A/N: Sending all of you my heartfelt gratitude for reading:)

Stupidly Adorable

"That's one hell of a story," Kate said after a minute of shocked silence. "Alice I can absolutely see being manipulative, though I'd never imagined it would be to such an extreme and violent extent. And Edward… well, I've already made my opinion on him pretty clear. Carlisle is the real surprise to me. I've known him for such a long time and would never think for a moment he'd be a party to such malevolence."

"Pretty grim, huh?" Emmett said.

"Very," Kate agreed. "I admit, I have wondered through the years if you and he weren't mates, Esme."

"Living with Carmen and Eleazar gives you a good example of loving mates who are equal partners," Esme nodded. "It was likely more noticeable to you."

"So what story did Edward give you?" Jasper asked.

"He said he really believed Bella was his mate up until he went to Italy, and alluded to the fact that Alice was lying to Carlisle about you, but never went into detail about what those lies were about. He told us that all he knew was that Alice was upset with you about something and was using Carlisle as part of her retaliation," Kate explained. "He reluctantly acknowledged that you and Bella were mates, that Marcus confirmed it, but said it was only after that happened that he assumed the thing that had angered Alice was seeing a vision of your mate."

Everyone rolled their eyes at that. After everything they'd all been through, after all the consequences Edward had faced as a result of his actions, the boy still couldn't tell the truth.

"And getting the wolves to attack us?" Bella asked.

"He was completely dishonest about that," Kate answered with a scowl. "He told us he was staying at the Forks house because he'd been 'disowned' and knew the house was empty, and that one of the Quileute boys came there to see him. Jacob Black, I guess, although he didn't tell us a name. Supposedly Jacob had somehow heard all of you were planning to attack them on their land and enlisted Edward's help to defend themselves."

"So what excuse did he give for coming all the way here?" Leah asked.

"Only that it was better to catch you off guard at your home than to wait for you to travel to Washington."

"What a dick," Jasper muttered, shaking his head.

"You know the wedding happens to be right when Edward's six months are up," Rosalie said. "He's supposed to go to Volterra for Aro to read him but my guess is that if Edward is still in Denali, Aro will just go up there."

"Good point," Esme nodded. "We can ask him if that's his plan, but you may want to inform the others that it's a possibility, Kate."

Jasper nodded his agreement. With the way the Denali sisters felt about their governing body, they deserved a heads-up that Aro might be visiting.

Kate thought about it for a few moments. "The way you describe them is so different from how they've always seemed to me," she admitted. "I never would have believed they'd let a human leave Volterra still human, pregnant or not, if I wasn't sitting here with Bella seeing the proof for myself."

"I felt the same way," Jasper agreed. "You know Peter, Charlotte, and myself had a very healthy fear of the Volturi because of our pasts. When Peter first told me I needed to go to Italy I thought he was crazy. Finding out what they were really like was a huge shock."

"Just the thought of Caius going out for himself to buy pregnancy books makes me have to rethink all of my assumptions," Kate said with a smile.

"Charlotte tried so hard to be pissed," Bella said with a cute little giggle.

"Seeing the three kings in their pink shirts for the quiz and the gender reveal was a trip," Jasper laughed. "You know they get all grumpy if I don't send them the newest sonogram quick enough."

Kate shook her head with a laugh. "I may just stay for the wedding just to see them for myself. I'll tell my sisters Aro may come there, and I'm assuming he'll take some of the guard with him, but I'll also share the rest of the story. Hopefully that will put them a little more at ease."

"Should we be inviting the rest of your family to the wedding?" Bella asked hesitantly, slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of strangers coming to their small wedding.

"No," Jasper answered before Kate could. "Kate's the only one in that coven I've ever been close to. We're having a small wedding, which means inviting only the people we love, not the people others expect us to. If this was your wedding to Edward, I have no doubt they'd all have been on the guest list. But I'm not inviting four additional people who I feel very little connection to and who you don't know at all."

Bella gave him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand, sending him her gratitude just to really nail it home, then turned back to Kate. "If your sisters tell you Aro coming to Denali makes them uneasy, I wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to ask Edward to meet him somewhere else instead of going to your home," Bella said.

Jasper nodded his agreement. "I'm more than happy to ask him to consider it."

"Let me speak to them first and then we can decide. For now, tell me about this house you're expecting me to help you build."

Sitting at the edge of the pasture watching Kate and Jasper spar the next day, Bella's mouth was inelegantly hanging open.

Seeing her surprise, Rosalie couldn't help laughing. "Impressive, right?"

