Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all. I just want to play with Jasper in the citrus groves and see how creative I can be with my swearing.

Rated M for a reason, it's not all as fluffy as it looks and could turn on you at any moment . . . . you have been warned!

Chpt 1 Boomerang

JPOV

I hate LA, the fucking sun is always shining. I enjoy the warmth but being stuck indoors all day is depressin'. Fuckin' Pete and his 'feelings'.

"We should take a vacation to LA. The nightlife is awesome and there is scum on every corner. You need to get out Jasper, you're turning into a stereotype of a brooding vampire and frankly I can have a more interestin' conversation with my dick than I can with you at the moment."

Fucker.

I don't regret for one second moving back in with Pete and Char, they are and always have been my real family. Partly because they are the only vampires I've sired I haven't destroyed but mainly because for some fucked up reason they cared enough about me to rescue me from Maria. It's a positive emotional climate, they find something to enjoy in every day of their immortal existence, even if the lust does get a bit overwhelmin' after a while.

My life has been slowly getting back on track. I've even done a couple of correspondence courses which satisfied my thirst for knowledge without putting any pressure on my thirst for blood.

Then sheturns up. I need a visit from the ex-wife like I need a hole in the head. I don't understand what she wanted. Still I learnt a few things. I hate being called Jazz. I like the way I dress, for that matter I like the way Pete and Char dress. I don't find her attractive anymore. Praise for maintaining my vegetarian lifestyle is fuckin' patronising and I don't give a flying fuck what the Cullens have been up to.

If there was a point to her sudden re-appearance in my life we never got there. Pete said I was less than hospitable, not that he minded, he can't stand her. I ought to be more worried, Alice's life is ruled by her visions, she would have come for a reason but I can't summon up the enthusiasm to care. She'll turn up again if it's important.

I've been in a shit mood ever since, re-hashing that part of my past.

I neverapproved of that stupid human being involved in our lives. Edward had completely taken leave of his senses and I was appalled that Carlisle allowed it. I had never fit comfortably with the Cullens and although I revelled in the peace their lifestyle brought me I was only really there for Alice. It shocked me how little the Cullens appreciated how 'normal' vampires live and behave. Yes they meet others often enough but like Edward's mind reading abilities their interactions are always superficial. Unlike most vampires they have never really lived in covens, been nomadic or fought wars for territory. They are actually more innocent and naïve in our world than they believed that human to be in hers.

I will always be sorry for trying to take a bite out of Edward's delicate little girlfriend on her birthday but for fuck's sake, I'm a vampire and he threw her into a pile of glass, I'm still surprised I was the only one.

I had learnt to deal with their feelings over the years but nothing prepared me for their reaction to that slip and Edward's decision to leave Bella. We hadn't been in Alaska very long before their anger and disappointment drove me from the house and I started spending as much time as possible out in the frozen wastes where only my own emotions could attack me. Even after Edward left I stayed away as much as I could. No one tried to stop me.

This carried on for a month or so until on one trip back for a shower and clean clothes I found Alice waiting for me in the yard. She didn't look pleased to see me.

"I can't do this anymore Jazz" she said, not looking me in the eye. "I can't look out for you any more."

"Alice, I . . "

"Don't. We always knew we wouldn't be together forever, that we weren't mates. We had fun but it's not fun anymore. I have seen my future and you're not in it, I'll always love you but I'm not in love with you. It's time." She hefts a holdall and hands it to me. "I've packed you some clothes and shipped the rest of your stuff to Peter and Charlotte. Goodbye Jasper."

I couldn't disagree with anything she said but somehow I thought there would be more to our eventual parting than a few trite words and a holdall full of useless suits. Bitch.

The human and I had that much in common, neither of us belonged with the Cullens.

Finally. It was dark enough for me to head out.

Peter's voice follows me out the door of our rented house. "About time asshole, you're projecting and I don't know whether to cry, shit myself or chew the furniture!"

With a mirthless laugh I head out of town looking for something tasty. Vegetarians get the shitty end of the stick every time, humans get lousy salads in steakhouses and vampires have to travel miles to avoid the meat course.

Satisfied at last I stroll home through the busy streets, the air is warm against my skin and the emotions swirling around this Friday night are a pleasant cocktail. I have one thing to thank the Cullens for, whether they realise it or not they finally helped me get control of my bloodlust. Not that the scents of so many excited humans wasn't making venom pool in my mouth, I am a vampire and human blood will always be nectar to me.

Passing through a business district I get hit by a pure wave of terror, interwoven with lust and anticipation. The jarring emotions draw me in, I shouldn't interfere but I'm still a southern gentleman at heart. The erratic breeze brings the scent of two men in the alley behind the shop and I can hear them taunting a terrified woman. Silently I creep around the building ready to size up the situation and scare the perpetrators into leading a better life. A car screeches to a stop on the street and two sets of running feet head around the building in opposite directions. Quickly I hop up onto the roof and drop into a crouch out of sight in time to watch a huge cop barrel past beneath me.

