Alice sat down with me on the couch and held me there when all I wanted to do was run upstairs and find out what had happened.

Edward came down the stairs. My fingers started flying as I kept questioning Edward as to what had happened.

"I don't understand. Alice. What is she saying?"

"She wants to know what happened."

"Carlisle can tell you more."

'Of course he can. You haven't told us anything. He certainly can't tell us less than that, can he?'

"Bella, there is no need to be so rude."

'Alice, think about it. The only reason he isn't telling us anything is because Jasper's hurt. I'm going upstairs. I want to see Jasper.'

"Bella, no. If Jasper was hurt, Carlisle would come and tell you. If Edward hadn't told you first." She looked at him. "And of course you would tell her, wouldn't you, Edward?"

Edward froze. That said everything to me. Jasper was hurt and Edward didn't want to tell me. I turned and ran for the stairs only to have Edward standing in front of me before I could get three steps in. I started beating on his chest.

"Bella, please. Jasper asked me not to tell you that he was hurt. Carlisle's fixing him up right now."

Suddenly, I felt something in my hand snap. I turned away from Edward cradling it with tears running down my face. Alice wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to the couch. "Edward, go get some ice. I think it might be broken."

Suddenly, Carlisle was in front of me. He must have heard Alice's comment about my hand being broken. He was examining the hand carefully. "It is broken. Let's get a splint on it." He held onto my hands as he looked into my eyes. "Bella, trust me. Jasper was hurt but it isn't serious. However, you're going to have to play along with us. Esme's all ready putting down the covers over the windows down here and upstairs. I'll explain everything later. I promise. Just let me take care of this hand first."

The look in his eyes told me he was telling the truth. I nodded. We walked into his home office and he got my hand taken care of.

When we walked back out of the office, Jasper was sitting on the couch with a bandage across his head very near his eyes. Tears filled my eyes and I turned to Carlisle. 'You said it wasn't serious. That looks really bad.'

"Alice?" Carlisle still hadn't learned enough sign to communicate with me.

"She said that it looks worse than you said it was."

"Darlin', look at me." I turned to Jasper who had come closer to me. "It's not as bad as it looks. I can't even feel it right now. We have to come up with a plan to make Mike slip up and show everyone what an animal he is."

Emmett walked down the stairs as he made a suggestion. "I could just go and hit him."

"Emmett, that won't solve anything," Esme said gently.

"It's simple. He hurt my family. In fact, he would have killed two of them if not for certain facts. In return, he deserves to be hurt."

"Better idea, Emmett. Hit him where it hurts the most. In his ego." Rose was smiling with a devious look in her eyes. "I think I have a plan."

Alice got a distant look in her eyes. "Perfect, Rose. Absolutely perfect."

"Unless he comes up with a way around us." At the puzzled look we were all giving her, Rose smiled at us. "We let it be known that Jasper has died and that Mike killed him. We'll have a funeral and everything."

'Mike will deny everything. He'll have an alibi.'

"Bella, trust me on this. I can play the distraught sister quite well. Of course people are going to think you aren't talking because of the trauma of having him die in front of you. But then they'll find out that your larnyx was crushed long before Jasper died and that will be the opening we need to show everyone what a jerk Mike really is."

'Rose, he won't let us slide with that. He'll play it off that he was just trying to rescue me from Jasper or some crap like that.'

The tears were still streaming down my face from where I stood in Jasper's arms. I was still really shaken up from Jasper getting shot. I was still afraid I was going to loose him. Loose him? What was I thinking? Was I actually developing feelings for Jasper? But what if he didn't feel the same way?

"No worries, Bella," he whispered with his lips actually touching my hair. "We'll take care of this."

It was not the plan I was worried about right then. I wasn't sure where my emotions were taking me and it was kind of scary for me.

"I think I'm going to take her upstairs and let her rest for a while," Jasper announced.

"She can use my room for now. At least until we get hers cleaned up," Alice offered. Jasper nodded and walked me up the stairs.

****

"Wake up, darlin'. Esme's got some dinner ready for you and your dad." I sat up just a little stiff and sore. He reached out and started rubbing my back as I swung my legs over the edge. "Ready to go and face your dad?"

'Not really. I don't want to answer any questions about all this.'

"You won't have to. You weren't even in the room when it happened. I'll make sure that your dad understands that."

'Jasper, can we talk later? In private?'

"What's wrong, darlin'?"

'Nothing. I just want to talk to you in private later. I don't want your whole family in on this conversation until sometime down the road.' I had to tell him just how scared I'd been when I thought he'd been hurt badly.

"Alright. We'll sit down and talk later." He lifted my splinted hand and kissed the fingertips that were showing. "Now how about you tell me what happened to this hand?"

'I'll tell you and Dad together. I don't feel like repeating the story.'

"Okay. But I'll hold you to that." With that we walked down the stairs to where Dad was waiting for me with … Jacob. Great. Now he'd know about my hand too.

"Jasper, what did you do to her hand?" Jake had seen it first.

'Jake, he didn't do it. I did. I hit Edward because he was keeping me from seeing how Jasper was after he got shot. I got mad and hit him hard. Of course, he didn't feel a thing.' I shot Edward a dirty look at that.

"Bella, I probably wouldn't have even realized that you were hitting me if I hadn't heard the bone crack." He looked apologetic.

"Edward, why wouldn't you let her through? And who shot Jasper? Where was Bella when this happened?" Dad was firing off questions faster than anyone could answer.

"Charlie, Bella was never in danger. I carried her out of the room before the shot was ever fired. Edward wouldn't let her through because Jasper didn't want her to see it before Carlisle had it cleaned up. He was afraid that she wouldn't handle it very well. Mike shot him. She saw him step out of the trees and that was when Jasper asked me to get her out of there. He pulled the trigger shortly after we left the room." Alice was quick to stand in between Jasper and my dad. Of course I had moved to protect him as well.

Not like my move helped any. Jake was growling and Jasper moved me behind him. I knew what he was thinking. He was hoping to protect me just in case Jake lunged at him.

I couldn't let anyone hurt him. Not now. Not when I was so close to telling him what I felt. I had to get them to calm down.

No such luck. Jake lunged and Jasper braced himself. The collision was deafening.

All I could do was step back as the two of them started in.