SURPRISE! Second chapter of the night - since there wasn't that much "new" stuff in the last chapter. Hope this makes up for it... enjoy!

Chapter 6.

Bella and Jasper got back to the house and found the other four waiting for them; Jasper could feel their concern and worry about them both a good five minutes before they entered the house and he warned Bella about it, "They're worried about how we are… after the letter."

"How are you?"

"I should be asking you that." He said, avoiding the question.

"I'm fine, Jazz, but I was relatively fine beforehand… you weren't. Now talk to me."

He could feel her emotions swirling around him and it offered him as much comfort as her words did. "I don't know what to say… if I'm being honest, I still don't really understand but I feel better than I did before you gave me the letter."

She moved to stand in front of him; looking up at his face, "Are you going to be okay when we go in there? Are you going to be able to handle the emotions they're feeling?"

"There's only one way to find out." He said.

"Let's get in there then and reassure them that we're going to be okay. We need to tell them what Edward said in the letter about the bond anyway."

"Yeah, I guess I should get the information from his room as well. Carlisle will want to see it. Hell, I want to see it."

They walked up to the door and it opened before either of them could reach for the handle; Esme was standing on the other side and Jasper paused slightly as her feelings hit him full force. Bella looked at him quickly and squeezed his arm with her hand as she realized he was already struggling. "Why don't you go and get that info, Jazz?" She whispered and smiled when he nodded and then zipped through the room and up the stairs. She turned to look at the family as they all stared at her. "You need to try and control your emotions around him. For his sake." She begged them softly; looking at their faces in turn; imploring them to do as she asked.

"How do we do that, Bella? We're just worried about you both." Rosalie said; the frown she wore on her face not detracting from her beauty in any way.

She could sympathize with them and she knew she didn't have the answers. "I don't know but can you try? He just needs some time to deal with this and having to deal with your feelings as well won't make that any easier."

"Did the letter from them help at all?" Esme asked as she stood beside her; putting her arm around her shoulders.

"A little, I think. We've both still got a long way to go though." She moved towards the lounge area more and took a seat on one of the couches; leaving a space beside her for Jasper to sit on; knowing he'd need her support when he came back down.

"Where's he gone?" Carlisle asked as Esme sat back beside him.

"Edward had more information on the bond; stuff Aro sent him."

"He spoke to Aro?" Carlisle frowned at her. That he hadn't been expecting.

"Yes. I'll let Jazz explain when he comes back down." They sat there in silence for several minutes. Bella turned to look at the stairs as she realized he'd been too long. Something was wrong. She turned back to meet the concerned looks from Carlisle and Esme. "I'll go and see where he is."

"Let me, Bella." Esme said softly; reaching forward and squeezing her hand as she rose to her feet and when Bella nodded in agreement she moved swiftly up the stairs.

When Esme reached the first floor she paused slightly and remembered what Bella had said, instinctively turning towards Edward's room. As soon as she reached the doorway she knew she was heading in the right direction; she could already feel his pain; her hand reached for the door handle and she took a deep breath and stepped into the room; the first time she'd done so since they'd returned from Phoenix. Jasper was standing just inside the doorway and he seemed as trapped by the memories of the room as Esme became when she entered it; there was a tension in the air that was increasing as the seconds went by. "Are you okay, Jasper?" she whispered; knowing she didn't need to ask the question; she could feel he wasn't. He didn't answer and she stepped a little closer; her hand reaching for his arm. Her heart broke a little when he flinched from her touch but she continued; putting her other arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder; holding him still; knowing his instincts were telling him to run. "You need to tell me what you're thinking about, Jazz. I can't help if you don't."

Her words reminded him of Bella saying the same thing just hours earlier. "I can't work out why he chose me. What did he see in me that made him think I was up to this?"

"He saw someone who has the strength to do this and I know we don't really know yet what this entails but Edward knew more about this than we do and he knew you were who he wanted to do this." She hugged him slightly as she spoke. "He thought a lot of you, Jazz. We all do; more than I think you've ever realized."

