A/N: Sorry this took a minute but this ends in a really weird spot and I wanted the next chapter to be almost finished before I posted. It should be up tomorrow. Thanks for reading:)

Making Plans

Leah was lying beside Jasper and staring up at the canopy of trees above them when she suddenly rolled herself on top of him and dug her hands into his curls. She looked in his eyes a moment before leaning down to kiss him, smiling against his lips when he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pressed his hand against the small of her back. She smiled a little wider when he moaned softly as he licked across her bottom lip.

He tickled her side and she pulled away when she started laughing. "Look, I've got a beautiful you in my arms. You can't blame a guy for a moan here and there under that temptation," he said with a mile-wide grin.

Leah just smiled and leaned down to kiss him again. She'd never felt like she was the prettiest of girls before but Jasper never left her in any doubt that he found her beautiful. If she was the kind of girl to blush and stammer and blurt out all manner of mushiness, she would have told him how much it meant to her that he never held back on letting her know all the things he loved about her. She wasn't that kind of girl, though, so instead she focused on her feelings for him as she deepened the kiss.

Jasper held her a little tighter, his own feelings a perfect echo of hers.

Leah eventually pulled away the smallest bit and rested her forehead on his as she tried to slow her breathing. "You know I think you're wonderful, right?" she whispered.

Jasper smiled and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I do."

"And…" Leah prompted, giving him a playful glare.

"And I agree, I am wonderful," Jasper laughed. When Leah smiled and tugged at his hair, he kissed her again. "I think you're pretty wonderful, too," he murmured softly. "I couldn't ask for anyone better to spend my life shackled to."

Leah laughed brightly and scooted down a little so she could tuck her face against his neck. "You're such a romantic," she laughed, taking a deep breath of his comforting scent.

The two luxuriated in the closeness and quiet for a few minutes before Jasper voiced a question that had been on his mind for a couple weeks. "Has the council ever considered telling the humans of the tribe the truth about the legends?"

Leah picked her head up to look at him. "Not as far as I know. Why?"

Jasper hesitated before answering, knowing his curiosity partly came from a selfish place. "Assuming the legends are true and you don't age as long as you continue to phase, there will come a time in the next few years that you won't be able to be seen on the Reservation by anyone who doesn't know the truth about you. If any of the other wolves decide to keep phasing, the same holds true for them," he explained, thinking specifically about Seth and Paul. "And, of course, the same is true for me. I've grown awfully fond of your mom, and I hate the idea of having to leave her behind for good. Charlie, too, for that matter," he added.

"I know," Leah sighed quietly. She'd had similar thoughts since she first became a wolf. "I haven't–"

"Wait, can I add something?" Jasper asked, interrupting her. Leah nodded. "I don't want you to think that I'm making any demands on you or that I expect you to choose immortality just so I get to keep you with me. If you don't want to spend an eternity phasing, if you'd rather stop at any point and live out a human lifespan, that's your choice and I'll back you up in whatever you decide," he said quietly, ignoring the searing pain in his chest at the thought.

Leah gave him a soft smile. "I know. You don't need to say the words for me to know you wouldn't force me into a life I'm not happy with. And I can't say how I'm going to feel in a century, but right now, I'm happier than I've ever been and I can't imagine ever losing you or leaving you behind."

Jasper cupped her cheek and gently pulled her closer so he could kiss her again, letting her feel everything inside him that he couldn't put into words.

Leah eventually had to pull away to draw in a few deep breaths. Jasper's searing kisses always made her a little lightheaded and dizzy. Once she was no longer gasping for air, she got back to his original question. "I haven't talked to my mom about it, but Seth and I have discussed it more than once. He knows I'm going to keep phasing so I can stay with you, so he wants to keep phasing also. That may change if he imprints on a typical human, but for now, he has no plans to go human full-time."

