Author's Note: A big thank you to cathy29jes for being reviewer number 300! I appreciate the support and I do reply to reviewers, so if you have any questions or comments please post one. I'll write you back when I get a chance. :)
(Bella)
Jasper offered to stop at a hotel and stretch the trip out into two days, telling me it would take about fifteen hours to drive and that was assuming the roads were all clear of late winter snow. I told him I'd rather just keep going, promising I'd take a nap if I got sleepy. What was the point of getting one more night of sleep in a bed anyhow? Soon enough being tired wouldn't matter. I could tell he wanted to protest, but I sent him my determination and he didn't argue with me.
I didn't have some bucket list in my head. There would be no special last meal or last wild experience on the agenda. Drive-thru food was good enough. I did splurge and get a shake instead of a soda with my value meal though. You only live once, right?
Going through the mountains was a bit scary, especially at the speeds we were going. I had full confidence in Jasper's driving, but it still made my stomach twist a bit to look out the window and see the drop off just to the side of the vehicle. I chickened out and stopped looking, instead hiding my face in Jasper's shoulder. He was amused but held me close just the same.
It was late afternoon when Jasper told me we were almost there. The area was heavily forested, but the trees were of a different kind than those in Forks. I was excited, my stiff limbs forgotten as we got closer.
"I can't wait to see everyone." I said smiling excitedly.
"I can feel how much you missed them." He grinned at me. "I missed them too."
"How much longer?" I asked for probably the fifth time.
"Almost there now." Jasper said exiting the highway. A mile down the road he turned off onto an unpaved road. There was a large mailbox at the end and an equally large no trespassing sign. "This is our driveway. Two miles in is the house."
"Wow, and I thought the Cullens liked their privacy." I mumbled.
"Peter takes personal space a bit seriously." Jasper smirked.
I remembered the signs Char said he had posted around the property and looked around trying to spot one of his custom warnings. The one at the end of the road had been disappointingly ordinary. Eventually the house came into view.
It was log cabin style, but too big to be called a cabin. It was two stories, the siding rough cut and a bit wild looking, but it blended into the natural surroundings in a way that made it obviously intentional. Instead of wide lawns, the grass around the building was sparse, the light from the overhanging trees not allowing for a proper lawn. It was like the entire structure grew up out of the ground, right in the middle of the forest, disturbing none of the flora around it.
There was a large outbuilding off to the rear of the house with dark wood siding as well. The doors were barn-style, left open presumably for us to park the pickup inside. I could see Emmett's Hummer already in there as well as a couple other cars. Instead of pulling in, Jasper stopped in front of the main house and went around to open my door for me.
"They're here!" I heard Peter yell loudly from somewhere. Three blurs rushed out the front door and I was being spun around before I could blink.
"Bella! You're going to love it here!" Emmett said, hugging me too tight.
"Hey, don't hog Bella. Give her here." Peter protested, taking me from Em and I was being squeezed between Peter and Char in a group hug.
"We missed ya girl." Char said, kissing my cheek as she hugged me with Peter.
"Don't I feel left out." Jasper said, leaning against his truck with his hands in his pockets. "Not even a hello."
"Oh right... Hi Jay." Emmett said. "Actually, I did miss you. Bella tricked me and got me to drink coffee. I forgot I was going to be mad at her."
I laughed. "You forgot? I thought vampires had perfect memory?"
"I got distracted." He mumbled grumpily. "Coffee tastes like swamp mud by the way."
"You get those pictures Peter?" I asked grinning as I was freed from the grip of the couple to make my way to Jasper.
Peter pulled out his phone and showed me the first picture which showed Emmett taking a sip from a coffee cup. Before he could flip to the next one, Em stole the phone away and took off into the woods laughing.
"Emmett, delete a single picture and I'll take your fingers!" Peter screamed, taking off after him.
"Boys." Char said rolling her eyes. "Come on inside, let me show ya around."
The front hall led into a huge living area with two story high ceilings. A balcony ran along three sides of the room like a horseshoe, staircases leading up to the second floor on each side. There was a massive stone fireplace along the back wall in the center with glass doors and windows on either side of it. The walls were in a rich toned wood with thick grains, the ceilings with exposed beams contrasted with white plaster and skylights.
