Inception on a Rainy Night by KT8812

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Many thanks to my wonderful Beta, BookwormBaby2580!

Previously:

I heard Carlisle sigh and found him smirking.

"Now, I think I'll have to call Esme so that she can direct me towards the completion of this impromptu renovation program that you started here," he said as I groaned, imagining Esme's reaction when he described the condition of the living room.

"You don't have to do it, I'll do it later on," I said. I didn't think any force in the world could pry me away from my Bella at the moment.

Carlisle seemed to understand my thoughts as he said, "Don't worry about it, son. Just take care of my precious child. I'll look after the rest."

I heard Carlisle setting things to rights downstairs as I buried my face in my mate's chocolate curls and inhaled her scent.

I was at peace.

Chapter 12:

BPOV:

I stood stock-still, unable to understand where I needed to go. Enormous walls of green surrounded me and I discovered that I was standing in a huge garden maze.

What the hell am I doing here?

I looked up at the sky and it was dark. Instead of twinkling stars and a shining moon, all I could see in the sky were gray clouds. It looked sinister and foreboding. It was one of those nights that are perfect for telling horror stories that make a chill run down your spine.

I knew I needed to get out of there, but then that wasn't easy given that I was stuck in a maze.

Again, what am I doing here?

I started walking forward, or backwards, it was impossible to tell. The tall green walls seemed oppressive and I broke into a run, not caring if I slipped and fell. I had always detested the feeling of the unknown in my life, but being quite literally lost was overwhelming. I knew I needed to find something, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.

I kept running, the damp cold seeping into my bones but there was no end in sight. I was getting tired and I wanted to give up so badly, but I kept pushing myself to continue. Suddenly, I found myself looking at what was probably the center of the maze, a small square opening and what I saw made my breath catch. Jasper was standing there; he was looking at something on his right. He glowed with a kind of luminescence that was used by Renaissance painters to show an angel. I couldn't find a good enough word to describe his unearthly beauty. I wanted so badly for him to look at me but he seemed lost in his thoughts.

"Jasper?" I called, but he didn't seem to hear. I walked closer, but it was as if I was invisible to him.

"Jasper!"

No reply.

Just as I was about to take another step forward, something twined around my foot. I screamed, but nothing seemed to perturb Jasper. I saw vines from the walls make their way towards Jasper and start climbing up his strong body, but he continued to be unmoved.

"No! Jasper!" I screamed, but to no avail.

There was a sharp tug at my ankle and I fell face first on the muddy floor, but I was only concerned with what was happening with Jasper. The tangle of vines twining around Jasper had reached his torso, and appeared to be a living, breathing, pulsing creature. Maybe, in a sick, twisted kind of way it was. I was being dragged backwards, my nails leaving trails in the mud as I tried to claw my way towards him. I kept screaming his name, trying to break him out of his trance when he finally looked at me. His eyes were hollow, filled with a haunting loneliness I had never before seen in him, before he was entirely engulfed by the plants.

The moment he disappeared from my view, my leg was set free and the entire maze appeared to dissolve into nothingness till I was left alone in crushing darkness, broken, sobbing and begging.

My eyes flew open and I found myself lying on Jasper's bed. Our bed. His spicy scent clung tenaciously to the bedclothes and seemed to saturate my every pore. I took in a great gasping breath as my fingers reached up to feel the wetness on my face. I was having a nightmare. Before I could find relief in that realization, the events of the previous evening came crashing down on me. I remembered finding Jasper curled up on the floor at the bottom of the stairs as the house lay in ruins. Was he all right? I tried to raise myself off of the bed, but I felt weak.

Was it possible to feel physically drained after a nightmare?

So, I turned and rolled out of the bed, falling in a heap of tangled covers onto the carpeted floor. My body felt limp and boneless. After untangling myself, I stood up on shaking legs to find Jasper standing there at the far end of the room, his back turned to me as he gazed out of the window.

"Jasper?" I croaked as I stumbled towards him. He did not turn around, so I satisfied myself by hugging him from behind, pressing my face in between his shoulder blades. After that horrible nightmare, I needed tangible proof that he was all right, that I hadn't lost him.

