Author's note; A big thank you to all who reviewed the previous chapter and have added this story to their Favourites/Story Alerts List. It was only recently pointed out to me that I have in fact managed to produce 13 chapters in one month. The realisation made me feel exhausted but I thank StormDragonfly for the acknowledgement. And here is chapter 14. I'm not sure what you will make of it. It took me a fews days to actually pull it all together and make sense, or maybe not. Hopefully the tension is still building by the time you get to the end of the page. We begin with Bella's latest entry in her journal. Enjoy. Oh yes and Jasper is now on the scene!

Disclaimer; I do not own Twilight but I know that this story does own me.

Agony and Ecstasy

Happy hearts and damage control

My whole weekend turned out to be a complete success.

I visited dad as planned. He was out fishing, as was usual on his weekends off. I sent him a message as soon as I arrived at the empty house, just to let him know that I was there and that I was going to cook. The usual adage; love goes through the stomach, certainly applied to most men especially my dad who hardly ever cooked for himself these days.

I was taken aback when a few minutes later, as I was rifling through his freezer to find something that closely resembled food that would need to be cooked from stratch, he sent a message in return to say that he was eating out and would I please join him at the diner for five o'clock. I stood still for a moment with my hand suspended over a packet of steaks that would do for the meal.

He had someone that he wanted me to meet. I inwardly groaned and shut the freezer door.

The last time he suggested that, he had attempted to set me up on a blind date with one of the young single officers who had only recently started at Forks. Never again!

His name was Steve. I will never understand what his problem was. He seemed nice enough but he was hardly able to string a sentence together the whole time we sat in the diner. I really didn't think that I was that intimidating! The conversation was very one sided and I was relieved when an emergency call was sent out for all off duty officers to assist in a hunt for a missing child.

Thank God the child was found unhurt a few hours later but the idea of having another date with Steve was well and truly out of the question. I told dad then, in no uncertain terms that organising blind dates was off limits, as far as he was concerned. So surely he hadn't forgotten already!

As it turned out, he had not.

I arrived at the diner naturally apprehensive but was pleasantly surprised that he was the person with the date.

When he greeted me, he was beaming. Beaming with pride and happiness. I only ever felt that level of emotion from him whenever I had achieved something or a major crime had been solved, such as they were in Forks.

He introduced me to a lovely woman. His warm brown eyes smiled as he said her name. Sue.

The whole time I greeted her I felt like pinching myself just to make sure that it was not a dream. Dad never dated. Since when did dad date?

He had obviously decided that he didn't like being on his own anymore. And why should he? He ceretainly wasn't old and as far as I was concerned, he was still very good looking. His dark brown wavy hair only sported a few grey hairs. Of course they never looked bad on an older man. It made them look distinguished and worldly wise. Rather like someone else I had recently met.

The solitary soul that my dad was, had finally decided that he needed company.

As Chief of Police in Forks, he was a very respected man not just for the position he held in the community but because he was honest, trustworthy and pretty likeable. He had spent all of his life in this town and knew everyone in it. He had over the years built up good relationships with all of the families that lived in the town and also knew many of those who only visited for the weekends. He kept a tight ship and dealt with any problem swiftly and efficiently. The Police Force was his life. It was one of the reasons why he stayed in Forks and didn't follow mom to Pheonix. He knew that he could never be happy there. It wasn't until I grew up that I realised how much he actually loved mom and yet needed to be himself. Because she was so unhappy, he let her go. It was an early lesson that I learned that letting someone go in order that they would be happy did not mean that you didn't love them. It actually showed how much you did love them.

He had known Sue for a long time, as it turned out. Some nine months ago she sadly became a widow.

Dad used to go fishing with her husband Harry before he became too ill to leave the house. He had died of cancer that had not been detected early enough. Dad visited as often as he could to help around the house and be of as much help as he could in the final days of Harry's life. Then as the weeks went by after his death, dad and Sue found that they had built up quite a friendship that began to flourish over the following months. They were still at the ' getting to know each other stage' as dad put it but they were obviously very happy together. I watched them as they interacted with each other. They were as far as I was concerned, in love. It was almost palpable.