"I'm scared." He whispered.

"Of what?" she said softly; slightly surprised he would admit to feeling that way.

"That I get it wrong; that something will happen I won't be able to stop; that I won't be good enough."

"We'll all be with you, Jazz. I'm sure you'll be able to handle anything that happens. You need to have faith in yourself." Her arm tightened around his waist and he turned his head and smiled down at her slightly; only faltering a little as something occurred to him. "What's wrong?" He looked away from her. "Jazz… stop pushing me away. I can help you. Whatever it is, I can help."

"I don't understand that either; why would you want to?" He said; his eyes still not meeting hers.

"Why would I want to help you?" she asked; his head nodding as he looked at the floor, "Because you're my son and a mother would do anything for her child."

His eyes turned to stare at her; testing her emotions and only finding love. "I don't deserve that kind of love. Why don't you see that?" Esme could see he was struggling to put into words what he was feeling; her hand squeezing the one she gripped. "I feel guilty." He finally whispered.

His words stunned her again. "Why?"

"Bella." The word was barely audible and seemed to hang in the air after it left his lips.

Esme thought about what he'd just revealed to her. "There's nothing to feel guilty about; it was already too late for her when we got there; we had to let the change happen. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about."

She'd misunderstood what he meant. "It's not that." He said harshly; regretting his tone with her immediately.

She stared at him; trying to work out what he was thinking. A stray thought ran through her head and intuition told her she was on the right track before she even said anything. "How do you feel about Bella?" she asked him gently. His head dropped; hiding his face from her sight and she knew she was right before he even replied to her. "You like her, don't you? That's why you feel guilty?"

"I love Alice and she will always be important to me," he said; his eyes meeting hers and she saw the desperation in their depths, "but there's something about Bella. There always has been and I'm pretty sure she'll become just as much a part of my life as Alice was." He finished; his voice a whisper and he closed his eyes.

"There's nothing to feel guilty about. Both Alice and Edward said you were both destined to be with others; given the bond I'm not surprised that it might be each other."

"It's been a matter of hours since they died and I'm already contemplating being with someone else." His voice was filled with self-loathing.

"All you've realized is that someday there might be something more than the love of siblings between the two of you; you haven't acted on it and who's to say it would be a bad thing if you had. Maybe this is what they wanted to happen; what was meant to happen. You don't need to feel guilty about it. There's no rush, Jazz."

"I wish I could believe that was the case." He murmured and he knew she wouldn't understand. "We should go back downstairs."

"Bella said Edward had some information about the bond." She reminded him.

Jasper turned to look at her and smiled at her fondly. "I almost forgot that was what I came up here for." He walked over to Edward's desk and rifled through its contents. It didn't take him long to find a thick envelope with his name written on it and he grabbed it quickly. Esme was waiting for him at the doorway and they both walked down the stairs to join their family. Esme sat next to Carlisle again and Jasper didn't miss the shared look between the two of them. He turned his head and saw Bella watching him; trying to work out if he was alright. He could see the space beside her and he paused for just a second before walking over and sitting next to her. He wondered if she'd noticed his slight hesitation; if any of them had seen it. He was still feeling so out of sorts about his emotions towards the vampire next to him but as much as he wanted to be angry with her; his heart just couldn't do it. His most prevalent emotion though was the disgust he had towards himself; disgust that he could be having feelings for her when Alice was barely dead.

Jasper realized everyone was looking at him and then a second later remembered he had important information in his hands. It seemed Bella was enough to distract him from all things. He looked at Carlisle and held the envelope out towards him. "Is that what Edward got from Aro?" the elder vampire asked.

"Yes."

"I should go and read this." He said as he took it from him.

"I'd like to read it with you, if that's okay?" Jasper said softly.

"Of course." Carlisle said as he smiled at his son; he'd been hoping for an opportunity to talk to him anyway; now was a perfect chance to do that; if he'd open up to him a little.

