A/N – Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. You all have so many questions and I will answer them all as the story progresses. As promised we're back in Forks for a while and Bella finally gets to hear Jasper's tale.

Disclaimer – S.M. owns the characters. I just make them more fun. I have no beta so all mistakes are mine.

-Chapter 8-

-APOV-

A thick silence hung over the car as we drove back to Forks. Carlisle was undoubtedly thinking about Esme and her reaction to the recent events. Esme is the most compassionate, caring woman I have ever met and I'm afraid that having one of her children trying to kill another might actually break her. She lost a son when she was human and I'm sure that this whole thing is bringing up some unpleasant memories for her. I feel terrible that she's alone in Washington dealing with this on her own. Just a few more hours and we'll be home, and I'm sure that Carlisle will help her through this.

Emmett was equally quiet in the passenger seat, probably thinking about Rose and how she is getting on with Bella. Rosalie knew full well how her husband felt about his new little sister, but Emmett never told her how upset he was over the animosity she showed Bella. Rose is the only person who was outwardly hostile and, in order to keep the peace, he never told her how her actions affected him. Jasper may have been distant, but Rose was just plain mean. The only reason I never spoke up is because I knew that the girls needed to resolve their issues on their own. As soon as we met Bella I had a vision of her and Rosalie being closer with each other than either of them was with me. Bella may be my best friend, but Rose will truly be her sister. At first I was sad that I had to go back to Forks, but I realize that those two needed some time alone. I can only hope that when I get to Texas there is room in their friendship for me.

And as for me? Well, I spent most of the trip searching through various futures trying to find the best way to fake Bella's death and how to make it plausible. I think I finally figured it out, but I need to wait until we get home so I can fill everyone in at once.

Images of Jasper and Bella periodically creep in and I'm glad to see that she is going through the change quicker than usual. Jasper never leaves her side and I can tell by his expression that he is already completely in love with her. It warms me to the core to see him so happy. Hopefully someday soon I'll be as in love as he is.

We finally pull up to our house in Forks and I see Esme sitting on the front porch with her head in her hands. She looks absolutely miserable and I think I underestimated her level of pain. Carlisle flies out of the car and scoops his wife into his arms.

"Esme, dear. How are you holding up?" Carlisle's vampire side seems to take over for a moment and he begins to search his mate for injuries.

"Carlisle, please. I'm not hurt physically." She takes his hands and he stops his ministrations. "It's the children. How could Edward have done this? He's always shown so much restraint around our Bella." She takes a deep breath before speaking again. "I know you already told me what happened, but I want you to explain it to me again." Her voice sounds so soft and full of disappointment. I don't think I've ever seen her like this and I can tell my brother feels the same way. Esme looks at Emmett and me and pulls us into a vice-like hug.

"I'm so sorry you two had to go through this whole ordeal, but thank you for saving your sister. I can't fathom the idea of losing another child. It literally killed me the first time and if Carlisle hadn't saved me, I would never have had the joy of knowing what it's like to have a loving family." She gives us one last hug and leads us into the living room. Emmett and I take our places in the over-sized chairs while Esme cuddles up on the sofa with Carlisle. If I didn't know better, I would think that he's aged a good ten years in the past two days. His eyes are black and sunken in and his skin looks more pale than usual. Only then do I realize that the three of us haven't hunted since before the baseball game. I hope Jasper and Rose are taking care of themselves. The last thing they need is to be thirsty in front of a newborn Bella. Especially Jasper. He may have gotten control over his own bloodlust, but he will still feel Bella's.

"Okay. Alice, will you please start by telling me the vision you had that started this whole thing?" I dive right into the story. Every word I say seems to have an effect on Esme. I tell her about the initial vision and all of the possible outcomes. I tell her about sending Jasper out on a random errand so I could talk to Bella and tell her what she needed to do to save herself.

Please, God, don't let Esme be angry with me. I know I put Bella in danger, but it truly was the only way.

The next part is going to be difficult to recount and I pray that her compassion will still extend to me once she's heard what I have to say.

As I tell her about how I made Bella meet up with James without any protection, Esme gets up and makes her way over to me. "My darling Alice. I'm sorry you had to make such a difficult decision. Only someone with your strength and sense of self could have made such a hard choice. You knew it would be hard for all of us, especially Bella, but you did exactly what you had to do to keep her safe. I can't say whether or not I would have had the fortitude to do what you did. I am so proud of you, dear."

