A/N: After reading several Twilight fanfictions, especially Geezerwench's I Live, I started to really think about Bella's gift. Geezerwench really took the shield to another level and I started to ponder, do we really know what the extent of her shield and gift really is? I was influenced and really wanted to take it beyond what the books had done and explore some other areas including using it with others. Hopefully it turns out like I have it pictured in my head. I would like to think that since her gift is so rare and she is still learning, there is so much more she can do. Enjoy!

Chapter 47 – Feelings and Control

The members of the Cullen coven that did not go hunting, sat on the couch and waited. Shortly after Jasper, Alice, and Charlie left Peter and Charlotte returned. They could smell the change, the new scent of a recently awakened vampire. As a human changes into a vampire, his/her smell will slowly start to change, losing some of the human appeal, which is why Bella had no problem sitting with her father as he lie there going through his metamorphosis; and when the transformation has been completed and the heart beats for the very last time, a new scent emerges and bursts forth. People can't smell the new scent, but vampires and other animals can detect the new fragrance. For the ones that have been there since he fell into stasis, they knew he had awoken as a vampire; and new ones in the area just know a new vampire has arrived on the scene.

As soon as they walked in, Peter and Charlotte could tell Bella was worried, and they didn't need Jasper's empath capabilities to decipher her thoughts and feelings. They were written on her expressive face. She may have lost her ability to blush and the measly bit of color she possessed before turning into a vampire, but her face was still as readable as ever. She would bite her lip and then would chew on her finger. Her body would fidget and then she would turn to look out the back windows every minute or so, and sometimes more often. Her forehead was creased with concern, and her eyes darted back and forth. She was listening intently to everything around her and beyond.

Sitting down next to her, Charlotte tried to reassure her, "You know the major is going to be just fine, and if anyone can take care of your daddy, it'll be him."

Bella nodded, but did not say anything.

"She's right. If there was ever a vampire to not piss off, it would be Jasper. He can take care of himself, an army of newborns, and his lieutenants. Trust me," Peter added his two cents.

Furrowing her brow further, Bella asked, "What was he like back then? Have you known him since before?"

Peter shook his head, "No, I didn't. I met him a while after Maria turned him. By the time I came around, he had already won many battles and was making a name for himself with Maria. Personally, I think by the end, Maria was getting a little pissed off that he was becoming more famous than she was. She was supposed to be the leader after all."

"Oh."

"I can tell you that when I first woke up and was thrown in a pit by him, I was scared. He had several scars on his body, although he has more now, and didn't seem to give two shits about the newborns. Of course, we were more concerned about getting blood and fighting each other for it than about him… at first. While you are your strongest for the first year and are governed more by instinct than anything, it isn't like a switch. Year up and all of the sudden you can control yourself. That's not how it works. During your first year, many believe you are stronger because of the blood that still lies within your muscles and stuff...whatever. I don't know and don't really give a shit. I just know you can take down a vampire bigger than you and not even blink while doing it. However, as you go through the year, your strength will start to decrease slowly. It happens over the course of a year. You'll still be strong because you're a vampire, but you aren't going to be newborn strong. Again, it's not like a switch. Same thing with your control. When you first wake up, your control is shit…" He eyed her and then chuckled, "Well, most of us have really bad control. After a couple of weeks, you are able to listen to some direction, but instinct still takes over before your consciousness. Jasper was able to help control all of us with his gift. If we survived the trials and the first battle, then we were taught some fighting techniques; and after the first year, if we managed to survive, it was decided if we would live or die. I was chosen to live."

"Was it hard? How is it you stayed friends?"

He scratched his chin and smiled, "I'm not sure sometimes…about the friends thing. It was probably one of the hardest things I can ever remember going through. Every day that dawned brought the possibility that it would be your last. After I woke up, I could barely remember anything of my life before. Just bits and pieces. I had left my home in Brazil and travelled north because of work. My village was very poor and I had heard there were opportunities elsewhere."

"You're from South America?"

"Yes," he laughed at her dumbfounded expression.

"What? You thought I was from somewhere else? Texas or Mexico?"

"It's just that you don't have much of an accent."

"I can still speak Portuguese and Spanish, and you have to remember that I have been a vampire since the late nineteenth century. I've had a while to lose the accent. The world has changed much since I became a vampire and joined the Mexican army…or coven if you prefer."

"Don't let him fool you, Bella, when he goes south, he sounds just like 'em," Charlotte teased her mate.

