Seattle Nights

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series, all I own is the plot and a few original characters.

Chapter Four (written by PuzzlingApprentice – original author.)

(Jasper's Point of View)

I looked down at Bella's sleeping form; somehow she had managed to find a pillow in the form of my shoulder and for some reason I had allowed it. Turning my attention back to the book in my hands, I realized that my eyes refused to digest the words on the page when there was this beautiful human girl right next to me.

Shifting slightly, I maneuvered her so that her head was instead on my chest and my arm was free to lie along her side. Her heat enveloped me in a warm embrace and I was shocked by how simply good it felt. Never had I experienced a feeling even close. Isabella had changed, that much was obvious. In the past five years she had developed exponentially and it suited her. Not only had she gained an inch or two of height, her body had taken on a sensual hourglass shape that frankly left me surprised that she was still left to live alone in her apartment.

Not to mention her actions. Very few humans would be brave enough to try and save another member of their race from death, or slap a thirsty vampire across the face. I don't think that most humans would be insane enough either, let alone become a little aroused by it. I could still feel a slight tingling on my cheek from where her palm had made contact and the perfume of her excitement on my nose. Despite the lust, I knew that if it had been anyone else to disrespect me so, they would have been dead on the spot.

That thought left me reeling for two reasons. The first one: I did not like the idea of anyone or anything harming Isabella— not even myself. That led to the second reason: why did this insignificant girl's life suddenly matter to me at all? I had hardly known her when she had been with Edward and now I couldn't seem to pull myself away. It had been torture walking back to her apartment next to her and being able to offer little more than a protective arm around her waist. The sounds that she was clueless to, however, had been rattling around my head. The distant sound of vampire limbs being torn from their torsos and the anguished cries of the newborns had not only proven to me how close the danger was to this vulnerable girl, but also how close Peter and Charlotte were. I could only hope that they had taken out a good few after we had gotten them separated.

Even now, though, I was allowing her to be in such close contact with me— something that I allowed of very few. I tried to convince myself that the reason I had moved her from my shoulder to my chest was to prevent a stiff neck that would surely come from the awkward position, but I recognized my lies for what they were. Instead, I wrote it off to my selfishness. I was simply unwilling to give up not only her alluring warmth, but her tempting scent.

Only, her scent was not tempting in the same way as the blood of other humans.

I felt a small vibration against my leg and fished my cell from the pocket of my jeans.

"Havin' fun, Fucker?" Peter laughed from the other end of the line.

I felt a growl escape from my chest at the knowing quality of his voice. "Is she why we're here? Not because of the newborns that are fuckin' with Seattle?" I kept my voice quiet enough so as not to wake Isabella, and again I wondered why the hell I cared.

At the sound of my growl, he shut up— smart of him. I was on edge enough; Pete provoking me would only give me an excuse to use a fight as a bit of stress relief.

"I didn't know until now, honest." He pouted, and I rolled my eyes. "But either way, I think there's more to it."

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean that we need to find out the who and why of this newborn army that's bein' thrown together— the leader is obviously very inexperienced. Damn, I bet this is what it woulda' looked like for the Bitch if she hadn't had you around." My growl was harsher this time as the memories started to come to the forefront of my mind. Bella shifted slightly and seemed to curl closer despite the sound that had been resonating from my chest. She was offering me comfort even in her sleep, and surprisingly, I was not turning it away.

"How many did you kill and how many were there in total?" I demanded after a short silence, needing to get some of the information straight in my head so that I could start forming a strategy of some kind.

"We got five, there were eight left before they got away." He finally came to his senses and was talking in a voice that meant business.

"By the escalatin' violence, we can only assume that they will be replaced quickly. Now that they know that someone's plannin' on endin' their little tirade, even more will most likely be changed in preparation for battle." My accent was getting heavier as the beast struggled to get out, wanting to take care of this little problem on its own. I ran a hand through my hair, pausing to get a hold of it. "We need more information, to know who we're up against." I finally agreed with him.

"D'ya want Char and I to go out an' try to get one for questionin' later?" He asked, though he seemed reluctant.

"Not tonight, you and Char go hunt and try to relax a little. I don't what you guys goin' back out for them without me there." There was so much authority in my tone that it left absolutely no room for argument, unless he wanted to lose an arm or two later for putting me in a bad mood.

"Yes sir," He said simply, "and have fun with the human, tell Sweat Pea I said 'howdy.'" I could practically hear the smug smile over the phone but the line cut off before I had time to respond.

I tossed the phone silently up and down in my right hand while my left arm was still securely around her. I was mulling over the information I had gained from Peter when I noticed the soft snores leaving her slightly parted lips and the pure serenity she radiated.

