Disclaimer: The 'Twilight' series belong to someone else. But, while they're not looking, I'm going to play around with the characters.

Esme pulled up next to us. Alice and Edward climbed into Esme's car and they all drove off leaving me alone with Jasper. I was sorry that he'd left without kissing me goodbye.

Jasper shut the car door now and walked slowly around to the driver's side. I wound my window down as far as it would go and scooted over to sit near the open air, hoping that I could make my scent a little bit less intense.

"You're not scared of me," Jasper said, as he slid into his seat, "so why are you getting as far away as you can?"

"I'm trying to protect you from my scent," I said, "I don't want to make this any harder for you than it has to be."

Jasper laughed. "That's very considerate," he said, with a neat tip of his head, "thank you kindly."

He started the car and pulled out of the car park in silence. I knew that I didn't need to worry about distracting him whilst he was driving, but I didn't know how to start talking, so I stayed silent until we were driving on the road.

Finally Jasper began the conversation, "what are you worried about?"

"Edward didn't look very happy when we left. I'm not sure that he's looking forward to whatever it is that he's going to be doing with you tonight."

Jasper frowned, I hope I didn't offend him. "He probably isn't," he admitted, "we'll have to have a word with him about the way in which he spoke to you earlier."

"Why?"

"He knows better than to treat a lady that way."

I giggled, "I'm not a lady," I said, "I'm his girlfriend, and we were having a fight."

"Even in this day and age there are levels of acceptable behaviour," Jasper said, "and Edward's behaviour fell far below the acceptable level of politeness. Our family expect good manners and nobody will be pleased with the manner in which Edward addressed you."

"It seems a bit odd for Edward to get in trouble at home for being rude to me," I said.

Jasper shrugged, "it doesn't seem odd to me," I said, "it seems logical. You're not really equipped to punish him."

I didn't like the sound of that. How did vampire parents punish their kids? Thinking back to the family meeting, they had referred to grounding and confiscating cars as 'human' punishments. What would they do to Edward when they decided that he deserved a vampire punishment?

Since I was the injured party, perhaps I had a chance to plead for clemency

"I don't mind what he said," I told Jasper.

He laughed softly, "yes you do," he told me. Of course, he was right. I had minded very much.

"Fine," I tried again, "I didn't like it and I'm a bit hurt and cross. But I don't want you to hurt Edward. I don't think that he ought to be punished at all."

Jasper didn't reply. I guess my opinion wasn't of any real interest to him. That made sense, I was just a human girl, I couldn't expect Jasper to be interested in what I thought.

"What is going to happen?"

He shook his head, "I'm not Alice, I don't know what's going to happen."

"What do you think will happen?"

"I think that I will talk to Esme and Carlisle and we will agree a suitable consequence for Edward's impolite behaviour, which ought to discourage him from repeating it."

Jasper's tone was final. The conversation was over. We sat in silence for a bit, before I tried another subject.

"Do you know what we're meant to talk about?" I asked.

Jasper shook his head.

So, this wasn't about Jasper wanting to say something to me. This must be about something that I'd decided to ask Jasper. I thought back and tried to remember. "Do I smell different?" I asked suddenly.

He was surprised, "different from what?" he asked.

"Different from how I smelt on my birthday last year."

"No. You're not bleeding, but you smell the same. I can still smell your blood, it just isn't as strong when there's no cut."

"So, if I cut myself right now, you'd kill me?"

Jasper looked at me as though I'd lost my mind, "would I be sat here if I thought that I was likely to kill you?" he asked, "you're safe with me."

"Why? What's changed?"

He frowned and looked back at the road, though he probably didn't need to, "I'm not sure that I ought to tell you that," he said.

I rummaged around in my bag and found my purse. Surely Jasper remembered how many of his chips I'd won. I put one on the dash. "Is it a secret?" I asked him.

He grinned, and scooped up the green chip. "Alright," he said, "I'll talk. Last year, at your birthday I was strongly affected by the entire family's combined thirst. I couldn't overcome the combined effect. I especially couldn't resist Edward's thirst combined with my own. His desire for your blood was so strong. Um . . . I don't really know how he managed to resist, but I couldn't. He has amazing self-control to resist a thirst so strong. My control wasn't as strong as his. Even though I'm older than he is, I've not been sticking to this diet for so long, it's still harder for me."

"I don't think that proves you're not as strong as Edward," I said, "you had to resist his thirst, plus your own, plus the rest of your family's; so you couldn't resist all that. That only proves that you're not stronger than your entire family combined."

