Well gang, we are winding down. More loose ends – read on.

Not ours, well, except in dreams, right?

Chapter 29 Leveling Out

The Tick List - B

After spending some time with the PR folks and Jasper's publicist, we decided that that a live interview was a better choice than a press conference. They quickly booked Jasper on one of the morning news shows. A press release would go out in tandem.

They moved fast, for fear that he would change his mind. But I knew he wouldn't. Jasper told me himself when he called to apologize for his actions. It was hard to be angry with him, his heart had been in the right place, even though it might not have seemed that way.

It turns out that one of the anchors was a huge Jack Hale fan. When approached about an exclusive 'get,' the network had gone crazy, bending over backward to accommodate Jasper. They offered to come to his loft to make it more personal, but Jasper drew the line at that.

Tuesday morning, instead of heading into the office, I sat cross legged on our couch, the remote in hand.

"Is it on yet?" Edward called from the bedroom.

"They just ran the teaser for it. Commercial is on now."

He walked out of the bedroom, collar on his dress shirt up, tie draped lose around his neck.

"I am not missing this for the world."

He sat down on the arm of the couch next to me, and focused on knotting his tie.

"That one is my favorite, you know." I smiled at the memory. His expression of confusion was so similar to the one he wore the first day we met. "That tie. I think that's the first one I ever grabbed."

"Then I should get it framed, huh?" Edward teased back as he cinched the knot tighter and folded down his collar.

"Nah. Then I couldn't do this." I reached out to tug on the tie, pulling him down close enough to kiss.

We broke apart when the commercial ended. The female anchor was seated in an overstuffed chair, holding a book on her lap.

"I'm here with Jack Hale, the best selling author of five books. This is a rare treat. I, like many of you, am a big fan, and have always wondered about the elusive author."

The camera pulled back to show Jasper seated in the chair across from her. He looked more like an eccentric poet than a writer of westerns. Black sports jacket, white shirt untucked and unbuttoned over a concert t-shirt, faded blue jeans, doc martens.

"So tell me, what made you decide to grant an interview after all this time, Mr. Hale?"

"Actually, Jack Hale is my pen name. My real name is Jasper. Jasper Whitlock."

"Holy shit. He really did it," Edward murmured from beside me.

They spent a minute talking about his background, why he chose to use a pen name, and how it was actually chosen.

"You mention your editor. I think everyone would be interested to know that your editor is Bella Swan, girl friend of your life long friend Edward Cullen. Did they meet through you?"

Jasper laughed and crossed his leg so that his ankle rested on his knee.

"No, I get to take zero credit for that one. Actually, Bella is the one that introduced me to my fiancé."

"Fiance?" We said it at the same time, both shocked at the news.

The anchor congratulated him, and asked if they had set a date.

"I'm not 100 percent sure yet, but most likely before the baby arrives."

"Baby?" It was apparent that the anchor had not known this little tidbit. She must be thanking her lucky stars for this interview. "When are you due?"

"Around Christmas. We just found out last week. Bella and my fiancé have been friends since college, and she was nice enough to buy the tests and hand hold through it all."

"There were rumors out last week that Ms. Swan was pregnant…"

Jasper laughed and draped his arm over the back of the chair. "No, she's not. She just helped us out. Unfortunately, some people got a hold of it and spun it a different way."

He paused for a moment before looking directly into the camera.

"So after some encouragement from my family, I decided to man up and be the type of friend I should be, so, in two hundred words or less…" He held up his hand and began ticking off points. "I am Jack Hale. I am engaged to a wonderful woman. I am going to be a father. Edward Cullen and I have been best friends since we were six, and none of the things that you have read about him are true. Nor are the things true about my other good friends, be they Cullen or Romanov. I agreed to this interview to set the record straight, and do right by them. They would have done it for me."

We sat there, stunned into silence.

The anchor and Jasper bantered a bit more about his books, and she wrapped up with a quick summary of his work to date along with a quick mention that he had a sixth book due out in the fall. They cut away to news.

"Wow."

"I know." I was at a loss at words for what to say. I hadn't expected Jasper to take it that far. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate it. I'm sure everyone did. It was just…wow.

"Well, I guess you don't have to worry about people lecturing you when you eat sushi now," Edward teased.

"True that." I stood up off the couch, and took advantage of the height distribution to kiss the top of Edward's head. He always did it to me, turnabout is fair play. "So you want to go to Nobu tonight for dinner? I actually think I might enjoy flaunting eating raw fish."

"You are trouble." Edward tugged on my ponytail.

"Would you expect me to be any other way?"

No Expiration Date - E

For the first time in months, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. Everything was on track. With the luck we had, only one thing kept me from believing something had to be waiting to ambush us when we stepped out of the tunnel. Hope. Bella. Same thing.

