A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I'm only borrowing her characters for a little while. The plot and original characters of Longing do belong to me, however. Jasper as the God of War and Peter "just knowing shit" are ideas that belong to Idreamofeddy.

Thank you to my lovely sister, Shelljayz, who pre-reads/betas for me and has a huge hand in so many aspects of this story, and thank you so much to Laurie Whitlock, my fabulous beta and friend, whose story A Thousand Years won third place in The Non-Canon Awards! Congratulations, honey!

Thank you to everyone for waiting so patiently for me to return to posting. I love you all and appreciate it so much.

*Note: I had previously stated that I would post outtakes that belonged with chapters together, but as I worked over my little sabbatical, I realized that I may not always be able to do that. There will be times when I might have to post an outtake in place of a chapter in order to make sure that I can continue to post without taking breaks, though I can't promise that I won't ever have to take another one. Real life happens, unfortunately.

I also know I said that this would be the Halloween chapter, and, as you can see, it does start on Halloween. However, this chapter was one of the ones that needed work, and by the time I was done writing it, it was way too freaking long to post all together. Unfortunately that means the actual fun Halloween stuff happens in the second part of this chapter, which will be posted next week. Sorry, guys. :(

I do still think that some good stuff happens in this part too though. :)

Chapter 29 Part 1

oOo

Sunday, October 31st, 2080

JPOV

It was 8:30 am. Carlisle, Peter and I were seated at the kitchen table reading different sections of the newspaper and passing them off to each other when we'd finished like a well-oiled machine. Carlisle and I had been doing this for decades, and our paces matched perfectly. Peter had fallen into our pattern effortlessly now that he'd joined our routine. Edward was at his piano, playing furiously, clearly composing a new piece of music. Rose was in the garage working on the car I bought for her. She was taking her sweet time building it, handling each part like it was a delicate newborn baby. It was just the slightest bit hilarious, and she was as happy as she could be while dealing with her annoyance over Bella's presence. That had cut down on what could have brought some serious drama to the family, so her snail's pace was a good thing. Alice was upstairs in her studio still working on costumes. Charlotte was with her, putting last minute touches on Peter's, though he'd done the bulk of the work. Esme was at the stove, preparing her latest contribution to the Forks soup kitchen. Bella was at the kitchen counter on a bar stool, scarfing down the chocolate chip pancakes Esme had made her for breakfast. Emmett was sitting next to her, watching her intently. She was on her second helping, and he loved watching her eat. He thought it was absolutely fascinating, claiming he could spend all day doing it. I could spend all day watching her lips wrap around a fork or spoon.

I rolled my eyes at myself. Must you always think about sex?

Yep, the Major answered. I glowered.

I couldn't tell what she thought of my gift. It was nothing special, so she may not have given a shit, or, since I was the one who'd given it to her, she may not have given a shit strictly on principle. She did seem to be in a better mood, but she was still so damn unreadable. I didn't need the reassurance since I really hadn't done it for me, but it would have been nice to know I'd been successful. Before I could think on it much more, Bella spoke.

"Is it my pancakes you're eyefucking, Emmett, or is it me?" she asked with a lone eyebrow raised. "I'd like to know before things start to get really awkward."

At the sound of Bella's question, Edward's playing faltered, and I fought back a laugh and a groan. I pointedly ignored everyone else's reactions to avoid any more discomfort than necessary. Keeping my dick under control in her proximity was of the utmost importance after the little chat all the guys and I had had during our "man" hunt the day before.

Emmett let out his typical bellowing laugh, leveling a grin at her when he was done. "Neither," he said. "I've just never seen a girl eat so much in my life."

"What do you mean you've never seen a girl eat like this before? Blondie might be the gold-standard of gorgeous, but she's not a waif," Bella said, and then mumbled under her breath. "And it's a good damn thing too after all the shit I've overheard. I'm surprised you haven't broken the girl in half by now."

