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Chapter 10- Reunion part 2

~Bella POV~

The following morning, I woke up to see that it was a rainy morning.

Edward was still sitting in the chair, although he was slumped down with his eyes closed, and he was breathing deeply. I realized that he was feigning sleep, and that there was a nurse in the room.

Noticing that I was awake, the nurse gave me a smile. "Glad to see you back with us, Bella. We were all worried about you." the nurse said.

I gave her a smile. "Thank you." I replied.

"Dr. Cullen thinks that some kind of animal attacked you." the nurse said.

So that was the cover story. I should have known that Carlisle would have come up with something. "I don't really remember what happened, but Dr. Cullen would probably know." I answered.

"Well, you seem to be doing fine. Your breakfast should be here soon." the nurse said.

"Okay. Thank you." I told her.

The nurse smiled at me again before she left the room.

"I thought that she would never leave." Edward muttered, opening his eyes and sitting up in the chair.

"She's doing her job, Edward." I reminded him.

"Well, she could do it faster." Edward retorted.

"Not everyone can move at vampire speed." I said.

"No. I guess not." Edward agreed.

There was a loud clap of thunder from outside.

"How long has this storm been raging?" I asked, glancing out the window at the pouring rain.

"A few hours." Edward replied.

"I wonder how I never heard it." I mused.

"You were sleeping soundly. You didn't even hear the nurse when she came in at three-thirty to check on you this morning." Edward said.

"I really slept soundly." I stated.

"You needed the rest." Edward said. He glanced out the window and said, "Rosalie has to be pissed right now."

"Why?" I inquired.

"Because she has to patrol in this storm. Rosalie has to be angry that her hair and outfit are messed up because of the rain. Alice, too." Edward said.

I stared at him wide-eyed. "They're out in this weather?" I asked incredulously.

"Sure. We can't get sick, remember?" Edward reminded me.

"Still. This is a bad storm." I siad.

"Doesn't matter to us. Victoria could still make a move in weather like this, so Jazz wants us to keep patrolling. He doesn't want to leave anything to chance." Edward said.

"Jasper?" I asked.

"Jazz is calling all the shots, so to speak. He was a major during the Civil War, so he has a lot of military experience. He's good at strategy, so we listen to him in situations like this." Edward said.

"Oh. Jasper's seen a lot, too." I said.

Edward gave me a mysterious smile. "More than you know." Edward replied.

I frowned.

"It's Jasper's story. He'll tell you when he's ready." Edward said.

I nodded.

A moment later, a nurse came into the room to bring me my breakfast. "Here you go." the nurse said.

"Thanks." I said.

The nurse left.

~Edward POV~

I wrinkled my nose at the smell of food. Human food smelled so disgusting. I hated it.

Bella didn't look too thrilled, either.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was worried that Bella didn't want to eat because of the last few months of her not taking care of herself. I would force-feed her if I had to or get Carlisle to have her fed intravenously.

"I hate hospital food." Bell explained.

"Well, we're even then. I hate the smell." I said.

Bella smiled. "It probably smells as bad to you as it tastes to me." Bella said.

"Once you get home, Esme can cook you something you don't mind eating." I assured her.

Bella nodded and started eating.

I was glad that she was eating. I just hoped that we would be able to get Bella back to the weight she was before we left. Between Esme and Alice, I'm sure that everything will be fine.

Speaking of Esme.

Bella just finished eating when the door opened, and Esme walked into the room.

Esme smiled as she walked to Bella. "Bella, it's so good to see you again." Esme said.

Bella smiled back. "I'm glad to see you, too." Bella said.

Esme hugged Bella gently. "So, how are you doing?" Esme asked.

"I'm okay. I'll just be glad to get out of this hospital." Bella said.

"Well, you'll be living with us when you do; I hope that you like the room." Esme said.

"Room? I don't need my own room." Bella said.

"Yeah. She's just going to stay in my room." I said. I had told Alice to get a bed for my room so that Bella would be more comfortable.

"Bella's not getting her own room; per se. Alice thought that redecorating was in order." Esme explained.

I froze. Redecorating and Alice were not two words I wanted to hear in the same sentence when in reference to my room. "Esme, what is Alice doing to my room?" I asked.

Esme smiled at me apologetically. "I tried to talk her out of it, Edward, but you know how persistent Alice is. She thought that it needed a-" Esme started.

"Women's touch." I groaned.

"We aren't going to recognize the room." Bella remarked.

"I don't know what she's doing, Edward. Alice isn't telling anyone anything." Esme said.

A moment later, Emmett came barreling into the room. "Bella! It's great to see you!" Emmett said enthusiastically, heading toward her.

I was glad that I was faster than Emmett was. I was able to intercept Emmett before he reached Bella.

"Oh, come on, Edward! You've been with her since she woke up! Let me see my sister!" Emmett complained.

"Edward, there is no need for that." Bella scolded.

"I just wanted to remind Emmett that you are more fragile than usual." I said.

"I'm not going to kill her. I just want to see her." Emmett said before he shoved me aside and walked over to Bella. "Hey, Bella. Glad to see you again." Emmett said as he hugged Bella.

Bella hugged him back. "It's good to see you, too, Emmett." Bella replied.

I was a little irritated with Emmett, but that soon changed. I sighed. "Hey, Jazz." I said.

Jasper was standing at the entrance to the room. "He's not going to hurt her, Edward. Not after the lecture he got from Carlisle, Alice, and Rose." Jasper said.

Emmett scowled. "Everyone in this family thinks that I'm going to hurt her." Emmett said.

