Chapter Twenty One

Bella

The warm water felt good on my cold skin but I couldn't let go of Jasper totally, I needed the reassurance of his touch. I was way past feeling embarrassed at being naked in front of him or Peter, they were friends helping me not men leering at me although I couldn't imagine any man being turned on by this poor battered and bruised bag of bones. The warmth also eased the pain in my ribs and I was able to take deeper breaths. My jaw was another matter, that hurt like a bitch and I had visions of being wired up again unless I could do something about it. When Char got back with fluffy socks and a pair of thermal pyjamas Jasper lifted me out of the bath and offered to let Char help me dry and get dressed but I just shook my head wearily, I'd take his help above anyone else's.

Once tucked up in bed under a huge duvet and with a mug of hot chocolate and a straw I started to feel a little more human. Jasper had an arm around my shoulders his other hand lay on the cover and I put mine over it, spelling out the words I couldn't utter. He watched until I finished then looked into my face.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded gently to prevent shooting pains in my jaw,

"What?"

Peter came to sit my other side,

"What does she want Major"

He put my hand under his and gestured for me to tell him,

I spelt out the same request,

"Make me like you"

He smiled

"Fed up with getting your ass whipped Bells?"

I nodded again and he looked at Jasper.

"Well she's hurting pretty badly as it is and she knows what her request means so I guess its down to you."

I looked at Jasper as he touched my cheek very softly,

"If it's what you really want Bella but I have a condition."

I raised an eyebrow, about the only action that didn't hurt at the moment.

"Be mine for eternity. I love you Bella, be my mate, my wife."

My heart stuttered at his request, how could he have known my deepest desire?

I spelt YES in large letters.

"Well I guess you got your answer, just about shouted."

"We can't do it here though it's too public."

"OK, I'll make up the back of the car like a cocoon for her and put the heat on high. You start the process and Char and I will drive back to our place. It's a long way but she can't wait days in pain like this and if you take her to a hospital there will be lots of questions. We'll take back roads over the mountain and travel without stopping. It's not ideal but its the best I can think of. What do you say Bells?"

I nodded, tears leaking from my eyes and running hot tracks down my cheeks. Anything would be preferable to the pain I was in at present and at least the transformation would be over in three days, a wired jaw took considerably longer! I looked at Jasper who looked as if he wanted to demur but seeing my tears he smiled.

"OK but I'm holding you to your word. As soon as you wake up we're getting married."

I couldn't smile but I caressed his face with my hand.

"I reckon that's a yes Major. Give us a few minutes to get the car ready then you can start the process as soon as we get moving."

Jasper held me close as we waited, whispering how much he loved me and how happy he was at the thought of us being together for eternity. I just wished I could answer him with similar words but articulating anything better than a mumble was impossible and even that was excruciating.

Jasper

I needed to be sure Bella was making the right decision for the right reasons but it was her choice and I could feel her love for me overriding the pain and suffering and that would have to be enough. If she changed her mind about me afterwards then I would live with it, I couldn't force her to take me. I carried her out to the car, the back seat covered in blankets and a duvet like a nest and I lay her down then slid in beside her so her head was on my lap. I knew her ribs protested at the position but I needed access to her neck to start the transformation properly. My venom entering her blood supply at a main artery would lead to the faster transformation and I didn't want her suffering any longer than necessary. As the car pulled out of the motel lot I bent my head and kissed her very carefully on the lips then moved to her throat and bit down on her flesh. The warm blood flooded into my mouth and I couldn't help swallowing just a little then I concentrated on pumping in as much venom as I could. Holding on far longer than strictly necessary as a precaution.

As her body started to writhe I tucked her head under mine and held her tightly, pulling the agony from her and replacing as much as possible with calmness and peace as I had before when she was suffering. The writhing subsided to tremors and I knew I was making a difference although my own body screamed with the remembered agony of my own transformation, my mind trying desperately to throw off this suffering that wasn't mine. Clamping down against this natural reaction I closed my eyes and tried to leave the present behind and find a quiet place in my mind to take Bella's pain, far away from her.

Peter

Char drove the first leg while I monitored our passengers. I knew The Major was working his magic because Bella was quiet, only mumbling and shaking occasionally . His face betrayed the pain he was taking from her, the agony scoring deep lines on his brow and making his own body shake. As long as we weren't stopped for a routine traffic stop we were home dry. The roads we took were little used, especially this time of year so our chances were good. After a few hours Char and I changed places and the road got steeper and more winding, we saw a couple of trucks but they were going in the opposite direction and one even slowed to warn us of bad weather ahead. He glanced in the back and smiled thinking we had a courting couple there.

"They got the best idea."

I smiled and went on, glad that with the adverse weather we'd encounter even less traffic.

Bella

The pain started bad, even worse than my jaw but the intensity was short-lived as I felt Jasper in my mind, cooling the torture and taking it from me. I could hear my heart pounding fast and hard trying to flush the venom out of its chambers but all it did was to pump it more quickly into my other organs and flesh and I felt it changing, stiffening and heating to white hot. Why I wasn't burning like a flare I couldn't understand and the heat kept building but always shielded from completely burning through me by Jasper's cool presence. I would owe him big time for his help. I couldn't imagine going through this hell twice which was what he was effectively going through for me. All I wanted was for this to be over so I could be with him again as an equal, with no pain, no suffering, just the two of us together. My awareness of the outside world faded and all my brain could feel, or hear, or see, was the burning inside my own body. The heat climbed ever higher and I felt my skin blacken and peel from my bones.

Then suddenly everything was quiet and still, my body felt cool, my lungs were no longer sucking air in and my heart that had fought so valiantly had beat its last. I was dead to my old life and terrified of opening my eyes to my new one as a vampire. I could feel the rough texture of the blanket against my cheek, my jaw no longer hurt, neither did my ribs. I took an experimental breath and smelled the most wonderful spicy aroma very close to me. I could feel strong arms tight around me and a firm body close to mine. Jasper still held me although I couldn't hear the sound of an engine. Had we stopped somewhere or were we at Peter and Char's? Was I in the car or in a bed? I suddenly felt confused and scared, lost in a new and strange world. I heard a voice I knew but it was even smoother and lilting than before.

"Its OK Bella. It's over, take your time and open your eyes when you are ready. We're alone."

Somehow I already knew that, although I had no idea how I knew. The room, for it was a room I was sure, sounded empty except for the two of us. I moved my hand to touch Jasper's cheek and it felt warm and soft like mine in fact but I could feel its texture and as my fingers trailed down his throat I felt ridges marring its smoothness. I opened my eyes and gasped, colors were more vivid, textures stood out, things were in much sharper focus. His dusty blond hair looked like liquid honey flowing down the side of his face, the ridges I had felt scars, bite marks in his skin, something my human eyes had missed. I sat up very slowly taking stock of my body as I did so. Everything was working and there was no pain at all except for a burn in my throat but that was manageable for now.