A/N: A guest reviewer asked about Jasper and Leah having some alone time, and that will be in the next chapter. There's also going to be another little time jump next chapter, but I felt like the last scene here was important to show the progress Bella and Leah are making. Thanks for reading and reviewing:)

Explanations

Charlie's mind was still racing as he parked the cruiser in his driveway two hours later, so he was caught off guard when Bella practically threw herself in his arms the second he walked in the door. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and let himself take a moment to soak up a hug from his daughter. Perhaps the first since she'd awkwardly hugged him on her arrival in Washington the year before.

"Everything's fine," he quietly reassured her as he rubbed her back. He wasn't sure what she knew about the previous few hours of his life, but it was obvious she was worried about him.

Movement at the doorway to the kitchen caught his eye and he looked up to see Edward watching him with a cautious expression. Charlie immediately redirected his thoughts away from the conversation he'd just had in the Clearwater's kitchen.

While Sue, Billy, and Old Quil had answered most of the questions he had after having it confirmed that spirit animals were real, very little had been explained about Jasper and the rest of his family. When Charlie asked if Jasper turned into an animal also, he had smiled and said no but hadn't offered any further information, only telling him that keeping their secret was imperative to ensure his and Bella's safety. Jasper had also explained that some of the Cullens had extra quirks, and that he needed to do his best to keep his thoughts hidden from Edward where they related to the Cullens and the Quileutes.

It had been a shock to Charlie that Edward could hear his thoughts, but Jasper had quickly explained that his mind was fuzzy to Edward, as if listening to radio static, with only the occasional thought breaking through clearly.

Unbeknownst to Charlie, Jasper had called Edward while Charlie was on his way home and asked him to try and stay out of Charlie's mind, not explaining why, only saying there were some things Charlie wanted to keep private. Jasper was nothing if not a strategic thinker, and while he couldn't do anything about his own memories, he wanted to ensure that if Aro ever had another opportunity to read Edward, he wouldn't see anything in his memories that gave away that Charlie knew about the supernatural world. Whether he knew about vampires specifically or not, Jasper didn't want the king to have any reason at all to be suspicious that Charlie Swan knew too much.

Edward wasn't always successful at tuning people out, especially if he wasn't somewhere crowded where the mental chatter turned into a background hum, so he was grateful that Charlie's thoughts had always been a little unclear to him.

Bella hadn't known a lot of what was happening as it happened. She knew Victoria had been swimming towards La Push and that Charlie had been down there with Leah and Sue. She knew Jacob had headed to the beach to make sure Victoria didn't make it onto their land and that Alice and Jasper were racing to get there in time. And she knew that the two vamps had intercepted Victoria before she got to First Beach.

Jasper had used Leah's phone to text her after he talked to Edward when Charlie left the Clearwater's, but the message had only said he would explain everything when there were no vamps within hearing distance of her. With Bella's mind being protected, she could know the whole story, but only if she didn't ask any questions in front of Edward or any of the other Cullens. She'd wanted to demand answers right away, but she knew Jasper was just trying to protect everyone on the off chance they ever crossed paths with Aro again and he read their memories, so she'd gritted her teeth and agreed.

"You're alright?" Bella asked her dad as she stepped back, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the situation. She and Charlie weren't the greatest at showing their emotions.

"Perfectly fine," Charlie nodded. "Better than fine, actually. Sue let me have a couple of your enchiladas so I was lucky enough to have them two nights in a row."

Bella just smiled. "Edward said there's a Maritimers game so I… What? Why are you laughing?"

"You were real close there, Bells," Charlie chuckled. "Opposite end of the continent, but still pretty close."

"It's the Mariners," Edward explained with a smile when Bella still looked confused.

"Oh," Bella laughed, shrugging at her complete lack of sports knowledge. "Maritimers, Mariners, whatever. It's a baseball game and I thought maybe we could watch it together," she suggested to her dad a little nervously.

Charlie didn't even think twice, he just broke into a beaming smile and went to the phone in the kitchen to call in a favor. He was supposed to be working an overnight shift, but he'd worked double shifts and holidays for years and years so his officers could spend time with their families, and now that it was finally his turn to have some time with his daughter, he'd move heaven and earth to make it happen.

