A/N Thanks for all the reviews … I am really glad that you like my different approach. Well, I had to think of something new, hadn't I … considering there are so many great Jasper/Bella stories out there already.

In this chapter some questions will be answered … for Bella as well as Jasper. Rest assured it will be a bumpy and very emotional ride for both of them … but thank God, Peter is there to pick up the pieces … ;-)

This is a split POV chapter again … giving some more insight into Bella's mind as well as Peter's.

Enjoy!!!

___________________

Chapter 5 Not what I'd expected

Jasper POV

Just try to be civil and patient. Great advice there, Peter! Easy for you to say, you are not an empath … you aren't the one responsible for ruining this poor girl's life … Ahh, grap. Stop whining, Major! Get a grip. You have to keep it together … If not for yourself, at least for Bella …

I knew I had to keep my own emotions in check in order to accomplish this goal. But only remembering how Bella had reacted earlier … the sudden intensity of her emotions … I couldn't suppress a shudder running down my spine. Of course, her physical strength was nothing compared to mine, but the undiluted force of her emotions alone had the power to incapacitate me. This just wasn't something I had been prepared for … not now … not ever. Under different circumstances I would be impressed, but not so much right now. As hard as it was but I had to admit it … if only to myself.

For the first time in a very, very long time I am scared … scared of a mere human. Hmm … Life is funny …

Again I let my eyes wander over Bella's unconscious body. She was tiny compared to me, but of average height for a girl her age, I guessed. She almost looked peaceful, laying there on the couch, like she was actually asleep. But I knew that she wasn't. Even though I had never been to medical school like Carlisle and Edward, I'd read a lot of medical books over the years, to know for sure that Bella was indeed unconscious. And because I could hear her steady heartbeat … and I could see her chest heaving regularly with every breath … I assumed she was okay-ish. The only thing that had me worried was the total lack of emotions. It felt like she wasn't really there. Like an empty shell … I had never met anybody who was able to shield himself from my gift completely. Sure, Peter was capable to conceal his emotions to some extent, but never entirely. With time I'd learned to appreciate this weird ability of his, because in situations like these it was helpful to have someone around making it easier for me to keep my own emotions in check.

Maybe that had something to do with her ability to protect herself from Edward's gift …I mused.

In my peripheral vision I could see Peter getting up. I turned to face him. "Where are you going?" I asked him, rather harshly.

"No need for you to panic, bro … I'm not leaving. I'm just going to see if they had left something to drink for your friend." He chuckled, making his way straight into the kitchen.

I heard him laugh lightly. It actually was funny to have a kitchen at all in a house owned by vampires … considering that we never dinned inside, but in order to live around humans we had to put up with some necessary charades. That meant … even though we had no use for it … every house the Cullens owned had fully functional bathrooms and fully furnished kitchens. What a waste of space … Although, it had come in handy once Bella had stumbled into our lives. I could recall all those times Esme had cooked dinner for Bella in that kitchen, sometimes they even had cooked together. Oddly, they both had seemed to enjoy this activity very much …

Happier times … I sighed mentally. Then it hit me. Has Peter just called Bella my friend? … That's just hilarious …

I was pretty certain I'd blown that chance a long time ago. True, we never really had the opportunity to get to know each other and build some kind of relationship … even before the dreadful incident on her last birthday. To be fair, it hasn't been all due to Edwards's interference, though. I'd agreed with him … it was the best decision at the time … keeping my distance, considering I was indeed the weakest link of the family. But then again, it wasn't like I hadn't had any interest in getting to know Bella better, especially when she'd meant so much to Alice. It had made me a little curious how a mere human girl of barely eighteen years had enthralled my wife so completely … well not only her but the entire family … apart from Rosalie maybe. But even my dear sister hadn't been totally immune to Bella's charm, although she'd kept it well hidden …

But despite my honest interest in the human girl I'd always put Bella's safety first … better safe than sorry, right? Even when we had been hiding out in that small hotel room in Phoenix for days … the first time we had been alone … well without Edward hovering over her to be precise … I hadn't taken the chance to get to know her better, because all I had been able to think about was keeping Bella safe from James … and instinctively even safe from myself.

'You're worth it', I'd told her once and I'd truly meant it. She hadn't known what kind of impact she'd made on the entire family … she'd unknowingly gave each one of us some piece of humanity back … Bella was an angel, so innocent and pure … and I'd had to blew it, by letting my monster take control of me …

Well, what's done is done. Now I have the chance to apologize and …

I heard Peter rummaging through the kitchen cupboards, on his ridiculous mission to find something edible for Bella. Just as I thought he would come back empty handed, I heard and felt his victory. "Yeah … I knew it." His childlike excitement even brought a smile to my face.

