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Baseball
"Please don't needlessly antagonize Sam Uley, and don't let your guard down around him," Jasper said a couple hours later when a majority of the family had settled in the living room - the only exception being Edward, who was watching Bella while she slept like the creepy stalker he was.
Although maybe it wasn't stalkery anymore now that Bella knew he was there. How she found it romantic when Edward told her he'd been sneaking into her bedroom uninvited boggled Jasper's mind.
"Based on what I heard Leah say, Bella is lucky things didn't turn out much worse for her when she stormed up to Sam and started pushing him the way she did," Esme said with a frown.
"I wonder if Edward heard what he did to Emily in Sam's thoughts and that's one of the reasons he thinks the wolves are too dangerous for Bella to be around," Emmett said.
Rosalie scoffed at that. "If she didn't go around slapping strangers she wouldn't have to worry about one of the wolves losing it because of her temper."
"As far as I know, Edward has never been near enough to Sam to read his mind until the clearing. He's been trying to keep Bella away from the Quileutes since they started dating, so it can't be because of Sam," Jasper said. "Besides, what Bella does or doesn't do with the wolves isn't my concern. What is my concern is the way the rest of us act around the pack, particularly Sam, and what effect his behavior has on Leah. What y'all didn't hear was that he showed up at the Clearwater's just as Leah was getting in the car to come here and tried to keep her from leaving. With his temper being what it is, I'd ask you all to please stay vigilant around him."
Everyone nodded their agreement.
"It might be worth giving Billy Black a call in the morning," Carlisle said. "I can explain the situation from our end and let him know the exceptions we've made regarding the treaty line, and why we're unwilling to make further exceptions. That way there can be absolutely no confusion about who is allowed in our territory. Have the elders addressed Sam's behavior at all?" he asked.
"A little. I know Leah's mom tore into him tonight when he tried to block Leah's car in," Jasper answered. "She and the other elders cautioned him not to interfere with a wolf and their imprint, and then forbid him from using an Alpha command to keep her from seeing me."
"What's an Alpha command?" Alice asked.
"Basically an order that the other wolves can't refuse. If Sam gives Leah an official Alpha command to stop speaking to me, she literally wouldn't be able to talk to me. The wolf can't disobey."
"Jesus," Rosalie muttered. "That's why you made a point of assuring her that you'd never take advantage of the imprint? Because there's already one person who has the ability to take away her free will?"
Jasper nodded. "Yes. The instinct in the wolf to 'satisfy' the imprint means that the bond is incredibly easy to abuse. Imagine if I casually mentioned that I didn't like one of the other wolves and that I wished Leah wouldn't spend time with them. The desire to do what the imprint wants or needs means she'd likely cut unnecessary ties with that person, even if she didn't want to."
Everyone quietly absorbed that for a minute. Free will was a big thing in their coven. Between the past abuse of Esme and Rosalie, and Jasper's time in the south with Maria, Carlisle always stressed that he would never dictate who did what. He very rarely handed out ultimatums, preferring instead to discuss things as a family. That's not to say he didn't occasionally make decisions not everyone agreed with, because that wouldn't be true, but he approached most things in a more considerate and democratic way than other coven leaders.
When Edward wanted to leave to try the human diet, Carlisle was disappointed, but at no point did he forbid Edward to leave or tell him that he wouldn't be allowed to return if he left. When they were deciding where they'd make their next home, they talked it over as a family and generally took a vote if there wasn't unanimous agreement. If one or more of the siblings didn't feel like attending school with the others, changes to their cover story were made.
Jasper knew that Carlisle offered that option mostly for his benefit. With his gift, the tempestuous moods of adolescents could be extremely unpleasant. Add in feeling the thirst of four other vegetarian vamps in the middle of a sea of a few hundred beating hearts, and Jasper could get awfully grumpy by the end of the day.
Carlisle led the coven in such a way that it really did feel like a family, and it was an approach that had worked for them for decades and decades.
