From the Ashes of Heartbreak

OS Comp, Love Bites – Jaspers Darlin's

Words: 5486

Pairing: Jasper/Bella

Author: Jac Cullen.

Beta: JaspersDestiny (There are no words, thank you so much!)

JPOV

Summary:

Sometimes things happen for a reason, lives change and we move on. Its comforting to know that from the very ashes of disaster the best thing in your life may be found. A story of what was, of lessons learned, and karma. J/B.

When I started my shift at work, I just wanted the day to be over. I fucking hated Valentine's Day with a passion. Of course, it would be one of those days that never ended. Always the way, really, when you wanted something to be over so much. It never happens quickly. I was the same every year with Valentine's. I would rather it just never existed at all. To sleep through it. To go to sleep on the 13th and wake up and have it be the 15th. But now I was sure that as soon as the Christmas/New Year shit was packed away, the hearts and cupids would come out.

The fire station was covered in hearts; someone's girl thought it was a great way to show her love, but really, what was so great about making the rec room look like a heart threw up in there? There were large red ones, pink ones and lets not forget the smaller shiny ones. The poor, big, brick bastard looked ridiculous. I couldn't understand the need for some people to have one special day to remind them to tell their 'special someone' that they loved them. And I was only too pleased that my own wife was just as happy as I was to skip the entire day. We didn't need a Hallmark-fueled holiday to share how much we loved each other. We shared those words every fucking day.

I was pulled away from my foul thoughts by the bell's alarm sounding. Along with my team of six other firefighters, I made my way downstairs to the truck. A three-alarm fire. This was going to be a bad one, and if we were being called in - search and rescue - I was already talking about ways in and out of this building. Of course, we were often called on and not really utilized at all. If we could account for all the people, we would then take up the chores of a normal truck.

I turned to our lieutenant. "What are we walking into, Peter?" I had known him since my probation days, when he was just a regular guy in my station house. He was good people, and the godfather to my eldest daughter. She loved her Uncle Peter more than me or her mother, of that I was sure. It could have had something to do with the candy she could always find in his jacket pocket when we saw him, which was often. He was married to Charlotte, my wife's best friend. They were more like sisters, really, and they had lived next door to us for a good ten years. In fact, if it wasn't for Peter or Charlotte, Bella would have had Poppy in our kitchen. I was out, in the middle of a call, when she finally went into labor. I made it just in time, soot-covered and all, to witness the birth of my beautiful daughter, who was so much like her mother, it was scary. The same beautiful, red-brown hair that she just had to grow as long as her mother's, and she had the same beautiful, brown eyes that I knew would break hearts when she was older. They were just like Bella's; endless pits of emotion, and I loved to see love and contentment in both sets. There is a photo that I just love to see of me still in uniform, the only clear spot on my face was where my mask had sat, and my very white-looking teeth. My smile was so wide as I held up a very small Poppy for her grandmother to see. It was the second best day of my life. The best day had been marrying my Bella. We started our family that day, with just her and me.

"You'll love this," he said with a chuckle. I looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Some stupid dick on the second floor of this apartment complex covered his apartment in flowers and lit candles, and then went next door to ask an older neighbour to watch his place while he went to pick up his girlfriend from work. Candles were too close to the curtains, and there were so many of them that apparently the place went up in seconds."

"Fucking Valentine's Day, just another thing it is responsible for. Stupid, fucking behaviour." I replied, shaking my head. It was way too funny to me. Of course, I felt bad for the people that lived in that complex, but could you be any more stupid? Any other day, he would of lit two candles on his dining room table, bought one bunch of flowers, said 'I love you', and gotten the same reaction from his girl, of that I was sure.

"I knew you would enjoy that one, Jasper," Peter chuckled.

I couldn't hold the laughter in and I shook my head. "How stupid were you this morning?"

"One red rose was enough for me to get some before Harry came barrelling in the door," he replied. At least he wasn't stupid about it. "And I know you got some without the red rose, just because it's a normal day. You two make the rest of us sick."

I chuckled again. "I didn't say a word." I held my hands up defensively.

