A/N: First I want to say thank you to everyone who has read this story! You are awesome. I think there will only be at most 4-5 more chapters, well unless something happens that I do not foresee. LOL. The family will deal with the Volturi and Bella will be changed soon. Enjoy this chapter and please review.

Chapter 37 – Fun in the Sun

Florida was perfect. They were close to the beach and it was sunny. Jasper and Bella had to stop Renee from picking them up from the airport since she was gung ho about getting a convertible and driving around with the top down. Bella had to protect her living disco ball from being discovered and Jasper needed to be able to rent a car. So to kill two birds with one stone, Jasper rented a car from the airport and together they drove to her mother's house.

As they pulled up they realized a couple of things. There was not a car port to park the car under, but there was a shaded spot that led up to the front door thanks to some trees. Bella looked over to Jasper; he was wearing long sleeves and jeans. For the most part he was protected and the sparkles, if any, would be kept to a minimum. Leaning over and giving him a brief kiss, she said, "Are you ready?"

"For your mother? I think I can manage," Jasper smirked and got out of the car. As he and Bella started to get the luggage out of the car, Renee ran out of the house to greet both of the teens.

Renee saw her daughter and Jasper get out of the car and by the time they had made it to the trunk of the car; she had rushed them and pulled them each into an embrace. "I am so glad you are here now!" She gushed.

"Hi mom," Bella smiled. It was good to see Renee and the excitement she held for the visit.

"Oh you don't know how happy I am right now! Did you two have a good flight? Are you hungry? Do you want to take a nap? What do you need?" Renee said without breathing.

Bella laughed at her mother. She was still a little on the scatterbrained side, but she loved her for it. "Well first we want to get the luggage out of the car and go inside," Bella smiled.

"Oh right. Phil isn't here right now. He should be home any minute," Renee said looking a bit worried about making the teens get the luggage themselves.

"It's fine mom. We got this," Bella said as she gave her mom one more hug and turned to help Jasper.

"I got this. Why don't you go inside and will be right behind you sweetheart," Jasper said quietly as Bella started to reach into the trunk.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked. She snorted at the look he gave her as she tried to contain her laughter.

"I think you better go before you stomp all over my manliness," Jasper joked. He leaned closer to Bella, "I think you know by now that a couple of suitcases are no match for me and I am willing to prove that to you again and again."

Bella blushed and looked down quickly. She was at a loss and had no response to that. Grabbing her mother's arm she said, "Come on mom, Jasper said he has the luggage taken care of."

"Are you sure Jasper?" Renee asked

"Yes ma'am, I am more than sure," Jasper smiled as he grabbed the last piece of luggage from the trunk and started to move forward.

When Renee saw how easily he was handling everything, she let her daughter pull her towards the house. She leaned over and whispered, "He must be really strong and so gentlemanly. He reminds me of one of those characters from that movie North and South. You know the one with Patrick Swayze? It was about the civil war."

Bella looked over her shoulder at Jasper and smirked, "You have no idea mom." On the inside she was laughing, but on the outside she was trying to keep herself from laughing and instead let a giggle escape.

Jasper had heard the whole exchange and knew the movie well. He also wanted to laugh and thought to himself, "If you only knew." Shaking his head he smiled. They were going to be here for a week and keeping his secret in a place like Florida was imperative and not the easiest task he ever took on. He was Major Jasper Whitlock though and he could do anything.

The trio walked inside the little house and Jasper turned to Renee, "If you will tell me where to put the luggage, I will go ahead and take it there."

"Well, we don't have a guest room, so I know we discussed you sleeping on the couch, but it isn't the greatest for sleeping all night for a week. So if you promise that you two will behave, I actually have both of you in Bella's room. I know how it can be to be in a strange place and I know how you two feel about each other," Renee explained.

"Mom?" Bella asked. She knew her mother was a little more accepting than her father, but she wasn't expecting that.

"Just don't tell your father. Ok?" Renee grinned.

"Deal mom. You don't have to worry, I won't tell dad a thing," Bella said happily.

