A/N: Here's an extra long chapter to make up for the last few shorter ones. And we're getting closer to the end. I'm guessing about five chapters left, including an epilogue.

Sending all of you my gratitude for reading:)

What a Difference a Year Makes

On December nineteenth, Jasper stole his wife away for the afternoon. They left Lilly in the care of her family, along with a few bottles of breast milk and Jasper's strict instructions that they were only to be contacted if there was an emergency with the baby.

"So this is a kidnapping, huh?" Bella asked with a smile once they were on the road. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

"That's still a surprise," Jasper laughed. "My answer hasn't changed from the first sixty-three times you've asked."

Bella just shrugged. "You can't blame me, you know I hate surprises."

"Don't you trust me?" he asked. "You should know me well enough by now to know I'd never spring anything on you that I know you'd hate. But if you really want me to tell you, I will."

"No, it's fine," she assured him. "I do trust you, I'm just curious. It feels like ages since we've had any true alone time."

That was definitely true. They lived with a big family and had a five-month old baby. There seemed to always be somebody around, and usually multiple somebodies. Jasper had decided that the one-year anniversary of their very first kiss was reason enough to sneak away with his beautiful mate for some alone time.

He'd asked Esme for ideas where they could go for some privacy, preferably outdoors, as his wife hated being indoors these days. She'd told him about the Berignone Nature Reserve, which wasn't far away. She often went there just for some peace and quiet. Part of the reserve tended to have a lot of hikers and walkers, but she'd told him how to find her favorite quiet corner where she was always alone.

Neither Jasper nor Bella were ones for extravagant romantic gestures, but a quiet few hours with beautiful scenery and snacks for the human seemed like a pretty perfect way for the two of them to celebrate.

He'd been pretty lucky with the weather, as it was cloudy and in the mid-fifties. Not quite warm enough for naked fun in the great outdoors, especially with a vamp partner who had no body heat to share, but Bella was in enough layers that at least she wouldn't freeze.

Jasper pulled into the parking area Esme had directed him to and turned to his wife, who was looking around with a smile.

"It's beautiful here," she whispered, as if she was afraid she'd crack the peacefulness of their surroundings, even in the car.

"It's Esme's secret, so no spilling to anyone else where she goes for privacy," he laughed. "Feel up to a little walk?"

"Absolutely," Bella nodded and scrambled out of the car with none of the grace of her vamp husband.

Jasper smiled and walked around to get the picnic basket and blanket out of the back of the SUV, then took her hand and they set off. Both of them felt a little spoiled by where they lived, thinking their corner of Montana was about as beautiful as anywhere in the States, but the Reserve was remarkably beautiful in a different way and they both enjoyed the walk.

When the small clearing Esme told him about came into view, he couldn't help smiling. It was just as lovely as she'd said it would be. And reaching out with his senses and his gift, they were completely alone. He couldn't feel a single set of emotions but theirs.

After laying out the blanket, he got Bella settled and started unpacking her picnic. "I have to tell you, I almost made you an omelette with broccoli and spinach just to recreate the meal you had just before you took a leap of faith and kissed me, but I figured this was better," he smiled as he pulled out an apple and a knife, along with a small container of almond butter.

"This was my snack that afternoon," Bella laughed. "Just before I had to explain what a power nap was."

Jasper nodded and pulled out a thermos of coffee, a bowl of cup up strawberries, and a small jar of nutella. Last was a tupperware of the pasta she could never get enough of.

"You angel of a man," she sighed. "All my favorite treats."

"I'd be a pretty fuckin' awful husband if I didn't know my wife's favorite things by now," he laughed as he started cutting her apple into slices.

After Bella ate as much as she could, Jasper wrapped the blanket around her and pulled her into his arms. They were mostly silent as they laid together, and Bella was just on the edge of dozing when Jasper's voice broke the quiet.

"Do you have a favorite moment from the last year?" he whispered.

"Just one? I'm not sure I could narrow it down, to be honest. Lilly's arrival, obviously. Marrying you. Those are the two most important ones. There are about a million others, though. It's been difficult at times, painful even, but there's been so much good that it more than balances out any of the bad."