The furniture looked comfortable and lived in. The couches and chairs were buttery soft looking light brown leather. I could see this was a home that was meant to be used instead of put on display. The television and gaming systems dominated the opposite wall from the fireplace and I pictured Emmett playing with Peter and smiled.
Charlotte showed us around to the kitchen, which was to the left of the entrance through a door. It was beautiful, taking up the front corner of the house with windows on two sides. There was a small table set up in a breakfast nook and very up-to-date appliances. Especially the coffee maker.
"We converted the formal dining room into our office." Charlotte told us, leading us out of the kitchen. "It's not like we'd use it for anything else and when you see the room I know you'll agree it woulda been a waste to let it sit."
We walked out the doorway that should have led to the dining room and instead were in the Whitlock's office. It was a massive room. It was as long as the living room and as wide as the kitchen. The room had windows on both the back and the side of it letting in a lot of natural light, perfect for an office. The wall that bordered the kitchen was lined with bookshelves and there was a sitting area to read with upholstered chairs.
Where the table should have been in a normal dining room instead there was a modern looking desk. It had four laptops set up on it, file cabinets and drawers suspended underneath, and six chairs placed around it.
"The computers are all custom built. Peter is better with the hardware stuff, but I'm the software expert. This is where we track our prey mostly. Our internet connection is amazing." Charlotte said with a wink. "I do a bit of hacking to make sure there is no paper trail left behind from here."
"Wow, that's pretty cool." I said, taking a closer look.
"The equipment over there is more Peter's thing. He's got sensors and cameras around our territory set up to the security system he designed." She pointed.
Against the wall bordering the living room was a bank of twelve monitors above an expensive looking computer system. There were video feeds from around the property displayed on them, allowing us to see if anyone was coming down the driveway to the house or several other places I didn't recognize. There were complicated looking computer read-outs displayed on the computer as well that I couldn't make sense of.
"If anything trips the alarm, it sends a message to Peter's phone." Charlotte told us proudly.
"That's good thinking." Jasper said. "I'll have to get him to show me how this all works."
Charlotte led us back out to the living room and pointed out the main floor bathroom and the guest room that were on the front side of the living room before showing us the rooms on the right side of the house. We went through a door toward the back of the living room into an empty room.
"These are Emmett's rooms." Char said. "He won't mind me showing you around, I'm sure."
I looked around confused at the plain white walls. There was nothing in here at all. Charlotte saw my expression and laughed.
"Oh, this will be his to do what he wants with. We just got here not too long before you so he hasn't had a chance to figure it out yet."
"Right." I said, still looking around. Where did he put his clothes?
Charlotte grabbed my hand and led me to a door at the end of the room near the windows. Jasper followed behind us into a bathroom that was every bit as elaborate as the one in the hotel in New York, but done in a different style. Instead of the white neutral tones, this one was as done in blacks and chromes. The windows were frosted for privacy, but let in a lot of light.
"Emmett's bathroom." Char said, barely slowing down as she pulled me through the room to the door at the other end.
When we came out the other side, it was more what I had been expecting to see when she told us we would be seeing Emmett's room. It was a typical looking bedroom. There was a king-sized bed and standard furniture. Char even showed me the enormous walk in closet. I could tell Emmett hadn't had a chance to personalize it yet, but I could already see his presence starting to fill up the space.
"I get it now." I said, feeling a bit dim. Must be all the driving we did today. "So the other room will be his lounge or whatever he makes it."
"Exactly." Char nodded. "Come on, we still have upstairs to see."
I grabbed hold of Jasper as we followed Charlotte up the closer set of stairs. The stairs were made of halved logs, smoothed and polished like stone.
"This side is ours." Char said. "The other side is for you two.
Charlotte swung open the door over Emmett's empty room to reveal an art studio. I saw a desk with various charcoals and sketches, but what drew my attention were the paintings. There were canvases hanging around the room, an easel set up with a partially completed painting on it. I recognized the style from some of the artwork I had seen around the house.
"This is my studio." She said shyly.
"Char, this is amazing!" I said, walking around and admiring. Her work varied in style, from photo realistic all the way to abstract and everything in between.
"It's nothing really. Just a little something I do to keep busy." Char played off her talent.
"Bullshit. Charlotte you're talented. The only thing I can paint is a fence. You should be proud." Jasper told her, taking in her work like I was.
