If you have a second why don't we go
talk about it somewhere only we know.
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go somewhere only we know ;;
When they needed time, it seemed to be all too fleeting. The days after the Volturi's visit where by they had left with the promise that they would soon return, flew by. But it was not as if those two weeks had been without activity. On the contrary, they were filled with planning and negotiations. Most of these had taken place between the head of the Cullen family and the leader of the wolf pack. They had reached an agreement that the wolves would offer their assistance in defeating Victoria and the newborn army. Bella had spoken to Jake and it seemed to aide in this agreement when she told him first hand about the dangers of the army and what it could mean for not just Forks, but for La Push as well, if they didn't put a stop to it. Even though it had been the first time they had spoken in quite some time, Jacob seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation. It had ultimately still be up to Sam and Carlisle, but she at least felt like she contributed in some way considering otherwise, she was utterly useless.
What was worse was that she was still grounded. She didn't fight her father on that for several reasons. For one thing, Bella knew she scared him in the way she just disappeared so quickly. Charlie wanted the best for her and his actions were reasonable since she'd broken the rules of the house. She could respect and understand that and she felt badly for worrying him. Though she was eighteen and out of school, Bella wasn't ready to leave Charlie's yet. Her father wasn't the only one who worried, after all. Ever since coming to Forks, Bella realized how lonely her father was. She liked taking care of him and spending time with him that she missed out on for so many years. But one of the biggest reasons why she was glad to be there was because she knew that for the future she wanted, Charlie would be missing out on it. Bella still had hope that when she was a vampire - because she was determined to make that a reality - she would be able to see her father, but the likelihood of that was slim and Bella knew that. She wanted the time she could get with him now and that was why she stayed where she was under his roof. He didn't treat her like a small child; he treated her like an adult. Bella made a choice, broke rules, and had consequences as a result. That was something she would always respect.
There were definite inconveniences, however. Mainly, She was unable to go to the Cullen's home and be there for the planning. Jasper kept her well informed, of course, when he continued to sneak over to see her after Charlie was asleep. But his visits were less and less frequent. Bella understood that and insisted that he remain home in order to do what he could with the planning. He was the key element in the whole strategic planning processes and the ideas for the attack and defense; it would be impossible to get very far without him. So far, it seemed to be going well. It wasn't always easy with the wolves, but the training session that took place seemed to have gone over without too much of a problem. From what she gathered, Jacob had been less than happy to learn that Jasper was the one in charge of the lessons. The tension had been thick enough to cut with a knife and Bella, even though it was only a small part that wished for it, was almost happy that she wasn't there to witness it. She imagined her presence would have actually only made it worse. But the session must have progressed because Jasper had been able to show and teach not only the wolves, but the rest of the vampires who'd assembled how to combat newborns as well.
What Bella didn't know, was that other planning had been taking place as well. Because of everything else going on, she honestly nearly forgot that her birthday had been approaching. She didn't want anything special to commemorate it, of course, and was glad for the distractions that everyone's current worries were providing. If their problems had one benefit, that was it. But on the morning of her birthday, when Charlie came to wake her early, it was not just to wish her a happy birthday himself. Instead, a warm, familiar face accompanied him. Esme stood in her door with a large, square box with a ribbon. It dawned on her, even in her sleepy state, the reason.
When she drew herself out of bed, Charlie met her across the room with an awkward, one-armed hug as he uttered a happy birthday to his daughter. He left after she thanked him with a smile and Esme stepped forward to wrap her arms around Bella and give her a gentle squeeze.
"I want you to open this," she instructed, setting the box on the bed. "But not until later on. First, you have breakfast waiting for you." That had explained where Charlie had run off to in such a hurry and at the mention of food, Bella caught the delicious scent of pancakes wafting through the small house.
Cooking breakfast had only been the start of so many things Esme would do for Bella that day. When she'd left Bella and Charlie to eat, it was then that the birthday girl learned of the best present she could ask for.
