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A big thanks to ceara1888 who has allowed me to adopt this story from her. I read it while she wrote it and hated to see her give it up. I only hope I don't disappoint with the way I go with it.

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO REVIEWED LAST CHAPTER. I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO ANSWER THEM ALL, BUT I DID READ AND APPRECIATE EACH ONE.

I still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a the Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.

NEW POLL UP ON PROFILE AND FB GROUP TO NARROW THE TOP TWO STORIES FROM LAST POLL DOWN TO ONE. IT WILL GO UNTIL SUNDAY AND I'LL LET YOU GUYS KNOW THE WINNER NEXT UPDATE.

Chapters left after this one and including the epilogue-18

WARNING: None and I think this chapter might make some of you happy. Not as happy as the next chapter, but still happy.

I'm a little late my time, but not too bad.

This wasn't betaed so mistakes are mine.

ENJOY...

-O-

Jasper

I wish I could say the lock on Bella's door had been all she needed, but a week later it was clear that Rose had been right. While the lock did help her get to sleep, the nightmares kept it from being peaceful. I thought nothing could make me feel any more helpless than I already did, but hearing her cry out with fear and knowing I couldn't do anything just made that feeling worse.

I taken out quite a few trees, to relieve some of the tension, but Charlie had put a stop to that right away. He threatened to arrest me for destruction of property of all things. It had been such a random and amusing threat that I had to quit. After all, I liked Charlie and embarrassing him by breaking out of his handcuffs, his car, and his jail cell didn't seem like a fun time.

Once he'd seen I was calming down, he'd also pointed out that some good things had happened during the week as well. And I had to admit he was right.

While Bella didn't start talking to anyone but Rose, she had ventured out of her room to take walks for the last three days. And last night, Rose had even managed to talk her into having dinner in the kitchen. It had been rife with tension and Bella looked like she was going to bolt at any second, but she'd made it through the entire meal. She didn't speak or look at Charlie once, but Rose said that was still good; that it was baby steps.

Charlie had been thrilled but also scared out of his mind at the little bit of progress. I'd asked him why before I came upstairs and he'd admitted that he'd been scared of doing something wrong. I understood completely and voiced my own fear to him. All he done in response to my admission was smile sadly and pat me on the shoulder, something I accepted easier than if he'd said anything.

"He's not going to stop coming over, is he?"

My attention snapped back like a rubber band as I heard Bella's whispered question and Rose's soft laugh.

I kept my head down, knowing Bella hadn't intended for me to hear her and when Rose answered her voice was also low.

"No, he's really the best at history. Plus, you do have a project due in a week and Mr. Watson is a jerk who will fail you if it's even a day late."

Bella didn't respond out loud, but after a few seconds of silence I felt Rose's happiness surround me before she said, "Jasper..."

Lifting my head, I let my eyes slide over Bella, huddled in her corner, briefly before looking at Rose.

She had a small smile on her face and she motioned for me to stand up. I did so slowly and then just stood there waiting for instructions.

"The research you did is on her desk." Rose said, pointing toward said desk.

I nodded and keeping my eyes down, I made my way over even slower than I'd stood.

When I reached the desk, I picked up the folder and finally looked at Bella. She was staring at me and just like the first time I came I was at a loss with what to do. Thankfully, just like then, Rose was there to lend a helping hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her lean back against the wall and mouth, 'say something'.

I racked my infinite mind trying to think of anything and then blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.

"Hey."

I saw Rose roll her eyes at my less than eloquent response, but I didn't care because Bella's lips twitched just a little before she caught herself.

Her small reaction was all I seemed to need to get my tongue working right.

"Can I sit here?" I asked, pointing to her desk chair and holding my unneeded breath.

It took about ten seconds, with Rose looking between me and Bella, before Bella answered with a nod of her head.

I let my breath go with relief and pulled the chair out, making sure there was still a little distance before sitting down.

Opening the folder, I looked up and said, "Okay, I think we should both read over what I found on the computer about that time and make notes on each of the different points we need to have in the article. Does that sound good?"

Bella nodded in agreement as Rose handed her a notebook and pencil. I gathered up half of the pages I'd printed out and held my hand out toward Bella. She hesitated briefly before snatching them from me; I didn't take it personally though because it was another baby step.

