A/N: Thank you for reading and for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! Y'all make me smile:)

Moving Forward

Bella woke up the next morning to clouds outside her window and a surprisingly quiet house. With how many people lived on or were visiting the Whitlock property, she'd grown accustomed to a house that was rarely silent.

She stretched and yawned and smiled when a chilly hand cradled her baby bump. She scooted back a little so Jasper was spooned behind her.

"Morning," Jasper murmured as he pressed a kiss behind her ear.

"Morning," she said through a yawn. "Where is everyone?"

"Peter and Charlotte went down to Idaho for a bite to eat, our Volturi friends decided to take advantage of the cloudy day and went to Yellowstone to do some sightseeing, the wolves and Emily are down at the other cabin, Esme's in the library, and I'm not sure where Rose and Em are."

Bella turned over so she was facing him and leaned in to give him a kiss. "I'm starving and craving pancakes. Want to give them another try?"

Jasper had only attempted pancakes once before, and after filling the kitchen with enough smoke to set off the alarm and ruining one of their pans, he'd very firmly told her he would be sticking to eggs in the future.

"Together?" he asked with a smile.

"If I don't want the house to burn down, together is probably best," Bella laughed.

Jasper gave her a playful glare. "Look, little miss smart ass, at least I'm trying. I don't see you out there getting me a meal."

"Fair point," she acknowledged. "I'll have to work on my hunting skills."

"Good," Jasper said, giving her a sharp nod. After dramatically throwing the covers off the bed, he shot her a wink. "I prefer mountain lions but I'm willing to settle for a bear."

"Noted," Bella laughed as she hauled herself out of bed.

While Bella took a quick shower, Jasper went down and started on breakfast. The batter part of pancakes was easy enough for a vamp who hadn't eaten in a century and a half, so he did that, then washed some berries and made juice and tea.

"Good morning," Esme said with a smile as she joined him in the kitchen. "Bella just got out of the shower, would you like me to start on the pancakes?" she offered.

"Show-off," he laughed as he pulled out the pan Bella liked to use. "And yes please."

"You'll get the hang of it in no time," she assured him. "You didn't get omelettes right in the beginning, either."

Jasper couldn't deny that. Scrambled eggs he'd mastered right away but omelettes took him a few tries. "Did y'all come up with a plan last night?" he asked as he started cutting the strawberries.

"We did," she nodded. "Or part of one, anyway. The wolves, Emily, and I are going to take my SUV. It's a long drive for a human so we're planning to leave in about an hour. Tomorrow morning I'll pick up some groceries, then come pick the rest of you up at the airport when the plane lands. What time is the appointment at the Clinic? Nine?"

"Nine-thirty. My guess is we'll take off around noon, which gets us into Port Angeles at two."

"Perfect. That gives me some time run over and open up the Swan's house so it airs out a bit before Bella arrives."

"And the wolves and Emily still want to wait for us before going to the Reservation?"

"They do. They think presenting a united front - wolves, vampires, and humans - is the best way to start," she nodded, then smiled at the girl she considered her human daughter as she walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, darling. Ready for some breakfast?"

"Very," Bella smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Thank you for this, I've been craving pancakes for days."

Jasper noticed Esme had made about six times more batter than Bella had a hope of ever eating, and there was bacon on the counter, which his mate never ate. Figuring she was counting on the wolves, he walked out on the back porch that faced the smaller cabin and let out a piercing whistle. "Pancakes!" he shouted, then waited with a smile.

Three, two, one… The front door of the cabin was yanked open and Seth and Paul nearly got stuck in the doorway trying to beat each other through, then Seth shoved Paul hard enough that he stumbled. Paul grabbed his arm as he started to fall to try and stay on his feet, but all that did was bring both wolves to the ground with a heavy thud. Leah, meanwhile, knew the boys would act exactly the way they were, so she'd led Emily out their back door and walked around the house.

"Losers," Leah laughed as she walked around them, accidentally on purpose stepping on Seth's back as she did.

Seth let out an indignant squawk and shot to his feet. "Hey! Not cool, Lee," he laughed.

Leah just shrugged. "All's fair in war and pancakes, Seth. We've been over this."

Seeing Seth was distracted, Paul grabbed his ankle from behind and yanked it, which had Seth face-planting in the grass.

Jasper worried for a second as he watched him hit the ground, but he should've known better. The kid was remarkably similar to Emmett in the way nothing much got him down, so all he did was flip onto his back and start laughing.