I had been beyond confused by her reaction to me.

From the first moment I had seen her in that alley just a few short hours ago, I had done little that would make a rational human trust me. I had practically pounced on her right then and there, and she had let me. I had no reason that she knew of to be holding her as I walked her home, yet she allowed me to do so. Hell, she had not even really seemed to care when I had stated that I would be spending the night here— and I would have even if she had objected. For some reason, it mattered to me if a newborn came in here and killed her.

Beyond that, humans are supposed to naturally shy away from vampires as a rule. I had always known that the girl had something wrong with her in that department, but I had simply thought that she had been overruling her baser instincts due to her fascination with our race. In sleep, however, there is nothing to keep the baser instincts from showing through— that is why I found it so strange that she could be curled up next to me in such a deep sleep that I wasn't sure what it would take to pull her back in to consciousness.

The longer I sat there enveloped in her delicious heat, the less I ever wanted to leave it.

However, the longer I sat there, the more time I had to come up with questions. What had Bella been doing since the Cullens left Forks? Had she gone to college? What was her job now? Then there were questions to aim at Pete. What was going on with the her? Why was she so desensitized to the supernatural? Why did I feel the constant need to be around her, despite the fact that we had only been in contact with each other for going on six hours? Did he know anything else that he should tell me?

A few other thoughts occurred to me, such as the fact that I needed Isabella out of Seattle as soon as possible. Otherwise I most likely wouldn't leave her side, and seeing as how it was supposed to be sunny on Monday, I think it would cause a bit of a scene on her way to work. I didn't care if I had to drag her kicking and screaming, not when it came to her safety. If need be, I would assign Char as her guard dog until Pete and I had the whole situation under control.

My instincts told me it was more than a mere coincidence that a newborn army was being built in the same city that Bella currently resided. And I didn't like it.

She shifted in her sleep, bringing me out of my musings. I knew that I could easily drive myself insane if I didn't quite the strategy thinking soon.

Instead, I allowed her emotions to overcome me. Her deep seeded serenity mixed with little bits of contentment clued me in that if nothing else, she was having a pleasant dream. As the emotions slowly sunk in to my awareness, my muscles began to relax just as hers were. My eyelids began to droop and I allowed myself to bask in her feelings though I kept my senses trained on my surroundings, unable to force myself to trust them with her life.

Slowly, I began retreating in to a near catatonic state— as close to sleep as any vampire could ever get. It was nice, peaceful.

Time began to pass more quickly without my notice. It must have been similar to how humans could go to sleep and wake up hours later with absolutely no clue as to what happened while they were out. The vulnerability was a bit unsettling and so, finally, I forced her emotions to the back of my mind where I usually perceived them. If nothing else, that had been the most serene three hours of my life.

I forced my eyes to open and focus easily on that small clock; it read 8:55. I could only hope that the seven hours of sleep she had managed to salvage would help her with catching up on the sleep that she obviously hadn't had a great amount of over the past couple of days. Looking down at her once again, I couldn't help but to compare her appearance to that of an angel. Her pale skin made her red lips stand out remarkably and her long brown hair was cascaded down her rather petite frame.

Suddenly, I heard a soft knocking on the door of the entrance to her apartment. Frowning, I slowly raised myself from the couch and slid a pillow under Isabella's head to replace my body. I wasn't quite ready to wake her up from such a peaceful state when in the one she would be returning to she would once again be faced with the dangers of being associated with vampires; even if she hadn't been in years.

Before pulling open the door, I caught the soft fragrance of a small human female. Her scent reminded me of the fact that I hadn't hunted the night before and I prepared myself before opening the door and facing the full force of her aroma. I needed to hunt; hopefully I could do so today while the sun was out, though I would still assign a guard dog.

When I did, she stared up at me with wide eyes and a blush slowly forming on her cheeks.

"I-is Bella here?" She stuttered slightly, the blush becoming more pronounced and beginning to make her resemble a tomato. I felt a small wave of lust from the girl and fought to keep from rolling my eyes.

"She's still asleep," I supplied stiffly.

Her jaw dropped slightly before we both froze at a sound coming from the living room.

"Jasper?" Bella's voice called, rough with sleep. I turned slightly so that I could see her when she rounded the corner in to the small hallway that connected the two areas. "What are you doing out he—" She cut herself off when she caught sight of who was standing on the other side of the door.

A soft rose colored blush dyed her cheeks; it was the most attractive sight I had ever laid my eyes upon.

.

.

.

A/N: So what did you think? Again, I only changed spelling, a few words but nothing really changed, in the story.