A/N: I loved reading your guys's reactions to the first chapter. Welp. Here we go. I'd say let's end the old year right, but I really don't know how y'all will react to this chapter.

Saturday mornings were Daddy-Kaylee time. Kaylee wasn't a morning person. How it happened that every Saturday morning she, like Edward, was up with the dawn, he couldn't say. She didn't want to be awake. Every time, she climbed into his arms so he could hold her while they watched the morning news. Kaylee was agreeable with just about anything the first few hours of the morning. When her brain kicked on, it was cartoons and Sesame Street all the way, but until then, all she wanted was her arms around Edward's neck and her head cradled against his chest.

Some days, Edward grew frustrated with his daughter. She was heavy and hot and he struggled to do anything when she was having a nap, not even have his morning cup of tea. Many times, he'd wished she would get over this phase soon enough.

That Saturday, Edward was ever so glad his daughter was so clingy.

Bella had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion only an hour before the dawn. Until then, she hadn't been able to sleep at all. Neither of them could. There were too many questions they couldn't answer until Jasper made his reappearance. Edward watched his wife sleep, watched her brow furrow, and wished he could ease her dreams. Instead, he leaned down to press a long kiss against her forehead.

He slipped out of their bed, brushing the back of his knuckles down Bella's cheek before he headed down the hall to the nursery. The need to have his baby girl in his arms was too strong. It was near enough to dawn, after all. Kaylee, like every toddler, was very forgiving.

When he reached the nursery, he turned on the soft lights. The room glowed the color of the sunset, the low light bouncing off the red-orange walls of the room. The noose that had been tightening around his heart for hours in the darkness of the night loosened ever so slightly when he saw Kaylee. She was sprawled on her back, one hand up by her head, her lips pouted in sleep.

He sat on the edge of her big girl bed and peeled down her covers. When he lifted her up, she whimpered. "Shh, baby. I've got you. Daddy's got you."

Kaylee grumbled, instantly burying her head in the crook of his neck. Today her hot breath against his skin was a comfort. He rocked her for a moment before he stood and made his way downstairs to the the living room. There, he stretched out on the couch with Kaylee fast asleep atop him. He moved his hands over her back and twirled his finger in her long, blond hair.

Wavy blond hair.

People who didn't know any better assumed Kaylee's hair came from her Grandfather Carlisle, but in reality, the little girl was not blood related to him. Carlisle's hair was spun gold. Kaylee's hair was a shade or two darker, more sandy than gold. Like Carlisle's step-son, Edward's brother, Jasper.

Edward tried to take a deep breath, but he found he couldn't. He squeezed Kaylee as hard as he dared without waking her. He let his eyes close as he buried his nose in her hair, breathing her in.

Jasper was only her father by blood. This little girl was Edward's, and if his brother tried to challenge that…

Edward slumped. He had no idea what he would do. He knew enough about custody battles to understand if Jasper wanted her back, there was every chance he could get her. His blood burned hot at the idea.

Jasper had never deserved them, either of them, Kaylee or Bella.

Edward was exhausted. It was two in the morning and he had just got off work after a full day of school. All he wanted was to get home and get in his nice warm bed. He groaned when he saw his brother's truck in the driveway. He parked on the side of the street and gripped the steering wheel, already gritting his teeth. "Here we go."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, searching for the patience he knew it was going to take. When he was sure he was calm, he got out of his car and headed up the walk.

The house was quiet when he stepped in the door. Edward let out a breath. Maybe it was a non-drama night tonight. Jasper seemed to be doing better these last few times he'd showed up. His girlfriend, Bella, had been good for him.

Bella was, in Edward's opinion, way too good for his druggie brother, but she hadn't figured that out yet. The on again, off again nature of their relationship was maddening to him. In a way, he understood. Jasper was charming and enigmatic when he wasn't using. Edward had seen how happy he could make her. The problem was he had also had to witness just how miserable his brother could make her.

The simultaneous upside and misery of the whole situation was the friend he'd gained in Bella. It was wonderful because he'd never had a friend like Bella. She understood him. She was a lovely girl, a compassionate woman, and…

He was in love with her. That was the misery of it. He was in love with the woman Jasper had never had any business being with. She'd been eighteen and Jasper twenty-six when they met. He shouldn't have gone anywhere near her in the first place, but, somewhat bizarrely, Edward was desperately glad he had. He wouldn't have given up Bella for anything.

Edward stowed his laptop bag by the door and trudged toward the kitchen. A glass of water and bed, that was all he wanted. He turned on the light and jumped a mile in the air. "Jesus Christ."

"However did you recognize me without my sandals?" Jasper flashed him a toothy grin. "How's it hanging, bro?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

Edward scoffed. "When it's convenient for you.""