"Nice, Paul," Seth laughed as he hopped to his feet and held his hand out to pull a laughing Paul off the ground. Once he was steady on his feet, Seth gave him a wide grin. "Race?"

Paul nodded but took off running before Seth could start counting down. Coming up behind Emily and Leah, he scooped Leah up and threw her over his shoulder, making her squeal with laughter. Paul bounded up the back porch steps and tossed her to Jasper, and as soon as he stepped a foot inside, he started cheering for himself loudly.

Esme laughed as she handed him a plate with a huge stack of pancakes. "Congratulations, winner."

"Thanks, Esme," he smiled and sat down at the table, snatching a strawberry off Bella's plate as he passed her.

"I'm pregnant, Paul," she said, trying to look stern. "You're not supposed to mess with a pregnant woman's food."

"Don't worry, I anticipated this," Jasper laughed as he sat beside her and set down a huge bowl of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

Bella put her hand over her heart and batted her eyelashes. "My hero."

"Damn right I am."

A few minutes later, everyone but Esme was settled around the table.

"Fresh squeezed orange juice?" Emily asked in surprise after pouring a glass from the pitcher Jasper brought to the table.

"Bella's not a fan of eating oranges but she likes juice, and since oranges are good for the baby I figure the extra couple minutes are worth it," Jasper shrugged.

Esme set a huge plate of bacon on the table as she came to join them, then gently smacked the back of Paul's hand when he made a grab for it. "Ladies first, please," she mock-scolded him.

"Ha!" Leah laughed as she reached for the plate, holding it out for Emily to take some before serving herself.

"You're all lucky I love you so much because I have to tell you, bacon smells awful with my pregnancy nose," Bella said with her face scrunched up.

"Yeah, yeah," Leah rolled her eyes. "You know you don't have to say that every single time we eat bacon here, right?"

Bella laughed, her eyes sparkling. "It can't hurt to remind you just how much I sacrifice for your happiness."

Emily was mostly quiet, content to just watch and listen. If anyone had told her just twenty-four hours ago that she'd be sitting where she was, she'd have laughed hysterically. Now, she was eating breakfast with a rather unlikely group who behaved just like any other family, laughing and teasing each other. Maybe more than some families, honestly, because this group chose to be a family. It made her sad that Sam and the other wolves and elders had been so rigid in the way they saw the world. Well, saw vampires, anyway. She had another moment of deep gratitude for Chelsea and her ability to give Emily her freedom back.

Watching all of them, but particularly Leah, laughing and looking so happy brought Emily more joy than she'd felt in a long time. She couldn't help feeling a small pang of loneliness, though. After Sam's imprint wiped out her existing bonds, he, the other wolves, and the elders were the closest she had to a family.

Feeling the shift in Emily's emotions, Jasper remembered what Bella had prepared the night before and got up to grab a package off the kitchen counter.

"So I know you're going to be staying in Washington to help the tribe, but the sentiment's the same whether you live here or not," Jasper said as he handed it to Emily. "Leah said y'all used to be as close as sisters, so this is from me and Bella."

Emily looked at him curiously and then unwrapped the gift. Tears sprang to her eyes as she unfolded a tiny onesie that read 'Can I call you Auntie Emily?'

"Really?" she asked with a wide, beaming smile.

Bella nodded and smiled back at her. "You're Leah and Seth's family, which makes you our family, too."

Emily carefully folded it back up and set it away from the food, then stood up to hug the soon-to-be parents. "Thank you," she whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes. "This means so much."

Leah watched them with a bittersweet smile. She was beyond thrilled that she and Emily had the chance to repair their relationship, but it still hurt that Sam and the elders severed it to begin with.

"Where are you planning on staying when you get to Washington?" Paul asked Bella, changing the subject after seeing the sadness on Leah's face. "The Cullen's or your dad's?"

Bella thought on it a second. "I'm not sure. I guess it depends on how much cleaning I can get done at my dad's. I was only there for a day back in December before Alice showed up and hadn't done a lot in the way of cleaning. The house has pretty much been closed up for nine months so it's gonna be seriously dusty."

"Leah and I did a little but we only spent a few nights there so we didn't clean the whole house," Paul said, feeling badly that they hadn't thought to do more inside. They were both so off-balance from the curveball life had thrown in their faces that they weren't functioning all that well before they got to Montana.

