.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

Huge hugs to Snarkymuch and Gredelina1 for sharing their awesome beta skills and to Arrr, Augustmoon99 and Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen for pre-reading.

This chapter is dedicated to NoOneWillSurrenderTonight, vampireanimegurl and remismia. Also to my new anonymous reviewer who doesn't leave a name but writes lovely reviews.

Chapter Twenty Four — The Long and Winding Road

Jasper POV

Today was the day. Today we were finally going to take Bella home.

She had not been alert again since the episode the day before, but that was probably a good thing. It would be quite the ordeal for her to be moved, and I hoped she would remain asleep throughout the journey.

Everything had been organized down to the last detail, a private ambulance would be collecting her soon and Carlisle would travel with her to the house. Esme and Alice were already there waiting for us. Emmett, Rosalie and I would be driving behind the ambulance. I was unable to travel with her in the ambulance as space was limited, yet I wanted to be as close as possible in case she woke.

Carlisle had promised that he would talk to her throughout the journey, though it was clear he thought it was a waste of time. He gave me an exasperated look when I handed him the book we were reading, but didn't argue.

Jenny was with Bella now, having asked for a moment to say goodbye. Esme had extended an invitation for her to visit us at the house, but I didn't expect her to come calling. Like the doctors and most of the family, she too seemed to believe that Bella was gone. It was probably a good thing though, we were expecting enough visitors already.

After Alice's vision we had contacted Sam Uley to fill him in on the news. He had requested a meeting, and given the situation with Bella's move, we had agreed to allow them to visit the house. Rosalie was not impressed about this, demanding that they be met outside and be kept off the furniture. I wished Bella had been awake to hear that particular conversation, she would have got a kick out of it.

The door slid open and a red eyed Jenny came out clutching a tissue, she smiled sadly at us then headed into the bathroom, we could hear her sobs through the closed door.

Carlisle came along the hall, trailed by the vile Dr. Green. I was not sorry to be seeing the back of him, and from Carlisle's clenched fists I knew he was thinking the same.

"The transfer team will be here in a moment," Carlisle said. "Do you want to stay and wait with me, or shall I meet you outside?"

I desperately wanted to be outside. The thought of watching them handle Bella like a volatile bomb - which in essence is what she had become - scared me. But at the same time I felt I owed it to her to be close. I had already screwed up once by leaving her with others, and they had unintentionally informed her of her mother's death. I was not going to do it again.

"I can stay," Rosalie said, seeing my internal struggle. "I can help them, and you and Emmett can wait outside, get some fresh air."

I sighed with relief. Rosalie would remember to keep talking to Bella and she was medically trained too, so she could be of actual use, unlike me and my hall monitor act.

"Thanks, Rose," I said gratefully. "I'll just go have a quick chat with her, then I'll wait outside."

I went to Bella's room and stood by her bed, holding her hand. There was no flicker of emotion from her so I knew she was still in the void, but I wanted to talk to her regardless. It was more for my own peace of mind than for Bella's sake.

"We will be off soon, Bella. Rosalie is going to help them get you ready, and Carlisle will be in the ambulance with you. I will be right behind you, I promise. Just a little longer and you will be home with us, we will be able to talk properly then, okay?" There was no response - not that I expected one, but I felt better for having seen her.

"See you real soon, darlin'." I pressed a kiss to her hand, then headed out of the door and along the corridors to the exit.

Emmett was waiting for me by the car, it was another grey overcast day which worked well for us. It would have been a bit awkward trying to explain why we needed to wait for the sun to go down before we could leave the hospital.

"You okay?" he asked as I joined him in his pacing by the car.

I shot him a baleful look. "Me neither," he said. "Still, it will all be over soon. We'll get her home, then as soon as her heart can take it, we do the renovations and she'll be Bella again.

She already is! I thought irritated.

There was a flurry of movement at the door, and Carlisle came out followed by Rose and the ambulance crew with Bella. The group around her gurney moved with her like pilot fish around the shark, each holding some piece of machinery or equipment. Though I had spent enough time with Bella to see just how much was needed to keep her alive, it was still a shock to see it all there. It made the risks of what we were doing seem suddenly real, and I had to fight the urge to tell them to take her back inside where there were more people to take care of her.

