A/N: There's a surprising amount of debate online about whether it's third time is A charm or third time is THE charm. I went with Merriam-Webster. Also, a couple of you asked if Carlisle knew about Esme's mate, and that's answered in this chapter.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites:)
Third Time's the Charm
Esme has found her mate.
Jasper froze for a second as he read the text from Rosalie, then everyone in the room got a quick blast of his joy, his utter happiness for Esme too much to contain for a moment.
He dialed Rose's number on speaker so quickly his fingers were nothing but a blur to Bella.
"Hey Jas," Rosalie answered with a laugh. "That was faster than I'd expected. Give me a second to excuse myself."
Rosalie spoke away from the phone for a moment and Jasper impatiently drummed his fingers on his thigh as he waited.
"Okay, sorry about that. I was in Aro's study when I sent that."
"Who is he?" Jasper asked. "And how did the kings know he was her mate? Doesn't Marcus have to see two people together to know if they're mates?"
"His name is William, not sure about a last name, and he's Esme's first human love. It sounds like they were together for a while but then William disappeared and was presumed dead. Apparently he was accidentally turned by a nomad who didn't realize he was alive when he was done feeding," Rosalie explained. "As to your other question, Marcus didn't know for sure but he had a hunch. William overheard them say Esme's name and he immediately started questioning them to find out if it was his Esme."
"Wow," Bella breathed. "Talk about fate taking the long way around. Is he nice? Do you like him?"
"I don't know a thing about him except what I've told you," Rose said with a little laugh. "I haven't actually spoken to him. I texted you guys as soon as Marcus confirmed it and then Jasper called in the very next second."
"This is such happy news," Charlotte said with a huge smile. "After everything Carlisle put her through she deserves all the happiness in the world. And to be reunited with a man she already loved? I'm so thrilled for her."
Everyone nodded their agreement. Esme finding her mate could never be anything less than wonderful, but having it be a man she already knew and loved would take some of her uncertainty away. Not to mention Aro had likely either already read him, or would in the future, so Esme would have some extra reassurance that she wasn't getting another Carlisle Cullen. Or another Charles Evenson, for that matter.
After getting Rosalie's promise that she'd pass on their congratulations and ask Esme to call them when she had a free moment, they hung up.
"Did you hear that, flower? Nana Esme found her soulmate. Isn't that exciting?" Jasper asked Lilly as he gently bounced her. He completely froze again for a second and then his eyes darted to Bella. "Come here, sweetheart. Quickly."
Bella stood up and went to where her husband and daughter were standing by the window. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, nothing. Just watch," he whispered, then bounced Lilly a few more times. "Can you show your mama, flower? Are you excited for Nana Esme?"
Bella froze for a second, too. "Holy shit, she's smiling!" she whisper-shouted. "Can Mama see again, Lilly? Can you show me that beautiful smile again?"
After that it was a virtual Whitlock stampede to see Lilly's first smiles. Angela raced back to her house to grab her camera and started snapping photo after photo of their beautiful girl's happy face.
Not a bad day, all in all. Esme found her mate and Lilly found her smile.
Over the next few days, everyone took their turn trying to find what made Lilly smile most. In the end, it was Gianna who could most reliably coax a smile out of their girl, after her parents.
Gianna was almost completely fluent in English but Italian would always be the language she was most comfortable with. She spoke in English when she was talking to the others but she had a tendency to mutter to herself out loud in Italian. And Lilly, it turned out, absolutely loved listening to Gianna speaking in her native language. A torrent of softly cooed Italian never failed to make Lilly give her a big, gummy grin.
"They're a pretty hot couple," Bella whispered to Jasper as they watched Paul bounce Lilly while Gianna spoke to her in Italian. "I bet they'd make some good-looking babies."
Seeing Paul smile and roll his eyes, Jasper laughed and pulled his wife a little closer. "I love that you just think of all of us as your family, rather than as supernatural beings, but I think sometimes that makes you forget that we are, in fact, supernatural beings. You know, the kind with super-hearing."
"What? Oh, Paul heard me?" Bella asked with a little laugh and a shrug. "That's fine, there's nothing wrong with being reminded he's hot every now and again."
"Did you get a chance to speak to Esme?" Jasper asked as he rocked the porch swing a little.
