A/N: This has been a nightmare day for posting. First I uploaded the wrong chapter, then I uploaded the right one, only to accidentally delete it three seconds after posting it while editing a mistake. I should probably just give up and try again tomorrow, but I'm nothing if not stupidly stubborn:) Also, you'd think after fifty-one chapters of my first story, and fifty-three in this one, that I'd be better at transitional chapters. But I'm really not, so this is awkward and clunky, lol. Maybe by my next story I'll have them nailed.

This chapter is dedicated to ValentinaK93, who was the 600th - holy shit! - reviewer:)

Additions and Subtractions

Leah called the day after Bella's birthday just chock full of news.

"We found a vamp squatter in the Cullen's old house," was how she opened the conversation when Jasper answered his phone. "Some asshole named Riley. Been here for months, as far as we can tell. Apparently he was Victoria's boy toy."

"Seriously? Victoria's been dead for a year and a half. Where's he been all this time?" Jasper asked as he put the call on speaker so Bella could hear.

"He was a pretty new vamp. Victoria changed him shortly before she died. He hid away in some abandoned warehouse while he waited for her to come back to Seattle that last time, which of course she never did. After a while, he realized she wasn't coming back. He kept himself hidden for the most part until he had some control, and then wandered around for a while trying to find her. When he came up empty-handed, he figured the Cullens had finally caught up to her. I guess Victoria told him the Cullens were trying to kill her over a misunderstanding with a human and she was trying to kill them before they could get to her," Leah explained. "He'd come to Forks once with her so he remembered where the Cullen's house was, and came here to try to get revenge or whatever. Hid out at the house assuming you guys would be back at some point and he could ambush you."

"How did Collin only find one scent trail?" Jasper asked. "Riley would've had to leave to hunt."

"That was a mistake on Collin and Brady's part. Riley was smart enough to always follow the same path when he went to Seattle to hunt, and because of how long so many of you lived at that house, it still has a vampy smell. They assumed it was an old scent of one of the Cullens they didn't meet."

"How did you find all this out?" Bella asked curiously. "You can't exactly question him in your wolf forms."

"We got to him as wolves first. The dude couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag," Leah laughed. "Once we relieved him of his legs I phased back."

"I'm assuming he's no longer of this world?" Jasper asked with a smile.

"Yep. Ashes in the wind," she confirmed. "But that's not everything. I've got some good news that leads to some bad-ish news. Well, not bad news, necessarily, but definitely some uncertainty."

Jasper and Bella exchanged a confused look. "And?" Bella asked.

"Seth found his imprint. A girl named Kaya. She and her mom moved here from Neah Bay a couple months ago to help take care of her sick aunt."

"That's a pretty name," Bella said with a smile.

"So the uncertainty is what to do from here?" Jasper asked. "I'm assuming she's still in school?"

"Yeah, she's only fifteen," Leah answered. "She's a friend of Collin and Brady."

"And what, he doesn't want to leave now? He wants to stay up there?" Bella asked.

"Yeah," Leah said with a heavy sigh. "I'm kind of at a loss about how to handle it."

Jasper frowned a little. "I'll have to give it some thought. I get that he's legally emancipated but he's still only sixteen. And I may not be his legal guardian but I still feel responsible for him," he answered. "You're gonna stay up there a few more days? Who's the new wolf? Or the possible new wolf."

"He's part of the Ateara bloodline. I didn't really know him, though. He's the same age as Collin and Brady, so he was way behind me at school. And yeah, he's already got the growth spurt so he's probably really close. We'll stay to help him adjust a little."

"Alright, let us know if you need anything. And tell Seth congratulations and let him know we'll find a solution somehow. I'm really happy for him," Jasper said, Bella echoing her congratulations before they ended the call.

"Well that's happy news," Bella laughed. "That's the whole family now. Everyone's finally found their other half."