I fought hard to keep myself from bursting out laughing, and Carlisle fought off a grin. Peter had no such qualms, letting loose a riot of laughter that echoed through the kitchen. Bella ignored the sound and kept her attention focused on Emmett.

"Are you calling my woman fat?" Emmett asked. He wasn't angry per se, but he wasn't pleased. He didn't take slights to his mate well. Bella didn't appear to be surprised that he'd heard what was meant to be a covert comment, but she always covered shit like that well.

"Did the word 'fat' leave my mouth?" Bella responded with irritation. "Or didn't you notice the part where I called your girlfriend gorgeous even though she's a pain in my ass?"

Emmett's grin was blinding, and he finally focused on the part of the statement Bella made before her last one—the one involving sex. "Oh, my Rosie's very flexible."

Bella grimaced. "My God, Emmett!" she chided in disgust. "There are some things a person just doesn't need to know."

Emmett shrugged. "I can't help that I'm such a stud in bed nor is it my fault you're not getting any, though you could be if you really wanted to," he said idly. Then his expression darkened with menace, "But you'd better not." Bella rolled her eyes. "And I never said Rose didn't eat. I've just never seen a girl eat like that," he repeated, gesturing to her nearly empty plate. "I'm trying to figure out how you pack it all down. Do you have a hollow leg? A second or third stomach perhaps?"

Bella exaggeratedly cut into her pancakes, cleaving off a huge bite, stuffing it into her mouth and chewing enthusiastically, throwing in an earnest but fake moan and rolling her eyes partially to the back of her head but not so much that she couldn't keep a cheeky eye contact with Emmett all the while.

Son of a bitch! Did she have to constantly do things that made my dick hard? My brothers and "father" were now going to be watching me a bit closer when I interacted with Bella. They didn't actually believe there was anything between us, but their protectiveness of her would still affect that shit after Em's little comment about us "rubbing each other the right way." It would just be fuckin' nice if she'd stop being so inadvertently sexy.

"There is a little, little part of my brain that is offended by that statement," Bella told him flatly. "But the majority doesn't give a rat's ass because these pancakes are magical and absolutely should be ogled. The first plate had to be inhaled on the grounds of its divine aroma alone while the second needs to be savored. Therefore, at least two plates are necessary. Thanks Mrs. C. You are a kitchen goddess! Oh, and sorry about my language. I'll work on it."

Esme beamed at her, and Bella smiled back. I raised the newspaper so it obscured my face and smiled myself. Maybe it wasn't my birthday gift that had done it, but that didn't matter. She was smiling, and it was beautiful—that was all I'd been after.

"I appreciate that Bella," Esme said.

Bella shrugged noncommittally.

Esme decided not to push her luck with Bella, or so I assumed, because she moved to the table and stopped next to me. She laid her hand on my shoulder, smiling lovingly at me in that way she had of making me feel like a cherished little boy. I still stiffened at her touch but that made it easier.

"Jasper, dear, I was hoping you would help me with the antique roll top desk I picked up in Port Angeles yesterday," she said hopefully. "It's Civil War era."

I grinned at her. "Sure, Mom. That sounds good."

I didn't always call her "Mom." I didn't always feel like I could, but it felt good and right to call her that in that moment. Esme's radiant emotions and smile made my decision all the more worth it.

"We can head to the hardware store after Carlisle goes to work. Everyone else is headed out soon anyway," she said.

Alice needed more supplies and was going to Port Angeles to get them. Edward, of course, was going with her. Em and Rose were going out to do coupley things. Emmett's words, not mine. That was code for going to some random place in the woods to fuck in order to satiate their freak quota for the week. Peter and Charlotte were doing something similar. Bella didn't have to work today—part of the deal she'd made with Laurie was that she had to have one of the days of the weekend off for the purpose of doing homework. She would be alone, and I prayed she wouldn't work on our project by herself. I would do the whole damn thing myself if it kept that desolate look off her face. I wasn't going to tell her that though.

"That's perfect," I agreed.