Once he ensured there was adequate coverage at the station, he pushed all thoughts of the supernatural world to the back of his mind, grabbed a beer, and practically dragged Bella into the living room. He may have just learned that a pack of giant wolves was living fifteen miles away, and that Bella's partner was a little 'other' as well, but his daughter was willingly spending time with him so it ranked right up there at the top of his list of best days ever.

When Jasper and Leah got to the Cullen's a little while later, Leah darted inside and hunted Alice down. "Stay still," she said as she tied something around her neck. After her initial surprise and confusion, Alice just laughed, thrilled by the gesture.

"Hey, no fair," Emmett pouted when Alice came flying into the living room with Leah's old Wonder Woman cape fluttering behind her.

Leah shrugged as she plopped herself down next to Jasper. "If you want to wear it, you've gotta earn it. Alice earned it, so she's the superhero today."

Carlisle walked into the room with a smile, but with a far greater amount of worry than he typically carried. Esme, Rosalie, Peter, and Charlotte were there also. With Victoria having been chased off only a few hours before, they all believed it was safe to temporarily suspend patrols so they could find out what had transpired since Jasper and Alice had found Maria.

Jasper was content to just hold Leah close and let Alice relay the story. He offered his insight a few times when someone asked about Maria's emotions, but otherwise he just listened.

"What was the knowledge you didn't understand?" Alice asked Peter once she reached the point of the story where they were running home.

Peter hesitated a moment and looked only at Jasper as he answered. "She has no newborns. No army."

There was a shocked silence in the room for a few long seconds. "Someone managed to kill off her entire army?" Rosalie asked incredulously.

Again, Peter hesitated. "No. Or at least no one from the outside, no enemy."

While the rest of the room was confused by what that meant, Jasper just nodded, not entirely surprised. "She killed them all herself?" he asked.

Peter nodded. "With the help of a few others. She has three older vamps holding down the fort while she's gone. One is at least a decade old and there are two who are under five," he explained. "They're guarding her territory, but that's all. They're strictly for defense. I don't know why she did it, all I can tell you with certainty is that she killed off every newborn before she left Mexico."

Emmett laughed a little nervously. "Maybe she's finally ready to put her murderous ways behind her. Live a life of peace like the three of you," he said, gesturing to the three former soldiers.

Peter just stayed silent. He may have felt confident making some educated guesses about Maria's motives, but that wasn't one he was prepared to make.

Esme looked at Jasper. He knew Maria better than anyone. "What do you think?"

Jasper took a minute to think it through before answering. "I think Matthew shook the foundation she's been standing on for centuries. She cared about me to an extent, but she never loved me. She does, however, love him. She was being honest when she said she didn't know it was possible to love again after losing a mate, and she silently agreed with Alice that nothing could change what had happened in the past. Nothing she does can bring him back. Do I think she's ready to live an entirely peaceful life? No," he shook his head. "Will she be content to live with a small coven and give up the fight? I highly doubt it. But I think finding Matthew is more important than maintaining an army. At least for the moment."

"Are you going to help her?" Rosalie asked a little hesitantly, really hoping the answer was no but fearing it was probably a yes.

Jasper shook his head. "I haven't decided yet, and I'm not prepared to have a conversation about it with anyone until Leah and I have a chance to talk it through."

When Rosalie looked ready to argue, Alice cut in. "It's not a pressing concern at the moment, Rose. Even if he'd already told her he would help, Maria knows we won't do anything until Victoria is taken care of and there's no threat hanging over our heads. When I have some free time, I'll start mentally searching, but that's all the help she's getting at the moment."

Rosalie just sighed and nodded in resignation, but Leah looked at Alice curiously. "How would that work?" she asked. "Have you searched for anyone with your gift that way before?"

"Twice, but I'm not sure I'd count either as a roaring success. It took me twenty-eight years in the first case and nearly two in the other," she answered with a smile, looking at Jasper and Carlisle. "But the circumstances were completely different. The visions of Jasper and Carlisle came to me on their own. Jasper was the very first thing I saw in this life. I was meant to find him and we were meant to find Carlisle together. With Matthew, I'm literally starting with nothing. All I can think to do is divide a map into small sections and decide to search each one methodically. I'll use Maria's suggestions as my starting point and hope that Peter gets some knowledge along the way that narrows it down."

