Alice

Jasper shook his head as he sat on the couch. Alice ignored him. He'd already made his feelings clear—that she shouldn't interfere in Bella's life. But if there's anything Alice knew about her friend was that she needed the proper motivation.

Are you almost here? Alice texted.

The plane just touched down.

"Okay, Jas. Edward's flight just arrived, now let's go."

Are you sure this is okay, Alice? Do you think this won't seem a little intrusive to Bella?

Trust me. She'll be happy you're here.

Okay. But did she say that she wished I were coming?

No. But, she inferred it. Bella infers things because she knows that if she states something to me, I will try to make it happen.

Uh, how is this different?

She tilted her head in thought. I guess it isn't. See you soon.

The airport was less than fifteen minutes away, and she watched Edward in her rearview mirror. He seemed calm. She wondered how he really felt. Alice was more excited for this reunion than Bella. And since they'd been back, it had been so busy with work, she couldn't wait to see her bestie in person again. She wanted badly to catch up. But since this texting thing began with Edward, Alice thought Bella would drag this on endlessly—needlessly. And for what?

"I apologize on behalf of my wife, Edward. She's very pushy," Jasper said from the front passenger seat.

"It's working for him in his favor, Jas."

"Yeah well, what if it doesn't?" Jasper asked.

Alice took one hand off the steering wheel and smacked his shoulder. "Don't say that! Of course it works out."

Jasper called back. "Yeah. Very pushy."

"Alice isn't wrong," Edward said. "It is working on my behalf, and besides, if the 3 of us are all seen together, it's not as incriminating as Bella and I being seen alone together."

"Uh huh." He understood, at least.

"Okay, now you go first," Alice told him as she parked along Bella's curb. In her driveway sat Bella's red Toyota Camry. Her yard was little more than a landscape of rocks and cactus— it fit Bella's simplistic, low-maintenance style. She didn't care to garden as she couldn't keep a plant alive.

"Why don't we all just go together?"

"Because she has to be dramatic," Jasper responded.

Alice had been irritated with Jasper all day—for the past few days. She wanted to tell him to go smoke his cigarette and leave her be…and that upset her, too. Everything was bothering her. Then there was the aggravation of having to smell him after he smoked. But right now, she just needed some cooperation. Facing her bestie was another thing; she knew that initially Bella might be a little irritated with her, but what was Alice doing? Delivering Edward to her…it couldn't be more of a gift than if she wrapped him with a big, red bow.

Bella's eyes widened as she saw Edward and then met Alice's eyes as she passed her in the doorway.

"I thought…Zoom…and you're here…" Bella's voice drifted.

"The show is on! Pause it!" Alice shouted.

Bella limped as she showed Edward around her little 2 bedroom house, and Edward pointed to her ankle. "Maybe you should take some weight off that foot."

"Maybe."

Alice and Jasper unpacked the cut up vegetables and fruits she'd prepared, setting them out on a platter, along with cuts of meats and cheese for the meat eaters. Jasper darted a look to her as she poured the wine but grabbed a glass of sparkling water for herself. "My stomach has been upset all day. I think I had some bad tofu…"

"I can't believe you're here," Bella said to Edward.

Jasper called out, "Yeah, it's not his fault. Blame your friend."

"Thanks a lot."

"Hey, I love you…even if you are intrusive."

They brought the platter to the coffee table where Bella already had a wine glass filled with dark red liquid. She'd prepared well for herself. The extent of the seating in her living room was limited; it left four people scooted close together on one loveseat. Jasper was about to grab a chair from the dinette set, and Alice shook her head. No…this forced proximity was good.

"Everybody comfy?" Alice burrowed into Jasper's chest and didn't wait for their mumbled replies.

"Yeah," came Bella's strained response. This left the seating with the guys on the outside and the girls on the inside.

As they watched the scenes cut from ceremony to even more awkward ceremony, Bella sighed with relief that Jasper and Alice's wedding came to such a nice conclusion. Edward's and Rosalie's wedding, to Alice's surprise, came as such a shock. She caught the nervous look on her friend's face as she watched moment after embarrassing moment of their experiences.