"There's something else we should probably discuss," Jasper said. "I know you heard Leah's defense of Charlie Swan, but what you didn't get were her feelings when she talked about him. Leah loves him fiercely. She loves him every bit as much as she loves her biological family. Her feelings about Bella's treatment of him are intense. I have no doubt that Leah can keep things civil and polite when she has to spend time with her, but that doesn't factor in Edward. He already strongly dislikes the wolves, and if he hears in Leah's thoughts that she's upset by the choices Bella makes in regards to her dad, Edward will absolutely make an issue of it. Leah's no shrinking violet and she's not a doormat. She will defend herself."
"I feel terrible," Alice said with a frown. "I really like Charlie, but when I was freaking out about Edward going to the Volturi, how Bella explained her disappearance wasn't even a thought in my mind. She worried him, hurt him, and it's partly my fault."
"No, it's not, Alice," Esme said gently. "Bella's choices are her own choices, not yours. And your life is so very different to hers. You've never known a family except ours, and you're hardly a child who has to answer to a parent in the way Bella has to answer to Charlie. You've been an adult since you woke up in this life. It's like comparing apples and oranges."
"I agree with Esme, but if you want to make it up to him, I'll be your accomplice," Jasper said with a smile, which grew wider when Alice perked up a little. "Next time you're over there tell him you and I are planning to watch whatever baseball game is coming up. I can ask Leah what teams he follows and then you can ask him if he'd mind some company during a game. You can even memorize some stats beforehand and impress him with your baseball knowledge."
"I'd love that!" Alice laughed. "He's such a nice man, and he's always made me feel welcome in his home. Maybe we can bring him dinner? Like pizza or something? And maybe Leah would want to come!"
"She might," Jasper laughed, happy that Alice was cheered up. And she wasn't wrong, Charlie Swan really was a nice man. Jasper had only met him briefly once or twice, but even though he didn't much like Edward, Charlie was friendly with Jasper.
"The Mariners are playing the Red Sox tomorrow afternoon," Emmett said as he looked up from his phone. "Game starts at 4:10."
Jasper looked at Alice. "Wanna try?"
"Absolutely," she nodded with a smile. "Maybe ask Leah what kind of pizza he likes. And where to get pizza in Forks," she added with a laugh.
"Circling back to Leah and Bella for a second, have you told Leah how to keep her thoughts hidden?" Emmett asked Jasper.
"I have," Jasper nodded. "But she doesn't have decades of practice the way we do. And she shouldn't have to censor every thought she has just so that Edward's not offended. There are undoubtedly parts of Leah's life that she prefers to keep private, and those are the thoughts she'll try to hide behind shitty country songs. Her dislike of Bella isn't a secret, and I doubt she'll do much to hide that."
"Shitty country songs are the route she chose to keep him out of her head?" Rosalie laughed.
Jasper shrugged with a smile. "I may have let it slip that he thinks country music is awful."
Carlisle smiled at their obvious amusement. "I'll have a talk with Edward to remind him that thoughts are not the same as actions. Leah disliking Bella in the privacy of her mind is not his business."
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Jasper smiled.
"Maybe remind him that private thoughts shouldn't be aired in public out of spite," Alice added.
Carlisle nodded. That was something Edward often did. "Anything else any of you want to add?" Carlisle asked as he looked at every member of the family.
Rosalie rolled her eyes a little. "Do you really want that laundry list?" she asked. "We'd be here for hours."
"How about I just go with the usual lecture on respect and civility? Would that cover everything?" Carlisle laughed.
Everyone nodded their agreement, even though virtually none of them thought the lecture would stick any better than the last thirty-two times Carlisle gave it.
"Great," Carlisle grinned as he stood up. "Now, if you'll all excuse us, I promised this beauty beside me a dinner date."
Esme laughed as Carlisle pulled her to her feet. "Given the time, I believe that's turned into an early breakfast date."
