**OK, this took a little longer too, but here it is… TADA! … the new chapter!**

*** still don't own anything ***

Ch 36

Bella's diary

Being with Jasper would be absolutely wonderful if it weren't for two things: One, we can't spend time at the Cullens' house because he says that it would be too dangerous with Laurent having tasted my blood (hence our time alone is hampered by the fact that my dad is sleeping next door and you don't need vampire hearing to be aware of that. Plus, I can't really meet the rest of the family whom I miss as well, and I only know Jasper's friends by hearsay), and two, Jasper keeps going on about Jake being dangerous almost as much as Jake about Jasper.

At least I've managed to get Jasper not to completely freak out when I went to La Push on Saturday. It was the invitation of a lifetime, Jake had assured me, and so had Charlie. Damn, I think he would like the idea of me and Jake, too. Anyway, I worked during the day and later Jasper saw me off at the 'boundary' as he calls it, and then left to feed. The poor darling has been starving himself because he didn't want to leave me alone, which is nice of him, I can't bear him away from me either, but he needs to eat.

Jake had a broad grin plastered all over his face when he saw me coming, but I dealt with that as soon as Charlie was out of hearing range. "Stop that! The invitation would have been perfectly alright without the blackmail."

"Sure, sure, the leech would have let you come to visit us", he sneered.

"Well, he has", I retorted with more force than necessary.

Jake's grin did not fade. "Yea, because he needed you to stay mum about him, didn't he?"

"Jake, don't spoil this, I'm so excited", I said, hoping that for once the discussion on who was the more dangerous species would disappear.

He slipped his arm through mine and took me along to the beach where the others had already started a bonfire and were roasting sausages and marshmallows. We sat around the fire eating and chatting until Billy cleared his throat. That was the signal that the council meeting would begin. I had checked who was there and was not too surprised when I found all the wolves present as well as their parents. Charlie was sitting with Harry and looked out of place and very sceptical as Billy began telling ancient stories about how the Quileutes were descended from wolves, how they had been changing through the ages, and how their wolf nature had come in handy at their confrontation with the 'Cold Ones'. I shuddered at the description he gave of the vampires' conduct in the village and the way the Indians had managed to kill them. Even though I knew full well that Jasper was strong and could not easily be intimidated, the idea of him being hurt scared me horribly.

The atmosphere at the bonfire was full of magic, and it looked as if even Charlie could not wholly shake of the allure of those stories, no matter how much he scoffed about them after we had come back home.

I took a glass of milk and told him I'd go to bed, to which he grunted that he'd be up in a while and switched on he TV. He would be asleep on the sofa in less than ten minutes I knew, but that was just Charlie's way.

Jasper was already sitting on my bed when I came in. He flitted over to me, wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair. "I can't bear to have you gone."

"Neither can I", I said to his chest, then rose on tiptoes to kiss his nose and tousle his hair. He looked even more gorgeous than usually, must be the recent meal, and he was in his dark blue shirt which I liked a lot. When I continued with his lips he made a growling sound that I'd come to recognise as his way of saying he wanted me closer and got us to the bed for a more comprehensive cuddling session. Some time into that I managed to whisper "Charlie" breathlessly, and he pulled back groaning.

"Sorry", I apologised in a small voice.

He shook his head. "No, I know, I heard his heartbeat. Only my selfish emotional side was hoping that he'd stayed with his friend at the reservation…"

"Maybe they'll go for a longer fishing trip soon", I said without much hope: Since the day of Edward's attack Charlie had never left me alone in the house after dark. He was still blaming himself for what he thought of as my accident.

"Do you think he would let you go away for a weekend with me?"

"You must be out of your mind!" While Charlie had no longer a problem with Jasper being my boyfriend, he was still very much a dad who liked to keep his daughter on a short leash, especially if a very attractive 19 year-old man was involved.

"What if it was for a good cause?" Jasper's eyes were sparkling.

"What are you on about?"

"Well, Carlisle is organizing a fundraiser for a children's cancer charity in Seattle with a few colleagues, and he usually takes us along to things like that to add a little glamour. So, if you were to agree to an evening of dining out and just a little dancing… with me…"

I found myself whining. "Jasper!" Some official sort of gathering, probably full of important people in very dressy clothes and shoes – the perfect opportunity for someone like me to crash into the buffet or something similarly silly. I was about to tell him exactly what I thought of myself in the context of such events when a thought came to me.

Jasper was unaware of my thoughts and went on. "Carlisle or Esme would certainly be able to talk Charlie round to letting you come, and I would make sure that the girls won't go over the top on your outfit, and that you won't have to dance too much, but we usually rent some rooms in a hotel afterwards…"

Aha, I thought, Jasper has this planned already. Well, Major, wait and see, I can do my own strategising too. "What about Laurent?"

He shook his head. "He won't be able to come, too many people. Neither will Charlotte and Peter, Carlisle asked them, but they said they wanted to spend the weekend in Portland."

I took a deep breath, knowing they would be killing humans there. No matter how much I liked Peter from the few times I'd seen him, and Charlotte from what Jasper told me about her, their lifestyle made me shudder.

Jasper put his arm around me. "Will you come with me?"

"If Charlie allows it, yes, but I have one condition."

He frowned. "Condition?"

"Mm. I want you and Emmett to come over and watch the game with us on Wednesday."

He was still frowning. "But you don't usually watch sports, Bella."

"I know, but I will on Wednesday."

He shrugged. "If you're sure Charlie is ok with that, why not. You're not telling me what you're up to, are you?"

"Nope! It's for a good cause, too."

Jasper's POV

Bella was smiling at me with that determined expression which I recognised. I would not find out what she was planning. Oh well, if it guaranteed me a weekend with her in Seattle, away from my home worries, I would have gone to Catholic Mass if required.

I had still not managed to get anything out of Alice about her vision, and not only Peter was having bad feelings about that. Honestly, at the moment I think no one but Esme would have minded if she and Laurent would have taken themselves off. They had of course taken notice of the mood and were busy planning weekend getaways, and Alice had gotten Carlisle to make sure that the school transferred her to Seniors (she had credits galore after all), so that she could graduate sooner – she was obviously planning on leaving Forks earlier now that she was with Laurent. The change however meant that she was sharing classes with Rosalie, Emmett and me, and had nowhere to run while we pestered her about that vision.

Rosalie was really impatient now, and it was her who had come up with the idea of Bella coming along to the Seattle stunt. "At least I get to see a real friend there for a while", she had grumbled in the last period.

"Let me ask her first", I warned. Bella was definitely not enthusiastic about these things, and had been bored almost out of her mind by all the chatter about the Spring Dance in the weeks after. At least Mike Newton was sort of out of the picture since then: He had gone with that Jessica girl and they were almost joined at the hip by now.

So now Bella wanted me to fraternise with her dad about baseball. OK. But why Emmett? I'm sure he is game for it, he is always open for new things, but the reason still evades me. When I asked her if I should bring Rosalie too, she grinned and said yes. "The more the merrier." This girl is full of surprises.