"Well now that we got that straightened out, Jasper, the bedroom is this way," Renee said as she led the couple down the hall and when she showed them the room, she left the couple alone to settle in.

As soon as the door was closed, Jasper pulled Bella into his arms and said, "Well that will make things a little easier."

"Just slightly," Bella laughed. She looked up to meet his gaze and said, "I always seem to sleep better with you anyway."

"You weren't going to sleep without me, we were just going to have to sneak and now we don't."

"This is very true and I will not argue about the arrangements."

"Darlin', you won't see me arguing either," Jasper smirked as he leaned down to kiss her. He would have deepened the kiss, but he heard Phil pull up to the house and get out of the car. Renee had rushed out to meet him and let him know that the "kids" had arrived. He pulled back and smiled down at Bella. Giving her one last kiss, he pulled away and sat down on the bed, "Phil's home."

"Are you going to be ok? It is really sunny here," Bella said sitting down beside him.

"I will be fine. I have a few tricks up my sleeves and Renee and Phil think I have plans most days, so that will give me an excuse to not go to the beach. I think there are a couple of days in the forecast that it is also supposed to rain. Those will be the days that I hang out with you and your family," Jasper said lacing his fingers with hers.

"You have everything planned out, don't you?" Bella said laying her head on his shoulder.

"Of course, you don't think I would travel without a plan, do you?" Jasper said mocking her.

Bella laughed, "Not at all Mr. Whitlock."

Jasper joined in her laughter and then said, "Do you want to wait until they seek us out, or did you want to go say hi to you stepdad now?"

Standing up, Bella grabbed both of Jasper's hands and started to pull, "Let's go. It is time for all soldiers to report."

"You make it sound as if we are going into battle."

"You don't know my mother very well. It may just be a war we are about to fight," Bella said winking at him.

"So are you the general?"

"Nope, I am promoting you to general and I am just tagging along."

Jasper couldn't contain his laughter, "Ok Darlin' let's go." He let Bella lead him out of the room and they joined the adults in the living room. Jasper and Phil measured each other up just as all men do and in the end, they were both joking. Jasper really did like Bella's stepdad and he could see how Phil was a good match for Renee. She needed someone more easy going than Charlie was and Phil was very much go with the flow except when it came to baseball.

Renee tried to convince everyone to go out to the beach for the afternoon since the sun would be setting soon, but Jasper and Bella both claimed that they were tired and wanted a short nap. Jasper tried to tell Bella she could go ahead and go to the beach, but the thought of taking a nap was too appealing to her and Jasper gave into her desires. They lay down together and then Jasper was shaking Bella awake an hour later, "Time to wake up Bella."

Slowly Bella opened her eyes and stared into the topaz eyes looking at her. She smiled and pressed herself closer to him, "What if I am comfortable where I am though?"

"Well I don't mind, but you mom is talking about waking you up in a couple of minutes so that you can sleep again tonight. We are apparently having dinner soon on the back patio and the sun is setting," Jasper explained.

"Ok, I guess I will get up," Bella huffed.

Laughing, Jasper helped her to sit up, "Hey, we have the rest of our lives to snuggle."

"That is very true!" Bella said smiling. She slowly made her way out of the bed and went into the attached bathroom. After she had taken care of her human needs and brushed her hair free of tangles, she and Jasper made their way out of the bedroom.

They ate dinner together and even Jasper managed to eat a few bites. The four of them joked and talked, and just all around had a good time for the rest of the evening until it was time for bed. Together Bella and Jasper lay down and talked until Bella dozed off with her head resting on Jasper's chest.

Their time in Florida seemed to fly by for the couple. At night Jasper and Bella would take moonlit walks on the beach if it wasn't raining and during the sunny days, Bella would play on the beach or do something else with her mother. She was getting a really nice tan and thought to herself that the tan would not last long. She laughed at the waste, but she couldn't be upset about the paleness that awaited her. She longed for it. Jasper did as he promised and would join her and her mother when it was raining or overcast for the day and on their last day in Florida, she and her mother were talking out on the back porch looking into the blue water in the distance. She was ready to go home and move on with the next stage in her life, but she was going to miss her mother. Renee had always been there for Bella and things were about to change in her life, "I love you mom."

