"Do you want anything? Food? Water?"

"I don't think I can hold anything right now," Jasper placed a hand on his stomach. "But I think I can do with some water."

"Okay. Make yourself at home. I'll be right back."

Jasper nodded as Bella set about to get him a glass. He sat down on one end of the sofa, careful not to sit close to the spirit who had turned his world upside down.

Seeing Edward was a development that was only a few hours old, so Jasper was still unadjusted. Though it was obvious the man was as harmless as he had claimed to be, Jasper still didn't think it was appropriate to try and get chummy with him just yet.

"Here you go," Bella returned with the promised glass of water and a plate of cookies.

"Thanks," Jasper took it, and chugged half its contents in one go.

Bella decided to get the ball rolling. "I guess you know everything about Edward's situation, now?"

"Not really," Jasper admitted. "I mean, I know how he got to be…how he is, and I know he has to fulfill something before he can live again, but I don't understand how it's possible."

"There are a lot of things we can't explain," Bella smiled softly. "And even more that we don't know about. I suppose the whole scenario's one of those things."

"Yeah, I guess." Jasper said, then sighed. "All of this is just insane. One minute Rosalie walks into the diner I work at, tells me some evil ghost's trying to take over my body, and in the next, I find out she lied to me. Why would she do that?"

"I don't really know Rose's true objectives," Bella said. "But I do know that she and Edward were engaged before he became a comatose victim, and for some reason, she wants him to stay that way."

"You were going to marry her?" Jasper looked at Edward. He was aware that Edward and Rosalie used to date in high school, but given his newfound knowledge of Rosalie's true colours, he was surprised that his old classmate would want to marry the witch.

"I made a lot of stupid choices," Edward told him with a dry smile. "And I was a blind idiot. A completely blind idiot."

"I guess I never pegged Rosalie to be someone who'd do something like this," Jasper shook his head. "Then again, I never thought you two were going to last past high school, either."

"Trust me, I wish we didn't." Edward said regretfully.

Bella's eyes traveled back and forth between Jasper and the empty spot on the couch he was facing. "He's still with us?" she asked.

"Yeah. I can see him now, actually. Before I could just hear him, but now…"

"And he's seated on my couch?"

Jasper nodded. "He was just telling me about how he regrets getting together with Rose." He turned back to Edward. "If you don't mind me asking, why does she want you dead?"

And so, Edward recounted discovering Rose cheating on him and her and Jacob's plan to ruin his family. Jasper informed Bella of everything he was hearing, and by the end of it, both were shocked.

"Why would she want that? Edward's never done anything to her."

"I don't know." Edward shrugged helplessly, though Bella couldn't see or hear him.

"He says he doesn't know," Jasper told her. He shook his head. "That's just mental. I can see clearly now why he wishes he never dated her."

"I can imagine the remorse runs deep." Bella laughed humourlessly.

"To be honest, though, I always thought he would end up with you." Jasper glanced at her. "The way you two were together…anyone could see that you had a deep connection."

Tears pooled in Bella's eyes, but she wiped them away quickly. "Yes, well…"

"Oh Bella," Edward whispered painfully. He made his way closer to her, and cursed his inability to touch her. "I'm so, so sorry for what I did. I don't think I can apologize enough."

"He says he's sorry." Jasper murmured.

"It's okay," Bella looked at the spot on the other couch again. "It's okay, Edward."

"He isn't there anymore," he gave a small smile. "He's right next to you."

"He is?" Bella's voice shook, her emotions starting to spill over. "W-What's he doing right now?"

"I-I think he wants to hold you." Jasper could see Edward's desire to comfort her. "Wait. Edward, let me help."

A couple of minutes later, after the two men left the living room briefly, Bella saw Jasper return.

Only, it wasn't really Jasper.

"Edward," she gasped before running straight into his arms. Edward held her tightly, and buried his face in her hair.

"Bella," he breathed.

"I love you," Bella cried, the tears she had been holding back finally pouring free. "I love you so much, Edward."

"I love you, too," Edward felt himself getting choked up as well. "I'm sorry for everything, Bella. I wish I would have opened my eyes sooner."