I loved my wife. I needed no special day. To me and her, every day was special, and we treated it as such. Some days I would come home to find the kids next door and a romantic dinner all set up for just the two of us. No reason needed. Or, I would walk past a store and see something that made me think of her. The best ones were things we did without much thought. The songs I would croon to her, or the stories she would dedicate to me and the girls. We just made sure that our love was always first, that we never left the house without knowing how strong it was. Even when I was in the dog house, she would stop me and tell me she loved me more than anything in her world before I walked out that door to start my shift. It was just the way we were. She would never doubt how much I loved her. I would never give her a reason to.

Of course, the guys at the station house thought I was a big softy. And I would always give them death glares and tell them only with my girls, and they knew it, too. I had kicked a few of their asses. My current probie, Emmett, had nearly died when he had caught me in the shower. I was covered in scars across my torso, upper arms, and onto my neck. I had had a few close calls over the years. Bella told me they were badges of honor and to wear them proudly. She told me that they showed that I survived and came home to her. I wasn't the only guy to end up with scars, but it was a lot for a fresh-faced, headstrong probie to take into account. It showed a real threat for the first time. That we had to be strong-ass men to do this shit day in and day out. I had taken him home with me that night as he confessed his fears for the first time. Bella, as always, had managed to comfort him and make him feel better, and he, too, had become a fixture in our house. He was like our larger, younger brother. He was a good guy. He had this way of keeping his girl, Rosie, in line, too, and that made all our lives just that little bit easier. Mind you, we like to tease the living shit out of her and call her a cougar any chance we get. But, Emmett loves her and he doesn't care about a little age difference, though he knows that means no children for him, but he is okay with that, and he regularly tells my girls they will have to look after him when he is too old to do it himself. Poppy usually rolls her eyes at him and scoffs. She is so like me that way.

Our arrival on-scene showed the second and top floors of the building were already an inferno, and it wouldn't be long before the first floor was involved as well. The chief on-scene barked orders at us.

"Rescue company, get in. I need a clean sweep of the place. We have hoses set to go." We all nodded and picked up our tools and set out in a grid pattern to sweep the building. It was done fairly quickly and we were lucky. All tenants were out and accounted for. We blew through the front door and reported back to Peter, where we were all accounted for and redistributed to the other companies. I had medic training and was left to deal with a few tenants that had some minor issues until EMT turned up, as well as a fellow brother that had some minor heat burns to his cheek. I dragged Emmett with me, as he wanted to fulfill the role that I did on his own engine some day.

"Hey, there. I'm Jasper. What seems to be the problem?" I asked an older woman, who someone had gotten a camper chair for. She couldn't really speak to me, her breathing labored. "Are you having trouble breathing?" She nodded. "I will start some oxygen for you ma'am. EMT will be here shortly, you just let me know straight away if this doesn't help much, and I will get them on the radio." She nodded her understanding as I set up a mask for her. "Do you have someone that can sit with you?" She nodded and a very short woman stepped forward. I didn't look up.

"Mrs. H," she said. "Are you okay?" Her voice was someone's I didn't want to admit I was hearing. "What happened?" she added.

I shrugged. But the deep voice that answered the question was unmistakable. The rat bastard. "It was my fault," he admitted. And I recalled Peter's story, how typical of Edward. The grand gesture he was so fond of, that women always fell for, but he rarely meant. I bit back a laugh. He went on to explain how the fire started and that they had lost everything. I looked up at this point to do a quick set of OBs on Mrs. H for the EMT.

I heard the intake of breath. "Jasper?" asked Alice.

"Alice," I tersely replied. Not looking at her, but recording my OBs on Mrs. H's chart.

"How are you?" she asked.

I looked up to see Edward looking on, perhaps wondering the answer to that question. "Good, you?" Stupid question, really. "Don't answer that, I can guess."

"You're, you're married!" I guess she spied my ring. I never took it off. If I was going to lose my life in a fire, I wanted that ring on.

"Going on twelve years," I said with a smile. "You?"