"It is good news," Jasper agreed. "But I'm not real comfortable with Seth staying up there on his own. We could probably ask the Fullers or Littleseas to keep an eye on him, but I don't think either are in a position to have him move in with them, if for no other reason than neither family has an extra bedroom. And I can't move up there, any vamp presence will just cause more kids to phase. Both Leah and Paul are fine with being there temporarily, but you know they've always been adamant that they don't want to live up there full-time ever again. Seth's still only sixteen. He's matured a lot since moving here, but that's not old enough to live on his own."

"I agree. We'll figure something out," she assured her worried husband. "We always have before, so I'm confident we will this time, too."

Jasper couldn't argue with that. They'd all faced their fair share of shitty or difficult situations and had always muddled through to the other side. They'd just have to do it again.

It turned out to be the Webers, not the Whitlocks, who came up with a solution. A temporary one, anyway.

After Angela told her mom the story, minus the supernatural elements, Mrs. Weber talked to her husband about it. They both knew and liked Seth, as did Angela's brothers, so they offered to have Seth move in with them for a while. Seth had jumped at the offer and had even thrown in an offer of his own of some free babysitting for the twins.

After discussing it at length, Jasper had given his reluctant agreement. Having a shapeshifting wolf living with people who didn't know about the supernatural world came with some serious risks. Seth had excellent control of his wolf so Jasper wasn't worried about him phasing unexpectedly, but there was still the size of his appetite and the fact that his body temperature was ten degrees hotter than a human's.

"I'll transfer some money to both the Fullers and the Littleseas. Try to eat a normal amount with the Webers and get your extra calories at one of their houses at La Push. You're going to be down there a lot anyway and both families have already agreed to feed you. I'll also make sure the utilities at the old Cullen house stay on and you can keep food there," Jasper told Seth. "If you ever get sick - and I know it doesn't happen often, but humor me - go see Jane Fuller. The Webers would likely try to get you to see a doctor, which you can't do. How are you planning on explaining your temperature? There's no way you'll be able to avoid touch. Maybe when it comes to Angela's parents if you tell them you have an aversion to being touched or something, but you can't expect kids to keep their hands off you, especially if you're babysitting."

Seth didn't have an answer to that, aside from saying he'd be careful.

Bella did a little research for him and found that there was a name for the fear of physical touch - haphephobia - and thought maybe he could tell the Webers he had that. Jasper then asked Jenks to create an official paper trail that Seth had been diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

Mr. and Mrs. Weber knew that Seth had been living with the Whitlocks, so Jasper called them to speak to them about Seth, and to tell them he'd undergone some therapy in Montana but that so far he hadn't made any headway. He made sure to emphasize that not only did Seth not like physical touch, but that it actually caused him distress. The Webers assured him they wouldn't do anything to upset the boy they liked so much, and that they'd talk to Angela's brothers about it as well.

It was the best possible outcome, and they all just crossed their fingers that nothing would go awry.

It had taken a few weeks to iron out all the details with the Webers, including agreeing on a monthly stipend that Jasper would send them, and it wasn't until the first week of October that Bella and Jasper packed up what Seth wanted and shipped it to Washington.

Leah and Angela had stayed in Washington with Seth to give him some support while his relationship with Kaya was new. Seth had learned enough living with the Whitlocks to know that relationships - imprints or vamp mates - were partnerships. Two halves of a whole, as his family said. He knew he wanted his relationship with Kaya to start on equal footing but he was more than a little nervous to tell her she was his imprint. Paul and Leah might have had a positive outcome, but they'd all been so rattled by the Sam and Emily mess that he had some lingering unease about it.

A phone call from Chelsea offered the reassurance he needed that things would turn out fine, regardless of how Kaya reacted. She reminded him that she could come to Washington and dissolve the bond if the girl was uncomfortable with being an imprint. She also passed along a message from Marcus that he'd be happy to come and see if their bond was one of true soulmates.

