A/N: - Well this is not the last Chapter, when I reached 3,000 words I knew I'd got too much still to say lol,
The title refers's to SM's boring old Blue Edward and of course the exciting fiery Red Jasper. Couldn't resist the obvious 'Matrix' connotation either xx Alexis
"What's going on Jasper? Why hasn't she woken up yet? Is something wrong son?" Charlie was getting a little frazzled.
"She's just weighin' up her options Chief, stayin' where she is, Safe and deludin' herself or Wakin' to reality!" he sighed,
"What do you mean? Everyone and their granny has been inside her head this last week or so! It's been Grand Central Station in there, she knows what's going on, what's the choice?" Peter asked confused,
"Out here she's no longer a child, her mother is gone and the world has changed beyond all recognition to her, but in there she can make it all as it was before. It's a lot to accept for a teenager on the brink of womanhood, she wants it, but she's scared to take it!" Jasper told them all, he could feel every emotion as it ran through her mind.
He also was scared, no matter what they all told him, what if she didn't accept him, love him, need him, the way he did her. She had only eighteen years of knowledge and experience to draw on to make her decision, whereas he has more, so much more but would give it all up to be a teenage boy again, just to be with her.
WWWWWWWWWW
'I know the surface is just there, within my reach, but do I want to go out there? I'm not afraid to admit I'm really scared, I've been safe in here, inside my own mind, in here nothing has changed if I will it so. I want what's out there, I do! But I also want my life back the way it was!
Hell, I feel like 'Neo', this is my decision time. Jasper is my 'Morpheus' and I just need to choose,
the Red Pill means - 'Knowledge, freedom and the sometimes painful truth of reality',
the Blue Pill means - 'Falsehood, security and the blissful ignorance of illusion'.
Ah well here we go then, Red's more my colour anyway, it's exciting, adventurous, and a little dangerous, Blue always seemed so boring, staid and safe'. These are Isabella's thoughts as she makes her final decision to wake, she also feels Jasper's fear leaking across their bond.
She needs to be there to comfort him, assure him and most of all love him, so with that last thought her eyes flutter open and she locks her gaze with his for the first time. Her heart is pounding and her mouth dry, but it's nothing to do with the coma, but her body's reaction to seeing him in the flesh so to speak.
He's breathtakingly handsome and heartbreakingly vulnerable, the man before her is every young woman's wet dream and he belong's to her. This she knows without a shadow of a doubt, this Adonis, this Apollo is hers and hers alone. She draws in a stuttering breath and his scent fills her lungs soothingly. Without premeditated thought she pulls him forward with her shield, needing him closer to her.
A throat clears in the room, snapping her concentration off Jasper and she glances around seeing everyone staring at her. The blush that crosses her pale skin is enticing to Jasper, not in a bloodlust way, but a sensual erotic way and he let out a huge breath that he wasn't aware of holding.
Peter and Emmett are smirking at him and the woman all look slightly teary, only Charlie feels a tad uncomfortable with the obvious connection between the two. Not that he doesn't like Jasper, it's just that his little girl isn't so little anymore. Alice rubs his back gently and he relaxes saying,
"Welcome back kiddo, it's been too long!",
"H ..! Wa ...!" is all she can squeak out, Jasper is there with a glass and straw before anyone can move. He eases her up and she sips the water and places her hand over his on the glass, they both feel the frisson of electricity as it passes between them.
"Thank you, Cowboy, can you help me sit?" she says croakily and eyebrows lift as she calls him this. "Now, hello everyone and it's good to be back dad!" she concludes as Jasper settles her back against the pillows, but never let's go, either holding her hand of touching her arm or shoulder.
"Try not to talk too much darlin', Carlisle took the feedin' tube out before he left but your throat will be sore and scratchy for a couple of days. Also Charlotte and Rose are both qualified nurses and they will deal with the other one" Jasper tells her,
"Other one? Oh, Oh! Catheter yeah? Soon please my sisters" she pleads as they beam at her.
"How about we do that and you can have a bath? Would that be nice?" Rose asks, Isabella nods her head mouthing thank you to her.
"Afterwards Emmett wants to discuss your physio, he's been a personal trainer before, so perfect to get those muscle back up to speed and build up your body weight again darlin', he can discuss it over lunch, what do you fancy?" Jasper says.
"Ice cream! For my throat and some soup maybe, nothing heavy please" she says smiling at him and for a moment they lose themselves in each other's gaze.
"I've got you some clothes to wear," Alice said and everyone groaned,
"No! I got what you would like, some jeans, a sweatshirt and ballet flats!" she says beaming at Isabella and she smiles back replying,
"Thanks, Alice, that sounds great"
"Right everyone out, let's do this!" shouts Charlotte and everyone jumped up and scattered throughout the house.
WWWWWWWWWW
Sam was pacing back and forward, wrangling with a weighty problem when Leah arrived. He stopped and engulfed her in his arms, sighing he said,
"I don't know what to do! I asked Jared to stand with me, but Embry's my brother it should be him!"
