Bella woke up up early in the morning the next day. Her hand cupped her cheek tightly, the pang in her jaw where the new filling lay throbbed ruthlessly. She'd had a night of tossing and turning, struggling to overcome the pain she still felt after her rough treatment. She figured she might as well call it quits and get up.

The morning sun fell in through small rectangles that bounced around the hotel bedroom; the blinds hadn't been closed all the way the previous night, the entourage being all too keen to collapse after the relentless heat of the day.
Jessica and Angela were still soundly asleep in their beds, snoring softly. They had of course been concerned with Bella's disappearance yesterday, but were easily appeased after a hurried story of map misreading, lost time and clumsiness; Bella's trademark trait. She hadn't wanted to worry them with the story of the dentista, or relive the trauma of it. Besides, she felt that her reaction was sure to have been disproportionate to the event itself, and was embarrassed now at how frightened and uncomfortable she had been at such a commonplace procedure. Although, there was still the throbbing in the back of her jaw.
She'd never previously felt this sensation so many hours after her appointments, but perhaps this was due to the sheer size of the thing. It had been a monster filling after all.
She turned to read the blaring numbers '05:08' on the alarm clock on the dressing table. She took some tylenol and got up. Their flight was soon anyway, so she might as well start getting ready. It would be a long day of travel ahead to get back to Forks. At least she would see Edward.

As the girls filed out off the plane, each one tugging a small carry-on behind them, Bella felt sure that something was seriously wrong. The filling in her mouth felt alien, an intruder pushing against the remainder of her tooth the way dough outgrows its tin in the oven. She excused herself from the other two whilst they sorted out their belongings, and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Bella walked the length of the room, pushing each stall door as she went. The bathroom was deserted, thank god. She then turned to face the mirror, full-sized and dirtied at the side of the sinks. She opened her mouth curiously, taking out a torch from her bag as she peered in. She was disgusted at the sight.
Among the neat rows of pristine white teeth, and the fillings that Edward had given her, she spotted an ugly outlier. On the right, the amalgam metal filling looked gothic and menacing as it clung to her tooth. She could see the sharp edges and unnatural shape, the overlaps where it seemed to take up more space than it should. The sides that clung to the healthy tooth that remained looked like little hands grasping at the enamel. She couldn't shake the feeling that it was trying to get out, or worse, invade her other teeth. For a moment she wondered if that was a possibility. Could fillings grow? Surely not. She shook her head and tried to remove the thought. Sure, vampires and werewolves existed, but sentient fillings? That was too far.

She pressed a finger lightly on the top of it and moaned slightly at the pain. She'd never received an amalgam before, and hadn't known even then that that was what he would do at the dentista. Maybe the pain is part of it, she thought. These fillings had different advantages to white ones, she knew, so perhaps he had felt it was a better call given the size of the cavity. Perhaps the pain was just the filling getting settled.

She took a breath, and tried to silence the alarm bells ringing in her head. She didn't want Edward to worry. Not yet. She was going to have to use her acting abilities with this one.

Finally, the girls left the airport and said their goodbyes. Eric had picked up Angela as promised, and after a bright wave to Bella, she got in and kissed him tentatively on the cheek. Jessica was waiting on her mom.

"Sure you don't want a lift?" Edward gestured to the car. She considered a moment.

"No, that's really okay. She said she'll be here soon. I'll give you guys a text when I'm in, okay?" Jessica gave Bella a tight hug and a fleeting wink as she watched Edward put her bags in the back. Bella rolled her eyes, but smiled. Of course, Jessica was always going to be boy crazy.

Edward and Bella waved her off as they pulled out of the airport parking lot.

"Nice time?" Edward said, eyes catching hers. She flushed a deep red. Damn, that smile.

"Yeah, it was sorta great, actually." She began recounting tales of the beaches, the locals and the Mexican food. She let herself fall back into the heart of the holiday, disregarding the trauma at the very end. She was doing her best at detailing the positives; she knew Edward had worried about this being the first time they were apart since the mess with James. Edward watched her avidly, his pale amber eyes fixed on hers, his expression was unreadable.

When they turned into the Cullen Manor, Bella let out a sigh of relief. She knew she'd have to return to Charlie's the next day, but she was glad to spend some time with her second family.

In a whir, Emmett had appeared at the car, taking the bags from the back in a second's movement.
"You alright, Bella?" he grinned. She nodded shyly.
Edward had appeared on the passenger side of the car, opening it with attempted human slowness. He held his hand out for her, and she took it gladly as she stepped out. She'd forgotten the cool sensation of his skin against hers, and was grateful to relive it.
Carlisle and Esme stood at the porch of the house, Esme's hand resting on Carlisle's chest as his encircled her waist. It's good to be home.

She was beckoned in, and performed her customary hellos. Well, to everyone except Rosalie, who seemed indifferent, and Jasper, who was nowhere to be found. Alice had appeared almost from thin air, planting a herbal tea in her hands before dragging Bella over to the sofa where she hopped onto the subject of Mexican fashion boutiques. She spoke at a million miles per hour and with such animosity that the liquid in Bella's cup seemed to teeter nervously at its rims, ready to overspill at any moment. Bella could still feel the pang, but ignored it, momentarily entertained by Alice's vivacity.

Edward took his place opposite them, smiling slightly. He enjoyed how animated Alice had gotten with Bella, despite her seeming indifference to Bella's human speed and at times careless treatment over their differences in strength. Still though, it felt good to watch them get on.

The day grew dark, and the evening stretched on before Jasper finally emerged, wooden and measured as usual. He said a perfunctory hello to Bella before seating himself at the far side of the room. Bella was growing tired from the day of travel, and knew that she would soon need sleep, but was enjoying the conversation. The Cullen clan had all taken up places around them, each sharing stories of their times in Mexico, many of which dated to years long before Bella's time in the world.

