A/N: Sorry everyone, I didn't realize that this story didn't get updated until I was looking at my list today. For some reason, I had it in my head that I posted the chapter a couple of days ago since I had it uploaded in my doc manager. Good news is the next chapter should be up in a couple of days. Sorry again.

Hey everyone, so now you know a little more of what is going on and why Jasper has kept everyone on the down low. He doesn't even understand everything himself, but his faith in Alice has gotten him this far, so why not continue to follow suit? Enjoy!

Chapter 25 – I Miss You

In Maine…

Bella wandered through the woods that surrounded the small cabin she and Alice had inhabited for over a month now, so many thoughts on her mind. Conversations were replaying in her head: words that were spoken, facial expressions at the time, tone of voice. Deeds and actions that were done or not done by everyone involved in the situation rolled through her mind like a movie. There was something there lying on the outskirts of everything and she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Something that she wished she knew what it was.

Thinking about something Alice said, "I can tell you that a lot of changes have happened over the past year and that Jazz is a good man. He is looking for the people that are after you and I think he will find them. He cares a lot and just wants to be sure that we are both safe. His need to talk to you outweighed my need to talk to him, and vice versa." Why did he need to talk to her more than he needed to talk to Alice? That didn't make sense… unless he is that worried about her. As one of his "sisters" she could understand his need to protect her and make sure that she was safe. Why then did that word sound so hollow and wrong to her?

Bella shook that off and moved on to her next gathering of thoughts. She found it relieving and yet odd that these next mental images and thoughts did not give her heartache or sadness. If anything, she got angrier the more she thought about it all. Edward didn't love her, he couldn't; that much was obvious to her, but it created more questions. What was the draw to her? Was it only her blood? Why was he so adamant about getting married? Did he know they weren't really mates? Who was her real mate? At that last question a face popped into her mind, but she pushed it away. It couldn't be.

Walking through the woods, she made sure she always kept the cabin within her sight. She wasn't sure who was after her, but she wasn't going to take the chance and wander too far from the house. Who knew what was in the woods. She remembered that Edward had warned her about straying from paths and walking in the woods unescorted one time, too bad she should have listened to the warnings about staying away from him. More thoughts swirled around about the copper headed man and she had to wonder why he didn't want to help find the people that could possibly be out to kill her. She was beginning to think he never even cared about her; it was a good thing his family did though.

The Cullen family had been by her side and supported her when she felt like no one else was there for her. They protected her and welcomed her with open arms, well at least most of them did. When they left, her world crumbled and although she found a substitute in the pack, it was never really the same thing. She needed the Cullen's like she needed air. They understood her when no one else did.

Esme and Carlisle had become her adoptive parents, and when she thought she was independent and didn't need anyone to fuss or look after her, she found that she liked having them there admonishing her when she needed it and encouraging her in everything. She never really had that before; although, she never really knew how much she craved it until it was gone.

Rosalie had become the sister that might not agree with all of her choices, but they had come to an understanding. Something that Bella never thought would happen the first time she met the blonde beauty. It was now a tenuous friendship, but they had time to build on it.

Emmett was for all intents and purposes her big brother. He gave her a hard time and did anything and everything to piss her off or tease her, but she didn't mind. That was just who he was and she loved him for it.

Alice was her best friend and someone she believed always had her best interest at heart. She got Bella out of Forks just in time, and although Alice knew it might endanger their friendship, she has been honest with Bella; well except for the little things that Alice said she can't spill just yet.

Thoughts of the family brought her to Jasper, the enigma of the Cullen family. He was the one that tried to bite her at her birthday party, but she didn't blame him for that. He was also the one that had become the most protective of her. He had become her shadow when she wasn't with Edward. Everyone may have thought she didn't notice, but she did and through it they had started to get closer. She didn't understand why he would do that want to be around her all of the time, but welcomed his presence. Another fierce brother and someone she was extremely happy was on her side instead of the enemy. He was also someone that could make her laugh and she wanted to get to know more. He wasn't as open as the others in the family and that made him a mystery, which in turn made him intriguing to the brunette.

Moving on from Jasper, Bella let her thoughts return to Edward. What was he to her now? She knew that they weren't meant to be together; in fact she was over him and his high handed ways. It was a blessing in disguise the day Alice kidnapped her from Forks.

So wrapped up in her thoughts, Bella did not notice when the petite vampire suddenly appeared next to her. She jumped when she heard a voice coming from her side, "You startled me!"

"Sorry Bella, but you have been out here for a few hours now and I am leaving to go hunt," Alice giggled.

"Huh?" Bella was shocked. It had not felt like she was walking around for that long and looked up at the sky; sure enough time had flown by and it was nearing sundown, "It didn't feel like that much time passed."

"I know. Why don't you go ahead and get inside since it is getting cooler and I will see you later," Alice stated as she started to move off further into the woods, stopping briefly to turn around, "Oh and Jazz needs you to call him in about an hour."

Bella wondered if she was seeing things. Was that a smirk on Alice's face? "Umm, sure. Are you sure you don't want to stay and talk to him?"

