A/N: Sorry about the lateness of this one… no excuses, I just got inspired to work on my story I have been trying to finish forever, so this got put on the back burner for two weeks. I know I have not replied to all the reviews… but wow! You guys rock and I really mean that! There were going to be some answers in this chapter, but this chapter is very emotional so it did not work…next chapter then for some minor answers to your questions.

FYI…This story is will always be third person, but this chapter is written from the Jasper POV. Just be aware that the story will sometimes change from time to time between the both of them, just like my last one.

And oh, yeah, I keep forgetting to put this, but obviously, I don't own twilight.

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Jasper slammed the door of his car harder than he had intended to. He needed to remain calm or else he would go back into the house and do something he might truly regret. A calmer head needed to prevail and Bella's emotions while clearly distraught were thankfully hidden behind her talented shield for now, allowing his to remain somewhat in check.

He glanced over at Bella as he started the car, unsure of exactly where he was taking them. He drove aimlessly for what seemed like hours; but in truth it was mere minutes. Neither of them spoke, and Jasper tried desperately to think of nothing related to the events that happened that afternoon. The more he tried, the harder the memories and emotions pushed at him, fighting to claw their way into the front of his mind. Finally, he relented and found himself pulling over to the side of the road giving in to their tiresome demands.

Jasper ran his hands through his hair, thinking of the buffet of emotions that had been laid out in front of him at their home. The confusion, the distrust, and the coldness from his family were maddening to say the least. But it was mostly the love and even the occasional lust that was emitted between Alice and Edward when they looked at each other that was the most heartbreaking and had nearly sent him over the edge.

It would be painful, but Jasper could learn to live and move on without the Cullen's as long as Alice was there with him. She was the one who saved him from this damned life; the one who made this whole existence worthwhile. She was his everything. How could he live without her? She had promised him she would always be there for him. And now, the Alice he knew, she was just… gone.

He finally lifted up his head and looked around at where he had parked. There was a trailhead towards the right that greeted him. Jasper was familiar with this place; he knew that had been here before. With a realization of why he recognized this area, he could not help but wonder, did his subconscious bring him here on purpose? He knew what he needed to do.

He touched Bella's arm and finally spoke to her since they had left the house. He knew that the brokenhearted look that she wore was also a reflection of his own. He was gentle in the voice he used; he knew was not the only one in pain. "Come on. Let's get out of this car for a little bit."

At first, Bella did not even appear as though she heard him. Was she really that far gone? He had heard the story of how she had become comatose when Edward left in her human days, it was not out of the realm of possibility that she might revert to that here; vampires have been known to go crazy at the loss of their mates. As it was, he was not sure that he himself would not go insane.

Finally after a minute though, she pulled her eyes away from the glove compartment box she had been staring intently at to nod slightly at him. She numbly opened her door, and looked at the expansive woods that lay in front of her.

Silently, Jasper led her up the trail a little ways, before veering off to the right into the thick pine groves, deeper into the forest. Bella finally woke up out of her state of mind, and stopped for a moment. "What are we doing out here?"

Jasper shrugged. "I'll know when I find it."

"Jasper." The newest member of his family sounded lost. "What is going on?"

He took an unneeded breath. He knew what she was asking. "I don't know. I don't know how in less than three days, everything can change so dramatically."

She continued to follow next to him in silence when she cocked her head at him. "Amnesia?"

He shook his head at the still young vampire. "Vampires cannot get amnesia, at least not that I am aware of and I have been around a long time."

Jasper stepped on a branch, walking at a slightly quicker than human pace while talking to Bella. He took in his surroundings, what he was looking for might take a little while to find.

"Well if not Amnesia, could it be an alternate dimension or alternate reality?"

He froze mid-step and turned to Bella. As unfunny as the situation they were in was, he could not help but smile and let out a laugh. It felt wrong to laugh, but he could not help himself. "Alternate Dimension? Really? Bella, you really need to stop reading so much science fiction."

She glared at him as she pushed past him even though she had no idea where they were going or why. "Oh excuse me. Because, you know, Vampires, Werewolves, reading minds, seeing the future, and manipulating emotions are all so incredibly normal. I did not think that it was necessarily out of the realm of possibility."

When Bella put it that way, he had to admit that she had a point. Still, alternate dimensions was really pushing the envelope. "Okay. But I still think it's very unlikely. Besides, I know that you smelt the fresh paint that was in your room and mine. Those rooms could not have been painted more than forty-eight hours before. That could not be a coincidence."

