Here's the next chapter. It may be a bit boring, but it is necessary to get to the next one. I hope everyone likes it and once again, reviews are always appreciated.

Sitting in the back of an ambulance in the Cullen's driveway had Jasper seriously questioning how his life had come to that point. Most people could count how many times they went to the hospital on one hand and he was now pushing double digits.

"Are you feeling any more nausea?"

He looked over at the paramedic with a tired gaze. "No."

She nodded and adjusted the bandage on his head. He didn't particularly want to go to the hospital. He just wanted to go up to his room and go to bed. However, because the pain in his head had yet to subside even a little, they were worried something more serious could be going on and wanted to take him in for testing just to be sure.

From the door of the ambulance he could see Edward standing with a few of the cops. The kid kept looking toward him with a worried gaze. He vaguely wondered if Edward would ever look at him with anything but worry.

"Oh my God! Edward!"

A female voice suddenly broke out and Jasper recognized it right away. A second later he saw Esme sprint over to her son and envelop him in a bone crushing hug. He couldn't help but laugh at the embarrassed look on the kids face.

He couldn't hear what was being said but from the body language Edward seemed to be trying to tell her that he was okay. The relief that Jasper felt in that moment was staggering. He wasn't responsible for taking away her son. He didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if he was.

Before he could even process all of that, Esme's gaze shot over to him. There were tears falling down her cheeks and there were so many emotions playing across her face. There was fear, relief, happiness…and something he couldn't quite place.

Without a moment's hesitation she started dragging Edward over toward the ambulance. Jasper watched her warily. She was a mother who almost lost her son. He had no idea how she was going to react toward him.

His body tensed up as she approached and he couldn't quite look her in the eye.

Then, before he even knew what was happening, he was pulled into the fiercest hug he'd ever experienced in his life.

"Oh thank God…thank God…" Esme's voice murmured desperately in his ear.

Jasper was so in shock he didn't know what to do.

"Thank God you're alright."

If possible her arms tightened even more around him. He could see Edward over her shoulder and the kid was smirking at him. Jasper threw him a glare and gently wrapped his arms around his foster mother.

"It's okay Esme. I'm sorry."

She pulled back slightly with a frown. "Why are you sorry sweetheart?"

"I'm sorry I almost got Edward killed…"

Esme's eyes widened in understanding and she looked at him like he'd just said the most stupid thing in the world.

"Jasper, I want you to listen to me. Your father did this and none of it was your fault. Do you understand me?"

Too tired to argue with her he just nodded his head. Esme, noticing that he wasn't putting up a fight, just pulled him gently into another hug. As his brain pounded away inside his skull, Jasper gave up and let his forehead rest on her shoulder.

"None of it is your fault sweetheart. It's okay now…it's okay…"

With Esme's soft words in his ear and her fingers running soothingly through his hair, Jasper slowly felt himself succumbing to the horrible exhaustion he was feeling. He knew he couldn't fall asleep though, not with a severe concussion, so he slowly lifted his head and pulled away.

Esme allowed it and thankfully didn't say anything. She just smiled at him and then turned to speak with the paramedic from earlier. Jasper knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would be going to the hospital with him and truthfully, it put him at ease.

Edward walked closer and rested against the back door of the ambulance.

"Don't tell me you're coming to?"

His foster brother smiled up at him. "Of course I am. I leave you alone for five minutes and you get into trouble, so I kind of have to."

Jasper glared down at him but Edward just laughed. Deciding that he wasn't in the mood to put up a fight, he asked the next question that was on his mind.

"How's Emmett doing?"

"He's fine. The paramedics checked him out and said that aside from some bruising there was no real damage. His parents picked him up a few minutes ago. They were totally freaking out."

More people he was going to have to apologize to. They probably wouldn't even want him around their son anymore.

"Yeah…who wouldn't freak if their kid was almost murdered by some psycho."

"Jasper…"

"Don't Edward. I'm not in the mood right now."

Silence settled over them and Jasper wished that they would just hurry up and get moving.

As if answering his prayer, the paramedic turned to face him. "Looks like we're ready to go."

Jasper nodded and watched as Esme climbed back out of the ambulance.

"Edward and I will meet you at the hospital, alright Jasper?"

He just nodded again, too tired to really say anything.

Esme smiled at him with that same worried look on her face before backing away so that they could close the ambulance doors.

Once he was alone he released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It was hard to believe that it was finally over. His dad was going back to jail…not that he'd actually known he was out in the first place. Jasper thought back to the weird way Carlisle acted sometimes and the strange phone call he'd gotten just before his dad showed up.

The doc had known that his dad was out. Carlisle had known and hadn't told him.

He wasn't really sure how he felt about that yet. He did know that the doc probably didn't have any malicious intent in keeping it a secret. That just wasn't who the man was.

