A/N. And chapter three! Little bit of sweet fluff in this chapter, but also a little violence! I have a few questions for y'all: Should I keep doing the chapters the way I have been? What did you think of the last two chapters? Good, bad, awesome, needs work, absolutely horrid? Am I moving too fast? Jasper POV and I hope you like it!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Twilight, or its characters! They are the lovely Stephanie Meyer's! All I own is a few OCs
The first thing I realized was that there wasn't any more pain. I turned my head, and heard Alice saying, "I'm here, sweetheart. Are you okay?" There was the sound of a door shutting. I blinked and sat up. "Oh, Alice, it hurt so badly. I don't know what happened. . ." I said, shaking my head, trying to get rid of the memory. Alice's sorrow and sympathy was affecting me slightly, too, but I didn't care. "Oh, Jazzy, I was so worried." She whimpered, climbing onto my lap. I smiled and held her. "It's okay now sweetheart. I'm fine now; I just need to be careful." I murmured. She laid her head against my chest, and I sighed. Poor Alice - I hated scaring her like this. The last time this happened, she wouldn't let me out of her sight for weeks! With reason, I admit. We sat and cuddled for a few more minutes, and then Esme came in. "Oh, Jasper! How are you feeling? Don't do that ever again! You scared me! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" She said, half scolding me and half relieved. She hugged me, then said, "Why don't you change clothes then come down? Everyone's worried." I looked at the muddy mess of my shirt and nodded. I was surprised Alice hadn't said anything, to be honest. "Yes, Esme, I'll be there in just a minute." I said, smiling at her and sending a wave of reassurance. She smiled back, and then she and Alice left. I stood up, and quickly ran to my room, grabbed a shirt, changed, and walked to the living room. Esme was right – Everyone was worried. I stopped in the doorway and watched my family with a half smile on my face, unnoticed for the moment, and thought: Hello, Edward. I'm sorry for running out in the middle of lunch earlier. I'll explain later. Edward stood up and walked over to me. "I thought you might have been done for this time. I shouldn't have let you go off in that state." He told me, reaching forward and hugging me. I smiled and sent him a wave of calm – He definitely needed it. "Edward, it's okay. I'm okay." I said out loud, adding in my thoughts, This time anyways. Everyone got up and swarmed around me, Renesmee among the first. "Uncle, I was so worried!" She said as she hugged me. I smiled at her. "It's okay, Ness. I'm fine." I told her, sending a wave of calm to everyone. Bella laughed. "Jasper, no fair! You're doing the mood thing again!" I smiled at her and winked. Someone said, "Well, I have to be going now. I'll be sure to stop in over the weekend." I looked up, and saw blonde hair vanishing through the door. I was tempted to follow her, but I didn't. We all laughed and talked for a moment, and I asked carefully, "So, who brought me here?" Alice hesitated for a moment, and then said slowly, "Elizabeth. She left a few minutes ago. . ." I nodded, about to say something, when Jacob walked up. "So, you're alive." He said dryly, inwardly a little happy, but mostly resigned. To what, I don't know, and probably don't want to. We talked and joked until midnight, at which point I said, "There's something we need to talk about." They all looked at each other, confused, but sat down. I bit my lip and wondered idly where to start. "Jasper, is something wrong?" Edward asked. I sighed and shook my head no. "How to put this?" I asked myself. Then I looked at Alice, who smiled at me patiently. But I could feel her impatience bubbling underneath the surface. "It's about Elizabeth." I said finally. Esme asked, "Is there something wrong with her? What is it, Jasper?" I turned over several ways of saying that she was my daughter in my mind, noticing Edward's eyes widen. "Well, the thing is, I don't really know how to out this, but. . . She's my daughter." I watched their faces as they registered this. Edward was blinking as he shook his head, wanting to believe it, but not. Esme was covering shocked. Ness was just plain disbelieving, and so was Jake. Bella was happy; Rose was jealous, and not wanting to believe it. Emmett was enthusiastic, although I wasn't sure what about. Of course, Em was always enthusiastic. Carlisle was confused, the Denalis were definitely skeptical, and Alice was. . . . Happy? I'd blocked her until the end, for fear she'd be mad, but she was definitely happy, her face shining as she slipped her hand into mine. "I'm really happy for you, Jazzy. I've always been upset that I couldn't give you a child." She whispered, and smiled. I was shell shocked. "I thought you'd be mad." I told her, and she shook her head. Finally, Carlisle spoke up. "Jasper, would you please tell us how this happened?" He asked. I sighed. "Yes. Something that I've never told any of you is that I was married. I married Annabelle Jones when I was seventeen, and we were quite happy. I joined the Confederate Army later, as you know, and went home every chance I could. When I was nineteen, Annabelle wrote me and told me she was pregnant. Soon after, the baby was born, and we named her Elizabeth Grace. I was there for two weeks, then I had to leave again. I visited as often as I could." I paused, and let them think through that, and went and got the picture I had of Elizabeth and Annabelle. When I walked into the living room