AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, sorry I haven't been able to get back to you.

In the last chapter I had Charlie and Bella drive to TX with the vampers, I did this for a few reasons. True, it meant Charlie could be contained when Oona passed away, but if it had happened on a plane there would have been issues. Oona's death had to happen quickly after they left so Charlie would be open to receiving the power from Pete and Oona before he got to the Res. Having them drive also had the advantage of giving them all time to bond and it meant Charlie and Bella could take most of their stuff from La Push to the Res and the Whitlock home.

I know it seems strange to have them arrive, only for them to leave within a couple of days, but this way Jasper and Bella were able to grow close. I've done a lot of rewriting over the last 24 hours, I cut out a lot because, frankly, it was tedious and I want to keep the ball rolling. Let's face it; in the last 12 Chapters Bella has gotten over most of her emotional baggage, Charlie's been trained, Pete and Char have befriended the wolves, everyone's caught up and Jasper's healing. Thank you all for your patience.

CHAPTER 13

BPOV

The morning sun woke me up. I headed to the bathroom and got ready for the day. I wanted to spend time with the others...especially Jasper. I was happy around him, even without him using his gift.

I walked down to the kitchen and saw my aunt and uncle. "Morning guys" I yawned. Pete was reading the newspaper and Char dished up a few pancakes for me "thanks Char, you didn't need to cook for me."
"Oh hush, let me spoil my niece." I smiled; I'd never had an extended family before. This place felt like home.

"What's on the agenda today?" I asked them. Char sat next to me as I ate "I was thinking we could go into town and get a little shopping done."
"Sounds good." I agreed. "This afternoon Pete and J are going to start showing you the basics of fighting." She said, I was shocked. Pete rolled his eyes "I know you're still human, but it helps to learn self-defense and some attacks. We'll be training at human pace with lots of padding so you can let loose without breaking anything." It sounded a bit daunting, but figured it would be interesting. "Where's J?" I asked. "He's outside making a few calls." Pete smirked at me, I blushed.

J hadn't returned by the time I finished eating. I felt a little disappointed as Char and I headed out. Pete waved at us as we left; we were in the sedan and headed to town. "Do you have any clothes for the funeral tomorrow?" She asked. I nodded "I still have a few clothes there, I have a black wool dress in one of the boxes and a heavy black wool coat."
"What about shoes?"
"I have some black knee-high boots, nothing fancy, they're plain enough to be suitable."

Char smiled sadly "I haven't been to a funeral before." I looked at her in shock, she explained. "I haven't had human friends since I was one myself, but back then I'd been lucky. My grandparents hadn't died until after I was turned. My parents died while I was still in the vampire wars. I lost track of my other relatives."
"You're not missing much. Funerals are a somber celebration of a person's life. There are readings, anecdotes and music. I don't know the tradition of Quileute funerals, but there probably won't be much difference." I told her.

Char was fun to shop with, I heard about her human life. She'd been born in the late 1860s in Louisiana. Her family had immigrated to America from France at the start of the Crimean war ten years before her birth. In her late teens she was sent to Oklahoma to meet the man her family wanted her to marry. Her cousin, Henrik, chaperoned her. As they passed through Texas they'd been stopped. Henrik tried to defend Char, but died as a newborn attacked.

She remembered the first time she saw the Major. She didn't know if he was an angel or a demon. He slapped the newborn away from her cousin, but it was too late. Henrik was dead. She remembered him approach her and bite into her neck. She thought she'd been delivered to hell.

She hated J for a long time, but that changed when she saw Peter. She remembered how J had looked between her and Pete and told them to leave and never return. "But you did return." I said. She sighed, "the guilt was eating at us, we'd found peace in the north. Peter told me all about J; from the Major to the man inside, Jasper. I knew then that they were brothers, not just allies. We didn't know if he was dead or alive, but we had to find out.

"It had been ten years since our escape. We'd bought a house and set up a life in South Dakota. Once we'd made the decision to get him out Peter got one of his feelings. We headed to Arkansas, Maria had gained and lost a lot of territory during those years. Her camp was on the boarder of Arkansas and the corner of Texas. There was so much death. Peter's gift kept nudging him on." Her voice turned sad. "We hardly recognized J when we found him. His hair was still the same sandy blond, but it was caked in mud, we couldn't even see his clothes, he was dressed in rags, his eyes black with thirst. Blood and dirt covered him.

"He didn't seem to recognize us. He was walking into an enemy camp, looking for death. Pete picked him up, he didn't struggle. I ran ahead and booked a hotel room. It was 1890 and many of the guests were too inebriated from the hotel bar to care when Pete walked through the lobby carrying a man in rags. Pete had taken him hunting, breaking the necks of their pray so J wouldn't have to feel their emotions.

