A/N: Thank you for hanging with me, friends. I'm very very excited for the next few chapters. We begin our deviation from the original story.

Rooney cornered her on more than one occasion. He wasn't stupid. He could follow data to its natural conclusion.

"I wish for you be honest with us, Hensley." He had told her. "I know you had given notice you were not going to renew your contract with us, I can respect that. But applying for early release – and so suddenly…. You have the ability to leave base when you're not scheduled to work. I don't understand why you don't visit your…mate…during your off hours, if that is the issue."

Maybe he was stupid. Maybe he couldn't follow data to its natural conclusion.

Hensley wanted to question him. She wanted to ask him if he would transfer her again if she did so – he'd done it in Port Angeles. Why not in Georgia too? She wanted to ask if Davidson would cite more security concerns and just force Jasper to move all across the country with her for four more months until her actual release date.

She wanted to ask if he was truly stupid.

Instead, she stared at him and blinked once. "Do you need me for anything else, Sir?"

Rooney sighed, slowly closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he stepped out of her way. "No. Thank you for your time, Hensley."

Before she got out of earshot, she turned around and tried to give him a little hint, "Vampires can't be in sunny places. They glow." It only came out a little like she was calling him a dumbass.

Hanson was the only one home when she made it back to the apartment. Hensley didn't have any real opinions about that, just an observation.

As she made her way through the living room, she fought against the weight in her arms and stuck her hand up to return Hanson's silent greeting. She flopped down on her bed and sighed, finally giving her eyes their long-awaited request.

Only twenty-two more days.

~.~

She spent five of those days in Solitary.

Unknown to her, so did Red.

And so did Kaufmann.

The latter complained openly about it to Red. "She applies for early release and my ass gets punished like I fuckin' did somethin'? S'bullshit! Maybe the God-damn asshole should take a real good look on the inside an' ask 'imself what the hells goin' on." Kaufmann's accent only got heavier the more pissed off he was. His language certainly didn't get any cleaner either.

Red just shrugged. He didn't know what to make of it all. He didn't know if Hensley knew what had been going on around the Agency, didn't think he could ask her in case she didn't know. They had yet to find that damn hiding place Anderson mentioned to Hensley and part of Red wondered if Anderson had just been being a dick one last time by lying to her about it and there really was no secret spot.

"We need to set something in place." Red muttered quietly to his roommate, not at all following the same conversation. "We didn't get any way to contact Anderson before he left. Guy left us a trail but didn't give us any way to find it. We need a way to get ahold of Hensley in case she pulls the same thing." He took out a cigarette and lit it. He'd stopped offering one to Kaufmann years ago.

The other man scoffed, waving him off. He put the binoculars up to his eyes again, trying to get a visual on who was driving the truck that pulled up to the west gate. Red put his hand out to lower them. "It's just Martin."

Kaufmann dropped his arm. He knew better than to question Red's sense of smell. "Have ya looked at 'er? Ever? She ain't got no fuckin' energy ta leave us shit. She's gonna be clapping her fuckin' heels all the way to Forks the minute she's released."

"It's clicking, dumbass. Clicking her heels. That's how they did it in the movie."

Kaufmann rose a brow at the other man, "You sure? Pretty sure theys clappin'."

"You clap with your heels?" Red turned to glare at Kaufmann, waiting a few seconds before shaking his head, "Didn't think so. Anyway, that's not a bad thing. We'll at least know where she is for a little while. But we need something for afterwards. They can't stay in one spot too long."

"Why not?"

Red sighed, exhaling a thin cloud of smoke, "Because they don't age. How strange would it be to spend 10 years somewhere and look exactly the same? Don't you think people would catch on?"

Kaufmann grinned and opened his mouth. He didn't get a word out before Red punched him in the arm. "Will you be serious for five fucking seconds?"

When Red swore, all jokes were off. Unlike Kaufmann, Red only swore when he was angry. Kaufmann had pushed the old boy as far as he would go. "Alright, alright, fine. You can find 'er, can't ya? Make her leave a shirt or somethin' with her smell on it."

Red rubbed his face with his right hand, heavily exhaling again, "It's not like I pick up a scent and just know exactly where in the United States she is, Kaufmann-"

"I know that." Kaufmann snapped, insulted that Red considered him that incompetent. "But that way, when we're out looking for her, you can remember what she smells like and potentially pick up a trail. Depending on how long it is, you forget that stuff."

"We don't have that long."

"What makes you say that?" Kaufmann's interest was piqued, fully turning his head to stare at the younger guy. He lowered the binoculars again, not even caring who came up to the gate then.

Red didn't want to lie to Kaufmann. Aside from him, Hensley was the only other person in the place that Red could trust. But it was too soon. He didn't have enough information to know exactly what was going on. "Don't you think Anderson wanted us to find this stuff in a timely fashion?"

It was logical and therefore pacified Kaufmann, at least for the time being. "Yeah, s'true. On the other hand, if he wanted us to find it, maybe he shoulda made it a lil' easier to find. Just sayin'."

He needed more time.

All he needed was some more damn time.

He didn't get it though. On October 2, Alexandria Lillianna Hensley was released from the USSSA.