After a while though, I knew something was wrong. He still hadn't turned around and he had yet to speak a word. Despite his hard marble body, I could still feel the tense way in which his muscles were bunched together.

"Jasper, look at me," I pleaded.

When he finally turned around, his eyes were shuttered, his face an impassive mask. "You were having a nightmare."

It wasn't a question, so I just nodded.

"You were scared."

Again I said nothing.

"It was about me."

"Yes."

When I spoke this time, he flinched. Then once again, he looked away, studiously ignoring me. Irritation was fast catching up to me since I couldn't understand why he was behaving like that.

"Jasper, look at me!" I demanded.

He looked at me with the same cold, flat and emotionless way almost as if he were regarding a blank wall.

"Say something!" I begged.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Why are you acting like this? What have I done wrong?"

His sudden harsh laughter made me step back, bewildered once again at his reactions. As far as I knew, nothing that had been said warranted laughter. He stopped as suddenly as he had started. Clenching his hands into fists, he gritted his teeth.

"Just go, Bella," he fairly spat at me.

Tears of shock, anger and frustration filled my eyes as I once again tried to rise from the impossible whirlpool of emotions I had been swirling in since I met him. I felt like a rag doll, being flung here and there without any concern regarding how I felt, and suddenly I'd had enough. I'd had it with Jasper, I was bone tired of it all. He could take his charm and his speed, his bloodlust and his strength, his gift and it's projections and shove it up his hard vampire ass. I wasn't going to take this whiplash from him.

He had once again turned around, but I grabbed his arm and pulled with all my might. I knew he wouldn't turn around if he didn't want to, but I was trying to make a point.

He turned in slow motion, inch by painful inch as I silently fumed. As soon as he was facing me, I grabbed the collar of his still unbuttoned shirt and got into his face.

"You make sure your super human vampiric hearing is at its best at the moment, Jasper Cullen because I am not going to say this again. I don't care that you're a vampire or that you could kill my sorry ass with a flick of your pinky. I don't care that you have the power to make me feel miserable for the rest of my life with your gift, but don't you dare try and ignore me like I am invisible. Here I am, half scared to death from a nightmare, afraid I'd lost you to some crazy vampire eating plants only to remember you had been unconscious yesterday when I last saw you and you ask me to leave?"

My voice had risen to a level so high, I worried it might have become ultrasonic.

Well thank heavens he's a vampire, he can't say he can't hear me.

I was breathing heavily after my harangue, hands still fisted in his shirt collar when he uttered a single word.

"Plants?" he asked in such a soft voice, his expression so utterly confused, he looked like a lost four year old. And he looked heart-breakingly cute.

I lost it completely then. I started laughing and I couldn't bring myself to care that it sounded deranged and maniacal. His confused expression was etched behind my eyelids and I laughed till tears made their way out of my eyes when his confused look morphed into that haunted look I had seen in my nightmare and then I started sobbing. My body seemed to loose it's strength once again and I crumpled to the floor. Jasper's arms caught me before my bottom hit the floor. He pulled me into his lap as I sobbed against his chest. He ran his hands over my back and hair in a soothing manner, muttering nonsense to calm me and it brought on a fresh round of tears. I was just so relieved to have my Jasper back.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the tears ceased and I ended up hiccupping and sniffling into Jasper's wet and very much ruined shirt.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," I said in a hoarse voice.

"Oh, darlin', don't worry about it," he said as he continued to run his hands through my hair.

I inhaled deeply, trying to take in as much of his scent as I could, but my nose was stuffy from my crying session and I ended up sniffling again.

Without a word, Jasper got up with me in his arms and walked into his massive bathroom. He sat me down on the counter next to the washbasin and got a washcloth to gently run it under some water. He wringed it to remove the excess water and gently wiped my face with it. I welcomed the cool, moist touch on my over heated skin, irritated from the salt of my tears.

"Feel better?" he asked quietly after he finished with his ministrations.