"I keep telling her that, but she never believes me." Peter said, joining us and giving his mate a kiss. "You'll have to listen now sugar, you've been out voted."
Charlotte shoved him playfully and rolled her eyes dramatically.
"You don't give up, do ya." She teased.
"Never when it comes to you." He said sweetly.
"Aww, aren't they cute Jay?" I whispered.
"Adorable." He agreed.
"Hey now, I'm not cute or adorable!" Peter said. "I'm charming. Now let's finish this tour up so you two can see your own rooms." He waggled his eyebrows.
They showed us into their bathroom, which was much like Emmett's only it was done in purple. I laughed at the color and Peter explained he lost a bet with Char and she got to pick the color as the wager. The bedroom was next, decorated in dark blues. We didn't stay in here long, Peter excitedly bringing me along to his room that connected to the side along the front of the house.
"My workshop!" He declared proudly. Inside were tables strewn with all sorts of mechanical and electronic contraptions. The walls were lined with tools and books, a small computer desk in the corner.
"What exactly do you work on in here?" I asked.
"Mostly spy equipment, the occasional booby trap." He grinned wickedly. He flitted over to one of the benches and picked up his latest project. "I'm working on perimeter sensors now that will detect a vampire but ignore any animals that wander past. The current ones I have will sometimes miss one of us going at full speed and I get a lot of false alarms from the wildlife."
"Spy equipment!" Emmett said, poking his head in from the other door that led back out in the hall. "This is awesome man!"
"Emmett hasn't had the grand tour yet." Char said. "We only just got in and the guys wanted to run the borders straight off."
"Hey Pete, I might have some ideas if you need any help. I've seen all the 007 movies." Emmett said.
"Sure, you can take a look later."
We walked out on the balcony, following along to the left side of the house. The next door led to an empty room.
"This side of the upstairs is a mirror of our half." Peter said. "You and Jay will need to decide for yourselves what you want to do with your space. It's just empty for now."
He closed the door and we entered the suite by the far door by the other set of stairs. The only difference between the two empty rooms was the one in the back had windows on two sides where the other had windows only on the front wall. I could see why Char had taken the back, the light would be much better for her painting where Peter didn't need as much for his tinkering.
Our bathroom was done in rich browns and I absolutely loved it. Brown was my favorite color and knowing this room was to be ours made me more excited. I spent more time checking things out, not feeling like I was intruding like I had in the other rooms. The counters and tile were a darker brown while the fixtures were a lighter shade. Our towels were more of a coffee color, complementing the design.
I noticed someone, probably Charlotte, had already stocked my brand of soaps in the shower and my toiletry bag was sitting on the counter already. Jasper must have noticed my confusion because he explained.
"Emmett and Peter brought our things in from the truck."
"Oh, thanks!" I said. I hoped they didn't unpack my clothes too. I wasn't sure I wanted them handling my underwear. It was enough to know Jasper had when he packed up, a fact I had deliberately ignored.
Feeling the need to check, I hurried into the bedroom. I sighed in relief when I saw that our bags had been placed at the end of the bed, all intact. My bathroom stuff hadn't been packed away since I had used it on the trip. I took in the room around me.
The walls were done in silver gray with a dark blue accent wall. There were splashes of orange around the room to brighten it up in the lampshades and a vase of dahlias on the dresser. I would never have picked the colors myself, but they worked really well together and reminded me of Jasper. The king sized bed had a wrought iron headboard, done in a black matte finish and was sitting on a dark blue area rug.
There was a dressing table with mirrors and a stool, upholstered in orange and elaborately patterned with silver stitching. It looked very antique, but not something Alice would have ever appreciated. I was glad she had never been here. The rest of the furniture was very masculine, making up for the difference and balancing the room.
"If you don't like it, we can change things." Jasper said, coming up behind me and speaking into my ear.
"I love it." I told him. "It's very you. Very us." I turned in his arms, stepping into his embrace.
"Now that you've seen the house, do you want to see the grounds? We have a heated swimming pool you might like." Jasper said while pulling me closer. "Or I could take out out to the lake, show you around our land."
"I think I want to stay right here." I said. I noticed that we were alone and wondered when that happened. "Where did everyone go?"
"For a run, doing a patrol of our borders. They'll be gone for a while. They wanted to give us some privacy."