again, they were quiet. I handed the drawing to Alice. "When I was home for a week for my twentieth birthday, a passing artist drew this for me. He drew a picture of me for them, as well. That was right before the evacuation." I finished. Alice passed the picture along, and hugged me. "Jasper, why didn't you tell me? Us?" She asked, and I sighed. "Alice, honey, I didn't really want to talk about it for a while. It was too painful, too soon. After that, I just didn't want to. Really, it's a miracle that no one found out before with all our talents." I said, resting my chin on the top of her spiky hair. After that, no one except Alice talked to me for about two hours. Some were in shock, some were disbelieving, and Alice, Bella, and Carlisle knew I needed my space for a bit. I went to my room and was picking up a book that I hadn't read yet when Carlisle knocked on my partly open door. "Come in, Carlisle." I said, slightly surprised. He entered and walked over to me. "I just wanted to let you know a few things." I looked at him, perplexed. "Jasper, first of all, you almost died. Your brain couldn't handle the pain, so it almost completely shut down. It was the only thing it knew would stop the pain. I figured you may want to know what happened." I wasn't really surprised, but I let Carlisle go on. "Second, you are as much my son as Edward or Emmett – You know that, right? I love you as much as I do them, even though I wasn't the one who created you." Now, that one surprised me. I was always in the background, and content there. I was the one who simply watched. The time with the newborn army was a necessary exception. Carlisle smiled at me then got up and left. I looked at my book, and then sighed. I wasn't in the mood for reading any more. I wandered down the hall and down the stairs. I paused when I heard Alice and Bella talking about me. "I just wish Jasper would have told me sooner. I'm happy for him, of course, but I would have liked to know this, just so I could comfort him, and help him, and support him." I heard Alice say. Bella said, "Alice, maybe he didn't tell you because he was afraid you would be mad. Jazz always has his reasons." I abruptly about-faced and went back to my room. Maybe reading was a good idea after all. When I finished, it was about four in the morning, and I realized it was Saturday. I stood up and was walking out my bedroom door when I bumped into Emmett. "What do you think, you up for a rematch from Wednesday night?" He asked, and I grinned. "You're on." I replied, still grinning. I'd beaten Emmett Wednesday night, and he hadn't been very happy. His reaction had been hilarious, actually. There were a few less trees and rocks in that particular clearing now. When we got outside, Emmett grinned mischievously at me. "You're going down, bro." I laughed. "Oh? What makes you so sure? If I remember right, I seem to remember me beating you last Wednesday." Emmett growled and ran at me. I sidestepped and jumped into a nearby tree. Emmett laughed. "Jazz, I know where you are." I waited, allowing a grin to slip across my face. He walked to the base of my tree, and I jumped behind him. He turned, and swung a punch at me. I dodged, and threw one right back at Emmett. We continued for about an hour, laughing and having a good time, until Emmett made a mistake and lunged at me. I grabbed his torso and swung him down to the ground, landing Emmett flat on his back. "I believe I won." I said, grinning. "Oh, alright, you win this time." He growled. I laughed and helped him. "How about a rematch tomorrow?" Emmett grinned. "Meet you here at noon." We walked back to the house laughing and joking. The second we got inside, though, I came face to face with Alice. "Hi, darlin'. Did you have fun with the girl?" I greeted her. She smiled. "Hi, Jazzy, and yes, I did! Did you have a nice time?" She asked. I smiled. "Actually, yes, I did. Well, I'm glad you had fun." I replied. "He won again!" Emmett told her in a whiny voice. She laughed. "Well, I'm sure you'll win some time, Emmett." Emmett opened his mouth and was about to reply when someone knocked on the door. I was closest, so I opened it. It was Elizabeth. Her eyes widened, and she looked at a piece of paper as she came in. It gave her courage, no doubt about that. "Hello. I don't believe we were formally introduced. I'm Jasper Cullen; it's a pleasure to meet you." Her emotions were crazy: Nervousness, a little bit of anxiety, slight happiness, and confusion. Strange. "I'm Elizabeth Whitlock. It's nice to meet you, Jasper." I nodded, feeling a slight happiness that Elizabeth still my name. Then Alice came to my rescue. "Elizabeth! I'm so glad you could stop by! We girls need another opinion with some details for Renesmee's wedding!" She gushed, grabbing Beth's hand and taking off. I leaned against the wall in relief that I was out of that awkward situation, and in sadness because, well, would you like introducing yourself to your daughter? Emmett patted my shoulder. "Sorry, bro." He whispered. I closed my eyes in acknowledgement, and Emmett sighed and walked off. When I was sure he was gone, I slid down the wall and sat, miserably staring at my hands. Rosalie joined me. "It will work out in the end, you'll see." She said quietly, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Oh, Rosalie." I moaned, looking at her. We stood, and Rose smiled at me. "Jasper, remember that we love you." She told me before walking away. I sighed and wandered to Nessie's bedroom, where all the wedding planning was taking place. I poked my head in. "How's it going, girls?" I