"I did," Bella nodded. "I assured her about seventy-three times that she didn't have to rush back for my birthday before she was convinced I meant it. It's honestly not that big a deal to me. Esme finding her mate, on the other hand, is a huge fucking deal."
"Did she talk to Aro about who turned William? Or if Carlisle knew he was alive?" Jasper asked. "I wouldn't put it past that conniving dick."
"She did, and no, Carlisle didn't know about him. From William's memories, it really was an accidental turning. And Aro didn't know the nomad who did it. When Aro first saw William he thought he looked vaguely familiar, but that was because he'd seen him human in Esme's memories. It was only after William asked them about Esme that Aro put it together. That's when they called and asked her to come to Italy."
Jasper nodded. "Good, I'd hate to think Carlisle betrayed her in that way. I wouldn't put it past him, but I'm glad he's innocent in this case," he said. "So, did you finally decide what you want to do tomorrow?"
"Yep. A long walk with the whole family, or at least all the family currently in Montana, Gianna's pesto salmon for dinner, bakery cake for dessert, and then Scrabble and a movie. If I can stay awake for both. If not, Scrabble and bed."
"That sounds like a pretty good day. Will you be on my Scrabble team this time?" he asked with his best puppy dog eyes.
Bella laughed and shoved his shoulder a little. "That was a fluke! I'm not some Scrabble mastermind, I just got lucky one time."
"Yes, but it was the one time you weren't on my team. Which is no fair," Jasper protested. "You're my wife, so your hundred-point words should benefit me, not Emmett, that cheating motherfucker," he grumbled.
"You are ridiculous," Bella laughed. "But fine, if it means…" she trailed off when Jasper suddenly tipped his head a little with a worried look on his face. "What's wrong?"
Jasper held up a finger as he listened to the call Leah had just gotten. Motherhood had taught Bella the true meaning of patience, so she just calmly waited for him to explain whatever he was hearing that her human ears couldn't pick up.
"Well that doesn't make sense," Jasper said a couple minutes later with a frown.
Before Bella could ask what he meant, Leah came out on the porch. "Were you listening?" she asked Jasper.
"I was, but it doesn't make any sense. What's the trigger?" he asked.
Bella delicately cleared her throat. "Anyone feel like clueing the human in on whatever it is she clearly missed?"
"Sorry," Jasper smiled. "Collin just called Leah and said one of the boys up there seems like he might be close to phasing."
Paul and Gianna walked over and Paul carefully transferred Lilly to her mother's arms. "Have they seen or smelled any vamps around?" Paul asked.
"Yes, but it was only one scent trail from what he could tell," Leah answered. "There was nothing to indicate that anyone had stuck around long enough to trigger the gene."
"You've offered to go up?" Jasper asked. Not that he needed to, he'd heard the whole conversation perfectly fine.
"Yeah. Will you mind, Bella? I know I'll miss your birthday, but—"
Bella interrupted her with a dismissive wave. "Don't be silly. Of course you should go. I can only say my birthday isn't that big a deal so many times. They need you."
"Maybe ask Seth if he'll come with you?" Jasper said. "I'd rather you not go with no experienced backup. Unless Paul wants to come along," he added while looking at the man in question.
"Of course I'll go with you if you want me to," Paul assured Leah. "I'd probably try to convince Gianna to stay back, just because I know the pesto salmon would be missed by Bella, even if we aren't."
"Very true, it would be," Bella laughed as she bounced Lilly.
"I'm going to miss the pesto salmon," Leah grumbled. It was one of her very favorite things. "But nah, you should stay here with her, Paul. No need for imprints to be separated. I might see if Angie wants to come up, though. If you don't mind, Bella, that is. It'll probably be the last time before Thanksgiving that she'll get to see her parents and brothers."
"Didn't you just say there was no need for imprints to be separated?" Bella laughed. "Of course Angela should come if she wants to. Honestly, why does no one listen when I say my birthday isn't a big deal?"
"Because it's a big deal to us," Jasper gently explained. "You being born is a day for us to celebrate. We get that it's not a particularly special day to you, but it's a special day to us."
Paul nodded and smiled at his human sister. "We're not dicks about it like Alice and Edward Cullen, so we'd never force an awkward party on you, but doing something together as a family - something of your choosing, not ours - is how we get to celebrate you coming into the world."
"And you coming into the world is how this great big family came to be," Gianna added. "The vampires and wolves came together because of you, Bella."
