Disclaimer: Can you guess what I'm going to say here? lol

Chapter 3 - Edward's POV

Jasper's thoughts when I asked him to join Bella and I on our walk were, well...funny as hell, I had to admit. He was so confused as to why I would ask him to come, and was trying really hard not to look at Bella's ass. Unsuccessfully, I might add. He must have felt my humor, because he growled at me.

"Look, Jazz," I tried to explain, "the three of us, we're in this together. Bella needs to learn how to do this with us around, and quite frankly, we are both are going to need to learn how to deal with it when it works. Right now, she's trying to exercise her power on humans, which can be dangerous, but once she gets the hang of it, she's ultimately going to be affecting vampires, of the unfriendly variety. The danger factor is going to quadruple."

"Don't remind me," Bella piped in. I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her on the side of the temple as we walked.

Marcus suddenly caught up with us, trailing a step behind. "Mind if I join you? It might be helpful to see her interact with the public, see if any bonds form that we aren't aware of. Plus, if she is successful, I need to be able to assess the strength of the bond."

"For the chart, right?" Jasper said, a little sarcasm creeping in the corners. He really didn't like the chart. He didn't let the thought slip, but I think it had something to do with the description of their relationship, and how close below me his name fell in correlation to everyone else. I knew for a fact that the chart bothered Heidi, too. When she'd entered the war room today and saw Jasper holding Bella's hand, she'd asked me how I was okay with all this, and I could tell from her thoughts that the question was much more about her than it was about me. I answered her honestly. I didn't mention it to Jasper. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that they needed to work out their issues for themselves. Hopefully, like Bella and I, they will be able to grow, and grow together, in the process.

"Yes, for the chart. And to help protect Bella, should it become necessary. Besides, it is a blessedly cloudy day for a walk." Marcus put his hands on Bella's shoulders and squeezed a little before running his hands up and down her forearms soothingly. It was a very fatherly gesture. "I'm going to stay in the background, Bella. I don't want my presence to cause you any undue stress that might keep you from being successful. Bella turned to look at him with a grateful smile before he released her and fell back a few steps. Once we exited the castle and started heading towards the square, Marcus fell further behind, just barely within the range of being able to hear his thoughts.

Jasper and I tried to keep Bella entertained to keep her mind off the task at hand while we roamed about, making small talk and telling bad jokes. It occurred to me that we should have asked Emmett along. He would have known how to distract her. Next time.

Finally, we sat down on the side of the fountain to watch the pedestrians go by. I heard the thoughts of a man who was appreciating Bella's beauty from afar. He was wondering who Jasper and I were, and if either of us were romantically involved with her. I sought out the source of the thoughts, and saw a young Italian man, probably in his early twenties. He was handsome, and his thoughts seemed innocent enough. Maybe we should give Bella a little space, I thought to myself, wondering if maybe we should have taken our wedding rings off before beginning this. Of course, I realized not a moment later how completely opposite to my normal reaction such thoughts were. It is necessary, I reminded myself. My Bella is going to save the world. I have to let her, and help her any way I can.

"Got one! " Marcus' thoughts screamed at me, almost causing me to jump in surprise.

"Jazz, why don't you and I get a gelato from that vendor over there?" Bella looked back and forth between us, slightly panicked.

"What flavor would you like, love?" I asked her, smirking a little at my tongue-in-cheek question. Bella rolled her eyes, but at least she seemed a little calmer. I was fairly certain it was Jasper's doing.

"Watermelon. Please. And don't go too far!" I forced myself to refrain from bending over and kissing her before Jazz and I walked away.

"Marcus says it worked, do you feel it?" I whispered to Jasper.

"Oh yeah," Jasper replied. "That guy is definitely in love." Jasper was not happy about it.

"Fabulous," I replied a little sarcastically, because honestly, I wasn't happy about it either. I knew I needed to be supportive, and I felt that I was being extremely patient and understanding, but I couldn't help my reflex reactions every once in a while. Part of me secretly hoped she would never work out her power, even if it did mean the destruction of our world as we knew it. Coming to terms with the situation was hard for me, and if there was anyone who could understand what I was going through, it was Jasper.

"This is completely fucked up," Jasper said as we walked away, reminding me that it was hard on Jasper, too.

"Don't I know it," I replied, because really, what else was there to say? "Thank you for being here for her. I know this can't be easy for you."

"Thank you for letting me," he replied. "I know it can't be easy for you, either."

"Actually, I have to say I'm finding it much easier to handle your affections for Bella than that Trevor person or this guy. The concept that Bella is actively trying to make men fall in love with her, create an irreversable bond with them... I really wish there was some other way."

"I know what you mean. You and I have come to terms with each other in our feelings for Bella, I think. It's a tightrope walk at times, but we've more or less worked it out, and we know that the other has Bella's best interests at heart. These other yo-yo's, who knows what their intentions will be? Plus, I'm really nervous about how this is going to pan out once she affects the Romanians and their people. There is a high possibility that they will be as bad or worse than James or Caius."

"Which is exactly why I'm so grateful that you're going to be there with us. She's going to need all the help she can get, and there's no one I'd rather have watching our back than you."

"And I, you, brother." I could hear Jasper trying to guard his thoughts from me once again. It didn't feel right that I could pour my heart out to him, but he had to be constantly on edge.