We were all going to need to learn how all this stuff worked, I cursed myself for not thinking of it sooner. Why had I wasted so much time studying frivolous subjects like Philosophy and History when I could have learnt how to look after her?

"Jasper, what are you doing?" Emmett asked, confused. "I think they need space to work."

I had not realized, as I had been contemplating my own folly, that I'd started edging towards Bella. I walked back to him shrugging. "Don't know."

He eyed me with concern, but did not push the subject. I was pretty sure the family thought I was halfway to crazy already, no need to add more fuel to the fire.

We watched them with bated breath as they got Bella situated in the ambulance and all the equipment settled around her. Carlisle had not been wrong, there was no room for anyone else in there, he and the paramedic were crammed in with not an inch to spare. I took one long look at Bella, then nodded to Carlisle who swung the door shut.

I climbed into the car tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for Rosalie and Emmett.

"Chill, dude," Emmett said as he got into the drivers side. "It's not like they are going to race us in that clunker, I bet we could make it to Forks and back before they even reach the town limits."

I growled low in my throat, this was not the time for screwing around.

"Kidding," he said sheepishly.

"Just drive, Em," Rosalie instructed.

"Yes, ma'am," he said in a poor imitation of my accent, tipping an invisible Stetson.

I chuckled. He was as anxious as the rest of us, but yet again he was doing his best to lighten the tension.

The ambulance pulled out of the lot and Emmett followed, we were going at an excruciatingly slow pace that made me anxious and relieved in equal measure. I wanted to get Bella home and settled, this journey scared me, but at the same time I worried at every corner and bump in the road that something could be dislodged or broken in the ambulance.

"She's okay, Jasper," Rosalie soothed, leaning between the front seats to rub my arm. "Listen, you can hear her heartbeat, and Carlisle is reading to her just like he promised."

I focused and found she was right, the gentle thump of Bella's heart could be heard, as could Carlisle's voice as he read to her.

I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes, pushing out all but Bella's heartbeat and Carlisle's voice. It was easier to handle the anxiety like this, with my enhanced hearing I could pretend I was there in the ambulance with them, it made me feel a little less impotent at least.

We made it to the edge of Forks without incident, when one of the monitors in the ambulance began to beep erratically.

My eyes shot open, panicked. "What the hell?"

I gripped the door handle, resisting the urge to jump from the moving car and into the ambulance, to do what, I didn't know, but I was frantic.

"Is she talking?" Rosalie asked.

I concentrated and could feel no fluctuation in her emotions, she was still emitting the void calm. "No, she's still sleeping. I don't understand!"

"Carlisle is there, he knows what to."

We waited in silence listening to Carlisle converse with the paramedic.

"Tachycardia, should we try and shock her back into rhythm?" the voice of the paramedic asked.

"Give her a moment," Carlisle said.

Give her a moment. What the fuck was he thinking? Bella's heart was beating much too fast.

"Sure?" the paramedic said uncertainly.

"Yes," Carlisle said calmly.

Even as he spoke Bella's heart slowed into her usual steady pace.

"There see. I knew she could do it," he spoke with complete confidence, Rosalie and I exchanged bemused looks. This was so different from the Carlisle we had been dealing with of late, was it possible that he was starting to believe us?

The rest of the journey passed quietly enough, and before long we were pulling into the long drive. I had not been back to the house at all since we had returned, and it was a surreal experience seeing the familiar white house, home of some of my best, and worst, memories.

Esme and Alice were waiting on the porch as we pulled up, both looking anxious. Carlisle climbed out of the ambulance and Esme rushed to his side.

"She's okay, gave us a little scare on way, but she's fine now," he assured her, forestalling her questions. Then he turned to me, "Your eyes are black, you need to hunt. Emmett will go with you and we will get Bella settled in."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Rosalie spoke up, "I will stay with Bella, you really do need to hunt."