Hearing him approach would-be rapist one makes a break to the left and the cop takes off after him. Would-be rapist two is a little slow on the uptake and is still trying to subdue their intended victim when the second cop rounds the back of the building. Intrigued I creep closer to the edge so I can see what's happening.

Looking down I see a petite brunette curled into a ball by the chain link fence, sobbing quietly. The other cop is turned away from me and has would-be rapist number two pinned to the floor, projecting feelings of deep satisfaction while applying the cuffs.

The breeze picks up again, bringing a familiar scent which jerks me to my feet and the edge of the roof.

"Bella Swan."

I must have said it out loud because two sets of startled eyes and the barrel of a service revolver are immediately fixed on me. Although the gun can't hurt me it does reawaken my sense of self preservation, I bring my hands up acting as peaceable as possible and back slowly into the shadows before turning tail and launching myself off the roof and into the night.

BPOV

Fan-fucking-tastic.

I cannot remember the last time I was this pissed as I bang my locker shut.

My first ever arrest and who is stood there watching me, a fucking Cullen!

What a mind fuck. One minute I'm wrestling a sweaty drug addict in the dirt and the next I'm looking up at a sexy golden cowboy standing on the top of the roof like a Marlboro Man billboard. Thank god I didn't shoot him that would have taken some major explaining. At least the victim was so out of it I managed to convince her she didn't see him and no one else paid any mind to her ramblings about angels in cowboy hats.

"What's wrong Bells?" A familiar voice asks.

Joel is my partner, he's been with the LAPD for five years and is well on the way to becoming a good friend now that I've persuaded him I'm never gonna sleep with him. He reminds me of the Quileutes, being 6'6" with russet skin, dark hair and built like a brick out house.

"Hey Joel, sorry, lost in thought." I smile up at him wondering why all my friends have to be so damn tall.

"Thought you'd be on cloud nine after your first arrest?"

"I am, just reliving it, that's all."

He laughs, patting me on the back hard enough to make me take an involuntary step forwards. "You did good Bells, ready for a beer?"

"Hell yes!"

JPOV

I get back to the house to find Pete and Char sitting on the couch together wearing matching patient expressions.

"Bout time J, get changed so we can get out and sample the night life."

Ten minutes later I come out of my room unsurprised to find them both in exactly the same positions I left them in.

"Funny," Pete comments casually "I thought a shower would wipe that surprised expression off your face but it's still there. What ya been hunting, Aardvarks?"

"I saw Bella Swan."

"Edward's little human?" Char asks incredulously.

"One and the same." I answer, filling them in on the night's events.

"She's a cop?" Char is sceptical. "She sounded more like the librarian type to me."

"Yep, she used to be a timid little thing but she was gonna fuckin' shoot me till she realised who I was." I didn't intend them to, but the words came out sounding a little indignant and hurt.

Which makes Pete and Char roar with laughter.

When the fucker stops chuckling he announces he knows the perfect bar and shoos Char and I out the door.

The uninspiringly named 'Brad's Place' is indeed a great bar. The music is thumping and the patrons are emitting warm happy, slightly drunken, vibes as we wrestle our way to a table in back.

While we wait for our drinks I scan the bar, the décor immediately grabs my attention. The walls are covered in uniforms, caps, shields and photographs.

"A cop's bar Pete?" I ask suspiciously.

"I'm curious man," he shrugs unapologetically "that little human's almost famous. I wanna see her for myself."

Sighing I lean back into my chair. I know Pete had one of his feelings before dragging me and Char to LA and now I'm starting to wonder if it had anything to do with her. "Did you have to involve me in your little curiosity safari Pete?"

"Aw come on J," he responds patting my knee like I'm a fuckin' child. "The past is like a boomerang, no matter how hard you chuck it away it keeps coming back until you deal with it. Besides, ain't you even a little bit curious?"

That cryptic shit is really annoying so I lapse into a petulant silence while Pete and Char scan the crowd.

Scents are quite hard to distinguish in packed sweaty rooms so we'd been there a while before Bella's freesia scent registers in my brain.

"She's here."

Pete and Char jump up excitedly their heads rotating like meerkats. Reluctantly I join them, superior height allowing me to scan the room easily.

I spot her in the middle of the dance floor and take a minute to study her properly. She's still about 5' 4" with the same long chestnut hair and expressive brown eyes, the full pouty lips are new though. The red strapless top that moulds to her curves sets off her creamy smooth shoulders and long graceful neck. Her skinny hipsters show off her well toned abs and long shapely legs. Her ass is round and firm and like her breasts the perfect size for my hands. She's weaving sinuously around the huge cop from earlier, as lithe as a panther and about as sexy a sight as I've ever seen. A part of my brain that isn't blathering on like a sex starved idiot registers that my mouth is hanging open while another raises my hand and points her out to Pete and Char.

"That's Bella Swan?" Pete asks incredulously.

I nod dumbly.

"Fuck me, Eddie's got bigger balls than I thought." He whispers, awestruck.

"She's, um, matured some."

"No shit." Char drawls, eyeing Bella speculatively.