"He was so weak. He'd been starving himself for months, I could feel it with my gift-"
"You have a gift?" I asked her, I thought Pete and J were the only ones with gifts. She nodded "I can sense and manipulate bloodlust."
"Wouldn't J be able to do the same thing? Isn't bloodlust an emotion?" I asked, she shook her head and explained "bloodlust is more instinctual than emotional. I guess you could say J can work with pure emotions, whereas bloodlust is more of a need. It wasn't a powerful enough gift to be considered useful by Maria which is why I joined the cull of the other newborns. I was lucky Pete had imprinted on me when he did." She trailed off.

"Wouldn't Pete have seen you before then?" I asked, she shrugged and replied. "Pete looked after a different set of troops, the easier vampires. J was my commander, my newborn year was difficult because of my bloodlust and feeling others bloodlust. My troop was considered to be the 'difficult one' which is why the Major trained us. We were the more savage vampires, the Major used that to his advantage in battle. We'd head in as a first wave attack and Pete's troop would be the second wave. We probably saw each other on the battlefield, but weren't able to imprint because we were in a life threatening situation. When I was lead out to be culled, I really saw Pete for the first time.

She paused and picked up where I'd interrupted her. "Pete took J to the bathroom in our hotel room and cleaned him up. He had so many new scars. I'd never truly known hate until I saw him then, Maria and taken a good man and broke him, all for her fucking greed."

"What happened to Maria?" I asked, I hoped she was dead. I hope she'd been broken the way J had been. I wanted to piss on her ashes and ..."She's alive" Char's said, her face twisted in fury, I'm sure my face held a similar expression. I growled, "she won't go near him or you two ever again. I'll kill her, take her apart and torture her until she begs for the fire." Char patted me on the shoulder "at times like this Pete likes to say 'she has her own path and she'll get what's coming to her.'" She sighed "I hate knowing she still exists, but she's alone now. The Volturi decreed that she cannot be near our kind unless in their presence. She's been alone for the last 70 years and is watched by the Masters." Char shook her head "I just pray that when justice is served we're there to watch it." I nodded.

Our mood lightened when we walked along the main street. There were bright colors in the windows of the various little boutique stores. We picked up a couple more pairs of yoga pants for fight training, a few sundresses and comfortable sandals. On the way back Char stopped at a car lot "what are we doing here, Char?"
"Honey, you need a car-"
"But-"
"No buts, you need your independence, Bella."
"It's too much."
"Sugar, it's not. I'm your aunty, let me spoil you." She'd used this excuse once already, but I caved. It'd be good to go see Charlie without needing a lift.

I headed towards the used car lot, there was an older model hatchback that I liked the look of, it was cheap too. "You sure you want that one Bells? We can get you a new car if you want."
"No thanks, this one's perfect." She looked at the millage and nodded "it's got less than 80,000 miles on the clock. This model is known for its reliability, but it's not very powerful."
"That doesn't matter, I'll only need it to go to the Res and to the supermarket."
"It's a nice color." She said, I liked it too. It was a dark aqua color that had been popular in the mid 1990's.

A sales man approached and Char dealt with him, I was both embarrassed and impressed. She'd haggled the price down to $2000 and increased the warranty to two years. She transferred the money and I loaded up my new car with my shopping. Char handed me a book from within her sedan "it's a road map. Why not explore a little." I thanked her and headed a bit further out of town. I pulled in for gas at the first petrol station I saw, it was pretty economical. I was happy with my choice.

I drove out a bit more and came across a camping store. I popped in and looked at the fishing rods and lures. A teenage boy with a badge labeled 'Brad' came up. He put together a basic fishing kit for dad. I paid and headed to the supermarket to pick up some groceries for him. I was going to visit the Res.

The Res was easy to find. I slowed and stopped in front of an information kiosk. A friendly woman my age was behind the counter, she had long, straight black hair, fair skin and deep brown eyes. I introduced myself. "Hello, I'm Bella Swan-"
"Oh! You must be Charlie's daughter. Let me call Theresa, she's his mentor and the alpha of the Spirit walkers." I smiled, relieved that they were so welcoming. I'd been worried they'd react badly to me because of my vampires. Hopefully, I wasn't interrupting dad. I walked around the kiosk as I waited for the Alpha. There were a lot of dried herbs and souvenirs. A lady walked in, she was tall around 5'10" with long, straight black hair, almond eyes and fair skin. She walked up to me "you must be Bella, we've heard so much about you." I returned her smile. "I hope I've come at a convenient time." I said sheepishly, "you're welcome anytime, Bella. Charlie's working with the other spirit healers at the moment, but I can give you a tour if you like." I nodded, "we're having a bonfire tonight, you're welcome to join us." She offered, I was feeling a little homesick so I agreed to join in. I missed La Push already.