Nodding, Peter agreed, "True." He studied his friend's mate for a moment and said, "Jasper tried to remain aloof and keep himself separated from everyone because he knew at any moment he could be ordered to kill anyone. I heard he got close to one kid when he first joined Maria, and only months later was told to kill him. It was always hard for him because he could feel what everyone was feeling. Sometimes they were angry, they were always scared, and sometimes, he felt their forgiveness for what he was about to do to them. It was never easy for him. When I was given a pass, I became his next in command and we became closer. He actually remembered his family and a good portion of his life before he was turned. It surprised me, but everyone remembers different things and some remember more than others. When Charlotte was brought in and survived a year, I had hoped she would be given a pass as well because by then I knew she was my mate, but she wasn't. We ran away and the major helped. He left not long after because he knew that was not the life he wanted. I heard that Maria was reconsidering his usefulness anyway. There had been a growing animosity since like I said, his name was starting to surpass hers. She didn't like sharing the glory."

Charlotte growled, "Bitch!"

"I had no idea," Bella whispered.

"The major's a good man. He is battle tried and had a hard life as a vampire in the beginning. There were times he wondered if there was something better, more, and sometimes when he considered joining his family in heaven, but he was never sure if he would go to heaven or hell for his deeds as a leader in the wars… or as a vampire, period. There was always something in him though that told him something was waiting for him around the corner. He just has to be patient, and it turns out that there was. He met Alice, met the Cullen's, and then met you. He deserves to be happy," Peter spoke reverently of his friend. He had been looking at the ground and then popped his head up to lock eyes with Bella, "He dreamed about you."

Bella scowled in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Back during the war and even after, when he would be at his lowest emotionally or mentally, he would dream about you."

"I thought vampires didn't sleep or dream."

"Normally? No, we don't, but your image would pop into his head when he needed a push. At first, he started to look for you and when he didn't find you, he started to lose heart, but he kept seeing you in his head, so he kept hoping he would find you eventually. I don't know why he dreamed about you, but he did. Ask him about his journal. He drew your picture, and he showed it to me one day. I know it was before Charlotte joined the ranks. It was your spitting image."

"He…" The brunette turned to the other woman to silently ask confirmation.

Nodding, Charlotte said, "I remember seeing the picture. He was staring at it one night when we were traveling together briefly. I asked who it was and he said he wasn't sure, but that you would be important to him."

"But he met me when I was ten and acted like nothing was weird."

"I don't think he recognized you. At ten you might have looked different because he drew you as a grown woman, not as a kid."

"I…I…"

Rosalie asked when Bella couldn't find the words, "How is that even possible?" She was intrigued. While she did not agree with the additions to her coven, she had never heard of a vampire "dreaming" about a person they had never met before.

"Don't know," Charlotte's clipped response spoke volumes about how she felt about the blond woman.

Carlisle said, "There are still a lot of things we don't understand or know about our kind. Anything is possible though. Miracles happen even to humans, so is it such a stretch that something similar could happen to a vampire? I don't think so."

"He tried to stay away from me. He even said so himself," Bella's soft words were still heard clearly by everyone in the room.

Shrugging, Peter said, "This isn't exactly a life you wish on anyone you care about. We all get along fine and we don't mind it…for the most part, but it is still not something we want force our loved ones to suffer through. He probably didn't want you to live this life or he was afraid of what might happen if you found out the truth; although, from what I hear, you reacted better than most would."

Bella was about to say something else, but she clutched her chest. It hurt. She couldn't breathe. Something was wrong.

"Bella!" Everyone rushed to her side. Peter grabbed her and pulled her back as she was trying to curl into a ball.

"Something… something's wrong with JW. He's afraid, angry, and in pain. My dad's emotions are out of control. Alice is scared and anxious."

"How do you know that?" Peter demanded.

Bella looked up, "I can feel what Jasper is feeling right now."

"What? As his mate, you're connected, but…" Charlotte began.

"Char, we don't have time! Emmett come with me and Charlotte. Everyone else, stay here!" Peter ordered and flew out the door followed closely the other two. They needed to find the trio as quickly as possible, and thankfully there was a scent trail that had not been disrupted.

Running as swiftly as possible, they finally found the trio of vampires surrounded by wolves. Alice was pinned to the ground by a giant brown one and Jasper was doing his best to hold onto Charlie, and was even missing a hand. Peter could tell Jasper was using his gift and trying to calm the newborn down, but Charlie was fighting it tooth and nail, snapping at the wolves and doing his damndest to break free. About the only reason he hadn't yet was probably because Jasper was using his gift.

"We're nowhere near the border," Emmett's menacing voice snarled.

"Don't do anything brash. We need to tread lightly because if we hurt them, they will say we broke your precious fucking treaty," Peter warned.

