Co-written by Nothingtolose15 and phnxprncss.

Summary: Bella and Jasper Swan are sent to live with their father Charlie in Forks, Washington after the untimely death of their mother and stepfather. Neither of them had seen Charlie since they were 7 years old and Renee had cut off complete contact between the children and their father. Now here they are in a place they don't remember at all trying to get on with life. But to make matter's worst Bella Swan has not spoken a word since her mother and step-father's death. Will Jasper be able to protect his sister? Or will she have to go down her own road to find herself again?

Disclaimer: we do not own Twilight or any of its characters.
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Jasper's Point of View

Sitting in our room with Alice and watching her bounce back and forth between happy and overly perky and distressed and downright morose was giving me a headache. I would never admit that to anyone but myself though, it would do me absolutely no good to tell her that her actions were causing me physical pain. It wasn't the actions themselves though; it was the fact that there was nothing that I could do to make it better. Just like me, her world had been irrevocably turned upside down in such a short span of time and she was doing her best to deal with the overwhelming onslaught of conflicting emotions and a need to place the blame somewhere – anywhere, really – just to get that weight of her shoulders. The fact that one brother – Edward, to be precise – had lashed out at her because of his own inability to control his emotions and the other brother – this time, Emmett – had all but walked away without so much as a second glance had her trapped in a whirlwind of almost indiscernible emotions. We toiled away the hours mostly in silence, caught up in our own thoughts, and what should've been a welcome reprieve was highly unwanted.

Finally – finally – Emmett returned home. I'd known that Alice had asked her parents to have him come up so that they could talk when he got back, so I silently waited for the inevitable knock to sound at our door. When it came, I volunteered to go and call Edward and keep my sister occupied while they hashed things out. Had it not been for Bella convincing him that he needed to do this, I'm almost certain he would've put up a fight. The look on his face was one of nothing but resentment and hate and even though I knew, logically, that it was aimed at these long lost grandparents that decided to make an unwanted reappearance, my protective side wanted to rush back into the room I shared with Alice and stand in front of her – shield her from any more pain.

Instead of acting on my own – altogether confusing – emotions and protectiveness, Bella and I headed downstairs and offered to help Esme with dinner. Unfortunately – or maybe fortunately, who knows – she and Rose already had it covered along with the help they were getting from Carlisle.

"We're fine," Esme smiled sweetly at us, looking much better than she had a few hours prior. "You kids go watch some television or something."

After much debating, we both decided to head into the game room and make use of the gaming table that Carlisle and Esme had gotten all of us for Christmas. Air hockey seemed like the best bet for as uncoordinated as Bella was, and we started on our own little "best of 7" tournament. We laughed and joked with each other like we used to do before our entire world had been flipped upside down, thrusting us into a situation where everything was so unexpected and sometimes way too much for any one person to bear. Yet, we carried it – staggering under its heavy weight – and did our best to absolve ourselves from the guilt that we'd taken as our own.

Even with all the more recent changes – her speaking again, the fight with Charlie, moving in with the Cullen's – Bella was still my number one priority. I watched her closely, looking for any sign of distress of discomfort, and was pleased to see that there was none. She was truly happy with the way things had turned out, and that knowledge comforted me. There were, of course, things that I felt we needed to discuss – such as her relationship and physical intimacy with Edward – but there'd never been a time where we could discuss it freely without our significant others around. It wasn't a conversation that I necessarily wanted to have, but I had to learn to put my own thoughts about that issue aside because the fact of the matter was, I was the closest thing to a parent that she had now.

"So, Bells," I spoke before really putting any thought into my line of questioning. "How are things going with you and Edward?"

She blushed slightly and smiled, "Good – great, actually. I really love him, Jazz. I've just – I never thought I would meet someone like Edward. He's just – oh God, he's simply fantastic. How are things going with you and Alice?"

I smiled and nodded, "They're great as well, but this isn't about me and Alice tonight, Bells. I want to talk about you and Edward."

"Oh," she fidgeted slightly as her eyes followed the movement of the hockey puck on the table, reacting almost reflexively every time it got near her goal. "What about Edward and I?"

"Look Bells, this is as uncomfortable for me as it is for you but – "

"If it's so uncomfortable than can't we just ignore it and play our game." The pleading look on her face did well in telling me everything that I wanted to know, but I had a masochistic need to hear her say it so that there were no assumptions on my part.

Sighing, I remained quiet for some time, allowing my every sense to focus on the game and the rhythmically calming swish, thwack emanating from the table in front of us. When the overt silence became too much, I looked up and caught her gaze, noting the look of resigned defeat present there. "I'm sorry this is making you uncomfortable," I voiced, flicking my wrist to send the puck back across the table. "But I only ask because I care about you."

