Disclaimer:I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 26

Rosalie and Jasper watched the couple outside on the porch through the window. Jasper was still angry, but after a serious talking-to from Rosalie he was beginning to see Edward's point. Edward had had no right to criticize Jasper's approach to helping Bella, but he did, however, have the right to worry about her. And, Rosalie had gone on to tell him, he was obviously capable of handling the situation, since he had gotten Bella through her panic attack and had gotten her to calm down so easily. Furthermore, Bella had trusted him with her problem and that alone gave Edward every right to try and help.

These realizations, however, did not mean that Jasper felt in the slightest happy about Edward sitting so close to the girl he saw as his little sister, let alone to wrapping his arm around her. Rosalie did not seem to agree, however.

"Aren't they the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Rosalie asked, smiling fondly. "I mean, they're all moody and emo a lot, but that's to be expected from both their situations, isn't it? And, other than that, they're all smiles and blushes with each other."

She would have continued her rampage if Jasper had not, in true sibling fashion, clamped his hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. A couple years earlier, she would have licked his hand to get him off her. Nowadays, however… she did not trust where his hand had been. So she resigned herself to listen to him until he finally let her go.

"Yes, yes, adorable, cute, hearts and candy everywhere, they're perfect for each other. I get it. You've only told me fifty million times. But… what if he hurts her? What if he can't deal with her problems? Rosalie, if he gives her that hope and then he can't deal with it and leaves her, she'll be completely broke. How can you be ok with that possibility?" he asked, sounding more vulnerable than Rosalie had heard him in years. She sighed.

"Jasper, it's not up to us to decide what happens between them; it's up to them. And, trust me, the two of them look pretty happy with what is going on between them. I know you're worried. Heck, I'm worried. But, if you look at them, you'll see that they really do care for each other. I don't think either could purposefully hurt the other. And, if things don't go well, then at least Bella will have had that time. And she will have realized that people can really and truly care for her. But it's up to her, Jazz. You've got to let her choose. And you've got to stop trying to drive Edward away."

Jasper groaned. He could recognize the wisdom and the truth behind her words. Logically, he knew she was right. It was just difficult to allow somebody to get in a position from which it'd be so easy to hurt her. It went against his every instinct to let anyone get close to her while unsupervised, let alone someone who so obviously wanted to take a position Jasper could never fill. Watching the two, however, it became obvious to him that he could not fight it. He sighed.

"I'll call Alice and tell him where Edward is; he and I have to talk and it'll probably get late. It'll probably be better if he stays the night. You go and tell them they can come in; I won't kill Edward. I'll try and see if maybe Alice can come over to try and make it less awkward," he muttered, somewhat reluctantly. Rosalie smiled and ruffled his hair before getting up and going to get the unsuspecting duo.

Once he had hung up the phone after talking with Alice (who had gotten permission for the two of them to sleep over at the Hales'), Jasper made his way downstairs wearily. He found Rosalie, Bella, and Edward sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping on mugs of what looked like hot tea.

Edward, he signed, could I talk to you for a minute?

Edward stiffened for a second, but nodded and set down his mug, standing up slowly. Bella, on the other hand, tensed up and remained as such, staring at Jasper with a look of sheer horror in her eyes. She grabbed Edward's hand as he was pulling away from the table, squeezing it tightly, not knowing what else she could do. Edward looked down at his hand and then at her and smiled comfortingly, squeezing back. He pulled his hand away. It will be ok, Bella. Just calm down, alright? I'll be back in just a minute.

And with that he pulled away, walking towards Jasper. The two went into the basement and sat across from each other at one of the tables. Jasper took a deep breath before starting.

Look, mate, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have gone off on you like I did. And I shouldn't have kicked you out of the house. And I had no right to tell you whether you could or could not see Bella. That was wrong of me. But –he made this sign quite large, seeing that Edward was about to start signing himself and trying to indicate that he was not yet done – you had no right to criticize the way my relationship with Bella works. And you had no right whatsoever to imply that I was or am hurting her. Am I understood? Edward nodded. That said, I understand why you did that. I would probably have done something similar in your place. So, I am willing to forgive and forget as long as you promise to respect my relationship with Bella in the future.

I understand, Edward replied, once he was sure that Jasper was done. I wanted to apologize for my harsh words before. I am sorry I was so rude and I know I crossed the line. But I also need you to understand that I am worried about Bella. She needs help. More help than we can give her. She cannot keep living in these conditions, spending the week with her abusive father, than running away to hide and nurse her wounds in silence over the weekend. We need to stop this situation and we cannot do it alone. He paused, thinking of how to phrase his next argument. I care for Bella. A lot. And I need to help her, to protect her. And I'm sorry for my behavior before, but it was my way of trying to protect her at the time.

The two boys stared at each other in absolute silence for a minute, absorbing all that had been said. Finally, Jasper nodded.

Alright. I'm willing to give you a chance. You can start proving yourself tonight; your parents said you can sleep over, since Bella needs you and since we have all the birthday plans for tomorrow. Alice is on her way. But be warned that Alice says you have a lot of groveling to do back home tomorrow evening.

I expected as much, Edward said in response to his last statement, I was an asshole to my parents earlier. But thank you for arranging for me to sleep over. I… really want to be near Bella right now.

Jasper nodded. And then, as boys are wont to do, without any more words or apologies, the two headed back upstairs, not exactly in friendly terms, but with a common understanding.

Rosalie and Bella, who had been watching a movie in the living room (in reality Bella was paying little attention to the film, her eyes looking over at the staircase every few seconds), stood up as soon as they caught sight of the two coming up the stairs. Bella looked over the two of them, trying to find any signs of a fight or such. When she found none, she relaxed.

