A/N: Okay. So. I was writing this chapter and got it into my head to post an update of The Rookie (which is somewhat pre-written). And I mistakenly posted a chapter of The Rookie to this story. Sigh.

So sorry for any confusion. This is the real chapter. Edward is not a cop.

In Edward's dream, he was nineteen again.

"Cullen."

Edward jumped and instantly regretted it. He held his head in both hands. "Son of a bitch."

An alluringly deep chuckle was enough to get Edward to open his eyes again. He almost regretted it. The sight that greeted him made his throat go dry - not very comfortable when his mouth was already full of cotton.

The officer who had arrested him the night before was leaning up against the bars of the holding cell, staring directly at Edward. His grin was lazy and gorgeous. He looked amused. He looked... delicious.

Edward was suddenly certain he looked like crap.

"Cullen," the officer called again. "Get your ass up."

"Get that tight ass moving, boy," one of Edward's cell mates leered. "Pretty little thing like you. I figure the boss got something special planned."

"Hey, shut up, Waylon. You know you're just jealous I said you weren't my type." The officer shook his head and looked back at Edward. "Come on, kid. Get a move on."

Edward stumbled to his feet, dizzy. His head was throbbing.

"You remember much of last night?" the officer asked as they walked along the hallway, away from the cells.

Edward winced, feeling a blush rise to his otherwise clammy cheeks. "Enough," he muttered.

There was that beguiling chuckle again. "Well, officially, it's Officer Whitlock, but you know, Officer Nice Pants will do in a pinch," he said as they got to a little holding area Edward recognized.

"I meant to say Officer Nice Ass," Edward murmured and then winced again. "Sorry. No filter."

Officer Whitlock burst out laughing, his grin climbing up higher on one side of his face than the other. "Well, I won't hold it against you." He winked. "You know. Unless you want me to."

Edward blinked, bewildered, sure he'd heard wrong. "I, um... Um... How much trouble am I in?"

The officer cocked his head, considering Edward for a moment. "Well... that depends."

"On?"

"Okay. You seem like a smart kid, so I'm going to talk to you straight," he said slowly. "That fraternity party you were at, were you thinking of joining up?"

"I was considering it," Edward said cautiously.

Officer Whitlock nodded, looking unsurprised. "Okay. Here's the deal. You're free to go, clear of any kind of charge if you promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"You think really long and hard about the people you might be getting involved with." There was no hint of teasing in the officer's eyes. He was being entirely sincere, holding Edward's gaze steadily. "You know James Hunter?"

"I do."

"Last year, part of their hazing routine involved the rape of several women on campus. You heard about it?"

"That wasn't this fraternity!" Edward protested.

Officer Whitlock nodded. "I assure you, it was. Mr. Hunter got away." He grimaced. "Rape cases are notoriously difficult to convict, especially when there's alcohol involved, which there was. This is all public record.

"In any event. You are free to go, no charges. But if you get in trouble again with part of this fraternity, I'm not going to be as lenient. Understand?"

Edward gulped. "Yes, sir," he murmured.

They shared a look and Officer Whitlock nodded. "Good. Then you can have these back." He tossed Edward a baggie with his cell phone and other effects.

They took care of business, Edward signing the paperwork Officer Whitlock slid him without comment.

Before he let Edward out, Officer Whitlock cleared his throat. "Incidentally, Cullen, if you're looking for something else to do on the weekend, give me a call, eh? Number's in your phone under Officer Nice Pants."

Edward turned to look at the man, his eyes wide, shocked.

Officer Whitlock grinned, looking carefree as he locked his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair.

~0~

"Edward?"

"Hmmm?" Edward woke slowly, coming out of his beautiful dream-memory. He sighed, blinking as Alice came into focus.

"Bella's with Jasper. He's actually smiling."

Edward leaned forward in the uncomfortable hospital chair, rubbing his eyes. "That's good. That's really good."

Alice sat beside him, quiet for a moment before she spoke.

"It's probably selfish of me to say so, but I'm glad it's not me who has to see him through it this time."

Edward looked up at Alice and offered her a wry smile. "I don't think it's selfish. If he were still yours, you would help him again no questions asked."

"That's true, though in this case, just like last time, there's not a damn thing I can do about it," Alice said sadly.

Jasper was depressed. He was withdrawn to the point he hardly recognized when others were in his room. For Alice, it was deja vu. For Edward, it was torture. The man he loved was in pain, and there was nothing he could do to comfort him.

