A/N: These first few chapters are just flying out of my brain, and I have very little impulse control so here is the next chapter. This doesn't happen often, so don't expect swift chapters to be the norm. Apparently, my muse likes to wait until I have school work that I need to get done and then it works.

I hope you are still enjoying the pacing of the story, this chapter is more insight into Bella's life and the end has a nice lemony goodness for you all. If you don't like lemons, don't read the very end.
Peace, Love, and Slyther,
Gimi aka Jess

Walking back into the house, there seemed to be chaos coming from the kitchen table.

"What happened to meek little Bella, Jazz?"

"Meek? Bella is not submissive. Maybe when you knew her," Elena bit out, angry at the way Emmett had talked about her friend.

"Bella was never violent before," Rosalie pointed out, she could see that her husband was confused even further by Bella, a girl he thought he had known.

"What do you think Rosie? Bella has had a hard year, what I told you, that wasn't even half of what she had been through." Jasper said over the pounding of the hammer. He and Stefan were putting up the last board over the hole when a cleared throat quieted the kitchen. In the door of the kitchen stood Damon and Bella holding hands.

"What did you tell them Jazzy," Bella asked quietly.

"Only about when I came back Darlin'," Jasper answered softly.

Bella couldn't help the tears that sprang to her eyes. Damon pulled her into his side, kissing the side of her temple as she willed herself to stay in control. Even though she was over the brunt of the pain, thinking of that time of her life was hard. When she had lost herself in the darkness of her emotions.

"Bella," Emmett said, stepping forward slowly. It hurt him more than he thought possible to see her upset over what happened. "Bella, I'm so sorry I left you behind. You have to believe me, you're like my baby sister."

Bella moved away from Damon's side and shook her head, "No Emmett, I'm not like your sister." The tears in her eyes made their way down her cheeks, "We aren't family, I know that now. I don't blame you for leaving. Hell, I have forgiven you a long time ago for it, but don't call me sister."

"Bella-"

"No," Bella's voice wavered slightly, "No, I forgive you for leaving me, but don't call me a sister. You don't leave your family behind. You fight for them! You care for them! You don't go running away." Bella took a deep breath as Damon moved her back to his side, holding her tight. Stefan and Jasper all took a step towards her, and she shook her head again, wiping her face with her free hand, "Can we not talk about that? I… it… It's been a long day, I don't think I can handle another fight right now."

"Sure Darlin'," Jasper said with a small smile at his sister, "Do you want to sit for a while or would you rather Em and Rose leave?"

Bella shook her head again, "No Jazz, it's fine. I just need another moment. Go visit, and I'll get changed. I'll be down in a bit." Giving Damon a quick kiss, she headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Caroline following her.

Jasper sighed as he ushered everyone back into the living room. Damon walking over to the cabinet and pouring three tumblers of his drink of choice, bourbon. Handing one to Ric and the other to Stefan, he downed his and poured another.

Turning to the cold ones in the room he said, "Sorry, I'd offer you a drink, but seeing as I want to rip your family apart and you don't drink, I didn't think it mattered."

Suddenly from the room above, Taylor Swift began to play, and the vampires in the living room wince at the loudness of it. Stefan starts to chuckle as Damon groaned, "Allie! Turn off that shit!"

"Shake it off Damon!" Caroline shouts as she heads down the stairs. As she walks into the living room, she says, "You know she needs it, it helps her calm down."

"I know, but…"

"No buts," Elena said as the music died, "It's better than Nine Inch Nails. That only made it worse."

"I should find this girl and put myself out of misery," Damon grumbled as he took another drink of his glass.

Caroline laughed as she sat on the couch, putting her feet on Jasper's lap and he pulled her close, kissing her on the cheek. Rose smiled at the look of ease on her brother's face. In the sixty plus years she had known Jasper, he was never completely comfortable. She could tell that the girl Elena was human, and that didn't seem to bother Jasper in the least.

Caroline caught Rosalie's golden eye and gave her a tight smile, "I'm Caroline Forbes, I don't think we've been introduced."

"Caroline, this is Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen," Jasper said with a small smile, "Rose and I played the role of twins for many years."

"Rose, Em. This is Ric, Stefan, and his girlfriend Elena and Damon, Bella's boyfriend." Jasper formally introduced everyone as the music died upstairs.