Leah knew Alice had waited nearly thirty years to meet Jasper, but she'd never really considered how hard it would have been to find him. "Did you ever think about finding him when he was still with Maria?"

"I did," Alice nodded. "But it never ended well. After a few years, I knew I couldn't seek him out while he was still with her. I'd seen enough to know he would eventually leave, so I just had to bide my time until that happened."

Leah turned and looked at her imprint a little suspiciously. "Did you kill her?"

"No!" Jasper laughed. "Well, maybe a little. But really, if that little pipsqueak had somehow snuck into Maria's territory - being all 'hey, so i know you don't know me but you're meant to leave the army and be my best friend and we're going to live with a coven that feeds off animals so come on it'll be great' - how do you think I would have reacted when I was still loyal to Maria? I didn't trust a single soul until Peter and it took him years to gain that trust."

"So it wasn't love at first sight?" Leah teased.

"Please," Peter scoffed. "I can't even tell you the number of times I ended up slammed against the wall with his hand wrapped around my throat."

"Wait, I thought that was after he fell in love with you?" Rosalie asked with a cheeky smile.

Peter and Jasper both laughed at that. "It was both," Peter said, shooting Jasper a wink.

"Is that actually why he fell for you?" Emmett asked Jasper with his wide, dimpled grin.

Jasper mimed zipping his lips shut, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I'll never tell."

"Y'all are ridiculous," Charlotte laughed, shaking her head at them. She squeezed Peter's hand, though, and let Jasper feel her gratitude. If Peter hadn't been so stubbornly patient and persistent, Jasper never would have dropped his guard enough to love him. And if Jasper had never taken a chance and loved Peter, he wouldn't have been willing to risk his final death just so the two of them could escape. Charlotte would have been killed at the end of her newborn year, and Peter likely would have gone down with her.

Jasper smiled at Charlotte and silently let her feel his love in response. Letting Peter into his heart was the catalyst that had ultimately led Jasper to just about every good thing in his life, including finding his mate. Assuming Leah was destined to become a wolf, he would have felt the pull to her eventually, but if he was just a red-eyed nomad and not part of Carlisle's coven, it probably would have been a steep uphill climb to win her heart.

"So what happened with Victoria?" Carlisle asked, enjoying the light-hearted banter but thinking they should probably get back on track. "All we know is that she was here."

Jasper took a second to answer. He didn't want to be dishonest, but he also wanted to do everything he could to minimize the chance that Aro would ever find out Charlie was aware of the supernatural world. Aro already knew about the wolves, Alice had just learned there was a new pack when she and Bella had gone to Italy, so that was unavoidable. And if he ever read any of them, he'd see Jasper's mate was part of that pack and that the Cullens had an alliance with them. It was Charlie's direct involvement that he wanted to keep hidden. And keeping the whole truth from the rest of the coven meant if Aro did ever read them, he couldn't accuse them of another crime.

"She nearly got to First Beach," he said eventually. "We managed to intercept her thanks to Alice."

"And witnesses?" Carlisle asked cautiously. He shared the same concerns as Jasper.

"Nothing our coven needs to worry about," was all the answer Jasper gave him.

Carlisle just nodded and accepted that. "Do you foresee any problems with the pack because of how close Alice and Jasper were to your land?" he asked Leah.

"Officially? No," she shook her head. "Jared and the rest of the council were fine with it. Unofficially? Jake will probably be a dick about it, but he's a dick about everything lately so that's nothing new."

Rosalie huffed in annoyance. "I'm this close to kicking that kid's ass. Even Sam has chilled the fuck out and he really hated us."

"Sam had a lot of reasons for hating vampires in general and your family in particular," Leah answered. "He thinks you guys are the reason his life was completely turned upside down. But once he saw how his hatred and anger and jealousy was driving a wedge between him and Emily, fixing that was more important than anything else. The imprint bond is intense and having it so strained was taking a toll on both of them," she explained. "All Jacob feels is resentful that Bella isn't his imprint and that she's repeatedly chosen Edward over him. Because he doesn't have another bond to redirect his focus, the resentment just grows and grows. It doesn't help that most of the pack thinks he's being an idiot," she shrugged. "No one has any sympathy left for him when he knows she isn't his imprint but he just keeps on trying to convince her to pick him. That's just knowingly setting her up for heartbreak. I don't like her all that much, but I wouldn't wish the 'Leah, Sam, Emily pain-fest' on anyone."

