed. "I'm gonna become a vampire."

Bella didn't look surprised, but she did still seem like she didn't know how to process the answer. She was quiet for a few moments, her expression rather awed. "When?" she finally asked.

"Not for a while," Danielle told her with a shake of her head. "With how…different…I'll be, we didn't wanna rush it. We're gonna wait a couple years, enjoy being married first."

Bella nodded. "Makes sense." She went quiet again, her gaze turning away thoughtfully. "So Jasper is okay with you being turned?" she asked, looking to Danielle again.

Danielle nodded. "Yeah. He told me from the beginning that he would support whatever decision I made. I think he'll actually be relieved once I'm like him, that way he won't have to worry so much," she said with a small smile. Bella didn't say anything to that, just nodded in response, looking deep in thought. "We haven't told the family yet, which is why you can't say anything," Danielle said. "I'm sure they have their suspicions, but…the only one who knows right now is Edward."

Bella looked at her sharply. "Edward?"

"Jasper was thinking about it before the wedding. Edward heard it," Danielle explained with a shrug.

"He didn't say anything to me about it," Bella said with a frown.

She almost said that he probably had kept quiet because he didn't want Bella to know, that way she wouldn't get any ideas. Danielle didn't see that going over well, though, so she changed her mind. "I think he understood we didn't want him to say anything until we'd had a chance to talk to the family about it," she said instead.

Bella nodded slowly. "So what does he think about you being turned?" she asked.

Danielle was suddenly wary of telling her the truth – she had a sneaking suspicion that Bella would get mad if she knew Edward had accepted Danielle's decision to become a vampire when he was so against the same fate for Bella. She didn't really want to cause trouble between Edward and Bella, but she didn't want to lie to Bella, either. "He gets why I want to be changed," she said carefully. "He said if it was what Jasper and I wanted, then he wouldn't argue against it."

Bella looked at her for a second, then sat up straight in bed, huffing with disbelief. "Wait. So you can become a vampire, but I can't?" she asked, her tone more forceful than normal. "How is that even remotely fair?"

Danielle cringed at her reaction and sat up, too. "It's not like he was jumping for joy about it," she made sure to point out. "And it wasn't his decision to make. It was ours."

Bella shook her head. "Still. This whole time we've been together, he's been completely against me being turned, but now it's fine if you do? How is me becoming a vampire any different than you becoming one?"

"To Edward, there's a big difference," Danielle countered. "Look, the bottom line is that he cares about you a hell of a lot more than he cares about me. He's accepted my decision because he wants me and Jasper to be happy. It's different with you, though." When Bella huffed, Danielle sighed and gave her hand a squeeze. "He loves you, Bella. He just isn't sure you understand what you'd be giving up, and he doesn't want you to rush into something you might regret later on."

Hearing it reaffirmed how much Edward cared about her made Bella's anger slowly start to fade away. "How could I ever regret being turned if it means I get to be with him forever?" she asked aloud. After a moment or two, she sighed and ran a hand through her long, dark hair. "I know he thinks he's just looking out for me, but I wish he'd stop trying to make all my decisions for me," she said wearily. "I want to be a vampire. It doesn't have to happen right now, but I want it eventually. It would just make everything so much easier, so much less complicated. Jasper can obviously see that. Why can't Edward?" she asked with envy.

"You know better than anyone how stubborn Edward can be, Bella," Danielle said.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Bella said with an exasperated scoff. "Edward is so determined to keep me human, he won't even consider the alternative."

Danielle sighed and shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think it's a lost cause," she said, which made Bella look at her doubtfully. "Edward may be King of the stubborn asses, but…I think he's trying to be a little more open minded about it. We had a talk at the wedding, and I think maybe I was able to make him see things in a different light," she said, thinking back to the conversation she'd had with him at the wedding. "Have the two of you talked about it recently?"

"No," Bella said. "He gets so weird about it, I thought maybe it would be better if I didn't bring it up for a while," she explained with a shrug.

Danielle nodded in understanding. "Well, the good news is that you still have a lot of time to figure things out. And don't forget that Alice has already seen you becoming a vampire, so there's that," she reminded, which did make Bella perk up a tiny bit. "My advice? Just give Edward some time to figure things out. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

Bella didn't look convinced, but that didn't stop her from sighing. "I hope so."