"Rose," Jasper said, "I need to talk with you. Upstairs, please?"

Rosalie raised one of her perfectly-shaped eyebrows at him but nodded, following him up the stairs and towards her room. Edward, on the other hand, walked towards Bella, sitting down on the sofa she had been laying on and pulling her down as well, to sit between his legs. Bella smiled, leaning back against his chest, and turned back to the movie, feeling much more relaxed now. Slowly, the two fell asleep.

Not too late thereafter, Alice arrived. At Rosalie and Alice's insistence (and much to Jasper's chagrin), it was decided that Edward and Bella's sleep was not to be disturbed, and so they headed down the stairs to the basement, to play some Guitar Hero.

Upstairs, the noise of the game and Alice's cheers awakened Bella. She tried to sit up and, upon realizing that she was practically lying on top of Edward, her legs tangled with his, tried to move somewhat away. The result was, of course, that she fell off the sofa, landing butt-first on the ground. Furthermore, the movement had woken Edward, who was now looking down at her as if debating between laughter and worry. She stuck her tongue out at him. He decided on laughter.

Oh, stop it. I could have hurt myself you know, and then I'd be very upset you were laughing at me, she signed, huffing.

I'm sorry, Bella, he used her sign name, making Bella smile and feel warmth spread through her, but if you'd been hurt you probably wouldn't be sticking your tongue out at me.

Bella smiled and shrugged. He was right, after all. Furthermore, his using her new sign name had cheered her up like little else could and she could now not find it in herself to remain even the slightest bit annoyed at him. Instead, she climbed back onto the sofa, cuddling up with Edward while trying to avoid their previous position.

I love my sign name, she signed, shyly.

Edward smiled, caressing the blush upon her cheeks lightly as he looked into her eyes, before replying. I'm glad. I love using it. And I love that I could give you something so important, he admitted.

The couple stared at each other for a few minutes, neither saying anything, neither moving, simply smiling comfortably in their position. After a little while, Edward brought his hand back to her cheek, caressing it lightly with his thumb while his palm framed her jaw. He leaned in slowly, allowing Bella plenty of time to back away if she felt the need. She did no such thing, however. Blushing, she pulled herself up and towards him until they were millimeters away from each other and they could feel the air the other was breathing tickling their face gently. Finally, Bella closed her eyes and closed the distance between them, kissing Edward at long last.

Edward fought the smile threatening to overtake his whole face and brought up his other arm to wrap around Bella's waist, holding her to him. A few seconds later, Bella pulled away from him, but only enough so as to be able to press her forehead to his, her eyes closed, a soft smile shaping her features. Edward held her tightly against himself, feeling a sort of tingling overtaking his every appendage, from the tips of his fingers to those of his toes. He could hardly imagine a happier feeling than that he felt at that very moment. In fact, if he could remain in that very position for the rest of his days he would die a very happy man.

Much against his wishes, however, Bella rearranged herself so that her hands were resting on either side of him and she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She then extended her hands, offering them to him so as to help him sit up as well. He took them somewhat sullenly. Bella leaned in and kissed the beginnings of a pout away before pulling away quickly, blushing once more.

You're beautiful, Bella, he couldn't help but sign, taking in her flushed cheeks, her bright eyes, and the smile brightening her whole face.

I… she paused. You… She stopped once more, obviously unsure of what to say. Edward, what exactly… I mean… what are we? What just happened? I… Once more, in what was becoming somewhat his signature move, in Bella's eyes, Edward took hold of her hands, stopping her words. Before letting them go this time, however, he brought them up to his lips and lightly kissed the tip of each of her fingers.

Bella, you are wonderful. You are beautiful and smart and kind and loving and just… wonderful. I love every minute I spend with you. And I've been thinking about – he blushed – about kissing you for quite a while now. And I've found I quite enjoy spending time with you, and talking with you, and holding you. And I really, really enjoy kissing you. So, if you feel even a small fraction of what I feel for you when you think of me… I think we deserve a chance. I think we make perfect sense, in fact. Personally, I would love to call you my girlfriend. He stopped. Bella, however, merely stared at him, her hands still, silent. I'm done now, Edward insisted after a bit, hesitant, starting to look worried. Had he misread her?

Edward, I… she stopped, unsure of what to say. What does one reply to a monologue such as that? What words could possibly attempt to follow such a declaration? Yes! she finally exclaimed, deciding that that was the best way she could possibly think to express her feelings without making a total fool of herself in comparison to him. That said, she lunged across the small space between them, pressing her lips to his once more.

It was like that that Jasper found them when he came up the stairs not too long after, to wake them and tell them that he was ordering pizza, and ask what kind they wanted. When he entered the room and found the embracing couple, however, he lost track of what he was going to say and could do nothing but stare, his mouth open mid-word. Alice, who'd been following behind him, smiled fondly at the two before grabbing the back of Jasper's shirt, pulling him away and towards the kitchen, giving the new couple some privacy. Rosalie looked into the room for a second before going up the stairs to her room and getting her wallet; she had just lost a bet with Alice, but she could not be happier about it.

AN- sorry I've been gone so long! I know I kept promising to come back and then never did, but college has been kicking my ass and I had horrid writer's block and GAAH. But I'm back! I accidentally disregarded last chapter when I wrote this one, having forgotten about it (oops) and then had to go back and rewrite it, so if you find any inconsistencies that's the reason. Please tell me so I can fix them!

Since I've been gone for so long, I'm afraid I can't really do review replies… I'll start again with the next chapter, I promise. Also, THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER! I figured after 100,000+ words of a love story, you might actually want the couple together, no? Tell me what you think, be it good or bad, please!