"I think me helping Sam with that newborn probably helped a little," Jasper added. "He very purposefully let me know he was grateful afterwards."

Leah looked at him in surprise. "Really?" she asked. She hadn't had a single direct conversation with Sam since that day. They were never on patrol together and she hadn't run into him outside of pack meetings.

"Don't worry, he still doesn't like me," Jasper laughed, completely unbothered. "The gratitude was there, but it was minimal."

"Is there anything else we need to cover?" Carlisle asked before ending the impromptu meeting.

"We may have a new complication to deal with," Alice answered. "Victoria got awfully close to shore, so she may try to use that advantage when it's time to bring the newborns here. We wouldn't know they were coming until they're on top of us."

Jasper shook his head. "I can't say categorically that she won't do that, but I think it's highly unlikely. If she only had Riley and one or two newborns, maybe. But she has at least ten, and traveling with that many over land is difficult enough. Traveling through the depths of the North Pacific would be nearly impossible."

Peter nodded. "It can't hurt to patrol the coast, but I'd still put every dollar I have on her bringing them in through the mountains."

Carlisle agreed with them. He'd never had more than one newborn at a time to deal with, but he knew how easily distracted new vampires were, and if Victoria and Riley had them geared up for a fight, they'd be even less manageable. He offered to call Jared in the morning to discuss it and see if he wanted to make any changes to the patrol schedule.

"Leah and I are going to head to the Swan's for a little while, so would one of y'all use the opportunity to encourage Edward to go on a quick hunt with you?" Jasper asked the family, ignoring everyone's curiosity about what they were up to. "I just need him out of our hair for an hour or so."

Emmett immediately jumped up and clapped his hands together. "I will. It's been ages since we hunted together."

Rosalie reluctantly agreed to come along when her mate asked her to. Edward had been slightly more tolerable in recent days and even she could see that he'd been making a genuine effort to be less of a nightmare.

Jasper's phone was a lost cause and he couldn't replace it until the next day, so Leah sent Bella a quick text to let her know she and Jasper were on their way over. Ten minutes later, Jasper was silently pulling himself through Bella's window while Leah was in the trees behind the Swan's house in her wolf form. She and Jasper both thought Edward would feel more comfortable leaving if there was an extra body guarding his mate.

It didn't take much convincing, to be honest. Edward knew he needed to hunt and he knew Jasper could protect Bella against just about any threat. He also knew she was worried about her dad and he acknowledged that she had a right to know what happened at La Push. Jasper and Leah were being extremely careful with their thoughts, so Edward couldn't give her any answers himself.

When Bella opened her mouth the moment Edward left with Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper held up a finger and asked her to wait a moment. When she sighed in frustration, he looked at her sharply. "I know you want answers, and I'm happy to give them to you. But I'd prefer to do it while also protecting my family and Charlie," he whispered. "Please, just give them a second to get out of hearing range."

Bella winced and nodded. "Sorry."

"It's fine, I understand why you're worried," he reassured her. Once he knew his siblings were far enough away, he started talking. "First, I know your biggest concern is if your dad knows about our family so before I tell you the whole story, I'll just go ahead and assure you right up front that he doesn't. Not only were vampires not discussed, but there was nothing in his emotions that made me think he connected any dots. There was absolutely no fear in him at any point while we talked," he explained, then went on to relay everything that had happened from the moment Alice got the vision of Victoria swimming towards First Beach. "All your dad saw when it relates to us is swimming that was a little faster than average and that Charlotte was able to knock me and Leah off our feet, even though she's so much smaller than both of us."

Bella nodded as she processed everything she'd heard. "And he didn't ask any questions about you after he realized the wolves were real?"

"He did, actually," Jasper chuckled softly. "He asked if I turned into a giant animal also. All I said was no, but that I couldn't tell him any more than that. I explained that keeping my secret, our family's secret, was the only way to ensure his safety as well as yours. Once he knew your safety was on the line, he just accepted me at my word and asked no more questions."

"Does the rest of the family know any of this?" Bella asked.