Esme smiled at Leah and Paul and then reached over to take Bella's hand. "I can go by in the morning once I've picked up some groceries and get a start on it," she offered. "I was already planning on going over to open some windows and air the place out. You guys won't be getting in until about two, so that gives me a good few hours to work. If you'd like," she added quickly. "I don't want to overstep."

Bella smiled at her. "Just for future reference, you offering to clean is never overstepping. Ever. Doesn't even matter what the scenario is. In the shower? Perfectly fine, just keep your eyes averted. Sleeping? Have at it but maybe throw the duvet over my head first. Jasper and I ba—"

"Okay," Paul cut her off by slapping his hand over her mouth. "No one's coming to clean your room when Jasper's banging you," he laughed, then yanked his hand away and glared at her. "Brat."

"Did she lick you?" Jasper laughed.

Bella just shrugged and smiled. "You'd think he would've learned by now."

"Think we could get me a car while we're in Washington?" Leah asked.

Bella immediately shook her head. "Way better to get it here. Montana has no sales tax."

"Alright, so when we come back, I guess. But if we're all driving back together, it's gonna be awfully crowded."

Seth smiled at his sister. "I was actually going to see if you guys wanted to run back as wolves. I haven't had much of a chance to really stretch my legs on a long run like that."

Leah tipped her head to the side a little as she thought about it. "Yeah, that could be fun. Would you guys mind bringing our bags back with you?" she asked Jasper, Bella, and Esme.

"Of course not," Jasper smiled. "I've obviously never done it as a wolf, but I've run to Forks from here and there's a lot of pretty scenery along the way."

Paul nodded. "I vaguely registered that on our way here when we left Washington, but I was so caught up in anger and sadness at being forced from our homes that I didn't really pay attention."

"How are y'all feeling today?" Jasper asked as he tugged Bella's chair a little closer. "Now that everything's behind us and we can move forward focusing on the good shit?"

All three wolves thought on it a minute before answering. So much had happened in such a brief period of time.

"I honestly think it happened the way it was meant to," Paul said. "The elders and that pack caused so much harm to so many people. In hindsight, I'm a little glad I didn't personally kill any of them, but I'm not gonna lie and say I wish they were still alive. Sorry if that's insensitive, Emily," he added as he looked at her.

Emily gave him a small smile. "You don't have to apologize, Paul," she said. "They did do a lot of harm."

"I agree with Paul," Leah nodded. "I would've killed them and probably not lost too much sleep about it, but I'm glad I didn't have to."

"What about you?" Bella asked Jasper, knowing vamps saw violence in a different light than humans, and probably the wolves also.

Jasper hummed as he thought about it. "I'm glad it's behind us," he admitted. "And I'm also glad they suffered some before they died," he added with a shrug.

"All of them being gone will make the work with the tribe way easier," Seth added. "We won't have to worry about the elders trying to undo every positive change out of spite."

Bella nodded. "I agree. Have you guys given any thought to how best approach this? How do we go about organizing a meeting with the whole tribe? And how do we explain that the elders won't be coming back?"

"I had an idea about that. At least the part about why I'm coming back alone," Emily answered. "What about a car accident? A couple of the humans of the tribe saw us leaving, so I told them I'd surprised the elders with a trip to Crater Lake. I told them the boys had gone on a camping trip there and we were going to be meeting them. Yellowstone was a little too close to our real destination and Crater Lake was the first place I thought of," she shrugged.

"That wouldn't explain why there are no bodies," Bella pointed out. "I also don't think we should lie about the pack. There's no reason to cover up that part of it. They went nine-hundred miles outside their territory to attack us, why shouldn't the tribe know that? We're going to be offering Chelsea's services for any future wolves or imprints who want it, so we can explain what she did and about the nature of the imprint bond, and that Sam destroyed the other wolves before dying."

Jasper nodded his agreement. "Their atrocious behavior is the whole reason we want to help the tribe, so there's no point in keeping them in the dark about what exactly the elders and the wolves were up to. I'm not sure if tellin' them a vamp ate Sue and Billy is the right way to win friends, and I'm open to coming up with a cover story, but that decision is pretty much in your hands," he said as he gestured to Emily and the three wolves. "Old Quil died of natural causes, though, so we can tell them that. And we did give him the whole canoe send-off thing so maybe that'll work in our favor, even if it was a river and not the sea," he shrugged.

"We can brainstorm some more about the elders on our way," Leah said as she got up to take her dishes to the sink. "For now, let's clean this shit up and hit the road. It's a long ass drive."