Jasper smiled at me, "you do accept us easily," he said, "I see why Edward feels so comfortable being himself around you. Anyway, you wanted to know what changed. Edward changed. The call of a singer's blood is amazingly strong. I don't know of another vampire who has ever resisted it. He used to feel that call whenever he was with you. Now, he doesn't feel it the same way. Now, when I'm with you I don't have to deal with his desperate desire to drink you. I only have to fight my own desire, and I can handle that. Edward doesn't want to feed from you anymore."

"Wow," I said, "you would think that would improve our relationship no end. I wonder why things are going so badly. I used to think that the biggest problem between us was that he was constantly fighting with himself to stop himself killing me. I thought that, if that ever went away, we'd just be happy together. I wonder why we're not." Jasper didn't answer. I guess he didn't want to let me in on any secrets of Edward's emotions. It would be kind of like spying on Edward, if I asked him to tell me. Still, it was normal to ask your boyfriend's family for stories about them. I could ask Jasper that.

That reminded me of what I'd thought about earlier, what I'd decided to ask Jasper when I got the chance. "Were you and Edward close, before I arrived and everything changed?"

He didn't answer, so I put down another chip.

"Actually, I was only thinking about my answer," he said, "I wasn't going to refuse to tell you. But, I'll have that, I'll be happy when they're all out of circulation." The chip disappeared into his pocket. "Yes, we were quite close. He was wary of me when we first met. Other vampires always are wary of me, I have battle scars, you see, which warn other vampires that I'm dangerous. But, over time, Edward began to trust me. I tried – I still do try – to stick to the same diet as him, and he respected me for that. Because of his gift, he's always known exactly how hard it is for me (actually, because of my gift, a lot of my family members get glimpses of how hard it is for me to resist), and he respects me for trying. He knows why I do it, too. He knows that I live like this – even though it's hard – because it makes Alice happy. I would do anything for her. Edward knows me, and that brings us together. And I know him. Being able to feel what someone else is feeling, it helps you to know them pretty well. I got to know Edward well, and so we became close."

"Did you tease each other, like he and Emmett do?"

"I guess so. I'm older than Emmett, so I'm not quite as playful as he is. But, yes, even I can be silly at times." He smiled, remembering how things had been. "We talk a lot, though, with Emmett there's more rough-housing and stupid bets. Edward and I, we always talked about things. We can both be a little bit academic sometimes, a little bit too interested in the theory of things, I suppose. It's nice to have someone with whom you can share that part of your life and your mind."

"So, has the Italy thing made a big difference?" I asked, "do you like him less than you did?"

Jasper grimaced, "I get a chip for this," he told me, so I handed one over, "this isn't an easy thing to tell you. Um . . . he already knows, I guess, though I don't know if he realises the extent of it. I'm very angry with Edward about what he did. The Volturi are dangerous and he brought our family to their attention. He brought my Alice to their attention. Even if his plan had gone the way he'd intended, even if they'd agreed to destroy him when he asked it of them," I don't know if Jasper noticed me wince when he talked of Edward being destroyed, "still we would have all been in danger. Their job is to punish anyone who breaks the rules and we all broke the rules. For Edward's sake, we allowed you to find out about us and, because he asked us not to, none of us killed you or changed you. The Volturi would have punished all of us for letting you live, and Edward knew that. That changed the way I see him. When he did something so childish and immature, I couldn't help beginning to see him as more of a child. He nearly got his entire family killed because he was sulking. "

I was shocked. I'd known that the Volturi wanted me changed or dead. I'd known that one of the vampire rules was that they must keep the secret. I had never realised that my continued life had put them all in such danger.

"I – I didn't know," I stuttered, "why are we waiting at all? Why don't you change me now? What if they come looking for us? You might all be killed." Though I knew perfectly well that I wouldn't be able to see them coming, I looked out of the windows. The images rushed through my brain: Jane torturing Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Carlisle, Esme. All of the Cullens suffering because of me! It was horrible. I wished that Jasper had killed me! They shouldn't be breaking their own laws because of me.

I felt a wave of calm and lethargy break over me.

"Sorry," Jasper said softly, "I didn't mean to frighten you, only to explain why I was so angry with Edward. There's no real risk. They won't check for a few years. A couple of months won't matter at all, and it's important that we don't raise suspicions amongst the humans. Now that it's agreed that you will be changed, I don't think that we're in any real danger. I'm sorry that I frightened you."

"I can see why you called Edward an idiot," I said, "he put everyone in danger. I'm sorry about that. It wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for me."

