A/N: I hope you all had a Merry Christmas or a Merry Monday. Quick review reply since I still don't always get the email notifications: The former Cullens will find out about the pregnancy in the next couple chapters, and the plan for what happens after the baby arrives is in Chapter Twelve.

Warning: Pretty big OOC/AU change for Carlisle ahead. I think I'm hysterical:)

Thank you for reading and for all the lovely reviews! ~ M. x

Brutal and Beautiful

Bella woke up for the second morning in a row without having to do a half-asleep marathon sprint to the bathroom and kissed her mate thoroughly for weaving some kind of magic over her body. Jasper laughed into her mouth at the sudden assault but quickly got with the program and pulled her on top of him. He just barely held back a growl when her phone rang.

Bella was surprised enough that she rolled off Jasper to grab it. She hadn't looked at her phone in days and it didn't ring all that often because she'd cut herself off from pretty much everyone when she left Washington. Seeing the name on the display was a shock, so she answered quickly. "Leah?"

"Hi, Bella," Leah said, sounding a little sniffly.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Leah huffed. "Yeah, you could say that. So, um, I have a weird question," she said hesitantly.

"I'm sure I'll have a weird answer then," Bella smiled. "What's up?"

"You haven't sold your dad's house yet, have you?" she asked, then quickly continued before she could answer. "I don't want to dredge up painful memories for you and if I could think of another option I would but things here are… not great and I didn't know who else to call."

Bella looked at Jasper in confusion. "There wasn't really much of a question in there, but no, I haven't sold it yet. I haven't even cleared most of it out. What happened, Leah?"

The line was quiet for a minute before Bella heard a little sniffle. "The elders are asking Paul and I to leave," she said quietly.

"What? The elders as in the tribal elders?" Bella asked in astonishment. "Like the tribal elders that include your mom?"

"Yeah, those elders," Leah said with a bitter laugh. "We're not part of the pack anymore, we haven't been for almost six months, and now all of a sudden we're too unstable to have around another wolf pack."

"What the fuck? Why—"

Bella was cut off by another bitter laugh. "Jacob's taken over as Alpha. Emily's pregnant so Sam doesn't want it anymore. Jacob's being the spiteful, petty bitch we always knew he was and he's told the elders that having two separate packs on the Reservation makes things too dangerous for everyone."

"What is with everyone being conniving fucking assholes lately?" Bella muttered as she shook her head. "And your mom actually bought that?"

"She tried to tell me she didn't agree… but I know she voted with them. Quil made sure to tell me."

Bella was silent for a minute as she processed that. What made it so easy for all these people around her to betray their loved ones? Did family not mean anything to people like Sue Clearwater and Carlisle Cullen?

"Are you wanting to move into my dad's house?" Bella asked. "You're more than welcome to, Leah. Both you and Paul. Does that get you far enough from La Push, though?"

Leah let out a choked sob. "Thank you. Neither of us have much money saved so we don't actually have any other options. It's really fucking hard to hold down a job when you've got a tendency to explode into a wolf when you're pissed."

Bella laughed a little. "You're both more than welcome to go to Charlie's. You can go now, there's a key in the tallest planter on the back porch. I'm sorry I can't offer you something farther away, but—"

Jasper suddenly handed her a piece of paper with a familiar address on it. Looking at it, Bella's eyes darted to his and she let out a choked sob of her own.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Leah asked, the worry clear in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm good, sorry. Why don't you and Paul head to my dad's now, it'll get you off the Reservation quickly. But I may have an option for you if you want to get away from Washington. Can I call you back in about an hour?"

Leah let out a deep and shaky sigh of relief. "Thank you, Bella," she said quietly. "Call whenever you like. I'll make sure I can answer. Before we go… How are you doing? Are you still traveling?"

"I was, but I think I've found a place where I'm going to stay put for a while," Bella smiled. "I'll tell you about when I call you back."

"Alright. Thanks, Bella."

"Of course, I'll call you in a bit."

When Bella hung up, she looked at Jasper with tears in her eyes. Before she could say anything, Peter and Charlotte walked in the room. Charlotte set a mug of tea on the nightstand and gently shoved Bella over so she was laying right next to Jasper, then she and Peter hopped up on the bed and got themselves all cozy under the duvet.

Bella couldn't help smiling at her new family. "Are you guys sure?" she asked quietly. "Why would you offer this? You don't even know them."

Jasper smiled and pulled her closer. "We know they tried to protect you. We know they tried to protect your dad, to save him that night," Jasper said and kissed her forehead. "And when they couldn't, they didn't leave you. They stayed there and helped you deal with the aftermath. Why wouldn't we offer them somewhere safe to go?"