And truth be told, it was more than a little difficult not to feel jealous of Peter, dead or not. It was difficult to see his love mourning the love of another man.

"I wish I had room at my house for him," Emmett inserted. "It might make things easier."

Edward's head snapped up. "Why? How would that make anything easier?"

Emmett looked at him with wide eyes. "Dude. You have to admit it might be more comfortable for him."

"What would be more comfortable?" Edward demanded. "He's mine to care for. That was the deal. In sickness, in health - just because we couldn't say the words at some official ceremony doesn't mean we didn't feel them."

"Calm down," Emmett said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "I know you want to help him, but he doesn't remember you. You're a stranger. I'm not. That's all I meant."

Emmett's words stung, but they weren't untrue. Still, the large man looked guilty. "Edward..."

Edward held up his hand. "It's fine."

"It's not-"

"It's fine," Edward insisted in a growl. "You're right. We're not even friends let alone anything else. He would probably be more comfortable with a friend." He frowned.

"Well, you'll be friends soon enough," Emmett offered.

Edward smirked. "Jasper and I were never good as friends."

"All's the better then. You'll be back together in no time."

Unwilling to talk about it further, Edward just made a vague noise acknowledging he'd heard Emmett. His pessimistic headspace wasn't going to do anyone any good. It was already decided between all of them Jasper would come home with him. Lucy didn't have a problem with crashing on the couch.

His lover would be his roommate.

Alice patted him on the arm. "I'm sorry. I don't know if I've told you, but I am sorry."

Edward glanced at her with a small smile. "He's alive, that's the important part. And he's still good with Bella, of course. That's more than a lot of people leave this place with." His father's words, and not untrue, after all.

"There is that," Alice agreed.

~0~

Except for visits with Bella, Jasper had been lost in his own head for days.

Peter's death had bowled him over, plain and simple. The depth of the emotion, the profound loss - he hadn't a name for it until he read Peter's letters.

Love.

It was confusing, because he thought what he had with Alice was love. And it was. He did love Alice.

But what he felt for Peter was frighteningly strong. So different.

And the regret. Good God, the regret was more than he could bear. It was crushing.

How clearly he saw it all in hindsight. They touched each other quite a bit more than was normal, so to speak. Now that he looked back, he could remember the way Peter was forever grasping his hand to get his attention. Lingering.

And Jasper hadn't thought it was strange because in so many ways, he liked it.

Loved it.

Missed it when Peter was away.

He should have been ravenous for his wife, but when she wasn't with him... It was Peter he thought about more when he was alone.

He'd been lying to himself for a long time and if he hadn't...

Well, if he hadn't he might have had time with Peter, precious time he could never have now. And he wouldn't have hurt Alice.

Then again, they wouldn't have had Bella.

Jasper rubbed his eyes. His head was spinning in too many circles.

"All ready to go, sweetheart? You must be relieved being sprung, hmm?"

Looking up, it took Jasper a moment to remember the nurse's name. His thoughts felt thick - coated in molasses. Jessica. Right.

"Relieved," he murmured, turning the word over and over. "Well, sure. Why not?"

If Jessica noticed his distraction, she didn't call attention to it. She went about her business, taking his vitals one last time.

Really, Jasper was nervous. He'd agreed with everyone else that going home - his home with Edward - was the best choice. He would be among things that were his, living a life he'd wanted once.

And Edward had assured him he could have the guest room.

There was the more confusing puzzle piece.

Everything else, while uncomfortable, did fit, after all. His wife told him they weren't married anymore because his passion belonged with the masculine sex. How could he deny it when the very memory of his best friend made him ache to the point he couldn't remember how to breathe. He remembered Alice telling him she was pregnant, and he had a beautiful daughter with his brown eyes.

But Edward.

He had no foundation for whatever he was supposed to have with Edward.

He was a very kind, giving man, Jasper could see that. Though he could see how much it cost Edward, he continuously went out of his way to make sure Jasper was as comfortable as possible. He'd brought him pajamas and comfortable clothes from home. He'd been there when Jasper needed answers but kept his distance while he tried to piece together what he was supposed to want, who he was supposed to be.

Jasper couldn't imagine what it was costing him.

A knock on the door drew Jasper's attention. "Hey."

Edward's voice was soft, unassuming as usual.

"Hi," Jasper said.

The two men stared at each other for a beat.

