Chapter 10: Miracles Do Happen

-x-x-x-

"Nobody knows you,

The way that I know you,

Look in my eyes,

I will never desert you."

You Me At Six – Take On The World

-x-x-x-

The ground was fully covered in snow once again.

For the first time in days, for reasons she couldn't quite place, Lexi finally felt peaceful. Nothing had specifically happened to make her feel such a way, she just had a feeling that everything was going to be alright.

As she entered the kitchen that morning, she found her mother humming over a stack of pancakes that she was making. Her mum looked at ease, some might even say happy. Casting a quick glance towards her father, Lex saw him staring at her mother with amazement and wonder.

"Morning, love." Her mum cheerfully called over to her, placing a plate down on the kitchen table for breakfast. "Eat up, won't you? Busy day today."

Scrunching her eyebrows in confusion, the younger redhead sat down at the table. "Busy day? How so?"

"Just trust me, Lex. It'll be a busy day." She smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

As Lexi shared a look with her father, they both shrugged, deciding to go with whatever her mother was saying. It had been such a sombre feeling over the past few days, it was just refreshing to have some life back in her.

"Can you just do me a favour and make sure that Pepper doesn't get out again today? It should never have happened as much as it did back in Phoenix, we can't let it keep happening now that we've moved." Lex shoved a pancake in her mouth after she spoke, noting the time on the clock, she only had a short while before she had to meet Bella.

A soft yip came from the floor, Pepper apparently deciding to join in on the conversation. Watching as the small dog switched its gaze between her and the pancake on her fork, she 'accidentally' dropped it onto the floor.

"I'll do that when you stop feeding her whatever she wants." Her mother scolded, shaking her head with exasperation.

Smirking, Lexi snickered at Pepper who was currently wagging her tail happily at her.

"I shouldn't be working long today." Her dad chimed in, turning his attention to his wife. "I should be back home before lunch, we should go do something together."

The slightest pang of guilt washed over Lexi as she listened to her parents make plans to go to La Push Beach. She couldn't help but feel as though things shouldn't have been so normal… Adam was still in a coma, yet her mum seemed to have suddenly forgotten all about that; they all had. The young girl herself shouldn't feel so perfectly content. Today wasn't a good day, there wouldn't be any good days until Adam was back at the kitchen table laughing with them all.

So why couldn't she bring herself to truly feel sad?

-x-x-x-

"How can there be even more ice than there was yesterday?" Bella complained as the two girls slowly made their way towards the school in the brunette's old truck. "Honestly, can we just go back to Phoenix now?"

Sighing, Lexi shook her head with a smile. "It's not a terrible thing, Bells. I think you would enjoy a snowball fight. Think about how many people would avoid you if you had snowballs ready to throw in their faces? It's the antisocial dream."

"I'm not antisocial, I just like it to be quiet sometimes…"

Raising an eyebrow in disbelief towards her best friend, she knew that she was only being slightly honest. Bella had always found it difficult to communicate with almost anyone, so instead often chose to avoid basically everyone. The people of Forks were making it extremely difficult for her, and Lexi saw every day how panic flashed through the girl's eyes as she was expected to join in on girl or sports talk.

"You would think we'd get the day off school with the weather." Bella mumbled, pulling into an empty parking space.

Alexis let out a slight laugh, "If they closed the school for bad weather in Forks then no one would ever manage to graduate. Just breathe in the fresh air and try to relax for a change. It'll be good for you."

Swiftly slipping on the icey floor next to the truck, Lex quickly reached out to regain her balance.

"Breathe in the fresh air, Lex." Bella mocked from the other side of the vehicle. "It's good for you."

"Don't make me come after you. We both know that even if I'm clumsy on ice patches, you'll still be ten times worse."

Glaring at her friend, she made to move around the truck. However, before she could take three steps, she slipped on another patch of ice and felt herself hold her breath as she readied to hit the floor. However, before she could make contact with the ground, two arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her back against a firm chest.

"You should be more careful, miss Hanson." A familiar voice said, the tone in his voice expressing the smirk on his face before she managed to see it.

Glancing up over her shoulder, Lexi saw the golden eyes that had recently become a permanent part of her everyday life. "Remember when you used to just stare awkwardly at me all day?" she deadpanned, shifting to face him properly so that she wasn't pressed against him. "It was a simpler time."

