Chapter 4: Enough
Jasper stood perfectly still, hands behind his back, as his mind raced.
"Maybe it was just a nomad passing through? Maybe they were curious?" Esme offered, and, as much as he appreciated his mother trying to be positive, Jasper knew that wasn't the case.
"A passer-by wouldn't have left Bella's father alive," Rosalie pointed out, and Jasper glared at her when he felt Bella's flash of panic at the thought. He moved quickly to sit beside her and take her hand, gently rubbing circles on her palm.
The front door burst open as Emmett strode in, followed by Edward. "The scent disappeared five miles south of Bella's house," he told Jasper.
"Perhaps Victoria…" Carlisle mentioned, but Edward shook his head.
"It didn't smell like Victoria. Neither of us recognized the scent."
Jasper frowned as he came to a realization. Someone had orchestrated this. This had been very carefully planned and, had Bella not been at the reservation, she would have walked right into it.
Edward nodded in agreement with Jasper's thoughts. "My first thought was the Volturi."
"Could they be checking to see if I've been changed?" Bella asked.
Alice shook her head. "No, it's not them. I've been watching Aro's decisions."
"Well standing around here debating isn't doing us any good. We need to track whoever it was down and get some answers," Rosalie said, arms crossed over her chest.
"Hell yeah, baby," Emmett grinned, his hands already clenched into fists. "We'll get some answers outta him alright. Nobody messes with my kid sister."
"We also need to take shifts at Bella's house," Carlisle reminded them.
Bella shook her head. "You can't watch over me and Dad, and search for the intruder, and for Victoria, and keep yourselves fed."
"Bella, we'll manage…" Jasper began, but she cut him off.
"Your eyes are black. When was the last time you- any of you- went hunting? You're already too busy protecting me…"
"I'm not leavin' you to fend for yourself," he insisted.
"And I'm not about to let you starve!"
The room fell silentt, all eyes on the young couple on the couch. Suddenly, Bella smiled.
Jasper was cautious. "What?"
"I've got an idea. But you might not be thrilled about it."
Emmett barked a laugh. "Which means you'll hate it."
He didn't hate it, in all fairness. He wasn't thrilled about it, that much was true, but he didn't hate it. Much.
He waited in the driveway while Bella and Jacob looked around her house, allowing Jacob to pick up on the scent of the vampire. Jasper had volunteered to wait outside so Jacob only had one vampire scent to focus on, and finally, the two emerged from the house. Jasper met them halfway across the yard. "Well?"
"Whoever it was left his stink behind. It'll be hard to miss when we cross it again."
Jasper nodded. A tense silence settled over them and Bella clapped her hands. "Okay, great so… We'll all just work together then. I mean, we all have the same goal, right? Catch the bad vampires?"
Both men remained silent, so Bella continued. "Jacob, would the pack rather have nights or days?"
"Nights."
"Okay. Would days work for you guys?" she asked, looking back at Jasper, who nodded. "Great. That's settled. See how easy that was?"
"Yeah, we're best friends," Jacob scoffed. He ruffled her hair and she punched him in the side, making him grin. "I'll see you Saturday, Bells."
"See you," she said with a small smile and a wave as he jogged off into the trees. "I think that went as well as… Hey, you okay?"
Bella hurried back to Jasper, who was standing with his eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine."
"How long has your head been hurting?" she whispered, knowing from her own experience that light and sound made things ten times worse.
He shook his head. "I'm fine."
She may have believed him if he hadn't swayed after he said it.
"C'mon," she softly urged him to follow her, taking his hand and leading him back into the house and up to her room. She left him standing in the doorway as she turned off all the lights and drew the curtains, but left the window open so the werewolf smell Jacob had surely left behind wouldn't be too overwhelming. When she turned back, he was leaning against the doorframe, eyes pinched shut as he breathed deeply. "Fine my ass," she muttered.
"Your ass is fine," he smirked, dark eyes fluttering open when she came back to guide him to the bed.
"You're impossible," she grinned, situating herself and him so she could lean against the headboard and he could lay his head in her lap.
A small smile inched across his face that dissolved into a relieved sigh when she began to rub his temples and massage her fingers back through his hair. "Since we left Florida," he whispered. "That's when it first started."
She frowned. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Had enough goin' on. Wasn't so bad."
"I'd say this is pretty bad."
He hummed, which she decided to take as him agreeing with her. She watched his body relax, realizing just how tense he usually was as each muscle uncoiled. Always on alert. Always ready for an attack. She was glad he was finally able to relax around her. "Just rest for a while. Everything is okay right now. I'll be here."
Jasper let the last of his tension fade away as he listened to her voice, then her steady heartbeat and the sound of her soft breathing. She was here. She was alive. They were together. For now, it was enough.