"How would that even work?" Bella asked. "Don't you guys hate each other?"

Jasper scoffed. "Do I hate the others? Jacob's pack? Absolutely. Do I hate them just because they're wolves? No," Jasper shook his head. "I hate them for their actions. They call us monsters, hate us on principle just because of what we are. Never mind that none of us who lived in Forks hunt humans. And they're so fuckin' close-minded that they wouldn't even ask for help to keep you safe."

"Racist dicks," Charlotte muttered under her breath, making Bella laugh.

Jasper smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "So do I hate those specific wolves? Damn right I do. Do I hate the ones who offered you two people to lean on when your world was torn apart? No. And I never will."

Bella burrowed into his chest as much as she could to hide the tears in her eyes. She'd just been thinking about how family didn't mean a thing to some people, and here she was, literally surrounded by three wonderful people who hadn't hesitated to claim her as one of their own. And now they were offering a home and a place in their family to two people they didn't know who'd just been disowned by their own families, simply for the fact that they'd tried to help Bella and her dad.

Life sure could be just as beautiful as it could be brutal.

"Uh…"

"Neither of you have to decide now," Bella laughed. "Their property is pretty big and there's a little cabin set back from the main house that you're both welcome to. Jasper said it might need a little bit of work to make it homey but it's ready to move into."

"Uh…"

Jasper was smiling, finding the whole thing amusing. Leah and Paul were on speaker and neither had managed a full word yet.

"None of us will be offended if you'd rather not come," he jumped in. "We just wanted you to know you have an option that gave you some breathing room away from those assholes who are pushing y'all out of your homes."

"Why?" Paul asked. "I don't mean that rudely, I guess I just don't understand why you'd be willing to do that for two strangers who are technically your mortal enemy."

"You helped Bella," was Jasper's simple and honest answer.

Jasper knew what betrayal tasted like, and how much more bitter it was when it came at the hands of people you loved and who you thought loved you, people you called family. Jasper had been lucky to have somewhere to go when his ties to the Cullens were severed. If he could offer a safe place for Paul and Leah to come now that they'd had their own ties severed, there wasn't even a hesitation. Vamp, human, wolf… it didn't matter. Everyone needs a soft place to land on occasion.

"Well," Leah cleared her throat. "That's very kind of you and your… family? Brother and sister? Coven? I don't actually know what to call you," she said with a little laugh.

"All of those are fine," Jasper smiled. "All of those are true. I'm not sure how long it'll be before we're back, but both the cabin and main house are open. It's out in the wilderness so we don't tend to have many unannounced visitors to worry about. You're welcome to let yourselves in to either and help yourselves to whatever you need. Peter and Charlotte had already gone to pick up some food to keep on hand for Bella before they came to meet us, so there'll be some supplies in the main house. But there's movies and books and a couple laptops and wifi… help yourself to anything. Truly."

"And if you're not comfortable coming to Montana, you're more than welcome to stay at my dad's however long you need," Bella added. "We've gotta run, but just think about it and let us know whatever you decide."

"Alright, we'll call you after we have some time to talk it through. Thank you both. And please thank your family for us, Jasper," Leah said.

"I will," Jasper smiled. "I'm sure—"

"You're welcome, wolves!" Peter and Charlotte hollered in unison from the living room.

Leah and Paul both laughed. "So vamp hearing really is as good as our legends say?" Paul asked.

"It is," Jasper laughed. "Alright, we're off."

"Bye, guys. Talk to you soon," Bella said.

"Yep, see ya."

Bella hung up and looked at her mate, then leaned in and kissed him softly. "You're going to be an awfully easy man to fall in love with, Jasper Whitlock."

"What name are Emmett and Esme going to use now?" Bella asked as they walked to the throne room. "I guess Rosalie will still go by Hale?"

Jasper tugged her a little bit closer. "For now, McCarty. Emmett's human name. He offered it to Esme and she jumped at the offer. Rose may stay Hale or she may use McCarty, too. Part of the reason she went by Hale was because of the resentment she felt at Carlisle for changing her. If it's taking her husband's name, rather than her coven leader's, she'll probably be more open to it."

Bella nodded, she could understand that. She didn't know the whole story of how Rosalie came to be changed, but there were enough hints dropped by Edward that she had a general idea of what had happened to her. She also knew that of all the Cullens, Rosalie was the one who resented being changed the most. Bella could understand that, too.