Esme turned back to Bella, worry overtaking her emotions and face. "Are you going to be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, Mrs. Cullen," she promised, holding up the three middle fingers of her right hand with the tips of her pinkie and thumb pressed together. "Scout's honor."

"You wanna take your car or mine?" I asked Esme.

"Whichever you'd like, dear," she responded genially. Esme really was too nice sometimes.

"We'll take yours," I said. Esme had a beautiful Rolls Royce Wraith that she didn't drive nearly enough. I might as well do something to fix that, small though it was.

She smiled at me. "That's thoughtful, sweetheart."

I shrugged, uncomfortable.

I felt a tingling sensation coming from Bella's direction and moved my gaze toward her. She was watching me, the familiar unfathomable look on her face. I cocked a brow in question, but her expression didn't change; there was no embarrassment at being caught or irritation that I was calling her out, albeit silently, with my challenging stare. She just stared right back. We could have done that all day just to see who would cave and look away first—we were certainly both stubborn enough—but Esme was waiting for me, and I wasn't in the mood for a staring contest.

oOo

PPOV

It was going on a month since the vote for Bella to move in, and I still hadn't had my little chat with Papa Cullen. Every time he looked at me, I knew he knew it was only a matter of time. Now was that time, and Alice wouldn't see this little confrontation of ours, not because her gift was acting up, but because she only saw what Charlotte and I wanted her to. Jasper wasn't the only one whose mind didn't work the way most other people's did as a result of his time in the Southern Wars. Her's and mine did too. As soldiers embroiled in a constant battle for our lives, we learned to make decisions without actually making decisions, relying on instinct and strategical experience from enough battles fought and survived to make them for us. That's how Alice's gift was flawed. She only saw the outcome of decisions a person consciously made, so Char's and my time in the Wars had served us well in dodging her. It had taken some time to figure out how to do it while not in the heat of the fight, but we'd mastered it in less time than we'd expected to. Jasper's adamant and unyielding desire to protect the Cullens from the horrors of our past had left us with no choice but to learn, and we had to figure out some way to keep his secrets. That was our solution. My Char and I weren't dishonest people, but we liked our privacy, and, in this case, our ability to keep our secrets was especially necessary—Alice had a very hard time concealing her true emotions and keeping her mouth shut, and keeping this puzzle under the radar was important until we solved it. My gift was telling me it was for the good of everyone, but it was not telling me why, and I was fuckin' pissed.

Charlotte and I had been the second ones to leave after Alice and Edward and had come immediately to the hospital. What better place to ambush the good doctor than at his place of work? I didn't have to feel guilty or even uncomfortable for taking him away from sick people because he wasn't here to tend to not so secret cases of gonorrhea husbands hoped to hide from their wives and vice versa or broken bones from embarrassingly stupid, mundane human accidents. He had paperwork to catch up on.

I'd opened up to my mate three days ago, wanting to observe things some before I told her everything. I'd hated keeping Charlotte in the dark. I hadn't kept anything from her since she was a newborn and wasn't yet ready to know everything about Jasper and how interconnected the three of us would be. Now she was in it and just as eager to get to the bottom of shit as I was. We were now in this together just like we always were. The thing that sucked about this situation was that we couldn't involve Jasper. He was undoubtedly mixed up in all of it, but though my gift still wasn't being entirely forthcoming, it and my gut were telling me we couldn't involve him yet. He wasn't ready for whatever this was. He was Jekyll and fuckin' Hyde at the moment and if we involved him now, things would end in disaster. He needed to deal with the shit that was already on his plate before we heaped anything else on to it.

Carlisle Cullen held a puzzle piece to whatever it was that was going on, and he was going to pony up whether he wanted to or not, so Char and I were lounging on the sofa in his office waiting for him to show. After this little interrogation was finished, I was going to take my wife to this little waterfall we'd found several miles into the forest and love her until the only name she could remember was mine. I smirked.

Charlotte knocked her shoulder with mine. "Eyes on the ball, Pete."

I grinned at her. "My eyes are on the ball, darlin'."