He stood in the kitchen entry, holding a bottle of water in his right hand, grinning at me. "I think they forget to clean out the kitchen properly … there are even some bags of crackers left … In case Bella is hungry, when she wakes up." He joked.

Right on the cue, I felt a change in the atmosphere. A new set of emotions found its way into my consciousness. Bella was finally coming around. I snapped my head around, and turned my full attention back to the girl, concentrating on her emotions, while working hard on remaining calm myself. Peter kept his position, out of Bella's line of sight for the moment. He was radiating nothing but peace and serenity, allowing me to feed of it.

"Thank you." I whispered low enough for only him to hear, sending my gratitude along with my words.

"You're most welcome, brother." Peter replied, sounding almost detached but I knew that he wasn't. Underneath his composed attitude I could feel his curiosity … but also a small amount of apprehension. I guessed he was worried for both of us … Bella and me.

Bella's lids fluttered and a slight moan escaped her lips, before she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked twice, and then her brown eyes met my golden ones. A tiny, almost undetectable smile was playing around her mouth. This was a strange reaction. Bella was feeling … happy?

What the fuck?

This emotion didn't make any sense … not after what just happened outside. Why in the hell would Bella be happy to see me now? Only minutes ago she had told me that she hated me. And I'd believed her and didn't begrudge her for feeling this way. It was her prerogative … after what I had done. Now I was utterly confused … but with some effort I pushed my own feelings aside in order to keep my focus on Bella's.

"Jasper," she croaked.

I didn't respond in any way. I just watched her in silence as she propped herself up on her tiny elbows, pushing the white cloth I'd laid on her body out of the way, and taking a wary look around. While she took in the state of the room, her emotions shifted again. A slight frown appeared on her face, and then a wave of sadness hit me. This emotion I could understand. Seeing the Cullen house this empty, this lifeless (no pun intended) was disturbing … on so many levels. At least that answered one of my earlier questions. She hadn't been here since THEY had left otherwise this wouldn't have such a strong effect on her now.

Bella wasn't saying anything else, but I could see that she was silently struggling to keep it together. Whatever was going through her head was driving her mind slowly but steadily into overdrive. Her heartbeat sped up, and her breathing became unsteady. She was having a panic attack …

Bella POV

There was blackness, nothing but blackness. I could feel absolutely … nothing. It wasn't unpleasant … not at all … almost peaceful … but nevertheless it felt somehow wrong. As much as I enjoyed this peculiar state I knew that eventually I would have to return and face reality. Just then I felt something tugging at my mind … telling me it was time to wake up.

Slowly, almost carefully I made my way out of the void. I could feel softness underneath me … not the hard soil I'd expected to find. Hadn't I just been outside of the Cullen mansion? What the …?

When I opened my eyes I stared right into the most beautiful eyes I'd seen in months … the familiar color of gold, so warm and comforting. I was home …

"Jasper," I breathed. My voice sounded hoarse, like I'd been asleep for hours. I was confused. How long had I been out? I propped up on my elbows, pushing the white cloth away and took a cautious but curious look around. I could make out the familiar shape of a room … the Cullen's living room. But something was different. It was so empty … and cold. Abandoned … like me. Sadness began to spread through me. But then I remembered Jasper's gift.

Empath … Damn it. Get a grip, girl! Don't even go there …he doesn't need to feel your pain … I scolded myself. I won't do the same thing to him I'd done to my family and friends. I am not that person anymore … Just breathe, and stay calm. Just breathe, and stay calm. There is nothing to be nervous about, it's just Jasper. Just Jasper … But what if he isn't here on his own. What if all the others are here too? Even HIM? No, please … tell me HE isn't. I cannot handle this … I'm not ready …

My head was spinning … and I realized that despite my earlier efforts to remain calm I was working myself right into a full blown panic attack. But all of a sudden I felt powerful waves of calm and peace washing over me, and they were slowing down my uneven breathing and erratic heartbeat back to a healthy pace, thus helping me to relax. I took in a deep breath of relief and smiled at Jasper. I knew that it had been him … Jasper had been manipulating my emotions with his incredible gift. Right this moment I was extremely grateful that he was here, even if I didn't have all the information … yet, I truly appreciated his help.

"Thank you, Jasper." I murmured almost inaudibly, knowing he would be able to hear it nevertheless. Vampire hearing. I moved my body into a sitting position, facing Jasper again. There was a confused expression on his beautiful face, which made me wonder.