We started to slip into a semblance of normalcy.

Yes, there were still photographers sometimes, but not every day. Once Bella moved in, we found that we could walk to work together again many mornings. That is when we hadn't distracted each other while getting ready. We had a few emergency calls to Demetri when we ran late as a result.

Things with my family were on the mend. You could say the wound was about seventy five percent healed. We still needed to apply salve and cover it to keep it free from infection. A scar was inevitable, but with proper care, I hoped that soon it would barely be visible.

My mom and Bella were growing close. They started lunching together, and somehow that launched the idea of a party for Jasper and Alice. Bella wanted to call it a 'Coming Out' event, but my mother didn't think that would go over well with the Whitlocks. So, they settled on an engagement party.

My mother folded Mrs. Whitlock into the planning. I can only imagine how many bottles of wine they went through in the name of brainstorming. They weren't opting for a high society affair, something simple with friends and family. Of course, names like Cullen and Whitlock meant there were plenty of people to invite. That ruled out our place as a location. The apartment was just too small.

Ultimately, I think we were both a little relieved by that. Though we'd abandoned the concept of the island, it was still the place we could avoid everyone and everything if we wanted to.

My mother eventually decided on the Southampton house. It was simply a better location for such an event.

The entire family hadn't all been together at the same time yet. Emmett and I had spoken on several occasions. He and Rosalie were just fine. More than fine really. I think the controversy solidified for them both how much they loved each other. The idea that something could come between them suddenly seemed preposterous.

Rosalie stopped by my office one afternoon with Haley in tow. I was surprised to see her. I'd talked with Emmett about her, of course, but had had not seen her in person since the disastrous night at the Met.

"I'm sorry I didn't call first. I met Emmett for lunch. Do you have a minute?"

I checked my schedule.

"I'm free."

She spread a blanket out on the ground, which was ineffective because Haley was crawling now, and she couldn't keep her on it anyway.

"She's grown a lot. It's been a long time since I saw her," I said while walking over to the makeshift play area on the floor.

"She really took off in the past month. It goes way too fast."

I sat down on the floor and reached out to tickle her belly. She laughed but then distracted herself with a toy Rosalie had placed next to her.

"I'm glad you brought her by." I had always envisioned myself as the "cool uncle." I didn't know much about babies or little kids, but I figured I could dazzle her with fabulous birthday gifts and take her to the zoo when she got older.

"It wasn't the only reason I came."

"I figured." I wasn't going to press her. I respected Rosalie, but you had to treat her with kid gloves. If you came out swinging, you were likely to end up on your back.

"I should have come sooner. I hope I'm not too late."

I shrugged at that. "One thing I've learned is that apologies and forgiveness don't have expiration dates."

Every few seconds, Haley would get a devilish look in her eye and take off for some unknown destination. Rosalie would absentmindedly pick her up and place her in the middle of the blanket, eliciting a squeal of delight.

"You know that I do love you, right? And I would never want to come between you and Emmett." She said it quietly, and I could swear I heard her voice tremble.

"I would say the same thing, Rosalie." She smiled in return. I continued. "I've thought a lot about that night, and I admit I wasn't happy with you, but I did miss the forest for the trees for a long time. I never saw how my relationship with Dad, or lack thereof impacted Emmett. And in the end, you were defending him, which is not that different than what Bella did for me. "

"When the pictures came out, you had every right to tell me to go to hell. But you didn't. I really didn't deserve your support."

"Rosalie, you wouldn't have been in that mess if it weren't for me."

"I'm still sorry."

"You've long been forgiven."

"What about Bella?"

"I can't speak for her." Knowing Bella had always seen the good in me, I had no doubt she'd find a way to see past her first meeting with Rosalie.

"I don't really feel like I can just l call her up out of the blue, but I would like to get a chance to redeem myself before Jasper and Alice's party. I wouldn't want it to be awkward. So, you think you could come over for dinner sometime?"

"I'll talk to her, but I think that would be good for all of us."

She exhaled loudly. "Whew. That didn't suck as bad as I thought it would."

We both laughed, and even Haley giggled along.

Honesty in the Written Word - B

Spring moved steadily into summer. We were in a comfortable groove. Work, home, time with friends, and of course, a lot of baseball games.

Edward tried to teach me how to score, but I would much rather eat peanuts. We took Emmett to a few games with us. We looked like the motley crew, the three of us in our respective Yankees, Mets and Indians hats.

It would always be one of our little in jokes. I'll always cheer for the Indians. At least on the outside.

The bridges with Edward's family were all back in place. We had gone to Emmett and Rose's a few times for dinner. They had, after much encouragement from Esme, left Haley with us once or twice when they couldn't fine a babysitter. We all survived.