asked, seeing a circle of female vampires and a sleepy-looking Renesmee in a circle on the floor, surrounded by magazines, a few wedding catalogues, and my laptop. "Oh, it's going wonderfully!" They chorused. "Mm-hmm. Okay, enjoy your planning. And be careful with my laptop!" I said with a mock growl, narrowing my eyes. Then I left, going to the living room and poking my head in. Emmett was working on a card mansion, looking like he was concentrating very hard. I stayed for a moment, soaking in his happy, almost-content emotions, then left. Carlisle had already left for work, Edward was playing piano out on the back porch, Jake was around here somewhere snoring, and I didn't know where Eleazar and Garrett were. I had wandered upstairs when Edward stopped playing and suddenly appeared in front of me. "Yes, Edward?" I asked, somewhat confused. Edward and I didn't talk much, and a lot of the time when we did talk we ended up arguing. "There's three shape shifters heading this way fast, and judging from their thoughts, I really don't think they mean to come and chat, if you get my meaning." He murmured. I groaned. "Couldn't they have chosen a better day? At least there's only three. Edward, stay inside and make sure everyone else does, too." I told him, already on my way to the yard. They soon appeared. These had taken the shape of very big, very ugly, polar bears. How subtle. They were confused to find only me out there, but they walked forward until we were only a few yards away from each other. The one in the center is going to be the hardest to drive off. The one on the right is going to be as easy as fallin' off a log and the one on the left will take a little work. The main problem is that there are three of them, one of me, and those choppers are lethal. Well, here we go. I thought. The brute in the middle was charging. I jumped over him, landed on front of the one on the right, punched him on the nose, then ducked and ran to my right. The one in the middle's teeth snapped where my head had just been, and I kicked him in the shoulder. The one on the left jumped over the big brute, and I stepped forward, grabbed is throat and slammed him to the ground on his back, jumped to the right and broke one of the smallest one's back legs. He helped the one I'd slammed to the ground get up, and they ran off. I was left with the big brute, and I was intact. Much better, but still bad. We circled each other for about five minutes, and then he pounced. I was caught off guard and he landed on me. I kept his teeth from closing around my throat with my hands, and head butted him in the nose, surprising him. I threw my weight up, intending to throw him off, which I did – Only, he took my left hand with him. I growled in pain, trying to keep as quiet as possible, and threw myself at the bear, punched him in the stomach with my right hand, then grabbed my hand as he dropped it when he opened his jaws wide, trying to get air. I kicked him in the ribs again, and he gave up, finally. I waited until he was definitely gone before attaching my hand and going inside, where I was greeted with Edward, who nodded at me. He'd kept the girls distracted, thank goodness, although Emmett apparently hadn't been into his card mansion enough. He grinned. "Nice fight, bro!" He said, slapping me on the back, and then he wandered back to his cards. I quietly chuckled and left the room. I wandered to my room, and sat on the floor, just thinking. It really did hurt that Elizabeth had no idea who I was. I sighed and leaned against my wall. I shut my eyes and acknowledged the presence of someone who was slightly worried, nervous, and a little repentant. It was Elizabeth. I opened my eyes and stood. "Is there something I can do for you?" I asked. "I just wanted to know if you could explain this." She replied, handing me a piece of folded yellowed paper. I unfolded it and what do you know, there was me. "A passing artist drew it and gave it to your mother." I said dully if you want a response, handing it back to her. "But how did you know my mother?" She asked. Now she was suspicious. "Bethy, haven't you figured it out yet?" I asked, calling her by the name her mother and I used to use. I picked up the drawing that Alice had let on my dresser and handed it to her. "The same artist drew this for me." She smiled. "Daddy?" She asked, and I smiled back. "Who else would I be?" She ran to me and flung her arms around me. I hugged her back, and laughed. I picked her up and twirled her happily, enjoying her girlish laughter. When I put her down, Beth hugged me again. "Daddy." She repeated happily, hugging me again. "I'm here, darlin'." I murmured. She was ecstatic, and so was I. . . . And so was everyone who was listening on the other side of the door. "Alice, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Bella, Edward, Renesmee, Kate, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Garrett, I know you're there!" I said. They filed in, unashamed of their oh-so-obvious eavesdropping. But then, I reflected as we all hugged, they sure as hell wouldn't be family.
A/N: So? What do think of the way Beth and Jasper come out to each other? It took me three hours to find a way that I liked and could live with, so you'd better! Nah, I'm kidding. Just let me know. I appreciate every review, favorite, and follow that this story gets, and I try to respond personally to every possible review, and thank you for taking the time to read my story, and review. (Guests, please leave a name, even if it's just 'Anonymous' if you want a response) Yeah, I'll shut up now.