But before I could voice any question at all, my eyes drifted over Jasper's shoulder, and I could see a man standing like a statue in the entryway to the kitchen. I tensed for a second, because I was surprised to find out that Jasper was indeed not alone here. I didn't recognize this person, but even with my limited human eyesight I could see that this man was indeed another vampire. He was almost as tall as Jasper but more built like Emmett. Brown locks framed his beautiful face and his eyes were fixed on mine …

His eyes were not the same color of gold I'd come so accustomed to. They were blood red.

Oh … That's definitely different. But what's that supposed to mean? I wondered, keeping my brown eyes locked with the stranger's. Oddly, I was more confused than frightened which didn't surprise me much. Who hangs around vampires on a regular basis and on their own free will? Only crazy people like me …

This strange vampire smiled at me in an odd but reassuring sort of way, like he was trying to tell me without words that he meant me no harm.

Well, he hasn't attacked me yet, right? My answering smile was small and timid. But then I remembered James and his coven … and all the resulting mess … but he seemed to be different. But could I trust him?

A low, but menacing growl broke the spell between us. And the stranger's head snapped up, and a frown replaced his former smile. He still looked otherworldly beautiful … Damn vampires.

"Bella." Jasper called my name in a low but demanding voice. I diverted my focus back to Jasper.

"What's going on?" I asked, confused and slightly annoyed. There was something in Jasper's voice that just made me mad. He'd just sounded like a father scolding his child … for misbehaving or something. I didn't get it. What have I done?

Unexpectedly, Jasper's beautiful face turned into a grimace. I was taken aback. All I could say that I didn't like this look on his face … it wasn't scary but … he looked like he was actually in pain.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" I asked again, worried. Had I said or did something wrong?

"Yeah, Jasper. What's wrong?" The other vampire spoke for the first time. His voice was deep, but some sort of musical too … just like all the voices of the others of his kind I'd met. But the most interesting fact was that he just sounding exactly like I felt. Not threatening at all only annoyed. "Quit being such a jerk and answer the lady's question." I sniggered. No one had ever called me a lady. And I could have sworn that he winked at me … what was this guy up to?

Jasper's response shocked me again. He groaned … in exasperation? What the hell was his problem? I couldn't make heads or tails of Jasper's behavior. In fact he was starting to piss me off. If he'd thought meeting this strange friend of his was a bad idea, why in fuck had he brought me in here in the first place?

Apparently, the other vampire had enough of Jasper's behavior as well and took things into his own hands. I watched him with interest as he made his way over towards the couch, walking very slowly … like he was testing my reaction. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Jasper was clenching and unclenching his fists. He was tense, very tense. But he didn't make a move to stop his friend nor did he say anything. So I decided to just ignore him.

When the other vampire was right in front of me, he stopped and held out his right hand. "Hi, I'm Peter."

I smiled up at him, and laid my hand into his. The cold of his skin didn't bother me, because it was no new experience for me, but I still felt a slight tingle running down my spine. "Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Bella."

I was expecting him to just shake my hand, but instead he bent his head very slowly, his eyes were never leaving mine the whole time, and then he placed a gentle, sort of chivalrous kiss on the backside of my hand. My heartbeat sped up again … not out of fear … but because this kind of old-fashioned manner had completely taken me off guard …

Peter POV

I'd watched the interaction between Jasper and Bella in silence for a while … but I finally had enough. I knew the human girl wasn't afraid of neither one of us because I would have been able to smell her fear even a mile away. I had to give to her. For being indeed just a mere human she sure didn't react as one of her kind at all. Bella was brave, and frank … actually nothing like the person I'd expected to find after what Jasper had told me about her. But maybe she just had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever … But even so I could already tell that I liked Bella.

"What's going on?" I heard Bella asking Jasper, her tone of voice was matching my own feelings. She was annoyed by his behavior and so was I.

What is your problem, dude? Just talk to her …

From my position I couldn't see Jasper's face, but I could tell from his attitude and posture that he was mostly confused and somehow disappointed by the situation. But why? Didn't he like Bella's poised reaction to my presence or was he thinking that I would snap at any moment? Like that was ever going to happen. Sure Bella smelled nice, but that was it. To me she smelled like every other human, not overly tempting just nice. And right this moment I wasn't hungry. Even if … now that I've met this incredible girl, I knew that I would never hurt her. I felt drawn to her in a way that was simply inexplicable. She made me curious …

In my opinion the only reason that the Cullens had such a tough time being in her presence was due to their forced abstinence from their natural food source. As honorable is their choice might be, it was a stupid step to choose to live among their former prey. Nobody would be strong enough to withstand the temptation forever … we were predators after all.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" Bella asked. Jasper's facial expressions had gotten her worried. That was it. I had enough of his game …

"Yeah, Jasper. What's wrong?" I repeated Bella's question, because it was obvious to me that he needed some intervention. I let him know through my emotions that I was okay, and that she was in no danger whatsoever. At least not from me, that was. "Quit being such a jerk and answer the lady's question."

