Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: I apologize profusely for the extremely late update. I wish I had a reason for it, but the truth is that I don't. If I told you guys that life got in the way, I'd be lying through my teeth, so let's just say that sometimes my mind is my friend, but more frequently it is my enemy.

You can actually thank Christina Perri for this update. I've had the song A Thousand Years (which I consider to be this stories unofficial theme song) on repeat on my IPod for four days straight in hope that it would inspire me.

**WARNING**

There is a bit of swearing in this chapter, including an instance of the F-Word (Peter's got a hell of a mouth on him when he's mad) but since I don't plan on it becoming a regular thing, again, I didn't feel like it necessitated a ratings change.

*** This story has been nominated as Best Tear-Jerker over on the Non-Canon Awards and to whoever (or whomever) nominated this story, I thank you from the very bottom of my heart. I can't even be to describe the feeling that swept through me when I opened that email.***

"Here," Peter said, shoving the large gym bag into Jasper's hands the minute he walked through the door. He and Charlotte had only been gone less than eight hours.

"What's this?" Jasper asked, staring dubiously down at it.

Peter rolled his (thanks to the tinted contacts) muddy brown eyes. "Have you had a chance to leave the house since you brought her here?"

"No," Jasper admitted reluctantly. "I couldn't leave her alone." Stepping away from the house any further than the yard would abruptly cut off the connection he had with Bella and he'd be unable to continue using his gift to keep her asleep. He could already feel the barest hints of her struggling against the lethargy and knew the minute he stopped, she'd wake up. He wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Well than, we brought some stuff she might need." He looked around the house, pointedly staring in the direction of the kitchen that Jasper knew contained nothing but bare cupboards, a small wooden table (carved by himself in another desperate attempt to keep his hands and mind busy) and a sink. While he had simply built the room to stay true to the original designs of the house, he hadn't deemed it necessary to play human quite as fanatically as the Cullen's had and stock it with appliances he never intended to use. Even the sink itself was added as an afterthought.

"Thanks," he mumbled, a little relieved at what he hoped was a peace offering. He set the bag down on the couch and unzipped it. He slowly pulled out the first items, a few pairs of jeans, two pairs of soft cotton pants, some t-shirts and underwear with the tags still on them.

"The underwear is new, obviously, but he clothes were mine," Charlotte explained softly. "We looked to be the same size..." she trailed off awkwardly. "Back than at least. She... she hasn't changed that much has she?"

Jasper shook his head, placing the folded clothes on the cushion besides the bag. "She's exactly the same."

Peter let out a shaky breath behind him, traces of relief and happiness swirling through his emotions. Jasper thought he understood a least a little of what Peter was feeling. Though it was a bit unnerving for Bella to be basically an exact copy of her counterpart, it might have been a little more difficult to truly accept someone that looked completely different.

Jasper wondered if he would have had the same problem. He liked to think that even if he hadn't recognized her on the outside, the tattered remains of his soul would still recognize her and he'd love her regardless. But he could admit to being a little happy that it wasn't the case, that every last bit of her was still truly his Bella.

Various edibles were next. Boxes of granola bars, single serving packets of fruit, a large bag of trail mix and a few chocolate bars. He placed those items on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

"We weren't sure exactly what to get," Charlotte said, wringing her hands together. "I've never had to shop for a human before, so we got stuff that didn't require any cooking."

"And this?" Jasper asked, turning around with the water bottle in his hand. "I have a perfectly functional well."

It had already been on the property (managing to survive relatively unscathed all these years) but required a few updates, which included pipes to the house that connected to the more modern additions like the shower, the sinks in the bathroom and kitchen, the washer and... the toilet. He blamed the last one on the plumber who had done the installation and the weird look he had given Jasper when he said he didn't have one. Him and the electrician he had hired had been more out of a necessity than an actual want. If he could have done the whole house himself, he would of. But as good as Jasper was with his hands, he sadly had only a basic knowledge of what the inside of the house required. Not wanting to screw and up (and it would be just his luck if the house burnt down thanks to faulty wiring) he had reluctantly sought outside help. At least the electrician had the decency to mind his own damn business.