Jasper opened the door for her and she walked into the room to find two of the kings already on their thrones and some of the guards scattered around the room. Edward, Alice, and Carlisle were sitting on a bench in front of the kings, and the McCartys and Rosalie were standing off to the side. Bella, Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte went and stood by them.

"Good morning, Whitlocks," Aro greeted them with a smile. "How was your day yesterday?"

"It was wonderful, thank you. I appreciate you letting us take a break. Oh, thank you, Felix," she said with a smile as the big Emmett-sized vamp brought over a chair and set it against the wall. "I appreciate this, it's very thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome," he smiled.

Before Bella sat down, she hugged the McCartys and Rosalie.

"Aw, how sweet," Alice sneered.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "No one cares what you have to say, Alice. Was losing your head not a big enough sign that everyone hates the sound of your voice? Should I have taken your tongue out and burned it instead?" Rosalie asked, her casual, almost bored voice making Bella laugh.

Seeing all three remaining Cullens looking at her in shock, Bella rolled her own eyes. "Are you expecting me to be outraged by what happened to you? I'm not. Are you expecting me to be surprised? I'm not that either. Unlike you, Edward, Jasper actually sees me as his equal. He told me everything yesterday. Sorry to disappoint you," she shrugged, then pointed at Carlisle's shoulders. "Too bad about your arms, though. Doctoring just got a lot harder for you, huh?"

A few giggles escaped Esme as Emmett and Rosalie both snorted a laugh.

"It's true," Bella shrugged as she sat down, and Jasper laughed as he leaned against the wall beside her.

Just as Aro was about to start speaking, the door opened again and Bella was surprised when a human woman walked in. She was even more surprised when she walked straight to Bella and spoke in heavily-accented English.

"Good morning, Bella. I am Gianna. I made these last night and thought you might like some," she said with a smile and handed Bella a plate.

Bella looked down and started laughing. "Gingersnaps?"

Gianna nodded and winked at her, then turned around and walked out of the room.

"Cookies made with ginger?" Jasper asked as he picked one up and smelled it, then handed it to Bella, who took a bite. "Smells better than that tea honestly. Any good?"

"Delicious," Bella nodded. "Wanna taste?" she asked and held it out for him.

Jasper shrugged and took a bite. "Better than coffee," he said when he swallowed, making Bella laugh.

"What on earth?" Rosalie muttered, then shook her head when Bella smiled and held the cookie out for her to try. "Uh, no. I don't love either of you that much."

Jasper shoved his sister's shoulder. "Harsh, Rose," he laughed.

"I'll try it," Emmett said and made a 'gimme' motion with his hand, so Bella happily handed over a cookie. Emmett took a teeny tiny bite, like so small it could've been a crumb, then a bigger one. "Not bad," he nodded, then popped the rest in his mouth.

A throat clearing had all of them looking up at Aro and Caius, who were watching the group with small smiles.

"I'm sorry, did you guys want some?" Bella asked as she held out the plate.

Jasper laughed. "They were trying to get our attention, sweetheart, not subtly chastising you for not offering them refreshments."

"Well, if they want refreshments, this is all I'm offering," she laughed as she shook the cookie plate a little. "It's cookies or nothing, sirs."

"What is wrong with all of you?"

Edward's bitterly spoken words had the whole room looking at him.

"I'm sorry, did you want one?" Bella asked and held the plate out.

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella," Edward frowned. "We're sitting here with our lives hanging in the balance and you're all behaving as if you're sitting in a coffee shop."

Jasper answered before anyone else could. "First of all, just to be clear, I don't think you'll find many of our kind hanging out drinking coffee. Second, don't act like we're the strange ones when it comes to Bella and food. You'd either sit and stare at her while she ate, your face all weird and intense - making her extremely uncomfortable, by the way - or you'd watch her with your face twisted into a sneer because you thought it was gross. Which also made her uncomfortable. And before you try to excuse that by saying your gift doesn't work on her so how were you supposed to know… all you had to do was look at her face. It was clear as day you were makin' her mealtimes awkward. And third, you patronizing asshole, if you don't want your life to be hanging in the balance maybe don't commit crimes where the sentence is death," he snapped.

Edward growled but before he could say anything, the door opened again and Marcus walked in and took his seat. "Apologies for my tardiness. There was something I wanted to look into before we began."

"Anything you'd like to share?" Aro asked.

"No, not quite yet. I'm waiting on a reply from an old friend. Gianna will let me know when the answer comes in."