Bella huffed and blinked a few times. "If you guys could please remember that my hormones are still completely out of whack and not make me cry, I'd really appreciate it. But also, thank you. I appreciate that you want to make my day special. And that you want to make it special in a way that means something to me, not in a way that means something to you."
"So no crystal plates and goblets or whatever?" Leah laughed. "No three-tiered cake for one little human and everyone in party dresses?"
"God no," Bella laughed. "That was so not my idea of a good time. Although the sweater you had on that night looked really soft," she said to Jasper.
"Seriously?" Jasper huffed. "That clusterfuck of a debacle and my sweater, of all things, caught your attention?"
Bella just shrugged. "You've always known I was a little weird."
"True," Jasper agreed.
"Where is Seth?" Bella asked Leah. "I haven't seen him all day. Or Angela, now that I think about it."
"They went into town. Angela had some errands to run and Seth asked if he could tag along."
"He is still pouting that I make Lilly smile more?" Gianna asked with a grin.
"Yes," Leah laughed. "He's so used to being the cutest and most adorable that he can't understand why he's not the one to make the newest most cute and most adorable light up in constant smiles."
"Poor kid," Jasper laughed. "Being replaced as the baby of the family can't be easy."
Leah rolled her eyes. "I think he'll probably survive. Okay, I'm gonna go throw some stuff in a bag or two so we can hit the road when they get back. It's a long ass drive."
"You'll share the driving, right?" Bella asked worriedly.
"Of course," Leah immediately answered, knowing she had a tendency to worry about her loved ones even more than usual since Lilly's arrival. "And we'll keep in touch," she added before Bella could even ask.
"I'm that predictable, huh?" Bella laughed.
"It's not a bad thing that your family knows you love us enough to be concerned about our well-being," Leah assured her.
"They're gonna be back in about two minutes, so if you want to take off right away, maybe you'd better go pack," Jasper said.
Leah nodded. "Right. Will you guys fill them in?" she asked over her shoulder as she started jogging back towards her house.
"Yes, now turn around before you face-plant again," Paul laughed.
"That was one time, Paul Whitlock," Leah snarked as she gave him the finger over her shoulder.
"Your aunties and uncles are silly, aren't they," Bella said while kissing Lilly's petal-soft cheeks. When her little lips started to pucker, Bella smiled. "Did you want more kisses?" she asked, peppering kisses all over her face. "No? No kisses? Oh, are you hungry? Is that what you want, some yummy breast milk?"
Lilly smiled as if she understood her mama's words perfectly.
"Same, Lilly," Paul laughed. "Same."
Jasper shot him a glare but all that did was make Paul laugh harder. "I'd really like to not have to kill you, Paul, so if you could just stop trying to convince my wife to sweeten your coffee with her breast milk, it would go a long way to tamping down my homicidal tendencies."
"Come on," Gianna laughed, pulling Paul's hand. "Let's go help Leah with packing Seth's things."
"Does it really bother you?" Bella asked as she handed the baby to Jasper so she could get the wrap situated to cover her for nursing.
"Does what really bother me?" he asked as he rubbed his nose against Lilly's.
"Paul wanting my milk for his coffee. Okay, I'm ready."
Jasper helped tuck Lilly into the wrap so she was comfortably settled and Bella was covered. "No, not really. I mean, not to the point of being homicidal," he laughed. "I know he's more interested in the milk than in what the milk comes out of," he shrugged. "I still wish he'd try that sweetened condensed stuff so he'd quit harping on about it, though."
Angela and Seth pulled in the driveway before Bella could reply, and Jasper quickly explained the situation in Washington to them. Seth immediately ran off to pack a bag and Angela ran back to the car for a moment.
"I was going to give you this tomorrow, but I might as well give it to you now," she said as she came back with a wrapped gift. "Happy almost birthday, Bella."
Bella gestured for Angela to hand it to Jasper. "Can I open it now or do I need to wait?" she asked.
"Now is fine by me," Angela said with a smile.
Jasper unwrapped it to find a beautiful black and white photo of Bella holding Lilly, who was looking up at her with a big, adoring baby smile.
"Oh, it's so beautiful, Ange," Bella whispered, tears filling her eyes. "Thank you. I couldn't have asked for any better gift."
"She's right," Jasper agreed. "This is really beautiful."