"Nope, he needs to ask you a couple of questions. Bye!" With that Alice took off at a run and had disappeared before Bella could blink.

"I wonder what he wants to talk to me about," Bella muttered as she walked back to the cabin to make her something to eat as she awaited the designated time to call.

In Forks…

Jasper had just gotten off of the phone with yet another contact. So far no one had been able to tell him anything, but he was not giving up and knew he had to be patient. Someone had to know something and he was determined to find out what it was. He needed to know why Caius was so interested in Bella. What was so interesting about a clumsy human girl with normal human parents? Was he behind the stalkers when Bella was younger? Something wasn't right and for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. He hated not knowing.

Glancing at the picture he had on his desk of Bella's graduation, he picked it up and ran his finger over the face that had haunted his thoughts long before she disappeared, "I am going to figure this out and bring you both home. I know I will see you before that, but we all belong with the family."

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts, "Come in."

Opening the door, Rosalie walked in looking concerned for Jasper. She knew he could feel the emotions she was feeling and there was no way to hide the fact that she was worried about him and the whole situation. "Have you found anything yet?" She asked as she took a seat on the sofa in the room.

Jasper shook his head, "No, but I have people looking and trying to help."

"I know that you will get a break, but don't neglect yourself either."

"I don't. I mean I hunt regularly and I do what I need to do."

"I meant, don't let this drive you crazy. You will figure it out, but you can't let it consume you so much that you forget yourself." She held up her hand when it looked like Jasper was going to interrupt and continued, "We all want them back and we want to know what is going on. We need to know why this is happening, but things are not always going to happen when you want them to. Sometimes we all need a break."

Running his hand through his hair, he knew she was right, but something inside him wanted to tear apart the world to get the answers he sought. He took a deep breath and looked at the picture in his hand before looking back at Rosalie, "I just want her back. I want both of them home where they belong."

Chuckling a little, Rose smirked, "You know, if you would have said that a week ago, I would have believed you were talking about Alice. Now I know better."

"Yah, I guess I am so used to talking ambiguous about it all that I still say 'her' or 'she' when I mean Bella."

"I know I was against her finding out our secret and being pulled into our world, but I guess she has proven that she belongs here," Rosalie spoke in hushed tones before tilting her head to the side and studying the man before her, "I never really understood why someone would choose this life and it seemed so wrong that Edward would want her in the middle of the craziness; they never really seemed to really mesh and it was hard for me to see them together for an eternity. He always seemed to try to control her and treat her as if she was a child. It was always as if they weren't on the same page and never really belonged together, but with you… I can see it." Standing up, she walked to the door and left Jasper alone to his thoughts once again.

Jasper smiled at Rose's parting words. He had always felt the same way, even before he admitted that Bella was his mate. There was always something wrong in her relationship with Edward. They weren't in it together as equals, even before the whole Italy debacle. They were a round peg forcing itself into a square hole. He always thought it was because the younger man had never really experienced love, but that wasn't the real reason. When he finally realized what was going on, it was like the fog cleared and he could see the big picture for what it truly was: Bella was his.

Turning back towards the desk, he pulled out the file on Bella again hoping to see something that he missed before. He knew he hadn't though, but it did not stop him from flipping through the file and gazing at the pictures of Bella throughout the years.

When his phone rang, he never looked at the caller id; he just answered it believing it was one of his many contacts, "Hello?" He was more than surprised when he heard the response.

"Hey Jasper. It's Bella," the other voice responded making Jasper smile, and he was sure if his heart was still beating, his pulse would have sped up.

"Bella," he whispered her name.

"Alice told me that you needed to ask me some questions, so she told me to call. She is actually out hunting right now," Bella explained suddenly feeling a little nervous, "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, not at all Darlin'. Sorry, I was just looking through a couple of things and my mind was elsewhere for a minute," he said quickly before she got the idea to hang up on him. "Although, I really wasn't expecting your call. Thank you, Alice, but now I have to think of things to ask her," he thought.

Laughing, Bella replied, "I understand. Is now a good time? I can call back later? Although, I didn't think I could get the drop on your and catch you unaware so easily."

"Now is good, and if you were here instead of there, you wouldn't be able to get the drop on me."

"Point taken. So what did you need to ask?"

"Just a couple of questions about your past."

"Ok, if I have the answers, I will tell you what I know."

"It seemed that you or your mom had a stalker when you were younger. Do you remember anything about it?" He had a feeling that someone wasn't watching Renee, but it was for Bella.

"I don't remember too much, but I remember seeing him around the neighborhood and around the school. My mom called the police a few times, but they never caught the guy. He finally disappeared."

"Do you remember anything about him? Was there anything unusual?"

"Not that I can think of," Bella paused and thought about the strange man she would always see, "I think he was always covered from head to toe, but I could be wrong about that."

"Was he having her watched as a child? What is going on here?" Jasper questioned himself. "Anything else?"

"No, sorry."

"That's alright. Do you know if there was ever anything else strange that happened in your past?"

"You mean besides moving to Forks and getting involved with a bunch of vampires and werewolves?" She mocked.