Charlotte wondered aloud, "How did she know? She shouldn't have known."

"We'll worry about that shit later. We need to help them now," Peter snapped, although, even he had to admit he was curious himself. Entering the clearing slowly, he called out, "From what I understand, we aren't near your ever sacred border and I'm pretty sure you are breaking your own treaty. If you are worried about Charlie, we had permission. Just like we had permission with Bella. Now you can either back the fuck off, or we take you down. Trust me. If I can kill a newborn, I can kill a wolf."

"Jacob! Quill! Embry! Stand down!" A voice echoed through the trees causing whatever remaining birds left in the vicinity to fly away startled. The three wolves obeyed and backed off, however, their growls and snaps did not stop.

Charlie seemed to settle down slightly after seeing Alice freed, but he still fought to break free from Jasper's hold.

Tilting his head ever so slight, Jasper said sarcastically, "Nice to see you finally arrive to call off your pups. We were teaching Charlie here how to hunt and they decided to jump us."

"They are a bit touchy since you turned a good friend of our people," Sam glared.

"Yeah? And since when do you lose control of your pack?"

"I called them off, didn't I? Doesn't seem to me like I've lost control. They listened."

Jasper wanted to wipe the smug look on Sam's face off with a hard punch, but he would save it for another time. Right now was not the time to make enemies of the wolves since they might need them in the upcoming fight, but after… all bets were off and he didn't give two shits if they could never return to Forks again. He waited until the wolves had left before he started to bark, "Peter! Get your sorry ass over here and grab Charlie! Charlotte, help Alice and git her over here. Emmett, help Peter while I find my hand. Charlie threw it after rippin' it off."

Once the hand had been found and reattached, and Charlie had managed to calm down after seeing Alice was fine, Jasper asked, "How did you know we were in trouble?"

"Bella told us," Emmett announced.

"What the hell are you talkin' about?"

Peter answered, "She doubled over in pain. She was able to feel what you were feeling emotionally as well as the people around you. We knew exactly what all three of you were feeling."

"How…? You know what, never mind. We'll figure it out later. Charlie's already eaten, we were just finishing up when we were ambushed. Let's get the hell outta here before they decide to come back. I trust them less than I trusted the Yankees during the fuckin' war. Peter I want you to bring up the rear. Remember to keep your distance so Charlie doesn't feel boxed in. He's liable to attack if he does because he's still agitated from those damn wolves. Charlotte and Alice, flank him, but Alice make sure you're closer. I'll take the lead. Let's move," Jasper ordered and started to run towards the house. He wasn't sure what had set the wolves off today, but the animosity he felt coming off of them was something he had a feeling had been building, especially with additional wolves swelling their ranks. Granted he could not be sure their numbers had been increasing, however, the feeling of additional testosterone hung in the air. A flood was about to be unleashed, and if he were a betting man, they were going to use the upcoming battle as a smokescreen for something. That's what he would do as a strategist, which meant, there were additional worries and they needed to be prepared.

His thoughts drifted to those of his mate. He knew she had a gift, but had not been sure what it could be or the extent of it. Was this it? She was linked to him in a sort of telepathic way? He needed to run some tests and to make a phone call. After that, he may know more about what he is dealing with. Right now though, he just wanted to hold her in his arms and thank the good lord he had her because she had saved their hides. There was no doubt in his mind that the wolves would have ripped them to pieces and then claimed they broke the treaty and deserved it. Bella had rescued them.

Charlie followed Jasper's lead, and fought the urge to rip the younger man to pieces. Younger? Well, technically Jasper was older, but that didn't matter to the newborn at the moment. Never before had he experienced such anger. He had been out of control and just wanted to kill the wolf that had pushed Alice to the ground. The feelings confused him and at the same time he completely understood them. He would make sure they paid for their actions later; for now, he needed to get her back to the house. What was odd to him, was he didn't feel out of control now. When he heard the pulse thrumming through the veins of the elk, he craved blood more than anything. When he had been sated, the blood haze left him, at least until the wolves attacked; and now he felt in control of his actions once again. They had said Bella was an anomaly, was he one as well?

Jasper glanced over his shoulder at his somewhat father-in-law. What was it about the Swan family? Bella had the control of a saint (for a vampire), and so did her father. Was this part of a gift they both possessed? Answers. He needed to find answers, even if it was only for his own peace of mind and curiosity. Plus, the more he knew now, the less surprises waited him in battle. And that was looming on the horizon. Soon, James and Edward would be returning, and he wasn't sure his people were actually ready for the fight.