~.~

Her heart raced far faster than it ever had before. It had taken too long to get there, frequent stops for gasoline made sure if it. Sleep was avoided to try and compensate for the lost time, but eventually, even that couldn't be ignored.

Still, she made good progress overall, and her fingers trembled with the nervous energy in her system. Perhaps it was what Christmas morning had felt like for normal kids.

The disappointment of not getting the gift she wanted hit her like a cannonball to the chest. As she pulled into the familiar driveway, she could tell something was wrong. The lights were off, and she could hear no voices coming from inside the house. Emmett was never that quiet. Jasper would've heard her car coming….

She parked and hopped out of the driver's seat, flying up the steps and into the house. Dust and stale air greeted her.

Every piece of larger furniture was covered in sheets. All the food in the cupboards and refrigerator was gone.

Hensley bounded up the stairs, determined to look in the one room she cared about the most. Yet, when it came time to actually pull the latch and push open the door, she hesitated.

What if she couldn't handle what she found? What if she had been left behind too? Photos, clothes…things that reminded Jasper of her. What if they were there?

She fell to her knees in front of the archway. Her right hand flew to her chest, one of the dullest knives entering the cavity at the thought that plagued her then: what if he didn't care about her either?

There was no one to alleviate the fire in her chest. No phone rang in her pocket, no cold arms wrapped around her shoulders, no delicious smelling fabric pressed against her nose. It was just her. Her and the pressure that somehow felt empty and dead inside of her.

Legs wobbled like a baby deer when she finally pulled herself up, so her face was level with the door handle. The force from standing was enough to undo the latch and the door slid open effortlessly. Jasper's scent fell upon her body like a warm blanket; cozy and safe, comforting and peaceful. For the first time in four months, she felt like she could breathe normally. Deep breaths still caused sharp pain, but at least she didn't have to take short, rapid ones.

The relief given to her by Jasper's scent allowed her to enter the room. She was pleased to see that the photos once scattering his desk of the two of them were now gone. A glimmer of hope that he had taken them with.

After inspecting which items had been brought along for the move, Hensley peeked in his closet. She smiled at the number of articles that had been left behind and at the fact that they all smelt very strongly of her mate. A button-up was quickly taken off the rack and thrown over her long-sleeved shirt in order to cloak herself in his scent.

With her mind a little clearer, she had a new target in mind, one that would be able to tell Hensley what happened…granted she hadn't left as well.

Seeing the rusty truck in driveway gave her hope.

"Good afternoon, Chief Swan." Hensley greeted the man politely.

He gave her an odd look, one of confusion and suspicion. Clearly, he had known that Hensley moved earlier in the year. "Uh, hello…." Charlie responded awkwardly. "You're…Bella's friend?"

"Alexandria Hensley." She nodded, "I moved here about a year ago, but then got transferred. Sorry, I'm a military kid, so I move around a lot." She added when she saw Charlie looking no less confused.

"Right." He didn't quite look like he believed her, but he stepped out of the way regardless. "Uh, Bella's upstairs in her room. I'm sure she'll be excited to see you."

Hensley thanked him and ducked past the officer to quickly make her way up the steps. A stupid part of her felt giddy with anticipation, her chest tingling with the hope that all of the Cullens were somehow just hanging out in Bella's room.

The girl met Hensley in the hallway, throwing her full weight against Lexi's body. Her arms gripped Hensley's shoulders as tight as the human could manage with short, surprised breaths leaving her lungs. Hensley giggled at the display, wrapping her arms around Bella to return the hug. "Hi!"

"Y-you're back." Bella breathed. "You came back."

"Of course." Hensley shrugged. Though Bella wouldn't have known it, Hensley always planed on returning. "Are you okay? How have you been?"

Bella held on far longer than what Hensley thought normal for a hug. Though the girl pulled away when Hensley asked her questions. She sniffled once, wiping at her nose and stood on her tiptoes over Hensley to look down the stairs. "Come on." Bella gestured to her room, taking a step in before closing the door behind Hensley. "Where's Jasper?"

Hensley didn't miss the way Bella avoided her questions, but let it go. If Bella didn't want to talk, then Hensley wasn't going to force her. "I was hoping you could tell me. I went by their house but it's like-"

"They're gone." Bella whispered, flopping on her bed to pick at the comforter.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Hensley sat beside her, lowering her voice as if Charlie could hear.

Bella peeked up at Hensley, biting her lip so hard Hensley thought she might draw blood. "It wasn't Jasper's fault."

Oh, that made her feel better. Hensley's voice became far more firm as she asked, "What do you mean? What does that mean?"

"Jasper, he…" Bella glanced out the window before looking back at her friend, "He was really depressed when you left."

Hensley stayed silent, waiting for the girl to continue.

"I honestly thought he had gone with you. I-I just never saw him. When we got back from Arizona, Carlisle and Esme told Edward and I what happened - that you got transferred down to Georgia. I just…I thought Jasper went with you. I didn't see him all summer. It wasn't until school was starting back up and I asked Edward what they were going to say about Jasper being gone that Cooper told me Jasper had been home the whole time."

