Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank my amazing beta readers EdwardsMate4ever and MissAnnBlack for helping me with this story. Anything good is their doing, trust me.

Chapter 11 – Happy Birthday, Welcome to Forever – Part 1

I HAVEN'T FINISHED TINKERING WITH THIS LAST CHAPTER, AND NOW I'M UP AGAINST MY SELF-IMPOSED FRIDAY NIGHT DEADLINE. SO I HAVE SPLIT THE CHAPTER INTO TWO PARTS, AND I WILL POST THE SECOND PART WHEN I COMPLETE IT. THAT WILL BE SOME TIME OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AS I GO ON VACATION AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK.

The tension had been very high until Edward left the next day. The night after the accident and Edward's arrival, I only slept fitfully, waking throughout the night. I was awakened at one point by what sounded like metal being torn apart. When I started up in bed, the light was quickly flicked on. Esme was sitting in Jasper's chair.

"What is it, dear?" she asked tenderly. "Do you need some pain medication?"

"No, I'm all right. I feel about the way I should, I suppose," I said, grimacing as I rubbed my sore ribcage. "But I thought I heard a weird sound outside. I don't know what it was. Did you hear it?" I leaned towards the window over the bed, stopping to wince at the pain caused by my movement.

Esme's face tightened momentarily, then she smiled. "Oh, Jasper and Edward are outside talking. But don't worry, Carlisle is out there with them. And there is a storm coming up, you might have heard some distant thunder." She walked over to the bed and smoothed the covers down around me.

It was true, the wind was picking up outside. I wasn't completely reassured, however, as she was throwing worried looks at the window herself.

The next time I woke up, Jasper was sitting in his chair again, looking at me over the top of his book. He had an odd vibe about him, as if he were feeling both tense and triumphant. The crash of thunder and a flash from lightning outside lit up his face momentarily, casting eerie shadows on his smile.

The storm had passed by dawn. While I was looking out of my bathroom window the next morning, I saw a silver Volvo pull out of the garage. It must be Edward's car, as I hadn't seen it before. I didn't see him leave, though, I only saw his car. Not long after he was gone, another car pulled up to the house. I kept hoping it was Emmett, but it wasn't.

It was Peter and Charlotte. To my surprise, I threw myself in Charlotte's arms when I saw her. I wasn't as glad to see Peter, but he didn't seem so scary after the time I spent with Rosalie and Edward. Charlotte laughed and mussed my hair a little.

"Good to see you, too! Keeping Jasper on his toes?" she asked. When I didn't reply, she said, "I thought so. It gets easier."

Charlotte insisted on taking me outside with her on long runs, generally carrying me at least part way on her back. The ride was exhilarating; I had come to love traveling over ground at vampire speed. I wasn't comfortable asking Carlisle and Jasper to give the human "piggyback rides", but Charlotte just reached out her hand as we were going out, and I slung myself onto her back, clinging to her like a spider monkey. After running a distance from the house, she would let me down and we would hike for a while, never very far. She didn't fuss over whether I was warm enough; she seemed to trust that if something was wrong I would tell her.

Things did get easier with Peter and Charlotte in the house. I missed Emmett terribly, though. One day when I mentioned it to her, Charlotte just said, "He'll be back."

"When?" I asked her, excitedly.

"This is tough for him. You have to understand. None of us have ever been a part of something like this before; none of us had what you're going through happen to us. It's usually just a bite from a stranger, followed by days of agony. As for me…"

"What happened to you?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper slip into the room. She looked back at him and smiled at me.

"I'll tell you someday," she said. "Now is not the time. Now is your time."

Great, more cryptic stuff.

Eventually, on one of our long runs, I got a chance to ask her a little more about Jasper's comment, You are mine. To tell you the truth, it did kind of give me a thrill, though it was one I quickly squashed. So I asked her about that.

"What he's saying is that you two are mates, like Carlisle and Esme, or like Peter and me," Charlotte began. "He's acting differently around you, though. Usually when a vampire finds their mate, they claim one another quickly. He is giving you a chance to actually want him- to get used to the idea. You are still human, and none of us have ever heard of a vampire finding a mate while they are still human. No one knows quite what should happen between you two, and since Carlisle is involved, things are happening in a very different way than usual."

"What does that mean?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"You shouldn't have made it out of Texas as a human," she said simply. "I thought that the second he saw you he was going to move on you. He was struggling with himself throughout those days. I cannot even begin to tell you what a struggle he went through down there."

"What happened with you and Peter?" I asked, changing the subject. I didn't like thinking about those scary days. The time spent in Colorado was strained enough. In Texas, it had been a living nightmare.

"Peter and I met during the vampire wars over territory. They occurred around the same time as your human Civil War. Things were very different back then. That will be a story for later, but I will tell you. Don't worry," she replied.

