I hope you all liked the last chapter. I know that some of you didn't read it, because it was a lemon. But it was absolutely necessary, because it's important to see how mature Jasper and Bella's love is compared to Edward and Bella's relationship.

This chapter is totally acceptable for all eyes and ears. No lemons.

I want to try something new with this chapter, so it's going to be APOV (Alice.)

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Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes and general plot ideas that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

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Learning to Live Again

Chapter Forty-Three: Working Together

I'm not a peeping tom or anything, but I couldn't help myself. They both just looked so happy. When Jasper heard me open the door, he pulled their blanket around them to cover up any naughty bits that were exposed. Plus, it's not like I haven't seen them both naked before. I have given Bella countless makeovers, and I was with Jasper for half a century. There's no such thing as privacy in our family.

"Good morning," I whispered too lower for Bella to hear. I didn't want to wake her, because she looked truly euphoric. "Is she going to school today?"

"I don't have the heart to wake her up," Jasper answered honestly. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder, holding her to his side. Bella had her arm and leg draped over him, snuggling into his chest.

"Well, she's going to have a pop quiz in her French class today, so she should be there for fifth hour," I instructed my ex-husband. He chuckled at me and looked down into her face.

"I'll make sure that she's there by lunch, Alice. Can you have a note written up for her?" Jasper's hand began to stroke Bella's shoulder, causing her to sigh in her sleep and move closer to him.

"No problem." I turned to exit their bedroom but stopped short. "I'm happy for you two, Jasper. There is no other person in the world I would want to see you with. And I know that you're worried right now, Jasper, but I know that Bella's going to be okay. My visions haven't been spot on lately, but I know in my heart that my little sister will make it through just fine and then you two can live happily forever after."

I saw Jasper's face soften as he imagined what it would be like for him and Bella to have forever together. "Thank you," he whispered back to me before I shut the door behind me. Bella would be waking up in a few seconds, and I didn't want her to be embarrassed by my intrusion on their intimate moment.

I bounded down the stairs where Edward was waiting in the foyer. "She's going to meet up with us later," I announced, passing him and walked out the front door of our house. Emmett and Rosalie were sitting on the porch with Cameron and Esme. Carlisle had already left for the hospital today. I walked over to where Cameron was leaning against the porch railing and stood at his side. "What's on the agenda for today, family?"

"While you two are having a riveting time in school, Rose and I are going to accompany Esme and Cameron on a shopping expedition. It should be just as fun," Emmett sarcastically replied. None of our boys enjoyed going shopping with Rose, Esme, or me. They were as bad as Bella.

"Esme has convinced me that I need some new clothes and some personal affects to make myself feel more at home here," Cameron interrupted. "I'm still not comfortable being around so many humans and not drinking from them, so Rosalie and Emmett are going to come along in case Esme needs help restraining me."

"You went to malls before," Emmett explained. When Cameron said nothing, Edward answered for him, reading his memories.

"He quenched his thirst in private hallways and janitor's closets," he said bluntly. I smacked my brother across his chest before leaning up to kiss Cameron's cheek.

"Those days are over, darling. You'll do fine," I encouraged him. "Come on, Edward, we had better get going. Class starts in five minutes."

Edward and I both walked off the porch, leaving our home behind. I picked up the sounds of Bella waking up next to Jasper. I stopped listening when the whispered words turned into moans and panting. Edward stiffened beside me.

What will help you, Edward? I hate to see you in pain.

"I honestly don't know, Alice. I thought about heading off for awhile, but I couldn't do that to Esme again. I know that we've already spoken about Jasper and Bella thinking about leaving Forks for her first years as a vampire, but I don't want to see them leave. I would miss her too much," Edward answered honestly. "I don't think anything can help; I just have to deal with it."

You'll tell me if you need anything, and I'll let you know once they've decided to leave or stay.

Edward only nodded as we got into his Volvo and sped off towards Forks High School. We pulled into the lot, eliciting the same stares as we got every other morning. When everything suddenly got blurry, I scanned the crowd and found Jacob Black waiting for us. He was surrounded by a small group of freshmen girls trying to flirt with him. Edward laughed out loud and I looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"He's worried that Leah will read his thoughts later and beat him up for having all these girls around him," Edward explained. We climbed out of the car and walked over to Jacob, causing the girls that were lingering there to turn white as ghosts and leave. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Hello, Jacob," I said politely. "What brings you to our school today?"

"I was hoping to catch you without Bella around. Is she on her way?" he asked, looking back at our car and seeing no other person getting out.

"She won't be in until this afternoon," I explained truthfully. There was no way I was going to elaborate with the young werewolf on the reasoning behind his ex-crush staying home this morning. Sorry, Jake, she's busy having crazy, hot sex with my ex right now. I cringed as soon as I thought it, knowing that Edward had heard. I looked over at him with an apologetic smile.

Jacob caught my gaze and pounced. "Where is she? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Jacob," Edward answered this time. "She's spending some time with Jasper this morning. They have both been very worried this week that she'll get hurt. They wanted to be alone for awhile."

Jacob still had a curious look on his features, but I didn't want to answer anymore questions on Jasper and Bella's whereabouts. I started walking toward the school, knowing the boys would both follow. "So why did you need to speak with us without Bella present?"

"Well, I've been trying to perfect our plan for this upcoming fight, and I wanted to fill you in on some changes I've made," he said, turning into all business. "I know that we were originally going to get her crazy-ass mother involved, but I can't get in touch with her. Her cell phone is never turned on, and I doubt she knows how to check the voicemail yet."

"So what do you propose?" Edward asked.

"Well, I think we should involve your mother instead. We can't lose Jasper in the fight. He's too valuable of an asset for us. If we can just get your mother and maybe the blonde one to take her out of town for the weekend, we could take care of the other bloodsuckers while they're away," Jacob explained. His tone of voice made it sound so much more involved than it really was. It was a simple decoy tactic.

"Esme will help us, but Rosalie won't play a part in it," Edward responded. "She won't leave Emmett so close to a fight, and she's smarter than you think. She'll know that we have something planned."

"We can have Esme take Bella out of town for a shopping weekend. We'll tell her that Esme wants her to feel more at home as well and that she felt bad she couldn't go with them and Cameron today," I offered. "Bella will believe it; she knows that Esme loves her as her own."

"She's dated two of your brothers already. She should feel like part of the family," Jacob barked. His eyes were squinted in anger.

"She does, but you know Bella has insecurities about herself, especially now," I replied. Edward looked over at me, making sure I didn't reveal too much. That damn werewolf was too perceptive, though.

"What do you mean 'especially now'?" he asked.

"She's planning on becoming a vampire, Jacob. I know that she's set in her resolve, but it's still the biggest decision she'll ever make. I'm sure that no matter how determined she is that there are still some unanswered questions and concerns," I lied. We were inside the building now, walking toward Edward and mine's first class. There were only a handful of students lingering in the halls.

"Then maybe you shouldn't encourage her to become one," he retorted.

"We're not. This is Bella's decision," Edward interrupted.

"Yeah, I see that you don't go behind her back and make decisions for her," the werewolf replied. He was starting to shake with annoyance now. The school bell rang, signaling that first hour was starting.

"You know this is different, and you're doing the same thing," I reminded him. "You need to calm down, though. We're in public and late for class already."

"We'll work out the details with Esme. You just make sure that the pack comes to meet us tonight to practice technique with the newborns," Edward instructed before pulling me into our classroom, leaving Jacob standing alone with his thoughts in the school hallway.