Your reviews make me smile! There are a couple reviewers who left me some awesome terminology that I wanted to share with everyone.

DazzlexMe-"Oh, crizzap!" I laughed my socks off at this.

Rocker-Chick-12345-"Oh my Cheez ITZ!" Comparing my story with delicious snacks is awesome.

And to the rest of you who leave me such nice words and happy phrases, you make my day super!

I didn't want to fight Edward, but I will. He stood across from me, poised to spring and growling, and I knew I wasn't going to have a choice. He should have just left, like I thought he was going to. Bella and I decided that we would just play it cool. I'd stay out of his way, so he couldn't hear me or smell me, but I'd be watching. I lingered around his trail, following him around. Of course he went to Bella's house first. He just watched her, like Alice said. He went to her school and watched as well. I was prepared to wait a couple more days for him to give up and leave, but his scent led to the edge of town. He must have seen how happy she was, and decided to leave. And then, no sooner does Bella profess her love to me, does he show up at the house. I wasn't paying attention to anyone but her, or surely I'd have sensed him. Bella was frightened-I could feel her from here-and she was peeking out the window. I tried to calm him down, to no avail. He growled, and lunged.

I prepared myself, crouching down-it was unnecessary. Out of nowhere, someone came at him from behind. He was so angry and focused on me that he didn't notice someone else arriving-nor did I. His lunge never reached me. I looked up. Alice was on Edward's back, trying to pull him backwards. Oh, Alice…

"Not now, Edward-not like this. You don't want to do this. Come with me for a while, and then we'll straighten this out." She cooed to him, trying to sooth his anger-it wasn't working. He snarled at her and tried to shake her off. I had to hand it to him-even in this state he was trying to be gentle with her. She crawled around to face him head on. "Edward, look at me. Bella is in there, and you are scaring her. I know you don't want to do that. You can't talk to them right now. You come with me and calm down. For her." I felt his emotions immediately shift from rage to angst. He looked towards the window, where Bella, wide eyed and flushed, was shaking. Her eyes had locked on Alice.

He shot a pained look at her, glared at me, but followed Alice. She turned to me, still in motion, and I knew she was doing her best to hide her pain. It just wasn't good enough. "Calm her down, Jasper, she's terrified. I'll come back when he's of sound mind. And Jasper? Tell her I'm not mad. Tell her it's not her fault." She smiled grimly, and then they were gone. I knew, right then, that there wasn't another like Alice. She was so self-sacrificing. So loving. She would do anything for her family, even if it meant…well, watching her husband and best friend fall in love.

I slowly crept back into the house, not sure what to say to her. I knew she wouldn't go back to him, but how was she feeling now? She was sitting on the couch staring into space.

"What are you thinking of?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"Alice. Edward had this coming-but Alice? She stepped out of my way. How long has she known? What am I going to say to her? How can I look her in the eyes again?" She was pained. Who could blame her?

"Bella, Alice said something to me before she left. She wanted you to know that she's not mad, and it's not your fault." I reached for her, but pulled my hand back quickly. Did she want to be touched right now?

"Of course she would say that. But she must feel something towards me! Some anger, resentment-anything! She can't just…be okay with this! I'm not okay with this…" she whispered, and then began to cry. Immediately I took her in my arms and stroked her face.

"Bella, Bella…shhh….I know, I know…but…we'll straighten it out. She said she'd be back soon, once…Edward…calms down. And you can ask her yourself." She looked at me, eyes wide, and started shaking her head.

"I can't talk to her, Jasper! What if…she hates me? I know she wouldn't tell me, but I'd know. And I don't want her to hate me, I love her!" she was in hysterics now. I was tempted to calm her myself, but I knew she'd be angry at me.

"She doesn't hate you. I don't think Alice has the ability to hate. And remember what she told you so long ago?" she nodded. "And what was that?"

"She said…she'd always be honest with me."

"That's right. And she will. She means so much to you. You have to talk to her. And then we'll have to talk to Edward." She cringed.

"I know. I didn't want him to find out this way. Why couldn't I wait ten more minutes?! He's probably never going to forgive us." She said, looking up at me again.

"So be it. But I don't think so, really. He made his mistake by letting you go. He knows I won't be so stupid. I don't think he'll let it tear our family apart." That's how Edward was. He would be mad, of course, but he would forgive. I hope.

"I don't want to come between you and your family." She mumbled into her hair.