The air was stifling and heavy with humidity, but there was a peacefulness here. There were trees all around us and it reminded me of a warm version of Forks. I saw some men fishing by the lake, I was really glad I'd bought dad some gear. He hadn't fished in a while.

We turned around a sharp corner, towards a large tinted glass building "this is our greenhouse. We grow a lot of plants here on the Res that can survive the Texas weather, but there are a few that need special care. We've collected plants from all over the world and included them into our healing. Charlie told me that he healed your tattoo, may I see it?" I nodded and brought my arm closer, she ran her fingers over it. "This was done recently?"
"About a week ago. Dad healed my friend Emily as well."
"He's very gifted. I had assumed Oona only taught him the basics, but he'd a fast learner and very talented." I was pretty proud of dad. The expression on Emily's face when she saw her healed cheek was one of my favorite memories.

She led me back to my car, beside it was an old land cruiser. Theresa got in her truck and asked me to follow her. We drove down a dirt road to the outer part of the Res on the other side of the lake. There was a small scattering of houses, she parked outside a smaller house that stood away from the others "this is your dad's place. It's nearly lunch time so he should be home soon." She unlocked the door for me "I have to head out to a meeting, but I'm sure Charlie wouldn't mind you waiting. It was good to meet you, hopefully I'll see you later at the bonfire. It starts at 8pm." She smiled and left, I waved and watched her truck disappear down the road.

I unloaded the groceries I'd brought for Charlie, thankfully the car had stayed cool enough so nothing had spoiled. I packed the food away and started making a couple of sandwiches. Charlie smiled as he walked in and saw me "this is a surprise. How are you, kid?"
"Good, dad. Char bought me a car and took me shopping. I thought I'd visit you, I got some groceries for you."
"You didn't need to do that Bells, but thanks."

We sat down and started eating. "What do you think of the Res?" Dad asked. "It reminds me of Forks, but it's a lot warmer. I met Theresa, she seems really nice." I said. Dad nodded "she is. I met the other Spirit walkers last night. There are two protectors and four other healers. I've been working with the couple who live next door, Lucas and Celia. It's been really interesting."
"That's great. Theresa said she was impressed by how much you could do, dad. She invited me to the bonfire tonight. I'm going to head back to the vampires after lunch and return later." He smiled.

Dad walked me out to the car "you made a good choice, that car has a good reputation for safety." I took the new fishing gear out from the boot and handed it to him "I got you a house warming present." I could tell he was relieved "I haven't fished in ages, thanks Bells. Now quit buying me stuff, I'm the parent remember?" He said, I laughed "sure, sure. I'll go back to acting like a teenager."

The drive home was easy until I hit the dirt road, it was a bit rough to navigate the terrain. The car and I arrived in one piece. J was waiting for me as I drove up, Pete was beside him covered in different types of padding. I ran inside, put away my clothes then joined them. J showed me some moves and I practiced them on Pete. After a few tries we moved faster. We kept repeating a few basic blocking techniques over and over. After a few hours J called it a night. Peter removed the padding, the afternoon had been a little tedious, but it was a good work out.

"We'll continue when we get back from Washington." J announced. It was 5 pm, I was hungry from the exercise. "I'm going to head back to the Res tonight, Theresa invited me to the bonfire." I told them. "Good, I hope you enjoy hearing the histories." Pete said, smiling. "How about we drop you off at the entrance and we'll pick you up when you're finished. I know you'll be tired." He offered. I was relieved I wouldn't have to drive again today.

Char had a plate of steak and vegetables waiting for me. I ate quickly and went to shower. She knocked on my door after I'd gotten dressed and helped me comb my hair. "Pete said you're doing well."
"Thanks." I smiled. "It's a bit boring isn't it?" She whispered grinning. I nodded as she continued. "It was the same for me when I started, you'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow but it'll be worth it. Pete and J are very patient, the way they teach cements the moves into our minds and it becomes instinctual."

I decided to head out early, it would be a good idea to teach dad a couple of easy meals so he could cook for himself. Pete was just ending a phone call when I got to the bottom of the stairs, he looked up and smiled "I just spoke to Charlie. I was thinking, there isn't much point in you packing for tomorrow if you have clothes there already. We'll take a couple of empty suitcases and fill them up before coming back."
"Sounds good." I agreed.

Pete drove J's jeep, I had to point out the entrance to him. He'd almost drove past it. "What do you mean there's an entrance there?" He said, looking around confused. "It's right there, Uncle Pete. There's the dirt road with wooden gates and a big white sign."
"I just see trees." He closed his eyes and concentrated. His eyes flashed open and he stared "I can feel a disturbance in the force. Damn, they must be powerful to hide it from vampires like this."
"Don't you see Charlie? He's walking over here now." Pete shook his head, but jumped a little when Charlie was a couple of feet from the car. "Holy shit!" He yelled. "You just came out of nowhere!" Dad chuckled and explained "they have a powerful shield. It was cast around two hundred years ago. Each generation of protectors adds to its strength."

