The Jasper & Danielle Trilogy

by Carrot Top

When Danielle Clark moved to Forks, Washington, she hadn't really known what to expect. But she definitely hadn't planned on falling in love with Jasper Hale, and she certainly hadn't known he would turn her life completely upside down. Originally posted nearly a decade ago, now being revised and reposted for your viewing pleasure! - PART TWO IN PROGRESS -

24. Chapter Twenty-three

Hey, guys! Remember me?

I'm a bad author, I know. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for how long it's been since I updated. These first four chapters of Part Two are all new material, which meant I had nothing old to work off of, and the writer's block I experience with this chapter was just horrid. It seemed to take forever to finally overcome it. Thankfully, however, the next few chapters delve back into old material, which means the writing process should be a little faster. Hopefully there will not be such a long lag between updates from here on out.

Anyway, thank you to everyone has added this story to their alert/favorite list, left reviews, sent messages, or even just taken the time to read. An even bigger thank you is in store for everyone who has been so patient with me. I can't thank you enough for the support! This chapter is extra long to make up for lack of updates, and I really hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Twilight franchise, only the OC's.

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Chapter Four

July

The weeks leading up to the wedding positively flew by. Between dress fittings, food tastings, meetings with vendors, and just generally running around like a chicken with her head cut off, Danielle felt like she merely blinked and the wedding was upon her. It had been a little stressful and a little nerve wracking, simply because planning a wedding was a lot of work – even with tons of help from Alice and Jasper and their families, there just seemed to always be something to do.

But in spite of all the stress, Danielle was still over the moon excited. The wedding felt more and more real with each day, and the knowledge that she and Jasper were so close to being husband and wife was something that made her happier than she had ever been in her entire life. Everything had been a little bit of a whirlwind, yes, but it was a good whirlwind. She simply couldn't wait until the big day finally came, couldn't wait to say her vows and officially become Jasper's wife.

As the last Monday before the wedding arrived, Danielle knew she was in for a very busy week. There were tons of decorations that needed to be organized and made ready to transport to the venue she and Jasper were getting married at, as well as a few last little details to finalize. Her mother's house also needed to be set up for the rehearsal dinner, which was on Friday night, and there was a little bachelorette party scheduled for Thursday – she and her closest girlfriends would be going to the spa for the day to get pampered before the wedding.

The first order of business to take care of, however, was perhaps the one thing she had been looking forward to the most – other than the actual wedding itself, of course. Monday was the day that Tom arrived, and the impending reunion with her lifelong best friend had her feeling so excited that she could hardly even stand it.

Danielle bounced on the balls of her feet, her eyes eagerly scanning the faces of the people passing by. The baggage claim area at the airport in Port Angeles was fairly crowded considering it was a Monday afternoon, but of all the people coming and going, the one face she was beginning to feel desperate to see had not yet appeared.

"Where is he?" Danielle demanded with an impatient groan, her eyes turning to the screen entitled Arrivals. The flight from Houston was marked as having arrived, and yet still there was no sign of Tom anywhere.

"He will show up soon enough," Jasper said, the picture of calm as he stood with his hands resting comfortably in the pockets of his jeans. "Be patient," he added with a smirk.

Danielle just heaved, feeling anything but patient. The car ride in had been way too long, even in spite of Jasper's way too fast driving, and time seemed to have slowed to a glacial pace. "I can't be patient. I feel like I'm literally gonna explode out of my skin," Danielle said, fiddling anxiously with the sign she had brought to wave around and catch Tom's attention whenever he finally showed.

Jasper quirked an amused eyebrow. "I don't think I have ever seen you like this, darlin'," he commented. "I've never felt you so excited."

"Tom is my best friend," she said with a pointed look. "Like, I absolutely adore Bella and Emmett and Alice, but Tom is different. We've known each other all our lives. He's not just a friend, he's my brother," she explained. "We've never been apart for this long. I've just missed him so much."

Jasper smiled and moved a hand from his pocket to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to his side. "I know you have, darlin'. I'm sure he's missed you, too."

"Of course he has!" Danielle said with a teasing huff, which made Jasper smirk again. She smiled at him, then sighed as she leaned against him. "It'll be so good to see him again," she said. "And I'm glad he finally gets to meet you."

"I'm glad I finally get to meet him, too," Jasper said with a nod. "I've heard so much about him. It will be nice to finally get to know him."

"I have a feeling you two are gonna get along just fine," Danielle said with confidence. "Though I feel like I should warn you that you're probably gonna see a different side of me while he's here. Tom and I kinda tend to turn into immature idiots when we're together," she admitted with a sheepish smile.

Jasper chuckled and tightened his arm around her a little. "I'll still love you anyway," he promised, winking down at her.

Danielle smirked. "You damn well better. We're getting married in five days. It's too late to back out now, Hale."

Jasper leaned down to give her a lingering kiss, one that made her heart stutter in her chest. "I'm not going anywhere, darlin'," he promised, his eyes burning as they held hers.

Danielle grinned and started to lean in to kiss him again, but it was in that exact moment that she saw a tall figure from the corner of her eye. Turning her head quickly, she just about exploded with happiness when her eyes landed on a guy she could have picked out of a crowd blindfolded because she knew him so well. His hair was dark and short, styled in a messy, yet fashionable way. His bright blue eyes contrasted nicely against his tan skin, and though he had a bit of a baby face, the small amount of scruff he was sporting made him look older. It was Tom. He looked exactly as she remembered – tall and lean and boyishly handsome, and he was certainly a sight for sore eyes.

He hadn't seen her yet, so Danielle broke away from Jasper to wave around the sign she had brought. "PICKLES!" she shouted loudly, making everyone within a five foot radius jump in surprise.

Tom's eyes found her immediately, and the moment he saw the sign she was waving, he rolled his eyes and started laughing. She had printed out a huge picture of Tommy Pickles from the Rugrats, and it was earning her a lot of weird looks as she waved it around excitedly. She supposed it wasn't an everyday occurrence to see someone waving a picture of a cartoon baby – even Jasper had been a little weirded out by it when he had first seen it. Tom got the joke, though, just as she knew he would, and that was all that mattered.

As Tom started toward them, she shoved the picture into Jasper's hands and took off as fast as her still-healing ankle would allow. The moment she reached Tom she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. He lifted her clear off her feet and swung her around in a circle, the both of them laughing gleefully at being reunited again after so long. He finally set her back on her feet, but squeezed her tightly for another few seconds before finally letting her go.

"Damn, is it good to see you, Dani-lani-ding-dong," he said, grinning widely as he ruffled her curls. "You look great," he complimented.

Danielle mirrored his grin. "You do too! Check out that facial hair!" she said, patting his face affectionately. "How was the flight?"

Tom nodded. "It was great. Sat next to a sassy old lady who spent the whole flight telling me about all the wild stuff she did at Woodstock," he recounted.

Danielle snorted. "Sounds like a catch. Did you get her number?" she teased.

"Unfortunately, no. Don't think I'm her type," Tom joked back.

"Her loss then," Danielle said with a click of her tongue.

They shared a laugh, before Tom glanced back toward where Jasper stood, still holding the picture of Tommy Pickles and watching from afar as they reunited. Tom's brows raised when he got a good look at Jasper, before he turned an impressed look on her.

"That's him?" he asked. Danielle nodded in confirmation. "Damn, Dani," he said, whistling. "I'm straight, and even I can see that he is one good looking dude," he commented. He then held up his hand for a high five. "Well done, man."

Danielle smacked his hand with her own, smiling proudly. "Thanks. Now stop staring and come meet him," she said, before grabbing him by the wrist.

Tom, however, planted his feet and resisted her pull. "Hold on," he said, giving her a stern look. "You're forgetting something here, my friend," he added pointedly.

Danielle frowned for a moment, then grinned when she realized what he was referring to. Their super secret handshake. How could she forget?

She turned to face him, and right there in front of everyone at baggage claim, they performed their handshake. It involved a lot of fancy hand gestures, more than a few silly dance moves, and a loud bird call at the end that turned several heads. When they had completed their handshake, which, admittedly, was probably way longer than it needed to be, they started cracking up and hugged each other again.

"Alright, now I'm ready to meet Jasper," he announced as they parted.

Danielle nodded, and with that they finally made their way over to Jasper. Jasper stood a bit taller as they approached, his amber eyes doing a quick sweep over Tom. For one brief second Danielle frowned, suddenly worried that maybe Jasper wasn't so pleased with how affectionate she and Tom were with each other. But then Jasper looked at her and smiled easily, his demeanor relaxed as they approached. She breathed a sigh of relief to see that he didn't look mad or put off by the exchange he had witnessed.

"Jasper," she said, sliding an arm around his waist and cuddling up to his side, "it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to my super fantastic brother from another mother, Tom," she said with a grin. "Tom, it is with just as much pleasure that I introduce you to my smoking hot and amazingly wonderful fiancé, Jasper."

Tom and Jasper both smirked in amusement at the way she had described them, before reaching out to shake each other's hands. "Glad to make your acquaintance," Jasper said politely. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Likewise," Tom said with a friendly smile. "Dani basically hasn't shut up about you since the day you two met," he felt the need to disclose.

Danielle blushed, while Jasper smirked down at her. "That so?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Tom confirmed. "Almost all of our conversations for the past eight months have been Jasper this and Jasper that. She's had the hots for you since the start."

Danielle flushed furiously. Jasper knew how she felt about him, of course, but to have Tom laying out all her business within seconds of meeting Jasper left her with an ominous feeling. There were certain conversations that were supposed to remain between her and Tom – exactly how many more secrets did her best friend intend to reveal to Jasper purely to embarrass her?

"Gee, thanks Tom," she said sarcastically.

"What?" he asked innocently. "It's the truth."

Jasper smirked and shrugged, one long arm sliding around her waist. "He's not saying anything I wasn't already well aware of, darlin'," he said with a distinct hint of smugness. "You have absolutely no poker face. Everything you feel is always written right there on that pretty face of yours."

Tom nodded at once. "The man is right, Dani," he agreed.

Danielle crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, be that as it may, that doesn't change the fact that you've always had the hots for me too," she reminded him with a defensive huff. "So there."

Jasper smirked. "Never said I didn't," he countered. He pressed a quick kiss to her temple while she grumbled under her breath, then turned a curious look on Tom. "So…any more of Danielle's secrets I should know about?" he asked with interest.

