A/N: Here it is, a day late and pretty darn short, but I never promised long chapters…

Disclaimer: If I owned these characters I would not be still paying off my student loans.

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I woke the next day with a headache the size of Texas. Note to self: Half a bottle of Jack on an empty stomach is a baaad idea. I rolled over and glared blearily at my alarm clock, trying to recall why I'd set it for eight in the damn morning.

"Bellaaaa," Alice sang, throwing my door open, "Time to get uuhhp!"

She pranced into the room and drew the covers off of me. I hissed as the cool air hit my legs.

"Why?" I whined, trying and failing to grab my comforter back from the little she-devil.

"You said you would come see my shop in Port Angeles, and unless you and Edward miraculously obtained a car during your drunken shenanigans last night, you have to ride with me," she reminded me, "Now hurry up and get in the shower, we leave in twenty!" She bounced back out of my room, and as she traipsed down the stairs I heard her sing out to Edward. There was a groan, followed by a muffled thump and a "What the hell!"

I took comfort in the fact that I was not the only person made miserable by Alice's morning greeting.

I stumbled my way down the hall and into the bathroom, showering in cool water to wake myself up a little more. I was dressed and downstairs in record time, sighing gratefully when Alice slid a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice in front of me.

"This goes a long way in earning my forgiveness for the rude awakening this morning, and if you throw in some ibuprofen I'll consider us even," I mumbled to her, trying to avoid making eye contact with her bright yellow top.

Alice gave me a toothy grin and set two pills next to my glass.

"So did you and Eddie-boy do any brainstorming about Jasper's sitch last night, or was the conversation exclusively centered around the various things you-all have in common with baked goods?" Alice asked, lifting an eyebrow at me.

"Ha ha," I drawled sarcastically, "Actually, Edward did mention that he has an uncle in Seattle who might be able to help us."

"Aww that's sweet," Alice cooed.

"Well, I'm a sweet kinda guy," Edward said, shuffling into the kitchen. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, and his hair was sticking up in every direction. My heart twinged just a little at the notion that this adorable I-just-rolled-out-of-bed Edward wasn't mine anymore. Not that I begrudged Kate, and yesterday proved to me that I still have feelings for Jasper, but Edward had been my boyfriend for the better part of four years. And it's possible I wasn't quite as nonchalant about the end of our relationship as I let him believe.

"God, your hair is gorgeous," Alice breathed.

Edward blushed and I felt vindicated in knowing that I was not the only person affected by the sight of Edward in the morning.

Alice shook herself slightly, her bright grin returning.

"Are you all set to go?" she chirped, throwing a light jacket over her arm and gathering her purse.

"As I'll ever be," I muttered, sharing a commiserating glance at Edward when he winced at her volume.

We followed Alice out to her car, Edward climbing in the back seat so I could ride up front.

"So I didn't get a chance to ask last night, but what did Jasper have to say?" Alice asked me as she pulled away from Charlie's house and headed out of town.

"Well, first let me just say he seem shocked to see me. No one told him I was coming?" I huffed.

"Well, you've been something of a sore subject for him, we thought it might be better if he didn't have time to prepare," Alice said, shrugging apologetically.

"I'll assume that 'we' is you and G.G.?" I asked rhetorically before continuing, "He gave me two weeks to find a solution."

"Only two weeks?" Alice exclaimed, "Will that be enough time?"

"I don't know, but I have to at least try," I sighed. My eyes were filling with tears that I couldn't quite explain, so I turned my head to watch the blur of green as we flew past the trees lining the road. I don't know what exactly I had expected from Jasper, but I had definitely been hoping for a warmer welcome. Seeing him yesterday had been wonderful and scary and confusing. And now I feared that I would fail him, and the little spark of hope that I had carried all these years, that had leapt at the sight of him, would be snuffed out for good.

/&/

Longer A/N: For those who were interested, the show I referenced was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy and Angel had a cookie dough conversation at the end of season seven. Pheonix1855 was the only reviewer to answer correctly, and she has requested a Jasper/Bella fic, which I am working on. Put me on Author Alert if you want to read it once I post it! Big hugs and love to beautifulmoreso who came for a visit this weekend! It was amazing to see you lady and I can't wait for November! Lastly, super big THANK YOU! to all the people who review. I am terrible at responding, but I love reading them!