A/N: So this chapter is an exchange between Alice and Esme. It's just a mother/daughter thing that I thought would add a little to the story. Plus, I like to try to give Esme a shining moment in all of my stories. I feel like she tends to be left out a lot. Hell, there were a few times in the book that I forgot she was there. Personally, I think that she is one of the best mothers, real or fictional, ever. I mean, she takes care of five, sometimes, six teenagers, that aren't even hers. Come on, how much more motherly can you get. Anyway, I like Esme a lot and wish she could've had a little more time in the books. So here's my way of praising her. Also, this chapter takes place at almost the exact same time as Bella and Jasper's chapter. Maybe just a few minutes ahead.

ALICE

The next morning, I was sitting on the couch in mine and Jasper's room attempting to read again. I, once again, found this impossible. My mind was going to crazy to focus on Charles Dickens. I was too worried, excited, and anxious about Bella coming back.

I wasn't completely positive what I should say or do when she came back. I mean what do you say to your best friend who lost her fiance and has spent the last five months hurting themself because of it? It just wasn't a coversation I could imagine having. Don't get me wrong, I wanted her to come back, but I wasn't sure how I could break the ice. I hoped Carlisle would be there to help.

I really wanted to see her again. I hoped Jasper could convince her to come back sooner rather than later. It was really hard to not be waiting by the door for her to come.

Top all that off with the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about what was going to be starting between Jasper and Bella soon and you had one nearly insane pixie.

I couldn't concentrate on the book to save my life. Even with my really cool ability to keep track of like a million things at once. There was just too much going on to add something else to it. I threw the book down on the couch with a sigh.

I, then, grabbed my phone off the end table and stared at it for the longest minute. I wanted nothing more than to call Jasper and tell him to drag her here, whether she's ready or not. I had a right to see my best friend after five months whether she wanted to see me or not.

I knew, though, that wouldn't be a good idea. She had been through so much already and was just starting to heal. I didn't want to push things too far and mess up the little progress Jasper had already made. Which is why I tossed the phone onto the bed with a sigh and headed down the stairs to see if Esme needed help with anything.

When I got downstairs, Esme was dusting every nook and cranny of the living room, at a human pace. I would've laughed at the adsurdity of it, had I not known cooking and cleaning was her way of dealing with things that she found overwhelmiming. Bella's return, after five months, was definitely something that could be considered overwhelming. Even if we were all happy about it.

"Hey Esme." I said and she turned around.

"Hey Alice, what's up?" she asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you needed help with anything?" I asked.

"Oh no sweetheart." she replied. "I'm doing just fine on my own. Why don't you go back upstairs and do your own thing?"

"That's the problem." I stated. "I'm so overwhelmed at the idea of Bella coming back, after everything that's happened, I can't concentrate on my own thing." I tried not to sound to much like a whiny brat but I wasn't sure if it worked or not.

"Well, in that case, why don't you start with the T.V." She tossed me a rag. "And we can talk while we work."

"Sounds good." I replied catching the towel.

I started wiping of the nic nacs on top of the T.V. Had the situation been different, I would've laughed at the fact that they were already perfectly clean. We were silent at first. I don't think either of us really knew what we should talk about.

"So did Jasper ever tell you where he was taking Bella today?" Esme asked after a moment.

"No." I replied trying to sound nonchalant. "He just said that it was something she needed to do. Something that would help her with the grieving process. He also said it was possible that she'd want to be around people who love and support her when they finished. But I have no idea where that place would be. I just hope it doesn't upset her too much."

"Don't worry." Esme answered. "If Jasper's the one taking her, then it probably really is for her own good. Jasper does know quite a bit about the whole grieving process. He'll have her back to the Bella we all know and love in no time."

"I know."

Which was I true. I knew from personal experience exactly how good he was at helping someone grieve. I don't know how I would've gotten passed Edward's death without him. There were many, many emotional breakdowns where he had to spend hours holding me. He helped me through all of the steps and I'll be forever grateful for everything that he'd done.

