Disclaimer: not mine

Edited and re-posted the whole story.

Chapter 9

Edward looked up as Alice and Jasper returned from Bella's. He didn't like them getting so close and…his eyes widened as he saw it in Alice's mind, despite her attempts to block him. "What have you done?" he demanded angrily.

"Edward?" Esme called in concern as she moved into the room, looking between the three of them.

"They told her!" he hissed, even as he saw the visions of him and Bella together for eternity fading as well. She was his mate? "What have you done?" he asked in horror.

"It was never definite Edward. Your own behaviour towards her caused those visions to fade," Alice told him sadly. She was hiding more from him and he knew it but she was using every trick she had to keep him from seeing.

"Alice?" Esme asked, and Alice looked over at their Mother.

"Bella could have been Edward's mate, but that path is gone now," she admitted. "I think it's because she's human, and humans change. As she grows up the choices change, but she will be one of us either way. There are still two possibilities, one in the family, and one of Carlisle's friends. I kept quiet to keep from influencing anyone's behaviour."

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Esme was shocked by the news that a human could have several potential vampire mates but after thinking about it, she supposed it made sense. She felt utterly devastated that Edward was no longer one of those potential mates. She wanted him to be happy and to know the love of a mate. But someone else in the family? How could that be? Carlisle had so many friends all around the world that it would be impossible to guess who Alice meant with that one.

Wait… "What did you tell her?" she asked in confusion.

"She knows what we are," Edward spat, and Esme froze in shock.

No, they would never risk the family by telling a human! She arched an eyebrow, staring at Jasper.

"She would have been badly burnt if I hadn't shielded her. There was no way to hide that I wasn't burnt."

"Besides, her childhood friend had already put the idea in her head, he told her the old Quileute legends," Alice pointed out. "It's been in the back of her mind ever since he told her, she would have come to the conclusion on her on in a few more months."

"She knows," Esme whispered. "How did she react?"

"She took it very well," Jasper spoke up, surprising Esme as he was smiling softly. "She isn't scared of us. A little overwhelmed, nervous at first, but not scared."

"She won't try to tell anyone," Alice assured her.

"You what!?" Rose yelled, obviously having overheard.

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"Morning Dad," Bella smiled as he came down in uniform, plating up the eggs and toast.

"Morning Bells," he returned, getting the juice from the fridge. "Any plans for the weekend?"

"Not sure yet. I had Alice and Jasper around yesterday. We might do something, or I'll hang out with Angela. And yes, I'll do my homework too," she promised, and he chuckled.

"I've got the weekend shift so I'll be gone most of the time, sorry."

"It's fine, just stay safe." She quickly ate and then grabbed her bag, leaving for school.

She parked in what had become her normal spot and got out, looking around. The first thing she saw was Edward staring at her, not looking at all happy to see her. Did he know that she knew? It was a relief when Emmett's jeep pulled in, Jasper jumping down before helping Alice down, not that she actually needed it…it was part of the cover though.

Alice saw her and waved, rushing over at a human pace, Jasper at her side. "Hey Bella! Any plans this weekend?"

"Not yet…I guess now I do?" She asked. She didn't think she'd fully processed the whole vampire thing yet but…she trusted Alice and Jasper.

"A shopping weekend in Seattle," Alice grinned.

"Um…" Bella stared at her. "Shopping?"

"Come on, it'll be fun, promise."

"Okay, I'll call Dad at lunch. When do we leave?" She asked, and Alice grinned, bouncing in place.

"This will be great! We can leave right from school. Don't worry about a thing!" Alice called as she practically danced into school.

Bella watched her go, wondering if saying yes had been the right thing to do.

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Jasper walked with Alice and Bella, fighting a smirk when he felt Bella's dread as they approached Northgate Mall in Seattle. He wasn't exactly looking forward to going in there either, although for different reasons to her. So many humans in an enclosed space…

He was kind of shocked Chief Swan had agreed to the trip considering his presence, the man obviously trusted Bella not to do anything dumb. Technically, they were sharing a room, well a suite, Bella had her own bedroom in it. He could tell the money being spent made her uncomfortable but money didn't mean much to them. They had more money than even Alice could spend in multiple life times and their accounts were always growing thanks to investments.