"No," she contradicted. "Your eyes are on me or, more specifically, the parts of me you'd like to claim later. You need to cut that out, babe."

"You know what a fantastic multitasker I am, " I reminded her cheekily, shooting her a wink. "I am absolutely capable of both."

My Char grinned back at me. "Oh sugar, you absolutely are a fantastic multitasker ... except for when all your venom starts rushin' below your belt. Then you can't multitask for shit."

"Can you blame me?" I asked with a shrug, not outright admitting the truth of her statement but certainly not doing my best to corroborate it. "Do you even know how beautiful you are?"

"Of course I do," she responded, her smile turning tender. "You tell me every day, all day long."

"And I will continue to tell you every day, all day long for the rest of eternity," I told her, pulling her in for a kiss.

Just as my tongue met hers, she abruptly pulled away and smacked me hard on the same shoulder she'd bumped before. "What did I say about focusing?"

She is so fuckin' sexy when she's fiery, but that hurt!

"Goddamn woman!" I pouted. "Do you have to hit so fuckin' hard?"

"Yes," she replied. "Apparently I do."

I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed.

"Just be patient, sugar," she mollified with a tiny grin. "I'll treat you right later."

My eyebrows flashed up for an instant in interest, and I smirked. "I'm gonna hold you to that, darlin'."

"When do I ever break my word?"

That was a question she shouldn't have had to ask. My Char never broke her word. "Fair point, sugar."

Our conversation on that particular topic came to an end at that point—Carlisle's scent permeated the hallway as he came through the double doors that led to the one where his office was located. It was time to get down to business.

"Eyes on the ball, Pete," Charlotte warned so quietly I doubted Papa Cullen heard, her eyes flashing.

"I know it's game time," I assured her just as quietly. "And I know this is serious shit, darlin'. I'll treat it as such."

She gave me a nod. Despite her admonition, she'd always known just how serious I knew this was and how seriously I took it.

When Carlisle walked through his office door he was unsurprised to see us there. I had no scent for him to pick up, but he'd smelled Charlotte just as surely as we had smelled him, and where Charlotte was, I was never far behind. That wasn't the only reason he wasn't in shock. Even if he was, Carlisle Cullen had an excellent poker face, but he'd known this was coming.

He didn't bother with hellos or pleasantries. I was okay with that.

"I was wondering when you would come to me," he said as he made his way behind his desk and took a seat. He folded his hands on the wood surface and devoted all of his attention to the two of us. "I suppose your intention was to make me sweat."

I smiled, broad and lazy. "That was the idea, Doc."

"It worked," he informed me, returning my smile with amusement and relief but also some dread. He did have an excellent poker face but only when he wanted to have one. He was an honest man and rarely tried to hide his emotions and motives, so he rarely ever used it. "I imagine you were hoping it would be a bit more effective though. Were you expecting that I might come to you instead?"

"Nope," I said, still smiling. "I much prefer ambushes, as you can see."

"I can."

"So, Carlisle," Charlotte interjected, speaking for the first time. "I think it's time you come clean, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose it is," he agreed calmly.

"You lied to me," I started out, going straight for the jugular. I didn't know that for sure, but it was better to begin by showing strength rather than weakness. Carlisle wasn't my enemy, but I was still looking to extract very much needed information from him. He had to understand who was in charge here, and it wasn't him.

His expression turned remorseful.

"I did," he admitted with no hesitation, still as composed as ever in spite of his remorse. If Carlisle Cullen had one flaw, it was that he was honest to a fault.

"You'd better tell me why," I said, just as composed, though that was not a suggestion. Angry wasn't the right word for how I felt about his admission. I didn't often get angry about much, but I did need to understand his reasoning. "Given you led me to believe my gift was faulty in that instance, Doc, you owe me that much."

"You're right about that," he agreed again. "And I do apologize for my deception. I've never felt proud of misleading you, but I made a choice, and I've had to live with it. The personal consequences of that choice haven't been pleasant."