"Do we have—"

Leah cut off Seth's whining by throwing a sponge at his face. "Yes, we have to. Jasper and Esme made our meal, that means we clean up, so get your ass up and help Paul clear the table. You want to get out of doing dishes, learn how to prepare the food."

Jasper smiled at Leah. Seth leaving home so young meant he still had some growing up to do, and Leah was determined to drill manners into him, even if she did have a tendency cuss while she was doing it. They all spoiled him as the baby of the family, so it was honestly probably a good thing she was doing her best to guide him to become a grownup. Sue was, at best, a hands-off parent. When Sam phased the first time, Sue's focus entirely shifted so that he, and then the rest of the pack, was her main focus. Too bad that focus didn't include looking out for her daughter's well-being.

Jasper pushed that thought away. The past was the past, there wasn't a single thing he could do to change the pain Leah had lived through. Or Paul or Seth, for that matter. All they could do was move forward from here, and Jasper was quietly determined to make sure they never had to live with that kind of pain in the future.

Sitting next to a sleeping Bella on the Volturi's plane the next day, Jasper couldn't tear his eyes away from the photograph in his hands. Little Lilly was beginning to look an awful lot like an actual baby.

Bella's ultrasound that morning had been an anatomy scan, where the doctor checked the development of fetal organs and other body parts, including her heart, brain, and spine. Bella had been an anxious mess over it the night before and had eventually asked Jasper to help her sleep.

Jasper had been nervous about it, too, so once Bella was out for the count, he'd scooched his way under the covers and had a long conversation with his Lilly flower. He explained about the famous Whitlock competitiveness and told her he'd really appreciate it if she could do him a solid and ace this fuckin' test.

Then he'd winced a little and told her if she really nailed it, he'd work on watching his language.

Fortunately, Lilly was already a good listener, and the doctor gave them the happy news that all was progressing perfectly.

When they walked out into the waiting room, they were met with a nervous couple of Whitlocks and McCartys, but seeing that Jasper and Bella were smiling, Peter, Charlotte, Emmett, and Rosalie had all let out sighs of relief and broken into smiles of their own.

Since Peter and Charlotte were staying behind, Bella had given both of them extra-long hugs, only sniffling a little bit. They weren't going to be gone all that long, no more than three weeks so they were back well in time for their next appointment, but it would be the longest they'd be apart since Bella had met them. Jasper promised to take a picture of Bella's Lilly-bump every night so they didn't miss even an inch of growth.

After reminding his mate that phones, computers, and video-calls were a thing, he'd hugged Peter and Charlotte a little longer than usual, too.

Chelsea quietly slipped into the seat across from Jasper once they were in the air, not wanting to wake up her human friend. Bella had fallen asleep almost the second she'd sat down.

"It went well?" she whispered.

"It did," Jasper smiled and pulled out a copy of the photo he couldn't stop staring at and handed it to her. "Everything is in its proper place and doing just the right amount of growing."

"Wow," Chelsea breathed as she stared intently at the image.

"Wild, right?" Jasper laughed. "She's a cute little thing."

Chelsea nodded as she gently traced the teeny tiny features with her finger. "Do you know anything about her original daddy? What he looks like?"

"According to Bella he's got hair like mine, same color, and he's tall with blue eyes," Jasper said with a smile.

Chelsea looked up at him with a grin. "Were your eyes blue as a human?"

Jasper nodded. "They were."

"And you're quite tall, too," she smiled. "Do you think Bella was subconsciously looking for you?"

"We've actually talked about that," Jasper laughed. "I don't necessarily think she was looking for me in terms of seeking out a missing mate, but aside from a human she went to school with, I was really her only friend after things went so badly with Jacob. She had acquaintances from school but no true friends aside from me and Angela. So if she was 'looking' for me, I think it was because she was a little lonely and missing one of her best friends."

"Why did she never call you?" Chelsea asked curiously. "It was six months from when she left her town that she turned up in Volterra. Why didn't she contact you in that time?"

"Even Bella isn't entirely sure about that. When she first left Forks, she needed breathing room from everyone who knew her. She was trying to adjust to being without a family for the first time, adjust to losing everything familiar in her life," Jasper said with a sad smile. "And then I think time just sort of passed without her really noticing it. She was just drifting. Not thinking was easier than having to face what had happened to her dad. And she'll tell you herself that she spent a lot of time trying not to think about how different things would've been if she'd told me when she found out the wolves were trying to run off a stubborn vamp. Bella didn't know it was Victoria at the time, obviously, but she knew she could've asked me to come take care of it. She did a lot of blaming herself for keeping quiet instead of asking for help. Whether it's about something big or small, Bella's never liked asking for help and the girl was stubborn as all get out about it. Her stubborn determination to not ask for help, in this instance, ended in tragedy. Which isn't to say her dad dying is her fault, because it most assuredly isn't. That falls squarely on Victoria and the wolves."