Tom's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Where do I even start?" he asked, rubbing his hands together evilly.

Danielle gaped at the both of them in disbelief, taking in the similar mischievous gleams that entered their eyes as they shared a knowing look. Jasper and Tom hadn't even known each other for five minutes and they were already ganging up on her. As happy as she was that they appeared to like each other so far, if this was how they were now then she didn't even want to think how much worse their teasing would get as they got to know each other better.

"You are a butthead," she said, pointing to Tom. "And you!" she accused next, turning her stern finger on Jasper. "You're supposed to be on my side."

Jasper smirked and pulled her a little tighter into his side, tilting his head down so their eyes were level. "I'm always on your side," he promised.

The way he was looking at her immediately stole her breath away and had her unconsciously melting into him. Jasper smirked and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before lifting his head to turn his attention back to Tom. Danielle blinked and looked back to her friend as well, who was glancing back and forth between the two of them with raised brows.

"Shall we collect your bag?" Jasper asked.

Tom nodded, and after Jasper pecked her on the temple, the two of them went to the baggage claim carousel to find Tom's suitcase. Danielle watched them go, smiling to herself a bit as she watched her two favorite men chat casually with one another, before quickly following after them.

After they left the airport, they went directly to her mother's house. They talked nonstop the entire drive, and even though they hadn't seen each other for eight months and had been living two very different lives since Danielle had moved to Washington, absolutely nothing felt different between them. They caught each other up on things they had been doing, laughed over shared memories that they were more than happy to tell Jasper about, and sang along with the radio whenever a song they liked came on. It felt like they had never been apart in the first place. It felt like they were merely picking right back up exactly where they had left off.

They finally pulled up to Lynne's house around four. Though she and her mother were very much on good terms now, it had seemed pointless to move back in only to move out again after she and Jasper were married, so Danielle had made the Cullen house her permanent residence for the time being. That meant that her room was now open to serve as a guest room, and there seemed no better place for Tom to stay while he was in town than with her mother, who absolutely adored him to pieces. When they pulled into the driveway, the front door opened and Lynne came hurrying out to greet them.

"Thomas Fitzpatrick!" she said excitedly, wrapping Tom up in a bear hug as soon as he was out of the car. "I am so happy to see you!"

"The feeling's mutual, Momma Clark," Tom said, grinning as he hugged her back.

Lynne pulled away to place her hands on Tom's cheeks, her eyes looking him over with fondness. "Look at you. So handsome!"

Tom grinned and modestly waved off her compliments. "Stop before you make me blush!"

Lynne laughed and patted his cheek. "I only speak the truth!" she insisted, before moving to usher him inside. "Now let's go inside and get you settled."

The four of them headed inside. While Jasper and her mother went into the living room to get comfortable, Danielle showed Tom to her old bedroom so he could set down his things. They walked into the room, which she had mostly cleared of her possessions after she had made her stay with the Cullen's more long term, and Tom immediately went to the bed to set his luggage on top of it. He glanced around, then looked over at her.

"This is a nice place," he commented.

"Yeah, it's not too bad," Danielle agreed with a nod. "Most of my stuff has been cleared out, so there's plenty of room in the closet for your clothes," she said, moving to open the closet door and show him the available space.

Tom nodded, then opened up his suitcase to pull out a garment bag, which she could only assume contained his suit for the wedding. "Better hang this up now before it gets too creased," he said, hanging the suit up in the closet.

"Good idea. Alice might hurt you if you show up to the wedding looking like a slob," Danielle said with a smirk.

Tom smiled and crossed his arms over her chest. "Speaking of Alice, when do I get to meet the famous sister-in-law?" he asked.

Danielle bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling knowingly. His tone was casual, but there was a certain look in his eyes that spoke volumes. She knew Tom like the back of her hand, and it was obvious that he was eager to meet Alice, only he seemed to be trying not to show it.

"You'll meet her tomorrow," Danielle said with a nod. "There's a bunch of stuff to do for the wedding, and since you're the Man of Honor, that means you are automatically obligated to help," she said, poking his shoulder.

"Alright," Tom replied with a nod. "I'm looking forward to finally meeting Alice in person," he said, smiling again.

Danielle finally quirked a knowing brow. "I bet you are," she said in a meaningful tone. Tom said nothing to that, just huffed and looked elsewhere. "She's looking forward to meeting you, too, just so you know," she added, which made him look back at her. He seemed happy to hear it. "She actually wanted to come with us to pick you up, but I made her stay back," Danielle admitted.

Tom's frown was instant. "Why?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"Because I'm selfish," Danielle told him with a shrug. "I have a feeling that your attention is gonna be hard to get once Alice comes into the picture," she predicted. "So, just for today, I want it to be like old times. Just me and you, Pickles," she explained with a nod. "Well…me and you and Jasper and my mom," she added, smiling.

Tom's brows relaxed with understanding. "I get it," he said, uncrossing his arms so that he could place his hands on her shoulders. "But just so we're clear, I'm here for you," he told her, giving her a firm look. "All I plan to do this week is have as much fun with you as possible and be right there next to you while you become an old, married woman."

Danielle smiled at his sweet words, but still gave him a look. "Who you callin' old?" she shot back.

Tom just laughed, then pulled her into a hug. Danielle was happy to return the hug, sighing contentedly at the familiar feeling of embracing her best friend, until she patted him on the back and released him.

"C'mon, Tommy," she said. "Let's go back downstairs. My mom's probably dying to talk to you."

Tom nodded. "Okay. First things first, though," he said. Danielle frowned when he pulled a face and pointed at the bed. "You and Jasper haven't done anything on that bed, right?" he asked with a distinctly disgusted expression.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Really, dude?" she asked disbelievingly.

Tom held his hands up innocently. "Hey, I'm the one who has to sleep in those sheets. I like you and all, but I'm not trying to get yours or Jasper's cooties," he said with a smirk.

Danielle scoff and shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

"You adore me anyway," Tom countered matter-of-factly.

"Fortunately for you, I do," Danielle agreed with a smirk. "Why don't you change out of the germ-infested airplane clothes and then come downstairs," she suggested next. "My mom got all kinds of snacks, and she's making your favorite for dinner tonight."

Tom's eyes brightened instantly. "Enchiladas?" he asked hopefully.

"Yep," Danielle confirmed.

Tom made a reverential sound and smiled widely. "God, I love your mom," he said wistfully.

Danielle laughed. "She loves you, too. Actually, sometimes I think she loves you more than she loves me," she admitted with a snort.

Tom stood straighter. "Of course she loves me more. How could she not?" When Danielle just gave him a look, he laughed and then shoved her toward the door. "Now get outta here so I can change. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Danielle nodded, then turned to leave. She paused in the doorway, though, and turned back to face him. "Tommy?" He stopped what he was doing to raise his brows at her questioningly. Danielle just gave him an adoring smile. "I've missed the absolute hell out of you. I'm so happy you're here."

Tom smiled warmly. "Me too."

Danielle smiled at him for another second, then nodded. "Don't take too long to change," she ordered. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Tom saluted her. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am."

---

She and Jasper stayed for the rest of the evening, and to say that it was a good time would have been a massive understatement.

Having Tom around made her feel like a piece she hadn't even realized had been missing had suddenly fallen back into place. It felt like they were back in Houston again, where Tom had been such a frequent guest in their house that he had practically lived there. There had been countless nights where her, Tom, and Lynne had sat up for hours, just talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company. It felt like that again, only it was made even better by the fact that Jasper was in the picture now.

Jasper, she happily noticed, didn't take long to warm up to Tom. He had the tendency to be guarded and reserved around new people, but he wasn't with Tom. The longer the night went on, the more obvious it was that he and Tom genuinely liked one another. It was the icing on the cake really – she had the three people she loved most in the world in the same place at the same time, and they all got along famously. It couldn't possibly get better than that.

They finally decided to leave when Tom, who was still on Texas time and feeling a little jetlagged, couldn't contain his yawns anymore. He tried to insist that he wasn't tired and that he wanted to hang out for longer, but he finally gave in when Danielle reminded him that they would have all week to hang out. After several hugs and the reassurance that they would all see each other bright and early, they finally left.

It was late, well past eleven, but she wasn't feeling tired. Maybe it was because she had gotten used to staying up later, or maybe it was just because there was too much excitement in her belly for her to feel any tiredness. Either way, she was wide awake, and as she and Jasper drove back to the Cullen house, she couldn't help but shoot him a smile and squeeze his hand.

"So? What do you think of Tom?" she asked, though she had a feeling she already knew what his answer would be.

Jasper nodded. "He is everything you made him out to be and more," he said, shooting her a smile. "I can see why you are so fond of him."

She smiled at his approval of Tom. "He liked you, I could tell," Danielle said with a nod. "Which is actually really good, considering he tends to be a little protective. I still remember the time some random guy tried to hit on me when we were out bowling. I was uncomfortable and Tom could tell, so he grabbed the heaviest bowling ball he could find, came over to us, and threatened to smash the guy's, erm…nether regions…if he didn't leave me alone," she recalled with a laugh.

Jasper looked amused by the retelling. "I like him even more now," he said matter-of-factly.

Danielle laughed, then looked back to the window. It was only then that she realized that they hadn't taken the usual route home, which had her frowning with confusion.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking back to Jasper.

Jasper glanced over at her and gave her a lopsided smile. "Somewhere quiet where we can be alone," he told her. "I imagine with Tom here and with everything that needs to be done this week, you and I will not be getting much time to ourselves," he proceeded to explain. He glanced over again and raised her hand to his mouth so he could kiss her knuckles. "I thought it would be nice to get away from everyone and enjoy some privacy while we still can."

Danielle smiled and relaxed in her seat. "That sounds like a good idea," she agreed, more than approving of any plan that meant having Jasper all to herself for a bit.

They drove a little while longer, until they finally reached the coast. Jasper parked close to a cliffside overlooking the water, the scent of the ocean hitting them as they stepped out of the car. Danielle smiled to herself, closing her eyes and breathing in the smells around her, then walked a little closer to the edge of the cliff. She stopped a few feet away from the edge, listening to the waves crashing against the rocks and enjoying the pleasant breeze that whirled around her. She wasn't sure where they were, but that didn't matter – the view was breathtaking.

Jasper joined her, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her securely to his chest. Danielle rested her arms over his, leaning back against him comfortably. "It's really nice here," she said, her eyes trained on the moon and the way its light glittered off the water.