"For a man who values honesty as much as you do, I believe you when you say that," my Char replied, knowing I felt the same way. She always seemed to know how to put my thoughts into words. We didn't always share the same views or opinions on things, but she still understood exactly how my mind worked. "However, we may not see eye-to-eye on those consequences, dependin' on the information you've kept from us."

I doubted we'd do anything about his keeping shit from us. Everyone kept secrets; everyone had a right to them, but these were secrets we needed to know, and Charlotte's statement was more strategy-based than anything else. It was a way to get the information we were after. I didn't particularly like making power plays with Carlisle Cullen—I truly liked the guy—but it was what it was. We needed this shit both for the greater good and for Jasper, and when it came to Jasper, it didn't matter whether or not we liked you. He came first, always, even when he was being a dick of epic fuckin' proportions, and I was not shy about calling him out on that shit. He needed someone to keep him in line.

Plus, I really would have liked to know what the fuck was up with my gift. If whatever Carlisle was hiding could shed light on that, then we were going to weasel it out of him.

Carlisle nodded thoughtfully.

"Before I give you an explanation for my actions, there are some things you need to understand," he told us.

"Alright," I replied evenly.

"Keeping the truth from you wasn't a decision I made lightly, Peter," Carlisle intoned, meeting both Charlotte's and my gazes. "I did have reasons for making it, and I will share as many details behind those reasons as I can, but there are circumstances that won't permit me to tell you everything."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. Charlotte's features were twisted into an expression that bore a similar emotion.

"Carlisle," she protested. "We know you well enough to have figured you had to have had good reasons, but you have to tell us everything. It isn't an option for you not to."

He sighed. "As I've already said, I can't tell you everything. I am truly sorry," he reiterated, his sincerity radiating out of him. "But my hands are tied. I will tell you what I can but no more than that."

I could see that Carlisle was dead-set on keeping to his declaration, so we would play along for now. After he shared all the information he intended to give us willingly, Charlotte and I would proceed from there, but he would tell us the rest.

I met my mate's eyes, we shared a meaningful look, and I knew she understood where my mind had gone. That look told me she had come to the same conclusion. We nodded in agreement and returned our attention to Carlisle, whose poker face was now in place. He may not know what we had in store specifically, but he knew we were planning something because that was who we were. We had never hidden that, and while my gift told me that he wasn't going to lie to us anymore, he was definitely on his guard.

"Start at the beginning," I suggested easily but with an underlying air of authority.

"I went to Louisville just as you told me to," he said. "And I attended the medical conference while listening to the news for any breaking stories on wildfires in the area."

"Go on," I urged.

"As you know, there were no wildfires while I was there, and there haven't been since I left, but your gift was right," he admitted. "I did need to go there."

"Why's that, Doc?" Charlotte asked in genuine curiosity. We were both listening intently, waiting.

"The wildfire wasn't a fire in the literal sense," Carlisle revealed. "It was a horse."

"A horse?" I questioned in mild disbelief. Since the details had been so fuzzy, I probably shouldn't have been surprised because it really could have been anything, but a horse?

"A racehorse, specifically," he confirmed, nodding. "I just happened to come across an article in the newspaper, strictly by chance, about a horse of that name becoming a contender for the Triple Crown. Since I had yet to hear any news of an actual wildfire, I decided to check it out. It was a lead, and since you were so vague …"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I didn't actually know shit for certain, so you had to cover all your bases," I griped. "It's what I would have done." I waved my hand in an impatient circle. "Carry on."

"When I got to Churchill Downs to investigate, it became startlingly clear why you sent me to Louisville," Carlisle said.

"Which was?" Charlotte prompted impatiently.

"Bella," he replied. "Bella was there in Wildfire's stall. I can't tell you anything beyond that. I promised her I wouldn't, and I'm bound by that promise in more ways than one."

If I understood what Carlisle was implying, Bella had needed some sort of medical attention, and he was bound by his oath as a doctor not to break doctor-patient confidentiality. Things were starting to make a lot more fuckin' sense.

