My first attempt at a Twilight fan fiction. Please be nice :)

Disclaimer: Twilight, its characters, its story, and its dialogue all belong to Stephenie Meyer.


I waited, absolutely still, for the woman at the hotel's front desk to finish checking us out. She finally handed me back the credit card and our receipt. I deftly thanked her and headed for the stairs. Elevators were too slow. It took me seconds to run up the stairs and back to the room. Upon my entry, I found Alice in the middle of a vision, her hands clenched on the table, Bella beside her.

"Alice!" I exclaimed, quickly going over to remove her hands before the table broke under the strain. She was staring unblinkingly off into space, face blank.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Bella," she replied, turning her face into my chest.

"I'm right here," Bella said. I probed the atmosphere surrounding her. She wasn't alarmed at all. Strange.

"What did you see?" she asked Alice, who had turned back to look at her. I glanced at Bella who was staring at Alice vacantly. The air vibrated with chaotic energy. This befuddled me; why was Bella acting so indifferent? For Alice's sake, I sent a wave of serenity through the room. She seemed to recover herself.

"Nothing, really," she said, forcing calm. I knew better. "Just the same room as before."

There were a few moments of silence. I wondered what could have changed. Alice looked back at Bella, her face expressionless. "Did you want breakfast?"

"No, I'll eat at the airport," she replied. She went into the bathroom and closed the door, almost as if knowing Alice needed me alone.

As soon as the door was shut, Alice started explaining what she'd seen, desperate and anxious.

"It was the ballet studio again, but this time I saw Bella in a pool of blood, the hunter standing over her. How could this happen? What are we doing wrong?" she inquired, frustrated. I looked down at the hideous yellow hotel carpet, brow furrowed.

"Do you think we should tell Carlisle?" I asked her.

"Hmm… I think we should just go to the airport and keep a watch on her until Edward gets here." She didn't seem satisfied with this plan, but what else was there to do?

On the drive, Bella innocently asked how Alice's visions worked. I didn't pay much attention; it's nothing that I haven't heard before. I made sure to keep a steady flow of placidity throughout the vehicle though, just in case Bella started to worry again. I wondered why she wasn't feeling more euphoric; surely the thought of seeing Edward again would trigger that same glorious feeling that always got me smiling.

We arrived at the airport and Bella led the way to the terminal that Edward and Carlisle's plane would be landing in. Alice and I had quite a bit of fun discussing the cities of the departing flights. She noted that she liked Chicago for the nightlife. I laughed and told her it was too windy for my southern blood. She laughed her high tinkling laugh and reminded me I didn't have any blood. Bella sat to the side, not listening. A while later I just waited silently, watching Bella out of the corner of my eye, Alice doing the same. Bella pulled an envelope out of her pocket and set it on Alice's bag.

"My letter," she said. Alice nodded, knowing what it was, and put it into her bag. I disregarded it as Alice asked her once again if she wanted something to eat. She declined.

About a twenty minutes before the plane was due, Bella decided to have some breakfast.

"I think I'll eat now," she said.

Alice stood immediately, ready to accompany her. "I'll come with you."

"Do you mind if Jasper comes instead?" she asked. I glanced surprisingly at Alice. "I'm feeling a little…" She needn't finish the sentence; her eyes told us enough.

I stood and walked silently beside her, steering her slightly with a hand on the small of her back. I tried not to breathe through my nose, as a precaution. Edward would never forgive me if something happened to Bella while she was under my care. She didn't seem interested in any of the cafés we passed. We rounded a corner where a ladies' room presided.

"Do you mind?" she asked me. "I'll just be a moment."

"I'll be right here," I stressed. I took up my place right beside the door, back against the wall. I felt like a secret service man.

As I waited, I thought. What could we have done wrong? Or: what will we do wrong? I silently filed through all the plans and events from the past few days, looking for some clue; something we missed, something we failed to accomplish. After a few minutes, and Bella still hadn't emerged from the restroom, I checked my Rolex. Where was she? I poked my head in the door and searched the air for any emotion from her. I couldn't feel her. I couldn't feel her!

"No!" I snarled, taking a woman washing her hands by surprise as I burst in, slamming the door against the wall. I followed Bella's scent through to the second door at the opposite end of the bathroom, ignoring the woman's scandalized cries. It led me to the elevators; I chose to use the escalators instead. The trail picked back up outside the elevator on the first floor and out the doors to the middle of the road outside. End of the line. I tried to reign in my anger and panic; there would be quite enough of that once Edward arrived.

A minute later, I was back to Alice, who, of course, already knew what had happened.

"She's gone," I muttered to her anyway. Concern and fright emanated off of her. It was two-fold, for I was just as worried about Bella.

"We have to stop her before she gets to that ballet studio," she said. Her head snapped up. "He's coming."

Sure enough, I could already feel Edward's eager restlessness.

"I'll go get a car," Alice said and was gone. Of course, she got an escape from Edward's wrath. That left me to tell him that we'd lost his beloved. This wouldn't be fun.

He came into view then, eyes bright and searching. Carlisle and Emmett were just a few steps behind him. In no time his eyes locked on me. I struggled to keep from thinking about Bella. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows began to knit together on his forehead as he realized she was not with me.

Edward strode right up to me.

"Where is she?" His almost-black eyes bore into mine. Instead of answering out loud, I thought of the bathroom with two doors. He was already there, moving too fast for any human eye to catch. There was no need to follow immediately; I already knew where the trail would take him.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked me as we shadowed at a quick human pace. Emmett went ahead.

"She took advantage of her surroundings," I explained with a sigh. "I can't even imagine why she wants to sacrifice herself for us, of all…" I trailed off. 'People' was the wrong word.

"Bella is a very… selfless person. She probably thinks she has a justified reason for behaving this way," Carlisle said psychiatrically.

We found Edward kneeling at the spot where Bella's scent disappeared. His agony and self-loathing pierced through me like a knife, actually causing me physical pain deep in my chest.

"Why?" he moaned and I flinched from the force of his despair. I attempted to press a wave of calm on him. He wasn't having that.

"STOP IT JASPER!" he snarled.

"Edward," Carlisle soothed, setting a hand on his almost-son's shoulder. "We still have time. We can still save her."

Just then, Alice drove up in a stolen, jet-black Ferrari. In a flash she was out of the car and standing next to Edward.

"We can make it in time if we hurry," she said simply, holding out an envelope. I recognized it as the letter Bella gave her earlier. He took it wordlessly and swiftly read through it. For a moment he was plunged into a deeper depression. But it was almost instantaneously replaced with a fierce determination.

"Let's go."


Thanks for reading, tell me what you think ^_^