"Indeed it is," Jasper agreed.

They stood there for a few more moments before finally moving to sit down on the ground. Danielle sat between Jasper's legs, resting back against his chest and feeling safe as he kept his arms around her. She sighed contentedly as she watched the waves rolling into the distance, smiling to herself as Jasper held her tighter and leaned down to press a few soft kisses to her shoulder.

"Can you believe we'll actually be married in five days?" she asked. "If someone told me a year ago that I'd be on the verge of marrying the vampire that I'm crazy in love with, I would have laughed in their face and directed them to the nearest mental hospital."

Jasper chuckled. "I imagine I might have reacted the same way," he said. "I was alone for so long. I did not think I would ever find someone to share my existence with. But then I met a stubborn, brilliant, breathtakingly gorgeous human who flipped my entire world upside down. And now here I am, about to make that wonderful human my wife," he said in her ear.

Danielle smiled at the affection in his tone, her fingers lacing with his. The word human echoed in her ears for a few seconds, though, reminding her of a very important conversation she had been meaning to have with him. She had, once and for all, come to a decision about whether or not she wanted to become a vampire, only she had been waiting until she and Jasper had some alone time to tell him. Considering they spent most of their time in the Cullen house, where there were several vampires that never slept and could hear everything they talked about nearby at all times, the privacy she had wanted for this particular conversation had been difficult to come by. They were alone now, though, and there didn't seem like any better time than the present.

Danielle turned in his arms and moved so that she sat with her knees on either side of his thighs. Jasper's hands automatically went to her waist, his eyes filled with silent question as she linked her hands behind his neck.

"I wanna tell you something," she said, holding his gaze resolutely.

Jasper cocked his head a little. "What is it, darlin'?"

She gave him a long look, her blue eyes studying his amber ones intently. "I want to become a vampire," she said bluntly. Jasper's eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "We've been talking about it for months and I've given this a lot of thought," Danielle continued. "I've weighed the pros and cons more times than I can count, I took the time to consider everything this might effect, I've even talked to Carlisle about it. I finally know what I want, and what I want is to be changed," she said with a firm nod.

Jasper stared at her for a long few moments, his expression not really giving away anything he might be thinking. Finally, he blinked and gave her a questioning look. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I've told you how painful and dangerous the transition is. And you will not be yourself for quite some time afterward," he reminded. "You will be giving up life as you know it, darlin'."

"I know what I'll be giving up," she said with a nod. "But I also know what I'll be gaining," she added, holding him a little tighter. "Me becoming a vampire means I get an eternity with you, where we'll be free to be with each other exactly as we want to and where we don't have to be afraid anymore. I want that, Jazz. I want us to be able to be together, really together, without anything hanging over us."

Jasper smiled gently. "I cannot deny that I want that as well," he admitted. He paused and reached up to brush a curl away from her face. "But…are you absolutely sure, Danielle?" he asked again.

Danielle nodded without hesitation. "I'm one hundred percent positive."

Jasper looked at her for a long second, then slowly nodded. "Alright."

Danielle tilted her head unsurely. "You're okay with that, right?"

Jasper nodded immediately. "Yes. I told you I would accept whatever decision you came to, and I intend to hold true to that," he said. "I will still worry, because I know how hard the transition is and I hate to think of you in any pain," he admitted. Then he gave her a small smile. "But if this is what you want, then I will not argue against it."

Danielle hadn't really been worried he would, but she still smiled in relief. "Good."

"When do you want to be turned?" he questioned.

"Not right away," she said, and if she wasn't mistaken, Jasper looked a little relieved to hear that. "If I'm not gonna be myself for as long as you say, then I wanna take some time to enjoy being married to you first," she said. "I was thinking we could wait a year, maybe even two."

Jasper nodded in agreement. "I like that idea."

Danielle gave him a smile, but then sighed and frowned with sight hesitation. She wasn't sure how Jasper might respond to the question she was about to ask next – she hoped he wouldn't freak out. "Will…will you do it?" she asked quietly.

Jasper stiffened immediately, his jaw tightening as he stared at her with slightly wider eyes. He said nothing for a few tense moments, then slowly gulped. "Darlin', I love you. You know I would do anything for you." He paused again, his expression turning to one of wariness. "But…turning you is…a terrifying thought," he said slowly. "I do not think I would trust myself to do it. It would be better if Carlisle did."

Danielle frowned. As much as she liked, and trusted, her future father-in-law, the thought of Carlisle being the one to turn her just didn't quite sit right. It was simply too strange to think of him biting her. The whole experience would seem much too intimate to share with anyone other than Jasper.

"I think that would be a little weird, don't you?" she countered.

"The process is dangerous enough as is without the added risk of me being unable to stop myself if I taste your blood," Jasper responded swiftly. "Carlisle is practically immune to human blood, and he changed everyone but Alice and myself. He knows what he is doing. Him doing it is the safest option, Danielle."

She couldn't help but frown. Even now, after all they had been through, he was still doubting his self-control? "Jazz, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for," she told him matter-of-factly. "I was covered in blood when you rescued me in Phoenix, and you barely even noticed," she then reminded.

Jasper's face momentarily darkened at the mention of Phoenix, before he shook his head in denial. "That was different," he argued. "Smelling your blood and tasting your blood are not the same things."

Danielle pressed closer, so that her eyes were only inches from his. He went quiet, his gaze holding hers as she gave him a determined look. "You're strong, Jasper," she repeated. "I trust you with my life, you know that. You're also about to be my husband, and if there's anyone I want to be the one to turn me, it's you."

Jasper took a moment to think about it, then frowned again. "I just…I don't know, Danielle," he said with skepticism.

Danielle sighed gently, then moved one hand from his neck to brush his hair back. "You don't have to decide right this moment. We've still got a lot of time to figure everything out," she told him. "Just…at least tell me you'll think about it. Please?"

Jasper considered her plea for a second, then let out a long sigh, the tension leaving his shoulders with it. "I will think about it," he said, and even though he didn't sound overly happy about it, she knew that he meant it.

"Thank you," she said with a grateful smile.

Jasper just gave her a small smile, before his brows raised questioningly. "When do you want to tell the family?"

Danielle shrugged. "I think it'd be best to make it official after we get back from the honeymoon. The wedding is the most important thing right now," she said, to which Jasper nodded in agreement. "How do you think they'll react?" she asked, unable to help the uncertainty that invaded her tone.

"The family loves you, Danielle," Jasper told her. "They'll be thrilled."

Hearing him say it made her smile and relaxed. "I hope you're right."

"I know I am right," Jasper countered with confidence.

Danielle nodded, then sucked in a breath as she took a moment to consider how drastically everything change once she was a vampire. "It's gonna be so weird, becoming a vampire," she mused aloud. "There's gonna be a lot to learn."

Jasper nodded. "There will be. But I will be there with you every step of the way, as will the rest of the family," he said reassuringly. "You will not be alone, darlin'. You never will be."

Danielle smiled, then leaned in to kiss him again.

Jasper was right. It would be a big change – a scary change. But it was a change that they would face together. And as long as Jasper was by her side, she knew she would be able to face anything.

---

The next morning, Danielle sat on the floor of Alice's room organizing name cards for the wedding while Alice effortlessly moved a heavy, floor length mirror into the middle of the room for Jasper's final tux fitting. Jasper was in their bedroom getting changed into his tuxedo for the wedding so that she could give it one last look over and officially give him the stamp of approval.

"Have you talked to Tom this morning?" Alice asked.

Danielle glanced up from the name cards. "I have, yes. Why do you ask?"

Alice shrugged. "I was just wondering how much longer it will be until they arrive," she said casually. "It's past ten. I thought they would have been here by now."

Danielle suppressed a knowing smile at those words.

She had already thought Tom had been bad at hiding how eager he was to meet Alice, but she was quickly discovering that Alice herself wasn't so great at it either. The vampire had all but pounced on Danielle the night before when she and Jasper had returned, asking her all about Tom and how their reunion had gone, and had managed to talk about Tom several times that morning already. Danielle had suspected that her future sister-in-law might have formed a little crush on Tom for a few weeks now, and she couldn't help but feel like Alice's behavior was only confirming those suspicions.

"Don't worry," Danielle said. "I'm sure they'll be here soon." Alice just sighed in response and looked impatiently to the window. "Do you want to call Tom and see where they are?" Danielle offered.

Alice shook her head quickly. "No, no. I don't want to bother him."

Danielle gave her a look. "I don't think you being a bother to Tom is even possible," she said pointedly. "I'm pretty sure he thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced bread."

Alice smiled a bit at that, and for a second, Danielle thought she looked rather pleased. "I'm sure you're wrong," she said modestly.

"I'm sure I'm not," Danielle countered with a smirk. "You don't know Tom like I do, sis. There was a reason he called you so much, and it wasn't just to talk about the wedding."

She was certain that if Alice could have blushed, she would have. The vampire seemed surprised, her mouth even dropping open slightly. She started like she was going to ask Danielle to elaborate, but before she could, Jasper finally entered the room. Alice quickly closed her mouth and shook off her surprise, doing her best to act normal now that Jasper was there. Danielle just smiled in amusement at the vampire's reaction, then shifted her gaze to Jasper when he came to a halt in front of the mirror.

When she saw him in his wedding suit, she immediately forgot what she and Alice had been talking about. It was her turn to sit there with her mouth agape, only it was for an entirely different reason.

Jasper looked incredible. The suit fit him like a glove, and as he stood there staring into the mirror, his gaze focused as he buttoned his suit jacket and his golden hair just the tiniest bit unruly from changing clothes, she honestly forgot how to breathe for a second. Jasper's eyes caught hers in the mirror, a slow smirk spreading across his face when he noticed the way she was looking him. Butterflies immediately filled her belly – she found herself having to fight down the temptation to go dig her fingers into that wonderful hair and kiss him until her lips fell off.

"Judging by the look on your face, I think I already know the answer, but…what do you think of the suit?" Alice asked to bring her back to the present.

Danielle cleared her throat and nodded. "He looks amazing in it," she said approvingly. "He's probably gonna look better than me at the wedding."

Jasper and Alice both scoffed. "Uh, no," Alice countered. "No offence, Jasper, but Dani is going to blow you out of the water when you see her."

"I have no doubt that she will," Jasper replied with a nod.

Danielle just smiled and shrugged. "We'll see I guess."