Jasper just nodded. He'd already thought there was a good chance of that - both because of how close the siblings were and because Seth truly loved being a wolf - and he had a feeling Paul would make the same choice given the bond between him and Leah.

"The closest we've come to a solution is to either sneak onto the Res after we can't can't be seen anymore or to have my mom meet us somewhere else to see her," Leah said, rolling off her imprint but staying tucked against his side with her head on his chest.

Jasper just nodded again and started running his fingers through her hair. "Wanna talk about whatever else is going on in there?" he asked quietly, gently tapping his finger on her temple. When Leah hesitated, he pulled her a little bit closer. "I said at the very beginning that I'd never make you talk and that hasn't changed," he reassured her. "I'm simply offering to listen if you do want to talk."

Leah sighed quietly. She'd been doing a lot of thinking recently but there was one subject in particular that her thoughts kept getting stuck on. "It's about Bella," she said eventually, and Jasper just hummed, not at all surprised. "It's one thing to not like her for valid reasons, and I've had plenty of valid reasons for a long time."

"And now?" Jasper asked when she didn't say any more than that.

Leah let out another quiet sigh. "And now she's making an effort to change some of the things I've been so angry at her for. You heard her, she hung out with Charlie tonight and even had Edward take some pictures. What does it say about me that I still can't let go of all that anger?"

"I don't know that anyone can flip their emotions that quickly," Jasper reassured her. "Is it great that she's starting to spend time with her dad? Absolutely. But that doesn't necessarily mean your feelings about her are going to change on a dime."

Leah nodded but bit her lip nervously. "I don't want to be the kind of person who's a bitch just for the sake of being a bitch. If she's making an effort, maybe that means I need to make an effort also."

Jasper debated how to reply to that. He typically tried not to spill things about anyone that he only knew because of his gift, but he thought maybe in this instance it wouldn't be the worst thing.

"I know how her behavior appears from the outside, that it looks like she only cares about herself and Edward," he started. "Jacob, too, I suppose. And yes, she does tend to put her own desires above those of anyone else, but I think that's true of most people sometimes. Try to remember, Bella might only be a year younger than you but she's had an entirely different life experience. You grew up surrounded by a family and a tribe. You've always had other people around you to consider. Bella didn't. She grew up mostly alone. By her own admission, she didn't really have any friends before moving back here, so existing in a group where she suddenly has to think about other people and how her behavior impacts them is a new experience for her."

"I know," Leah sighed.

Jasper kissed her forehead with a smile. Leah knew that was true but it was a grudging acknowledgment. "But whatever it looks like from the outside, Bella does care about more than just herself," he went on. "Gaining the acceptance and love of our family matters to her. She wants to be as much a part of the coven as the rest of us are. I'd even go out on a limb and say she wishes she had the acceptance of Jacob's pack. And if she was his imprint, my guess is that she would have it, regardless of how all of you personally feel about her."

Leah nodded. "If they can accept you as my imprint, they can accept just about anyone," she teased.

"Hey now," Jasper laughed. "I'm a catch and they know it."

"True," she shrugged with a smile. "It also didn't escape my notice that Bella was worried about what might happen to you if that Aro guy were to read you. I've got a soft spot for you for some inexplicable reason, so that made an impact."

Jasper nodded and kissed her forehead again. "She's trying."

"Can I ask you something that you're probably going to feel uncomfortable answering?"

"You can ask, but I can't guarantee I'll give you an answer," he chuckled. "You know there are only a few exceptions to what I'll share with you," he reminded her more seriously. "As long as you don't want details about some people's history, I'll tell you just about anything you want to know."

Leah took a second to put voice to her worry. It was honestly probably the one thing that would make the biggest difference in how she treated Bella. "Does it upset Charlie that Bella and I don't get along?"

Jasper froze for a second. That felt a little bit like crossing a line, but more than that, he knew the answer would hurt his mate. "Yes," he told her after a moment. "I don't think Charlie's aware of all the times you've lashed out at her, but from what he knows and what he sees? Yes, it hurts him a little. He loves both of you."