"Very," Bella breathed without taking her eyes off them. It wasn't often that anyone beat Jasper in a fight when he was giving it his all, not even Peter, but Kate was scoring some seriously solid hits.

"As a human, Kate was part of a Slavic tribe. She was an attendant - which basically translates to being a bodyguard - to what we would consider in the modern day to be a noblewoman. She was a highly skilled warrior and fought like hell when their caravan was attacked by two vampires. One was so impressed with her and how tenaciously she fought to protect her mistress that she changed her, rather than killing her," Rosalie explained.

"It was Sasha who attacked them?" Bella asked, a little surprised that she actually remembered the name from when Jasper told her about the Denali sisters.

"Sasha and Tanya, yes," Rose nodded. "Sasha was Tanya's great-aunt, and when she got a little lonely in this life, she changed Tanya."

"How did Irina join them?" Bella asked, then cheered when Jasper got in a particularly good hit that had Kate down on one knee for a moment.

"Irina just had the misfortune of being a peasant who looked a bit like Tanya and Kate," Rosalie shrugged. "Sasha decided she wanted another sister for them and another daughter for herself."

Bella winced a little when Kate managed to sweep Jasper's legs out from under him in a ninja-like move, but smiled in relief when Jasper started laughing.

"Damn you're good," Jasper said with a smile as he hauled himself to his feet and brushed his clothes off.

"I know," Kate said with a haughty sneer, then burst into laughter. "I think you've improved, Jas. Maybe training everyone and sparring with so many new people regularly has made you an even better fighter."

"Could be," Jasper shrugged as they got to where Bella and Rose were sitting. "She's pretty impressive, right?" he asked Bella.

"Very," Bella agreed immediately. "Maybe when I'm a vamp and it's time to train me to fight, you can help, Kate?"

"I'd be honored," Kate nodded, her face surprisingly serious.

"Between Jasper and Kate you'd have just about the best teachers out there," Rosalie said. "I'm not sure there's a female in our world who's a better warrior."

Kate smiled at her. "Charlotte's pretty close."

"I appreciate the compliment but I'd have to disagree," Charlotte laughed as she and Peter came to a skidding stop beside them. "If we're talking female warriors, I think you and Chelsea would be pretty evenly matched."

"You sparred with Chelsea?" Bella asked, then stood up to hug her. "I'm glad you're back."

"When we were in Volterra, yes," Charlotte nodded with a smile as she hugged her human sister. "If we'd been truly fighting, she would've had my head in the first five minutes."

"It's true. I was watching them, and even with all the training Jasper and I gave Charlotte, Chelsea was definitely the better fighter," Peter agreed.

"I've sparred with all three of them and I'd have to agree," Jasper added. "Kate and Chelsea would be a memorable match. I'm not even confident enough to predict who would win."

"Chelsea will be attending the wedding?" Kate asked with a mischievous smile. When everyone nodded, her smile grew. "Excellent. That alone might be worth sticking around for. It's always nice to go up against an equal opponent. Anyway, enough of that. It's nice to see you both again," she said as she shook Peter's hand and hugged Charlotte. "Thanks for letting me invade your home for a while."

"We've gotten to be quite laid-back recently about people invading our home," Charlotte laughed, then ducked out of the way when Rosalie tried to punch her shoulder. "Hey!"

"Besides, we understand the need to escape from Edward Cullen's dickish smug superiority," Peter added.

Kate laughed and nodded. "Good way to describe him."

"Where'd y'all go?" Jasper asked. "And I know you left on foot, so why'd I hear you come back in two cars?"

"Seriously?" Bella laughed. "During a fight that intense you still noticed Peter and Charlotte getting home? And in cars rather than running?"

"Of course," Jasper nodded, his expression serious. "Keeping you safe is part of my job as your mate, especially while you're still human, and that means always knowing who's on our property. Hearing two unfamiliar vehicles pulling up our driveway would never escape my notice, even if I was in an actual fight for my life. Once I caught their emotional signatures without anyone else's, I knew I could relax."

Bella smiled at him and pulled him down for a kiss. "Thank you."

"We did a little shopping," Peter answered. "Since your truck's dust in the wind, we went and replaced it. And we may have gotten a little overzealous and bought Leah the car she secretly wanted but wouldn't admit outright."

"The big SUV?" Bella asked with a smile. "She would've settled for an Outback but she loves the SUV."

"That's the one," Charlotte nodded. "I know she thought it was too expensive, but for a car that dependable and safe, not to mention being an absolute beast in the snow, it's totally worth the money. Besides, they last for fuckin' ever so she won't have to worry about replacing it any time soon."

Bella let out a happy squeal. "She's gonna be so excited!"