"Whatever." Jasper waved the bottle of Jameson in his hand. The amber liquid sloshed noisily in the quietness of the house. "You want a drink?"

"It's two in the morning."

Jasper set a tumbler in the seat across from him and poured a drink. "Come on. Drink with me. We're celebrating."

Wary, Edward sat. He always felt so old when he interacted with Jasper, as if he was the elder. He was twenty-one-years-old and Jasper twenty-eight. He shouldn't have felt the need to take care of Jasper. "What are we celebrating?"

Jasper turned his glass in his hand, staring sightlessly. He huffed and his lip turned up at one corner. "I'm going to be a father." He punctuated his announcement by tossing back what was left in his tumbler down his throat and smacking his lips noisily.

Edward blanched and blinked, sure he'd heard wrong. "What?"

Jasper set the glass down with a thunk. His lips quirked up and down, up and down, as though he couldn't decide whether or not he was supposed to be smiling. "Bella's pregnant."

Edward drank the entirety of the tumbler in front of him.

"Say something," Jasper said.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I dunno. Congratulations? You can do it?" He poured another bit of drink in his glass. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Alright, let's go with that. What the fuck were you thinking?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "You really think we did this on purpose?"

"Great." Edward laughed without humor. "An unwanted baby is exactly what you need right now."

"Hey, I never said it was unwanted."

"You want a baby?"

"I don't know, man." Jasper moved the bottle back and forth across the table. The noise grated on Edward's nerves. "A baby. That's crazy, right? I want to want it. I want to be that guy who wants it."

Edward reached out and grabbed the bottle of Jameson away. "You want to be that guy? You think maybe you should lay off this shit?"

Jasper laughed. His grin was more goofy than anything. "You think booze is the biggest problem here?"

"Obviously not, but come on. The first thing you do when you find out you're going to be a dad is get trashed?"

Jasper scowled, but he pushed his half-full tumbler away. "Whatever." He wrung his hands together on the table. "I want to do this right. I know, I know. Don't give me that fucking look. I know I've said that before. It's true. I've always wanted to be better for Bella. I promised her. I promised her so many times." He swallowed hard and scrubbed at his eyes. "But this… I want to be a better dad than my dad. I want to be as good a dad as your dad."

"Good luck with that." Jasper could never be as good a father as Carlisle.

His elder brother looked up, his eyes so lost Edward's stomach twisted with guilt. "Edward, please. I know I've been a fuck up pretty much all your life. I… I need you. I need you and Mom, and Carlisle, and Emmett. You can't let me mess this one up. Not this."

Edward wanted to yell. Damn right Bella deserved better than him. Bile churned in his gut and raised to his throat. This would tie her to him forever. But done was done. Bella was pregnant. Even if Jasper didn't deserve his support, she did. He took a deep breath and let it back out.

He slapped Jasper on the back. "Congratulations. You're going to be a daddy. I'm here for you, Jazz."

The tension drained from Jasper's shoulder's. "Thank you."

"Edward?"

Edward blinked, disoriented. Somewhere along the line, he'd fallen asleep. His chest was wet with sweat from where Kaylee's body lay atop his. His eyes focused to find Bella looking down on them. She gave him a teary smile and offered his hand. "Come on, baby. Come to bed with me. We're all tired."

He took her hand and let her pull him to his feet. He hefted Kaylee in one arm. Bella rubbed her back and tugged Edward down the hallway to their room. They climbed back into bed and settled Kaylee between them. Edward kissed his daughter's forehead and raised his eyes to meet his wife's gaze. He reached out to cup her cheek, running his thumb over her full lips.

Would he have this woman, this life, if Jasper had never touched Bella's life? Did that mean Edward had to thank his brother for everything he had?

Edward tilted his head to kiss Bella over their daughter's head. He kept his thumb to her cheek, stroking her skin. She brought her hand up to rest on his side, sighing as she kissed him back. He fell asleep again, holding his family safe in his arms.

~0~

It had taken Jasper Whitlock entirely too long to understand one simple concept: Home was where the heart was. All his life, he had this sense of being lost, homeless though he'd always had a roof over his head.

The first five years of his life, Jasper's father Charles had moved him and his mother, Esme, all over the place. Esme left Charles under not-so-great circumstances, and as a result, they'd had to move a few times in the space of a year to keep out of his reach.

When they moved to Seattle, Esme had met and fallen in love with a widower, Carlisle Cullen, who had a son, Emmett, about Jasper's age. They stopped moving, and Carlisle helped Esme divorce Charles. They were married, and the baby of the family, Edward, was born not long afterward.

Jasper's story might have ended happily there. Carlisle was a doting father, and he didn't seem to care Jasper wasn't his biologically. He was stable and kind where Charles was erratic and harsh.