Leah felt tears sting her eyes, which was a rarity for her. She loved Charlie as much as he loved her and knowing her attitude hurt him was painful. She sniffled once or twice and then nodded resolutely. "I'll try to do better."

Jasper wrapped her up in his arms. "That's all any of us can do, sweetheart."

The two of them laid in silence for a few minutes before Leah sat up so she could look at Jasper's face. Damn, he was handsome, she thought as she brushed an errant curl from his forehead. "Should we talk about Maria?"

Jasper pushed himself up with a heavy sigh. "I suppose we should," he grumbled, enjoying the peace and quiet and not particularly eager to deal with the wider world yet.

"Aw," Leah laughed. "We can be quick about it and then go right back to cuddling."

"Then get back down here," he growled playfully as he laid back down and pulled her so she was laying next to him again. "That's better," he nodded, smiling at hearing Leah's laughter.

Leah took a minute to sort through her thoughts. She'd known the whole story about Maria before the impromptu meeting with the rest of the coven and Peter and Charlotte. Jasper had explained everything on their walk over to the Cullen's earlier so she'd had some time to think it over. "I guess it doesn't really have to be a long, drawn out conversation. I won't stand in your way if you think you should help her. Personally, I don't think she deserves your help, but I do understand why you'd be willing to say yes."

Jasper smiled, inwardly pleased that he knew his mate well enough that he'd predicted her answer. "I don't entirely disagree with you. If you only look at the seventy-five years I spent with her, then no, she probably doesn't 'deserve' my help. But right now, Maria isn't the sire who made my life a misery. She's a woman who's in love for the first time in a couple hundred years who's completely lost at sea because it's so foreign to her. She's a woman who's terrified that the man she loves is in danger. Looking at it through that lens makes the picture a little murkier. Does Maria 'deserve' my help? Probably not. Does a woman scared about losing the man she loves deserve some help from the only people she thinks can help her? Yeah, I think she does."

Leah silently agreed with him. If Jasper disappeared, she'd make a deal with the devil himself to try and find him. "I wish I could come with you," she said quietly. "I don't like the idea of you going into a potentially dangerous situation without me."

"I know, I feel the same. But I still think it's a bad idea for Maria to know about the wolves in general, and you in particular."

"Will Peter go with you?" she asked, her feelings on that a little conflicted. On one hand, she didn't want Peter or Charlotte to have to see Maria again, but she also wanted Jasper to have his strongest allies with him.

Jasper thought back on Peter and Charlotte's emotions while Alice was explaining why Maria was looking for them. "If I had to give you an answer now, I think it's likely that they would both come. I obviously can't say for sure until we talk about it, but just going off gut instinct, I'd say yes."

Leah just nodded. "And Alice?"

"Yes," Jasper chuckled. "She hates Maria but she's always up for an adventure. And if it's a challenge for her, even better."

Leah nodded again. She didn't like the thought of Jasper leaving, but she felt marginally better knowing he'd have Peter, Charlotte, and Alice by his side while he was gone. She knew he was capable of keeping himself safe all on his own, but she also knew that the four of them together were a force to be reckoned with.

Three days later, most of the Cullens, Peter and Charlotte, Bella, nearly the whole pack, and all the elders were amassed at the same place on the treaty line where they'd met the last time.

Peter and Jasper had gone to Seattle the night before for another recon mission and had been surprised to find Victoria's numbers hadn't grown by much. Assuming they weren't missing anything, she only had about twelve newborns in addition to herself and Riley.

Near the second abandoned building they'd found, both men had smelled the distinctive odor of burnt vampire flesh, but because they had to stay in the water, they hadn't been able to do any investigating. Baby vamps were volatile all on their own, though, and when you had a group of them together, that volatility increased exponentially. Particularly if they were stuck in close quarters, which Victoria's newborns were. The logical explanation was that a fight had broken out and one of the newborns had been tossed in a fire.