I knew she was right, the anxiety had taken it's toll on me. I needed to hunt to release some pent up emotion as much as I needed the sustenance.

"Come on, Jazz," Emmett said, tugging my arm. "Leave the girls to get Bella settled in, and we can see who can bag a bear."

I nodded my agreement, but had no intentions of being away any longer than needed. Let Emmett chase his bear, I was going to grab the first animal to cross my path and get it done.

Alice came and pecked me on the cheek. "Black bear in the clearing by the waterfall," she whispered in my ear. "You'll get there before Emmett if you jump the river, he's going through it as usual."

I smiled and kissed her. "Thanks darlin'."

I took a run at the river and cleared it in one smooth bound, as Emmett charged through it, shaking like a dog as he reached the opposite side.

Alice was right of course, I found the bear at the clearing and made short work of my hunt. I had just dropped the carcass when Emmett appeared, his bright smile fading as soon as he saw me and my kill.

"That sucks man, why do you get the psychic mate? Rosie's great and all, but she don't get me bears."

"Just lucky I guess," I said brushing down my clothes. "Besides, Rose may have a gift after all, what about that thing she did with the newborn? That was pretty cool."

"Yeah, she's curious about that too, maybe now we're home we can experiment with it a bit, I bet Carlisle... are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, of course, I was just thinking about Bella." In truth I had only been half listening to him. I was eager to get back. She might be awake now, she had been 'resting' an awful long time, and I didn't want to miss it if she was trying to talk.

"Go on then," he said. "You head back. I'll bury Gentle Ben for you, then I'll be right behind you."

"You're the best, Em," I said gratefully. He laughed and waved as I turned and ran back towards the house.

I did not know if Bella would be awake when I got back, even if she wasn't sooner or later she would be and I was going to have to answer some difficult questions. Her mother was dead and I hadn't told her, she was bound to feel betrayed about that. I wondered if I had made a mistake, maybe if she had known there was a chance of it she would have handled the news better.

I was still questioning my decision when I reached the river at the edge of the property. The voices coming from the house were gentle and calm, a darn sight calmer than they had been since we had returned. It seemed the whole family was more relaxed now. We were back home where we could be ourselves and not have to worry about hiding our true natures.

I reached for the emotional tenor of the family, and through the calm of the others I felt a muted sadness; Bella was awake.

I hurried my pace and gave Esme a cursory wave as I made my way up the stairs and into Carlisle's library, which had been transformed into a room for her. There had been much debate about this between Esme and Alice. Esme had been planning to use Edward's room, but Alice said that it would be better to wait until Bella could choose herself whether to go into that particular room.

Esme seemed to think as soon as Bella and Edward were reunited we would all go back to playing happy families, providing Bella was 'well' after her change of course. I had no doubt that Bella would be fine once changed, she was only physically trapped now anyway, her changed personality on the other hand... I wondered how she would react to Edward, if faced with him now.

Rosalie looked up from the book as I barrelled into the room. Alice was arranging flowers in a vase in the corner and dropped the stems to the floor.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" she asked frantically.

"Nothing," I said shortly going to Bella's side and taking her hand, Rosalie took my other. Alice looked at us as if we were completely insane, I guess from her perspective we did look a little odd, but now was not the time to be self-conscious.

"Bella, you've been moved, we are at the Forks house now. I'm here, so is Alice and Rose."

I waited for a response but none came. She was aware, I could feel the shifting emotions as she processed what I had said, but she did not send anything through them.

"How are you feeling?" Rosalie asked tentatively.

Again there was nothing.

"You try," Rosalie said, looking to Alice.

"I don't..."

"I know what you think, but do it for us, just talk to her, please," the last came out as a plea.

Alice looked at Rosalie for a moment, then slowly approached Bella's other side. "Hi, Bella."

I waited, dropping Rosalie's hand so I could focus on Bella, perhaps I was just missing it, she could be having trouble sending. There was still nothing, a small spark of surprise when Alice spoke, but other than that, just deep sadness. No message, no letters, nothing.

I raked my hands through my hair in frustration, she was there, I knew she was but she either couldn't or wouldn't talk.