"Jasper...I don't want you to worry so much about hiding your thoughts from me. I'm not going to rip your head off for thinking about her in a way which might otherwise be considered inappropriate. This mission is going to be difficult enough without you feeling like you have to walk on eggshells around me. I'm sure the thoughts of her other 'subjects' are going to be much worse, anyway."

"I appreciate that, Edward. I'm not sure I believe you, but I appreciate the gesture." I chuckled at that, because if I were him, I wouldn't believe me, either. I wasn't even certain I believed myself, but it was important nonetheless. The three of us needed to be seamless. We couldn't afford unnecessary friction between us. I tried to think of something I could say to put him at ease.

" Jazz?" He looked up at me quizzically. "She really does have a fantastic ass, doesn't she?" Jasper just rolled his eyes, shook his head at me and laughed.

We didn't look back as we eavesdropped on the man, who saw the opportunity to talk to Bella and decided to take it.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked Bella in heavily accented English. Bella smiled at him shyly and shook her head 'no.'

"Hello," the man said as he sat down next to her, admiring her hair. "My name is Francesco, what is yours?"

"Isabella, but my friends call me Bella."

"I can see why, but I'm sure you hear that all the time, don't you?" He smiled at her knowingly.

"Once in a while," she replied humbly.

"Lucky she's one of us now. Her face would be burning off from blushing right now if she were human," Jasper whispered with a chuckle. He let me feel a little of her embarrassment and I had to laugh with him. It was so typically Bella, hating to be the center of attention.

"Isabella, I know we've never met before, but I feel as though you and I, we belong together. Does that sound strange to you? I know it does to me. Would you like to go to a cafe, or dinner, or someplace where we could get to know one another better?"

Jasper was closely monitoring his emotions for any sign of one of the 'red flag' emotions, but didn't find any. Just love. It felt like a knife in my stomach, and I knew Jasper felt the same way.

"It's time to end this," Jasper said. "She's feeling more uncomfortable by the minute, and I don't think either of us can take this for much longer. Let's get her out of here." I completely agreed. We made our way through the crowd as quickly as humanly possible.

"Bella, love," I said just as Francesco was reaching for her hand, "It's time to get going." Bella stood gratefully, and I pulled her into my arms, kissing her chastely, maintaining the connection just long enough for reality to set in for Francesco before pulling away and handing her the gelato. I could tell from Jasper's pained thoughts that the man was truly heartbroken, and I felt bad for him.

"Isabella?" Francesco asked, holding on to one last shred of hope.

Bella turned to him and pursed her lips, trying to find the right words. "I'm sorry, Francesco. I don't think that I can take you up on that offer. But I'm flattered, truly. I hope you have a wonderful life." We started walking away, but Francesco was following behind us, his mind trying to come up with any excuse to stop us, try again to get Bella to see that they belonged together, that this was more than just an instant attraction. Finally, we were able to lose him and meet up with Marcus in the alleyway.

"Well, that was a start," Marcus said joyfully. "He actually had a very strong bond, surprisingly so. Nowhere near Edward or Jasper, of course, but still, stronger than my bond with you. Remarkable."

"Will he be alright?" Bella asked worriedly.

"He's feeling rather shredded at the moment, like he saw his future and then saw it destroyed all in one moment," Jasper relayed morosely. I felt Francesco's pain at that moment, and I'm sure Jasper did as well. He and I had both shattered each other's dreams of the future at one point in time.

"I almost wonder if it wouldn't have been more humane to bring him back with us, introduce him to Gianna," Marcus mused.

"No!" Bella hissed. "No more deaths because of me. The guilt over Trevor's death is bad enough."

Marcus had the good sense to look remorseful. "Yes, of course, of course. I'm sorry, dear. Old habits die hard, I'm afraid. Trevor's time had come, regardless, Bella. Remember that." He was a fool to think that statements like that were going to help. Bella's low growl made that point clear.

"Bella, did you feel anything? Did you realize you were doing it?" I asked, trying to refocus the conversation.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I remember thinking that he was attractive," Bella bit her lip, embarrassed to be talking about this. I swallowed back my jealousy once more, trying to remind myself that acknowledging someone was attractive did not equate to anything more. At least, not on her part. "And I thought he seemed friendly and that out of all the people who'd walked by, he was probably the one guy I saw who I wouldn't mind talking to. I'm sorry!" Bella said to both me and Jasper, knowing what her statements were likely doing to us. I just shook my head at her. I didn't want to lie and say it was alright, but I didn't want to upset her further, either. It was what it was, and I would have to live with it.

"When exactly did you have those thoughts, Bella? This is critical, because I saw the bond form before he ever said a word to you, although it got stronger when he started the conversation."

"I had them as soon as I saw him. When I looked up, he was looking at me. Those were my first thoughts. I did feel, I don't know how to describe it...warm? Yeah, I guess that's the best word. Warm, in my chest, just for a moment."

"Excellent, Bella!" Marcus exclaimed. "That's wonderful news! It is definite progress!" We were all smiles as we continued through the castle. That is, until we re-entered the war room.

"The Romanians have killed one of our scouts," Aro said gravely the moment we entered. "It has begun."

A/N: For Seraphina Cullen, a caramel covered Carlisle, with a cherry on top. ;)