Thank you all so so so so much for your incredible reviews on chapter 24. It was such a difficult chapter for me to get through being so deep in jasper's mind and appreciate all of your love.

We left Chapter 24 with J at the front of the hospital. Read on…..

I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 25

I stood in front of the double doors as they opened and closed in a regular motion as people I didn't know moved in and out of the hospital.

All types of people moved around me: doctors and nurses, patients and visitors, the old and the young, all ethnicities and I'm sure all preferences.

I should be moving with them, but they only moved around me.

I was close enough to feel the stale hospital air against my nose and my feet stopped.

I made my decision, it was Edward; life and death; forever.

But with each step I took closer to him, the questions continued. He asked me to leave so that is what I did. Did he want me to come back? I don't know.

What if he didn't want me back? He didn't say how long I was to go.

What if he meant forever? What was I going to do then?

As I considered my boundaries, I began breathing faster and faster. The world spun around me.

Those people around me didn't see the difference in me. It was my emotions, my inner turmoil that raged beneath my skin. Hell, if they could see what was spinning through my mind, I'm sure they would have locked me on the fifth floor with the rest of the crazy patients.

I don't know how much time passed while I stood in the doorway.

Suddenly, I was pushed by a young man about six inches shorter than myself with flaming red hair dressed in a short white doctor's coat.

His nose was stuck in a thick text book and he was hurrying through the doors. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going or what was in the way. After he passed me, he must have pushed by a half dozen more people while entering the hospital.

Before I could take the next breath, one boot was placed in front of the other and I found myself enclosed within the lobby of the hospital.

I continued to follow the red headed boy through the halls of the bustling building and around the corner to where the elevators waited.

The boy barely stopped as I continued to follow him in to the big metal box.

He was finally forced to stop moving. The book dropped half an inch and he glanced up at me showing me green eyes and a pouty grin that only reminded me of my love on the seventh floor.

I told him where I was going and built my armor around me.

I was going to go into the room with strength. I was going to tell him I loved him. I was going to tell him I didn't care if he demanded me out of his room today, I loved him. I knew he was not himself, but I would wait forever to him to tell me he loved me too even if it took forever.

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor and I was quickly making my way down the final stretch of the hospital hallway.

I passed the family waiting room. I didn't go in, but I could hear Alice's voice through the paper thin walls.

I didn't know who she was talking to since I was sure Edward's parents and grandparents were at his house. But we never left Edward alone in this place.

I counted the steps down the hall before I found myself standing in front of the closed door, the same closed door that I walked out of only hours ago.

It was only hours? If felt like days.

I swallowed.

I lifted my hand.

I knocked.

It was the first time I knocked in three and a half weeks.

I heard no response and I cracked the door open an inch.

I peaked through the hall.

He was lying on his back with his eyes closed.

I heard his wheezing breath whisper steadily through the air.

He was asleep.

I crept across the floor and stood next to his bed.

I looked down on him. He had dark circles under his red eyes that were not there the last time I saw him. There were white streaks of old tears on his cheeks.

I reached out and touched his cheek with my finger. "Oh, Edward," I whispered.

His eyes remained clamped shut as I prayed his dreams took him to happier places.

I pulled the uncomfortable plastic chair close to the bed again and held his hand in my own. I promised myself when he woke, I would be here. I had too much to say.

Gently, with a butterfly's touch I pressed my lips to his fingers.

His fingers flexed within my own. I watched as his thick bronze lashes fluttered against his pale cheeks before opening to show me his beautiful green eyes.

I reached out to touch his cheek again like the connection was my lifeline. I needed him to understand.

"Hello, Edward," I whispered.

"You came back," he responded weakly.

My jaw trembled, but I refused to allow the sob to escape me. Was my worst nightmare true? He didn't want me here? My heart felt like it could shatter into a million pieces.

"I'm back, Edward," I responded in a voice not much stronger than his own.

"Thank god you're back," he responded.

And it felt like the storm clouds opened. Thank God. Thank god I'm back.

I threw my arms around him.

"I'm sorry," I heard with his lips pressed against my ear, "I'm so sorry, Jasper."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry too," I responded.

We have so much to talk about and so much to apologize for.

"Jasper, I –," Edward started.

"Edward, I -," I started at the same time.

I shook my head and chuckled under my breath.

"Jasper," he started again, "I'm sorry. You cannot imagine how sorry I am right now. I didn't mean what I said."

I already knew that, but I can't express how wonderful it was to hear the words.

"I need you, Jasper," he continued, "I need you here and I need you to help me. I can't get through this by myself."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised, "I know this is hard and this isn't you, but you need to stay strong, baby. You need to work with the doctors so you can get out of here."

He nodded and I continued, "I will be here every step. I won't let you go and I won't let you make me go either."

He squeezed his eyes closed. When they opened they were full of tears. "You're my rock, I couldn't have gotten this far without you," he said.

Lifting a hand to wipe away the tears and sitting back in the bed he said, "I talked to Emmett."

He saw my grimace, but continued, "he told me how you kept me from dying when I was in the coma. I could feel you, Jasper. It was like I was stuck in a big black void, but I could feel you and I knew you were there. It gave me something to hang onto. I need you to keep me from sinking again."

I gently stroked my finger tip against his lashes pulling the remaining tears away. "I never went far, baby. I need to be here for you just as much as you need me. We're a team. We go together like peas and carrots."

He smirked and held on tighter with his grip around my chest. If he were up to his usual strength, he would be crushing me now. Instead, I responded, "You can order me away. You can tell me you don't want me here, but I know the truth. We need each other and I plan on staying for a very long time."

I smiled before reaching down to place my lips against his.

It was a soft kiss, a passionate kiss, but unlike the one that I had placed on his lips the day our isolation masks came off. This kiss shared my heart and refused to be interrupted.

Finally, as we began to run out of air, our kiss changed into a strong embrace. I wrapped my arms and my heart around the man in front of me. I refused to let go.

"I love you, Jasper," he mumbled against my chest.

"I love you too, Edward," I whispered into his hair, "With all of my heart, forever."

"Forever," he repeated.

I wasn't sure if the word held the same meaning for him as it did me when I loosened my hold around my love and settled him back into the uncomfortable cushion of the bed.

Not long after we ended our embrace, the door cracked open. A young male nurse named Paul stood in the doorway. He looked surprised to see me standing against Edward's bed when he opened the door.

"Visiting hours are ending in fifteen minutes," he called out before disappearing on the other side of the door.

I pressed a chaste kiss to Edward's lips to prepare to leave him for the night, although promising that I would not be any further than down the hall.

Before I could retreat too far, Edward grabbed my hand and begged, "Stay."

I shook my head, but Edward insisted and who was I to deny the love of my life.

I returned to the uncomfortable plastic chair that I had previously kicked away while making my amends with Edward. The doctors could yell and rant, but my Edward asked and I would obey. I would stay.