"Bells… I know you're not big on gifts. So I thought you might like being let off grounding instead," Charlie told her.
Instantly, her face lit up. "Really?" she exclaimed, hopping up from her seat and throwing her arms around her father's neck for a proper hug. "Thanks, Dad! That's the best thing I could ask for."
And it really was. All she'd wanted for her birthday was to be able to spend a part of it with Jasper. Without sneaking around of course. Now it seemed like she would be able to. When she returned to her room after breakfast, she eyed the box Esme left. The note on the top not only wished her a happy birthday, but it promised that she would be able to go over to the Cullen's after dinner that night and such had already been cleared with Charlie. Upon further instructions, she was supposed to wear what was in the box. Part of her had been tempted to not even open it because doing so would mean that she was accepting it. The last thing she wanted to do was to accept gifts when she had cost the family so much that year.
But inside was the most beautiful dress that Bella had ever seen. It was an emerald green cocktail dress and easily the nicest thing she'd ever owned as far as clothes were concerned. Not accepting it would be hurtful toward Esme and that was the last thing Bella had wanted. And so, she dressed in the beautiful garment before going to dinner with Charlie. She had made an honest attempt to make herself look as nice as she could. Even though it had only been two days since she actually saw Jasper, it felt like she would be seeing him for the first time. (In Charlie's eyes, it would be.) Of course she wanted to make an effort to look her best. Her father had dropped her off at the Cullen's where she was due for dessert, but he opted not to stay despite Esme's invitation for him to do so. It was clear he was still awkward about the idea of her being there and was likely already regretting his birthday present bestowed upon her.
The gathering was an intimate one. Esme and Carlisle had given her another present, along with one from Emmett and Rosalie - probably without her consent - as well, but Bella asked if they wouldn't mind if she opened them later on. They all agreed considering what had happened the last time they'd had a similar party. She did have to smile, though, when she noted that neither of them had been wrapped in paper. The entire thing had been very considerate of them all. She had felt so guilty considering that there were so many other important things to worry about. Her birthday was the least of these, especially when last year's had been so tragic and she really wasn't keen on commemorating being another year older. But she had to admit, it was nice to be able to forget about things for a few hours.
Jasper had been the best part of that. The most exciting part of the evening was when he said he would drive her home. She knew he would be staying with her that night as soon as Charlie was asleep and that was enough to cause her heart to race. She didn't need presents or parties or dresses; Bella just needed him. As soon as she was settled in the passenger side seat of Annabelle, wrapped in the warm, sweet smell of Jasper's jacket, her birthday really felt like it started.
"You'll tell Esme thank you a million more times when you go back, right?" she asked, leaning her head against the seat as she grinned over at him.
It was a little unfortunate that Bella's birthday fell in the midst of all the chaos and hard times they were facing. Unfortunate, but not something that was to be forgotten amidst all the hardships. Jasper insisted that they do something special for her birthday. He feared the day a little, given what happened on her last birthday. It was not something he was going to allow himself to think about, though. He wanted her birthday to be special and a happy occasion. He thought it'd be good for her, and for everyone else, too. They'd all been so highly strung over everything, and an evening to celebrate Bella and her birth seemed like a great way to forget about all their worries for a short time. Everyone deserved a break. Even Rosalie.
He had Esme make all the arrangements with Charlie in regards to Bella being permitted to come out of the house and stay with them over night. It had taken some persuasion, but somehow Esme worked her charm and convinced the Police Chief to let his daughter spend time with her boyfriend and his family. Jasper didn't care how she did it; he was just glad she managed to succeed. As a favor to Jasper, none of the presents had been wrapped. They were placed in ornate boxes or inside of gift bags in order to hopefully prevent any paper cuts this year. He was thankful. The last thing they needed was a repeat performance, though he'd hoped his control was at least a little better by now, after being so close to her most of the time.