Pete got out of the car and tried to walk in a straight line towards the entrance. He veered off course and shook his head. Dad laughed, "Theresa explained it's impossible for vampires to cross the threshold. The shield can't choose between the good vampires and the bad so it just keeps them all out. No exceptions I'm afraid." Dad explained. "That's fucking incredible. I'm glad you're protected that strongly." Pete said.

Dad and I reached his truck "I sorted through the boxes and these two have some of your stuff." We grabbed a box each and headed back to Pete who was still staring in our direction. When we came into view he smiled "I could hear you talking, but I couldn't see any change when you two disappeared and reappeared." He took the boxes "I'll head home and put these in your room, Bella. J will meet you here when you're ready to come home. Just send him a message, he'll be able to follow your scent to this spot. I've also broken a few strategic branches, it's one of the signs we used during the wars. He'll find the place no problems." He turned to dad "I'll meet you at the airport at 5:30am tomorrow. Oona's funeral starts at 3pm, we'll have plenty of time."

I showed dad an easy recipe and wrote down instructions for him to try later. He ate in silence as we watched the news. It was a relaxing evening, but my muscles were starting to hurt a little from training.

The bonfire was similar to the one at La Push, the histories were a little different. They told us the origin of the spirit walkers and how they branched out to protectors and healers. The shield that protected the place was maintained by each generation, they used their own power to reinforce it. Charlie told them about Pete's experience with it, they were intrigued. They'd never been in a position to hear how successful it was and what Vampires saw, or didn't see.

A couple of hours into the bonfire we had a break. Four men and two women approached us; a tall man with green eyes and long, straight back hair spoke first. "My name is Micah, this is my wife Sally" he gestured to a tall, lean lady with short black hair and brown eyes. She was very cheerful, a contrast to Micah's seriousness. "We're both protectors, I see you have that gift as well, Bella."
"Yeah, I didn't know our heritage and befriended a coven of vampires. My shield grew stronger, one of the coven wasn't able to use his gift on me." I said, Micah grinned "I haven't actually encountered a vampire before, but it's good to know we might be safe from their gifts."
"Some gifts still work on me, but I was safe from the one I needed protection from the most."

Another man, slightly shorter with a crew cut and matching green eyes came closer "I'm Micah's brother, Thomas, I'm a healer like Lucas and Celia over there." He pointed to a couple behind him, then gestured to Theresa "I heard you met our Alpha. She's a healer too." Theresa caught my eye and waved happily, I smiled and waved back.

Thomas came closer and looked me over "you're with the one from the stories? Your uncle?"
"Yep, he and his sire are training me."
"You're lucky, I can't imagine how powerful he is now. I hope we meet him sometime." He said, I was glad they were so open minded.

Thomas spoke, "Charlie said you have a vampire bite mark?" I held out my wrist and told them its origin. "I got this in a vampire attack, my old coven killed the one who bit me." They nodded "we've never come across a bite like that on a human." Lucas said. "The venom was sucked out." I explained.

Lucas nodded and walked closer to inspect James' bite. "I can see why you're being trained by vampires, the traces of venom have changed your power slightly. Your scent has and edge to it I haven't smelt before." He saw the worry on my face and continued "it's not a bad thing, Bella. The power in this community can be divided between protectors and healers, but we have different roles within those two categories. I can sense when something has corrupted fate" he pointed to my wrist "this isn't a deviation. You were meant to be on this path. You're a protector like Micah and Sally, you'll just be a different species." He smiled warmly. I relaxed slightly.

Theresa cleared her throat and started talking when we quieted, she introduced us and told the others about the Quileutes and their battles against the cold ones. We received a few questions about the vampires and wolves, we answered what we could. Oona had been the liaison between the two tribes, now Charlie would fit that roll, amongst others. I gave Theresa my phone number as well as Pete's. I knew he wouldn't mind.

The bonfire concluded at midnight. I was sad to leave, but I knew I'd be suffering tomorrow. I messaged J and dad drove me to the meeting spot outside the Res gates.

He arrived five minutes later in the black Jeep. I fell asleep as we headed back and felt the jeep stop as we arrived home, my eyelids were too heavy to open. I felt J hook his arms under my back and knees and carry me to my room. He smelled of citrus and magnolia, it was an unusual fragrance, but it comforted me.

I felt him remove my shoes and tuck me into bed. He whispered good night and kissed my forehead. I snuggled into the mattress and passed out.

AN #2: Armed and Fabulous.
A lot of Jasperella fics have Jasper feeling other's bloodlust. I love that! It's a good explanation of why Jazz snapped at Bella's 18th. For the purposed of this fic I have bloodlust manipulation to Char, you'll see why soon ;)