We fell into a comfotable, yet, sad silence as we continued the unecessary dusting of the living room.

"Alice, are you okay?" Esme asked after a minute.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I replied.

"It's just that you haven't been acting like yourself in the last few months." she responded. "You seem really sad. I know the loss of Edward and Bella's grief and depression have been hard on you. But it seems like so much more than that. I feel like there is something that you're dying to talk to someone about, but for some strange reason you can't or won't. And it's slowly tearing you up inside. I can see it, even if the others can't."

I bit my lip and looked down at the floor. I couldn't believe her mother's intuition. It often felt like she knew me, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward (before his death), and even Bella better than we knew ourselves half the time. It was on a completely different level than any mother with her biological children. I guess it came from the fact that she had spent more years with us than any other mother with her biological children.

To be completely honest, I had wanted nothing more than to talk about the whole Bella and Jasper thing. However, there were many things stopping me. Mostl, the family's reaction to it. I dind't know what they would think of Bella if I told them. I didn't want to hinder her chances of being accepted back into the family. She needed them now and didn't need anything to get in the way of that.

Then there was Bella and Jasper, themselves. If I were to mention anything about it to either of them. They would do everything in their power to fight their feelings because of me. I didn't want that to happen because both of them would end up worse of than they were now. I didn't want either of them to give up the chance of a better future for me.

I continued to stare at the floor, wondering if I could get away with telling Esme. She was, after all, my mother in so many ways. If you couldn't trust your mother with your secrets then there was definitely a problem.

I suddenly felt Esme presence directly in front of me and looked into her eyes. She looked so sad and worried about me. She just wanted to help like she always did. The sign of a true mother through and through. She placed her hand on my shoulder and said,

"You can trust me with whatever you have to say. You know that right. Whatever it is, will stay between the two of us, no matter what."

I knew she was telling the truth. She had never given me a reason not to trust her. And she always listened no matter how trival the problem was and she didn't judge me, ever. That's what I loved most about talking to her.

I wanted to talk about it so badly. I needed to talk about it so badly. Which is why I decided, in that moment, there was no one better than Esme to have this conversation with. I knew it would all stay between us. Which was the one thing I needed to be sure of.

"Can we go for a drive?" I asked. "I don't want to be overheard."

"Sure." Esme replied patting me on the shoulder. "I have to go to the grocerery store, anyway. If Bella's going to be spending more time here, I need to get the fridge restocked."

"That'd be great."

"OKay, let me go tell your father."

She ran up to Carlisle's study as I quickly finished dusting the television. Esme came back down, a few seconds later, dangling the keys to Carlisle's mercedes in her hand.

"Let's go." she stated.

We got into the car and pulled out of the driveway in silence. My thoughts were swimming. How on earth could I start this conversation? There were a million possibilities, but none seemed to be a good ice breaker for this. I still hadn't spoke after fifteen minutes of driving.

"So what's going on?" Esme asked breaking the silence.

I guess I should say something. I mean I did ask her to leave the house and everything for this.

"Okay, before I can explain, I have to ask you something." I stated. She nodded. "What would you do if you found out that you weren't Carlisle's true mate after all your years together?"

"Well, I guess it would really depend." she answered sounding very confused.

"On what?"

"On who his true mate was. Whether or not she was available? And if she made him happier than I did."

"Well, let's just say that she was your best friend, very available, and had the potential to make him happier than he's been in his entire existence."

"In that case, seeing as it was my best friend and my husband, I'd have to let him go. I'd love both of them enough to give him up, so they could be happy together. But what's this have to do with you?"

"I had a vision the day Edward died." I answered her question.

"About what?" she asked.

"Jasper and Bella were getting married." I stated. I was surprised at how much saying it really hurt."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I had it just after Jasper stopped Bella from going after Jacob. It was the clearest vision that I've ever had. And it hasn't changed in five months, not even after Bella walked away."

