Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. My muse was refusing to cooperate me. I finally had to tempt her with chocolates and sweet nothings in order for her to return to me.

And now, back to our program…

I couldn't breathe. His voice was as thick as honey and it made parts of me come alive, parts I never thought would come alive in a town like this. "Oh! No, you didn't hurt me. I have a terrible habit of not watching where I'm going. See, no harm, no foul." I couldn't help but flirt with him a little bit. But a voice in the back of my head was telling me that something wasn't right with him. His body vibrated with dangerous vibes and he made the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge. But there was just something about the man that stood in front of me. Something that drew me in, something I couldn't resist. I stuck out my hand, regardless of the tingle of fear; it's only polite to introduce myself. "Now that I've violated your personal space, I figured it is only proper I introduce myself. I'm Isabella Swan, daughter of Chief Swan. Please, call me Bella." He grabbed my hand and turned it over to give the back of my hand a sweeping kiss. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Swan, I'm Jasper Whitlock Hale. I'm the nephew of Doctor Cullen." My body shivered when the coolness of his lips and hand registered in my brain. Wait…coolness? The human body normally runs around 98.6 degrees. Granted, Forks usually sets about a chill on the skin because of the constant rainy, cool weather. But it usually doesn't make a person's skin this cold….something is definitely off about him.

Charlie POV

I'm glad Bella is finally here. I've missed my baby girl, so when she called to ask if she could come stay with me for a while I was thrilled. Normally, I don't mind being alone, but lately things have seemed off. I haven't been feeling my normal self, and so I made an appointment with Doctor Cullen to get checked over before Bella got here. I met with him earlier in the day before I picked her up from the airport.

"Well Charlie, I have some good news and some bad" said Dr. Cullen. "Which would you like first?" "Well doc, how about the bad and then the good?" replied Charlie. "You have breast cancer. While I know this is a shock, we've caught it in the early stages and we should be able to kick it into remission with some chemotherapy, diet change, and the proper rest and relaxation. First, we need to set up an appointment to go in and take out the rest of the lumps in each breast. Then we can set up the chemo treatments. I'm going to want to see you weekly for the next few weeks until we can figure out what kind of schedule works best for you. I know this is a shock, but do you have any questions for me?" Charlie sat there stunned. He was finding it difficult to process what Doctor Cullen just said. "Breast cancer? How is it even possible for men to get breast cancer?" "Well Charlie, men still have breast tissue, and about 2,000 men develop it. Yours is still in the early stages. It hasn't spread into your lymph nodes yet. With surgery and chemotherapy, we should be able to get you into remission. I know that Bella is coming into town tonight, and that the last thing you want to do is come to a benefit. But I would be honored if you and Bella would be my guests this evening. It will help her ease into meeting all of the people of Forks, especially since the majority will be there this evening. Both of you are going to need a lot of support in the months to come, and having friends will do you both some good." Charlie couldn't resist his offer. He had bought Bella the black dress already, hoping that she would have a chance to wear it at some point. It was just too beautiful hanging in the window and he had to do something to welcome her home properly. This just gave him more of an excuse to go. "Alright Doc. Bella and I will be there this evening. Maybe after we can talk to Bella together and you can answer any questions she has. I want her to be happy here, but I don't want to hide anything from her. She's a grown woman and she can handle it. I don't want her shut out. She's going to want to be beside me every step of the way. It's just who Bella is. She's got an incredible heart."

I still couldn't get over the fact that I had breast cancer. But I knew that being here tonight was a good idea. It felt like pieces of a puzzle were clicking together. There were so many people in attendance and they were all so happy I couldn't help but soak up the smiles. I left Bella talking to Doctor Cullen's nephew, and when I looked around to find her, I found her standing with him. She was staring up into his eyes and something just didn't feel right. It looked he wanted to devour her, like she was a piece of chocolate cake and he had a sweet tooth. I didn't like this one bit, something was telling me that I needed to step in, but what I saw next shocked the hell out of me.

Bella

"I don't mean to be rude Jasper, but are you cold?" he chuckled at my question and I couldn't help but feel my lower regions tighten with the melodic sound of his laugh. "Well, I don't know what you mean Bella, I sure don't feel cold, but maybe you could warm me up a little if you are so worried" he replied with a slight smirk. Jasper reached down to put his hand on my lower back and pulled me in close. Oh hell no. He is not putting the moves on me in front of potential references! How do I get out of this without making a scene? "Jasper Hale! I don't know what kind of woman you think I am, but I am not the kind that goes around and 'warms people up' that I don't know. This is a benefit your aunt and uncle are putting on, surely you could show them a little respect?!" My hands flew up to my mouth when I realized that I was shouting by the end of my little speech, everyone in the crowd was looking in our direction with stunned looks on their faces. "I'm so sorry everyone, I'm sure I'm not making the best impression, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Isabella Swan; please feel free to call me Bella. I'm sure my father has talked me up to anyone who would listen, but I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you and you me. Please, go on and enjoy your evening. Doctor and Missus Cullen, I am so sorry for the rude interruption." I looked around trying to find Charlie. I didn't want to pull him out of the benefit, but I had surely embarrassed not only myself, but Charlie as well. And for that, I felt slightly guilty. But no one tries to make a move on Bella Swan without permission. I'm not some little girl who falls blindly for the first pretty man that comes along. No, I have standards and I will not dismiss said standards. I refuse to be controlled. I have a brain, and dammit I'm going to be the one to use it!

Once I found Charlie, I made my way over to him. "Bells, I know you want to leave, but Doctor Cullen needs to talk to us after the benefit is over. It should only last another hour or so, can you find it in you to stay? This is something really important to not only to me, but to you as well." I knew Charlie wouldn't ask this of me unless it was something really important, neither of us handle embarrassment well. "Sure dad. I just need to get some air, please excuse me?" I gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked out of the tent.

The night was beautiful. Despite the lights from the tent, the sky had cleared enough that I could see the stars and moon peeking out from behind the lazy clouds that drifted by. It almost felt magical out in the garden and I couldn't help but lose myself on the bench sitting under the stars, surrounded by the wonderful fragrance of a well-tended flower garden. "May I sit with you?" A familiar voice asked. "Only if you can act like a gentleman Mister Hale." I felt the arm of his jacket brush against my bare arm as he sat next to me on the bench. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you back there Bella. That wasn't my intention at all. I'm normally a gentleman. My momma would be so disappointed if she saw the way I treated you. Please allow me to make it up to you?" He looked almost angelic in the moonlight with the beams glinting of his pale skin and golden hair. "Well Jasper, what did you have in mind?"

Author's Note:

I obviously don't own anything. If I did, Bella wouldn't have been weak. She would have been full of sass! And, she would have been with Jasper.

I welcome each and every one of your reviews and comments. If you want to see the characters go somewhere, or you want to see the story take a twist, just drop me a PM and I'll see what I can do. Now, when it comes to Lemons, do you prefer your lemonade tart and full of lemony goodness, or do you want sugary, sweet lemonade with lemon flavors?