Bella and Edward were both quiet in the busy restaurant, but their table was still one of the most energetic. With three other people keeping the conversation going, though, that wasn't surprising.

"I'm really glad you arranged all of this, Bella," Chelsea London patted Bella's hand. "It's like a mini high school reunion!"

"Only without having to see a lot of douchebags," her husband Demetri added. That earned him an elbow in the ribs. "What? It's true."

"I feel horrible for Edward, though," Siobhan Allistair said. "But there is still a possibility of him waking up, right?"

"Of course," Bella nodded, glancing at Edward from the corner of her eye. "I'm sure he'll open his eyes any day now."

"Cullen's a fighter," Demetri agreed. "He won't let a little coma keep him down."

"Yeah. Besides, miracles happen every day." Siobhan turned to Edward and Bella. "I was wondering though…is it okay if we go see him sometime?"

"You're more than welcome to visit," Bella told her. "His parents definitely won't mind."

"That's good. We'll be sure to stop by," Chelsea said. "You've been awfully quiet, Jasper. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," Edward smiled at her. "I mean, I've been in a bad place for a while, but I'm getting better."

"I'm so sorry about Maria, by the way," she looked at him sympathetically.

"I – Thank you," Edward replied simply. He knew Jasper and Scheduler had history, but he still didn't know the whole story. He made a mental note to ask Jasper sometime.

The little lunch reunion went on for about an hour more, and by the end of it, everyone was full and content.

Well, almost everyone. Despite the small on his face, Edward was feeling a little off.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Bella asked. They were on their way back to Heaven after their guests have left. "Do you feel tired again?"

"No, no, it's not that," Edward shook his head. "I just can't figure out how I'm feeling right now. I'm happy that we got to see Chelsea, Siobhan, and Demetri again – it's a shame Amun couldn't make it – but…I dunno. They care about me to some extent, sure, but I don't think it's enough for me to complete my mission.

"My time is so limited; I only have eight days left, and all that's happening is me getting weaker."

"Don't say that," Bella, ever the optimist, pleaded. "We can do this, Edward. You just have to be positive. Don't doom yourself already."

Edward smirked as he recalled Scheduler telling him the same thing. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too."

The pair arrived at the café shortly. Edward was about to head inside to continue his shift, but a familiar red Porsche caught his eye.

"Rosalie," he hissed, glaring at the offensive vehicle. "What's she doing here?"

"She probably figured out that Jasper never made it to New York," Bella came up next to him. "Come on. Let's go deal with her, and be over with it already."

Even though he really wanted to, Edward didn't reach for Bella's hand as they walked inside Heaven. The two saw Rosalie right away, and braced themselves for her attack.

"Bella," her greeting sounded amiable on the surface, but there was an underlying poison to it. "I was waiting for you. And I see you have Jasper here as well. Or should I say Edward."

"What do you want, Rose?" Edward asked with a hard tone.

"Why so hostile?" Rosalie grinned. "I just wanted to talk to you guys."

"Not here," Bella looked around the busy café. She met James' worried eyes momentarily, and she gave a small smile to appease her watching uncle. "Let's take this outside."

"Fine by me." Rose flipped her hair over her shoulder, and flounced through the doors.

"So what do you want?" Edward asked again once they were in the parking lot. "I'm pretty sure your impromptu visit isn't a social call."

"You're right. It's not," Rosalie replied. Venom now coated all her words. "What do you think you're doing, Edward? We all know you're too late now, even if you have managed to manipulate Jasper into going with you."

"I never did any manipulating; that was all you."

"I was trying to save Jasper! No one wants to be possessed by some spirit who abuses his body. You're being so cruel, Edward. Just leave him alone. You'll never win, anyway."

"Really? You have the balls to call him cruel?" Bella stepped forward. "I meant what I told you the last time we saw each other, Rose. You'll be ruined after all of this is over, because let's be honest here. You're losing."

"Excuse me?"

"She's right," Edward answered. "You thought you can get rid of Jasper that easily? Well, he isn't going to fall for your tricks anymore. Face it, Rosalie, we're holding all the cards here. It's over. Once I tell my parents about your and Jacob's intentions with the firm, you'll be lucky if you get out of jail before your fiftieth birthday."

"They're not going to believe you!" Rosalie shouted angrily. "You don't have any fucking proof, Edward. Why should Carlisle and Esme listen to you? They don't even know you!"

Edward opened his mouth to inform her about having the flash drive, but prudently decided not to. For one, they still couldn't' figure out the passwords to the files, and for another, he didn't want her to know they had a bigger advantage than she thought.

"Yeah, that's definitely her."