So I left dad's place Sunday afternoon knowing that he was truly happy. No longer was his job the only thing he had in his life. He was now beginning to have a life outside of work.

Yes, the weekend really had gone very well.

As I stepped out of the lift and made my way to my office, I took the positive approach toward the day and hoped that my first day back would put a smile on my face.

Walking along the long corridor from the lift, I was amazed at how much I had missed the familiarity of work. This was where I felt the most confident and sure of what I was doing and what was expected of me. It was good to be back.

I was greeted by a mound of work in my in tray. Shit!

Standing for a moment glaring at it I thought that maybe today was not going to put a smile on my face after all. But first things first.

I hung up my grey jacket in the closet and smoothed down my blue blouse. Once I put my purse away in my desk I organised the coffee machine and switched it on. I then stood at my desk to inspect the in tray.

As I flicked through the pieces of paper I realised that none of it had been urgent over the two weeks that I had been away. Most of it needed filing or was for me to read and then be filed in the shreading machine. It wasn't so bad after all.

I brought my computer to life and checked on the schedule for the day. It was blank as far as I was concerned but Jasper had a lunch time meeting with Marcus, one of the CEO's.

I frowned at the screen for a moment. There hadn't been any problems before I went away on holiday, so unless something had happened during my absence I really was none the wiser. I was sure that I was worrying over nothing. Jasper seeing the CEO didn't necessarily mean bad news. It could actually mean good news. Jasper had after all been head hunted to run this department and as far as everyone was concerned he was doing a good job. And I knew that Carlisle was in agreement.

Either way I was sure to find out some of the details when he arrived.

As the coffee machine gurgled and spluttered, indicating it had almost finished its task, I inhaled the aroma of freshly made coffee that seemed to somehow welcome me back and also broke me out of my thoughts.

With a fresh cup of coffee in my hand and the morning mail having just been delivered, I had about fifteen minutes before Jasper would arrive. Enough time to sort through the mail and organise the work folder for the day.

Not five minutes later he arrived.

I heard his voice first. He didn't sound his usual relaxed self.

"I asked you to finish that Friday, Tanya." He tone was harsh and surprisingly loud for Jasper. He sounded exasperated. I left the half opened mail and thought it better that I pour out a cup of coffee, ready to take into his office.

"You'd better give it all to Bella. At least then I 'll know that it's bein' dealt with properly." He really was pissed. Until now, Tanya hadn't let anyone down. I doubted now if she would ever volunteer to help out in future. She had only recently joined our department and wasn't the type of person to readily help out in urgent situations. She must have been the last resort.

"But Jasper I really didn't have enough time to finish it." She protested, her voice reaching new heights. A pang of guilt hit my stomach. Maybe I shouldn't have gone away after all. What the hell had happened while I was away?

By this time they were standing just outside my door. I turned slowly. It had been a while since I had to deal with an angry boss. The thought of smiling at him when he arrived faded quickly. I would have to give him time to calm down before I asked any questions.

Jasper stepped into my office without replying to Tanya. I could tell by his stance that he was not in the mood to speak. He had said his peace. I mentally willed Tanya to keep her mouth shut. Thankfully she did.

As Jasper walked through to his office he glanced in my direction, making eye contact and nodded towards his office. My cue to follow. Tanya handed me the file without a word. Her face said it all. Her cheeks were flame red and her steely blue eyes were wide with annoyance. She gave me a tight smile, huffed and turned swiftly, her strawberry blonde shoulder length hair fanning out as she did so. I had no doubt in my mind that I would not be receiving a Christmas card from her this year!

Welcome back Bella! I had the feeling I had been missed but only as far as getting the work done was concerned. The peace and quite of the island was fast becoming my favourite place to escape too right now.

I placed the file on my desk and turned to take Jasper's coffee to him.

As I entered his office, his eyes were focused on his computer screen. I placed the cup on his desk and he gave a quick nod without taking his eyes off the screen. I hovered for a moment not sure if he wanted me to stay or leave. For some strange reason I felt suddenly nervous. I was never nervous around Jasper and certainly not when he was in a bad mood. He motioned with a flick of his hand for me to sit down.