However, "most of the time" was a bit of an overstatement in recent weeks. Jasper's time had been spent mostly trying to deal with the situation with newborns. It had kept him very occupied and very involved with the tactics used to go about fighting them. The nights he'd usually spend with Bella were sometimes filled with training his family and teaching the wolves from a distance what they needed to do in order to successfully take down a newborn vampire. He'd go to Bella when he could, but some nights proved to be difficult. When he wasn't doing that, Jasper was taking care of preparations in regards to one of her birthday presents. This was something he'd been working on for a very, very long time. Since before they'd even run away.
After the party with his family, Bella was led to believe that she was being taken home. He loaded her presents into his trunk and then escorted her to her side of the car, opening and closing the door for her once she was inside. He moved to his side of Annabelle and after waving to the family, drove off. At first, he started off in the direction towards her house, but detoured after a little while. He did not think Bella would think anything of it. They stalled a lot, which had begun back when she'd first started to go back to school. It would not seem out of the ordinary for Jasper to take an unconventional route back to her house.
A smile crossed his face when she spoke, asking him to thank his mother for the party again. "Of course," he said, lightly brushing his fingertips against her shoulder with one hand, while the other stayed on the steering wheel. "I'm very grateful to her for pulling it all together as well. And I'm so relieved you enjoyed yourself."
He wondered if she found it strange that he had not produced a gift for her yet. He knew Bella, and he knew she wouldn't be expecting anything because she wasn't like that. But she had to know that he wasn't going to let her birthday pass without giving her something.
"Would you open the glove compartment, Belle? There's something in there for you," he said a few minutes later, smiling. Inside of Annabelle's glove compartment would be three boxes. "Open them from biggest to smallest, all right?"
Inside the biggest one, would be the copy of The Divine Comedy that they'd shared. It was his from several decades ago, but it meant a lot to him and he wanted her to have it. The second box contained a necklace he'd bought for her a few weeks ago. He knew she didn't like a lot of fancy things, but he'd thought it was beautiful and something she could wear beneath her clothing if she didn't want others to fuss over it. Or she could keep it in a drawer if she wanted; he just wanted her to have it. It was silver and contained three small circles within one another, small diamonds dotting each one.
The final box was the one he was most excited about. It was small, almost resembling a ring box. Inside of it, was a silver key. And by the time Bella opened it, they were pulling up to a large house, secluded deep in the woods just outside of Forks, on the opposite end of town from the Cullen home. There were floor to ceiling windows, and inside it was easy to see the house had already been lit as if expecting their arrival.
Her gift, was a home for the two of them to always retreat to when they needed and Jasper hoped one day would be their home, if Bella wanted it to be.
He didn't say anything at first, just pulled to a stop in the driveway and turned off the car, then waited for her reaction.
The day had gone so much better than Bella would have ever expected. Even though it was impossible for anyone to fully forget about what was going on outside the Cullen's warmly lit home, it felt like there had been no worries. Though the guest list was sadly shorter, this birthday had gone without a hitch unlike the year prior. It was nice. It fulfilled part of the childlike wishes that Bella had in terms of wanting to forget about everything negative for awhile and focus on things being happier.
Of course, to her, turning nineteen was not a happy thing. It marked her officially as another year older, another year closer to death. Those were things that were always thought about considering her unique situation with Jasper. They were the same age now. Well, figuratively speaking as he was just changed after he'd turned nineteen. She smiled when she fondly thought about the day that he drove he back to school for the first time and on their detour, they talked about his age. She hadn't been able to guess and remembered, with her cheeks still being able to hold the same blush, that she had sounded foolish.
As far as gifts were concerned, Bella wasn't concerned about Jasper's gift or rather lack thereof. He knew her well enough by now to understand that just being with him was the best present she ever could have received and no material thing would ever be able to compare with that. But she knew Jasper well enough too. She knew that he likely had something for her but was waiting until they were alone. Bella soon found out she was right when he asked her to look in the glove box. Giving him a skeptical look, she paused for a moment before appeasing his wishes. Her eyes widened when she learned there was more than one.