"I agree. The good far outweighs the bad," he murmured as he tipped her head back to kiss her soft lips. After a couple seconds he froze and dropped his head back with a scowl. "You have got to be fuckin' kidding me."

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, but then almost immediately started laughing. "Let me guess, we're being invaded?"

"Y'all are assholes," Jasper growled, making Bella laugh more.

"But it's our one-year anniversary, too!" Charlotte shouted as she came bounding into the clearing and threw herself on the blanket on Bella's other side, followed by a laughing Peter. "It was a year ago today that we met Bella so we should get to celebrate with y'all!"

"Besides, it's too cold to do any outdoor bangin' of a human so it's not like we're interrupting anything interesting," Peter shrugged as he plopped down next to Jasper.

Jasper growled again but had to work to keep from laughing. "Bangin' my wife is not the only reason we might want some privacy, asshole."

"Why, what are y'all doing?" Charlotte asked.

"Comparing our favorite memories of the last year. What are yours?" Bella asked as Charlotte put her head on her shoulder.

"Edward's head in the eagle's nest," she answered immediately, like she'd already been prepared.

"Seriously?" Jasper laughed. "Of everything that's happened in the year since y'all met Bella, Edward's head in a nest is in your top favorite moments?"

"It's not one of yours?" Charlotte asked in surprise.

Jasper thought on it a second and then shrugged. "Chelsea talking to him and showing him her memories of everyone laughing at him wasn't so bad, I guess. But definitely not in my top ten. Probably not even in my top twenty."

"And if you took out all the moments involving Bella or Lilly?" Peter asked with a smile.

"Maybe top twenty," Jasper conceded with a laugh. "Although breaking Jacob Black's jaw beats it by a mile."

"Carlisle running into the wall with his face was pretty good," Charlotte added.

"If we're talking about moments not centered around Jasper and Lilly, watching you put Edward on the floor with a single move was a highlight for me," Bella said with a laugh as she poked her vamp sister.

"Yeah, that was fun," Charlotte nodded with a happy sigh.

"I had a pretty good time teaching you to two-step," Peter said to Bella. "If I take out moments revolving around Charlotte and Lilly, that would probably make my top ten."

"Let's dance!" Charlotte shouted and hopped to her feet as she pulled out her phone. As she looked for the best music to play, she glared at the three lazy bones still on the blanket. "Get up. We're celebrating our year anniversary with some Texas two-steppin'."

Knowing it was better to agree to Charlotte's demand in the beginning rather than dealing with the constant pestering until you inevitably caved anyway, Peter, Jasper, and Bella hauled themselves to their feet.

Charlotte cheered happily as Jasper moved the blanket and picnic basket to the edge of the clearing. "Ready?" she asked with a huge smile. At three nods, she hit play and turned the volume all the way up.

And so the next hour of their joint one-year anniversary was spent Texas two-stepping around a clearing in a forest in Italy. It may not have been quite the anniversary Jasper imagined, but they were all laughing and having a blast, so it honestly seemed like a pretty good way to celebrate.

Esme had decided to wait to decorate the house until they were all together, so the next day, everyone piled in an SUV or three and they headed out to the Christmas market they'd gone to the year before.

Lilly decided she was most happy in her daddy's arms once they arrived, so the two of them, Charlotte, and Rosalie went off to pick out ornaments, while Emmett and Peter had the unenviable task of helping Bella find the perfect tree. Esme politely declined Bella's offer to have her and William help, telling her she had some of her own things to pick up. Emmett smiled to himself when he heard Esme telling her mate that picking out a tree with Bella was no fun because she had very high, very specific standards.

"Better to let her get what she likes and just enjoy decorating it later," Esme whispered. "Much more fun that way."

Lilly, meanwhile, thought the market was great. She spent the morning in Jasper's arms, eyes wide and hands constantly reaching for one bright thing after another. There was a constant stream of baby babble as they walked around.

"Look, flower," Jasper said as he pointed. "Stars like you have at home."

Rosalie took down a few of the star ornaments that matched the ones in the mobile above Lilly's crib. "Should we get some for Nana's tree, Lilly?" she asked. Lilly kicked her legs and gurgled a cute little baby laugh, so Rose nodded. "I completely agree."