Alice rolled her eyes at that, then turned to Jasper and began to look him over. Danielle, having all but forgotten about the name cards by now, propped her chin up on her hand as she watched Alice inspect the suit with scrutinizing eyes. Jasper stood there obediently, answering any question Alice had about the fit of the suit and moving this way and that whenever she told him to. His eyes kept meeting Danielle's in the mirror, though, a smile tugging at his lips anytime their gazes held.

"Alright," Alice finally said, taking a step back. "I think it will do."

Danielle scoffed as she stood up. "It will more than just do," she corrected. She went to stand in front of Jasper, running a hand along the lapel of his jacket. "You really do look wonderful, Jazz," she complimented.

Jasper smiled. "Thank you, darlin'," he said, his hands finding their way onto her waist as he pulled her a bit closer.

Danielle returned his smile, then slid her arms around him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Her lips had only barely touched his, however, when Alice stepped forward and forcibly separated them, making both Danielle and Jasper look at her with incredulity. "That's nice if you want to be all lovey-dovey, but do not wrinkle that suit," Alice ordered, pointing a stern finger at Jasper. "In fact, go and take it off right now."

Jasper rolled his eyes in exasperation, but did as he was told. He gave Danielle a look as he released her, then left the room to go and change. Just as Jasper left, a new figure appeared in the doorway. To Danielle's surprise it was Edward, though she had no idea when he had come back to the Cullen house – he had stayed at Bella's house the night before, just as he did every single night. He was gone so often, she honestly didn't see him very much on a day to day basis. He and Bella had been joined at the hip all summer long, so much so that she sometimes wondered if Bella could even go to the bathroom without needing to have him there with her.

"Hey, Ed," Danielle greeted. "When did you get here?"

"Good morning, Dani. And I got here about ten minutes ago," he answered. He watched as Jasper disappeared into his bedroom, then looked back to them. "Suit fitting?"

Alice nodded. "And you're next for that, by the way," she added.

Edward lifted a brow at his sister. "We did that already, Alice," he reminded her.

"We need to do it again," Alice insisted. "Everything has to be perfect, including your suit."

Edward gave Danielle a brief, incredulous look, which made her laugh under her breath. "I doubt anyone will be paying that close of attention to me," he said.

"Bella will be," Danielle pointed out. "But you could literally wear a bee keeper's outfit and she would still drool over you, so I don't think you have to worry about impressing her."

Edward smiled a bit at that, but Alice shook her head. "Nope. Doesn't matter. You're a groomsman, which means you have to look good. We're doing one more fitting, and that is that."

Edward gave his sister a look, but eventually gave a conceding nod. "Alright," he agreed, seemingly knowing that arguing with Alice would be pointless.

Jasper returned with his suit on the hanger, sharing a nod with Edward as he passed through the doorway. "For safekeeping," he said, passing the suit over to Alice.

Alice smiled brightly. "Thank you!" she said, before going to put the suit in her closet.

Danielle smiled up at Jasper as he came to stand next to her, one of his arms habitually finding its way around her waist. She leaned into him, then looked over at Edward with raised brows. "Did you happen to see if my mom and Tom were still home before you left Bella's?"

"They were," he confirmed. "But they had just come to collect Bella and were preparing to come here just as I left. They should be here soon," he added.

"Oh, good!" Alice said as she rejoined them, her eyes alight with excitement. "Once they get here, we can finally start getting some work done."

Danielle knew good and well that Alice's excitement over Tom's impending arrival was not because she wanted to get work done. Jasper knew it, too, and judging by the way Edward's eyebrow lifted higher than the other one, she would guess he knew it, as well. But the three of them also knew better than to say anything to that effect aloud, however.

"So this is where the party is?" The new voice belonged to Emmett, who had just joined Edward at the door. "What's the reason for the pow-wow?" he asked, looking around at all of them.

"Jasper just had a suit fitting, but now we're talking about Tom," Edward answered.

Emmett nodded. "Tom seems to be the local celebrity around here these days," he commented, frowning a bit. "Been hearing that name quite a bit," he added, shooting a look at Alice that the vampire pointedly ignored.

"Uh oh. Is someone jealous that Tom is stealing the spotlight?" Danielle had to ask jokingly, which had Jasper chuckling and Edward smirking in amusement. "Don't worry, Big Foot. We still love you."

Emmett narrowed his eyes a little, a smirk of pure mischief appearing on his lips. "You know, you're lucky I like you. I don't normally take kindly to people sassing me as much as you do," he said.

Danielle gave him a confused look. "Am I supposed to be scared or something?" she asked in an unintimidated tone.

Emmett pointed a finger at her. "All I'm saying is that you better be careful, red. If you ever become a vampire, I might just have to teach you a lesson or two."

It was said as a joke, of course, but him mentioning her turning into a vampire had Danielle and Jasper sharing a quick look with one another. Her thoughts immediately turned back to their conversation the night before, and she had a feeling that Jasper was thinking about the same thing. She gave him a small smile, a combination of nervousness, excitement, and, admittedly, a small amount of fear rolling through her belly at the thought of her future plans to be turned. Jasper felt the swell of emotions and held her a bit tighter, giving her a smile that instantly set her at ease again.

When she looked away from Jasper, it was Edward's eyes she met next. Though he had looked comfortable and at ease while they had been talking, he suddenly looked tense. There was an unreadable expression on his face as his gaze flickered back and forth between her and Jasper. And it was then that it hit her – Edward refrained from reading her thoughts, but she knew that he didn't practice the same restraint when it came to Jasper's. If Jasper was remembering what they had talked about the previous night, then Edward would have heard it. And that could mean only one thing.

He now knew she had officially decided to be turned into a vampire.

Edward looked at her again, his expression still difficult to decipher. He was the only Cullen who had yet to give his opinion on the matter of her being turned, but considering how against it he was for Bella, Danielle had more or less assumed he wouldn't be crazy about the idea of her being turned, either. Judging by his reaction now, she was starting to think she had been right.

"They're here!" Alice suddenly said, even though the doorbell had not yet rung.

Her exclamation was enough to snap Edward out of whatever had just taken over him. He blinked and moved out of the way as Alice hurried from the bedroom. He then looked back to her and Jasper, his gaze flickering between them a moment longer, before he and Emmett both trailed after Alice to greet their guests. Danielle and Jasper, however, lingered in Alice's bedroom to share a look with one another.

"I think he knows," Danielle whispered. Jasper nodded in agreement. "What did you feel from him?"

"I felt several things," he admitted.

"Any of them good?" Danielle asked hopefully. Jasper hesitated to answer, which told her everything she needed to know. "Wonderful," she said with a heavy sigh. Because she couldn't help feeling disappointed. She and Edward might not be very close with one another, but they were friends and they were about to be family. There was already friction between her and Rosalie – she didn't want there to be friction between her and Edward, too.

Jasper gave her an encouraging squeeze. "We can talk to him about it when we tell the rest of the family. For now, try not to worry about it."

Danielle just nodded. Then, as the doorbell rang, Jasper kissed her on the forehead and they went downstairs to reconvene with the rest of the family.

---

Danielle did her best to follow Jasper's advice and not think about Edward's apparent disapproval of her decision to become a vampire. She told herself that it was a problem for another day, and with the wedding rapidly approaching, there were more important things to concern herself with. She would worry about Edward later, after the wedding was over.

It was a lot easier to not worry about Edward after Tom, her mother, and Bella arrived. It was simply impossible not to feel happy when she finally saw Alice and Tom meeting face to face for the first time. Alice positively beamed at Tom when she opened the door to greet him, while Tom was rendered speechless at the sight of the vampire. He stood still as a statue and stared at Alice like he'd never seen a woman before in his entire life, his Adam's apple bobbing when he gulped. It had taken everything in Danielle not to laugh at his reaction to how beautiful Alice was – she almost felt guilty for not warning him about how insanely attractive the entire Cullen family was.

With the help of a cleared throat and a discreet nudge from Lynne, Tom finally recovered from his stupor and started acting normal again, smiling politely and shaking hands with Alice. He then came in to meet the rest of the family, looking momentarily speechless again when he saw the rest of the family. Thankfully the Cullen's were used to this sort of reaction and took it in stride.

Introductions were made, hugs were shared with Lynne and Bella, and for a good few minutes they all stood around chit chatting and catching up. Eventually, though, the time had come to get to work, and before long Alice was bossing everyone around and assigning tasks. As everyone broke apart to start getting things done, Tom leaned in close to Danielle and raised his brows at her.

"Dude. Why didn't you tell me that everyone in Jasper's family is sculpted like a freaking Greek god?" he hissed.

Danielle bit her lip to keep from laughing. She could see Esme and Carlisle laughing quietly to themselves on the other side of the room. "I told you they were good looking," she said back with a shrug.

Tom gave her a flat look. "Yeah, you undersold that one a little there, buddy," he said.

Danielle laughed, then glanced at Alice as the vampire stood near the kitchen talking to Lynne and Bella. Tom glanced that way, too, that same, dumfounded expression flitting across his face. "She's really pretty, huh?" she asked, nudging Tom in the ribs.

Tom let out a breath and shook his head. "I literally didn't know anyone could be that beautiful," he admitted quietly.

Danielle smiled and looked toward Alice again, whom she knew was perfectly capable of hearing what Tom had just said. Alice didn't look their way, but Danielle could still tell that his words made her smile just a little bit wider.

It was a busy day of wedding preparations after that, but it was a fun day. The Cullen's had, unsurprisingly, warmed up to Tom very quickly. With how nice he was and how easy he was to get along with, she had fully expected that everyone would get along just fine, and that proved to be just the case as the day went by. Conversations flowed easily and there was a lot of laughing, especially when Emmett began to push Tom to reveal any embarrassing stories he might have about Danielle. Tom, who loved to embarrass her any chance he got, didn't take much convincing.

But the Cullen he spent the most time around was, of course, Alice. They seemed to be getting along very well, if how often she saw them talking and laughing together was any indicator. By the time evening rolled around, Danielle had lost track of how many times she had looked over and seen Tom and Alice off by themselves – even when the Cullen's decided to pretend to eat food for the night and hosted a dinner for everyone, Alice and Tom ended up sitting next to one another. Several times during dinner they got caught up in their own conversation, so intent on each other that they seemed to completely forget everyone else.

Danielle just watched the whole thing with a growing feeling of happiness. She adored Tom, she adored Alice, and it was starting to look like the two just might adore each other. She wasn't going to try to force them to get together, because Tom and Alice were grown and both perfectly capable of making their own decisions. But she definitely was going to root for them from the sidelines.