"A meal's a meal. As long as I'm sharing it with you, I'm happy."
"Seriously, ew," Emmett whined. "Be mushy out there," he said as he pointed towards the back door. He may pretend to be grossed out by the parental sappiness but he secretly loved it. Esme had been a vamp for ninety-nine years and the two of them somehow seemed to fall more in love with each passing day. They were the example Emmett used to guide his relationship with his own mate. Respect, communication, and trust were Carlisle and Esme's guideposts, so they'd become Rosalie and Emmett's guideposts also.
Once they were gone, Jasper looked at Emmett. "Chess?"
"Hell yeah! Prepare for an ass-kicking, Whitlock!" Emmett shouted unnecessarily as he flashed to the chess table and sat down, rubbing his hands together like some ridiculous movie villain.
Jasper just laughed as he settled across from him. Emmett was a genuinely happy vamp who rolled with life's punches and managed to find at least a little bit of happiness in just about any situation. Edward was of the opinion that those aspects of his personality meant Emmett was immature and not all that bright, but Jasper - and the rest of the family, for that matter - knew better. Emmett was keenly observant and just as smart as any other vamp. He very purposefully used his good humor as a way to ease tension in the family, and he brought a lightheartedness to the Cullen home that was often sorely needed.
Alice grabbed a small package that had been sitting by the front door and handed it to Rose as she got up to go in the garage to work on Emmett's Jeep. "I don't know what it is or what it does, but I saw you were going to need this."
Rosalie opened the box and gave Alice a brilliant smile. "This is perfect, I was going to order it today," she said as she gave her sister a quick hug and then bounded out of the room.
Alice picked up a book and settled herself on the loveseat behind Emmett's chair, then proceeded to silently mouth his next moves to Jasper. Emmett had won the last game, and Alice was going to make sure her best friend won this one.
Rosalie had left the door to the garage open, so music drifted into the living room as the Cullen siblings contentedly passed the last few hours before sunrise.
Alice purposely waited until Edward had already picked Bella up before going to the Swan's to return a book her friend had supposedly left at their house. She didn't want to risk him 'forbidding' Alice and Jasper from asking Charlie if they could watch the game with him. Not that Edward actually could forbid them to do anything, but there was a chance he'd decide to crash the party and make it awkward and uncomfortable for everyone.
"Hi, Chief Swan," Alice greeted him with a bright smile when he answered the door. "Is Bella home? She left this at our house and want to return it."
"I'm afraid you just missed her," Charlie said with a smile. "She left with your brother about twenty minutes ago."
Alice put on her best disappointed face. "Darn. Can I just leave it with you then? Jasper and I have big plans for the Mariners game this afternoon."
Charlie perked up a little bit at that. "You like baseball?"
"I do," Alice nodded, opting not to remind him that Bella had come to watch the family play baseball the year before, which led to her leaving Forks. No need to bring up a painful memory when Alice was trying to make amends for a different painful memory. "Jasper and I rarely miss a game. We like to root for opposing teams just to make it more fun," she laughed. "I'll cheer on the Mariners today and Jasper gets the Red Sox. With the Red Sox lineup, he might have an advantage, but I'm a very good cheerer, so maybe I'll bring the Mariners some good luck."
Charlie laughed at her enthusiasm. "You guys are welcome to come watch the game here with me," he offered hesitantly, fully prepared for Alice to be uninterested. "Maybe with two of us cheering on the Mariners we can pull off a win."
"Really?" Alice asked, her smile even brighter. "We wouldn't be a bother?"
"Of course not. I was planning to head down to La Push to watch it with Billy Black but he had something else come up. Some company would be nice."
"Then yes!" she said, trying to tamp down her excitement. "How about we come over around four? Do you like pizza? We can spring for dinner since you're providing the TV."
Charlie gave her an amused smile. How someone so tiny could have so much energy and enthusiasm was a mystery to him. "Pizza sounds great. And I'm not picky, so anything the two of you like will be fine with me."