And most importantly, Edward and his dad were on the mend. Carlisle had popped into Edward's office one day, out of the blue, and handed him a book, with a quick 'I thought you would like it.'

It was slow going, but they were definitely out of the woods.

On the friends as extended family front, Alice's stomach was already huge. Maybe it looked big because of her size. Maybe it was the non stop eating. Either way, it was very clear that she was 'large and in charge' as she called it. If she was this big at five months, I cringe to think what she'd be like by Christmas.

Tanya had been the biggest surprise of all. The disastrous story from April about her and Emmett had actually brought about something good. She had fallen madly in love with Demetri's brother, Felix. She was happily weaving her way into his life, spending time with his family, and encouraging everyone and anyone she knew to take advantage of his security business.

I'd asked Esme if I could deliver Tanya's invitation to the party in person. We'd met for drinks at the St Regis, where she regaled me about all things Felix. It was fabulous to see her so happy. She had expected grief from her family, Felix not coming from their social circles and all; but in the end, it was a non issue. They were simply happy that she finally had someone of her own. I think we all were.

"You know, Bella, if it wasn't for you, I never would have met him."

I shook my head and smiled. "More like if it wasn't for you and Edward faking an engagement, none of this would have happened. I owe you just as much thanks."

We laughed and clinked our glasses together. Out of all the chaos, there had come more than a fair share of happiness.

Everything seemed to have come around for our friends. Jasper and Alice were happily preparing for a life of wedded, parental bliss. I couldn't help but wonder if Tanya and Felix weren't far behind. Of all our friends, she was the one I was happiest for. She really had suffered the most.

We had made arrangements to spend the weekend of Alice and Jasper's party at the house in Southampton. As much as things had resolved themselves, the thought of a full weekend there still made me nervous. We'd been living together for three months; it shouldn't have been a big deal. I'd been out to Southampton a few times, but the house still threw me off balance. Memories of that first meeting and what ensued.

While he didn't specifically address it, I knew that Edward was well aware of my apprehension. He did what he could to keep me distracted or put me at ease. We spent Saturday morning down on the beach. He insisted on trying to teach me how to throw a football, but it was a lost cause. I'd much rather be the one tackling him, anyway.

He, Emmett and Jasper had stayed up late the night before, telling stories and lord knows what else. By the time lunch was over, he was a walking zombie.

"Come on, take a nap with me," he coaxed.

"Yeah, I know what nap is code for, Cullen. Go sleep, you need to be functional tonight."

He gave me a feeble attempt at a pout. He was too tired to put up a fight.

"What will you do?"

I smiled. No question on that.

"Do what I have wanted to for months, get lost in that library."

He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, and I was off.

Maybe it was the apprehension of my first visit that had made the library seem so cold. In truth, it was the type of room that I would have chosen for myself. Arts and Crafts style furniture, over stuffed leather library chairs, and Micah floor lamps. It was inviting, soothing. The perfect place to curl up and read a book.

I was running my hand longingly over the spine of what appeared to be a first edition of Great Expectations, when I heard a noise behind me. I jumped, waiting to be scolded like a naughty child.

"Go ahead. No point in having them if they just sit there."

Carlisle stood in the center of the room, his hands in the pockets of his immaculate khakis.

"I can't. These books, there just so valuable…" The Great Expectations had to be worth at least $300,000, and fragile too.

"They are books none the less. They are meant to be enjoyed."

He walked over to the stacks on the far wall and shifted them around so that he could reach the very back row.

"Don't tell anyone about this. I'd like to keep it our little secret for now." He beckoned me over.

There on the middle shelf of the last stack, were all of Jasper's books.

"Emmett mentioned reading the first one and enjoying it a while back. I always thought that Edward would appreciate them; they reminded me of him a lot. I bought them all, thinking that maybe, someday we'd get a chance to talk about them. Little did I realize that the writer was already part of the family, and some of the anecdotes in the story were ones I knew first hand."

He pulled the first in the series off the shelf.

"I've always wondered about some things. Would you mind if I asked a few questions?"

We spent the afternoon talking about the books. Nuances to the characters, plot devices and why they played out the way they did. I told Carlisle about editorial choices that would have made the story come out totally different. In return, he told me stories about Jasper and Edward when they were little.

It's funny how you draw from your personal experiences in your art. I'll never be able to look at the characters in a Jack Hale book again and not think of two scrawny kids standing on a beach after a disastrous run in with a bottle of with sun-in.

It was a wonderful afternoon. Five months ago, if you told me that I would spend an afternoon in the library at Southampton, dissecting Jack Hale books with Carlisle Cullen, I would have laughed at you and asked for a hit off the bong.

It's amazing how life changes.

A Simple Bach Concerto - E

"Up," Haley begged. She looked up at me with her big eyes. She stood with one had on my leg. I brought her into my lap. She had just turned a year, and with a handful of words, Emmett was convinced she was a genius.