Peter smirked. "Mmhm... and do you have glasses? Dishes of any kind?"

"No," Jasper replied sheepishly. It had been another thing he hadn't found necessary.

"It wouldn't have mattered if you did anyways. You really think that she'd accept a glass of water from you? At least this way she'll know the water hasn't been tampered with in any way."

"You think I'd tamper with her water?"

"Did I say that?" Peter asked casually, brushing a piece of lint off his dark blue pullover.

Jasper's hand clenched around the bottle, squeezing hard enough for the cap to pop off and water to gush over his hand. He had officially reached the end of his rope with Peter's blatant cockiness and the constant taunts in his words. If he was really as insistent as he said he was on being in Bella's life, than they were going to work this out. Now.

"Enough!" Jasper snarled lowly. "Peter, outside. Now. Charlotte, stay here." He dropped the bottle to the floor to rest in the small puddle surrounding his feet. "And do me a favor and wipe that up will you?"

He led Peter out the back door, giving the monument a wide berth. He was unable to even look in its direction now that the woman it was in memory of was currently lying in his bed. He heard, rather than saw Peter hesitate briefly. The few times he had been to the house as Jasper was putting the finishing touches on it, he hadn't come close to stepping into the backyard. He didn't blame him. The memories Peter had of this place were probably much more unforgiving than his own.

Once they had crossed the small field out back and were a reasonable distance from the house, completely surrounded by a dense area of trees, Jasper whirled on Peter. "If you have something you want to say to me, I suggest you say it now."

"I have nothing to say to you," Peter spat.

"No? What is it you want than? Do you want to hit me?"

"I don't want to hit you," Peter replied, almost cheerily. The politeness of his words was suddenly belied by the foot that lashed out and connected solidly with Jasper's chest, sending him flying into a thick tree trunk and bringing the whole thing crashing down around him."I want to rip you apart."

Jasper's eyes darkened as he leapt to his feet, shaking off the leaves and splintered wood that covered his clothes. Bending his knees, he settled into a crouch digging his boots into the ground and curling his fingers. He tasted the venom pooling in his mouth and slicked his tongue over his teeth, coating the pearly whites in a thick layer of it. "Let's see what you got, soldier," he taunted, turning the playful words that usually preceded a mock battle between the two of them in the past into something darker and deadlier.

There was a brief hesitation on both of their parts, before twin snarls were released and they took a flying leap at each other.

And in the dark, dusty corners of their mind, neither cared if they made it out alive.

-oo-

The forest was still.

Silent.

Jasper glared at Peter from the opposite side of the clearing that hadn't been there when they first arrived, the obliterated remains of the trees that had once stood between them lying at their feet. He curled one hand around the small golden ring that had miraculously remained unharmed (things would have ended a lot differently if it had been damaged) and used the other to hastily wipe at the venom that seeped from the healing claw mark across his face. He allowed a brief moment of relief that Peter hadn't had the time to coat his fingers in his own venom (a trick he had learned from him and one that Jasper had learned from Maria) before attacking him, or it would have been permanent. He wasn't a vain person, with extensive scars like his it would be almost pointless, but he had always been grateful that he managed to escape the Wars with his face unmarred.

Peter was slightly worse off. His own clothing, like Jasper's, was torn and stained with his own venom. The promise to 'tear Jasper apart' had proven false and instead he was the one clutching his (now sleeveless) partially torn off left arm, holding it tightly to the socket and allowing the venom that was leaking from it to bond the two together again. He had the advantage on that part though; his wounds were healing a lot faster than Jasper's thanks to his different (and more frequent) diet.

A grim sort of pride swept through him at the state Peter was in. Though he had trained him, Peter had never been able to beat him, not once, and it seemed that, even after being away from battle all these years and adapting a relatively placid lifestyle, that still hadn't changed.

The urge to do further damage to him was large, but he ignored it. No words had been exchanged between the two of them during it and he just couldn't wait anymore. "All of this over one goddamn mistake?" he hissed lowly.