"It doesn't matter anymore," she snuggled into his chest. "I forgive you."

Edward pulled back to cup her cheek gently, his eyes a mixture of love and desire. "You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now."

"I don't think Jasper would appreciate that very much." Bella chuckled, though his words made her heart beat faster.

"I've done it before," he reminded her. "But you're right. We'll just have to wait until I'm back in my own body before I really show you how much you mean to me. And I promise. That will happen soon. I won't leave you again."

…

Rosalie slammed her phone hard on her desk, her eyes going to the clock that hung on the wall.

For some reason unknown to her, Jasper wasn't answering the phone over at her aunt's apartment. It was nearly nine-thirty PM – way beyond his expected time of arrival in New York. So why wasn't he answering?

Maybe he had some delays. Or he fell asleep, she reasoned, but deep inside, she knew that that probably wasn't the case.

The possibility of Bella Swan somehow swooping in and ruining her plan crossed her mind, but she shook her head immediately at that thought.

"That's impossible," she muttered to herself. "Even if she did manage to track Jasper down in New York, she couldn't have known where he was staying."

Content with that explanation, Rose went about transferring a couple hundred thousands more from the firm's accounts. She had taken well over a million and a half now, and everyone was none the wiser.

Later, after erasing her history, Rosalie leaned back in her chair, and allowed her mind to wander. Thoughts about going home for a glass of wine and a warm bath after such a stressful day were at the forefront, but the longer she sat there, the stronger the nagging feeling of something being wrong grew.

"Screw this." Rosalie muttered as she grabbed her purse and jacket with the intention of heading down to the diner.

…

"A family emergency," Rosalie repeated, trying not to show her anger. "I see."

"Yes, it's quite sad," Shelly agreed. "Apparently, one of Jasper's cousins fell in a coma. A coma! Can you imagine?"

"That sounds…terrible."

"Oh, it is," the elder woman shook her head contritely. "Well, if there's some good that's come out of everything, it's that Jasper's finally getting a break. The young man works too hard. At least now he can take a couple of days off visiting his cousin."

"Did he happen to mention where his…cousin is? And when he'll be back?"

Shelly paused for a second. "No, not really. He just called this afternoon to tell us that he won't be coming in for a while."

"Right," Rosalie nodded. "Well, thanks for the help...uh, Shelly."

"It's no problem, dear. I'm always happy to help out any friends of Jasper's."

Rose forced a smile on her face before she turned to walk away.

"Cousin my ass," she muttered. "Fucking Swan and her meddling. Who does she think she is, anyway?"

Slamming her door shut, she decided that she was going to confront the bitch who ruined all her plans.

Because no one messed with Rosalie Hale, least of all someone as insignificant as Bella Swan.

…

Edward never felt so drained in his life, but at the same time, he felt incredibly happy.

They'd done it. Jasper was going to help, and if the way he and Bella were discussing earlier was any indication, it was obvious he was serious about helping him with his mission.

More importantly, though, he finally had the chance to speak to really speak to Bella, to tell her he loved her with his own mouth. Well, Jasper's, technically, but now Bella was aware that the words she heard really came from him.

"I knew he wasn't that big of an asshole," a voice startled Edward from his reverie.

"Sched," he breathed before hugging her tight.

"Whoa, okay. I wasn't expecting that," Scheduler laughed. "How are you doing, Ed?"

"Tired," Edward admitted. "But ecstatic. I think things are going to get better now."

"Things always tend to get worse before they get better," Scheduler commented. She gazed longingly at Jasper. "Did you get the chance to speak to Bella?"

"I did," he nodded. "Jasper helped me out."

"So the possession was consensual," she smiled sardonically. "You're lucky, Edward. I would give anything right now to have that opportunity with Jasper."

"He can see me now," Edward turned to face her properly. "And he's acted as a channel so that Bella and I can communicate. I can do the same for you."

The offer was tempting. Scheduler bit her lip as she considered his suggestion, but in the end, she sighed and looked down. "As much as I'd love that…I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Why not? Is there some kind of rule where that isn't allowed?"

"No, but it just isn't a good idea," Scheduler told him shortly. "He thinks I'm not around anymore. And after what I've put him through…it's probably better if he keeps thinking that."