Charlotte laughed at Rose's serious face as she listened to baby babble. "Can we get the cranberries and oranges again? That reminded me of my human Christmases."

Jasper pointed to where the huge strands were hanging. "Maybe get a lot. My guess is this year's tree will be bigger since Bella's got more room to work with."

Charlotte nodded and went to grab some, giggling when she heard Peter's exasperated voice.

"Bella, it's literally the same size."

"No it's not," Bella insisted. "That last one was definitely shorter."

"So this is the one you want?" Emmett asked, hoping and praying that this nightmare was nearly over.

Bella tipped her head to the side as she thought about it. "Um…"

"Yes!" Peter shouted. "For the love of all that is fuckin' holy, please let this be the one, Bella."

Bella looked up at him in surprise. "You like this one that much?" she asked, completely blind to the fact that she was making the tree choosing the least fun aspect of Christmas.

Peter just nodded emphatically. "I do. I really, really do."

"Okay, you should've said something sooner," Bella smiled. "Then this is the one."

"Yeah, you should've said something sooner," Emmett growled quietly as he glared at Peter.

"Hey!" Peter laughed. "How was I supposed to know that was all it would take."

Bella looked between the two of them with a confused frown. "All what would take? What am I missing?"

Before either man was forced to respond and risk hurting her feelings, Jasper saved the day by running over and skidding to a stop while practically shoving the baby in Bella's face. "Look who's missing her mommy!"

"Oh!" Bella said with a startled laugh as she took a happily squealing Lilly, who thought her daddy's marathon dash was great fun. "Did you miss me, flower? While you were having fun with Daddy and your aunties, I was having fun with your uncles. Look at the nice tree Uncle Peter picked out. Should we take this home to Nana's and put all kinds of pretty things on it? Now we just need a star for the top," she said as she looked around.

"Behind you and over a couple aisles," Jasper said as he pointed her in the direction of the tree toppers.

Once she was far enough away, all three men started laughing. "Seriously, the girl is about as laid-back as they come, so how the fuck does this transformation happen when she's picking out a Christmas tree?" Peter asked.

"And this year I don't even have the reward of making any money," Emmett grumbled.

"Oh damn, I forget about that," Jasper laughed. He pulled out his wallet and handed Emmett all the cash he had, then quickly took back half and handed that to Peter. "There. Compensation for your trouble."

"I always knew you were my favorite brother for a reason," Peter laughed as he put the money in his pocket. "So what else? Y'all got ornaments and ropes of fruit, and—"

"Ropes of fruit?" Emmett laughed. "Do you mean the strands of cranberries and oranges that remind your wife of her human Christmases?"

"Yeah, those," Peter nodded. "Like I said, ropes of fruit."

"Once Bella gets the tree topper we're good to go," Jasper said with a smile. "Esme's picked out some stuff with William and they're just waitin' on us now."

Emmett nudged Jasper's arm. "Why's that lady staring at you?" he whispered.

Jasper turned to see the woman who he'd bought every ginger product under the sun from the year before. Bella walked back over then, Lilly bouncing away on her hip, and the woman nodded with a pleased smile.

"She's the one who sold all the ginger stuff I bought our pukey human last year," Jasper said as he smiled back at her. "I thought she was gonna think I was weird, but she just gave me a knowing smile as she looked at Bella."

On hearing who the woman smiling at her husband was, Bella immediately walked over to thank her for helping her get through the worst of her morning sickness. That ginger had been a real lifesaver for her.

"Are we ready?" Esme asked as she walked over.

"Nice timing," Emmett grumbled.

"Hey, don't blame me," she laughed. "I had a perfectly good excuse not to come with you. And at least you made some money again."

Jasper shook his head with a laugh. "Y'all are ridiculous."

"And considering some of the bitch fits I've seen your wife throw, you oughta be thanking your lucky stars that annoying tree choosing is the worst thing Bella puts you through," Charlotte said as she joined them, poking Emmett in the chest.

"Bitch fits, Charlotte? Really?" Rosalie drawled as she walked over.

"Uh, yep," Charlotte nodded. "When you go off, you don't do it halfway. You really go off. So maybe let's lay off the human who's way better behaved than all of us."