I can see the honesty in her eyes and, for the first time since this nightmare began, I break down. She holds me in her arms for what seems like hours as I try to work through what happened. I had to make certain of so many things and it finally dawns on me how wrong everything could have gone. I don't know if it was fate or luck, but things actually seem to be falling into place and I send a thank you to whatever deity will listen. Esme holds me a bit longer and, when I begin to settle down, she hugs me with such ferocity that I finally feel at peace with my decisions. Bella is safe with Jasper, James is dead and Edward…well, Edward will have to be dealt with. Thankfully for our family, the Denali's will bear the brunt of that particular fallout. Elezar has always had a special bond with Edward and I know he will be able to talk him out of making any rash decisions.

"Emmett, why don't you and Alice go for a hunt? It would do you both some good and, frankly, I would like to spend some time with your mother." Eeewww. "Let's meet back here in a few hours and we'll talk about what to do next." Carlisle and Esme jump out the window and head off to hunt and do God only knows what else.

"You okay Al?" Emmett looks worried about me and I'm thankful for his calming presence. He may be the family jokester but when it comes down to it, he is the most dependable, most reliable brother I could have asked for. He's always there to make you laugh or listen when you need to vent.

"Yeah, Em, I'm fine. I guess everything finally caught up with me and it took me this long to realize what a dangerous game I've been playing. I love having this gift, but sometimes I wish it would just go away. How can I be expected to see everything? I can't keep everyone safe all of the time. What would have happened if James had actually killed Bella? Or worse…if Edward had. The family would have never recovered." I start to lose it again when Emmett pulls me into one of his signature bear hugs.

"Alice. No one expects you to protect us. You took on a huge responsibility and everything worked out. Maybe not exactly as we planned, but we're fine. You and I always wanted Bella as a sister and now she is. Sure, maybe she could have used a few more years as a human so she could say goodbye to her family, but we both know that she was always gonna be one of us. If it hadn't been for you, we would have lost her completely. You did exactly the right thing and this family will never be able to thank you enough. Esme was right. I don't think any of us would have been able to make that decision, whether or not it was the right thing to do. You took what little information you were given and, along with Peter, saved this family from falling apart. Don't ever doubt yourself, Alice. I never have." He kisses my forehead before releasing me from his embrace. I look up at him and for the first time in my life, I'm almost at a loss for words.

"When did you get so wise, big brother?"

"Don't let the chiseled face and manly features fool you, sis. Inside this sexy package lies a brain that is unparalleled." I giggle at his remark and pull him out the window.

"Let's hunt, Em."

The two of us run in the opposite direction of Esme and Carlisle and, as we hunt, I think about what needs to get done. Our parents have the fairly simple task of faking Bella's death. Emmett and I have more difficult tasks to attend to. Charlie and I aren't that close, but I can see that I'm the best person to help him. My poor brother is charged with taking Edward to Alaska. A familiar tingling starts and I know that I'm about to have a vision.

Bella, Rosalie and Charlotte are sitting together on the porch talking about their boys. Rose misses Emmett and can't wait for him to get to Texas. Jasper and Peter are down in the fields checking on the crops and talking about how well Bella is adapting to the change. Emmett bursts through the back door onto the porch and sweeps Rose into his massive arms. She curls into him and lets him envelop her. A woman with shoulder length jet-black follows him outside.

Kate Denali? What's she doing there?

Rose introduces Kate to the girls and as soon as Bella and Kate hug…

Wait…what happened. I've never had a vision cut off right in the middle like that. I can't see what's going on at all. I start to search for visions of the girls and I come up completely blank. I look for Jasper and Bella and see that they're on her first hunt, with Charlotte perching in a nearby tree. Why is it that I'm able to see Bella and Jasper now, but I can't see anything after Kate arrives? I feel a buzzing in my pocket and I pull out my phone.

'Don't worry, Pix. We need Katie here. More specifically, the girls need her here. Bella's power is starting to emerge and until Kate helps her control it, you'll be pretty much in the dark. Her shield is getting more powerful by the second and as soon as those four girls make contact for the first time everyone here will be cloaked by Bella. She has no idea that she even has a gift, let alone how to turn it off, so give her some time to figure it all out. Your plan on how to fake Bella's death will come off without a hitch, so just follow your instincts.'

Peter's text sets my mind at ease for the moment. I knew Bella had some sort of shield; Edward would have been able to read her mine otherwise. But I wonder why she was never able to block me. Emmett approaches me after his own hunt and we head back to the house. Esme and Carlisle are waiting for us in the living room and they look more relaxed than they did before their hunt. I'm glad to see Carlisle looking like his old, albeit 23 year old, self. Esme has managed to calm down and she looks happy wrapped in her mate's arms.

I gather my thought before addressing my family.

"Have you figured out what to do, Alice?" Carlisle looks at me and I start to tell them the plan.

