A/N: Trigger Warning: There's a brief mention of sexual assault in this chapter, but no details.

This is short, more of an interlude, so I'll post Chapter Twenty-Five tomorrow morning, which picks right back up with Bella, Jasper, and Jacob in the Swan's living room.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Bella had spent much of the previous night awake, both pain and an unquiet mind keeping her up.

After Jasper helped her inside, she'd gone to say a quick goodnight to her dad and then slowly made her way upstairs. She had big plans to soak in a hot bath for at least an hour but each step she took, her body ached more. She wasn't entirely sure she could get herself in and out of the tub.

Not wanting to risk it, she'd changed into the most comfortable pajamas she could find and climbed into bed.

Her mind was wide awake, though, and she kept going over the events of the day, along with revisiting all the thinking she'd done about how differently she and Edward defined love. One moment, in particular, from the family meeting kept getting stuck in her head. It wasn't one of the big dramatic ones - and there seemed to be plenty of those - but one of the quieter ones.

"Thank you for always protecting Bella, sweetheart, but she's alive and safe. Look."

Bella's thoughts kept getting snagged on Esme's words to Jasper. It was as if they were trying to bring to mind a half-forgotten memory that was just out of reach.

Frustrated, both at her thoughts and her thwarted desire to take a bath, she'd reached for her phone and made a call to a number she'd never actually used before.

Twenty minutes later, Rosalie Hale silently came in through her bedroom window.

It was far less awkward than Bella had thought it would be to have Rosalie help her get into a hot bubble bath, and any awkwardness would have been worth it anyway, because the second she slipped into the water, her whole body seemed to sigh in relief.

"I'll wait in your room, just whisper when you're ready," Rosalie said quietly.

"Um, actually, would you mind staying? I wanted to ask you something."

Rosalie was surprised but nodded. "Of course," she said as she sat on the floor with her back against the vanity.

Bella tried to come up with a way to word her question so she wouldn't look like a complete idiot if she was wrong, but eventually just decided blunt was best. It was why she'd called Rosalie. The woman was nothing if not brutally honest.

"Do you think Jasper's my mate?"

Rosalie's eyebrows shot up but the smile on her face was a mile wide. "Do you think he's your mate?"

"That's not an answer," Bella laughed.

"I know," Rose smiled. "I'm just curious what makes you think so."

"It's not really just one thing. It's a lot of little things," Bella answered slowly, trying to order her thoughts. "Setting aside anything specific between me and Jasper for the moment, I keep thinking about something Esme said when you guys had Edward pinned against the wall."

Rosalie nodded. "When she was reassuring him that you were safe."

"Yes. I mean, obviously he and I were always close, that's never been a secret. And I've always felt safe with him, always felt safe to be myself with him, even when I wasn't entirely sure who I was…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "I know that doesn't really make any sense."

"No, it does actually," Rosalie said, continuing after a slight hesitation. "Did Edward ever tell you how I was changed?"

Bella shook her head. "No, he never wanted to tell me personal things like that about the rest of the family. He said those were your stories to tell."

"It's not a happy story, but I'll tell you if you like. It'll explain why I understand how you feel," Rose offered.

"Only if you want to. I would never want you to feel you have to confide something that you're not comfortable talking about," Bella answered honestly.

Rosalie gave her a small smile. "You're family now, Bella. The rest of the family knows, so…" she shrugged.

Rosalie went on to tell Bella about the world she'd lived in as a human in Rochester, New York - one of money and status and privilege. She told her about Royce King, the most eligible bachelor in the city, and about their courtship and engagement. About feeling a pang of uncertainty about his love for her and hers for him after spending time with her friend Vera, Vera's husband, and their new baby boy. About walking home in the dark and running into Royce and his friends, all of whom were drunk.

She told her how she was brutally attacked, assaulted by all of them and then left for dead, their laughter ringing in her ears as they walked away. She told her what is was like to wake up in this strange new life, anger and betrayal a living thing inside her. About hunting each man down, killing them all without spilling a drop of their blood, afraid she would lose control and drink from them but refusing to have any part of them inside her again.

"After I'd gotten my revenge I was at a loss about how to move forward, to move beyond my past. I felt tainted, like there was something wrong with me that made me unworthy of finding real, true love. And I didn't know who I was if I wasn't Rosalie Hale, beautiful socialite of Rochester. It wasn't until I found Emmett that I was able to start putting my broken pieces back together," Rose said with a soft smile. "I told him about what happened to me and he was never anything but loving and patient. After being… assaulted the way I was, I was scared. Scared of love, scared of being vulnerable, scared of physical intimacy. I was still trying to find my feet in this new world I'd been thrust into. But Emmett just held my hand and let me be whoever I needed to be. Helped me become a more whole version of myself."