Esme delicately cleared her throat and raised her eyebrow.

"All of us but you, Esme," Charlotte laughed. "You're about as easygoing as Bella is and you almost always use your manners."

"Are we ready?" Bella asked with a smile as she came over and took her husband's hand. "And why are you all looking at me with those weird smiles? You all look super creepy right now."

"I think they're all just feelin' the Christmas spirit, sweetheart," Jasper laughed. "Come on, let's buy this shit and strap the tree to the car so we can move on to the fun part."

Bella nodded off on the drive back to the villa, but was startled awake by someone shouting her name. She startled again when her door was yanked open the moment the car stopped.

"Bella!"

"Jesus," Bella muttered as she jerked back away from the door and tried to clear her sleepy head.

"Uh, no, not quite," Chelsea laughed. "But how exciting! I've never been mistaken for a man before!"

Jasper laughed as he reached over to unbuckle Lilly from her car seat. "And he's so much younger than you," he pointed out. "It's quite the compliment."

"Very true," Chelsea nodded. "Are you going to get out of the car and hug me, Bella?"

"Yes," Bella laughed as she climbed out and stretched her arms over her head. "I forget sometimes that you're older than Jesus."

Chelsea pulled her favorite human into a hug. "Much older. Although I didn't meet him. Aro did, I believe. Thought he was a nice young man. Kind."

"Aro met Jesus?" Bella asked incredulously.

"I believe so," Chelsea nodded as she took her hand and started pulling her to the house. "You can ask him yourself, he's waiting inside."

"Oh, okay," Bella agreed as she stumbled up to the door.

"Chelsea, could you please try to remember that my wife moves slightly slower than you?" Jasper laughed. "I'd rather she not fall and crack her head open. Blood's awfully hard to clean up and this is a rental house."

Bella gave her husband a playful glare, while Chelsea just laughed as she slowed down. "Sorry, it's easy to forget she's still human. And hello, Lilly! Look at how big you've gotten!"

Chelsea looked genuinely torn about whether she wanted to keep holding Bella's hand or if she wanted to hold the baby she'd last seen in person when she was only a week old. Lilly solved her dilemma by reaching her chubby little hands out.

Jasper handed Chelsea the baby with a smile and a reminder to move slowly with her, then took Bella's hand. "Want some coffee? I know that wasn't the gentlest of ways to wake up."

"It's fine, but coffee sounds good. I only had half a cup this morning."

Bella was surprised to find not just Aro inside, but Jane as well. "This is a nice surprise," she said as she hugged Jane.

"We've been trying not to be rude by showing up and pestering you, but Aro's never been known for his patience," Jane teased with a smile.

"I'm sorry, we should've come to say hello sooner," Bella laughed as she hugged Aro.

"Nonsense. We didn't want to crowd you on your first few days. Traveling so far with such a little one can't be easy, so we thought it prudent to give you some time to recover," he laughed.

"Yeah, it wasn't great," Bella nodded. "It was also a hundred times better than it could've been, though, so thank you for sending the plane for us."

"My pleasure, I'm glad it was helpful."

Jasper walked in the living room with a cup of coffee for his wife, and shook Aro's hand and hugged Jane hello. "Did y'all come to help us decorate?" he asked.

"No," Jane shook her head with a smile. "I'm not sure Christmas is really our thing. We just came to see you all and to meet Lilly. Although I'm happy to help if you'd like an extra pair of hands," she added.

"Speaking of Christmas, did you really meet Jesus?" Bella asked Aro.

"Chelsea's been telling tales again?" he laughed. "I don't know that I met the Jesus, but I did very briefly meet a Jesus in the relevant time period. Also a carpenter, so it's possible."

"That's wild," Bella laughed, but stopped suddenly. "Wait, he died and then rose three days later, right? Is he…?"

"A vampire? No, as far as I know, the Jesus of Christendom is not a vampire," Aro laughed.

Bella just smiled and shrugged. "Just a thought."

"Out of the way!" Emmett shouted as he came through the door carrying the Christmas tree. Thankfully it was one of those double front doors that can open on both sides.

Bella scooted out of the way just in time to not be knocked down. "Is that gonna be too—"

"No!" Emmett and Peter both shouted, making Bella jump a little.