"Excellent. We'll see you around four. And thanks, Chief Swan."
"See you at four," he smiled. "And Alice, call me Charlie."
Alice beamed at him. "Charlie," she nodded and jumped down the front steps before turning around and going right back up. "Almost forgot," she laughed as she handed him the book.
Alice drove away with a huge smile on her face. Operation Spend Time With Charlie was off to a great start.
Leah hung up the phone with a smile. She was shocked that Jasper and Alice had come up with a plan to finagle an invite to watch the Mariners game with Charlie, but she thought it was incredibly sweet of them.
"How would you feel about me stealing some of those cookies?" Leah asked her mom as she walked into the kitchen.
Sue gave her an amused smile. "Since I baked them for you and your brother, I'm not sure it's considered stealing for you to eat some."
Leah pulled some juice out of the fridge and poured herself a glass. "I'm not stealing them for myself, although I definitely will eat some," she laughed. "I actually want to take some to Charlie. I bitched up a storm last night about how Bella treats him and Jasper and Alice took it upon themselves to wrangle an invite to watch the Mariners game with him at the Swan's. They're bringing dinner, so I thought maybe I could pop over with dessert."
"What a lovely thing to do. I'm sure Charlie will be glad for the company," Sue said with a warm smile. "They're bringing dinner?" she asked curiously. Could vampires eat human food?
"Pizza," Leah nodded. "There's a vigorous debate currently going on in the Cullen house about what toppings will taste the least gross. I told Jasper they could just make an excuse to not eat, but he felt it would be bad manners to bring dinner and then have Charlie be the only one eating."
Sue smiled at that. From everything Leah had shared so far, Jasper Whitlock seemed like a good man. Not that Sue was surprised. Leah may have gone through too many experiences that caused her some anger and bitterness, but underneath that, she was a thoughtful young woman with a loving heart. Of course her other half would be similar.
"With their diet being animal blood, I'd think some kind of meat would be the most palatable," Sue said after thinking on it a minute. "Although maybe all the processing and preservatives would make it taste too much like chemicals. So maybe vegetables? Something that isn't processed?"
Leah gave her mom a grateful smile. She'd taken the news that her daughter had imprinted on a vampire remarkably well and had been nothing but supportive. "I was thinking the same thing about the vegetables. I told him to get two smaller pizzas instead of one big one and ask them to go easy on the sauce and cheese on one. It's all going to be gross, but maybe less melted cheese will make it slightly less gross."
Sue nodded her agreement and pulled out a tupperware container to put some cookies in. "I've asked the council for a meeting this afternoon," she said, trying to keep her tone casual. "I'm going to ask for Jasper to have permission to cross the treaty line."
Leah looked at her mom with wide, shocked eyes. "Seriously? You know Sam will never agree to that."
"Sam's not the only council member, and he doesn't dictate to us," she said shortly, her irritation with the current Alpha clear on her face. "I'm not going to ask for Jasper to be given free rein, I simply want him to be able to come to our house. The Cullens have kindly offered you the courtesy of coming and going to their home as you please, and I'd like to extend the same courtesy to my daughter's imprint."
Leah blinked a few times in surprise. Was that even possible? Given Sam's hatred of the vamps in general, and Jasper in particular, she wasn't optimistic. But just the fact that her mom was willing to try meant the world to her. She set her glass down and went to give Sue a long hug. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't thank me yet," Sue cautioned. "It's going to be a steep uphill battle."
"I know," Leah nodded. "But I'm grateful you're even willing to try."
After a few more moments of soaking up a mom-hug, Leah went to take a shower. An hour later, she grabbed the tupperware of cookies and got in her car to make the drive into Forks. As she parked behind Bella's truck, she couldn't help laughing a little. Jasper hadn't been kidding, Alice really was an enthusiastic cheerer.
