Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: I want to give yet another thanks to you guys for being so understandably great about the snail-pace updates with this story, especially considering I've ran into a few reviewers on other authors stories that haven't been quite so... appreciative of similar things. I'm firmly convinced I have the best readers ever. You guys are awesome.

"I had to find out about this on the news?" Peter snarled.

Jasper blandly surveyed the damage to his door. He hadn't even gotten around to fixing the crack from the last time Peter had flung it open in a fit of rage. With a grim sort of bemusement, he briefly wondered if he should install the vampire equivalent of a doggie door to prevent this from happening again in the future.

The sardonic quirk to his lips slid off his face as he met Peter's furious gaze. He was really getting tired of the Mexican standoffs that occurred whenever he and Peter were in the same room. He remembered a time when he used to call him his friend. A time when he used to call him brother.

"I haven't exactly had much time to process this," he defended.

It had only been less than twenty four hours since he had crossed the threshold of his house, blood staining his shirt and a limp, unconscious Bella cradled in his arms. Having no television or radio in the house, he wasn't even aware that what had happened had made the news. He really shouldn't have been surprised though. He absently made a note to pick up a radio in the near future.

He collapsed onto his sofa and cradled his head in his hands. "What are the saying about it?"

Peter began pacing the floor, rapidly recapping what he had heard on the news, so fast that, even to Jasper, the words were a blurred, jumbled mess, the volume of them escalating with each passing second.

"Be quiet," Jasper hissed.

Peter's words cut off abruptly and he shot an almost surprised look at Jasper's closed bedroom door, as if he was only just registering the sound of a heartbeat.

"She's here?"

Jasper's eyes widened with incredulity. "Where the hell else would I take her?"

The information seemed to placate him somewhat and he sank into the chair across from Jasper as Charlotte balanced precariously on the arm.

Jasper nodded absently in approval. "You think you can tell me that one more time?" He asked, unable to keep the reproachfulness out of his voice. He fought a wince, telling himself that he needed to realize he was no longer talking to a man who respected him, but one who considered him, for lack of a better word, the enemy.

Peter glared and kept it brief. "They're investigating a possible homicide and Bella has been declared missing."

"How did they know she was with her?"

"A girl who worked at the theater and her boyfriend saw them leave together. They both heard the screaming about ten minutes later. She's the one who called the cops."

Jasper nodded, almost feeling bad for the few that still lived in a part of town that had seemingly been forgotten, considering how slow their response time had been. He had enough time to dispose of the unknown vampire's parts and had only picked up the faint wail of sirens approaching the lot as he was finishing... His thoughts cut off and he looked guiltily down at his shaking hands. The blood was gone, but the memory of what he had done was still fresh in his mind.

He must have been staring at them to long, because he heard the low, suspicious tones of Peter's voice asking, "What did you do?"

"What I had to," Jasper replied impassively.

"What does that mean?"

"Her mother..."

"You fed from her?" Peter accused.

Jasper's head snapped up, fire in his still very much golden gaze. "No," he hissed. "I never even thought about it. Not even for a second. How could you..?" His words choked off and he turned his head away. He could sense the briefest flash of guilt in Peter's emotions.

"I'm sorry," Peter replied with obvious reluctance.

Jasper didn't bother to acknowledge his apology, at this point, it didn't matter anyways. "She was close to death by the time I got there. To close to be changed."

Charlotte, who had been silent from the moment her and a furious Peter had stormed into his house, tilted her head curiously."Would you have if you could of?"

"I don't know," Jasper admitted honestly.

People who came into this life really only ever felt one of two emotions, either they were foolishly elated at the thought of living forever (until they realized exactly how long forever meant) or pissed that they were denied their right to a peace that could only be achieved by death. (This was usually reserved for the ones that had been already near death and turned against their will.) Though she never gave voice to it, Rose, who had experienced the latter, still harbored very bitter feelings towards the man who had changed her.

Given the feeling of peace that had swept over the woman as she lay dying, and her final whispered words, a man's name, which was imbued with enough love to make venom sting his eyes, he had a feeling she wouldn't have been too receptive to eternal life either.

No one liked being kept away from the one they loved. Jasper had to learn that the hard way.

"Who attacked them?" Peter asked impatiently, dragging him from his thoughts.

"A vampire."

"Well, that much is obvious," Peter replied exasperated.

"Other than that, I don't know," Jasper snapped. "It's not like he had a damn vampire birth certificate stuffed in his back pocket!" He paused and inhaled, trying to tamp down the rage that was bubbling up. Once. Twice. "He didn't have any identification on him," he repeated, this time keeping the scorn out of his voice. "Just some cash and a..." He gulped.

"A what?" Charlotte prodded gently.

"A knife."

Charlotte looked confused. "Why would he need a knife?" She asked, unknowingly running her tongue over the only weapon a vampire would ever truly need.

Jasper was frustrated, he hated not being able to answer all these questions, but he at least attempted a guess. "Maybe to cover it up."

Peter turned knowing eyes to him. "So you did it for him."

Charlotte sucked in a quick intake of breath. "Jasper... you didn't?!"

Jasper shuddered as he remembered dragging the blade of it roughly across the woman's throat, doing his best to obliterate the marks the vampire's teeth had left. "It had to be done. It was too obvious that she had been bitten by... something." He looked up at Peter. "Was anything mentioned about it?"

"No."

"Then I guess I did a good job," Jasper muttered grimly.

Charlotte appeared to be more affected by this information than Peter was. "Couldn't you have just hidden the body?"

"After burning his body, there wasn't enough time. And even if there was, I wouldn't have done it."

"Why?"