"Alright, then I suppose we should begin," Aro nodded, then looked at the three Cullens. "I already know all of your actions, all of your crimes, as do my brothers. I feel it's only fair to allow those you've hurt the opportunity to ask questions of you so they may hear the answers directly from you. And before we begin, there is only one condition for everyone involved. You, the three guilty, will answer. They may ask any question they wish. If you choose to remain silent, I will simply answer for you."

"Any question?" Edward asked incredulously. "Even if it has nothing to do with our crimes?"

Aro, Caius, and Marcus all nodded once. "And if you answer untruthfully, we will provide them with the truth ourselves," Marcus added.

Jasper couldn't help but notice there was an awful lot of discomfort in Carlisle. The man had been around for more than three centuries. That's a hell of a long time to fill your closet with skeletons. Speaking of…

"Can I start?" Jasper asked. On getting a nod from all three kings, he looked at his former coven leader. "Have you truly never hunted humans? I know you tasted human blood when you changed Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. But are those the only occasions you ever tasted it?"

Carlisle scowled at him. "Are you looking to me to somehow make you feel better about your own—"

"No, those are not the only occasions," Aro interrupted. "And perhaps I should have been clearer at the outset. You do not get to use your answers as a way to attack the person asking. Do that again and I will simply answer each and every question for you."

"So you have hunted humans in the past?" Rosalie asked Carlisle in astonishment.

When he stayed silent, Rosalie looked at Aro. "Yes. Not for an extended period of time, but yes. The story he has told all of you about when he awoke to this life is only half-true. He did try to kill himself when he woke, both by drowning and starvation. It is also true that, while hiding in a forest, his thirst became too much for him and he latched onto the first thing that crossed his path. What is not true is that 'the first thing' was a herd of deer. It was a young couple on horseback. His disgust at that act led him to again attempt to starve himself. Again, his thirst became too much to tolerate and he latched onto the first thing that crossed his path. That was when he discovered he could drink the blood of animals. For the most part, it is a diet he has stuck to. And he has stuck to it without incident since he changed Edward in 1918."

"For the most part?" Bella asked. "What does that mean?"

"In his roughly 350 years as a vampire, he's taken fifty-two lives in the pursuit of a meal," Aro answered.

Rosalie smiled. "So…"

Jasper laughed and reached over Bella's head to gently tug the end of Rosalie's ponytail. "So congratulations, Rose. You are officially the world's most controlled vamp, having never tasted human blood."

"Ha! It always annoyed the hell out of me when I would hear others say Carlisle never tasted human blood or took a human life. He did both when it came to all of us he changed," Rosalie said and leveled a glare at her former coven leader. "You can't bite a human and not taste human blood. Just like you can't transform a human into a vampire and still leave them with a heartbeat. So aside from Alice and Jasper, he tasted the blood of, and took the life of, every single Cullen."

"You were all dying anyway!" Carlisle exclaimed, trying to defend himself. "And your hands aren't so clean either, Rosalie."

"I've never claimed they were," Rose snapped. "I have never pretended to be any better or any worse than exactly who I am. I'm not the slightest bit ashamed to say I hunted down each and every one of my attackers and killed them. I don't regret it, I've never regretted it. I don't lie to make myself appear a certain way to the world. I'm always myself. Love me, hate me, call me a bitch, it doesn't matter. I'm me. I've never pretended to be anyone else."

Gianna walked back in the room before any more could be said and handed Marcus an envelope. When he glanced at her, she gave him a single nod and then turned and left again.

Jasper felt the shift in the man's emotions as he read whatever was inside the envelope. It was a riotous mix of disgust and rage and sadness. Instinctively, he rested his hand on Bella's shoulder. She glanced up, and when she saw his expression as he watched the king, she got an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. She reached up and covered his hand with hers.

"Alice," Marcus said. "What can you tell me about Orlando Wallace?"

All Bella heard was a series of sharp inhalations and then the vampires on either side of her exploded in a flurry of violence. Jasper and Rosalie moved in such perfect symmetry with each other that anyone would think they shared a mind. Bella watched in shock and awe as the two swiftly and smoothly reduced Alice Cullen to body parts, rather than a body, and then from body parts to nothing more than a column of lavender-tinted smoke.

As they walked back towards her, they both looked even paler than usual, as if horrified by whatever they'd just learned that had caused them to act so swiftly and without an ounce of hesitation. Bella didn't know who Orlando Wallace was, but what she didn't have any doubt about was that whatever Jasper and his twin were reacting to, it was to do with Bella and their defense of her.

When Jasper pulled her out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her, and then Rosalie did the same, as if they could keep her safe and protected if they surrounded her, her thought from earlier in the day came back to her.

People, just like life, could be both brutal and beautiful.