Bella reached over to take her hand. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. That kind of betrayal… I don't know how I would have recovered from something like that," she said softly. "And you were never broken, Rosalie, just a little lost. I'm so glad you found Emmett. That you realized you were just as deserving of love as anyone else."

"Thank you," Rose whispered, giving Bella's hand a gentle squeeze. "So do you see why I understand what you meant? Emmett let me be me before I knew who I really was. He helped me discover who I was."

"Yeah," Bella smiled. "That's what Jasper has always done for me. He never tried to restrict me or control me… he just let me discover who I was. Do you remember the story of the first time I went cliff diving?"

"I do," Rosalie nodded. "He and Alice came along."

"Right. Jasper knew I was nervous and I have no doubt he was nervous himself about me jumping. But he never tried to talk me out of it, he just took my hand and offered to jump with me."

Rosalie smiled. "My brother is a good man."

"He is. I've always known that, from the first time I met him."

"Where does what Esme said about protecting you come in?" Rosalie asked curiously.

"I know about mates mostly from watching you and Emmett, and Carlisle and Esme. One thing that was always obvious was that instinctive need to protect. To keep your other half safe," Bella explained. "As I thought about her words, about how she assured him I was safe and alive… I don't know, it made me think back to all the times he protected me. I realized that most of the time, he was keeping me safe from the boy who claimed he was my mate. And... when he was driving me home tonight, the thought kept running through my head that I was right where I wanted to be. Sitting beside him, holding his hand."

"Which is exactly how I feel about Emmett," Rose nodded with a soft smile.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, before Bella continued.

"You know, Angela and I were talking about soulmates one day. It was pretty soon after Jake imprinted and I'd been doing a lot of thinking about Edward and what love meant to me. She knew I was questioning parts of our relationship, and she told me that once my heart was open I would see that my 'forever love' was closer than I thought. So I guess… I guess putting all those pieces together in a coherent whole - my definition of love, Esme's words, Angela's words - it was Jasper's face I kept seeing in my mind."

"It's a handsome face, huh?" Rose laughed.

"It is," Bella smiled.

Rosalie stood up. "That water must be getting cold by now, let's get you out and tucked up in a warm bed. We can talk more in your room."

Bella nodded and let Rose help her. It took a bit of time but they slowly got her dressed in clean pajamas and settled in her bed. Bella patted the space beside her and Rosalie took her shoes off with a smile and climbed up, resting her back against the headboard.

"So if Jasper is my soulmate, why would he not tell me? Or Alice? I'm sure she would have known the truth," Bella asked quietly.

Rose thought on it a minute. "I can't say for sure. Jasper knows I suspect you're his mate but we haven't talked about it. Knowing Jasper the way I do, he probably won't talk to any of us about it until he's had a chance to talk to you. What I know about my brother, though, is that he would never do anything to intentionally hurt someone he loves. He and Alice have always been closest to you, they're the two who fought hardest to get Edward to let you spend time with the rest of the family. It was like that from the moment they came back from Texas. Neither of them were ever willing to compromise on their right to build a friendship with you," she explained. "If you are his mate, there's bound to be a good reason why neither of them said anything. They would never jeopardize their relationship with you by unnecessarily holding back information from you. They both respect you too much."

"That's sort of what I thought," Bella nodded. Before she could say anything else, a huge yawn escaped her. "Sorry."

Rosalie looked at the clock and laughed. "It's after three in the morning, yawning is understandable."

"That late?" Bella asked through another yawn.

"It was nearly one when you called me."

Bella's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? I didn't realize how long I'd been lost in my thoughts. Knowing I wouldn't be waking you up, I didn't even look at the time before I called you. I'm sorry."

"No worries. I'm glad I could give you a hand," Rose waved her off. "And I'm glad we got a chance to talk. You're part of the family now, which makes us sisters."

"Sisters?" Bella smiled. "I always wished I had a big sister."

"Well now you've got one," Rosalie laughed. "You may regret it, but you're stuck with me."

Bella pushed herself up. "Can I give you a hug?" she asked, not wanting to make Rose uncomfortable.

Rosalie leaned over and wrapped the human in her arms and then ruffled her hair when she pulled back. "That's what big sisters are for."

Bella smiled and laid back down. "Thank you for coming over, Rosalie. You know, you and Jasper really are similar in so many ways. I asked if you could help me with something and you didn't hesitate, didn't ask any questions, you just said yes and came over."

"That's what families do. You call, we come," Rose said quietly as Bella's eyes closed.

"I feel exactly the same way about all of you," she murmured quietly, right at the edge of sleep.

"Go to sleep, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow," Rosalie whispered.

Bella felt a quick, cold kiss on her forehead and drifted off with a small smile on her face.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing:)

Take care, M. x