Previous chapter: Jasper - JPOV

We both smile as we watch Alec, Bree, Peter, and Emmett play video games while Jane, Michael, Rose, and Char try to agree on which movie to watch. I raise my brow questioningly as three cell phones start ringing at the same time. Jane looks at hers and says: "Master Aro" while Alec looks at his and says: "Master Marcus." I take out mine, already knowing whose calling, and answer it while pulling Bella close against me: "Caius, what's wrong?"

Jasper – JPOV

"Wrong? Why would there be anything wrong? Well, other than Athenodora being extremely angry with me for not bringing her daughter home. She's going to hold that against me for centuries, for sure. You better bring her to see her mother soon, or I'll never hear the end of it."

"Will do, Caius, but if nothing's wrong, then why are the three Volturi kings calling two of their elite guards and the Major at the same time?"

I can almost feel Caius's confusion through the line as he says: "We are?" Bella snorts as she rolls her eyes at her father's answer, and I pull her close against me as I say: "Yes, Caius, you are. Aro is talking to Jane, and Marcus is talking to Alec as we speak. Our phones rang at the exact same time."

Caius lets out a loud laugh at my words and says: "Well, I can see how that can come over as alarming, but I can reassure you, Major, that there's nothing wrong, other than my darling wife threatening my life. I haven't seen my Athena this angry since I decided to fight werewolves on my own and almost got myself killed in the process. I would think my brothers are calling Alec and Jane to congratulate them on finding their mates. It's always such a joyous occasion when one finds one's mate."

Going by the huge smiles on my children's faces, I suppose that Caius is right in his belief that his brothers are only calling to congratulate Alec and Jane. I feel the tension leave my body as I realize that nothing is threatening my family. Bella kisses my cheek as she plucks the phone from my hands to talk to her father. I smile as I hear her say: "Do you miss me already, papà?"

Bella - BPOV

I can't help but smile brightly as Caius answers my question with a huff and says: "One could say that, piccola. If I had known that your mother was going to throw such a big fit, I would have stayed with you longer. At least then, I would have been prepared to answer her questions without resulting to 'I don't know' every time. Do you realize that she asked me what your favorite color is and that I couldn't even answer that?"

I giggle at the thought of my father, the mighty Volturi king, cornered by his wife while unable to answer simple questions about their daughter and say: "I can see how that would be very inconvenient, papà." Another huff from Caius has me giggling even louder as he says: "It's nice to know that you find pleasure in my suffering, piccola. You are your mother's daughter, that's for sure."

My answer gets lost as Caius lets out a loud 'ouch' while a female voice says: "Don't you talk to our daughter like that, Caius Volturi! Now, hand me that phone so that I can talk to her." I gasp for unneeded air as I hear Caius say: "Of course, dearest. Piccola? Your mother wants to talk to you. Promise you'll call me later."

"I promise, papà. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Bella. Here's your mother."

I lean into Jasper's embrace to calm my nerves while I wait for Athenodora to speak and smile as I feel myself calm down thanks to his gift. My dead heart clenches as I hear Athenodora say: "Bella? It's Athenodora. I'm Caius's wife. I know you don't know me yet, but…"

I let out a loud sob as I hear the fear of rejection in her voice, and I know that she must have venom tears pooling her eyes right now. My voice is barely a whisper as I say: "I would love to get to know you, mama." Athenodora stays silent for a moment, and I can't help but smile as she says: "Mia stellina *, I can't wait to meet you in person, but Caius told me that you're not ready to travel just yet, so I guess phone calls and e-mails will have to do for the time being. I want you to tell me everything about you."

I feel an instant connection with Caius's mate, and I smile as I start to tell her about my life before I met Jasper and how my life got a million times better when I realized he was my mate. I tell her about my connection with Jane and Alec, and about how the twins accepted Jasper and me as their parents. I turn to look at Jasper as a massive wave of love hits me and find him staring at me with love-filled eyes as I continue to talk to my new mother. God, I love that man so much.

Jasper – JPOV

I smile as I feel Bella's undying love for me and lead her to the love seat in the common room so that we can sit down together while she continues her talk with Athenodora. I drop down on the seat as I pull Bella down into my lap and sigh happily as she leans back against my chest. I close my eyes as Bella continues to talk with her mother and soak up her happy feelings. I love her so damn much.

Exactly forty-five minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, Bella ends the call with a happy sigh, and I open my eyes to find her staring at me, her love for me clearly visible in her eyes. I lean up to kiss her softly as I say: "Your happiness is contagious, darlin'. I could sit here forever and be perfectly content."

Bella giggles as Peter yells from the other side of the room: "And the rest of us as well with the way you're projecting, Major. A little bit more of that shit, and you'll have me braiding your hair and singing campfire songs while roasting marshmallows." I snort at his words and smile as I say: "I love you too, brother."