"I sure hope so," Charlotte laughed. "It was only on the drive home that we realized we may have overstepped."

Bella grabbed Peter and Charlotte's hands and started dragging them back towards the houses. "Let's go find out."

Leah looked from the car to Charlotte, back to the car, then to Peter, then back to the car. "You bought this… for me?" she asked them.

Peter and Charlotte both nodded, Charlotte worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Jasper could've told them they had nothing to worry about but it was way more amusing to let them sweat it out.

Leah launched herself at the two vamps with a squeal of happiness. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she shouted as she hugged them both. In the next second, she was scrambling into the driver's seat. "Come on! Let's take it for a test drive!"

Charlotte and Peter laughed in relief and climbed in, and Leah practically tore down the driveway.

"I think she likes it," Kate smiled.

Seth laughed and nodded. "That's her dream car. She never would've gotten it for herself, though. Couldn't justify that much money for a car."

"You know the equivalent, in size anyway, from a luxury brand is like ninety-thousand?" Rosalie asked.

Paul let out a low whistle. "That's fucking crazy. If she ever gets weird about it we'll have to remind her that this cost less than half of that."

"I'm pretty sure she's way too happy to ever get weird about it," Jasper said. "The girl's so excited she nearly had me jumpin' around like Alice at Milan Fashion Week."

Bella gave his arm a sympathetic pat. "I'm sorry you've lived a life where you know what Milan Fashion Week is."

Jasper laughed and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "I'd go to fashion week in Milan, Paris, New York, and London for a century if it meant she eventually led me to you."

"Aw," Kate cooed.

"Blah," Paul gagged.

"Oh hush," Jasper laughed and shoved Paul's shoulder. "When you find a girl or guy, you won't see me gagging over how stupidly adorable y'all are."

"We're bound to be adorable," Paul said with a cocky smirk. "Just look at this face. How could my other half not be as good-looking?"

"You are something else," Bella laughed and shook her head. "Now come on, you and Seth said you wanted me to teach you my lasagna recipe, and that happens to be exactly what my pregnancy tastebuds want for dinner."

"That's my cue to leave," Rosalie said with her nose scrunched up. "For some reason lasagna smells worse than other human food."

"Really?" Bella asked in surprise. "Hmm, I wonder why that is. Whatever, doesn't matter. It's what Lilly wants and who am I to deny her?"

"What Lilly wants?" Jasper laughed. "Is that how we're explaining away pregnancy cravings?"

Bella gave him a sharp nod. "It is. And if you can't humor me, you're free to go do some work on the house."

"Have you ever known him not to humor you?" Paul asked with an eye-roll.

"True," Bella laughed and started tugging Jasper towards the house. "You can be my cheese grater. You know I hate doing that."

Jasper just smiled and let himself be dragged. He knew Bella always had him be the one to grate fresh cheese because she had a tendency to scrape her fingers to hell when she did it. In true Bella fashion, it was her way of protecting the vamps in her family, not herself. She didn't want any of them to be tempted by the smell of fresh human blood in their own home and then feel badly about it.

Jasper knew his mate had a big heart that held so much love, and he let her feel all his love and gratitude as they walked in the house.

The next two weeks with Kate passed quickly, and Bella and the wolves found her to be just as fun as Jasper and the others said she'd be.

Kate found she loved sparring with the wolves, seeing it as a new challenge, and those were pretty hard to come by when you'd been alive as long as she had. She liked spending time with Bella as much as Bella liked spending time with her. She was always quick to offer her help in the kitchen, seeming to be a little bit fascinated by human food.

Like Emmett, she was game to taste pretty much anything once. Her face on tasting coffee was surprisingly similar to the face Jasper had made in the cafe in Volterra.

She'd even accompanied Bella and Jasper when they'd had their appointment at the Women's Clinic, telling the doctor she was Jasper's cousin, and had stood there with venom tears in her eyes at her first experience of watching an ultrasound. After that, if Bella was sitting on the couch, Kate was often by her side, with her hand on her stomach to feel Lilly moving.

When they'd gotten home and it was time to send their Volturi friends the sonogram, it was decided that they'd arrange a video-call with everyone in addition to sending out emails. Kate didn't want to be on screen for the call, but Jasper was hoping if she at least heard how they all interacted that it might put her mind at ease. And if it didn't, he was planning to ask Aro to have Edward meet him somewhere away from Denali. Tanya and Irina deserved to be comfortable and have privacy in their own home, and if the idea of Aro stopping in, however briefly, made them uneasy, he would advocate for another solution.