"Thank God," Damon muttered as Elena laughed. Damon just shrugged and walked to the stairs waiting for Bella.

"I think Jazz has mentioned you two before," Caroline said, her smile becoming genuine, "I mean, not much. But he has told me you two were fun."

Jasper snorted, "I don't think fun is the word to use for Rose, but she has her moments."

Damon came back into the room with Bella, bringing her over to an oversized chair and pulling her into his lap. Rosalie noticed how Damon always had to touch Bella, it reminded her how she and Emmett were.

"Uh, how are you Bella," Rosalie asked politely. Emmett gave her an astounded look which she pointedly ignored. She had decided this girl was family; she was going to try to get to know her.

"Um, I'm good Rosalie," Bella answered confused.

"Look, Bella," Rosalie started, "I know we didn't get along before. I certainly didn't want you with Edward because I knew it would be bad for not only you but us as well." Rosalie ignored the growl coming from Emmett, "I am sorry for my role in what happened to you last year. I never wanted anything bad to happen to you, I was trying to protect my family."

Bella nodded, "I understand that Rosalie. I do, and I was never mad at you for leaving. You certainly never made it unclear what you thought of my relationship with Edward. I admire that you stuck with your gut. I also know that Emmett left because you did. I know how mates work, Jasper filled me in. That is how I know I was never Edward's mate. He would never have been able to leave me, not for an extended period and not the way he did it. He shattered my heart, that should have been enough to have him stay if he was indeed mated to me." Damon took another swig of his drink to stop him from throwing the tumbler at the blonde's mate. "I meant what I said to Edward, our four-month relationship was not enough to have a claim on me. I wasn't upset that we broke up… Okay, that's a lie, I was devastated that we broke up, but I was mourning the family that left me more than the guy."

Bella's eyes began to tear again, and Jasper got up and sat down on the arm of the chair to hold her hand, sending her a bit of calm so she could get this part out, "Look, I love my mom and dad. Renee and Charlie are the best parents that they could be, but a part of me has always wanted a family where I didn't have to take care of my parents. Renee can't balance her checkbook, let alone raise a teenager and Charlie is the only one I know who can burn water. The Cullens, your family, are the first that I thought could fill that part of my life I felt was missing. I felt like I could fall and someone would catch me and then one day, it was gone, and my heart broke." Damon placed a kiss on her shoulder before resting his chin there.

Bella took a breath, "I know I took it hard, Charlie told me that I checked out for weeks, I don't even remember anything until Jasper came. I slowly got better, with Jasper's help. I told my dad about Jazz, and I knew he wanted to send Jasper away, but I couldn't let that happen. He was my anchor, he kept me floating. In my head, there was so much static, so much I couldn't process, and Jasper was my calm. Between him and Jake, those first few months were bearable." She sat there, rubbing her wrist, "I've had my setbacks, but I got better."

Emmett noticed her fingers brushing against the skin on her wrist, a thin horizontal scar stood out against her usually pale complexion. If Emmett had blood in his body, it would have all drained from his extremities, blurring from his seat, he pulled her out of Damon and Jasper's grasp and looked at her arm, turning it over to see. To make sure it was what he thought it was. "Bella, what did you do?!"

"Let her go, Emmett," Jasper said, firmly pulling Emmett's fingers off of Bella and pulling her into a hug.

The door swung open, and Charlie walked in with Jeremy and Jacob at his heels. Bella, sensing her father, ran into his arms, tears on her face as Damon blurred over to Emmett and held him against the living room wall.

"How dare you touch her," Damon bit out as his features began the change to his vampire face. Anger coursing through his body, he wanted to rip the cold one to pieces and set him ablaze in the fireplace. Jasper held Rosalie back as she wanted to help her mate. "It's your fault, yours and your family's. You did that to her, and you think you can scold her?"

"I care about her…" Emmett managed to choke out, he was not used to being manhandled by anyone.

"You don't care about her, you feel guilt that she had a severe reaction. If you really cared, you would have come back. You would have checked in on her!"

"Damon put the boy down and take my daughter upstairs," Charlie said in a commanding tone. Damon dropped Emmett to the ground, and Jasper released Rosalie, who ran to her mate.