She shook her head, and I couldn't help but feel a little smug. I looked at Edward. "Um, we have only recently gotten back together," he explained. I raised an eyebrow in response. Bella would love this story.

"Kids?" he asked.

I nodded. "Two girls. Poppy is nine and Amy is five." I flipped open my wallet to show them the family photo I kept there. I knew they would both recognize my wife.

"Oh, my God, is that?" they both said at the same time.

"Sure is," and I smiled. I should probably thank them, but I wouldn't.

"How?" asked Edward, a little shell-shocked. Yeah, pretty boy, I got her.

"Oh, we crossed paths a few months before we officially met. Rosalie and Bella are very good friends. Rose is Bella's editor," I said with a shrug. My sister loved Bella. She had been her project when they had first met - fix the heartbroken girl. In the end, it had not taken much. Rose got her angry and that was that. It was quite the night when we shared stories of our past and worked out that our exes had each been the reason for our own heartbreak. I would never understand how stupid Edward was to let Bella go. But, I was pleased.

"She writes?" questioned Edward. He must of lived under a rock.

"Yep, she sure does. Her vampire series is so huge with teens they have been making them into movies. The second one has just come out," I said proudly. "But, she also pens childrens books, The Happy Sisters series. Little girls love the stories. And, well, our girls are just loving having an entire series written about the silly things they get up to with their mother." I was amazed at how easily I was speaking to the pair of them. For so long I had wanted to take Edward's head off and hand it to him. First, for everything he did with Alice, then for what he did to Bella, and now I can look at him and be beyond it all. Would they ever be forgiven? No way. But, I could already tell my life was ten times better than theirs would be. It made me wonder if either of them thought it was worth it.

"Isabella Whitlock is Bella..." Edward was almost talking to himself.

"Oh, my God! I've read those books and seen those movies," squealed Alice. "That's unbelievable." I nodded. I knew.

"And the nurses read The Happy Sisters books in the children's ward all the time..." He still seemed to be talking to himself. "Especially the 'hospital visit' one, it's crafted so well."

"She will be pleased to hear that," I said proudly. "It was written after Poppy's appendix burst. She was so very impressed with the children's hospital and the way they help the kids and parents feel just a little bit better. She donates all the sales of that book back to the hospital."

"What about you?" I asked.

"Oh, still the receptionist at Vogue," she said with a shrug. So, still got nowhere. It shouldn't make me happy, but this was karma. "No husbands, no kids."

I looked to Edward. "Oh, um, doctor, divorced, and a two year old son who is with his mother. I don't see him." Nice, I thought to myself sarcastically.

"Sorry, I can't imagine not seeing my kids. I'm a pretty hands-on father, I guess." Christ, what had Bella ever seen in this ass? In fact, I couldn't imagine her putting up with his attitude at all. We had always said that no matter what happened between us, the kids would always come first. We were realistic about relationships - with our history you had to be. I would never just be a weekend father, and she knew that. I didn't think much of men that were. But, we worked hard at our relationship and it always paid off. I couldn't imagine my life without her, either. We were all about each other and our family. Nothing was as important to me as those girls. I didn't really know what to say to them after that. It was clear we had nothing in common, which wasn't all that surprising. And my desire to shoot the shit with them was non-existent. They now knew we had moved on with our lives and were happy; the happiest I had never been.

"Probie," I hollered at Emmett, and then put the call over the radio for an ETA on the medics while he made his way over to me. "Can you stay with Mrs. H here while I check on Garrett's cheek?"

"Sure. James from 52 just came out. He has a fairly decent burn to the back of his hand, he lost his glove." I nodded at him. "And, Garrett is doing okay. He is going to have one hell of a blister on that cheek. Kate is going to kill him," Emmett snickered. Garrett was getting married in just three weeks. I chuckled as I heard Garrett groan. Yep, he knew once she got over being so pleased he was still alive, she was going to kill him.

I moved over to Garrett and slapped his back. "She will get over it. Rose tells me they do amazing things with airbrushes these days."