Jasper knew his role in their shopping adventure, he was the pack mule, there to carry their bags since it would looks strange if Alice carried them all. She was tiny after all and while Bella wasn't, he wasn't sure it was safe for her to carry so much. At least Alice planned a few hours for Bella to shop for books, the kind of shopping she enjoyed.

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Bella collapsed on the bed, okay…so it might be the most comfortable bed she'd ever laid on, not to mention huge, she'd never slept in a King bed before. She'd never stayed somewhere as fancy as the Fairmont before though. They'd given her the master bedroom of the Cascade suite and the view was incredible, not to mention the bath! She was exhausted from a day at the shops but it had been more fun than she'd expected. Jasper'd had to remind Alice to let her have food breaks but then she'd had three hours at the bookstore, so Alice was forgiven. She groaned as someone knocked on the door.

"I'm not getting up!" she called, not bothering to raise her voice.

The door opened and Jasper leant in, grinning at her. "Too tired to eat?" he asked, and she considered it.

"Suppose not," she sat up with another groan. "Room service?"

"Sorry Darlin' but we have reservations. Grab a shower if you want and dress nice."

"I didn't pack anything fancy," she grimaced at the oversight, she didn't see the point when she was the only one who could eat.

"Alice did," he walked in and placed a dress bag on the chair. "Give a call if you need her help with anything."

"Thanks."

He closed the door and she got up, moving to hang the bag and open it, jaw dropping as she took in the very nice little black dress.

"Alice…" she sighed.

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Jasper chuckled as he picked up on Bella's exasperation towards his wife who smirked, pleased with herself. "Please tell me you didn't go overboard."

"Every girl needs a little black dress in her closet and yes, I kept the heel height down on the shoes," Alice sighed, and he kissed her cheek.

He went to get dressed as well, noticing Alice wasn't. "Alice?"

"You two have fun without me," she told him, and he froze. She got up and went to straighten his tie. "No, I am not pushing you two together. I know neither of you would want that and Bella would never let herself consider you since she knows we're together. I just want you two to spend time together and get to know each other better,

I know I always dominate the conversation. So you take her to dinner and show her a good time, be the charming Southern Gentleman and just be her friend. No matter what happens, we'll all be friends forever."

Jasper stared at her, reading her emotions, before nodding. The thought of his wife pushing him at another woman just felt wrong. Friendship though, that he could do. She was right, he and Bella didn't talk a lot and maybe it'd be nice to get to know her better. He kissed Alice, letting her feel his love, and she smiled up at him.

"Have her back by midnight," she warned playfully, and he laughed.

"If she can last that long."

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Alice smiled when Bella emerged in the dress Alice had chosen for her, it was perfect! She'd curled her hair but left it down which suited her nicely. "Here," Alice walked over and slipped a simple gold chain on to finish the outfit. "You look beautiful."

"You're not coming?" Bella asked, obviously confused.

"I need a night of quiet. Don't worry, Jasper is a perfect gentleman and you never have to worry about muggers with him around. Now go have fun and order anything. No letting her see prices Jazz."

"Yes ma'am," he grinned at her and bowed to Bella before offering his arm.

She looked between them before rolling her arms and taking his arm. Alice smiled, shutting the door behind them. She searched the future, happy that the night would go well. It was the step needed for their friendship to become deeper, but it wasn't enough to influence their future either way when it came to her being meant for Jasper or Garrett.

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Bella looked at the sea of bags in her room and sighed but went to work trying to unpack it all. Alice had gone way overboard but…it had been fun. A once in a lifetime weekend of luxury…except with Alice around she had the feeling that such luxury may not be a one off.

Dinner with Jasper had been an experience. Alice had been right, he was a perfect gentleman the whole time and she'd enjoyed getting to know him better. He liked reading as much as she did even if their tastes differed.