Wednesday passed by much like Tuesday had, with lots of errands being run to prepare for the weekend festivities. By the time Thursday rolled around and it was time for her bachelorette outing, Danielle was actually a little glad to get away for a bit. She, Alice, Bella, Jessica, Angela, and – because he was part of the bridal party and such a good sport – Tom went to a fancy spa that Alice had discovered, where they were going to spend the entire day getting pampered. They were all scheduled for mud baths, facials, massages, manicures, and pedicures, and even though Danielle didn't normally indulge in services like that, she was more than ready to relax and get in some quality pampering.

"This place is literally amazing," Jessica gushed as she, Danielle, and Alice stood around wearing white fluffy bathrobes and nibbling on some fruit that the receptionist had provided for them. They had all just gotten their first services of the day done and were waiting for their second one to start.

"It really is," Danielle agreed. "Thank you for putting this together," she said to Alice, giving her a side hug.

"Yeah, thanks, Alice!" Jessica agreed.

Alice smiled. "Anything for my favorite sister," she said, squeezing Danielle in a hug.

"Don't make me blush! It'll ruin my perfect new complexion!" Danielle said jokingly, motioning to her freshly cleansed and thoroughly glowing skin.

The three of them laughed, then reached for another piece of fruit. As she ate a grape, Danielle glanced around to see if there was any sign of Tom anywhere. He had gotten taken back for a massage first, and she hadn't seen him since.

"I hope Tom is having fun," she commented. "This is a little out of his comfort zone, I think."

"I'm sure he is. He seems like a good sport," Alice said with a nod.

"Speaking of Tom," Jessica interjected, making them both look at her. Jessica raised her brows at Danielle with interest. "He seems really nice and he's super cute. Is he single?"

Danielle looked at Alice, who suddenly had a bit of a weird expression on her face. "Er, yeah, he is."

Jessica, oblivious to the change in Alice's mood, nodded in understanding. "If things don't work out with Mike, I just might have to get his number from you," she said with a laugh.

Danielle forced out a laugh and nodded along. "Guess we'll have to see," she said evasively.

Jessica was called back to go into her massage after that, and soon enough Danielle and Alice were taken back into the nail room to get their manicures and pedicures. As they settled into their pedicure chairs, Danielle glanced over at Alice, who was frowning a little to herself. Danielle glanced around, saw that none of the other girls from their party were around, and leaned a little closer.

"You okay?"

Alice blinked, then looked at her. "Yes, I'm fine," she said, smiling. She looked down at the nail technician as she came to sit in front of her. "Hi! Just a basic pedicure, please. And I have very tough nails, so I wouldn't attempt to clip them. Just file please," she instructed with a kind smile.

Danielle took a second to greet her own nail technician and tell her what she wanted done, then directed her attention back to Alice. She knew Alice wasn't telling the truth – it was pretty obvious that she didn't like the thought of Jessica potentially having interest in Tom.

"I don't think Jess was serious about wanting Tom's number," Danielle said matter-of-factly. "She's with Mike. She's happy with Mike."

Alice looked over at her quickly. "So?" she asked evasively.

"So you don't have to worry about her trying to move in on Tom," Danielle told her.

Alice tried to put an innocent expression, which turned out to be a very unconvincing one. "I'm not worried," she denied. "Why would I be worried about that?"

Danielle decided to just be blunt. "I'm not blind, Alice. I've seen the way you two have been these past few days. You're into him, and he's definitely into you." Alice opened her mouth to respond, then shut it again. She didn't seem to know what to say. "There's nothing wrong with that, you know," Danielle added with a smile. "Tom's a great guy. I would be more surprised if you didn't like him."

Alice sighed. "He is a great guy. And, yes…maybe I do like him," she admitted, though it sounded like she was reluctant to do so. "I just don't know if it's a good idea, Dani," she said, shaking her head.

Danielle frowned. "Why not? We all know it can work." She leaned a little bit closer and lowered her voice. "If Jasper and Edward can do it, so can you. What's one more human in the family?" she asked with a smirk.

"I know, and it's not really that that I'm overly concerned about," Alice said. "It's just...I can't see him in my future. Literally," she admitted quietly. "I saw you and Bella with us straightaway, but I don't see Tom. Maybe that means that he's not supposed to be with me. Maybe that means that this isn't supposed to happen."

Danielle frowned as she thought that one over. "But things can change," she reminded Alice. "Nothing is really set in stone. Maybe if you can't see him now, it's because now just isn't the right time."

Alice considered what she had said, then shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe."

They both went quiet for a moment, each watching their nail technician work. Danielle noticed that the woman working on Alice was looking a little perplexed as she continued to file Alice's tough nails and still failed to make any sort of actual difference. She cast a glance up at Alice, equal parts confusion and exasperation on her face, then returned to what she was doing.

"I've never been with anyone," Alice said to break the silence, making Danielle look at her again. "I wasn't…right…before," she said with a meaningful look. Danielle knew that she was referring to her life pre-vampire, a life where she had – according to James the nomad – spent many years in an insane asylum. "Afterward, I was so busy trying to find my way that it wasn't a priority. But even once I joined with Esme and Carlisle, there never was anyone – like you or like me – that seemed worth the effort," she explained.

"But…?" Danielle prompted, feeling like there was more to what Alice was saying.

Alice looked over at her. "But Tom is…different," she said, smiling a bit. That smiled quickly disappeared, though, and a long sigh escaped her. "I don't know anything about this, though. It's easy to give Jasper and Edward advice, but taking that advice myself is a little harder. I wouldn't know what to do or how to make it work, and then there's the fact that he's so far away." Alice shook her head. "No matter which way I look at it, it all just seems very complicated," she concluded.

Danielle nodded in understanding. "I get where you're coming from," she said. "I won't try to tell you what to do, because ultimately that decision is for you to make. But I think if you really like someone, you'll find a way to overcome those complications. It might not be easy, but it's certainly not impossible. Look at me and Jazz, or look at Edward and Bella. We're the proof."

Alice nodded her head. "Yeah, I know."

Danielle smiled and reached over to squeeze her hand. "The good news? It's not like you're having to decide whether or not you're gonna marry the guy," she reminded her. "I say just hang out with him, enjoy getting to spend some actual face-to-face time together. Once the wedding is over, just see where things go. If you decide to give it a shot, that's great. If not, then you've still got yourself a really kick-ass friend in him."

Alice finally smiled at that. "You're right. I will still have a great friend." Alice squeezed Danielle's hand in return. "Thanks, Dani. I appreciate the pep talk."

"Anything for my favorite sister," Danielle said, throwing Alice's words right back at her.

The door to the nail salon suddenly opened, and in strolled the very man they had just been talking about. Tom practically sauntered into the room, wearing a white fluffy bathrobe and a towel that was wrapped around his head like a turban. He also had a thick, green facemask on and smelled strongly of lavender.

"Well?" he asked, striking a pose like a model as he stood behind their nail techs. "Am I beautiful yet?"

Danielle and Alice shared a look, then burst into laughter. "You look positively fabulous, darling," Danielle told him when she managed to stop laughing, making her voice sound extra snooty for added effect. This just made Alice laugh some more.

Tom grinned. "I gotta say, I totally get why people do this kind of stuff now," he said with a nod. "I feel like a king getting pampered like this."

"Glad you're having fun," Danielle said with relief.

Tom glanced between the two of them for a moment, then patted his stomach when it growled. "There wouldn't happen to be snacks around here somewhere, would there?" he asked, glancing around.

"There's food out in the waiting room," Alice told him.

"Great. I'm gonna get something to eat. Need anything, Dani?" he offered.

"I'm fine, thank you," she declined.

"What about you, Al?" Tom asked, looking to Alice next. And the fact that he had called her Al was so cute, it almost made Danielle squeal.

Alice smiled at him sweetly. "I'm alright. Thank you, Tom."

Tom nodded, smiled at Alice for one more second, then turned and left, making them laugh again as he put a little extra sashay in his stride. Once he was gone, Danielle looked over at Alice again, who was still smiling. Alice met her gaze, her smile growing.

"Remember how I said I hadn't met anyone worth it?" she asked. After Danielle nodded, Alice gave her a look. "I'm starting to think he might be."

---

The next night, Danielle leaned a little closer to the bathroom mirror as she put on the finishing touches of her makeup.

It was nearly time to head to the venue for the rehearsal, and then they would be going to her mother's house for the rehearsal dinner, where she also planned to stay overnight while Jasper went out hunting with Edward and Emmett. She finished with her mascara and stood back to give herself one more look-over. Alice had helped her tame her hair, so that it sat around her shoulders in soft waves rather than their usual messy curls. Her makeup was a little more done up than what she usually wore, but not so much that she looked frightening. Her dress was new, too. It was a deep forest green, which complimented her hair and skin tone nicely, had a v-neckline that showed only the barest hint of cleavage, and it hugged her torso like a second skin before flaring out at the waist in a knee-length, a-line skirt.

Satisfied with what she saw, she stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, where she found Jasper standing by the desk with his back to her. He seemed to be reading something.

"What'cha reading?" she asked as she went over to join him.

"A letter from Peter and Charlotte," he said. "It just arrived today."

Peter and Charlotte were Jasper's friends from his time before the Cullen's. He had met them when he had still be with Maria, still training newborns for her army in the south. He had gotten very close with Peter, but Peter had eventually fled with Charlotte, another newborn whom Maria had wanted to kill because she simply had not been useful enough. Once Jasper escaped Maria, Peter and Charlotte had helped him begin to find his own way. They were nomads, but he still managed to keep in touch with them for all these years – it seemed like they kept up a fairly regularly correspondence.

"What's it say?"

"That they will not be attending the wedding, but that isn't much of a surprise," he said, his eyes still scanning the letter.

Danielle made a sound of understanding. Inviting Peter and Charlotte had been a big talking point when they had first started planning the wedding. Though they were his friends and she understood why he wanted them to be there for the ceremony, there was one large problem – Peter and Charlotte were not vegetarian. Jasper had insisted that they were in control of themselves and he believed, with the right precautions, that they could make things work. Danielle had agreed to at least send them an invitation, though she still had been a little unsure if having human-feeding vampires in a room full of humans was good idea.

