A/N: Hello all! So, this chapter was supposed to be out last week but I had computer problems and then I had to do some school work so it was late. Deepest apologies. Thank you all for your wonderful, beautiful reviews and thanks for reading. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Only the plot is mine.

Chapter 16

JPov

We had a plan. Now everything hinged on Emmett falling for it, which I was sure he would. He's smart, but he's also a cocky motherfucker and I was banking on him being so confident in his plan that he'd overlook the obvious scheming of his entire family. I found it surprisingly easy to get everyone on my side. Well, Edward had gotten them on my side. I was only slightly disgruntled that my sis and nephews had aligned themselves with Edward and only consequently me. But I was gonna win and Edward was going to help me.

The plan was actually Edward's in the first place. I was too focussed on revenge that I wanted to throw Emmett into the pool right away. But Edward – God, how I love that man – is a fucking strategist in disguise. He maximised Emmett's pain in such a beautifully vengeful way.

We were going to keep Edward's part with Emmett as a part of the plan. He would take me past the pool under the ruse of going for a walk. But instead of Edward distracting me so that Emmett could push me in, Teddy and James were going to interfere at the last minute and say they wanted to 'play with daddy.' And the rest of the day would be filled with Emmett desperately trying to recover.

It was Sunday – the last day – and he and Rosalie had decided to drive home that night so that the boys would be asleep in the car. They both had work on Tuesday and needed Monday to recover. So this was Emmett's last chance. And fuck him he wasn't going to win.

Part one worked out perfectly. We had just finished breakfast, which Emmett was suspiciously absent from. As I munched my bagel and cream cheese, I peaked out the window into the backyard and saw Emmett throwing lawn clippings from the compost into the pool. Well, damn. Now I really had to keep myself out of that pool. Previous years had been leftover food, food colouring so I was dyed a weird grey for a week, and every single bath product in my mother's house. It sounds nice, but I was all sudsy and all the different smells combined were revolting. But compost was just cruel. And gross. Who knew what the hell was living in that?

I watched as he looked around him and then sneaked into the house. I walked into the living room and smiled at Emmett as he walked past me.

"Morning Emmett."

"Jas, my man! Last day," Emmett said. He smirked at me and then moved into the living room. He pulled Edward aside and they had a whispered conversation before separating. Emmett walked out of the room and Edward walked towards me and took my hand.

"You ready?"

"Let's do it."

"Okay," Edward whispered. Then he started to pull me outside while talking louder, "Just one more walk Jasper. Let's go to the house. I'd like to see it again."

"Fine, fine," I played along. I caught Rosie's eye just before Edward pulled me into the backyard. "She's ready," I said softly so that Emmett couldn't hear.

"Well walk slowly. If there's anything that makes the boys take longer then we can time it perfectly," Edward assured me. "And if it doesn't work, well I'll be there to clean you up."

"As wonderful as that sounds, love, I don't think you've looked at that water. I saw Emmett dumping the compost leaves into it this morning. There're bugs in there. Bugs," I cried. I'm all man, but I still think there is something unnatural about a crunchy animal with four or more legs crawling on you.

"Not just bugs. Who knows what other animals have," Edward started but stopped at my whimper.

"Please don't, bugs is as far as I'm letting my imagination go."

"Don't think about it," Edward said, rubbing my arm, "It won't be you in there. It'll be Emmett. Let's just enjoy his misery."

I nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Damn, I never knew you were so vindictive. It's sexy."

"Yeah? Well there's more where that came from. No one tries to embarrass my man."

"Your man?" I quirked an eyebrow at his wolfish grin. Not that I was protesting being 'his'. I just wanted to hear him say it again.

"Yes," Edward stopped us right in front of the pool and pressed his lips against mine, "my man."

I was so engrossed in Edward that I almost missed Emmett trying to sneak up on me. He had apparently been hiding in the flowerbeds. He zeroed in on me, opened his mouth to start his yell, and bunched his muscles for maximum impact. And just as I began to seriously doubt this plan, Teddy and James came running down the back steps yelling for their father. They both latched themselves to Emmett and began talking at the same time.

"Daddy, Daddy, will you play with us?" Tenny whined, "Mommy said she had to talk with gramma and that you would."

