Alice

When they met at the hotel back in LA, Alice ran into her bestie's arms, and even though they weren't supposed to yet, she introduced her to her Jasper and unofficially met Bella's new husband, Emmett.

By the look on her bestie's face, Alice concluded that this big burly man wasn't what Bella expected, or rather who she expected, and probably not what wanted. Bella still smiled as they got together. Emmett and Jasper shook hands and quickly gave them their space and agreed to meet them shortly.

Alice shook her head at this. Emmett was not who she envisioned for her friend. Not even close. And he wasn't her type either. Bella preferred serious over funny, though her ex- Jacob could be a mix of the two. Emmett had that class clown vibe, which Bella normally gravitated away from. He was a nice guy, for sure, though, Alice knew damn well that Bella wasn't really what he was looking for either.

What the hell, experts? What the hell, she asked herself. She had been so off the mark this time. Yet, her instincts and visions weren't always as she interpreted them, and there was a saying that her granny used all the time about the visions she used to have, proclaiming she was never wrong - it ain't over till it's over. Still, some of Alice's visions served purely as warnings, depending on that person's current state of mind. Was it safe to say that when she'd had that vision before going on the show that Bella hadn't known what she wanted? Alice would have to wait and see.

"How have you been getting along?" Alice asked her.

"Well, he makes me laugh."

"Oh, well that's something."

"Alice…"

There was the question in her voice, but she didn't put it into words and Alice peeked around to make sure none of the show staff was around. "The answer is no. Emmett is not who I saw for you."

She breathed a sigh. "But you've been wrong before…"

"The thing is, Bella, sometimes I only see what I ask, but I don't get to see how or why it happens that way. Maybe Emmett, somehow, will lead you on the path to meeting your person."

Bella wasn't impressed and held up the back of her hand, to show Alice the diamond on her finger. "We got married."

"Yes, and you agreed to try to make it work if you've made it this far. Now, you see it through and see where it takes you."

"Emmett said that. He doesn't want to give up. I've been honest with him. He's so nice, Alice. Such a sweetheart, really."

"Well, they matched you to him. For a reason. And I believe that you are here/we are here for a reason, so just stick it out."

"We have to move in together, Alice," Bella said, slapping her forehead. "I mean, he's talking about moving to Knoxville, Tennessee, and I don't know…I don't want to."

"This decision about where to live has to be mutual, remember?"

"What about you and Jasper?"

I smiled wide at my friend. "Jasper is so dreamy. I feel very lucky. He's coming to live with me in Prescott."

Her mouth fell open. "Lucky!"

"Maybe Emmett will change his mind. Who knows?"

"Okay, enough about me. Did you two…?"

Alice's cheeks flushed. "Oh yeah, but not until just recently. And, the man is talented, I'll tell you. I'm looking forward to just getting up to the room."

Bella smiled. "I'm happy for you, Alice. You deserve it. He seems…perfect for you."

Staring down at her phone, the producer walked in through the automatic double doors of the hotel.

"Producer at 3 o'clock," Alice warned.

"Okay," Bella said. "Let's get a move on. America really doesn't need to hear this."

Alice kissed her on the cheek, and they parted ways before the producer noticed, to her relief. "See you tonight. We'll catch up more later."

When Alice got to their room, her new husband was already lying on his side on the bed, his head leaning on his hand, elbow on the mattress, wearing nothing but a smile.

Yes. This was what she'd been looking forward to. She'd been bummed to hear about Bella and how she was faring, but she couldn't very well ignore the delicious man in front of her.

"Howdy," she said.

"Howdy," he replied. "I was thinking that you were missing something."

Alice dropped her purse onto the table, smirking. "What's that exactly?"

"Your smile for the day."

She tugged off her camisole, hiked up her skirt, and climbed aboard the Jasper Express. "I was thinking the same thing."

Since the cameras were watching, they acted like they hadn't met Emmett already and that Jasper hadn't already been introduced to Bella and looked forward to seeing the third couple. Alice was more than a little curious how the blonde Rosalie was doing and how the show had done with her counterpart. Was it a successful pairing like hers and Jasper's or more like Emmett and Bella's - amicable, yet lacking chemistry? She wondered also, if there was a man who could make that woman happy. Alice imagined her to be very serious…that she could probably get along with someone like Emmett…who had been cracking jokes the entire time they'd been together - someone who didn't take himself too seriously. She was sure the show knew what they were doing - they matched she and Jasper well, and she was still feeling a little heated by Jasper's touch as his pinky finger unlatched from hers and slid down from the back of her shoulder to the small of her back, giving her little shivers.

Emmett, a firefighter, seemed to have just the right qualities for Bella…on paper. Friendly, extroverted, even the heroic type most ladies fell for. But, he was definitely more friend material than anything…as far as Alice was concerned.