The corners of his smile tugged ever so slightly higher before he gave a quick nod of acknowledgement Bella's way, pulling the redhead over to the side for a more private conversation.

"I just wanted to see how you were feeling." He admitted, tone soft as his hand lingered on her arm. "You obviously had a hard day and honestly Edward seemed to notice that you were slightly off before we parted ways yesterday."

Eyes squinting in confusion, Lexi glanced over towards the Cullen's cars; Edward stood looking intently over at the pair of them. "I'm fine, Jasper… What reason would I have to be off with any of you?"

The honey haired boy stared at her almost quizzically, as though he was searching her eyes for a lie.

"Are you okay?" She asked, lightly grasping his arm.

The overwhelming feeling of calm she was becoming so accustomed to washed over her for the shortest second, before ebbing into nothing. Warmth spread from her chest as she noticed Jasper's gentle smile return.

"How could anything possibly be wrong?" He almost whispered, eyes filled with an emotion that Lexi still couldn't place.

Alexis felt herself relax completely, but she was unable to respond before the sound of screeching tyres caught her attention. Her eyes locked onto Tyler's van immediately as it skidded across the lot; heading straight for her best friend.

"Bella!" She cried, noticing how her friend's feet were frozen in place. Before she could form a coherent thought, the redhead started moving, running towards her.

She didn't get far before she was being roughly dragged back and shoved into the side of a car. The loud thud that echoed across the parking lot was drowned out by the noise of blood pumping in her ears. On either side of her were deep handprints embedded into the car she was pressed against, Jasper's own hands fitting perfectly into them.

"How..?" Lex could hardly keep her thoughts in order, mind searching for any reasonable conclusion. "How did you-"

The same icy hands she was trying to focus on cupped her face, coercing her to make eye contact with Jasper.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He asked, his voice sounding as though it was being forced out of his throat.

Trying her best to catch a glimpse of the dents she knew were in the car, his grip refused to let up and made sure she kept her attention on him, his face only inches from hers.

"Are you alright?" Jasper asked once more, this time much softer and filled with genuine fear.

Alexis' voice came out in a mere whisper. "I'm fine…"

With those words, his hands freed her face and enveloped her into his strong arms. For a few seconds her mind went blank, eyes closing as she reciprocated the hug; relishing in the sudden feeling of relief that was coursing through her body.

But then her mind snapped back in full force, her eyes widening as she dragged herself away from the boy in front of her.

"Bella!"

Her best friend's eyes seemed unable to focus as she reached her, Lex trying to get her to say anything coherent, but all she could manage was "Edward…"

Tilting her head, Lexi's thoughts halted and tried to come to some form of conclusion about the pale boy who seemed to torment the brunette in front of her. What did he have to do with this? She watched as Bella continued to search the immediate area for the broody boy as the sirens of the ambulance broke through the surrounding chatter…

-x-x-x-

"And you're absolutely certain that you're alright?" Lex's father asked for the tenth time since she'd arrived at the hospital with Bella, his hands still shaking as he checked over his daughter.

Lex sighed, slightly aggravated by the constant fussing she was receiving. "I'm sure, dad. For the last time it was Bella that was actually involved in the accident, not me."

"Only because Dr Cullen's son was there to stop you from doing something reckless." He argued back, tone changing from concern to stern.

As she leant against the wall in the waiting room, Lexi started to regret telling her father about the fact Jasper had dragged her away from the crash as she'd tried to reach for her best friend, that he was probably the only reason she herself wasn't injured by the drifting truck in any way.

"I'll be inviting him round for dinner, it's the least I can do." His hand flew to his mouth as he continued to talk to himself, thinking everything over. "That Jasper boy has done nothing but good things for you since we got here, we need to do something to show our appreciation."

"If I agree to ask him to come round to the house will you please go check on Bella for me and leave me alone? I'm genuinely fine."

The look in her father's eyes made it obvious that leaving her side was the last thing that he wanted to do right now, but after a few seconds he sighed and nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, I'll go check on her. I'll let you know if she's okay, but you stay here until I'm back."

With that, Oliver Hanson walked swiftly off towards where Bella had been taken, his white coat flapping behind him.

Lex flopped down into one of the waiting room chairs with a sigh, wondering when her mother would arrive to fawn over her too. Before she could think too much about it, she noticed Jasper walk into the room, his eyes scanning the area before focusing on her.