Angela rocked on her heels with a pleased smile. "I'm so glad you like it. That's where we went today. I found somewhere that develops black and white film, and it's much better quality than at the grocery store or pharmacy. It's a little bit of a drive but it's totally worth it. And they have a great selection of frames and matting so I could make it really special."
"I love it. We'll have to find the perfect place to hang it."
"Alright, I'm going to go call my parents and see if they'd like to have some visitors," Angela laughed. Seeing the look on Bella's face, she immediately nodded. "We'll share the driving and keep in touch. I promise."
"I really am too predictable," Bella huffed.
"It's not a bad thing," Angela assured her as she hopped down the porch steps. "We know you love us and that you worry. Lilly has brought all those maternal instincts to protect your family to the forefront for you. It's a lovely thing to know you care about us enough to worry about our well-being."
"Yeah, I see why fate made y'all imprints," Jasper smiled. At Angela's curious look, he just shrugged. "Sometimes you and Leah sound similar. Especially when you're reassuring your loved ones."
Bella was too busy staring at the photograph in Jasper's hand to fully listen to their continued conversation. Their little girl was such a happy, sweet baby. Having one of her first smiles captured so beautifully was just about the best birthday gift Bella could've asked for.
"Hey Angie? Do you have any copies of this?" Bella asked.
"Two, actually. Do you want another one?"
"No, I was… Would it be weird to ask you to take one to my dad's grave? Maybe put it in a ziploc bag or something and leave it there for him? Like leaning against his headstone maybe?"
"No, that's not weird at all," Angela reassured her quietly, coming back on the porch to give her friend a hug. "I'd be happy to do that for you."
"Thanks," Bella whispered. "When Lilly's a little older Jasper and I are going to take her up there in person, but this will be a perfect first introduction."
Jasper nodded his agreement and pulled his wife just a little bit closer, letting her feel his love for her and Lilly as a ballast against her sadness.
Bella's parents may no longer be with her, but she'd chosen to go forward with the philosophy that they lived on through her and Lilly. Living happy, full lives with an abundance of love was the best way she could honor their memories. And whenever Bella looked around at her life, she wasn't sure anyone had more love than they did right there in their own corner of Montana.
"Oh my god, you are an angel of some kind in the kitchen," Bella sighed happily as she swallowed her last bite of salmon.
"Thank you," Gianna laughed. "I'm glad you love it."
"When my brain isn't baby mush, maybe you could teach me some of your recipes?" Bella asked hopefully.
She was quickly becoming spoiled by Gianna's Italian cooking. The fact that she'd researched what foods were good for breastfeeding and then adapted her mother's traditional recipes just made them all love the woman even more. Maybe they shouldn't have been surprised. She'd made Bella cookies with real ginger when she was so nauseous in Italy, after all. And that was before they'd even been introduced.
"I'd be happy to," Gianna answered with a bright smile. Her family in Italy had been very small - only her parents and herself - and she was discovering just how much she enjoyed being part of a big family.
"Do you have room for cake?" Jasper asked Bella with a smile. He was loving that she was enjoying her birthday. Aside from that disaster of a party on her eighteenth birthday, it was Jasper's first time getting to celebrate with her. Her nineteenth birthday had passed when she was traveling and not in communication with him. He'd sent a birthday email and he, Peter, and Charlotte had sung Happy Birthday on her voicemail, but that was the closest he got to celebrating with her.
"There's always room for cake, Jasper," Bella told him seriously. "Even if you have to carry me upstairs in a food coma, there's always room for cake."
"Good to know," Jasper laughed as he pushed his chair back. "I'll go get it. Peter, cut the lights when I tell you to."
"Singing and candles?" Bella whined a little. At the raised eyebrow from Charlotte, she smiled. "Singing and candles sound absolutely perfect."
Jasper looked at her suspiciously for a few seconds. "What's with the sudden and completely un-Bella-like change in perspective?" he asked.
"Charlotte very politely reminded me about your voicemail last year and wanted to make sure I let you sing to me in person this year with no fuss as an apology for worrying you for six months," Bella explained with a smile.
Jasper looked at Charlotte. "Seriously? That's it? Six months of constant worrying and you secured me the right to sing Happy Birthday without a complaint from the birthday girl? You couldn't have aimed a little higher?"