"Jasper…" she warned him, giving him another skeptical look. She sighed though and started with the biggest one when he instructed her to. There was no way he was going to let her get away without at least opening the gifts, despite that she felt guilty doing so.
The book was perfect. Her face lit up when she ran her fingers over the familiar copy they'd read together off and on when she was able to spend time with him in the recent weeks. It was his own copy which of course made it so much more special than just the book alone. She'd known that it was important to him and that he was giving it to her was touching. For that reason, she had a little bit of trouble accepting it, but since this meant something to Jasper, she wouldn't turn him down and disappoint him for not accepting his present.
"This is the only thing I need," she said, holding the book to her chest momentarily. "Thank you." That might have been true, but it seemed like it wasn't the only thing she was going to get. With another sigh, she set the book gently in her lap and reached for the medium-sized box out of the three.
The necklace would be much more difficult to take. When she opened the box and saw the silver piece glittering as they passed under the street lights, she gasped.
"Jasper…" she warned again.
But this time, her voice was softer, in awe of the beautiful piece of jewelry. Gently she traced her finger around the circles, amazed at the intricate, yet simple design of it. She might not have worn much fancy jewelry, but upon seeing this, she knew that she would never take it off from the second it was in place around her neck.
"This…" she marveled. "This is beautiful," she finished, glancing over at him. Bella contemplated taking it out and putting it on that very second, but she decided to wait until they got to her house so he could help her with it. It was so delicate that she feared she would ruin it somehow if she tried to herself with her clumsy fingers.
But they never got to her house. Bella had yet to realize that they were nowhere near it as a result of the two presents that now lay delicately in their boxes in her lap. After the book and the necklace, she really thought about just closing the glove compartment and forgetting that there could possibly be anything else. He had already gone out of his way for her in such a drastic sense (in her opinion). She couldn't possibly accept anything else. There was absolutely nothing she needed more than just the person who was sitting next to her, driving her around in the dark and watching her with amusement when she opened the gifts she'd had trouble accepting.
But it was for fear of hurting that same person that she pulled the smallest box from the glove compartment before shutting it. The very last thing she wanted to do was to make Jasper feel like his gifts and efforts were unwanted, however unnecessary they were. Hurting his feelings by rejecting them just wasn't an option. And thus, rather than risk that, Bella would accept the gift knowing that it was something that made him happy. He deserved that.
Her reaction to the last gift was unlike the other two. First of all, it was bewildered. A key hadn't been what she had expected to be nestled in the littlest box. Her brow furrowed and she looked up to question what it belonged to. But before she could turn her attention to him, her eyes caught on a large, well lit house that she only now noted they were pulling up to. When he stopped the car, her confusion only doubled. Taking the key from the box, she held it in her open palm and looked back and forth between the gorgeous house on the water and Jasper. She wasn't putting two and two together, but because this had been something unexpected – especially since she had been preparing to return home – not being able to work out the puzzle wasn't that far-fetched.
"I don't… understand," Bella said, shaking her head, brow furrowing deeper as she looked down at the key again before glancing up at Jasper for an explanation.
Jasper smiled at her reaction to the third gift. It was about what he expected, though he'd wondered if she would manage to put the two together when brought face to face with the first and second parts of the last gift. He leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, with the hopes of smoothing out the lines in her furrowed brow.
"Come with me," he said softly.
He kissed her cheek, then moved back and got out of the car. He walked around to her side and opened the door for her, helping her out and closing the door behind her. He kept hold of her hand, lacing their fingers as they walked towards the house.
It looked very modest from the front. At least, modest for the lavish taste the Cullens were known for having. Jasper was not usually as extravagant with the use of his money, typically opting for a more subtle extravagance. Such a thing might seem odd, but that was just Jasper. He didn't throw around his money, but he did spend it. This house, however, was not at all modest when one saw it from any other angle besides the front. The back was the true show piece, but he did not want to reveal it to Bella just yet. He needed her to understand what this house was for and why they were walking up to it.