"This is hard to watch," Bella said as they showed Bella and Emmett walking down the aisle.

"Wait. Where did you two disappear off to?" Alice asked. On camera, their disappearance left some speculation as the camera searched for the bride and groom.

"Emmett took me into a room and told me a bunch of jokes, like an icebreaker."

Then a similar incident as Jasper disappeared while Alice gave her interview.

"You were glowing. Look at you."

Alice squeezed Jasper's hand. "Yes. Love at first sight."

"Where did Jasper go?"

Jasper cleared his throat. "I just went out to have a cigarette."

Yeah and meet with the mother of his grown child. Ugh. She didn't like to think of this, but it was better it had not been captured by the cameras. Then, the producer knocked at the door as they were about to get busy in the restroom.

Bella's mouth gaped. "What were you two doing in there?"

"A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Don't worry, though. They interrupted before anything could happen."

"Yeah, that happened a few times," Jasper grumbled.

Then a clip of Bella's friends and mother, enthusiastically toasting Bella's new husband. "She scored!" Jessica said. "Way to go, Bella!"

"I just know that my daughter and Emmett are going to be so happy," Renee had said.

Bella clapped her hand over her face.

"Aw man," Alice said.

"I wish you could've been there," Bella said, bumping her shoulder against her friend's.

"Me too! And same!"

This whole time they'd had no idea of each other's experiences. Edward stayed silent, and his lips pressed together as he watched, his body stiff on the other side of Bella. He kept his hands completely to himself.

"You okay, Edward?" Alice asked as the spectacle of Rosalie's behavior dominated their storyline, dismissing him as having offended her.

"Yeah, of course."

"It's just… like watching a car crash," Alice said, "I can imagine what you must've been going through, Edward. Rosalie must have seemed like such a bitch."

Not that she was rooting for them as a couple.

Edward opened his mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly.

Next, they saw the little surprise look of admiration Bella had given Emmett when he helped her off the floor in the honeymoon suite. Alice had not expected that Bella might have felt some initial attraction to Emmett. She wondered if her friend had only had a moment of weakness and couldn't help but look at Edward's reaction. Bella continued to stuff kernel after fluffy kernel into her mouth. Avoidance. Edward appeared not to have any reaction. But it had continued on to Rosalie's and Edward's therapy session, ending in Edward taking the adjoining room in the honeymoon suite. Which was very good, Alice thought. She had sensed a little tension among their viewing party since that look Bella had given Emmett had been for all the world to see. Of course, Edward's part wouldn't be a surprise to him, but she'd wondered how they would all react to finally viewing each other's stories.

She swallowed the lump, and the last clip showed Alice commanding Jasper to obey— the first seduction, and bile rose in her throat. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"What?" Jasper asked. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would look."

She darted to Bella's bathroom, emptying the contents into the toilet bowl.

Bella knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"

She opened the door for her friend. "I have a confession," Alice said, wiping her lips and flushing the toilet, sweaty as she faced Bella.

"What is it?"

"I ate meat. I think I'm being punished. I can't help myself. I can't even stomach the idea, but I can't stop thinking about the saltiness and the texture and those darn meats and cheeses…"

"It's okay, Alice."

"But, it's not! Just please don't tell Jasper."

"What? Why not? He eats meat, doesn't he?"

"Of course he does…it's just… he knows I'm a vegetarian…and I don't know what's wrong with me. I think I've just been thrown off by this whole experience, you know? Like I can't get my life back in order."

Bella hugged her friend then Alice grabbed herself a little paper cup and poured some mouthwash into her mouth. She swished it around, gargled, then spit it out into the sink.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jasper asked, and Bella left them.

Alice nodded. "Yeah. My stomach's just not quite right. I don't think I'm going to eat anything else today."

"Okay. Do you want to go home or there's just about 10 minutes of show left, if you want to stay."