Jasper glanced over his shoulder towards the closed bedroom door. "She wouldn't have been able to get closure if her mother was declared missing."

"I hate to tell you this, but doing that only solved one of your problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time," Peter spoke slowly, a mocking tone to his voice, "but you failed to take into account that now, they'll be searching for Bella."

Jasper cursed softly under his breath. The fact that he had been starving himself for years had dulled his mind significantly and it was obvious that he wasn't processing things as well as he had in the past. He had never stopped to consider all the possible outcomes.

"Her blood was found on the scene, and taking into account the part of town they were in, the police are understandably grim about her situation if it's any consolation."

It wasn't.

"How did you even know where to find her?" Suspicion entered Peter's eyes. "Have you been following her?"

"Do you think if I was, I would have let this happen?"

Jasper's jaw ticked when Peter shrugged and shot him a challenging look that seemed to say, "I don't know, would you?"

He met it with a glare of his own. "I wasn't following her," he said through gritted teeth. "I was out for a hunt when I felt it. I felt her fear. It led me to her."

"The bond?" Charlotte gasped.

"Impossible," Peter snorted. "How could it be that strong already?"

Charlotte shot him a pointed stare. "Stranger things have happened, Peter. Evidence of that is currently lying in the bedroom."

"But it-"

"No, Peter. No more jumping to conclusions. We are just as confused about this as Jasper is, and all these assumptions are only making it worse."

Jasper was shocked that Charlotte had come to his defense and shot her a look conveying his gratitude. She returned it with a small smile, really only the slightest quirk of her lips, but it was definitely a start.

Peter didn't seem to be as appreciative of the gesture and he felt a small trickle of betrayal seep through his emotions. But thankfully he let the matter drop, choosing instead to run a frustrated hand through his hair.

"What's going to happen now?"

Jasper stood and began pacing. It was yet another thing he hadn't thought through clearly. "I don't know, goddammit!" He snapped, embarrassed at the impotence he felt over the whole situation.

He remembered a time when he had led armies, a time when he struck fear in the hearts of, not only his enemies, but those under his command. Awed, and terrified of his prowess on the battlefield, of his power, his strength and his intelligence. And now he looked little more than a bumbling idiot, going into the whole thing half cocked, not even bothering to put together a basic plan, even after the fact.

My mate was in danger, dammit! He argued with himself.

With a firm nod, he stood up a little straighter, refusing to be ashamed when he realized full well that, if the situation was reversed, Peter wouldn't have hesitated to rush into the exact same situation without a second thought.

He met Peter's eyes resolutely, letting a bit of the Major persona that had long been absent, darken his irises. He'd admit to being a little proud that Peter broke the gaze first, turning his head away and obviously struggling with the urge to bow his head in submission.

There was a long stretch of uncomfortable silence before Charlotte broke it by hesitantly asking, "Can... Can we see her?"

Jasper jerked his head towards her. "No."

"Excuse me?" Peter snarled. "What do you mean no?"

"Your eyes."

That managed to take the steam out of Peter. "What? He asked, clearly confused.

Charlotte lowered her head, closing her eyes and touching the lids with something akin to shame. "I understand. The vampire that attacked her, his eyes were red." She explained to Peter as she lifted her head and blinked her own ruby orbs.

"That doesn't..."

"Peter," she laid a firm but comforting hand on his arm, "you have to remember that this... version of Bella has no idea who we are and she... she may never remember," she whispered heart-brokenly. "All she'll see when she looks at us right now is the red eyes of the man who killed her mother."

Peter fell silent, and in the sudden stillness of the room, Jasper could practically hear the wheels turning in his head.

He stood abruptly and offered his hand to Charlotte. "We have a stash of colored contacts at the house."

Jasper nodded sagely, remembering the brown ones Peter had worn when they had argued with the city council over the property. Despite the overall terrible taste of it, that was always the upside of drinking animal blood. While still an unusual color, it was a lot easier for people to remain blissfully oblivious with golden eyes, as opposed to the ruby red ones that were straight out of their worst nightmares.

"We will be back," Peter warned lowly. "Don't even think about trying to keep her away from us."

"Whatever." Jasper was too tired with this conversation to even bothering arguing with him.

With one final glare, Peter swept out of the house pulling Charlotte behind him.

With a sigh, Jasper collapsed back into the chair, shooting a tentative glance at his bedroom door when he heard Bella tossing and turning, the occasional whimper escaping from her lips. He longed to enter the room and sweep her into a comforting embrace, but feared how she would react if she awoke and found herself in the arms of a stranger.

Stranger.

He never knew that one word could hurt so much.

No, he couldn't afford to have her wake up right now, not until he figured out what he was going to do. He thanked his lucky stars that the hunger pangs had become so unbearable, he was forced to feed from a very unfortunate bear, moments before he had felt her fear through the bond. He had used the renewed strength the blood had given him to direct a steady dose of lethargy her way throughout his entire conversation with Peter and Charlotte.

Hearing her heart rate speed up, and sensing that she was near wakefulness, he tripled the strength of it and held himself tense until her breathing smoothed out and he was a hundred percent confident that she had fallen back into a deep, if not mildly disturbed, slumber. Slumping back into the chair he almost found himself hoping that Peter and Charlotte hurried the hell up.

Maybe then he'd know what to do.

A/N2: I think I may finally be finding my groove with this story (and writing in general), since I decided to stop stressing so much and take a more relaxed, 'write what you can, when you can' approach to my writing. And I've seen a definite improvement in my overall temperament. While my updates still aren't going to be quite as often as I hope, I'm feeling a lot more confident and generally at ease about what I'm producing, and I wanna keep that feeling. So, that's gonna be the way I run for a while.