Just before reaching the entrance way, Jasper stopped and took both of her hands.
"This is something that is actually for both of us. I hope you don't mind sharing with me," he said, flashing a sideways smile for a moment, but then became serious again. Despite the more serious look on his face, he was still smiling with his eyes and his expression was very sincere.
"I don't want to scare you with this," he said, lightly brushing his thumb against the side of her hand. "This is just.. a place for us to get away when we need to. It's outside of town, but not far away enough that your father will hunt me down with a rifle and every police officer in Washington. This is meant to be ours, for whenever we want to forget about everything else and remember what's important." Jasper brought her hands up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
This was where it got a little more difficult for him. What he was about to say was a very important step in their relationship. To him, it was solidifying the extent of his intentions. It wasn't hard for him at all to commit to her for eternity; he'd already done that within himself and giving her his mended heart. It was what had to happen in order to give her the eternity that he had that made this so hard for him. Changing her.
"This can be our haven, Bella. It will be ours for as long as you want it to be. We can always come back to it. You will always have a place near Charlie. It will be a place for us to stay when you will need time.. to adjust. It's been specifically designed to accommodate for our.. unique needs."
Jasper moved to the side a little, and carved into the front pillar in his calligraphy styled handwriting there were some letters engraved into the white column.
I.M.S. + J.M.W.
"All that's left is to open the door and step inside," he said, smiling again. "Will you do that with me?"
Her features softened when he kissed her forehead, but to say Bella was still confused was an understatement to say the least. She gently left the book and the box with the necklace on the passenger seat when she go out of the car and took Jasper's hand with her free one. Her intent had been to ask him to put the necklace on her when they returned home, but it was apparent that home had not been the final destination. Or at least, not her and Charlie's home. And so, the poor, beautiful piece of jewelry would have to wait, safely tucked away in the box on Annabelle's front seat while Bella tried to make sense of what exactly was going on.
Soon enough, she would get her answers. When he started to explain, it was almost impossible for her to pay full attention when he gave her one of his best smiles, the type that pulled up one side of his mouth. If he would have continued to keep that smile that always melted her heart, she didn't think she would be able to fully listen to another word he said. Thankfully, for the sake of the explanation of her birthday present, his expression changed to a more serious one.
As Jasper spoke, everything started to piece together to make sense. He'd gotten her a house. He'd gotten them a house of their very own. Not just a house, but it was more a home in the sense that it was just theirs. A safe little haven that was meant for escapes. Her gaze drifted to the house when he explained that to her.
It was no secret that Bella was an emotional person. She was very strong-willed, yes. But at the same time, she was the type of person to be known to shed tears from time to time whenever she was angry or frustrated. Or when she was so happy that she didn't know what else she could do. At first, she didn't even notice that her eyes were welling up and that those aforementioned tears were not that far from spilling down her cheeks. It was so much more than just a place where they could go now to escape when they wanted to. From what Jasper was saying, this would be their home forever.
Forever, meaning that she would be able to enjoy an eternity with him. Forever, meaning that he was referring to the idea that Bella would be changed.
He'd thought of everything. He picked out a place that, even though remained to be seen in full past the front of the house, was perfect. When he mentioned that it would be fitting for accommodating their needs after she'd changed, she'd been touched. But then when he said something about Charlie and being close to him, Bella became aware of the tears brimming her eyelashes.
Though she wanted, more than anything, to be able to be immortal in order to be with Jasper forever, the most difficult thing that she would be giving up was not being able to see Charlie. But with this, this wonderful, safe place that was all their own, she wouldn't have to sacrifice the loss of her father to the extent she would have expected. That Jasper thought of such a thing when considering the house, touched her heart in a way that would never be able to be explained.
That heart skipped several beats when he moved aside in order to reveal the initials that were intricately carved into the pillar.
I.M.S. + J.M.W.