"Yup. Carlisle, you and Esme are going to take Bella's truck to California and fake her death." They both seem pleased with the fact that they will be together. "You will make it look as if she and Edward got caught in bad weather and veered off a cliff on highway 1 near San Francisco."

"Why would Edward have been with her?" Esme looks a little concerned.

"Let me tell you exactly what I'm going to tell Charlie. As you know, Bella told her father that she couldn't live with him anymore, that she felt stifled. She drove as far as Santa Cruz, California before she changed her mind. She called and told me she wanted to come home but was afraid to drive alone. She didn't call Charlie because she wasn't sure what his reaction would be, so Edward and I agreed to drive down there to help her. Edward would drive with Bella in her truck while I drove the Volvo. I like to drive fairly fast and Bella's truck moves at a snail's pace so we decided just to meet back here at the house. I was too far ahead of them to see the accident which is why there will be no trace of me having been there. They drove for about 30 miles before the weather turned bad. Edward lost control of the truck and drove off the cliff. Both Edward and Bella perished in the accident. You need to make it look as if they were thrown from the truck into the ocean. The vehicle will be found but the bodies won't." Carlisle looks a bit sick at the thought of faking his son's death. "We need to make it look as if Edward died as well, otherwise people will wonder where he is. The three of us will go to the funeral and if he isn't with us, everyone in town will wonder why."

"What about the rest of the family? How do we explain their absence?" Esme makes a good point.

"As far as Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie are concerned, we'll just tell everyone that they're checking out colleges on the east coast and couldn't make it back in time for the funeral. Carlisle will pull all of us out of school telling everyone that he took a job in Los Angeles. He and Esme just can't bear the thought of living in this house without Edward so we're all moving in a couple of weeks."

"What's my job, Alice?"

I look over at Emmett. "As you know, you're taking Edward to Alaska. Talk to Elezar and tell him what to expect with Edward. His job may be the hardest of all. And, Em? I'm not sure why yet, but you need to take Kate Denali with you to Texas. Apparently she is going to be a big help to Bella."

"Sweet. Me and Katie have always gotten along like gang-busters. She's the only Denali sister that never tried to jump my bones." Emmett looks thrilled at his job. I go over the minor details a few more times and we all head off to complete our respective tasks. Peter said that it would all work out fine and I pray that he's right.

-JPOV-

Bella just took off and Rose and Char ran to follow her. I've never been so worried about anyone in my life. This woman has quickly become the most important thing on the planet, so when she jumped out of my lap after hearing Edwards name it took everything I had not to follow her. She was emitting a ton of confusion and frustration, which is understandable, but she was also feeling love. Does she still love that asshole? The thought never even crossed my mind. Her vampire side definitely recognizes me as her mate, but the 17 year old girl inside might still have feelings for her first love.

If it were possible for me to be physically ill, I think I would have been. I stand up to follow the girls when Peter stops me.

"Sit the fuck down, Major. There is nothing you can do for her right now. She's trying to come to terms with her new life and I think that the girls will be more of a help. Bella needs to know that most of us enter this new life in some sort of violent way and Rose will help her understand that we all went through it. To be honest, I'm not actually 100% convinced she fully remembers what happened."

"You're probably right. When she heard Edwards name there wasn't any fear or anger coming from her. But she did feel a small amount of love. But why did she feel the need to run off? Is it because she's confused about her feelings?" Shit. I still sound like a fucking school girl.

"I don't know, brother. What I do know is that we need to find out everything she remembers. It'll do us no good to tell her; she probably wouldn't believe us. She needs to figure it out on her own and, right now, that's more important than any residual feelings she might have for that prick. I think you should talk to her about it, but I also think that now is not the time."

"How are we gonna get her to remember?"

"I'll have to prompt her somehow. Don't worry about it. I'll figure it out." He sounds so confident and, as usual, I'm happy to follow his lead.

And once again, Peter was right. She had no idea how she was turned and she seemed genuinely confused when she finally figured it all out. The anger and rage I was waiting for earlier finally surfaced. Gone was any trace of confusion or self-doubt. She remembers everything now. She remembers me changing her and Rose caring for her. She looks at me with such adoration that I can't hold my feelings back any longer. All the love and pride I feel for this girl pours out of me and i pull her into a hug.

I feel a tiny bit of curiosity coming from her and I know exactly what's coming next.

"Jasper? Who is the Major?" Damnit. I wish I could put this off forever, but I promised myself that I would always be honest with her. I asked what she knew of my past and she tells me that Edward was always silent on the subject. Good. At least that asshole had the decency to keep his trap shut. Just what I need is Bella having some preconceived notions about who I used to be. Maybe now I can explain it in a way that won't make her run off again.