"Yeah Dad, can we play a video game?" James asked.

"But," Emmett started. But James and Tenny began protesting louder and I could see Emmett deflate in defeat. His eyes shot to me and narrowed when I smirked at him.

"Have fun boys," I said, not even trying to hide the mocking tone in my voice. I knew that Emmett wanted to give me the finger, but his sons were tugging his hands so he resorted to sticking his tongue out at me.

As soon as Emmett was inside I swung around to face Edward and put both hands on his cheeks. I kissed him enthusiastically, trying to contain myself and not press Edward up against the nasty pool.

"That was perfect," I said as soon as our lips separated, "Absolutely perfect. Have I told you today that I love you?"

"Yeah, but I won't complain if you say it again," Edward said. He smiled brightly at me and then linked our hands. "Now it's time for stage two."

The rest of the day I could feel Emmett's eyes on me. He watched wherever I went. As soon as I would move in the direction of the pool he would slowly inch his way forward towards me but he was always interfered. Usually it was James and Tenny. James wanted every opportunity he could have to make fun of his father and Tenny loved Edward so much that he would do anything Edward asked, so they were easily roped into distracting Emmett whenever Edward asked them to.

By dinnertime I could tell that Emmett was getting antsy. He was leaving in a few hours and had effectively been prevented from winning every time he moved. And I was letting him know it too. I'd give him a cocky look and purposefully move myself in line with the pool. And I watched him as the realisation dawned of what we were doing.

This was undoubtedly the best Whitlock Family Reunion I could remember having since I was a kid. Edward was with me and my entire family loved him and I was going to kick Emmett's ass. Yeah, Best. Reunion. Ever.

As soon as dinner ended I saw Edward whisper into Tenny's ear. Tenny nodded and crawled down from his chair and walked around the table to where James and Emmett were sitting.

"Daddy," Tenny's little voice was barely heard through the noise of the table, "Will you play with me again?"

"Ah, Ten, look I'm really tired. Maybe Uncle Jasper will play with you." Emmett looked up at me, but I just gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Come on dad," James picked up where Tenny left off, "It'll be fun. We should play hide and seek. Don't you want to play hide and seek Tenny?" James looked at his brother and I had to try not to laugh at their twin smirks.

"Boys it's getting dark outside, I really don't think –"

"Please?" They both asked, their little bottom lips sticking out in a pout. It was almost possible to see the wheels turning in Emmett's head as he tried to find a way out of this. But, in accordance with Edward's wonderful plan, Rosalie was sitting right next to Emmett. And as soon as she saw her husband's reluctance to play with his sons she smacked Emmett over the head and leaned in close.

"If you don't go outside and play with your sons then you'll be sleeping on the couch for a month," She threatened.

"That's fine. Our couch is comfy," Emmett said.

Rose quirked an eyebrow, smiled her supermodel smile, and said in as saccharine sweet a voice as my sister could ever manage, "Really? Well then you won't mind not touching the bed for a month. At all. Ever. Not even when the boys are asleep, or at school, or a friends."

Emmett looked about to protest but Rosalie just continued, her voice losing the sweetness, "And you won't mind not touching me for a month. Not even when the boys are sleep, or at school, or with friends. You can enjoy for comfy couch for a month and all that it entails."

"A month?"

"A month," Rose reiterated, "now go outside and play with your sons."

Emmett, who would do anything for sex, bowed his head, "Okay boys, let's go play hide and seek."

Finally Emmett stood up and I prepared for the final stage of my plan. Everyone was aware of what was going on and they all watched me as I went straight to the back door to wait for the perfect time.

Tenny and James led Emmett towards the pool, but not close enough to completely tip Emmett off. Emmett put his hands over his eyes and I heard him counting. James and Tenny giggled wildly and ran from their father. James looked up at me and gave me the thumbs up sign.

I cleared my throat, "Excuse me," I said. I gave Edward a hard kiss to thank him for this spectacular moment, and vowed to again show him how thankful I was later in the bedroom.

Then I took a deep breath, let out my wail, and raced towards Emmett. By the time he swung around to face me I was almost to him. His eyes widened just as I connected with his body and forced him backwards a few feet towards the pool.