"It's perfect, damn it," Peter added as he walked in carrying a few bags. "Hey Aro, Janie. Y'all come to help?"

Chelsea came in the room carrying Lilly, her head tipped to the side at a weird angle. "Could someone give me a hand please?"

Jasper laughed as he walked over. "She's good at getting a handful of hair and then it takes the jaws of life to get her to let it go," he said, gently uncurling Lilly's fingers from the clump of hair she was gripping onto. "Shh, flower," he hushed her when she started fussing. "Didn't you and Mama just have a talk about this the other night? I thought you were listening when she told you not to pull anyone's hair. Were you just pretending to pay attention? Hmm, yes, I can see how that would've been distracting. No, don't worry, she's not angry," he assured her. "Look up at her face. Does that look like an angry face to you?"

As if she was an active participant in their conversation and she understood her daddy perfectly, Lilly peeked up at Chelsea to see she had a cheerful smile on her face.

"Wow," Chelsea laughed. "Did she understand what you were saying?"

"No," Jasper smiled. "Just a coincidence."

Jane walked over with a smile. "Lilly, we finally meet in person."

Lilly gave her a gummy, slightly drooling smile and held her hands out and made fists.

"You want Auntie Jane to hold you? Is that it?" Chelsea asked. Lilly gurgled a laugh and tried to reach a little farther. "Oh, alright," she huffed. "I suppose I can share. And look, Janie was smart enough to put her beautiful blond hair in a braid so you can't try and rip it from her scalp. She's always been a little smarter than me," she added in a whisper. "But don't tell her that, I don't want her to get a big head about it."

Jane laughed and took the cheerful baby, and Bella marveled a little at how at ease she looked holding Lilly. It made her wonder if she and Alec had younger siblings as humans.

Aro smiled at the look on Bella's face. "Jane has always had a way with children," he told her quietly. "Most would never believe it, but you and your family always saw beyond Jane's reputation."

"No one is only any one thing," Bella answered. "I know Jane has to be a little brutal occasionally to do her job, and I don't doubt she sometimes gets pleasure out of her work, but that doesn't mean there's nothing else that makes her who she is. After all, she's the kind and thoughtful young woman who quietly upgraded my kitchen in Volterra so I could eat healthier pregnancy foods more easily. And that was before we'd even met properly. She didn't take credit for it or shout it from the rooftop. If Jasper hadn't recognized her scent in the throne room, I have a feeling she never would've mentioned it. Those aren't the actions of a cruel or uncaring person. Besides, with my husband being who he is, I know reputations aren't always entirely accurate. They may be true, but they don't usually exist in a vacuum. He's the Major of the Southern Wars, that's true. But he's also kind and patient, with the biggest heart imaginable."

"Don't forget he's Lilly's marshmallow of a daddy who has imaginary conversations with human newborns," Charlotte added.

"Yes, and he's that," Bella laughed.

Jasper smiled and wrapped his arms around his wife from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head. Instead of telling her with words, he sent her all his feelings of love and gratitude that he'd been gifted a mate who could so easily see past the man he'd been a lifetime ago in the south.

"If y'all are done being adorable, think you might feel up to givin' us lesser folk a hand?" Peter snarked. "I didn't go through all that mis—"

Peter was cut off by Rosalie slamming her hand over his mouth. "I swear to god, I will rip off your dick and throw it in the bottom of a lake if you say a single word to ruin that girl's day. Don't spoil Christmas for her or I'll throw a bitch fit like you and Charlotte have never seen before," she quickly whispered in his ear, too softly for Bella to hear.

Peter rolled his eyes but nodded.

Bella just looked a little confused. "Didn't go through what?" she asked.

"Miserable traffic," Charlotte lied. "You know how holiday traffic can be."

"True," Bella nodded. "Those roads can get crazy. Not sure why that's worth covering his mouth over, but whatever."

"She probably knew a word inappropriate for little ears was coming out next," Charlotte laughed. "It's probably safe to let him go now, though, Rose. Don't you think?"

Recognizing the look in Charlotte's eyes, the one that promised a little bit of pain if she didn't move quick enough, Rosalie snatched her hand back and nodded.