"Oh, Char, did you hear that? My brother loves me. All is good in the world at last."

Char rolls her eyes at Peter as he rushes to her side and says: "You're so damn lucky that he and I love you, Peter Whitlock, because otherwise, we would have killed you decades ago. You can thank the lord on your bare knees that you're our kind of crazy."

Everyone laughs at Char's remark, and I shake my head as Char and Peter continue their banter while Peter leads her back to the house. I know them well enough to know what their foreplay looks like. We won't be seeing them for quite some time. I pull Bella closer as the rest of our family picks up where they left off, and I smile as she whispers: "I could sit here forever too, Jasper. You make me so happy."

Bella - BPOV

It's amazing how the ten of us just fell into a routine the days and weeks after that. Jasper and I spent ample time getting to know Alec and Jane, as well as their mates, but still found time to simply enjoy each other's company. I called Athenodora at least twice a week. She quickly filled the void that was left when Victoria killed Renee and became as important to me as Caius, who would steal away Athena's phone each time I called so that he could speak to me as well.

I smile as I remember my last phone call with my parents. Athenodora was already talking about Christmas decorations, and I could almost hear Caius roll his eyes as he grumbled that Christmas was still more than a month away. I felt sad for a moment as I realized that it was still too soon for me to visit my parents for the Holidays. Of course, Jasper picked up on that. He let me finish my phone call before pulling me close and saying: "What's wrong, pumpkin?"

"Athenodora was talking about the Holidays, and it hit me that I won't be able to visit them for Christmas. I already knew that deep down, but it became more real when she told me about all the decorations she ordered to decorate the castle with."

I let out a big sigh as Jasper leans down to kiss the top of my head before saying: "We can always invite them over for Christmas. We can decorate the house, get a tree and buy presents for Alec and Jane. I bet the twins would love that too, and Char and Rose don't even need a real reason to start shopping for presents for everyone, you know that. What do you say?"

I nod vigorously as I jump into his arms and place kisses all over his face while saying: "Best… idea… ever… you're… brilliant…" Jasper snickers as he spins me around and says: "I aim to please, darlin'. Come on. Let's find the girls so that you can start planning."

Jasper – JPOV

I plop down on the couch as the girls dive straight into organizing the most amazing Christmas ever. A few hours later, Peter and Emmett walk in, and I shake my head as I spot the look on Peter's face while he listens to the girls talking about candy canes and pinecones. Peter groans loudly as Char mentions a specific kind of Christmas tree, and I can't help but laugh as Emmett slaps him against the back of his head while whispering: "Stop being an ass, man. Look at how happy Bella is."

I smile as Peter turns to look at Bella, his heart filled with love for his sister, and says: "There isn't a thing I wouldn't do for that girl, but she does know how to annoy me. We've got more than four weeks before Christmas. What's wrong with Thanksgiving? That's tomorrow. Are we skipping that? I thought you vegetarians would love a juicy turkey."

I roll my eyes at his words and say: "You're not even close to being funny, captain, and we're not skipping Thanksgiving. I've got a whole lot to be thankful for this year. I'll pass for the turkey, but a nice bear would do very nicely. Wouldn't you agree, Emmett?"

"Hell yeah, and we can take Michael with us too. It's been two days since his last feed, so he could use a refill. I'm still blown away by the amazing control that Bells has. I'm still not as controlled as she is."

Rose smiles fondly at her husband as she walks our way and says: "There's nothing wrong with your control, Em. You just like to play with your food." Emmett growls as he pulls Rose close and says: "That's not the only thing I like to play with." Emmett pouts like a five-year-old as Rose slaps his head and says: "Oh, I know, and if you don't behave, we won't be playing for a long time. Go and find Michael. We can all use the hunt."

Emmett nods and runs from the common room in search of Michael. I smile as Rose turns to look at me and says: "I think we all have a lot to be thankful for this year. Thank you so much for keeping us in your life, Jazz."

"You'll always be my sister, Rose. You never betrayed us."

Rose's face falls, and I cringe as a wave of sadness and heartbreak washes over me. Rose sighs as she slowly shakes her head and says: "I don't condone what Carlisle and Alice did. They played us all, and I will never forgive them for that. I hope you know that, but part of me feels sorry for Esme and Edward. Do you think they will be okay?"

I take a deep breath as Rose talks about Esme and Edward and realize that I've wanted to ask Caius about them for a while now. I reach over and gently squeeze Rose's hand as I say: "Do you want me to ask Caius how they are doing the next time he calls?"

* Mia stellina = my little star

Thank you so much for reading my story! I know some of you were hoping for some drama, but I think they deserve some peace before more shit hits the fan.

The next update will follow soon.

Please review! You make me very happy when you do!