Alice knew she could be wrong, sure, but even though she hadn't seen Bella's future man in her vision, she had gotten the feel of him. The genuine sense of his essence - he was more on the serious side like her…she could imagine her smiling at him and him smiling back…how electricity just flowed between them… like the man at the bar…she had sent him silent vibes to come talk to her friend…and though she knew it wasn't going to be more than one night, Alice imagined it would be one hell of a night. What she didn't expect was that her friend would have been more taken by him. But, she should have because her bestie didn't give her heart away easily. Jacob had really fucked that up for her, but she'd mentioned the man from the hotel…twice to Alice, and usually when she talked about someone more than one time it meant something. Something big to her.

"Yeah, I'd thought about joining the military," Emmett was telling Jasper. "But, I come from a long line of firefighters."

"Is that what you always wanted to do?" Jasper asked.

"Sure. Why not?"

Bella spoke up, "I'm sure Emmett would make an excellent high school football coach…or comedian."

They all laughed, and even though it was sort of awkward, there was an ease to their conversation.

The intern blinked the lights to get their attention. "Everyone, make sure your mikes are turned up. They're almost here." Showtime. The light dimmed, and they heard their voices. Cameras were set up in the corners of the room, and it was easy to tell whether they were recording. And the big camera followed behind the two as they entered then circled around to capture their faces.

"No peeking," the man said. "Ready, in one, two, three."

The lights switched back on, and his hands uncovered her eyes, at which Rosalie, dressed in a gorgeous red dress, beamed as they all shouted, "Surprise!"

Alice noticed then the man, Rosalie's husband, and how familiar he was. Oh no. Then she looked over at Bella, whose mouth had formed an O, and her eyes were filled with something more than surprise at who stood at the front of the room, maybe 15 feet from them as they noisily blew their party horns and rattled their noisemakers.

Him. No. The man she had been infatuated with from the bar. Oh no. He was Rosalie's husband? How could this be? Alice saw this to be true when his eyes met with Bella's, meeting her expression with similar horror. She'd mentioned that he was unwilling to tell her his name…wasn't at liberty, she quoted. Neither were technically at liberty to do anything with either, but that didn't stop the connection that neither had intended.

After all the introductions were made, Alice pulled Bella to the back of the room, and staying silent, she let her friend do all the talking.

"Oh my God, Alice! Oh my God! Can you believe this? You recognize him, don't you? He recognized me, and he's on the show, and now he's with Rosalie! I can't even…"

Bella exhaled a hard breath, and Alice gestured toward the cameras, hoping to hint to her that they did not want to attract attention from the powers that be. Things were already complicated enough.

"I doubt they're looking at us," Bella said, glancing toward her own husband. "Look at Emmett - the way he's fawning all over Rosalie. And my God - I don't even care! How pathetic are we? What the hell are we doing? I gotta get out of here."

Alice grabbed her elbow. "No, you aren't. You leave and they will be on you like a hawk on a mouse."

Bella sighed again, frustrated. "What am I supposed to do? Just pretend that we didn't kiss at the hotel? Go on with our lives, stay married to people who don't want to be with us just because we made a commitment?"

Alice nodded, but Bella shook her head.

"This is insane. Though, what if he doesn't feel the same as me?"

They both snuck a peek at him, and from what Alice saw - his eyes boring into Bella's, he sure did.

"Oh God, Alice! What if he does? What if we're stuck being married to the wrong partners and we've completely ruined our chance at happiness? What about your vision?"

"I couldn't see his face, Bella. I told you that already."

"So, you're not saying that he wasn't the guy in the vision."

"No, I'm not saying that either."

At that moment, the producer waved them over to join the Rosalie fan club and made the official introductions. She watched her friend as she tried to save face, or rather tried not to look at him. Bella was right though. Emmett was being a little over the top with Rosalie. The producer pulled him away, and then Rosalie. It was too juicy not to address. America would be made aware of this. And if Bella wasn't careful, she and Edward would soon become the target of their discretionary behavior. They couldn't have that.

Jasper joined Alice, taking her hand in his. "Do you believe that guy?" He nodded toward Emmett. "He's got a wife. What's he doing putting the moves on Blondie?"

"Doesn't look one-sided to me," Alice told him.

Jasper pulled her into the warmth of his embrace - her second favorite place to be. "I'm so lucky and thankful they got it right with us."

"Me too," Alice said. "We made it this far, and we have our whole lives to look forward to."

"Just between us, I don't think the other two couples are going to make it."

"You know what, Jasper? You might be right." At least she really hoped that was true for Bella's sake.

A/N: Next chapter, we visit Bella and Emmett and where they move from here. Thanks to all who are reading, following, and reviewing. I always appreciate your feedback!