A/N: I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.

Sorry for the long delay between updates. I've been concentrating on other writing projects for the past few months, but I haven't forgotten about this story!

We're picking up with Jasper's POV again.

Previously….

"You can do this, Jasper. I have faith in you," I whispered.

He nodded his head again and pushed the call button. Lifting the phone to his ear, he waited as the phone rang. I prayed that the phone number still worked and that Charlie was home. Just then I saw Jasper's eyes flicker as he gasped sharply. He seemed frozen, so I lightly squeezed my arm tighter around his waist in an effort to get him to speak.

"Um, Charlie? It's Jasper…"

x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"Jasper? Is that really you?"

Shock.

Fear.

Nervousness.

Anger.

Elation.

Relief.

All of those feelings, and more, swirled through my system as I heard Charlie's voice come through the phone receiver. A voice that I hadn't heard in years seemed to make everything shift into focus and I felt an inexplicable calm wash over me.

"Uh, yeah. It's me," I mumbled.

"Oh my God! I can't believe I'm hearing your voice. Where are you? How have you been? Are you okay?"

The sudden bombardment of questions made me dizzy, but I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Charlie, even though we'd had our differences after Renee's death, was still the only real father-figure I had and hearing that he was so concerned about my well-being caused a strange warmth to spread through my chest.

What the hell is that?

I quickly looked at Alice, who was standing next to me beaming. I smiled back at her before concentrating again on Charlie.

"I'm fine, Charlie. Things have been going okay, I guess. I live in New York now."

"Wow, New York City? That's great!"

"Yeah."

"So…I'm going to be frank with you, Jasper. I haven't heard from you in years and out of blue you call me. Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"I uh, I just need to t-talk to you."

"Jasper, if you're in any trouble, please tell me."

"I-It's nothing like that. I just haven't spoken to you in a long time and wanted to…well, talk."

I could hear Charlie sigh and wondered if it was a sigh of relief or sigh of annoyance. Quickly I tried to backpedal.

"If you're busy, I understand…"

"No," he interrupted. "Jasper, you have no idea how happy I am to hear from you. There are so many things I've wanted to say to you over the years, but I figured you didn't want to hear it, so I let you be. You're a man now and don't need me hovering..."

"Yes, I do," I answered before I even realized what I was saying.

"What?"

"I guess I need my…Dad."

There was silence as I realized that I'd called Charlie Dad for the first time since our argument. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable and out of sorts. This was not how I was supposed to feel. I was supposed to have a chip on my shoulder, tell people to go to hell and keep people at arm's length. However, at that moment, all I wanted was a hug from my Dad.

"Dad," I whispered. My voice sounded so small and childlike that I surprised myself.

"I'm here, son."

Charlie's voice trembled and he sounded as if he were fighting back tears. I bit my lip wondering what I should say next.

Should I apologize?

Should I ask him to apologize?

Should I just pretend all the stuff in the past never happened?

Should I just hang up and tell him to have a good life?

What do I really want?

I want my Dad.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. I just wish I could see you."

Sighing heavily, I murmured, "Me too."

"Well, I have some vacation time saved up. How about I come to New York and pay you a visit? You can show me all around the city and I can meet your friends."

"That sounds good. When do you think you'd be able to come?"

"I could probably make it there in two weeks. I'll just have to book a hotel room and my plane ticket."

"Don't bother booking a hotel room. You can stay at my place. I don't want you to waste your money and hotel rooms can be pretty expensive here in the city."

"Okay, but only if you're sure. I don't want to intrude."

"Don't worry about it."

"Great. I have your number on the caller ID, so I'll call you with the details once I have them confirmed."

"Okay."

"I'll talk to you soon, son."

"Talk to you later."

There was click and Charlie was gone. I turned to Alice who seemed to be vibrating with happiness.

"He's coming to visit," she asked animatedly.

I nodded my head as a hint of a smile spread across my face.

"Jasper, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

She then lunged at me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me close. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed tightly.

"I would have never done this if it hadn't been for you, Alice. Thank you."

She pulled back and smiled as her eyes seemed to dance.

"You're very welcome, sweetie. I'm just glad you're getting this opportunity to reconnect with Charlie. I'm sure he's ecstatic."

"Yeah, he seemed pretty excited. I don't think he's ever been here before, so I'm sure he's excited about that too."

"Oh Jasper, that's so great!"

She pulled me close again and I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her hair and faint perfume. Exhaling slowly, I nuzzled her neck and hummed.

"Alice, I don't know what I would do…"

Immediately I stopped myself.

What the hell are you doing, man! Get a hold of yourself and just be grateful to her.

She pulled back and lightly pressed her hand against my cheek. I sighed at the tenderness behind her touch and seared it into my memory. It was rare for anyone to show me that kind of tenderness, so I had to take advantage when I could.

"You don't have to thank me, Jasper. It was my pleasure."

She slowly leaned in and gently pressed her lips against mine. It obviously wasn't the first time we'd kissed, but for some reason, this felt different. Maybe it was my vulnerability or maybe I was just more open to affection from her. Who knows? What I did know was that I didn't want that kiss to end.