"Let's stay. Besides, we haven't worked out the situation with Edward yet. He mentioned he would stay in a hotel, but…"

Jasper chuckled. "You're such a matchmaker…"

When she and Jasper came back to the living room, the show was on pause and Edward and Bella were talking in the kitchen. She held up her hand to Jasper, and they waited in the hallway, facing a picture of Bella from a few years back, hugging her mom in her wedding dress. From their distance a few feet away, Alice heard their voices perfectly. Yes, Alice was eavesdropping, and no, she didn't feel guilty.

"How long are you in town for?" Bella asked. Water ran and clinking sounds followed.

"Uh…I don't know yet. Remember I mentioned that I took some time off?"

"Oh, well, where are you staying? Or is Alice stealing you back to their place?"

"No," he laughed. "I'll just find a hotel. I'm sure there's some nearby."

"Oh…" Her voice sounded disappointed. "Well, I have an extra bedroom. You don't have to, you know, have that extra expense."

Alice squealed, clapping her hands, and Jasper stood beside her, shaking his head.

"Well, I don't know. Is that…okay with you? I mean…is that weird? I came out here at Alice's insistence, Bella, but please know that I have no expectations. I didn't even bring a bag."

"Okay. Sorry about Alice. She means well."

"She's a very good friend."

"Yes. Super bossy and imposing, lately, but the best. And yes, you're welcome to stay, you know, for the night… or whatever."

"Okay, when they leave, I'll start looking into flights."

"Well, there's no rush…for me anyway."

"Okay."

"We'll just play it by ear. When do you have to be back?"

"I actually have a few weeks to return, but since we have time we can talk more about that later…"

"He's gonna stay!" Alice whispered to Jasper, jumping up and down. Her stomach felt better already. "Mission accomplished!"

They entered the kitchen to find Bella drying her bowl and Edward pouring more water into a glass.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked Alice.

"I am doing great! Perfect. Amazing!"

"So, are we going to finish up this show?" Jasper asked. They returned to their seats to finish the last part and the trailer showed the highlights of their one thing was different between Bella and Edward. Their hands were now clasped together.

Alice whispered in Bella's ear before they left. "Good job. I'm proud of you."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"So," Jasper said, "Same time, next week?"

Bella and Edward looked at each other. "Yes?" Edward nodded. "Yes, if that's okay."

"Yes," Bella said.

Alice practically skipped back to the car. "I would love to be a fly on that wall right now." She turned the key in the ignition.

"Or a camera," Jasper joked.

"Aw come on! Do you know how long we've been waiting for this?"

"Longer than you can stand."

But the roar of her stomach seemed to fill the car just then, and she stole a sip from her water bottle. Gosh darn, she was imagining a juicy double cheeseburger, and how delicious it would taste.

"You hungry, sweetie? You wanna stop somewhere?"

Alice didn't answer right away. "I don't know. My stomach's really testy. Maybe just some crackers."

Crackers, she knew, would never fit the bill.

"But, if you're hungry…" she offered.

"I could eat."

A little up the road, Alice pulled alongside the speaker of a burger joint she never imagined she'd find herself. The drive up menu featured pictures of double decker selections of big brown patties tucked inside oversized hamburger buns with cheese that dripped off the sides. Her stomach growled again. "Whatcha want, Babe?"

"Oh, well, I'd like an order of curly fries, and a bacon double cheeseburger," he said, "and can you throw on some extra pickles and a heap of grilled onions?" The female's voice on the other end asked if they wanted anything else.

Her eyes opened wide, and she swallowed the saliva that gathered in her mouth.. There wasn't a single healthy item on the menu. Not even a side salad. Not that it appealed anyway.

"What about you? Do you want anything?" Jasper asked.

Alice closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as she ordered, "Can you make that two?"

The female's voice came back, muffled, confirming their order, but Alice couldn't focus because the vision that struck her in that moment was herself sitting in her car, and when she turned to the backseat, she was reaching toward a little baby with blonde curly hair.

A/N: Okay, did anyone see this coming? Probably. :) Thanks to you all for reading, and I'm going to try to get one more update before I head out of town this week and will be away for two weeks, so I'll see what I can manage. Thanks for reading, for your follows and for your reviews!