Danielle squeezed her hand again, then laid back down. Bella followed suit after a second or two, both of them going quite as they got settled. Eventually, though, Bella looked at her again. "I didn't know you had talked to Edward about me being turned. You didn't have to do that," her tone much calmer now.

Danielle shrugged. "I saw a window of opportunity and took it."

Bella smiled a bit. "Well, thank you for trying to talk sense into him. And thank you for having my back."

"I've always got your back, Bella," Danielle said without hesitation.

Bella's smile grew. "I know." She paused then said, "For the record, I'm really happy for you and Jasper. I'm glad there will be a day where you guys won't have to be afraid anymore."

"Me too," Danielle agreed with a smile. "And I really hope there comes a day where you and Edward won't have to be afraid, either."

Bella sighed again. "Me too."

Danielle found Bella's hand in the dark and gave it a squeeze. "Try not to worry, Bella," she said. "At the end of the day, Edward's crazy about you. Everything will work out how it's supposed to," she said with certainty. "You'll see."

Bella nodded in response, her expression hopeful again. "I sure hope you're right."

She was in the forest, surrounded by tall, moss covered trees. It wasn't raining yet, but she could see dark thunderclouds rolling in above the treetops. A storm was coming, and it wouldn't be much longer before the skies opened up and showered the earth again.

Danielle made her way through the foliage, stepping over tree roots and pushing low hanging branches out of the way. She felt as though she was looking for something, only she couldn't remember what. Had she misplaced something? Or had she lost someone? Danielle didn't know, but there was a nagging feeling in her gut that said that whatever it was, she needed to find it. And quickly.

A flash of bright color on her left made her pause and look that way, but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There were trees of all shapes and sizes, bushes with colorful berries, and dead, crunchy leaves on the forest floor, but nothing else. That nagging feeling in her gut wouldn't go away, though, telling her that maybe she wasn't as alone in this forest as she had thought.

"Hello?" she called tentatively. "Is somebody there?"

There wasn't an answer.

Danielle lingered for a second longer, then decided she must have been seeing things. She continued on to search for whatever it was she had lost, her eyes bouncing all around, looking for clues or signs that might point her in the right direction, but there was nothing to really see.

CRACK!

Danielle gasped and whipped around at the loud sound, which seemed to echo all around her. There was another flash of color on her right, and this time when she looked, a bush was shaking as if something had just moved it. She frowned, feeling uneasy, certain she wasn't alone now. Something – or someone – else was in the woods with her, just beyond her sight. Toying with her.

"Who's there?" she called, her voice a little louder, a little firmer. "Show yourself!"

A scream suddenly echoed through the trees, making Danielle's blood freeze in her veins. "Dani! Dani, help me!"

Fear rattled down her spine. She knew that voice. "Bella? Bella?!"

Another scream tore through the air, which finally sent Danielle on the move again. She raced through the trees, ignoring the small branches that whacked against her face and opened up cuts on her skin. Her eyes searched in a panic as the screaming continued, but she just couldn't figure out where it was coming from. She finally broke into a clearing and screeched to a halt in the middle of it, her head whipping to and fro as she tried to find Bella.

"Where are you?" Danielle yelled. "Tell me where you are and I can help you!"

There was another scream, only this time it was deeper and distinctly male. "Danielle!" a voice cried in agony. "Danielle, please! Help!"

Her heart seized and tears began to well up in her eyes. "Jasper!" she yelled in an utter panic. "Jasper, where are you?!"

Screams began to sound from all directions. Female screams, male screams. And voices yelled for her, all voices that she recognized. Esme. Carlisle. Tom. Her mother. Edward. Alice. Rosalie. Emmett. They were all in pain, all in agony, yelling desperately for her to find them and help them. Danielle heaved for air, her cheeks stained with tears as she turned in circles. The trees around her began to shake, sending birds flying up into the air. The ground beneath her began to tremble. The cries and screams grew louder, pressing in on her, torturing her as she listened to everyone she cared for most be tortured. Danielle finally covered her ears and fell to her knees, closing her eyes tightly against the onslaught.