Hensley's chest ached at the knowledge that Jasper fared no better than she had. Her mate, sitting in his room with the same anguish and agony that she had endured. Plus, all the worry that everyone in the house must have been feeling. For Jasper, it had to be emotional overload.

"I didn't go over to their house much during the summer, but I really didn't think much of it because Edward was always over here, or we were going somewhere, and I just thought maybe we were trying to give Carlisle some privacy because he was pretty upset when he told us about you. But when Cooper said Jasper was home, Edward told me Jasper hadn't been hunting as often as he should've been, and I realized that's why Edward had been keeping me away; so I didn't tempt Jasper.

"And when we celebrated my birthday over there, I thought Jasper was gone - not that I didn't want him there or anything, I just didn't see him - but he came down to give me a birthday present before he really was leaving and of course I just, like, had to cut my finger at that moment and…"

"Oh my god!" Hensley whisper-yelled, eyes wide as she pieced together exactly where that story ended.

"Please don't be mad at him." Bella pleaded, grabbing Hensley's arms. "It wasn't his fault. He had just been walking through and I knew he hadn't been hunting in a bit and I should've been more careful and-"

Hensley cut her off, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Just…please don't be mad at him."

She laughed then, more out of sheer shock than anything else. Bella had been attacked by a vampire, yet more worried about the vampire being blamed or the bad guy…lord that girl was something else. "Bella…I'm guessing Jasper lost his cool…and I'm guessing he went after you-"

"It's not his fault."

"Bella!" Hensley stopped the girl again before she could get too far. "I'm not upset with him. I get it. I feel all the same stuff he does when it comes to missing each other. I've been really upset too." She left out the part about skipping meals of her own. "But I'm more worried about you right now. You got attacked by a damn lethal vampire and I want to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine." Bella finally breathed. "Edward pushed me back and I got a small cut on my arm from how I landed, but I'm fine. It's healed, it's not even a scar…." She looked back down at the blankets, exhaling a far heavier sigh. "But they left after that."

Hensley also looked down. She understood why they left. If Jasper almost hurt Bella, they wouldn't want to put the girl in any further danger. Still, she knew that Bella cared about Edward and the Cullens…it was a bad situation all around.

"I'm sorry." Hensley told her. For two things.

"It's not your fault. I should've been more careful-"

"It's not your fault either. Accidents happen…it just is what it is. I'm sure Jasper feels awful."

Bella stubbornly shook her head, "Well he shouldn't. It's not his fault. I know he probably struggles more because he can feel emotions and then with you being gone and him being sad…."

That was true. Hensley knew Jasper struggled more than the rest of the family for that reason. She also knew how much he hated when people made that excuse for him. "It's nice of you to say. I don't suppose they told you where they were going?"

Bella scoffed, shaking her head, "I wish."

Hensley did too. "Do you have a phone?"

"They won't answer if they think it's me." Bella muttered.

"Have you tried?" The question felt stupid coming out of Hensley's mouth, but when Bella shook her head, relief washed over. Hensley took Bella's cellphone and dialed Jasper's number. If anyone was partial to answer it would be him.

The phone didn't even ring; straight to his voicemail. Hensley's chest felt better just hearing his smooth voice, even if it was a recording. She smiled blissfully, burying her head in the collar of Jasper's shirt. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend he was speaking directly to her. For the first time in months, Hensley's chest didn't ache.

A little beep pulled her out of her daydream, and she opened her eyes in a huff. "H-hey Jazz. It's me, Lexi." That was stupid. Jasper would know who it was in the first second. "Um, I'm in Forks, just looking for you guys, I guess. Give me a call, okay? I love you."

After she hung up the phone, Bella smiled. "He's going to call and I'm going to answer and he's going to be upset. Maybe he really will eat me then."

Hensley giggled. She hadn't even thought of that. "It might be nice for me to have my own phone…that way I can be available to answer him if you're at school…"

"You're not going back to school? Don't you have another year left?"

Bella's questions, though completely valid, amused her. "I've, uh, graduated a few times already."

"Right, right. Of course. Sorry, that was stupid." Bella shook her head, and a light blush coated her cheeks.

"It wasn't stupid." Hensley quickly corrected her. "You had no way of knowing. Anyway, I'm going to get a phone and call Jasper again…then-"

"Wait." Bella cut her off, panic stricken on her face, "you're leaving? W-where are you going? You can't…you can't go yet."

Hensley's heart strings tugged within her chest. Watching Bella's wide, scared eyes…hearing the immediate rise of the girl's heartbeat…the slight tremble in her hand as she reached out to Hensley…did her family know? Did they realize what they would do to Bella by leaving?

Surely, they couldn't have, right? Carlisle, so compassionate and sensitive, he'd never condone leaving if he knew what reaction Bella would have. Edward, the one who loved Bella as his mate, he couldn't leave knowing what it would do to her. Could he?

"I'm not leaving Forks. Well, I mean, I have to go to Port Angeles for the phone, but I'll be back." Hensley reassured the girl, rubbing her arm encouragingly. "I'm not taking off and not coming back."

"Promise?" The sound was so small and broken. Her family couldn't have known. Her family better not have known.

"I promise."