Jasper shook his head. "Alice knows only what she witnessed herself. She left with Peter and Charlotte before the rest of us headed to the Clearwater's, so she wasn't there for any of the discussion. Edward's the only one who knew your dad was at La Push, and I asked him to try to give Charlie some mental privacy, but I didn't offer any more than that. I just said there were some things he preferred to keep to himself," he explained. "Alice, Peter, and Charlotte told the family nothing except that Victoria had approached the Quileute's territory from the water and that we intercepted her before she got to shore. Carlisle asked if there were any witnesses and I told him there was nothing for the coven to worry about."

"And all of that is so Aro won't know anything if we ever see him again and he reads them?" she asked, still trying to understand Jasper's thinking.

He nodded. "I can't change the fact that the conversation is in my memories, but I can make sure it's not in anyone else's."

"But if my dad doesn't know about vampires, why does it matter?"

"Him knowing anything at all puts him at risk. Not only do I not want Aro to think Charlie knows too much, but if Aro were to ever see any of this, I'm the only one who knows with certainty Charlie found out about the supernatural world. If he tries to be a sneaky little shit and twist that information around, I'm the only one he can try to accuse of a crime."

Bella frowned a little at that. "But that still puts you at risk," she said quietly.

Jasper couldn't help smiling that she was worried about him. "I'll be fine. I have no intention of ever letting Aro see my memories," he answered. He was aware that Aro had read Alice in Volterra, and she knew nearly everything about Jasper, but there were some things about his life in the south, and about Peter and Charlotte, that he'd kept to himself. He'd be damned if Aro Volturi ever learned the things he'd kept hidden. "I'll take his hands off before I let him touch me."

Bella looked at him a little skeptically. The kings had scared her and she couldn't imagine anyone trying to stand against them. Jasper was a little bit scary too, though, so out of all the Cullens, maybe he was the man for the job. Bella herself wasn't scared of him but she could definitely see why other vamps were. "Well maybe keep a pair of gloves on you at all times," she said after a moment. "If you try to take his hands off with your bare hands, he'll be able to read you while you do it."

Jasper barked a laugh at the human's thinking and nodded. "Good point, thank you."

Bella smiled that she'd made him laugh. She knew she tended to be more serious than funny, so she always felt a little bit of pleasure when she managed to coax a laugh out of anyone. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for telling me everything."

"You have a right to know," he answered with a little shrug. "All I ask is that you don't discuss it with anyone in the family or with Peter and Charlotte. The pack will obviously know, so there's no reason you can't talk about it with them. And if you want to talk to your dad about the wolves, that's probably fine also. Aro can't read you, so he won't know who you're talking to. Assuming he never reads Charlie or anyone from La Push - and I can't imagine any situation where he would - he'll be none the wiser."

Bella nodded, her expression serious. "You have my word."

Jasper ruffled her hair with a smile. "We've got a bit of time before Edward gets back so I'm afraid you're stuck with me for a little while longer. Want me to help you sleep?"

Bella tipped her head as she thought about it. "Actually, do you think I could ask you some questions? You said that would be okay and you're probably the most likely to give me straight answers," she said a little hesitantly, fully prepared for him to turn her down.

He didn't. He just immediately nodded. "Of course. There are a few exceptions to what I'm willing to talk about, but as long as it's not about Peter and Charlotte or details about my life in the south, I'm happy to tell you anything you want to know."

Bella opened her mouth but then shut it and hesitated. "Leah's still outside?" she asked, and Jasper nodded. "Do you think she'd rather come in? She can protect Charlie and I just as easily from inside."

"I appreciate the offer, and I'm sure Leah does also, but she phased before we left the house so she doesn't have any clothes with her."

Bella jumped up and rifled through the bottom drawer of her dresser for a moment. Her clothes would be too small on the wolf, but she had a pair of her dad's pajama pants and a t-shirt of his from a day she was sick and wanted something big that didn't make her feel like she was being smothered. She turned and handed them to Jasper. "These should fit," she whispered. "I know I don't like being away from Edward, so…" she trailed off, knowing not everyone felt the same as she did, especially because Jasper and Leah weren't really separated. They could probably still speak to each other at their current distance, but she still wanted to offer in case Leah felt more comfortable inside Bella's room with Jasper instead of outside listening in.