After they had sent the invitation, Alice had informed them that she did not see them attending the wedding. Now, as Danielle read the letter over Jasper's shoulder, she could see that Alice had been right. They apologized profusely for not being able to attend, but insisted that they felt it would be better – and safer – for all involved if they did not come. They sent their congratulations, however, and expressed interest in trying to meet Danielle some other time.

"Well, maybe when we come back from the honeymoon we can go and see them. Or we can wait until I'm turned, if that would be easier," Danielle offered.

"It would probably be better to wait," he said, setting the letter down on the desk. "I would not want to – "

Jasper stopped mid-sentence as he finally turned to look at her. His eyes immediately dropped to rake over her form, his jaw dropping a little as he took in what she was wearing. "When did you get that dress?" he asked, his eyes sweeping over her again. He seemed to have forgotten all about Peter and Charlotte already.

"A few days ago." Danielle twirled, making the skirt poof out a little. "Do you like it?" she asked, smiling at him hopefully.

Jasper stepped in close, his hands automatically moving to rest on her waist. He looked her up and down again, his gaze lingering a little longer in certain areas. "You look ravishing," he said, his eyes a bit darker than normal as they met hers.

Those butterflies were back, flapping wildly around in her stomach. "Thank you." Danielle then beamed up at him, her arms sliding comfortably around his neck. "You do realize that by this time tomorrow, we'll be saying I do, right?" she asked. "Where did the time go?"

Jasper smiled and pulled her closer. "How does the saying go? Time flies when you're having fun?"

"It sure does," Danielle agreed.

Jasper lifted one hand to brush his fingertips along her cheek. "I have said it before, but I will say it again. I will be so proud, and so honored, to be able to call you my wife," he told her, his eyes full of adoration.

"And I will be just as proud, and just as honored, to call you my husband," she said in return.

Jasper smiled, then slid a hand around the back of her neck and leaned in to kiss her. It was sweet and gentle, and all she could feel radiating off of him was love. He pulled away for a moment to look at her, his nose brushing her own, then kissed her again. Danielle sighed and pressed closer to him, her fingers making their way into his hair on their own accord. When he felt her fingers sliding through his hair, Jasper let out a low moan and kissed her a little harder, pulled her a little closer. She answered his moan with one of her own, heat sweeping through her as their tongues met again.

The mood changed rapidly. Where she had felt love and adoration from him before, now she felt something very different, something that had warmth settling in her belly and her body moving restlessly against his in search of any sort of contact she could find.

Her back suddenly bumped into the wall, making her gasp with surprise. Jasper pulled his lips from hers for a moment to look at her with dark eyes, then dipped his head to kiss his way down her neck. Danielle tilted her head to give him better access, one hand raking through his hair while the other slid around to his chest to feel the hard muscles of his torso. Without warning, Jasper's hands slid from her hips to her rear, giving it a squeeze as he pulled her tightly against him. Danielle gasped again, then couldn't hold back another moan of approval as his lips closed around her earlobe.

This was different. This was not how Jasper normally was. They had gotten carried away before, but even then he had always been a complete and total gentleman – despite knowing exactly how much he desired her, he had always kept himself in check and had never even attempted to cop a feel, not even once. But now he was, and as his hands squeezed her rear again, she found that she liked this more forward side of him quite a lot.

She pulled on his hair until he understood her silent request and kissed her again, his hands finally leaving her rear to return to her waist. She then felt one of his hand begin to slide upward, skimming boldly along her ribs with a very clear destination in mind. But then there was a knock on the door, which had his hand freezing before he could touch her. They separated, Danielle breathing heavily as Jasper stared down at her through dark, hooded eyes, but neither actually made any attempts to move.

"It's time to go!" Alice called through the door.

"Be…be right out," Danielle called back, sounding more breathless than she had intended.

She assumed Alice left after that. Jasper still didn't move though, and she was very aware of his hand on her ribs. "One more day," he murmured, his lips brushing over hers again. "One more day and you will be mine."

Danielle shivered at the promise in his voice, as well as the desire that he sent coursing through her veins. "Not if I make you mine first," she said with a wicked smile.

Jasper growled low in his throat and leaned in to give her another hungry kiss.

It would have been easy to get carried away again, but another knock sounded on the door. "Guys. Now!" Alice said with much more authority this time.

"Alright," Jasper said back sharply, looking annoyed by the interruption.

Danielle just giggled at his impatience, which had him smirking at her and kissing her one last time, before they finally disentangled from one another.

After they got themselves back in order and did their best to make it seem like they hadn't just been making out like a couple of horny teenagers, they joined up with the rest of the Cullen's to leave for the rehearsal. Since they had to pretend like they were human, running was – to Danielle's relief – out of the question. The travel method tonight was good, old fashioned driving – Carlisle, Esme, Edward, and Rosalie went in Edward's Volvo, while Danielle, Jasper, and Alice went with Emmett in his big, loud jeep.

They made it to the venue quickly, where they found Lynne, Bella, and Tom already waiting for them. Hugs and pleasantries were exchanged, then they went inside to meet with the pastor who would be performing the ceremony.

The venue was nothing overly fancy at face value, just a small community center that had a decently sized ballroom that could be rented out for a very reasonable price. But now that all of the decorations that they had put together were there and set up, the placed looked completely different. There were twinkling lights everywhere, giving the entire room a soft, warm glow. Ribbons and tulle decorated the backs of the white farm chairs that had already been set up for the guests that would be filling them tomorrow. A beautiful archway with more tulle and more twinkling lights sat at the end of the aisle for when she and Jasper went up to say their vows. The room looked magical already, and this was before the many multitudes of flowers that Alice had ordered arrived and were set up – Danielle couldn't wait to see what everything would look like once the flowers were there.

The rehearsal went by quickly. Alice took charge and gathered everyone around to go over, in great detail, the exact schedule for the wedding. When the ceremony started, Jasper would stand at the archway with Emmett and Edward already by his side. Carlisle and Esme, being Jasper's parents, would go down the aisle first, then the bridal procession would start. Bella would walk first – a notion that seemed to terrify her a little – then Tom, and then, finally, Danielle would walk down escorted by her mother. The ceremony itself was slated to only last about fifteen minutes – the pastor would go through the usual proceedings, Danielle and Jasper would say their vows, then they would be pronounced husband and wife and kiss. Then they would go back down the aisle, followed immediately after by Tom and Emmett, and then, lastly, by Edward and Bella.

They went through a mock ceremony a few times, and even though it was quick and pretty easy to do, the whole process of mimicking her upcoming wedding made butterflies flap wildly in her stomach the entire time. She was nervous and excited all at the same time, and she couldn't seem to stand still as they went through the rehearsal. Jasper noticed how fidgety she was and finally sent a wave of calm over her, which finally made the butterflies in her stomach still.

When the rehearsal was over, everyone went back to Lynne's house for the rehearsal dinner. For the most part, only the people that had been at the rehearsal were present for the dinner. Danielle and Jasper had agreed to let their parents invite a few family friends to the party, however, instead of keeping it just to family and the bridal party, as was the usual tradition. Lynne had invited Patricia from the bookshop and, of course, had wanted Charlie to be there. As for Carlisle and Esme, they had only invited one specific group of friends – the Denali coven.

The Denali's were the other vegetarian coven that lived in Alaska. They were very close to the Cullen's, so close, in fact, that the Cullen's insisted they were more like family rather than just friends. They were going to be in attendance for the wedding, but since they had traveled so far and it had been so long since the Cullen's had seen them, Carlisle had wanted them to join the pre-wedding festivities as well. Danielle didn't mind the extra guests, and when it came to the Denali's, she was actually very excited to finally be able to meet them. The Cullen's always spoke very highly of the other vampire coven, and since as she had a feeling she would likely be around them a lot more in the future, it seemed like a good idea to get to know them.

The party was soon underway, and the festivities were taking place in the backyard. Lynne – with the help of Alice, of course – had gone all out. Music played through a sound-system that Lynne had hooked up, lanterns and twinkling lights were hung up all over the place to give everything a cozy glow, a table off to the side was filled to the brim with snacks and food and all the drinks one could think of. She had even set out a large, cute picture of them on an easel, hung up a huge banner that read, "Jasper & Danielle" with their wedding date written beneath their names, and gotten a big cake to have for desert.

Danielle took a moment to glance around, smiling to herself as she watched her friends and family interact. Everyone was scattered around the backyard. Her mom was hanging out with Charlie, Patricia, Esme, and Carlisle by the food, and they were all holding an alcoholic beverage of some kind. Edward and Bella were chatting with Tom and Alice at the long table that her mother had set up for dinner. Emmett was closest to her and Jasper, taking advantage of the fact that there a music and seizing the moment to start dancing like the big goofball he was – Rosalie stood a few feet away from Emmett with her arms crossed and her eyebrow quirked, rejecting her husband's attempts to get her to join in on his silly dancing.

There was something special and heartwarming about having everyone she cared for most together at the same time. Danielle leaned into Jasper, a smile seemingly permanently fixed to her face. "This is so nice," she said. "I love having everyone together like this."

Jasper wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We get to do it all over again tomorrow at the wedding," he reminded her. "Something tells me that will be even better."

Danielle looked up at him and grinned. "I think you just might be right."

Jasper gave her a lopsided smile, then leaned down to give her a sweet kiss.

She was lured away from Jasper after that when Emmett, having officially given up on trying to get Rosalie to dance with him, summoned Danielle instead. She kissed Jasper on the cheek and went over to the big vampire, who wasted no time and began twirling her around with an enthusiasm that had Danielle laughing the entire time.

They had only been dancing for a short while, however, when four more guests arrived. Danielle knew straight away that they were the Denali's – there were three females, two blondes and a brunette, and one male, who had dark hair and olive skin. They were all, of course, absurdly good-looking. They had easy, friendly smiles on their faces as Jasper and Carlisle both hurried to greet them.

"I thought there were five in the Denali coven?" she asked Emmett with confusion, her eyes searching for a fifth vampire that had not yet appeared.

"There are," Emmett confirmed. "Irina isn't with them for some reason."

Danielle frowned as she wondered why, but then pushed the thought away when she noticed Jasper waving her over. She excused herself from Emmett and quickly hurried to join him, trying hard not to blush when all four of the present Denali's immediately looked at her with interest. Danielle nervously smoothed her hands of her dress, hoping she still looked at least halfway presentable.

