A/N not going to waste your time explaining why this took so long...rl can be a bitch. thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, alerted and faved this story.

Disclaimer: own nothing

Previously

Everything was quiet as I finished my story. I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes. I looked at Jasper and was shocked to see that his eyes had turned black.

I watched Jasper run out of his house in total disbelief. What was it about me that ran the good guys off? I tried to explain to him that I didn't want to go back to James, but that I had to. Charlie's life depended on every move I made and I refused to be the reason it had to end. Why couldn't he understand? I had thought that maybe he was pissed that he had spent so much money on me and I refused to stay, but he assured me that wasn't the reason. I sat back on the couch and absorbed the silence that surrounded me. Surely he was coming back soon. I let my head sink into the back of the couch and closed my eyes. I decided I would give him a little time to cool off before trying to figure how I was going to get back to James's.

My mind wandered back to the dreams I had been having. I still couldn't get over the fact that my angel had turned out to be Jasper. I could picture my tall, dirty-blonde haired hunk of an angel, but now I had a face to put with it. Golden eyes, strong jaw and lips just begging to be kissed. I wasn't for sure where those thoughts came from, but was glad when they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Thinking it was Jasper, I kept my eyes closed. "Jasper, I'm really sorry…"

"Bella?"

A strange voice brought me to attention. I quickly opened my eyes and sat straight up. A beautiful woman stood in front of me. She looked to be about my height with auburn hair and eyes to match. She held a bundle of clothes in her hands, which she held out to me. I didn't fear her but I didn't know what to say either, so I kept silent.

"My name's Charlotte and I brought you some clothes you can change into." When I didn't respond, she set the clothes on the couch by me. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. I just thought you'd be more comfortable in some jeans and a t-shirt." She stared at me for a few minutes and then shrugged her shoulders, turning to leave.

Even though her eyes told me she fed off of humans, I knew Jasper wouldn't have had her around if he didn't trust her. Then I wondered just what her relationship to Jasper was. After all, I knew he wasn't with Alice anymore.

"Thank you Charlotte," I whispered.

She turned back around to face me and a wide smile crossed her face. "No problem, sweetie. I'm going to fix you something to eat so you just get changed and then we can talk, ok?"

I simply nodded my head and picked up the clothes she had given me. A small smile broke out when I realized it had been such a long time since I was allowed to wear jeans and tees. I brought the clothes to my face and took a deep breath. The shirt smelled like patchouli and the deep woods. I glanced around, hoping Charlotte hadn't seen me sniffing the clothes. I quickly changed, grateful for the long-sleeved t-shirt which covered the track marks on my arms and sat back down on the couch. I could feel my anxiety level starting to rise and wondered what Charlotte wanted to talk about. It wasn't long before she entered the room and placed a tray on the coffee table. I couldn't help the grin on my face when I saw she had fixed me grilled cheese and tomato soup…one of my favorite combos. A tall glass of milk accompanied the meal.

"Here you go, Bella. I wasn't for sure what to fix you, but by the look on your face I did good."

I glanced at her before digging in. "You did excellent, Charlotte!" She had cut the sandwich at a diagonal angle, which made for great dipping in the soup. Before I knew it, the sandwich was gone and the bowl empty. I finished the milk and set the glass back on the tray.

"Thanks for the meal and clothes." I was nervous and my voice showed it. I didn't know how much she knew about my situation and I sure didn't know how the hell she knew Jasper. I decided to just jump right in and ask. "Do you live here with Jasper?"

"No, Peter and I live in a separate house. He's my mate." A smile graced her beautiful face. "He can be a domineering ass sometimes, but he's my world."

I thought about how domineering Edward was. "That's how I felt about Edward too."

Charlotte tilted her head back and laughed. "Oh Bella! I met Edward and let me assure you that the two men are nothing alike! Vampire men are naturally dominant creatures, some more than others. Peter and I are basically equal but when it comes right down to it, his word is law. I'm one of the few lucky ones because he will actually listen to my opinions and is open-minded enough to accept my ideas if they are better than his. The feeling I got from Edward was that his word was law no matter if he was right or wrong. That doesn't make for a loving relationship."