"Thanks, Whitlock, that's real helpful of ya," he replied while I looked at it and gave him a quick rinse with saline.

When I looked over at James, I was concerned. He was without his jacket and he had the shakes. "James, talk to me?" I took off my jacket and put it around him. He was going into shock.

"You would think a vet would know better, but that damn glove got caught in the hose," he said quietly, his voice shaky.

I worked on rinsing the site - he had a good third-degree burn there. I would be guessing he would be spending tonight in an OR to clean it up. "It happens to us all, James." He nodded. James had saved me the night I had gotten stuck. Without him, I would have died that night. "Hey, a few scars is nothing, and p.s., the chicks dig them."

He chuckled at me, which was a good sign he was calming down. "Argh...see, not all of us have your wife, Whit. She would think you were sexy if you wore glasses and had no manly muscles at all."

I laughed. "Knowing Bella, you're probably right." I looked up to an EMT rushing to the scene. "Bus is here, man. We will see you tomorrow. Bella will no doubt have cookies for you by the afternoon."

He smiled at me and nodded. He looked at me, wanting to say so much more. "I know, James." The brotherhood was sometimes very emotional. We were closer than family. We saved each other, looked out for each other, and much of the time there were no words. The work we did was hard, and we were all proud men. But, it was dangerous, and on the days it beat you, you were emotional. We had all been there - or would be - during our careers. You learned to read the signs and handle it with dignity, knowing that's how you would want your turn handled, too. I handed off Garrett and James to their medic and moved back to Mrs. H.

Now, you would think having a doctor stand beside you - the very dumb ass doctor that caused all this - would mean he was watching out. Not even close. He wasn't even paying attention. It was just classic Edward from what Bella had told me. 'I am better than the world' response, really. I asked Emmett to hand over the patient; he was doing well. He was calm and cool. Collected. He would do well in this position. He had a bright personality, which was good for maintaining the calm on a scene like this, especially if the injuries were worse. This was good compared to what I had seen.

I sat at the back of the truck finishing up my on-site paperwork. It just made life easier when back at the station, otherwise I forgot things. It was quite noisy at the back of the truck as a pump, or something, kicked on, so I didn't notice someone join me until her hand was on my shoulder. I looked over, knowing it was Alice.

"You can't really be back here, Alice." I hoped she would take the hint and leave.

"What happened to you, Jasper?" I was about to answer, when I noticed her eyes. My scars were visible in my company tee.

"Wrong place, wrong time. Ten years ago, on the job." I shrugged.

"Jesus Christ, they're horrible..." Well, thanks, Alice. That makes me feel great. I gave her a look. "Sorry. God, how does Bella let you come back to work like this?"

Huh? "It's part of who I am, Alice. Always has been, always will be. Bella knows this. She accepts me for me. Sure, she is scared and she worries, but we figure anything can happen, anywhere at anytime. Life is too short to sweat this type of stuff." Why was I defending our life to her? She didn't matter. Bella would never demand that I quit my job for her. Like I wouldn't ask her, too. Bella helped a lot of new wives or girlfriends get used to the worry and danger. I once asked her what she would do if something did happen to me, and she told me she would try not to curl into a ball and die for our kids, but that she would also teach them to be proud of me, telling them that I died doing something important that probably saved lives. She then reminded me she had lived with this type of fear her whole life - her father was Seattle's chief of police. We knew the threat was real, but you couldn't worry about it every day for the rest of your life, either.

"You're happy, aren't you?" she whispered, looking down at me slightly. Alice was about as tall as I was sitting down.

"Very, Alice. We have had fourteen years together, and twelve of those years in an extremely good marriage. I have no doubt that we are forever. It's been like that from the start." I didn't want to rub it in because, clearly, Alice was far from happy with her life. But, it wasn't my problem.

"That's good, Jasper. I guess I should go and work out what Edward and I are doing now that we have no place to live." She sighed, taking one last look at me before walking away. Fucking Valentine's Day, I swear.

I sat in the back of the truck with the boys on the way back, and left Peter to whatever he was doing.

"Who was the chick, Whit?" asked Emmett.

