Alice POV
"He's awake," Charlotte said softly, catching my attention. I turned to look at Jasper. He was just opening his eyes.
"Alice?"
I hurried to his side. "I'm here. Did you sleep well, baby?"
He nodded, rubbing his eyes. Looking down at him, I was shocked to see how quickly he'd deteriorated. There was something so fragile about his body that it was scary.
"How do you feel?" I asked, tensing as I waited for his answer.
"Not as bad as I did yesterday," he mumbled. "Alice, I'm thirsty."
Thank God we'd been prepared for this. Carlisle had packed a bag full of bear blood for Jasper in case he suddenly got thirsty.
"Ok, just hang on a minute." I hurried to where Carlisle's bags were and rummaged through them for the blood. When I finally found them, I filled a glass with it and put it to Jasper's mouth, remembering that he couldn't hold the glass himself.
When he finished it, he put his head on my chest and closed his eyes. I sensed that he just wanted some quiet time, and didn't speak.
"He's tired," I mouthed to Charlotte over the top of his head.
She nodded in understanding and slipped out the door. I was alone with him, finally. I had no idea where Peter, Emmett, and Carlisle had gone, but I didn't really care right now.
"Alice?" Jasper was looking up at me anxiously.
"Yes?" I forced a smile for him.
"Do you still love me?"
This question shocked me. How the hell could he even doubt that? Of course I loved him! I would always love him.
"Of course I love you."
"Oh. I love you, too."
"Well, why would you even ask?" I asked cautiously.
"I don't know…"
"Why would you ask?" I repeated. "Answer me, Jasper. I'm serious."
"Well… it's just that… you just always seem to be busy and arguing with Peter, and yesterday when you asked Caius if he wanted you to join them… well, you just seemed… almost disappointed and upset that he said no. And it frightened me, and for a moment I just thought…"
"Thought what?" I pressed.
"That you were tired of taking care of me and wanted to be away from me," he blurted out.
I stared at him, astonished.
"I'm sorry, it was stupid of me," he whispered. "I just had an insecure moment, that's all."
"No, sweetheart, you didn't." I pulled him closer. "It's natural that you would think like that, because you're sick and scared."
He nuzzled his face close to me, and didn't answer.
"Come on," Peter burst through the door. "We're going to a new hotel."
"Why?" My voice was sharp.
"Because I said so. We just need to go to a different hotel. Jasper needs somewhere further from Volterra-"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"Jasper doesn't need somewhere further from Volterra and we're not moving. If anything, he needs to be close to Volterra so we can get the cure from Aro quickly."
"Alice, this isn't about what you want."
"It's not about what you want, either." My voice rose. I was sick of Peter, sick of him and his bossiness. "It's about what's best for Jasper, and you don't know what's best for Jasper. I do. He is my mate, he has been with me for fifty years. I've put up with you trying to make every little decision and get your own way, but I'm done. You are not the boss of us!"
Peter stared at me. He knew I was right. And he knew when he was beaten.
He didn't say anything else, but sat heavily on the couch.
"So we're not moving to a different hotel," Emmett said. I hadn't noticed him enter the room, too caught up in my one-sided shouting match with Peter.
"I'm sorry, Alice," Peter finally said. "I was not thinking of how you are affected in this."
"I know you weren't."
He looked down, at a loss for what to say. I turned my attention back to my brother. "No, we're not moving."
"Cool." Emmett sat on the edge of our bed. "Hey, Jazz. Feeling any better?"
"A little." Jasper moved his head off my chest so that he could see Emmett more clearly. "I was thirsty this morning."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Very good," Carlisle said, placing a hand on Jasper's forehead. "He's still got a fever, but the fact that he's thirsty is a good sign."
Jasper looked happy at that. I cuddled him close to me.
"Is he getting better?" I asked hopefully.
"No. That just means that he's well enough to be able to drink anything, and that he hasn't gotten any worse today."
Jasper's face fell, and I stroked his cheek. "It's okay," I soothed. "At least you're not any sicker than you were. And besides, you'll be better as soon as we get your cure from Aro."
He laid his cheek on my shoulder, making a cute snuffling noise. "Alice, I'm having a hard time breathing through my nose-"
And his face turned a sickly greenish tint. I knew that look, and I grabbed a garbage bin from beside the bed, holding it under his chin just in time for him to throw up into it loudly.
When he finished, he collapsed back into my arms.
"Your body wasn't ready for the blood. You hadn't fed in so long that it reacted badly to the food," Carlisle said.
Jasper nodded weakly, snuggling into me. "I'm too sick to feed, you mean."
"No, not necessarily. We'll try giving you a little blood at a time, and see how you react. We have to find a way to get blood into you, or..."
"Or what?" My voice trembled.
"He will starve. And Aro's cure won't fix starvation."
Okay, so no new chapter unless I get at least three or four review. Again, would anyone be interested in making a banner for this story? Please? You get the outtake of your choice.