A/N: Hello :) Hope you all had a nice week!

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CHAPTER 14

"So you'll talk to him now?" Bella asked me anxiously, as I walked into the hospital on Monday morning, two days after Rosalie's party. I hadn't been able to get hold of Jasper yesterday, so I had yet to speak to him about Alice.

"Yeah, that's the plan. His shift starts soon, so he should be here any minute now."

"I'm sorry, Edward, for getting you in the middle of this. I just don't know what else to do." She sounded distraught and I hated it. "You should have heard Alice go on and on about Jasper after you dropped me off. Now that she's allowed to tell me, she just couldn't stop gushing about him."

"Wait," I interrupted. "Allowed?"

"Yeah, that's the word she used," Bella told me. "I don't think she meant to, because she kept giggling and shushing me. With the amount of wine in her system, she had absolutely no control over what she was saying."

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Anyway, the point is that she is already way too invested in this relationship and if there is any chance that Jasper might not feel the same… I can't just stand by and let my friend get hurt, Edward."

The memory of Alice ripping me a new one based on just her hunch that I'd hurt Bella passed through my mind and I smiled ruefully, even though she couldn't see me through the phone.

"Don't worry. I'll-" I broke off when I saw Jasper enter. "I gotta go. He's here." I hung up after a quick goodbye.

He saw me and sighed, dropping his bag into the cabinet. "I knew you'd be here."

"Jas… What's going on?"

"I thought we'd cleared that up at the party. I'm dating Alice Brandon. Do I need your permission for that, Edward?" His demeanor shifted from defeated to angry so suddenly that I was taken aback.

"You don't do this, Jasper. You don't date," I pointed out. "All you want from women is one night, and once you get that, you leave them hanging without any regrets. That is why I am asking you what you are doing with Alice." My temper would do me no good here, so I took a deep breath to rein it in. "She's Bella's closest friend, and-"

"There. There it is." He pointed a finger at me. "You are here because you're worried that if I can't make it work with Alice, she might poison Bella's mind against me and by association- you. You are not here because you are concerned about Alice. You are here because you are selfish and only worried about yourself," he shouted.

I stood there, stunned into silence. A few minutes passed. The only sounds in the room were the ticking of the clock, and Jasper's agitated, shallow breaths. I took a few steps toward the door, but, I stopped before touching the handle.

I looked back at Jasper. He was sitting on a chair, with his head bent low in a defeated posture.

I couldn't give up, not now.

I turned and pulled up a chair in front of him.

"Jasper, I am not going to lie to you. I'll admit that I was concerned about Bella, but that was not my main intention. I- We are worried about Alice and worried about you. I believe I can say this to you because you're my friend. That means that we can share our thoughts with each other. You can talk to me, Jasper," I said earnestly, tipping my head to meet his eyes.

He stayed in the same posture, stubbornly still for so long that I almost gave up hope of him opening up to me. Then suddenly, his gruff voice broke the silence.

"This comes easy to you, Edward, but committing to someone is… It frightens me to my bones." He looked up at me in despair. "Alice is… Alice is a breath of fresh air in my life. She's beautiful, honest and fiercely loyal. Most importantly, she's… a happy person, Edward. She's always so optimistic and I lost that quality a long, long time ago. I couldn't stop thinking about her and texted her out of the blue, but-" he broke off, shaking his head guiltily. "At the time, I was just curious about her. Now, a month later, she has slowly worked her way into my life, into my heart, and it… terrifies me."

"So, you want to do this, then? Be in a relationship with her?" I asked, making my voice carefully neutral.

"I don't know. I just don't know what the hell I want anymore," he muttered.

"Does she know about Maria?"

"What about Maria?" He sulked.

"You were dating her, Jasper. Or have you two broken up?"

"Maria and I were not dating. We were just… well, I guess you could call us friends with benefits." He motioned with air quotes as he used the clichéd phrase.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. "Then, does Maria know that it's over between the two of you? Now that you're seeing Alice."

"I don't owe her an explanation. We never said anything about being exclusive."

This was going nowhere.