"You should also have gotten a good enough idea of who Bella is by now to know that if she finds out I've broken my promise to her, she won't hesitate to leave," Carlisle continued meaningfully. "And I have a very uncomfortable suspicion that if I violate my word, she'll find out somehow."

A sideways glance to Charlotte only confirmed what I was already aware of. My mate and I both had no doubt that if Bella believed she'd been betrayed by Carlisle that she would leave in an instant. We also agreed with Carlisle. I wasn't sure how, but she most likely would find out and take off. That could not happen, and it meant we couldn't force his hand. Damn it!

"She can't leave, Carlisle," I returned with explicit finality.

"I agree," he said. "But my reasons are surely different from yours. I know I don't have the right, but may I ask what yours are?"

"I'm no fuckin' clearer on that than I was on why I sent you to Louisville," I confessed irritably. "All I know is that Bella needs to be here. She cannot leave."

I was debating on whether or not to throw Jasper's name into the mix, but Carlisle had accepted us into his home without knowing all the specifics of the motives behind our request. I wouldn't tell him what Jasper was currently going through—that needed to come from Jasper himself—but I still needed to say something. Then again, Jasper was on the verge of deciding to confess his struggles to the head of the family anyway. Charlotte had told me she'd encouraged him to do so after his near attack on Rosalie, and with how the confrontation between him and Edward had gone the previous day, the odds were swinging in that direction. That wasn't all that was convincing me though. My gift was telling me too. Though it didn't always tell me everything, when it did tell me shit, it didn't just inform me of big things but also of small ones. While to most, Jasper opening up might have been considered a small thing, it was actually fuckin' huge.

"To be honest," I continued seriously. "I've always wondered if Bella had something to do with why you lied."

Carlisle's eyebrows shot up comically, and he almost lost his composure. "Why would you wonder that?"

"For several reasons," I answered with nonchalance. "Alice has never been able to see her. When Jasper ended up in Louisville on his road trip, his future disappeared from her view, and my grasp on what I just knew about things in regard to him went fuckin' hinky. When I sent you to Louisville, I had no idea why you needed to go there, and Alice didn't see that you didn't really go to Chicago because her gift was actin' up as well. That does happen to her on occasion, but aside from the wolves, she has never met anyone else she can't see, and my gift may not always give me all the details, but except for when I was extremely new to this life, it has never failed me ... until Bella. If my gift led you to her, even if it didn't tell me why, that means she's important. You have to have realized this."

"Yes, I have," Carlisle said, and then he frowned. "Are you saying you think Jasper and Bella ran into each other in Louisville?"

"That is exactly what we're saying. Why else would his future have disappeared?" my Char asked.

"That's an awful lot of fuckin' coincidence, wouldn't you say?" I chimed in. I didn't really believe in coincidence, though the occasional one here and there was possible I supposed, but mostly I found it to be a bullshit concept.

"If they did run into each other, why haven't they said anything?" he queried in confusion, still frowning. His doctor's need to figure things out was kicking in, and we were finally on the same page.

"Who the hell knows, Carlisle?" my Char responded. "But I'm guessin' they have their reasons for not sayin' anything just as much as you had yours for lyin' to us."

"Shouldn't we confront them about it the same way you've confronted me?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," I answered immediately. "I think Bella would consider that pryin' and grounds for takin' off. Jasper has never shared everything with me, but he generally tells me the weird shit, and runnin' into her would definitely qualify. Since he hasn't, that means he either isn't ready to talk about it or he can't talk about it. There are some things I can force his hand on, but this isn't one of them. And before you ask, it's something I just know."

Carlisle nodded in confused understanding.

"I can't help but think that whatever happened between them there is why they're so damn hostile towards each other," my Char theorized astutely. "Some people really don't mesh the way Jasper believes they don't, but I don't think that's it. The former idea is the only thing that makes sense."

"I agree," I said.