A sudden sense of dread filled my already unsettled stomach.

I nervously smoothed out my black skirt as I sat and waited, trying to relax but at the same time prepare myself for whatever was about to hit the fan and be aimed I was sure, in my direction.

I glanced over to him for a moment. He took a few deep breaths and his face seemed to finally relax. He reached for his coffee and looked up at me, smiling. The smile reached his eyes. It was the smile that would normally greet me every morning. The smile that I had become accustomed too and would readily respond too.

"Thanks for this, Bella." He motioned with the cup slightly and took what seemed, a much needed mouthful. As he placed the cup down he sat back in his chair and inhaled deeply, raking his fingers through his hair. He stared at me for longer than usual, making me feel more nervous than before and I felt my cheeks flush.

"It's good to have you back, Bella. As you've noticed not everythin' went as smoothly as I had hoped in your absence." He took another mouthful of his coffee and I gave him an apologetic smile.

"You were very sorely missed, Bella." His bright blue eyes held mine captive, yet again. The all too familiar feeling of my attraction to him rose up again in my chest. The last time I had felt it was when? Of course how could I forget. The Friday he visited the island. My mind since then had been filled with thoughts of only one man. Somehow I thought that I would feel differently once I got back to work, that the connection I felt when he visited me on the island would somehow vanish. That it had been just a fleeting moment. Sitting here looking at Jasper and feeling this emotion for him once again took me by surprise.

"So, how was your holiday? Was it everythin' that you hoped it would be?" How the hell would I answer that? I quickly gathered my thoughts.

"It was just what I needed, Jasper. The island is really beautiful and before you ask, I did go whale watching." He sat back in his chair, a little further which helped me to relax somewhat. The guilty feeling in my stomach seemed to begin to dissipate.

"And I take it you enjoyed it?" He asked with a self satisfied grin on his face. I smiled back at him and nodded.

"Absolutely. They put on quite a show for us." I mirrored his stance and sat back in my chair a little more.

"I hope you don't mind, Bella but I've booked a dinner reservation for us this evenin'. Our chance to catch up. That is alright with you I take it?" I nodded and he smiled.

"Good." He continued. "The usual place and the usual time." He leaned forward and looked at his computer screen again. "Right, as you have no doubt seen, I have an appointment with Marcus." His tone had switched immediately to business like and official. "He want's to discuss somethin' with me. I only got the phone call from his secretary Friday afternoon and by that time he had left the buildin', so I am none the wiser as to what it's about. Anyway, if you would finish off the report that Tanya seemed to have difficulty with, I would appreciate it." He looked at me with his expectant look of raised eyebrows and a small smile.

"Yes, of course. As yet there isn't too much for me to catch up with." I stood to leave, acutely aware of his eyes scanning my face as I did so. It was almost as if he wanted to say something else.

"Will that be all?" I asked as I reached the doorway and half turned to await his reply.

"Yes, Bella. Thank you." He hesitated slightly, breaking himself out of a distant look. "Would you close the door behind you please. I need to catch up on a few things as I won't be in the office over the lunch break." I nodded to him, quietly shut the door and set to work on the file that Tanya had left with me. It would certainly help me to refocus. I took a deep breath to finally settle my nerves and set to work.

The morning went by without too many interruptions and I managed to get the report finished. As it turned out I had to do the report all over again. None of it seemed to make sense. It was almost as if the file had been dropped and hurriedly put back together with the pages jumbled around. I decided that there would no point in saying anything to Jasper about it. Tanya was upset with him and visa versa. I took all the calls for Jasper, none of which were urgent. They would keep until after his lunch time meeting.

At a quarter to twelve Jasper emerged from his office, straightening his tie and putting his jacket back on. I noticed that the collar of his jacket was not laying straight.

"Jasper!" I called gently. He halted at my office door and half turned. I don't know why but without a word I stood from my desk and walked over to him. He watched intently as I approached him, a slightly puzzled look on his face.

