Title: A Risk Worth Taking

Author: SirenPrincess

Rating: Teen (about the same as the books)

Characters: Jasper and Bella friendship, still all canon pairings

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 2,420

Summary: Jasper didn't realize how much the discussion of a newborn army had terrified Bella. Is it possible for him to soothe her, or is that a risk not worth taking?

Author's Notes: Special thanks to my beta-reader, not-from-stars. This isn't really a second chapter to Apologize, but rather another fanfic set in that same storyline. It will only make sense if you've read Apologize. It's sort of a follow-up story.

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is designed to increase fan appreciation of her work. No money is earned from the writing of this story.

~~~~~Jasper~~~~~~

I scanned the woods one more time, still nothing. I didn't expect to find anything while assigned to surveillance duty at Bella's house, but I was still glad that I was there protecting her. I was the one who was best suited for combat if our enemies did try to reach her, especially if my suspicions were correct. Whether Bella's stalker or part of the newborn army attacked, I was ready. I heard the sound of Edward's car leaving. He would be back before long to relieve me, but in the meantime, we all knew that Bella was safe.

Suddenly, I felt a flood of emotions. Scared. Worried. Terrified. I looked up to find Bella standing at her open window. Even from a distance I could tell that she was crying; her entire body was shaking with tremors. There was no physical threat. I could sense that there was no other creature around. There was no cause for her to be feeling this way; yet, the emotions were extremely strong. Bella was distraught.

It seemed entirely likely that I was, once again, the cause of her pain. I hadn't held much back when discussing the newborns with her. I had, of course, noticed her reaction. She'd been horrified, but we had been discussing horrific things. I thought she had the right to know what we were facing, but perhaps Edward was right. I should have protected her from the truth.

What to do? She was safe, even if she was in pain. My duty was to protect her from danger. Going up to comfort her would actually put her at a greater risk. Edward would not approve. Still, she was my friend, at least I considered her to be. She was more than that; she was family. Bella had calmed me when I'd been so upset. Didn't I owe it to her to make her feel better if it were in my power? I knew that I could control myself around her when she was calm. Could I maintain my self-discipline while she was upset? No, if she was afraid, that would make me afraid, and that was a very dangerous thing. But, what if she was just so scared because she was alone? The exponential spike in her feelings had started when Edward left. Could seeing me really give her some relief? I'd be able to tell her response without getting too close. Perhaps that was a risk worth taking.

Before I had a chance to become too immersed in her fear, I focused on calming myself and then raced up to her window. Scaling the house was an easy task. She wasn't standing there anymore. She was sitting on her bed, crying into her hands. Crouching just outside her windowsill, I whispered her name. "Bella?"

Her head popped up at my words. "Jasper? What is it? What's wrong?" she cried as she rushed to the window.

She thought I'd seen something, and it frightened her more. Not good. Her emotions were starting to overwhelm me. Panic tended to cause a very explosive reaction in me. I fell back against the side of her house, still crouching on part of her roof. I was panting from the effort of keeping myself calm. "Everything's fine, Bella. Please relax. You're safe," I hissed through my gritted teeth.

Relief. The apprehension faded away as quickly as it had come. I concentrated on her momentary serenity and used it to calm myself back down. I feared it wouldn't last for long. She would start worrying again. I needed to act before her emotions carried her away again.

"May I come in?" I asked in a husky voice. I would understand if she refused. Having me that close to her was a perilous proposition. I'd be able to feel if she wanted to refuse, even if her words said otherwise.

She was confused, but she was genuinely happy to have me there. I smiled. Bella had always put more faith in me than I deserved. Still, I knew it was safe now. I wouldn't hurt her. I jumped through her window in an easy arch. "Don't feel obligated to say yes. People tend not to like it when I mess with their emotions. But, you were so distraught. I thought you might like my help dealing with that," I explained.

Her head was nodding before she'd even had a chance to fully register my words. "Yes," she practically begged as the breath rushed out of her.

"Shh," I whispered as I centered myself in my own calmness. Slowly, I transferred that feeling to her. By degrees, I felt her body slowly relax. The more I sedated her, the more I was able to calm myself. I was confident that I wouldn't hurt her. The always present thirst was tolerable in the peaceful sea of emotions we existed in. I slowly wrapped my arms around her. This was quite possibly the only human in existence that could relax in a vampire's embrace. She buried her head into my hard chest. "Everything's going to be fine, Bella."

"They're coming for us. You said it would be too close a fight. If they hurt just one of you . . ." Influenced by me as she was, she was able to articulate her concerns, but there was no accompanying emotions behind them.

I understood exactly what she meant. The thought of a newborn army coming anywhere near Alice terrified me, but I refused to let my body react to that. I kept us both immersed in the calmness. "I'm a good fighter, Bella, and a good strategist. I have a lot of experience in this area, and I'm certain that our opponent is naive. I'll protect the family."

She sighed against me. Talking so much required air, and the scent of her was burning my throat. Still, it was a small price to pay for comforting her. I was glad I was able to help her. "I could help you fall asleep, if you'd like," I offered.

"Yeah," she agreed again. "I haven't really been sleeping well recently." I could see that, now that I looked, from the darkness under her eyes.