"But Jazz, you're my brother. If I say something that you don't want to hear, what are you going to do? Are you going to go barreling into the room, interrupting whatever talk they're having and get into a fight with Edward?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought as our game continued. "I can't give you an honest answer to that question without more information, Bells."

"That is exactly my point, Jasper." Her voice was merely an exasperated sigh, "even if we aren't doing anything like that now, we will someday and you can't be freaking out over it. He's my boyfriend, and unless you've failed to notice, that's generally what couples do eventually – when it's right."

My mind was working on overdrive trying to decipher any underlying meanings in her words. I was almost positive that was an admission of some sort, but as she hadn't said the exact words I was looking for, I couldn't be one-hundred percent certain. "If I promise you that I won't overreact, would you answer any questions that I have honestly?"

"You have to swear Jazz, because I couldn't take it if you got upset and hurt Edward over something that you didn't agree with because in the end you'd be hurting me too."

I sighed and nodded, "I swear on Chewy."

"Jasper!" She widened her eyes, "Do not swear on my dog!"

"Fine, fine," I couldn't help but chuckle at that one. "I swear on all that is good and holy that I will not overreact and hurt Edward if you say something that I don't like or agree with," I paused for a moment, thinking of what I'd just agreed to. "Unless he hurts you," I added as an afterthought.

"Then yes, I'll answer any questions that you have honestly. I swear to you, though, if you react negatively to anything I say, I'm never talking to you again." I looked at her, just a hint of uncertainty in my face at that last statement. She'd never been able to go for long without talking to me regardless of how mad I'd made her, except for when she wasn't talking at all.

"Don't look at me like that, Jasper Swan, I mean it this time. Edward means a lot to me and I won't let you hurt him, ever."

"I know, I know. I won't hurt him because I don't want to be a hypocrite or anything."

She raised her eyebrow and was about to ask me something but I shook my head, "That's for another time, Sis. So you will be truthful with me?"

She sighed, "Yes Jasper I will."

"Okay," I took a deep, calming breath, "What have you and Edward done?"

The blush that crept up her cheeks rivaled the bright red of a stop sign and I couldn't help but smirk at her. "Oh, do tell, little sister."

"I – uh – I'm not sure how to explain it," she whispered, eyes locked on the puck still traveling back and forth between us, the intensity of her blush increasing infinitely with every passing second.

Oh God, why did I need to know the answer to this question? I was resolved to be the understanding big brother tonight instead of the overbearing and protective big brother, but there was the small part of me that ached to confront Edward about this. "Bells, it's just me; I thought we told each other everything."

"That's exactly why it's so hard; it's you, my big brother. I don't want you to look at me any differently if I tell you these things."

"I won't look at you any differently, Sis, I promise. You know you can trust me, right?" I know that I was playing a little dirty by pulling the trust card, but if it got her talking, I couldn't feel too bad about it.

"I – uh – why don't you ask me specifically and I'll just answer 'yes' or 'no' because I don't know how to just tell you."

I widened my eyes, taking in her hunched over stance at the opposite end of the table. "You want me to ask you?"

"Yes, please." Her voice was barely a whisper and if she hadn't been nodding slightly as she answered, I would've thought that I'd been hearing things.

Letting out a deep breath, I stopped the puck as it reached my side of the table and motioned for her to join me in the sitting room. It was a little further from the kitchen, and we wouldn't be caught off-guard if anyone came downstairs because we would see and hear them before they could see or hear us. She followed me warily, watching me closely for any signs of stress or anger; before she let herself relax. Once we were seated, I took another deep breath and met her worried gaze.

"Bells, I – this is hard for me too because you're my baby sister. Do I want to hear these things about you? Not really. In fact, I'd probably be much more content if I were just left unaware. Do I need to talk about these things with you? Yes. It's my job as your big brother to take care of you, and taking care of you includes having this talk."

"I know," she looked down at her hands again, fidgeting in her seat uncomfortably. "This is just a little awkward.

I nodded, "That it is, but maybe we should just get it over with; like ripping a band-aid off, the quicker the better." I took a deep breath before asking my first, and most prudent, question, "Have you guys had sex?"

She shook her head vehemently, "No!"

"Thank God!" The words escaped my mouth as a relieved sigh before I realized that it were possible they'd done other things that to a big brother, would be just as bad.

"Have you had – uh – have you done," I scratched my head uncomfortably trying to figure out the best way to word this question. "Uh, oral sex?" I waited a minute for her to answer, though it felt like it'd been much, much longer, before allowing myself to look at her. Her posture had gone rigid and tense as she fisted her hands into the hem of her shirt, looking everywhere but at me. "Bells?" I asked again in an attempt to gain her attention.