Before I could reply, he filled a glass with water from the tap and just like that I realized I was parched like I had been walking in the Sahara. I greedily gulped down the cool liquid and I set the glass down beside me. In doing so, I caught my reflection in the mirror and groaned. My hair looked like a bird's nest, my eyes were puffy and swollen, my nose was red as a beet root and my cheeks held uneven patches of red in them. I saw I was still dressed in Jasper's shirt and boxers from the previous day. Was it just yesterday that I met Carlisle? It felt like a lifetime ago to my muddled brain.

"I'm a disaster," I muttered as I raked my fingers through my hair, trying to return some order to it.

"What set you off like that?" Jasper asked as he casually leaned against a wall to look at me.

Was this guy for real? He alienated me as I was just waking up from a tormented sleep, on his bed and then asked me to leave without an explanation and he wanted to know what set me off?

I started counting backwards from twenty to avoid another scene like last time.

I will not lose it, I will not lose it, I will not lose it.… I chanted when I finished counting and was still mad as hell.

"Bella?"

"What set me off? What got into you, Jasper? You asked me to leave? Where did you want me to go?" I countered with my own questions.

He lowered his eyes and wouldn't look at me as he mumbled something too softly for me to hear.

"Hello! Human, here," I taunted.

"You had a nightmare about me," he sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands.

I tried to come up with a correlation between my nightmare and his behavior and came up with…

Zip, nada, nothing.

"So?"

He raised incredulous eyes at me before they quickly filled with anger again.

"You had a nightmare about me," he hissed through gritted teeth, as if I hadn't heard him previously.

"So what?" I insisted. "What did my nightmare have anything to do with you acting like a jerk?"

"You were scared of me!" he roared as he grabbed the counter on either side of me, which cracked under his inhuman grip.

That seemed to bring him back as he took two deliberate steps away from where I was seated.

"You were going to leave me, as you should," he whispered as he closed his eyes and hung his head in shame.

"Am I missing something here?" I asked as I jumped off the counter and moved towards him. He backed away from me instantaneously.

"Why would I be scared of you and why would I leave you when I came back for you? I don't understand," I protested.

"Bella, you were talking in your sleep, you were begging me to stop. I can imagine what I was doing to you in your nightmare," he said with a pained expression on his face. "You can leave, I promise not to follow you ever again."

"Where did you get the idea that I was afraid of you, Jasper? You're an empath; you can feel my emotions. Do I seem scared right now?"

"No," he admitted slowly. "But you were scared in your sleep, terrified actually. I could feel it pouring off of you in waves. Don't try to deny that you were frightened," he demanded.

God, I really wanted to beat some sense into him, but I was worried that my human bones of calcium and phosphorus were no match for his Adamantium-like frame.

"Of course I was terrified you moron! I saw the man I loved being mauled by a vicious, dead-flesh-eating, carnivorous plant!"

He stood there with a stunned expression on his face and just as I was about to start ranting again he had me in his arms, a fierce expression on his face that took my breath away.

"You're saying you weren't scared of me?"

"Obviously not, you door knob! I wasn't afraid of you, I was afraid for you!"

And then he was kissing me all over my face, his arms forming an impenetrable cage around me as I stood there like a statue, lost to the sensations he was stirring in me.

"Say it again!" He whispered harshly. It was a command and a plea, all at once.

"Huh?"

"Say you love me," he beseeched.

"I love you," the words slipped from my mouth without an effort. They came so naturally, like I had always been meant to say them.

Something akin to incredulous wonder flared bright in his ochre eyes before it melted into steely determination. His hands came up to clasp my head in them and pulled it up to sear my eyes with his. His lips descended on mine, frantic, desperate and brutal. He opened my mouth and I parted my lips willingly for him. His tongue invaded my mouth, plundering it for all it was worth as my hands came to tangle themselves into his curls.

Yes, this was how it was meant to be.

My head swam with his heady scent, spicy and sweet, just in the right combination. My body responded to his proximity as it always did and I lost myself in his sensual assault. I never wanted this feeling to end. There was this greedy impulse in the dark recesses of my heart, craving more. More of what, I had no idea, but I knew I couldn't survive if I didn't get it.

"Ahem…"

Jasper was crouching protectively in front of me, a steady growl rumbling in his chest as my head spun from his sudden movement.