Jasper slid an arm around her waist as soon as she was by his side. "Danielle, these are the friends we have been telling you about. This is Kate and Tanya," he said, motioning to the two blonde females, "and this is Carmen and Eleazar," he added, now motioning to the dark haired vampires. "My friends, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to my fiancé, Danielle."

Danielle smiled nervously and extended her hand to the nearest vampire, which just so happened to be Carmen. "Pleasure to meet you," she said.

"And you as well, Danielle," Carmen said, giving a friendly smile and gently shaking her hand.

"Please, call me Dani," she insisted.

Carmen nodded. "Very well, Dani."

After Danielle shook everyone else's hands, she gave the vampires a grateful smile. "Thank you for coming all this way. Jasper and I are thrilled that you could come to the wedding."

"We would not have dared to miss such a joyous occasion," Eleazar said with a smile. "Jasper has been a good friend to us. We are happy to be able to be part of such a special time for him, and for you."

Danielle just smiled, while Jasper incline his head gratefully.

"I trust your travels were uneventful?" Carlisle asked, his brows raising slightly.

"Not trouble at all," Kate confirmed with a nod.

Carlisle seemed happy to hear it, but then pulled a face of confusion. "But where is Irina?" he asked. "I had thought she would attend as well?"

The Denali's shared a brief look with one another, a look which Danielle didn't quite know what to make of. "She will be here. She merely…had a few things to attend to first," Tanya answered with a smooth smile.

Carlisle nodded slowly. "I see." He then smiled again, before placing a hand on Eleazar's shoulder. "Come. Allow me to introduce you to Dani's mother."

Eleazar nodded, and with that Carlisle led the Denali's across the yard to meet Lynne.

After Lynne spent a few minutes talking with Carlisle and the Denali's, she finally made the announcement that everyone should start making their plates before the food got cold. Everyone – the Denali's included – fixed themselves a plate of food and settled down at the long table, and then there was a lot of talking and laugh of laughing as they all ate. Danielle found herself watching the Denali's to see if they were as good as the Cullen's when it came to pretending to enjoy human food. They were. They acted completely normal as they ate and chatted with those sitting nearest to them – none of the non-vampires at the table were any wiser of the fact that they were in the presence of two full vampire covens.

Toward the end of dinner, Lynne stood from her seat and tapped her wine glass with her fork to catch the attention of the table. Carlisle had also moved to stand next to Lynne and was holding a glass of wine himself.

"If I could just have everyone's attention for a few moments. I'd like to say a few words," Lynne said, raising her voice to be heard over everyone else's conversations. Once everyone had stopped what they were doing and given her their full attention, Lynne smiled broadly. "I first want to thank everyone for being here tonight and spending this time with us. I know that some of you have traveled very far," she said, looking pointedly to the Denali's, "and we are absolutely thrilled that everyone could make it for this wonderful occasion."

Lynne paused, then looked at Danielle with a small smile. "It's still hard for me to believe that my little girl is getting married tomorrow," she said, smiling around at the other people at the table now. "It seems just yesterday that I bringing her home from the hospital as a fussy, chubby baby, orange haired newborn," she said, which made a few people laugh quietly. Lynne sighed, then gave Danielle a slightly apologetic look. "I don't think it's a secret to anyone here that I didn't exactly have the best reaction when Dani and Jasper revealed that they were getting married. I thought they were too young and rushing into things too quickly, and as a mother who has always been a worrier, I was afraid that things would end…badly."

"But I came to realize something over these past few months," she continued. "My daughter has become a strong, smart, incredible woman. And she has chosen an equally strong, smart, incredible man to share her life with," she said, smiling at Jasper. "I've seen the way Dani and Jasper are together, I've seen how strong of a team they are. I will always worry, because I'm a mother and that's what I do best," she said with a laugh and a shrug. "But I know that Dani is in good hands with Jasper, and I know that Jasper will take care of my little girl." Jasper nodded firmly in confirmation, which made Lynne smile. "I just want to say that I'm beyond happy that the two of you have found one another, and I will be proud to have Jasper as my son-in-law. I wish you both a life full of love and happiness." Lynne raised her glass. "To Dani and Jasper."

Everyone quickly took whatever drink they had nearby and raised it. "To Dani and Jasper!" everyone echoed.

There was a lot of clinging sounds as everyone tapped their glasses together, then everyone took a drink. Danielle grinned at her mother, her heart feeling warm and happy as Lynne smiled back. They only looked away when Carlisle stepped forward.

"If you all have the patience to sit through one more speech, I would also like to say a few words," he said, smiling warmly. "Thank you, Lynne, for this wonderful dinner," he said, inclining his head to Lynne first. "You truly outdid yourself, and we are grateful to you for being such a generous host."

Lynne flushed a little as she nodded modestly.

Carlisle looked back to the table. "When Jasper first told us about Dani, my wife and I could tell straight away that something was different. We knew she was special, and even though he didn't say it aloud, he knew very early on that Jasper was in love with her." Carlisle smiled at Danielle. "Once we met Dani, it was easy to understand why Jasper loved her so much. She is kind and caring and selfless, and I could not be happier that she is soon going to be part of our family."

Danielle blushed at the complimentary words, but still smiled and nodded gratefully.

Carlisle looked at Jasper with pride. "I have seen such a change in you since you met Dani, my son. I have always been proud of you, but to see the man that you have become with Dani by your side…it is a most incredible and remarkable change," he said. "And Dani, I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for my son," he said next, giving her a sincere look. "The two of you were made for each other, that I am convinced of. I wish you both a long and happy life together." Carlisle raised his glass. "To Jasper and Dani."

Everyone clanked their glasses together again, echoing the toast. As soon as that was done, both Danielle and Jasper stood from their seats and went to hug Lynne and Carlisle while those at the table clapped for them. Danielle squeezed her mother tightly. Lynne hugged her just as tight in return.

"Thank you, mom," she said. "Thank you for everything."

Lynne kissed her temple. "You're welcome, sweetie." She pulled back to place her hands on either side of Danielle's face, her eyes looking a little glassier than normal. "I love you, Dani."

"I love you, too," Danielle said, feeling a lump form in her throat when she saw how emotional her mother was getting. "Now don't cry, otherwise I'm going to cry and we'll both look like a mess!" she said to lighten the mood.

It worked. Lynne laughed and hugged her again. "No tears! Not allowed!" she joked back, which made Danielle laugh along with her.

Dinner commenced shortly after, and after helped themselves to some cake, everyone broke off into groups again to resume socializing. Danielle convinced Jasper to dance with her for a few songs, until Tom came along and asked to cut in, which Jasper had no objection to. She twirled around to the music with Tom for a bit, laughing loudly whenever he did particularly dorky dance moves, until she grew tired of dancing and went to get herself a cup of water. She stood by the food table and chatted with Charlie and her mother for a little while, until she noticed that the Denali's were sitting together at the table by themselves. She hesitated for a moment, then excused herself from her current conversation and went toward them.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, ignoring how nervous she was to approach the vampires that she still didn't really know.

"Please, sit," Kate encouraged with a smile.

Danielle smiled and sat down next to Tanya, who gave her a small, friendly smile. "You must be excited for your wedding," Tanya remarked.

Danielle nodded. "Excited, and a little nervous," she admitted. "Hopefully I won't trip and fall flat on my face in front of everyone," she added with a laugh.

The vampires around her laughed quietly. "I am sure everything will be just fine," Carmen offered.

"Hopefully," Danielle said.

There was a pause, then Eleazar tilted his head to the side. "I do not know if he ever told you, but Jasper came to us after the two of you first met," he revealed. "After the…incident."

He was referring to her first interaction with Jasper, when he had been so taken with hunger that he had grabbed her and nearly hauled her right out of the school. "I didn't know that, actually."

Eleazar nodded. "He was in quite a state," the vampire said. "I had never seen him so affected before." Eleazar looked at her now with what could only be described as amazement. "When we learned that the two of you had become romantically involved, you can imagine that it was quite a shock to us. And I admit there might have been…some concern. But to see him with you now, it almost as if he is immune to you. It is quite remarkable."

Danielle smiled and shrugged. "It hasn't been an easy road, I can tell you that," she said as the vampires listened on with interest. "We…had our struggles. Still have our struggles, if I'm being honest. But we love each other, and we're prepared to do whatever we have to in order to make things work," she said with a firm nod.

The Denali's smiled and nodded in understanding. "You love him very much," Kate stated, giving her a knowing look.

"With all my heart," Danielle said without hesitation, which earned her more smiles from the Denali's.

"I am curious – have you considered becoming one of us?" Carmen asked.

Danielle shifted in her seat at the question. "It's something we're discussing, yes," she answered vaguely. She was not going to tell them that she and Jasper had actually already come to a decision about that. The Cullen's would be hearing about that decision before anyone else would. "As I'm sure you already know, it's not an easy decision to make."

"No, I should imagine not," Tanya agreed.

Jasper appeared behind Danielle in the next moment, though whether it was because he had heard their conversation and wanted to intervene before the Denali's could pry or simply because he had missed Danielle, she couldn't say. "Hello," he greeted, placing a hand on Danielle's shoulder. "Enjoying the evening?" he asked the Denali's.

"Very much so," Eleazar answered. "Everyone is very kind, and I think I speak for us all when I say that Dani is delight," he said, giving Danielle a charming smile. "You have a good one here, Jasper."

Jasper grinned down at her. "Yes, she is. I am very lucky that she picked me."

Danielle reached up to touch his hand. "It wasn't a hard decision to make," she said with a loving smile.

Jasper started to say something else, but something seemed to catch his attention. He froze, his eyes turned toward the patio, his whole body going tense in the blink of an eye. Danielle frowned at the shift in his demeanor and turned to see what had caught his attention. She realized that two more people had just entered the backyard, and though one of them was a stranger that she had never seen before, the other she recognized instantly.

Laurent.

Danielle stiffened at the sight of the nomad who had once traveled with James and Victoria. She looked up at Jasper, who now had a furious expression on his face as he glared at Laurent, before looking to the Denali's, who almost looked a little guilty. It was in that moment that she remembered that Laurent, after abandoned James and Victoria, had gone to Alaska per Carlisle's instructions to meet with Denali's and give the vegetarian lifestyle a shot. She had forgotten about it because she had, more or less, forgotten about Laurent. He must have been with them this whole time, though, because as he came closer with whom she could only assume was Irina, his eyes were not as red as she remembered them being before. Still, that didn't stop her blood from turning to ice at the sight of him.

