A/N: Sorry all. Just a short chapter to segment into next week's, which is a lot longer. Only a few more chapters to go to wind this up! Sigh! All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just borrow them for a little fun! Please check out A Mother's Choice, my newest fan fic and don't forget to review!!!

.

.

.

APOV

I enjoyed helping out with Charlie's memorial, and of course with access to the house I was able to save some important things for Bella and Charlie, as well as make sure that Renee had some nice memories of Bella.

I could tell that she enjoyed my presence, and the memories that I shared with her. The family, Bella included, were very happy that Renee had accepted that Bella would not return. It would have been horrible to leave her pining and hoping for Bella's return.

The memorial service was perfect. It was a lovely tribute to Charlie, that I would be happy to share with him later. Billy's speech was great and quite poignant, considering he knew that his friend wasn't gone.

"We gather here to honor Charles Albert Swan," Billy had started. "Man, good thing he isn't here or he would kick my ass."

Chuckles were heard all around. In part because of the validity of Billy's words, but also because he said ass in church.

"Charlie has been my best friend since we were boys, even when it wasn't cool to be friends with 'the indians'. He was there when I met my wife, there when I married my wife, in the waiting room when all three of my kids were born, and there when I lost my wife," he said, losing composure a bit as he spoke of his wife.

He paused to clear his throat and regain his composure.

"Charlie is my best friend. You notice I don't say was, because true friendship never dies. I have been a part of all the major milestones in his life too. I was there when he met his wife, graduated high school, joined the Forks police department, eloped to Vegas, became a father, only in the waiting room, of course, then when Renee left with Bella. I was there when he was told he would be the next Chief of police, when they pinned that badge on his chest, and when Bella came back home to him. Finally I was there when Bella disappeared, aiding in the search as much as my crippled legs would allow, and when he realized that she was truly gone, unable to ever return and for every fishing trip and most Mariners and Seahawks games on TV in between. I really wish I could have been there when…"

He pause again, overcome with emotion. I recalled his painful pleadings when we were leaving for the battle. He truly loved Charlie and even though he knew that his friend was still around, the very nature of that friendship had changed, and I believe that scared him. Charlie had been his constant. Through thick and thin, joy and sorrow, Charlie and Billy's friendship had remained unchanged. Could the fact that he was now Charlie's natural food source change that? Or the fact that his son and Charlie were mortal enemies?

The rest of the service was nice, random people from town, most whom I'd never met, shared their memories of Charlie Swan.

Mrs. Cope, the high school secretary, knew him when he was a student and shared a few memories. "I'm really surprised he became a cop," she started. "The boy caused so much trouble in high school. The principal at the time, Mr. Novack, had a VW Beetle that he loved. I mean, he truly loved the car. I don't know how, but as a grad prank, Charlie and some of the other boys managed to get the thing on the roof of the school. Poor Mr. Novack nearly had a heart attack. He called an assembly first thing the next day and said that the entire class would be held responsible if his car wasn't back in it's spot by 3:00. He watched out the window, he wanted to make sure to catch the punks responsible for this outrage when sweet little Renee Matthews appeared in his office crying. I never found out what the problem was, and come to think of it, I don't think he did either… Renee??? Anyways, by the time he looked out again. The car was back and Charlie Swan was polishing it. He ran out, certain that Charlie was caught red handed. He hauled Charlie into his office and started yelling. Finally Mr. Stevens, the janitor came in. He told me that he saw the car in the lot when Charlie came out of the school and that Charlie told him that he wanted to do something nice for Mr. Novack. I called the teacher of the class where Charlie was supposed to be during the time that the car was returned and he confirmed that Charlie was in class until the bell rang, which meant that he had under five minutes to get the car off the roof, an impossible feat."

The room filled with snickers and Renee's cheeks were slightly pink.

"Mr. Novack had to let Charlie go and apologize to him. He spent the rest of the day confirming that any student that Charlie knew was in class at the time of the car's return. He never figured it out. I did. I knew Charlie was close with some of the LaPush boys and I learned that nine of them had missed afternoon classes that day. I never shared that with Mr. Novack," she finished. "I'll miss you Charlie Swan."

Mrs. Lawrence shared the fact that Charlie had rescued her cat from a tree. "The two weeks he spent on crutches after that incident, makes me understand why it's usually the fire department that rescues cats."

It was nearly two hours later when we made our way to Charlie's house for the reception. Food was brought by every person that walked through the door. Each dish smelling more disgusting than the last, but still, I was helping Renee.