"Sched –"

"Edward?"

Edward turned to see Jasper looking at him.

"We need to talk about your task," he said, oblivious to the conversation he had interrupted.

Edward nodded. He gave Scheduler one last glance, and made his way to Bella's small dining set.

"Is he nearby?" Bella asked, and when Jasper responded in the affirmative, she smiled. "Okay. So, I guess we should start with the basic question, then. What do you need to do, Edward?"

"As of now, we have Rosalie off our backs, and I just called the diner. The most important part here's your mission, though." Jasper added.

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but Scheduler's hand on his arm stopped him. His guardian shook her head in reply to the question in his eyes.

"I can't say," he said sadly. "Unfortunately, I'm pretty much bound by some rules, and apparently, telling you guys what my mission is is against them."

"Well, shit. That makes things complicated." Jasper murmured before proceeding to tell Bella what he heard.

"He really can't tell us?" Bella asked.

Edward shook his head, hands tugging at his hair again.

"His answer's still no."

"How are we going to go about this," Bella rubbed her face tiredly. "Jasper, can't you remember anything about what Edward's been doing while you two were…joined?"

"Not really," Jasper said. "I don't really have any recollections of where I've been or anything whenever he takes over."

"There's nothing that you recall?"

"I…I think I have something. It's pretty blurry, but you were meeting with a bunch of people, right?" Jasper looked up at Edward. "Or is that just my own memories?"

"They're mine," Edward confirmed. "I really did meet with a bunch of people. I needed to."

"Why?"

"My task kinda required me to,"

"So your task is all about seeing as much people as you can?"

"No," Edward shook his head, trying to find a way to say what he wanted without actually saying it. "I just…I need to find people whose lives I touched. Those who…care about me." There. That seemed vague enough to avoid breaking the rules, but specific enough to give a hint.

"I think I can think of some people," Bella said excitedly after Jasper told her Edward's words. "Hold on, I need to get the year book."

"I don't think she'll find much in there," Edward told Jasper. "Trust me, I've tried going through the people in high school, too."

"Here," Bella put the volume down on her desk, which Jasper and Edward approached as she started flipping through pages. "Demetri London and Chelsea Afton. Well, she's Chelsea London, now."

"I think I remember those two," Jasper remarked.

"You were the reason they ever got together in the first place, Edward," Bella smiled. "Don't you remember?"

Edward did. Both Demetri and Chelsea didn't like each other very much at first, but thanks to Edward's intervention and his insistence that Demetri 'grow some balls and just ask her out already', the two became inseparable.

"Then we have Amun," Bella pointed to the nerdy-looking foreign student. "He stopped being bullied after you told those football guys to back off. And as if that wasn't enough, you tutored him in trigonometry, too."

"You pretty much saved Siobhan Allistair's family when her dad died," Jasper contributed to the list. "I'm sure she'll always be grateful for your and your parents' generosity."

"I didn't realize I've been such a saint," Edward joked, but truly, he was surprised.

"You've helped a lot of people, Edward," Bella spoke as if she heard him. "And now, I'm sure they're more than willing to return the favour."

"Thank you," Edward whispered, his eyes glossing over the images in the yearbook. Another object on the desk caught his attention as he did, and his loud gasp called Jasper's attention.

"What is it?"

"That flash drive," he pointed to the device. "How did Bella get that?"

"Bella," Jasper took the USB, and showed it to her. "Where did you find this?"

"Downstairs in the café. While I was cleaning," Bella looked from the small rectangle to Jasper. "Why?"

"I think Edward thinks it's important."

"Not just think. I know it is."

Edward quickly explained the significance of the flash drive in his desire to expose Rosalie and Jacob's activity.

"Well," Jasper scratched his chin while Bella plugged the USB into her laptop. "I guess we have a bigger advantage over Rosalie than we thought."

Clarification: a couple of you guys thought that Jasper gave Edward his second tear since, well, he cried. This isn't the case, unfortunately, since the reason why Jasper cried wasn't because he loved Edward, but because he was shocked to realize he was the cause of the accident, and guilty because of the same.

Hope that clears things up for everyone :)