"That's because you act before you think ninety-eight percent of the time." I told him.

"Well, that's part of what makes Emmett, Emmett." Bella said.

"See!" Emmett said.

"We'd just rather that your thoughtlessness not lead to anymore injuries for Bella." I explained.

Emmett growled. 'I'll get you for that, Edward!' Emmett threatened me with his thoughts.

My thoughts, however, shifted elsewhere. I turned toward Jasper and said, "Jazz, I would like a word with you."

Jasper held up his hands in surrender. "I have no more control over my wife than Emmett has over his." Jasper said.

"Why are you letting her do this?" I demanded.

"Because it's Alice, and there is no force that can stop her when she decides to redecorate a room." Jasper replied.

I groaned at that.

"And before you ask, I don't have a clue what she's planning to do. She's told me nothing." Jasper said.

I felt like slamming my head into the wall, although all I would end up doing is slamming my head through the wall.

"It may not be that bad, Edward." Bella told me.

"It's Alice." I said.

"But she knows how you like things." Bella persisted.

"It's Alice." I repeated.

"She also knows my taste, so it won't be nearly as bad as you think it will." Bella stated.

"It's Alice!" Jasper, Emmett, Esme, and I said at the same time.

"Okay, okay. It's going to be bad." Bella finally conceded.

I wanted to scream.

Emmett was snickering at me.

I glared at him.

"Better you than me." Emmett said.

"Come now, boys. There is no fighting. We are in a hospital, after all." Esme said.

"It's about to become an arena." I growled, itching to attack Emmett.

Emmett smirked. "Bring it." Emmett dared me.

Esme sighed before she sent a pleading look over at Jasper.

Jasper then sent out calming waves that immediately calmed Emmett and me down.

"Aw, Jazz! Why do you have to ruin everything?" Emmett whined.

"Because I would rather you two didn't expose us for what we really are." Jasper replied.

I had to admit that I was glad that Jasper did that. We didn't need to cause a scene like that.

"Um, guys." Bella said.

All eyes turned to Bella.

"What is it, love?" I asked, by her side in an instant.

"I was wondering if I could talk to Jasper alone for a minute." Bella said.

This shocked me.

'Me?' Jasper though, shocked as well.

Esme simply smiled. "Certainly, Bella." Esme said. She then forced Emmett and me out the door, and she shut the door behind her.

I started to say something.

"Don't say a word, Edward. She will be fine. Jasper won't hurt her. Besides, Bella wants to speak to him alone, and we should honor her wishes." Esme explained calmly before she forced us down the hall.

~Jasper POV~

It shocked me that Bella wanted to talk to me alone, especially considering what had happened at her birthday party last September.

Bella smiled at me before she said, "You can come closer, Jasper."I had stayed close to the door, which was where I had been standing the entire time. I just wasn't sure that I should get too close to her. I really had no desire to give Edward a reason to rip me to shreds.

"I won't bite." Bella said with an amused smile.

A smile crossed my own lips. "You're not the one I'm worried about." I said.

"Jasper, please come over. I know that you're not going to hurt me." Bella said.

After a moment of hesitation, I walked on over to Bella and sat down in a chair beside her.

"Jasper, I wanted to thank you." Bella said softly.

"For what?" I asked.

"Saving my life. Edward and Carlisle told me that you were the one who found me in the woods after Victoria attacked me. If it hadn't bee for you, I would be dead by now." Bella said.

"You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad that I was able to get to you in time." I told her, and that was the truth.

"Jasper, I know that you struggle with being around humans still, so I can't imagine how hard it was for you to stay in control with all the blood that was there." Bella said.

I smiled at her. "You have no idea how hard it was. I was struggling the entire time. In truth, I don't know how I managed to stay in control long enough to get you to the road to the paramedics. It's something that no one in the family, including Carlisle, can explain given how much I struggle with it." I said.

"Well, do you see me as a sister?" Bella asked.

I smiled. "Of course I do, Bella. You are a sister to me just like Rosalie is, and I love you like one." I said.

"Well, maybe that's it. Maybe you were able to resist because you love me." Bella said.

I hadn't thought of that.

Bella smiled. "Sometimes, it's the simplest of solutions to tough questions, Jasper." Bella said.

I smiled. "Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad that I was able to resist." I said.

"The truth is that when you first showed up in the woods-" Bella started.

"You thought that I was a figment of your imagination. Carlisle told us about that." I remarked before she could finish.

Bella groaned. "I wish he hadn't told you." Bella said.

I smirked. "Believe me. Emmet will get you for that later." I said.

Bella sighed. "I'm surprised that Emmett didn't say anything earlier." Bella said.

"He will. Trust me." I said. I couldn't help but ask her something else. "Did you not question why you were seeing me instead of Edward if you were imagining things?" I inquired.

Bella blushed. "At the time, no. When I knew that you were really there, it made more sense." Bella explained.

"In any case, I'm glad I wasn't just a figment of your imagination." I said.

"I know. I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful." Bella said.

"Bella, you're a part of this family, my sister. I wouldn't have done anything else." I said.

A moment later, Edward walked back into the room.

"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" I asked.

"No, I can't." Edward said.

"At least he's honest about it." Bella said.

"I suppose so." I said.

Esme and Emmett came back into the room.

"Thank you, Esme." Bella said.

"Of course. You're welcome, dear." Esme said.

If we could get rid of Victoria, things would be perfect for us.

Hope you liked it.

Next: Bella gets to go home.

R&R.