"Yes," she whispered softly and if there had been any other noises in the room; I wouldn't have heard her at all.

"Oh." Was that really all I could say to that answer?

"Was it – uh – who," I paused again, raking my hand through my hair like I'd seen Edward do millions of times. "You or him?" That was the safest and least awkward way that I could ask that question.

"Both." Her eyes were flickering around the room, the blush on her cheeks incomparable. I visibly blanched at her answer as the unwelcome visions assaulted my mind.

"I – uh – oh," I paused again, taking another deep breath to steady myself. "I'm assuming that you have used," I held my hands up in front of me gesturing towards them with a nod. She nodded minutely, her body still tense and uncomfortable as she pushed herself into the furthest corner of the couch – away from me.

Hesitantly, I reached across the couch and held Bella's tiny hand in my own, knowing that she would probably be hurt or offended – possibly both – with my next question. I was loathe to even introduce the notion that Edward had been anything less than a gentleman, but as her brother, it was my duty – and undoubtedly, my right – to ask for an honest response to this query. Steeling myself for the flare of anger that was sure to transpire, I locked my eyes on hers, keeping a steady and unrelenting gaze. "Bella," I faltered for a moment in an attempt to ascertain the best way to ask. "It's been consensual, right?"

Her eyes widened momentarily before she snapped her hand back, fierce determination setting her eyes ablaze. "I can't believe you even had to ask me that question." The tone of her voice held no room for argument and I was bursting with pride at the way she was standing up for herself – and Edward. "Of course it's been consensual," she spat, eyeing me steadily. "That you would even imply it was anything but just – "

I cut her off before she could continue with her verbal assault; "I had to ask that question, Bella. Put yourself in my place and imagine how you'd feel if the roles were reversed. I wasn't purposely questioning his character and I do trust Edward. However, you are my sister and it is my job to protect you."

"I – I guess I know that but you have to understand how that question sounded to me, Jazz. You and I both know that Edward would never do something like that and the fact that you even asked that question makes me question your trust in me. Don't you think I would tell you if it were like that?"

"I'm sorry, Sis," I sighed apologetically. "You know that I trust you and I didn't mean to make you feel otherwise. I love you, Bells, remember that." I tugged her hand gently, getting her to cross the expanse of the couch for a hug.

"I love you too, Jazzy," she responded after she'd pulled back, a tentative smile gracing her face.

"Okay then," I murmured, mostly to myself. "Nice chat," the words left my mouth before I'd put any conscious thought into them. She was right, as usual, this was the most awkward of conversations I'd ever had with anyone and the only reason I was still seated here was because I'd promised I wouldn't hurt Edward.

And because you'd be a hypocrite if you did anything but stick to that promise, my traitorous mind taunted me.

"That's it?" Her voice, still quiet, held a slightly reluctant tone to it.

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p' and giving her a genuine smile. "Let's go and finish our air hockey tournament. I do believe I was winning when we stopped."

"Oh you are on brother of mine," she stated with a smug look, her tone light and playful again.

With the mood sufficiently lightened, we returned to the game room and managed to get in a couple more games of air hockey – both of which she won, much to my disappointment – until Rose found us, alerting us that dinner was ready. Bella blushed lightly, probably remembering our earlier conversation, before offering to head upstairs and get the others while I helped Rose set the dining room table.

I watched my sister walk up the stairs, still looking a little uncomfortable, and let out a slight chuckle. The thought that Edward would notice her awkwardness only made me laugh harder, gaining questioning looks from the others in the room.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered out, my voice breaking as the laughter took over again. "It's just something Bella and I talked about earlier."

Moments later, I heard Emmett's enthusiastic response to dinner being ready and heard both him and Alice bounding down the stairs at what I was almost certain was an unsafe speed for the way he held my girlfriend over his shoulder. As soon as she spotted me standing there, she smacked the back of Emmett's shoulder and demanded he put her down. I laughed at her exuberance and was happy to see that the mood between the two of them was much lighter than it had been earlier. I didn't think I could take another emotional onslaught like I'd suffered through earlier in the day.

The moment Alice's feet touched the floor, she launched her tiny body at me, squealing in delight when I caught her. "Did you miss me?" She asked her face alight with joy.

"Of course I did, baby," I whispered into her ear before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Is everything okay with you guys now?"

"Yes," she nodded vehemently, emphasizing her point. "Everything is much better now."

"Oh Alice," Edward's voice floated in from the foot of the stairs. "Don't think that dinner being ready gets you out of answering that question, dear sister."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Edward," Alice shot back before bursting into a fit of unrestrained giggles.

"Would someone care to tell me what has you all so boisterous this evening?" Came Esme's melodic voice, a light smile playing on her face.

This question caused another round of laughter to break out from the two sets of siblings before Alice was finally able to sputter out a response.