Many members of the Quilieutes mingled amongst the people of Forks. Jacob Black was here, but stayed far from the babies which I was thankful for as Edward was very aware of how close he was to Arriel at all times.

Many of our 'classmates' from school were there with their parents, yet none of them said a word to me or my siblings except for Angela Webber. I actually regretted the fact that I didn't get to know her.

"Hi, Alice," she said quietly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," I said with a sigh. I was supposed to be mourning my best friend and her father.

"I know you were really close to Bella," she said. "Have there been any leads?"

"None," I said sadly, though secretly glad that nobody had come forward to say that they'd seen her.

"How is Edward?" she asked, looking over at my brooding brother. Although she didn't know that he was brooding not because Isabella was missing, but because he had to be away from her for a few hours and his daughter was being scrutinized by a wolf. I guess I couldn't explain any of that to the quiet girl.

I decided that along with the Quilieutes, she would be on the receiving end of some generosity from one of the Cullen's shadow corporations. I'd have to see where she applied for college to see if I could get her some extra scholarship money. Of course I would need to wait until the wolves weren't around. Darn mind blockers.

I looked around the room at my family. Carlisle and Esme, with a baby in each of their arms stood with Phil and Renee, helping receive visitors. Edward was nearby, keeping close to the twins and sulking with his forced separation from Bella. Emmett and Rose were near the back. Emmett and Rose had secluded themselves near the rear of the room, enjoying a little solitude even amongst the crowd. And Jasper, my Jasper was sitting in a chair talking to Dr. Gerandy who was perfectly at ease.

Feeling my eyes on him, Jasper looked up at me and smiled softly. We were not flashy about our relationship, like Emmett and Rose were, but with just a glance we could convey almost any message. The message he was conveying right now was a need for some alone time with me. I nodded my head softly and motioned towards the back door. I looked over at Edward, who nodded as well, acknowledging the fact that Jazz and I were stepping out for a bit.

By the time I made my way through the throng of people to the backdoor, Jasper was already on the far side of the yard, at the edge of the forest, waiting for me. As soon as my hand was in his, he turned and smiled down at me. Without breaking contact we ran full speed into the forest.

I don't know how long we ran for. We were together and that was all that mattered. Finally, we came to a small clearing and Jasper pulled as both to a stop. Have to say, that's a first. I looked up at him and he smiled widely.

"What?" I asked him, causing him to smile even more.

"You didn't use your gift to foresee…" he said.

"You know it isn't working," I said with a grimace.

"We are far enough away that it should be," he said. "But you didn't. I really liked that."

I thought about it for s minute and then smiled up at him. "I did too," I said softly.

"Can you keep it turned off?" he asked.

"I think so," I answered.

His answering smile was all I needed.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

He pulled me closer, reached down for the hem of my dress and carefully pulled it up, completely removing my dress.

"Oh," I said. I had assumed that this is what he would want, but having been dependent on my visions for so long...

Making love to my husband, while always pleasurable, has always been pre-planned by me. I knew where, when and how, long before it ever happened. I knew where he would want to be touched and how to guide him to touch me. Now we were both flying blind… but the excitement that caused was unbelievable.

"Darlin'," he said as he began to caress my body, carefully removing my underclothes and placing them on a nearby branch to keep them clean.

My hands made quick work of his, returning the favor and placing them up so they would stay clean and unharmed. Emmett and Rose often teased us about our ability to keep our clothing intact when they were known for tearing theirs in the heat of the moment. What they didn't know is that since I foresaw all of our sexy times, I pre-bought the exact same article of clothing that would be ripped in duplicate, storing the second set wherever it was going to be needed. My gift came in handy quite often in that regard.

Exploring my husband this way, not using my gift, was amazing. I learned every detail of his body over again and allowed him to learn mine. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

It was dusk by the time we were finished. I lay against Jasper's chest, unable to see his face, but I knew he was smiling. I could sense it.

"So?" I asked.

"So," he stated.

"Different?" I asked.

"Different," he stated.

"Can you do anything other that repeat my questions back as statements?" I asked.

"Maybe," he answered, his smile sounding even bigger.

"Jasper," I said pulling away, but turning to look at him. His grin was ear to ear and I couldn't help but to smile back.

"Alice," he answered cockily.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. His hand reached up and caressed my cheek.

"I love you," he said.

"As I love you," I replied.

"So," he said, dragging the word out a little.

"Yes?" I asked. Two can play at this game.

"That was the first time without using your gift," he stated.

"It was," I said, knowing that teasing him was out of the question. I had been a virgin when we first met and every time with him my powers were just assumed and expected. This was uncharted territory.