She looked at her love, her best friend and shook her head, pulling him over to a seat and settling him down in it, she crawled into his lap and stroked his cheek saying,
"Baby! We're having two weddings, one tribal, which Jared can officiate at and one civil, which your brother can be your best man at, alright? Problem solved"
Sam laughed, he'd been worrying for nothing, that also helped him clear up another problem. He could not invite Esme Cullen to a tribal wedding as she was a vampire, but a civil one in Port Angeles, yes he could and would.
When he mentioned it to Leah she was happy to send an invitation to Esme, after all, she had done for Sam, that which his own people did not. Because of that incident, Sam had decided on a no hiding policy, everyone in the tribe now knew about the wolves and were proud.
He held meetings, explaining who would be most likely to phase and who would not, telling them this did not make them less important, but more really, they could be the families of future imprints, strong women and men maybe, who would be the guiding hands and loving beacons for their wolf to always follow home.
Under the gentle hand of Sam Uley, the tribe was beginning to take pride in their heritage once more and the reservation seemed a happier place. Buildings were being painted or repaired. Older members were offering their skills and knowledge to the younger ones, reviving their tourist trade and wiping out the bad memories of the reign of Billy Black.
WWWWWWWWWW
Carlisle and Edward were wandering around the gardens of the Volterra Citadel, as they entered one hidden part, tucked away in the corner, Carlisle explained this had been Didyme's retreat. Marcus had kept it going all these years, as a tangible connection to his lost love, he himself tended the plants and gained solace from them.
"I nearly made us, you like him didn't I? I was slowly destroying us both, I now understand the term living death!" Edward sighed taking Carlisle's hand in his, marvelling in the strength and yet softness of it.
"I can't believe how narrow-minded I acted, did you ever think you'd turned me to young?" he asked quietly,
"Yes, I did a few times, you showed no interest in ..., shall we say adult pursuits, neither male or female. Well until Jasper arrived that was!" Carlisle said and Edward heard the hurt he was trying to hide.
"Oh god! I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you like that, well maybe I did deep down. I just didn't understand what it was about him! He was as unlike any of us, as you could possibly get. He stirred up those feelings I'd crushed almost to death, did he know?" he quizzed Carlisle and he nodded but said nothing.
"All this time he knew and just took the shit I was heaping on him! Why?" he begged Carlisle,
"We all have our crosses to bear Edward, Jasper already hated himself, your condemnation just confirmed to him, that he wasn't worthy of love! The man was broken and instead of fixing him we all just tugged away at the edges of his wounds!" Carlisle was having a hard time not sobbing now.
He told Edward everything that had happened since he was sent away, how the gentle girl in a coma had done what none of them had even thought to do, bring the two halves of Jasper together finally. How he now was doing the same for her, his mate and destiny. He also told him all about Alice and Charlie, Isabella's father,
"So that's what you've been shielding from me, I knew there was something. I was just waiting till you wanted to tell me" he said unaware how big a change in him that was,
Carlisle was looking at him in wonder, after all this time Edward was growing up, had he just enabled and held him back for all those wasted years?
"No, my love, I did that all by myself!" he answered looking up into the pure topaz eyes of the man beside him.
Edward took Carlisle's face between his hands and really looked at him, before planting little kisses on his eyelids, his cheeks, his nose and chin, then firmly this time and with no hesitation, he initiated a deep and demanding, but soul consuming kiss.
WWWWWWWWWW
Isabella was so thankful for all the help everyone was giving her over the last few days, but she was starting to get a little cranky. Had everyone been told not to leave Jasper and her alone together, because it sure felt like it! If they didn't back off soon she was gonna blow and god help them all.
Jasper was aware and had commented, but was ignored by them all except Peter, he just smirked and winked.
"Chief Daddy's made a mistake this time, she's not going to like it when she hears he told us to keep you apart! I told him, but he wouldn't listen" he said quietly to his friend and sire.
Jasper nodded as if to say 'So be it', Isabella would put them in their place soon enough. He knew it was a father and daughter thing, but Isabella was no longer a child, she had seen her mother murdered and then committed one herself, this if nothing else would make anyone grow up.
Charlie was confident in himself that he had done the right thing after all, 'Bells' was only eighteen and had a lot of growing up to do. He conveniently forgot that she had been looking after her own mother for years, Isabella hadn't been a child since she was about seven years old.
So as the day progressed Jasper wondered how Alice couldn't know that the shit was about to hit the fan, but she could see nothing surrounding Isabella or her decisions. The final straw was when Rose interrupted Isabella while she was talking to Jasper, it was not so much the interruption but the way she spoke, treating her like a child of five or six not a grown woman. What the hell had he told them to make them suddenly act like this?
"Now Isabella you can talk to Jasper after dinner, but only if you eat it all, okay? Rose said unaware that she was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The bed started to shake, then the rest of the furniture in her room, the house too was trembling and everyone stopped exactly where they were as the heard it groan loudly. Suddenly the back wall blew out and every one of the vampires in the house except Jasper and Peter flew out of the opening one by one.
Peter was already out there sitting on the lawn with a bag of popcorn pretending to eat it while watching the show, he did catch his wife as she flew by though, raising an eyebrow at her in an 'I told you so' manner, she dropped her head ashamed that she hadn't listened to him.