Renee looked at her daughter with a thoughtful look on her face. Her daughter didn't always express herself and so when her daughter told her that she loved her, Renee looked at her daughter and saw the seriousness in her face. It was almost like she was saying good bye with that statement. "I love you too Bella and I want you to know something… You found a really good man. Jasper is wonderful and I couldn't be happier for you. I was going to try to convince you to move here for college, but I can tell that you two belong together. Make sure he treats you right and takes care of you."

Bella looked at her mother and nodded, tears forming in her eyes as she threw herself into her mother's embrace, "I will mom."

"You know I am not going anywhere, right? So any time you want to come for a visit or you want to call me, I will always be here for you."

Bella's grip tightened on her mom and she said, "I know mom." Eventually she let her mom go and pulled back to sit once again on her own chair so that she could look upon her mom, smiling at her she tried to memorize all of the features that made Renee, Renee.

Renee smiled back and said, "I love you and I am so proud of you."

"Thanks mom," Bella said quietly. She looked behind her and knew Jasper was there listening to everything that was being said. She sent him a loving smile and then turned back to her mother, milking every last drop of time she had left with her on vacation.

That night as Bella and Jasper took their walk on the beach, he looked over to her and said, "Are you sure that you made the right decision?"

Bella smiled. It was just like him to ask something like that, "I have never been surer in all of my life. I will miss her, but I will have you and so much more. I can still call her and talk to her occasionally. I know what I want and that is you forever."

Jasper smirked. She sounded so sure of herself and he felt so happy and free when she gave him her answer, "I just don't want you to have regrets because this is not something that can be undone."

"The only regret I would have is not doing it," Bella said stopping and causing him to stop next to her. She looked at him and then stood on her tip toes to gently brush her lips over his. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she deepened the kiss and soon felt Jasper's arms around her waist. When they finally broke apart, they were both breathless and craving more. She placed her head on his chest and her ear lay where his heartbeat should have been, "I want you. I want to share my life with you, and I am just happy I was able to say my good byes."

Jasper leaned down and kissed the top of her head smiling, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making me the happiest man on the earth. I was going to do whatever it took to make you happy, no matter what that was."

"You are what makes me happy now and will make me happy in the future."

Suddenly sweeping Bella up in her arms and causing her to yelp, Jasper ran into the water laughing. When he set her down, the water was hip deep and he said, "I love you Isabella Swan."

"I love you too Jasper Whitlock, but is there a reason why you got me all wet?" Bella said smiling.

"Just felt like it."

"You just felt like it?"

"Yep."

"Well I hope you feel like this," Bella said before she proceeded to splash him with water. He was faster though and soon she was completely drenched.

"Let's get you into the house and dried off," Jasper said scooping her up again.

When both of them were showered and in bed, Bella turned to him and said, "There is only you Jasper."

Jasper gave her the half smile that she loved so much and said, "Same here Bella. There is only you." He leaned in and kissed her. The kissing would have continued if it was not for Renee knocking on the door.

"Are you two ok?" Renee asked the couple lying in bed.

"Yah mom," Bella said grinning.

"I was just checking seeing you seemed to have a water fight during your walk," Renee chuckled.

"Yah, I was trying to teach Bella that she should expect the unexpected," Jasper joked.

"Whatever!" Bella shrieked.

Renee laughed, "I am really glad you two found each other through your hurt."

"Me too mom," Bella said glancing at Jasper.

"I agree," Jasper added.

Smiling at the couple, she knew that they would be together for the rest of their lives and she could ask nothing more for her child. "I will let you two get some sleep now. You have to be up early for your flight," she said and walked out of the room to a chorus of good nights.

Jasper turned to Bella with a smile, "Are you ready for the next chapter in your life?"

"More than I can ever say," Bella whispered and leaned in for a kiss. Tomorrow she would be home and then she would start saying her good byes to her father. Soon she would be on her way to her new life.