That was what caused the tears to spill down her cheeks. They were silent, but they existed and only did so on account of how touched she was, how utterly happy he'd made her. She still couldn't speak. She opened her mouth as if poised to do so, but nothing came out. She only nodded slowly when he asked her to go inside with him. Before Bella did that, however, she let go of his hands and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into such a close embrace that it would have been impossible for even the smallest sliver of a piece of paper could fit between them. The fingers on one hand wove into his hair, while the other clutched the key in the palm of her hand behind his back.
"Thank you," she whispered against his neck, the skin there damp with her quiet tears.
He could feel her spread of emotions, ranging from shock to touched to pure elation. It was a beautiful transition between her feelings, and Jasper felt very blessed for his ability, rather than cursed. It assured him that he had done a wonderful thing for her, and that she was very happy with his efforts. It was an honor for him to get to feel all of it with her and it filled his own heart with a sense of joy that he could only have with her, his Bella. Her emotions were always so sincere, so genuine, it just proved what an emotionally driven person Bella was even though she probably did not think herself to be. Jasper had a bit of an edge, being able to understand her emotionally, but he was pretty sure that even without his ability, he'd know what Bella was feeling. That by no means meant she was easy to read, but they were so in tune with each other that he felt he knew her inside and out regardless.
As she threw her arms around his neck, Jasper's own arms wrapped around her waist. He pulled her firmly against his body and held her close. The direct contact between them gave him an extra heightened sense of her emotions. They were pouring directly into him and he could feel how happy she was. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt so fulfilled before. It was so rewarding to know that she was so thrilled with the idea of the house. Knowing that it made her happy to think of their relationship in terms of eternity, and that she loved the house, really made him feel complete. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair, smiling into it. His own happiness would be apparent, as he allowed her to feel everything he was feeling.
"It's my eternal pleasure," he murmured into her hair, kissing the side of her head just after. Jasper lightly stroked her back with his fingertips without moving his hand too much. "This means so much to me, to be able to share this with you for all time."
For all time, or at least, for as long as she wanted to stay with him. Jasper hoped that would be for all time. Vampires, when they mated, it was for life. Only if something beyond the vampire's element of control occurred - say, death - would they separate. In Jasper's case with Maria, it had been a circumstance where while he considered her his mate, she never considered him to be hers. The element out of his control had been her hatred and violence, and it drove him away. But with those unpleasantries aside, Jasper had found true love with Bella. He wanted to be with her forever. Beyond that, he needed her. His heart hurt when he wasn't at her side.
He lifted his head from his hiding place in her hair, then tilted it a little so he could lean in and kiss her. It was a tender kiss, but behind it she would be able to feel him pouring his love into it. When he pulled back, he gazed at her with a loving smile but made no move to wipe her tears away. They were the personification of her emotions, and he found them to be beautiful as they spilled down her cheeks. Instead, he lightly stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. Very gently, he took her hand that was holding the key and helped her place it in the keyhole. Together, they could turn it, and together they could open the door. He thought it would be a bit more symbolic that way.
"After you, my lady," he drawled softly.
Author's Note: We hope you loved this chapter as much as we did. A very happy one, indeed, but it also addressed some very important things including how Bella feels about her punishment from Charlie and why she accepts it (since many of you were upset about it), as well as Jasper officially consenting to Bella's wished about immortal.
The next chapter follows directly after this one and you'll get a good picture of their new home as well as how Bella thanks Jasper for her birthday presents. ;) Please, as always, remember to review our story! We love hearing from you! And if you aren't already, of course follow and favorite. Cheers!
Lyrics: Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Additional important author's Note: There are only two more chapters left in this story. Sort of! Not to worry; it isn't ending yet. There's still so, so much more to come with these two. But we are splitting it into two parts BECAUSE there's so much material. We just want to prepare you all for that so when you see that the story is complete after chapter 31, you know it's only part one. Think of it as two 'books' to a series, just how Twilight started off. :D Hope you all are as excited as we are!