Snaking my hand around the back of her neck, I gently, but firmly, held her in place as I slowly explored her mouth. She showed no resistance and I welcomed the ease with which we seemed to come together. It almost seemed too easy and too good to be true, but I refused to let those thoughts ruin a good thing. I seemed to be having a string of good luck and just wanted to enjoy the beautiful woman in front of me. Her soft moans and whimpers were quickly pushing me to a complete loss of control and soon my mind would shut off and my body would take over. I knew she probably wasn't ready for that, so I begrudgingly pulled away and rested my forehead against hers.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome."

x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Over the next week I stressed over the arrival of Charlie. He'd called the day after I first spoke to him with his flight information and how long he'd be staying. He was going to be in the city for about five days and in that time we would catch up and see a few of the sights. It was during that conversation that he also informed me about the new woman in his life. I couldn't help the brief flash of anger that rose in my throat when he spoke about this new lady friend, Sue. Of course I was fiercely loyal to the happy marriage he had with Renee, but I also had to remember that Renee was gone and Charlie had every right to be happy. I couldn't help but feel relieved when he said she would not be joining him, but he couldn't wait for me to meet her. I agreed. I had nothing against the woman and she seemed to make him happy.

After talking to Alice one evening on the phone, I convinced her to meet Charlie as well. I wanted him to meet the person who encouraged our reunion. I was sure he'd love her. Who wouldn't? During our conversation, Alice suggested Charlie meet my other friends.

"What other friends?" I asked, surprised.

"Jasper, you know who I'm talking about."

Unfortunately, I did. I hadn't seen or heard from Edward in over a week. Part of me was upset that he hadn't knocked on my door and bugged the shit out of me, but when I thought about it, I realized he was just doing what I told him to do: leaving me the fuck alone. I'd be even more of a fool to say that I didn't miss having him around.

"I don't know what to say to him, Alice."

"Hmmm. Where have I heard that before?"

"Yeah, yeah. This is different."

"Not really, but I think it's time you two worked things out. He may try to act like it's not a big deal, but I can see that your fight really upset him."

"As if I didn't feel guilty enough."

"This isn't about guilt, Jasper. It's about taking care of and appreciating your friendship. You two falling out like this, especially over something so trivial, is a shame. He was just trying to help, you know."

I sighed. "Yes, I know. I guess I'll have to be the bigger man and talk to him. Hell, if things work out then I can hold it over his head for a while."

"Whatever it takes," she said with a giggle.

The next afternoon I found myself knocking on Edward's door. I could hear music playing in the apartment, so I figured he was home. I knocked again, but still no one answered.

Where the fuck is he?

I knocked one more time; well, actually I balled my hand into a fist and pounded on the door. If he didn't answer this time, fuck it, we weren't going to talk.

Just when I was about to walk away, the door flew open. The two of us looked at each other for a few seconds before he spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Can I?"

He narrowed his eyes, sighed and motioned with his head for me to come in. As I sat down on the couch, he turned off the stereo and sat in his recliner.

"So talk."

"Um, I wanted to tell you that I contacted my adopted Dad the other day and he's coming for a visit."

"That's nice," he said with a faint, but disappointed smile.

"Yeah, he'll be here next week. We're going to catch up and do all kinds of touristy shit since he's never been here."

He just stared as if I were speaking gibberish.

"And…well, I wanted him to meet some of my friends and wondered if you and maybe Angie would like to join Alice, Charlie and me one afternoon while we're sightseeing."

Edward laughed sarcastically. "Friends? Since when do you have friends? Last I heard, you didn't need or want them."

"I know what I said."

"Then what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Shit, if you'd let me finish, asshole, I could explain."

"Whatever."

"Oh, so you're going to pout like a little pussy now?"

"Fuck you, Jasper."

"No, fuck you."

I stood to leave and headed for the door.

"You've got balls coming into my apartment to talk and then insulting me because I don't react the way you want me to. It doesn't that way, you prick. People don't treat friends the way you do."

I spun on my heel and faced him. Part of me wanted to take a running leap and pummel his face, but the other part of me, the part that missed having a real friend, took a few breaths and calmed down.

"You're right," I mumbled.

Shocked, Edward stood. "What?"

"I said you're right. I shouldn't have said that shit to you because I didn't mean it. I was just freaking out over a bad memory that resurfaced and instead of just telling you about it, I told you to fuck off. Like you said, friends don't treat each other like that. I understand now that you were just trying to help."

"I was."

"As much as I don't want to admit it, I hate not having your ugly mug hanging around."

That got a laugh out of him. I could tell he was trying to hold it in, but Edward was never one for squelching his laughter. I should know. It's gotten us into plenty of awkward situations.

I walked back towards him in the living room.

"What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry for what happened at the bowling alley and I didn't mean any of it."

Edward smiled as if I'd just told him he was the King sex god. It was all big with teeth blazing. I never noticed it before, but his canines looked vaguely like vampire fangs.

Of course! That's why he's so weird. He's a day-walking creature of the night.

Unable to keep the image of Edward prancing around hiding half of his face behind a black cape, I chuckled to myself.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was just imagining you as a vampire."

"Why the fuck would you think that?"

"Have you ever looked at your teeth? You damn near have fangs."

"Yeah, well, Ang doesn't mind. She says it adds to my mystique. I personally think she's been watching too many of those stupid vampire movies and tv shows and they've warped her mind, but at the same time, it's just another of my wonderful attributes that she can't resist. I'm surprised she hasn't fainted from my sexiness."

I nearly doubled over in laughter then.

"You are such a fucking geek, do you know that?"

"Laugh all you want, asshole. I speak the truth."

And just like that Edward and I were back to normal. We continued to take the piss out of each other and it seemed like the past week never happened.

"So will you and Angie meet my Dad?"

"Sure! It'll be fun!"

"Cool."

It seemed like everything was falling into place and things were…normal. I wanted to enjoy the feeling of peace for a while, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped and I was right back to what I'd grown accustomed to for most of my life: pain, regret and disappointment. I just hoped things worked out in my goddamn favor for once.