"You're welcome." Davey shrugged with a wide smirk on his face. Hensley expected such behavior from Cooper or Peter, not him. Still, he stood with his arm around Amanda, grinning at Jasper as though he had saved Hensley's life and hand delivered her to Jasper…which, she supposed he sort of had.
Jasper had yet to let go of Lexi but did allow her to spin around so she could face the rest of her family. Carlisle still hadn't received a hug, Jasper reminding him that he had gotten to hug Hensley while she had been in the agency. Though Hensley didn't particularly enjoy the point made, she wasn't quite ready to give Jasper up yet either.
"We should head back up to Forks. Apparently, Peter is waiting around for Victoria to come back." Cooper told the rest of the group.
Emmett frowned at Lexi, pressing his lips together as he tried to understand some reasoning. "You left Peter with Bella?"
"Are you trying to say something?" Jasper held Lexi tighter but stood up straighter to challenge Emmett.
"No, no." Emmett said quickly, raising his hands up in surrender. "I was just asking."
"He's gotta backtrack or he's gunna die." Cooper informed Davey, the only one aside from Amanda who hadn't witnessed Jasper's protective side firsthand.
Still, Hensley had told them about it on the ride to Forks, so Davey was prepared. "Yeah, she told us 'bout that. Thought as long as she was around, he was chill?"
Cooper shrugged. He didn't know what the hell was up with Jasper, nor did particularly care to try and figure it out. His main focus was ensuring Jasper was alright, and he now was. Who Jasper killed in his free time was his business…as long as it wasn't Cooper or Alice.
"Oh no, this is Jasper being calm. He hasn't attacked me physically yet, so that's how we know Lexi is around." Emmett informed Davey with a nod.
Davey thought he seemed far too casual about being attacked. "You say that like it's a normal occurrence."
"It is." Cooper and Emmett both said at the same time, gesturing towards each other afterwards as proof.
"This family gets more fucked up each time I visit."
Lexi laughed at Davey's reused phrase. "Thanks again, Davey."
"Again?" Jasper quirked a brow, glancing down at her.
"He's told me that once already." She informed them, nestling backwards into Jasper some more. It didn't matter whether or not Davey thought she was messed up or her family was weird. She finally had them back – in all their quirkiness. That was the only thing that mattered. That was the only thing she wanted.
Finally, after eighteen long years, she had everything she had ever wanted.
The family agreed that with Victoria hanging around, and with how much Bella struggled, they should head back to Forks. Alice was tasked with informing Edward of such news, something Hensley had volunteered to do only because she wanted to get a few jabs in. Carlisle nicely suggested that she spend time with the family instead.
In order to obtain more protection for Bella, it was decided that Alice, Cooper, and Emmett would head for Forks right away. While they traveled west, Carlisle and Esme were going back to their home in West Virginia to pack a few things, get Rosalie – who had stayed back in case Edward returned, and their vehicles. Lexi and Jasper were free to do as they pleased, but neither felt good about leaving their family while it was potentially in danger.
"We should go back to West Virginia to help you pack and get things situated. Besides, I could use the sleep." Hensley whispered the last part, nodding to no one in particular. She peeked up at Jasper to see how he felt about such an arrangement, not that she thought he'd have any real complaints.
True to her thoughts, Jasper smiled down at her lovingly and agreed, "Anythin' you want, Darlin'."
Carlisle finally got his hug prior to going back home, Hensley throwing her arms around her father just as tightly as she had back in the Agency. He squeezed her gently, cradling her head as though he was protecting her from something. In all fairness, it was a natural action for him. He'd always been protecting her, even when he wasn't necessarily around.
After kissing her forehead, he released her, giving her a quick, "I'll see you soon" before following after Esme.
Then there were four.
"Well, I've fulfilled my moral obligation to you," Davey slapped Jasper's back, giving him a half-ass one-armed hug. "Girl has been returned safe an' sound. Let us know if ya end up needin' help with the redhead. She's a slippery bitch." He shook his head as he remembered the fight between them.
"I'm sure we'll be fine. Four of them against one will be more than enough, I'm sure." Jasper relieved Davey of his offer for a moment. Then he thought about it more and pressed his lips together, "Though…we are talkin' about Peter and Cooper here…."
Davey laughed, elbowing Jasper lightly, "Too true, Major. Too true. Well, if they fuck it up let us know. We'll be around. Thought we'd head up north a bit and see how Montana has been. Haven't been there in a few years."
"I'm sure Alice will be able to track ya down." Jasper gripped Davey's shoulder, effectively stopping the other man. "Thank you. Seriously."
"Eh, you owe me." Davey shrugged playfully but tipped his head to his friend. "Ain't nothin'. Got a good one, Major. Try not ta fuck it up."
Hensley gaped at the man as he ran off with Amanda, the girl giving a short wave. She turned to Jasper, sighing softly. Before she could say anything about Davey's comments, Jasper scooped her up and attacked her mouth with deep, passionate kisses. Hensley was quick to return the intensity, tangling her hands up in his blond curls as she pulled him as close as she could get him. One hand dropped to the small of her back to help her with the effort and she shivered at the new contact. She'd missed him far, far too much.