Jessica cleared her throat. "I'll... just go get your wheelchair so we can get you out of here."

It was Edward who answered for him. "Thank you."

Jasper zoned out again, staring at the floor. He stared at the tile as Jessica wheeled him to the hospital entrance, listening to Edward's steady footfalls behind him.

"You have a Volvo," Jasper muttered when Edward brought the car around.

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know," Jasper said with a shrug. "Something with a little more speed."

He glanced to the side, seeing Edward duck his head, his smile lopsided. "This car has more power than it looks like," he said lightly. "But you're right. You, um... You had to call in some favors to get an impressive amount of speeding tickets taken care of."

Jasper gave a little huff, not quite knowing what to think.

"But then, Bella called me Daddy, and I had a family. I bought a family car," Edward finished quietly.

Not knowing what else to say, Jasper only hummed his acknowledgement.

Again the quiet took him, and they drove home in silence.

Home was a very nice two story house. Three bedrooms. Edward offered his arm to help him up the porch stairs, but let him go immediately.

"Do you want to wander?" Edward asked.

Jasper was both grateful and a little spooked by how well Edward could read him. He'd just been thinking what he wanted most was to wander on his own.

Edward just nodded. "The master bedroom is on the bottom floor just through there." He pointed down a hallway. "That's your room."

"Edward," Jasper began to protest.

"It only makes sense. Until your leg is a little better."

"I don't want to kick you out of your room."

"It's your room, too," Edward pointed out. "Anyway, the doctor said you should be somewhere familiar." He rambled on quickly. "All that's upstairs is Bella's room, the guest bedroom, and a loft. If you want to go up there, just let me know. I'll help you."

Assuring Jasper one more time he'd only be a holler away, Edward made himself scarce.

Jasper wandered.

He recognized himself, his tastes, in the house. Artists he favored decorated some of the walls. The furniture was to his liking.

He found this equal parts comforting and disconcerting. At twenty, he'd lived with Alice in a sparse apartment. Everything they owned was beat up, second hand - not a reflection of themselves but whatever they managed to scrape together.

It was surprising how desperately he wanted that blank apartment.

The person - people - who lived in this house had much more defined lives.

Agitated, despite his pronounced limp, Jasper began to pace the hallways. This was how Edward found him some time later, in quite a state.

Edward tried to take him by the arm, but Jasper pulled back.

"Okay," Edward said, palms up in a peacemaking gesture. "What's got you twitchy?"

"Twitchy," Jasper repeated, and then laughed a little maniacally. "Look, I really just need to know what you expect from me."

Edward was a little taken aback. "Expect? I don't expect anything from you."

"Oh, come on. Don't give me that." Jasper ran his hand through the short crop of hair that had begun growing in on his head. "I look around here, and I can see we lived here together. You and me. We had a life. You had a life. You have to want something from me."

"Want? Of course I do," Edward said. There was an edge to his voice. "We had a good life. We were happy. What would it say about me if I didn't want that?"

Jasper looked down, and Edward was quick to continue. "But what I want and what I expect are two different things. Truly. I expect nothing from you. I want to help you if I can." He hesitated a moment. "And above all, I want to be your friend."

Deep in thought, Jasper let Edward guide him to the couch where he could sit down. There, he slumped forward, his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I didn't mean to flip out on you. I'm just..." He gave a wry laugh. "You know, I wish it was just one thing at a time I had to learn how to be. It would be scary enough trying to figure out how to be a father."

"You're great with Bella," Edward soothed.

"I play with Bella," Jasper corrected. "I'm not stupid. I know there's a difference between playing and parenting."

Hesitantly, Edward rested his hand on Jasper's shoulder. Where he touched him, Jasper felt warmth. Calm. "You're a great father. Just that you recognize you need to work at it puts you ahead of so many. It'll come to you, and we'll be here to help."

Jasper nodded, straightening a little and leaning back against the couch, staring at the ceiling. He thought about how much he wanted that barren apartment and his old life and thought about what a shitty thing it as to think seeing as Edward was bending over backward to help him.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to hurt too," he said tiredly.

Edward gave a little huff. "You cheated death. That always comes with a price." He paused a moment. "I can't speak for you, but I'd rather pay that price."

For a full minute, Jasper was silent, thinking it over. "I guess we agree on that."

A/N: It's a start.

Jessypt, barburella, and jfka06 make my docs a great place to be!