Bella, Edward, and Rose quickly turned to where Jane and James were standing.

"Uncle Pete," Bella blinked. "Is there a problem inside?"

"The problem seems to be out here, actually," James adjusted his tie. "And Jane just told me this young lady," he nodded at Rosalie. "Is the cause of it. Is that true, Jasper?"

"Uh…" Edward wasn't sure how to respond.

"She's the stalker lady, right, Jazzy" Jane prompted. "I'm telling you, Bossman. She's been coming to the café practically every day to ask about him. It's pretty freakin' creepy."

"What? No, I don't," Rose denied immediately. "That's crazy."

"And she was totally shouting before we came out here. I think she's a little…unstable," Jane whispered the last part, but everyone still heard it. Rosalie glared at the small girl.

"Miss, I think I'm going to have to ask you to leave," James used his commanding, lawyer voice. "I won't have anyone disturbing my customers or accosting my employees, most especially my niece."

Not knowing what else to say, Rosalie simply huffed angrily, and stomped past everyone to get to her car. She angrily told herself that they were wrong – that Bella and Edward were the losing ones in the scenario, but deep, deep inside her, she knew that wasn't true.

She was running out of legs to stand on, and for the first time since she put her plan into action, she was afraid.

…

Irina adjusted the jar of soup in her arms while she waited for Jacob to answer his door. She had just arrived back after a two-week long modelling gig in Vancouver, but at the moment, her friend was more important than sleep.

She received his sad message a few minutes after getting off the plane. Jacob's voice was completely different from the jovial tone she was used to hearing, and that alone worried her. Him telling her that he needed someone to talk to just solidified her decision to come by his place as soon as possible.

"Rin," Jacob greeted forlornly a second later.

"Oh my God. Jake," Irina gasped as she took in his appearance. "You look really sick."

"Yeah," Jacob's laugh was low and rough. "Come in. And thanks again for being here."

"It's really okay," Irina assured him. She looked around his apartment, and noticed how cluttered it was. "Um, are you moving or something?"

"No. Just…getting rid of stuff I don't need anymore."

"Oh. Maybe you can donate some to charity."

Irina set down her jar on the dining table. "I brought some chicken soup over. I didn't make it, but it tastes awesome. You want some?"

"I don't really feel like eating right now," Jacob sighed. "I guess I just want company."

"Okay," Irina smiled. She sat on the couch, and patted the seat next to her.

Jacob followed her lead. "The past week has been real shitty."

"Does it have something to do with work? Or, like, girl issues?"

"Something like that."

"Wow, I never even knew you were seeing someone before," Irina's eyes widened slightly. "Why didn't you tell us? Who is she?"

Jacob shrugged. "It was a…complicated relationship. And I really don't wanna say."

"Why? Do I know the chick?"

"Eh, probably not," he took a deep breath. "I've just been…really, really stupid, Rin. I wish I never fell in love with her."

"It'll be okay," Irina bumped her shoulders with his. "You can't let one bad experience ruin the rest of your existence. Life goes on, you know? There's some truth to the whole 'when one door closes, another opens' thing."

"You're right," Jacob smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever. He turned his torso to hug her properly. "Thanks, Rinny."

"You're welcome," Irina mumbled into his broad shoulder. "Remember, I'm always here for you."

They continued to hold each other for a long while, and when they pulled away, Jacob's face became unreadable.

"Jake?" Irina whispered.

And then he kissed her.

Things progressed rapidly after that first contact. Before long, they were tearing at each other's clothes as they fumbled to the bedroom, knocking down some furniture as they went.

"God, Jacob," Irina moaned as he bit her naked shoulder. She squirmed beneath him on the bed. "You won't regret this, will you?"

"No," Jacob promised, fully sheathing himself inside her. "I promise, I wont."

And he meant it.

…

The irritating sound of something vibrating woke Irina up with a start. She was disoriented for a second as she looked around the unfamiliar bedroom, but she remembered quickly what transpired the night before.

She gazed at Jacob's naked form next to her. "Be mature about this, Irina. This isn't a big deal."

Moving slowly so as not to disturb him, Irina got out of bed, and tossed Jacob's discarded shirt over her head. She figured she could look for her clothes later after she found the source of the incessant buzzing.

"There you are," she murmured triumphantly once she found a phone lodged between a nearby console table and a book. The screen flashed Rosalie's name for a few more seconds before the call ended.

"Why would Rose be calling at," she checked the time. "Seven-thirty in the morning?" Shrugging, she placed the phone back on the narrow table before tiptoeing her way out of the room.

