Jasper's P.O.V.

Chapter 17: Ready

"Bella!" Alice cried as she skidded to a stop.

"Bella? Oh my God, Bella!" came another voice from beyond the trees. I soon noticed the owner of the voice as he emerged from the trees. It was Bella's father, Charlie.

He ran out from the surrounding woods and into the clearing towards Bella. "Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry!" He moaned, laying his head on her chest. She was still barely conscious.

With the rush of the others and Jacob's arrival, I hadn't noticed Charlie; especially since he was keeping a low profile. I assumed he had mistaken Jacob for the beast and aimed for him, shooting Bella.

"Carlisle, do something," I told him sternly.

"Jasper, there's only one thing I can do."

"Then, do it!" I barked at him.

He pulled me off to the side to talk with the other family members. During the brief discussion with my family, I could hear Charlie's frequent apologies to Bella and his loud, mournful cries. After several seconds, we had all come to a decision.

I grabbed Carlisle's arm as he walked towards Bella, "There's no way I will leave her and there's no way I'm letting her leave me."

"I know, Jasper."

Carlisle knelt down beside Bella, "Bella, I need you to stay with me for just a couple more minutes, okay?" She gave a slight nod. She only had a few more minutes left.

"Bella, we've all come to love you and except you as part of our family—Edward, come and help me with the bleeding— and we're not letting you leave us like this, alright?"

Rosalie watched in pain as Charlie vomited beside Bella. "What are we going to do with Charlie? We can't let him live on like this! He can't carry that burden! He can't live without her."

"He'll have to," Carlisle answered.

"I'll change him myself, then," Rosalie protested.

"Rosalie, we can't just—"

Charlie's blood-curdling scream was cut short by Rosalie's impulsive decision. The blood trickled down his neck as his body shook with pain.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie," Rosalie whispered, "This is for you and Bella."

"What about the second officer?" Emmett panicked. "He couldn't have come alone."

"Find him; get rid of him," Carlisle answered, "…humanely."

I couldn't believe this. Bella's dream and Alice's vision had actually happened. I looked over at Carlisle, who was trying to stall changing Bella for as long as possible. He dispised putting people through that much pain. But by not doing so, she was dying.

Bella muttered her last words with all the strength she could muster, "I'm ready."

At those words, Carlisle quickly leaned in and sunk his teeth into Bella's fragile, slender neck, and again at her left wrist. "Edward, take Charlie home. I'll take Bella."

"No!" I said quickly, "I'll take her, Carlisle."

"Fair enough," Carlisle agreed, his figure melting into the surrounding forest, along with the others.

As I arrived home, only seconds after the others, Charlie had already been laid onto the couch with Rosalie watching over him. Emmett had also returned from his mission with the remaining officer.

I sat Bella down gently on the guest room bed. She looked peaceful even while going through unimaginable pain. Esme and Alice even gotten together to decorate that room for Bella weeks before. She loved it. The bed had a light blue satin comforter with a small golden-brown throw. The windows were covered with sheer sand-brown material and, of course, Alice went crazy with the walls. She added a deep aqua color with all this gold trimming stuff; small, intricate swirls painted around the two oval shaped mirrors. The mirrors, in themselves, were half the value of the room.

I think the girls had already planned for Bella being a part of our family. Although, I don't think they planned on her being…one of us.

"How's she doing?" Carlisle asked, silently stepping into the room.

"Well…I can't say for sure, but I think she is probably praying for death right now," I answered.

"I don't doubt that," he said grimly. "It should be a couple of days before either of them wakes up. This is going to be a big change for them."

As I watched Bella's slow, rhythmic breathing, I only hoped that what lay ahead was what was best for Bella and her father. Being one of us was going to take years—maybe even decades- of practice and getting used to. We would have to come up with a damn well excuse for the rest of her family. She would have a lot to learn, but I felt that she was ready. We all did. After all, those were her last words.

Thanks so much to all of you who have been following Starcrossed and its progress. I had such a great time writing it and I hope you had as much fun reading it. Yes, there will most likely be a sequel. I had a lot of trouble ending this, actually. At first, I wasn't really sure where and when to end it. I finally just made a decision, wrote my heart out, and… voila. Reviews would be much appreciated. I'd love to hear how you felt about the story in its entirety. Thanks for the support and I hope you all enjoyed it!