After a lengthy pep talk or two from Jasper, Seth had taken a walk with Kaya on First Beach and told her about their connection. She was surprised, for sure, but not unreceptive. She'd been drawn to Seth since he'd arrived in Washington but had chalked it up to a teen crush.

By the time the few boxes of Seth's things arrived, they were a solid couple who had the support of the tribe and Kaya's mom and aunt.

Leah and Angela ended up deciding to stick around Washington long enough to help Seth unpack and settle in at the Webers, so it wasn't until the second week of October that they finally returned to Montana, and by that time they'd been gone a month.

Gianna and Bella had prepared an Italian feast to celebrate their return, including Gianna's pesto salmon that Leah had practically begged her to make.

Leah put her fork down with a happy sigh. "Oh my god, that was so good. Thank you for knowing me well enough to make three pieces just for me," she laughed.

Gianna gave her a bright smile. "You're very welcome. The Italian in me finds great pleasure in feeding all of you. It's one of the ways we show our love."

Bella smiled at that. Gianna had adjusted to their big, weird family with surprising ease. "You know, I've gotta say, I'm happy for Seth, but I'm kinda sad for us."

"Same," Charlotte nodded. "Finding his imprint and having her accept him is nothing short of wonderful, but I'm gonna miss his cheerful smile brightening up the place."

"Our family is both growing and shrinking," Jasper said as he turned Lilly in his arms so she was facing the table. She'd just recently started being able to hold her head up on her own and was fascinated by just about everything she could see.

Their family had gained an imprint and a mate, but they'd temporarily lost a wolf and a vamp.

Not only was Seth up in Washington with Kaya, but Esme and William were both in Italy. William was using the Volturi library to do research for a second PhD, so he was tied to Italy for the next few months. After a long deliberation, and a lot of reassurance from her family, Esme had decided to stay with him. The two of them had video calls with everyone in Montana every few days, but it wasn't the same as having Esme there in person. They were expected to come for a short visit the following week so they could officially meet Esme's mate.

"Part of me wants to resent William a little," Bella admitted. "But I know that's not all that fair. They were separated for such a long time already, and I know he's not keeping Esme from us because he's a dick. If Jasper had to be away from Montana for whatever reason, I'd be with him in a heartbeat, even if it meant leaving all of you for a while."

"I get the resentment thing. I feel the same way sometimes," Peter assured her with a smile. "Then I see her eyes sparkling with happiness and I remind myself the distance between us is worth it."

"Very true," Bella nodded. She knew the joy and contentment that came with finding your other half. She missed Seth and Esme, but for now, they were both right where they should be. And Jasper had always been good about reminding everyone that distance didn't make them any less a family.

Even if Seth and Esme never returned to Montana full-time, they would always be Whitlocks.

"Bella!" Esme exclaimed happily as she hugged her hello for a good long minute. When Bella pulled back, Esme hugged Jasper and let him feel all her love and joy at seeing him again. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Jasper said with a smile. "And there's a little girl here who's been eagerly waiting to see her Nana Esme."

Peter stood on the porch with Lilly in his arms. He caught a quick hug from Esme when she eagerly ran up the porch steps, and then handed the baby over.

"Oh my goodness, look at you!" Esme laughed as she kissed Lilly's cheek. "And look at that smile! I've missed you too, sweet girl."

While Esme chattered away to Lilly and caught up on her cuddles, everyone took the opportunity to greet William.

He was a handsome man, even for a vamp, and he had a warm smile that completely lit up his face. The way his eyes twinkled when he watched Esme was heartwarming to just about everyone. He looked at her like she was the most fascinating creature he'd ever laid eyes on, and they all believed Esme deserved nothing less than a partner who cared about her happiness above all else. She'd so often taken third place in Carlisle's heart, after Edward and Alice, and Jasper was thrilled that William appreciated her for the wonderful woman she was.

The amount of time William had spent getting to know all the Whitlocks while still in Italy meant he was relatively comfortable with them right from the start. Paul and Leah hung back a little, knowing vamps found them a little unnerving at the beginning, but William walked right over to shake their hands. They were part of his mate's family and he knew they'd been part of her support system after all the awful events in Volterra the previous year. Edgy nerves or not, they deserved his respect and gratitude.