Everything was going as planned until I lost my footing. That little trip cost everything because Emmett was able to get a grip around my waist. He tried to fight me off, but I had momentum on my side. When we got to the pool I speed up and pushed him into the pool. I desperately hoped that the sudden fall would shock Emmett into letting go of me, but unfortunately he played to win. As he fell he tightened his grip on me and pulled me into the pool with him. I flailed around in the water, wincing as something slimy and hard brushed my hand. Finally I was able to float closer to the edge. I started trying to push the wet, dirty leaves away from me and closer to Emmett.

I felt someone's arms go around my waist and lift me up. "I had everything figured out perfectly, how did you fuck it up?" Edward asked. He held me away from himself so he wouldn't get wet and started brushing the dirt and leaves off my shoulders.

"I tripped, it wasn't my fault. And then that," I stopped myself from calling Emmett every swear word I could think of when I noticed that James and Tenny were standing nearby. "Jerk managed to get a grip on my waist and pull me in. It's not fair," I said, only slightly whining.

"I know, darling," Edward said kindly. But I read between the lines and could hear the underlying condescending tone. And that earned him the strongest glare that I could muster. "Yes you're very threatening," Edward smirked.

"Fuck you," I muttered so only Edward could hear.

"Not in front of the family."

I momentarily lost myself in a daydream of Edward and me fucking on top of the picnic table. I couldn't wait until we were home and could be as frisky as we wanted. I wasn't going to let him get dressed for an entire day to make up for the case of blue balls that my family reunion had caused. Only having sex twice in five days isn't a lot when you're still kinda stuck in the honeymoon phase of your relationship. Or when both of you are horny men.

Emmett crawled out of the pool and I noticed that at least he was dirtier than I was. It was a point for me and I considered it evidence that I had won. I'd take what I could get.

"You couldn't let me get this one? Just one, that's all I ask," I yelled.

"Naha, not gonna happen." Emmett brushed off his legs, grimacing when he found a dead bug stuck on his shirt. "Ah, man," He muttered. He started checking himself over looking for more dead bugs on him. There was one in his hair, but I was too pissed off to tell him.

By this point the rest of the family had made their way towards us. Most were laughing at us but Rosalie looked like she was about to go off on her husband.

"What is your problem?"

"What? You didn't want him to win did you?" Emmett asked.

"You win every year. The one year my brother beats you and you still pull him in? Are you really that insecure?"

"Hey, it has nothing to do with that, it's part of the game. And he didn't beat me."

"No, he beat you. You hit the water first, you lost," Rose said. Emmett looked outraged and opened his mouth in protest but wasn't able to answer.

"Yeah dad, we beat you. We helped, so we win too! Right, mom?" James beamed as he realised what his helping meant. And Emmett's face dropped as his son hit the final nail in his coffin.

"That's right boys," Rosalie said. She crouched down until she was a Tenny's level and took him into her arms. "And your daddy is so proud of his smart boys for tricking him, isn't he?" The last words were growled out and Emmett knew the warning behind it.

"Yeah, yeah. You beat me," He muttered. James and Tenny cheered, completely oblivious to their father's outrage and embarrassment. Rosalie took them away to finish packing.

As soon as they were out of sight Emmett whirled around to face me. "That was low. Getting my kids and wife on your side? Low man, low. And you," Emmett turned to Edward, "I thought you were on my side! You were going to help me. Instead you betray me. To him!"

"Sorry Emmett, but you should've known I couldn't have helped you. Would you have done that with Rosalie when you'd only been dating a few months?" Edward asked, always the voice of reason.

"But it's Jasper. It's not the same. Have you seen my Rosie when she's pissed? Jasper's laid back. You could have helped me and he still would have boned you later on. He's a pushover."

"Hey," I protested, "I'm not a pushover."

"You are with him," Emmett stated. I could only shrug at that.

"Sorry Emmett," Edward said, "maybe next time. Or the time after that."

Emmett snorted, "next time you're both going down. I have a whole year to get my family back on my side. Be warned, Jasper. You're going down."

"That's right. You'll have a whole year to convince them. But you've forgotten how much those kids love their Uncle Jasper. And have you seen Edward with Tenny? Tenny'd do anything for Edward. You don't stand a chance."