Irina and Laurent finally reached them. "Jasper," Irina said carefully, inclining her head. He was so busy glaring at Laurent that he didn't seem to notice she had spoken to him. "I see you remember Laurent."

"Hello, Jasper," Laurent greeted once he had reached them. He then looked down at Danielle. "And hello again, Danielle."

Jasper took his hand away from Danielle's shoulder and rounded on Laurent. "You dare to show your face here?" he demanded. His voice was low so as not to draw any attention, but his tone and expression were dangerous. "After what your friends did to my fiancé, you have the nerve to come here and address us as if nothing happened?"

Laurent held his ground. "I understand that we have a complicated history. I thought we had parted on friendly enough terms, however," Laurent said with a frown.

"That was before James and Victoria kidnapped and nearly murdered Danielle and Bella," Jasper countered, taking a confrontational step toward Laurent.

Danielle was out of her seat quickly and placing a hand on Jasper's chest to stop him from getting any closer to the former nomad. Jasper stopped at her touch, but kept his gaze locked on Laurent. His eyes, Danielle noticed, had gone black with anger. "Jasper, calm down. This is not the time or place for a fight," she whispered.

Jasper said nothing in response, just stared at Laurent as he waited for the vampire to say something. "I can see now that I am not wanted here, and I will not burden you with my presence any longer than is necessary. I came to wish you well in your marriage, but now it seems I must attempt to make amends as well," Laurent said after Irina gave him an encouraging nod. "I am sorry for the way things happened. What James and Victoria did was…unfortunate."

"James nearly killed Danielle and Bella," Jasper reminded him. "That is more than just unfortunate."

Laurent nodded in agreement. "Indeed it is," he said. "It was cruel what he did, and know that if there was anything I could have done to stop him, I would have." Laurent paused and looked at her. Jasper growled warningly and angled his body so that he was shielding her, clearly ready to attack if the need should arise. Laurent glanced at Jasper, then looked back to Danielle. "I am sorry, Danielle. I mean that with sincerity," he said, inclining his head. "I am sorry for what he did to you, and to your friend," he said, glancing toward where Bella was.

Danielle followed his gaze and saw that Bella and Edward were standing off to the side with Carlisle and Esme. Bella looked rather frightened at the sight of Laurent, while Esme and Carlisle were watching their interaction with furrowed brows. Edward, on the other hand, looked much like Jasper did – he stood in front of Bella like a sentry, looking angry and ready to strike if Laurent tried to do anything unfriendly. Clearly he also held a grudge against Laurent for what had happened to Bella.

Danielle looked at Laurent again. "I…thank you? For the apology?" she said unsurely, not really knowing what to say. How was one supposed to respond to a vampire apologizing for their former companion attempting to kill them?

Laurent inclined his head again, then looked back to Jasper. "I am relieved that your mate is well," he said. "And I am glad that James has been done away with. The world is better off not having him in it." Laurent took a moment to smile at Irina, before shifting his attention back to them. "I congratulate you on your wedding," he said cordially. "I hope, in the future, that our two covens can continue to work together in harmony. And it is my hope that perhaps, someday, I will able to prove to you that you may trust me."

"I doubt that will happen," Jasper said tersely.

Laurent didn't seem surprised with the response. He just nodded in acceptance, then looked to the Denali's. The rest of the coven stood and moved to stand with Irina and Laurent. "We should take our leave now," Eleazar said, giving Jasper a respectful nod. "I hope that you enjoy the rest of your evening, and we look forward to celebrating with you tomorrow."

Jasper looked at Eleazar for a moment, then turned a glare on Laurent. "In case I have not made it clear enough, your presence will not be welcome at our wedding. I do not want to even catch a glimpse of you tomorrow," he warned.

"I will not attend. You have my word," Laurent said.

Jasper just glared in response. There was an uncomfortable beat of silence, then Eleazar cleared his throat.

"Shall we take our leave?" he asked, directing the question toward his coven.

The rest of the Denali's nodded in agreement, and with that, they turned to leave. Jasper and Danielle just stood there in silence, watching as the Denali's – and Laurent – finally left.

---

Even once the party was over and it was time to start cleaning up, Jasper still wasn't in a good mood. He looked tense and angry as he and Emmett helped take down the tables that had been set up for dinner, and even though Emmett seemed to be trying to joke around and pull Jasper out of his funk, it didn't appear to be working. Danielle sighed quietly to herself as she collected plates to take inside, shaking her head in disappointment. It had been such a wonderful week – why did Laurent have to show up and ruin it all?

"Well, I don't know who that guy was that showed up earlier," Tom said to catch her attention. He was stacking plates as well, but his eyes kept turning in Jasper's direction. "But Jasper must really hate him."

So Tom had noticed the confrontation. Danielle sighed again and shrugged a shoulders. "There's some bad blood between them," she said, which was putting it mildly.

"What happened?" Tom asked.

Danielle gave him a look. "It's a long, complicated story," she said in a tone that made it clear she was not going to go into detail.

Tom nodded in understanding, though she could still see curiosity in his eyes. "Well, if he shows up again, tell Jasper I'm more than happy to help him whip his ass," he offered.

Danielle smiled. "I'll pass the message along."

Tom patted her shoulder, then walked away to take the dishes inside. Danielle resumed stacking plates, her eyes turning toward Jasper every so often. When she could stand it no longer, she finally took her plates and went over to where he and Emmett were.

"Em? Could you take these inside for me?" she asked, extending the plates toward him.

Emmett, who seemed to understand that she wanted to talk to Jasper alone, nodded. "Sure."

Once Emmett was gone, Danielle grabbed Jasper by the hand and started to tug him away from everyone else. He went with her quietly, his brows still furrowed together as he frowned and his shoulders still tense. As soon as they were in a more secluded part of the yard, Danielle gave him a small smile and reached up to try to smooth out the creases his frown had made form in his forehead.

"Keep making that face and you might get wrinkles," she joked to try to make him smile. When Jasper didn't smile, she sighed quietly and decided to try a different approach. "Jazz, please don't be upset," she said gently, grabbing his hands and squeezing them comfortingly.

Jasper heaved through his nose. "I just cannot believe the audacity he had. Showing up here? After what happened in Phoenix?" Jasper shook his head, and she could feel a wave of anger roll off of him. "I should have ripped him to pieces," he growled.

"I get why you're mad. I wasn't happy to see him either," Danielle said. "But, Jazz…it wasn't Laurent that attacked us in Phoenix. He didn't really do anything."

"It doesn't matter," Jasper responded. "As far as I see it, he's guilty by association. I don't care if he has changed, or that he is with the Denali's now. I don't want him anywhere near you, Danielle. Ever."

"Well, I think you made that pretty clear to him," she said patiently. "He's gone now, and I don't think we'll be seeing him again any time soon. So could you just…try to forget about him?" she pleaded. She squeezed his hand and gave him a pleading look. "Be happy, Jazz. We're getting married tomorrow."

Her words finally did the trick. The tension in Jasper's shoulders eased and he gave her a small, one hand lifting to brush her hair back away from her face. "I am happy, darlin'," he said. He sighed, a frown of apology pulling at his lips now. "Forgive me for acting like such a barbarian when Laurent arrived. I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me."

Danielle smiled at him. "It's fine. You don't have to apologize. You were just protecting me." She raised her brows and gave him a mischievous look, taking one step closer. "If I'm being honest, seeing you get all tough was actually kind of…sexy," she said, one hand moving to rest on his chest, her fingers tracing gentle, absentminded patterns on his shirt.

Jasper immediately gave her a look of warning. "Don't look at me like that," he said, his eyes going dark for a different reason entirely now. "My grip on my self-control is precarious enough already."

Danielle just laughed, then leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Sorry, not sorry," she said, which made him huff and shake his head.

Emmett returned after that, his brows raising as he looked between the two of them. "Everything cool now?" he asked.

Jasper looked at Danielle, then nodded. "Yes."

Emmett seemed relieved. "Good, because we've still got a bachelor party to get to and I really wasn't looking forward to you being emo all night." Jasper gave him an annoyed look, which Emmett ignored. "And speaking of the bachelor party, we should get going if you want to get some decent hunting in."

Jasper nodded, then turned his eyes back to Danielle. "He's right. We should probably get going," he said, though he didn't sound like he wanted to leave.

"Go," Danielle encouraged. "We've got everything under control here."

Jasper nodded, and with that, she and Jasper went to find Lynne so he could say goodbye while Emmett went to collect Edward.

After the three departing Cullen's had said their goodbyes to everyone, Danielle went outside with them so she could squeeze in just a few more moments with Jasper. While Emmett and Edward climbed into the car that they would be taking back to the Cullen house before leaving for their hunt, Danielle and Jasper lingered on the porch for as much privacy as they could get. Jasper wasted no time pulling her into his arms and planting a lingering kiss on her lips.

"The next time I see you, we will be getting married," he said, looking like his usual self as he smiled down at her adoringly.

"God, I can't wait," Danielle breathed. "Can we just fast forward to tomorrow?" she then asked hopefully.

Jasper chuckled. "I would if I could."

"I guess I'll just have to be patient then," Danielle said. She smiled, then touched his face gently, her eyes raking over his handsome features. "I love you," she said, even though it as something she told him probably a thousand times a day. "I love you so much, it's almost ridiculous."

Jasper grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. "I love you, too. More than you can ever know."

He kissed her again, holding her close, his lips moving slowly and leisurely as if trying to make the kiss last as long as possible. He finally pulled away when Emmett honked the horn. Danielle and Jasper both sent Emmett an exasperated look, before turning their attention back to each other.

"Have fun tonight," she said. "And don't let Em take you to any strip clubs."

Jasper chuckled. "I won't," he promised. He kissed her one last time, then released her and took a step back. "I will see you tomorrow, darlin'," he said.

Danielle smirked. "I'll be the one in white," she joked.

Jasper grinned, nodded, and then turned to leave. Danielle watched him go, smiling widely and waving when Jasper paused outside the car to wave goodbye. He finally got in the front seat then, with one more honk from Emmett, the three Cullen's left. Danielle watched them go until she could no longer see the car, smiling to herself.

The next time she and Jasper saw each other, they would become husband and wife. Come this time tomorrow, she would married to the love of her life and they would be starting a new chapter of their life together. It was a thought that made her happy beyond words, and nothing – not even Laurent – was going to ruin that.

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Hope this chapter was worth the wait!