I reached up to the crooked collar and flattened it out without saying a word. I swept my fingers across his shoulder as if there were fluff that needed to be removed. But there was none. We both realised how close we were standing to each other. As he looked down at me I felt his breath fan my face and his scent swirl around my head. He shut his eyes for the briefest of moments. An overwhelming sense of deja vu hit me. We had stood this close in the cabin. Then it was his gesture that had made me stop in my tracks. Somehow this felt like my answer to him. More than a week later I was replying. I slowly lifted my hand from his shoulder and nervously tucked a non existent strand of hair behind my ear, almost as if that was what I intened to do in the first place.

As he opened his eyes and looked at me in a way that I could not comprehend, I took a step back and reacted in the only way I knew how in the situation. I spoke to break the silence.

"You had better go or you'll be late. It's a long ride in the lift." He gave me a small nod, turned and left my office. I watched as he walked the length of the main corridor until he reached the lift doors. As he pressed the call button, he turned knowing that I was standing there, watching him. He smiled at me and then entered the lift. I shut my eyes as the doors closed on him.

What the hell just happened? What was I thinking? Actually, no. I wasn't thinking. And therein lay the problem. I had always thought about every action and every word said until recently. Now I was finding myself reacting to him without thinking about it.

Very dangerous, Bella! I chided myself. Good God girl, he's your boss! You're putting yourself in the same position as you were when you were on the island. What the hell are you doing?! Idiot!

I felt the overwhelming need to leave. I gathered up the finished report and put it quickly on Jasper's desk for his approval, grabbed my purse and jacket and made my way out of the building. I needed fresh air, in large doses!

I walked to the cafe where I always met Rose and Alice forlunch. They were already there and had preempted my choice by ordering me a salmon pasta salad. Perfect! Anything heavier and I think I may have thrown up. My stomach was in complete knots.

With the customary greetings out of the way, we sat and launched into our food.

"So, how has today been,Bella?" Rose asked, taking a sip of her water. She was probably still detoxing from the weekend.

"Well, Jasper hasn't been too happy this morning. Tanya messed up a report while I was away and he's had to attend an important meeting this lunch time." I informed them both. They did their usual double act and looked at each other with surprised faces.

Alice looked over to me, a little taken aback. "What, he's gone to a meeting without you?" I nodded.

"Yes, Alice. It's seems that it's more of a private and personal meeting so therefore nothing to do with me." I replied. I was as much in the dark as anyone but for some reason that unsettled feeling was still sitting in my stomach. I needed a distraction.

So I shared with them how much I enjoyed my weekend and the good news about my dad.

"Oh my God, Bella?! As old as I am I still get freaked out by the thought of my parents getting intimate with each other!" She gave a small shudder which Rose grinned at and I simply smiled at the memory of how happy dad looked.

"I don't think they've quite reached that stage yet, Alice. And even if they have, why not? They seem to make each other happy. I think they might actually be in love but not know it yet." We all looked at each other and sighed a breathy sigh, at the same time. We were romantics at heart. Even Rose with her no nonsense approach to relationships, craved romantic moments. My mind filled with flashbacks of moments in Carlisle's cabin.

Changing the subject quickly, I looked at them both pointedly. "So how did Friday evening go?" Alice giggled and Rose looked at her, disapprovingly.

"We had a great time, Bella." Alice chimed, taking another bite of her salad. "You really should have come with us. Peter really is great company. Very attentive." I rolled my eyes at her.

"And I was very much the fifth wheel, Alice." I added quickly. Alice just shrugged her shoulders.

"I get the feeling he's not averse to three in a bed myself." I coughed, nearly choking on a piece of pasta. Alice had said it in such a matter of fact way, I could hardly believe her. Sometimes she surprised even Rose.

Rose smiled trying to camouflage her shock at Alice's words.

"Bella would not have agreed to that anyway, Alice! Bella isn't like that, are you sweetheart?" She said, looking over to me and giving me a reassuring smile. She recovered well and had dutifully sprung to my defense. I smiled back at her in thanks.

"Well, it has been three weeks, hasn't it?" Alice looked at me with narrowed eyes.

It took me a fraction too long to process what on earth she was talking about. I felt the hint of a blush rise to my cheeks. Damn my blushing cheeks! They always gave me away. I had managed so well on Friday too.