"Privacy? What exactly did they think we'd be doing?" I asked, kissing his neck. I wasn't tall enough to reach his lips, but I didn't mind at all. He moaned my name softly, but the emotions I got from him were hesitant so I pulled back. "What's wrong?"
"They gave us privacy because they know you wanted to be changed right away. Is that still what you want Bella? We can wait until you're ready." He said, his voice sounding strained.
"Oh!" I said. My mind had gone into the gutter at the thought of alone time and I had lost focus. Now that we were here, I was suddenly nervous about being bitten. I didn't really want to wait, but the thought of it actually happening was a bit terrifying.
"You're not ready." Jasper said flatly. "I can feel how scared you are."
"No, that's not it." I objected. "I want this. I just know what it will be like and I can't help but be a little scared." Jasper pulled away, sitting on the bed. I followed him, not wanting to be alone. He looked stiff, his face conflicted as if he didn't believe me. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, frustrated.
Being copped up in Jasper's pickup for the long drive left me feeling a bit greasy and I felt gross. As much as our relationship had progressed, I wasn't ready to take it to the next level yet, we were really just starting out. But at the same time, the thought of separating from him long enough to get clean right now was out of the question. I gathered up my courage, Jasper watching me carefully, no doubt monitoring my emotions.
"Come with me." I said, hoping he wouldn't ask questions.
His expression was perplexed as he took my hand. I led us into the bathroom, turning on the taps to the soaker tub and adjusting the temperature to just a little too hot. As the steam billowed up, I turned around, facing Jasper. My anxiety hit the roof as I slipped my hand under the edge of his shirt, working the material up, but he stopped me.
"Bella, what are you doing?" He asked me, his fingers circling my wrists gently but firmly.
"Taking a bath." I said, trying to continue taking off his shirt, but he held my hands in place.
"You are taking off my shirt." He said, stating the obvious. "I can feel your emotions, don't do anything you aren't ready for darlin'. I'll wait for you in the bedroom, there's no rush."
"Don't go." I whispered. "I want you to take a bath with me. Please?" I said, looking into his crimson eyes. He must have agreed with what he saw there because he allowed me to continue.
I quickly stripped him of his shirt, allowing my hands to slide down his chest as the material fell to the floor. His breathing hitched and his eyes darkened. Jasper growled and his lips fell on mine, his desire over-riding my nervousness for the moment. I kept the kiss from getting out of control and he pulled back, confused. I put my finger to his lips, keeping him from asking anything else.
I didn't want to give him the wrong idea. While I desired him and we had gotten a little carried away before, today wasn't about that. I didn't want my first time to be rushed and the fact that we were planning to change me tonight made me reluctant. There would be plenty of time for that after I was like him, when he wouldn't have to hold back and I wouldn't break. When I was a vampire, we'd have all the time in the world.
I took a fortifying breath before removing my own shirt, keeping my eyes away from his face. Sitting down on the edge of the tub, I pulled off my shoes and socks. Jasper copied my movements, radiating his confusion and shooting me glances. He was letting me lead, but he didn't know where I was going. I knew I was giving him mixed signals. I invited him to bathe with me, but pulled away from his kiss.
"Sorry for being confusing. I just want you to hold me, is that okay?" I asked, hoping he'd understand.
"I'll do anything you need me to sugar." He promised.
I smiled at him before getting up and unsnapping my jeans. I slid them down my hips, letting them pile around my ankles before stepping out of them and kicking them away. He hissed softly and I turned around. Jasper's eyes had gone black as he took in the sight of me in my underwear. I hadn't tried to be provocative, but I must have been unintentionally.
"Sorry darlin', but you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen. I can't help reactin'." He said, licking his lips as he spoke.
I blushed at the compliment, turning away from him embarrassed. I heard the taps shut off as I tried to calm down. He moved quickly, standing in front of me and tilting my head up. His eyes expression was serious, but his eyes were soft as he kissed me tenderly. This time he didn't let passion take over, keeping things soft and loving. He sent me confidence and security and I felt my own emotions leveling out with his help.
I stripped off the rest of my clothes with my eyes closed, too scared to open them again. I heard his jeans hit the floor and he lifted me in his arms and carried me into the bath with him, easing me into the water in front of him. I hissed at the hot temperature at first, but soon became accustomed to it, his cool body a natural buffer as I leaned against him.
