*Disclaimer - Sadly, I own nothing of Twilight with the exception of merchandise, bought and paid for. I do, however, own my love for borrowing the characters and playing with them however I choose to. I thank Stephenie Meyer for creating the TwiWorld and for allowing us to have our fun with it. She owns Twilight, the insanity it created in my mind is my own.

Thanks to my beta reader, Shug, for fixing me up! *mwah* And a special thanks to all of you reviewing and rec'ing. So inspirational, and so, so appreciated. You make me :D

Whatever Works

Family Reunion

Edward took a deep cleansing breath as we stood outside his mother's door. "Have you spoken since she's arrived?" I whispered. He shook his head. My hand went to his back and rubbed it lightly for reassurance. "You'll be fine. Think positive."

"Paste a smile," he smirked.

"And I'll have tea and biscuits ready."

"If you make it beer and pretzels, and it's up in my room, I'm game."

"Deal. Behave yourself and I'll make sure you get beer and pretzels and alone time."

"You're too good to me," he whispered with a grin. I reached for his hand and he issued a warning as he wiped it on his jeans. "It's sweaty."

"So is mine," I whispered back, grabbing his hand anyway.

He rubbed his face with his free hand, sighed once more and then swiped his card in the door lock. As soon as it was opened, he strode in with a smile, full of confidence. "Sorry I didn't get in here sooner. I had some things to take care of." He bent and kissed Esme as usual, and then approached Alice. I recognized the face, but she looked even tinier in person. "Alice… this is Bella." He tugged on my hand, pulling me forward.

I stretched out my right hand to shake hers. Edward had a stronghold on my left hand that was nearing bone-crushing. "Nice to meet you! Your mother talks about you… all the time."

Alice's eyes had been on my other hand, gripped inside her brother's until I mentioned her mother. "Oh! You're Bella!" Her voice had a slight, posh accent and was chirpy. That could get annoying. "Mum talks about you all the time!" Her giggle already was.

"And this is Jasper." Edward tugged me along. My eyes darted from the handsome guy in the chair to Edward for a second. His jaw was clenched as tightly as his hand was on my fingers. Jasper… the Jasper? The Jasper who he had supposedly fought with? It had to be. How many dudes would there be named Jasper these days? He couldn't know two Jaspers… "Hi." I gave him a little wave.

"Bella." He stood, and gave a little bow before taking my hand. "Good to meet you." His accent… it wasn't English exactly. It was… I dunno, southern of some sort. Kind of. Different Jasper, it had to be. What are the odds? "Edward. How've you been, man?"

He gave a curt nod. "Staying out of trouble."

"Well that's a first," Jasper grinned.

I looked at Edward for any indication of a long history with this guy. Was this his Jasper, or Alice's boyfriend that he didn't like… oh… OH! I tugged on Edward's hand this time and dragged him over to the couch. He sat on the end, and I had no choice but to sit between him and his sister. It was driving me nuts waiting to hear if Edward had two friends who were going out with his two sisters. Too weird!

"I hear you went home," Alice commented immediately.

"Alice, dear, can we ease into a civilized meeting rather than opening with a baited remark?" Esme pleaded with her pasted smile. Edward was right! She had it down! "Please?"

"I was filming there," Edward remarked in reply to his sister.

"Convenient!" she chirped.

Edward's lips moved slightly. And again. Was he chewing on the inside of his mouth? I often did that to avoid harmful blurting.

"Jasper, dear, how do you like your job?"

"It's keeping me busy, for sure!" Jasper replied pleasantly to Esme. "I get advanced copies, so if there's anything you're wanting, just let me know."

There was silence after Esme's polite smile and nod. "What is it you do, Jasper?" I asked to cut the thick air.

"Jasper's in publishing," Alice responded for him. "He loves literature. He knows what's good, and what's overblown. He's great for recommendations. Editing too."

Edward shifted uncomfortably next to me. His leg rubbed against mine as he moved. "That's cool. So what do you recommend?" I directed my question at Jasper again. Maybe he'd get to answer himself this time.

"I recommend a stiff drink," Edward muttered. Esme swatted his leg. "Sorry, Mum."

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Jasper drawled. "I was thinking maybe you and I could go out? Talk old times maybe?"

Edward snorted. "Yeah dude. Thing is? I can't exactly go out too much these days. Thanks."

"And that's his fault?" Alice snapped back at Edward.

"It all went downhill from there… just saying…"

"Oh grow up!"

"You should talk! Have you considered looking for a job at all this summer? You could work, Alice. Make yourself useful."

"Children…" Esme interjected a one-word warning.

"Useful? Like staggering up to an X on the floor, and repeating a line that's fed to me? Yeah, I could totally do that!"

"Then why don't you?" Edward hissed.

"Ohhh, poor Edward's life is so hard," Alice taunted. She took over as top brat of the family, in my books.