"That night, Alice told Bella that she was not, uh-" I took a moment to think, but there was no way to sugarcoat this. "-that she wasn't allowed to talk about you guys earlier."

He groaned. "It's not like that. It was just a joke she made up. I'm not some tyrant. I just told her that I'd like to keep her to myself for a little while. You and Bella were just getting started, and I thought we shouldn't steal your thunder."

"Steal our thunder?" I couldn't help but snicker and Jasper cracked a small smile, shoving me lightly.

"Shut up! That's what I told her and she bought it. I was trying to avoid this conversation, which I fucking knew I wouldn't be able to get out of once the truth came out. I wanted to see where this thing with Alice would go, before I had to subject myself to an intervention by Em and you. Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, he's not on call today. Told me he and Rosalie had to meet someone in Jersey."

"So, the interrogation duty fell on you, huh?" He smirked.

I sighed. "Jasper, we don't mean to interfere in your life. Trust me. I do realize that it's none of my business. I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Whatever you need." I clapped his shoulder once. "I made the mistake of not talking to the woman I love before I made a decision about us and I ended up wasting a year and a half, making the both of us miserable. Don't repeat my mistake. Talk to Alice about your past, and the reasons that made you who you are. Don't let her get blindsided, Jas. She deserves to be with a guy who wants the same things as she does."

"She-she wants me? In a serious way?" he whispered with both hope and doubt warring in his eyes.

"She talked to Bella once they went home on Saturday, without any inhibitions, obviously." I grinned and he rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't ask Bella to divulge the specifics and she wouldn't break Alice's trust like that. What she did tell me was that they stayed up all night talking about you, and that Alice is very happy and kind of smitten. If you're not… if you're not in the same place, you should tell her before it's too late."

He sighed. "I know you're right. I'll think about it, okay? Just… I need a little time, please."

"Okay." I knew that it was the best I was going to get from him at the moment. I saw it in his eyes that he had had enough of this conversation, so I changed the topic. "I need a consult."

"Sure. What's up?"

"The patient is in 2102…"

After Jasper's consult, we ended up taking the patient to surgery, which lasted several hours. When we finally made our way out of the hospital at four, we were greeted by a pleasant surprise.

Well, two of them, if you wanted to get technical.

Bella and Alice were waiting for us on the benches.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, after kissing Bella hello.

She smirked. "What? You think you're the only one who can pay surprise visits?"

"We were bored. Well, I was bored; Bella could have probably immersed herself in a book, as usual. So, I dragged her out here." Alice tapped her chin thoughtfully, as Jasper slung an arm around her waist. "Actually, it was more like I put forward the idea of coming here to see you guys and she jumped up immediately. That has never happened when I suggested going out somewhere before. I had to practically force her out of the apartment to go to a party."

"Alice!" Bella hissed and I kissed her flushed cheeks.

"Would it help if I said I was just thinking about calling you?" I told her and she forgot her pique, smiling widely. "I would have come over, but I didn't want to disturb you if you were studying."

"God! You guys are sickeningly sweet sometimes. Jasper, take me away from here before they give a sugar coma." She looked at him with adoring eyes.

I turned to Bella and found her watching them closely.

"Sure. Though I have to tell you, you're always in a sugar coma, Alice." Jasper sniggered.

She smacked his head, although he tried to duck and dodge the blow. Before we knew it, the two of them were waving us a hasty goodbye. They took off running and chasing toward the parking lot.

Bella sighed, looking after them with concerned eyes. I took her hand as we walked toward my car, since she had come in Alice's. I relayed to her the conversation I had with Jasper earlier in the day.

"I guess that is all we can hope for," she said, though uncertainty was evident in her voice.

"He's a good guy, Bella," I told her softly. "There are some things in his past that have made him wary of getting too close to someone. I am sure that with the right motivation, as he has in Alice, he can change and become a better guy for her. That's all we can do, you know. We shouldn't interfere in their lives any further. They're both mature adults; they can figure this out."

"You are right." She exhaled in a gush. "It's just hard for me, you know. Alice has always looked out for me, and I don't know how to just…" She sighed.

"Alice gave me the benefit of the doubt," I pointed out. "That worked out well, don't you think?"