"Huh," Jasper snorted, "guilt, just like Edward. It's odd how you both do that. You both get these huge surges of guilt from time to time. You should try not to worry so much. Anyway, the point that I wanted to make is that I think of Edward as more of a child now. Carlisle changed him, of course, and has always been a father-figure to him. I never used to interfere in their relationship. But Carlisle doesn't have him under control anymore, and so I feel obliged to step in and help out. You're always very observant of our family dynamics, so I suppose that you've noticed that, since Italy, I've assumed more authority over Edward. He needs someone to discipline him, and I'm good at that. You have another question."

"How do you know?"

"Alice told me that there would be four questions."

"Oh, ok. Well, this is a bit different, I only decided to ask you after what you said earlier, so I don't know how Alice saw it. But, why did you say that other vampires were wary of you? Why do you have lots of battle scars?"

Jasper held out his hand wordlessly, waiting for me to place a chip in it. "You really know how to pick difficult questions," he said, "no wonder Alice thought it best for us to have this conversation without Edward around. I don't think that he will be happy to hear that I told you my story. Are you sure that you want to know?"

I nodded, but Jasper waited, he wanted me to reply aloud. "Yes," I said, my voice sounding very small and a little bit scared. I wondered if I sounded too scared for him to continue, but he shrugged and began.

"Most vampires are territorial, and most vampires hunt people. Most covens are small, maybe two or three permanent members, and most covens fight with other covens that they come across. You have to understand that the family that I belong to now, is extremely unusual amongst vampires.

"Vampires are typically more violent than humans. We have very strong emotions and we are accustomed to acting on instinct, so we fight and we fight physically. Can you imagine what would happen if two covens both wanted to hunt in the same area? They wouldn't be able to come to an agreement or a treaty. Their instincts would drive them to fight and to kill. Can you imagine that?"

I nodded. I had seen how Edward had growled when James had come too close. I had seen his instinctive reaction was to fight for what he wanted. I had heard, rather than seen, how Emmett and Jasper had killed James. I knew that vampires didn't sit down and talk things out. They fought and they fought to the death. "There would be a battle," I said, "they would fight until one coven was destroyed."

Jasper nodded, "yes, that's how it works. Well, once some vampires came up with a plan to make their coven stronger. Newborn vampires are very strong indeed, stronger than older vampires."

"Stronger than you and Emmett?"

He smiled, "yes, a newborn would be stronger than me and Emmett combined. So this coven began to make lots of newborns and they used them like an army to defeat all the surrounding covens. Can you imagine what the other covens did?"

"They made their own newborn armies?"

"Exactly," Jasper smiled, pleased at my quick learning. He would make a good teacher, I thought, though there probably wasn't a lot of call for teachers of vampire history. "Well, that's how I was made. I was made to be part of a newborn army."

"So you've killed other vampires?"

"Lots of them. I was very good at it. I was in the army when I was a human, before I was changed, and I was good at that too. I have always been good at fighting. Most newborns are destroyed once they're a year or so old, that's when their newborn strength starts to fade and they aren't as useful in an army. But my maker, her name was Maria, didn't destroy me because I was good at tactics as well, I was a useful fighter even when my strength faded. So Maria kept me and she gave me the job of controlling her newborn army."

I couldn't imagine what that must have been like. What must it have done to Jasper to see so much death, to know that he was only allowed to continue existing because he was so good at destroying others? On top of that, with his gift, he would have felt everyone else's fear and anger as his own. If Edward's thirst had made him loose control at my party, what must it have been like when he was surrounded by newborn, living-by-instinct vampires? It was impossible to picture the calm, collected Jasper that sat beside me fighting with hordes of vampires. "How do you control newborn vampires?"

Jasper sighed, "with force and threats and rewards of food," he said.

I wished that I hadn't made him talk about it. He must hate to relive those times. When he said 'food', I knew he meant humans. He bribed newborn vampires with human lives. How much horror he must have seen and felt! How much horror was still out there in the vampire world? Were the Volturi really not the worst thing out there?

"We're nearly at your home, Bella, and Alice will be there waiting for you. I know that you must be getting frightened of me right now, so I'll stop talking about this, if that helps."

"I'm not frightened of you," I said, "I'm frightened of what's out there. I feel sad for you. It must have been a horrible life."

He smiled again, "it was hard," he said, "and vicious. I killed a lot of people and I destroyed a lot of vampires. I have been the worst kind of monster."