"Still nothing?" Rosalie asked.

"Not a thing, she's there I can feel her, but she's not talking."

"Maybe she just needs a rest, she's had a lot to deal with, maybe she just wants some quiet." Rosalie attempted to reassure me, but I could tell from her emotions that she didn't believe it anymore than I did.

Alice slipped from the room and I could hear her explaining to Esme and Carlisle in low tones what had happened. I did my best to block out their voices, I didn't want to hear them discuss how my delusion was changing, or maybe how I was finally realizing the 'truth'.

Rosalie picked up the book and began reading again. I sat still holding Bella's hand trying to decipher some response from her emotions. When we had read to her before she had been a maelstrom of emotion, following the story and feeling so different with each passage. It had been an interesting experience reading with her as she engaged so fully in the plot. Now though, she seemed completely oblivious to Rosalie's voice, she was so damn sad.

"Bella, please talk to me," I begged. "I know you have had a hell of a shock and you're hurting, but you're scaring us."

Again there was nothing, I may as well have not spoken.

Rosalie put the book down with a sigh and turned to face me. "Sam called when you were hunting, he and the pack will be here soon."

"That's nice," I said distractedly, still focused on Bella.

"Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Pay attention."

I grudgingly took my eyes from Bella and looked at her. "So, the wolves are coming, what do you want me to do?" I knew I was being rude, but I didn't much care. I was worried, and all I really wanted to do now was hold Alice to me and ignore all else but her and Bella.

"Snap out of it. You're worried, I get that, so am I, but the wolves are here to discuss that little problem we have."

I know she was being careful to avoid mention of the newborn army to protect Bella, but I was desperate. It hadn't worked when I mentioned Edward, but maybe Bella's instinct for self sacrifice would come into play now.

"You mean that army of newborns on their way to kill us all?" I asked loudly.

She looked shocked, but I disregarded her, hoping for some reaction from Bella, again there was nothing.

"Shit," I cursed loudly. "Come on, Bella, an army of newborns hell bent on getting to you, that has to be worth something!"

"Enough," Rosalie said harshly, taking my arm and trying to pull me from the room. She was strong but I was stronger, I pulled from her grip with ease and turned again to Bella, set to make another attempt at breaking her silence.

"I said that is enough, Jasper," her voice was different now, gentle, understanding. She took my arm again and led me to the hall.

This is good, I thought, she will know what to do, she will help me make Bella talk.

An almost indifferent feeling had taken over me and I was sure that if I did as she said it would all be okay. That wonderful feeling came to an abrupt end as she slapped me hard on the cheek.

"Dammit, Rose. What the hell!"

"Exactly what I was going to say!" she shouted. "What the hell were you thinking? She has been through enough already, she doesn't need you scaring her like that."

"She wasn't scared though, Rose, she wasn't anything but sad. I think something is really wrong."

"Of course something is wrong, she's in a coma, her parents are dead and she almost died last night. Again! Even Bella's ability to compartmentalize is going to struggle with that!" She was seething with rage and her anger was feeding my own.

"I was going to ask what you wanted to do while the wolves were here," she continued. "But now I'm not asking, I'm telling. You will meet the wolves with the others and I will stay with Bella, maybe one of the wolves will bite your ass and snap you out of this fit of stupidity you seem to have landed in."

Snap you out of this... that made me think, and the realization made my anger disperse.

"Rosalie, I think you did that thing to me?"

"I didn't do anything to you, that was all your own stupidity," she said, still annoyed.

I remember the feeling of indifference to my surroundings, like nothing mattered but what she was saying and how it would help me, help Bella.

"Rosalie, you're gifted."

"Tell me about it!" Emmett shouted from the lounge.

Rosalie and I exchanged a look then burst into gales of laughter.

Thank you to everyone that read the last chapter, especially those of you that reviewed, I appreciated every one. I have a new selection of lyrics for you to take a look at. Same rules apply; whoever guesses the song will get the next chapter dedicated to them. Good luck.

~ We might live like never before. When there's nothing to give, well how can we ask for more? ~