She pursed her lips. "I guess. Fine, I'll give him some time, but he better tell her soon."

I hummed in agreement and we dropped the matter, for the time being, at least. Searching for a change in subject, my eyes fell on the small duffel bag that she had placed near her feet.

"What's in there?"

"Oh, my pajamas. Alice said she'd like to spend some, uh, private time with Jasper at our apartment, so I thought I could sleep over at your place. That's okay, right?" For a moment, I thought that there was a speculative gleam in her eyes, but didn't ponder over it.

Like I'd ever say no to that request.

"Yeah, of course."

Once at my condo, we carried out an inventory of the pantry. Eventually, Bella decided to make subs, while I pulled out a bottle of her beloved ginger ale.

Yeah, that was one thing I never failed to stock up in the fridge.

We parked ourselves in the living room with our food and drinks, but didn't turn on the TV. Instead, we talked about the highlights of our day.

"Katie came in for her post-op check-up today."

"Yeah? How is she doing?" she asked eagerly.

"She's doing great. The scar is healing well, and her latest scans showed no signs of recurrence. She was asking about you," I added with a grin.

"Me?"

I nodded. "Well, actually she asked me where my Princess Belle was. I think we can safely assume that she meant you."

She smiled. "What did you tell her?"

"I thought about telling her that you were out fighting the bad guys, of course. I tried to think of the name of the villain in that film, but I had no clue whatsoever. So, I told her that you had to attend some meeting which would decide the kingdom's fate. You know what she said in response to that? She scowled at me and said that I should have been there with you to support you."

Bella laughed, just after taking a sip of her drink. Her hand came up to rub at her nose as she winced. "Gah! It tickles!"

"Bubbles?" I snickered as she nodded jerkily.

"What happened next?"

"I promised that after I was done with her, I would go straight to the palace." I shrugged. "What else could I say? Oh, and she also said that she won't tell anyone at school about meeting you. She didn't want to blow your cover in the normal world."

"She's such a sweet little girl. To think that she came so close to-" she broke off with a sad grimace.

"She's fine, now, Bella. That's all that matters." I cupped her face and she nodded, leaning into my palm. "Tell me about you. Did you dream about princesses and castles when you were little?"

"Of course!" Her face brightened. "Nana used to bring me all sorts of Disney Princess goodies. I even had a tiara. She took hundreds of pictures of me in the all the different get-ups, sash and gloves and all."

I grinned. "Really? Where can we find those albums?"

"I grabbed them when I was leaving for Forks. I think they must be lying in some corner of Charlie's home. Now, it's your turn to spill. You had to have had a phase when you were a kid."

I thought back for a moment. "I refused to speak to anyone without imitating Donald Duck's voice for two weeks. Does that count?"

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Uh-huh. I quacked my way through the beginning of kindergarten. At first, everyone thought it was cute, because I had the impression perfect. My Dad took videos and stuff. Then, the teachers were fed up and threatened to kick me out. My mom was forced to resort to drastic measures, like serving me asparagus and beans until I requested her, in my normal voice, to get me something else."

"How long did it take you to crack?"

"Two meals," I said with a sheepish shrug.

"Aww, you must have been so cute!" She laughed and pinched my cheek. "Has Emmett gotten a chance to see those videos?"

Honest to God, I shuddered at the thought, and Bella fell into a new bout of chuckles.

"Alright, giggly girl," I said, once we had finished eating. I stood and collected our plates. "I'll clean this up."

"Let me help."

"No, it's fine. You cooked, I'll clean."

"Sounds like a logical plan." She pulled me in for a kiss. "While you do that, I am gonna go change."

"Okay."

She grabbed her overnight bag and made her way into my bedroom.

Several minutes later, I finished loading the dishwasher, wiped my hands with a napkin and made my way out of the kitchen. Bella had still not come out, making me wonder if she had trouble finding something. I thought about yelling for her, but decided against it.

I pressed my ear against the bedroom door. I could distinctly make out the sound of Bella muttering to herself, though the volume was too low for me to figure out the words.

I knocked once. "Bella? Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay."

Her voice sounded a little different, maybe nervous, but I dismissed it as my imagination.