"Well then, if not the twilight zone, then what? I can't let myself believe that they planned this. I mean, they would not plan this all on purpose… would they? Edward and the others just wouldn't…"

As Bella's voice trailed off, Jasper realized that Bella thought that Edward was doing the same thing as after her eighteenth birthday. He grabbed her arm, stopping them completely at that point. "No. Edward did not do this as some elaborate ruse to break up with you or to get Alice to break up with me."

"How do you know, Jasper?"

"I felt their emotions, Bella. The love that they felt for each other was real, and the confusion and doubt the family felt was genuine. They truly believed every word that they were telling us. They think it is really what happened."

"I don't know which is worse, them lying to us to secretly be together, or them believing it's the truth."

"Neither do I, darling. Neither do I."

They continued onward. Jasper did not want to think about Edward having his arms around his Alice, but he could not help it, his mind kept drifting to his arms around her combined with the way she looked at Edward. Jasper knew that his brother was probably now kissing his wife, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, and even… making love to her. Even though it would never happen, Jasper felt like he was going to be sick with that last thought. He leaned up against a tree for support.

"Jasper!!" Bella grabbed him and spun him around. She made Jasper look straight into her eyes and shook him. "Jasper. Your eyes are pitch black and you nearly destroyed that tree behind you." She pointed to the tree that now had a huge chunk ripped out of it, leaving large splinters on the forest floor. "Even through my shield I could feel some of the anger you were projecting. You need to compose yourself."

Bella's touch had brought him back to the present and relieved some of the anger that had been building up inside, ready to unleash itself. He closed his eyes, hunting for the inner calm he so desperately needed, grateful when it finally appeared. He could have easily destroyed half the forest if he did not keep thoughts like that under control. "Thank you. Obviously, today has been trying."

"I know. But we are going to accomplish nothing by wandering the forest Jasper. We need to make a plan. If we are not out here to hunt, what are we doing out here exactly?"

"I need to…" He glanced around, he knew they were close. "Just follow me."

Jasper began to run through the forest, darting through the trees and shrubs, the landscape becoming more familiar the further he ran with Bella easily keeping up behind him. Finally, he came upon a small river that diverged into two tiny streams with a large island between them. This was it.

His eyes fell upon what he was looking for and Jasper smiled in relief. It was still here. He laughed, turning around and embracing Bella, swinging her around. "It's still here."

"What is still here?" Her confusion was apparent on her face.

"Our tree." Jasper jumped lightly over one stream to a tree that towered high above the rest in the area and was obviously one of the oldest in the forest. He fingered the bark to the tree lovingly, his index finger tracing the heart with the "J + A Forever" in a perfect block script encased in it. Alice and Jasper had come to this very spot on their first stay in Minnesota in the seventies after a particularly hard rainstorm. "It's still here." He repeated again.

Bella's eyes watered and he felt her shield go down as she wrapped her arms around him once more. He squeezed her tightly, knowing that she could feel all the love, the relief, and the sorrow he all felt in that moment.

Their love was real; the love he felt for Alice had really existed. He had scoffed at Bella's theory, but deep down he had worried- what if she had been right? What if this Alice had truly never loved him, had never kissed him, or had never sworn her undying love to him. What if Edward really was the one she was destined to be with?

Bella, as always, understood. "She loves you, Jasper. For whatever reason, she doesn't remember it, but it does not mean that she does not love you. Somewhere deep inside of her, she knows that she loves you and you are her mate."

Jasper did not let go of Bella, glad of the comfort she provided. "Do you believe that?"

He could feel her nod against his shoulder. "I have to."

She pulled away from him, smiling wistfully at the engraving. "This right here is why I have to believe that they will come around. And even if they never do, then we get them to trust us, and we convince Alice and Edward that we are theirs, and that their true loves are you and I."

Jasper wanted to believe this, but he remembered their emotions as they had left the house. He had never felt Carlisle and the others so… cold. "I felt the distrust they had for us, it is going to be a long time before we can get close to them. Years possibly."

She placed her hands on her hips and he felt her determination. "Then we wait. Day, months, years, or centuries even. We try to figure out what is causing this or who is causing this. But we do not give up, Jasper. We never give up."

"No. Never." He agreed. His heart leapt as he felt an emotion coming from the both of them that had not been felt since after earlier this afternoon. Hope.