Jasper smiled at her in thanks and walked over to the window. "And you truly don't mind if she comes up?" he checked. "I know the two of you don't see eye to eye about much."

"I think Leah has some legitimate reasons for not liking me," Bella answered carefully. "She loves my dad and I haven't treated him very well. But I'm trying to change that and I think Leah sees that."

Jasper looked at her for a moment before walking to where she was standing, nervously wringing her hands. "Would you mind if I hugged you?" he asked, smiling when Bella's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'm grateful," he explained gently. "You did a really thoughtful thing for her and Sue by bringing them dinner. I'm pretty good with virtual hugs, though, so I can do that instead to show you my gratitude if you prefer."

Bella didn't even hesitate, she just stepped forward and carefully wrapped her arms around his waist. Jasper was going to be her brother for a very, very long time and with the exception of Rosalie, he was the one in the family she spent the least amount of time with. Being accepted by Edward's family meant everything to her, so if Jasper was comfortable hugging her, she wasn't going to say no.

Jasper hugged her gently and silently surrounded her in his gratitude. When he pulled away, he walked back to the window, where Leah was already waiting for him. After he tossed the clothes down, she walked into the trees to phase back to human.

"So did your dad put the new photo up?" he asked Bella as he sat on the foot of her bed.

"He did," Bella laughed quietly. "I got him to swap it for my fourth grade picture. That was the worst one."

"It's a cute picture of y'all. The first time I went to the Clearwater's, your dad showed up and joined us for dinner. Afterwards, he and Sue took out some old photos to embarrass Leah," he said with a smile. "He pulled that one out to brag about how adorable you were as a toddler."

Bella blushed a little at the idea of her dad bragging about her, but pushed her embarrassment aside. "Edward took some pictures of us tonight so hopefully there will be one or two that turn out well enough to add them to the mantle."

"Good, I'm glad you're putting in the effort. I know it's not really any of my business, but even if he doesn't say it all that often, he loves you so much. Maybe he'll find it easier to open up now that you're letting him in a little."

Bella just nodded, silently agreeing. After the baseball game had ended and they'd called it a night, Charlie had given her a quick hug and whispered his thanks, then gone into his room with a quiet "Love you, Bells."

Before Bella could feel too awkward with the whole thing, Leah silently pulled herself through the window and took a seat on the floor beside her bed and thanked Bella for the clothes.

"Before you start asking Jasper your questions, I just want to add one thing to what he told you about the conversation earlier," Leah whispered. "Charlie asked about why everything at the beach happened, what had made Jasper and Alice come flying in out of nowhere, and we just said there was someone out there who had a grudge against us. We told him both he and you were protected at all times, and that there was always at least one wolf or one Cullen within hearing distance, so if he ever felt like something was off or if he needed help, he just had to say it out loud," she explained. "We also asked that if any of us ever asked him to haul ass to La Push or the Cullen's, that he just do it without asking questions. He agreed."

Bella nodded, relieved that her dad knew what to do if he ever thought he might be in danger. "Thank you."

The three of them spent the next two hours talking quietly while they waited for Edward to return. Most of Bella's questions were about the process of becoming a vampire and what the newborn period was really like, and if Jasper had ever found anything that helped baby vamps get control of themselves sooner. He answered all of her questions honestly and didn't try to skirt around the truth, even when the answer was hard to hear.

By the time Edward jumped through her window, it was nearly two in the morning and her eyes were beginning to close. She was sinking into sleep when she felt the familiar comfort of Edward lying down beside her and tucking the covers around her.

When she heard Leah and Jasper whisper goodnight, she just managed to murmur a 'thank you' before sleep pulled her under.

All of life's demands would start encroaching on them again in the morning, so when Jasper and Leah silently slipped out the window, they took advantage of the hours before dawn to have some time alone. With everything the vamps and wolves had been facing in recent weeks, they'd only managed to snatch a few hours here and there with no one else around.

Jasper wrapped an arm around his mate's shoulders and they walked through the forest at a human pace. A few hours didn't feel nearly long enough for either of them, but they accepted that life was what it was at the moment and reveled in the peace and quiet while it lasted.

A/N: I know Leah's pretty quiet for that last scene, but she's doing some internal reflecting and she'll have more to say next chapter. Thanks for reading:)