"Bella, as far as I'm concerned, you are family. But let's not worry about that now. Alice will be here soon. We'll talk with her, and then Edward, and then go from there. One step at a time," I grinned. She rolled her eyes at my pathetic joke, but turned her body to mine and snuggled up to me. I purred into her hair. We sat like that for an immeasurable amount of time, until we heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" Alice's soprano voice chimed. Bella flew from my lap, suddenly feeling frantic.

"Of course, Alice," I said. She opened the door and slowly crept through.

"He's stable for now. But he's pretty upset, Jazz. He keeps thinking of ways to rip your arms off, but I won't let him." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. Bella was hiding in the corner, trying to blend into the wall. "I want to talk to you in a minute, Jasper. But first…" she turned towards Bella, who's fear increased exponentially. Alice walked towards her with all her grace, paused, then wrapped her arms around Bella. Bella immediately broke into sobs, flinging her arms around Alice in return.

"I'm so…sob…sorry…sob…Alice! I didn't….sob…mean to! It…sob…just happened!" she sniffed. Alice was rubbing her back and petting her hair.

"Shh…I know. Bella, I know you didn't do it on purpose. I saw this, remember? I saw how happy you made him-how different he was with you. I saw how much he cared for you, and you him. I saw you in Texas. How could I deny you both of a happiness that wasn't for me? I'll have my happy ending, Bella, don't worry. I love you both. You're my best friend"-Bella snorted-"no, I mean it! You can't be held responsible for your feelings, if it was meant to be. Love is love, Bella. I'm not going to stand in it's way. Promise me something."

"Anything," Bella sniffed.

"Promise me you'll never hurt him."

"I won't. Ever. I promise, Alice. What…am I going to see you again?"

Alice thought for a moment. "Yes, of course. I am still a Cullen, after all. When the time is right, I'll rejoin the family. And don't worry, you'll be there too." She pulled away. Bella looked into her eyes.

"I love him, Alice."

"I know. I knew before you did." She kissed her forehead. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a few words with Jasper and then we'll talk about bringing Edward over." Bella nodded, and sat back down on the couch. Alice walked towards me and out the door-I followed. She perched herself on a tree limb, and I climbed up next to her.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you before," she started.

"Silly girl. Please don't apologize to me, I can't stand it. I should be apologizing to you. Alice, I'm so"-she pressed her fingers to my lips.

"I already told Bella this, and I meant it. Don't be sorry for what you can't control. I saw this coming. And trust me, I really did look for a way around it, but nothing worked. It only pushed us apart. At least this way we can still be friends."

"Why didn't you just tell me, instead of sending me away?" I was still hurt by this rejection.

"It was the only way to make you see. I knew you weren't going to hurt her, but I needed you to stay and think about it."

"What did I do to deserve you?" I chuckled, patting her on the head. She grinned at me, and jumped down.

"I wanted to do what was best for the family. And this is it. It'll all work out, someday, I know it. Make her happy, Jazz. Don't make his mistakes." We started walking back towards the house. Once we got there, I sat next to Bella, and Alice sat at our feet.

"Okay. You're going to have to explain everything to Edward-although I'd leave out the whole 'trying to eat Bella' thing-that won't help. And I think Bella should be the one to do it. He'll pay the most attention to you." She said, looking at Bella. She nodded, but I could feel her anxiety. "It's not going to be easy, and it's going to kill him. But he has to know the truth. Can you do it?"

"I think so. You guys will be close, right? I don't have to be alone?"

"Not at all. We'll just be upstairs. He'll talk to Jasper eventually, but it's going to have to come from you for him to believe it. He has this strange impression that Jasper kidnapped you and is using his powers to keep you here." She rolled her eyes. Bella laughed, because it was such a ludicrous idea and exactly like Edward. "He's not very patient-I'm going to go get him before he decides to come on his own." Alice stood up and walked out the door. Immediately I pulled Bella to me and kissed her forehead.

"Are you okay?" I murmured as I trailed kisses down her cheek.

"I think so. I just…don't know if I can face him, Jasper. I loved him." She sniffed. She had cried too many tears tonight-I never wanted to see her cry again.

"I know, sweetheart, I know. But you can do it. And then we can really be together, and everyone will know. Emmett will be pleased." I smiled, trying to cheer her up. It worked marginally, but she was still in a great state of grief. "Why don't we just…be together right now. Don't think about anything, and we'll just have this last moment as our secret selves." She didn't say anything, but moved closer to me. I took that as a yes.

Whew! I hope you guys didn't want a fight there, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Jasper didn't want a fight. But we're almost done with some of the hard stuff, so I promise some Jasper/Bella (Jabella? Bellasper? thanks again, Rocker-chick, for those phases) action soon enough! And maybe a trip to see the family is coming...