"Bella, would you like to go hunting with Emmett and me?" Rosalie said; Jasper could feel her excitement at spending some time with her new sister and he smiled at her gratefully.

"I'd like that." Bella said, smiling. The family began to move around them while Jasper and Bella remained seated; Esme going back out to the garden and Carlisle almost running to his study in his eagerness to read what Jasper had just given him.

Rose and Emmett walked towards the front door, "We'll wait outside, Bella." Emmett said; a smile shining towards her.

Then they were alone and they sat in silence; neither looking at each other. "Are you okay, Jazz?" she whispered.

"I will be. You don't need to worry about me, Bella."

"But I do; I am." She sighed.

"Go and enjoy your hunt with Emmett and Rose. You should watch Rosalie hunt; she'll be able to give you a lot of pointers on it. She has a lot of grace and I know she'd be happy to show you."

"I'm sure she wouldn't want to do that. Why would she want to spend time with me now when I've become permanently entangled with her future and she hates me?"

"She doesn't hate you. In her own way she loves you; she may not have shown it but she probably understands more than anyone else in the family about how you're feeling after your change. She will be able to help you in ways that no one else can. I think you should let her do this, Bella and get to know her because I know she wants to get to know you too."

Bella stared at him and she felt this surge of emotions within her as she looked into his eyes. She remembered her own were a disturbing crimson shade and she longed for the day when she could see the same color he had mirrored in her own. She smiled at him and was pleased to see him return it. Her hand reached for one of his and she threaded her fingers with his. "Can you tell me what you find out when I get back?"

He nodded to her. "I'll come and find you once we've gone through it all. Maybe by tonight we'll have worked out everything and then we can talk some more about what we want to do."

"Please don't make any rash decisions, Jasper? I've told you I'm happy to give this a try so the choice is really for you to make."

"I promise I'll talk to you before I make up my mind, okay?"

She squeezed his hand and smiled at him. "I'll be back in a few hours, okay?" He nodded again and she wasn't sure what it was but something compelled her to lean towards him and wrap her free arm around his neck so she could hug him tightly. "Please remember that I care about you, Jazz and the more I get to know you the more I think they weren't as far off the mark as we thought they were." Her voice was barely a whisper in his ear and he shut his eyes briefly as the emotions he was feeling spiraled again.

Bella pulled away from him and stared into his eyes; he wondered for a second if he was sending out the way he was feeling because he could see desire in her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back towards him; his head dipping as he kissed her softly. He wasn't sure what made him do it but as his lips met hers he got the impression he hadn't made a mistake. Her hand tightened on his and he hoped he wasn't imagining her responding to the kiss. All he could concentrate on was how the intensity of his feelings for her were increasing. His hand moved slowly up her back and brushed into her hair until it cradled the back of her head; holding her in place. He almost ended the kiss when he felt her tongue brush his lower lip but he eagerly opened his mouth and deepened the kiss at her urging. He moaned softly as her tongue brushed his and he felt her smile against his mouth. He knew he needed to end this before they started something they shouldn't and he wrenched his mouth from hers and then backed away from her as quickly as he could; running up the stairs as soon as he could to the safe haven of Carlisle's study.

Bella watched him speed away from her with a gentle smile on her face. Her hand lifted to her mouth; touching her lips gently as she remembered what it felt like to kiss him. So different to what it had been like with Edward. Everything had been so restrained with him; and it wasn't that Edward had loved her less; hell she didn't even know how Jasper felt about her. Edward's restraint had been all about the fact she was human and her blood called to him whenever he was close to her. For this kiss she was a vampire and her blood was no longer an issue. If her heart had still been beating she knew it would be pounding now; minutes after the kiss had ended. Was it wrong to hope she would be receiving more of them in the future?

TBC

A/N: So what did you think? Let me know. Next chapter we venture into Carlisle's study as they find out a little bit more about the bond... and we get a bit more of an insight into why Jasper reacted so badly at the start of this tale. There's a reason for everything. :-)