She was intent on listening to Esme talk of her time in León, but could feel the nagging pain echo in her mouth again. She could feel the flush in her cheeks, and rubbed her jaw cautiously. She felt she'd gotten away with the movement, Edward's eyes averted, until she caught Jasper's eyes, which bored into hers. She'd wondered how long his gaze had been there. As if in response, he flicked his eyes to the balcony before getting up himself and strode out the glass doors. She knew it was more command than invitation, and had a sinking suspicion of what this conversation might entail.

Bella hesitated a moment, presented with a difficult decision. Would Jasper make a scene if she didn't follow him? Perhaps it wasn't even about what she thought anyway. Although, they'd never been particularly friendly, so that seemed an unlikely option. With a quick word to Edward about getting more tea, she followed him out through the glass doors.

The evening air that greeted her was cool, but not overly so. The sun had long since set, but a glimmer of pink shone through the trees surrounding them. She observed them serenely, the impending doom she felt in her stomach appeased slightly. She was interrupted by a soft whisper from Jasper.

"You're in pain." he said gently. It was neither a question nor an accusation but a simple statement. His eyes remained fixed on the trees around them, a measure she presumed which was meant to seem unobtrusive and calming. Even now, she could feel the wave of calm wash over her, no doubt his doing.

She hesitated for a moment before giving her response, studying his blonde curls and fixed gaze intently, almost willing him to turn to face her. To confront her. Finally, she found her voice.
"Yes, but it's not too bad. It's just something that happened in Mexico. It's been a long day of travel so I'm a bit rundown is all." She wanted to seem firm, but realistic. She knew it was too late to deny any sensation at all. Jasper had no doubt felt it from her in his own way; she still didn't quite know how that power operated.

"You know, Bella, vampires can hear a human heartbeat from miles away." He said gently, turning to her, eyes meeting hers hesitantly. His face bore a forced calm, but she felt placated nonetheless. The statement wasn't a threat once more, but a fact. His powers were still washing over her, she presumed, despite her attempts to separate her feelings from his projections. He continued.
"We can hear when someone has a heart murmur, when someone is panicked. We can hear when someone lies." Her heart sank a bit; she felt sure that he could feel that too, but instead of anger or disappointment, his face took on a look of concern, something she had never seen so clearly in his eyes before.
"Why haven't you told Edward?"

Bella felt her face flush a deeper red.
"I didn't want him to worry." She said slowly.
"It's been the first time we've been separated in a long while, and I wanted him to trust I can do it alone." She paused.
"That, and I'm a bit embarrassed." She flushed again.

Jasper didn't speak for a moment, but seemed to study her carefully. She'd never felt such scrutiny from anyone except Edward, and at times Carlisle.

"I think you should mention it, Bella. You look flushed, and I don't think that's just embarrassment. It could be serious. I'm sure Carlisle has noticed it, too." He almost reached out to touch her flushed cheek but seemed to recoil back against the balcony. She'd forgotten how difficult he found her presence, and why he always seemed to stand several meters away.

As if summoned, Carlisle stepped through the glass doors, a small throw in his hands. He wrapped it around Bella's shoulders before moving to admire the view. She clutched it gratefully.

"Nice evening, isn't it?" He asked to no one in particular. Bella smiled in return, and Jasper gave a quick nod, face wooden and pained once more. She wasn't sure how much of his expression was the usual struggle her scent brought or his superhuman abilities detecting her own pain. Perhaps both she mused.

"I'm going to join Alice inside I think." Jasper's southern drawl felt more pronounced than before. With a cursory glance in Bella's direction, he filed back in through the glass doors, and Carlisle and Bella were left alone on the terrace, a silence elapsing between them.

The evening air seemed cooler yet, perhaps more so now that Jasper's projected comfort had departed through those glass doors and back into the lounge. She could see him now through the glass, arm placed lovingly around Alice, who was still avidly engaged in conversation with Esme and Edward. No doubt about some fashion she smiled inwardly.

She was brought back to the present by a small breeze that seemed to permeate the holes even in her blanket. Carlisle's hair, usually slicked back and neat, moved ever so slightly in the breeze. It gave him a comforting quality, she thought. Doctor turned outdoorsy, perhaps.

"He cares for you." Carlisle said placidly, interrupting the silence. He was scrutinising Bella with the expression she'd seen on his face so many times before. The doctor's manner. He knows she thought.
As if in response, the back of his hand rested against her cheek, and then drifted to her forehead.

"You're a bit warm, Bella. I'd like to take your temperature, if you'll let me." Carlisle's tone was nothing but soothing. Bedside manner had always been a major charm of his, and one of the reasons he was so well respected and liked as the town's physician. Well, that and his superhuman diagnostic ability. A vampire doctor was infinitely more observant than either component on its own. This, she knew too well. His eyes, as amber as the rest of the Cullen's, denoted nothing but pure concern and wholesome intent, and yet she still felt transparent. He definitely knows. She sighed.

"I think I know why." She said quietly, before launching into a very short version of the events in mexico. Carlisle watched her patiently, stopping her only to ask questions pertaining to the sterile technique the man had performed at the dentista. He wanted to know whether he'd used gloves, and a mask, whether the tools were sterile, how clean the room seemed.

"He wore gloves, but no mask, and I'm not sure when he had last washed his hands, there was no sink in the room. I can't speak for the tools. They seemed about as clean as the rest of the place." She said, exhausted from the ordeal even in its retelling.

A thin line creased Carlisle's forehead, and he asked her to accompany him to his office. She obliged, partly because she knew that she had no choice in the matter, and partly because she felt that relief from the pain was imminent, no longer an unanswered burden. The jig was up, as they say.