"Jasper!" Bella's words came out in a hushed whisper, but the softness of her voice did not make the tone she used any less harsh.

She was upset or rather worried about the trouble my presence might create if Charlie discovered a man inside her room. "What are you doing in here?"

The plan I had worked out in my head gave me no reason to react to the frustration she displayed towards me. "How is your eye?" I asked nonchalantly.

My calm irritated Bella, "You have to leave. Charlie is in a good mood now, although I assume you had a hand in that, but still if he finds you up here there is no amount of Jasper mojo magic that will stop the protective father in him."

I tried not to smile, but her choice of words to describe my extra sensory vampire skill amused me. The more I was around Bella the more I became used to her and the sarcastic sense of humor she often used was definitely a quality I enjoyed.

"Stop grinning at me! You have to get out … now." She stumbled across the scattered items of my earlier mess in an attempt to reach me, but tripped instead.

Naturally, I was able to catch Bella before any more injuries could befall her and as I held her in my arms I could not help, but reply with a sarcastic remark of my own, "Walk much?"

Her face had fallen straight into my chest and at my teasing she looked up with those large brown eyes of hers and said, "I don't know, Jasper. Maybe, it wouldn't be so difficult to walk if the floor wasn't covered with things that didn't belong there."

I felt the girl's body shift away from mine as she found her footing once more. Then Bella reached up a hand to rub where her forehead had met my upper torso. No doubt the impact was felt, since her face was no match for the stone like quality of a vampire's body.

"Ah, don't fool yourself. I saw your crash downstairs on the steps. To me that fall just now would seem to be the product of a lifetime of clumsiness instead of my doing." I continued to tease.

Bella's hand moved over to the bandage covering her injury and I saw her face change from irritation to concern, "Does this bother you? I mean there is fresh blood behind this."

I dismissed her fear with a wave of my hand, "I'm fine."

She was still worried about my control. I should have expected as much after my near attack on a civilian in front of Bella's eyes, but still this did not mean I had the urge to taste her blood. Yes, I could smell the wound, but my need to protect Bella outweighed any desire I felt lurking below the surface. I would never ever repeat the events of her 18th birthday and I wondered how long I would have to wait before I could ease any doubt of this in Bella's mind. Maybe a lifetime. Well, if that is what it took then so be it. After the full extent of Alice's vision was related to me by Esme, I knew that nothing could keep me far from Bella again. Making it so she would not fall victim to what my love had seen would be my only concern for a very long time. The human girl standing in front of me now would see a full life. She was my existence's new purpose.

Bella seemed satisfied with my response about her blood not tempting me and then got back down to the business of removing me from her room. "Okay, I'm glad, but seriously, you have to go."

"Can I at least tell you of my plan?"

Her mouth opened as if to fight me on what I said, but as the words I spoke sunk in, confusion covered her face, "Plan?"

I nodded and then in a swift movement reached down to pull up her twin mattress, which had been lying far from its proper place. I heaved it onto the box springs where it should have been and made a seat for myself. Then I motioned for Bella to join me. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and I felt uncertainty in her. "It won't take long." I promised.

Looking downward as if trying to avoid another run in with things capable of making her fall, Bella carefully walked over to the bed. She sat down next to me and I heard a soft sigh escape her lips, which was followed by, "Alright, but you have 5 minutes to explain."

I could not help, but roll my eyes. "What do you think will happen, Bella? If Charlie is at all concerned about what is going on in your room, do you not think I will be able to hear him coming up the stairs and make my exit before he is any wiser? I mean I have been up here since your fall and heard everything that exchanged between the two of you. I do have excellent ears."

Bella's expression did not change and the look she gave me felt tinged with the face she had worn during our ride back from the theater, "I thought Bella's bitch face had been retired for now." I commented.

At those words the hard edge of her look and also her emotions softened. I felt a light humor fall from Bella and although, she tried in vain to fight it, the corners of her mouth curved upwards sheepishly. "Okay, I'm sorry. Please, tell me what you mean by plan. I will behave myself. It's only my fear of upsetting Charlie more than he already is that makes me get all riled up."