"I see. And what are you going to do about it?"

"The same thing that you would do." I replied. "When the time comes, I'm going to let Jasper go. They deserve the chance to try and be happy with each other. I can't and won't deny them that."

"Honey, I'm really sorry." she stated as we pulled into the grocerery store parking lot.

"Don't be." I answered. "I thought about it for a long time after the vision. And I've discovered that as much as I still love Jasper, I don't need him anymore, just like he doesn't need me anymore. But Bella needs him and he needs her. And they will at some point discover how much they want each other. She's my best friend and he's my husband and I love them both very much. It would be wrong of me to sit here and say that, but turn around and deny them something they both want and need. It would be selfish of me. I won't selfishly take this opportunity away from them."

I let out a choked sob at the end of my speech. I had long since made this decision, but this was the first time that I had ever said the words out loud. It was much easier to make the decision than to say it outloud. Saying it meant that it was official and I couldn't change my mind. Not that I wanted to, of course, it just hurt a lot.

"Oh sweetheart." Esme, who had long since parked and turned off the car, cooed and pulled me into her arms. "I'm really sorry." She held me to her chest for a moment as I let out a couple more sobs. She pulled me away, rather abruptly. "Alice, you are the strongest most amazing woman I know. You're human life, though you can't remember much of it, sucked. I can on;y imagine what it would've been like to discover that your parents didn't want you because you were different. They even went as far as putting you in an asylum and pretending you were dead. Then you were thrown into this crappy excuse for a new life. You didn't even know what happened. Yet, you never let any of that bother you. You live every moment to its fullest potential and always have a smile on your face. You don't let what you are get you down, ever. And now, you are willing to give up your husband to your best friend for their happiness. I can't even imagine what you must be going through because of that. I'm so lucky to have someone like you for a daughter. You have no idea how proud I am of everything you've done and what you are about to do. You're an amazing daughter and the greatest friend Bella could ask for. I love you so much."

She pulled me back into her embrace when she finished her speech. Her words made me feel batter about what I had to do. Of course, it still hurt but knowing that someone else thought I was doing the right thing, made me feel so much better about the whole thing.

"Thanks, mom." I said into her chest.

We stayed like that for several minutes before we finally got out of the car. We continued to talk about the whole thing as we walked through the store grabbing all of Bella's favorite foods. I realized as the conversation went on, though, that just talking about it was helping to ease the pain. I was so glad I had Esme for a mother.

Fifteen minutes after entering the store, I felt okay enough to change the subject. We ended up talking about Emmett and Rosalie's wedding coming up in two months. They were going to tie the knot again a couple months after Edward and Bella. However, after everything that happened with Edward, they decided that it might be best for them to wait. We all decided that seven months was an appropriate amount of time and were now preparing for it again.

We were in the store for about forty five minutes when it happened. I grabbed a jar of spaghetti sauce and attempted to put it in the cart when I was sucked into a vision.

Bella and Jasper were kneeling of the spot where Jacob had burned Edward in the meadow. I could see Bella's body shaking with sobs. Jasper had his arms wrapped around her and was whispering comforting things as he stroked her hair. She continued to cling to his shirt and sob into his chest.

It made sense then. Jasper had taken her to the meadow. She needed to face Edward's death, head on. And that's exactly what he was making her do. However, I knew that wasn't the point of this vision.

Bella cried into his chest for several long moments before she pulled away and looked at Jasper with tear filled eyes.

"I want to see my family, now." she whispered.

When the vision faded out, I noticed that Esme had just caught the jar of sauce before it smashed on the floor. She was staring at me with a worried and expectant look in her eyes.

I felt a wide grin spread over my face as I said,

"Bella's coming home, today."

A/N: What do you guys think? A good and well deserved mother/daughter moment? Please review and let me know what you think.