"Alright, what should we do first?" Esme asked as she walked in, both her and William carrying poinsettias in terracotta pots.

Bella immediately dove in to start decorating, and Jane handed Lilly to Jasper so she could help.

"You love all the attention, huh?" Jasper laughed at the smile on his daughter's face. "All these people wanting to catch a cuddle. You have one more new friend to meet. You ready? You are? No, this one doesn't have blond hair like Daddy, silly. He has dark hair like Mama," he whispered. "You've met him on the computer lots of times."

Aro laughed when Lilly turned and looked at him. "Hello, Miss Lilly."

Jasper smiled at the king's happiness. "Would you like to hold her?"

"I…" Aro hesitated a moment. "I do but I don't want to accidentally touch her skin."

It took Jasper maybe a little too long to realize what he was talking about. "Because of your gift?" he clarified.

"Yes," Aro nodded. "We've talked about the need for me to read her occasionally in the future to ensure she understands our secret needs to be kept, but that's when she's old enough to understand what's happening. At least to some degree, anyway. She has no understanding now and that feels… wrong, I suppose."

Jasper was admittedly a little torn. On one hand, he agreed with Aro. Using vamp gifts on babies felt kinda wrong, certainly vamp gifts like his own. But on the other hand, he was curious - like to a ridiculous degree - what his daughter knew about the world around her, what sort of memories she might already have.

No, Jasper shook his head, if nothing else, they couldn't be one hundred percent sure it was without risk. No one knew the mechanics of how vamp gifts worked, and he wasn't going to risk anything happening to his infant daughter's mind just because he was nosy.

"Hang on a sec," Jasper said, then quickly went and grabbed some things from the closet by the back door. "Here."

Aro smiled gratefully and pulled on the gloves Jasper handed him. "Thank you for understanding."

"I'm glad you thought of it, because I surely didn't," Jasper laughed. "Here, if you hold her like this for a moment, facing away from you, I'll put her mittens on her."

Aro held Lilly against his chest, facing Jasper, who quickly and easily pulled her mittens on for her.

"There," Jasper nodded, then shifted Lilly around so Aro could hold her more comfortably. "Flower, meet Aro. He's a king, so please try to be polite and don't drool on him."

Aro laughed as he looked at her. "Look at you with such a big smile," he whispered, and Lilly let out a loud peal of laughter. "You're a happy girl, aren't you? What is it like to feel her emotions?" he asked Jasper.

"Some days it's a wild ride," he smiled. "Her emotions can sometimes be very… loud. Whether it's happiness or displeasure, if she's feeling it to a huge degree, it's almost more powerful than what I feel from an adult. I believe that's partly because when she's feeling something intensely, it's the only thing she's feeling. You or I can be happy, worried, uncertain, and eager all at the same time. When Lilly's really happy, she's not anything but happy," he explained. "I also think it's because, as adults, it's long been ingrained in us to temper ourselves and our moods. Those are both just guesses, though. I'm not actually sure. She's also got a much, much smaller range of emotions than adults do. Anxiety, uncertainty, hesitancy, worry, those kinds of emotions aren't part of her yet. Even true sadness and anger the way we experience them have yet to make an appearance."

Aro nodded, a little fascinated by the whole thing. Lilly, on the other hand, seemed a little fascinated by Aro. She kept trying to pat his cheek, not understanding why she couldn't feel his skin with the mitten on. Aro just laughed and bounced her a little.

"Would you like me to sing you a song?" he asked. "Which one did you like so much again? Hmm. Oh yes, I remember."

As soon as he began singing in Greek, Lilly immediately stilled in his arms. Jasper smiled to see her so focused. He had no doubt she was going to eventually be multilingual, because she absolutely loved listening to languages besides English.

A little over a year ago, if anyone had told Jasper he'd be watching Aro Volturi hold his daughter while singing her Greek nursery rhymes he'd learned online for the sole purpose of singing to her, Jasper never would've believed them. He would've strongly questioned the sanity of anyone who'd say something so ridiculously outlandish.

Yet here they were. And the moment felt neither ridiculous nor outlandish to Jasper. Just surprisingly normal.

It sure was wild what a difference a single year could make.