"So, do you want to take notes on the what, when, and how? And I'll do the where, why, and who."

Another nod came before Bella bent her head over the papers and went to work. I spared a quick glance at Rose, who was smiling wide and giving me a thumbs up. Rolling my eyes, I picked up the rest of the pages I had and pretended to read over them as I took notes.

About thirty minutes later, I switched what I had with Bella's pages and we once again went back to taking notes.

When we were finished, I handed Bella the notes I had taken and asked, "Does that look okay?"

She read over them and then nodded before handing my notebook back and handing me hers. As I read what she had I could see her biting her lip like she was nervous at having something wrong, but she had no reason to feel that way. Everything she'd written down was perfect and I wasn't just saying that because she was my mate. She seemed to have a knack for weeding out the right information that would bring out the story. She'd even come up with a headline-Stocks Fall and Panic Rises.

Lifting my head, I gave her a big smile and said, "This is good and I really like the headline."

At my words of praise she looked down and her cheeks flushed red. I would have felt horrible for embarrassing her if she wasn't also smiling the tiniest bit.

I let her be for a few minutes, waiting until she looked back up before I said, "I think now we should each write up an article with just our points and then tomorrow or the next day we can combine them and add whatever else is needed."

She nodded once again and I smiled back as I handed over her notebook. Taking it from me, she held it against her chest and looked at Rose.

Before Rose said anything, I knew what was coming. It was time to go and while I wasn't ready to leave yet, I had to.

"I guess we'll leave you to get to work on your article, Bella." Rose said. "I'll be back later with your dinner."

"Okay," Bella whispered.

Rose gave her a smile and slid off the bed as I stood up, picking up my things.

Before I followed Rose to the door, I said, "Bye, Bella."

Her eyes cut to me, but she didn't say anything. Instead giving me a small nod that made me smile as I walked to the door.

Rose shook her head at me as she waved to Bella and then waited for me to go in the hallway.

As we walked down the stairs, Rose said, "You're in hog heaven right now, aren't you?"

"A little," I said.

"Good," She replied. "This will be a good time to tell you to go hunt."

"What?" I asked as we made it downstairs.

"You need to hunt, I'll stay until you get back." She said.

"I'm fine."

"Your eyes say different. They're almost black and now that Bella is looking at you more, she'll notice. So go hunt, she'll be fine."

I knew she was right, since I hadn't hunted in almost two weeks but I didn't like leaving. However, I would do no one any good if I got too thirsty.

Groaning, I said, "Alright. I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Don't forget to stop at the house and shower too." Rose said, grinning.

I growled lowly and then waved at Charlie as I passed him in the kitchen before leaving out the back door. I could hear Rose telling him about our tutoring session as I made it to the trees and thinking back on it, I couldn't stop smiling.

I wasn't fool enough to think there might not be setbacks later or that this one interaction would bring her out of her shell with me. But today was a starting point and I would always remember this feeling.

-O-

Three Months Later...

I never used to be scared of anything, but when I met Bella and found out what was being done to her that changed and for a while fear was a constant companion. For the last three months, that fear had slowly started to lessen, but today it was back full force.

It was the last day of school and I no longer had an excuse to see her every day. If I was being honest, Bella didn't need me when school was going on either. She had no problem with History, the A+ on the history project was proof of that.

But I was selfish, and while she never said a word to me, I craved what little interaction we had. However, it was coming to an end. After today, I was going to have to go back to watching from afar while she talked with Rose, something that was easier for her to do every day. I would have to sit on the sidelines as they watched movies or listened to music.

It hurt that she didn't need me around and I hated feeling like that. To me it was like a betrayal to her, because Rose was her friend and I should be happy about that. However, the thought that it would always be this way liked to make itself known often. And always when I was feeling particularly low already, like now.

"Jasper..."

My head snapped up as Esme's voice floated through the trees; I'd been so lost in thought I hadn't heard her coming.

"You alright, dear?" She asked, coming to stand beside me.

"I'm fine," I answered automatically as I stared straight ahead.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked, cocking her head to the side so she could catch my eye.