Jasper and Peter had done a little strategizing on their run back to Seattle, trying to devise the best plan to keep Bella, Charlie, and the humans of Forks and La Push safe, and thought they'd come up with the framework of a decent enough plan. When they got back to Forks, Jasper had asked Carlisle to arrange a meeting with all the vamps, the pack, and the council.

The only ones not present were Emmett and Quil, who had both been kind enough to volunteer to do a perimeter run while the rest of them talked.

Embry was in his wolf form so Quil could hear everything as it happened, but Emmett was perfectly fine with just being given a recap afterwards. He already knew why Jasper and Carlisle asked for the meeting and what they would be proposing, and he'd given Carlisle his input earlier in the day.

Leah and Jasper had also talked everything through beforehand, and she'd decided to stay on the Cullen's side of the line with him but to just listen as the group discussed Jasper and Peter's proposal and not offer her opinion. It was going to be a difficult decision for the council and the pack and she wanted to appear as neutral as possible. She wasn't always the greatest at holding her tongue, but she was going to give it her best effort.

Sue greeted Jasper with a hug and her typical warm smile, but when she stepped back, she put her hands on her hips and gave him her best mom-look. "I haven't seen you in days, young man."

"My apologies," Jasper laughed. "Life has been a little hectic but I already promised Leah I'd come by tonight."

Sue gave him a sharp nod. "See that you do," she said, only keeping a straight face for a few seconds before laughing with him.

Sue greeted the rest of the vampires just as warmly, even Peter and Charlotte, who Billy and Old Quil were eyeing with a little bit of mistrust. Neither were bothered. They knew red-eyed vamps still made a lot of the pack uneasy.

Jacob had a smirk on his face that pretty much all the vampires wanted to punch right off his face when he stepped across the treaty line to stand beside Bella. He knew the Cullens didn't particularly want him on their side of the line but the rule was that he could be in the Cullen's territory as a human.

Jasper looked at Bella curiously when he felt her reaction to seeing the boy. Typically she was happy in his company, but sadness and frustration were her most predominant emotions in that moment. Edward was standing on Bella's other side and he was feeling his typical anger and resentment towards the boy, but he was also feeling some sympathy for his mate. Knowing it was none of his business, Jasper pushed it from his mind.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us," Carlisle started the conversation, addressing the pack and elders. "We all know that Victoria will be bringing her army here, and if our assumptions are correct, it will likely be soon."

"Have you…" Sue stopped mid-sentence. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to phrase it," she said, looking at Alice. "I'm not entirely sure how your gift works."

Alice gave her a bright smile. "I actually see the visions play out in my mind, so that's how we refer to it. That I've 'seen' something," she explained. "In this instance, I haven't actually seen anything yet. My guess is that I won't catch anything until Victoria makes a decision to bring the newborns here, and she probably won't do that until the last minute."

"Is that a cause for concern?" Billy asked. "It won't give us any advance notice to ensure adequate protection for those who need it."

Carlisle nodded. "That's why I asked for this meeting. If we already have a set plan in place, everyone will be prepared to move and we won't need to do any last minute scrambling," he said, then gestured for Jasper to take over.

"As far as we can tell, as of last night, there are only twelve newborns. Victoria has either stopped changing humans or the newborns are fighting amongst themselves and reducing her numbers," Jasper explained. "Either way, it's good news for us."

Jacob sneered at the empath. "Are you seriously implying that twelve newborns and two older lee–"

"Jacob," Billy snapped, interrupting him. "We've talked about this. Either mind your manners and watch what words come out of your mouth or go run a patrol with Quil."

Jacob crossed his arms with a petulant scowl but kept his mouth shut. He'd been spoken to by his dad and the other elders multiple times and they were fed up with his behavior.