Esme sighed, Jasper chuckled and gave his head a shake, and I grimaced, stuck in the absolute middle.

"Is Emmett around?" Jasper asked suddenly.

Edward tightened up even more. "All right. Let's go get sorted." As he stood, my stomach churned. He was leaving me? I could only hope he was taking both of his guests away to clear the air for everyone's sake. Esme was looking distant, even with her ever-present smile. "Do you ladies need anything? A bottle of scotch?"

His mother shot him a look. "We'll be fine. You boys go have a talk and leave us to chat. We don't need booze to interact civilly. Behave yourselves. And come back in a better mood, Edward."

Au contraire Esme… booze! I wanted and needed a drink. Would it be extremely rude of me to run out after them? I wouldn't necessarily stay with them – if they were going to fight, I definitely didn't want to witness it. Was Emmett around? He would step in if it got physical. I didn't want to see Edward hurt. Emmett would have his back for sure. I wished I hadn't almost knocked my teeth out earlier – I'd kill to finish off that beer now. I entertained the idea of dashing out to find my lovable bear of a friend to alert him that there may be trouble, and then retreating to the pantry with a bottle of anything hard.

~ 0 ~

The guys returned a couple of hours later, and I squished back over next to Alice while Edward quietly took his place next to me. He smelled like mouthwash and soap. Did he think he'd fool Esme with that? I smirked at him, and he chuckled and lowered his head as he slouched down in a more relaxed position.

Alice got up briefly to reach over to Jasper's chair and give him a kiss. I couldn't tell if she was simply offering her boyfriend support – I wanted to cuddle up to Edward and he wasn't even my boyfriend – or she just may have been sticking it to her brother. I hoped that wasn't the case. She had calmed down after Esme gave her a stern warning, and we actually had a fairly pleasant talk. She was entertaining, to say the least.

Edward cleared his throat when the awkward silence of earlier returned. "So, Sam is going to take you all to the cemetery tomorrow. He'll be back after 9, I'd say. So whenever you're ready… And there's some paperwork to go through. We can do that after dinner. Dad's lawyer wants to see us all together at some point. I'll see when I can sneak away for a few hours."

"You're not coming to the cemetery?"

Edward glanced over at his sister finally. "No, I'm not."

She snorted in his direction. "You can't lower yourself to be with your family for one fucking day?" Her voice was shrill. And loud. I cringed sitting so close to her.

"It's not about that," Edward replied calmly, though I could feel him trembling against me. "Alice, if I go with you, and we're followed, and there's photos… I already have to keep Mum under guard. You'll be stalked on the other side of the country, and I'll never know if you're safe. And then everyone will know where Dad's buried. Do you want his gravestone to be littered with juvenile notes? Because I tell you, I wouldn't be able to stand seeing notes with phone numbers and pink hearts with little girls declaring their love for Dillon on our father's grave!" Edward's voice rose in tone, but not volume and then there was silence. The silence hung over all of us until the first snicker. I don't know who it came from, but we all followed.

"Dad would be saying, 'Dillon? Screw him! What about me?'" Alice giggled.

"No, Carlisle would have real issues with that," Jasper spoke up. "I can hear him, 'There is something fundamentally wrong with mankind when people cannot separate reality from a TV show – when they fail to see the person with a living, beating heart behind a fictional character in 2D.'"

He must have nailed Carlisle because they all erupted with laughter around me. I sat back and watched them, wishing they would always be this way with each other. Alice took my hand in hers and squeezed it. "You would have loved Dad. He was always so baffled by how people reacted to situations, and he would lay it out so we all saw how utterly stupid people can be."

Esme sniffled loudly, and then apologized. Edward passed her a tissue, and I smiled knowingly at her. Carlisle would tell them how stupid they're being now. They should be this laughing family that they were moments ago always. Esme's tears were short-lived, but it started up Alice and she sobbed uncontrollably. Jasper looked torn between wanting to hold her and knowing he'd get attitude from her brother. Edward was stiff as a board, staring at the wall. Awkwardly, I put my arm around her because it was what you do when a person is crying that way. She cried into my shoulder until Esme swatted at Edward and he sighed.

"Switch with me," he whispered and stood up to let me slide over. Then he took my place and held his sister just as awkwardly as I had. Soon enough, she was hugging him for dear life, and he was truly holding her, kissing the top of her head while he whispered quietly to her. This was how the siblings I saw in the old pictures would behave with each other. They'd support each other. They wouldn't be enemies.

"You've destroyed my shirt," Edward teased her when her sobs subsided.

"It's ugly anyway," she retorted. "I did you a favor."

"You know what's ugly?"

"Your face."

"Your attitude."

"Now why are you getting smart with each other? You were so nice just now." Esme's voice pleaded with them to play nice.