-oo-

Peter pressed harder on his shoulder, using the sudden stab of pain to break through the cloud of blood lust still swirling though his head. It proved to be a pointless endeavor because, when Jasper's words finally registered, he felt his anger rising again.

"One mistake? One goddamn mistake?!" Peter replied incredulously. "You think this is just about Bella, don't you?" He gaped at the sudden confusion on Jasper's face.

"What else is there?"

Peter's eyes hardened. "You selfish son of a bitch," he replied lowly. "You abandoned us! Walked out the door without so much as a by your-fucking-leave. It took you ten years, TEN years before you even told us where you were."

"But you must of-"

"What? Known?" Peter sneered.

Jasper's guilty look said enough. But there was something else in his eyes, something that made Peter realize that Jasper genuinely believed he hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't unusual for Makers and their children, for lack of a better word, to part ways after proper training was given (some didn't even bother to wait that long abandoning them immediately after turning them- in those cases, the turning was usually accidental) or to separate for long periods of time. What made this different is that him, Charlotte and Jasper hadn't been simply a coven, they had been a family. Or so he had thought.

Peter scoffed. "And if I did, than what? It suddenly makes everything okay?"

"So you did know?"

"Yes... no..." His right hand tugged at his hair in frustration, before scrambling back down to hold up his left arm. "Just before you left," he spat the word, "I got the feeling someone was looking for you. No, I didn't know who at the time or even when you would find them, but it sure as hell wasn't her."

"How do you know that?"

"You're asking me that? Seriously?" At least Jasper looked like he realized the stupidity of the question. "Fine, just for shits and giggles, I'll bite. Because whoever it was, she was supposed to make us stronger, heal us and complete our family." Saying the word left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Considering that she-bitch had the opposite effect, I'd say it was pretty obvious." He glared at him and found it necessary to share something with him that he hadn't even told Charlotte. "I doubted my gift for years afterwards, do you know that? You were so adamant that she was the one that I seriously thought that maybe what I felt that day was wrong."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Jasper asked helplessly.

"Tell you?" Peter sputtered angrily. "When? When we came home from a hunt and you were suddenly gone? When you didn't talk to us for ten years? In the four phone calls and zero visits in forty years? When?" he demanded.

"You could have-"

Peter laughed bitterly. "Could have what? Who's to say you would have even listened?"

"I might have if you had given me the chance," Jasper replied defensively.

"Bella would say differently," Peter countered darkly.

"That doesn't-"

"And what makes it worse is that I still don't know why. Not just for Bella, but for us too. After everything when went through, how could you turn your back on us so easily?"

Jasper opened his mouth to reply and Peter cut him off again.

"I don't want to hear that bullshit Alice excuse again. I get it, that bitch had your balls in a vice. But after what Maria did to you, how could you let another woman control you like that?"

"I didn't know she was controlling me," he replied softly. "I thought she was helping me. I thought I loved her."

"I remember you thought what you and Maria had was love too."

-oo-

Jasper gritted his teeth and looked away. He was angry, yet unable to deny the truth in Peter's words.

Maria had been the first person he saw when he woke up after the change, memories of everything but his name gone, her throaty and lightly accented voice promising him infamy and power beyond his wildest dreams. Confused and frightened, yet unable to deny the strength and hunger that thrummed through his veins and the seductive allure of her ruby-red eyes, he had immediately latched onto her, eventually mistaking his jumbled emotions for love. By the time he had realized differently, it was to late to truly do anything about it.

And then came Alice, his supposed salvation. But in the end, all he had done was replaced one master with another. The only difference being the subtlety with which she had exerted her control over him, replacing Maria's pain and cruelty with khaki pants and puppy dog eyes.

As he looked at his surroundings he was reminded of the sudden analogy, 'You can't see the forest for the trees'. He chuckled bitterly at how fittingly it described his life since he met Alice. He was so desperate to hold onto the stability that she provided his life that he failed to see that she was using him as nothing more than a place card, molding him into the type of man her mate would eventually turn out to be.

