Jasper

"Hello sir," a very nervous man manages to squeak. "You are asking after a Miss Swan, I understand?"

How useless could this human be? If he already knows what I want, why isn't he doing it? They just don't raise them right these days. I pitch my face into a glare which causes him to start trembling.

"Well, you must understand, sir, umm, we cannot disclose information on a patient."

Is he kidding? His emotions don't show he is, yet he seems to be under the misconception that he can talk to me in this way. I am the Major, I am treated with respect, and when I demand something it happens. Does he not know who I am?

A small voice in the back of my mind reminds me that he doesn't, but I pay no attention.

Taking a step closer, which causes the man to gulp, I say, "I want an update on Miss Swan." My tone, along with the waves of irritation and fear I am sending him, leaves no room for discussion.

"O – Of course, dir, I just…" He looks around, possibly hoping someone will step in and help. Unfortunately, humans know to avoid us, even if they don't do so consciously. So, he is on his own. "Will you follow me?"

Making a gesture for the others to remain where they are, I follow the terrified man down a corridor and into a small room I realise must be his office. I can't help thinking to myself that this establishment is doomed to fail with spineless incompetence like this man.

The office is simple, the paint is fading, and there are numerous certificates littering the walls. Pieces of paper he must be so proud of. There is a rickety desk holding an old-fashioned computer and a selection of chairs.

"Please, sit," he says, gesturing a shaking hand towards a particularly worn chair in front of the desk. I choose not to sit, instead standing behind it, placing my hands on its back. Realising I am not going to move, he stammers on, "What is your name please, Mr…?"

I have to catch myself from correcting him. While I may identify as Major Jasper Whitlock, I know that it will not work with the current crowd. "Mr Whitlock," I say shortly, showing my intolerance of his delay.

"I see, and what would your relation be to Miss Swan?" I see beads of sweat are starting to fall down his brow. Good, he should be scared of me.

"She is my sister," I say, sending him a small amount of compliance. I know from experience that changing the emotional response doesn't always change the thought pattern, so I am careful to only make minor suggestions.

"Her file has no mention of any living relations," he says riffling through some paperwork on his desk. "Your names are also different…" the last part is muttered quietly in a voice he doesn't know I can hear.

Bored of indulging his games, I say in a cold voice, "Miss Swan, report."

He gulps. "Of course, I'll just, umm…" Why do humans always become so unintelligible when they are scared. After making some subtle changes to his emotional cocktail, he continues. "Brought in by the young man in the waiting area, no history, incomplete medical files. Do you have any information regarding the last five years? There is a large gap."

"I do. Please continue." He looks at me for a moment, apparently expecting me to provide him with the details. He is much mistaken My family will be the first to find out about her past, and even then, it shall only be if Bella deems it acceptable.

"Yes," he mops his brow, "she presented with general malnutrition which has caused secondary complications such as anaemia. There are multiple trauma injuries present. When we attempted to speak with her, she refused to answer any of our questions, so we are unsure if any were self-inflicted. Her immune system is poor, meaning she is struggling to fight of what appears to be a common cold. There is evidence of sexual activity, again we are unsure if this was consensual. A rape kit has been completed, but we won't know the results of the STD screening for a day or so. We believe she is homeless. If she is, there isn't more we can offer her. She is uninsured and doesn't appear to have the financial means to pay for any further non-emergency care."

I look at him, amazed. "Do not worry about finances, I shall be making arrangements." If this fool has inadvertently caused her harm through negligence, I'll have his job.

He looks taken aback, "Of course, I shall make the arrangements. I am really not sure what more we can do for her, though. We have prescribed her medication, but what she needs most is food, warmth, and rest." I ignore the undercurrent of judgement in his tone.

"I will make arrangements for that also." He nods at me. "Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"No, nothing," he says very quickly, terrified of what my response will be if he was hiding something. "She will be discharged later today."

I nod in slight gratitude and walk out.

As I leave, I feel the waves of relief come barrelling towards me. I give Alice, who is standing opposite the door waiting for me, a smug grin. She doesn't look happy. Her emotions are calm, but it feels false somehow.

"Will you come with me? I need to talk to you," she says firmly. Placing my hand on her hair, I coo slightly to my mate who is clearly stressed by something. Does she not trust me to take care of this situation? "Come on."

She takes my hand and leads me away out of the hospital. I have to hold back a groan when I realise where she is taking me.

It's only when I breath the fresh air that I realise how much I was struggling. Taking deep, unneeded gulps of air, I send a wave of gratitude towards Alice.

She places her hands on either side of my face and looks deeply into my eyes. I know what she is trying to say. It has always been that way with us; we only need to look to know what the other is thinking. "I need Jasper back," she whispers unnecessarily.

She's right. I've lost control of myself. We've moved under the canopy of a copse of trees a short way from the parking lot. A human would only be able to see us if they were looking.

"Focus on me," she whispers once again, pressing her forehead gently to mine. It reminds me of the countless times in the early days that I had slipped and been unable to handle the grief.

Just as I start to feel the shame building within me, her forgiveness fills me. She knows, she always knows.

My body is acutely aware of the environment, but my eyes are only for her. Staring into her amber eyes, I allow myself to bathe in her emotions as they slowly wear away at my defences. As they start to wear thin, her forgiveness turns to pure love. It's raw and powerful, and if I were human, it would have floored me.

I can feel myself gaining control back. Every moment I spend with her I feel more grounded.