Chelsea looked at her friend sadly. "She asks for help now?"

"She does," Jasper nodded. "I've worked hard at helping her see that it's not a sign of weakness to need to lean on people sometimes. It probably doesn't hurt that she's always seen me as strong and she knows I've done my fair share of leaning in my long ass life," he laughed.

Chelsea smiled at him. "Good. Needing people isn't a bad thing."

"It's not," Jasper agreed. "I think our experiences in Volterra actually helped some. You know she always saw vamps, and the Cullens in particular, as some pinnacle of perfection," he told her, then smiled at feeling her surprise and disbelief. "I know. She put us all on a pedestal. But Italy helped her see that, in some ways, vamps are no different from humans. We all struggled to deal with everything we learned about Carlisle, Edward, and Alice. She watched me and Rose and Esme and Em lean hard on each other. And it wasn't just one of us being strong and supporting the others. We all took turns being the strong one and we all had moments we needed to be propped up."

"She went from having no one to being smack in the middle of a huge, strange family," Chelsea laughed. "She'll never want for love, that's for sure."

Jasper looked down at his mate, who was sleeping curled against his side. "No, she'll never want for love," he whispered.

"And neither will our little Lilly," Chelsea said softly as she looked at the photo again.

"No, she won't either," Jasper agreed with a smile.

"You know, I wish those three Cullens hadn't been so awful and caused all of you so much pain, but I can't help but be a tiny bit grateful that their actions led to all of you coming to Italy," Chelsea admitted. "It's been such a long time since I've made new friends. All of us in Volterra, as a matter of fact. It's exceedingly rare to get a new guard member and we're all very accustomed to only seeing the same familiar faces. It's been lovely having the opportunity to get to know you and Bella and your family. I even enjoyed spending time with your wolves."

Jasper smiled at her. "We've enjoyed getting to know all of you, too. You're always welcome to come visit. You all are. I know you're coming back for Lilly's world debut, but you have an open invitation both before and after. You may live in Italy with a family of your own, but I'm pretty sure that 'Aunt of Lillian Charlotte Whitlock' shirt you're wearing makes you our family as well."

Chelsea laughed and looked down at the pink shirt she was wearing beneath her cloak. "Yes, I believe it does."

Jasper smiled at the joy and excitement inside her when she looked at it. Chelsea was nearly as thrilled at becoming an auntie as Jasper was at becoming a daddy.

Not everyone found love and family when they came into this second life, but Jasper had stumbled onto more of both than he'd ever dreamed of. His little Lilly flower would have an abundance, too, and Jasper sent up his heartfelt gratitude for what had to be at least the seven-hundredth time that the huge Whitlock clan had all somehow found their way to each other.

As he stared at the sonogram again, he knew they'd made the right decision to move forward with no more violence. It may have all gone a little sideways in the end, but at least it was behind them now. Jasper had made a promise to himself on New Year's Eve that he'd make their coming year one filled with love and laughter and family. He'd been mostly successful, no one could deny their life was filled with those things, but he'd gotten sidetracked by his desire to make sure the people who'd hurt his mate and the wolves in his family paid the price for it.

Jasper was going to be a daddy soon - and holy shit, that thought never failed to amaze him - and so he had to make a choice about who he wanted to be going forward. And who he wanted to be more than anything in this world was a man his mate and daughter could be proud of. He knew that Bella would've loved him exactly the same way as she did in that very moment if he'd killed all three elders, Emily, and the whole pack with his bare hands. He didn't doubt it for a second, he knew Bella's love would never falter.

But he was about to be the daddy of a very human daughter.

So maybe he had to take one step away from the vengeful vampire inside him, and one step closer to the man he'd been before Maria got her dirty talons in him.

Jasper would always protect every single member of his family with everything in him and he'd do anything in his power to make sure they never lived through the kind of pain he had. But he could do both of those things while also starting to let go of that part of him that sometimes wanted revenge by any means necessary.

Lillian Charlotte Whitlock deserved to have a daddy whose hands weren't blood-stained. He couldn't change his past, but he could do his damndest going forward to keep his hands from ever turning pure crimson again.