When Charlie answered the door, Leah handed him the cookies. "I come bearing gifts."
Charlie's face lit up. "Chocolate chip?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course. You really think I'd go to the trouble of bringing you treats and not bring your favorite?" Leah laughed. "Now move it. You've got Alice cheering on your side, so I'm making an exception and rooting for the Red Sox with Jasper. Two against one is no fair."
"You know Alice and Jasper?" he asked in surprise as he stepped back so Leah could come in. As far as he was aware, the Quileutes weren't big fans of Carlisle Cullen and his family. Billy had sure complained enough when Bella started dating Edward. Although that could've been because both Billy and Charlie had been not-so-secretly hoping Bella might be interested in a relationship with Jacob.
"I just met them recently," she said as she closed the door behind her. "I actually went on a date with Jasper last night," she admitted.
Charlie's face lit up again. Leah hadn't expressed any interest in dating since Sam had broken her heart in such a cruel manner. He didn't know Jasper well, but he seemed like a nice, respectful young man, and if he could make Leah happy, he would give the two of them all the support in the world. Charlie had felt the worst kind of helpless having to watch the happy girl he'd known her whole life fade before his eyes, and losing her dad so suddenly had only made everything so much worse. She'd been through more hurt than any nineteen-year old should, and all he wanted was for her to find some happiness.
"That's great, Leah," he said with a warm smile as he put his hand on her shoulder. He wasn't always the best communicator, and he wasn't always great at showing his emotions, but Leah had been like a daughter to him for nearly two decades, and she always made conversation easy. Sadly, he knew her much better than he knew his own daughter, who could be just as socially awkward as he was. "How'd it go? Did you have a nice time?" he asked quietly.
"I really did. We didn't do anything fancy, he just took me to a bookstore he likes and then we got some coffee and sat and talked for a couple hours."
Charlie nodded his approval. If Jasper had already picked up on the fact that Leah preferred casual, not to mention books and coffee being two of her favorite things, that was definitely a point in his favor. "Well come on, then. The Mariners are currently up two runs so Jasper can use some help cheering."
Leah laughed when she walked into the living room and saw the smile on Jasper's face. Alice had a matching smile and shot Leah a quick wink. Not only were they having fun with Charlie, but the man seemed genuinely pleased that Leah had been on a date with Jasper.
"Hi," Leah greeted Jasper as she threw herself on the couch beside him. "It seems you're not cheering loud enough so I've kindly come to offer you my assistance."
"Thanks," Jasper laughed. "I'm not sure we stand a chance against the two of them, though. Charlie is just as enthusiastic as Alice, which is really saying something."
The four of them spent the next hour shouting at the TV and playfully shouting at each other. Alice and Charlie did a lot of very loud gloating as the Mariners pulled ahead by another two runs.
All three supernatural beings heard when Edward's car pulled up out front.
"Why is Carlisle here?" Bella asked when she saw his Mercedes.
"It's not Carlisle, it's Alice and Jasper," Edward answered. "Leah's here also."
"Why are Alice and Jasper here?"
"Let's go find out," Edward answered.
Alice, Jasper, and Leah pretended they hadn't heard anything, and Alice jumped up and gently high-fived Charlie when another player got on base.
"This is bullshit," Leah grumbled. "Of all the times for the Mariners to play this well, I'm stuck rooting for the other team."
"No one said you had to cheer for the Red Sox with me," Jasper laughed. "You're welcome to be a traitor and switch sides."
"Nah, if you're going down, I'm going down with you. I'm a ride or die kind of gal."
Charlie laughed and shook his head. It warmed his heart to see Leah having so much fun. She'd smiled more that afternoon than he'd seen her smile in a long time. Hearing the front door close, he turned to the doorway of the living room just as Bella walked in with Edward.
"What are you doing here?" Edward asked his siblings.
Charlie cleared his throat. "I invited them," he said with a pointed look.