With a sigh, I plopped down on the couch. It was only eight in the evening, but the grueling surgery today had drained me, and I couldn't wait to get into the bed for a good night's sleep.

With Bella.

The Jasper and Alice situation still nagged at the back of my mind. Jasper's belligerent tone as he called me selfish still resonated in the recesses of my mind. Was he right? Was it true that all I was concerned about was the effect their failed relationship could have on Bella and me?

My thoughts ran around in circles until I was thoroughly frustrated. I needed to take my own advice and let this go. I'd said my piece to Jasper, now whether or not he acts on my advice is for him to decide. We would just have to wait and see.

The soft sound of footsteps padding toward me made me look up. My mind went blank, my mouth fell open and the proverbial cat caught my tongue when I looked at Bella standing shyly before me.

We'd spent a few nights together, but they had never been planned, and as a result, she usually ended up wearing something of mine to sleep in.

Tonight was different.

She stood before me wearing a simple, white tank top, the straps of which were so thin, that they didn't hide an inch of the creamy skin of her delicate shoulders. One look made it pretty obvious that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. With it, she wore a pair of pink shorts that reached up to the middle of her thighs. She had slung up her hair in a loose ponytail, leaving the graceful dip of her neck deliciously bare for my devouring eyes.

One side of her mouth lifted in a smug smile as I gawked at her, though her teeth sunk down on her lower lip to stifle it.

She held out a hand. Without another thought, I rose from my seat and took two steps forward, wrapping my arms around her and bringing her flush to my body.

"Like what you see?" she breathed, as I touched my forehead to hers.

My only response was to claim her lips in a passionate kiss, my tongue immediately sliding into her mouth and rubbing against hers. She responded with equal fervor, fisting her hands in my hair and tugging until there was not a hairbreadth of space between us.

She moaned in protest when I broke away for a moment, to lift her up and walk us into my room. Her lips pressed small kisses along the length of my jaw and I had to use all my concentration to get us inside and on my bed.

She quickly settled onto my lap and wasted no time in pressing her mouth back to mine.

My hands spread over her the sliver of bare skin on the small of her back where her top had ridden up. Ever so slowly, I inched my way under the cloth, stroking her warm skin as she gasped into my mouth. I could have cried in relief, when she didn't stop me. She buried her face into the slope of my neck and sighed when I moved my hands up, bringing the shirt with me.

"May I?" I whispered. My voice was so thick with longing that I could barely recognize it.

"Yes." Her answer was unmistakable, but her voice shook, making me pull away to look into her eyes.

What I saw there was a hint of apprehension, but there was also desire.

"You sure?" I murmured, caressing her flushed cheek.

"Yes. I want this," she said, more strongly this time and nodded with a small smile. There was no hint of hesitation in her eyes.

My hands shook slightly as I placed them back where they were. For a moment, I just stroked her bare skin, and took first one lip of hers between mine, and then the other. Still kissing her, I started my circuit again, lifting her top inch by inch and running my hands over the delectable skin that was newly exposed to me.

When I reached the bottom of her breasts, she lifted her hands and aided me in removing it all the way. She took in a deep, shuddering breath and closed her eyes, as I looked at her for the first time.

Cupping her face in my hands, I kissed one eyelid and then the other, until she met my gaze.

"You're beautiful, Bella," I whispered earnestly, willing her to understand the depth of my feelings and my honesty. The shroud of doubt slowly fell away from her features as a warm blush spread over her face and neck. I smiled and watched her lips pull up in return.

My hands reached down to cup her breasts. She gasped as I stroked her nipples with my thumbs and crashed her lips onto mine.

Our mouths moved in sync, while my hands continued stroking and tugging at those beautiful rosy buds. Her head fell back and she moaned in pleasure, swiveling her hips against my hardness and sending a current down my spine.

Some little part of my lust-addled mind realized that my phone was ringing. One look at the breath-taking girl in my arms silenced that part immediately and I turned my attention back to where it was rightfully supposed to be.

Her neck was arched out before me, so I pressed my lips against it, sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin. She writhed on my lap, instinctively setting up a rhythm that had me struggling to hold back my release in no time.