Unfortunately, despite the fact he didn't seem to like being a father and Esme told him repeatedly she didn't want child support, Charles sought custody of Jasper. It took Jasper years to understand his father had physically, verbally, and mentally abused his mother. But that kind of abuse was difficult to prove when she hadn't made a formal complaint, and so the courts had no reason to deny Charles partial custody. As a result, he spent summer months and vacations being shipped across the country to wherever his father had set up camp next.

It took Esme years to get him away from his father completely, and by then, it was too late. Jasper spent his late teens and twenties sleeping on couches, popping in on the folks only when necessity dictated.

Now, Jasper pulled up outside his parents' home and turned the engine off. A knot of emotion rose in his throat at the sight of the place. This house had seen his happiest times, though he'd been drowning too deep to see it in the moment. Despite his anxiety, Jasper felt a sense of peace settle over him.

Home was where the heart was. His home was with his family. His mother, the only man he should have acknowledged as a father, his brothers.

He swallowed hard and thought about Bella, wondering if she should be a part of that equation. He wasn't sure how to feel about her. Three years that felt like three lifetimes ago, he'd fancied himself in love with her. What he felt for her was positive, but love? Now, Jasper was uncertain. He didn't know if the man he'd been three years ago was even capable of loving another person.

He hoped again she would find it in her heart to see him, at least let him say he was sorry. It was a wish both selfish and altruistic. He wanted her to know the truth, but he also wanted closure for his own sake. He wanted to know what it would feel like to look into her eyes again, to know for certain what he'd lost.

With hindsight and the experience of the last three year, Jasper had the sneaking suspicion they'd been doomed from the first day, regardless of the mistake he'd made.

Part of him wanted to go straight to her house. He had, in fact, but only to assure himself she was still there. The house her parents had left her was just as he remembered it-perhaps a bit more maintained garden-wise. Her ancient truck, even more ancient now, sat off to the side, though a newer car took up the main space in the driveway.

He'd been shaking hard when he drove away from her house. He wanted to be brave, but he wasn't. One step at a time. Facing his parents, his mother, was terrifying enough. After what he'd cost Bella, well… Like he'd written to her, she deserved the chance to beat the hell out of him, and if she wanted it, he wasn't going to stop her.

So first, he was going to see if he was still welcome at the Cullen house. He got as far as opening the door and standing before his knees went weak. He caught himself on the top of the car and stared. He'd never been so intimidated by a short walkway in his entire life.

His fingers trembled as he fished his phone from his pocket. He dialed, and when Alice answered, he didn't bother to say hello. "I can't do this," he said instead.

"Yes, you can."

"They're going to hate me."

"They won't."

"I really can't do this. I'm a coward, but I can't."

"Jasper." Her tone carried just a hint of sharpness to it, enough to get his attention and calm him down, which he assumed was the point. "Think about how far you've come. Think about all the things you've done, what you've gone through this last year. You've worked so hard to get better. Do you think a coward could have done all you did?"

He bowed his head and tried to catch his breath.

"Answer me, Jasper Whitlock."

"No," he said both because he knew it was the answer she was looking for and he needed to hear it. "I'm not a coward."

"So are you going to go hug your mother, or am I going to have to get on a plane to come kick your ass?"

The idea of hugging his mother stoked a need so powerful in him, Jasper whimpered. "Okay. Okay, I'm going. Thank you, Ally."

"That's what I'm here for."

He disconnected the call and stared at the house again. Before he could coax his first foot forward, the door came open, and Jasper's heart skipped a beat. His breath caught in his throat.

His mother stood in the doorway.

For a handful of heartbeats, she didn't move, and Jasper was painfully sure she was about to step back inside and slam the door. She didn't. Instead, her hand went to her mouth, and she called his name.

That was all it took. Jasper sprinted up the walk, up the stairs, and into his mother's arms. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice raw with emotion. "Mom, Mom, Mom. I'm so sorry." He was babbling, and twin tears had escaped from either corner of his eyes. He knew he was hugging his mother too tightly, but he could hardly believe this was real. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Shhh. Shh, Jasper." Esme pulled back and took his face in her hands. She let out a cry when she got a good look. "Oh, my beautiful boy. Look at you. What's happened to you?"

"It doesn't…I'm sorry." He put his hand to her cheek, just marveling at being able to touch her again. "I'm sorry," he said, because those two words seemed to be the only ones he could remember.

Esme hushed him. "You're home now," she said, pressing up onto her tiptoes to kiss his forehead. "Everything's going to be okay."

A/N: So. That's Jasper.

Thanks so much to dizzygrl28 for stepping in to beta. I know I'm an impatient one. Thanks to songster, barburella, and jfka06 as well.

So. How are we feeling about… everything? Oh, and Merry New Year to you. Be safe tonight.