"How did you get away?" I asked, not wanting to ask him if he had chosen to stop.

"One day I realised that Maria didn't trust me anymore," he said, "so I left. I wandered alone for a while, until I met Alice. She changed me. She showed me that there was something else to this life, that it wasn't all about blood and fear. She showed me that vampires could love. Speaking of Alice . . ." I looked up and realised that the car was parked, we were just outside my house. Jasper leapt out of the car and came around to hold my door open.

Alice was suddenly there, at my side. "Hey, Bella!" she said brightly, "did you and Jazz have a nice chat?"

Jasper rolled his eyes at her, "I don't think that was a 'nice' chat," he said, "I think Bella might have nightmares."

"About you?" Alice asked, "never! You're a big softy."

Jasper shook his head, but he was smiling. "Will you be alright, Bella?" he asked.

"I don't know. Are you keeping me calm right now?"

Jasper shook his head.

"In that case, I guess I'm fine. It is horrible," I said, "but I saw horrible in Volterra. I already know how dangerous your kind can be."

Jasper nodded, "well, I'd better get back to the others," he said, "have a good evening, girls."

Alice nodded.

"Don't you mind being away from Jasper?" I asked, wondering why she was staying here with me and not leaving with him.

"Nope, Rose and I want to talk to you without our nosy little brother listening in. Rose will be here in a few minutes. She wanted you to have dinner before she arrived."

I laughed. Charlie was working late tonight, so I didn't bother cooking for just me. I made a cheese salad sandwich.

Taking advantage of having a good excuse not to look at Alice, I said, "why aren't you yelling at me for seeing Jacob? Aren't you all furious?"

"Don't you think that I have any manners, Bella? It would be very rude of me to complain about who you chose to invite into your own house. Don't misunderstand me, I think that seeing Jacob Black is a bad choice and a dangerous choice. But, I know that it's your choice to make. I've already told you my opinion of werewolves, it's up to you how much stock you choose to place in my opinion. I know that we all lost the chance to protect you when we chose to leave."

I chopped the salad viciously, "I broke the promise that I made to Edward."

"Ah, yes, when you promised not to see Jacob again, and then decided to drive over to his house. That's not really my business either."

"What do you think I should do about it?"

"Apologise to Edward and in future don't make stupid promises that you can't keep. Oh, and eat your sandwiches before Rose gets here."

I washed the dishes and, I hope, erased most of the smell of human food, before Rosalie arrived.

It was extremely strange to see Rosalie and Alice perched on the sofa in Charlie's lounge. It was like seeing angels sitting on a bus. They were far too beautiful to be in such an ordinary room. I was glad that Jasper wasn't around to sense my feelings. He'd think it was ridiculous that I was more scared of Rose and Alice than I was of him. I didn't know why they were here together or what they wanted.

"Thank you for having me over, Bella" Rosalie said, "I'm glad that you're willing to let me into your house."

"Of course I am, Rosalie, you let me come to your house all the time."

Alice giggled, "I suppose that you're wondering what this is about," she said, "Rose and I wanted to have a bit of girl-talk with you."

I blushed.

Rosalie laughed, "I don't think that you're on quite the right lines yet, Bella," she said, "we weren't going to talk about sex."

I blushed again.

"Wow," Rosalie said, "you and Edward really are naïve, aren't you?"

"Rose, no teasing. We have serious business to discuss."

"Right," Rosalie nodded, "we're going to help you out with Edward," she said.

"What?" I asked. Why did I need help with Edward? Was he already planning on leaving me again? He'd only just got back. How could he be bored with me so soon?

"Alice," Rosalie hissed, "you said that this was Bella's idea. She has no idea why we're here."

"She hasn't had this idea yet," Alice said, "but she's about to. Trust me."

Rosalie sat back on the sofa, crossed her arms and glowered. She had been dragged here under false pretences and wasn't at all happy. It must get kind of annoying to live with Alice sometimes, half of her is in another time zone. I wondered if I would ever get used to it.

"Think about it, Bella," she said, "what use would Rosalie and I be to you right now?"

Alice was perched right on the edge of the sofa, about to leap into the air with excitement, but Alice was nearly always excited about something. Rosalie was buried in the back of the sofa, frowning. It was impressive how at ease she seemed in my house. I might have expected her to approach everything with a supercilious air, barely touching my human, and rather worn, things. But, Rosalie wasn't like that, she was surprisingly at ease on my dad's ancient sofa.

"I don't understand. Edward and I were fighting about me seeing Jacob. Aren't you both on his side? Don't you hate the wolves too?"