Damon pulled Bella into his arms, "Come on baby, let's go up and run you a bath." Bella nodded, tired after the emotional day she'd had and walked away without glancing back to the Cullens in the living room.

Charlie watched his daughter, concern marring his face. He turned back to the room full of vampires, "Jasper! What the hell is going on? Why is Bella like this again?"

Jasper groaned and sat in the vacated chair, "Emmett saw her scar and had a bad reaction."

"Jasper, what the hell! You didn't say she tried to kill herself!" Emmett whispered furiously at his former brother.

"It's not exactly a memory I like to relive Emmett!" Jasper bit back.

"You don't know shit, leech," Jake shouted at Emmett, "You weren't here, Jasper is the one who found Bella, laying on her kitchen floor. He had to hold her arms until I was able to run back to help. I could see it in his eyes, he almost lost it when Paul pulled him away and took his place. I called 911 while he ran far from the house, away from her scent to keep her safe."

"You have no right to any knowledge about my daughter," Charlie said angrily, "You and your family lost that right the moment you all abandoned her." With that, he walked into the kitchen, away from the cold ones he truly hated.

"The only reason I didn't suck her dry is that I could still feel her pain. I focused on the pain until I could run," Jasper said sadly, the memory pulling at his brain. Caroline came up and gave him a hug. Jasper sighed, shaking the memory from his mind, "I think you guys should leave, I thought it would be okay, but I was wrong. I'll call you when we get back into town."

"Where are you going Jazz?" Rosalie asked.

"Seattle," Was all Jasper would say.

OoOoOoO

"What happened?" Edward asked as soon as Emmett and Rosalie walked in the door. They had spent the ride back home in silence, both contemplating what they had learned.

"What do you mean? Didn't Alice see it all, spying on us?" Emmett said, anger still in his voice. The visit had not gone how he wanted it. He wanted his baby sister to forgive him, but she barely tolerated him and the things he found out… It was not the best meeting.

"No, she couldn't see you at all, were any of the dogs there?"

"Just Bella's friend, but not til the end," Rosalie said, sitting in a chair overlooking the forest around them.

"What happened? Why are your thoughts stilted?" Edward asked again, a frown on his face. He couldn't understand, he was hoping for insight from Emmett and Rosalie's visit at least, a look into who Bella was now and the people she surrounded herself with.

"What are you talking about?" Rosalie asked, taking her eyes off the forest and looking at her brother.

"Your thoughts are jumbled, there are periods of silence. How are you blocking me?"

"I'm not blocking you!" Rosalie said harshly.

Can you hear me now?

Edward nodded his head. Rosalie thought about Jasper's new girlfriend. Meeting her brother's eye, she raised an eyebrow, and he frowned again and shook his head no.

Emmett began to laugh, realizing what was going on. His booming laugh brought Esme and Carlisle down from the upstairs. Alice walked in from the backyard, apparently coming home from a hunt.

"Don't you see?" Emmett asked as if it was clear as day. Edward shook his head again, getting more upset as Emmett continued to chuckle.

"Bella or Bella's friends found a way to block your gift. You can still read our minds, but not when it comes to what we saw or heard there.

"That's ridiculous." Edward cried out.

Emmett raised an eyebrow; Unicorns, fluffy bunny bottoms, turkey legs…. [Bella stabbed her boyfriend in the gut], Rosie dressed as a naughty nurse.

Edward grimaced, and Emmett smirked, "Yup, you didn't hear anything about Bella, or you would have yelled."

"Why?! What happened?" Edward screamed pinning Emmett to the wall. Emmett's temper got the best of him, grabbing Edward by the throat, he picked him up and threw him across the room, barely missing the baby grand piano and cracking the wall.

"How did they do it," Alice asked as Edward stood up, dusting the drywall off his clothing, "Why is it I couldn't see your decision to come home? How are they blocking us?"

"I don't know," Rosalie answered standing from the chair, "But I do know this, Bella has had a rough year, worse than we could imagine and her friends, her new family. They helped her through it. Jazz helped her through it." She looked at Carlisle and Esme, "We made a grave mistake by listening to Edward. She was worse off without us. I don't think she will ever completely forgive anyone. Especially Edward and Alice."

"Tell me!" Edward grunted out, upset that he couldn't get the information he desperately wanted.