"I should go. I have to work in the morning." Edward couldn't resist getting one more little dig in. "And if I hear one little 'poor Edward' peep out of you…"

Alice pouted and made puppy dog eyes at her brother, still hugging him. "Poor Edward has to go sleep in his four poster bed in his Hollywood mansion."

He snorted. "That's it!" His hug turned into a headlock, and I swear I thought Esme was going to fly out of her chair, exposing her sham. Then Alice's giggle could be heard, and the sparkle in Edward's eyes returned. "Say you're sorry, pipsqueak."

"I'm sorry you're a spoiled Hollywood brat!" She giggled more and pinched his side.

"I'm sorry you're a midget."

"I'm sorry you're both overgrown children!" Esme exclaimed with her own chuckle. "But at least I'm hearing those words."

"Right." Edward released his grip on Alice and stood up. "I've got to be going. Good luck tomorrow. Sam knows exactly where to take you, and you'll be good with him. See you at dinner. G'night, Mum. Do you need Bella, or can she head out now too?"

"I'll be fine, dear. Both of you get some rest. Love you."

"Me too, Mum." Edward bent and kissed her head before looking at Alice. "I'm her favorite you know."

"That's why I'm the one staying here with her," she retorted. "She loves me best."

Edward winked at her and gave a curt nod to Jasper. "Later."

~ 0 ~

"My sister didn't make you despise me?" Edward asked with a hesitant grin when we approached the landing at the top of the stairs. "Tell you wicked stories and make me look like an asshole?"

"Nah, you do that well enough on your own." I stopped between the two doors while he leaned his back against his own door. "You know I'm joking, right? You sometimes exhibit ass-like tendencies, but you're really not as asshole."

"I should say thank you?" he teased me back. "I should say sorry for leaving you that way. And I am. I don't want you involved. I mean, I do, but not like that. Family squabbles..." He rolled his eyes as he put his head back against the door, staring at the ceiling.

"It was okay... After you left, I mean. It wasn't bad. Alice is a character."

"Yep," he chuckled. "She is. Here's the thing... Alice isn't completely wretched. She does have some endearing traits, and regardless of how she behaves, she's my sister and I love her to death. We're just going through a rough spell. I don't want to say too much and give you a bad impression of her. I'd like you to see for yourself what you think without my bias either way." He shuffled his feet and fumbled in his pocket. "Conversely, I threw you to the lions tonight without anything to go on, and I'm sorry. I would hate that. Would you want to come in for a bit?" He extracted his key card, tilting his head towards his door.

"Yeah. If you're not too tired or anything."

"Pfft! I don't have to be up for five or six hours yet! Come on in, make yourself at home. Drink?" He opened a water bottle for himself. "I have to start detoxing for the morning, but if you want a beer, or something harder, be my guest."

I took the beer. I had earned it. I sat on one end of his couch, sideways this time so I could look outside. He had a view of the garden and the pool from here. He sat at the other end and kicked off his shoes, peeling his socks off and tossing them aside. I liked him barefoot. He had nice feet for a man.

"What did you think of Jasper?" he asked quietly. "I know you didn't get much time with him, so it's difficult to form an opinion."

How to answer that... "Well, he seems nice. Personable. His accent..."

Edward chuckled as he threw his feet up on the coffee table. "Yeah, that throws everyone for a loop. He was a hit in London. All the girls went nuts for him. That's how we ended up getting tight. Both of us were transplanted Americans. My own New York accent was impressive, but when Jasper arrived? Lord! He's from Texas – Dallas area. His mum got transferred there when her company merged with a European-based firm. She's in marketing."

"Okay!" I laughed easily. "That makes sense! I was trying to place it... Not English, not really southern, but not like yours either. Though I don't hear New York in you. You don't really have an accent."

He huffed out a chuckle as he drank from his bottle. "It's a very practiced generic American accent. I can do others when called for. Sometimes New York comes out, or a bit of Brit with certain terms – usually when I'm overtired. Jasper mixes it all together, and you see what it's evolved into. Quite intriguing. He never had a problem pulling girls on a night out."

"Including Alice," I stated softly.

"Mm-hmm. Including my sister. My baby sister, mind you."

Resting my head on my arm, I gazed at his sad profile. "You don't approve."

"And there you have it." He turned to me with a crooked smile. "It seems ridiculous now – they've been together for years. And he was my best friend. My brother by choice. I don't know who hurt me more." He paused to examine my reactions. "Do you want to know this crap? Maybe you'd rather stay out of it."

It was too late for that. I was already in, and getting myself even deeper. I wanted to know everything about this man – his past, his present, and I hoped to be part of his future. I was already too far gone to turn back.

A/N ~ I know this chapter is rather brief. I stuck to my outline with establishing a new, more open rapport between Edward and Bella while introducing the rest of the family. Bella is all in, and she'll get some much-needed background information in the next chapter. And I won't make you wait too long to learn what she's in store for. I'll stick the next one up later in the week. ;) Thank you so much for following along. XX ~ SR