Despite that though, Jasper was angry. He wasn't a child. After everything that he'd already been through in his life, he deserved the truth. He could handle it. It made him mad that Carlisle kept something that important from him.

He sighed in annoyance as he leaned back against the bed. He was too tired to think about all that crap.

He really hoped that Emmett was okay…

Jasper glared down at his hands and tried to push away the guilt that was eating away at him. Esme was right. His father was the one that did everything…

So why did he feel like it was all his fault?

Carlisle had never driven so fast in his life. Even despite that, he hadn't been able to do anything to protect his family and now Jasper was in the hospital…again. There were so many things that he could have done differently.

As he walked down the hallway toward his foster son's room, he couldn't help but question all of his actions up until that point. He knew it was pointless, there was nothing he could do about it now, but it didn't stop him from feeling regret.

Maybe if he'd just told the boy about his father in the first place, none of this would have happened…

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. All he could really do now was hope that Jasper could eventually forgive him.

"Carlisle!"

Looking up from his hand he was relieved to see his wife waving at him from the waiting room up ahead.

He made his way forward at a faster pace and quickly enveloped her in his arms.

"Thank goodness you're alright."

She laughed slightly and pulled away. "Of course I am. I talked to you on the phone only fifteen minutes ago."

"I know that…I just needed…"

"I know sweetheart. I know." Esme whispered kindly as she gently cupped his cheek with her palm.

The two of them stood there staring at each other for a moment before reality resurfaced.

Carlisle pulled away with a sigh and looked around the waiting room. "Where is Edward?" He asked when he didn't see his son anywhere.

"He's just down the hall grabbing a hot chocolate. He should be-"

"Dad!"

Whipping around, Carlisle saw his son walking toward them with a small smile on his face.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Carlisle was sprinting across the room and pulling his son into his arms, carefully avoiding the cup in his hands.

"Argh, dad…to tight." Edward mumbled from within his embrace. Carlisle only pulled him in tighter.

Edward settled comfortably into his father's arms and Carlisle just let himself enjoy the moment. His son was safe. The worst case scenario hadn't come to pass and he had never been more grateful for anything in his entire life.

"Thank God you're alright…" He muttered into his son's hair as he held him close.

"I'm okay dad. Everything's okay."

Carlisle nodded at Edwards words and pulled away to hold his son at arm's length in order to get a better look at him.

Edward looked perfectly fine. Physically at least. Carlisle would have to talk with him about what happened but that could wait until they were all safely back at home.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Edward. It never should have happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Edward frowned up at him. "You know, you're starting to sound like Jasper. This wasn't your fault dad, just like it wasn't his fault either."

Carlisle laughed lightly at his son's words. "You're right of course. Perhaps I should just focus on the fact that everyone is safe."

Edward nodded enthusiastically with a smile. "Wow. If only Jasper were that easy."

The two of them laughed together for a moment before focusing on Esme as she made her way over.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

Carlisle just shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing. How is Jasper doing?"

Esme's smile faltered slightly which brought his anxiety back full force.

"Esme?"

She sighed and looked him in the eyes. "They're running some tests now just to make sure there's no permanent damage. The concussion was pretty severe according to Tanya, but after a few days and a bad headache he should be fine. I'm more worried about what this is going to do to his mental state. His father did this Carlisle. His own father tried to k-kill him…"

Carlisle pulled her into his arms again when tears started streaming down her face.

"We'll do whatever we need to do to make sure he pulls through this. He's not alone. Not anymore."

Esme nodded against him as she tried to calm herself down.

She pulled away and looked like she was about to speak but they were interrupted.

"Oh, Carlisle, glad to see you've arrived."

They looked over to see Dr. Tanya Hart walking over with a clipboard in her hands.

"Hello Tanya. How's Jasper doing?"

She walked over and flipped a page on the clipboard in front of her. "Well, the concussion is pretty bad so I want to keep him here for observation overnight. But, barring any complications, he should be good to go tomorrow morning. He's gonna have one hell of a headache for a while but he'll make a full recovery."

The relief that flooded through him was overwhelming. Jasper was going to be okay.

"I'm so glad to hear that. Thank you so much Tanya."

She smiled at him as she adjusted the clip board under her arm. "Oh, it's no problem. Just doing my job. You can go in and see him now if you'd like. Room 284."

"We will. Thank you."

Tanya nodded and then turned to head off down the hallway.

Carlisle turned back to Esme. "Shall we?"

His wife smiled and nodded before gesturing to Edward to follow her. Carlisle watched them go, once again feeling immensely grateful for the wonderful blessing they were. His family was safe and sound and he wouldn't ever take that for granted again.

He could only hope…that Jasper would still want to be a part of it.