"You know, it's not that any of us hate the Volturi," Kate said as they got ready to make the call. "We all knew the law, including Sasha. She knew the potential cost of creating an Immortal Child and she chose to do so anyway. So none of us think they acted unjustly. They're just a very real reminder of what we lost."

"I understand completely," Jasper assured her. "If I'd had any love left for Carlisle when he was put to death for his crimes I'd feel exactly the same way."

Kate nodded, grateful he understood.

Jasper motioned for her to move a little to her left so she wasn't on the screen as the call connected.

"Bella, Jasper, how good to see you both," Aro greeted them. Sitting with him were the other two kings and Chelsea.

"Look how big you've gotten!" Chelsea exclaimed, then quickly covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry, that was impolite."

"It really wasn't," Bella laughed. "I have gotten bigger since I last saw you. We're only a month away now."

"Can we see the sonogram?" Caius asked eagerly.

Jasper smiled and held it up to the camera. "Copies should be in all your inboxes by now. I sent it before I called."

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Marcus asked.

"Great. Aside from finding sleep increasingly difficult, I honestly feel great. And Jasper helps with that, so it's not nearly as bad as it could be."

"And you're recovered fully from your accident a couple weeks ago?" Aro asked.

"I am," Bella nodded. "My shoulder was sore for a few days but no more than that. The bruise took a while to clear up, though."

"Are y'all getting excited to see the 'wonders of Montana'?" Jasper asked with a teasing smile.

"Very funny," Aro laughed. "But we are excited to see all of you again. Only a few more days."

"And all the humans in attendance are connected to the Quileute protectors?" Caius asked. "So are aware of the existence of vampires?"

Jasper nodded. "Yes. Well, aside from Gianna, yes. She's one of your humans. On our end, Angela is Leah's imprint, Collin and Brady are both wolves and their parents will be coming with them, and you know Emily's story. She's the one who Chelsea freed."

"Emily will be there?" Chelsea asked with a smile. "How is she doing?"

"She's doing really well. She's a big support to Collin and Brady and their families. And she's still grateful you helped her," Jasper answered. "When we met with the whole tribe and discussed the past treaty with Carlisle, she went on record that all of us Whitlocks would always be welcome at her home, even those with red eyes, then added your name to that list as well."

Chelsea's face lit up with a brilliant smile. "That's wonderful. I'm glad she's happy."

As Bella and their Italian friends chattered away and got caught up, Jasper caught Kate's eye. He could feel her shock at their conversation, but that didn't give him enough insight into which way she wanted this to go.

"Is something the matter, Jasper?" Aro asked, seeing he was distracted by something offscreen that appeared to be worrying him a little.

Jasper huffed a laugh and shook his head. Aro wasn't one of the kings of their world by accident. The man was brilliant and keenly observant. "No," Jasper answered, waiting to get a nod from Kate before he continued. "We have a houseguest you know and we've been trying to find a solution to… not a problem, but a situation that's likely to arise."

"Who is the guest?" Marcus asked. "And what is the situation?"

Kate surprised Bella and Jasper by scooting over so she could see the screen and those on the screen could see her.

All three kings nodded as they saw who the guest was, understanding what the trouble was. "Katrina, correct?" Aro asked. "Sasha was your sire?"

"Kate. And yes, she was."

"Is this about me going to Alaska to read Edward Cullen? I'm happy to have him meet me elsewhere," Aro offered. "There's no need for me to meet him specifically in Denali."

"Yes, Jasper and Bella thought you'd be open to alternatives. I'll be honest, I've had to readjust how I view the Volturi as a whole after hearing their story, and that of the rest of their family."

Caius saw she was looking at him and couldn't help laughing. "The book shop convinced you?"

"A bit, yes," Kate laughed. "Chelsea's shirt, too, now that I can see her on the screen."

Chelsea looked down at the pink shirt under her cloak proudly. "I always wear my auntie shirt for baby update calls," she said with one of her big, cheerful smiles.

"And we love you for it," Bella laughed.

"We can push the date back and force Edward to still travel to Italy," Caius said with a smirk. "He doesn't need to even know we're in the States. We simply call and let him know we have an urgent issue that needs our attention and ask him to come a week later."

"Really?" Kate asked a little nervously. "I don't want to inconvenience you."

"It's no inconvenience to us," Aro assured her. "It is, however, an inconvenience to Edward," he added with a laugh.

"Which is a point in favor of that plan," Marcus nodded. "Perhaps that is best. It puts the onus on him to travel to us."

"Then it's settled," Caius agreed. "One of us will contact the disagreeable boy and tell him. And by 'one of us' I obviously mean one of you," he said, looking at Aro and Marcus.