"Go long, Alice!" Isabella roared as she picked up her startled father with her shield and launched him out there too. Jasper was laughing his head off, the looks on their faces were priceless. Then he realised he couldn't feel their emotions, or hear them. He could see them all milling around, all looking disgruntled with Charlie.
After all, they had been following his instructions, he'd said, she needed for once be the child and not have any adult responsibilities. That she needed to heal and grow up before getting serious with Jasper, so they had babied her, some much worse than others and he had let them all make fools of themselves, just because he had a hard time letting go.
It was as they tried to return to the house things became apparent, Isabella was beyond mad and had placed her shield over the house. They were stuck outside and she was not going to make it easy for them. Just to rub it in, to all of them, especially her father she took Jasper's hand walked up to the opening and turned around to face him.
Reaching up she grabbed his hair and tugged his head down towards her, which he allowed willingly. Then she basically kissed the ever living shit out of him and by the end of it, she was in his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist and Jasper was a turned on as any man in the same position would be and it was very noticeable to everyone outside.
Then the transparent shield became opaque, they could no longer see in but the young lovers could see out, Isabella sighed, this was her father's punishment. He would never know if they went any further and he would never ask, knowing it was he who drove her to it. Jasper held her tight, knowing how she was feeling and eventually he said,
"He meant well, just went about it all screw up like, darlin', he thinks he's losin' you to me, so he tried to keep us apart physically. I'm every father's nightmare you know, someone who can manipulate emotions. But darlin' I've never even tried" he told her honestly, she knew that and stroked his face gently.
"I know, but he has to learn, I will not be controlled like that, I will not have my decisions made for me as if I was an imbecile who couldn't make her own. I have a will of my own and have had to fight every step to get this far, it's so damn insulting and demeaning, he knows better. So I'm now exercising those rights!" she said laughing, "Hey! I wonder if my dinner survived all this?"
WWWWWWWWWW
Esme was thrilled to receive an invitation to Sam and Leah's wedding in Port Angeles, she was keeping out of the way of Isabella this morning and was at home alone when it arrived. She of all people should have queried Charlie on his instructions about Isabella and Jasper, but because she was his daughter Esme had let it slide.
To the detriment of all, unfortunately, nothing like getting your butt kicked by a human to make you see sense. She had phoned Jasper's cell an hour after it had happened, he answered right away, Esme apologised and asked to speak with Isabella,
"I am so sorry my dear, I let you down, I should have realised Charlie was doing it for his benefit and not yours!" Esme told her, then she asked what next? Isabella was unsure but wanted to drag it out a day or so.
"Pull your shield back just enough to let them fix the wall, I'll send word right away since they are just standing about doing nothing!" Esme suggested,
"Yes, we can see them, standing around like film extras!" Isabella said this surprised Esme, her shield must be like a two-way mirror.
"Okay dear, if you need me I'm at the house," she said before ringing off. Esme then called Peter, of all of them he had had the sense to not comply with Charlie's wishes, dear god that should have forewarned them all if he went against his 'Chief Daddy'!
So the rest of that night the others fixed the house and eventually Charlie came to the Cullens to sleep, he was feeling very sheepish and wouldn't speak to anyone but Alice. It was most apparent where his daughter got her stubborn streak from.
WWWWWWWWWW
Tomorrow is my tribal mating ceremony, the other Alpha's are arriving tonight with their imprints and the whole tribe has been working nonstop to make this a celebration to remember. They have requested a meeting with Esme Cullen at our treaty line, I think they were impressed with her, from what I told them.
So I'd better call her soon, she had given me her personal number to contact her on. I heard it ring twice before she answered,
"Esme Cullen, how can I help you?" her voice answered,
I explained about the other Alpha's and she said she'd be delighted to meet them. So we arranged to see each other at nine this evening, Esme thanked me for my invitation to the wedding in Port Angeles the day after tomorrow, saying she wouldn't miss it for the world.
I really liked that woman, yes woman, I never think of her as a vampire and therefore my enemy. I always see her as a friend, a mother figure even. When I rang off and returned to my house Leah was there and in tears,
"Baby, what's wrong?" I demanded,
"Nothing, it's so beautiful!" she sobbed, I'll admit I was a mite confused but entered the house anyway. I could see nothing different.
"The bedroom" she pointed a shaking hand towards our room.
I stopped short and gasped before me was the most stunning bed, the tribal designs and wolf motif's were amazing. It was done in local wood from this region, said to have magical properties and in a replica of an old style Chief's bed, but beside it was the best bit a matching crib with a wolf cub carved on the head end, it was truly awesome.
"Who? Where?" I stuttered and Leah handed over the note that came with it.
A true Chief needs a safe place to lay himself and his love down
and a future wolf cub deserves no less.
I believe Shaman Ateara can perform a ritual,
to protect those who sleep within it.
The crib was carved from the same tree,
so the magic should extend to it also.
Esme Cullen
I could hardly believe it, the last Chiefs bed was destroyed after the Chief died during the great storm, it was said to be a sign that the magic had stopped working. That woman was beyond amazing, she seemed to know us better than we knew ourselves.