Edward pretended to look contrite. "Of course, Chief Swan. I apologize for my rudeness, I'm just surprised to see them here."
Alice smiled at him. "Charlie was kind enough to invite us to watch the game with him," she said, smiling wider at the sour expression on his face that she called him Charlie instead of Chief Swan.
"That was nice of you, Ch– Dad," Bella said, awkwardly correcting herself mid-word.
Leah turned back to the TV as she gritted her teeth. How hard was it to remember to call him 'Dad'? She had no intention of making things uncomfortable for Charlie, though, so she kept her mouth shut and kept her smile firmly in place.
"There's some pizza left, Bells. Are you two hungry?" Charlie asked.
Edward immediately shook his head. "No thank you, sir. I had a late lunch."
Bella took in the two partially eaten pizzas and the plates in front of Alice and Jasper. "You guys ate that?" she asked in surprise, then quickly continued so Charlie wouldn't get suspicious. "I just thought Edward said you didn't like pizza, that's all."
"It wasn't bad," Alice answered, making sure the disgust didn't show on her face. "I'd never had pizza with roasted vegetables before."
Jasper smiled that she'd worded it in a way that wasn't a lie. At least the second part. Saying it wasn't bad was absolutely a lie. It tasted like dirt and was sitting in their stomachs like a lead balloon.
"I'm not very hungry right now, but maybe later," Bella answered.
Leah took a deep breath and looked at Bella with her smile in place. Bella was Jasper's brother's mate, which meant she was going to have to tolerate her. "I brought over some of my mom's cookies if you'd like some," she offered, her smile slightly more genuine when Jasper gently squeezed her hand and let her feel his appreciation for her gesture.
Bella looked surprised, but accepted the olive branch for what it was. "Thank you," she said quietly and picked a cookie out of the tupperware on the coffee table.
Leah and Charlie grinned when Bella let out a quiet moan after her first bite. "Pretty good, huh?" Charlie laughed.
"Pretty good?" Leah huffed. "They're amazing and you know it."
Bella nodded her agreement. "Hands down, the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever tasted."
"We should probably get started on that homework, Bella, don't you think?" Edward cut in.
"Oh. Right," Bella said, looking around at the smiling faces in her living room.
Jasper felt her disappointment, along with Charlie's, and offered her another olive branch. He could deal with Edward's irritation, especially if it meant helping Bella spend some time with her dad. "There are only two innings left, Bella. I'm sure there's time to watch the rest of the game with us and still get your homework done."
Bella looked up at Edward and couldn't miss the disapproval on his face. But then she looked at her dad and saw the hesitant hope on his. "Yeah, I'd like that," she nodded, ignoring the exasperated sigh from her boyfriend as she went and sat on the floor next to Alice. "So. Who's playing?"
Jasper sucked in a sharp breath at the amount of happiness Charlie felt at such a simple thing. He caught Edward's eye and silently asked him to let Bella and Charlie have the chance to make a happy memory without Edward making Bella feel like she was disappointing him.
Edward sighed and gave him a small nod. He wasn't at all happy about it, he didn't want Bella spending any time with the wolves, never mind a wolf who thought so little of Bella, but he supposed he could grit his teeth and tolerate it for the little bit of time left in the game.
After learning that Alice and Charlie were cheering on the Mariners, and Jasper and Leah were cheering on the Red Sox, Bella decided to be an equal opportunity cheerer so the teams stayed equal. She didn't know much about baseball except for the general rules, so she wasn't always sure what to cheer for. She solved that by just cheering for everything, which amused the hell out of everyone - except Edward, who could always be counted on to be a stick in the mud - but especially her dad.
By the time the game ended, Charlie Swan wasn't sure he'd laughed so much in years. Between Bella's company, the good-natured teasing, Alice's enthusiasm, and Leah's grumbling, it had turned out to be one of the best afternoons Charlie had spent in the past year.
The fact that the Mariners won was just icing on the already-sweet cake.