Having his naked body pressed against mine was strange and exciting, but just knowing he was willing to comfort me when I was feeling so emotionally exposed made me feel so complete. I sunk down further into the water, allowing my muscles to relax and sighed.
"Thank you." I whispered.
"I should be thanking you, my beautiful girl." He said, nuzzling his nose into my neck.
I let the hot water work it's magic on my tension for a little while, just enjoying the feel of Jasper wrapped around me. It was so intimate, but there was no pressure somehow, even with our nakedness. The heat of the water seeped into his stone flesh, making him seem warm like he was a human man. It was strange, I had gotten used to the feel of cold skin.
When the water lost some of it's heat, I reached for the soap and began lathering it into my hair. Jasper helped me rinse and conditioned it for me. His fingers on my scalp were incredibly relaxing and I almost fell asleep as he worked the solution through my locks.
"The amount of trust and love I feel coming from you is breathtaking." He said softly, as he washed the last of the suds from my hair.
"I'm ready now Jasper." I told him, tilting my head to the side. He didn't react for a minute. I didn't say anything or move from my relaxed position in the bathtub. I didn't open my eyes or flinch as I felt him finally move. He slowly lowered his mouth to my exposed neck, kissing it softly. I smiled softly, feeling his love for me before his teeth broke the skin.
The bite of his teeth was so sharp and precise I didn't have time to feel pain from it. There was the slightest sting, like a papercut. It reminded me of that other papercut, so long ago now and how different this was. I brought my hand up to thread through his golden hair, as I did when we kissed. His soft hair was just as nice between my fingers now.
I could tell Jasper was drinking my blood for the first few seconds, but I didn't begrudge him a taste. I trusted that he wouldn't go too far. I wondered if having less blood would make the turn any easier or harder to deal with. Before I could say anything, I felt the burn start.
I gasped at the first sensation, but there was no slight increase. It went from a sting to an inferno in a matter of moments. I stiffened involuntarily and with my next inhale, I would have screamed if I hadn't known what was coming. Instead I clenched my teeth and tried not to struggle against him as he pumped even more venom into my vein, even though my every impulse was telling me to rip away from his teeth and flee.
I could feel Jasper pull his teeth carefully out of my neck and lap at the wound, a small amount of blood leaking into the bath water, a pink cloud expanding outward from my head. My breath was coming in pants, but still I kept my teeth together and the scream bottled up inside. The fire was getting worse, already more intense than what I had felt when James had bit me.
"I'm sorry Bella, I know it hurts. I won't leave you for a second, scream if you need to." Jasper said in my ear as he lifted me from the water.
"Love you. Stay. Just you. Promise." Using the last of my strength, I managed to get out a few words past the pain.
"I promise. I love you too darlin'." He said back, drying us haphazardly with a towel before running us into the bedroom and crawling into the bed with me.
I tried to focus on my shield and block him from feeling my pain, like I had done before with Eleazer in the Cullen house but I couldn't focus on anything right now except the pain itself. I was really hoping to spare him from going through it with me, even knowing he would be pissed at me later for blocking him, but there was no way I could manage it with the agony tearing at my mind. I quickly gave up on trying, instead keeping from screaming as best I could.
The pain was still getting worse as it spread to every inch of my body slowly. Most of the time I think I managed my silence, but I know sometimes I slipped and did scream. I only realized I did because I recognized Jasper's gentle tones hushing me as he held me close and I made myself stop again. It was hard to tell what was happening around me, my awareness was entirely on the pain for the most part.
What seemed like days later, but it must have only been hours, the rest of the coven returned from their patrol. I heard Jasper telling them that I was changing and to stay out, but the rest of the conversation was lost to me. I had my eyes tightly closed and my face pressed into Jasper's chest, but I assume that Jasper kept everyone away and that I was safe.
After that, I became oblivious to the outside world. I was blind and deaf, only able to feel the venom as it worked on me. Whenever I thought I had a handle on the pain it seemed to double and I started to panic. I didn't know how long it had been or how long I had to go. I should have told Jasper to keep me updated before I started this. I needed to know how much longer!
Slowly I began to notice I was able to think around the pain. It was just as intense, but I had more room in my head to work with. I started to frantically recall everything I could about my life, trying not to forget any of my memories. I started with the present, afraid I'd lose something important and worked my way backwards through my childhood. When I got to the end, I reversed the process and went forward again, ending again at Jasper. I lingered in my memories of him, cementing them firmly.