"I think Bella should have her breakfast before you indulge in… ah… more strenuous activities," came Carlisle's soft voice from way beyond the room, but I could still hear the smile in his voice.

I groaned as I buried my face in my hands. I could never face him again. Never in my wildest imaginations had I envisioned meeting my boyfriend's father like this. Jasper pulled me into him, prying my hands away from my face, so I sought refuge on his shoulder, refusing to look at him.

"I'm so embarrassed," I moaned.

His chest shook in silent laughter so I looked up at him. His face was radiant and his eyes were twinkling as he dropped a kiss on my forehead before he whispered in my ear.

"Carlisle has walked in on much worse situations than this, darlin'. Trust me."

My shock must have shown on my face because he explained.

"When you live in the same house with our kind for as long as we have, there's absolutely no privacy around. We've all seen each other in compromised positions before. Suffice it to say, you don't want to walk in on Emmet and Rosalie on their make-up sessions after one of their fights!"

My face heated up as I considered the meaning of his words.

"Well, I'm glad we won't be giving them any competition," I mumbled, still not looking at him.

"Oh, Bella. Trust me, in time, we will give them a run for their money," he whispered, his lips blowing cool air on the shell of my ear as I shivered.

Did he mean what I think he meant?

I looked up to find a very smug grin on his face and the look in his eyes was answer enough for my internal question.

I gulped.

JPOV:

My Bella was adorable when she blushed. I felt like deliberately whispering ribald suggestions into her ears just to see her flush.

"Jasper, she really needs to eat after everything she's been through since yesterday," came Carlisle's voice from downstairs. I could smell the horrid smells of human food that he seemed to be cooking up in my usually-unused kitchen.

"Breakfast, darlin'?" I asked as I picked her up and rushed her downstairs.

I sat down at the breakfast bar with Bella in my lap as she raised dazed eyes in my direction.

"You really need to stop doing that," she chided. "I can walk on my own, you know."

"Not very well, unfortunately," I teased and was rewarded with a glare. I kissed her in return, everything 'bout her enthralled me. She harrumphed, not very convincingly before she turned to Carlisle.

"Good morning, Carlisle," she wished with a sweet smile on her face.

"A very good morning to you, Bella," he reiterated as her placed her breakfast on the table.

I could still feel Bella's lingering embarrassment but the paternal love radiating off of Carlisle for the two of us was enough to make my heart swell with joy.

Bella took a bit of the foul smelling French toast and moaned at its taste and the sound went straight to my groin.

God, the things this woman did to me!

I needed to distract myself from the thoughts brewing in my mind and so I turned to Carlisle, hoping I could come up with something mundane to control my raging libido.

"So, Carlisle, when are you expected to be back at the hospital?"

"I phoned in and extended my leave. I also took the liberty to call the college to inform them of your absence for a few days since you are sick with a particularly nasty bout of influenza. The lady, Mrs. Chase, I think was most sympathetic," he added as I cringed. Mrs. Chase was the Dean's secretary and could give the word 'cougar' a new definition.

Bella looked confused as she stared at Carlisle with questioning eyes.

"Alice called," he explained. "It's going to be a rare sunny day today," he explained as I froze.

No, no, no….

"I though the sun didn't hurt you," Bella frowned as confusion and fear warred within her.

"You need to let her see, Jasper," Carlisle spoke, too low for Bella to hear.

"No," I hissed out, without bothering to moderate my voice.

"What?" came Bella's innocent question, but I just shook my head and buried my face in her neck breathing her in.

I couldn't, I wasn't prepared to do what Carlisle was asking me to do. I'd only just found her, and I was not ready to lose her when she was faced with the proof of my savagery. As much as Bella had adjusted to the notion of me being a vampire, I doubted she really understood what it meant to be one. She had seen my human façade and had fallen for it. She had absolutely no idea what I was capable of. My display yesterday against Carlisle was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

I had been horrified when I realized that she had been having a nightmare in my arms last night. I'd forced myself move as far away from her as possible, hoping the distance would soothe her, but it had just gotten worse. Her pleas of "Jasper, no!" over and over again tore at my heart as I left the room, collapsing in my father's arms as he tried to use his calming influence on me.