I let my eyes drift over to hers briefly before shrugging my shoulders in response.

"Oh, honey," She said as she wrapped her arms around my waist in a tight hug.

With the way I was feeling, if it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have returned the gesture. But it was Esme and she was only showing she cared, so I reached up and wrapped my own arms around her shoulders.

We stood there for a few minutes before she spoke again. "You know, you can always ask her if you can come see her."

Choking out a disbelieving gust of air, I asked, "How do you know that is what's wrong?"

I felt her smile against my chest before she answered, "While you don't come home every night, Rose does. She mentioned that you've started to get lost in your thoughts more and more this last week. We put it together. Which brings me back to why don't you ask her if you can come back after today?"

Like with the hug, if it had been someone else, I would have had a different answer. "If she responds with no I..." I trailed off, shaking my head and hugged Esme to me tighter.

She let me hang onto her for a little bit before she spoke again. "But she could respond with a yes, and if you don't ask you'll never know. You've spent an hour or two with her almost every day. She might have come to enjoy that time just as much as you have because it's giving her a form of stability and it's showing her that there are people that care about her."

"But what if she doesn't feel that way and doesn't want me to come back?" I asked.

"Then you let her know you understand her decision, that you are still her friend, and that when she's ready you'll be there. Then you hold onto the knowledge that one day, she will be in a better place and will remember that you cared; that you helped her. And when that day comes, she'll ask for you."

"What if that day never comes?" I asked.

Esme let me go only long enough to step in front of me. Her hands came up to cup my cheeks as she gave me a small smile. "It will, you just have to be patient, sweetheart. But if you don't ask, you'll never know if you had to wait or not. Isn't it better to know for sure, then spend everyday wondering?"

I stared down at her for a while before I finally let myself admit she was right. I would ask because if I didn't I would eventually regret it and wonder if things would have been different.

Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head and gave her another hug as I sent her my love and gratitude.

"Anytime, Honey." She said.

As we pulled back Rose came walking into the trees, smiling. "Feel better?" She asked.

"A little," I answered, smiling down at Esme.

"Well, let's go see if we can raise that feeling a little more." Rose said.

I nodded and let go of Esme, stepping over to stand by Rose. As we turned, Esme said, "Tell Bella and Charlie I said hey."

"We will," Rose said as we started for the house.

As we walked across the yard and inside I kept going over when the best time to ask would be and decided I would wait until we were about to leave. That way if she said no, I would have had just that little bit longer to be near her.

When we stepped into the room, Rose went straight for the bed. As I settled on the floor against the wall Rose handed over Bella's report card and gave her Esme's message. Once that was out of the way the time passed all too quickly, since they decided to watch a movie, and before I was ready it was time for us to go.

I shifted nervously from foot to foot, which would have been comical for a vampire at another time, as I worked up the courage to just ask. It took Rose looking at me like I'd gone crazy and giving me a poke in the back before I stepped forward and opened my mouth.

"Bella," I said, drawing her eyes to me. "Would it be okay if I continued to come over, even though school is out now?"

For a long time, I didn't move and the only thing that kept the fear from overriding the hope was that she didn't move either.

After what felt like forever, she finally responded in a way I wasn't expecting.

"Why?" She asked.

I answered the only way I could at this time. "Because I want to show you that I wasn't here just because I was asked to be. I want you to know that I was here because I want to be your friend."

Again silence followed my words and again it took her a little while to respond, but then she did and the two words she gave me caused every bit of worry and fear I'd felt to be swept away.

"Okay, Jasper."

I nodded and had to swallow before I could speak. "Thank you, Bella."

She gave me a small smile in return as Rose put her hand on my shoulder, letting me know it was time to go. I smiled at Bella and then turned toward the door.

Just as Rose pulled it open I heard, "Bye."

"Bye," Rose and I both said before she opened the door and we stepped out into the hallway.

As we walked downstairs and joined Charlie in the kitchen I didn't think anything could make the day better. However, I was proven wrong when my phone rang ten minutes later. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw Edward's name flashing on the screen and quickly answered.

I didn't even say hello before he said, "We found him."

-O-

Well? How was it?

Up Next: The chapter you all have been waiting on. Let the torture begin.