"How's Bella?" He asked, making a beeline for the redhead and taking the seat next to hers.

"I don't know…" Her eyes glanced towards the double doors. "My dad just went to check on her, he's freaking out about the whole thing."

"Maybe because his daughter tried to run into a skidding van." Jasper commented, dryly, jaw locked in what seemed to be annoyance.

She couldn't help but feel defensive at the remark, noticing that he was looking everywhere but at her. "My best friend was in danger, Jasper."

"And had you reached her, all that would have happened is that you both would have been killed." Anger seeped into his tone, eyes focused on the windows as if there was something far more interesting outside.

"Edward did the exact same thing, have you reprimanded him too?" She quipped, eyes narrowing at the boy beside her. "In fact, he managed to do it from the other side of the parking lot. Don't you think that's strange?"

His eyes finally snapped towards hers as he processed her words. "He was probably already on his way to talk to her, you just didn't notice. Or do you note down everyone's positions at all times?"

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

As flashes of the accident swept through her mind, she shifted in her chair to face him directly, leaning in to whisper so that nobody else could overhear. "I saw the dents that your hands left in the car… How did you even manage to do that?"

"Heat of the moment, I guess. People are capable of remarkable things when there's danger around, there are news stories about it every day."

They locked eyes long enough for Lexi to let everything sink in. She understood that she'd tried to make a stupid decision and that even if she'd managed to reach Bella that there would have been absolutely nothing that she could have done. She no doubt would have been crushed.

"I'm sorry." She eventually sighed, shaking her head as she looked to the floor. "You quite possibly saved my life, I should be thanking you instead of questioning you."

His anger dwindled to confusion, eyes searching her face as she looked at him again.

"Thank you, Jasper."

Jasper seemed to freeze, as though he'd expected the conversation to go an entirely different direction. Leaning in, there was an intensity to his gaze as he whispered "I would never let anything happen to you, Alexis."

The redhead couldn't find any words to say out loud. Hearing him speak in such a way caught her off guard, hearing him sound so sincere in that moment. She couldn't understand how he managed to feel so strongly, so passionately about keeping her safe when they'd only know each other for such an insignificant amount of time; it was insane.

"Ahh, Mr Cullen." Her father's voice broke the silence, footsteps heavy on the floor as he marched over. "How nice of you to come and check in on Lex."

Jasper quickly rose from his seat to shake the man's outstretched hand.

"Cold hands…" The doctor in him immediately grew concerned, his other hand coming up to double check his observations. "Are you feeling alright? You didn't sustain any injuries protecting my daughter, did you?"

"No, sir." The blonde brushed off, taking his hand back. "Just incredibly bad circulation for many years."

Her father smirked, myrth twinkling in his eyes as he nudged Lex with his elbow. "Sir, what a polite young man."

"Dad." Lexi's eyes widened as she realised what was happening. She had always known her father wasn't quite like anyone elses but she'd never expected him to grin so wide at the idea of matchmaking her with some boy they hardly knew.

"Did Lex invite you over to our house for dinner yet?"

"I didn't really have the chance to…" She mumbled, not overly thrilled about what her father might do if he stayed close to her classmate for much longer.

"Oh, well, I'll do it then." He grinned even wider, a hand coming up to rest on Jasper's shoulder. "As a thank you, Lex's mother and I would love to invite you over for dinner. It's the least we can do for someone who is so insistent in keeping our daughter out of trouble."

Jasper gave a quick glance over to her before responding. "I would love to, sir. However, my mother, Esme, insists that we all have dinner together as a family every night; no exceptions."

"Strong family bond. We'd insist the same if we believed that we could separate Lex and Bella for more than a few hours of sleep." Her father snorted, noticing his daughter rolling her eyes. "How about a movie night? We like to do one every now and then, you can come round after dinner on the weekend. How does Saturday sound for you?"

Lexi noticed the panic in Jasper's gaze as his eyes flicked between the two people in front of him. Sighing, she felt like she should help both of the boys out. "You should come, he won't stop making different offers until you accept one.

Jasper appeared to relax immediately, nodding his head towards her father. "I would love to, sir."

"Come now, don't worry about calling me sir from now on, son." The older man beamed, hands shifting into his pockets. "It's Oliver."