"Stop!" Danielle pleaded. But it didn't stop, only continued to grow in intensity. "Stop, stop, STOP!"

Suddenly, all went quiet. Danielle remained kneeling on the hard ground, her body shaking, almost afraid to open her eyes and see whatever might be waiting for her. Finally, though, she cracked her eyes open, and when she saw that the trees had stopped shaking, she slowly lowered her hands from her ears.

What had happened to the others? Were they…dead?

Danielle stood on shaky legs, eyes searching again. "Jasper? Bella? Mom? Anybody?" she called unsurely.

It was deathly quiet. Danielle heaved again and started to take a step forward, but she had barely made it a step when an ice cold arm suddenly locked around her neck from behind, making her gasp with surprise. Her hands flew up to the arm around her neck to try to pry it away, but the person was too strong. She was yanked back against an impossibly hard body, and she had only just barely registered a flash of orange-red hair in her peripheral when a voice spoke in her ear.

"Remember me, Danielle?"

Chills shot down her spine. It was Victoria. She had found her. She had captured her.

Victoria whipped her around so they were face to face, locking a hand around her neck instead. She brought Danielle's face close to her own, so that all she could see was the vampire's bright, red eyes. "I'm going to kill them, Danielle. I'm going to kill all of them," she said with a threatening growl. "And you will watch as they all die, one by one."

"No, please!" Danielle gasped.

Victoria merely smirked in response. Then, with a vicious snarl, she threw Danielle across the clearing, making her soar through the air until she went flying into a tree with a sickening THUNK.

Danielle gasped as she woke for her dream, her body covered in sweat and breaths coming hard and fast. For a second, it was hard to remember where she was. Her eyes searched the room frantically, convinced that Victoria would appear at any moment to finish what she had started in that forest. When a hand suddenly touched her shoulder, Danielle jumped violently and made a small sound of fright.

"It's okay," Bella said in the dark, the familiar voice putting Danielle's nerves at ease. "It's just me."

Danielle sucked in a few more deep breaths, before she finally relaxed into the mattress and raised shaky hands to her face.

She hadn't dreamt of Victoria since that time in Jasper's room at the Cullen house, when he had been away hunting and Alice had had to comfort her. It had been so long since then that Danielle had foolishly hoped that maybe the dreams had stopped, that maybe she had finally been able to put the nomad out of her mind. Apparently, she had been wrong.

"I'm sorry," Danielle croaked out. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Bella said understandingly. "Was it…James?" she asked carefully.

Danielle shook her head, then looked at Bella, who was eyeing her searchingly in the dark. "Victoria," she revealed, and even saying the name aloud sent a shudder down her spine. "I dream about her from time to time."

Bella nodded. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Danielle looked back up to the ceiling, then shook her head. "Not really."

Bella hesitated. "Okay." She then laced her fingers with Danielle's and gave her hand a squeeze. "Everything's fine. I'm right here," she reassured. "Try to go back to sleep, okay?"

Danielle just nodded and closed her eyes. For several minutes she could still hear the screams of her loved ones in her ears, haunting her and tormenting her. Could still see Victoria with her angry, red eyes and vicious expression. It had felt so real. It had felt so terrifying. It was just a dream, she told herself, breathing deeply to make her heart calm down. Victoria is long gone. It was just a dream.

She repeated that to herself until the screams in her ears finally faded away and Victoria's face no longer plagued her mind. Danielle glanced at Bella, who seemed to have gone back to sleep, then turned onto her side so that she was facing her friend, still holding her hand tightly as though it were a lifeline.

Victoria is gone, she told herself one last time, just for reassurance. She can't get me now.

Finally, Danielle fell back asleep.

Good lord, y'all. You have no idea how much trouble this chapter gave me. I had a different plan for it at first, but it just didn't really fit, so I had to change it up. I really hope it doesn't suck as much as I fear it did. Please be gentle!

Things to look forward to in the next chapter – Danielle has a meeting with the Cullen's, learns some interesting information, and Bella has a birthday.

Stay safe and healthy!