By the end of their first day in Montana, William had slotted himself into the huge Whitlock clan like he'd always been there. With how warm and loving Esme's heart was, it wasn't a surprise that her soulmate's heart was just the same.

"I really like him," Bella whispered that night as she soaked in a hot bath with Jasper.

"I do too," Jasper agreed. "Head back."

Bella closed her eyes and tipped her head back so he could rinse the shampoo from her hair. There were easily a million things Bella loved about her husband, but the way he always gently washed her hair in the bath or shower was probably in her top ten. Top twenty, at least. He loved taking care of her in ways both big and small, and she was thoroughly spoiled by it after their ten months together. She tended to do a little playful grumbling now when she had to wash her own hair.

"Is he as warm and kind as he seems?" Bella asked. "Does he appreciate Esme as much as it looks like from the outside?"

"He is and he does," Jasper said with a smile. "His emotions match his actions perfectly. There's always a little bit of awe when he looks at her, like he still can't quite believe he found her again. And that's always accompanied by gratitude."

"Good," Bella nodded. "That means he won't take her for granted. Have you shared that with Rose and Em yet?"

The McCartys were the slightest bit cautious, but it had less to do with who William was personally and more to do with their protectiveness of Esme. Unlike Jasper, who'd seen Esme more as a sister than a mother, Rosalie and Emmett still considered Esme their mother-figure. After everything she'd been through, they wanted to make sure she wasn't in a position to be hurt again.

"I did. Well, Emmett, at least. I had him do the perimeter run with me while you were putting Lilly down and told him everything I knew from reading William. He'll pass it along to Rose," Jasper assured her.

"Good," Bella said again. "Esme shouldn't have to worry about them not approving of her mate."

Jasper agreed. The way Rosalie and Emmett had acted throughout the day had annoyed him a little. He understood their protectiveness to a degree, but Esme was a grown ass woman, significantly older than both of them in both human years and overall years on this earth. She wasn't a stupid woman, nor was she naive. Even when it came to Carlisle, she hadn't been blind. She'd known they weren't mates but made the decision to stay with him anyway. He didn't think Rose or Emmett had the right to withhold their approval until William passed some kind of test of their own making. Esme had never been anything less than one hundred percent supportive of the two of them from the moment Rose brought a bleeding and broken Emmett home and begged Carlisle to change him. She deserved the same in return.

Even if Jasper hadn't had the reassurance from his gift, Esme's absolute happiness, which was clear on her face, would've been reason enough for Jasper to accept the man with no hesitation. He was disappointed that the same didn't hold true for the couple he'd considered his brother and his twin for so many decades.

Both Bella and Jasper were relieved to see over the following few days that Rose and Emmett let go of their reservations and welcomed William to the family the way they should've done on his first day in Montana. Better late than never, Jasper supposed.

The week seemed to pass far too quickly, and soon they were saying goodbye.

"You'll consider coming for a visit?" Esme asked Jasper quietly as she hugged him by the car. Esme had found that her time in Italy had helped her heal those last traces of pain that lingered over the events of the previous year. Volterra had been the place where they'd made a lot of new friends, but it was also the place their lives had exploded so dramatically. Being in Volterra this time around, getting to spend time with the kings and the guard for purely positive reasons, had made her heart feel lighter. She wanted the rest of the family to have that final bit of healing also.

"Absolutely," he told her. "It's just a matter of when Bella feels comfortable traveling so far with Lilly."

"I understand," Esme nodded as she pulled back and kissed his cheek. "Just know there's always room for you and you'll be happily welcomed any time at all."

Jasper took a moment to share his love and gratitude with the woman who'd always accepted him, who welcomed him into her heart when he was just a wary, doubtful stranger who unexpectedly turned up on her doorstep with Alice.