"I'm certainly not doing it," Marcus said immediately. "I have no desire to hear his voice any more than is strictly necessary."

"Fine," Aro huffed. "It's down to me then, I suppose. Why must you always force the worst jobs on me?"

Bella, Jasper, and Kate all laughed at the disgruntled look on the king's face.

"I'm surprised you're not jumping at the chance, Caius," Bella said. "Seems like the perfect use for your particular brand of sneering disdain."

"You're absolutely right," Caius nodded with a smile.

"Oh good, so you'll take that on?" Aro asked hopefully. When Caius gave him his best sneeringly disdainful nod, Aro laughed. "Thank you, Bella. I'll have to find you a really spectacular wedding gift to repay you."

"We have some lovely jewelry," Marcus said.

"Uh… no, thank you," Bella answered nervously. "I feel pretty confident saying that even the most simple Volturi jewelry is probably too… not simple for me."

"Oh! Can I see the ring?" Chelsea asked excitedly.

Having expected that, Jasper pulled his mother's ring from his pocket and held it in front of the camera.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Chelsea said with a smile. "Charlotte was exactly right. A flower for our Lilly flower's mother."

"It is lovely," Aro agreed, Marcus and Caius nodding also. "And that belonged to your human mother, Jasper?"

"It did," Jasper smiled. "Peter freed it from a life sentence in a dusty box in a descendant's attic."

"Someone had that hidden away in a box?" Chelsea asked, then shook her head disapprovingly. "You Americans are a little bit strange."

"We are," Jasper laughed. "And Texans are a little bit stranger still."

"Can we just circle back for a second?" Bella cut in. "I just want to make sure we're all on the same page. You coming to celebrate with all of us is the only gift Jasper and I need. That's all we want."

"Fancy jewelry scares you that much, huh?" Jasper laughed.

"Yes, Jasper," Bella said seriously. "When it's Volturi royal jewelry or whatever? Yes. Yes it does."

"Most of it is very ostentatious," Chelsea stage-whispered, like she wasn't sitting less than six inches from the owners of all those ostentatious jewels.

"Fine," Aro huffed again. "We'll leave the jewels behind."

Jasper smiled at him. "I appreciate that. I don't really want to spend the last week before my wedding constantly curbing my fiancé's panic over what y'all might bring her."

"You certainly are a strange human," Caius said with a smile. "Most would be thrilled with a piece of royal jewelry."

"You're definitely not the first to call me that," Bella laughed.

Aro glanced at his watch. "I'm afraid I must be going, I promised to take my wife on a date."

"Well, we'll see you in… what, six days?" Bella asked with a huge smile.

"Yes," Aro laughed, happy she looked so pleased to see them so soon. "Six days. And you'll have appropriate accommodations for Gianna? I have to tell you, she was thrilled to be included in the invitation."

"She was very kind to us while we were there. And yes, she'll be staying in the main cabin so she's near Bella, and where she'll at least have some familiar faces. The house we're building is where our friends from Washington will be staying," Jasper explained.

"Excellent," Aro nodded. "And before I forget, we don't need you to meet us at the airport. It was thoughtful of you to offer in your last email, but because of how many of us are attending, Demetri has arranged our own vehicles for us."

"Okay, just let us know if you change your mind," Jasper said. "We're really looking forward to seeing you all again."

"Travel safely," Bella said as she waved goodbye.

"Nice to meet you," Kate added with a wave of her own. "And thank you."

All three kings gave her a respectful nod. "You're very welcome," Marcus said. "See you all soon."

With a last goodbye, the call was disconnected.

"Well. That was…" Kate trailed off, not really sure what word she was looking for.

"Wild, right?" Jasper said with a smile. "I walked around Volterra in shock for like two full days."

"They're so normal," Kate laughed. "And 'normal' is not a word I've ever associated with the Volturi."

Jasper nodded his understanding. "Caius told me once that sometimes one's reputation is what keeps people from acting against you. Some of how they present themselves is because it works to their advantage."

"And they were so quick to agree not to go to Denali. We didn't even have to ask them not to, Aro just offered."

"I happen to think they're all pretty decent men," Bella nodded. "They're the kings of a race of supernatural beings, so I know that sometimes they have to act swiftly and lethally. But on an individual basis, who they are as just men, rather than kings? They're as normal as anyone else."

Jasper and Kate both looked at her a little incredulously.

"Okay, maybe not as normal as anyone else," Bella conceded with a laugh. "But definitely as normal as it's possible for vamp kings to be. Better?"

"Better," Jasper laughed as he ruffled her hair. "Definitely better."