A/N: Hello, everyone! Happy Valentine's day. As for me, I'll be spending Valentine's day watching Netflix. The draw back of being in a long distance relationship.

-FTP-

Alice and I spent the week catching up on Facebook. Despite our busy schedules, she and I had managed to send messages to each other. Since we managed to be on the same vicinity tomorrow, we agreed to have lunch at an Italian family restaurant.

The fact that Alice could be on her own was a pleasant surprise. Ten years ago, she couldn't even go outside of the house without some prodding. These days, she was constantly traveling on her own.

When Alice and I met, I couldn't help but cry as I rushed to give her a hug. She was tearing up as well.

"Bella!"

"Alice!"

We found ourselves crying in each other's arms. It's been a long time since I've last seen my friend.

I ordered ravioli while Alice ordered lasagna. For the first ten minutes, neither of us spoke. I decided to break the ice.

"How have you been, Alice? The last time I heard from you, you were frantically crying for help," I asked.

Alice's eyes began to water. "You know what happened then, Bella?"

I shook my head.

"Someone beat Edward up. He broke his left arm in several different places. He also had his right leg broken. It took him two months before the bones were completely healed," Alice said.

"Is that why he's not a concert pianist?" When Edward and I were first together, he was on his way to becoming a concert pianist. He was accepted to Julliard.

"Yes. He missed the audition. When he was finally able to play, his ability to play diminished-he lost some of his skills. He ended up having to change majors because he was no longer able to compete in a competitive level. That's when Edward decided to become a doctor," Alice explained.

"And how did you become an architect?" I asked.

"You know how I always liked to draw houses?"

"Of course."

"Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle brought Edward and I to Los Angeles because they had better hospitals over there. Aunt Esme and I came with Edward on days he had to go to therapy. She was always sitting beside me while we waited for Edward. I drew houses to pass time. Eventually, someone saw what I was doing and told me to join a contest. I won, of course. That led me to interning to an architectural firm. As they say, the rest was history," Alice said.

"Weren't you nervous?" I asked.

She nodded. "Aunt Esme made me defer that internship for six months. That was when she and Edward helped me to go to the public. We started outside of the house, of course. Everyday, Aunt Esme helped me by helping me move away farther and farther from the house and from her. Eventually, I was able to overcome my fear and I'm able to live a functional life. I eventually graduated architecture from USC," she said.

"I'm glad that everything worked out for you." I was so proud of her. She had come a long way.

We sat for a few minutes in silence. I processed our conversation in my head while I ate my food.

"Oh! Did you know that Edward looked for you once he's healed?"

"Really?" This was a surprise to me.

Alice nodded. "By then you already moved. He tried to look for you in Seattle but he saw that you already had a daughter and that you had a boyfriend."

"Huh?" That was strange. I never had a boyfriend other than Edward. Unless you count Jacob. However, Jacob and I were just friends even though everybody thought that we're dating. Oh my goodness! "You mean Jacob?"

"I don't know. Edward said you look content. He didn't want to ruin your happiness so he stayed away," Alice said. "You know, Edward did try dating other people but none of them lasted. I know that he still carries the torch for you and he hasn't gotten over you."

"I didn't know that," I said. My eyes felt a little watery as I felt a twinge of pain in my heart.

Alice and I went to a toy store after that. It had been overdue for me as Vanessa don't really like toys. She liked musical instruments and puzzles more than Barbie dolls.

"Edward told me you two had a daughter. What does my niece want?"

"Edward told you that already?" He and I would need to have a chat on how to slowly introduce his family to our daughter.

"Of course. He told everyone. He was quite excited," Alice said as she looked at knitting and weaving toys for Vanessa. "You know, Edward was looking forward to marrying you back when you were still together."

I nodded as I remembered the days when Edward and I were talking about marriage. It seemed so long ago. Along the way, we had a daughter and both of us had established our successful careers. Yet, the marriage seemed impossible now.

I helped Alice pick toys for my daughter. We settled on the beads. At first, she wanted to buy Barbie. However, I knew my daughter. She hated playing with dolls.

"You should go to brunch with us if you had the time. Aunt Esme was looking forward to being with you and meeting my niece."

I nodded. "It's still on Sundays, right?"

"Yes."

Alice and I exchanged information. We agreed to meet the family after church this Sunday. However, I told her that Vanessa hadn't learned who her father was so they need to tone down their affection. Alice reluctantly agreed.

It would be good for Vanessa to meet her other set of grandparents. However, I'm not sure how to bring up the subject to my daughter.

-FTP-

So, what do you think of Alice? She basically filled in the gaps of what happened when Jasper beat up Edward. Edward was a promising pianist but ever since he broke his arm, it would be hard for him to play the piano in a competitive level so he became a surgeon instead. I'm still debating whether or not the storytelling for the next chapter is going to be told in Bella's perspective or not.