"You're such an asshole," Charlotte laughed and threw a balled-up napkin at his face.
Jasper easily dodged it and walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Charlotte. That was sweet of you."
"I know," she nodded.
"Don't start singing without me!" Emmett shouted from the driveway.
"You know we can all hear you, right?" Jasper asked as he rolled his eyes. "Even Bella heard that. And I heard you guys coming, so of course I'd wait for you. I thought callin' me an asshole all the time was part of lovingly teasing each other but y'all must really think I am an asshole if you'd think I'd—"
"Why are you still talking?" Rosalie asked as she walked in the door and pushed her way past Jasper, after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "The birthday girl has some of her favorite cake to eat so quit bitching and go light some damn candles."
"Nice to see you, too, you bitter fuckin' harpy," Jasper laughed, giving Emmett a quick hug as he followed his wife in the door. "Welcome home, Em."
After Emmett and Rosalie got their hugs from the birthday girl and secured a promise for the first cuddles from Lilly when she woke up, Jasper signaled to Peter to cut the lights and then brought out the cake.
Emmett must've forgotten about life with an infant during his week away because he sang with all his usual pre-baby Emmett gusto, which meant all they got out was the first line of Happy Birthday and Lilly startled awake with a cry.
"Damn it, Emmett," Jasper grumbled. "This was supposed to be my six-month worry reward."
"I'll go get her," Gianna offered, winking at Bella while she discreetly nodded at Rosalie. Gianna knew how much Rose wanted to see Lilly smile in person so she was going to make sure Lilly welcomed her home with a smile.
"Thanks, Gianna," Bella smiled, fully aware of what she was doing.
"No fair," Emmett pouted. "I haven't seen her in ages. Why can't I go get her?"
"Because you're the one who woke her up, you asphalt cowboy," Peter snarked. It was his new favorite insult. Leah had told him there was actually a real song called Asphalt Cowboy after hearing about Paul's mid-word correction of his swearing and he'd immediately listened to it. On hearing how awful it was, it became his insult of choice, whether Lilly was in the room or not.
"Asphalt cowboy? What the fu…dge is an asphalt cowboy?" Emmett asked. "Like a cowboy who lives in the city or something?"
"Truck driver," Peter said with a smile. "Long-distance truck driver."
"Are you ready to say another happy birthday to your mommy?" Gianna asked Lilly as they walked in the room. "Do you remember what I taught you this morning? Buon compleanno, Mamma. That's right, very good! Should we also welcome home your auntie and uncle?" she asked as she knelt beside Rosalie. "Can you say bentornata a casa, Zia Rose?"
"Oh!" Rosalie exclaimed, her face completely lit up. "Look at that beautiful smile, Lilly. Can I see another one?"
Right on cue, without the need for any Italian, Lilly smiled for her Auntie Rose.
Bella was glad Lilly had greeted her namesake with a grin. She knew Rosalie had been sad to miss their girl's first smiles. "So can I blow these out now?" Bella asked, pointing to the candles on her cake.
"Absolutely not," Jasper said immediately, shaking his head. "I'm singing the damn song to you whether you like it or not."
"That doesn't feel very birthday cheery, Jas," Bella said, having to bite back her laughter to sound suitably disapproving.
"I don't care. This is the third birthday you've had since I met you and I have yet to sing Happy Birthday to you. So suck it up and pretend you don't mind. Please let me have my worry reward."
Bella smiled at her disgruntled husband. "Well, you know what they say. Third time's the charm. So please, hon, I'd love for you to sing for me."
"Happy birthday to you," Jasper started, and by the second line, everyone else joined in. Lilly seemed to enjoy the singing because she had a big, gummy baby grin on her face the whole time.
Jasper's enthusiasm got him a round of applause from everyone, and he leaned over to kiss his wife's smiling lips. "Happy birthday, Bella. I'm so grateful you came into the world so that a little over seventeen years later you could come into my world and make it so much better. So much brighter."
Bella blinked away a few tears, but unlike her baby blues or hormone tears, these were tears of pure gratitude and happiness.
Moving back to Forks and meeting Edward Cullen had been the catalyst for some of her biggest heartaches, but it had ultimately led her to more happiness and love than she knew what to do with on most days.
As she looked at the candles and tried to come up with a wish, she realized there was nothing to actually wish for. She had everything she'd ever wanted.