"No," Rosalie said firmly, shaking her head, "No. That is Bella's story, I will not tell you what we spoke about. If she has a way to block our thoughts about them from you and Alice, then that is her business."

"Rose, I need to know she is safe! Please!"

"She is safe, she's in love. Jasper takes care of her, they all do. Every single one of them would die for her. You could see it in their eyes, Bella is one of them, she is safe."

"But he's a monster!"

"No more than you or me," Emmett yelled, finally losing all of his patience, "You broke her heart and then made us do it as well. She doesn't forgive me, Edward! My Bella says she does, but you can see it in her eyes, she doesn't! She depended on our family to be her's, and we left her high and dry. She will never forgive any of us, and that is our cross to bear. She said we aren't her family any longer."

"She was safer…"

"She wasn't! I don't even know half the story, and I know something is going on. She is different, she's stronger, more assertive sometimes violent, but at the same time, she's more fragile than ever."

"They did that to her, my Bella…"

"Is dead!" Rosalie shouted out, tears glistened in her eyes. The afternoon with Bella, Jasper, and their family had taken a toll on Rosalie, "She died Edward, the moment our family abandoned her, that Bella died. You can see it in her eyes, Edward, the Bella you know, the one we all knew, is gone."

Esme whimpered, turning into Carlisle at the thought. They had not considered that Bella would have changed, they figured she would be upset, naturally, but eventually, she would forgive them and take them back as family. From what Rose and Emmett said, that wasn't an option.

"What about Jasper?" Alice whispered, sorrow lacing her words, "I haven't seen his future in almost a year, same as Bella. What has happened to him?"

"Jazz is as comfortable and loved as I have ever seen him," Rose said softly. She hadn't wanted to hurt Alice, she knew Alice still held a bit of love for Jasper, but the bulk of it was long past. What she had now was regret.

"Loved?" Alice could feel a knot forming in her throat, her years with Jasper flooded her memories, they had a lovely life together.

Rosalie nodded, "He has adapted to his new family, he is surrounded by humans, vampires, and shifters and is completely at ease around them all. He and Bella have a special bond, much more intense than one that I have shared with him over the years. He saved her life."

"He's dating that blonde vampire isn't he," it wasn't a question.

Rose nodded, not wanting to lie to her sister, "Yes Alice, I believe their bond is also quite strong."

Alice's legs gave out on her, and she dropped to the ground. Edward blurred to her side and pulled her into his arms as she sobbed, he shot Rosalie a glare, and she glared right back him.

"I'm sorry Alice, but you knew your time with him was over. If it weren't, you would have followed him. You would have gone to Peter and Charlotte's to find him. You could have been here with him, but you missed your chance, and I think he's really happy."

"So you think we should just give up on our mates?" Edward growled out.

"They weren't your mates, Edward," Emmett snarled out, "I could never leave my Rosie! Never! Rose knew I was her mate while I was human, why do you think she couldn't let me die? You would never have been able to leave Bella if she was your mate. You would have turned her to keep her safe. Her soul would not be a question because as a mated pair, you share the same soul."

"I knew Jasper was not my mate," Alice confessed, "We both knew it, he had seen a mated pair in Peter and Charlotte, we had seen it in the Carlisle and Esme and the both of you. Doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt." Alice slowly stood, shrugging Edward off of her and made her way upstairs to her room. She needed time to mourn the end of her marriage, to actually grieve Jasper. For the first time in months, she knew that was certain, her relationship with Jasper was over.

OoOoOoO

Bella sat on the ottoman in front of the vanity that Damon had installed in his bathroom for her. She hadn't wanted it, not seeing a reason to spend enough time in the bathroom where she would need a seat, but she loved it now. The bathroom was one of her favorite places in the house, one of the few quiet places in a house full of supernatural beings. It had been a hard day for her, and it wasn't over. They were supposed to be headed to Seattle soon, a weekend of… Well not fun exactly, but a weekend.

She felt, rather than saw, Damon standing behind her. Bella closed her eyes as he laid his hands on her shoulders and began to massage the tension from her muscles. A small moan of pleasure escaped her lips, and she could almost see the smirk she knew was on his own. As her head fell forward, she could feel his lips graze the back of her neck in silent worship, and she sighed in anticipation of what was to come.