"Mom, I don't know what's got Jasper and Bella in such a good mood, as for the three of us," she stated, gesturing between herself, Emmett and Edward, "trust me, you don't want to know the answer."

Her comments again elicited snickers from the three siblings and I gave her a questioning look, wondering what had caused such a big shift in their moods.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered in my ear before wriggling out of my arms and skipping over to the dining room table. I followed her with a slight shake of my head at her current playful mood, and took my seat beside her. Soon enough, everyone was seated at the table and I couldn't help but notice that Edward was continuously shooting me slight glances, questions in his eyes, before turning his attention back to the plate in front of him. Turning my gaze to Bella, I noticed that she was still slightly tense and a surge of guilt shot through me at the knowledge that I'd caused her discomfort. My questioning very well could've waited until a later time; a time when she wouldn't have been surrounded by everyone else so soon afterwards. Her eyes hesitantly met my own, and I gave her a quick apologetic smile before returning to my meal.

After dinner, everyone – with the exception of Carlisle and Esme – converged in the living room to listen to Alice's 'grand plans' for the evening; plans that none of us had any inclination of until she'd announced it at dinner.

Alice's perky voice interrupted my silent musings as she skipped her way to my side. "Hurry guys, we don't have all night."

"Actually Alice, that is exactly what we do have," Rose retorted, a smile on her face as she rubbed Emmett's back.

"Oh hush, Rose," Alice admonished, "tonight is my night so take a seat and listen to what we're going to do." A playful glare marred her otherwise delicate features as she kept her eyes trained on Rose causing everyone else to chuckle. "Anyway, like I said during dinner, I have big plans for the evening. Emmett, you and Edward should go upstairs and collect enough sleeping bags and pillows for the six of us." She paused for a moment, gesturing for her brothers to hurry up.

Once they'd made their way up the stairs, she turned her attention to me, "Jazzy, honey, can you go and collect all the board games from the game room and bring them in here for me, please?"

I leaned forward, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before making my way into the game room to gather the games. As I noticed the amount of games that the Cullen's had collected over the years, I began questioning whether or not Alice had really meant for me to gather all of them. "Alice honey, there are at least a hundred games in here. Are you sure you wanted me to bring them all?" I called into the living room, silently hoping that she would say no.

"Of course, Jazz. We need an assortment to choose from."

Sighing in defeat, I began pulling game after game off the shelves and stacking them in manageable piles on the card table in the center of the room. The overwhelming amount of board games finally stacked on the table, I began trekking back and forth between the two rooms, unloading a new load of games with each trip and earning a round of snickers from the others every time I made a reappearance still burdened with mass amounts of every board game imaginable. On my third trip into the living room, I took notice that the sleeping bags had been laid out in the area between the couch and the entertainment center with pillows and blankets scattered amongst the mess.

"Living room camp-out," I questioned, one eyebrow arched.

"Yep." Alice's smile was infectious and she continued to rearrange seemingly mundane items. "Bella is in the kitchen gathering snacks and Rose and I have already picked out a variety of DVD's. We're going to 'camp-out' tonight and the best part is that Emmett can't get us lost. I've already gotten permission from mom and dad so don't worry about the mess this'll cause."

The remainder of the night was spent in companionable enjoyment as we watched various movies – though watched is a bit of an exaggeration as the movies mostly watched us – and played at least half of the games at least one time through. Scrabble eluded everyone but Bella and Monopoly proved to be a favorite of Emmett's – being the eternal child that he was. As late night slowly passed into the early morning hours, I found myself contemplating everything that had happened recently from a more objective point of view. I'd also despised the phrase, "everything happens for a reason," especially when it was spurred on by tragedy, yet as I lay here with Alice cuddled up beside me, I couldn't deny the inherent truth in those very words.

Every decision and action made with or without my knowledge or permission had let me to this moment; to this beautiful and amazing woman that loved me without regret. It had brought me to this family, the likes of which I'd never known before, even when Phil and Renee were still alive. It had given me three wonderful new friends in Emmett, Edward and Rose. But most importantly, it had brought Bella and I closer together and undoubtedly taught me that I should never take anything – not even a single moment with any of these wonderful people in my life now – for granted. Those were my last thoughts as I finally drifted off into a perfectly content sleep filled with dreams of the future.

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A/N: Now, that was way awkward, huh? Very necessary though. I can imagine how Bella felt though. Poor girl, LOL! Anyway, Bella's chapter is up next but before we go, we've got a favor to ask. First of all, we realize we're like 2 months late with this, but, it's okay … right? Valentine's Day – in the story, of course – will be coming up in a few chapters and we need some gift ideas for all 3 couples. Bella's chapter is coming up next.

Review, please? They make me smile.