Rosalie looked a bit shocked, but Alice laughed "Of course we're on his side. That's why we're here trying to help you sort out a couple of relationship issues sooner rather than later. If we help now, then everything will work out much better in the long run. We're on both of your side's, Bella, if only you could see it: you and Edward are on the same side!"

"I don't know why you would assume that I'd side with Edward," Rosalie said "he's certainly not always on the right side of any issue!" That was true, of course, Rose didn't always side with Edward. I guess what I'd really been assuming was that she would side against me. Didn't she still hate me?

But that was a bit silly, really. She certainly seemed to hate me before they left. I had my reservations about why she had made that fateful phone call to Edward informing him of my supposed death. But, since then, well, things had begun to change, hadn't they? She'd played her part in creating the cover story, and now here she was in my lounge, telling me that she'd come to help out with my problem with Edward.

Maybe Rosalie didn't hate me anymore. I should try and make the effort to see her in a new light. I should start trusting her. I gave her a shy smile and she winked at me. Then she resumed scowling at Alice. It was bizarre how beautiful Rosalie Cullen could look while scowling. I don't think that anyone else could make sulking so attractive. Well, anyone except Edward, that is; he looks so cute when he pouts!

"Are you going to help me make it up with Edward for breaking my promise?"

Alice rolled her eyes, Rosalie continued to scowl. I guessed that I wasn't right.

"Are you going to try and persuade me not to see Jacob again?"

This time Rosalie uncrossed her arms and began to look around for her purse. I think that she was getting ready to leave. Alice grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the sofa, "Bella's very nearly got it," she said, "just be a tiny bit patient."

"Oh!" the idea came to me in a flash, I guess that's why Alice had already seen it, all the pieces had been in my mind already, I just needed to put them together. Edward was sulking and I wanted to cheer him up. Rosalie and Alice were married to vampires and had plenty of experience helping them recover from 'slips'. Plus, they were Edward's eternal sisters. If anyone knew how to fix him, it would be them.

"Edward still feels guilty and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to stop him feeling that way. But you're both married to vampires and you've helped them when they've done things that made them feel guilty, so you can tell me how to help Edward."

Alice grinned, "there," she said to her sister, "happy now?"

"Sometimes you should try and do things in the right order," Rosalie grouched, "you should have waited until after Bella actually had the idea and then called me over."

"This way is quicker," Alice said, "I hate waiting for things to happen."

The sisters glared at each other for a second and then they both started laughing. "Sorry, Bella," Rosalie said, "it's just that we've had this exact argument so many times, it's funny. Anyway, back to your little problem. What's wrong with him feeling guilty? I think that a bit of guilt can be a good thing in a relationship. If he feels guilty, you can get him to do stuff for you."

"Except I can't," I said, "he feels guilty because he upset me. He doesn't think that making decisions for me and trying to control my life was wrong. So he's still trying to control me. I have to get rid of the guilt."

"Getting rid of the guilt won't stop him being a control-freak," Rosalie said, unfolding her arms and pushing herself up into a let's-get-down-to-business pose, "don't you want to try and deal with that too?"

I tried, and failed, to imagine a less controlling Edward. He would always be infinitely stronger than me, and older, and wiser. He would always be protective and that would always make him a bit bossy. "This is Edward we're talking about," I said, "I don't think that I can stop him controlling me before I become a vampire."

"No," Rosalie cut in abruptly, "that's not going to work. If he's going to accept you as his equal after the change, he has to accept you as his equal before the change."

"But, I'm not his equal."

The sisters exchanged looks. They were probably thinking how obvious that last statement was. Edward was a beautiful, talented, intelligent, caring vampire and I was a plain, dull human with nothing special about me. Obviously we weren't equals in any sense at all. I should stop pushing my luck and get on with being grateful for the affection that he had to spare for me.

"Bella, he left you and you still risked your life to bring him home," Rosalie said, "if you want to, you can be his equal. You have to be his equal if you're going to have a good relationship."

Alice nodded.

"He needs to lose a bit of control. You need to give him some limits."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Rose, Edward is grounded and he's lost both of his cars. That doesn't seem to have helped at all."

"Hey, you called me 'Rose'," she grinned at me, "that means that we're really sisters now! Anyway, you're wrong. It was the rest of us who did that to him, and he's much better with us now. He didn't kneel before you and kiss your feet when you first saw him this morning, did he, Alice?"

Alice giggled, "no, did he do that to you?"

"No! He's better."