They'd invited her to the Cullen home next weekend and she was nervous, unsure how the rest of the family would take that, but she was also kind of excited too.

Of course, half an hour after arriving home her cell rang, her Mom wanting to hear all about the weekend.

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"How was the weekend?" Esme asked as Alice unpacked her shopping.

Alice grinned and held up a stunning outfit before handing it over. "It'll be perfect for your date night with Carlisle," she explained, and Esme smiled.

"Thank you, it's gorgeous."

"Bella even relaxed and had fun without insisting on paying for everything herself," Alice laughed.

"She doesn't like people spending money on her?" Esme asked, moving to help.

Alice shook her head. "She's so stubborn about money!"

"Well it is understandable, most people do not have access to our levels of money," Esme pointed out gently.

Alice practically pouted but nodded. She then grinned and pulled out her phone, calling up a photo before showing her.

Esme took the phone and smiled at the sight of Bella on Jasper's arm. She hadn't met the girl yet but she was pretty. "Looks like you had a fun night out."

"Jasper and Bella did, I stayed in," Alice told her to Esme's surprise. "I thought they should spend some time together and it worked! Jasper was a perfect gentleman and they had lots of fun out to dinner and dancing."

Esme was surprised but happy to hear it. Jasper needed to be out more often rather than believing he would slip up. She had no doubt he was a perfect gentleman, Jasper always was. She was proud of him for willingly going on the trip and not having to rush of to hunt the whole weekend.

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Edward saw scattered memories of the weekend away, although Alice was hiding things about it. Seeing the three of them having fun…hurt. If he'd done things differently, it would have been him with them. She should have been his mate, but she was human…her blood… he left the room, going to his piano to play and take his mind off it.

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Charlie was relieved as he watched Bella make her way to the waiting car, the doc's boy taking her arm when she nearly slipped. He liked the Cullen kids, they were well behaved unlike a lot of teens. He didn't mind Bella being friends with them at all, he wanted her to be happy in Forks, the more friends she had the better.

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Emmett could hear the comments around school, the more Bella was seen with Alice and Jasper, the worse they got. They could deal with it, rumours happened everywhere they went, especially since as far as the humans knew, they were foster siblings dating each other. Still, just because Bella was his siblings friend, didn't mean she deserved to be dragged into it.

He hadn't really met her, but she was nice as far as he could tell. Having her as a friend made his brother and sister happy so that was enough for him. There was nothing he could do to stop the talk though.

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Bella saw the car drive up and grabbed her bag. "See you later Dad," she called as she left the house.

"Have fun!" he called after her.

"Bella!" Alice called happily as Bella carefully made her way towards the car. The weather had warmed enough that all the ice and snow had melted, making the walk rather safe. "Ready?"

"To meet the family?" she asked nervously, and Jasper looked at her in concern. Finding out he was an Empath had made a lot of sense and explained his reactions, especially when he looked like he was in pain at school. It had to be hell to be around all that teenage angst and lust.

"It will be alright Bella," he told her seriously.

"What if they don't like me?"

That got a laugh from Jasper. "So you're not worried about your safety, but if they're going to like you?"

She nodded, she trusted Alice and Jasper to keep her safe. Dr Cullen had stitched her up, he worked as a doctor, she didn't see him as any kind of threat to her or anyone.

"They'll love you," Alice told her, ushering her into the car.

Bella watched the scenery as Jasper drove, not surprised to find they lived outside of town, isolated. It made sense, they needed privacy so that they could be themselves. Finally, they turned off the highway onto a road that Bella barely saw, driving down it until she was left staring with wide eyes at the house. It was incredible! It was large, three stories tall, and graceful rectangular and well-proportioned, painted a faded white. It also had a deep porch that wrapped around the front that looked perfect for sitting on one of those big porch swings. She loved it and wondered if the inside matched the outside charm.

Jasper turned his head to grin, obviously sensing her emotions, even as he parked in the driveway. He moved too fast for her to see, opening first Alice's and then her own door. They let her take it all in before leading her up to the porch and Bella took a deep breath, it was time to truly meet the others.

TBC…