"We need to get you home." Jasper whispered between kisses, trailing them down her jaw to move down to his favorite spot: the crook of her neck. He kissed and sucked the skin, hopefully leaving small bruises in his path. Her lower half was already on fire, but the thought of him leaving marks on her sent a new wave of heat flooding. She moaned in agreement against his skin, relishing his scent on her body as she took a quick minute to breathe.
"Darlin'…" His tone turned warning, slightly husky even. Hensley recognized it well and smiled sheepishly. He brushed his nose against the column of her neck, placing one last kiss to her jawline. "Let's get you home. Comfortable…in bed…."
She liked the sound of that very much.
Hensley swore Alice called the house and gave Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie advanced notice because the house was empty by the time her and Jasper returned. Hensley made a mental note to give Alice a gift basket.
What started as innocent 'I've missed you' kisses quickly turned into 'I need you now' kisses which turned into clothes coming off as fast as they could manage. The night was damn blissful, Lexi's entire body burning with sheer desire and satisfaction as Jasper expertly took care of her every need. She didn't know how she had lived without it for four months, didn't know how she lived without him for four months. All she knew was that she never wanted to spend another day apart from him as long as she lived.
It was too good. She felt too good. She felt like she was on cloud nine, floating around heaven, basking in the sheer sunshine that was Jasper's love and affection. Her brain was fuzzy, her body so close again and-
She gasped.
Every muscle in her body tensed, a cool sensation originating in her shoulder trickled across her chest, down her arms and stomach, around her back.
Jasper panicked. "Shit. Shit. Shit! Lexi! Lexi, look at me, Darlin'." He cupped her face, black eyes intensely searching her body and face for something. After a moment they left her, snatching the phone off of the nightstand to call someone. Carlisle, Hensley figured.
It was a fair reaction; she didn't know what would happen next. All she knew was that the cold had seeped down to her toes. She swore she blacked out for a moment. She remembered Jasper's hand on her shoulder, she remembered him on the phone…she couldn't remember anything else. At one point she thought she heard him tell Carlisle he needed to come back, but she wasn't sure. Everything was a little fuzzy. Her head was spinning, but she wasn't sure if that was from the bite or…prior activities.
When her brain finally caught up, her shoulder was burning, and she felt…funny. Jasper was still on the phone though, frantically repeating, "I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry." Therefore, Hensley determined that she couldn't have been out of it that long.
Thankfully while she had been in la-la land, Jasper had still been fully functioning, helping her slip into a tank top and shorts before dressing himself. As they waited for Carlisle, he continued scanning her body, in a completely different way than earlier in the night, pressing his hand against her forehead and feeling her, what she thought was normal, pulse. She tried telling him that she felt okay; that it was just her body that felt odd…but maybe that was the problem. Maybe that was a bad sign.
The second bad sign was Carlisle's face. With Carlisle, there was always a sense of calm in the room, though his eyes were riddled with nerves. Even if she couldn't feel them, she certainly could see them.
He examined the bite mark, gently grazing the open wound. "How does it feel?"
"It itches now. Before it was cold, then it was hot, now it itches." Hensley mumbled, tilting her head so Carlisle could examine it better.
His cool hands felt nice on her skin, temporarily relieving the uncomfortable symptoms. "It's raised…red. I think your body is treating it like an allergen. The itchiness supports that theory. It's just in your shoulder? No place else?"
Hensley shook her head, "It was my whole body before, like it was spreading, but then it started going backwards and then my shoulder burned. The rest of me feels fine now. It's just my shoulder."
"Taking the excess venom out must have helped." Carlisle looked up at Jasper. Hensley had no idea what Carlisle meant. She had no recollection of Jasper taking venom out. She supposed that occurred while her brain was fuzzy.
"Least I'm not dead." Hensley muttered, offering a weak shrug.
Carlisle took a breath as he gestured to her, "At least there is that. One of us needs to stay with her at all times, at least until the mark shows improvement. We can keep a listen on her heartbeat and make sure she doesn't get worse again. I can sit with her while you hunt."
Jasper needed a hunt. His eyes were dark, no longer from lust, and the bruises were still under his eyes. They had been too…excited…to see each other for Hensley to protest too much about him hunting once they had gotten back to the house. Now though, with nothing left to do except wait, Jasper needed to feed.
Still, he stubbornly shook his head. "No. I'll stay too. It's my fault she's hurt."
"Jasper, you're fine. You need to hunt." Carlisle told him softly, trying to encourage him with a soft smile. He was no more convinced, even walking around to the other side of the bed and sitting down to further prove his point. Despite the gesture, he kept his distance, hand just a few inches too far away for Lexi to grab it.
Carlisle nudged her to get her attention and winked. She looked over at Jasper, but her mate was staring at the mark on her shoulder not remotely paying attention. Her father flicked her arm.
"Ow." She rubbed the spot, frowning at Carlisle. "What was that for?"
He smiled, raising his head up to Jasper. "It works." He announced with a chuckle, eyeing Lexi to see if she understood as well. When she didn't, Carlisle nudged her and nodded.
Jasper finally broke his blank stare to look back at the older vampire, "What does?"
"The bite. I 'hurt' her, and you didn't get upset."
Jasper scoffed as realization hit him but did give the two a small smile. "Cooper will be thrilled."