"I thought so." She said, stuffing the last of her chicken salad in her sweet little mouth. She shook her head slowly from side to side as if disappointed in me.

"You thought what, Alice? What are you talking about now?" I wasn't sure if was protesting too much or not enough. I had never been in this situation before.

"All I can say, Bella is as long as you enjoyed your fucking good time on the island, then that's good enough for me." I quickly ate the last mouthful of my pasta salad and finished my iced tea. The damage was already done. I just kept my mouth shut.

It was Rose's turn to narrow her eyes at me. "When Alice came up with that notion, I told her that it was nonsense. I don't suppose you're going to share are you?" She added extra pressure on me by pouting her perfectly made up red lips.

I shook my head in the negative. No I would not be sharing the details of that liaison. Ever!

I could feel their eyes on me as I looked around the cafe trying desparately to look disinterested. They took the hint. Nothing more was said on the subject. For that I was thankful. We had known each other for long enough now that we knew how far we could push a subject and each other for that matter. This was one of those times when backing down was essential to the well being of our friendship.

Before we parted Rose said that they were organising to meet with Garrett and Peter again for drinks one evening. They wanted me to join them.

"Let me know what you arrange and I'll say whether or not I can join you, okay?" Just for a change Alice kept quiet.

"There was a time, Bella," Rose began as she hugged me goodbye. "When you would always come out with us no matter what. It seems to me that you have learnt to say no somehow, since you went away." She held me at arms length making me feel like I was under one of her make up inspections.

"Maybe I have, Rose. That's not a bad thing is it?" I smiled at her weakly.

She tilted her head slightly and looked at me again. "No, Bella it's not a bad thing at all. I think in your case, it's about fucking time." Yes, Rose always had a way with words. I appreciated her approval of me. Somehow it gave me the boost I needed to tackle the rest of the day.

When I returned to my office I was rather surprised that Jasper was still out. I busied my mind checking e-mails and organising the phone messages in order of importance.

It was another half an hour before Jasper returned to the office. He glanced over to me as he walked through to his office and shut the door behind him.

I plopped down in my chair, perplexed. In all of the three and a half years I had worked for him he had never shut the door between us. He had always, when it was deemed necessary, requested that I shut the door.

I registered my stomach churning again. The heavy emotion of dread and fear. I hadn't been able to take in the look on his face fully, as he walked through the office.

There certainly wasn't anger or urgency in his walk. The whole time while he was at the meeting I was cnvinced that the news would be good. Anything else would not have made sense.

I was beginning to get a headache. I poured myself a cup of water and sat down again just as his door opened. He walked over to my desk silently and placed the report in front of me.

"That's fine, Bella. As always." His tone was gentle and yet there was somehow an underlying edge to it.

"I have a few things to do out of the office. I probably won't be back by the end of the day. Can you please see to everythin' and I'll catch up with anythin' that needs my attention in the mornin'." I nodded to him. I wanted to say something but just couldn't find the right words. It was probably better that I stayed silent at that moment in time.

He moved one step closer to where I was sitting. I looked up at him still not able to figure out the look on his face. Sadness, disappointment? He reached down to me and ran the back of his fingers down my left cheek. There was that feeling again. The sensation that I had felt when he touched me before. My heart sped up and my cheeks flushed under his touch.

He exhaled deeply. It was almost tangible; I could feel the weight of it fill me. What on earth had happened in the meeting that had given him such a heavy heart?

He moved his fingers away from my face as he spoke. "Our dinner arrangements still stand, Bella. We'll talk later." In his next breath he stepped away from me and headed towards the lift. I stood to watch him. He didn't look back.

I couldn't decide if I was looking forward to our 'catch up' date or not. As I turned my attention back to the work in hand, of one thing I was sure. I would face whatever he had to tell me without trepidation.

End of Chapter

Author's note; So, what do you think? I just had to leave the chapter there. Their dinner date will be the next chapter. I promise not to leave you in suspense any longer than necessary. It would be great to read what you think is going on in a review. As it stands anything is possible. Take care until next time.