Emmett just glared at me, though I could tell that there was no hateful feelings behind it, gave me the finger, and stormed into the house to change into dry clothes.

I turned to Edward to give him a kiss but he quickly backed away from me. "Nope, you're wet and dirty. And you have something gross on your arm. You aren't touching me until you have a shower."

"A shower with you?" I asked wiggling my eyebrows.

"Not until all the dirt has be clean off you and the shower floor is clean of muck. I'm not stepping into a shower that has that shit all over it."

"Aw, come on baby, I'll make it worth your while." I lunged into a hug, but he darted out of the way, almost making me fall again. "Edward, just one little hug. Please?"

"Don't touch me," Edward commanded. Well I wasn't planning on listening to him. Especially when he was trying to deny me a joint shower just because he was clean. That was something I could easily change if only I could catch him.

I hunched down and tried to look as predatory as I could and stalked towards him.

"You're not going Tarzan on me. I'm not scared," Edward said, unimpressed.

"Are you implying that you're Jane?" I asked. I continued to stalk him, growing aroused with each step I took. It was an inappropriate reaction when surrounded by my family but I couldn't help it.

"No. Fuck off. This is a nice shirt and you will not get it dirty."

I had herded him against the picnic table and after a few more steps his legs bumped against the seat. I quickly moved forward before he could get away. I pushed him down until he was sitting on the bench and then I leaned over him as close as I could get without touching.

"Thank you," I whispered against his lips.

"For what?"

"For helping me. For putting up with my family. For coming here with me and giving up work."

"You're welcome," He said, clearly expecting to be released. I stayed where I was, though, studying Edward's face up close in the fading sunlight.

There were still so many times when I could believe that Edward was with me. I knew that he had insecurities and worries, but I would never be able to express how honoured I felt that he was willing to put them aside. For me.

The sun was directly behind him, making his bronze hair light up like a brilliant fire. I could see all the reds and browns in his hair that combine to make the beautiful colour that I dreamed of. His green eyes were open to me and displayed every emotion he felt. One emotion was overwhelming the others and again I wondered what I had done to deserve someone like Edward loving me.

Edward eventually grew uncomfortable with my staring. He bit his bottom lip and that did it for me. I pressed my lips against his and ran my tongue along his bottom lip to sooth the bite. Edward exhaled deeply, opened his mouth and flicked his tongue against mine. I deepened the kiss for a moment before remembering where we were and pulling away with one last kiss to the side of his mouth.

"Thank you," I repeated.

"You're welcome," Edward said again. I wasn't ready to let him go though. As much as I complained about only being able to have sex twice since we had gotten here, it was so much more than that. We would arrive at the hotel late and leave for my parent's early each morning. There was just enough time in between to shower and fall asleep.

But I missed being near him whenever I wanted. I wanted to stay there in the night air, just looking at him. Or maybe have him lay on my lap while I ran my fingers through his hair. I just wanted to be with him.

I couldn't wait to go home.

Edward placed his hand against my cheek to get my attention. "What are you thinking about now?"

I turned my head to place a kiss on his palm. "Just that I'm ready to go home and have your complete undivided attention."

"Do you really think you're enough to have my undivided attention? I have a lot of things to think about, for your information."

"Yes, but not when you're with me. I can drive away all those thoughts." He did it to me all the time, so I was completely sure that I was able to do it to him.

"You willing to put that to the test?"

"Tonight in the shower?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I already told you that you're dirty and I'm not showering in a dirty shower."

"What if I make you dirty too?" I countered.

Edward shook his head and pressed his hand against my chest to push me away. "We should help your mother clean the house. Everyone's leaving and she'll have a mess to pick up after everyone."

"Why? She doesn't like us to clean. We never clean anything well enough."

"Yes, but I'm significantly cleaner than you are. And I'd like to talk to her some more before we go. Who knows when I'll see her again?"

"You'll see her soon," I assured him. I backed up so Edward could stand up and followed him into the house. "My mother loves you. She'll come up at least once to visit us."

"Still," Edward insisted, "She's been our host and it's only polite." I knew from his tone that I wasn't going to win. When Edward went to the kitchen I broke off and headed to the living room where my father and some uncles were watching a football game.