"Darlin', I think it's time I tell you how I became a vampire." I give her a small kiss on her wrist and I am completely unprepared for what happens next.

Love. The most powerful, most pure love I have ever felt. I look down at my mate and feel a steely resolve come from her; she's finally accepted me into her heart. Bella straightens her back and looks me square in the eye, ready to listen to whatever I have to say. I just hope she feels the same way about me after she hears my story.

I decide to start at the beginning. I recount what few memories I have of my human life, about how I joined the army when I was 17 and how I rose through the ranks fairly quickly. I explain my aptitude for battle strategy and how my charismatic nature helped me become a great leader. I feel Bella's pride and it gives me the courage to continue.

I tell her how, in the process of evacuating a small town, I met up with three young women who looked like they needed my help. Before I knew it, one of them jumped on me and sunk her teeth into my neck.

"What was her name, Jasper?" Bella looks at me and I feel nothing but love coming from her.

"Her name was Maria." Peter and Charlotte are immediately filled with a venomous anger at hearing her name but they both keep quiet so I can finish my story.

I tell her about Maria's newborn army and the war over feeding territories. About how I became The Major, an unfeeling, manipulative monster. She doesn't flinch when I tell her about the thousands of lives I've taken, both human and vampire.

"Bella, how can you be okay with this? I've taken so many lives, I lost count. You've seen my scars. How do you think I got them? I'm a murderer, Bella, a monster."

"Did you have someone as loyal and caring as Rose to help you through the change and teach you how to be a vampire?"

"No, but…"

"Did you have someone as strong and considerate as you to make you feel loved and needed?"

"Well, no. But Bella…"

"But Bella nothing. You had no idea there was another way to live. Charlie always told me that you have to play the hand you're dealt, and that's what you did. You survived the only way you knew how and thank God for that, Jasper. You saved my life. The Major saved my life. Without him, I'd be dead and you wouldn't have a mate. Don't think for one minute, Jasper Whitlock, that I would hate you for doing what you did. The monster you used to be helped shape the man you are now and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm never going to leave you. So just accept it and let's move the fuck on with our lives." Bella is squeezing my hands so tightly, I'm afraid she is gonna rip them clean off.

The Major is trembling at his mate's words and he is begging to come out and introduce himself. He'll have his chance soon enough but I need to finish my story first. Bella speaks up before I get a chance.

"Peter, you and Char have the same scars as Jasper. What happened to you? Did Maria create you as well?"

"Not exactly, Swan." Peter fills her in on their story and, for the first time, Bella is angry, almost livid.

"That bitch wanted to kill Charlotte just because she outlived her 'usefulness'? Fuck that! Fuck her! Please tell me she's dead. I can't stomach the idea of that whore still walking the Earth."

"Unfortunately, Bella, she's still around. I'm not sure where, but I'll be glad if I never see her again." Char speaks in a tiny voice and she seems to sink further into Peter's lap. She has always feared that Maria will come back and destroy her in the hopes of getting me and Peter back in her army.

"Jasper. You saved them because they were in love? How could you think you were a monster? A monster wouldn't have taken their feelings in to consideration let alone let them escape. You were always a good man. Misguided? Yes. Manipulative and violent? Definitely. But you were never evil. You are my mate. You're strong and loyal, compassionate and loving. I am in love with you and I will be by your side for the rest of my existence. Don't ever fucking doubt that." With that she pulls me to my feet and kisses me with such passion and ferocity that I almost fall to my knees.

This woman is the first person to love me more after hearing my story and it somehow cements our bond. She truly is meant for me and, for the first time in my life, I accept who I am and what I've done. I'm at peace.

I feel a buzzing in my pocket and I pull out my phone and see a text from Alice.

'Tell Peter and Charlotte to take Bella into the woods. Now!'

Before I get a chance to say anything, the doorbell rings. I whip my head around and I can tell by the scent that, for some reason, there is a human at the front door. Shit!

Bella notices at the same time I do and Peter manages to grab onto her before she gets the chance to attack. She starts writhing and snarling and her desire for blood is greater than anything I've ever felt.

"Well, Major. I guess we found her bloodlust." Peter actually chuckles as he and Char take a feral looking Bella into the woods.

Yup…I knew we wouldn't get off that easy. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

A/N – I hope you all liked the chappie. I kinda skimmed over parts of Jasper's past but we all know what happened. And it looks like Bella isn't gonna get off completely scott-free. I think that it's high time for Emmett and Kate to show up in Texas. Kate will be a fairly important character and there is a reason that the four girls need to stick together. If you're good kiddies, maybe we'll find out why in Chapter 9. Thanks again for your awesome reviews