"Come on sweetheart," Damon whispered, "Let's get you clean."

Bella grinned, "Clean huh," She caught his reflection in the mirror, that little smirk that always graced his beautiful lips clear on his face. His bright blue eyes locked with hers as she felt his fingers moved to the straps of her tank top, sliding them off her shoulders. Eyes still locked in the mirror, he leaned down and nipped at her, pulling her arms through the straps.

Damon stood her up and turned her to him as he brought the fabric down her body, lightly caressing her breasts with his tongue as he knelt in front of her, trailing kisses down her chest. Her tank top puddled on the floor around her feet as he began to move her black velour yoga pants down her thighs, placing a kiss on each hip, he began to worship every inch of exposed leg as her pants and panties joined her shirt. As she stepped away from her clothes, he sat her back down on the ottoman.

Bella's skin was aflame with the trail of kisses, by the time she sat down, she had grabbed Damon by his dark hair and pulled his lips to hers. Nibbling at his bottom lip, her tongue surged forward to keep dominant of the kiss, her tongue caressing his own as his hands found their way to her breast, her ass, her thighs, her wet folds.

She moaned into his mouth as his fingers slid into her, his thumb rubbing lightly on her clit as he pumped in and out. The noises she made went straight to the hardness already forming in his jeans. Her hands moved down his back, grabbing at his shirt to feel his hot skin against hers. Moving away from his girl enough to remove his shirt, he also shrugged out of his jeans, his cock already painfully thick, he pulled her into his arms, bridal style and stepped into his tub of hot, sweet smelling water.

Sitting back on the edge of the tub, Damon pulled Bella onto his lap, and she began to gyrate her hips, moaning as his hard cock made contact with her swollen clit. Damon ran kisses down the side of her neck, his hands massaging her breasts with the scented and oiled bath water as a lubricant. His hands making circular motions around the breast tissue, her nipples nestled between his fingers, gently being pulled by the movement.

The rocking motion Bella was using was driving Damon crazy. Normally Damon was in control of all aspects of his life, but since Bella came into it, he had changed. He knew the need to be in control of hers, especially in intimate situations. While he dominated most aspects of their physical relationship, he understood that sometimes Bella needed to be in control. After the day they had, this was one of those times, but as she made one more pass over his hardened cock, he was sure, if he didn't get to slip inside her hot folds soon, he might have to take the control away.

"Bel-la," Damon groaned, his hands moved from her breast to her hips to still her movement. He brought his lips back to hers, kissing her softly as she moved her body closer to his, lifting her bottom slightly as he aligned himself up with her core. He couldn't help but slide his finger one last time through her folds and pushed in up to his knuckle caressing the soft spongy area inside of her, he could feel the shiver that ran through her body. He pulled out his finger and slowly, she lowered her body onto his thick member.

With a groan of pleasure and a hiss from Damon, he allowed for a moment of adjustment on her part before he began to move her hips over his body. The pleasure of her tight body against his hard cock coursing through his own. Water splashed onto the floor as her movements began to be picked up the pace. Bella groaned as he hit a particularly good spot and she leaned back to hold onto edges of the tub.

Damon pulled out of Bella, moved onto his knees and pushed himself back into her hot core, his hips thrust his cock deep into her body, his hands gripping her body hard, pulling her onto his cock over and over again. He looked over her floating body with hooded lids, her breasts glistening with the rose oil he had placed in the water for their bath. He could feel the coil in his balls of his impending climax, and his pace picked up, he angled his body slightly tilted as he pushed deeper and deeper. He brought his hand to her clit, rubbing gentle circles against the flesh above the little nub. Bella's moans became louder, her legs wrapped around his waist, urging him to go faster, water swirling around her.

Damon filled her body with a firm thrust, pinching the bundle of nerves and felt her body tremble for the inside out. Her climax proceeded his own, and he felt himself empty into her body as he continued to thrust into her, pulling her body flush against his own and kissed her passionately.

This was Damon's favorite part about sex with Bella, the flush of their activity gave her a beautiful pink glow, her heart rate increased, and her body relaxed entirely. It was an intense feeling, one he had never had with any other woman. He had his fair share of humans in his lifetime, but Bella was in a league all her own.