"I liked it," he said. "A lot."

"Me too," I agreed.

We were silent for a little while, enjoying our time together.

"Is the reception over?" he asked.

"Few stragglers left. Rose, Emmett and Edward left with the twins a while ago. Carlisle and Esme are helping Renee and Phil with wrapping it up," I said.

"So, back to LaPush or do we need to put in a final appearance at the Swan place?" he asked.

"Renee would like to see us to say goodbye. They are leaving first thing in the morning," I said.

"Okay," he said, getting up and offering me a hand. I allowed him to pull me up and into his arms for a kiss. "I could get used to this."

It seemed this unintentional blinding had a positive side. I had always assumed that my gift was a part of who I was, that I had to see certain things all the time. I was now finding that to be untrue. If I could control my power and see what I wanted when I wanted, but allow myself to be blinded at times… I could see that working.

As we worked to get dressed, not in any rush at all, I allowed my visions to come back full force, a sensation I hadn't felt in a while. I watched as Renee and Phil packed up the suitcase of Bella's possessions to take back to Florida, content with where things were. Renee would always miss Bella, but was at peace with the situation and looking forward to welcoming their new baby into the world, a boy who would be named Andrew Philip, followed two years later by a little girl named Stephenie Isabella. They'd all be just fine.

I looked for Edward and Bella's future and saw bits of a wedding, but nothing more. I guess that means the twins are going to be close for a while.

Rose and Emmett… never mind. They'll be as good as always. Mind bleach required!!

Carlisle and Esme… Hmmm, looks like the family will be moving to Canada for a while, better practice my 'eh's'.

Charlie and Dora were going to stay put with us for a while at least. A wedding seems to be in their future too. I wonder what Aro will have to say about that?

Aro… HOLY CRAP!!

"Jazz! We need to go now!" I gasped, quickly tossing on the rest of my clothes.

"What's the matter, Darlin'?" he asked.

"We need to get back to the family now. We've got big problems!" I said.

"Alice, for the love of all that is holy! Please tell me what's going on!" I begged.

"Aro… Marcus… The Volturi are coming…. Tonight!!!" I said. "Lots… maybe twenty!"

"No!" he gasped.

That was enough. We were on our way back to the Swans. Our goodbye to Renee and Phil needed to be done quickly. Actually, we should get them right out of town.

"Jazz, book Renee and Phil a room in Seattle for the night. Make it special! Bella will never forgive me if I don't get her mom out of town," I ordered.

Jazz was on his phone in a split second and was rattling off orders. He even thought to arrange a limo to pick Phil and Renee up from Forks to take them there. I knew there was a reason I loved this man.

We were back at the Swans in seconds and as we burst in the back door, Esme and Carlisle met us with wild glances. Damn. Human speed needed.

"Sorry," I said, still trying to calm myself. "We were in the woods and we thought we saw a bear."

"A bear?" Renee asked, obviously worried.

"Yeah," I said. "They sure are big."

I spoke with Renee and Phil about our bear sighting while Jasper filled Carlisle and Esme in on my real reason to be flustered at vampire speed and sound. The panic in their eyes was worse than I feared.

"Ick!" Renee said. "I don't think I will sleep until I am out of this town once and for all."

That was just the in I needed.

"Actually, Renee," I said. "Our family would like to do something for you and Phil. It's kind of already done and paid for, and we can't get a refund if you don't use it."

Thanks to my visions, I knew that this was the fastest way for Renee to accept.

"What have you done, Alice Cullen?" she asked, looking at me in an attempt to be stern.

"We booked a nice hotel for you in Seattle tonight, and so that you don't have to deal with the awful little flight from Port Angeles to Seattle, we booked a limo to pick you up from the hotel. The driver should be there within the hour," I said, trying to look sheepish.

Carlisle and Esme both seemed to breath a sigh of relief when Renee smiled.

"Wow!" Renee said. "I don't know what to say…"

"Just say you'll use it," I begged. "I know you haven't been sleeping well and with the baby… Bella would never forgive me if I didn't do it for you."

Pull the Bella card and it was a done deal in 3...2...1.

"Fine. I would really like that," she said and smiled at Phil. "We both would."

He nodded in agreement. Esme promised she would return to finish cleaning the house later and rushed Renee and Phil back to the hotel. Jasper and I rushed to the house at LaPush. We needed to get ready. Carlisle was planning on calling Billy and Jacob, as soon as he was Renee and Phil were out of earshot. Trouble was coming tonight and we needed to make plans!