I bounced her on my knee while she giggled.

The house was packed, people everywhere. We'd spilled out onto the lawn. With the heat, my mom and Bella had opted for a casual gathering, so despite the crowd, there was very little pretense. Lobster and laughter described it well.

"You look comfortable," Jasper said taking a seat next to me. I had a momentary flashback to the towheaded boy who used to play cops and robbers with me around this house as a kid. Always an idealist, he'd kept all of us in line at one point or another. For many years, he was sort of barometer for me. If I could maintain his friendship, I must not have been a complete monster.

Things had gone well for him after revealing his secret. He was able to do the kinds of publicity tours that his publishing company always wanted—Bella informed him this would only add to the success of the series. Bella said she'd always been surprised the books had taken off as they had with so little publicity. He and Alice just got back from a month long junket and were now settling in for the duration of her pregnancy.

"I can't complain."

"I hear you've done some babysitting. We're going to keep that in mind."

"Oh a couple of times for a few hours. Don't get too excited," I laughed.

"So, you're not ready for one of your own?" he asked casually.

"I can't believe you just asked me that. Was that question Alice's doing?" We both laughed at the implication.

"Maybe a little. It just seems like you and Bella are pretty well settled."

"We are," I acknowledged as I saw her talking with Alice with a glass of wine in her hand. "It's been an amazing year."

"I sure couldn't have predicted any of this. "

"What about you? Do you feel ready for everything?"

"Oddly, I think I do. You know the saying 'everything you never knew you always wanted?'"

I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. Rosalie came to take Haley as some distant cousins wanted to fawn all over her. I made my way back into the house. I passed by the library. A number of people were engaged in conversation by the window. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"There you are, son. Your mother is requesting your presence." My father smiled at me, and I followed him down the hall.

"Edward! I've been looking for you. There have been multiple requests for you to play."

I should have known this was coming. I'd been gravitating toward the piano whenever I was at one of their houses lately. It felt natural. Sometimes, Bella would curl up in the room with a book in her hand. Others, I assumed I was alone, until I would hear my mother join in on violin.

I hadn't told my mom, but yesterday, Bella and I spent time clearing space for a piano that was going to be delivered this week.

"Oh no. I really couldn't."

"Nonsense. It's been too long since you played for our friends."

I leaned into whisper in my mother's ear. "Thought that was pretentious."

"I've decided showing off your children is always in vogue," she said with a wink.

I laughed. People all around me encouraged and prodded. I was waving my hand to decline, when my father said in a low voice, "I would love to hear you play, Edward."

I met his eyes, and found all the encouragement I needed.

I lost myself in the music. I assume people still talked, and glasses clanked, but I didn't hear it. When the song ended, I held my position for a minute, almost afraid to see reactions. I could hear the applause begin before I tentatively lifted my head. My mom and Bella were standing directly in my line of sight. Bella smiled at me, and then shifted her gaze. My eyes followed.

I had to look around a few people; he was tucked away where most people wouldn't notice him.

My father was standing in the doorway, leaning against it. I recognized the expression immediately. The picture. I closed my eyes, and hoped when I re-opened them I would see the sentiment in his face.

It was there. Pride.

I swallowed hard, to keep the ball of emotions at bay. He nodded gently.

A lot was said in that moment. We only had an instant before people filled in the space, taking him out of my line of sight. Everyone patted me on the back, and began dispersing. My mother had announced dinner would be served.

I had to push and prod a little to get where I was going. I knew he'd be there.

"Thanks for the book, Dad."

He reached his hand up to his face, and wiped gently. He looked slowly toward me from his spot in front of the window. His eyes were still wet.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"The book was good, but the inscription was better."

"I wasn't sure you'd noticed."

"Maybe we could have lunch sometime this week to . . . you know . . . discuss the book . . . or whatever?"

"I would like that very much."

"Mom said dinner is being served, so we should probably go," I nudged.

"Tell her I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay," I responded quietly. I turned to leave the library, but I paused, looked back over my shoulder and said, "Dad?"

"Mm?"

"I love you, too."

Ok, so everyone give us a collective awe…see, Carlisle wasn't a bad dude, there was just some healing that needed to be done.

So we inch closer and closer to the end. Everything is on the mend with the family. Jasper manned up, and he and Alice are cruising along. Tanya got her Prince Charming (or Sir Guh as we jokingly call him). But there are still a few things to wrap up….

The final full chapter will go up next Friday early afternoon. We are actually going to be in the same room, posting together as we drink mint mochas. It will be bittersweet, but it's been a wonderful ride with all of you.

To span the time between now and then – we'll give you something to tide you over….the opening line to next chapter. It's a doozy, we promise you.