"That is a possibility," Carlisle mused. "But I'm not entirely convinced. Bella and Rosalie had a nasty confrontation the first time they met, and while Rosalie's attitude hasn't improved much, Bella hasn't been overtly hostile with her. Jasper's attitude with Bella has been relatively mild, but she's continually on the attack with him. Those two attitudes are inconsistent, so it's possible he's right. Maybe they really do just clash. Bella is a good kid, but she's shown that she doesn't always play well with others, and Jasper is most definitely similar in that respect. I love him dearly, but you have to admit that."

"Oh, I can admit that very easily," I said. I was an honest bastard, and Carlisle was right. The Major didn't always play well with others, but that was just fine in my book. If everyone liked you, it meant you were boring as fuck. Besides, when you'd been through what he'd been through, it was impossible to get along with everyone. "Whichever it is doesn't strictly matter at the moment."

Carlisle's features twisted into an even deeper confusion. Even Charlotte didn't seem to understand. "Oh, it matters alright," I assured them. "But there are other things that matter just as much, if not more."

"Where's your head at, babe?" my Char questioned.

"Bella is not your average human," I pointed out. "That's another thing I'm sure you've noticed." I directed my statement at Carlisle. Charlotte was a given. He nodded. "She doesn't carry herself like a typical seventeen year old. She's aware in a way most people aren't, she can think on her feet in a snap, and she is crazy smart, Carlisle. As you know, she keeps her room locked up tight, but the other day when she took a bathroom break, she left the door cracked. I wasn't pryin', but I walked by and happened to get a glimpse of the inside. What I saw ..." I paused, trying to think how to phrase it. "... Carlisle there was a seriously high-tech computer in there that she did not have when she moved in, that she never took off long enough to go buy, and even if she had, there's no way in hell it's something she could have bought in a store. She could have had all the parts for it packed in those boxes though. All that time she spent locked away in her room, all the strange smells—she built that shit, Doc, and she did it in three fuckin' days. She also built some other things, and I don't have the first fuckin' clue what any of it is. There are genius humans out there whose IQs can sometimes rival vampires, which is another thing you already know, so while those things set her apart, they aren't what make her truly abnormal."

Carlisle looked uneasy with where I was taking the conversation but was also soaking up my words with avid interest. My Char knew exactly what I meant, and once I began to explain, he would realize he knew it too.

"She's met four gifted vampires, and she has managed to either completely block or disrupt each one of our gifts," I elaborated. Carlisle's face lit up with comprehension, but I could tell it wasn't a new thought. His expression turned grave, and so did Charlotte's. "You spent enough time with the Volturi to know how rare it is for a gifted vampire to be able to block another's gift but for a human to have that ability? It's unheard of, especially if you take into consideration just how varied all of our gifts are."

"Yes, that has crossed my mind," he confessed.

"I figured as much," I said.

"Do you think that's why she needs to be here and why so many of us have become so fond of her so quickly?" Carlisle asked.

"It's possible, but I just don't fuckin' know," I enunciated, so frustrated I gripped my hair and tugged hard. Charlotte placed her hand on my knee and squeezed. I gave her a weak smile, finding a sense of comfort in the gesture. It didn't last long, my scowl returning with a vengeance seconds later. "I hate not fuckin' knowin'! It's buggin' the shit outta me, quite frankly."

There was a chance this situation wasn't that serious, that we were blowing it way out of proportion, but we couldn't be certain of that. Therefore, I was a little offended when Carlisle took on a slight air of amusement. I didn't know what the hell that was about.

"I can understand your frustration," he said sympathetically. "But I don't see the point in getting worked up over it when there's nothing we can do to make things any clearer."

I crossed my arms over my chest, too stubborn to admit that Carlisle was right just yet. I was a laid back guy it was true, but I was fuckin' irritated. In my peripheral vision, I noticed the contemplative expression decorating my Char's face. Whatever she was thinking about, it was deep and relevant. She was a sharp woman, and once she got an idea in her head, it rarely ever failed to shed light on the issue at hand.

"What's goin' through that busy head of yours, darlin'?" I asked tenderly, running my thumb over her cheek as she angled her body towards mine.