"Have Bella or I ever told you the story of how we met?" I asked.

He nodded. "Your sister set you up?"

"Yes, she did, but we actually met before that night." It kind of made me smile.

"I had been on a basic training course. I was so ready to join a station house and be a probie that I didn't care what I had to do. I wanted to fight fire, and soon. That girl - Alice - had called and said she was running an errand for her boss and I could meet her at a downtown hotel where we could have dinner if I wanted. I agreed and entered the bar of a hotel. My eyes had been immediately drawn to the young woman at the end of the bar. I sat close to her, just leaving one stool between us. She looked so sad, but, my God, she was beautiful. I had never seen anyone like that before. Her long hair was something I just wanted to wrap my hand in, it looked so silky-soft, and those lips just begged for kissing. It was easy to see she was waiting for someone, someone that was late, I would guess."

"Are you okay?" I asked. I had to check and find out.

"I guess. My boyfriend should have been here an hour ago. Sorry," she whispered.

"Jasper," I offered, holding out my hand.

"Bella," she replied, shaking my hand, and I was impressed with how she shook a hand. She was a girl that was used to working in a man's world, you could just tell. But, the shock that ran up my arm from her touch was something else. I felt so protective of her. She looked like she was ready to break; though, I didn't think she would, well, not in public anyway.

"It was nice to meet you, Jasper, but I think I will go upstairs," she said softly.

I couldn't let her go. "Let me walk you," I replied, and she picked up her bags. Poor girl had not even been up to her room yet. She had waited for her terrible boyfriend first. It was clear he was a grade-A dick from the start.

Had I known what walking a pretty girl up to her room would do, I would have never done it. Oh, who am I kidding? I so would have. It lead me to where I was right now. And that was married to that beautiful girl.

We got to her door and she turned to thank me for walking her up. I was just walking away from her when I heard her scream and I whipped around so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.

"What the hell is this?" she screamed into the doorway. When I got there, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was my Alice, naked as the day she was born, straddling a man. They had clearly been in the throws of passion not seconds before. Candles and hearts and roses covered the room.

"Yes, Alice, what the hell is this?" I asked from over the top of Bella's head - she was so short compared to me. She fit just perfectly under my chin. It's my favourite spot for her to stand. I can wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on her head. I almost cover her with myself. I fucking love it. I looked at Bella, and she looked at me, silently communicating, 'Is that one yours?'

Bella didn't wait for an explanation. She turned on her heel and yelled, "Fuck you, Edward Cullen! I fucking hate Valentine's Day," and left. I couldn't have agreed with her more.

"Tell me you followed her?" asked Emmett, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Of course, I did," I said with a chuckle. "By the time I got downstairs, she was back at the bar ordering a whole bottle of vodka. We proceeded to get very drunk that night. I have no idea how we got home. But, I woke up in my bed the next day without Bella and I had perfect recollection of what had happened. I met Bella again four months later and, well, you know how that turned out," I finished.

"So, what happened after it all?" he asked.

"Never saw either of them again, until tonight," I added at the end.

"Edward was there, as well?" he asked amazed.

I nodded. "The crazy bedhead guy. He was the fucker that started the fire in the first place."

Emmett's laughter filled the truck. It was infectious. "That is priceless."

"I like to think of it as karma," I replied with a chuckle. "As for your question, apparently they only just got back together. Edward is divorceed and he is the father of one child he no longer has anything to do with."

"Cold," said Emmett, looking disgusted. I couldn't blame him. I was, too. "Christ, I can't imagine your Bella with someone like that."

"Me, either," I replied, looking out the window.

"No wonder you both hate this holiday," he mused, looking at me. I nodded. "You know, you should celebrate. If you guys had never caught them, you would have never known and you would be where you are right now. And that, my friend, would be a tragedy."

I looked at him for a second. "You're wise for your years, Emmett," I chuckled at him. Maybe it was time to let the hate go. He was probably right. If tonight had shown me anything, it was that what I had meant the world to me. And, it was a whole lot more than some other people got to enjoy. It made me feel a little smug overall, really. I got the feeling that Alice and Edward expected that we would be pining away for them. And that thought alone just made me laugh.