I kissed the top of her breasts, before moving down to her nipples. I took one into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it and devouring the taste and scent of her. I gave the other one my equal attention, lavishing them with kisses and nips as her shaking hands reached down to unbutton my shirt.

Between the two of us, we managed to get it off in no more than three seconds. Our synchronous groans intermingled in the air as our naked chests pressed together for the first time. The feel of her hard nipples brushing against my skin had me buck up against her with force, and she responded eagerly, pressing an open-mouthed kiss on the skin of my neck.

My mouth gravitated back to her breasts, suckling that aching nipple and gently squeezing the other one in my palm. The rocking of her hips grew frenzied as her muscles began to tense and she whimpered my name. My breathing turned staccato as I felt the telltale coil of tension form in the pit of my abdomen.

Realizing that she needed something more, I wrapped my teeth around a nipple and tugged slightly. That pushed her right over the edge. Bella moaned louder than ever as I felt her body tremble in my arms, waves of pleasure coursing through her. Only then, did I allow myself to let go, hissing through my clenched teeth as the overwhelming release pulsed through me.

My head fell into the curve of her shoulder and I placed soft kisses there as I gradually came down from the high. Bella's arms were limp around me, but I could feel the smile on her lips from where her face was buried against my neck.

"Wow," she whispered, and I almost sagged in relief.

She was fine.

"I have no idea where the hell that came from," she continued.

"Oh, you don't, huh? So, the whole "getting your own pajamas" and that too, sexy ones, was just a coincidence?"

When she pulled back, a satisfied look was etched on her face. "Of course. You think I planned to seduce you?" She smirked.

"You might be a virgin, sweetheart, but you are certainly not as innocent as you appear to be." She giggled and I shifted back until I was leaning against the headboard and keeping her firmly in my lap. "I sure do hope there's more where that came from, though."

She blushed and ducked her head, tucking it back against my chest, while I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her.

Devious one moment, shy the next… My Bella was a dichotomy.

And I wouldn't have her any other way.

We took a moment to clean up. I changed out of the jeans into my sweatpants. When Bella returned from the washroom, I opened my arms and she snuggled into them easily.

I stroked along the length of her arm that was wrapped around my waist as she told me that Alice might have had a role to play in choosing her attire that had me eating out of her hands in no time.

She was silent for a beat, and then continued speaking in a low, tentative voice. "I know you were slightly hesitant about making the first move to take… um, our, um physical relationship forward. Alice gave me a little pep talk the essence of which was that even though I might not have any experience in this department, this was the 21st century; I should take the first step and show you what I want. Was it… okay for you?"

I lifted her chin with a gentle finger and looked into her beautiful, solemn eyes. "Okay? I cannot believe you're asking me that. It was amazing, Bella. You were amazing and gorgeous and sexy and stunning and-"

She halted any further superlatives by placing a hand over my lips. "Okay," she said in between her giggles. "I get the point and I'm glad you think so. I can be real mature about things like my future and my career, but turns out that if a guy like you comes around, I can happily act like the silly teenage girl that I am. I told Alice she had got to cut me some slack here. I have zero experience with guys. I couldn't be expected to be extremely self-assured, could I?"

I kissed her palm. "You are perfect the way you are."

The sound of the doorbell in the still, peaceful silence of the night interrupted our moment.

"Who the hell could that be?" I muttered. I grabbed my discarded shirt from the floor and put it on as I walked out to the living room.

I didn't even look through the peephole, just twisted the deadbolt and opened the door quickly to give whoever was on the other side a piece of my mind.

That didn't work out as planned.

Instead, I felt the breath being knocked out of me as I was grabbed by the collar and pushed up against the wall.

"Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you take advantage of my daughter?" the man yelled in my face.

My mind vaguely registered the presence of my parents nearby as I struggled to catch my breath, and looked into the blazing eyes of Charlie Swan.

A/N: So... yeah. That happened.

Anyone out there who enjoys drabble-ish fics? I recently started posting one. It's halfway done and I update 2-3 chapters daily. Check it out if you're so inclined.

See you next week!