September rolled around. I was much more at ease with everyone, though they kept watching all the electronics. In all of the time I had been there, I had never had access to a computer without being monitored.

Jasper handled that himself. Whenever I would sit at the computer, he would lazily pull up a chair nearby. He wouldn't exactly watch the screen, he would look at me. I knew he was tossing glances at the screen too quickly for my eyes to follow, but he was clearly trying to make it appear I had privacy. I didn't really mind. I had given up any thoughts of a rescue after seeing what happened to the Rangers in Texas, but I did think from time to time about trying to send a coded note to Angela to get to my parents. She was the only person I knew who I felt would be smart enough to figure out such a situation on her own.

Things had become easier between Jasper and I, oddly enough, after the near fatal car crash. Although it seemed impossible, I felt better knowing about his gift. Not knowing, and feeling that there was something going on that I was shut out of, had been harder. I no longer tried to hide my feelings. My own sense of anger at myself for my attraction to him was very strong, and I allowed myself to experience it fully. Since I wasn't always good at words, sometimes I would give a spike in feelings, and Jasper would glance over at me quickly. We began communicating this way, oddly enough. If someone was speaking too quietly for me to hear, or on a topic I didn't understand, I would signal Jasper. He would turn the conversation in ways that weren't obvious to the others. It was like having a code.

I felt like I was starting to really fall for him. It was hard not to. He was tall, good looking, and attentive, and had a great deal of personal charm. He obviously knew the effect his southern drawl had on women, he liked to use it. I even caught him charming Esme with it, to Carlisle's wry amusement. On the other hand, he also claimed he owned me, that I was his. Although it gave me a thrill, it bothered me a lot. I didn't like the concept of ownership, it resonated too much with slavery and abusive relationships I had seen my friends locked into even in high school.

I was thinking of my upcoming 18th birthday with a great deal of sadness. After all, I should have graduated, top of my class, months ago, and be getting ready to go to college. Or, I should be having lunch with my friends, or going on some mind-numbing movie-shopping night with Lauren or Jessica. I should just be having a normal teen-aged life.

One day, during the first week of September, Jasper invited me to go for a walk with him. Once we were outside, he picked me up in a gesture so fast I didn't see it, and slung me on his back.

He took off running. As usual, I had to close my eyes, as it appeared that the trees were flying at us.

Finally he stopped, and let me down. I initially kept my eyes closed. I could tell I was sitting on rock, as I felt the cold, smooth surface under my hands and through the seat of my jeans. Soon, Jasper's cool hand was under my chin, lifting it. I opened my eyes to find his golden ones barely inches away.

I started to lean forward as if to kiss him, but caught myself and pulled back. He looked a little disappointed, but collected himself and helped me stand up. As soon as I saw where we were, I grabbed on to him. We were near the top of a mountain. It felt as though we were rather precariously balanced on a large boulder.

He laughed, pulling me closer with his arm, and directed my gaze outwards. I saw he was pointing to an eagle that was circling below us.

The view was magical. I could see for hundreds of miles in all directions. Of course, I had no idea of where I was, but the vista was breathtaking. There were forests below, where the tree types changed as the altitude changed. Not surprisingly, I couldn't see any human habitation. No cities. No roads.

I turned towards him, and he changed his grip so I could look in the other direction. He pulled me closer, and pointed out a few things. I felt his cool breath on my cheek, and eventually closed my eyes, leaning into him.

His lips met mine gently, brushing softly.

I was so confused. I didn't want this. I couldn't do this. He may not have been my original kidnapper, but he was responsible for keeping me from my family. Deep down, however, I knew I did want it. I wanted him. I finally relinquished my fear and gave in to his kiss. He pulled me closer, so that our arms and bodies touched, and he held me for a long time.

Eventually, he lifted me onto his back, and ran back to the house.

When we got back to our room, I was bumbling and nervous. He just smiled, and let me get ready for bed in peace, leaving the room momentarily. I grabbed a two piece pajama set out of my dresser, not taking any chances. When I pulled them out, my hand brushed across the silk from the baby doll nightgown that he had added to my original Victoria's Secret order back in Texas. I closed my eyes, and stayed with my original choice. Flannel. Two piece. If there had been one-piece footed pajamas, I would have put those on instead.

As I climbed into bed, he slipped back into the room, letting the sound of the closing door signal his return. Turning my back to him, as he sat in his usual chair, I lay down and attempted to rebuild the brick wall between us, but so many bricks had fallen. Finally I said, "Good-night," and he replied "Sweet dreams, darlin'."

PLEASE REVIEW. I KNOW THIS CHAPTER ISN'T VERY COMPLETE AS IT IS, BUT I WILL PUT UP THE REST OF THE CHAPTER AS A SEPARATE POSTING AT SOME POINT THIS WEEK, BEFORE I GO ON VACATION.

SHOW ME SOME LOVE, I'M TRYING, GUYS!