Looking between the pair, Alexis hoped that this meant the conversation was over and they could get back to the more important matter. "So, how's Bella?"

"She's doing just fine. She just needs to stay for a few routine checks and then she'll be headed home with Charlie. So, I think it's best we head home to your mother. I think she's fooling herself to stop her from panicking, Lex."

Nodding in agreement, she told him that she'd meet him at Adam's room for a quick check in after he'd changed and sorted things out in his office.

"I'll walk with you, I need to go home myself." Jasper offered as they turned a corner.

"Are you okay?" She asked, noticing how close he kept to her the entire walk across the hospital, his face and eyes showing a whole range of discomfort. "You seem really on edge."

His eyes widened as he locked eyes with her, before letting out an awkward chuckle. "I'm okay, I just don't do so well in hospitals."

"I don't think anyone really enjoys being in hospitals, to be fair."

Her thoughts halted as she noticed Edward walking down the hall towards the waiting area. He'd been caught up by other students concerned that he also might have been hit by the van, all of them apparently seeing that he'd saved Bella from almost certain death. Although no one seemed to know how he'd done it, they only noticed him trying to leave the scene as soon as it happened, emerging from in between the two vehicles.

His arm brushed against hers as he passed them, the image of his hand pushing the skidding van away from Bella crashing into her mind.

The two of the locked eyes before Edward's gaze shifted to Jasper. The pair seemed to have a silent conversation before the younger boy continued on his original path.

"Are you alright?" Jasper's smooth voice curled around her thoughts till she felt she could breathe properly again.

"Honestly, since moving to Forks I'm pretty sure I've been going slightly insane…" Her voice trailed off into a whisper, realising she couldn't divulge everything she wanted to.

She couldn't tell him about the weird dreams that she'd had for years about his eyes, the weird feeling of calm that comes with his presence, or the strange pictures she gets in her head about his entire family. She didn't know which reaction would be worse if she did…

If he thought she was crazy, he would no doubt tell his father and her father would end up having her committed, Jasper refusing to be anywhere near her; something she wasn't prepared to deal with yet.

The only other option would be that he completely understood, that he would be able to shed some light on what she sees and would think she's entirely sane. But that would mean that everything she'd seen had been real and that was even more terrifying.

"You're not insane." He assured, softly, a hand sliding down her arm in comfort. "I can promise you that."

"What does that mean?"

Before Jasper could answer, the sound of Lex's father yelling for her came from Adam's room close by. The two students quickly left their conversation behind as they rushed to see what had happened.

Lexi's heart was in her throat as she imagined the worst, scared of what she was about to see. When she burst into the room she froze, time screeching to a halt. "Adam?"

Sitting up in the bed with a sheepish smile gracing his lips, Adam waved silently as their father checked him over in disbelief.

She could feel her eyes fill with tears, the overwhelming feeling of relief crashing into her. But the redhead couldn't bring herself to move, she could barely breathe. Lex was frozen, unable to order her thoughts at all, worried that if she so much as took one step then her brother would disappear in a wisp of smoke just like he had in her dream.

"Hey, Lex." Adam said as their father finally released him.

And that was all it took for her to go running towards the bed and into his arms, tears cascading down her cheeks as she held onto him for dear life. She could feel him grip her back, though it was much softer than usual due to his current state.

He was awake.

Her brother was awake and holding her close, he was okay.

"It's alright, Lex. I'm okay."

Lex could feel herself sobbing into his shoulder before pulling away. "I can't believe you're awake. I was so worried."

She hadn't even noticed that her father had left the room until he walked back in with his phone in his hand. "Your mother is on the way, she can't wait to see you."

As he started fussing over Adam again, Lex turned to see Jasper still stood in the doorway with a smile on his face as he watched the family reunion.

Getting up from the bed, she walked over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, feeling him stiffened with surprise before returning the gesture gently. "Thank you."

"What for?" He asked, eyebrows creasing as she let him go.

"For keeping me even slightly sane during all this." She gave a quick squeeze to his arm. "I really needed it."

Turning back to look at Adam, she still couldn't bring herself to believe it.

Miracles do happen.

-x-x-x-

A/N: He is safe, he is alive, he is awake. All is well with the world.

I once again apologise for how long it has been since the last update. I am a clown.

Thanks for reading!

~fawningfantasy x