"Shit!" she cursed when she knocked a trashcan over. The noise didn't bother Jacob in the slightest. With a breath of relief, Irina got on her knees, and commenced returning the contents of the bin back to where they once were.

Her hand froze when she came across a small piece of paper that had Rosalie's face on it. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that there were actually more of the scraps to be found.

Is this a photo? she asked herself as she carefully put everything together. Aside from two missing corner pieces, the image was complete, and what she saw shocked her.

"What is this?" she whispered as she stared at the picture she formed. "This can't be right. No, this can't be real." Her hand accidentally moved some scraps, and she noticed the strokes of a pen behind them.

With her heart pounding in her ears, she hurriedly turned all the pieces over to read the message behind the torn photograph.

Jacob,

This day was one of the best of my life. I can't wait for the day when we can really be together.

All my love,

Your Rosie xxx

"Oh my God," she gasped silently.

The shock was too much for her to bear. After finding all of her clothing, she all but ripped Jacob's shirt off of her, got dressed, and ran out the door.

…

Irina wrapped her arms around her knees as she sat at the stairwell.

She had discovered the torn picture yesterday, but she still couldn't believe it. She still couldn't understand how Rosalie and Jake could do that to Edward, either, and she cursed herself for being so blind. Maybe if she'd seen their infidelity, she could have stopped it.

Though she had no idea how, Irina knew she had to speak to both of them at some point. And when she heard the sound of the front door opening, she knew that point had come.

"Rin," Rosalie blinked when she saw Irina sitting on the stairs. "Hey. How was Vancouver?"

"Fine," Irina replied, some coldness seeping into her tone. "I got home around two days ago. Where've you been?"

"Work," Rosalie sighed tiredly. She dumped her things on the coffee table. "I can really use a foot spa right now."

"You spent the night at work?"

"What?"

"You weren't here yesterday," Irina crossed her arms. "What's going on?"

"Who are you, my mom?" Rosalie narrowed her eyes at her. "And what's with the attitude? You on your period or something?"

"Are you sleeping with Jacob?"

"What?!" Rose sputtered. "The fuck are you talking about?"

"I know all about your little affair with him, Rose," Irina spat her name like it was a dirty word. "So how long have you guys been at it, huh? Couple of years now? I can't believe you two," she shook her head.

"You're on crack, Rin. Jacob and I are friends."

"I'm on crack? I saw the evidence of it myself! Jake has a picture of you guys in his apartment, y'know? But isn't just some innocent, friendly shot. It was you two making out like a bunch of…of…cheating bastards!"

"Fuck this. You know what? Yeah, I did used to sleep with him. So fucking what?" Rosalie angrily shouted.

"So fu – you're insane! And so evil! How can you do that to someone as sweet as Edward?! He's done nothing but treat you like a queen for the whole time I've known you!"

"You just don't fuckin' understand, Irina. And I doubt you can."

"Well, I don't want to! There isn't anything to understand here other than the fact that you're an adulterous bitch!"

"Oh don't act all pious with me," Rose rolled her eyes. "You're not innocent in this situation either. I know you've wanted Edward since the moment I introduced you guys. I saw it in your eyes, Rin. You wanted him for yourself."

"I –" Irina's confidence wavered. "That's not the same."

"Yes it is. And I bet if you had the chance in college, you would've snatched him for yourself."

"But I never did anything!"

"But you love him, don't you?" Rosalie taunted. "Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, Rinny, but he doesn't and will never love you back. He prefers Bella, you know? But I know that still won't stop you from wanting him. So you see? We aren't so different after all, are we?"

"I am not like you," Irina's hands formed into fists. "Don't even dare make that comparison. And unlike, you, Rosalie, I actually respect the sanctity of relationships. If it's Bella he wants, then I'm happy for him! She's a hundred times the woman you'll ever be."

And with that, she pushed past Rosalie, and ran out the door.

It surprised Irina that she managed to reach the hospital without a scratch despite her emotional turmoil. She knew she needed to be here, though, and with every ounce of strength she had left, she hurried to Edward's room.

The moment she saw his body, she finally broke down crying by his bedside. "Edward," she sniffled. "T-T-There's…a ton of things that have happened, and a lot that you need to know."

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "We need you here, Edward. Bella needs you. You want to see her, don't you? She's waiting for you. Just wake up. Please, wake up

To answer a couple of confused guests:

Bella cried the first tear (the whole of chapter 18 shows Bella's realization of Jasper's true identity and her giving Edward his first tear). Edward can't cry for himself – that would just be too easy.

Carlisle and Esme can't cry for him either since direct family (parents/siblings) don't count (see chapter 11 where Edward was convinced he was a 'friendless loser').