Laughing, Jasper responded, "Yah Darlin' besides that."

"Not that I remember, but I will think about it some more and let you know," chuckled Bella.

"You do that. How is everything there? Are you ok?"

"We are good. Alice and I are staying below the radar and so far no one has really bothered us. We miss you guys though."

"We miss you too. I will do whatever I can in order to make sure we get you home safe."

"I know you will Jasper. If anyone can do it, you are the man for the job."

Smiling at her confidence in him, Jasper said, "Thank you."

"I am sorry that Edward wasn't really any help to you. I swear someone needs to slap him alongside his head and knock some sense into him."

"Oh, he finally told me what I needed to know," Jasper smirked.

Bella furrowed her brow and the confusion was evident in her voice, "He did?"

Chuckling, Jasper only said, "I have my ways. I decided that it was time he told me what he knew."

She thought about it and she couldn't feel sorry or worried for her ex, "Good for you."

Jasper thought about what Edward had told him for a minute and decided to see if Bella noticed anything. He knew it was a slim chance, but if there was any chance, he had to ask, "Did you see anything unusual in Italy?"

"What do you mean? The whole trip was unusual."

Laughing, Jasper replied, "I know, but was there anything that you found odd or surprising? Anything anyone said or did that caught your attention beyond the powers or words spoken about your humanity and such?"

Bella laughed and started to think about her brief stay in Italy, "Well, now that you mention it, the big guy kept looking at me funny. I thought it was because I was human, but the others didn't look at me that intensely."

"Felix!" Jasper's mind screamed. "Thanks! If you think of anything else…"

"I know... I will let you know," she interrupted him.

Her laugh and her voice was music to his ears and he didn't want the call to end. Trying to postpone the inevitable, he asked, "Not that I know where you are, but do you need anything? Do you want anything?"

"Well there are a lot of things I want, but nothing I really need. Thanks though," she chuckled. For some reason she was hesitant to get off of phone, "How is everyone there? Are you doing better about letting them help?"

"Everyone is good. As for your other question, considering I only talked to you a week ago, I have only made phone calls, but I am going to try to let them help me some more when I actually have something," Jasper answered. It was so hard to hold back the intimacy he wanted to share with her, but now was not the right time.

"Good for you. You should know that wars are not won with generals alone."

Barking with laughter, Jasper responded, "You are right as always Miss Swan."

"Of course I am, Mr. Hale," she teased in a fake southern belle accent.

"Whitlock," he replied with the need to hear his real name on her lips laughing once again at the way she was trying to imitate his southern drawl. He thought it was cute.

"Huh?"

"That is my real last name. Hale is my alias for our time in Forks right now."

"Well then, Mr. Whitlock," Bella smiled.

"So are you really ok Bella? I mean it can't be easy leaving Edward and everything that has happened," Jasper asked feeling things out. He wasn't sure what made him start that line of questioning, but he had to know if she was still pining after the other man.

"You know, I am actually ok. I don't really miss Edward, but I miss everyone else. I know that sounds weird, right? When we decided to give things another chance, I didn't give him my full self. I don't think I could until he earned it. He never really did."

"Why did you agree to marry him?" He knew he sounded incredulous, but he couldn't help the question from flying past his lips.

"I don't know. Pressure maybe. I kind of told myself that if I marry him none of you could ever leave me again."

Jasper was struck dumb by her words as guilt assailed him, "I'm sorry Bella. I know that if I hadn't…"

Bella interrupted him again, "Don't you dare blame yourself. It was not your fault. I don't blame you at all. I can only imagine what it was like to feel everyone's thirst and having to fight your own as well on top of all of that; and if anyone says that they were not affected, well maybe not Carlisle, they are lying to you. I know you felt guilty afterward and I know you didn't want to hurt me. It had to suck being an empath at that point in time."

Blinking, Bella sounded fierce and Jasper could hear the passion in her voice. He cleared his throat, "Thank you, and yah it very much sucked."

"There is nothing to thank me for and nothing to forgive. Blame it on the wrapping paper if you must," Bella joked.

"I will do that then," he laughed softly, "Can I at least apologize for leaving? It was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to stay in Forks. We all did."

"Apology accepted, but I don't blame you for that either," Bella spoke softly as she looked at the time. She knew she needed to wrap up the call and hang up, but she didn't want to. Sighing, she didn't have much of a choice, "Hey Jasper, I really hate to do this because I am not ready to get off of the phone, but I have to hang up now."

Jasper ran his hand through his hair again and swallowed. He wasn't ready to say good bye either, "I know. Call me if you think about anything or if you just get a chance to talk again. I like knowing that you are ok and worry about you." He was sure Bella thought he meant the "you" in the plural sense, as in she and Alice, but he really did mean Bella. He worried about Alice too, but it was Bella that occupied his mind.

Smiling, Bella whispered one last good bye before she disconnected the line and left Jasper holding his phone to his ear for a few seconds longer.

Pulling the phone away, Jasper stared at it for a few minutes before he put it down and gazed once again at the picture and whispered, "I miss you. I love you. I want you here with me."