Jasper shifted in the hospital bed wishing that he was back in his own at the Cullen house. He had never really realized how uncomfortable the damn things were until he'd had something better.

With a sigh he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. His head was killing him. They'd given him something for the pain and it had worked for a while, but now it was wearing off and he could practically feel his brain pulsing within his skull.

He once again cursed his father. The bastard had really did a number on him this time. He still remembered the feel of the gun as it collided with the back of his head. The next time he saw the man he was gonna…

He was gonna do nothing.

Jasper shifted again, this time onto his side to try and make himself more comfortable.

He probably wasn't going to see his father again. At least not until trial day. It was kind of amazing how his feelings on that subject had changed in such a short amount of time. The last time he'd been in the hospital about to put his dad in jail he'd hesitated. The fear had been overwhelming and all he wanted to do was pretend that none of it ever happened.

Now though, he wasn't afraid anymore. He'd confronted the man, come out of it alive, and now he was planning on making sure the bastard never got out again.

He still didn't really understand how the man had got out on bail in the first place. They didn't have any money and his dad didn't have any friends, so who the hell had shelled out the cash for bail?

The first thing he was going to do when he got out of the hospital was find out the answer to that question.

"Jasper?"

Slowly opening his eyes he saw the Cullen's standing in the doorway to his room. Carlisle was in the front and the man looked like he was about to face a firing squad.

That only cemented the fact that the man had had no malicious intent when he kept the whole, Henry's out of jail, thing a secret.

Jasper was still mad though.

"Can we come in?" The doctor hesitantly asked.

"Sure…" Jasper mumbled as he once again shifted in the bed.

The three of them walked over with varying degrees of concern on their faces so he figured he'd put them out of their misery.

"You know, you guys don't have to worry so much. I'm gonna be fine. The lady doc said I'll have a headache for a while but that's it."

His words had absolutely no effect. Esme walked over to sit in the chair beside his bed and Edward came to stand beside her. Carlisle walked around to stand on the opposite side.

"Jasper, we will never not worry about you. You've been through something horrible so you have every right to not be okay." Esme said softly, trying to be considerate of his throbbing head.

He was appreciative of that at least, but he just shrugged slightly, not really in the mood to validate her words.

An awkward silence enveloped the room. Well, awkward on his end anyway. He was glad they were there, it was nice not being alone, but after everything that happened he had no idea how to talk to them.

Thankfully he didn't have to. For some reason, maybe it was written on his face or something, they seemed to realize that he didn't want to discuss anything that happened, at least not right then anyway. Esme started talking about inconsequential things like the weather and soon enough the three of them were rattling on about nothing while simultaneously comforting him with their presence.

It was amazing really, that three strangers could make him feel so safe and at home when his own father made him feel like worthless garbage.

With that thought in mind, Jasper finally drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face and the soothing voices of the Cullen's surrounding him.

Carlisle looked down and noticed that Jasper had fallen asleep. He smiled softly at the peaceful look on the boy's face. "Well, looks like he's out for a while at least."

Esme followed his gaze. "Thank goodness. He looked utterly exhausted."

Carlisle nodded before rubbing a hand over his tired face. "Speaking of exhausted, why don't you and Edward head on home sweetheart. It's been a long day and you should both get some sleep."

Esme looked up at him with a frown on her face. "I don't know if I want to leave him alone. What if he wakes up and nobody's here?"

Carlisle smiled down at her. "He won't be. I'm gonna stay here."

Esme's frown deepened. "Carlisle, you need to sleep too."

He just shook his head. "I'm fine. Besides, I have some work to finish anyway. That drive to Seattle put me a bit behind."

For a moment it looked like she was going to argue but then seemed to think better of it. He watched with fond affection as his wife sighed in resignation and pushed herself to her feet.

"Alright, fine. But promise me you'll at least try and take a nap or something."

Carlisle chuckled lightly. "I promise."

Esme rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Let's go Edward. Before I decide to drag your father out of here by his ear."

With one last smile thrown his way, Esme left the room.

Edward started to follow before turning to face him. "Dad?"

"What is it son?"

Edward's eyes shifted over to the sleeping form of Jasper on the bed. "He's…he's gonna be okay, right?"

Carlisle turned his gaze to Jasper as well. "He's going to be fine son. We'll make sure of it."

Seemingly pacified for the moment, Edward nodded and then followed his mother out of the room.

Once they were gone Carlisle dropped his weary body into the chair beside the bed. This whole thing was far too reminiscent of their first meeting for his liking. He had promised Jasper that he would keep him safe and he had managed to fail spectacularly.

Carlisle sighed and leaned forward to take Jasper's hand in his own. Rubbing his thumb gently over the boys pale flesh in a soothing motion, he settled in for a long night.