The only ones who had ever truly accepted him had been the very two he had immediately pushed away the minute he had been given the chance, foolishly believing that their acceptance was somehow encouraging the lifestyle that he no longer wanted to live, but had unfortunately become accustomed to.

He had never told Alice this, but Peter had been the first one to suggest animal blood to him a year before he had left. He could see that pain that feeding from humans was causing him and, in the beginning, had resorted to stealing from the local blood banks just so Jasper wouldn't starve himself. And when he had started rejecting that, Peter, in a fit of frustrated anger, had screamed at him that he could, "sink your teeth into a damn cat for all I care!" Definitely not the most conventional way of suggesting an alternative, which was probably why he initially ignored it, but he had little doubt that if he had stuck around it would have been brought up again more seriously and undoubtedly with their full support.

And all this time he had believed Alice when she said those two were a bad influence.

No wonder Peter hated him.

His voice was soft, pained, when he finally spoke. "I'm sorry, truly I am." He held up his hand when it looked like Peter was going to interrupt. "No, let me finish. I was wrong, both times, I admit this." He laughed bitterly. "And I'm a fool, because both times it took someone else for me to see it. I'm sorry it had to be the death of Bella the second time and you can be damn sure I will regret it for the rest of my very long life. So if you want to hate me for what happened after Alice, fine, I don't blame you. But don't hate me for the mistakes I made with Bella. You don't have to; I already hate myself enough for the both of us."

-oo-

Peter's shoulders slumped. He had to admit that hating Jasper for all these years, hell decades, had been incredibly draining. Especially when it was constantly battling with the memories of the Jasper he used to know. The sire that had shielded him from Maria's insanity and kept his gift a secret so it couldn't be used for her gain, the same one who had suffered her wrath (in the form of 10 large claw marks dug into the skin of his back with fingernails coated in her venom) when he spared Charlotte and eventually allowed the two of them to escape.

That was the man he admired, the man that he came back for, the brother that he loved. He felt something in him loosen.

"You're right," he agreed.

Jasper turned stunned eyes to him, the barest hint of hope in them.

"This doesn't make us okay," Peter warned, cringing internally as the light in Jasper's eyes dimmed once again, replaced by the familiar look of defeat.

Jasper clenched his jaw and jerked his chin in a single nod. "I understand."

Peter held his left arm up, tentatively flexing it and furling and unfurling his fingers. It wasn't at a hundred percent yet, but the venom was definitely doing its work. He held his hand out to Jasper, placidly admiring the way it sparkled in the dying sunlight. Their fight had lasted longer than he thought. "I can't promise anything, but I'm willing to try."

Jasper hesitated, eyes darting from his face to his out-stretched hand. Peter nodded, confirming the sincerity of his words and Jasper's hand, darkened with dirt, clasped onto his own.

Peter held back a wince when Jasper squeezed his fingers a little harder than necessary. He didn't mind, he knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, like it was some sort of immature attempt to display dominance. No, he had a feeling it was something more than that. Something like a desperate need to hold onto the connection that was being made, as small and platonic as it may be. He realized that in the end, all Jasper really wanted was to be loved and accepted for who he truly was and not what he could be made into. He felt the anger dissipate a little more, replaced by pity.

Jasper snatched his hand back. "Don't pity me."

"I'll do what I damn well please!" Peter snapped. He blinked, and then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's a bit instinctual at this point. Might take some time for me to stop doing that."

Jasper's lips upturned in a wry smile. "All we have is time, right?"

A/N2: So they've worked things out, somewhat. I'm sorry for anyone that feels this is too sudden, but I really can't keep writing these two hating each other. It's incredibly difficult and it's just about killing me. It was necessary for these two to be united, for Bella's sake, and now that she's back in their lives, I felt like it was a the right time to do it.

I already have the next chapter written (and have a pretty good idea how the next one after that is going to go) so hopefully I won't keep you waiting as long. Thanks again so much for your patience.