Disclaimer: doesn't belong to me.

Holy cow guys! I got a huge response for my little storyette "One Final Taste" Originally I put it up for fun, and I said I would make it my next project if I got a big enough response. And...I DID! I was overwhelmed, really, at how you guys responded. So, as promised, it will be my next project! I'll probably do some tinkering to what I put up and start it from the very beginning. And some of you expressed concern as to whether or not that will be a J/B story...you'll just have to wait and see! ;) All I'll say is I really do love Jasper...

I stood outside of Charlie's house holding a plate of cookies. I felt odd and awkward. Here I was, vampire for over a hundred years, standing outside of my 'dead' girlfriend's house carrying cookies. It was Bella's idea, though, not mine. I called her earlier, letting her know I got the phone call about her accident. She was upset, but not uncontrollably so. I asked her if I should bring anything to him, because it was customary, and she said that he liked Snickerdoodle cookies. I briefly thought about making them myself, but since I don't cook often (ha, ha) I thought better of it. His driveway was full of cars. I was glad to see he was being taken care of.

I knocked, and only had to wait a moment. Unsurprisingly Billy Black opened the door. What appeared to be his son was standing next to him, red-eyed. "I'd like to pay my respects," I said somberly. He didn't look happy, but he let me in. Charlie was seated on the couch, with two women on either side of him. They were unfamiliar to me. I approached him slowly, setting the cookies on the table as I passed. He barely looked up.

"Charlie, I'm so…sorry. I can't express how terrible this is, and I'll never begin to understand the pain you're in. I'm leaving today. I can't stand to be here any longer. I think I'll go and stay with my family for a while. I just wanted to see you before I left." I patted him quickly on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Jasper. I know you cared for her, too. Thanks for stopping by." Again, he barely glanced in my direction. His eyes were rimmed red and the floor was littered with tissues. His emotions were the deepest grief I've ever experienced, and if I didn't go soon I would have to crawl out of here. I was going to say something else, but I choked on my words. I moved, quicker than I should have this time, out the door and to my car.

I drove straight through, making it to Carlisle's in record time. Bella must have heard my car, because she was waiting for me on the front porch. I saw Emmett open the curtain and then shut it. I walked to her and pulled her up into my arms. She immediately started to cry.

"He wasn't alone, Bella. He wasn't alone." They were the only words I could think of that would possibly sooth her. It worked, marginally.

"How was he?" she asked between sobs.

"As good as can be expected. He was…deeply grieved, but he had a lot of support. They'll be holding a funeral in 2 days-I told him I would be there. I think that Carlisle and Esme should go as well, if that's alright with you."

"I think that's a good idea." She sniffed. She pulled away from me, so I thought it was safe to head inside. As suspected, the rest of the family was waiting-even Rosalie.

"How was Charlie?" Esme asked, pulling Bella to her. I told them the same thing I told Bella, and then my suggestion about the funeral.

"Of course," was Carlisle's only response. I wanted to be alone with Bella, now that the family was taken care of.

"Bella?" I asked. She turned to look at me questioningly. "Would you like to go upstairs for a while? I'd like to talk to you." She nodded and we headed up the stairs. I wanted to discuss the semantics of her change. I wondered about the timing, but if I knew Bella, she would want to know what was coming. She sat down on the bed and crawled into the center. I sat across from her.

"Do you feel up to discussing your…transformation? If not, we can just relax together. But I thought you'd want to know what was going to happen." She thought for a moment.

"I think I'm up to it. It won't do me any good to sit around and mope. I knew this was going to happen. And I'll miss Charlie, just like he'll miss me. But I can't dwell on it, or I'll just make myself feel worse. I want to get through all this…misery and get to the part where we're together forever." I was impressed with her ability to be logical at a time like this-I'm glad of it. I was always more strategic than the rest of my family, it was part of my nature. "So give it to me straight, Major Whitlock. What's it like?" I forgot that she really didn't know-Edward would never discuss it with her.

"It will be the most painful thing you've ever experienced. I will bite you in several places-where your major arteries flow. The more venom I can inject in your system the faster the transformation will be. Immediately after I bite, I'll be able to seal the wounds-thus keeping the venom in your system and not allowing much of your blood to flow. You remember the pain in your hand after James bit you last year?" She blanched, and I took that as understanding. I nodded at her realization. "It will take two or three days. The closer you get to the end, the more you'll be able to concentrate, hear sounds and voices. At the end, the venom will consume your heart-this will be by far the most painful part. And then, as if being thrown in ice water, it will be over."