Jasper just rolled his eyes and almost ignored the kid, but he couldn't resist getting in a little dig at him. Not only was Leah irritated by Jacob's attitude, but Bella's sadness increased when she heard him start saying 'leech' and it annoyed him that Jacob was hurting the girl he professed to love. "If you were going to ask if I was implying fourteen vampires is good news, I didn't imply it. I explicitly stated it. Maybe you should reconsider this break you've been taking from school."

"Jasper," Esme cut in with a pointed look, trying to keep her amusement from showing on her face as some of the others laughed a little.

Jasper didn't bother apologizing to Jacob, but he did take a moment to apologize to the elders and the rest of the pack for his poor manners. "So. As I was saying. Twelve, or fourteen with Victoria and Riley, is good news because it's an easy enough number for us to deal with. Peter, Charlotte, Alice, and I could honestly probably take care of twelve newborns ourselves," he said, then rolled his eyes again when Jacob scoffed. "I'm not bragging, it's just a fact. This was my life for seventy-five years and Peter's for nearly a decade. We often fought against armies with much higher numbers. This is - and I mean this very literally - precisely what Peter, Charlotte, and I were created for."

"Are you saying you want the wolves to sit out?" Seth asked in surprise.

"No," Jasper answered immediately. "Absolutely not. This is just as much your fight as it is ours."

Seth nodded, glad he didn't have to be pissed at his sister's imprint for trying to sideline the pack.

"I'm only saying that I don't believe this is going to be difficult for us," Jasper continued. "With all the training my family has had through the years, and with how hard all of you have worked to train the last few weeks, I honestly believe this will be an easy victory for us. So much so that I think some of us should stay behind to act as protection here. There are a lot of humans in Forks and La Push, and we already know Victoria has no qualms about coming onto Quileute land."

Edward jumped in when he heard the resulting thoughts of most of the wolves. "This isn't about separating us into strong or weak fighters," he explained. "Those staying behind arguably have the more important job. Up to this point Victoria hasn't targeted anyone in Forks with the exception of Bella. We think the humans most at risk are those connected to her and those connected to the pack - Bella, Charlie, the elders, and the human imprints. Our highest priority is protecting those who can't protect themselves."

"So what are you proposing?" Jared asked Jasper and Carlisle.

"I think the safest place for them is going to be somewhere on the Reservation. Preferably in a single location," Jasper answered. "We believe Victoria will be bringing her army through the mountains, and the goal is to intercept them along the way. But if anyone were to slip past us, having those who need the most protection in one spot is the best way to keep them safe. La Push is partially forested, which means there can be patrols through the woods as a last line of defense without any humans seeing them."

Sue smiled at Jasper, pleased he'd put some thought into keeping their tribe safe.

"Leah is Jasper's mate, which makes her part of both of our families," Charlotte cut in. "The tribe is her family, which means your safety is just as important to all of us as Bella and Charlie's safety is."

"So the tribe only matters because of Leah?" Jacob asked Jasper petulantly. "If Leah wasn't your mate, you'd just leave them unprotected?"

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Jasper laughed a little incredulously.

Before he, or anyone else, could say anything more, Bella's patience ran out and she rounded on the boy. "Would you please shut up?" she snapped, her fists clenched in anger and frustration. "If Leah wasn't Jasper's mate, the Cullens would have no connection to the tribe. Do you honestly think Jasper would have just happily offered to teach any of the pack how to fight when he knew you wanted to kill his family? His reason for going out on a limb and potentially putting his family at risk doesn't matter. All that matters is that he did it. And if I know the Cullens at all, and I think I do, if they found out Victoria was bringing a newborn army here, they would have told you guys about it," she said, her voice getting louder with every word. "We get it, Jake. You hate Edward, you hate his family, you hate vampires. We don't need you to remind us of that fact every single chance you get."