I felt my face turning red because she had hit the proverbial nail on the head. I was beginning to think I was lucky for being able to escape his clutches until I remembered that I had tripped into someone more evil's clutches. I tried to push those thoughts further back into my mind and changed the subject. "So how did you meet Jasper?"

She leaned back on the couch and turned her head to face me. She seemed to be thinking hard on what she wanted to say. "Jasper's my sire."

To say I was shocked would've been an understatement. Charlotte must've been able to read it on my face because she sighed and closed her eyes. "Bella, how much do you know about Jasper's past? I mean before the Cullen's."

I thought back and tried to remember if anyone had ever mentioned it. I heard about everyone else's past but never Jasper's. "Huh…absolutely nothing. I was told about how everyone else was changed but no one ever said anything about Jasper."

Charlotte let out a not-so-ladylike snort. "Figures…" she mumbled to herself. When she saw the look on my face, she continued. "I'm sorry about that. I just don't have the kindest feelings for that so-called family."

I couldn't help but laugh, even if it was a heartless laugh. "Me either, Charlotte." I could feel her crimson eyes staring into my own and felt like she was sizing me up. I just stared back. "So…about Jasper?" I encouraged.

"Yeah, well back before the Civil War, there was a war that humans never knew about. It was called the Southern Vampires War. What it amounted to was bands of vampires fighting against each other for territorial rights. It started in Mexico and worked its way up to the States. By the time it hit Texas, the Civil War had begun. Jasper was a Major in the Confederate Army when Maria found him. She was looking for someone who could train her own army and knew Jasper was the person who could fill that role."

I didn't know what to say or think. The rest of the Cullen's stories sounded so lame compared to Jasper's. To think Jasper was a part of American history astounded me. Who'd have thunk? Charlotte was quiet for a few minutes and as much as I wanted her to continue the story, I was afraid of what I'd hear. It didn't take her long.

"I'm not for sure how long Jasper had been leading her army before I was turned. It was Jasper and his second in command, Peter's job to turn and train the newborns and that's how I met the two." She stopped and turned to face me. "Have you heard much about newborns?" When I shook my head, she nodded. "Well, newborns have no control over their emotions. Whatever they feel, they feel deeply. There was a lot of confusion, anger and lust…a lot of lust. The male newborns were notorious for raping the females. Usually no one gave them a second thought as long as they didn't kill each other. We were there to fight and die so it didn't matter. But Jasper and Peter tried to keep the females safe." Charlotte took a deep breath. "Anyway, one of the males had me down on the ground, plowing right into me when Peter tore him off of me. He ripped the newborn to pieces and Jasper lit him on fire. I was so afraid I was going to be punished too, even though I knew it wasn't my fault. Peter walked up to me but I kept backing up until I couldn't go any further. He held out his hands and kept his eyes lowered to the ground, but I didn't understand why he was submitting to me. When he finally looked up at me, I saw it in his eyes, the man loved me." She had closed her eyes again and had a breathtaking smile on her face. Just as fast, the smile left her face and I knew her story didn't end there.

"Newborns are very strong for the first year of their new life. That's why all the leaders of the armies needed them. Once their strength started to ebb, they were destroyed. So when my time was up, Jasper allowed Peter and I to escape even though he knew Maria would be pissed. Peter tried to talk Jasper into leaving with us, but the army was all he knew. He felt like he didn't have anyone to 'live' for so he refused to leave. I heard that he was tortured but he still wouldn't give us up to Maria. It was years before we could convince him that there was a better way to live. I owe my life to the Major and would do anything in the world to make him happy."

All of a sudden I felt a kinship with Charlotte. She had been used and abused just like I was. Tears started flowing from my eyes and I grabbed her hand. She looked at me with wide eyes, probably in shock that a human would offer a vampire comfort but I didn't let that stop me and she didn't pull away. "Charlotte, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I know what it feels like to have no control over your own body."

Charlotte nodded her head in understanding. She gently squeezed my hand and wiped away my tears with her other hand. "Honey, I didn't tell you my story for you to feel bad. I told you because I wanted you to realize that once Jasper pledges his protection to you, it's forever. And Bella…Jasper has pledged just that. He wants to get you away from James."

