Setting and characters belong to their creators.

Hello everyone! I know I've been gone for a while. I don't want to air everything out publically, but we had a personal issue at the end of November and I haven't felt up to writing. I needed to concentrate on my family for a bit. I think I'm ready to be back now. Thank you for waiting patiently for me, and for the kind words in the interim.

Gentle strumming filled the air as I lay on my stomach on the bed in the upstairs bedroom of Jasper's home. He had put his undershirt back on, but left off his sweater. The sunlight danced off of his iridescent skin as his fingers expertly moved along the neck of his guitar. I pulled his pillow close, inhaling deeply. I had lost track of time. Jasper was doing an adequate job of keeping me entertained.

"You're hungry," he said after he finished another unnamed song.

"I'd rather watch you play," I said with a smile.

"You'll enjoy it more if you aren't distracted by hunger," he said. He stood from the corner armchair and leaned his instrument against the wall.

I sighed in agreement. I pushed myself up from the bed and took his offered hand. He brought my hand to his lips and gently pressed them into my palm before pulling me to him and kissing my lips.

We could do that now. If I wanted to kiss him, he would know and oblige. The guessing games and mixed signals were things of the past. Things of our past. It felt like everything had changed in the course of an afternoon. Yet, I was still filled with questions.

His pantry was well stocked for a man that didn't eat. I remembered what he had said about meat, so I decided to make a quick salad. Jasper chopped the lettuce in a blur of motion. He sat across from me, watching me eat as he had that morning.

That morning seemed like a different time, something left behind. Jasper had told me that kissing me was easy for him, easier than he thought it was going to be. I had spent so long in denial about my feelings for Jasper, I hadn't considered how much Edward had struggled. I didn't think about how difficult it was supposed to be for Jasper. On the other hand, I had spent more time in close proximity to Jasper.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked. When I hesitated, he smiled and gently encouraged me. "Just tell me, Bella."

"I was thinking about what you said earlier," I said. "When you said that it was easy to..."

"Kiss you," he said, his voice low and sweet. It sent a shiver through my spine.

"Yes. I was just wondering why," I said, blushing.

"I think you were onto it earlier," he said. "There was a part of me that was thirsty, for a brief second. But I could feel you. Your feelings echoed mine; it was like you were amplifying all the right things. The thirst just faded away."

"You knew that would happen?"

He shook his head. "I couldn't know for sure, but it felt right to me. I've wanted to kiss you before today. I have considered telling you about my feelings for you many times. After I felt you yesterday from so far away, I couldn't deny it any longer. I was prepared to run, if the thirst was too strong. I can't tell you how amazing it was to be so close to you and feel my inhuman desires melt away."

I was breathless at his words. "I thought maybe it was just because you've been around humans more. You know, the 'people skills' you've been working on."

"I'm nowhere near safe enough to be with you. If you didn't reciprocate my feelings, I don't think I could have controlled myself. The only reason we can work is because of you." He stood up from his chair and walked behind mine. I felt his lips against my hair as he sighed. "Finish your food. I'm afraid I'm distracting you."

"I like it," I replied.

"I do too, but I want your full attention. Tend to your needs, then meet me in the den," he whispered in my ear.

He was seated on the sofa waiting for me. My camera bag and purse were sitting on the coffee table in front of him. I sat down next to him. His hand was instantly rubbing my back. Despite his cool skin, a warm and comforting feeling saturated me wherever he touched.

"What time is it?" I asked as I peeked into my purse for my phone. I pulled it out and sighed. The screen was black and lifeless.

"Do you have the cord with you?" he asked. "It can charge while we look through your pictures."

I pulled the cord out of my camera bag, tucked away with the battery charger and USB cable for the camera. He took both the cord and phone from my hands and walked back into the kitchen.

"You have missed calls," he said.

"From who?"

"You should come check the voice mail, Bella," he said seriously. "One of these calls is from the hospital."

"The hospital?" I jumped up and scrambled into the kitchen.

Jasper was seated at the kitchen table, the phone in his hand. I resumed my old seat and grabbed it from him. I scrolled through the missed calls. The first was from Charlie's phone, the second from Jacob's home number, two from unidentified numbers and a final one with a local exchange. I frantically pushed the buttons that took me to the voice mail.

Charlie's voice came on the line. "Hey, Bells. It's your dad. Listen, my friend Harry is sick. His wife thinks he needs to go to the hospital, but you know how those guys are about going to our hospitals. Sue would rather have him break tradition than stay there and get worse. She called me at the station. I got off work early and I'm going down there to try to talk some sense into him. I don't know when I'll be home. Just give me a call when you get this. OK, bye."

That sounded like Charlie: always coming to someone's rescue.

Beep.

Jacob, obviously angry or panicked, shouted into the phone. "Bella, where the hell are you? What's the point of having a damn phone if you don't pick it up?"

Beep.

"Miss Swan, this is Officer Harper down at Forks PD. Can you please call the station as soon as you get this message?" The voice was polite in a forced sort of way.

Beep.

There was one hang up between the last message and the one that finally gave me an answer.

"Miss Swan, my name is Hillary and I'm a nurse calling from the emergency department of Forks Community Hospital. We have your father Charlie here. I need you to return our call as soon as possible or come on down here."

I let the phone slip out of my hand and fall to the floor.