"And then what? What will I be like…after?"

"It will be very confusing at first. We'll all be there with you. We'll walk you through it step by step. Your emotions will be all over the place, and you might be hard to control. You will be very thirsty-almost to the point you won't be able to take it. You'll have to hunt frequently. And you'll be very strong."

"How long will all this last? When will I be me again?" She was stroking my hand, and it was wonderfully pleasant.

"Generally, within a year or two, you'll be more in control." Her eyes widened.

"A year or two? Wow. But I'll still be a little bit myself, right?"

"Of course! You'll absolutely be yourself. It will just take some time to get used to the new part of you. And don't worry-we'll stay with Carlisle and Esme, so you'll have family all around you, and I'll be with you the whole time." She felt relieved, but still a little worried. "When would you like to do it?" I asked her. I wanted it to be on her time frame.

She didn't say anything for a while, thinking. She was going from grieved, to worried, to moderately happy all at once, and it was almost making me dizzy. "You said my funeral is in two days?"

"Yes…" I said, wondering where she was going with this.

"I want to do it that day. As soon as you get back. I want to be in pain with Charlie. I want my human life to end on the same day. Okay?"

I grabbed her hand. "If that's what you want, that's what we'll do. I'll go and tell Carlisle."

The next two days passed quickly. Bella was doing her best to stay optimistic, but she was feeling anything but. Esme tried to keep her company all the time, so she didn't have to be alone. This morning she was feeling horrible. We-Carlisle, Esme and I-were getting ready to drive to Forks for Bella's funeral. We were only going to be gone a few hours, but Bella was upset because she knew where we'd be, and what was going to happen afterwards. But she was set on her path, and swore to me she was ready. We were standing on the porch, getting ready to leave, as I kissed her lightly on the lips once more.

"We'll be back before you know it. I love you." I said. She was crying again, the poor thing. I hated to see her in so much pain.

"I love you too," she sniffed as we got into the car.

The funeral was full of people-the whole town must have been there. Charlie was up front, accepting well wishes from everyone. We paid our respects to him and took our seats. Charlie said a few words before breaking down. Renee was there, but she wasn't able to get up in front of everyone. The priest was brief, speaking of Bella's short life and what a wonderful person she was. All in all, it was a very quick ceremony. I think it's hard to linger when someone so young loses their life. We pulled away as the rest of the cars drove towards the cemetery for the burial. And just like I promised her, we were back.

We strode into the house. Emmett was forcing Bella to play some game or another, and she was losing with grace. "Emmett, I suck at this. Please can I stop now?"

"I just wanted to beat you one more time as the blushing human that you are. It won't be so much fun beating you as a vampire." Emmett was nothing if not blunt. Bella rolled her eyes and looked up at me. She was immediately saddened.

"It was a lovely ceremony," Esme said, patting Bella on the shoulder.

"That's good," she said in reply. She was being brave and trying very hard not to cry. I just sat next to her and held her until she looked at me. "Thank you for going." She said simply, kissing me on the cheek.

"How could I not?" I replied. She curled up into my arms and looked around-the rest of the family was still there, trying very hard to be inconspicuous.

"I guess you're all waiting for me?" she said, almost whispering. Her fear was pulsing through the air, overriding anything else in the room.

"You take all the time you need, sweetheart," Esme replied. "This is completely up to you."

She took a deep breath. "Well, no use waiting any longer." She said, standing. She started towards the stairs, and the rest of us followed. Even Emmett looked somber. We were going to do it in our room, that way she was in a familiar place when she 'woke.' She went into the bathroom and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Esme suggested that she would be cooler that way, even though it wasn't true. She lay down on the bed and looked at me. "Are you ready?" She asked. I chuckled lightly at her concern.

"Absolutely. You say when, and I'll begin." She sat up, quickly, and threw her arms around me, kissing me fiercely on the lips. I returned her embrace with fervor, until she had to catch her breath. I smiled.

"I wanted to do that one more time while I was still warm and flushed. I wanted to feel my heart race again. Now I'm ready." She lay back down and looked at me expectantly.

I bent my head and kissed her neck.