This chapter is dedicated to painyouarainbow. You said SM needs to read my fic, which just made me all kinds of bubbly.

I felt Jasper's thumb dance across my hand, and after a second he frowned. He lifted my arm and glanced sadly at the appendage.

In my peripheral vision I saw Alice frown, too, and Edward politely looked away from us.

It took me a second to realize why. It had to do with a little, red, velvet box I had thrown semi-angrily into my closet a few weeks ago.

I was not wearing Jasper's ring.

Alice rescued me from that potentially heartbreaking conversation. "So, Bella, don't I get a hug?"

I smiled and gently pulled away from Jasper, bouncing over to Alice. She smiled and wrapped her small, cold arms around me.

"I missed you guys, too," I whispered emotionally. If I had to choose a best friend, Alice and Edward together made that person. I could never pick one or the other.

Alice gently pushed me an arms length away and glared at me. I was in trouble- I could just tell.

"Isabella Marie," she started, and I instinctively tensed, "WHAT in the name of God are you doing jumping off of cliffs? Do you try to make me hysterical?"

Alice saw me cliff diving. That was just yesterday, so she probably saw it yesterday.

I frowned and asked, "Is that the reason you came back?"

She nodded. I felt tears stinging my eyes again. Alice's angelic face instantly became alert.

Wide eyed, she asked me, "What's the matter, Bella? Don't you want us back?"

I insisted, "Of course I do! But I thought you guys came back because you wanted to, not because you thought you had to."

Jasper's arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me against his chest, glaring at Alice from over my head.

He promised, "Bella, don't think we didn't want to come back. We never wanted to leave in the first place. Being away from you for so long was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure."

Just like always, he knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. I trusted Jasper, and I knew he was telling me the truth. Closing my eyes, I leaned against him and smiled.

I had him back. He was holding me. He was here to stay.

It was so surreal, I could think I was dreaming. I never wanted to wake up.

"Bella," I snapped my eyes open and glanced at Edward. He looked deeply curious, as always. He asked, "Bella, what's an imprint?"

My entire body stiffened and I felt my heart catch in my throat. I was sure my face paled, because I swear I felt the blood draining from it.

My throat dried out and I barely managed to whisper, "Why do you ask?"

Jasper turned me in his arms so he could look at me. He looked worried. I could have assumed that, this was not my normal reaction to Edward's endless questioning.

I adverted my eyes.

Edward explained, "The others, they were complaining as they left. The hostile one was upset that Jacob let Jasper live just because he imprinted on you."

Edward raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Damn him and his mind reading.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably and explained, "Well, it's a thing the werewolves do. They can't help it. Sometimes, a male werewolf can imprint on a female human- if circumstances are right."

I didn't know why, but I started to feel guilty again. I just now realized that Jasper had felt everything I was feeling a few minutes ago. When I was asking Jacob to leave, watching him leave- Jasper was probably sharing in my anguish.

Jasper frowned a little and asked, "What sort of a thing is it, and what do you mean by 'circumstances'?" He sounded thoroughly disapproving. This was not going to go over with him well.

I took a deep breath. "A werewolf imprints on whoever fits the criteria to be his perfect mate."

I flinched when a deep, possessive snarl bubbled out of Jasper's throat. No, he didn't like this news at all.

I tried to defend Jacob, "He didn't choose me, Jasper! It's not something they can stop, it just happens if you like it or not. If we like it or not."

I felt a spark of hatred and I winced, looking fearfully at Jasper. He looked nothing less than furious, and he demanded angrily, "And then what? You're stuck with him?"

Jasper's golden eyes flickered to Edward. They were silently communicating. Edward grinned and nodded once.

Alice looked just as suspicious as I did. She asked, "What was all that?"

Edward turned his puppy-eyes onto his mate and answered, "We're plotting a way to keep Bella out of Jacob's way. That way she doesn't have to spend time with him."

Indignation flared in my chest. I snapped, "You won't touch him, Edward. I want to spend time with him!"

Edward blinked in surprise and asked, "Why?"

I sighed and answered simply, "Because he was here for me when I needed him, and it will hurt him as much as it will hurt me if I leave him."

Jasper whispered remorsefully, "Because you love him."

I returned my gaze to his. I couldn't lie to Jasper. Even if he wasn't able to feel through my lies, I didn't have it in me to deceive him. I wanted to let him into the deepest parts of my heart. I wanted to let it be his again.