It was after midnight before my shift ended. Peter and I were riding together when I asked him to stop. I walked into the gas station and picked out one red rose and two pink ones, paid, and got back in the car.

"What are you doing?" he asked, amused.

I shrugged. "Been missing my girls today."

"Well, I guess it's officially the fifteenth," he said, shaking his head at me. "What made you miss them more today?"

"Oh, ran into a few people - two, in fact - who just reminded me of what I have waiting for me at home every day, and I wanted them to know they mean the world to me." I smiled at Peter.

"You know, you Whitlocks are a breed of your own." I laughed at that and he punched me. We bid each other a good night at the gate and I silently let myself into the house.

I walked into Poppy's room first. She slept just like her mother. Thank God she wasn't as stubborn as her mother. She was stomach down, hair everywhere, taking over the whole bed, and I chuckled at the sight. I moved her hair out of her face and kissed her cheek quickly. I didn't want to wake her, so I placed her rose on her bedside table.

Amy was a little trickier. She would wake at the slightest touch. She was like me that way. Although she, too, looked a lot like Bella and her sister, she had my ice blue eyes. I got up close to her, without touching her, and whispered, "I love you," in her ear, and I left her rose in the same place I left Poppy's. They were girly girls and they would think it was wonderful in the morning, which made me smile like a fool. See, the small things you do mean more than burning down your entire apartment. What a dick.

After dumping my clothes in the hamper, I climbed into bed next to the beauty I got to call mine and I nuzzled into her neck, bringing her against my chest. I ran the rose up and down the exposed flesh on her arm while biting at her neck.

"Jas," she moaned.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Well, anyone else climbing into our bed would be cause for alarm, but I can smell you. You smell like fire. It reminds me of winter snuggles near the fireplace," she cooed at me.

"Hmm, winter snuggles are my favourite kind. Especially when the kids are next door." She giggled and agreed and then reminded me they were asleep.

We talked for a while and I filled her in on my night, and my selfless wife shocked the hell out of me when she laughed so hard she cried over how the fire had started and who was responsible.

"Well, that's karma for you," she stated, and I chuckled with her. She didn't seem interested in what either of them had done with their lives and I didn't share that I knew. I did share Emmett's words of wisdom with her about Valentine's Day being one we should celebrate for a completely different reason than the day required because without that day, I wouldn't have her. And, in my book, that wasn't okay on a whole other level.

I made love to my wife that night, full of words and actions that told her how much I loved only her, and I hoped beyond hope that maybe our third little miracle would be on the way. We had left that one up to fate, and so far fate had decided two was enough for us. But, I did long for another, I had to admit.

I went to sleep curled around my wife, my head full of happy memories, my heart full of love. I was thrilled by the fact that from the ashes of heartbreak, good things grew into something better than I could have ever expected. Maybe I would have to thank them for it after all.

this was my entry for the jaspers darlins love bites comp. Thanks girls it was fun. If you haven't seen their blog check it out. You find lots of interesting rec'ed things to read. They do a fantastic job.

Thanks to the people that commented on my O/S while it was up under the comp page, I appreciate the time you took to write the comments, I read them all. Thankyou.

One of the comments asked for this to be turned into a longer story, the idea intrigues me, but... their life is the fairytale kind. The happily ever after... not that bad things ever happened to them, they did...but I don't know if their life would make an interesting enough story. But thought that parts of it could, so im going to add in five or six maybe single o/s of parts of their lives. I'm nearly finished the first one.

Jaspers destiny beta'ed my o/s, she made it readable. Thanks chica you r fantastic.

If someone would like to beta my other one shots stick your hand up, im looking and I don't want to overwhelm JaspersDestiny because she is already working really hard on something else for me. As I said she is awesome! But I feel bad asking her to do more, because I suck with the punctuation which makes it a big job.

Finally I have a big Jasper/Bella story coming. Its over half done and getting beta'ed as we speak...:) look out for it

jac cullen