Esme gave him a soft smile. "I love you too, darling. Now come on, I want one more cuddle with our flower before we go."

As autumn gave way to winter, Bella found herself becoming increasingly restless and stir crazy. The wintery weather of November and December meant she and Lilly were stuck in the house more, and Lilly liked it just about as much as Bella did. Which is to say not at all.

Jasper watched his mate with a smile as he bounced his fussy daughter on his lap. Bella was glaring out the window as if the snow was specifically there to ruin her day.

"Sweetheart?"

"What?" Bella snapped, then immediately cringed. "Shit, I'm sorry. That attitude was meant for the weather not you."

"It's fine," he laughed. "Do you know what today is?"

"Another day I can't take Lilly outside?" she grumbled as she dramatically threw herself onto the couch, making Jasper smile.

"That's one thing it is," Jasper nodded. "It's also December fifteenth."

"Uh, okay," Bella said slowly, looking up at her husband. "What am I missing?"

"Well, it was on December seventeenth that you went to Volterra with Alice. So it was December eighteenth that all kinds of wonderful things happened. You discovered this little monster was a secret stowaway," he said as he swooped in and covered Lilly's face with kisses, making her gurgle and squeal an adorable baby laugh. "Then, very soon after, like mere minutes later, you and I were happily reunited," he went on, swooping in on Bella and peppering her face with kisses, making her squeal an equally adorable laugh, though there was no gurgling. "And shortly after that, we discovered we were mates," he finished with a beaming smile.

"That is an awful lot of wonderful things," Bella agreed.

"And then the next day, you had the pleasure of meeting me," Peter laughed as he and Charlotte walked in the living room. Charlotte smiled and poked his side. "And Charlotte, of course," he quickly added.

"And later that night, we had the unexpected but completely happy surprise of being reunited with you," Rosalie added as she and Emmett joined them.

Bella looked around at her vamp family with an amused smile. "I have a feeling you're all leading up to something so just spit it out."

"William and Esme have rented a villa for the next three weeks in the countryside outside of Volterra," Jasper told her as he nodded at his open laptop on the coffee table. "She sent pictures."

Bella pulled the laptop towards her and the very first photo she saw was of a nursery with a big Lilly blossom painted on the wall above the crib.

"And what's the—" Bella was interrupted in asking what the temperature there was by Jasper leaning over and hitting a key to change which tab was open, and she immediately started laughing. It was the current weather in Volterra, showing it was sunny and forty-seven degrees fahrenheit. "Okay then. So I guess we're going to Italy for Christmas?"

"That's my hope," Jasper nodded with a smile.

"All of us?" Bella clarified.

Jasper nodded. "Leah, Angela, Paul, Gianna, and Seth are going to spend a little time with the Webers and our friends in La Push, but assuming you want to go, they'll be joining us in Italy on the twenty-third. As for the vamps—"

"Yes!" Peter, Charlotte, Rosalie, and Emmett all shouted, startling Lilly a little. Fortunately it made her break out in baby giggles rather than baby tears. She was used to her loud ass family by now.

"When?" Bella asked.

"One of the Volturi jets is already in Montana," Jasper admitted. "So whenever you're ready."

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. "Are all our bags already packed?"

"Of course not," Jasper said, trying to look offended, at exactly the same time the four other vamps again shouted "Yes!"

Bella looked at her husband with a raised eyebrow.

"It's true! All our bags are not already packed," he laughed, then gave a casual little shrug. "Only mine is. I thought you'd like to pack your own and figured we could pack Lilly's together."

Bella leaned over to kiss his adorable face. "Then I guess I better get to work," she laughed as she hopped off the couch and ran for the stairs. "Come on! I'll do my bag while you do Lilly's!"

Jasper smiled at his wife's back and then looked at his daughter. "Christmas in Italy, flower. What do you think?" he asked. Lilly's answer was a gummy baby grin and a peal of laughter.

"I think that's a yes," Rosalie laughed.