"Charlotte…" I didn't get to finish because she interrupted me.

"Listen, Bella. I overheard your conversation with Jasper and I get why you feel like you need to go back. Although I hate the idea, I understand because I was a 'daddy's little girl' at one time too. But you need to understand that we will do anything and everything we can to get you out of there without risking your father's life."

I had nothing left to say, nothing left to argue about. I didn't want them to risk their lives trying to rescue me, but I knew anything I said would fall on deaf ears. I felt a small sliver of hope starting to build but quickly tried to put a damper on it. My life had been too full of fuckery to let myself believe that help was just over the horizon. I decided that I would just continue on with my miserable life and if I was rescued, it would be the best surprise. And thinking about my miserable life…

"Charlotte? Do you know when Jasper will be back? I really need to return to James's."

"I'm right here, darlin." Jasper's voice was quiet as he walked into the room.

As he made his way to where I was sitting, Charlotte stood up and slightly nodded her head to him. She walked towards the door, but before she left she turned back to face me. "Hun, it was real good meeting you and I'll see you soon, ok?"

I smiled at her. "Thanks for everything, Charlotte. I really appreciate it." Her face lit up in pleasure as she closed the door behind her.

Jasper sat down beside me and sighed, running his hand through his hair. I had to swallow my giggle because I didn't want him to think I was laughing at him but the fact that emosper sighed just cracked me up. He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. I remembered that he could feel my emotions and felt my face heating up. I shrugged my shoulders, hoping he would just let it pass.

The silence was uncomfortable and I wished he would say something, anything. He started fidgeting and I wondered if he was getting a good dose of my nervousness. I decided to give him a break and took a deep breath, centering myself. I let my mind go blank and it seemed to work.

"Bella," he started, "you don't know how much I hate taking you back to James's. I'm not going to pretend that I know everything that you've had to go through, but I do know that you have to get out of there." I started to argue but he held up a hand. "I'm not going to argue with you about this, I just wanted you to know."

I reached out for his hand and tried to send him all the sincerity I felt. He had done more for me in the hours since the bar than he could ever know. Realizing how safe I felt since I had been in his house, I knew that my night could've been so horribly bad if he hadn't bid on me. "Jasper, I hope you can feel how grateful I am that you were at the bar. I really hate leaving here, but I have to. Charlotte told me that you guys were going to get me away from James, but please don't do anything that will put my father's life in jeopardy. I can handle anything James wants to put me through except the knowledge that I caused Charlie's death. Can you promise me that?"

Golden eyes stared into mine. I wondered what was running through his mind and, not for the first time, wished I had Edward's gift. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding when he slowly nodded his head. "Thank you," I whispered as I bowed my head.

I felt his arm go around me and he pulled me to his side. "Darlin, I promise I won't do anything to risk Charlie's life, but I also swear to you I'm going to do everything I can to get you out of there."

I decided I could accept that and snuggled into his broad chest. I had a million questions I wanted to ask, but figured if he kept his word I'd have plenty time for him to answer. His arm tightened around me and I, feeling safer than I had in years, allowed myself to relax and close my eyes. The last thought to cross my mind before I drifted off was that Jasper smelled like patchouli and the deep woods.

I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up I was in total confusion. My head was starting to pound and my body ache. I knew the signs and needed to get back to James's fast. I had told Jasper about my addiction, but the last thing I wanted him to witness was me jonesin'.

"Jasper, I really need to get back now. Can you take me?" I asked, trying to unclench my teeth. He gently pushed me back and looked into my eyes. When he nodded his head without saying a word, I knew he understood. He stood and offered me his hand and I managed a tight smile. Always the gentleman.

A/N look! no cliffie! ;D please review and let me know what you think.

i am proud to announce that i was asked to be a part of the darlin's facebook venture! i'm rec'ing stories on the discussion board so come check it out. not all of them are jasper/bella fics…just stories of all pairings that I love. there's all kinds of great stuff going on! that link and the link to my page is on my profile.