He could have it. He could do whatever he wanted with it.

I felt oddly peaceful when I answered, "But not in the way I love you."

A small, doleful smile graced his features. "I don't know what I could have ever done to deserve you, Bella."

He picked up my book the first day of school.

He saved me from a van.

He gave me his undivided faith.

He kissed me in front of my mom.

He took me golfing.

He brought me to Silas.

He asked me to marry him.

He came back.

It didn't matter how big or how small the memory was. I should have never asked for another man in my life.

Slowly, through both tiny and large gestures, he had showed me that he loved me. I think that the guy who said 'absence only makes the heart grow fonder' had a vampire for a mate. Now that he was here, I felt more drawn to him than ever.

I answered him confidently, "You gave me your heart."

Jasper kissed my cheek and whispered, "And it's yours forever."

I smiled and took his hand, absently leading him down an old path we used to take back to the house. I rested my head on his shoulder.

I heard Edward and Alice muttering quietly behind us. I didn't care about them right now, though. All I could focus on was how incredibly great it was to belong to Jasper again. He had always been my Jasper- but now I was his Bella once more.

I smelled many a confrontation between him and Jacob in the future, but I didn't want to worry about that right now. I wanted nothing more than to be held by my one true love- my Romeo.

Jasper stopped walking suddenly once we neared the house. His eyes narrowed, and he broke some tree bark off of an oak tree we were standing next to.

He brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply, blinking in surprise.

Edward asked suddenly, "Are you sure it's Irina?"

Who was Irina?

Jasper glanced over his shoulder at his brother and nodded. "I'm positive. I'd know her scent anywhere. There's a male with her, too. Here."

He tossed the bark at Edward, who caught it with the hand that was not holding onto Alice.

I demanded, "Who is Irina?"

Jasper smiled at me. "She's a friend of Carlisle's. Remember Tanya's clan, the ones in Denali? They're sisters."

Alice reported suddenly, "She's with Laurent. I think they are in Hoquiam, if I remember the area."

She glanced at Edward, who nodded in confirmation of the area she must have seen in a vision.

I remembered that was the whole reason I was in this forest. I asked, slightly panicked, "Alice, will you go see if Charlie is okay?"

Alice smiled reassuringly at me. "Irina wouldn't hurt him, but sure. Come on Edward!" She darted into the forest, and he followed her obediently.

Jasper asked, "Don't you want to go back home?"

I frowned a little. "Jasper, I need to go back to Jacob's house."

Jasper's eyes flashed and he growled at me.

I glared at him, "I'm not giving him up, Jasper."

His muscles in his shoulders tightened like coils and he demanded, "Why not? I thought you wanted me."

His eyes were misty with sadness and his voice had taken on that hurt edge to it again.

Jealous idiot.

I pulled him closer to me and kissed him again. His hands slid up my back, coming to rest on my shoulders. I felt his body relax after a few seconds, so that was when I moved back to look at him.

My voice was soft, "I do want you, Jasper. More than I could ever want anyone else. But Jacob is special to me, and I have to at least try to be friends with him."

I was positive of my place in the world with Jasper. He was a deeply rooted part of me that I could never get rid of if I wanted to feel whole.

But what was Jacob to me now? He was more than a friend, and he was different from a brother, but I knew that I could never love him the way I loved Jasper.

I needed to find out my standing with the werewolf, no matter what. I had to know if he hated me for this or not.

Jasper's wise eyes flickered with understanding and he nodded. He didn't look happy about it- not even a tiny bit- but at least he wasn't arguing.

I added, "Besides, Silas is there. We're spending spring break with him and the pack."

He snarled, "You and Silas are living with several volatile young werewolves that could kill you before you even realize they attacked?"

I smiled brightly, not sharing at all with his fear. "Yeah, pretty much."

Jasper glowered at me. I took his hand and started walking again, promising him, "We're perfectly safe, Jasper. I know that Jacob will never hurt either of us. He's going to keep us safe. Don't you trust me?"

Jasper snorted, "I trust you. I don't trust your mutt, though."

That confirmed it. This journey, the one I must travel to try and find some balance between the two men who meant the most to me- excluding Silas, was going to be a very rocky and difficult one to travel.

Lucky for me, I was up for the challenge.

Today I recommend a one-shot. Sweet Surrender written by EtrnlPsyche. It's an AH-Jasper/Bella lemon. It has chocolate. Loootttsss of chocolate.