There was silence for a few moments as everyone looked at the two of them - Bella's cheeks flushed with anger and Jacob's mouth hanging open in shock.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "She's right," he said, looking at Jared and the elders. "If we'd had advance notice of Victoria's intentions, with or without Jasper and Leah's connection, I would have contacted Billy as soon as I learned of it."

Jared knew enough about Carlisle's character that he didn't doubt his sincerity. "I know, and thank you for that."

Jasper took a moment to silently check in with his mate, who was getting more and more pissed off with every word coming out of Jacob's mouth. When she nodded to let him know she was fine, he caught Bella's eye. When she looked up at him, he smiled and tipped his head towards the rest of his coven and silently let her feel all the gratitude and pride aimed her way for defending their family. Her cheeks flushed a little bit darker from embarrassment, but she managed to nod and smile back.

Alice had been content to just listen up to that point, and she debated whether she should speak up at all, but eventually she decided it couldn't hurt. "It's not our place to decide which pack members fight and which protect the humans, but I'd prefer it if Jacob was one of the wolves to stay behind," she said, looking at Jared and the elders. "Regardless of how easy we think the fight is going to be, we'll all be watching each other's backs out there and I'll be honest, I don't trust him to watch mine. Any of ours, for that matter."

Jacob clenched his fists and growled, taking a step towards her. "You bloodsucking leeches don't get to–"

Jasper's answering growl cut him off. "Get back over the line," he said, his eyes cold and hard as he slowly stalked towards the wolf and Peter stepped in front of Alice. "Now," he growled when the boy didn't move.

"I'm allowed on this side of the line," Jacob protested.

"Not with that level of rage you're not," Jasper snapped. As he got closer to the wolf, some of the pack went on alert and Embry growled and walked right up to the treaty line near where Jacob was standing.

Carlisle gently put his hand on Jasper's shoulder in the hope that he wouldn't make a move that could end in a fight no one wanted. It didn't help that Rosalie looked ready to lunge for Jacob herself.

Jasper stopped moving, but he didn't take his eyes off Jacob. "I already warned you that you're only allowed on our land as a courtesy to Bella, and that we would rescind that courtesy if you acted aggressively towards anyone in my family. So either move under your own steam or I'll move you under mine."

When Jacob still didn't move, Bella turned and shoved his chest as hard as she could. Her human strength was obviously no match for his, but the move surprised Jacob enough that he stumbled back a couple steps. "Go, Jake," she snapped. "Carlisle and Jared have worked hard to build this alliance and you don't get to mess it up because you're jealous and too stubborn for your own good."

Jacob looked at her with hurt in her eyes, which usually made Bella feel bad and immediately apologize, but she kept her mouth shut and just glared at him. Alice was the closest she had to a best friend and she hated the way he treated her when he happened to run into her at the Swan's, and the way he talked about her whenever Bella mentioned her in conversation. She was sick and tired of his name-calling and hatred. And if Jasper was worried about Jacob's level of anger, Bella didn't want him near any of the Cullens.

"Jacob," Billy said sharply. He had no intention of allowing his son to damage the tentative peace that had developed between his tribe and Carlisle's coven. He also didn't miss that Leah's hands were trembling as she glared daggers at Jake. "Go patrol with Quil."

"What?" Jacob exclaimed. "No way! He's the one acting aggressively towards me!"

Jasper growled again and shook off Carlisle's hand. "You haven't seen aggression yet, asshole. You have five seconds."

Charlotte stepped to Jasper's side with a smile. "I'm a Whitlock, so I'm technically not bound by the Cullen's treaty. I'm happy to move you myself if you need a little help."

"Two seconds," Jasper growled.

"Jacob, now," Jared snapped, right at the moment that Leah lost her last thread of restraint and pushed Jacob towards the treaty line with every bit of her strength, making him fly back twenty feet.

His rage at the move had him phasing before he even hit the ground, and he stood up as a wolf and snarled at Leah. That, of course, made Leah phase, and in the space of a single human heartbeat, the forest around them exploded in a flurry of movement.