Of course, that was her reason. It was no surprise to me that her father was at the forefront of the girl's thoughts. I had always been aware of the strong love she felt for him. I remembered how fervently Bella had fought to go back for Charlie when James was tracking her. Instead of her own safety she had thought of her father's instead. With that image of her unconditional devotion to him in my head, I smiled at Bella and took a hold of her hand which had been resting palm up in the little space between our seated bodies. I entwined my fingers with hers and she did not pull away as I worried she might. Instead, I felt the warm pressure of her hand squeezing mine. She was looking at me with questioning eyes and I cleared my throat to answer, "For now I have, but one simple request before I can explain everything I have thought out. Go to Charlie and tell him that you have called me over to help with the mess. He won't complain. I sense that his happiness at finally having seen some progress in you will rule out any cynicism he might feel towards me. Besides he might as well get used to my presence here. Now go do that and I will be back here at your front door knocking like a true gentleman in 15 minutes."

I could see that she understood and would not push for any further clarification. "Okay, Jasper, but please when you come back can you make sure that your clothes aren't soaking wet?"

She removed her hand from mine and shook off the few drops of water that had fallen from my jacket sleeve onto her skin. "Of course," I chuckled, "Although, I must remind you that I was not the one who took 15 minutes to enter a house while you stood out in the pouring rain."

"Blah, Blah, Blah." Bella mocked with a smile.

"Alright you extremely hard to please girl, I will return." I did not wait around for a reply and instantly set my plan into motion.

In a matter of seconds I was out her window and racing towards that big white house I called home. My journey using vampire speed lasted a mere 5 minutes. Although, when I approached my family's home I did slow down my pace a bit. This way I could avoid an unwanted run in with Rosalie. I did not know exactly where she might be and now was not the time for a confrontation. Yes, she would eventually be spoken to, but at that moment my goal had nothing to do with her. I simply wanted to retrieve the items I sought and request use of Carlisle's Mercedes. There was always the option of using Alice's Porsche, but my mind would not even allow me to think in that direction just yet. Things that had belonged to her were still very much touched with sadness for me.

Eventually I reached the entrance and upon walking through the door I found the living room to my left full. Unfortunately, Rosalie was among them. I made a point of avoiding eye contact with my sister and passed over the other faces until I settled on Carlisle's. "Your Mercedes … may I borrow it?" I asked.

I knew he had taken a week off from his duties at the hospital in order to grieve properly for his dead children and so, I was not surprised with his response, "Of course, Jasper. Anytime you need to, just take it. There is no need to ask."

I nodded in his direction and made my way towards the stairs. No one said a word to me as I passed and I guessed their silence was directly related to the apprehension they all felt, especially Rosalie. Only Esme was calm. My mother was the one member of my family who knew exactly why I would continue to involve Bella in my life and this made her my only ally. The thought of that was comforting.

Leaving the others behind, I moved up the stairs in one fast movement, although I began to slow as I walked the length of the hallway. Each step I took brought about an ache inside my chest that increased in strength as I neared my destination.

Alice's room.

Everyone had referred to it as such even though I had been her partner and obviously shared a bedroom with my mate. My eccentric little pixie had influenced all that was inside our room. My things, which were not many to begin with, had all been delegated to a small dresser located in the corner, but Alice's touch … well, it was on everything beyond the door I was now staring down and struggling to approach.

This was not the first time since her death that I had been unable to move beyond the hallway. It was always with great effort that I attempted to get past the safety of not remembering and on to the full force of Alice as if her spirit had been fused with the walls inside. But, I needed to get past my fear. There was another who felt a pain similar in severity to mine and I needed to return to her side. Somehow thinking of Bella made my trial less painful and sucking in a deep breath for added courage I turned the knob.

My eyes instantly fell on the dark blue carpet beneath my feet as I walked through the door frame. I refused to focus on anything except that and hurriedly raced towards the little wooden dresser Alice has purchased for me at an antique show years before. The top drawer protested with a squeak as I opened it to reach inside and then groping around with my fingers I eventually grasped the envelope I had been seeking.

Two articles of paper were concealed within that would prove very vital in the plan I had constructed while eavesdropping on Bella's conversation with her father.

One was my birth certificate and the other a scrap of paper with a phone number and the name J. Jenks written beneath it.