When I was sure I had my memories locked into my head, I tried to range out my senses, trying to get a sense for how long it had been. I couldn't hear anyone in the house besides Jasper and I, but I wasn't sure if that meant we were alone or that the rest of the coven was just being quiet. I tried opening my eyes, but they wouldn't obey my commands yet, the pain too overwhelming to have any sort of control on my body.
My breath was coming in gasps through my open mouth and I wondered if I could manage to ask how long. I tried and my first attempt was just a groan. My second came out as a scream and I stopped trying, hearing the panic in Jasper's voice as he tried to calm me down.
"Easy darlin', I'm right here." He said, stroking my hair. "I wish you'd let me in, I want to help you my stubborn girl. I would take the pain away if you'd let me."
I could feel his lips on my forehead and his naked body pressed against mine as he rocked me gently. It took me a moment to figure out what he was saying. He couldn't feel me or influence me with his gift? I wanted to block him from feeling my pain, but I couldn't do it before. I hadn't tried again, but somehow I was doing it now. I suddenly realized we were naked in bed together and my mind shifted around, confused.
The bath, I remembered. I went back to focusing on my memories. I had missed some of them before, so I tried again, focusing harder on remembering even more this time. Knowing that Jasper wasn't suffering made me feel less stressed about his pain, mine seeming to fade away as part of my mind broke away from my reminiscing to analyze how my shield was working to keep him from feeling my change.
It wasn't just keeping him from feeling my change, I realized, it was like I had built a wall inside myself and I was using it to dull my own pain. I focused and it was like someone turned on the air conditioner. It still hurt, unbelievably so, but it was less than it was. I smiled, maybe more like a grimace, through the pain and forced some triumph out and into Jasper, hoping he'd receive it.
"Bella?" He said shocked. "Darlin' was that you?"
"How long." I hissed out amazed with my discovery.
"One more day." He said, sounding happy. "Just hold on beautiful, you're doing great."
I could feel my control slipping and like a bubble being popped, the shield collapsed. The air conditioner shut off and I gasped in a breath, resigned to suffer through one more day of pain. I thought about trying again, but just holding away the burn for that long was hard. It was worth it to speak to him for just a moment, to let him know I was still here.
Part of my head started counting down the time, my mind able to focus many directions at once. I returned to my detailed cataloging of my life, starting with the present and roaming backward before returning. I made the trip several times, finding new details each rotation. By the forth journey, I had managed to eat up ten hours.
Every hour Char would enter the house and report through the closed door that everything was clear on the borders. Charlotte was staying a half a mile out from the house, running a tight patrol. Emmett was running a mile out. Peter was following the edges, making sure there were no signs of anyone crossing the lines.
I tried to go back to focusing on my memories, but the fire was getting too strong to ignore now. I was lost for the next few hours in the inferno, no rational thoughts in my mind. The last vestiges of Bella Swan were burning to a crisp and Bella Whitlock was being born in the flames.
I could feel my body moving, flailing as I lost control and I could hear screams escaping my mouth no matter how hard I tried to stifle them. Jasper's firm grip restrained me, but I struggled anyhow. My awareness of my surroundings came back and I tensed, sensing that there was someone near Jasper and I.
"Call everyone in!" Jasper yelled to Charlotte. "She's coming out of the change earlier than the full three days."
"Yes sir, Major." Char said sounding alarmed. "We'll all fall back to half mile out. Just call if you need us."
"Good, now go!" He ordered.
I shrieked and almost sat up despite Jasper holding me back. The fire was racing toward my heart now and it was trying to beat out of my chest. There weren't words to describe the feeling as I fought to move. The feeling of being restrained made me panic, and I struggled even harder, flinging away my adversary so I could move again.
I arched up, bowing at an impossible angle as the fire from my heart rolled up and seamed to lodge itself into my throat as the loud pounding noise from my heart stopped. I sagged back down, sighing in relief, only to feel the air rasp over my throat causing a new agony to begin.
I swallowed a few times, the relief of the absence of pain in the rest of my body warring with this new pain I was feeling. I heard movement and my eyes snapped open, my body automatically moving me from my prone position to a crouch on the bed. I scanned the room and saw Jasper, as naked as I was, sitting on the floor where I had flung him.