I watched for an hour but didn't really pay attention. I wanted to be with Edward and I couldn't focus when I could hear his voice coming from the kitchen. Finally I gave up and went to help clean. It was a small price to pay.

I stopped outside the kitchen door and listened to my boyfriend and mother talking. They weren't talking about me, for which I was relived. Instead they were talking about the influence Edward's mother had on his music.

My heart broke for Edward whenever he mentioned his family. Though I had met Alice and thought she was brilliant, I knew that he had problems as a child. Growing up in a single parent house with a father that wasn't emotionally available had been difficult for him.

A large part of me was hoping that this weekend would cement Edward into my family. I hoped that he would learn to view my parents as his surrogate parents in a way. I was pretty sure that my father loved Edward. He would never come right out and tell me that, but he didn't hassle Edward as much as he hassled Emmett the first time he met him. And I knew that it wouldn't have made a difference that I was his son not his daughter. If my dad had not been sure about him, he would have made Edward prove himself.

My mother told me that she loved him after the first time they met. She cornered me the next day and asked me all about him. She told me that dad and her approved. And she said that she thought Edward was good for me. "He'll keep you grounded," were her exact words. I wasn't aware that I needed grounding, but the words thrilled me nonetheless. She was acknowledging that Edward was important for me, vital even, and I wanted nothing more than for that to be true.

"So what's next for you boys?" I heard my mother ask. I instantly cringed and prayed that she wouldn't push so hard that Edward got freaked out and ran away.

There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to move in with him and spend the rest of my life with him. Someday. But Edward needed time, and if I admitted it to myself, I needed time too. Even if it was only time enough to get my financial things together and pack. I was thinking about asking him once the semester was over. I was only teaching one summer class, so it would give us plenty of time to move everything and rearrange as necessary. It also gave us about two more months to completely get used to each other. I hoped that Edward would be ready by then.

"I'm not sure," Edward said. I peaked around the corner and could see Edward leaning over the table and picking up dishes. "It's still pretty soon. I mean we danced around each other for a few weeks before we even got together. We've only been going out since February."

"Well, fine. How about in the indefinite future?"

"I guess we'll probably move in together sometime soon. I'm not sure when. I've never lived with someone who wasn't family or a college roommate. I've never trusted someone enough to want to move in with them."

"But you want to move in with Jasper?"

"More than anything."

I beamed at his words and felt all the love I felt for him rush through my body. He actually wanted to live with me! He trusted me enough to live with me.

"Of course," Edward said, "he'll have to buy me something nice first. And maybe cut down on his diet because I can't live with someone who eats as much as he does. We'd never have any food. He'd eat it all. And then he'd get fat. Really, really fat."

Well, that was the end of that. I stepped right into the kitchen with a pout on my face, "I wouldn't get fat."

Edward turned around and gave me a horribly mother-like look. I had been caught. He knew all along that I had been listening. He must have caught my reflection in the windows when I peaked in on him.

"And even if I did," I continued, "You'd still love me."

"You're making a pretty big assumption there. How do you know that I'm not just in this for your body?"

"Trust me. You're kinda a fan of my mind too." I walked over and hugged my mama and gave her a kiss on her temple. "Tell him mama. He'd love me even if I weighed 300 pounds."

"Don't get any ideas," My mother warned before going back to the dishes. I smiled at Edward across the room and gave him an air kiss. He just rolled his eyes and threw me a towel.

"Make yourself useful," He said.

"Yes darlin." I walked over and pressed myself against his back. I pressed my lips against the back of his neck. "Do you know how much I love you?" I whispered so that my mother wouldn't be able to hear my words clearly.

"Yes, but I don't mind hearing it all the time."

"Good. Because I plan to tell you everyday for the rest of our lives." I flicked my tongue against his warm skin, smirking when I felt his body shiver. Then I moved next to my mama and began drying the dishes she was cleaning fully aware of Edward's eyes following me until he was forced to go back to his work. I could only smile and think about how wonderful my life was in that moment.

A/N Well that's it for this chapter. Now I have to prepare a presentation for my class tomorrow. There aren't words to express how much I want to avoid this. Bye!