I couldn't imagine what she thought I was doing to her that made her so scared. She begged and pleaded, sobbing in her sleep. It had been one of the worst nights of my existence. Although Carlisle tried to reassure me, I was sure that reality had finally caught up with her and she would leave without looking back, come morning. That I had almost killed her in my bloodlust only exacerbated the situation. I was sure that somehow, even in her unconscious state, she had found out the mortal threat I posed to her and took the nightmare as a confirmation of the fact.

But as always, my Bella never ceased to amaze me. I had reacted badly to her questions in the morning, but she had managed to pull my head out of my ass. She really was a little spitfire. Peter and Char were going to love her. Before I could make heads or tails out of her description of the nightmare, she had hit me in the face with a confession of love and nothing really mattered after that.

I had wanted to rip off Carlisle's head off, quite unrepentantly when he had interrupted us, but then I figured he knew more about humans than I did and had Bella's best interest at heart. Now the day was rapidly worsening as Carlisle brought up the issue of the skeletons in my closet. He had never judged me for my past, but he was not Bella. He understood what bloodlust was, he understood how difficult it was to resist and while his own record was pristine, he never looked down upon us for our failures. He'd even forgiven Rosalie for her vicious murder of those who'd wronged her.

But Bella, she was different. She was human, and though she tried, she could never fully understand how difficult it was to give up human blood.

But she will, one day, when she's by your side for all eternity! crooned a joyous voice in the corner of my mind.

If she'd been a vampire I wouldn't have hesitated to let her see my scars. Had she been a vampire, even if my scars disturbed her, she wouldn't have been able to leave me, the mating call would've been too strong. But in her human form, she did not feel the mating instinct as acutely as I did. It felt like attraction, even love to her, but she wasn't bound to me as irrevocably as she would have been bound to me had she been a vampire. And therein lay the catch. What if after knowing my history, she didn't want me any more? She could easily walk away from me, dismissing our relationship as a crush when I was stuck in eternity, unable to move ahead without her.

The feeling of warm, wet lips caressing my own brought me back.

"You zoned out," she said, looking at me with those bottomless eyes.

"What is it?" she asked again but I couldn't bring myself to answer. Carlisle must have sensed my reluctance to talk about the topic so he took it upon himself to educate her.

"While sunlight doesn't hurt us per se, it does expose us for the creatures we are," said as he waited for the ensuing question.

"But I've seen Jasper several times during the day."

"Like I said, daylight doesn't harm us, neither does sunlight, but we cannot be seen by humans in the sun since they would know we're different."

"So, you can go in sunlight, but you can't be seen in the sunlight?"

"Exactly," Carlisle smiled.

Then came the dreaded question.

"Why? What happens in the sunlight that threatens to expose you?"

"It is not easily explained, Bella. It is best if you see it with your own eyes."

Bella turned to me, her doe eyes wide with expectation and excitement. "Will you show me?" Her curiosity and excitement washed over me and I nodded mutely, once again wondering if this was the time I would lose her. I gathered up the courage I was fabled to have, promising myself that I would come clean with her. I looked to Carlisle for strength, and sure enough, there in his golden gaze was simmering confidence that I did not personally feel.

"Are you done with your breakfast, sugar?"

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p' as she hopped off of my lap.

"Come, then," I said as I took her arm to lead her to the sunroom, my heart growing cold with dread.

She deserved the truth. I would not deny her that.

A/N: Many apologies for the delay. I had some family issues to deal with. I hope all of you had a wonderful new year. I promise the next update will come faster.

I am now on twitter, so come find me there!

Also, I've joined the Twimuses blog as Muse KAT and I do Story recs, so check that out as well. The site is www (dot) twimuses (dot) com. But BEWARE, the site is not meant for you if you're under eighteen!

I've also been having a lot of problems with my internet connection, something to do with dug up telephone cables. Hence, I was unable to send the preview of this chapter to all those who reviewed. Once again, I apologize for the break in the tradition.

Let me know what you think of this chapter!

Many hugs,

~KT.