"Did he do that to anyone, ever?" I asked.

Alice giggled again, "when we got home from Italy, Jasper had um . . . a word with Edward, then Edward came and apologised to me. It was a bit overblown, well, you know what Edward's like. He was all hang-dog expressions and earnest apologies the day after the family meeting, now he's alright. He's resigned to his punishment and a bit sulky, but it's not that annoying."

I sighed, I did know what Edward was like. Kneeling down kissing Alice's feet suited him. He'd probably kneel down and kiss my feet if I asked him to. What he couldn't do was let me have my own opinion on anything.

"That is a great plan," Alice said suddenly, looking at Rose, "and, it has a chance of working, if Bella can pull it off."

Rose grinned at me, "well, Bella," she said, "do you trust me?"

"I guess so, what's the plan?"

"Think final scene of 'Grease'" Rose said, with a truly wicked smile.

"I don't think I've seen it."

Rose sighed, "being around you makes me feel old, Bella. Alright, what I'm talking about is presenting Edward with a more confident Bella, who is ready to take charge. Show him that you're a force to be reckoned with. Think about it this way, do you think that Emmett would have spoken to me the way that Edward spoke to you this afternoon? Of course not! Emmett knows that I'm a strong woman. Let Edward know that you are too. Once he sees your inner strength, he won't feel the same desperate need to protect you all the time."

It was flattering to be compared to Rosalie. Flattering, but hardly accurate. I knew that Emmett adored her, and that he might be a little bit scared of her. But I couldn't imagine Edward being scared of me.

"What inner strength?"

I hadn't meant to offend Rosalie, but that was what I did. She leapt to her feet and towered over me. "Are you calling me a bad judge of character?" she yelled. And I mean yelled, she put her face about two inches away from mine and bellowed at me. When her face was that close to mine, I noticed quite how dark her eyes were: not a good sign.

She leant forward into a hunting crouch. Her legs were bent and tense, preparing to spring. Her hands were held tightly in claws. Then she opened her mouth and grinned at me. It wasn't a happy grin this time; it was a hungry grin. Well, I suppose, being a vampire and not a lioness, it was a thirsty grin. Her teeth were a brilliant white and they glinted even in the dim light of my living room. Softly, Rosalie hissed.

"Er, Alice, a little help?"

I daren't take my eyes off Rosalie. Perhaps if I held eye contact she would remember that I was a human and she didn't really want to kill me.

Alice didn't reply.

"Rose?" I said, "I didn't mean to offend you. I only meant to ask what made you think that I had any inner strength. Do you need to hunt?"

Rosalie relaxed, sliding gracefully back into her seat. "See?" she said, "you didn't even flinch. Bella, most of the children at school are terrified when I merely frown at them. I yelled and hissed at you and you asked me if I needed to hunt. I used to think that you were more stupid than most humans that I've met. Now I realise that you're simply brave. You just need to tap into that inner strength more when you're with Edward. Show him your strong and capable side."

I frowned, was I brave or stupid? Now that I knew the Cullens, I had good reason to believe that they wouldn't want to kill me. But, on the other hand, I also knew how easy it would be for them to make a mistake and kill me without meaning to. Even now, relaxed on the couch, Rosalie was a coil of raw power just waiting to spring. Her beauty and grace were lures. Those perfectly manicured hands that idly fiddled with her golden rings could instantly and easily tear me into pieces. She was a beautiful predator, sat comfortably on the sofa. It was like having a panther sleeping in your backyard: stunning, but you wouldn't want to wake it up.

"I still don't see what you're suggesting I do exactly."

Rose smiled, keeping her lips together so as not to remind me too forcefully of her vampire grin from before. "I'm suggesting you teach him to cook."

Alice and Rose described the plan in great detail. Of course, it involved a new outfit. Equally of course, it was the sort of outfit that I would never have chosen for myself in a million years.

They both thought that the plan was great and was going to be brilliant fun, even if it didn't work. I thought that the plan was scary and was going to be utterly humiliating, even if it did work. But, I love Edward and I want him to be happy. Alice and Rose know him so well, they ought to know what's likely to cheer him up, even if it does seem counter-intuitive.

So, nervously and without really being sure why I was doing it, I agreed to go along with the plan. Now all I had to do was wait until Saturday. Alice promised that Edward and I would have the house to ourselves. They would wait, out of ear shot, but ready to rush back if I phoned for them. Alice also promised to watch and make sure that I was going to leave the house happy and safe, though she wouldn't watch what Edward and I were doing.