"Jasper has always believed that gifts aren't perfect," she began. "He's always said that eventually there comes a time when a gifted vampire has to figure out how to survive without their gift, even it's only for a very short while, and that there are certain things a person just shouldn't be able to figure out with that kind of aid, like Alice not havin' visions of Edward bein' her mate. It took me a little while to agree with him, but I do now. Alice's gift glitching, yours goin' off kilter, proves that theory to a point, but there is one thing we're not accounting for, babe."

"What's that, darlin'?"

"We definitely know she caused a glitch in your gift in Louisville, but we have no way of knowin' if she's blocking it now. You've always said that you either just know shit or you don't, that there's no forcin' it. What if you're just not meant to know?" She mused. "Or ... what if you're just not meant to know yet?"

"Darlin', you're a genius," I crowed.

My Char shrugged. "I'm just lookin' at things from all possible angles."

"I know, sugar," I said, placing my hand over the one of hers on my knee and beaming at her with pride and love. "Not bein' able to figure out which it is is still annoying and fuckin' frustrating though."

"That may be so," Carlisle spoke up. "But at least we've got a better grasp on what could be going on. The more aware we are of the possibilities of the situation, the better prepared we can be for whatever comes our way, which could very well be nothing."

"I don't think so," I disagreed. "My gift isn't perfect, especially at the moment, but it is givin' me the feeling that this isn't nothin'."

"Well, then," Carlisle said. "This isn't nothing. You've never led us astray before, Peter. Glitching gift or not, I don't believe you'll start now. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out. Until we do, we've got to do our best to make Bella feel welcome and at home because when it comes down to it, no matter the underlying issue, our primary goal hasn't changed. It is still our number one priority to relieve her of as much of the adult burdens she's had to carry for God only knows how long and let her be a kid, to take care of her in a way I don't believe she has been for a very long time. If we can do that, the rest will fall into place."

"Things should proceed as usual then, shouldn't they?" Charlotte thought aloud. "You can't reveal that you saw Bella in Louisville because of the promise you made her, and we can't let on that we even know you made her a promise in the first place. Other than Rosalie's attitude problem and her issues with Jasper, everyone else has been perfectly welcoming."

Carlisle cocked an eyebrow. "The two of you have been on the neutral side."

Charlotte's gaze narrowed. "I've remained remarkably civil. I've even managed a modicum of warmth towards the girl despite how awful she is to my brother. When she gets over whatever the hell it is she has against him, I'll consider tradin' in my neutrality for something a little more cheery, but right now that's the best I can do. The sad thing is, I could really like Bella if she would just ease the fuck off."

"I joke around with her as much as I can get away with and still unconditionally prove my loyalty to the Major," I said. I liked Bella to a certain degree, much more than any other human I'd ever met, felt protective of her, but I did not fuckin' like the way she treated Jasper either. Maybe if I knew what her reason for it was, I would be less inclined to be pissed at her for making him more miserable when he was already fuckin' miserable, but at the same time he was responding to her in ways that were good as well. He had made some progress since she'd moved in. For that, I could not hate her. For that, I had to kind of love her, but he was still so fuckin' tense and on edge, and he still couldn't project. The longer that shit went on, the more dangerous he became. The only reason he hadn't fuckin' snapped yet was because he was currently surrounded by mated couples who gave off shitloads of pure, unadulterated love. Soon, not even that would be enough. "I'm hopin' she'll come around soon … for both their sakes."

Carlisle sighed. "So do I."

oOo

A/N: Okay, guys! There we have it! Bella and Emmett had a little bit of brother/sister breakfast bonding, and Peter finally confronted Carlisle. They hashed some things out and did some brainstorming. Pieces are being put together! :)

Brace yourself for next week's Halloween shenanigans ladies and gents! I promised some Emmett and Peter hijinks when Peter and Charlotte moved to Forks but have yet to deliver. I believe that next week makes up for that in spades. ;)

Take care! Until next time ...