"Thank you."

"I love you," she replies as I pull away slightly. Now that I am back with reality, my concern for Bella is growing. "I asked Emmett to rent an apartment and then go find Rosalie. I thought it would be for the best."

"Yes, I should apologise to her for the way I acted." My voice is full of regret.

"She will understand. Do you want to go back inside?"

I contemplate this for a moment, unsure if it is safe for me to return to such an environment. Part of me wants to run and never risk my sanity again, but I know I can't let her go through this alone. "I need to help her."

Alice nods, clearly having already seen my decision. She takes my hand and escorts me back into the building.

I can't help the guilt that creeps up on me when I see the way the receptionist pales when I enter. I must have scared her half to death.

"We would like to see Bella, please," Alice says. "She is going to be discharged into our family's care."

We follow the lady down a short hallway towards a series of beds. All are empty except for one at the end with its curtains drawn. The lady from the desk, Sally I see from the name tag, points towards the cordoned off area and walks away.

Slowly, terrified at what I will find, I place my hand on the curtain. At an encouraging nod from Alice, I open it and step in.

Bella looks so tiny curled up in the bed, buried beneath warm blankets. Someone has cleaned her up so she is looking more like herself, but the sharp bones can still be seen through the folds.

Beside me, I feel Alice stiffen. I'd forgotten this would be the first time she has seen Bella. She's as shocked as I was that first time.

"Bella?" she asks in a strangled cry.

The girl on the bed turns slightly. Her eyes lock on mine.

"I told you to leave."

"I couldn't leave you, Bella, not like that." I explain. "We're going to help you…"

She cuts me off. "I don't want or need any help from your family. Now, if you don't mind…" Her eyes flash towards the gap in the curtain and she sees Alice for the first time. "Alice…"

There is no reply from Alice. This is the first time I have ever seen her stunned into silence. It's awkward, with no one speaking. It's worse for me, being able to feel the tension much more intensely.

I open my mouth to speak, but the movement seems to snap Bella from her trance. "Please just go." Her voice is dead and broken.

"I'm not going anywhere," Alice finally says. "What happened?"

Bella snaps her head up to look at me, confusion clear. "It's your story to tel,l darlin', I haven't told them anything."

"Thank you." She seems to relax slightly.

"The doctor said you can go soon?" I ask her.

"Umm, yes, I think so," she stammers. "He doesn't seem to want to discharge me, though." I can't work out her thoughts on that. Her face used to be like an open book, but now it's blank and lifeless. "I don't understand why you'd bring me here."

"I couldn't leave you on the streets. I couldn't leave you in a place like that. I told you before, and one day you will believe me, you are worth it, Bella."

She shakes her head at me. "No, you've just made everything worse." I can see tears starting to form in her eyes. "What's the point on patching me up? It's only delaying the inevitable." Although her words hold anger, her tone is lifeless. There isn't any fight left in her.

"Don't say that," Alice cries. "We're going to fix everything. Please, just don't give up."

"Only your family has the sunshine and rainbows life, Alice." Her voice is hard and cold. "In the real world, life sucks. You wake up every day one day closer to death. You dream of a world that doesn't exist, you fight for it every day, until one day you realise that it's just that, a dream. That's all human life is, it's filling in the blanks between birth and death. So, don't tell me what to do. Both of you can float off back to your perfect lives and leave me alone."

With that she rolls over, turning her back to us, and curls tighter in a ball.

Those words she said ring around my head like an echo. I had said to myself nearly those exact words too many times. They are the words of someone so lost that even the idea of salvation is long gone.

I place my hand on Alice's arm and smile at her sadly. She is about to speak but I shake my head slightly ,silencing her. I can feel the agony rolling off her. It is the same agony she'd felt when I had made the same declaration.

Pushing the agony towards Bella slightly, I say, "That's Alice." She understands. She knows the torment we are feeling. I know because I hear her sniff slightly. "We don't need to talk, but we will be staying, and you'll be coming back with us."

Too quietly for Bella to hear, I say to Alice, "Bella doesn't have any clothes." She nods sadly and leaves.

Slowly, trying not to trigger an argument, I sit on one of the hard-plastic chairs.

Alice returns a while later holding a shopping bag. She joins me on the chairs, and we sit in silence for two hours. At one point, a nurse delivered a set of papers for Bella to sign. She hadn't. She had remained curled in a ball, crying silently.

"Miss Swan?" a voice calls from the other side of the curtain. "Are you decent?"

Looking towards her, hoping she will reply, I sigh; she isn't going to. "Yes, she is," I say.

"Hello again, Mr Whitlock." It's the doctor from earlier. "I am here to collect the paperwork. If everything is in order, you are free to leave." He looks down at the unsigned sheets and frowns. "You need to sign these, Miss Swan."

Bella painfully moves herself upright. I watch as she takes the pen and with a shaking hand. The nurse talks her through the paperwork, but I can tell she isn't listening, and she signs them without reading them.

"That will be all. Have a good day." The man rushes, clearly anxious to get away from us.

"I got you some things," Alice says in a small, terrified voice. "Basic clothes, underwear, toiletries."

She stands to place the bag on the bed. I step outside the curtain, giving her privacy. I hear Alice ask timidly, "Would you like any help?"

When Bella doesn't reply, Alice sighs and joins me outside the curtain. Her face is a mask of agony. I take her in my arms and hold her tightly. "We can fix this." I promise her.