I was a little stunned to hear Bella snigger at my request, but couldn't help myself, so I winked at her. I chose to use her amusement to make my point. Jasper needed to pull his head out of his ass and man up. Apparently our combined humor didn't have the desired effect. I heard Jasper groan in exasperation.

Oh come on man, get a grip …

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. If he was going to act like an asshole … so be it. I had been raised to be a gentleman who knew how to behave himself in the company of a lady. I cautiously but deliberately made my way over to the couch, ignoring Jasper's warning growl. Bella watched me intently, her eyes never leaving mine. There was not even a hint of fear in them only curiosity. That was a good sign, and I knew that I could use that reaction to my advantage, because Jasper would feel it, too.

I stopped right in front of the human girl and held my hand out. "Hi, I'm Peter."

Her answering smile was dazzling, and without any further delay she laid her hand into mine. I detected a small shiver, but I knew it was only due to the difference in our body temperatures. "Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Bella." She introduced herself, very politely.

At first, I thought I should just shake her hand, but then inspiration hit me. It was a stupid move, and I knew it. But I wanted to push Jasper … just a little further … forcing some kind of reaction out of him … to pull him out of this trance so to speak. And I was from Texas, after all. I bent my head very slowly … keeping my eyes fixed on Bella's brown orbs and then I laid a very soft kiss on her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," I said, grinning at her.

Bella was just going to reply something, when I first felt a tidal wave of hatred hit me, and then I was flying through the room, hitting the wall at the far end with such a force, that the material cracked under the force of the impact. I heard a loud snarl coming from Jasper, and a shriek of terror from Bella. I slowly stood up, but didn't move forward. Jasper was crouched in a defensive position before Bella, who had left her sitting position on the couch. She stared at me in horror.

I hold my hands up in surrender, thus showing Jasper that I wasn't going to do anything to upset him more. He was in full Major-mode and it would be foolish of me to antagonize him further. He would shred me into pieces. But Bella didn't seem to be aware of the danger. She stepped around Jasper and glared at him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Jasper? Peter wasn't going to hurt me." Bella yelled at Jasper. She was shaking with anger … and fear. This wasn't good.

"Bella … how can you be sure of that? You don't even know this guy." He snapped back, not leaving his crouched position. I could tell that he was very close to lose his control. I tried to send him some calm, but he was once again too wrapped up in his own feelings. I could see that it had no effect on him whatsoever. He was feeding of Bella's anger and fear.

Crap … this is going to end bad if I don't do something … fast …

"That may be so … but I know you. I trust you. I know that you wouldn't put me in danger … not on purpose." Bella replied, still angry but more composed. But she clearly overestimated his self-control.

"That's hilarious, Bella." He sneered. "You trust me? Really? How can you be so stupid, Bella? I cannot trust me … I am the one who had tried to kill you , remember?"

No physical blow could have hurt Bella more than those menacing words that had just come out of Jasper's mouth. I knew that he didn't mean to hurt her … that he was just trying to make his point … a serious point, for sure. She was far too trusting for her own good. But nevertheless I wished he'd chosen a different path to tell her that. Pain was now the dominant expression on her beautiful face, and tears were beginning to run down her cheeks. I could tell that her reaction had some effect on Jasper. He slowly backed away from her, finally leaving his protective crouch. They both stood silent facing each other, both shaking with grief …

I saw my chance to intervene, and I quickly moved forward, pulling Bella behind my back, to shield her. Jasper didn't try to attack me this time.

"Go, Jasper. Go hunt. You need to calm down." I snarled at him. His eyes were wide with the shock of realization of what he had just done. I could see his remorse, hell, I could even sense it. But now was not the time for apologies. "Go now. She'll be fine." I added more softly, but firmly.

After a last short glance at me and Bella, Jasper whirled around and left the house through the backdoor.

I turned around, and pulled Bella in my arms, holding her in a tight embrace. She sobbed loudly into my chest, allowing me to comfort her. "Shhh, Bella. Everything will be okay. I'll promise. He will be back."

________________

A/N Oh, Jasper, you fool. What have you done? Will he come back and face Bella's grief and Peter's wrath? Stay tuned and find out. Reviews are highly appreciated … but not requested. ;-)