I was going to suggest that she go lay down, but she was clinging to me. How odd. I was the most dangerous Cullen, but my presence was helping her feel safe. I wouldn't deny her that. Her body was light as a feather as I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to her rocking chair. She snuggled into me as I lulled her into a deep sleep.

Part of me knew that I should put her safely in her bed and leave before Edward returned, but I worried that she might begin to have nightmares if I did. She deserved a few moments of peaceful slumber. I felt Edward the moment he spotted us. Instead of the anger I feared, he was concerned. I wasn't thinking of what had happened, only that she was relaxed now, so he didn't know what had occurred.

Anger flooded me the moment he saw it in my thoughts. Bella hadn't been attacked. There was no intruder. I had put her at risk just to soothe her. I pushed a bit of calmness at him before his anger had a chance to overtake me. He wouldn't like that, but it was better than letting him affect my emotions while I was holding Bella.

"You would have wanted me to come up here, too, if you felt half of the emotions that were coming off of her tonight. She was terrified. I know you wouldn't have wanted her to stay in that much pain," I defended myself. I focused on thinking about how she had felt to me. Emotions didn't transfer across in thoughts the same way they did for me, but I hoped that he would feel a portion of what I had felt.

The tension from him drained. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for helping her. I can see from your memories that you were better in control of yourself than I would have thought possible. You really care about her, don't you?"

"She's my favorite sister," I whispered as I shifted Bella's limp body into Edward's awaiting arms. "Take good care of her."

I darted out the window, but turned back to watch him lie her on the bed. "If she needs . . ." I shook my head. Saying 'if she needs me' sounded ridiculous, even to me. Luckily, Edward would understand. "She's exhausted. If she wakes up, call me. She needs a good night's rest."

I ran out into the woods to feed. As much as I loved Bella, being around her was always a calculated risk.

********

I raced through the forest, trying to catch a scent of non-human blood. I needed something, a deer perhaps, anything to even slightly quench the unbearable thirst. My throat was scorching with fire. Bella's scent had permeated the air of her small room so strongly, and I'd held her so close. I hadn't been tempted to bite her; I knew I couldn't live with myself if I did that. Still, she had physiologic effects on my body that I couldn't prevent. I was thirstier than I'd been in quite a long time. I zigzagged through the forest, having finally caught a decent trail.

I pulled up and stopped suddenly when I saw something pale move in the distance. I reacted defensively for just a moment until I felt her emotions. There was no way that an enemy would be pleased to see me. I took a few more steps until she came into view. Alice was sitting on a tree stump, patiently waiting for me. She was happy to see me, but rather annoyed.

After all these years, I no longer questioned how she knew exactly where to find me. "I take it you saw that?" I asked as I tried to puzzle out precisely why she was annoyed with me.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell me why you subjected me to visions of Bella's bloody death for a good five minutes?" The irritation was obvious in her tone.

"I was never going to . . ." I gasped, but I couldn't complete the sentence. We both knew the truth. At no point did I ever have any intent of hurting Bella, but it wouldn't have taken much for me to lose control. If Bella had panicked instead of feeling relieved by my presence, if I'd given Edward a second longer to affect me with his anger . . . "Was it really that close?" I breathed. I couldn't even think about it. The idea was just too disturbing. Suddenly, I felt a horrible guilt for subjecting Alice to seeing that in visions.

Perhaps sensing my remorse, she shrugged. "The future was fluctuating, but there were some pretty horrific images in there for a while. The outcome didn't lie with you, though. You didn't have to decide not to hurt her. The future stabilized once Bella chose to relax for you. Still, that was really dangerous. What were you thinking, Jasper?"

I ducked my head, ashamed of myself. "I just can't stand to see a girl cry," I muttered.

Alice smiled. "I know. That's one of the things I love about you. You wouldn't be my Jazz if you were any different." She soothingly ran her fingers across my forehead and then gently caressed my cheek.

"But, perhaps next time you could, oh, I don't know, call me? You do have a psychic programmed into your speed dial. Or at the very least, you could return my frantic phone calls." She reached into my pocket and retrieved my cell phone. She flipped it open to show me that I had seven missed calls. Crap.

I closed my eyes, knowing that I was in trouble. I'd been so focused on fighting my hunger and the emotions that I hadn't even heard it ringing. I was surprised that Alice wasn't absolutely furious with me. I'd caused her pain. That was unacceptable. "I'm sorry, Alice." It was inadequate, but it was all I had to offer.

She hugged me until I relaxed into her embrace. She must have seen that I was already punishing myself for my thoughtlessness, and that the depression I was spiraling into was likely to get out of control. "I forgive you. I'm glad you helped Bella. She needed you. You don't know how happy I am that you can help her. Just please don't forget me next time."

"Next time?" I asked, surprised. Had she seen me doing something like this again?

She ignored my question. "I am proud of you. That was a very kind thing to do, and I know how much control it took. The scent in her room is overpowering." She ran her fingers softly under my hungry eyes. "Come on. Let's ease the pain of your thirst before Edward calls you. Bella's going to wake-up about 2 AM."

"Is it safe for me to do that?" I asked, unsure. I couldn't get the images of Bella dying at my hands out of my head.

She nodded. "You have to let Edward calm her down first, her emotions will be too strong from the nightmare. But, it's safe for you to go help her back to sleep. I have absolute confidence in you."

Sometimes I wondered if she did, or if she just told me that she did to boost my own faith in my self-control. Regardless, Alice was certain that I wasn't going to hurt Bella, and for once, I was actually helping her.